A Rainy Day Indeed! Smogon Doubles Warstory

Stratos

Banned deucer.
Hello Smogon. I’m a big fan of Smogon Doubles and I’d like to advocate this tier; sadly, many players of other tiers accuse us of having a low skill level. I’m combatting this (or trying to) by presenting one of the most intense battles I’ve had in this tier. It starts off looking like an easy creaming for me, but my opponent is brilliant with protect and really forces it down to the wire! It also introduces a lot of good strategies to use in this tier. With no further ado, I present to you this battle!

opponent joined.
Pwnemon.1 joined.
Format:
Smogon Doubles
Rated battle
Sleep Clause: Limit one foe put to sleep
Species Clause: Limit one of each Pokemon
OHKO Clause: OHKO moves are banned
Evasion Moves Clause: Evasion moves are banned
Evasion Abilities Clause: Evasion abilities are banned

opponent's team:
[pimg]186[/pimg] [pimg]272[/pimg] [pimg]230[/pimg] [pimg]428[/pimg] [pimg]141[/pimg][pimg]628[/pimg]
Pwnemon.1's team:
[pimg]186[/pimg] [pimg]230[/pimg]
[pimg]237[/pimg]
[pimg]212[/pimg]

And right out the gate, things are not looking up for me. I’ve built my rain team in such a way as to be able to win the weather war against every other kind of weather team, making it rock-solid at keeping rain up. Unfortunately, it’s ironically weak to other rain teams, specifically swift swimmers, Ferrothorn, and Gastrodon—and that’s his entire team. My Kingdra is modest, because that extra power is really necessary when you’re packing a whole base 95 SpA, but I really do die a little every time it loses to a Timid Kingdra or Jolly Kabutops. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen today.

It’s a difficult decision, who to send out first in a match. Just kidding, no it isn’t—not this time at least. My opponent has a Fake Out user on his team; I have two Pokemon on my team with Protect. You gotta double protect the Fake Outs.


Battle between opponent and Pwnemon.1 started!
opponent sent out MEXICAN DUCK (Ludicolo)!
opponent sent out CHICKENBUTT (Ferrothorn)!
Pwnemon.1 sent out Politoed!
Pwnemon.1 sent out Kingdra!
Politoed's Drizzle made it rain!


[pimg]628[/pimg] [pimg]272[/pimg]
100%..............100%......

[pimg]186[/pimg] [pimg]230[/pimg]
......100%..............100%

CALLED IT!~ Well, as I said, you gotta double Protect the Fake Outs. I could try to play it gutsy here, Protecting with one member while attacking with the other, but I don’t know who he’s going to go after, and that Ferro can do a number on any of my Pokemon with Thunder Wave and Power Whip. Best to play it safe the first turn of the match.

Turn 1
Kingdra used Protect!
Kingdra protected itself!
Politoed used Protect!
Politoed protected itself!
The foe's MEXICAN DUCK used Fake Out!
Kingdra protected itself!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT used Leech Seed!
Kingdra protected itself!


[pimg]628[/pimg] [pimg]272[/pimg]
100%..............100%......

[pimg]186[/pimg] [pimg]230[/pimg]
......100%..............100%

Uneventful turn, but a good one for me. Ludicolo, sitting at an embarrassing base 70, isn’t outrunning my Kingdra no matter what nature he has. Ferrothorn tried to Leech Seed Kingdra and there’s no reason to expect he won’t do it again (or T-wave it, which is just as good); meanwhile, I can expect Ludicolo to go for my Politoed, which packs surprisingly significant bulk. A Kingdra behind a sub should be enough to scare off that Ludicolo, and then I can smash whatever comes in with a Draco Meteor. If I get lucky, it might even be his own Kingdra.

(That’s right, you heard it here first: sub Kingdra. PenguinX suggested it to me instead of my water/water coverage and I don’t plan on going back)


Turn 2
Kingdra used Substitute!
Kingdra put in a substitute!
Kingdra lost 25% of its health!
The foe's MEXICAN DUCK used Giga Drain!
It's super effective! Politoed lost 57% of its health!
Politoed used Icy Wind!
Politoed's attack missed!
[DEBUG] Spread modifier: 0.75.
The foe's CHICKENBUTT lost 7% of its health!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT's Speed fell!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT used Power Whip!
Kingdra's substitute faded!
Politoed restored HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT restored HP using its Leftovers!


[pimg]628[/pimg] [pimg]272[/pimg]
99%..............100%......

[pimg]186[/pimg] [pimg]230[/pimg]
......49%..............75%

Oh. I’m perplexed as to why Ferrothorn didn’t go for the Thunder Wave. Maybe he doesn’t have it? I make a mental note that he doesn’t have it, which will necessarily screw me over when he reveals it and I am full para’d four times in a row.

Regardless, spamming Sub with Kingdra will do me no good as Ferrothorn keeps smashing me with Power Whips. If my opponent gets smart, he could even double target for a KO. And my Politoed isn’t going to be of much help versus two Grass types. What I will do: Hitmontop will switch in, Intimidating Ferrothorn so his Power Whips become Powerless Whips, and Kingdra will smash Ludicolo with a Draco Meteor. This sounds like a good plan.


Turn 3
Pwnemon.1 called Politoed back!
Pwnemon.1 sent out Hitmontop!
Hitmontop intimidates the foe's MEXICAN DUCK!
The foe's MEXICAN DUCK's Attack fell!
Hitmontop intimidates the foe's CHICKENBUTT!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT's Attack fell!
Kingdra used Draco Meteor!
A critical hit! The foe's MEXICAN DUCK lost 100% of its health!


Time out! Would that have KOed without the crit? Honkalculator tells me... 67.55 - 79.59%. I don’t even apologize. YOLO.

Kingdra's Special Attack harshly fell!
The foe's MEXICAN DUCK fainted!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT used Power Whip!
Kingdra lost 31% of its health!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT restored HP using its Leftovers!
opponent sent out TOEDZ (Politoed)!

6-5 Pwnemon

[pimg]628[/pimg] [pimg]186[/pimg]
100%..............100%......

[pimg]237[/pimg] [pimg]230[/pimg]
......100%..............44%

He has no fighting type resists, both of his active Pokemon are slower than Top and I’m rocking a Fighting Gem Close Combat. I’ve basically got a full-on rage boner here. Something is going to die.

oh and kingdra’s not doing shit at -2 let’s get him out and get something deadly like Rotom-W out here


Turn 4
Pwnemon.1 called Kingdra back!
Pwnemon.1 sent out Rotom-Wash!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT used Protect!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT protected itself!
The foe's TOEDZ used Scald!
[DEBUG] rain water boost.
Hitmontop lost 39% of its health!
Hitmontop used Close Combat!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT protected itself!


[pimg]628[/pimg] [pimg]186[/pimg]
100%..............100%......

[pimg]237[/pimg]

......61%..............100%

If anyone was wondering about the effectiveness of Protect in a Double battle, well, there was probably no helping you in the first place. But this will showcase yet again how goddamn useful it is. Had that Scald managed to burn, I would have shriveled up and died just like the hard-on my Hitmontop had for murder. Fortunately, no such burn occurred, and I can lather, rinse, and repeat my battle strategy from last turn. Meanwhile, Rotom will Thunder, which will beat the shit out of anything not named Gastrodon. Gastro switching in is not much of a concern as long as I have the mighty CUBE.

Turn 5
opponent called CHICKENBUTT back!
opponent sent out SEAHORSE (Kingdra)!
Rotom-Wash used Thunder!
It's super effective! The foe's TOEDZ lost 100% of its health!
The foe's TOEDZ fainted!
Hitmontop used Close Combat!
The Fighting Gem strengthened Close Combat's power!
The foe's SEAHORSE lost 97% of its health!
Hitmontop's Defense fell!
Hitmontop's Special Defense fell!
opponent sent out SLURMS (Gastrodon)!

6-4 Pwnemon

[pimg]230[/pimg] [pimg]428[/pimg]
3%..............100%......

[pimg]237[/pimg]
......100%..............61%

Score. I managed to OHKO his Politoed without even really seeing what it could do (physically defensive?) and the biggest threat on his team, Kingdra, is like super duper boned. That will make this match much, much easier for me. He probably doesn’t expect my Top to carry priority, since I just whipped out the Intimihate. Surprise! Unfortunately, Rotom is absolutely 100% useless at the moment, as he’s carrying a Scarf to give my team some semblance of speed. I know he’ll go for the attack with Kingdra as I unleash my Sucker Punch, so Kyurem-B is a safe switch-in. Nothing Gastro can do is more than like, 30% damage on this fucker. From there, Cube can OHKO Gastro with a Helping Hand Dragon claw. too strong gm pls nerf.
Turn 6
Pwnemon.1 called Rotom-Wash back!
Pwnemon.1 sent out Kyurem-Black!
Kyurem-Black is radiating a bursting aura!
Hitmontop used Sucker Punch!
The foe's SEAHORSE lost 3% of its health!
The foe's SEAHORSE fainted!
The foe's SLURMS used Ice Beam!
Kyurem-Black lost 20% of its health!
opponent sent out HORSESHOE CRAB (Kabutops)!

6-3 Pwnemon

[pimg]428[/pimg] [pimg]141[/pimg]
100%..............100%......

[pimg]237[/pimg]
......80%..............61%

And yet another turn goes exactly as planned. Whether Kingdra was allowed to fall or not, it happened, which is a big boon for my team, and Kyurem got in with hardly a scratch. However, I expected a switch to Ferrothorn. Kabutops coming in forces me to change my plans—he can either kill Kyurem or Hitmontop, but not both. Getting rid of him with a double-target will take out the last major headache to my team, and it’ll be smooth sailing from here on out.

Turn 7
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB used Protect!
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB protected itself!
Kyurem-Black used Dragon Claw!
[DEBUG] ModifySpe handler suppressed by Mold Breaker.
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB protected itself!
Hitmontop used Close Combat!
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB protected itself!
The foe's SLURMS used Earth Power!
Hitmontop lost 48% of its health!


[pimg]428[/pimg] [pimg]141[/pimg]
100%..............100%......

[pimg]237[/pimg]
......80%..............13%

I am ashamed to say that this is the first time I’ve ever bothered to think more than one turn ahead, but it’s true. At this point my opponent has revealed that he is not a complete imbecile, so I need to play my cards better. I know I need to pull back Hitmontop—Intimidate and Fake Out are going to be valuable resources in keeping that Kabutops from manhandling my team. At this point, Politoed is virtually worthless, and I won’t feel bad about saccing him for the free switch. I know that Kyurem-Bulk can take a Rock Slide. If I eliminate that Gastrodon, he’ll be unable to switch. Let’s just hope for no flinch.

Turn 8
Pwnemon.1 called Hitmontop back!
Pwnemon.1 sent out Politoed!
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB used Rock Slide!
[DEBUG] Spread modifier: 0.75.
Politoed lost 23% of its health!
[DEBUG] Spread modifier: 0.75.
It's super effective! Kyurem-Black lost 51% of its health!
Kyurem-Black used Dragon Claw!
[DEBUG] ModifySpe handler suppressed by Mold Breaker.
[DEBUG] TryHit handler suppressed by Mold Breaker.
The foe's SLURMS lost 64% of its health!
The foe's SLURMS used Earth Power!
Kyurem-Black lost 26% of its health!
Politoed restored HP using its Leftovers!


[pimg]428[/pimg] [pimg]141[/pimg]
36%..............100%......

[pimg]186[/pimg]
......4%..............33%

On the bright side... no flinch. And Politoed can actually survive another Rock Slide, what a bulky SOB. On the downside... I expected a KO from that Dragon Claw. I’m now kicking myself for not KOing Kabutops while I had the chance, honestly what the hell was I thinking?

I’ve hit rock bottom now; there’s nowhere to go but up. I really need to think out a long-term game plan if I want to win this match. He’ll get a KO on Kyurem right now with Rock Slide, and then Gastro will follow up to kill Politoed. If I use Icy Wind in between his two attacks, I can bring in Rotom and Scizor—Scarf Rotom will force Kabutops out with Thunder, doing approximately 20% to Ferrothorn in the process. Scizor will follow up with Superpower. Let’s do this.


Turn 9
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB used Rock Slide!
[DEBUG] Spread modifier: 0.75.
Politoed lost 21% of its health!
[DEBUG] Spread modifier: 0.75.
It's super effective! Kyurem-Black lost 4% of its health!
Kyurem-Black fainted!
Politoed used Icy Wind!
[DEBUG] Spread modifier: 0.75.
The foe's SLURMS lost 9% of its health!
The foe's SLURMS's Speed fell!
[DEBUG] Spread modifier: 0.75.
It's not very effective... The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB lost 7% of its health!
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB's Speed fell!
The foe's SLURMS used Earth Power!
Politoed lost 12% of its health!
Politoed fainted!
Pwnemon.1 sent out Rotom-Wash!
Pwnemon.1 sent out Scizor!

4-3 Pwnemon

[pimg]428[/pimg] [pimg]141[/pimg]
27%..............93%......

[pimg]212[/pimg]
......100%..............100%

Turn 10
opponent called SLURMS back!
opponent sent out CHICKENBUTT (Ferrothorn)!
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB used Protect!
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB protected itself!
Rotom-Wash used Thunder!
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB protected itself!
Scizor used Superpower!
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB protected itself!


[pimg]628[/pimg] [pimg]141[/pimg]
100%..............93%......

[pimg]212[/pimg]
......100%..............100%

No good warstory is complete without using this image at least once:



And in one fell swoop, all the offensive momentum I had is absolutely destroyed. Protect, you are truly the scum of the Earth. I might be able to KO Ferrothorn if I double target it this turn, but if he reads me and keeps Kabutops in, it’s game. Better to hit Gastro with a useless Thunder than to get roflstomped because of an overprediction. Meanwhile, my Scizor can do quite the number on Ferrothorn with a Superpower.


Turn 11
opponent called HORSESHOE CRAB back!
opponent sent out SLURMS (Gastrodon)!
Rotom-Wash used Thunder!
[DEBUG] natural immunity.
It doesn't affect the foe's SLURMS...
Scizor used Superpower!
It's super effective! The foe's CHICKENBUTT lost 74% of its health!
Scizor is hurt by the foe's CHICKENBUTT's Iron Barbs!
Scizor's Attack fell!
Scizor's Defense fell!
Scizor lost some of its HP!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT used Power Whip!
It's super effective! Rotom-Wash lost 96% of its health!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT restored HP using its Leftovers!

[pimg]628[/pimg] [pimg]428[/pimg]
32%..............27%......

[pimg]212[/pimg]
......4%..............78%

Well, while I don’t love how the turn went out, at least it worked how I thought it would. If I can at least keep calling the shots, I can win. Here, his Ferrothorn will probably go for Protect, to stall Leftovers recovery, etc. My Rotom is locked into Thunder, but I don’t want to switch out, because none of my team is in good enough shape to take any unnecessary hits. Scizor can U-turn the Gastrodon for the KO, and go to Hitmontop for an Intimidate drop on his two remaining pokemon. From there, the game should be a breeze.

Turn 12
The foe's CHICKENBUTT used Protect!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT protected itself!
Rotom-Wash used Thunder!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT protected itself!
Scizor used U-turn!
The foe's SLURMS lost 25% of its health!


WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. Goddammit, if only i’d gotten slightly higher damage rolls somewhere along the line. Ok, new plan: Kingdra comes in on Muddy Water, since it’s the only thing that can survive one; Scizor returns immediately and Feints (Faints?) Gastrodon.

Scizor lost some of its HP!
Pwnemon.1 called Scizor back!
Pwnemon.1 sent out Kingdra!
The foe's SLURMS used Surf!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT protected itself!
[DEBUG] rain water boost.
[DEBUG] Spread modifier: 0.75.
It's not very effective... Kingdra lost 10% of its health!
[DEBUG] rain water boost.
[DEBUG] Spread modifier: 0.75.
It's not very effective... Rotom-Wash lost 4% of its health!
Rotom-Wash fainted!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT restored HP using its Leftovers!
Pwnemon.1 sent out Scizor!

3-3 all

[pimg]628[/pimg] [pimg]428[/pimg]
39%..............2%......

[pimg]212[/pimg] [pimg]230[/pimg]
......68%..............34%

This next turn.... there are no words.

Turn 13
Scizor used Feint!
[DEBUG] Technician boost.
The foe's SLURMS lost 2% of its health!
Scizor lost some of its HP!
The foe's SLURMS fainted!
Kingdra used Draco Meteor!
It's not very effective... The foe's CHICKENBUTT lost 25% of its health!
Kingdra's Special Attack harshly fell!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT used Leech Seed!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT's attack missed!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT restored HP using its Leftovers!
opponent sent out HORSESHOE CRAB (Kabutops)!

3-2 Pwnemon

[pimg]628[/pimg] [pimg]141[/pimg]
20%..............93%......

[pimg]212[/pimg] [pimg]230[/pimg]
......58%..............34%

Yes, that was me playing a disgustingly bad game with Kingdra; instead of protecting, I went for an entirely useless Draco Meteor, hoping I could somehow do enough to KO Ferrothorn. Imagine the whole world gasping in unison when I do not. I can only console myself with the knowledge that that Leech Seed miss did not affect the outcome of the game.

At this point, I see absolutely exactly how the rest of the game needs to play out. If this turn goes as I want it to, I win; otherwise, I lose. Kabutops is going to Protect, under the false assumption that my Kingdra is toting a Timid nature. That’s my chance to switch to Hitmontop for the all-important Intimidate, and Scizor will KO Ferrothorn with U-turn. From there, Hitmontop will Fake Out Kabutops while Kingdra uses Substitute, and the game is mine.

Of course I can lose, are you kidding me? There’s no good game where you have a guaranteed win. If Kabutops goes for the Rock Slide, Hitmontop falls. If Hitmontop falls I have to pray to every god under the sun that this thing is running an Adamant nature for whatever reason. With my luck, it’s not. If Kabutops goes for the Waterfall.... don’t even want to think about it.


Turn 14
Pwnemon.1 called Kingdra back!
Pwnemon.1 sent out Hitmontop!
Hitmontop intimidates the foe's CHICKENBUTT!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT's Attack fell!
Hitmontop intimidates the foe's HORSESHOE CRAB!
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB's Attack fell!
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB used Waterfall!
[DEBUG] rain water boost.
Scizor lost 43% of its health!
Scizor used U-turn!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT lost 20% of its health!
Scizor is hurt by the foe's CHICKENBUTT's Iron Barbs!
Scizor lost some of its HP!
The foe's CHICKENBUTT fainted!
Scizor fainted!
Pwnemon.1 sent out Kingdra!

2-1 Pwnemon

[pimg]141[/pimg]
93%......

[pimg]237[/pimg] [pimg]230[/pimg]
......13%..............34%

WOOO WOO WOOO WOOO WOOO WOOO WOOO WOOO *vomit*. It’s finally my turn to be on the receiving end of “holy shit that was bulkier than expected.”

Finally, this battle of wits has ended.... Hitmontop will Fake Out Kabutops while Kingdra uses Substitute (Protect insurance) and I’ll finish him with a Muddy Water/Close Wombat. Well played, opponent, well played.[/color=blue]

Turn 15
Hitmontop used Fake Out!
It's not very effective... The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB lost 7% of its health!
Kingdra used Substitute!
Kingdra put in a substitute!
Kingdra lost 25% of its health!
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB flinched!
[DEBUG] p1: HORSESHOE CRAB move interrupted; movedThisTurn: false.


[pimg]141[/pimg]
85%......

[pimg]237[/pimg] [pimg]230[/pimg]
......13%..............9%

Turn 16
opponent: gg
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB used Aqua Jet!
[DEBUG] rain water boost.
Hitmontop lost 13% of its health!
Hitmontop fainted!
Kingdra used Muddy Water!
[DEBUG] rain water boost.
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB lost 85% of its health!
The foe's HORSESHOE CRAB fainted!


Pwnemon.1 won the battle!
Ladder updating...
Pwnemon.1: gg
opponent's rating: 1932 → 1928
(-4 for losing)
Pwnemon.1's rating: 1961 → 1975
(+14 for winning)
opponent left.

And I leave the battle, still infuriatingly unsure whether he had a Jolly or Adamant Kabutops. Good game, sir.

Time for Props and Slops!

Props
-Ferrothorn for being a constant thorn in my side
-Scizor for tanking hits
-Hitmontop for letting Scizor tank hits
-Pocket for designing this metagame

Slops
-Rotom-W for being a useless bag of laundry
-Scizor for leaving Gastro at 2 per fucking cent
-Opponent’s Politoed for dying
-My Politoed for dying
-My opponent for not just straight up telling me “hi, my kabutops is adamant” and making my life easier
-Congress

And last but not least, the MVP of this battle is:



But it’s a Doubles battle so you should have seen that coming
 
I quite enjoyed this narration. But I'm still ADAMANTly positive I won't be good at doubles until I take a mountaintop two-year training regiment that involves me sitting under a waterfall or something.

But kudos because you made me interested in trying Doubles. /scurries off to learn the doubles secrets

Edit: Might I request the team specifics? I'd like to try out doubles with it.
 

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