Credit to shadeofshinon for the art
Hey it's me Draconid, back with a retrospective RMT on the first ever VGC '16 team that I built, which I thought would be cool to look at, now that the 2016 meta has progressed passed mid-season, and since worlds is coming up pretty soon (2 months next Sunday!). I know it's pretty late, but this was supposed to be a benchmark RMT for my 400th post on the forums, so without further ado, let's get into the team, and see what I've refined.
Team History
So if you didn't read it, this team was originally posted here, and with the help of a load of awesome players, we were able to transform this team into a fully fleshed out variant of the big 6, and ended up as this team, which were ironically the same 6 pokemon as _LightCore and bargens had been using at some recent events:
After 33 replies by 6 authors and currently somehow over 25,000 views, these were the 6 pokemon that I brought into the newly emerging VGC '16 metagame, and I seriously enjoyed using them.
However after a while I felt that I needed to look into other archetypes, so the second restricted duo I looked into were Dialga and Kyogre, and I built a semi TR team around them, which then after much rating turned into this team, Blue Squad!
(n.b, the original 6 were all blue lol)
And from there, my VGC '16 season basically began.
So for this RMT, I'm going to look into that very first VGC 16 team I made, and see what I can change around with those 6 pokemon that suits the current metagame. Let's go.
In-Depth Analysis
Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
Level: 50
EVs: 108 HP / 140 Def / 68 SpA / 4 SpD / 188 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Geomancy
- Dazzling Gleam
- Moonblast
- Protect
Same Xerneas, different EVs. After a load of messing about on the calculator, I came up with this cool bulky Xerneas spread. The crux of the spread are the 68 Special Attack EVs, which allow Xerneas to reach an '11n' number, which gives it an extra point in the SpA stat at level 50, allowing for a couple extra EVs to be distributed elsewhere, meaning the spread is very efficient. This means xerneas has 1 point more than the relatively standard 44 HP / 4 Def / 188 SpA / 20 SpD / 252 Spe timid xerneas variant, which just goes to show that it's not losing out on much power when it comes to the large bulk investment. The 188 Speed EVs allow it to reach a stat of 143 at level 50, meaning it can geomancy before 252 Spe neutral base 90s, as well as smeargle, which comes in handy against stuff like adamant groudon, which is really useful. The rest of the EVs were distributed into the defenses as a countermeasure to the increasingly popular groudon/kyogre/thundurus/salamence core, as shown below with some nice defensive benchmarks:
- 252 Atk Primal Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 108 HP / 140 Def Xerneas: 88-105 (40.9 - 48.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO <-- This is crucial vs groudon+thundurus leads
- 252+ SpA Primal Groudon Eruption (150 BP) vs. 108 HP / 4 SpD Xerneas in Harsh Sun: 178-211 (82.7 - 98.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252+ SpA Primal Groudon Eruption (150 BP) vs. +2 108 HP / 4 SpD Xerneas in Harsh Sun: 88-105 (40.9 - 48.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
- 252 SpA Primal Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 108 HP / 4 SpD Xerneas in Heavy Rain: 184-217 (85.5 - 100.9%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
- 76+ SpA Primal Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. +2 108 HP / 4 SpD Xerneas in Heavy Rain: 93-109 (43.2 - 50.6%) -- 2.3% chance to 2HKO
- 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 108 HP / 140 Def Xerneas: 137-163 (63.7 - 75.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Fake Out vs. 108 HP / 140 Def Xerneas: 47-56 (21.8 - 26%) -- 0.5% chance to 4HKO
- *** Fake Out + Double-Edge does up to 101.8%, less than 5% chance to KO
- 212 Atk Bronzong Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 108 HP / 140 Def Xerneas: 174-206 (80.9 - 95.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 Atk Ferrothorn Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 108 HP / 140 Def Xerneas: 186-222 (86.5 - 103.2%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
- 252 Atk Life Orb Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 108 HP / 140 Def Xerneas: 87-105 (40.4 - 48.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Drought
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 156 Atk / 4 Def / 100 SpD / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Fire Punch
- Rock Tomb
- Protect
Total credit to SamVGC for groudon's EVs. He did a fantastic job here: the attack stat of this groudon also reaches an 11n number, which is amazing, and this meant he was able to put extra speed EVs into this spread to speed creep other groudon who use his original EV spread of 212 HP / 172 Atk / 4 Def / 100 SpD / 20 Spe. The two main benchmarks that this spread achieves are surviving a hyper voice and a draco meteor from 252 SpA salamence, and outspeeding kangaskhan after an icy wind or rock tomb. However after looking around on the calc for a bit, I found that this groudon is able to take a single-target precipice blades from jolly groudon most of the time, which is pretty clutch, as well as a +1 life orb dragon ascent from those pesky dragon dance rayquazas. It's also worth mentioning that the 36 speed EVs will allow groudon to speed creep some bulky primal kyogre, although a lot of them are starting to use slightly more EVs than this (for example, necrocat219's UK Nats kyogre ran 52 Spe EVs). Moves are pretty standard, rock tomb makes for some nice wincons and is 5% more accurate than rock slide, which is cool for stuff like talonflame, who threatens thundurus/amoonguss/xerneas.
Best gif
Kangaskhan-Mega (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 172 Atk / 76 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Double-Edge
- Sucker Punch
- Power-Up Punch
Scrappy Kangaskhan is something that I've been really interested in looking into this year, as it has an awesome matchup against gravity teams with gengar and sableye, which are really annoying to deal with using this team, and just in general tbh. I'm sure you've seen this set either on a load of my previous teams, or just in VGC 2016 in general, it survives a low kick from jolly kangaskhan to improve this matchup slightly. Power-Up Punch is something else that I want to experiment with, and is another thing that SamVGC used recently to top cut Madison regs, which is a really nice tech: against kangaskhan, most opponents without means against fake out pressure will tend to go for a double protect on turn 1, which means kangaskhan can use Power-Up Punch on its partner to gain a load of momentum if required.
Amoonguss @ Mental Herb / Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 44 Def / 244 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Rage Powder
- Spore
- Grass Knot
- Clear Smog / After You
Mental herb amoonguss is awesome. Being able to spore taunt users is a great niche that allows the team to beat thundurus much more easily. Amoonguss is also easily the most likely member to get PuP'd, given its fighting resistance and its regenerator ability and access to redirection/spore support. Amoonguss' role on the team apart from redirection is to be a trick room counter, so spore is the main contributor to this aspect, although After You can be used if lum berry TR setters are a problem, like bronzong. Clear Smog is a funky check to xerneas that surprises some opponents, and is not susceptible to taunt, which makes it all the more usable after mental herb has gone.
Cresselia (F) @ Lum Berry / Mental Herb
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 132 Def / 4 SpA / 52 SpD / 84 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Icy Wind
- Thunder Wave
- Skill Swap
- Helping Hand / Safeguard
Having no TR mode means I have to sacrifice EVs on speed on cresselia to outspeed groudon for skill swap, which means there is less bulk available to it. Lum is basically here since sitrus was taken up by thundurus, mental herb was taken up by amoonguss, and lum is kinda the next best thing, and it definitely suits Cresselia, giving it a suitable role as a smeargle counter with safeguard to boot. Helping hand is also a fantastic support move on cresselia that is really appreciated by the rest of the team. Both Icy Wind and Thunder Wave are on this set because they suit certain scenarios where one is more effective than the other, namely, against xerneas, thunder wave would be used and against stuff like primal groudon, icy wind would be used. The EVs allow cresselia to outspeed groudon by one point, with the rest of the EVs distributed into bulk to survive 3 fire punches from adamant groudon as well as a knock off from 252 Atk black glasses yveltal. Not the most bulky cresselia, but still very effective nonetheless.
Thundurus (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 180 HP / 60 Def / 4 SpA / 164 SpD / 100 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
- Protect
SamVGC's Sitrus Berry Thundurus, another great set that I've used before and enjoy running. I had debated about using sash thundurus in this slot, so that talonflame was more manageable in sun, but this set gives thundurus a great overall bulk and reaches some great benchmarks. The speed investment ensures that I outspeed stuff that is designed to move before max speed base 90s (Landorus-T, some bulky Yveltal/Xerneas etc). The bulk allows it to survive the following attacks, so that its matchup versus primal kyogre is optimised:
- 252+ SpA Primal Kyogre Ice Beam vs. 180 HP / 164 SpD Thundurus: 144-170 (81.3 - 96%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
- 252+ SpA Primal Kyogre Origin Pulse vs. 180 HP / 164 SpD Thundurus in Heavy Rain: 148-175 (83.6 - 98.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
- (Water spout is a 2HKO after taking thunderbolt damage)
- 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 180 HP / 60 Def Thundurus: 184-218 (103.9 - 123.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
- 252 Atk Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 180 HP / 60 Def Thundurus: 80-94 (45.1 - 53.1%) -- 8.6% chance to 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
- +2 252+ SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Dazzling Gleam vs. 180 HP / 164 SpD Thundurus: 150-177 (84.7 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
Game Plans / Threats
Big 6:
/
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)
Pretty happy with this game plan, groudon thundurus handles most leads from big 6, although as mentioned, talonflame can be a problem in sun. Alternatively I could lead kangaskhan thundurus to win this matchup, although if they lead groudon talonflame then the early game matchup is pretty difficult. Cresselia groudon would also be a really decent lead; giving groudon levitate is an awesome wincon against opposing groudon, icy wind handles salamence decently well and thunder wave is a decent check xerneas. Safeguard comes into play when facing smeargle, which is also really useful. Cress groudon is probably my safest lead against this.
RayOgre:
(
)
Kang Thundurus is probably my safest lead against their anti xerneas lead, although this is dependent on team structure. Having groudon and xerneas in the back is a decently strong win condition and if played well can lead to good success against this archetype. Definitely a difficult matchup for sure.
Double Primal (i.e a groudon+thundurus lead):
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)
One of the hardest matchups, this is pretty much the reason to run sitrus amoonguss, mental herb cress and sash thundurus, and I think that would most probably be the most important improvement to this team if I go ahead with it. However, this would mean that my own anti-big 6 groudon thundurus lead is much more susceptible to mega kangakshan. I'd really appreciate some advice here. Kangaskhan groudon is also a pretty solid lead here that leaves less susceptibility to thundurus but more to special groudon. Very difficult matchup.
Gravity:
/
(
/
)
The Kangaskhan+Groudon Lead was explained in my previous RMT, which stops kyurem-white+gravity leads. Bulky (100 HP / 4 Def) scarf Kyurem-w dies to fake out+precipice blades+sucker punch most of the time, although late game groudon is incredibly difficult to deal with. A lead of gengar+sableye can usually be taken care of especially with scrappy kang, but it's still an annoying matchup to deal with. A solid groudon counter in the back would really be appreciated. A great case for running lum berry safeguard cresselia is presented here, as it is one of the best users of the move against groudon+whimsicott/gengar.
Hope you've enjoyed, I'm looking forward to your feedback :)
Draconid out.
Big 6:
Pretty happy with this game plan, groudon thundurus handles most leads from big 6, although as mentioned, talonflame can be a problem in sun. Alternatively I could lead kangaskhan thundurus to win this matchup, although if they lead groudon talonflame then the early game matchup is pretty difficult. Cresselia groudon would also be a really decent lead; giving groudon levitate is an awesome wincon against opposing groudon, icy wind handles salamence decently well and thunder wave is a decent check xerneas. Safeguard comes into play when facing smeargle, which is also really useful. Cress groudon is probably my safest lead against this.
RayOgre:
Kang Thundurus is probably my safest lead against their anti xerneas lead, although this is dependent on team structure. Having groudon and xerneas in the back is a decently strong win condition and if played well can lead to good success against this archetype. Definitely a difficult matchup for sure.
Double Primal (i.e a groudon+thundurus lead):
One of the hardest matchups, this is pretty much the reason to run sitrus amoonguss, mental herb cress and sash thundurus, and I think that would most probably be the most important improvement to this team if I go ahead with it. However, this would mean that my own anti-big 6 groudon thundurus lead is much more susceptible to mega kangakshan. I'd really appreciate some advice here. Kangaskhan groudon is also a pretty solid lead here that leaves less susceptibility to thundurus but more to special groudon. Very difficult matchup.
Gravity:
The Kangaskhan+Groudon Lead was explained in my previous RMT, which stops kyurem-white+gravity leads. Bulky (100 HP / 4 Def) scarf Kyurem-w dies to fake out+precipice blades+sucker punch most of the time, although late game groudon is incredibly difficult to deal with. A lead of gengar+sableye can usually be taken care of especially with scrappy kang, but it's still an annoying matchup to deal with. A solid groudon counter in the back would really be appreciated. A great case for running lum berry safeguard cresselia is presented here, as it is one of the best users of the move against groudon+whimsicott/gengar.
Just want to say thanks to all of you who have given me advice and guidance going into VGC this year, it's been an awesome learning curve so far, and I'm really looking forward to what next year brings to the format. Also shoutouts to everybody who helped me in my time here on smogon
GradeAGarchomp and iPRODiGY VGC - Great guys and fantastic rating tutees, it's been awesome to see your progress this year in the RMT forum
Steven Stone - One of the first people to introduce me into VGC 2015, a great player with some really interesting team ideas, your top cut gira/groudon team is amazing
IronBullet - Well deserved RMT Leader, you've been an awesome mentor coming into the TR community, I really appreciate your help
SamVGC - Your user name is littered over this article lol, but seriously you've been a massive help this year
Legofigure11 - An amazing help for all my teams this year, thanks man
Jibaku - One of the most knowledgeable VGC players I know, your advice is always spot on
Ksh13 - It's been great to work with you on all the articles I've been creating, thanks man
Serapis - Another amazing player that has been here since before started, thanks for your advice on xerneas way back when, thanks for introducing me into this format
Team Pokepals - For introducing me to the TR community
Psynergy
Namikaze
Mishimono
DaAwesomeDude1
MDK
Jake0743
Misdreavus
Sardus21
Momo Mentos
Pyritie
OfficialThatGuy
GradeAGarchomp and iPRODiGY VGC - Great guys and fantastic rating tutees, it's been awesome to see your progress this year in the RMT forum
Steven Stone - One of the first people to introduce me into VGC 2015, a great player with some really interesting team ideas, your top cut gira/groudon team is amazing
IronBullet - Well deserved RMT Leader, you've been an awesome mentor coming into the TR community, I really appreciate your help
SamVGC - Your user name is littered over this article lol, but seriously you've been a massive help this year
Legofigure11 - An amazing help for all my teams this year, thanks man
Jibaku - One of the most knowledgeable VGC players I know, your advice is always spot on
Ksh13 - It's been great to work with you on all the articles I've been creating, thanks man
Serapis - Another amazing player that has been here since before started, thanks for your advice on xerneas way back when, thanks for introducing me into this format
Team Pokepals - For introducing me to the TR community
Psynergy
Namikaze
Mishimono
DaAwesomeDude1
MDK
Jake0743
Misdreavus
Sardus21
Momo Mentos
Pyritie
OfficialThatGuy
Hope you've enjoyed, I'm looking forward to your feedback :)
Draconid out.
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