Battle Tree Discussion and Records

[ReptoAbysmal]

You've got to smile when you defeat a trainer, move on to defeat a second, and face the original trainer again immediately. Surely we are not beholden to the same standards here. Or maybe the AI is like that dude who was the first to claim he nailed 200 wins and "hyper offense bro, while you were busy running calcs and switching i was just pickin moves n winning, you should try it"

Also amuses me that I've faced nothing but Scientists four battles in a row. I love TR but cmon you fucks are getting stale

...make that four scientists, heidi the only uncorrupted aether employee and three dancers jesus they need to look at some stock college campus photos and learn something

Edit 2: Not a lofty goal, but I managed to reach 50 while completely at the mercy of RNG for my teams. I'm hoping I can at least drag this out to 100. Rolling for my box of alts in addition to six regular pokes has helped immensely in scraping together a usable team, though I tend to have some poor luck in getting a lot of repeat types, at least with the batches today (played 21-50.)

Chronicle

1-10: Gothitelle/M-Camerupt/Vileplume/Wishiwashi (Boss: Grimsley - M-Sharpedo/Scrafty/Drapion/Houndoom)
11-16: M-Audino/Slowking/A-Golem/Rhyperior
17-20: M-Audino/Hariyama/Slowking/A-Golem (Boss: Guzma - Liepard/Golisopod/Pinsir/Toxapex)
21: Cresselia/M-Abomasnow/Mamoswine/Aurorus (Incineroar/Tauros/Arcanine/Mawile)

Slowking was getting movelocked into less ideal things, so a change was in order. Not that it mattered as the following team embarassingly ate shit and bye bye went streak.

1-10: Cresselia/M-Abomasnow/Mamoswine/Aurorus (Boss: Kukui - Ninetales/Decidueye/Primarina/Lycanroc)

11-20: Cofagrigus/Golisopod/Rhyperior/M-Ampharos (Boss: Guzma - Honchkrow/Liepard/Toxapex/Toxicroak)

21-30: Cofagrigus/M-Steelix/Reuniclus/Guzzlord (Boss: Mallow - Toucannon/Tsareena/Sceptile/Comfey)

31-40: Jellicent/M-Tyranitar/Dhelmise/Celesteela (Boss: Cynthia - Togekiss/Milotic/M-Lucario/Spiritomb)

41-42: Aromatisse/A-Marowak/Empoleon/M-Mawile
43-50: Aromatisse/Landorus-T/Empoleon/A-Marowak (Boss: Blue M-Gyarados/Machamp/Exeggutor/Tyranitar)

First two battles saw way too many EQ users for a team with that many ground weaknesses, so Lando immediately got pulled off the bench. Luckily I went most battles without seeing a single water or ice user in the lead, and by "most" I mean "almost none." Fortunately I kept Empoleon for exactly that.

I love Alolan Marowak but wish it could have been even 5 base slower, because this poor girl was losing multiple speed ties with base 30 negative natured pokes, Wishiwashi and Slowking among the ones that actually mattered, and it of course bit the dust on those occasions. Thankfully Landorus hits only 38 speed, so while I couldn't sub it in, it finished the jobs.

Deserved to lose battle 46 as I twice opted to Hydro Pump an Armaldo4 when Flash Cannon would have easily OHKO. Pump is there because the set sometimes runs a Waterium Z, but had an Expert Belt this time for better overall use. Anyway, not killing the Armaldo allowed it to pick off Aromatisse and Marowak, and I only won due to a combination of Intimidate, Kingdra having neutered itself (apparently Blizzard at -2 barely even inflicts half Lando's HP) and Empoleon just having an amazing defensive typing.

Apart from that shitshow I brought upon myself, this hasn't been terribly difficult! Helps that the enemy megas haven't been leading, either. Eager to roll my new Bronzongs to try them out, as I've become really sold on Heatproof @ Colbur...

Edit 3: specifically
Bronzong @ Colbur Berry
Heatproof, Relaxed (252 HP, 204 Def, 52 SpD)

Meant to eat Flare Blitz, Overheat, Arcanine's Burn Up or Z equivalent, and Honchkrow3's Black Hole Eclipse which has frequently been a death sentence for the setter if it isn't anticipated and reacted to accordingly. No Levitate because most STABless quakes do shit damage to that spread and the only really scary ones belong mainly to Rhyperior4 (not a OHKO), and the Sand Force fellows, the worst being Garchomp4 (if it doesn't KO, it's GG if its ally targets also.) The Heatproof will also go some way in cutting Flare Blitz if the enemies manage to get sunlight up by any means. This spread also survives Gengar4 Shadow Ball but like Garchomp, it's moot if it got double targeted.

Edit 4: went out in the absolute lamest way possible, by losing the battle immediately after a glorious nail biting victory. And like always, hindsight is 20/20; I could have turned things around had I attempted something differently.

Battles 51-60:

Nothing terribly noteworthy; I like Golisopod running shotgun on some of these teams because First Impression easily OHKOs a lot of dark and grass types. I've also found myself enjoying Drill Run on this guy. Unfortunately he was getting ejected from battle often due to doubling up, when he had better damage options than the latter two.

Battles 61-69:

Regirock is a major boon when it shows up for its retarded bulk, Gravity, and its WP overcompensates nicely for its specially defensive build.

The nail biter I ended up winning was against a M-Gengar/Chandelure/Magmortar/A-Muk. While Slowbro can take as little as 68~ from Mega Gengar Shadow Ball, it definitely wasn't going to survive one from both leads, and I couldn't just switch either backup into it. Both Chandelure and Abomasnow have Protect so I knew I'd be relying on it. Gengar crits Slowbro because why not, so now I have to hope Regirock is ignored for a while, because it's the only thing that would be attacking. Thankfully, this played out in my favor. Two Stone Edges to get rid of Gengar, one for Chandelure, one for Magmortar.

Muk entered battle with Abomasnow at critical HP and, not knowing which set but wanting to get an easy Flash Fire for Chandelure (who up to this point took no damage aside from hail) I took the gamble of sending it in when it just might take a Shadow Sneak or worse. To my delight, Muk Crunched Reggie for pitiful damage and Magmortar activated FF, paying for it with his life. I was going to detonate Reggie regardless; since Chandelure would survive a critless Crunch, I passed on Protect and it picked Muk for the sliver of HP remaining from Reggie exploding.

Aaaaaand then we have 69. Lead Garchomp3 and Dragonite3. Slowbro and Abomasnow can survive CB Outrage but not if they take an EQ first, which they did. After that abysmal first turn in which I learn the enemy sets, I send in Abomasnow. What I SHOULD have done was tried to blow Regirock up; at +2 it OHKOs both of them, and because Gravity had been used, Garchomp would remove Multiscale if it were active. At worst, Dragonite targets Reggie instead, who dies, and I get a shot at maybe Dragonite confusing itself and protecting Chandelure the next turn.

But I don't protect Abomasnow, who's targeted by the second Outrage as well, so now I've lost my setter and mega and have two EQ weak pokes against three enemies (Regirock Stone Edged Dragonite for the KO) and one of those users is Chomp3, who's movelocked. Salamence entered next and Chomp would not crit it during my Protect turn, leaving Chandelure by itself. I forfeited. Not as stupid a decision as the Armaldo from earlier, but yeah, I have a bad habit of not exploring ALL my options, and here's where it got me :P

I'll try again tonight after the midnight rollover, because I don't want to risk losing again beforehand and being prevented from getting my PP Max and other items. Dunno how far past 100 I'll want to get before I'm proud enough to upload all my vids and ask it to be added to the FP.

 

[Squark]

So, having bred another Aegishlash, I'm struggling to figure out which moves it should have to round out my super singles team. Here are the two other pokemon I'm using (Any alterations you can suggest are appreciated).

Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Roost
-Dragon Dance

Suicune @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: ? HP / 252 Def/ ? Spe (This was from a giveaway from a while back, so I'm not 100% on the EV spread. Open to suggestions as to how to improve it)
Bold Nature
-Calm Mind
-Scald
-Icy Wind
-Rest

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4SpD
Adamant Nature
-Swords Dance
-King's Shield?
-Shadow Sneak?
-Iron Head?
-Sacred Sword?

 

[Worldie]

Ideally for a singles aegislash you are looking into KS, SwD, then eithery ou go shadow sneak + sacred sword, or can use sub over swd if you fear status.

Sacred Sword is kind of very optimal because it allows to ignore Stockpile/Curse boosts

 

[Anna says hi]

For Aegi you want an imperfect speed IV to underspeed Magnezone4, which can have sturdy and the rest of your team can't switch into it. Suicune and Aegi don't mesh well since they both want leftovers but you can go for chesto cune. Icy wind on Suicune is more for certain teams than others, and your team would make better use of Substitute. Aegi wants Swords Dance because it sets up on like half the tree lol. Don't use sub on aegi unless you're running a fully special set, which you aren't. As for suicune's EV spread, pretty much go max HP/def (or near max) with some amount of speed(check the tree speed tiers. some suicune are EV'd to outspeed certain threats at -1 but icy wind is kinda redundant when you have a priority user and a speed booster). i'd recommend at least 12 speed EVs to hit 107, but you could also go for 28 to hit 109 (there is a lot of nasty stuff at 106 including the rotoms, and excadrills are at 108)

 

[ReptoAbysmal]

lol won battle 69 and went on to lose #73 shortly thereafter; a first turn Rock Slide flinch was pivotal to my demise. The battle would have been easily winnable were it not for the offender, Hippowdon2. Had it just Cursed like a good boy, I would have kept Landorus alive to deal with the two Slowthings that appeared and not taken needless damage or KOs too soon. Aggravatingly, I lost a 1-1 with Carbink at 5 HP and Hippowdon at a sliver itself, thanks to its Sitrus Berry. At least I got several nice replays from this streak. Hopefully another patch doesn't release and kill them before I can record.

I've begun forgoing using a Mega if I feel the other three pokes can get along well enough. It seems to have helped, or at least not resulted in a struggle or loss of power.

Chronicle

Battles 1-10:

Battles 11-20:

Battles 21-30:

Fun Fact: Colburproof Bronzong worked as nicely as I'd hoped. AI doesn't seem to notice it as it was targeted by multiple fire attacks with Lurantis still right next to it. First time I used Contrary Lurantis and while it isn't retarded, I didn't expect it to be so strong at just +1. Netted itself many OHKOs, both with and without boosts (unexpectedly large number of Leaf Blade crits.)

Battles 31-40:

Battles 41-50:

Fun Fact: At this point in time, Mawile has the most alternate sets out of any flunky (total of four.) This one took advantage of Gravity.

Battles 51-60:

Fun Facts: Crabominable was not even sent out until the final battle versus Grimsley. Its one turn was spent destroying Honchkrow with Ice Hammer. This was also the only battle Porygon2 fainted. Several teams were versus Grass/Fire and Legend users, which Dragalge and Blastoise easily handled with some offensive support from P2.

Only worrysome opponent was a Volcarona who put Quiver Dances under its belt and was healed nearly to full by a Comfey. It boosted more while I hurriedly slaughtered Comfey and Typhlosion before TR wore off. It never got off an attack because it suffered paralysis the turn TR needed to be reset and the next Water Pulse to hit it was a crit. Blatant cheating! The facilities are a lie! Everything is a lie!

Battles 61-70:

Fun Facts: Played two battles with Telepathy Oranguru, and after a Rock Slide flinch and a Fake Out, immediately quit and subbed it out for Inner Focus. The first battle also featured yours truly using Thunderbolt like a retard with Marowak present, forgetting it would be redirected. Fortunately it had negligible consequences.

Battles 71-73:

Occasionally I did opt to use something I haven't seen in ages, over something I'd have been more inclined to use otherwise. Passing on Alolan Exeggutor to use Tangrowth is one such example. Conkeldurr in the losing battle was my Sheer Force LO variant because I had been really itching to try it. The streak ended too prematurely to really go batshit insane, sadly.

Now that I think of it, are Hikers Vivek and Stellan, the TR-meets-Rock/Ground team, the only hikers you can possibly face past 40? It seems that way.

 

[RAlexa21th]

Can anyone link me the speed tier of Gen IV's Battle Tower? Is it the same as Subway without Gen V Pokemon?

 

[Anna says hi]

Check the gen 4 thread, they should have movesets and EV spreads for both DP and PtHGSS pokemon. Keep in mind that the DP tower uses random natures, leading to variance in speed tiers compared to what we're used to now.

 

[Megamite]

NoCheese, the run with Blacephalon was a doubles streak, not singles.

NoCheese Edit: Whoops, Megamite! Managed to miss Tornadus. Fixed.

 

[TyRayDew5]

If I may, I'd like to submit a win streak for Super Singles.

The replay video is G8WW-WWWW-WWWF-Q6MU. I'm also submitting photo proof, since they're planning on updating the game again soon.

This probably isn't the most viable Tree team, but I managed 202 wins with it. Pelipper, Aegislash and Swampert can account for each other's weaknesses (sans Ghost and Dark) quite nicely. Substitute on Mega Swampert works wonders for dodging status and, potentially, extending a sweep past Rain running out. Aegislash's Sacred Sword, Never Ending Nightmare and Pelipper's Rain-boosted Hurricane helped with Bright Powder and Evasion abuse. I used to run Superpower over Substitute on Swampert before learning that Substitute was considered practically a necessity for a prolonged streak. Charizard used to give me a lot of trouble before I starting using Substitute. With Substitute and Rain up, I can hide behind the sub and switch out if the opponent's using Mega Charizard Y, or knock them out easily if they're using any other Charizard variant..

The team struggled, perhaps ironically, with other Water-types. There isn't much Pelipper and Swampert can do to Water-types that aren't dual typed in such a way that they can damage them super effectively. Aegislash was usually the best bet there, and even then, bulkier or strong Waters could trip it up, considering the Rain boosting their attacks.

Fittingly, a mono Water team took me down. I wasn't playing very carefully on the match I lost. I should've switched Swampert in on Kingdra during turn 1. When Rotom came along, the one Pokémon I had that could handle it reliably was too weak to do so. Considering the bind I put myself in, I could've tried PP draining with King's Shield or something.

Regardless, I'm both proud and surprised I was able to get as far as I did. Here's the team layout, for anyone interested. If anyone wants to provide any feedback on improving this team for another attempt at a streak, I'd appreciate it! I really like using these sorts of Rain teams.

Neech (Pelipper) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Hurricane
- Ice Beam
- U-turn

Apollo (Aegislash) (M) @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak

Skip (Swampert) (M) @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp/Swift Swim
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Substitute

(Not sure why the first one's so much bigger than the second. Whoops.)

 

[RAlexa21th]

Speaking of Rain team, I've whipped up a variation for Subway Doubles. This time it's Politoed/Kingdra/Ferrothorn/Tornadus-I. Too tired right now to give the details, so please wait until tomorrow.

 

[Shura Prinny]

Posting a completed streak of 233 wins. Not gonna lie, the loss was a disaster.

The Team

Original write up here.

Togedemaru (エミー Amy, F) @ Berry Juice
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Sturdy
IVs: 31/31/31/X/31/31
EVs: None
Moves:
- Fake Out
- Encore
- Spiky Shield
- Endeavor

Aromatisse (ユガ Yuga, M) @ Lum Berry
Nature: Sassy
Ability: Aroma Veil
IVs: 31/X/31/31/31/0
EVs: 252/0/77/0/181/0
Moves:
- Dazzling Gleam
- Protect
- Trick Room
- Disable

Mudsdale (ガンパウダー Gunpowder, M) @ Assault Vest
Nature: Brave
Ability: Stamina
IVs: 31/31/31/X/31/0
EVs: 252/252/6/0/0/0
Moves:
- Earthquake
- Close Combat
- Heavy Slam
- Rock Slide

Vikavolt (スタルチュラ Stalchula (Skulltula), M) @ Bugium-Z
Nature: Quiet
Ability: Levitate
IVs: 31/X/31/31/31/0
EVs: 252/0/0/252/6/0
Moves:
- Thunderbolt
- Bug Buzz (Savage Spinout)
- Protect
- Hidden Power (Ice)

The loss video. My trainer's name is Batt (バット), the same as my Moon character. She actually looks exactly the same in both Moon and Ultra Moon. I like very few customisation options in these games.

Battle 234 (the loss): Vs Collector Sam (カツオダシ Katsuodashi)

BCZW-WWWW-WWWF-RNHM

VS

The opponent's lead was horrible. Lead Snow Warning is always bad but lead Archeops is worse. I had one battle where a lead Archeops OHKOd my Aromatisse with Head Smash before I got Trick Room up and I'm always wary of that happening again, so I target them with Fake Out to make sure that doesn't happen again. Unfortunately it goes for Protect rendering Fake Out useless and hail breaks Sturdy. I get rid of Aurorus and it gets replaced by Nidoking while Archeops finished Togedemaru and this is where things go downhill. Archeops and Nidoking alternate between Protect which I'd admittedly not seen up until this point so I didn't play around it properly. In the end I was left with Vikavolt against Hydreigon and Nidoking with no Trick Room which was basically game over. I could maybe have won if Hydreigon had missed Draco Meteor and Nidoking had dealt less than half HP but, as I targeted Nidoking the last turn, Hydreigon would have had to miss twice which was never going to happen.

On Serebii this Collector could either be Sam or Dennis as both use the same Pokemon but Skewtr's spreadsheet confirms him as Sam.

I'm honestly really disappointed by this loss, not because I played poorly or because I lost, but rather the complete asshole this trainer is. In his intro quote he calls you "キサマ (kisama)" which is a rude way to address someone that I've seen sometimes translated as "bastard". No idea what else he says in Japanese but if he calls me that then it probably wasn't nice, and he's a twat in English so I don't really want to know. Would have much rather lost to literally ANYTHING else. Would have even preferred losing to Scarf-Chomp and Walrein4 and I hate losing to them.

That aside, this was easily the most fun I've had in the Battle Tree ever. I never really cared much for FEAR before but I really wish I'd tried it sooner. Breaking 200 wins was something I never thought I'd do but FEAR got me there and beyond. Sadly though I think I'm completely burnt out with the Tree which has never happened with any other facility. They were all pretty standard up until the Maison which added Triples and Rotation to the mix so, without those, the Tree just isn't fun. Hopefully the Switch release brings back Triples and Rotation. That would definitely rekindle my interest.

 

[hypno28]

So...Psychic Terrain doesn't prevent priority moves if it's set by a Tapu Lele as it switches in? (I was trying to use this to prevent faster Fake Outs from executing.) I guess it has to be there before the turn starts...is that true for abilities like Dazzling too?

 

[SadisticMystic]

Psychic Terrain does take effect immediately, but note that it does not protect a flying-type teammate, nor one with Levitate, from priority. Sucks to be Delibird.

 

[RAlexa21th]

As promised, this is the Rain team I've been using.

Team #3.1 (Codename, KingRain)

Life Orb, Modest Nature, Swift Swim
68 HP, 4 Def, 236 SpA, 4 SpD, 196 Spe
Scald, Ice Beam, Dragon Pulse, Protect

Lum Berry, Calm Nature, Drizzle
252 HP, 124 Def, 132 SpD
Scald, Rain Dance, Perish Song, Helping Hand

Focus Sash, Timid Nature, Prankster
252 SpA, 4 atk, 252 Spe
Taunt, Hurricane, Protect, Superpower

Leftovers, Brave Nature, Iron Barb
252 HP, 204 Atk, 44 Def
Leech Seed, Gyro Ball, Power Whip, Protect

My streak is 77 still ongoing.
Threats to this team include Walrein, Lanturn, and Hail teams.

 

[hypno28]

Psychic Terrain does take effect immediately, but note that it does not protect a flying-type teammate, nor one with Levitate, from priority. Sucks to be Delibird.

Ah, right. I was thinking of it backwards. Thanks.

 

[ReptoAbysmal]

Posting a completed streak of 233 wins. Not gonna lie, the loss was a disaster.

The Team

Original write up here.

Togedemaru (エミー Amy, F) @ Berry Juice
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Sturdy
IVs: 31/31/31/X/31/31
EVs: None
Moves:
- Fake Out
- Encore
- Spiky Shield
- Endeavor

Aromatisse (ユガ Yuga, M) @ Lum Berry
Nature: Sassy
Ability: Aroma Veil
IVs: 31/X/31/31/31/0
EVs: 252/0/77/0/181/0
Moves:
- Dazzling Gleam
- Protect
- Trick Room
- Disable

Mudsdale (ガンパウダー Gunpowder, M) @ Assault Vest
Nature: Brave
Ability: Stamina
IVs: 31/31/31/X/31/0
EVs: 252/252/6/0/0/0
Moves:
- Earthquake
- Close Combat
- Heavy Slam
- Rock Slide

Vikavolt (スタルチュラ Stalchula (Skulltula), M) @ Bugium-Z
Nature: Quiet
Ability: Levitate
IVs: 31/X/31/31/31/0
EVs: 252/0/0/252/6/0
Moves:
- Thunderbolt
- Bug Buzz (Savage Spinout)
- Protect
- Hidden Power (Ice)

The loss video. My trainer's name is Batt (バット), the same as my Moon character. She actually looks exactly the same in both Moon and Ultra Moon. I like very few customisation options in these games.

Battle 234 (the loss): Vs Collector Sam (カツオダシ Katsuodashi)

BCZW-WWWW-WWWF-RNHM

VS

The opponent's lead was horrible. Lead Snow Warning is always bad but lead Archeops is worse. I had one battle where a lead Archeops OHKOd my Aromatisse with Head Smash before I got Trick Room up and I'm always wary of that happening again, so I target them with Fake Out to make sure that doesn't happen again. Unfortunately it goes for Protect rendering Fake Out useless and hail breaks Sturdy. I get rid of Aurorus and it gets replaced by Nidoking while Archeops finished Togedemaru and this is where things go downhill. Archeops and Nidoking alternate between Protect which I'd admittedly not seen up until this point so I didn't play around it properly. In the end I was left with Vikavolt against Hydreigon and Nidoking with no Trick Room which was basically game over. I could maybe have won if Hydreigon had missed Draco Meteor and Nidoking had dealt less than half HP but, as I targeted Nidoking the last turn, Hydreigon would have had to miss twice which was never going to happen.

On Serebii this Collector could either be Sam or Dennis as both use the same Pokemon but Skewtr's spreadsheet confirms him as Sam.

I'm honestly really disappointed by this loss, not because I played poorly or because I lost, but rather the complete asshole this trainer is. In his intro quote he calls you "キサマ (kisama)" which is a rude way to address someone that I've seen sometimes translated as "bastard". No idea what else he says in Japanese but if he calls me that then it probably wasn't nice, and he's a twat in English so I don't really want to know. Would have much rather lost to literally ANYTHING else. Would have even preferred losing to Scarf-Chomp and Walrein4 and I hate losing to them.

That aside, this was easily the most fun I've had in the Battle Tree ever. I never really cared much for FEAR before but I really wish I'd tried it sooner. Breaking 200 wins was something I never thought I'd do but FEAR got me there and beyond. Sadly though I think I'm completely burnt out with the Tree which has never happened with any other facility. They were all pretty standard up until the Maison which added Triples and Rotation to the mix so, without those, the Tree just isn't fun. Hopefully the Switch release brings back Triples and Rotation. That would definitely rekindle my interest.

I was waiting for you to say it was Dennis in NA copies (I don’t remember seeing a Sam) and I would have gotten pretty riled up if it were, because that fucker killed my only good streak in this place too. I will avenge you! Sort of!

 

[hypno28]

I'm at 58 with a revamped Butterfree team. I have a few replays that I'll post once I inevitably lose. It's definitely still a risky team, but the addition of Bruxish has completely eliminated the problem of faster opposing Fake Out users (easily the biggest threat to this team), at the cost of some power. I tried Tapu Lele at first but didn't realize Psychic Terrain wouldn't protect Butterfree (hence my post above). Having the option of using Fake Out when Medicham comes back in is nice anyway, but, again, the drawback is having a less powerful team member in this slot. I gave Mega-Lopunny a try briefly before this run, but it's so much weaker than Mega-Medicham that the benefits it does offer aren't close to worth it in this situation.

Here's the current team (still need to re-EV Butterfree, not that it really matters very much):

Butterfree @ Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Tailwind
- Struggle Bug
- Rage Powder

Medicham-Mega @ Medichamite
Ability: Pure Power
Level: 50
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 76 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Ice Punch
- Drain Punch
- Psycho Cut

Bruxish @ Expert Belt
Ability: Dazzling
Level: 50
EVs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 140 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Crunch
- Liquidation
- Psychic Fangs

Garchomp @ Rockium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 188 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake


I'm considering replacing Psycho Cut with Fire Punch because I don't have a Fire-type move and Bruxish helps cover things weak to Psychic, but that move is pretty useful at times, so I'm torn.

 

[Josh C.]

#1,154 vs Sightseer Christian: HEAG-WWWW-WWWE-U65B

M-Lopunny/Landorus/Tapu Fini/Aegislash unfortunately fell several weeks ago now, ending at a final streak of 1,153. Quite the steamroll from the opposition to be honest, not helped by some questionable turns including:

- Opting not to Encore +1 Volcarona into Quiver Dance like I usually would; this tied into wanting to preserve Lopunny against Latios for longer and miscalculating Earth Power rolls on Volcarona at +2, both pretty big blunders.

- Switching Fini for Lopunny’s place instead of Aegi; can’t remember the exact thought process here but it was probably something like wanting to have Aegi as healthy as possible for later. Doesn’t make much sense however, when shield & sword is always the better switch for that scenario, resisting any move that any Latios set would direct at Lopunny, and the guaranteed OHKO with Never-Ending Nightmare. But instead of that occurring, Fini gets stripped of ~50% of its HP from Specs Psychic, and in turn it couldn’t survive afterward to finish off +2 Volcarona.

I can’t think of much else to say here, sloppy play results in a straightforward and quick loss. Now there’s no unfinished Tree business on SM, this was a very enjoyable team for me so it may well make a USUM return!

----

With that out of the way, it’s time for the real meat of this post with an actual analysis (of sorts), of that Trick Room team with a grassier flavour than normal. I’ve got it to 600 wins for the time being, so here’s the QR version for anyone else that wants to try it!
QR Link: https://3ds.pokemon-gl.com/rentalteam/usum/BT-41FB-8C60

The Sheer Force of Nature
​

Set Details

Oranguru (F) ("Agent 9") @ Lum Berry
Nature: Relaxed
Ability: Inner Focus
IVs: 0 Atk, 0 Spe
EVs: 212 HP / 164 Def / 132 SpD
- Trick Room
- Instruct
- Psychic
- Protect

Camerupt (M) ("Hot Humps") @ Cameruptite
Nature: Quiet
Ability: Magma Armor
IVs: 0 Atk, 0 Spe
EVs: 244 HP / 252 SpA / 12 SpD
- Protect
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Nature Power {Energy Ball}

Tapu Bulu ("#viabulu") @ Grassium Z
Nature: Brave
Ability: Grassy Surge
IVs: 3 Spe (0-3 offers the same number at Lv. 50)
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def
- Wood Hammer {Bloom Doom}
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Protect

Stakataka ("Jenga") @ Air Balloon (Chople Berry pre-500)
Nature: Lonely
Ability: Beast Boost
IVs: 11 Def, 1 Speed (17 & 0 are optimal)
EVs: 188 HP / 252 Atk / 68 SpD
- Gyro Ball
- Rock Slide
- Protect
- Wide Guard

I took a page out of kneeshoeshoe 's book and opted for a more Relaxed, physically defensive Oranguru this time; she still tanks a healthy amount of special attacks, but I tweaked the EV spread of mine to always survive a CH Night Slash from Bisharp3.
Other calcs worth noting:-
252+ Atk Flareon Inferno Overdrive (190 BP) vs. 212 HP / 164+ Def Oranguru: 160-190 (83.3 - 98.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Yanmega Savage Spin-Out (120 BP) vs. 212 HP / 132 SpD Oranguru: 170-204 (88.5 - 106.2%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Scizor U-turn vs. 212 HP / 164+ Def Oranguru: 156-187 (81.2 - 97.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Adaptability Porygon-Z Breakneck Blitz (160 BP) vs. 212 HP / 132 SpD Oranguru: 154-182 (80.2 - 94.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Haxorus Devastating Drake (190 BP) vs. 212 HP / 164+ Def Oranguru: 160-190 (83.3 - 98.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

The sweeping team members were EV trained simply to maximise attacking performance and recovery under Grassy Terrain.

Development

The idea of utilizing a Nature Power variant of Mega Camerupt in the Battle Tree first materialised through seeing it on a couple videos of James Baek’s current Battle Spot series on YouTube. His Tapu of choice was Koko to provide a secondary, very strong Thunderbolt for the volcano camel to unleash; given that Tree is a very different ballgame with just the 4 team slots to work with, however, having the best synergy possible both for TR functionality and teammate support was a crucial consideration to make. Accounting for this, I opted for Tapu Bulu to complement Camerupt nicely as a strong Grass-type physical attacker, being the slowest out of the Guardian Deities, and the offensive/defensive applications Grassy Terrain would provide for both.

With no prior Bulu experience from a competitive standpoint, I was rightfully sceptical of how it would perform, especially in a TR environment with a notable number of Tree sets outslowing it. I’d initially thought of Vikavolt as a suitably slow backup sweeper to better handle Fliers, despite the anti-Grassy Terrain synergy with Levitate. However, this was not meant to be when I suddenly remembered the Lonely Stakataka I took the time to SR for before I even reached the Tree, itching to get out of the PC. It’s not the first thing you’d think of to pair with Camerupt, but I’d heard pretty good things about its Gyro Ball, and Rock STAB would prove equally useful for patching up the current gaps in move coverage. I was aware I’d be stacking (or should I say, Stakking) even more of a Ground and Water weakness, but the team was already taking a strange turn away from conventional TR composition, so why not roll with the gamble and put faith in Bulu to support them as best it can.

My decision to use Oranguru again as the TR setter was swayed by both move and item choices on the sweepers. Grassium Z for Bulu jumped at me right away – an absurdly strong Bloom Doom to overcome its coverage shortcomings to an extent, and less reliance on regular Wood Hammer to maintain longevity as much as possible. Rock Slide Staka was therefore looking highly probable, which didn’t sound terrible in practise when I could have Instruct at my disposal as an inaccuracy buffer, and increase snowballing potential with Beast Boost. In a similar vein I settled on Heat Wave to also maximise Camerupt’s attacking prowess; with no room for a Fake Out lead I didn’t feel that Flamethrower would give me enough leverage, while Eruption sounded too inconsistent to stay healthy for, even with recovery from Grassy Terrain.

As for the actual team arrangement, Camerupt made the most sense as a lead in providing the superior typing support, both for Oranguru and to take the most overall advantage of those first couple of TR turns; this also establishes a stable backline to switch in on Oranguru and Camerupt’s respective weaknesses.

A very early version of Staka featured Skill Swap for some gimmick strats with Beast Boost Camerupt/Sheer Force Rock Slide (or BB Bulu + reactivate Grassy Surge) – neither of these seemed to gel too well with 2 potential rounds of recoil per turn cutting into Staka’s survivability, and spending a turn to Skill Swap being more of a novelty play than keeping things simple and straightforward. Up until the 500th battle, I’d been running Chople Berry as suggested by Level 51 for a temporary buffer to Staka’s other 4x weakness. But as it turned out, the survival yield granted by the Berry was situational at best, with a large portion of Fighting-carrying Tree sets not fazed by the damage reduction. Backline Staka produced an odd feeling – with the Z-Crystal out of contention, no other item felt like a clear-cut choice for optimum efficiency. I guess that speaks a certain volume for the facet you want Staka to excel at most – dealing superb damage with Instruct’s aid – where the item it holds doesn’t significantly impact its ability to carry out said TR destruction either way.

In saying this, Worldie brought Air Balloon to my attention as a more useful replacement item. My concerns about potentially lowering the chance for EQ Wide Guard baiting, or needing to have the Balloon popped for Terrain recovery were trivial compared to the additional switch opportunities it could provide, not to mention Ground-carrying sets being forced to pop it first with a less effective, often resisted attack.

How to Play

The ideal and most common turn 1 strategy is as straightforward as you’d imagine – click TR with Oranguru if you’re confident in it surviving any (combination of) potential attacks from the leads, and shield Camerupt from harm with Protect. On the flipside, Camerupt can Mega Evolve right away if needed to attack Pokemon threatening Oranguru while she Protects. The backline is also geared towards switching in if Camerupt is not up to the task; they can function somewhat without TR to take out threats to Oranguru, following with either a sac for a free switch or bringing the orangutan back in actively if it’s safe to do so (accounting for any damage it could take that turn + the one after when she wants to TR.

Camerupt’s performance as the star sweeper has been very pleasing thus far – favourable typing to lay down the hurting, and plenty of power to do it with. For me personally, leading with him has resulted in the smoothest experience than any other previous TR team I’ve tried to date; across the entire length of this streak, the one time I had the dimensions reverted on the opening turn was lead Carbink3. Trevenant4 also carries the Iron Ball and underspeeds, but the couple times I’ve seen it lead, it just chose to Energy Ball instead. In a similar vein to Sharpedo surrounded by Psychic Terrain, Bulu calls forth Energy Ball via Nature Power for the camel – essentially a third STAB move when the Grassy Terrain boost and Sheer Force is factored in, and neutrally just as strong as Earth Power. This greatly improves Camerupt’s matchup against rival Waters, with only the variants heavily invested in Special Defense able to live one (Milotic34, Slowking4), or Rindo Berry holders like Rotom-W3 & Wishiwashi4) – a useful tidbit to note is that Nature Power is a status move and also resides in that classification of ‘move that calls another move’, so it can’t be used while Taunted or with Instruct. Heat Wave’s 90% accuracy means I expect to miss with it on a regular basis, but I’d honestly be playing very sloppily, have some tremendously bad luck go against me, or have a (currently undiscovered) brutal trainer matchup for a battle to hinge on Heat Wave hitting or missing. There’s still gaps that Fire/Ground/Grass coverage fails to hit for good damage, including Salamence, Dragonite, Lati twins, Talonflame etc. If a Veteran trainer were to lead with two of these resistances for instance, my strategy depends on whether I have an opportunity to switch in Stakataka safely; if I don’t, Camerupt simply stays in and starts chipping away. There’s been a couple times where attacking with normal Nature Power (Tri Attack) was the most damaging thing he could do to a particular Pokemon, but being comparatively weak with 10 less Base Power, no STAB and no Instruct functionality, its usefulness is certainly limited.

The Tapu that brings it all together, or at least gives much-needed structure to the madness that is Camerupt and Stakataka on the same team, Bulu is a physical powerhouse and the Water matchup security blanket, for when Nature Power on its own can’t cut the mustard. I felt Superpower was a necessary weapon for Sap Sipper offenders, Heatran, Magnezone, Bisharp etc., and Horn Leech as a secondary STAB option to keep Bulu healthy still packs plenty of bite. Like Camerupt, it too suffers from coverage inadequacy (perhaps worse), but this is where the main act, Z-Wood Hammer takes centre stage. Max Attack, 190 BP Bloom Doom with the 1.5x Grassy Terrain boost is ridiculously strong; I won’t bore you all with a long list of calcs but Bulu doesn’t give a damn about Grass resists (well, 4x’s yes); just to give you an idea, a Grass resist on the receiving end of Bloom Doom would need to have better than 80/80 base stats, and most likely need to be invested in bulk to have any chance of surviving it. Bulu can also put his physically defensive capabilities to the test by switching in Oranguru’s place and buying time to set TR safely on a later turn; while it’s a different beast in terms of defensive applications to Misty Terrain, the Grassy conditions still provide a noticeable dynamic to how turns are played out.

Instruct plays with Bulu are less straightforward, since it moves after Oranguru inside TR. Adding to the fact that Bloom Doom can’t be instructed, this sometimes leads to thinking a turn or two in advance regarding how much you think Bulu can achieve in a given matchup. It’s therefore harder to get the most mileage compared to Camerupt spamming its STABs or Staka snowballing with Beast Boost, but can still result in some rewarding scenarios; Horn Leech recovery via Instruct followed by Wood Hammer to secure a KO for example, or even Wood Hammer into Bloom Doom, the attacking possibilities are endless (and by endless, I mean 12)!

I don’t think I need to tell you about Staka’s Gyro Ball, it’s something best experienced firsthand. Combine with Instruct, and the sweeping potential is strong with this one. Despite the shaky accuracy and power of Rock Slide, it earns a pass being a necessary STAB move that isn’t Stone Miss. Air Balloon admittedly hasn’t seen a ton of use yet, but it enables Staka to switch a lot more often into (or stay in on) Ground leads, and not getting Terrain recovery when it hasn’t been popped yet isn’t a gamebreaker by any means. I’ve not needed to use Wide Guard a lot either so far, but being able to block EQs, Surfs, Blizzards is as good a utility choice as any for that last moveslot. Speaking of EQ, here’s a calc that will likely never come to fruition if I can avoid it, but fun to look at nonetheless (note that my Staka also lacks the optimal 16/17 Def IV):

252+ Atk Sand Force Garchomp-Mega Earthquake vs. 188 HP / 0- Def Stakataka in Grassy Terrain: 132-160 (82.5 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

Threats

Strong neutral hits, with or without a doubled attack into Oranguru, can greatly threaten my chances of setting TR for the battle. Archeops3 tends to favour Head Smashing into Camerupt, which is a guaranteed OHKO over 75% chance on the monkey. He can also drop in one hit to a potential X-Scissor Sniper CH or Stone Edge from Barbaracle34 respectively. Tauros3 and M-Gallade are easier to work around, with the former having to recharge if it opts to Giga Impact, and Bulu can come in to tank Gallade’s hits while healing back up with Horn Leech. If the worst happens and Oranguru is KO’d, it’s up to the other members to fight back without TR’s aid.


Sap Sipper users are immune to Bulu’s STAB attacks, which is where Superpower can come in handy. Goodra3 is the most troublesome of the lot since Earth Power’s chance to 2HKO is only 7.8%, and it can threaten back with Muddy Water.


Taunt users in the Tree are an interesting bunch because more often than not, the sets that carry it prefer to use a different move. If there’s any possibility of Taunt however, I’ll still attempt to TR but make the judgement of whether to Protect Oranguru, or attack/switch out in the event of Oranguru being Taunted for some momentum. Hydreigon3 particularly stands out with Earth Power/Flamethrower threatening my 3 attackers super-effectively, and a strong Z-Draco Meteor to boot; best bet would be to wait for a free Staka switch to keep the Balloon intact, or a healthy Bulu to stomach a Flamethrower and retaliate with Superpower.

Caution must be applied around potential holders of powerful Z-moves, super-effective flavour or otherwise. Depending on whether a certain move threatens one of my leads more than the other, or equally so, plays range from Protecting both to scout, Protecting Oranguru while Camerupt attacks (common scenario with Flareon), switching Oranguru for Bulu and attacking (Nidoking4 trade-off potential is halved EQ damage, or ~50% Bulu after taking Z-Megahorn + no damage on Camerupt before Earth Power KO), or the rarest of all, switching both out at the same time. The most important thing is trying to keep Oranguru alive for TR, which could mean saccing something in the process; Bulu is generally the most expendable.


Oranguru has no protection against OHKO moves eliminating him from play immediately, so they could obviously end my streak at any point. Snorlax4 (and by extension, Professor Kukui) I fear the most since it shrugs off M-Camerupt’s attacks and outspeeds Oranguru inside TR. Bulu can Bloom Doom, but this isn’t as simple as it sounds if Snorlax is out while Bulu’s in the back, as I either need to make the call of saccing something for a free switch, or taking the 30% gamble and risk losing my only means of OHKO’ing Snorlax4 right away to Fissure.


Similarly to Sap Sipper, the possibility of Bulletproof largely prevents Staka from using its most effective STAB attack against these Pokemon. These two generally aren’t too bad if Oranguru’s still around to either Instruct Camerupt or chip in with Psychic, but a Bulu/Staka backline will have trouble dealing with them, especially since Chesnaught3 carries both Focus Miss and Sludge Bomb.


Golisopod34 can heavily damage/OHKO Oranguru or Camerupt with First Impression or Liquidation/Aqua Jet respectively. I wouldn’t want either to happen of course, so my go-to play is Protect Oranguru and switch Camerupt for Bulu, and proceed to Bloom Doom the following turn. In the event of set3, Oranguru then has the option to switch for Camerupt/Staka fearing a Quick Claw Leech Life.

Conkeldurr4’s Fling can strip off up to 95% of Oranguru’s HP, which is also in my best interest to scout for. If that doesn’t happen, it’s fortunately a similar situation for Bulu to come in relatively freely and delete Conkeldurr swiftly.

I think I selected a good variety of battles to showcase here, they do a fine job of highlighting the strengths (and weaknesses of each member). I went through them this time in ascending order, so #600 is right at the end.

Point of interest - the battle starting at 22:30 is the near-loss, where I lost Bulu right away to Snorlax4's Fissure, gained some ground with Staka, idiotically forgot about Instruct not working with Nature Power (Slowking was in Earth Power range anyway, rip), but I scraped through cause Reuniclus missed its first Focus Blast, letting me get the necessary damage on it before TR expired...complete breeze.

​

 

[AnneAnne]

Posting a completed Super Singles streak of 163.

I wanted to build a team with my favorite Pokemon, Golisopod. Never really thought I could get this far so I'm particularly happy but I definitely misplayed on my loss and I think I can get this team over 200+ at least. My team doesn't have a set-up mon and two of them has Choice items. I guess I got tired from shuffling things around, PP stalling, setting up behind subs so I opted to go with a pretty HO team. But pretty much I wanted to build a team where Golisopod can shine. Team is:

Golisopod // Assault Vest
Adamant
EVs: 252 HP/252 ATK/4 SpD
-First Impression
-Aqua Jet
-Liquidation
-Leech Life

Golisopod is the glue of the team and beats anything that her teammates can't beat. Emergency Exit is often an incredibly great ability in this team since it would often allow me to reset the moves of her Choice Locked teammates as well as regain momentum when something starts getting out of hand. She's a fantastic revenge killer as well and is sufficiently bulky enough to beat most special attackers that can't SE her. Often times, Golisopod serves to soften things up for her two teammates to kill as well as taking hits her teammates can't take. She's been invaluable in most of my battles.

Tapu Koko // Choice Specs
Timid
EVs: 252 SpA/252 Spd/4 HP
-Thunderbolt
-Volt Switch
-Grass Knot
-Dazzling Gleam

My lead of choice and my favorite Tapu. Electric Surge helps out against annoying things like Gengar-1 as well as Spore and Rest users in general. Rule of thumb with Koko is it stays in if it can OHKO or 2HKO something that can't threaten it. If not, chip it with a Volt Switch if it's not immune and let it's teammates revenge kill. Very straightforward with some battles ending with a clean sweep with Tbolt.

Landorus-T // Choice Scarf
Jolly
EVs: 252 ATK/252 Spd/4 Def
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
-U-Turn
-Toxic

If I see something with ground coverage or is a ground type I usually switch over to Lando ASAP. He's very good at what he does and threatens things that his other two teammates can't handle (ie. grounds with rock coverage). Toxic is specifically there for Blissey-4 since it's usually a pain to deal with. I used to use a Fly-Z Lando but opted to go with scarf to ensure it KOs something frail and fast before they get the damage in allowing him to be more reliable in most situations.

Team strategy is fairly simple. If Koko is threatened out, switch to Lando-T if the enemy doesn't have water/ice coverage and Golisopod if it does. Beat them down, repeat. Going with Volt Switch -> U-Turn -> First Impression is also great for things like M-Tar that has coverage for both Koko and Lando.


Video of loss: 33UW - WWWW - WWWF - UDZG

Lost against a Rising Star that led with Heatran. I foolishly switched to Lando right away because of a possible Earth Power when I should have ALWAYS switched to Golisopod right away. I guess I was in a hurry to finish my night's Battle Tree playthrough because I had work in the morning. Anyways, Heatran OHKOs with Overheat right away and Lando dies for nothing. Golisopod eats a Will-o-Wisp and 3HKOs with two Liquidations and an Aqua Jet. My heart sank when she throws out a Venusaur as I knew being weakened and with a burn, Golisopod can't possibly 1-vs-1 a M-Venu (even though he usually does with Leech Life). Golisopod dies to Sludge Bomb and Koko is destroyed by a Sludge Bomb afterwards. If I would have switched to Golisopod, it could have eaten an Overheat, Emergency Exits to Lando, KO-ing the Heatran. The Venu and the eventual Moltres would have been easy to beat afterwards.

I'll probably try again tomorrow and try to get my streak back. I definitely believe Golisopod and her boys can get over 200, possibly more. But I'm very happy with their performance since it's the first time I got over 100.

 

[RAlexa21th]

My KingRain team was stopped short at 119 wins by a Hariyama/Dewgong/Slowking/Froslass team. My Kingdra and Ferrothorn were frozen and could not use Protect ot Gyro Ball.
Regardless, 100 wins on the first try is a good sign of a solid team. This is my analysis:
Kingdra: Modest Nature and Life Orb allow this Pokemon to have equal offense to Absorb Bulb-boosted Ludicolo. Water/Dragon is a solid typing since it can destroy opposing Dragons. The only thing it loses to Ludi is Fake Out. I think max SpA would be better since 236 SpA narrowly misses some KO.
Politoed: As a Rain setter it is the most vital Pokemon in my team. Rain Dance allows it to maintain control weather and counteract Hail. Lum Berry allows ut to shrug off Freeze and use Rain Dance. Helping Hands allows Kingdra to score numerous OHKO, especially the Haban Berry Dragons. Perish song is a fantastic stallbreaking move that makes Minimize and Stockpile spammers a non-issue.
Ferrothorn: Generic Rain team Ferrothorn. Its low Speed and great defensve typing are also handy for Perish Song shenanigans.
Tornadus-I: Probably the most replaceable mon here. Superpower is just enough to KO Hydreigon. I don't use Taunt often because this team isn't afraid of Trick Room. Maybe Rain Dance would be a better status move. Maybe Raichu would make a better teammate.

 

[Kitzler]

PLZZ HELPP !!!!

Is there something like this for Gen III ?

I really really want to know the best teams for the Battle Tower RS or whatever it is called in Emerald : ) But it does not seem like it so far that there is something like this anywhere ...


Hmmm seems like this one has never gotten any entries:

http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/gen-3-battle-frontier-record-thread.3478612/

Also another question: Is double combatting possible in Emerald? In RS there is only Singles as you may know, but as I never got Emerald I really wonder if it's possible there. I am just confused because of Pokewiki:

It tells

*Like before, it features a standard 3-vs-3 single or 4-vs-4 Double Battle format, with straight runs of 7 Trainers that get progressively more powerful as the player goes on.*

But *BEFORE* there was no 4-vs-4 Double Battle at all ... ? Or did I miss something ? This would assume that there is Doubles in Emerald, but this also sounds like it would be in RS :0

 

[bbluewi]

PLZZ HELPP !!!!

Is there something like this for Gen III ?

I really really want to know the best teams for the Battle Tower RS or whatever it is called in Emerald : ) But it does not seem like it so far that there is something like this anywhere ...


Hmmm seems like this one has never gotten any entries:

http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/gen-3-battle-frontier-record-thread.3478612/

Also another question: Is double combatting possible in Emerald? In RS there is only Singles as you may know, but as I never got Emerald I really wonder if it's possible there. I am just confused because of Pokewiki:

It tells

*Like before, it features a standard 3-vs-3 single or 4-vs-4 Double Battle format, with straight runs of 7 Trainers that get progressively more powerful as the player goes on.*

But *BEFORE* there was no 4-vs-4 Double Battle at all ... ? Or did I miss something ? This would assume that there is Doubles in Emerald, but this also sounds like it would be in RS :0

I have the old prima guide to Emerald, which definitely talks about Doubles in the Tower, though you won't face Anabel and can't get the symbol that way.

Serebii says that there is Doubles in the RS Tower, though I've never been there, so I wouldn't know personally.

 

[Kitzler]

But there is none, you just walk into the hall and there is 1 single lady, asking you if you want to compete at level 50 or 100. This is all ... then you choose 3 Pokemon O:

 

[MrMarc]

But there is none, you just walk into the hall and there is 1 single lady, asking you if you want to compete at level 50 or 100. This is all ... then you choose 3 Pokemon O:

This is true, in Ruby / Sapphire there was no option to choose Doubles as the battle format.
The option to choose Doubles as the battle format was introduced in Emerald, but as bbluewi said, there is no way to battle Anabel in the Doubles format. She only appears in Singles.

 

[Worldie]

Obamasnow comp hits 90. Now to decide on next Ice type to try once this streak is over