Didn't feel that way at all, appreciate your thoughts.
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Battle Tree Discussion and Records
- Thread starter Eisenherz
- Start date
Didn't feel that way at all, appreciate your thoughts.
If you want to do some practice, you could check out some of the QR teams linked in the main post, and see if there's any you like, and try to replicate some.
While the "failproof" cores of aegimence and TruAnt are extremely strong, they require one to know what he's doing and have a lot of patience, so I recommend you to check out some of the hyperaggressive setups with fast & strong pokemon.
While the "failproof" cores of aegimence and TruAnt are extremely strong, they require one to know what he's doing and have a lot of patience, so I recommend you to check out some of the hyperaggressive setups with fast & strong pokemon.
Beyond needing patience is Aegimence really that difficult? I picked it up first time and found it pretty straightforward to pilot, I'd imagine people struggling with it are mostly trying to setup too soon or don't have the patience to PP stall things with Chansey?
QR teams definitely a good way to go and get a handle on the Tree I think.
I have a streak going with a variant Aegimence team and I’ve found there can be certain leads that can cause trouble if not played carefully. The last leads that gave me trouble were Malamar-4 though it thankfully didn’t have its Contrary ability (I could have lost against that due to lead Intimidate) and a Thundurus-3 that got a Defiant boost (nothing in the team wants to take a boosted Wild Charge).
While the TruAnt team may be more reliable, I’ve been frustrated with poor Moody boosts too often to continue with it - which may cost me, of course.
While the TruAnt team may be more reliable, I’ve been frustrated with poor Moody boosts too often to continue with it - which may cost me, of course.
That's true, there are some opposing leads that can be more trickier.
The main deal with Aegimence core is that sometimes what could look as a good idea actually is not if you are at your first experiences on facilities.
To make a simple example that GG was mentioning some days ago on Discord: Imagine you have Aegislash out, and a Fire atker like Arcanine or Infernape comes out. Your first istinct would be to swap to Mence since it can easily resist the hits, intimidate and setup. However, this is forgetting that Mence is put at risk of being Burned on the swap, completely destroying the setup possibility.
Or another thing someone mentioned, using Roost to heal up mence, forgetting that Roost removes flying type on that turn and could make Sala vulnerable to things it'd resist (like a fighting attack) and potentially die to a crit.
it's little nipticks that are unlikely to pop out in early rounds, but start to accumulate risks if you aren't considering them, eventually backfiring.
It definitely is a very good core for beginners, but it's not as simple as people would think.
Same goes for DurAnt/Mimi/Glalie, the idea is very simple, but certain enemy leads CAN completely demolish the unexperienced player. Like someone found out recently that Sheer Force attacks don't trigger Red Card.
To make a simple example that GG was mentioning some days ago on Discord: Imagine you have Aegislash out, and a Fire atker like Arcanine or Infernape comes out. Your first istinct would be to swap to Mence since it can easily resist the hits, intimidate and setup. However, this is forgetting that Mence is put at risk of being Burned on the swap, completely destroying the setup possibility.
Or another thing someone mentioned, using Roost to heal up mence, forgetting that Roost removes flying type on that turn and could make Sala vulnerable to things it'd resist (like a fighting attack) and potentially die to a crit.
it's little nipticks that are unlikely to pop out in early rounds, but start to accumulate risks if you aren't considering them, eventually backfiring.
It definitely is a very good core for beginners, but it's not as simple as people would think.
Same goes for DurAnt/Mimi/Glalie, the idea is very simple, but certain enemy leads CAN completely demolish the unexperienced player. Like someone found out recently that Sheer Force attacks don't trigger Red Card.
Contrary Malamar: Mega, DD once and KO.
Defiant Thundurus: Switch to Chansey, switch to Aegislash, King's Shield, Shadow Sneak, 3-2 lead
The problem is likely in the 'variant' part. With Chansey, you pretty much automatically win against anything that can't boost its attack or outspeed and hit it with a OHKO (actually that's underselling it as Chansey can set up against a lead that doesn't boost its attack and then defeat subsequent stat boosters/OHKO users with Sub + evasion) so it's not a big deal to use the other two team members to defeat the rare attack boosters as quickly as possible without needing to set up.
Maybe it's semantics, but it takes no actual experience for one to read a list of opponent movesets or a guide on the team. Isn't it trivial to say that you can get beaten by something if you're playing completely blind and it uses a move or has an item you weren't expecting? You can use 3 hard hitters and and get tripped up by something having Sash + Metal Burst or whatever.
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I am quite sure we've read enough posts in last 40 or so pages of people complaining of compositions being "too hard" simply because they do not understand certain threats, including but not limited to those mentioned.
It seembs pretty simple on paper to "entrainment lead, swap to glalie, sub and protect and wait", until people manage to fail to aero-1.
It seembs pretty simple on paper to "entrainment lead, swap to glalie, sub and protect and wait", until people manage to fail to aero-1.
I have an ongoing streak or 210 with the following team:
Kangaskhan-Mega @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy--->Parental Bond
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Frustration
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Protect
It hits hard with frustration, utilizes sucker punch for priority, and fake out for flinching an enemy, usually letting Koko get a free KO.
Tapu Koko @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Grass Knot
- Volt Switch
An absolute nuke with specs adorned. Just choose whichever move is best, or volt switch out of a bad situation. Celesteela is immune to both of Koko's weaknesses, so that is almost always a good switch.
Garchomp @ Groundium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake (Tectonic Rage
- Dragon Claw
- Iron Head
- Protect
Can nuke mons with Tectonic Rage, which also allows it to not kill Koko if paired up. can freely spam EQ when paired with Celesteela, and Kanga can tank 2 friendly fire earthquakes from full HP if the situation is dire.
Celesteela @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 164 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 84 Spe
Quiet Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
- Giga Drain
- Protect
I opted for a quiet nature because I wanted to run mixed, and it has worked well. The EVs are to outspeed magnezone I think, and then max SpA, with the rest in HP. Pairs great with Koko, but doesnt appreciate Electric terrain boosted enemies, and doesn't gain immunity to sleep either.
Threats include but are not limited too:
Crobat: Can not be faked out, speed ties and KOs Koko, and depending on the set can either deal heavy damage to everyone but celesteela, or put celesteela to sleep.
Infernape: Both sets can fake out which is not good, and they can deal HEAVY damage with close combat or flare blitz. Focus sash potential just makes it worse for me.
Marowak-A: Lightning rod. Do not mega evolve, just fake it out and manually switch Koko to chomp, if it has a troublesome partner, it can screw up the match
Arcanine: Intimidate, and Z-close combat is NOT FUN for Kanga.
Rotom Forms: Just barely live fake out+frustration, I think those using the QR linked below might be in luck with killing them though. (Maybe I should run double edge...)
Salazzle: Fake out, Can threaten Celesteela with fire stab, Chomp with dragon pulse (Doesn't one shot obviously, just not fun to tank), and Koko with poison stab. I always Frustration+Volt switch and whichever goes through is usually good. Frustration even break sash.
Theres more but I'll write more when the team actually loses, will update as the team goes on, battles generally end very quick, sometimes with absolutely no damage on my side!
I made the team into a QR, but replaced Frustration for Double-Edge because the former doesn't work well in QR teams. Link.
Kangaskhan-Mega @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy--->Parental Bond
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Frustration
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Protect
It hits hard with frustration, utilizes sucker punch for priority, and fake out for flinching an enemy, usually letting Koko get a free KO.
Tapu Koko @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Grass Knot
- Volt Switch
An absolute nuke with specs adorned. Just choose whichever move is best, or volt switch out of a bad situation. Celesteela is immune to both of Koko's weaknesses, so that is almost always a good switch.
Garchomp @ Groundium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake (Tectonic Rage
- Dragon Claw
- Iron Head
- Protect
Can nuke mons with Tectonic Rage, which also allows it to not kill Koko if paired up. can freely spam EQ when paired with Celesteela, and Kanga can tank 2 friendly fire earthquakes from full HP if the situation is dire.
Celesteela @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 164 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 84 Spe
Quiet Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
- Giga Drain
- Protect
I opted for a quiet nature because I wanted to run mixed, and it has worked well. The EVs are to outspeed magnezone I think, and then max SpA, with the rest in HP. Pairs great with Koko, but doesnt appreciate Electric terrain boosted enemies, and doesn't gain immunity to sleep either.
Threats include but are not limited too:
Crobat: Can not be faked out, speed ties and KOs Koko, and depending on the set can either deal heavy damage to everyone but celesteela, or put celesteela to sleep.
Infernape: Both sets can fake out which is not good, and they can deal HEAVY damage with close combat or flare blitz. Focus sash potential just makes it worse for me.
Marowak-A: Lightning rod. Do not mega evolve, just fake it out and manually switch Koko to chomp, if it has a troublesome partner, it can screw up the match
Arcanine: Intimidate, and Z-close combat is NOT FUN for Kanga.
Rotom Forms: Just barely live fake out+frustration, I think those using the QR linked below might be in luck with killing them though. (Maybe I should run double edge...)
Salazzle: Fake out, Can threaten Celesteela with fire stab, Chomp with dragon pulse (Doesn't one shot obviously, just not fun to tank), and Koko with poison stab. I always Frustration+Volt switch and whichever goes through is usually good. Frustration even break sash.
Theres more but I'll write more when the team actually loses, will update as the team goes on, battles generally end very quick, sometimes with absolutely no damage on my side!
I made the team into a QR, but replaced Frustration for Double-Edge because the former doesn't work well in QR teams. Link.
Thanks for that. :)
My variant is simply that it uses your Chansey and Aegislash sets, but RInanimates Salamence set. I find, probably due to my lack of experience, that the extra bulk on Salamence is useful in sticky situations.
Used one of the leaderboard inspired team (just tweaked slightly), and got over battle 96!!
Here is the video that I lose:
YS8G-WWWW-WWW9-3UMN
And here is some pictures (sorry for the orientation, I don't know how to flip this around):
https://cl.ly/3T0b163Q2V0u
Anyway, here is the team info:
Garchomp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 28 SpA / 10 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb
- Dragon Claw
Hits hard and usually sweep with EQ after a SD, don't do SD if the pokemon is faster than you or has quick claw. Either go for it or switch.
Tapu Fini @ Waterium Z
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Moonblast
- Taunt
Usually can tank a lot of hits, sometimes even super effective ones, but use Tapu Fini wisely because without her you will be status to death and get stalled to death.
Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 27 Atk / 4 SpA
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Brutal Swing
- Bullet Punch
The more physical tank in this team of all attack that is not effective. With HP and SpD investment you are very hard to get one shotted. Nothing much more to say as others have already said a lot for how to use Mega-Scizor.
Team role and general strategy:
Garchomp lead, tapu fini as scout, and scizor as secondary sweeper and wallbreaker.
Notes:
I didn't take a lot of mental notes on threats and everything, but what I can say is that this team is really well balanced and can get through a lot of different battle tree teams with ease given that you don't sacrifice the wrong pokemon.
The lost video analysis:
I think the real reason I lost is probably starting when I SD in front of the incineroar-4 and got quick clawed to death on the second turn, as the rest of the turns are just me flailing and finally got beaten I have no way to counter boosted gyrados in time. I will need to look back into the video to be more specific but that is the gist of it in my opinion.
Perhaps if my tapu fini is more defensive focus, then perhaps I can withstand gyrados and power through it, or perhaps if I will attack outright in front of incineroar-4 then this game's outcome might turn out to be very different.
Team inspiration:
Definitely the one and only Hamper's team on the leaderboard. And of course iVolke for inspiring the team for this team inspiration. My tweaks doesn't have a real goal in place but more for stability and some more attack power in special.
1. My garchomp opted for dragon claw rather than outrage, instead of substitute I went for rock tomb for mainly flying type and charizard X
2. My Tapu fini went for more special attacker with waterium-z and modest nature and totally different moveset.
Sidenote:
Oh and someone I have never expected to meet in a battle tree. A pokemon center lady!! How cool is that?
Here is a screen encountering her in the tree:
https://cl.ly/0J37223X2j1p
Here is the video that I lose:
YS8G-WWWW-WWW9-3UMN
And here is some pictures (sorry for the orientation, I don't know how to flip this around):
https://cl.ly/3T0b163Q2V0u
Anyway, here is the team info:
Garchomp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 28 SpA / 10 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb
- Dragon Claw
Hits hard and usually sweep with EQ after a SD, don't do SD if the pokemon is faster than you or has quick claw. Either go for it or switch.
Tapu Fini @ Waterium Z
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Moonblast
- Taunt
Usually can tank a lot of hits, sometimes even super effective ones, but use Tapu Fini wisely because without her you will be status to death and get stalled to death.
Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 27 Atk / 4 SpA
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Brutal Swing
- Bullet Punch
The more physical tank in this team of all attack that is not effective. With HP and SpD investment you are very hard to get one shotted. Nothing much more to say as others have already said a lot for how to use Mega-Scizor.
Team role and general strategy:
Garchomp lead, tapu fini as scout, and scizor as secondary sweeper and wallbreaker.
Notes:
I didn't take a lot of mental notes on threats and everything, but what I can say is that this team is really well balanced and can get through a lot of different battle tree teams with ease given that you don't sacrifice the wrong pokemon.
The lost video analysis:
I think the real reason I lost is probably starting when I SD in front of the incineroar-4 and got quick clawed to death on the second turn, as the rest of the turns are just me flailing and finally got beaten I have no way to counter boosted gyrados in time. I will need to look back into the video to be more specific but that is the gist of it in my opinion.
Perhaps if my tapu fini is more defensive focus, then perhaps I can withstand gyrados and power through it, or perhaps if I will attack outright in front of incineroar-4 then this game's outcome might turn out to be very different.
Team inspiration:
Definitely the one and only Hamper's team on the leaderboard. And of course iVolke for inspiring the team for this team inspiration. My tweaks doesn't have a real goal in place but more for stability and some more attack power in special.
1. My garchomp opted for dragon claw rather than outrage, instead of substitute I went for rock tomb for mainly flying type and charizard X
2. My Tapu fini went for more special attacker with waterium-z and modest nature and totally different moveset.
Sidenote:
Oh and someone I have never expected to meet in a battle tree. A pokemon center lady!! How cool is that?
Here is a screen encountering her in the tree:
https://cl.ly/0J37223X2j1p
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I don't know for sure one way or another, but I'd be careful before assuming it's the extra bulk that's useful rather than the fact that Mega Salamence is a top-notch Uber Pokemon that you're able to use in the Battle Tree against a good deal of low-tier opposition. I'd be interested to know if there were any sticky situations I overlooked, as my belief would be that without additional support such as lowering the opponent's Speed and/or Special Attack, the only troublesome situations for Salamence would involve critical hits and/or status effects, which are more likely to occur when not moving first or not being able to hit hard enough to KO the troublesome opponent within a certain number of turns.
A few tangible benefits of a faster, harder-hitting Salamence lead are:
*only having to take one potential hit while 2HKOing Nasty Plot Azelf/Salazzle
*Returning Charizard leads off the bat and having the worst-case scenario be a crit Dragon Rush from Zard X forcing Aegislash to revenge with Shadow Sneak rather than getting outsped and flinched/crit to go down 3-2 without getting any damage on it
*outspeeding foes such as Flame Charge Entei/Moltres and DD Feraligatr even when at a lower stage of speed, which enables you to Substitute and boost on them
In that case, it's a good thing you're using such a simple team as you may have made it only 10 battles trying something worse while learning how to play the Battle Tree!
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Hey all, reporting back in. I have found a better version of the Mega Sceptile-koko team. Currently at 126 wins with the team, about the last 60 of which are with this version. This post is mostly to update the QR team and detail a threatlist. This is also the final version of the team before USUM.
https://3ds.pokemon-gl.com/rentalteam/BT-8009-4672
Some major changes and overhaul have been made from my previous post (don't know how to link it).
Sceptile @ Sceptilite
Ability: overgrow
EVs: 4HP/4Def/252SpA/4SpDef/244Spd
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Dragon Pulse
- Nature Power
- Detect
The only pokemon to remain unchanged
Tapu Koko @ Zap Plate
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 4HP/252SpA/252Spd
IVs: 0atk
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Discharge
- Protect
I found that U-turn was less useful that protect would have been since I only wanted to use U-turn to gain more of an advantage than I already had, not when I needed/wanted to gain some form of advantage against a threatening mon. It also stops fake-out which can be extremely dangerous on turn 1. I changed the koko to my Melemele event version to reduce confusion damage.
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Nature: Modest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 220HP/252SpA/36Spe
- Flash Cannon
- Flamethrower
- Wide Guard
- Protect
I changed some things here after some advice which was quite helpful, so thanks Worldie
Gyarados @ Waterium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 132HP/252Atk/12Def/20Spd/92Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Crunch
- Protect
This spread is to minimize passive damage, and it actually take hits slightly better on both side with this defensive spread. 252 attack for bulky offense. I went with jolly since adamant does not pick up any notable 1HKOs on major threats. The speed investment hits 124 to outspeed Tyrantrum4, which scares me. Gyarados is also only weak to rock while Sceptile is on the field.
2 electric weaknesses might seem crazy, but it actually helps with some matchups and was the sacrifice needed to be able to reliably counter most scarf pokemon. Celesteela and Gyarados are here to provide answers against basically anything which outspeeds the leads. Here is the threatlist
Battle videos:
Fake out danger.
Raichu4/Durant4/Electivire3/Scarmory4
4JCW-WWWW-WWW9-4BYN
Scarf Manectric + ice beam is scary
Barbaracle/Mega Steelix/Manectric4/Nidoqueen3
Watch out for Plumeria featuring beta team.
Gengar4/Lurantis3/crobat4/Toxapex3
D5AG-WWWW-WWW9-4BL7
https://3ds.pokemon-gl.com/rentalteam/BT-8009-4672
Some major changes and overhaul have been made from my previous post (don't know how to link it).
Sceptile @ Sceptilite
Ability: overgrow
EVs: 4HP/4Def/252SpA/4SpDef/244Spd
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Dragon Pulse
- Nature Power
- Detect
The only pokemon to remain unchanged
Tapu Koko @ Zap Plate
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 4HP/252SpA/252Spd
IVs: 0atk
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Discharge
- Protect
I found that U-turn was less useful that protect would have been since I only wanted to use U-turn to gain more of an advantage than I already had, not when I needed/wanted to gain some form of advantage against a threatening mon. It also stops fake-out which can be extremely dangerous on turn 1. I changed the koko to my Melemele event version to reduce confusion damage.
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Nature: Modest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 220HP/252SpA/36Spe
- Flash Cannon
- Flamethrower
- Wide Guard
- Protect
I changed some things here after some advice which was quite helpful, so thanks Worldie
Gyarados @ Waterium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 132HP/252Atk/12Def/20Spd/92Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Crunch
- Protect
This spread is to minimize passive damage, and it actually take hits slightly better on both side with this defensive spread. 252 attack for bulky offense. I went with jolly since adamant does not pick up any notable 1HKOs on major threats. The speed investment hits 124 to outspeed Tyrantrum4, which scares me. Gyarados is also only weak to rock while Sceptile is on the field.
2 electric weaknesses might seem crazy, but it actually helps with some matchups and was the sacrifice needed to be able to reliably counter most scarf pokemon. Celesteela and Gyarados are here to provide answers against basically anything which outspeeds the leads. Here is the threatlist
Battle videos:
Fake out danger.
Raichu4/Durant4/Electivire3/Scarmory4
4JCW-WWWW-WWW9-4BYN
Scarf Manectric + ice beam is scary
Barbaracle/Mega Steelix/Manectric4/Nidoqueen3
Watch out for Plumeria featuring beta team.
Gengar4/Lurantis3/crobat4/Toxapex3
D5AG-WWWW-WWW9-4BL7
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Super Singles streak ended in what could be the worst way possible at 99 battles. Team concept is really just a few slight changes to my other team.
Team:
Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Atk / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 18 SpA
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
Same sweeper as before, same moveset. Dragon Dance to set up quickly, and Flare Blitz and Dragon Claw to go through teams once properly set up. Roost is nice to help stall things out if Charizard can live several hits, just so it can keep boosting up, as well as keeping it healthy for the continuous use of Flare Blitz.
Compared to before, the EVs only have a slight speed increase at the sacrifice of power. Main goal of this spread was to outspeed lead Sawk4 when unboosted, but it does help in outspeeding other Pokemon between the speed of 128 and 140, with specifics being Azelf1, Breloom3, and Togekiss4, among others. Plus, it has a nice bonus of outspeeding everything in the Tree besides Aerodactyl1 at +2, which is often enough to sweep teams.
Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability: Marvel Scale
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 54 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 12 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Recover
One of the main stallers of the team. Again, same moveset as last time, with Scald for STAB, Ice Beam for coverage, Toxic to break down bulkier Pokemon and stall things out, and Recover to keep Milotic healthy. Pretty generic moveset
In my other run, I had Milotic be my main special wall, but, since it's weaknesses are mainly specially based, I adjusted the EVs to take hits better offensively. One of the main things I EV'd for was to have any Terrakion set only be able to 3HKO me at best, bar crits, which lets me beat them 1v1. There's almost definitely other calcs to consider, but my focus was on Terrakion when building up this spread.
Ferrothorn @ Chople Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 78 Def / 180 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Seed Bomb
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect
The biggest change to my team in terms of moveset, being Ferrothorn. With the drop on Zoom Lens, I swapped out the inaccurate Power Whip with the much more reliable Seed Bomb, which has the bonus of having more PP as well as not being reliant on going last in a turn. Gyro Ball combos nicely with Ferrothorn's low Speed, and Leech Seed, while inaccurate, is necessary for recovery and another form of stalling. Protect helps stall turns and scout out opposing sets.
With Milotic having less Special Defense than before, I had Ferrothorn take over that job, at least slightly. Chople Berry was an interesting choice of item, but I definitely enjoy it a lot. Being able to take Fighting type moves once allows Ferrothorn to get a KO, set up a Leech Seed, or just get chip damage with Iron Barbs, though the last one has never happened to me. With the EV spread and Chople Berry, Ferrothorn can take any Fighting type moves at full health. This gives me an almost guaranteed way to take on Terrakion, as a Gyro Ball, even uninvested, can KO any Terrakion set from full health.
Threats:
(Physical) Fighting types: A lot of them carry some sort of Rock type coverage, so it isn't necessarily safe to set up Charizard on them. Plus, Ferrothorn can't handle them too well as it's a waste of a Chople Berry if it loses it to something meaningless. How I fight them really is based on their other moves, whether they have Rock Slide or some other way to cripple my team in one way or another.
Focus Sash/Sturdy Pokemon: Can instantly stop a clean sweep, and without a Substitute like most other set up teams, it's not a guarantee to take them out without losing something in return. Plus, moves like Metal Burst, Spore, and Counter can take out Charizard in one hit, assuming I brought them down to 1 HP.
Sawk4: One of the more scary Sturdy Pokemon. While it has a Life Orb that breaks it's own Sturdy, the danger it carries with it's moves. Stone Edge and Earthquake can basically remove Charizard from play, and Taunt can stop Ferrothorn or Milotic from stalling it out.
Breloom3: Another annoying Focus Sash Pokemon, but with Spore instead. Can stop a Charizard sweep on it's own, and take out Charizard with a Focus Punch or Rock Slide, depending on if it Mega Evolved. However, Ferrothorn can stop it just by baiting out the Focus Punch and attacking it the same turn, but it only works without losing the Chople Berry if Charizard still hasn't Mega Evolved.
Heatran3: The other sets are fine for the most part, since Charizard can set up on them or Milotic can handle. However, this set requires Fire Blast to have no PP left before Charizard can set up, as it does too much damage otherwise, and Milotic can't always stall it out due to sun-boosted Solar Beam. The best way of dealing with it is to stall out either Fire Blast or Solar Beam, then have Charizard or Milotic deal with it from there.
Charizard4: If I don't play carefully enough, if can go through my entire team, especially if it gets boosted. Ferrothorn can't do anything to it, and Milotic doesn't appreciate it too much either. If my Charizard is already boosted it's not a problem, but if the lead matchup is a Charizard vs Charizard, some planning and risks are needed, as my Charizard is slower.
Medicham4: Pure Power hurts. Ferrothorn takes too much from High Jump Kick to effectively take it out, and Fake Out stops Charizard from setting up immediately to outspeed and take it out. I haven't encountered one, but my best thought is to just hope to get set up immediately or take a Psycho Cut while boosting, then take it out.
Terrakion: Having STABs that can hurt most of my team for super effective damage makes Terrakion arguably the most threatening Pokemon to this team. Ferrothorn can take it out though, but if it's not at full health or doesn't have it's Chople Berry, things are rougher. Especially if it gets boosted. Possibly unwinnable at that point, bar a random miss.
Team Problems:
Without changing the team concept, I see no way of dealing with the things I have a problem with. Maybe some other EV spreads, but I'm happy with the team, and I'm pretty sure it can get a lot farther than what my streak shows.
Battles:
Battle 92: NB4W-WWWW-WWW9-4E64
Police Officer Benji (Excadrill4 / Tyranitar1 / Palosand4)
Battle 97: 6LGW-WWWW-WWW9-4E66
Veteran Kikujiro (Raikou2 / Zapdos2 / Thundurus1)
Battle 100: LDZG-WWWW-WWW9-4E68
Pokemon Trainer Grimsley (Bisharp4 / Drapion3 / Absol4)
Final Notes:
The team is good. I know that myself. My play overall could be better, but this loss was just dumb luck rolling against me a lot. Definitely will try to bring this team up higher on the leaderboard eventually, but I want to get on the Doubles leaderboard first. And I'm still a bit upset about this loss, stopping me from triple digits.
I've been considering making a QR code for this team, we'll see. Maybe when I break this record, or the Doubles idea goes well.
Team:
Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Atk / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 18 SpA
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
Non-Mega: 185/128/98/110/105/140
Mega: 185/179/131/129/105/140
Mega: 185/179/131/129/105/140
Same sweeper as before, same moveset. Dragon Dance to set up quickly, and Flare Blitz and Dragon Claw to go through teams once properly set up. Roost is nice to help stall things out if Charizard can live several hits, just so it can keep boosting up, as well as keeping it healthy for the continuous use of Flare Blitz.
Compared to before, the EVs only have a slight speed increase at the sacrifice of power. Main goal of this spread was to outspeed lead Sawk4 when unboosted, but it does help in outspeeding other Pokemon between the speed of 128 and 140, with specifics being Azelf1, Breloom3, and Togekiss4, among others. Plus, it has a nice bonus of outspeeding everything in the Tree besides Aerodactyl1 at +2, which is often enough to sweep teams.
Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability: Marvel Scale
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 54 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 12 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Recover
202/63/137/120/152/101
One of the main stallers of the team. Again, same moveset as last time, with Scald for STAB, Ice Beam for coverage, Toxic to break down bulkier Pokemon and stall things out, and Recover to keep Milotic healthy. Pretty generic moveset
In my other run, I had Milotic be my main special wall, but, since it's weaknesses are mainly specially based, I adjusted the EVs to take hits better offensively. One of the main things I EV'd for was to have any Terrakion set only be able to 3HKO me at best, bar crits, which lets me beat them 1v1. There's almost definitely other calcs to consider, but my focus was on Terrakion when building up this spread.
Ferrothorn @ Chople Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 78 Def / 180 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Seed Bomb
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect
181/114/161/74/174/22
The biggest change to my team in terms of moveset, being Ferrothorn. With the drop on Zoom Lens, I swapped out the inaccurate Power Whip with the much more reliable Seed Bomb, which has the bonus of having more PP as well as not being reliant on going last in a turn. Gyro Ball combos nicely with Ferrothorn's low Speed, and Leech Seed, while inaccurate, is necessary for recovery and another form of stalling. Protect helps stall turns and scout out opposing sets.
With Milotic having less Special Defense than before, I had Ferrothorn take over that job, at least slightly. Chople Berry was an interesting choice of item, but I definitely enjoy it a lot. Being able to take Fighting type moves once allows Ferrothorn to get a KO, set up a Leech Seed, or just get chip damage with Iron Barbs, though the last one has never happened to me. With the EV spread and Chople Berry, Ferrothorn can take any Fighting type moves at full health. This gives me an almost guaranteed way to take on Terrakion, as a Gyro Ball, even uninvested, can KO any Terrakion set from full health.
Threats:
(Physical) Fighting types: A lot of them carry some sort of Rock type coverage, so it isn't necessarily safe to set up Charizard on them. Plus, Ferrothorn can't handle them too well as it's a waste of a Chople Berry if it loses it to something meaningless. How I fight them really is based on their other moves, whether they have Rock Slide or some other way to cripple my team in one way or another.
Focus Sash/Sturdy Pokemon: Can instantly stop a clean sweep, and without a Substitute like most other set up teams, it's not a guarantee to take them out without losing something in return. Plus, moves like Metal Burst, Spore, and Counter can take out Charizard in one hit, assuming I brought them down to 1 HP.
Sawk4: One of the more scary Sturdy Pokemon. While it has a Life Orb that breaks it's own Sturdy, the danger it carries with it's moves. Stone Edge and Earthquake can basically remove Charizard from play, and Taunt can stop Ferrothorn or Milotic from stalling it out.
Breloom3: Another annoying Focus Sash Pokemon, but with Spore instead. Can stop a Charizard sweep on it's own, and take out Charizard with a Focus Punch or Rock Slide, depending on if it Mega Evolved. However, Ferrothorn can stop it just by baiting out the Focus Punch and attacking it the same turn, but it only works without losing the Chople Berry if Charizard still hasn't Mega Evolved.
Heatran3: The other sets are fine for the most part, since Charizard can set up on them or Milotic can handle. However, this set requires Fire Blast to have no PP left before Charizard can set up, as it does too much damage otherwise, and Milotic can't always stall it out due to sun-boosted Solar Beam. The best way of dealing with it is to stall out either Fire Blast or Solar Beam, then have Charizard or Milotic deal with it from there.
Charizard4: If I don't play carefully enough, if can go through my entire team, especially if it gets boosted. Ferrothorn can't do anything to it, and Milotic doesn't appreciate it too much either. If my Charizard is already boosted it's not a problem, but if the lead matchup is a Charizard vs Charizard, some planning and risks are needed, as my Charizard is slower.
Medicham4: Pure Power hurts. Ferrothorn takes too much from High Jump Kick to effectively take it out, and Fake Out stops Charizard from setting up immediately to outspeed and take it out. I haven't encountered one, but my best thought is to just hope to get set up immediately or take a Psycho Cut while boosting, then take it out.
Terrakion: Having STABs that can hurt most of my team for super effective damage makes Terrakion arguably the most threatening Pokemon to this team. Ferrothorn can take it out though, but if it's not at full health or doesn't have it's Chople Berry, things are rougher. Especially if it gets boosted. Possibly unwinnable at that point, bar a random miss.
Team Problems:
Without changing the team concept, I see no way of dealing with the things I have a problem with. Maybe some other EV spreads, but I'm happy with the team, and I'm pretty sure it can get a lot farther than what my streak shows.
Battles:
Battle 92: NB4W-WWWW-WWW9-4E64
Police Officer Benji (Excadrill4 / Tyranitar1 / Palosand4)
Not a bad battle, just a slight scare over whether Excadrill had Bright Powder. However, Smuckem was looking at things involving Pokemon not using Stealth Rocks immediately, so here you go.
Veteran Kikujiro (Raikou2 / Zapdos2 / Thundurus1)
I was just playing really badly this game, I probably should have lost. Raikou2 paralyzed Charizard early on, and not wanting to risk a Z-Ancient Power, I switched into Ferrothorn. This led to a long chain of dealing with Zapdos2, sacrificing Milotic to try and Toxic it, to no success. Not counting how much PP Zapdos had was also really bad, as Ferrothorn was running out of PP as the battle dragged futher on. Eventually, Zapdos kept using Double Team, indicating a lack of PP, so I swapped to Charizard, hoping to boost it up for the final Pokemon. While I was unsuccessful in getting boosted due to full paralysis, Thundurus1 wasn't a threat to what I had left.
Battle 100: LDZG-WWWW-WWW9-4E68
Pokemon Trainer Grimsley (Bisharp4 / Drapion3 / Absol4)
Arguably my worst loss. Everything went against me, luck wise. Recognizing Bisharp4, I only get Charizard up to +2, then using Dragon Claw to do chip damage. At that point, a Metal Burst from Bisharp would not have taken out Charizard. However, I end up critting the Bisharp, putting it in the red and having it KO Charizard with Metal Burst. Milotic comes in to take out Bisharp and then Absol4, going down to about 35% health. Drapion comes in, and it can't threaten an OHKO onto Milotic at that range, so I attempt to Recover. That is, until it crits me. At this point, I still don't know what set it is, and using Protect gets me nowhere in terms of position, so I just use Leech Seed and hope for the best. Then it uses Fire Fang. With a crit. And Sniper. Game over.
Three critical hits. Individually, I think I would have still won if they happened. But the combination of them deleted my team way too fast, getting rid of the sweeper I took time to get set up, then having the other two being removed with a double crit. I don't believed I played anything wrong that game. It could be argued that Scald would have been a better move the turn Milotic got critted, but Milotic wasn't at a big threat of being KO'd, even with a Sniper crit, which would allow it to live longer and use Scald more later on. Even when Ferrothorn was out, there was a chance to win, assuming no crits or burns happened.
252 Atk Drapion Fire Fang vs. 252 HP / 78 Def Ferrothorn: 88-108 (48.6 - 59.6%) -- 39.8% chance to 2HKO after Leech Seed recovery
Ferrothorn would take a Fire Fang (assuming max roll) and land a Leech Seed, bringing Drapion down to 75% health due to Iron Barbs and Leech Seed. I Protect, dropping Drapion down to 62.5% health and bringing Ferrothorn exactly to the health it needs to survive a max roll Fire Fang: 109. At that point, even a min roll Gyro Ball would take out Drapion after Leech Seed and Iron Barbs damage.
Math could be wrong, but the win potential is still there.
Three critical hits. Individually, I think I would have still won if they happened. But the combination of them deleted my team way too fast, getting rid of the sweeper I took time to get set up, then having the other two being removed with a double crit. I don't believed I played anything wrong that game. It could be argued that Scald would have been a better move the turn Milotic got critted, but Milotic wasn't at a big threat of being KO'd, even with a Sniper crit, which would allow it to live longer and use Scald more later on. Even when Ferrothorn was out, there was a chance to win, assuming no crits or burns happened.
252 Atk Drapion Fire Fang vs. 252 HP / 78 Def Ferrothorn: 88-108 (48.6 - 59.6%) -- 39.8% chance to 2HKO after Leech Seed recovery
Ferrothorn would take a Fire Fang (assuming max roll) and land a Leech Seed, bringing Drapion down to 75% health due to Iron Barbs and Leech Seed. I Protect, dropping Drapion down to 62.5% health and bringing Ferrothorn exactly to the health it needs to survive a max roll Fire Fang: 109. At that point, even a min roll Gyro Ball would take out Drapion after Leech Seed and Iron Barbs damage.
Math could be wrong, but the win potential is still there.
Final Notes:
The team is good. I know that myself. My play overall could be better, but this loss was just dumb luck rolling against me a lot. Definitely will try to bring this team up higher on the leaderboard eventually, but I want to get on the Doubles leaderboard first. And I'm still a bit upset about this loss, stopping me from triple digits.
I've been considering making a QR code for this team, we'll see. Maybe when I break this record, or the Doubles idea goes well.
It has struck me over the last several months that there are quite a number of Battle-Tree specific QR teams out there in the PGL database, those that aren't affiliated with the Smogon community in any way. Including the one I used to get 169 wins, I have stumbled into five or six of them over the course of the spring nd summer, but haven't logged any of them other than the one I used. Well, I'm going to be changing that pretty soon: this post will serve as a secondary volume of the QR3, dedicated to those non-Smogon QRs. No names unless the creator provides them.
Some of these suck, no question; others are mostly ripoffs of those teams already featured here. BUT, they all add to the diversity of the teams one can try out for Tree purposes, can possibly sprout new ideas for this community (which is really the only way we will ever really conquer the Tree, whatever 'conquering' entails), and can provide a snapshot of sorts as to what the larger Tree-climbing community has been coming up with within the SM framework (Lord knows how large this thing will get with USUM's release).
If anyone who is perusing the PGL comes across any Tree-specific teams that are currently not featured in the QR3, please VM me and I'll add them here as well.
So, with that:
QR Transcript Of Outsiders (Q.R.T.O.O.)
Doubles
Singles
"Sun" -- Mega Salamence/Tapu Lele/Aegislash, Mimikyu/Snorlax/Araquanid/Alolan Marowak ('PGL QR Rental Sample Teams')
Some of these suck, no question; others are mostly ripoffs of those teams already featured here. BUT, they all add to the diversity of the teams one can try out for Tree purposes, can possibly sprout new ideas for this community (which is really the only way we will ever really conquer the Tree, whatever 'conquering' entails), and can provide a snapshot of sorts as to what the larger Tree-climbing community has been coming up with within the SM framework (Lord knows how large this thing will get with USUM's release).
If anyone who is perusing the PGL comes across any Tree-specific teams that are currently not featured in the QR3, please VM me and I'll add them here as well.
So, with that:
QR Transcript Of Outsiders (Q.R.T.O.O.)
Doubles
Singles
"Sun" -- Mega Salamence/Tapu Lele/Aegislash, Mimikyu/Snorlax/Araquanid/Alolan Marowak ('PGL QR Rental Sample Teams')
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Hello everybody again! My last team didn't help me take the first 50 victories in doubles, so I decided to start a new core:
Tapu Koko @ Fairium Z
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
- Volt Switch
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Zen Headbutt
This 2 as leads could work, but I don't know what else use in this team. Any ideas pls?
Tapu Koko @ Fairium Z
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunderbolt
- Protect
- Volt Switch
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Zen Headbutt
This 2 as leads could work, but I don't know what else use in this team. Any ideas pls?
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well you REALLY don't like ground types, perhaps try (hear me out) golisopod. It has wide guard to wall EQ users, resists EQ, has great bulk, many forms of priority, and can hit ground types hard. It does have a terrible ability though, and it is weak to the terrain boosted attacks your enemy can have
(psst priority-centric Golisopod is very heavily overrated not to mention suboptimal but anyway)
If softening EQ and taking down ground types is a priority, without inadvertantly letting the enemy abuse Electric Terrain, he's better off selecting a solid grass type. Tangrowth takes very little from Earthquake, is very solidly offensive on the special side, also gets Nature Power, has abilities much more useful than Emergency Exit, and has a couple of other situational perks. I'm not really trying to convince him to use Tangrowth, but it was the first poke to come to mind that sets itself far apart from Golisopod. On the other hand, it layers a fire weakness with Metagross.
Honestly, if you're going to make Tapu Koko a unit in your core, the second lead should ideally benefit directly from Electric Terrain, and as it stands there's really no synergy at the moment. Metagross doesn't even know Thunderpunch and both of them are easily put in a situation to be boned.
Tapu Lele makes a better teammate for Metagross, albeit not one relying on Bullet Punch.
If softening EQ and taking down ground types is a priority, without inadvertantly letting the enemy abuse Electric Terrain, he's better off selecting a solid grass type. Tangrowth takes very little from Earthquake, is very solidly offensive on the special side, also gets Nature Power, has abilities much more useful than Emergency Exit, and has a couple of other situational perks. I'm not really trying to convince him to use Tangrowth, but it was the first poke to come to mind that sets itself far apart from Golisopod. On the other hand, it layers a fire weakness with Metagross.
Honestly, if you're going to make Tapu Koko a unit in your core, the second lead should ideally benefit directly from Electric Terrain, and as it stands there's really no synergy at the moment. Metagross doesn't even know Thunderpunch and both of them are easily put in a situation to be boned.
Tapu Lele makes a better teammate for Metagross, albeit not one relying on Bullet Punch.