XY Doubles Monsters and Oddities ~ Peaked #2

[BLOOD TOTEM]

why is lando so tiny :<


Sup RMT forum, welcome to my second ever RMT. I was kinda bored and decided to throw this team together to see if I could climb my way up the Smogon Doubles ladder since I had nothing better to do. I ended up rolling with a couple of sets that I've never used before as well as couple of familiar ones. Without further ado, lets take a look :3

Sugura (Kangaskhan) (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Frustration
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch
First up is Mega Kangaskhan. I'm kinda against Mega Kangaskhan being allowed in the meta but in all honesty it's just too good to pass up on. I went for a fast EV spread utilising Power-Up Punch rather than a bulky one using Drain Punch as I figured half my team was pretty slow and I need the offensive pressure for them to be able to put in good work. Fake Out is great to buy free turns so I can dish out extra damage with the partner Pokemon or set up a Substitute with Kyurem. I didn't just go for Frustration because I'm a horrible person, it's simply a precaution against Imposter / Transform Mew since they will likely have max happiness. Sucker Punch is great since it lets Khan deal with weakened opponents as well as faster threats. It also lets you play mindgames which can decide the end result of a game. I considered running Ice Punch but all it really hits is Togekiss and Landorus-T and, whilst it's nice to hit these two hard, I can handle them pretty well with the rest of my team.

Gaen (Kyurem-Black) @ Leftovers
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 228 HP / 28 SDef / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Protect
Kyurem-B is a pretty underused threat in Smogon Doubles. Normally I run a physically-based Life Orb but, this time I decided to try out SubCube after Nollan pointed out its existence to me. 228 HP ensures Kyurem heals as much HP as possible from the Leftovers since the HP umber it gives is divisible by 16. Next, Special Attack is maximised to hit hard as hard as possible and the remaining EVs are dumped into SDef so that it's easier to get a Substitute up on Pokemon like Rotom-W. Ice / Ground has surprisingly great coverage and, coupled with Mold Breaker, you'll be surprised by how many common threats Kyurem can handle. The key to success with SubCube is maintaining the Substitute for as long as possible. Through the use of Protect and your partner Pokemon you can clear threats whilst also maintaining the Substitute.

Tsubasa (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4HP
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Explosion
- U-turn
Choice Scarf Landorus-T adds a bit of Speed into the team as well as some important resistances and Inttimidate. Earthquake is there for obvious reasons. It's a strong STAB move that also hits both targets, what's not to like? I opted for Stone Edge over Rock Slide since Rock Slide is kinda lame without STAB. I miss the flinch chance at times but you shouldn't really be relying on luck and the extra power Stone Edge brings is really handy when dealing with threats that you aren't 4x effective against. Explosion is unexpected on Landorus, the surprise is one of the reasons I like it. Not only this, but it really helps with creating momentum as there will often be situations where you need to make a switch but the cost of doing so would be too high, this is where Explosion is particularly useful. It also helps bring Aegislash in since it isn't affected by Explosion and it may otherwise have trouble finding a switch with threats like Mega Charizard Y being ever present. U-turn is in my final slot and again helps me change my formation in accordance to what my opponent is doing.

Tsukihi (Talonflame) @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Tailwind
Talonflame is really important to this team. Priority Brave Bird with 252+ Atk and a Choice Band lets it act as a shaky check to almost every threat in the Metagame. Since Sleep Clause was lifted I think Talonflame is a nice Pokemon to have since it can handle ChloroSaur as will as Amoonguss in TR, something which other sleep counters don't handle very well. The lack of Protect can be annoying, but, without the band Talonflame loses out on important OHKOs on Pokemon like Mega Charizard Y. Flare Blitz hits a couple of Pokemon for more damage than Brave Bird and sees some usage, especially if my opponent brings sun to the table. U-turn is great to keep momentum going and also lets Talonflame evade scary Pokemon like Tyranitar. Tailwind rarely sees usage but it can be a pretty clutch move. lategame if I'm up against a bunch of faster threats Talonflame can set up Tailwind and suicide to turn the tables and help me clinch the max.

Kaiki (Ferrothorn) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Ferrothorn is brilliant. In a fast-paced meta infested with Fire-type Pokemon most people wouldn't really consider using Ferrothorn but I really wanted to give it a go since Grass-type coverage is really handy in doubles and Ferrothorn has some good resistances and decent attacking prowess. The objective of the set is Tank 'n' Spank, Ferrothorn takes a hit and then bites back with a strong Gyro Ball or Power Whip. Throughe use of a Lum Berry you can alleviate the effect of a burn and effectively take down Rotom-W. Leech Seed keeps Ferrothorn alive and, coupled with Protect, makes it really irritating. Leech Seed can also be used to heal your allies and put you in a favorable position if you make clever switches. Thanks to its low base speed, Ferrothorn is an excellent Trick Room check. It's bulk means that common TR abusers can't break it down and I can often stall it out easily.

K-S.A.O.H-U-B (Aegislash) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature
IVs: 1 Spd
- Flash Cannon
- Shadow Ball
- Wide Guard
- King's Shield
Aegislash is kinda hard to use in Doubles but it's great when used correctly. The main draw to Aegislash for me was access to Wide Guard. Wide Guard helps me keep up Subsitutes for Kyurem and can protect the rest of the team from oncoming spread moves like Rock Slide, Earthquake, and Heat Wave. In my opinion, running 1 Speed IV is a huge benefit to Aegislash, you get all the benefits of running 0 but there are way fewer mindgames and speed ties involved with coming up against other Aegislash. I opted to run Flash Canon alongside Shadow Ball because I felt hitting Mega Kangaskhan was really important, it also lets you hit threats that resist Ghost-type moves such as Tyranitar. Shadow Ball from Aegislash has such great returns thanks to base 150 Special Attack and great coverage. I used to run Shadow Sneak but I found the wallbreaking power of Shadow Ball was far more useful, it also handles the behemoth that is Cresselia far better. King's Shield protects Aegislash from attacks like Tyranitars Crunch and helps sustain Aegislash since it lets it get it's defenses back up to scratch. I personally find the Sitrus Berry to be better than Leftovers though both are pretty decent.


So, that's the team :3 I hope you enjoyed reading this and can put some of the ideas to good use on the ladder.

Importable

Tsukihi (Talonflame) @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Tailwind

Tsubasa (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Explosion
- U-turn

Sugura (Kangaskhan) (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Happiness: 0
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Frustration
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch

Kaiki (Ferrothorn) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect

Gaen (Kyurem-Black) @ Leftovers
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 228 HP / 252 SAtk / 28 SDef
Modest Nature
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Protect

K-S.A.O.H-U-B (Aegislash) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Quiet Nature
IVs: 1 Spd
- Flash Cannon
- Shadow Ball
- King's Shield
- Wide Guard

Proof of peak

The puu.sh link died and I never saved a screencap OK :>

 

[SopS4nd]

nice team blood :)

 

[realiti]

Yeah, really solid team. Not much to change, although some moves could be changed to your preference. For example, your team has lots of priority, and I like having strong 2 move coverage, so you could change Shadow Sneak to Shadow Ball on Aegislash, also hitting harder in TR when you outspeed literally everything. Nice job!

 

[champetero]

Totem use brave on ferrothorn for the extra damage :O.

 

[BLOOD TOTEM]

Yeah, really solid team. Not much to change, although some moves could be changed to your preference. For example, your team has lots of priority, and I like having strong 2 move coverage, so you could change Shadow Sneak to Shadow Ball on Aegislash, also hitting harder in TR when you outspeed literally everything. Nice job!

Shadow Ball is certainly something I've been considering as of late. Sure the priority is handy but I believe Shadow Ball is far more applicable in a lot of situations. Pls give 5 moveslots gf :<

Totem use brave on ferrothorn for the extra damage :O.

Meant to have this before since it's also a TR check, thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Ace2014]

Ok, so here is what I got for you,

Aerodactyl + CharizardY or Garchomp will shred your team

Since this isn't VGC, Breloom with Kangaskhan/Klefki or Liepard support (idk if that is a thing, but it should be) can spore and mach punch/drain punch at will

My final fact is Talonflame.

• CB doesn't OHKO the should be used bulky 100 HP Charizard Y
• It doesn't OHKO a standard Garchomp that OHKOs back with Rock Slide
• Talonflame is usually dead to almost any subpar player before late game
• Venusaurs and Amoongusses are being made to survive the BB just to spore/sleep powder it

Bottom line for Talonflame in the words of the great Ray Rizzo - Talonflame is terrible and fall to any electric move in the game

The team is good but seems like a powerful fire or dragon pokemon can give you major problems, best of luck though, sorry for the brutalness

 

[realiti]

Ok, so here is what I got for you,

Aerodactyl + CharizardY or Garchomp will shred your team

Since this isn't VGC, Breloom with Kangaskhan/Klefki or Liepard support (idk if that is a thing, but it should be) can spore and mach punch/drain punch at will

My final fact is Talonflame.

• CB doesn't OHKO the should be used bulky 100 HP Charizard Y
• It doesn't OHKO a standard Garchomp that OHKOs back with Rock Slide
• Talonflame is usually dead to almost any subpar player before late game
• Venusaurs and Amoongusses are being made to survive the BB just to spore/sleep powder it

Bottom line for Talonflame in the words of the great Ray Rizzo - Talonflame is terrible and fall to any electric move in the game

The team is good but seems like a powerful fire or dragon pokemon can give you major problems, best of luck though, sorry for the brutalness

breloom isn't that common and aegi does well against it. aerodactyl is easily taken care of by lando, ferro can gyro, aegi can survive eq and wide guard/flash cannon. kanga 2HKOs with sucker. zard is checked by wide guard aegi, scarf lando, talonflame does a lot with BB,kanga survives heat wave and does massive dammage. garchomp is checked by wide guard aegi, talon does a lot , kanga does a lot
talonflame :100 HP zard y isn't common, rock slide is predictable, talonflame usually does work midgame and can be kept as a last resort attacker, and you saying pokemon EV'd to survive BB shows how important it is to survive talonflame.

looks like you didn't test the team.

 

[BLOOD TOTEM]

Ok, so here is what I got for you,

Aerodactyl + CharizardY or Garchomp will shred your team

Since this isn't VGC, Breloom with Kangaskhan/Klefki or Liepard support (idk if that is a thing, but it should be) can spore and mach punch/drain punch at will

My final fact is Talonflame.

• CB doesn't OHKO the should be used bulky 100 HP Charizard Y
• It doesn't OHKO a standard Garchomp that OHKOs back with Rock Slide
• Talonflame is usually dead to almost any subpar player before late game
• Venusaurs and Amoongusses are being made to survive the BB just to spore/sleep powder it

Bottom line for Talonflame in the words of the great Ray Rizzo - Talonflame is terrible and fall to any electric move in the game

The team is good but seems like a powerful fire or dragon pokemon can give you major problems, best of luck though, sorry for the brutalness

Thanks for taking a look, but I feel your advice is more geared towards a VGC team. In Smogon Doubles things are a little bit different and a lot of what you're saying doesn't apply very strongly. I will agree though, a lot of the Pokemon you mentioned are threats if I play my team wrong.

Just for reference

Zard spreads

| Spreads |
| Timid:4/0/0/252/0/252 48.829% |
| Modest:4/0/0/252/0/252 6.682% |
| Adamant:4/252/0/0/0/252 5.346% |
| Hasty:0/4/0/252/0/252 4.974% |
| Jolly:4/252/0/0/0/252 3.035% |
| Timid:0/0/0/252/4/252 2.292% |
| Other 28.841% |

 

[Ace2014]

The powered up versions of the mons I mentioned though will still wreack havoc on this team

Sorry I forgot there was a sleep clause, but if people don't use bulky Charizard-Y + Garchomp then this meta needs help because they are extremely powerful mons, the Landorus-T + Charizard-Y will wreak here to. The point is you have way to many fire, rock, and fighting weaknesses. Considering the mighty Fire type combos people can use like Heatran + Cresselia. Conkeldurr who thrives in any doubles besides VGC 14.

What thread can I spread outer influence on because EV spreads that are all 252/252/4 are not optimal and you cannot truly get the full potential of a mon. With them unless it is meant to sweep. This is especially the case with defensive walls

 

[Ace2014]

breloom isn't that common and aegi does well against it. aerodactyl is easily taken care of by lando, ferro can gyro, aegi can survive eq and wide guard/flash cannon. kanga 2HKOs with sucker. zard is checked by wide guard aegi, scarf lando, talonflame does a lot with BB,kanga survives heat wave and does massive dammage. garchomp is checked by wide guard aegi, talon does a lot , kanga does a lot
talonflame :100 HP zard y isn't common, rock slide is predictable, talonflame usually does work midgame and can be kept as a last resort attacker, and you saying pokemon EV'd to survive BB shows how important it is to survive talonflame.

looks like you didn't test the team.

Grass pokemon are EV'd to survive it, wide guard aegi doesnt check a Charizard Y (they carry more then Heat Wave), Talon will lose over a 1/3 its HP just by attacking Garchomp due to rough skin and recoil, along with not killing the Garchomp who can just Dragon Claw for the kill. Aerodactyl plus a focus sash isn't handled easily at all, especially since they carry tailwind which sets up extremely powerful sweepers

The point here is that just because you have wide guard doesnt mean it is a check, and things aren't as simple as your making them seem them to be.

 

[realiti]

Grass pokemon are EV'd to survive it, wide guard aegi doesnt check a Charizard Y (they carry more then Heat Wave), Talon will lose over a 1/3 its HP just by attacking Garchomp due to rough skin and recoil, along with not killing the Garchomp who can just Dragon Claw for the kill. Aerodactyl plus a focus sash isn't handled easily at all, especially since they carry tailwind which sets up extremely powerful sweepers

The point here is that just because you have wide guard doesnt mean it is a check, and things aren't as simple as your making them seem them to be.

i think you play more VGC more which is different

 

[Arcticblast]

Ace2014, I personally don't agree with you much - while yes, certain combinations of Pokemon and certain spreads can cause problems, this team can pose a huge threat of its own to the threats you pointed out. Breloom, Aerodactyl, Charizard-Y, and Garchomp are all checked by several Pokemon on the team (although Kyurem-B should really be running enough Speed to outrun Breloom...); Kyurem-B alone checks three of them handily and Lando-T adds the other to the list, and Mega Kangaskhan runs through all of them except Rough Skin Garchomp. Meanwhile, Talonflame isn't used as a sweeper, it's used to punch holes in things that need holes punched in them - if it doesn't grab the KO on something like Garchomp or Char-Y, something else will undoubtedly pick up the pieces. If it happens to net a kill, that works too; if it does both it's gone above its duty on the team. I'll agree with you though that only having one Fire resist (might as well be zero since it's Talonflame) is awful though.