tkdgirl2013 beginner team

[tkdgirl2013]

Hi guys! I'm new to the forum but I was wondering if someone could provide some feedback on the team I'm planning on using for the league. I got one of the card thingies at magfest so I figured I'd join up. I'm kind of a novice so I'd really appreciate if someone could take a look. My team is as follows:


Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Protect
- SolarBeam
- Ancient Power

Amoonguss @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Rage Powder
- Spore
- Protect
- Giga Drain

Garchomp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Protect

Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Thunderbolt
- Taunt

Sylveon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 56 HP / 200 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
- Moonblast

Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Tailwind


Thanks guys!!!

[Ludo]

I think the team is pretty solid overall, but I think with maybe one or two tweaks it can work even better.

The first would be to swap the Gengar and Garchomp's items. Gengar is a lot more frail and since it isn't carrying protect I think it would make better use of the sash than Garchomp.

One thing I think you also need to change is your Sylveon's EV spread it's fine for level 100 play, but at level 50 where most doubles competitions are played at you're actually wasting 8 evs. This can be easily fixed though by changing the EV investment to 52 and the defense investment to 204. You'll still have the same HP stat, but your defense stat will be at 111 instead of 110.

I think the modest nature on the Charizard Y is a good idea, but you probably want to make it just a little bulkier since you're taking that drop in speed. I haven't used it too much myself but I know from other VGC players that there are builds out there that can take a Garchomp's rock slide and live while still being able to pack a punch. Here's a link to the Charizard archives on Nugget Bridge where you can find a handful of builds that can do that: nuggetbridge.com/tag/charizard/. 

Hopefully you can find the build that works best for you.  Anyways that's all that stands out to me right now be sure to keep us posted on how the team works out. 

[darkewan45]

Interesting that you're carrying both Rage Powder and Spore on Amoonguss along with Protect. Taunt shuts that set down pretty hard, so you might want to swap one of your powder moves for Foul Play or Sludge Bomb for another attacking option. And if you're using Rage Powder, presumably to draw in physical moves because of that spread, you might want to consider Effect Spore over Regenerator to punish them with paralysis or sleep, which can often turn the tide of a match. Plus, your team looks very offensive, so you won't be switching pokemon in to get Amoonguss that 30% HP boost without taking a substantial amount on the switch.

Other than that, you have a pretty solid team. Only worried about Choice Band on that Talonflame, but given how many of your pokemon attack on the special side, it makes more sense.

[Ludo]

Feb 25, 2015 11:39:47 GMT -5 darkewan45 said:

Interesting that you're carrying both Rage Powder and Spore on Amoonguss along with Protect. Taunt shuts that set down pretty hard, so you might want to swap one of your powder moves for Foul Play or Sludge Bomb for another attacking option. And if you're using Rage Powder, presumably to draw in physical moves because of that spread, you might want to consider Effect Spore over Regenerator to punish them with paralysis or sleep, which can often turn the tide of a match. Plus, your team looks very offensive, so you won't be switching pokemon in to get Amoonguss that 30% HP boost without taking a substantial amount on the switch.

Other than that, you have a pretty solid team. Only worried about Choice Band on that Talonflame, but given how many of your pokemon attack on the special side, it makes more sense.

Honestly I think Amoonguss is fine the way it is. I ran the exact same set at a premier challenge where I made top cut, although mine had a  Rocky Helmet instead of a Sitrus Berry. Amoonguss kind of needs protect now that threats like Talonflame and Mega Salamence exist. Taunt is an issue, but the team has enough power behind it to deal with Gengar and Thundurus who are probably the most common taunt users in the meta right now. If taunt does prove to be an issue they can always switch out the Sitrus Berry for a Mental Herb.

As for the ability, while there's an argument to be made for Effect Spore I still prefer Regenerator. The main reason being that I don't want to accidentally paralyze or poison a target that I was looking to spore. That being said if they decide to drop Spore for Foul Play or Sludge Bomb then they probably want to swap out Regenerator for Effect Spore so Amoonguss has some way to spread status. 

You do make a good point about there not being a whole of pokemon on the team for Amoonguss to switch out to though. 

[tkdgirl2013]

I generally switch in to Sylveon because it has enough bulk to last the hit. Plus I generally start out with Amoongus so I don't have to switch it in.

[tkdgirl2013]

I generally switch in to Sylveon because it has enough bulk to last the hit. Plus I generally start out with Amoongus so I don't have to switch it in.

[Ashhaul]

As an Electric trainer I can effectively say it needs moar ROTOM! But seriously...

Ian already touched on so much and is a better source than I am for these things, but I will at least confirm about the sash on Gengar. Unless you plan to run it Mega, Sash seems much better on Gengar since presumably he will deal with things more successfully than Garchomp and at least that way you guarantee he sticks around for atleast two shots.

As far as Garchomp goes, I'm not sure for how credible it is, but as an Electric trainer, Choice Scarfed Adamant Garchomp is pretty scary to me. It will hit harder than a sashed Jolly Chomp, and it will outspeed almost everything! Few things are as scary as superfast Earthquakes and Rockslides. Maybe consider Dragon Tail over Claw, despite it being a lower-priority move phasing out threats trying to setup on him may be useful for your team. (even though choice scarfing a low-priority move is kinda dumb it may be necessary sometimes... IDK)

I'm not sure you need Specs on Sylveon, you might be able to get away with throwing Leftovers on it... Sylveon hits REALLY hard already and has great bulk, so a Wish/Protect set would work REALLY well on him.

Finally, I think putting Choice band on Talonflame in this situation isn't the best since it's going to lock up his ability to be utility for the team. I'd throw the life orb over to him in this case so that he could start things off with a Tailwind, then Uturn out or brave bird on round two for some massive damage or an effective switch.

Just some ideas, not sure how great they are, but I hope the perspective helps and GOOD LUCK!

[tkdgirl2013]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the help. I think I'm going to take your advice about Focus Sash Gengar, the IVs for Sylveon, Choice Scarfed Adamant Garchomp, and giving Talonflame leftovers. I'm going to try it for a bit and see if it works. I'll keep you guys posted on how it works!

[Ashhaul]

Life Orb for Talon, Leftovers for Sylveon =P

[tkdgirl2013]

Hey guys, just a heads up on how everything's going. I figured out the best configuration of the team that works for me. I'm going to stick with what I had in the first place, except the minor changes in Sylveons EVs, and switching items between Gengar and Garchomp. I'm already at 1600 in the VCG rules and hope to continue up the ladder. Thanks so much for your help guys!