talkingtree
large if factual
This compendium contains basic roles that should be fulfilled by any competitive Doubles OU Team, as well as a few that are more team-specific. Under each role will be an array of Pokemon that could satisfy it, sorted into solid and shaky performers of the listed role. In the case that a role is split into sub-roles, the solid vs shaky categories will refer to how well the given Pokemon performs the larger role - not the sub-role. If there is a Pokemon that is not listed in a role it should be or vice versa, make a post about it and this post may be edited to fit your recommendation. Although the lists will roughly be in viability order, this is not the place for discussion on each individual Pokemon's viability - that belongs in either the General Discussion Thread or the Viability Rankings Thread. Exceptions can, however, be made for the case where you believe a Pokemon is listed in the incorrect category. Having this visual cue will hopefully aid people in building better and also more diverse teams, and allow anyone to find that one last filler they need for a team.
Only Pokemon found on the Viability Rankings Thread will be included in this list - although Skarmory could check Landorus-T and Tapu Lele, it is otherwise not viable and so should not be used to fulfill those roles.
Crucial Roles
At least one Pokemon from each of these should be on each Doubles OU team in order to have a decent chance of winning against any playstyle. If a team contains no Pokemon from the "Solid" section, the team is likely weak to the specified threat. However, these roles are more a guide than an overarching framework, and there are still many ways to fulfill all these roles that would result in a bad or unbalanced team.
Landorus-T Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Tapu Fini Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Tapu Bulu / Kartana Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Tapu Koko Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Tapu Lele Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Mega Charizard Y Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Steel Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Rain Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Trick Room Checks
Taunt: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Fake Out: (Solid)
Strong Priority/Slow Attacker: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Reset Trick Room: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Misc: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Speed Control Users
Icy Wind/Electroweb: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Tailwind: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Trick Room: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Sticky Web: (Solid)
Revenge Killers
Priority Attackers: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Choice Scarf Users: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Really Fast Pokemon: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Nonessential / Team-Specific Roles
These categories contain some of the roles you may be looking to assign, but that do not need to be on every team. This could either be due to the roles being playstyle-specific or simply because teams are able to function fairly well without the listed type of team member.
Spread Attackers
Solid:
Shaky:
Redirection Support
Solid:
Trick Room Attackers
Solid:
Shaky:
Setup Attackers
Solid:
Shaky:
Weather Setters / Attackers
Rain: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Sand: (Solid)
Sun: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Terrain Setters / Beneficiaries
Psychic: (Solid)
|
(Shaky)
Electric: (Solid)
|
(Shaky)
Grassy: (Solid)
|
(Shaky)
Misty: (Solid)
|
(Shaky)
Utility Providers
Intimidate: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Berry/Item Removal: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Stealth Rock: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Hazard Removal: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Ally Switch: (Solid)
(Shaky)
Phazers: (Solid)
(Shaky)
~~~
Z-Move Users
The below Pokemon are common suitable users of Z-Moves, of which only one is allowed per team. While a builder should always take advantage of their access to Z-Moves, like Mega Evolutions they are not technically required and so Z-Move Users does not constitute a role. Hopefully these can give you some ideas of what has been shown to work and stimulate your creativity.
Firium Z:
(Inferno Overdrive)
Fightinium Z:
(All-Out Pummeling)
Groundium Z:
(Tectonic Rage)
Rockium Z:
(Continental Crush)
Electrium Z:
(Gigavolt Havoc)
Buginium Z:
(Savage Spin-Out)
Grassium Z:
(Bloom Doom)
Waterium Z:
(Hydro Vortex)
Icium Z:
(Subzero Slammer)
Flyinium Z:
(Z-Tailwind)
Fairium Z:
(Twinkle Tackle)
Psychium Z:
(Shattered Psyche)
(Z-Trick Room)
Ghostium Z:
(Never-Ending Nightmare)
Normalium Z:
(Z-Nature Power)
(Z-Transform)
Steelium Z:
(Corkscrew Crash)
Kommonium Z:
(Clangorous Soulblaze)
Only Pokemon found on the Viability Rankings Thread will be included in this list - although Skarmory could check Landorus-T and Tapu Lele, it is otherwise not viable and so should not be used to fulfill those roles.
Crucial Roles
At least one Pokemon from each of these should be on each Doubles OU team in order to have a decent chance of winning against any playstyle. If a team contains no Pokemon from the "Solid" section, the team is likely weak to the specified threat. However, these roles are more a guide than an overarching framework, and there are still many ways to fulfill all these roles that would result in a bad or unbalanced team.
Landorus-T Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Tapu Fini Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Tapu Bulu / Kartana Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Tapu Koko Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Tapu Lele Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Mega Charizard Y Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Steel Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Rain Checks
Solid:
Shaky:
Trick Room Checks
Taunt: (Solid)
Fake Out: (Solid)
Strong Priority/Slow Attacker: (Solid)
Reset Trick Room: (Solid)
Misc: (Solid)
Speed Control Users
Icy Wind/Electroweb: (Solid)
Tailwind: (Solid)
Trick Room: (Solid)
Sticky Web: (Solid)
Revenge Killers
Priority Attackers: (Solid)
Choice Scarf Users: (Solid)
Really Fast Pokemon: (Solid)
Nonessential / Team-Specific Roles
These categories contain some of the roles you may be looking to assign, but that do not need to be on every team. This could either be due to the roles being playstyle-specific or simply because teams are able to function fairly well without the listed type of team member.
Spread Attackers
Solid:
Shaky:
Redirection Support
Solid:
Trick Room Attackers
Solid:
Shaky:
Setup Attackers
Solid:
Shaky:
Weather Setters / Attackers
Rain: (Solid)
Sun: (Solid)
Terrain Setters / Beneficiaries
Psychic: (Solid)
Electric: (Solid)
Grassy: (Solid)
Misty: (Solid)
Utility Providers
Intimidate: (Solid)
Berry/Item Removal: (Solid)
Stealth Rock: (Solid)
Hazard Removal: (Solid)
Ally Switch: (Solid)
Phazers: (Solid)
~~~
Z-Move Users
The below Pokemon are common suitable users of Z-Moves, of which only one is allowed per team. While a builder should always take advantage of their access to Z-Moves, like Mega Evolutions they are not technically required and so Z-Move Users does not constitute a role. Hopefully these can give you some ideas of what has been shown to work and stimulate your creativity.
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