VGC14 Tierlist? - A first try

Hey everybody!

Tiers have always been a huge thing in pokémon single battle, as with such a great amount of pokémon, people wanted to create rules that allowed to play the worse pokémon on a competitive level as well! Just lately, tiers have also somewhat found their way into the VGC community, but since the rules are official and cannot be changed mid-season, it is more for fun, than for actually trying to change the rules. (Even though some people seem to have the urge to get Dark Void banned.) However, the last time, people discussed about tiers, it turned in a crazy discussion about whether US top players should write blogs or not. Since Wolfey and I, despite not being from the US myself, have started with this blog and restored our samurai honour, we can now safely continue with the discussion.

Massi and I have also tried to make a list, mainly to help ourselves to see what is important to counter and what are pokémon one has to be prepared for. I feel like sharing this list with you, as it is clearly possible to improve it and I'd like to hear what you think about it!

Without further ado, here is what we came up with. I will explain every single pokémon in detail below.

S-Tier

Kangaskhan, Mawile

A+ Tier

Garchomp, Tyranitar, Salamence, Rotom-W, Charizard

AB-Tier

Gardevoir, Aegislash, Talonflame, Venusaur, Rotom-H, Ferrothorn, Amoonguss

B-Tier

Gyarados, Manectric, Politoed, Kingdra, Meowstic, Gengar, Smeargle, Bisharp

C-Tier

Scrafty, Mamoswine, Scizor, Chandelure, Rhyperior, Abomasnow, Mienshao, Greninja, Gothitelle, Azumarill, Lucario, Aerodactyl, Trevenant, Gourgeist, Noivern

D-Tier

Aromatisse, Klefki, Goodra, Liepard, Krookodile, Blastoise, Reuniclus, Conkeldurr, Hariyama, Malamar, Staraptor, Zapdos, Ludicolo, Slowbro, Slowking, Florges

E-Tier

Everything else

Wolfey-Tier

Mr.Mime, Vaporeon, Exeggutor, Chimecho

S-Tier

While Kangaskhan was not really all that good in the past generations, she could wait until now and finally there is her time to shine! It fits perfectly that the idea of Mega Kangaskhan was revealed live at worlds, as I am sure that she will definitely see some usage in Washington D.C. in August. The unique ability allows to go for a great variety of plays, Power-Up Punch, Fake Out, Double Edge, Sucker Punch, Hammer Arm, Return, but also Ice Beam and Fire Blast have seen usage. Its bulky is naturally very high already and Kangaskhan is not easily one-hit at all. In fact only Specs Draco Meteor or Overheat, as well as STAB fighting moves are able to KO it in one hit. There is no pokémon that is even comparable to Kangaskhan and it has definitely to be ranked in the S-Tier.
Counters and Checks: Intimidate, Will-o-Wisp, Rocky Helmet, Ghosts. Mawile, Aegislash, Rotom-W, Trevenant, Gourgeist, WoW Gengar, Ferrothorn, WoW Chandelure

It's quite funny that whenever Wolfey was looking for a creative Intimidate user back in VGC2013, I would always try to make Mawile use, but it was just too bad. All of a sudden, with a brand new type and the new Mega Evolution as well, Mawile has turned from "NU to OU". Intimidate is still great, but Huge Power is even better. The magnificent typing makes it immune to poison moves and its only weaknesses are ground and fire. Ray Rizzo has taught us that a bulky version is perfectly viable and I think it is safe to say that Mawile is the second best Mega in VGC. However, it is not as easily to say it is above everything else. I think in the end, we ranked it in S-Tier, because it also has such high utility. It is able to nullify any dragon move, has many resistances it can switch in on, while being able to dish out so much damage. Its only downfall is its bad speed and mediocre HP + SDef. We still think it is above the likes of Garchomp, Salamence, Tyranitar and so on as a pokémon itself, but we'd understand if you are of a different opinion! If you are, please let us know in the comments :)

Counters and Checks: Intimidate, Will-o-Wisp, Steels. Aegislash, Rotom-H, Trevenant, Gourgeist, WoW Gengar, Ferrothorn, Chandelure.

A+ Tier

Being the most used pokémon at the moment, it was of course just a question of time when Garchomp would come on this list. While it is probably not as good as Kangaskhan and Mawile, it might be seen as one of the best non-Megas. It has great bulk as well as decent speed and great attacking stat. Dragonclaw + Earthquake allow to hit so much neutral, while Rock Slide is generally chosen as another spread move, to deal with Charizard, Talonflame, Rotom-H and others. Garchomp fits on any team and when you are used to using it, it can be hard to build teams without it! 

Counters and Checks: Intimidate, Will-o-Wisp, Fairies, Steels, Ice moves. Gardevoir, Azumarill, Rotom-W, Gyarados, Mawile, Mamoswine.

Tyranitar has its great ability going for it, as well as sky-high base stats that are even further boosted by the sandstorm. Rock Slide STAB is a good thing to have at the moment and despite its great Atk stat, most Tyranitar are mixed these days due to the high amount of Intimidate pokémon. Because besides the physical spectrum, it has also access to moves like Fire Blast, Dark Pulse and Ice Beam! There is not really anything that can easily replace it on any team, while just having it allows to increase your match-up against bog rain and sun teams. 

Counters and Checks: Fighting moves. Scrafty, Mienshao
Physical sets: Garchomp, Ferrothorn, Intimidate, Will-o-Wisp

Salamence is used a lot more often than last year, but considering its great ability Intimidate and it's typing combined with a great movepool, that should not really be a surprise. With Latios gone, Salamence has successfully claimed the spot as best special dragon and it doesn't feel like stopping. Most of the time equipped with a Choice Scarf, it is able to check a lot of threats, while providing good synergy with pokémon like Mawile or Aegislash. 
Counters and Checks: Ice moves, Fairies. Gardevoir, Mawile, Azumarill, Mamoswine, Tyranitar, Gyarados

A lot of people have said Rotom-W was the best pokémon in VGC14 and it's quite hard to find arguments against that statement. While it is true, that Kangaskhan and Mawile are probably better, no other non-Mega can provide the utility, Rotom has. Will-O-Wisp, Light Screen and Thunderwave are just three of its options to support teams, while it's typing means it only has one weakness. Hydro Pump and Thunderbolt have great coverage and its excellent defenses allow to take several hits when combined with a Sitrus Berry. Rotom easily fits on any team and is so hard to KO that people have even used dedicated counters like Chesnaught in the past. 

Counters and Checks: Grass types. Ferrothorn, Amoonguss, Gourgeist, Trevenant, Facade Kangaskhan

Once again, we have a very discussable inclusion. While all of the aforementioned were easily chosen for this tier, it took us quite a while to place Charizard. While its Mega form is definitely able to put a lot of pressure on the opponent, it is so easy to KO it with Rock Slide. However, the recent rise of bulky Charizard makes us believe that we did not get to see it's true potential just yet. You have to prepare for this pokémon or you are just lost, as sun boosted Heat Wave can do a lot of damage to anything, even resistances. If you think this shouldn't be here, give us your reasons! 

Counters and Checks: Rock moves. Tyranitar, Garchomp, Salamence.

AB-Tier

The AB-Tier is just the edge between A and B. Why we didn't just name it B-Tier? Because it feels like the lines are pretty close and one could also say that some of the Pokémon here have the potential to get to A at some point. 

The new fairy typing alone was able to secure this pokémon a spot in a lot of teams. While its Mega is cool on paper, others are clearly superior and therefore, Gardevoir is almost always seen without it. It has a lot of options to support, like Trick Room, Will-O-Wisp, Safeguard, Screens and other stuff, while also access to the high base power moves Moonblast and Psychic. 
Counters and Checks: Steel types. Aegislash, Mawile, Scizor, Talonflame, Charizard-Y, Rotom-H, Ferrothorn, Bisharp

Aegislash is, similarly to Gardevoir, another pokémon that sees most of its use in Japan. When used correctly, it is able to shut down Kangaskhan as well as Mawile, in case they are using their most common sets respectively. However, it doesn't stop! It's unique ability and signature move King's Shield allow for some great play as it has - in theory - 150 base points in both attack stats and defense stats! The downfalls of King's Shield are of course exploitable and that's probably why we don't see it in the A-Tier. However, depending on how the metagame will change until Nats, I think that Aegislash might be a little bit underrated in the US and Europe at the moment. 

Counters and Checks: Taunt, Rotom-H, Charizard-Y, Chandelure, Pyroar, Bisharp

I think it's the first time that the generic bird you can catch right at the beginning of your pokémon adventure was able to make such a splash in competitive play. Once again, a unique ability in Galewings was able to get this pokémon above others. While it has decent speed, the other stats do not look that tempting, but when you look at its STAB moves, Brave Bird and Flareblitz, you'll see why this pokémon is so good. In addition, it also has Tailwind, Quick Guard, U-Turn, Will-O-Wisp, Taunt and so on. For some reason, Japanese players have been able to use it more successfully than I was, but Zach has shown that this is also possible in the US, so I expect this pokémon to rise a little bit. Maybe even Ray will admit that it's not that bad after he has been beaten by it!
Counters and Checks: Rock moves, Water types. Tyranitar, Garchomp, Salamence, Rotom-W, Rotom-H.

Venusaur is here both for it's underrated Mega and for its regular form. While both of them are generally used as bulky sweepers, they function a lot different, as regular Venusaur can make use of its high speed under sun, whereas Mega Venusaur has the Thick Fat ability reducing its weaknesses. Both are equally viable and I think that Mega Venusaur should be used more often.

Counters and Checks: Lum Berry, Fire moves, Steel types, Mawile, Aegislash, Rotom-H, Chandelure, Mawile, Charizard-Y

Just the typing and a single move is what sets Rotom-H apart from its washing brother. However, that is enough to let it be less used and a little bit worse. It also has the same things going to it, but also access to STAB Overheat and a resistance to fairy-type moves, which can be very useful. 
Counters and Checks: Rotom-W, Lum Berry Garchomp, Lum Tyranitar, Mega Gyarados

It was difficult to place those two, as they are generally not as good on their own. But when used in respective teams, both of them can be very challenging and hard to beat. Ferrothorn basically forces you to have at least one fire move in your team, while Amoonguss makes you want to have any form of sleep prevention, like Taunt or Lum Berry. With their respective moves, Leech Seed and Rage Powder, they can annoy any team and you have to be prepared for them! We can understand when people rate them totally different, though, but past tournament winner's teams have proven that there is a lot more than just annoying behind them.

Counters and Checks:Lum Berry, Taunt, Substitute, Heatwave, Rotom-H, Charizard-Y, Chandelure, Aegislash

B-Tier

Gyarados is mainly here for its regular form, but the Mega is also quite brutal when played well. Taunt and Thunderwave combined with Intimidate give nice support option, while Ice Fang and Waterfall also provide offensive power. Electric-type moves are obviously its downfall, but the Mega can get rid of the 4-times weakness.

Snarl + Intimidate can be a very nice combo to shut down attacking moves. Overheat + Volt Switch or Flamethrower + Thunderbolt, as well as Hidden Power Ice for Garchomp and Salamence are generally on the moveset though. The pokémon is pretty straight forward and easy to use, but taking it to the next level, is not as simple. 

So here it is. Despite the weather nerf and Politoed's move losses, this duo is still very good and usable. Especially against teams that do not expect to meet rain, it is basically an auto-win scenario. Kingdra can OHKO stuff like Garchomp, Salamence, Rotom-H and do a lot of damage to anything with rain boosted Muddy Water. Every team should include either Tyranitar, Ferrothorn, Amoonguss, Rotom-W, Venusaur, Abomasnow, Azumarill, Gourgeist, Trevenant or any other way to deal with rain!

While Prankster Thundurus dominated the VGC Metagames since it was around it 2011, Meowstic claimed its spot in this year's format. Just listing every single good move it has access to would take quite a while, but it can literally have anything, from Safeguard + Swagger, to Charm or Thunderwave. Quick Guard is a possibility to shut it down continuously, but it is very difficult to OHKO it, besides STAB Shadowball or Dark Pulse. 

Gengar also got a nice Mega, but we just recently learned, that it can also do work without it. Shadow Tag is of course one of the best abilities out there and STAB Shadowball + Sludge Bomb hit so much hard. I think Mega Gengar could do very good work as a basic sweeper, too, but that hasn't been used much so far. Disable and Will-O-Wisp are very destructive options when the opponent cannot switch, so watch out for that. It might be possible to put it in the AB-Tier as well, but Gengar generally relies on the other team members and is very frail, too.

Just being able to use Dark Void puts Smeargle already up far. But it also has access to Fake Out, Follow Me, Transform, King's Shield, Spiky Shield, Taunt, Wide Guard, Endeavor, Trick Room... While people hate to see it in preview, one might also just have a very good counter for it and more than just a Lum Berry here and then hope for DV misses. It's a pain to play against it and that's for a reason!

Bisharp is another pokémon that is a little bit underplayed in my opinion. With Manectric, Salamence, Mawile and Gyarados, a lot of players tend to count on Intimidate to shut down Mawile and Kangaskhan. Bisharp can make use of that through boosting its attack stat. It has access to STAB Iron Head, which is great against fairies and STAB Night Slash plus Sucker Punch, which are also pretty handy. We think that with how we have filled the B-Tier so far, Bisharp should also be here.

C-Tier

Scrafty, Mamoswine, Scizor, Chandelure, Rhyperior, Abomasnow, Mienshao, Greninja, Gothitelle, Azumarill, Lucario, Aerodactyl, Trevenant, Gourgeist

I'm going to make it short from now on, because it's probably not that interesting since most of you already know what each pokémon does, but I will still list common moves so this Tierlist can also function as an introduction to VGC14.

Scrafty: 4-times weak to fairy, but Intimidate + STAB Drain Punch to function as a check to Kangaskhan. It also has Ice Punch, Fake Out, Stone Edge and Crunch. Barely falling out of B-Tier due to low usage and the aforementioned fairy weak. 

Mamoswine: Great mon to beat Garchomp, Salamence, Tyranitar and others, but it also comes with a weakness to Water attacks and is therefore very situational. While it was on top in 2013, I am sure that it will see more usage eventually

Scizor: Also got a Mega but it is not as great. Bug Bite is gone, which hurts, apart from that, it's still very nice with Bullet Punch.

Chandelure: Decent against Gardevoir and Aegislash to some extent, but rather slow and weak to Earthquake and Muddy Water. Access to Infiltrator now!

Rhyperior: Rock Slide and Earthquake STAB is very nice. Good bulk, but lost Ice Punch (still has Ice Fang, though).

Abomasnow: Very good Mega for TR. STAB Blizzard, possibility to get hail up again, should be on every TR team in my opinion.

Mienshao: Rock Slide, High Jump Kick, Drain Punch, but also Fake Out, Wide Guard and Quick Guard. Very frail but has cool options!

Greninja: Very good when used correctly, Mat Block, Ice Beam, Hydro Pump, Dark Pulse. Has potential!

Gothitelle: Shadow Tag.

Azumarill: Fairy. Play Rough, Waterfall, Aqua Jet. Amoonguss + Azumarill indicate Bellydrum! I think that is too gimmicky, but it is a nice check to Garchomp, Salamence, Tyranitar.

Lucario: The Mega can be very good in the right hands. One of the only things that can OHKO Mega Kangaskhan! Adaptability is also a very good ability. Flash Cannon, Aurashpere, Vacuum Wave, Hidden Power Ice, Close Combat, Stone Edge, Final Gambit. Very interesting pokémon with a lot of different options!

Aerodactyl: Wide Guard, Tailwind, Sky Drop (!), Ice Fang, Rock Slide. Mega! Sky Drop is interesting, but it hasn't seen much usage, yet.

Trevenant & Gourgeist: Both are similar to Ferrothorn and Gourgeist, yet they go under the radar at the moment. I think both have potential, as Zach has already shown, but weaknesses to Ghost and Dark make me feel like there is still something missing. 

Noivern: Just being a dragon-type already helps a pokémon's viability, of course. However, everything Noivern has going for it over Salamence is its ridicolous speed, access to Tailwind and Boomburst. Especially teams that have non-Scarf Salamence and Garchomp might have trouble dealing with Noivern, but apart from that, its fire-power is rather low.

Hydreigon: While it was in several Worlds finals, after the introduction of the fairy type, it has joined the club of dragons with a 4-times weakness. Despite that, it can still be very good and is the perfect partner for Aegislash.

D-Tier

Aromatisse, Klefki, Goodra, Liepard, Krookodile, Blastoise, Reuniclus, Conkeldurr, Hariyama, Malamar, Staraptor, Zapdos, Torkoal, Aron, Clawitzer, Nidoking, Diggersby, Ludicolo, Slowbro, Slowking, Florges

E-Tier

Everything else

Wolfey-Tier

Mr.Mime, Vaporeon, Exeggutor

While creating a tierlist like that was a lot of fun, it does not really have a true function, because VGC14 B-Tier would be a very bad mode, I suppose. However, it clearly helps to get an overview over the metagame and to see what has potential and what is outclassed.

If we missed anything, feel free to make us aware of that, obviously! And if there is anything that you think is in the wrong tier, please give us your reasons why you think that Pokémon should be somewhere else!

-Markus (13Yoshi37)

Bifu-Off Battle Road Gloria Top 16 Sun/Rain Team Translation

Original Post from rouのポケ日記: http://d.hatena.ne.jp/rou-34/20140202/1391353579

This was a team I had originally made for another upcoming tournament, Ganyu-off, but I lent it to Torun to use in the 5.5 Bifu-off. The result was top 16, however the team seemed to do very well so I decided to make a post. 

Pokemon	Move1	Move2	Move3	Move4	Item	Ability
Politoed	Hydro Pump	Ice Beam	Surf	Rain Dance	Choice Scarf	Drizzle
Kingdra	Muddy Water	Draco Meteor	Hydro Pump	Protect	Life Orb	Swift Swim
Meowstic	Fake Out	Charm	Sunny Day	Quick Guard	Leftovers	Prankster
Chandelure	Heat Wave	Shadow Ball	Overheat	Energy Ball	Choice Specs	Infiltrator
Mawile	Iron Head	Play Rough	Sucker Punch	Protect	Mawilite	Intimidate
Hydreigon	Draco Meteor	Dark Pulse	Flamethrower	Flash Cannon	Assault Vest	Levitate

Summary:

I started off with the team with Choice Specs Chandelure. 

Chandelure is a great check to both Aegislash and Gardevoir, which have become popular since around December~January. 

It can also take advantage vs. Aegislash with ability Infiltrator which ignores popular Substitute.

The next pokemon I chose was Meowstick, which can counter Sucker Punch and Earthquake as well as allow Chandelure to move more freely with Fake Out support.

The rest were used as baits to make the opponent to bring Aegislash and Gardevoir to battle. 

Chandelure @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
Level: 50
EVs: 188 HP / 36 Def / 220 Spd / 60 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Heat Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Overheat
- Energy Ball

The star of the team. The basic line up of the team is Meowstick+Chandelure with the goal of allowing Chandelure to move most efficiently with the support from Meowstick. 

In addition to the massive damage sun+Heat Wave provides, with 6th gen's new typing, ghost type moves can only be resisted or innefective by dark and normal types. Therefore, Specs Shadow Ball is a great STAB move which can destroy a team if not prepared for. 

I prioritized the Sp. Attack EV spread before Defense and Speed EVs

1. To allow Chandelure to get the KOs it needs onto the Pokemon it has an advantage against

2. Next, the Speed EVs due to the lack of speed control in the team

3. Lastly the Overall Defense EVs to survive certain hits

For the moves, Overheat was used a lot as it can OHKO most pokemon under sun if neutrally hit, and can also defeat Aegislash without sun.

Energy Ball was used to get super effective damage on Rotom-W and Tyranitar. 

The ability Infiltrator is useful for hitting Aegislash under a substitute but Flash Fire could also be considered for making Charizard Y match ups easier.

Meowstic @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Charm
- Sunny Day
- Quick Guard
Meowstick was an all out support pokemon for Chandelure. 

The basic role was to use support moves such as Charm and Quick Guard to get rid of threats so Chandelure can attack as much as possible.

Fake Out allows for a safe attacking opportunity for Chandelure turn1. 

For Earthquake and Rock Slide→Charm, for Brave Bird, Sucker Punch→Quick Guard, for Water type attacks→Sunny Day. 

Sunny Day is useful for not only making it possible to bring Chandelure against rain teams, but for fire type boost as well. 

I think having a speed boosting nature is key for vs. Mega Kangaskhan. 

Politoed @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Rain Dance

I decided to include a rain mode consisting of Politoed+Kingdra to counter opponents that could not be dealt with by Chandelure+Meowstic. 

To be specific, teams with Gengar which the main core has trouble with were dealt in this way. 

Furthermore, with Choice Scarf, Politoed can deal with Garchomp and Tyranitar which the main core has some trouble with as well. 

I was comfortable with the Choice Scarf on Politoed as i had been using a rain team with it prior to VGC 2014 ruleset. 

By showing the rain mode on preview, there will be a high chance that the opponent will bring Gardevoir, which is preferred for the Chandelure+Meowstick core. 

The nature is Timid to outspeed Mega Gengar, but it thankfully has enough stats to OHKO Garchomp with Ice Beam without the +nature on Sp. Attack. 

Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Spd / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature
- Muddy Water
- Draco Meteor
- Hydro Pump
- Protect

The standard for rain teams, Kingdra. 

With the addition of fairy types, nerfed weather, decrease in power of its main attacks and new weather Mega Pokemon, Kingdra has a tough time this generation, however I think it is still a strong pokemon nevertheless. 

The item, moves and EVs are very straightforward with nothing fancy because I would only bring it to battles where rain would be advantageous against the opponent's team.

Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 172 SDef / 252 HP / 84 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Protect

For the mega slot, I chose Mawile because:

1. It can be brought to both the Sun and Rain core

2. The Meowstic, Mawile, Chandelure line up gives a false impression of a Trick Room team

3. Intimidate

4. For the Steel/fairy type slot that complemented my team

5. It can deal with Trick Room teams effectively. 

The ideal situation would be to clean up/sweep after Chandelure with Sucker Punch. 

Mawile is also a Tyranitar counter, although I feel almost 100% of Tyranitars have a fire type move. By getting a hint from a US tournament winner's team, I used a variant with relatively high Sp. Defense to not die from random fire type attacks. 

I think for a team with no speed support, defense EVs on Mawile is a good idea. 

Hydreigon @ Assault Vest
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 124 HP / 4 Def / 188 SAtk / 180 Spd / 12 SDef
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Flamethrower
- Flash Cannon
The last member of the team is Hydreigon. 

I needed something that was afloat and could resist Shadow Ball, which penetrated through my team. 

With Assault Vest, Hydreigon did this job magnificently as it was very strong against Aegislash, Gengar and Rotom-W. 

Assault Vest also prevented instantaneous death from Dazzling Gleam. 

After investing enough EVs in Sp. Defense to survive Dazzling Gleam from Gardevoir, I put the rest into Sp. Attack and Speed to outspend neutral base 100 moons.

Moves are very standard. Flamethrower vs. Fire Blast for the fire type move slot is debatable, however I feel Flamethrower provides enough at the moment. 

Wolfe's thoughts:

I don't have a ton of time at the moment and will have even less over the next few days, but I wanted to share this team even if I haven't given it a super thorough look. I think this team also uses a really interesting, creative approach, and I especially like that the builder was not afraid to mix sun and rain or experiment with Hydreigons item choice.

Top 8 Battle Road Gloria Black Sludge Gengar Team

Original Post from ニコル日和: http://d.hatena.ne.jp/nicolday/20140202/1391343923

Attended 5.5th Bifu-off (Battle road gloria convention) with result of top 8 out of 47 participants. I'm not fully satisfied with the team itself, however I was glad about how far it got me.

This tournament was set to special doubles rule, which I had not played at all, so I quickly got together a team I had posted recently and modified it.

I had been testing other teams as well, but I had a miraculous 7 win streak with this team on battle spot, which motivated me to use it.

Improvement points of this team would be to counter Rotom W, hail teams and Meowsticks with safe swag.

Manectric (M) @ Manectite

Trait: Lightningrod

EVs: 236 HP / 20 SAtk / 252 Spd

Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

- Volt Switch

- Flamethrower

- Snarl

- Protect

I would almost always mega evolve mantric on the first turn to get better stats and Intimidate. Manectric's main role is to nerf the opposing team's fire power and support ally pokemons with Snarl and Intimidate.

Unfortunately, Hidden Power Ice had to go for Snarl, however Scarf Gyarados can help resolve that.

Goodra (M) @ Choice Specs

Trait: Sap Sipper

EVs: 172 HP / 52 Def / 76 SAtk / 4 SDef / 204 Spd

Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)

- Draco Meteor

- Dragon Pulse

- Flamethrower

- Sludge Bomb

As stated in the summary, this team was made for Normal Doubles rule so the defense line is set against Metagross and Latios. The speed was set to outspeed Tyranitar and most Rotoms that are set to outspeed Tyranitar by 1, therefore Tyranitar +2. 

For the moves, Draco Meteor was useful for dealing a fair amount of damage on Rotom, and also for Goodra mirrors, which this team has a bit of trouble with.

Dragon Pulse synergies well with Choice Specs for consecutive use.

I chose Flamethrower instead of Fire Blast for better accuracy.

Sludge Bomb was there to at least deal some damage to fairy types if the situation occurs.

 

Gyarados (M) @ Choice Scarf

Trait: Intimidate

EVs: 20 HP / 228 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SDef / 252 Spd

Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)

- Thunder Wave

- Waterfall

- Stone Edge

- Ice Fang

With Manectric with no Hidden Power Ice and Goodra, who has relatively slow speed and physical defense, I needed a pokemon that could counter Garchomp really hard. Scarf Gyarados was perfect for the job with great typing synergy with Manectric and a great counter to sand teams, which made it a comfortable ally to bring into battle.

Gyarados is also strong against rain teams, surviving Choice Specs Draco Meteor from Kingdra and able to paralyze it with Thunder Wave.

I chose Stone Edge for the last slot to deal fatal damage to Mega Charizard Y and fair damage to Rotom. 

 

Scizor (M) @ Lum Berry

Trait: Technician

EVs: 236 HP / 252 SDef / 20 Spd

Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

- Swords Dance

- Bullet Punch

- X-Scissor

- Protect

I used Scizor to counter psychic and fairy types, such as Meowstick and hail teams.

Scizor was the strongest answer to hail in my team, so I set the defenses very high with Sword Dance to boost attack in order to minimize risks.

Lum Berry to counter against Will-O-Wisp and freeze from Blizzard.

Bringing some EV from defense to Attack may be considered because maybe I invested too much in defense.

 

Gengar (F) @ Black Sludge

Trait: Levitate

EVs: 204 HP / 20 Def / 4 SAtk / 28 SDef / 252 Spd

Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

- Will-O-Wisp

- Shadow Ball

- Protect

- Sludge Bomb

Intimidate was the main method to deal with physical attackers, however broken Pokemon such as Mega Mawile and Mega Kangaskhan still couldn't be ignored with just Intimidate, so I decided to bring in Gengar, who is able to burn these two with Will-O-Wisp while avoiding Sucker Punch and Power up Punch.

One of the few floating pokemons in this rule set as well.

The typing of Ghost and Poison is also great for attacking. 

 

Azumarill (F) @ Wacan Berry

Trait: Huge Power

EVs: 236 HP / 164 Atk / 4 Def / 92 SDef / 12 Spd

Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

- Waterfall

- Play Rough

- Aqua Jet

- Protect

I had been trying to find a fire type for this slot, but I couldn't find one that fit this team, so I used Azumarill which I have some trust in from prior team experiences.

However, there were many situations where I felt the need of a fire type pokemon instead. Wacan Berry reduced the electric type weakness shared with Gyarados.

The spread allowed it to make LO Hydro Pump from Kingdra a 3HKO.

I'm certainly going to change this slot for something else.

 Wolfe's Analysis

Out of all the teams I've seen so far, I think this one is definitely one of my favorites, if not my favorite just from looking at it. This team capitalizes I think on the trap that many players fall into that is extremely dangerous: assumption. Markus and I were discussing the team before we knew any details, and we assumed that based on the use of both Gengar and Azumarill that it was extremely that this team had a Perish Trap mode. I therefore would assume Azumaril is Sap Sipper and Gengar has Substitute or Disable. These basic mistakes to make can be extremely costly when facing a team like this. The whole team capitalizes on the unexpected, whether it be a Choice Scarf Gyarados with the unexpected Stone Edge or Goodra, who is often seen with Assault Vest, sporting a Choice Spex and doing major damage. Once an opponent begins to lose momentum, this team has the ability to turn a small disadvantage into a game loss. Gengar's Will-O-Wisp can cripple essential Physical Attackers, and Scizor's Swords Dance provides offensive pressure combined with priority. Manectric as the choice of Mega Pokemon was a very good choice I feel as well, as with investment in bulk, Snarl, and Intimidate as well as great switching capacity it is able to remain a presence in the game longer than is usual for everyones favorite lightning bolt.

Markus' Analysis
First of all, I have to say that, when I wrote down the Top16 teams, I really had no clue at all A) how this team works and B) how it could get far. Both questions have been answered by the team analysis above. I think it is a very good idea to use uncommon Pokémon that hard-counter very common meta Pokémon and use unexpected sets on them. However, I am not one hundred percent convinced that teams like the above are what it takes to win a Regional or even Nats. While I know that it definitely must be a lot of fun to play with Specs Goodra and Scarf Gyarados, I think in an environment where information is spread fast amongst friends, you wouldn't be as successful with a team like that. By no means does this mean, that this team cannot function when its surprises are revealed, but it is definitely more difficult to play with it in a Bo3 scenario rather than in a Bo1 tournament. I still like the team a lot, but that should be kept in mind. Apart from that, I especially enjoy Specs Goodra which is supported by bulky Mega Manectric, as well as the Gengar set which would have caught me off guard for sure, if I had to play it! Very impressive proof that VGC14 has a lot more to offer than Salamence Garchomp Aegislash Gardevoir, even in Japan!

Eggscelent Giveaway

Hey everybody! Our recent giveaway, found here, has had such an overwhelming amount of entrants that we didn't think it really reasonable to only give away 3 Pokemon. For this reason, we're adding another:

Hydreigon @ Life Orb

Trait: Levitate

EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe

Modest Nature (+SpAtk, - Atk)

- Dark Pulse

- Flamethrower

- Protect

- Dragon Pulse

Now Shiny Hydreigon is not only one of the coolest Shiny Pokemon in existence, this one also comes fully leveled and EV trained for immediate use. You enter in the same way as last time, by commenting on the old post found above. Additionally, in order to reward our writers, we are going to allow each contributor to take a free cloned copy of a giveaway Pokemon for every article they have contributed to the site. This helps the odds of everyone else entering as well! Lastly, if you have any powerful or rare Pokemon you want to donate to the cause (we can clone so you don't have to worry about losing your precious Pokemon forever), we would be extremely grateful. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Translation of Japanese Bifu-off convention top 16 team

Original Post from すらぃりーのつらぃりーだいありー: http://d.hatena.ne.jp/slylypokemon/20140202/1391324603

Attended 5.5th Bifu-off (Battle road gloria convention) with a result of 4-2 in pools and top 16 overall.

The team did pretty decently on rated special battle spot, wandering around the 1900 points range.

However, I feel that this team has an accountable amount of instability.

Pokemon	Ability	Move 1	Move 2	Move 3	Move 4	Item
Salamence	Intimidate	Draco Meteor	Dragon Pulse	Flamethrower	Rock Slide	Choice Scarf
Charizard	Blaze (Drought)	Heat Wave	Overheat	Solar Beam	Protect	Charizardite Y
Rotom W	Levitate	Thunderbolt	Hydro Pump	Will-o-wisp	Protect	Sitrus Berry
Mawile	Intimidate  (Huge Power)	Play Rough	Iron Head	Sucker Punch	Protect	Mawilite
Garchomp	Rough Skin	Dragon Claw	Earthquake	Rock Slide	Protect	Lum Berry
Gardevoir	Telepathy	Dazzling Gleam	Energy Ball	Psychic	Shadow Ball	Choice Specs

I started the team building process with an inspiration from Viera's Arena Off Convention winning team core consisting of Gardevoir, Mawile and Charizard. 

The team originally had Tyranitar instead of Charizard, however it had problems with dealing with Gardevoir and rain teams with Bisharp in it. 

As a result, I replaced Tyranitar with Charizard Y, which surprisingly fit well as Charizard could do the job Tyranitar had been doing before, such as countering Aegislash, Abomasnow and Mawile to an extent. 

Although Mawile and Charizard cannot be brought into the same battle, because of the restriction to one Mega Evolution, I think that its not too big of a problem because both have clear threats and strong points.  

EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd

Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

Draco Meteor

Dragon Pulse

Flamethrower

Rock Slide

@Choice Scarf

I didn't like the situation where a Salamence mirror occurs and the opponent's intimidate triggers first, allowing them to chose a fire type move to counter a Mawile switch in, so I just made my own Salamence full speed to be at least able to compete in a speed tier and force a speed-tie at worst.

Draco Meteor is a move that will miss when most needed, so keep in mind to sometimes use Dragon Pulse instead to at least get off some damage. 

However, I lost a game in pools because I was afraid of a Draco Meteor miss on a Choice Band Garchomp and used Dragon Pulse, which missed the KO and resulted in my loss. This was just purely my fault.

EVs: 196 HP / 92 Def / 116 SAtk / 4 SDef / 100 Spd

Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)

Heat Wave

Overheat

Solar Beam

Protect

@Charizardite Y

Charizard was really strong, especially for countering fairy types. 

Charizard+Salamence was a solid combination as anything that would come out to resist Draco Meteor would be hit by Heat Wave for massive damage and Overheat OHKOs Gardevoir. With Intimidate support, Charizard can also cling on, even if a rock type move hits it. 

However, Heat Wave and Overheat can miss and screw you over.

EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 4 SAtk / 132 SDef / 4 Spd

Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

Thunderbolt

Hydro Pump

Will-o-wisp

Protect

@Sitrus Berry

The spread is just a copy of Ray Rizzo's!

I chose Rotom W to counter Garchomp, Kangaskhan, Mawile, Aegislash, Chandelure and Talonflame.

The spread focuses more on SDef than Speed to survive most Charizard Y Solar Beams.

I think Rotom W is a great pokemon, however its biggest weakness would be - once again - accuracy.

EVs: 252 HP / 76 Atk / 4 Def / 148 SDef / 28 Spd

Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)

Play Rough

Iron Head

Sucker Punch

Protect

@Mawilite

When I had tested this team with just Charizard Y in it, there were some matches that I felt the need for Mawile which counters pokemon that Charizard has a hard time with pretty well. Most notably Rock Slide users like Garchomp, Salamence and Tyranitar.

I think 2 megas in a team is not bad!

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd

Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)

Dragon Claw

Earthquake

Rock Slide

Protect

@Lum Berry

The standard set so there is nothing more to say.

EVs: 252 HP / 132 SAtk / 124 Spd

Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)

Dazzling Gleam

Energy Ball

Psychic

Shadow Ball

@Choice Specs

Honestly, I am still not fully sure of item choices for Garchomp and Gardevoir. 

To counter Smeargle, I was unsure weather to give Lum Berry to either Garchomp or Gardevoir, however I came to the conclusion that Garchomp did a better job of countering Smeargles and Lum Berry would come useful to negate burns coming from Rotom-W. 

As a result, I gave Choice Specs to Gardevoir to boost the overall fire power of the team.

Telepathy was chosen as ability so Garchomp can use Earthquake more freely. 

Wolfe's analysis

This is a team that contains a lot of ideas I think are becoming popular at the moment.  The Choice Scarf Salamence set is identical to the one I used at Regionals, and I know it is already a popular Pokemon to begin with. Charizard and Mawile are two of the most powerful Mega Pokemon, and are on the top of the threat list for most teams. Garchomp and Rotom-W are mostly standard, and Choice Specs Gardevoir is a reliable choice as the Choice Scarf was already on Salamence. I personally do not like the use of both Charizard and Mawile on any team together as I find it limits a team to five Pokemon per game, which can be problematic if both Charizard and Mawile are essential to removing threats. Two fairy Pokemon helps to cover for the popular double dragon core that has become so popular nowadays. Additionally, although the team has a wealth of offensive firepower, the defensive typing of each individual Pokemon complements the core as a whole, allowing good playing to cover the weaknesses found in lack of defensive investment. Most of the Pokemon used have very good natural bulk even without investment as well. I would recommend testing Aegislash over Mawile if one were to try and limit the use of Mega Stones, though without testing that might be a horrible idea.

Markus' analysis

Contrary to Wolfe, I do appreciate the use of up to twp Mega per team and I would recommend that people should try it out. While one can say that having 2 Mega limits one in team picking, I could also say, that only 1 Mega leads to picking it every game, resulting in a limitation as well. However, the power of Megas is just so strong that you generally want to have one on your team. This does not mean that all teams should have two of them, but I think it is definitely worth considering! I like the odd choice of a Choice Specs on Gardevoir quite a bit and thing that it can be a good way to hit stuff with Dazzling Gleam or Psychic, which should both do a lot of damage on any target. I am not sure about Energy Ball on it and I would prefer Moonblast as a more powerful fairy-type attack. Apart from that, I really like the team but I can agree with the author that it seems a little bit unstable. Have fun testing this or versions of it yourself!