VGC 2010 RMT

[drcossack]

When I first heard about the rules being announced for Japan back in October, I realized that the US would get the same rules. Because of that, I began thinking about what kind of team I would want to use. I realized that auto-weather in the form of Kyogre and Groudon would not only be a huge threat, but it would be the dominant factor in shaping the metagame. Given the choice between Rain and Sun, I decided that Rain would be easier. After testing several variants of Rain teams in live tournaments and matches conducted with players in #smogonwifi, I settled on this one, which I plan to use in Regionals.

The leads:

and

Metagross @ Occa Berry
Brave, 0 Speed IV
252 HP/116 Atk/140 SpDef
- Bullet Punch
- Hammer Arm
- Protect
- Explosion

Palkia @ Haban Berry
Timid
252 Speed/252 SAtk/4 HP
- Toxic
- Spacial Rend
- Surf
- Protect

The general idea of these two leads is to clear the opponent's field as fast as possible, which I usually do on the second turn. Most people anticipate a first turn explosion, so I get them to waste Protect. I've found that Dialga leads are fairly common, as they can set up Trick Room fairly easily, and this Metagross is designed to counteract that. Hammer Arm is able to punish players who try to set up Trick Room without Fake Out (though they can also target Palkia with it) or Follow Me. On the second turn, after damage (and a speed drop) from Hammer Arm, Palkia will protect while Metagross blows up. The weakened Dialga has a good chance of being KO'd by explosion, and it's partner is almost always OHKO'd.

The hold item was a tough choice, as Occa and Shuca are both equally viable, but Metagross' EV's allow him to take a Garchomp EQ and an Earth Power from Lugia (though the Lugia that used it had a lackluster investment in Special Attack.)

Palkia is designed to kill Dragons, lead Groudon, and Shedinja. Shedinja's HP, of course, necessitates Focus Sash, which is bypassed by Toxic (if it hits.) Haban removes Palkia's only weakness, allowing me to KO nearly every Dragon - if the Dragon (barring Lati@s, Dialga, and Giratina-A) doesn't have Haban, the OHKO is guaranteed. A Spacial Rend Crit will OHKO even a 0/0 Haban Giratina-A. For Lead Groudon, if I think that it might be a threat later in the match (since weather control is a big part of this year's VGC), I immediately switch to Kyogre and Surf. While I'm normally not a fan of hitting my own teammate, I had considered Hydro Pump over Surf for the 180 Base Power on Palkia; however, I wasn't a fan of the 80% Accuracy. A miss would mean that Groudon switches out to bring Sun in later, once Ogre has died. Surf is guaranteed to prevent that if my opponent uses a 0/0 Groudon.

The back-ups:

and

Kyogre @ Wacan Berry
Modest Nature
EV's: 252 Speed/252 SAtk

- Thunder
- Protect
- Surf
- Ice Beam

Meet the main focus of the team. I had a choice between a slower Ogre that does more damage (20 point difference in Special Attack at level 50, or a faster Ogre that may not always get the weather up (I preferred not to risk the speed tie against a Jolly Groudon that may have been in the back, or if Groudon has been switched out to come back in later.)

Thunder is there for opposing Kyogre and the 30% paralysis rate, which makes Palkia, Kingdra, and Ludicolo (who can normally deal with Ogre fairly easily) less threatening. Ice Beam is for Rayquaza, Garchomp, Giratina, and other dragons who aren't neutral to Ice. I like Surf more than Water Spout since it doesn't depend on my HP.

Through most of my testing for this team, I used Scarf Kyogre in the back, but I didn't like the restrictive nature of Choice Scarf, especially with Pokemon like Toxicroak being present. I settled on a Resist Berry, and immediately thought of Wacan, but I'm not opposed to using Rindo Berry for Grass.

In discussing this team with OmegaDonut earlier, he mentioned wanting to try HP Flying Kyogre. I'm not opposed to it since it handles all of the major threats to my backups (Shedinja, Toxicroak, and Ludicolo), but I'm not sure what to get rid of for it.

My final Pokemon on this team is:

Ludicolo @ Leftovers
Modest
Swift Swim
252 Speed/252 SAtk/4 HP
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Ice Beam
- Grass Knot

The presence of Leech Seed and Swift Swim may seem odd, but it's not without reason, though I admit it's because of my paranoia over Wonder Guard. Like Palkia, Leech Seed is there to immediately OHKO Shedinja (provided I have a Pokemon that can come into Ludicolo's spot.) In addition, against Pokemon that have a hard time doing damage to Ludicolo (like Cresselia), I can stall them out by alternating attacks with Protects. Ice Beam is for opposing Dragons not named Rayquaza that may outspeed Kyogre. Grass Knot can handle opposing Groudon and Kyogre, and other bulky Ubers (Spacial Rend + Grass Knot is a 2HKO on Haban Palkia.) With this Ludicolo build being OHKO'd by Shedinja's X-Scissor, I'm tempted to try the Bug Resist Berry.

Let me know what you think. Also, I'm looking at choosing a 5th and 6th for this team, but I have no idea what to choose - give me ideas?

 

[Rama]

I see a couple of things getting in your way, 1 being that pesky scarfvoid smeargle, which bullet punch will not 1HKO, and then you will be asleep first turn, with smeargle still up to put your other two members to sleep, perhaps putting a lum berry on Palkia could help thwart this, as dragon moves wont be as common.
Palkia-having two members on your team with surf, can potentially backfire, so perhaps using Hydro instead could be an option, although the accuracy drop may discourage you.
Kyogre-like i said before, surf hitting your team may not be too nice, and with only explosion at risk of hitting you, maybe you could switch protect for water spout, this way you dont have to hurt your team right away when needed.
Ludicolo-modest nature and swift swim, really wont work well in VGC for ludi, perhaps changing to this set could be of more use
Calm@leftovers~Rain Dish
252 hp/252 spdef/6 def
-protect
-leech seed
-grass knot
-ice beam

This seem utilizes ludicolo way more for VGC, it can easily stall out your opponents team with the accumulation of Rain Dish/Leech Seed/Leftovers each turn.

Hopefully my suggestions helped in some way :]

 

[TDS]

What happened to muddy water on kyogre? was its accuracy too low?
The hold item was a tough choice, as Occa and Shuca are both equally viable, but Metagross' EV's allow him to take a Garchomp EQ and an Earth Power from Lugia (though the Lugia that used it had a lackluster investment in Special Attack.)
Why squirrel hate me?

@pokerama are you insane? That ludicolo is the best you can possible use in vgc. being slower than stuff like groudon (which ludicolo normally kills baring rockslide flinch etc) and togekiss is just bad.