Pokepaste: https://pokepast.es/70dcbcf35cb67158
In-Game Team ID: JSDBD9
Hey, first team upload for me. Let me start out by saying that I'm by no means an expert team builder. I play mostly for fun, so I don't mind using an unusual Pokemon here or there. I'm also not competing in VGC tournaments, so I don't have a complete grasp on the metagame. On the other hand, I do like to win. This team was an attempt at Leafeon Sun. Conventionally not a very good Pokemon, but it is one of the fastest chlorophyll users and has more coverage options this generation due to terastallization. I'm curious if anybody has ideas for improvements for the team. I fear Leafeon is unsurprisingly the weak link, but maybe someone can get him to work.
I like to play mostly on console, so I attached the rental code for the team in-game as well as the pokepaste if anyone wants to try it out.
The Team:
Groudon @ Clear Amulet
Ability: Drought
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Heat Crash
- Thunder Wave
- Protect
The restricted I chose to build around was Groudon, mainly because I think it's a cool Pokemon. I do not think it's the best restricted right now, and the same team could potentially benefit from swapping Groudon for Koraidon (but Koraidon has less swag).
The Groudon set was adapted from a bulky attacker set that I had on hand for singles. The 20 speed EVs were intended to speed creep uninvested base 90 Pokemon like Kyogre but not sure how optimal this is in doubles given that the Smogon Kyogre sets are running either 36 or 44 speed. More EVs could be taken from HP to speed creep even further, but being slower does allow Groudon to set up Drought after Kyogre. Regardless, at least 12 EVs need to be allocated to speed to outrun the entire unboosted metagame in tailwind except for Regieleki. Precipice is a no brainer, Heat Crash has a nice boost from the sun, and Protect is always helpful. Thunder Wave hasn't been clicked a ton, but Groudon has survived Astral Barrages, T Wave'd the Calyrex-Shadow boosted by Tailwind, and then allowed choice scarf Chi-Yu to take the knockout later. Rock Slide and Swords Dance have been considered there instead. Clear Amulet prevents Intimidate and allows Groudon to do at least 75% to Incineroar with Precipice Blades (and chances to OHKO those without a +Def nature or when single targeting).
Venusaur @ Focus Sash
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Earth Power
- Weather Ball
- Sleep Powder
Venusaur is the standard chlorophyll sun abuser. I opted for a max max EV spread and a modest nature. Given Venusaur's low-ish special attack, it needed all the help it could get. Focus sash allows it to hang around for a surprisingly long amount of time since its teammates like Groudon, Flutter Mane, and Chi-Yu are commonly focused for their high damage output. In my experience, Giga Drain is very rarely getting clicked and could be swapped for a higher base power move like Energy Ball/Leaf Storm, Sludge Bomb for its other STAB, or possibly Protect or Growth though I do think it would struggle without a consistent damaging move.
Leafeon @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 60 HP / 252 Atk / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Solar Blade
- Tera Blast
- Swords Dance
- Detect
Leafeon is terrible. I really really like it, but it is almost never brought. There's enough speed to outrun +1 Flutter Mane in sun (which is especially relevant when you are running Groudon). However, Solar Blade relies heavily on the sun being up and Tera Blast requires you to tera. Alternatively, you could run Leaf Blade but at that point just swap it for a better Pokemon like Raging Bolt. It’s also filling a similar role to Venusaur as a tera fire chlorophyll pokemon. Tera rock might be better since it differentiates it a bit more from Venusaur and helps against opposing fire types but loses some power. Leafeon is sometimes fine when there is no opposing weather since it does hit surprisingly hard.
Tornadus, Flutter Mane, and Chi-Yu are all common enough Pokemon that I could use default sets that have been created by people who understand the matchups much better than I do.
Tornadus @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 4 SpA / 132 SpD / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bleakwind Storm
- Tailwind
- Taunt
- Sunny Day
Covert cloak allows Tornadus to avoid flinches on Fake Out and tera dark blocks prankster Taunt/Encore from Pokemon like Whimsicott or opposing Tornadus (though very rarely do you want to tera this Pokemon). Double sun is very helpful into rain teams that require switching Kyogre in and out.
Flutter Mane @ Choice Specs
Ability: Protosynthesis
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 116 HP / 204 Def / 60 SpA / 4 SpD / 124 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
- Icy Wind
Flutter Mane just does immediate damage. EV spread allows it to live scarf Urshifu-R's surging strikes while also outspeeding Adamant Chien-Pao outside of sun. I am not sure Icy Wind is the best move for the last slot. There’s a lot of speed control on the team with Thunder Wave, Tailwind, Chlorophyll, Choice Scarf, Speed Boost Protosynthesis, and Bleakwind Storm’s potential speed drops. Thunderbolt might be more useful to help into water and flying Pokemon.
Chi-Yu @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beads of Ruin
Level: 50
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 212 HP / 4 Def / 52 SpA / 4 SpD / 236 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Dark Pulse
- Snarl
- Overheat
Chi-Yu is clicking Heat Wave 80% of the time. It's a very strong spread move, especially in the sun, and deals a good chunk to resists as well. Overheat is your delete button which allows you to remove whichever Pokemon you want off the field, though it normally requires Chi-Yu to switch out afterwards. If fire is not a great attacking type into the opposing team, Dark Pulse still does a good amount of damage with Beads of Ruin and choice scarf Snarl allows it to act as more of a supporting Pokemon. Fire is a tempting tera type, but ghost allows it to function better into priority moves like Fake Out or Dragonite's Extremespeed. It also allows you to become immune to Koraidon's Collision Course.
Matchups:
In General: Groudon, as the only restricted on the team, is normally getting picked. I have found that Tornadus is also usually brought since its utility is helpful into a lot of other team styles with Sunny Day to reinforce the weather, Tailwind to outspeed opposing teams, and Taunt to deny setup. The other two slots can then go to Venusaur, Flutter Mane, Chi-Yu, or (very rarely) Leafeon depending on what matches up well into their team.
Groudon has a good matchup into Miraidon by typing alone. His bulk is also useful into Koraidon, allowing him to take a hit and paralyze the Koraidon in return. Fast ghosts like Calyrex-Shadow and Flutter Mane are good into the team, so it's important in those matches to have Tailwind up and to bring Chi-Yu. The Ogerpons (aside from Wellspring) also struggle into Chi-Yu which can either outright kill them with Overheat in the sun or ignore Follow Me redirection with Heat Wave. Ogerpon-Wellspring is still forced to tera water which you can try to take advantage of with either Venusaur or Leafeon who resist both STABs. The Dragonite / Chien-Pao matchups rely on Flutter Mane. Flutter Mane will not drop to a Chien-Pao Sucker Punch due to the defensive investment and is immune to Dragonite's Extremespeed, threatening both with fairy STAB. Leafeon does excel against Ting-Lu which takes a ton of damage from a regular Solar Blade.
Rain: Groudon and Tornadus are mandatory. Torn is normally the lead alongside one of the sun abusers so that it can Sunny Day turn 1 which beats lead weather setters and those that try to switch in turn 1. Groudon stays in the back so that it can switch in if the weather gets changed.
Sun: Comes down to the better player. Leading with two sun-abusers like Flutter Mane and Chi-Yu may let them set up the weather for you while you apply immediate offensive pressure.
Trick Room: The team needs to be played very carefully into Trick Room. There is a lot of speed control, but most of it is completely invalidated by Trick Room. The goal then is to prevent Trick Room from ever going up. If their setter is taunt-able, Tornadus can shut it down relatively easy. Even against Fake Out support for the Trick Room, covert cloak can make sure Taunt still goes off. If the Trick Room setter is not taunt-able (Hatterene, Follow Me support, Psychic Terrain support, etc.) your best bet is to fire off some strong double target moves and hope things die. A mix of Groudon's Precipice Blades and Chi-Yu's Heat Wave in the sun are a difficult combo to live. You also have Flutter Mane's specs Dazzling Gleam. Tornadus does have Bleakwind Storm but it is the weakest of the double targeting moves, has a lower accuracy, and Tornadus gets much worse if Trick Room does goes up since Tailwind, Taunt, and Sunny Day become much less useful.
Tailwind: The goal here is to out-tailwind the opposing team. If possible, Taunt the other tailwind setter. Whimsicott provides a little bit of a hurdle. While it does not threaten most of the team, it does outspeed Tornadus and can Taunt it first. One option is to tera dark with Tornadus to ignore prankster status, though it does waste the tera for more offensive members of the team. If you think Whimsicott is going to Tailwind itself, you can Tailwind alongside it. Alternatively, you can let Whimsicott do whatever it wants to and just Bleakwind. Groudon can still provide sun and you may be able to get up Tailwind once the Whimsicott is removed.
Fake Out / Intimidate Spam: Intimidate is not a huge threat against the team. It will severely hinder Leafeon but Groudon can ignore it with clear amulet and the others are all special attackers. Fake Out can be a little annoying (Incineroar + Rillaboom teams). Groudon and Leafeon can both protect to waste the turn. Tornadus ignores the flinch with covert cloak. Flutter Mane is immune. Chi-Yu can tera into ghost. Venusaur is the one most affected by it. Due to its poor matchup into Incineroar (especially safety googles Incineroar) it may be best to not bring him to those games.
Would love to hear some thoughts on where this team could be optimized.
In-Game Team ID: JSDBD9
Hey, first team upload for me. Let me start out by saying that I'm by no means an expert team builder. I play mostly for fun, so I don't mind using an unusual Pokemon here or there. I'm also not competing in VGC tournaments, so I don't have a complete grasp on the metagame. On the other hand, I do like to win. This team was an attempt at Leafeon Sun. Conventionally not a very good Pokemon, but it is one of the fastest chlorophyll users and has more coverage options this generation due to terastallization. I'm curious if anybody has ideas for improvements for the team. I fear Leafeon is unsurprisingly the weak link, but maybe someone can get him to work.
I like to play mostly on console, so I attached the rental code for the team in-game as well as the pokepaste if anyone wants to try it out.
The Team:
Groudon @ Clear Amulet
Ability: Drought
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Heat Crash
- Thunder Wave
- Protect
The restricted I chose to build around was Groudon, mainly because I think it's a cool Pokemon. I do not think it's the best restricted right now, and the same team could potentially benefit from swapping Groudon for Koraidon (but Koraidon has less swag).
The Groudon set was adapted from a bulky attacker set that I had on hand for singles. The 20 speed EVs were intended to speed creep uninvested base 90 Pokemon like Kyogre but not sure how optimal this is in doubles given that the Smogon Kyogre sets are running either 36 or 44 speed. More EVs could be taken from HP to speed creep even further, but being slower does allow Groudon to set up Drought after Kyogre. Regardless, at least 12 EVs need to be allocated to speed to outrun the entire unboosted metagame in tailwind except for Regieleki. Precipice is a no brainer, Heat Crash has a nice boost from the sun, and Protect is always helpful. Thunder Wave hasn't been clicked a ton, but Groudon has survived Astral Barrages, T Wave'd the Calyrex-Shadow boosted by Tailwind, and then allowed choice scarf Chi-Yu to take the knockout later. Rock Slide and Swords Dance have been considered there instead. Clear Amulet prevents Intimidate and allows Groudon to do at least 75% to Incineroar with Precipice Blades (and chances to OHKO those without a +Def nature or when single targeting).
Venusaur @ Focus Sash
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Earth Power
- Weather Ball
- Sleep Powder
Venusaur is the standard chlorophyll sun abuser. I opted for a max max EV spread and a modest nature. Given Venusaur's low-ish special attack, it needed all the help it could get. Focus sash allows it to hang around for a surprisingly long amount of time since its teammates like Groudon, Flutter Mane, and Chi-Yu are commonly focused for their high damage output. In my experience, Giga Drain is very rarely getting clicked and could be swapped for a higher base power move like Energy Ball/Leaf Storm, Sludge Bomb for its other STAB, or possibly Protect or Growth though I do think it would struggle without a consistent damaging move.
Leafeon @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 60 HP / 252 Atk / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Solar Blade
- Tera Blast
- Swords Dance
- Detect
Leafeon is terrible. I really really like it, but it is almost never brought. There's enough speed to outrun +1 Flutter Mane in sun (which is especially relevant when you are running Groudon). However, Solar Blade relies heavily on the sun being up and Tera Blast requires you to tera. Alternatively, you could run Leaf Blade but at that point just swap it for a better Pokemon like Raging Bolt. It’s also filling a similar role to Venusaur as a tera fire chlorophyll pokemon. Tera rock might be better since it differentiates it a bit more from Venusaur and helps against opposing fire types but loses some power. Leafeon is sometimes fine when there is no opposing weather since it does hit surprisingly hard.
Tornadus, Flutter Mane, and Chi-Yu are all common enough Pokemon that I could use default sets that have been created by people who understand the matchups much better than I do.
Tornadus @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 4 SpA / 132 SpD / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bleakwind Storm
- Tailwind
- Taunt
- Sunny Day
Covert cloak allows Tornadus to avoid flinches on Fake Out and tera dark blocks prankster Taunt/Encore from Pokemon like Whimsicott or opposing Tornadus (though very rarely do you want to tera this Pokemon). Double sun is very helpful into rain teams that require switching Kyogre in and out.
Flutter Mane @ Choice Specs
Ability: Protosynthesis
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 116 HP / 204 Def / 60 SpA / 4 SpD / 124 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
- Icy Wind
Flutter Mane just does immediate damage. EV spread allows it to live scarf Urshifu-R's surging strikes while also outspeeding Adamant Chien-Pao outside of sun. I am not sure Icy Wind is the best move for the last slot. There’s a lot of speed control on the team with Thunder Wave, Tailwind, Chlorophyll, Choice Scarf, Speed Boost Protosynthesis, and Bleakwind Storm’s potential speed drops. Thunderbolt might be more useful to help into water and flying Pokemon.
Chi-Yu @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beads of Ruin
Level: 50
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 212 HP / 4 Def / 52 SpA / 4 SpD / 236 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Dark Pulse
- Snarl
- Overheat
Chi-Yu is clicking Heat Wave 80% of the time. It's a very strong spread move, especially in the sun, and deals a good chunk to resists as well. Overheat is your delete button which allows you to remove whichever Pokemon you want off the field, though it normally requires Chi-Yu to switch out afterwards. If fire is not a great attacking type into the opposing team, Dark Pulse still does a good amount of damage with Beads of Ruin and choice scarf Snarl allows it to act as more of a supporting Pokemon. Fire is a tempting tera type, but ghost allows it to function better into priority moves like Fake Out or Dragonite's Extremespeed. It also allows you to become immune to Koraidon's Collision Course.
Matchups:
In General: Groudon, as the only restricted on the team, is normally getting picked. I have found that Tornadus is also usually brought since its utility is helpful into a lot of other team styles with Sunny Day to reinforce the weather, Tailwind to outspeed opposing teams, and Taunt to deny setup. The other two slots can then go to Venusaur, Flutter Mane, Chi-Yu, or (very rarely) Leafeon depending on what matches up well into their team.
Groudon has a good matchup into Miraidon by typing alone. His bulk is also useful into Koraidon, allowing him to take a hit and paralyze the Koraidon in return. Fast ghosts like Calyrex-Shadow and Flutter Mane are good into the team, so it's important in those matches to have Tailwind up and to bring Chi-Yu. The Ogerpons (aside from Wellspring) also struggle into Chi-Yu which can either outright kill them with Overheat in the sun or ignore Follow Me redirection with Heat Wave. Ogerpon-Wellspring is still forced to tera water which you can try to take advantage of with either Venusaur or Leafeon who resist both STABs. The Dragonite / Chien-Pao matchups rely on Flutter Mane. Flutter Mane will not drop to a Chien-Pao Sucker Punch due to the defensive investment and is immune to Dragonite's Extremespeed, threatening both with fairy STAB. Leafeon does excel against Ting-Lu which takes a ton of damage from a regular Solar Blade.
Rain: Groudon and Tornadus are mandatory. Torn is normally the lead alongside one of the sun abusers so that it can Sunny Day turn 1 which beats lead weather setters and those that try to switch in turn 1. Groudon stays in the back so that it can switch in if the weather gets changed.
Sun: Comes down to the better player. Leading with two sun-abusers like Flutter Mane and Chi-Yu may let them set up the weather for you while you apply immediate offensive pressure.
Trick Room: The team needs to be played very carefully into Trick Room. There is a lot of speed control, but most of it is completely invalidated by Trick Room. The goal then is to prevent Trick Room from ever going up. If their setter is taunt-able, Tornadus can shut it down relatively easy. Even against Fake Out support for the Trick Room, covert cloak can make sure Taunt still goes off. If the Trick Room setter is not taunt-able (Hatterene, Follow Me support, Psychic Terrain support, etc.) your best bet is to fire off some strong double target moves and hope things die. A mix of Groudon's Precipice Blades and Chi-Yu's Heat Wave in the sun are a difficult combo to live. You also have Flutter Mane's specs Dazzling Gleam. Tornadus does have Bleakwind Storm but it is the weakest of the double targeting moves, has a lower accuracy, and Tornadus gets much worse if Trick Room does goes up since Tailwind, Taunt, and Sunny Day become much less useful.
Tailwind: The goal here is to out-tailwind the opposing team. If possible, Taunt the other tailwind setter. Whimsicott provides a little bit of a hurdle. While it does not threaten most of the team, it does outspeed Tornadus and can Taunt it first. One option is to tera dark with Tornadus to ignore prankster status, though it does waste the tera for more offensive members of the team. If you think Whimsicott is going to Tailwind itself, you can Tailwind alongside it. Alternatively, you can let Whimsicott do whatever it wants to and just Bleakwind. Groudon can still provide sun and you may be able to get up Tailwind once the Whimsicott is removed.
Fake Out / Intimidate Spam: Intimidate is not a huge threat against the team. It will severely hinder Leafeon but Groudon can ignore it with clear amulet and the others are all special attackers. Fake Out can be a little annoying (Incineroar + Rillaboom teams). Groudon and Leafeon can both protect to waste the turn. Tornadus ignores the flinch with covert cloak. Flutter Mane is immune. Chi-Yu can tera into ghost. Venusaur is the one most affected by it. Due to its poor matchup into Incineroar (especially safety googles Incineroar) it may be best to not bring him to those games.
Would love to hear some thoughts on where this team could be optimized.
