Introduction
Hello, I'm SephirothDelta. I'm new to Smogon and the competitive scene in general. In the few months I've been here I have posted a single RMT for a previous VGC17 team that received little to no attention. So I'm back, with another VGC team that's been revised and tested over and over again and looks pretty decent from my perspective.
I want to thank the people on Pokemon Showdown! for providing some very crucial input to this team. From strategies to movesets and to two of this teams essential components, they were very patient and helped me all I needed. Thanks guys.
The inspiration behind this team....To do something random, and iron out the kinks from there. This has worked out surprisingly well getting me s far as the quarter-finals in some tournaments. This team also was made from the desire to change my direction of originally building teams based on the Pokemon I liked, a method which, with my level of experience, has failed me many times.
As mentioned above, I am a new trainer. As such, any critique and help would be greatly appreciated. I hope that you all like my team. :)
Team-building Process
This will definitely receive criticism, but I began by adding completely random Pokemon (Forgive me for not being RMT-savvy, I'm still figuring it out ;) ). The original assembly consisted of the following Pokemon:
Krookodile
Tapu Koko
Ribombee
Oricorio
Kartana
Porygon2
So I went online and found that it faired....well, terribly. I had a win-loss ratio of about 2:6. You can imagine.
So I set to work on revitalizing the team. I began by asking about common VGC strategies:Taunt Pokemon, leads, wincons etc. With this info, I began to fix it up. I began by removing Ribombee and Oricorio for Snorlax and Smeargle. This improved my win-loss ratio greatly, as it was about even (2:2).
It seemed solid, so I put it up for rating. So they suggested a few changes:
1. Krookodile needed to go. They suggested I replace him with Arcanine as an alternate Intimidate user, as he was more reliable than my AV Krookodile. So after doing some calculations, I worked out a pretty decent Arcanine for my team.
2. They suggested I remove Smeargle, because it couldn't support my team with it's overall bulk because it would die off later (I invested in HP and Special Defense, so attacking did virtually nothing). For this however, they did not have any suggestions as to what to replace it with. So I went with Torkoal for sun support with Arcanine.
After making these changes, I found the results improved drastically. Arcanine provided an amazing check to Kartana, a Pokemon that my team couldn't handle effectively. And with Smeargle's removal, I could counter other rain-setters like Pelipper, of who's Scald Arcanine couldn't handle. So after playing a few matches, I got the team rated for the last time (In case your wondering, on Showdown! I got this team rated).
They suggested I replace Torkoal with Gigalith. So I did. I didn't run Sand Stream, because I didn't like the idea of further hurting my Pokemon (Tapu Koko's Life Orb wore him down, and Kartana's Sash would break). So I ran Sand Rush to take advantage of opposing weather.
This was my final composition:
Arcanine
Tapu Koko
Snorlax
Gigalith
Kartana
Porygon2
The long standing Pokemon, specifically Porygon2, formed absolutely no synergy whatsoever. But Tapu Koko could now support Arcanine with a Thunderbolt to block opposing water types. Porygon2 had synergy with Snorlax and Gigalith, and to some extent, Arcanine as well due to having Trick Room and neither of those Pokemon having an ounce of speed investment. And Kartana checked the foreboding Gastrodon, as well as hitting opposing Tapu's for super effective damage, and cracking other Porygon2 and Snorlax as well. This final composition played immensely well, being able to cripple attackers, stall, and in the right conditions, wall-break as well. This became a really fun team to play with and I enjoy using it.
Of course, this team has it's weaknesses:Rain teams and prediction being the most prominent.
Prediction, if done incorrectly, can lead to disastrous consequences and I automatically lose all momentum. Rain teams threaten Gigalith and Arcanine, two really important Pokemon on my team.
I hope this gives a decent explanation as to what I hoped to accomplish with this team. I call it Speed Tricks, because it still can be fast and overwhelming, while having Trick Room. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank's a lot!
The Actual Team
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 76 Def / 188 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick Room
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover
Kartana @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Detect
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Smart Strike
Tapu Koko @ Life Orb
Ability: Electric Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Snorlax @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Gluttony
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 12 SpD
Bold Nature
- Belly Drum
- Return
- Rock Slide
- Recycle
Arcanine @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 40 Def / 136 SpA / 120 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Snarl
- Flamethrower
- Protect
Gigalith @ Rockium Z
Ability: Sand Force
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 84 Atk / 92 Def / 104 SpD
Brave Nature
- Rock Slide
- Wide Guard
- Protect
- Heavy Slam
Hello, I'm SephirothDelta. I'm new to Smogon and the competitive scene in general. In the few months I've been here I have posted a single RMT for a previous VGC17 team that received little to no attention. So I'm back, with another VGC team that's been revised and tested over and over again and looks pretty decent from my perspective.
I want to thank the people on Pokemon Showdown! for providing some very crucial input to this team. From strategies to movesets and to two of this teams essential components, they were very patient and helped me all I needed. Thanks guys.
The inspiration behind this team....To do something random, and iron out the kinks from there. This has worked out surprisingly well getting me s far as the quarter-finals in some tournaments. This team also was made from the desire to change my direction of originally building teams based on the Pokemon I liked, a method which, with my level of experience, has failed me many times.
As mentioned above, I am a new trainer. As such, any critique and help would be greatly appreciated. I hope that you all like my team. :)
Team-building Process
This will definitely receive criticism, but I began by adding completely random Pokemon (Forgive me for not being RMT-savvy, I'm still figuring it out ;) ). The original assembly consisted of the following Pokemon:
Krookodile
Tapu Koko
Ribombee
Oricorio
Kartana
Porygon2
So I went online and found that it faired....well, terribly. I had a win-loss ratio of about 2:6. You can imagine.
So I set to work on revitalizing the team. I began by asking about common VGC strategies:Taunt Pokemon, leads, wincons etc. With this info, I began to fix it up. I began by removing Ribombee and Oricorio for Snorlax and Smeargle. This improved my win-loss ratio greatly, as it was about even (2:2).
It seemed solid, so I put it up for rating. So they suggested a few changes:
1. Krookodile needed to go. They suggested I replace him with Arcanine as an alternate Intimidate user, as he was more reliable than my AV Krookodile. So after doing some calculations, I worked out a pretty decent Arcanine for my team.
2. They suggested I remove Smeargle, because it couldn't support my team with it's overall bulk because it would die off later (I invested in HP and Special Defense, so attacking did virtually nothing). For this however, they did not have any suggestions as to what to replace it with. So I went with Torkoal for sun support with Arcanine.
After making these changes, I found the results improved drastically. Arcanine provided an amazing check to Kartana, a Pokemon that my team couldn't handle effectively. And with Smeargle's removal, I could counter other rain-setters like Pelipper, of who's Scald Arcanine couldn't handle. So after playing a few matches, I got the team rated for the last time (In case your wondering, on Showdown! I got this team rated).
They suggested I replace Torkoal with Gigalith. So I did. I didn't run Sand Stream, because I didn't like the idea of further hurting my Pokemon (Tapu Koko's Life Orb wore him down, and Kartana's Sash would break). So I ran Sand Rush to take advantage of opposing weather.
This was my final composition:
Arcanine
Tapu Koko
Snorlax
Gigalith
Kartana
Porygon2
The long standing Pokemon, specifically Porygon2, formed absolutely no synergy whatsoever. But Tapu Koko could now support Arcanine with a Thunderbolt to block opposing water types. Porygon2 had synergy with Snorlax and Gigalith, and to some extent, Arcanine as well due to having Trick Room and neither of those Pokemon having an ounce of speed investment. And Kartana checked the foreboding Gastrodon, as well as hitting opposing Tapu's for super effective damage, and cracking other Porygon2 and Snorlax as well. This final composition played immensely well, being able to cripple attackers, stall, and in the right conditions, wall-break as well. This became a really fun team to play with and I enjoy using it.
Of course, this team has it's weaknesses:Rain teams and prediction being the most prominent.
Prediction, if done incorrectly, can lead to disastrous consequences and I automatically lose all momentum. Rain teams threaten Gigalith and Arcanine, two really important Pokemon on my team.
I hope this gives a decent explanation as to what I hoped to accomplish with this team. I call it Speed Tricks, because it still can be fast and overwhelming, while having Trick Room. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank's a lot!
The Actual Team
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 76 Def / 188 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick Room
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover
Kartana @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Detect
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Smart Strike
Tapu Koko @ Life Orb
Ability: Electric Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Snorlax @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Gluttony
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 12 SpD
Bold Nature
- Belly Drum
- Return
- Rock Slide
- Recycle
Arcanine @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 40 Def / 136 SpA / 120 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Snarl
- Flamethrower
- Protect
Gigalith @ Rockium Z
Ability: Sand Force
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 84 Atk / 92 Def / 104 SpD
Brave Nature
- Rock Slide
- Wide Guard
- Protect
- Heavy Slam