Final touch it : My new VGC team

[rob_thijs]

I'm back with a new VGC Team and I must say I'm very proud on it.

Lucario is a surprise factor. I will mostly lead with Mega Gardie and Lucario. They don't know who I will mega evolve. Lucario just uses Follow Me and because it takes 0 damage from poison attacks and reduced damage from steel attacks he has great synergy with Gardevoir. However Amoonguss is still a more viable tank I know, but I'm testing the effect of Follow Me Lucario and most people are surprised by it.

Mega Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Nature - Modest
Ability - Trace
EV's - 108 HP / 124 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
- Protect

252 Special Attack EVs and a Modest nature maximize spread damage and allow Gardevoir to whittle down or knock out as many foes as possible as quickly as possible. With 20 Speed EVs, Mega Gardevoir outspeeds Bisharp and OHKOes it with Hyper Voice. 108 HP and 4 Special Defense EVs are enough so that Modest Gengar cannot OHKO Mega Gardevoir with Sludge Bomb or Shadow Ball. 124 Defense EVs increase Mega Gardevoir's physical bulk. Hyper Voice for stab, Psyshock to hit defensive pokémon hard. Shadow Ball for coverage.

Lucario @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Inner Focus (to prevent flinching)
252 HP/28 SpA/228 SpD
Nature: Calm
- Follow Me
- Quick Guard or Detect
- Flash Cannon or Helping Hand
- Vacuum Wave

28 SpA to get the OKO on Bisharp. 252 HP and 228 SpD to take incoming SpA for Gardevoir like a champ. Shuca Berry to survive a max Atk Adamant EQ by Lando-T. Follow Me for redirecting moves, I'm still not sure about Flash Cannon or Helping Hand, as I don´t know if making Lucario a full support mon will pay off. Quick Guard is nice against Fake-out pokémon, priority abusers and Prankster mons on the other hand Detect can scout. Vacuum Wave for stab and priority.

Thundurus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability - Volt Absorb
Nature - Modest
EV's - 20 HP / 252 SpA / 236 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
- Grass Knot
- Taunt

20 HP EVs ensure that Thundurus-T will avoid the OHKO from Jolly Tyranitar's Rock Slide and Sylveon's Choice Specs-boosted Hyper Voice. 236 Speed EVs let Thundurus-T outspeed Modest Choice Scarf Hydreigon. The remaining EVs are put into Special Attack to let Thundurus-T hit as hard as possible. A Modest nature is used for extra power. Thunderbolt for stab, HP Ice for coverage and Grass Knot to get rid of annoying Gastrodon and Swampert. Taunt seems really weird but it helped me out so many times if I didn't lead with with Gardevoir + Lucario (In case off Dark Void Smeargle or something else). It's just a fast taunt and than switch out, it's unfortunate but it has worked many times.

Arcanine @ Sitrus Berry
Ability - Intimidate
Nature - Bold
EVs - 252 HP / 68 Def / 124 SpA / 4 SpD / 60 Spe
- Overheat
- Will-O-Wisp
- Helping Hand
- Protect

252 HP and 68 Def to survive an Adamant 252 Atk Double Edge from Mega Kangaskhan. 124 SpA to get the 0KO on Bisharp and 15/16 OKO Mega Mawile. 60 Spe to outspeed Adamant 252 Spe Bisharp.
Overheat as stab move, WOW to spread burns against dem physical Attackers. Helping Hand to absolutely let Mega Gardevoir wreck havoc at the opposing team.

Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability - Competitive
Nature - Modest
EV's - 236 HP / 140 Def / 132 SpA
- Scald
- Icy Wind
- Recover
- Protect

236 HP and 140 Defense EVs allow Milotic to survive Adamant Mega Kangaskhan's Double-Edge, while 132 Special Attack EVs and a Modest nature allow Milotic to hit as hard as possible. Leftovers increases Milotic's longevity and works great with Recover. Scald as stab move and a chance to snag a burn. Icy Wind for speed control and get the OKO on Mega Salamence and Landorus-T after 1 Competitve boost. Recover to increase Milotics lifespan.

Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability - Thick Fat
Nature - Joly
EV's : 76 HP / 252 Atk / 180 Spe
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Protect

180 Spe to outspeed 252 Spe Jolly Breloom and take it out with an Icicle Spear. 76 Hp to increase it´s bulk. Ice Shard for priority and finish off weakened targets. Earthquake as 2nd stab and spread move. Icicle Spear to break Sashes.

 

[skyburial]

Follow Me! Lucario really works. I run one on my VGC team but decided to go for a full priority Special set:

Lucario @ Chople Berry
Ability: Steadfast
252 HP/28 SpA/228 SpD
Nature: Calm
- Follow Me!
- Protect
- Helping Hand
- Vacuum Wave

Extreme Speed doesn't really do many favors in my experience because the bigtime priority users (Talonflame, Bisharp, and Kang come to mind) don't mind a non-STAB priority move from an uninvested mon. I tried running mine with Dark Pulse, Taunt, and Quick Guard in my 2nd slot and found myself wishing I had Protect more often than I found myself wishing for the others when I was running Protect. I tried Bullet Punch too, but when it came down to it... this set OHKO's Bisharp as long as it doesn't have a Sash. And otherwise a prediction and followup take care of it easily afterward.

If you're dead set on the Physical set, I'd go for Bullet Punch for coverage (hits Ghosts) and run Justified as an ability for the boosts.

Morning Sun might fit well on your Arcanine since it is so bulky.

I'd go with Grass Knot on Thundo-T. It's super demoralizing and I've watched it turn games around, primarily against things like Gastrodon and Swampert.

You could use another method of speed control. How has this team handled Fake Out? Also, rain is the devil against this team.

 

[rob_thijs]

Follow Me! Lucario really works. I run one on my VGC team but decided to go for a full priority Special set:

Lucario @ Chople Berry
Ability: Steadfast
252 HP/28 SpA/228 SpD
Nature: Calm
- Follow Me!
- Protect
- Helping Hand
- Vacuum Wave

Extreme Speed doesn't really do many favors in my experience because the bigtime priority users (Talonflame, Bisharp, and Kang come to mind)don't mind a non-STAB priority move from an uninvested mon. I tried running mine with Dark Pulse, Taunt, and Quick Guard in my 2nd slot and found myself wishing I had Protect more often than I found myself wishing for the others when I was running Protect. I tried Bullet Punch too, but when it came down to it... this set OHKO's Bisharp as long as it doesn't have a Sash. And otherwise a prediction and followup take care of it easily afterward.

If you're dead set on the Physical set, I'd go for Bullet Punch for coverage (hits Ghosts) and run Justified as an ability for the boosts.

Morning Sun might fit well on your Arcanine since it is so bulky.

I'd go with Grass Knot on Thundo-T. It's super demoralizing and I've watched it turn games around, primarily against things like Gastrodon and Swampert.

You could use another method of speed control. How has this team handled Fake Out? Also, rain is the devil against this team.

Thanks I used this one:
Lucario @ Lum Berry
Ability: Inner Focus (to prevent flinching)
252 HP/28 SpA/228 SpD
Nature: Calm
- Follow Me
- Detect (the whole idea of imprison is doing something with me)
- Quick Guard or Flash Cannon (testing what I prefer more)
- Vacuum Wave

Maybe I should switch Milotic for Suicune?

Fake out was never a problem, or I either double protected myself or I protect the pokémon I partner with Lucario.
I haven't had much problems with rain teams, the only thing that screws me over is Mental Herb Cresselia and Dark Void Smeargle. (That's why I have a lum on Lucario. To take Smeargle out in 2 hits and it can't be flinched.

 

[skyburial]

Are you having a lot of trouble with Smeargle? Maybe it's a regional thing, but I know in my experience that I ended up encountering more issues with Close Combat on Lucario than anything. With a Chople Berry, it can live a CC from a max attack Terrakion. Even though it's a general threat, I haven't seen Smeargle much in my VGC battles and don't really benchmark against it as a result. You might try Safety Goggles on something if you'd like to mitigate Spore pressure, which is more prevalent. There's a danger to gearing your team toward uncommon threats. There's a team report on Nugget Bridge that details the dangers of this approach:

https://nuggetbridge.com/forums/top...nsetsu-top-8-at-florida-states-team-analysis/

You might try Suicune instead of Milotic, although Milotic counters Lando whereas Suicune only checks it, and Lando is threat #1 to your team right now, as it is able to super effectively hit 4 of your team mates. I get that you have HP Ice and Mamoswine for that, but don't forget that your opponents will have redirection and Fake Out support for that. Suicune has the benefit of Tailwind and Snarl, which your team will appreciate very much. Also, I can attest to the fact that both bulky water types benefit greatly from Lucario's support.

 

[rob_thijs]

Are you having a lot of trouble with Smeargle? Maybe it's a regional thing, but I know in my experience that I ended up encountering more issues with Close Combat on Lucario than anything. With a Chople Berry, it can live a CC from a max attack Terrakion. Even though it's a general threat, I haven't seen Smeargle much in my VGC battles and don't really benchmark against it as a result. You might try Safety Goggles on something if you'd like to mitigate Spore pressure, which is more prevalent. There's a danger to gearing your team toward uncommon threats. There's a team report on Nugget Bridge that details the dangers of this approach:

https://nuggetbridge.com/forums/top...nsetsu-top-8-at-florida-states-team-analysis/

You might try Suicune instead of Milotic, although Milotic counters Lando whereas Suicune only checks it, and Lando is threat #1 to your team right now, as it is able to super effectively hit 4 of your team mates. I get that you have HP Ice and Mamoswine for that, but don't forget that your opponents will have redirection and Fake Out support for that. Suicune has the benefit of Tailwind and Snarl, which your team will appreciate very much. Also, I can attest to the fact that both bulky water types benefit greatly from Lucario's support.

Yeah I went with a Shuca berry cause I'm Lando weak. I know some pack Superpower but it's more likely he will go for and EQ.

Also I have Helping Hand on Arcanine so I'm going with Quick Guard on Lucario. On the other hand he also has access to Feint what is an awesome move but hard to predict.

Do you think replacing Snarl with Protect on Arcanine is an idea to increase his support functions?

 

[skyburial]

Yeah I went with a Shuca berry cause I'm Lando weak. I know some pack Superpower but it's more likely he will go for and EQ.

Also I have Helping Hand on Arcanine so I'm going with Quick Guard on Lucario. On the other hand he also has access to Feint what is an awesome move but hard to predict.

Do you think replacing Snarl with Protect on Arcanine is an idea to increase his support functions?

Shuca Berry is also a good choice.

Yeah I mean it'll definitely make him a more effective answer to Gengar and Aegislash, which are Gardevoir's biggest threats in the format, alongside Heatran, and Snarl will bypass Heatran's substitutes to progressively neuter it. Just make sure you don't put all your eggs in one basket with the Support game. Right now you have 3 support mons and losing Gardevoir could mean the match for you. The best cores typically have multiple modes to handle themselves in the absence of other team mates.