Reborn's First VGC17 Team RMT

> Reborn's First VGC17 Team <​

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Introduction​

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Hey everyone, I've been having a blast with this year's VGC format and I was hoping to get some feedback on my first proper team. Obviously the metagame hasn't properly been defined yet but I guess we have a fairly decent idea what's going to be strong in the format.​

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The team's built around Z-conversion Porygon-Z + Psychic Surge to deal enormous damage with +1 Modest Adaptability Psychics in Psychic terrain. This thing's a monster.​

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The Team​

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Porygon-Z @ Normalium Z ​

Ability: Adaptability ​

Level: 50 ​

EVs: 4 HP / 44 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 204 Spe ​

Modest Nature ​

IVs: 0 Atk ​

- Psychic ​

- Dark Pulse ​

- Conversion ​

- Protect​

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And here's the monster himself. With Z-Conversion, this thing gains +1 in every stat and becomes a psychic type. At +1 it outspeeds the entire unboosted meta bar Pheromosa which doesn't seem to be that common right now, and outspeeds max speed +spe natured base 70s without a boost. The spread was taken from Kyle Cole's recent video on PZ since I couldn't really think of any improvements to it. I chose Dark Pulse as my coverage move to be able to hit Oranguru as it guarantees the 2HKO at +1 without the need for some chip damage and/or Psychic terrain being up. The set is hard walled by Darks, but bar Krookodile and Weavile they don't seem to be all that common, probably due to all the new fairies running around.​

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Tapu Lele @ Psychic Seed ​

Ability: Psychic Surge ​

Level: 50 ​

EVs: 244 HP / 108 Def / 132 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe ​

Modest Nature ​

IVs: 0 Atk ​

- Psychic ​

- Dazzling Gleam ​

- Taunt ​

- Protect​

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Tapu Lele is here to prevent opposing Fake Out, bring opposing Pokémon in to Psychic KO range, set up Psychic Terrain, act as a trick room/taunt bait check and just overall deal really nice damage with psychics of its own. Psychic Seed just provides a free +1 Sp.def boost the first time it is sent in, and the set allows Tapu Lele to have a very good chance to survive a LO Jolly Wild Charge from Tapu Koko in Electric terrain, while still having enough firepower to OHKO no bulk Koko in Psychic Terrain. The speed is just there to speed creep things trying to speed creep 4 speed lele.​

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Celesteela @ Leftovers ​

Ability: Beast Boost ​

Level: 50 ​

EVs: 244 HP / 196 Atk / 60 Def / 4 SpD / 4 Spe ​

Impish Nature ​

- Heavy Slam ​

- Leech Seed ​

- Substitute ​

- Protect​

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I love Celesteela. This thing is tanky as all hell, while still having decent enough offensive capabilities, which get even better with Beast Boost. It acts as a great check to the Tapus (even Koko if beside Togedemaru) and just generally walls a lot of things. The EVs ensure that its attack is higher than its defence, while having enough bulk to have a good chance of survivng LO Jolly Wild Charge from Koko in Electric terrain, as well as a decent chance of surviving -1 Adamant max attack Flare Blitz from Marowak and always surviving Adamant max attack Flare Blitz from Arcanine (and a LO one at -1). Sub Leech Seed incredible for setting up on things that you wall and Heavy Slam hits like a truck from this thing.​

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Salazzle @ Focus Sash ​

Ability: Corrosion ​

Level: 50 ​

EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe ​

Timid Nature ​

- Fake Out ​

- Overheat ​

- Sludge Bomb ​

- Encore​

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This is definitely the member I am least sure about. It just doesn't seem to function as well as I had hoped. Salazzle is here to provide fast Fake Out support (having the second fastest Fake Out in the tier behind Weavile and Raichu in electric terrain) and to deal a good chunk of damage before dying. Encore is here to lock Pokémon in to unfavourable moves and to deter Protect, giving me free turns to wail on their partner with PZ. But in practice it just doesn't seem to do much. I was considering replacing it with a dark resist, but I'm just not sure what would fit.​

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Gyarados @ Sitrus Berry ​

Ability: Intimidate ​

Level: 50 ​

EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 4 Def / 76 SpD / 172 Spe ​

Adamant Nature ​

- Waterfall ​

- Thunder Wave ​

- Roar ​

- Taunt​

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Gyarados is here as a bulky intimidate mon that pairs nicely with the next member, acting as a ground immunity for two of my 4x weak members and as a solid TR check. The EVs allow Gyarados to outspeed max speed adamant base 70s with the rest in bulk. Almost certainly can be optimised but I can't really think of any important benchmarks to hit at the moment. Waterfall for STAB, Thunder Wave to cripple faster mons and speed control, Roar to guarantee that Trick Room doesn't get set up if I suspect the opponent is running Mental Herb and Taunt as a way to guarantee that my opponent won't Protect the next turn, prevent setup and just general shenanigans. I most likely would have replaced Taunt with Icy Wind if that was legal this format but oh well.​

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Togedemaru @ Assault Vest ​

Ability: Lightning Rod ​

Level: 50 ​

EVs: 252 HP / 100 Atk / 84 Def / 68 SpD / 4 Spe ​

Adamant Nature ​

- Fake Out ​

- Zing Zap ​

- Poison Jab ​

- Nuzzle​

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And finally Togedemaru. I really didn't have high expectations for this thing, but it really performms its role nicely. It walls Koko + Raichu and HP Groundless Xurkitree, beats the rest of the Tapus, threatens Celesteela, provides Fake Out Support, protects my team flying types from electric moves (bar discharge) and spreads status without worrying about misses. The spread was completely ripped from Wolfey's analysis video on it, all the information on it is on there.​

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Conclusion​

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So yeah, that's the team so far. I'm definitely not a fan of the lack of dark resist, but I'm not sure how crucial that is really. I'm definitely a huge fan of how the team isn't reliant on hitting inaccurate moves, with the only inaccurate moves being Overheat and T Wave, both having a great chance to hit. Let me know your guys thoughts, I'm open to any suggestions ​

 

> Insert Creative Team Name Here - VGC17 RMT <​

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Introduction​

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Hey guys, just thought I'd share a team that I feel is pretty strong to see if there are any improvements I can make. Here we go.​

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The Team​

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Mudsdale @ Assault Vest​

Ability: Stamina​

Level: 50​

EVs: 252 HP / 172 Atk / 84 SpD​

Adamant Nature​

- High Horsepower​

- Heavy Slam​

- Superpower​

- Rock Slide​

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Let's start off with the most interesting member of the team. I really do find Mudsdale to perform incredibly well in the current format. It hits like a truck, becomes disgustingly bulky with Stamina, Intimidate/Snarl/W-o-w support and hits a large proportion of the meta for SE damage. The set is completely ripped from Wolfey's set in his analysis of Mudsdale and I haven't really found any improvements I can make. I will say that I find I practically never click Superpower, but I guess it's a nice fail safe vs P2. The spread makes non-LO Modest Tapu Lele's Psychic a 3HKO in psychic terrain (hopefully I can change the terrain with Bulu to ensure the 3HKO even if they are LO) as well as being 3HKOd from non-boosting item Torkoal Eruption from full and lives a Flare Blitz from Marowak from full without any boosts/Intimidate. Once this thing's checks are eliminated/neutered it really can just win from there if given the chance.​

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Tapu Bulu @ Leftovers​

Ability: Grassy Surge​

Level: 50​

EVs: 244 HP / 204 Atk / 60 Spe​

Adamant Nature​

- Wood Hammer​

- Horn Leech​

- Stone Edge​

- Protect​

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Next up Tapu Bulu. I love lefties Tapu Bulu + all of the aforementioned support for the same reason as Mudsdale. It hit's like a truck and has great staying power. In grassy terrain it still deals serious damage. I have considered Grassium Z, but I really feel lefties functions better for this kind of team. The EVs are very simple, just enough speed to outspeed 4 speed Milotic by 1 with the rest dumped into HP and attack. Nothing fancy. Stone Edge is primarily for Marowak, as without Mence/Mudsdale it can definitely be difficult for the team to beat without some major prior damage. I suppose Stone Edge could be replaced, but I just couldn't think of anything I valued more. Tapu Bulu synergises well with Mudsdale as it is able to eliminate the waters that it struggles with and provides Mudsdale with passive recovery, while in return Mudsdale deals with the poison, fire, steel and electric types that Bulu hates.​

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Salamence @ Choice Specs​

Ability: Intimidate​

Level: 50​

EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe​

Timid Nature​

IVs: 0 Atk​

- Dragon Pulse​

- Draco Meteor​

- Flamethrower​

- Fire Blast​

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I love Mence in this format. There's nothing quite like dropping a specs draco and watching something die. So this is used more as a suicide intimidate lead to nuke something, but it certainly can function as a more long term role if the opponent lacks the necessary coverage or just gets outsped and KOd. I chose specs specifically for the ability to OHKO Marowak 100% of the time without the need for a Modest nature or running Hydro miss. I would much rather be locked in to Draco than Hydro Pump, and considering how popular Marowak is I don't want to be so reliant on even a 15% accuracy difference. Salamence naturally outspeeds a large proportion of the metagame so I wanted timid to take advantage of this. The moveset is very bland, I just really value reliable options while occasionally needing to rely on an inaccurate move, and I didn't feel this set needed any other coverage. I more than likely would have replaced one of these moves with Tailwind if that was an option this gen. Salamence provides me with the much appreciated Intimidate support, and it having very nice synergy with Arcanine allows me to pivot between the two to cycle the Intimidate if I so desire (they only share a rock weakness, which is a rare type to begin with and are generally beaten by both Mudsdale and Bulu).​

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Arcanine @ Sitrus Berry​

Ability: Intimidate​

Level: 50​

EVs: 244 HP / 4 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe​

Timid Nature​

IVs: 0 Atk​

- Flamethrower​

- Snarl​

- Will-O-Wisp​

- Roar​

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Next up Arcanine. I really expected this thing to be strong when the format was first announced and so far I haven't been disappointed. Being one of the only viable Fire types in the format (besides Marowak and Torkoal), Arcanine provides the team with the crucial role of dealing with opposing grass and steels, such as Bulu and Celesteela. I really love this moveset and it's been working tremendously for me. I decided on Flamethrower just due to the nature of the team being slightly more defensive, I wanted a reliable STAB option that doesn't get burned up on a Protect like Burn Up does (see what I did there...? God I hate myself sometimes.) Snarl is used to soften up special attackers, especially when they are unable to switch as there partners are dead. Will-o-wisp can just practically eliminate certain physical attackers from the game entirely, allowing me to wail on their partner as they just sit there. And finally Roar is the most consistent form of trick room deniable, as I have found mental herb Oranguru to be more and more common. It also has some more niche uses, but really its just there as a hard answer to trick room. The spread is essentially max speed max HP with leftovers in the rest of my stats.​

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Tapu Koko @ Focus Sash​

Ability: Electric Surge​

Level: 50​

EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe​

Naive Nature​

- Thunderbolt​

- Dazzling Gleam​

- Sky Drop​

- Protect​

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Next up Tapu Koko. Essentially it's here as an answer to Flying types, being Celesteela, Gyarados, Pelliper and the occasional Aerodactyl in particular. It also acts as a second check to waters for Arcanine and Mudsdale and a solid revenge killer overall being the fastest team member and tied for second fastest non-scarfer in the tier. I chose Focus Sash mostly because I didn't find LO necessary to pick up the KOs I needed it to pick up and Sash allows me to make plays I otherwise wouldn't be able to make. Dazzling Gleam for spread damage and fairy STAB and Sky Drop mostly there just for a niche tech and the ability to deal minor damage to things like Bulu. Sky Drop is replaceable, but I find non-LO HP ice a bit lack luster and kind of unnecessary on this team. I suppose Nature's Madness is an option, I'm not how often I'd use it however.​

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Celesteela @ Lum Berry​

Ability: Beast Boost​

Level: 50​

EVs: 252 HP / 76 Atk / 4 Def / 172 SpD / 4 Spe​

Adamant Nature​

- Heavy Slam​

- Wide Guard​

- Leech Seed​

- Protect​

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And finally Celesteela. As soon as I saw the typing and noticed it learned Wide Guard I knew this thing would be decent, but I never expected it to be this strong. With Fire types being fairly scarce (and being able to eat most non-STAB fire moves), Celesteela really only struggles with Electric types, but with two resists and an immunity on the team and no other weaknesses to it this isn't that big of a deal. In return, Celesteela provides Wide Guard support, making Torkoal without Overheat/Flamethrower less of an issue, amazing resistances/immunities, leech seed recovery and a very strong STAB steel move. The EVs are taken from one of Kyle Cole's videos, just generally maximising my special defence to better take on special attackers (especially considering I have dual intimidate and w-o-w support) while having a higher attack stat for beast boost. I chose to use Lum Berry because lefties was taken.​

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Conclusion​

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And there we have it! I really do think this is a very strong team and for the most part has ways of dealing of most things the format has to offer, at least at this time. While it is noteworthy that the team doesn't have a form of speed control, I have found in testing that for the most part this isn't all that necessary. Most of my team focuses on tanking hits and returning with KOs. If there is anything that I have clearly missed out or glaring weaknesses please let me know.​