Alright, I decided to make a team for the anything goes tier. I got in expecting teams of rayquaza and darkrai every few seconds, but there are actually some good battles in there every once in a while. Haven't met a full darkrai team yet, but I really want to test my counters against one. XD Anyways, here's the team! Overview: [3D='gardevoir'] [3D='scizor'] [3D='whimsicott'] [3D='jellicent'] Now we've got the sets. [3D='gardevoir'] Grace @ Focus Sash Ability: Trace EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe Timid Nature - Magic Coat - Moonblast - Psyshock - Grudge Alright, this is my darkrai counter, with priority magic coat knocking back their dark void and trace on Bad Dreams giving them a taste of their own medicine. It's also my m-rayquaza counter, with focus sash keeping it alive and then moonblast usually KOing them after dragon's ascent drawback kicks in. I have grudge on the set for in case I'm not facing M-rayquaza or darkrai and I find a Pokémon with a particularly annoying move, with focus sash keeping me alive long enough to use grudge even if I'm not faster than my opponent. I'm very open to switching grudge out, I just don't know what I'd put there. Roll Credits @ Griseous Orb Ability: Levitate Shiny: Yes EVs: 230 Atk / 26 SpA / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Shadow Force - Draco Meteor - Earthquake - Iron Head I don't know when I got it into my head that I wanted a mixed giratina, but this thing actually works surprisingly well. It's mostly on the team for fun, as a joke with my username, but it can pull its own weight. Most people don't seem to expect draco meteor after I've used my physical moves, and it can pack a great punch without lessening my other attacks. I've considered going power herb instead of griseous orb, but I like the added bonus on my STAB moves. Aurum @ Lucarionite Ability: Justified EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Aura Sphere - Flash Cannon - Water Pulse - Psychic This Lucario is odd. It's worked pretty well though. Literally nobody expects water pulse, which has saved me a good few times. Psychic also helps out a ton, though I'm considering going shadow ball instead. Aura Sphere and Flash Cannon are basic STAB goodies. Justified is there because I try to switch into a knock off on my gardevoir, gain justified bonus, then go mega. I've only actually done that twice, but it's worked quite well both times. Mega because why not. [3D='scizor'] Automaton @ Assault Vest Ability: Technician EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Aerial Ace - Bullet Punch - Bug Bite - Knock Off This is kinda a standard scizor (I think), utilizing technician for most of his moves and the power of knock off for everything else. I gave it assault vest as a boost to it's lower sp def, but I'm considering switching it to another item that I haven't thought of yet. I'm also considering going from jolly to adamant, but I like the bonus to my speed so I don't have to rely on bullet punch all the time. [3D='jellicent'] Moustache Fish (M) @ Leftovers Ability: Cursed Body EVs: 140 Def / 48 SpA / 140 SpD / 180 Spe Modest Nature - Giga Drain - Scald - Hex - Will-O-Wisp I used to think jellicent were useless, and then I started using one. They've got a ton of bulk, which will-o-wisp nicely complements. Their offense isn't that bad either, and with the STAB on scald and the STAB and burned bonus on hex, it can do a lot of good damage. Giga Drain is a great coverage move, and give me back some more health than leftovers already does. Cursed Body often doesn't activate when I need it, but it also can give a team a lot of irritation. All in all, this thing is meant to outlast and weather away teams, and it's respectably good at doing so. [3D='whimsicott'] Float On @ Big Root Ability: Prankster EVs: 152 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpD / 100 Spe Timid Nature - Leech Seed - Giga Drain - Cotton Guard - Substitute Now my whimsicott is just meant to be annoying. Big root leech seed and giga drain often don't do as much damage as I'd wish, but they can heal my own health by about 40% on average each turn. Adding in cotton guard and substitute use, this thing can survive most attacks if it has time to get a leech seed set up. Prankster makes the whole set work with that added priority, but I still used speed evs so that giga drain has a chance at being first. I'm kinda shaky about that timid nature, but its extra speed has helped me in narrow shaves before. So what do you guys think? See any grievous errors? Think I'm doing something inexorably stupid? Go ahead and give it to me straight.
Hmmmmm... have you thought about using a Choice Band instead of the Assault Vest on Scizor? The Band will give it one of the most powerful priority hits with Bullet Punch combined with the EV spread and Technician. The downside is that it locks into that move, so U-Turn is almost a complete must.
I like this team because it has something I try to include in all of my teams whenever I make one. Massive type diversity. It is able to hit most Pokémon for good amounts of damage, especially with that water pulse on lucario and giga drain on jellicent. Little tricks like those make sets more original and more effective while battling and I appreciate them.
@[member="Gengar's Grin"] I've thought about it, but I hate the fact that it locks you in. I often work with moves in combination, like knock off to get rid of an item no matter the type, then one of my other moves for SE damage. I just enjoy the freedom more than the added power.
Is true, I definitely understand. I'm not really sure what else you could give Scizor though if you wanted to boost its power- Weakness Policy is definitely out, since it usually can't take a Fire-type move. I dunno, perhaps a Life Orb for maximum overall damage or a Muscle Band for a smaller increase but less of a drawback.
I think I'll try out muscle band. Scizor can't really take sp att hits even with the vest, anyways. Might go to life orb, try to cover it with leech seed from whimsicott.
This team looks very solid when it comes to a very wide variety of threats, but I noticed that your team does not have much of an answer when it come to quick-passing smeargle or full baton pass chains. I know this is a pretty niche thing, but it is something that I have run into quite frequently and some of the best teams I have encountered. To mitigate this problem I would recommend dropping a move on Whimsicott and running taunt. I think this could definitely help when it comes to stopping quick passing and baton passing chains cold (as long as a magic bounce user is not in). On top of that taunt will also stop evasion Pokémon as well, other than that one minor change I think this team is very solid.
I can see that you made Lucario a Full Special Attacker to give more coverage, sounds good to cover with Water and Psychic. Personally I run Lucario like this: Lucario @ Lucarionite Ability: Justified EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Aura Sphere - Flash Cannon - Dark Pulse/Shadow Ball - Nasty plot Fight+Ghost gives a very good neutral coverage and +Nasty Plot set-up gives you a x2 in Special Attack so your STABs Aura Sphere + Adaptability+Nasty Plot obtain an insanity of power. Extra power is very welcomed in "anything goes" foe the unexpected foes.
@[member="shinygiratinaz"] I'm going to give my thoughts by Pokémon individually first then go on to overall. First off, I love the addition of Magic Coat to counter Darkrai, but it also allows you to bounce back status from Klefki and things of the like. Being virtually immune to T-Waves, Swagger, Dark Void, and Toxic make this Pokémon useful, and threatens opposing Will-O-Wisp-ers for Scizor. Overall, the EVs are pretty nice, and Timid is generally a fine nature for it. However, I'm partial to say that a better item would be Life Orb. After all, the boost in power is really appreciated. Sash isn't really the best item given that its defenses are so shallow that anything will break it before it gets the chance to fight back, especially if Stealth Rocks are already in play without Gardevoir Magic Coating first. Even then, there's a very high chance the opponent will get to set them up anyway, and no Pokémon on this team knows Defog. As for the Grudge Slot, I typically go for Energy Ball. It gives me something to counter the bulky rock or ground types when in a pinch. Giratina-Origin looks damn good. I like the semi-mixed style you've got with it, and the EVs match up with some good calcs. If I may, though, I'd suggest 192 Speed and taking the other 60 EVs for HP to give some added bulk. Other than that, looks good. Mega Lucario as a Special attacker? Oh my you just made my day. People always vouch for physical nowadays and it's sad. Anyway, here's what I think: Nasty Plot over Psychic, and Vacuum Wave over Aura Sphere. Generally speaking, Water Pulse isn't very necessary with Whimsicott and Gardevoir around, so I'd say go Aura Sphere over Water Pulse. That way, you've got: Lucario @ Lucarionite Ability: Inner Focus Moves: Vacuum Wave Aura Sphere Flash Cannon Nasty Plot Same EVs and you're all set. Also, don't go for Justified on Lucario before Mega Evolving since the only thing you really get from it is scare tactics. Scare tactics already are around just by having M-Luke on the team, don't worry Only comment to this guy here is Swords Dance or Defog over Aerial Ace. You'll need a little more support from Scizor in case Rocks get set up and start to eat at your team. Assault Vest is generally fine, but remember that you still won't be surviving a Fire Blast unless you invest more in SpDef. Love your set. It's the one I use, so no comment here If this were any tier, not Anything Goes, I'd say you were trying to troll around having a Cotton Guard Whimsicott. However, this seems to be one of the best counters for M-Ray on your team. Well done. However, remember that Mega Ray is going to do a huge number on your team, even this little guy at +6: +1 252+ Atk Life Orb Rayquaza Aerial Ace vs. +6 152 HP / 128 Def Whimsicott: 268-320 (89.6 - 107%) That's at 120 base power for aerial ace and 180 base Attack for Rayquaza to mimic the real stats.
@[member="That Weirdd Guy"] I was worried about the moody smeargle set up teams for a while, but I found that simply having trace and magic bounce on my gardevoir stops smearglein its tracks. Moody gardevoir is really something, I'll say that. xD Aside from that, though, I'll try out some battles with taunt on my whimsicott. I think that could work well. @[member="Darkest Ninja"] That looks like a pretty good set. I like the coverage, which was most of the purpose for psychic and water pulse anyways. @[member="Kouhai"] Wow, thanks for going into so much detail! For gardevoir, I've been bouncing around torment, energy ball, and disable (if I remember right) in that slot. Life orb also sounds like a good idea, since I have gotten twarted by stealth rock before. I'm kinda concerned about the narrow move types on lucario, but that's probably just a personal preference of mine that isn't actually the best option. Besides, having everything with an adaptability boost would be nice. I'll also probably go defog on scizor. I don't use aerial ace much anyways, and stealth rocks+spikes are getting annoying. Thank you all for helping me out, I really appreciate it!
Remember, if you need help with competitive you can count on me . Well not only in competotive but you know what I mean
Can't help but notice that the team could have trouble dealing with a geomancy Xerneas, running moonblast, psyshock, and hp fire. That's the personal Xerneas I have for anything goes. And aside from bullet punch scizor, which will only do about 30-35% damage, and whimsicott stalling (if it can get a leech seed off before dying), the only real counter to it is the sashed gardevoir with magic coat. If that thing does its job correctly in countering m-rayquaza, that could potentially leave you defenseless against xerneas once it gets a free geomancy.
Xerneas with Nature (+SpD) Xerneas @ Life Orb EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd Gentle Nature (or any other that increases Special Defense I toke the worst one XD) Receives 86.5% - 102.7% from [member='shinygiratinaz']'s Mega Lucario's after a Flash Cannon Aurum @ Lucarionite Ability: Justified EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe Jolly Nature - Flash Cannon
Im asking about after geomancy. Which it then (only) does 80% damage. If it got a flash cannon off on the turn geomancy was used, died to whatever move xerneas had, and then u brought in scizor to kill bullet punch kill it, I would say then yes. Its just... I feel as if it could potentially take out 3 Pokémon that you have to counter it, leaving a 3-1 ratio in the opponents favor. Although that's if he/she gets a safe switch in and then a geomancy. Hypothetically, you kill a Pokémon with Grace, Moustache Fish, or Roll credits, he then sends out the stag prince. When he goes for geomancy, you switch to a better matchup, but then its an uphill fight. So... Im not saying the team cannot handle him at this point, you proved that with lucario. Im just saying that caution should be used against it. But that's facing any Xerneas, unless you have a db m-banette.
Xerneas, even with geomancy, has been surprisingly easy to handle for me. I hear your oddly specific concern, @[member="NativeBlasion"], but honestly I have never really had trouble with it. For one reason, I recently tried out a physcial m-lucario set running bullet punch. Though it won't ko your xerneas, it will certainly hurt, and between it and my scizor both running boosted bullet punches, I have found myself with xerneas far down the list of my concerns. Thank you for the quite specific concern, but it's simply not high enough of a priority to make me rethink an entire team. As a side note, I don't think you should underestimate the sheer annoying power of a prankster whimiscott.
Believe me, I don't. I will say that I prefer going against a whimsicott over a klefki any day though. Now those things are evil