Terracotta? No, this is Terrakrow!

[Silvershark]

Back on the the 2012 International Challenge thread I said I would make a full RMT of the team I used. Now, after several months of procrastinating, here it is. I started planning this team last fall, but didn't start putting it together till the end of February. This team got me ranked 293rd in the 2012 International Challenge Wifi Tournament with a rating of 1745, 97th in the 2012 Spring Friendly with a rating of 1781, 35th in the GBU season 5 Random Matchup Doubles section (2nd in the U.S.), and more ragequits than I care to count. I also used it to place second in Striatonchallenge, an unofficial tournament recently held by the StriatonRadio podcast. This is a Doubles team that plays by the VGC ruleset.

Caractacus (Murkrow) @ Eviolite_|_Terrak (Terrakion) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Prankster_ |_Ability: Justified_
_ Nature: Careful_|_Nature: _Jolly__
EV's:252 Hp, 128 Def., 130 Sp. Def.__|__EV's: 6 Hp, 252 Att., 252 Spd____
Moves:
_______Taunt | Sacred Sword

____Roost | Rock Slide

Sucker Punch | Protect____

___Quash | X-Scissor

Seeing as these two usually enter the field paired up, and this whole team started with them, it's only fitting we start with Caractacus and Terrak together. Terrak's a pretty standard Terrakion, the usual nature, EV's, and moves. While Earthquake is workable on my team, X-Scissor gives me coverage against Grass and Psychic types. Lum Berry of course because Terrak's a status magnet. Now we bring in Caractacus. Most people use Whimsicott and Beat Up to power up Terrakion. Not me. I find the set up too predictable, and it's overkill anyways. After one boost from a Murkrow's Sucker Punch, you get the equivalent of a Banded Terrakion at the price of negligible damage. It's kind of like a permanent, stack-able, somewhat harmful Helping Hand. Most opponents don't last long once that ball gets rolling. Of course, there are those few foes that outspeed poor Terrak, not many, but a few. Once again, Caractacus to the rescue! Using priority Quash, he can effectively hold those pokemon's hands behind their backs while Terrak rips them apart. The advantage over Tailwind is Quash can still make your target go last even in Trick Room, opposing Tailwinds, and even the priority attacks of slower pokemon (something Terrak appreciates when facing off against a Scizor or Metagross, though blocking a Bullet Punch in such a way usually results in a ragequit). Roost keeps Caractacus on the field longer. Mean Look allows me to trap a pokemon while I simultaneously switch in a counter to kill it, which works very well for winning a weather war against Ninetales (and also causes more ragequits). Unfortunately, I don't get the opportunity to use Mean Look as often as I'd like, so I've been considering switching it out with either Tailwind, Taunt, or Thunderwave. Right now I'm testing Taunt out.

Dewdrop (Politoed)(F) @ Wide Lens
Ability: Drizzle
Nature: Modest
EV's: 252 Hp, 6 Def., 252 Sp. Atk.
Moves:
Hypnosis
Hydro Pump
Focus Blast
Protect

When making this team, I decided I wanted to go with a weather team. In the end it was between sun and rain, both would work well with Terrak and Caractacus. I decided on rain since I'm from the Pacific Northwest where, as you probably know, it rains quite frequently. So here's the Politoed set I went with. I went with a more bulky spread, since a lot of things outrun Dewdrop anyways. Might as well make her capable of taking a hit or two. This helps a lot when it comes to switching into an incoming Ice or Water attack, or on the rare instance she has to take a super effective hit to take down a pokemon. Hypnosis can bring a sweep to an end and shut down most pokemon for the rest on the match. Hydro Pump destroys in the rain, Focus Blast to deal with Ferrothorns and Abomasnows, and Protect to keep Dewdrop safe for a turn. With all those low accuracy moves, I threw on a Wide Lens to make accuracy a non-issue for Hydro Pump and make the other two moves more reliable. Interestingly enough, despite having lower accuracy, Hypnosis still seems to hit more often than Focus Blast.

Tempesa (Dragonite)(F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Multiscale
Nature: Calm
EV's: 252 Hp, 100 Sp. Atk, 148 Sp. Def., 10 Spd
Moves:
Hurricane
Dragon Tail
Thunder
Roost

My weather abuser, and the bulkiest dragon you'll ever meet. I've have been flat amazed at the beatings this old girl can take. It's a Smogon set, though I did tweak the EV's ever so slightly to give her a slight speed increase. Hurricane blasts things apart, as does Thunder, though less so seeing as it lacks STAB. The 30% confusion and paralysis is also extra sweet when it activates. Dragon Tail stops TR set up, and when used in conjunction with Dewdrop's Hypnosis, shuffles sleep around until the whole opposing team's snoring (another ragequit cause). Dragon Tail can also be used with Caractacus's Quash to force a pokemon to switch without getting to attack (more ragequits). Roost and Leftovers add to her bulk.

Glitch (Rotom-C) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest
EV's: 36 Hp, 252 Sp. Att., 222 Spd
Moves:
Volt Switch
Leaf Storm
HP Ice
Trick

Ahh, Glitch. The scourge of Water types, slayer of dragons, and saboteur of support pokemon. Hard to believe he was only added to the team as a slot filler, and for the longest time was on the bubble for getting replaced. Now he's one of the most used pokemon on the team. He was originally going to be a Rotom-W, but that brought too much of a Grass type weakness to the team, and Hydro Pump didn't add a lot to the team. Rotom-C's typing though, meshes well with his teamates (except the Ice weakness, but Terrak, Dewdrop, and SCIZOR handle that pretty well) and he obliterates most threats before they can get started, particularly Water types that are otherwise hard to handle. HP Ice keeps dragons at bay, Leaf Storm destroys, and Volt Switch, while lacking power, gives me some flexibility when switching. Trick passes the Scarf, preferably to supporting pokemon, rendering them useless for the rest of the match.

SCIZOR (Scizor)(M) @ Occa Berry
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant
EV's: 252 Hp, 252 Att., 6 Sp. Def.
Moves:
Protect
Superpower
Bullet Punch
Bug Bite

SCIZOR is the only pokemon I didn't breed or capture, thus why he's lacking a nickname. I got him from the trade shop Swampert's Shinies. As you can guess from the picture, I brought him in to deal with opposing Lati@s and other Psychic types giving me grief. His typing also allows him switch into and handle Grass and Ice types that try to take on other team members. Bug Bite is a great STAB that also steals any berries the opponent might have. Bullet Punch stops Ice Types and other Terrakions, deals heavy damage to other foes, and provides a strong priority move which is a bit lacking on this team. Superpower is for coverage against Steels. The Occa Berry keeps him safe from Fire attacks outside of rain (sometimes) since the team isn't always used in it. Plus, it's always immensely satisfying to see a fire attack only do about 30 points of damage in the rain, lol.

    Spoiler:- Pokemon that didn't make the team:

Show Spoiler

 

Of course on any team there's those pokemon that didn't quite make the cut. Whether it's from synergy problems, or just plain not working as planned, these are the pokemon that proved to be ill-fitted in the team building process.


Trobel (Bronzong) @ Metal Herb/Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Calm
EV's: 252 Hp, 40 Def., 218 Sp. Def.
Moves:
HP Dragon/ Toxic
Imprison
Protect
Trick Room
Trobel was my first answer to stopping Trick Room. My plan was that it would use Imprison and Protect to block the use of TR, Protect, and any Hidden Power moves my opponent might have while teammates took them out. It was also meant to be a deterrent to Dragon types and provide TR support if it could help my team. Didn't work out, as most foes would predict Imprison and hit Trobel with Fake Out to keep it from being used while setting up TR anyways and HP Dragon did absolutely nothing. I tried using Toxic to put some pressure on opponent's who try to stall with Protect a lot, but it just wasn't working, Trobel had to go.


Tornadus (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
Nature:Quiet
EV's: 252 Hp, 6 Def., 252 Sp. Atk.
Moves:
Hurricane
Grass Knot
Tailwind
Protect
My original rain abuser, Tornadus would spam Hurricane and provide Tailwind support as needed. Grass Knot provided coverage against Rock types and hit Water types a little harder. Out of all the Tornadus's I got on the GTS, this one had the best IV's. Unfortunately, he has a Quiet nature that hinders his speed. I thought I could remedy this by going with a bulky set, but such a set just didn't do well on the team. Too slow to hit a lot of pokemon before getting KO'd, so fast as to be completely crippled in Trick Room. He was later replaced by Tempesa, who gets Hurricane and Thunder, takes hits like a champ, and stops TR from getting set up. All is not lost for Tornadus though. I fitted him onto a Rain Rotation battle team and he does much better there than he ever did in Doubles matches.


Colada (Ludicolo)(F) @ Coba Berry
Ability: Rain Dish
Nature: Calm
EV's: 6 Hp, 252 Def, 252 Sp. Def
Moves:
Ice Beam
Protect
Giga Drain
Leech Seed
I tested Colada as a replacement for Glitch. She handles Water types very well and does wonders for walling things. Unfortunately, she doesn't instantly KO things that could cause the team problems like Glitch does. The EV's are to minimize the damage she takes while making it so she gets more from Leech Seed and Giga Drain. Like Tornadus, Colada's found a place on the rotation team I'm working on, where she absorbs hits and Leech Seeds just about everything.


Nora (Armaldo)(F) @ White Herb
Ability: Swift Swim
Nature: Jolly
EV's: 44 Hp, 252 Atk., 214 Spd
Moves:
Protect
Rock Blast
Swords Dance/ Brick Break
X-Scissor
I experimented trading her out for SCIZOR. While having a faster Bug and Rock STAB is useful, Nora shares too many weaknesses with the rest of team and does nothing against faster Swift Swimmers who can KO her instantly with water attacks. Rock Blast would break through the rare sub, but is mostly chosen over Stone Edge or Rock Slide to KO Charti Berry'd Zapdos's and Thundurus's that are hard to take down. Swords Dance increases power, but Brick Break would add coverage.

 

Well, that's the team. Feel free to post any thoughts or comments on it for improvement. And just a reminder, since everyone seems to assume every RMT is for OU singles, this is a Doubles team played by VGC rules (though my 'unique' illustrations probably make that a little clear, lol).

[Silvershark]

Bump.
Updated a few descriptions and added a section for pokemon that used to be on the team.
Could use some help choosing between Taunt and Tailwind for Murkrow.

[Shinluxray348]

i'd use taunt since your already using quash to make them go last. But i could see either one being beneficial. Taunt can help stop set-up and stall pokemon and let your terrakion tear them apart. Good team

[Silvershark]

i'd use taunt since your already using quash to make them go last. But i could see either one being beneficial. Taunt can help stop set-up and stall pokemon and let your terrakion tear them apart. Good team

Thanks! Yeah, both moves help out for different scenario's. Tailwind would help if I'm facing two speedy pokemon at once, cancels out opposing Tailwind, and allows Murkrow to leave something to help the team even if I have to sacrifice him for some reason. Taunt on the other hand, stops set up like you said, stops annoying Follow me/Rage Powder strategies, and helps ensure Sucker Punch hits. Being able to take on other support pokemon is a big one, I've had a few battles where it comes down to just Murkrow vs. a supporter and the opponent just spams status moves to PP stall Sucker Punch or stall for Leftovers recovery so that they can attack safely.

[Silvershark]

Bump
So I had a bit of a brainstorm on the team yesterday that I've been playing around with. I've been thinking of switching out Terrak with this Breloom:


Melari (Breloom)(M) @ Poison Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Nature: Adamant
EV's: 6 Hp, 252 Atk., 252 Spd
Moves:
Spore
Drain Punch
Seed Bomb
Protect

Terrak's a very reliable sweeper, but a lot of teams have setups to counter him since Terrakions see so much use. This is very helpful for drawing in attacks, but it makes hard to bring him into play sometimes. Melari here would focus the team more on sleep shuffling, which can be devastating to the other team if pulled off right. With Drain Punch and Poison Heal he gets plenty of staying power as long as he avoids some of the more powerful of super effective hits. I'd put more EV's into Hp, but Melari needs that extra speed boost to outrun the other base speed 70 pokemon commonly used in doubles. I am however disappointed in Spore. Having 100% accuracy sleep is nice, but it's sleep counter sucks. Every pokemon it puts to sleep wakes up immediately the next turn. Hypnosis may have bad accuracy, but at least whatever it does hit ends up sleeping for at least 2+ turns, giving me ample time to shuffle them around and ensure they never wake up. I'm thinking I'll breed another Murkrow, with Whirlwind this time, to make the shuffling process easier so I don't rely on Tempesa so much. Speaking of switching out team members:


Trixie (Ambipom)(F) @ Razor Fang
Ability: Technician
Nature: Jolly
EV's: 6 Hp, 252 Atk., 252 Spd
Moves:
Fake Out
Fling
Covet
U-Turn

This set. Exceedingly fun and hilarious to use. It's similar to an Acrobatics+Covet set I used to use, but full credit to Gundam Leafeon for demonstrating how useful Fling is on Ambipom in Double battles. Since bringing in Breloom would introduce another Grass type to the team, and all the weaknesses that the type entails, I'd have to drop Glitch. For a replacement I thought I'd bring in this Ambipom to Fake Out faster threats for it's allies. Fling+Razor Fang acts as an additional Fake Out if I need it. Once the Razor Fang's used up Trixie can use Covet to take chunks out of it's foe's health and mess with the opponents items. U-Turn hits Psychic and Grass types hard and gives me the same switching flexibility as Glitch's Volt Switch.

Of course changing up a team like this opens up just as many holes as it fills. It makes handling Hitmontops much easier, but suddenly opposing Dragon types are much more menacing without Glitch to dispatch them. And I am having trouble adapting my playstyle to fit. I don't know, it depends on how well the changes do after some more battles. I might just end keeping my team the way it is, Terrakrow Rain has proven to be a pretty dependable team combination for me.

Any thoughts?

[Silvershark]

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted here. One final update on the team. Terrak and Caractacus were proving to be more effective than Melari and Trixie so I went back to the team's original layout. However, for the upcoming Autumn Friendly I decided to give the team a little twist and fuse the two variants to see how things played out:


Viri (Virizion)(M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Justified
Nature: Jolly
EV's: 6 Hp, 252 Atk., 252 Spd
Moves:
Close Combat
Leaf Blade
Stone Edge
Protect

Melari had a hard time taking powerful hits and hitting some of the more speedy pokemon, but I did like the Grass/Fighting type. Viri here is blazingly fast like Terrak, and, since most people seem to rely on special attacks to take out Grass and Fighting types, can suck up attacks that would have sent Terrak and Melari scurrying away. Offensively, she's a bit lackluster, leading me to use Close Combat to make up for the power loss (something that can go badly in doubles with those defense drops). Leaf Blade for Stab and to mop up water types, and Stone Edge for those pesky fliers.


Caesar (Ambipom)(M) @ Razor Fang
Ability: Technician
Nature: Jolly
EV's: 6 Hp, 252 Atk., 252 Spd
Moves:
Fake Out
Fling
Covet
Beat Up

Combining Caractacus's and Trixie's roles very nicely is Caesar. I tried using him with Terrak, but their shared fighting weakness was a pain in the neck to deal with. With Viri that's no longer a problem. Pretty much the same strategy as Trixie, Fake Out things to keep them at bay, Fling Razor Fang as needed, and Covet away items, the usual mayhem and destruction. The addition of Beat Up however, while dooming most Ghost types as well as Psychic's, gives me a way to boost Viri's attacks to much more threatening levels. It also combos well with Razor Fang for more flinch hax at times.


Haywire (Rotom-W) @ Coice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest
EV's: 36 Hp, 252 Sp. Att., 222 Spd
Moves:
Volt Switch
Hydro Pump
HP Ice
Trick

Finally, we come to Glitch's little brother. As I said before the main reason I avoided the washing machine form was it's shared Grass weakness with Terrak and Dewdrop, but now that Terrak's taking a break, why not? I considered the oven form, but water is such a better defensive type. Besides, rain boosted Hydro Pumps have plenty of crushing power and can be spammed relentlessly, unlike Leaf Storm and Overheat. Other than that it's like the rest of the team in this variant, plays practically the same, just with different typing.

Aside from using it in Random Matchup, I'll probably retire this team after the Autumn Friendly and start coming up with something new for B2W2. So, with the exception of responding to any questions/suggestions posted, this will be my final post for this RMT.