Mega-Evolution in doubles

[Gobadiah]

So, I've been trying to think of a decent area to post this kind of question, but I want to check viability of a (hopefully not too) gimmicky combination.

Lead with:

Hippowdown (w/ leftovers or Shed Shell or Eject Button)
Sand-stream
Careful / Impish
252HP/56A/200D
-Earthquake
-Slack off
-Stealth Rock/Rock Slide
-Crunch

Aerodactyl (+MS)
Rock head -> Tough Claws
Adamant
22HP/252A/236SPD (possible outspeed of MGengar tier?)
-Aerial Ace / Iron Head
-Ice Fang / Crunch / Iron Head
-Rock Slide / Stone edge
-Scary Face

After it begins, switch the hippo out for Malamar while using Scary face on Hippo/Malamar

Malamar (w/ LO or King's Rock or Leftovers)
Contrary
Adamant / Jolly
200HP/160A/150Spd
-Superpower
-PsychoCut
-Night Slash
-Protect/Taunt/Rock Slide

Thus giving Mal a +2 to speed and giving leeway to start a bulking sweep with +1A/+1D Superpower.
Its stat spread is pretty weak compared to others, but this kind of use might save it (for me anyway).

The other slots are up in the air personally. I think an Aromatherapy Florges or Sawsbuck (Florges would add SA to this team and interesting coverage, but better speed and ability to damage for Sawsbuck) would help protect for status afflictions and add some further diversity to attacks. Especially considering protecting the big guns in Megadactyl and Malamar

Any comments would be appreciated as this is a very basic idea that I'm considering expanding.

(First post, woo)

Edit: Hippowdown is obviously not a needed pokemon as he would decrease the life span of Malamar, but it would help out Megadactyl in tackling some of those errant Ice beams.

 

[TM93]

Well, since this seems the best place to post this it seems, there is ONE rather gimmicky combination that Mega Gardevoir pulls off in Doubles (by Gimmicky I mean it works about 50% of the time, but if it works, it's a pretty terrifying thing).

This combination relies on setting Gardevoir up with a partner who can use Boomburst, and to have Mimic on it's Move List somewhere. Now, given that Gardevoir has Telepathy, unless you need more defense to survive through this turn, don't Mega Evolve until you've Mimicked that Boomburst to avoid taking damage (I normally use Noivern, as it also has access to Telepathy and has enough Speed to usually get a hit off).

I don't think I need to explain how terrifying a STAB Pixilate Boomburst can be if you can pull it off.

252+ SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Shuckle: 112-133 (45.9 - 54.5%) -- 57.8% chance to 2HKO

That's against a FULLY Specially Defensive Shuckle. That's some impressive numbers there, in addition to hitting past Subs. Very few Pokemon will want to swap into this sort of attack.

Of course it does far less against say, one of the best Special Walls in the game, Eviolite Chansey, but let's be honest, no one in their right mind would keep a Special Attacker out while a wall like that is in play if they can help it:
252+ SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Chansey: 135-160 (19.1 - 22.7%) -- possible 5HKO

The downside? Gardevoir's bulk, and the odds of it's partner being KOed before it can get off a Mimic. It just can't take too many hits, particularly Physical hits. It's honestly more of a parlor trick.

I know this isn't 100% relevant, but if I've thought of this strategy, I know others have too. Some of them, like me, will have realized how gimmicky it is and will have stopped trying to make it work, but it IS a possible set some sap may be running, so some people may want to make preparations, probably with something speedy with a Super Effective attack, or something with a heavy hitting Priority move.

 

[BlankZero]

Why not just Skill Swap Pixelate onto Noivern in the first place?

 

[Deoxymoron]

Why not just Skill Swap Pixelate onto Noivern in the first place?

1. STAB
2.More SpA
3. More bulk
4. Skill Swap Gardevoir has to run Dazzling Gleam, which is significantly weaker than Pixelate Hyper Voice

I'm not saying it's good, because you do have to give up a turn, but it's probably still better than Skill Swap.

 

[Arcticblast]

4. Skill Swap Gardevoir has to run Dazzling Gleam, which is significantly weaker than Pixelate Hyper Voice

Skill Swap was a TM in Gen 3/4 so this is not true. That be said, this seems like one of those strategies that sounds badass in theory but isn't that great in execution. Kind of like anything involving Slaking. It has the potential to be really good, but you have to go so far out of your way to make it work that in the end it's just not very good at all.

 

[SomeoneStoleTheNameIWant]

Honestly, I could see Mega-Banette seeing some Doubles use. It's a Trick Room setter who is immune to Fake Out and can abuse its ability Prankster both within and outside of Trick Room. Certainly not great, but it could find some niche use.

 

[BlankZero]

So out of everything I've see on the ladder since XYs release, the only really viable mons seem to be MegaGarchomp (Sand Force is so perfect for it), MegaMawile (Suckerpunch is necessary unless Trick Room), MegaGengar (PerishTrap), MegaKangahskan (Bulky Semi Sweeper), MegaTTar (sometimes outdone by Chople or ScarfTar), and MegaScizor (even though LO Scizor is usually best).

I know this list is more biased based on what I've played with, played against, and seen in higher level Tour/IRC play, but it's pretty much all I see now.

 

[Laga]

Blank...

First of all, Mega Gardevoir and Mega Charizard Y are ten times as influential as Mega Garchomp and Mega Gengar.

Second of all, stop using Mega Gengar for PerishTrap, you should be using it for countering Trick Room / remove annoying mons.

Here is a top 5 list of megas according to what i believe is most popular / good.

1) Mega Charizard Y. Easily. Everyone is hyped af over this Pokemon, and maybe it has to do with the fact that it has a spread move boosted by it's own ability that also happens to weaken threatening attacks aka Water-type attacks. Oh, and the ability also fucks up Rain, Sand, and Hail as well as providing support for your teammates. It also has a coverage move that has a chance to OHKO Rotom-W, which is a Water / Electric type trying to wall a Fire / Flying type.

2) Mega Kangaskhan. I don't personally like using this mon that much myself, but it has a ridiculously powerful ability that grants it a fucking Choice Band boost with the freedom of move choice. Oh, and it also happens to have Fake Out and the ability to break Substitutes and attack at the same time.

3) Mega Mawile. Oh look, this mon is actually on your list. This mon should be obvious; it has Huge Power with over base 100 Attack.

4) Mega Gardevoir. Motherfucking Pixilate Hyper Voice.

5) not sure which mon gets this one, but it's either Pinsir, Scizor, or Gengar, since they are all great at what they do.

tl;dr you basically axed out the most important megas

 

[BlankZero]

Blank...

First of all, Mega Gardevoir and Mega Charizard Y are ten times as influential as Mega Garchomp and Mega Gengar.

Second of all, stop using Mega Gengar for PerishTrap, you should be using it for countering Trick Room / remove annoying mons.

Here is a top 5 list of megas according to what i believe is most popular / good.

1) Mega Charizard Y. Easily. Everyone is hyped af over this Pokemon, and maybe it has to do with the fact that it has a spread move boosted by it's own ability that also happens to weaken threatening attacks aka Water-type attacks. Oh, and the ability also fucks up Rain, Sand, and Hail as well as providing support for your teammates. It also has a coverage move that has a chance to OHKO Rotom-W, which is a Water / Electric type trying to wall a Fire / Flying type.

2) Mega Kangaskhan. I don't personally like using this mon that much myself, but it has a ridiculously powerful ability that grants it a fucking Choice Band boost with the freedom of move choice. Oh, and it also happens to have Fake Out and the ability to break Substitutes and attack at the same time.

3) Mega Mawile. Oh look, this mon is actually on your list. This mon should be obvious; it has Huge Power with over base 100 Attack.

4) Mega Gardevoir. Motherfucking Pixilate Hyper Voice.

5) not sure which mon gets this one, but it's either Pinsir, Scizor, or Gengar, since they are all great at what they do.

tl;dr you basically axed out the most important megas

I should stop posting right when I wake up.

Agreed on CharY and MegaVoir, but MegaTar is important as fuck in this meta, completely killing CharY, your own #1 pick. Also, I'd argue that Heracross fits into your #5 rank. Skill Link on it is good due it getting a few new moves to abuse it with.

 

[Pocket]

Mega Blastoise is actually legit, too. It hits a lot of common threats (Landorus-T, Heatran, Tyranitar) hard with a spread Muddy Water (or Water Spout). It also has access to Fake Out and strong coverage move in Dark Pulse (does a min 40% to max/max Cresselia), Aura Sphere, and / or Flash Cannon (not boosted by Mega Launcher unfortunately). Just like the top dogs of Doubles, it has a tanky build, with solid defense combined with firepower. It supports teams well outside of rain, and it can end up being a super force on rain teams.

If you do use Mega Blastoise, though, make sure you have an answer to Azumarill, which can comfortably switch into the turtle and start punching holes. Rotom-W is annoying, too, but it loses 40+% from Blastoise's Dark Pulse.

 

[BlankZero]

Mega Blastoise is actually legit, too. It hits a lot of common threats (Landorus-T, Heatran, Tyranitar) hard with a spread Muddy Water (or Water Spout). It also has access to Fake Out and strong coverage move in Dark Pulse (does a min 40% to max/max Cresselia), Aura Sphere, and / or Flash Cannon (not boosted by Mega Launcher unfortunately). Just like the top dogs of Doubles, it has a tanky build, with solid defense combined with firepower. It supports teams well outside of rain, and it can end up being a super force on rain teams.

If you do use Mega Blastoise, though, make sure you have an answer to Azumarill, which can comfortably switch into the turtle and start punching holes. Rotom-W is annoying, too, but it loses 40+% from Blastoise's Dark Pulse.

MegaToise is a fun pick I'll admit, but it suffers from a lack of coverage I think. Dark Pulse/Aura Sphere are nice, but it has nothing to hit Grass/Electrics with (Specially Based). Fake Out is aways a good pick, but I don't really like Muddy Water on it (or anything not named Kingdra) as it can really fuck you over with missing and/or Gastrodon.

 

[Pocket]

Muddy Water is a coverage move, so it can still damage Gastrodon's partner even if it's in the field. The miss is aggravating I admit, but it usually pays off more often than not (especially if you can get one of those 30% accuracy drops). Water + Dark provides some great neutral coverage alone, only resisted by few (Breloom, Whimsicott, Azumarill, Hydreigon, Keldeo). I do admit that I often crave for a tertiary coverage move in either Flash Cannon or Aura Sphere. Teammates are usually able to compensate for these defensive obstacles, though, and I am pretty sure a rain-boosted Muddy Water / Water Spout can even punch through resistances.

 

[D-Quag]

Everybody draws blanks sometimes right? Or rather, I would make that joke but I did way too many times in the past.

In terms of what's popular, Mega Scizor has been used quite a bit. It has all the perks of normal scizor but with extra bulk to back it up. It bugs me, however, me that any viable fire type is a counter and almost every team has at least one of them. I've never used it myself though, so I don't really have much else to say there.

On another note, I agree with blank that Tyranitar is a very good mega. It has the perfect stats for a dragon dance set, and I know several people who have started to use it. Having played around with it myself, I know that rock slide is very easy to start spamming for good damage on pretty much anything that isn't a fighting type or an intimidate user. It also has the bulk to take a bunch of hits while still killing talonflames, togekisses, abomasnows, jirachi (outspeeded and ohko'd unless super defensive), andd...
+1 252+ Atk Tyranitar Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Cresselia: 440-518 (99 - 116.6%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
Basically, if you can set up a dragon dance, it's crunch time for the opponent. Literally.
Sand stream is another plus even though it may seem like a useless repeat ability at first. If you hold back a first turn mega-evolution, you can counter a drizzle or drought to keep sandstorm dominant for a team too.

 

[VarunR]

Mega Charizard-Y is amazing. It's not only the sheer power of its Sun-powered STAB Heat Wave coming off a 159 base special attack, and hitting both opponents. It is the mindblowing synergy it can have with its teammates. Venusaur, yes. Talonflame, yes. Landorus-T, yes. Cresselia, yes. Hitmontop, yes. Even Azumarill and Scizor don't mind sitting beside it, and can support him very well despite the disadvantages Sun brings to them.

 

[Torty73]

I going to run mega ampy in vgc and doubles, and it is the only mega which is mediocre

 

[skies]

How is Mega Gardevoir not god tier? It has a spread move that hits 175 Base Power move that hits through Substitutes. I've been running it in a core with Sylveon, with it providing Trick Room while Mega Gardevoir gets Helping Hand from Sylveon. It smashes through the top ten:
252+ SpA Mega Gardevoir Helping Hand Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard Y: 316-373 (106 - 125.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Mega Gardevoir Helping Hand Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Talonflame: 340-402 (114 - 134.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO (
252 Atk Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Gardevoir: 204-240 (73.3 - 86.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO)
252+ SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Helping Hand Hyper Voice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Greninja: 1002-1178 (350.3 - 411.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Helping Hand Hyper Voice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Garchomp: 788-930 (220.1 - 259.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Mega Gardevoir Helping Hand Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Togekiss: 270-318 (72.1 - 85%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (4 SpA Togekiss Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Gardevoir: 78-93 (28 - 33.4%) -- 0% chance to 3HKO)
252+ SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Helping Hand Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Rotom-W: 259-306 (85.1 - 100.6%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Helping Hand Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Tyranitar: 644-758 (159.4 - 187.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Helping Hand Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Kangaskhan: 375-442 (90.5 - 106.7%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Pixilate Mega Gardevoir Helping Hand Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Scizor: 187-221 (54.3 - 64.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
but Mega Scizor can kill it in return, so you have to hit it on the switch
252+ Atk Technician Mega Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Gardevoir: 338-402 (99.4 - 118.2%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
bar Heatran:
252+ SpA Mega Gardevoir Helping Hand Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 123-144 (31.8 - 37.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery (
4 SpA Heatran Lava Plume vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Gardevoir: 100-118 (29.4 - 34.7%) -- 8.7% chance to 3HKO)
But, it actually does have a somewhat nice chance to beat it.
Mega Gardevoir under Trick Room is an absolute monster, provided with Helping Hand, honestly, this thing is one of the best Megas to use in Doubles imo.

 

[Ludicolo_Dancer]

One To count fallen aswell

Mega-Pinsir

mega pinsir just doesn't put in any work in doubles
his defence are nothing, the opponent always has an check and with some many stealth rock users he is just useless
The one way i found him working is with follow me support but just one teammate with Folow me just isn't enough, you would need like 3 that way ou have four slots for just 1 great pokemon

Mega-Pinsir sure is one of the fallen.

 

[Darkmalice]

One To count fallen aswell
mega pinsir just doesn't put in any work in doubles
his defence are nothing, the opponent always has an check and with some many stealth rock users he is just useless
The one way i found him working is with follow me support but just one teammate with Folow me just isn't enough, you would need like 3 that way ou have four slots for just 1 great pokemon

This is far from correct.

How does it not put in work when it hards very hard with Aerilate Frustation, OHKOing many common Pokemon like Zard Y, and outspeeding most of the metagame including the important base 100 speed benchmark. Fying-type STAB is a great neutral coverage STAB, and it has very good coverage with just Flying-STAB and EQ, or Close Combat if you don't have EQ immune allies. And to back it up, it has the hardest hitting Feint in the game that also works Ghost-types whilst doubling up as a hard-hitting priority. And unlike almost every other physical attacker, Intimidate is less effective against it thanks to Hyper Cutter in its base form. It also has good physical defense which works well for taking priority attacks

Stealth Rock is rare, so being x4 weak to it means pretty much nothing. And thanks to its Speed, Follow Me support is not needed. It wouldn't go to waste, but the users of Follow Me and Rage Powder share common weaknesses with Mega Pinsir, so they don't even pair that well together - Jirachi has the best defensive synergy type-wise, but shares a Fire-type weakness, doesn't resist Thunderbolt, and Blizzard, Rock Slide, and Heat Wave bypass Follow Me. If you're going down the support route, you'd be better off with Fake Out or Wide Guard support.

It may not be as good in Doubles as it is in singles, but it is still a very good Pokemon.

Also I really don't like describing Megas as Fallen, as even though they may be worse in Doubles than Singles, many of them are still good in Doubles including Mega Gengar and Venasaur. Mega Khan is worse in Doubles than Singles, yet it is one of the best Pokemon in Doubles. On the other hand, we have Mega Alakazam sitting in the just-as-good-in-singles section when Mega Ala is a bad Pokemon in doubles.