• Snag some vintage SPL team logo merch over at our Teespring store before January 12th!

Metagame GSC Doubles - New LCotS!

silly worm

silly worm

formerly Low Quality Teams

(Art by me, silly worm)​

gscdoubles.png

:snorlax:GSC Doubles :zapdos:​

Thanks for Leader's Choice! We're thrilled to have this format available on PS for the upcoming season!​

​
:alakazam: What is GSC Doubles?
GSC Doubles is a mod that introduces ADV doubles mechanics to gen 2. This creates a fairly unique metagame, since unlike any other doubles metagame, there are no abilities like Intimidate, and any future moves designed specifically for double battles such as Follow Me and Helping Hand don't exist.

:marowak: How are double battle mechanics implemented?
Put simply: any move, mechanic, or interaction will take its normal effect from gen 2, unless it has an interaction exclusive to doubles, in which case it will work how it does in gen 3 double battles. This means both mid-turn switches after fainting as well as gen 3's unique damage calculation for spread moves is in effect.
These moves will target both opposing Pokémon, and damaging moves will deal 50% damage:
  • Blizzard
  • Bubble
  • Growl
  • Icy Wind
  • Leer
  • Powder Snow
  • Razor Leaf
  • Rock Slide
  • String Shot
  • Surf
  • Sweet Scent
  • Tail Whip
These moves will target both opposing Pokémon and the ally, and damaging moves will deal 100% damage:
  • Earthquake
  • Explosion
  • Magnitude
  • Self-Destruct
In addition to these, Light Screen and Reflect will reduce damage by 1/3 instead of 1/2. Since Mist only affects the user and not the team in gen 2, it will still only affect the Pokémon that used it.

Bans and Clauses
Pokemon:
:celebi: Celebi
:ho-oh: Ho-oh
:lugia: Lugia
:mew: Mew
:mewtwo: Mewtwo

Items: Bright Powder, King's Rock, Quick Claw

Sleep Clause: Limit one foe put to sleep
Freeze Clause: Limit one foe frozen
Species Clause: Limit one of each Pokémon
OHKO Clause: OHKO moves are banned
Evasion Moves Clause: Evasion moves are banned
Endless Battle Clause: Forcing endless battles is banned
Swagger Clause: Swagger is banned
 
Last edited:
:exeggutor::alakazam::gengar::snorlax::steelix::zapdos:
Boom Spam by silly worm
This team opperates very simply by aiming for a 2 for 1 boom trade early on and then overwhelming the opponent with offense. This team doesn't use any status because it's too slow against things carrying Miracle Berry.
Exeggutor and Alakazam form a very threatening lead, as any attempts to use Protect can be punished by Encore. If you explode with Exeggutor and Protect with Alakazam and only knock out one Pokemon, it's still often a positive trade since you still have momentum from Encore pressure.
Gengar is both an Explosion user itself, and has an immunity to it when its partner is using it. Normally, if you go for Protect on an Explosion user's partner, the opponent will feel safe since it's too risky to use twice in a row while blowing up. But if you switch in Gengar, you can bait out Protects from the opponent and be able to apply pressure even while playing safe.
Snorlax on this team doesn't use any boosting moves, and primarily just wants to trade with the opponent's Lax. It's also tanky enough to dish out several hits before having any need to explode. It uses Miracle Berry instead of the typical Leftovers which is great on boosting and support Lax sets since this set doesn't intend to stick around long and a one-time protection from sleep is much more valuable.
Steelix is the team's boost sweeper. It doesn't have any way to hit Flying types besides Explosion, but it's not uncommon for Zapdos to be a team's only flyer, so you both have the option to take it out early with another Explosion, or save it for last while Steelix beats everything else with Earthquake.
Zapdos can be used for Earthquake immunity alongside Snorlax and Steelix, and can support Steelix with Light Screen to help mitigate damage from opposing Zapdos Hidden Power Ice (but beware of HP Water), along with other special moves that chip it down. Light Screen also prevents Alakazam's Psychich from OHKOing Gengar, and overall helps give you more turns of survivability for Explosion opportunity.

:starmie::zapdos::marowak::articuno::jumpluff::snorlax:
Marowak + Flyers by silly worm
The goal of this team is to create one or more situations for Marowak to switch in, set up Swords Dance if needed, and destroy everything with Earthquake.
Starmie is a strong lead option that can use multiple forms of speed control. Icy Wind is almost always a good first turn click, as it can give you a big advantage versus common leads like Alakazam, and oposing Starmie and Zapdos. Thunder Wave is better in the long term to cripple key targets that threaten Marowak.
Zapdos is the first of three Flying types you can use beside Marowak for Earthquake immunity. It's a great offensive partner because its Electric/Ice coverage threatens the Water, Flying, and Grass types that Marowak struggles with.
Marowak is the star sweeper. It has just enough bulk to usually survive two hits depending on what it's taking, but use its health wisely. It's best to bring in when it can outspeed both enemy Pokemon on the field, and you're not expecting any attacks going into its slot as it comes in. You'll almost always be clicking Earthquake, especially once you're boosted, but HP Rock is nice to pick off any Flying type that's annoying you.
Articuno is another partner for Marowak, and its main purpose is to use Icy Wind to help Marowak outspeed targets you're not able to nail down with paralysis. Pokemon with base 95 speed and above will still outspeed Wak at -1, but it's still a good tool to help the rest of your team, too. Articuno's damage output isn't great, but Ice Beam does enough to opposing Flying types and Double-Edge is decent damage into something like a Starmie or Jynx if you have nothing better to click.
Jumpluff is a pure support set since it's not built for offense, but it's still a great partner to Marowak since it does more than enough damage. Encore and Sleep Powder are excellent disruption tools to give Marowak opportunities to switch in and set up, and Cotton Spore is a good move to easily get something to -2 speed and let Wak get the jump. Jumpluff's defensive typing can still let it switch in and be useful outside of helping Marowak, as being a Flying type with Encore on a team with so many other Flying types lets it lock something into Earthquake while your Pokemon are immune, and you can even get them to hit their ally sometimes!
Snorlax is obligatory and here it's more of a supporting set with Icy Wind and Self-Destruct to further facilitate speed control and blow up on a key threat to Marowak's sweep, or just trade with another boosted Lax, since Curse boosts on an opposing Snorlax let it tank even +2 Earthquake from Wak.

:alakazam::zapdos::tyranitar::clefable::snorlax::starmie:
Para Spam + Drumlax by silly worm
The aim of this team is to paralyze the majority of the opponent's team so that Snorlax can find an opportunity to set up Belly Drum and sweep.
Alakazam carries Substitute to block Icy Wind leads and opposing Thunder Wave. Because Alakazam is usually an Encore user, this set may be unexpected, but keep in mind that once you reveal Thunder Wave/Substitute, the opponent will know you can't have Encore because the moves are incompatible.
Zapdos is a Thunder Wave user immune to Earthquake that has an extremely strong matchup spread.
Tyranitar is a Normal resist that can limit Explosion as well as chip threats like Alakzam or Exeggutor with Pursuit that could threaten Lax with Encore/Boom/Sleep.
Clefable is an Encore user that limits the opponent from setting up with Steelix, Marowak, or their own Snorlax. It can also fish for Body Slam paralysis and offers Icy Wind as a second form of speed control for the team. It is also the team's bulky Normal type with access to healing since Snorlax is preserved for sweeping.
Snorlax is the key sweeper; it can be brought in primarily on special attackers. It has the advantage against Curselax from not lowering its speed and only needing one turn to boost to full potential.
Starmie is another paralysis spreader with both healing and the ability to threaten Ground types that are immune to Thunder Wave.

:starmie::zapdos::alakazam::snorlax::gengar::suicune:
Rain Offense by Copen

:tauros::crobat::nidoking::snorlax::moltres::electrode:
Defense Drop Physical Offense by Copen
 
Last edited:
:exeggutor: Role Compendium :starmie:​
Attacker/Breaker
:aerodactyl: / :dragonite: / :machamp: / :marowak: / :nidoking: / :nidoqueen: / :snorlax: / :tauros: / :tyranitar: (Physical)
:alakazam: / :exeggutor: / :gengar: / :jolteon: / :jynx: / :moltres: / :raikou: / :starmie: / :suicune: / :vaporeon: / :zapdos: (Special)
:arcanine: / :dragonite: / :nidoking: / :nidoqueen: / :tyranitar: / :zapdos: (Mixed)

Niche:
:dodrio: / :donphan: / :golem: / :heracross: / :kangaskhan: / :ursaring: (Physical)
:articuno: / :blissey: / :charizard: / :espeon: / :houndoom: / :kingdra: (Special)
:entei: (Mixed)


Explosion/Selfdestruct
:cloyster: / :exeggutor: / :electrode: / :gengar: / :snorlax: / :steelix:

Niche: :forretress: / :golem:

Physical Check
:cloyster: / :steelix: / :skarmory:
Niche: :miltank:


Special Check
:snorlax: / :raikou:

Niche: :ampharos: / :blissey: / :umbreon:


Ground Immunity/Resist
:aerodactyl: / :articuno: / :crobat: / :dragonite: / :exeggutor: / :jumpluff: / :moltres: / :skarmory: / :zapdos:

Niche: :charizard: / :heracross: / :meganium:


Normal Immunity/Resist
:aerodactyl: / :gengar: / :misdreavus: / :skarmory: / :steelix: / :tyranitar:

Niche: :forretress: / :golem: / :scizor:

Sleep
:jynx: / :nidoking: / :nidoqueen: / :snorlax: (Lovely Kiss) :exeggutor: / :jumpluff: (Sleep Powder)

Niche: :politoed: (Lovely Kiss) / :smeargle: (Spore)

Encore
:alakazam: / :jumpluff:

Niche: :clefable: / :mr. mime:

Defense Dropper
:crobat: / :electrode: / :misdreavus: / :tentacruel: / :tyranitar: (Screech) :jolteon: / :moltres: / :raikou: / :skarmory: / :suicune: / :tauros: (Leer/Tail Whip)

Niche: :ampharos: / :persian: / :umbreon: (Screech) :charizard: / :gyarados: / :jumpluff: / :kangaskhan: (Leer/Tail Whip)


Screens
:alakazam: / :starmie: / :zapdos: (Both screens)
:jumpluff: / :raikou: (Reflect only)

Niche: :electrode: / :meganium: (Both screens)


Speed Control
:articuno: / :cloyster: / :jynx: / :nidoking: / :nidoqueen: / :porygon2: / :snorlax: / :starmie: / :suicune: / :tauros: / :tentacruel: / :vaporeon: (Icy Wind)
:jumpluff: / :tyranitar: (Cotton Spore/Scary Face)
:alakazam: / :jolteon: / :porygon2: / :starmie: / :zapdos: (Thunder Wave)
Niche:
:blissey: / :clefable: / :kangaskhan: / :kingdra: / :marowak: / :persian: / :politoed: / :smeargle: (Icy Wind)
:ampharos: (Cotton Spore)
:blissey: / :mr. mime: (Thunder Wave)
 
Last edited:
Surpsied you're not going to let some of the uber mons like celebi at least try to be played a bit, very interested in the fun stuff you can do so I'll give it a shot.
 
grayblood said:
Surpsied you're not going to let some of the uber mons like celebi at least try to be played a bit, very interested in the fun stuff you can do so I'll give it a shot.
Click to expand...
Celebi is one thing we want to test. There will definitely be a tour with it legal at some point to see if players want it unbanned.

Ho-oh and Lugia are extremely bulky Flying types with access to recovery, and not lacking in speed and offense. Sounds miserable, especially sitting next to a boosted Marowak, Steelix, or Snorlax spamming EQ...

Mew and Mewtwo are also very bulky and have recovery, and while they don't have Encore like Alakazam does, they learn Explosion and Self-Destruct respectively. Boom is extremely strong and central, and unlike the exploders we have, these two don't have any real exploitable weaknesses, and wouldn't need to run boom to pose a huge threat, meaning they could even bluff it.

That's just my reasoning tho. Hope you enjoy playing :)
 
Had to play a Bo3 GSC DOU set for a tour, sharing one of the teams I used that I personally built myself

:bw/zapdos::bw/steelix::bw/alakazam::bw/exeggutor::bw/snorlax::bw/tyranitar:
Replay from HGPL

I decided to approach the format by focusing purely on trying to position correctly and getting advantageous trades. How I decided to this was through: 1) fundamentally strong Pokemon with polarizing stats, strong attacks, and great typing profiles; 2) access to multiple booms, as a way to make proper progress either through breaks on specific targets or getting the sheer value of a 2-for-1; and 3) ways to prevent Protect and deal with Ghost-types, which helps with point #2.

The Pokemon choice itself wasn't really groundbreaking; Zapdos and Snorlax are two obviously great Pokemon in the format, the former with a key immunity to Earthquake, and the latter having a valuable combination of massive SpDef and Attack. Steelix is another great Pokemon in the format, particularly for its massive Defense and STAB EQ. These three are essentially big statcheckers that I use in order to make sure I can win damage trades through inflated stats.

Playing for damage trades is essentially the idea which this team is built around; I essentially avoid Thunder Wave because I feel that getting punished by Miracle Berry isn't worth. I'd rather maximize my agency by avoiding interacting with Miracle Berry entirely, so I basically committed to getting the right reads on board states, trusting myself that I'd know who I need to trade with and who to sack should I need to. The exception is Sleep Powder on Exeggutor; Sleep Powder is still pretty strong and worth to run, and as my Egg is a backliner, I can also send it on specific things that have already revealed Lefties.

This philosophy of just getting damage trades correctly is at its full with the triple Boom. Unnerfed Boom is a pretty broken move in general and honestly really unskilled lol, as it essentially gives select Pokemon the abilty to massively swing a game, with the Boom player having skewed agency in their favor. Both Snorlax and Steelix are already great Pokemon themselves, but the fact that they can also Boom essentially makes them like, Top 2-3 Pokemon in the format. Exeggutor is on the team purely forExplosion, being one that fits the team best / sucks the least among available options. I could have used Gengar on the team, but I digress; Gengar just simply didn't feel "good enough", even with its own Boom immunty.

Alakazam and Tyranitar are on the team to deter ways around Boom. Alakazam is already a good enough, mid- to upper-tier Pokemon as just a raw attacker with its natural SpA and Speed; however, its access to Encore and ability to also check Gengar make it a great fit for the concept of the team. Encore essentially discourages Protect, which then essentially gives me much of the say in boards where I have Alakazam + Boom. Tyranitar is here purely because it's a great Pursuit Pokemon, which forces Gengar out of the game every time. It's also a Pokemon with great stats all around, so it has value even as just a generic attacking piece; its lack of strong Rock STAB, however, leaves it disappointing when compared to Zap, Lax, and Lix.

As for the specific set choices:
  • I'm 3Atks on Zap. As mentioned, I don't believe in Thunder Wave at all. I also chose HP Water for its ability to hit Steelix, even knowing how much it costs Zap's HP stat; this is a price I decided I was willing to pay for a better trade into Steelix. Drill Peck is to hit Exeggutor and potentially Heracross.
  • Fire Punch on Zam to hit Steelix and Exeggutor.
  • Tyranitar has HP Rock over Slide because Slide kinda sucks lol, I'd rather just be able to force kills on stuff I wanted dead. Fire Blast is to hit Steelix and Exeggutor harder.
  • Zap and Steelix were Lefties in the replay but listed Miracle Berry in the paste. I believe the two lead mons should be Miracle Berry purely for Sleep leads, make the opponent commit more to put either down.
  • I think Curse on Steelix is nice, but it doesn't really feel that useful and leaves Steelix with EQ as the only reusable attack. Honestly I'd prob replace it with like, HP Bug or HP Rock, but I digress.
  • Body Slam vs Edge on Lax is genuinely whatever lol, I think either's good.
 
Idyll said:
Had to play a Bo3 GSC DOU set for a tour, sharing one of the teams I used that I personally built myself

:bw/zapdos::bw/steelix::bw/alakazam::bw/exeggutor::bw/snorlax::bw/tyranitar:
Replay from HGPL

I decided to approach the format by focusing purely on trying to position correctly and getting advantageous trades. How I decided to this was through: 1) fundamentally strong Pokemon with polarizing stats, strong attacks, and great typing profiles; 2) access to multiple booms, as a way to make proper progress either through breaks on specific targets or getting the sheer value of a 2-for-1; and 3) ways to prevent Protect and deal with Ghost-types, which helps with point #2.

The Pokemon choice itself wasn't really groundbreaking; Zapdos and Snorlax are two obviously great Pokemon in the format, the former with a key immunity to Earthquake, and the latter having a valuable combination of massive SpDef and Attack. Steelix is another great Pokemon in the format, particularly for its massive Defense and STAB EQ. These three are essentially big statcheckers that I use in order to make sure I can win damage trades through inflated stats.

Playing for damage trades is essentially the idea which this team is built around; I essentially avoid Thunder Wave because I feel that getting punished by Miracle Berry isn't worth. I'd rather maximize my agency by avoiding interacting with Miracle Berry entirely, so I basically committed to getting the right reads on board states, trusting myself that I'd know who I need to trade with and who to sack should I need to. The exception is Sleep Powder on Exeggutor; Sleep Powder is still pretty strong and worth to run, and as my Egg is a backliner, I can also send it on specific things that have already revealed Lefties.

This philosophy of just getting damage trades correctly is at its full with the triple Boom. Unnerfed Boom is a pretty broken move in general and honestly really unskilled lol, as it essentially gives select Pokemon the abilty to massively swing a game, with the Boom player having skewed agency in their favor. Both Snorlax and Steelix are already great Pokemon themselves, but the fact that they can also Boom essentially makes them like, Top 2-3 Pokemon in the format. Exeggutor is on the team purely forExplosion, being one that fits the team best / sucks the least among available options. I could have used Gengar on the team, but I digress; Gengar just simply didn't feel "good enough", even with its own Boom immunty.

Alakazam and Tyranitar are on the team to deter ways around Boom. Alakazam is already a good enough, mid- to upper-tier Pokemon as just a raw attacker with its natural SpA and Speed; however, its access to Encore and ability to also check Gengar make it a great fit for the concept of the team. Encore essentially discourages Protect, which then essentially gives me much of the say in boards where I have Alakazam + Boom. Tyranitar is here purely because it's a great Pursuit Pokemon, which forces Gengar out of the game every time. It's also a Pokemon with great stats all around, so it has value even as just a generic attacking piece; its lack of strong Rock STAB, however, leaves it disappointing when compared to Zap, Lax, and Lix.

As for the specific set choices:
  • I'm 3Atks on Zap. As mentioned, I don't believe in Thunder Wave at all. I also chose HP Water for its ability to hit Steelix, even knowing how much it costs Zap's HP stat; this is a price I decided I was willing to pay for a better trade into Steelix. Drill Peck is to hit Exeggutor and potentially Heracross.
  • Fire Punch on Zam to hit Steelix and Exeggutor.
  • Tyranitar has HP Rock over Slide because Slide kinda sucks lol, I'd rather just be able to force kills on stuff I wanted dead. Fire Blast is to hit Steelix and Exeggutor harder.
  • Zap and Steelix were Lefties in the replay but listed Miracle Berry in the paste. I believe the two lead mons should be Miracle Berry purely for Sleep leads, make the opponent commit more to put either down.
  • I think Curse on Steelix is nice, but it doesn't really feel that useful and leaves Steelix with EQ as the only reusable attack. Honestly I'd prob replace it with like, HP Bug or HP Rock, but I digress.
  • Body Slam vs Edge on Lax is genuinely whatever lol, I think either's good.
Click to expand...
Great team! And great replay too. I def agree that twave is something you kinda have to go all in on to use well with many teams going full berry, which is hard to pull off. I would def run HP Rock on lead lix, and either drop protect or curse or protect. (tect is nice to have but not as necessary when you resist boom) and I'd def consider fitting a screen on zap as well to help even more with damage trading. Love seeing all the activity and interest for this format. ^_^
 
I'd like to share the team that got me top spot on the ladder by a fair margin:
:crobat::aerodactyl::zapdos::marowak::snorlax::jynx:

Huge shoutouts to Copen for first innovating the AeroBat lead, as well as further developing it with HP Bug on Crobat. I wrote it off at first, but I'm liking it a lot as a way to have better MU into Exeggutor and Starmie leads, which this pair can really struggle with. The whole idea is that this lead completely shuts down Zapdos with Screech into HP Rock with Hard Stone (Aerodactyl has its speed stat lowered by 1 point to underspeed Crobat), and heavily threaten a variety of other leads with sheer speed and using Screech to power Aero's strong Rock/Ground coverage. Against Normal-type attacking leads like Tauros and Snorlax, Aero can easily use Substitute with its great typing that resists Normal/Ground and doubles as a way to block status since you lack berry. Crobat carries it as well, as it blocks Icy Wind speed drop too and helps in playing around Explosion leads. If you have to switch out Aero, it's still great at helping to clean up lategames since it outspeeds everything and can pick off weakened mons that are weak to its coverage of physically frail, notably Zapdos and Alakazam.

Zapdos's set could honestly run HP Ice/Water over peck, but I think the counterplay vs. the notable Ground types is filled in by the rest of the team well enough. Jynx can beat Marowak and the Nidos, and Marowak can beat Steelix. I like peck because it means that if you have Crobat out at the same time, it's not deadweight since Screech + Drill Peck can do some pretty nice damage into Snorlax and other threats. Reflect is a great move to have since this team does have 4 rock weaknesses and only 1 normal resist that isn't notably sturdy. Makes booms and physical offense structures a lot easier to deal with. Notably, Aero's substitute can even live Lax Dedge with reflect up.

Marowak is an easy fit on this team for huge offensive punches that are made even scarier by Screech support, as well as an Electric immunity for the Thunderbolts that will be targeting your two leads. Swords Dance sets are nice and all, but too easy to play around and need more long-term support, so this is 3 attacks, specifically Ground/Rock/Bug coverage which threatens almost everything. Three Flying types makes using Earthquake easy, and you can easily take one or more KO's just by clicking attacks. Zapdos and Aerodactyl are very good at eliminating opposing Flying types immune to Earthquake, and Zapdos specifically can take out Water types. Jynx can threaten out Exeggutor or drop its speed with Icy Wind to allow HP Bug to eliminate it, while having a great Zapdos matchup. The team operates to put too much pressure on Wak's answers to where they fall into a disadvantage that they can't recover from.

Snorlax is always obligatory, of course. It specifically is great at switching into Starmie or any other Water type lead, with the idea of switching out Aero and allowing you to threaten Screech + Double Edge the next turn. It's really great for putting out huge damage, and Screech + Earthquake helps you even beat Misdreavus that may switch in. Not much else to really say, it's Snorlax. You can blow up after getting some value from attacks.

Jynx normally has a lot of issues switching in, but its sole resistances to Ice and Psychic actually make it a decent option to switch in place of Crobat. Jynx is great into Zapdos if you don't want to go all in on attacking it on the first turn, and very importantly carries sleep, a great immediate answer to Leftovers Snorlax and Marowak at full health. A strong Ice type attacker also rounds out the offensive coverage of the whole team very well, and while Icy Wind might seem odd when you already have two base 130 speed mons, there's not much better you can run, and it is helpful for your slower mons and Jynx itself.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top