Doubles Doubles General Discussion Thread

approved by Hulavuta yay omg happy fun times






Doubles is a really a whole new world from the more popular 3v3 singles format. It takes a different level of thinking to come up with a team that can effectively have positive or at least neutral matchups with lots of the common cores. That being said, I wanted to take this time to open up the discussion about the gen 7 doubles metagame. Use this thread to post replays, talk about cores, interesting teams, or meta development, or just general discussion about what's going on in doubles!

Here's a couple of resources that you can use to help understand the format better:
Pokemon Global Link Usage Stats: this is your best tool for learning what the most common sets and what the most popular Pokemon are. It has detailed percentages of everything from Item choices, to movesets, to partners, to Pokemon that commonly end up beating the Pokemon in question! You can also view the rankings to track your own progress and see how close you are to the top

Demaintoid's Preliminary Viability Rankings: While this was made shortly before the release of Pokebank, most of the information is accurate to the current meta and it will be updated to be more accurate as the rapidly evolving metagame develops
Pokemon Showdown Ladder: If you'd like to look at your team in an interactive teambuilder, or try your squad out against a ladder where the games are shorter and easier to play than Battle Spot's (although a less accurate representation of the current metagame).

Sample Teams Thread: Mishimono has put together a thread where users can share their teams for other users. Please read the rules before posting your team there, as simply posting QR teams is not allowed.

Here's a few common cores and a quick summary of how they work together, to inspire you!



This core attempts to bring some of the bulkiest Pokemon in the format together, and it forms a core that is almost deadly in the hands of a strong player. Usually comprised of Assault Vest Landorus, Trick Room Cresselia, bulky Heatran, a slow Amoonguss, and obviously a strong Mega Kangaskhan, it is truly a classic combination




This fast paced core aims to combine Excadrill's Sand Rush and (typically Choice Scarf) Tyranitar's Sand Stream to start the game off with a super fast and offensive lead. Mega Salamence complements the two with its flying coverage, awesome stat distribution, and once again great speed.




Like the core of Tyranitar and Excadrill above, this core is mainly focused around a weather setter + a weather abuser, but rain complements other Pokemon more. Allowing Tapu Koko to follow up with Electric Terrain boosted Thunders to do massive damage, and rain weakening fire's power on the Steel-type Metagross.
 
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I really like the taste of SM Doubles. One thing is for sure, and that is Tapus (all four of them) are going to impact how you build your teams. Pheromosa (unless its hype dies down) sets a new standard for Speed Tiers, and you can probably expect Lando's to be Scarfed Jolly. Tapu Koko and Mega Gengar are really fast too, so those are some speed tiers to aim for if you're planning to utilize Tailwind to its fullest. CHALK is still usable but not what it was, and all weathers seem to be good except Hail. One notable Mega that seem to be in the rize is Metagross. Also, Terrain Seeds and Berries that restore your HP by half will be game changers. (Z item is a given.) Trick Room is also neat, especially Z-Trick Room.
 
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Level 51

the orchestra plays the prettiest themes
is a Site Content Manageris a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past SCL Champion
Not gonna lie. That Perish Trap team looks too similar to Level 51's team in Team Building Competition thread provided below.
whoa WHOA WHOA WHOA

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with the above user and I in no way endorse or deny the sentiments expressed by the above post.

That Perish Trap team isn't even mine. I adapted it from a well-made VGC team for use in DOU after seeing it perform well in a number of VGC matches, including an International Challenge and I think NPA. It's not "my team" in that sense, so please don't accuse people of stealing public domain intellectual property :(
 
Just a couple of questions: how are doing the three (imo) best megas of the 2015 format, Charizard-Salamence-Kangaskhan in this meta?
How they have been affected by alla the changes of this new generation?
Thanks :D
 

Demantoid

APMS Founder
is a Top Tiering Contributor
Just a couple of questions: how are doing the three (imo) best megas of the 2015 format, Charizard-Salamence-Kangaskhan in this meta?
How they have been affected by alla the changes of this new generation?
Thanks :D
These three are still the most popular and best megas. Kangaskhan's usage isn't quite as high due to its damage nerf which also makes PuP more common. Salamence still runs a mix of special, mixed, and DD and is currently the most popular. It appreciates Gardevoir not existing. Tapu Koko makes a great partner for mence to kill waters. Charizard runs about the same sets as last gen but tends to be paired with tapu Lele. The only other megas I would really consider viable right now are Gengar and Metagross.
 
These three are still the most popular and best megas. Kangaskhan's usage isn't quite as high due to its damage nerf which also makes PuP more common. Salamence still runs a mix of special, mixed, and DD and is currently the most popular. It appreciates Gardevoir not existing. Tapu Koko makes a great partner for mence to kill waters. Charizard runs about the same sets as last gen but tends to be paired with tapu Lele. The only other megas I would really consider viable right now are Gengar and Metagross.
Thanks for your answer, Demantoid .
Based on this, what is yours and other people's opinion related on what mega will be more common and succeed the most?
Personally I have had more success with Mence, as everyone seems prepared for Kangaskhan (imo, even if her damage output and the ability to hit twice even if weaker is bring undervalued ad for now) and Zard has been for me a mixed bag due to crazy damage output in sun and the ability to outrun Lele and Landorus-Therian (I've been using a Timid max speed set), but less opportunities to do so given the massive presence of Mence Sand teams and Tapu Koko, often paired with Rain.
Related on Zard Y, has someone found a good framework to build around it?
Got no problem building on Mence, that monster fits nearly everywhere.
 

Mishimono

mish mish
is a Top Tiering Contributoris a Past SCL Champion
DPL Champion
Thanks for your answer, Demantoid .
Based on this, what is yours and other people's opinion related on what mega will be more common and succeed the most?
Personally I have had more success with Mence, as everyone seems prepared for Kangaskhan (imo, even if her damage output and the ability to hit twice even if weaker is bring undervalued ad for now) and Zard has been for me a mixed bag due to crazy damage output in sun and the ability to outrun Lele and Landorus-Therian (I've been using a Timid max speed set), but less opportunities to do so given the massive presence of Mence Sand teams and Tapu Koko, often paired with Rain.
Related on Zard Y, has someone found a good framework to build around it?
Got no problem building on Mence, that monster fits nearly everywhere.
Most sun teams have Charizard, Landorus-Therian and then a steel being aegislash or heatran. After that I normally like to get a solid form of speed control as Charizard isn't super fast and bulky so it really appreciates getting alot of damage off first. Zapdos and Cresselia are probably the most popular options as Zapdos is a reliable Tailwind setter and it can beat things like Salamence and Lando-T for Zard. Cresselia is also an option that has a good matchup vs Salamence and Lando-T, but insytead of Tailwind you'll have to use options like Icy Wind, Thunder Wave or Trick Room. Other options like Milotic, Suicune, Porygon2 and Hydreigon have speed control options that work well with zard. To finish off the team I just add pokemon that could help patch up weaknesses to the rest of the team or add mons that appreciate Charizards ability to remove things like steels and grasses and hinder water-types.

This is how I sorta build a Charizard team and I hope it helped.
 
Most sun teams have Charizard, Landorus-Therian and then a steel being aegislash or heatran. After that I normally like to get a solid form of speed control as Charizard isn't super fast and bulky so it really appreciates getting alot of damage off first. Zapdos and Cresselia are probably the most popular options as Zapdos is a reliable Tailwind setter and it can beat things like Salamence and Lando-T for Zard. Cresselia is also an option that has a good matchup vs Salamence and Lando-T, but insytead of Tailwind you'll have to use options like Icy Wind, Thunder Wave or Trick Room. Other options like Milotic, Suicune, Porygon2 and Hydreigon have speed control options that work well with zard. To finish off the team I just add pokemon that could help patch up weaknesses to the rest of the team or add mons that appreciate Charizards ability to remove things like steels and grasses and hinder water-types.

This is how I sorta build a Charizard team and I hope it helped.
Thank you Mishimono .
So ,basically a Zard framework should be composed by Zard/Lando (or Ground type I suppose?)/Steel/Speed control/filler/filler?
 

Demantoid

APMS Founder
is a Top Tiering Contributor
Thanks for your answer, Demantoid .
Based on this, what is yours and other people's opinion related on what mega will be more common and succeed the most?
Personally I have had more success with Mence, as everyone seems prepared for Kangaskhan (imo, even if her damage output and the ability to hit twice even if weaker is bring undervalued ad for now) and Zard has been for me a mixed bag due to crazy damage output in sun and the ability to outrun Lele and Landorus-Therian (I've been using a Timid max speed set), but less opportunities to do so given the massive presence of Mence Sand teams and Tapu Koko, often paired with Rain.
Related on Zard Y, has someone found a good framework to build around it?
Got no problem building on Mence, that monster fits nearly everywhere.
I personally find Mega Salamence to be the easiest mega to use. It has many viable sets it can use that make harder for opposing teams to deal with and easier to fit on teams. It also has the best Landorus-T match up of the viable megas. Its speed is also very helpful.
 
I personally find Mega Salamence to be the easiest mega to use. It has many viable sets it can use that make harder for opposing teams to deal with and easier to fit on teams. It also has the best Landorus-T match up of the viable megas. Its speed is also very helpful.
Based on your answer, which of the many sets is usually the most consistent?
I saw a large majority of mixed sets with Double-Edge+Hyper Voice but I also noticed an increase of Dragon Dance sets.
Also, not strangely enough the teams that I faced with Mence as the mega were Sand Teams. Is that really the only "framework" where Mence can fit well? Also, I always faced problems related in the amount of speed to run; Adamant (or neutral Speed) sets for example hit like a truck bit without a Speed boost they are outsped by a lot of mons.
But I agree with you about the fact that is the easiest mega to use.
 
Just a quick question:
I would like to build a team around WOW Mega Zard X and Tapu Bulu (obvious sinergy).
Which teammates could help them the most?
I know is not the best core to start from, please skip this part lol
 
Just a quick question:
I would like to build a team around WOW Mega Zard X and Tapu Bulu (obvious sinergy).
Which teammates could help them the most?
I know is not the best core to start from, please skip this part lol
Charizard-X generally needs a lot of support to be successful, and I can't see how pokemon that support Bulu and CharX go hand in hand. Also, if you're looking for help w/ building teams I suggest checking out the ps! chatroom to get help in real time
 
Charizard-X generally needs a lot of support to be successful, and I can't see how pokemon that support Bulu and CharX go hand in hand. Also, if you're looking for help w/ building teams I suggest checking out the ps! chatroom to get help in real time
Thanks. At the moment I've got ZardX/Bulu/Swampert/Aegislash/Zapdos/Landorus-Therian, is there any BSD threat I'm particularly weak to?
 

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