Frontier Doubles Team

[SpiredMoth]

I've recently gotten the desire to get every in-game ribbon at least once, not necessarily on the same pokemon. Here's my first attempt at a doubles team for the DPPt Frontier/Tower.

Slaking@Muscle Band
jolly/Truant
252 Atk, 100 HP, 156 Spe
Slack Off
Night Slash
Return
Earthquake

One of my leads. Fairly obvious this is the powerhouse of the team. After the first round use of Gastro Acid, he can wreak havok with Return, Night Slash, and EQ. Muscle Band is listed as the item only becasue Life Orb was needed by Dragonite. I changed Shadow Claw to Night Slash because it has the same coverage and I already have Slakoths with NS.

Shuckle@Leftovers
careful/Sturdy
252 HP, 232 Def, 20 SpD
Gastro Acid
Helping Hand
Safeguard
Knock Off

My other lead. Starts with GA to allow Slaking to attack every turn. HH when I can. Knock Off is mostly there in case of Taunt or the possible annoying lefties. Sturdy is used because the computer will still try to use OHKO moves. I kinda wish he had more than Rest for recovery.

Snorlax@Expert Belt
adamant/Thick Fat
200 HP, 200 Atk, 108 Def
Brick Break
Seed Bomb
Rock Slide
Curse

My (less frail) replacement for Breloom. He's mostly here because, imo, the others added too much to the weaknesses of my team. His use will mostly likely be situational. The moves may not be great (or even good), but they give me some SE coverage the rest of my team is missing, hence Expert Belt being the item. Thick Fat is so he can try to come in on ice type attacks that would normally be aimed at Dragonite.

Dragonite@Life Orb
modest/Inner Focus
200 SpA, 200 HP, 108 Spe
Roost
Ice Beam
Thunderbolt
Surf/Heat Wave

Again basic. Bolt/Beam for coverage. For the last moveslot, I can't decide which to use since both can give more SE coverage.


I know this team needs work (especially the EVs). I'm willing to change just about anything except the use of Slaking since he's one of my fav pokes and this is one of the few viable uses for him.

Though I'm willing to change most of my team, please don't suggest the following:
+ Anything that can't breed
+ Hidden Power (I don't have the patience to breed for it)
+ HGSS moves
+ Rotom Formes (I don't have the Secret Key and none of my friends have Pt)

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wave⁂]

Slaking@Life Orb
jolly/Truant
252 Atk, 100 HP, 156 Spe
Slack Off
Pursuit
Brick Break
Earthquake

One of my leads. Fairly obvious this is the powerhouse of the team. Pursuit and Brick Break give near perfect neutral coverage. I'm considering replacing Earthquake with Return.

IMO, you should drop Brick Break for Return. Also, Shadow Claw >>>> Pursuit

Shuckle@Leftovers
careful/Sturdy
252 HP, 232 Def, 20 SpD
Gastro Acid
Helping Hand
Safeguard
Knock Off

My other lead. Starts with GA to allow Slaking to attack every turn. HH when I can. Knock Off is mostly there in case of Taunt or the possible annoying lefties.

I like the concept. Encore and Bide are all decent options to replace the last two, if you feel like you should.

Brellom@Toxic Orb
adamant/Poison Heal
252 Atk, 200 Spe, 56 HP
Spore
Focus Punch
Seed Bomb
Leech Seed

Fairly basic set. I'm considering Sub instead of LS.

Spore is good, but Focus Punch won't be used often with Rock Slide / Heat Wave / Blizzard / Discharge / Surf / Earthquake. Also, as a general rule, fragile, slow Pokemon do not fair well in doubles, since Breloom will be an obvious target to take down first. Also, Leech Seed won't help much due to doubles' fast-paced metagame.

If you want to use Breloom, try Sky Uppercut / Rock Slide / Facade / Protect.

Dragonite@Wise Glasses
modest/Inner Focus
200 SpA, 200 HP, 108 Spe
Dragon Pulse
Flamethrower
Ice Beam
Roost

Again basic. I'm going with pulse over meteor because he can't really do as much after the stat drop. I do need suggestions for a better item, but please no choice specs/scarf because I don't really want to switch often in case of entry hazards.

Life Orb, definitely. Roost won't see much use if / when both of your opponents are hitting you. Blizzard > Ice Beam (statistically speaking). Heat Wave >>>>> Flamethrower.

You need to abuse the doubles gameplay more. At the VGC, common Pokemon included Dusknoir (hits hard and can take hits), Obamasnow (STAB Blizzard), Garchomp (STAB Earthquake), Zapdos (STAB Discharge + Earthquake immunity), Gengar (Earthquake, Explosion, and Fake Out immunity, hits hard and fast with a Sash, has Explosion).

Also, as a generalization, stall / defensive play does not fare well in doubles.


I generally don't like telling people which Pokemon to use, or else I'd just send you a link to some VGC vids.

You could replace Shuckle with...

Arbok @ Life Orb / Focus Sash
Adamant / Intimidate
252 Attack, rest split in speed and HP
Gastro Acid
Protect
Earthquake / Rock Slide / Leer?

Intimidate, moderately strong attacks, Gastro Acid and Protect make this a decent Pokemon. In theory.

 

[Blaziking17]

I know this team needs work (especially the EVs). I'm willing to change just about anything except the use of Slaking since he's one of my fav pokes and this is the only viable use for him. Also, though I'm willing to change most of my team, please don't suggest something that can't breed, no Hidden Power (I don't have the patience to breed for it), and no HGSS moves.

Thanks in advance.

If you do decide to switch Dragonite's item to a Life Orb, then you'll have to switch Slaking's item. I suggest Muscle Band, since choice items are not good for Slaking's move-set.

You need to abuse the doubles gameplay more. At the VGC, common Pokemon included Dusknoir (hits hard and can take hits), Obamasnow (STAB Blizzard), Garchomp (STAB Earthquake), Zapdos (STAB Discharge + Earthquake immunity), Gengar (Earthquake, Explosion, and Fake Out immunity, hits hard and fast with a Sash, has Explosion).

Also, as a generalization, stall / defensive play does not fare well in doubles.


I generally don't like telling people which Pokemon to use, or else I'd just send you a link to some VGC vids.

You could replace Shuckle with...

Arbok @ Life Orb / Focus Sash
Adamant / Intimidate
252 Attack, rest split in speed and HP
Gastro Acid
Protect
Earthquake / Rock Slide / Leer?

Intimidate, moderately strong attacks, Gastro Acid and Protect make this a decent Pokemon. In theory.

Wow, Arbok actually is being used decently for once, I didn't think it had a lot of potential besides Earthquake!

 

[SpiredMoth]

You need to abuse the doubles gameplay more. At the VGC, common Pokemon included Dusknoir (hits hard and can take hits), Obamasnow (STAB Blizzard), Garchomp (STAB Earthquake), Zapdos (STAB Discharge + Earthquake immunity), Gengar (Earthquake, Explosion, and Fake Out immunity, hits hard and fast with a Sash, has Explosion).

Also, as a generalization, stall / defensive play does not fare well in doubles.


I generally don't like telling people which Pokemon to use, or else I'd just send you a link to some VGC vids.

You could replace Shuckle with...

Arbok @ Life Orb / Focus Sash
Adamant / Intimidate
252 Attack, rest split in speed and HP
Gastro Acid
Protect
Earthquake / Rock Slide / Leer?

Intimidate, moderately strong attacks, Gastro Acid and Protect make this a decent Pokemon. In theory.

The reason I put Pursuit was for those that might switch out from him, but I can change it. Shuckle's main purpose is to support Slaking, hence the defensive build. I would use Blizzard, but tend to be unlucky with its accuracy, so I'll stick with Ice Beam, but I'll try Heat Wave.

If you think Breloom is too frail, what would you suggest as a replacement?

If you do decide to switch Dragonite's item to a Life Orb, then you'll have to switch Slaking's item. I suggest Muscle Band, since choice items are not good for Slaking's move-set.

I already knew about the item thing. Thanks for the suggestion.


I'm surprised nobody commented on the EV's yet. I tend to be bad at determining efficient EV spreads.

 

[Wave⁂]

Blizzard hits both opponents, though. If Ice Beam hits at 95 BP 100% of the time, Blizzard hits for 120 BP 70% of the time while hitting both opponents, resulting in a net BP of 168.

What are you looking for to replace Breloom? Just an offensive Pokemon?

 

[SpiredMoth]

I guess so. Just something that fits, but doesn't add too much to existing weaknesses, but possibly adds coverage.

EDIT: Edited the OP

 

[Wave⁂]

Slaking will probably be the first Pokemon of yours to faint.

Garchomp, Mamoswine, Infernape, Snorlax.

 

[verycoolguy]

Dragonite@Life Orb
modest/Inner Focus
200 SpA, 200 HP, 108 Spe
Dragon Pulse
Heat Wave
Ice Beam
Roost

Again basic. I'm going with pulse over meteor because he can't really do as much after the stat drop. I do need suggestions for a better item, but please no choice specs/scarf because I don't really want to switch often in case of entry hazards.

There's a problem here. Ice and Dragon attacks never belong together in an offensive moveset. They hit the same type (Dragon) Super Effectively, and both have trouble with Steel. I'd recommend you replace Ice Beam with Earthquake, for solid type coverage. Once you do that, there is more reason to go with Draco Meteor since you still have a move that hasn't gotten weaker, but Dragon Pulse is still acceptable if you like attacking with Heat Wave. So now you would have two moves that attack both enemies, though you have to watch out for your partner when using Earthquake.

 

[SpiredMoth]

Slaking will probably be the first Pokemon of yours to faint.

Garchomp, Mamoswine, Infernape, Snorlax.

It's not that big of a deal if Slaking dies first, just so long as he takes something down before that happens.

I'll consider those pokemon, but Infernape will be harder to use because of Slaking's EQ; I could give ape Protect, but that limits his coverage potential.

There's a problem here. Ice and Dragon attacks never belong together in an offensive moveset. They hit the same type (Dragon) Super Effectively, and both have trouble with Steel. I'd recommend you replace Ice Beam with Earthquake, for solid type coverage. Once you do that, there is more reason to go with Draco Meteor since you still have a move that hasn't gotten weaker, but Dragon Pulse is still acceptable if you like attacking with Heat Wave. So now you would have two moves that attack both enemies, though you have to watch out for your partner when using Earthquake.

Pulse was mainly there as a decent STAB that hits most things for at least neutral. I'd like to keep Dragonite special based as a compliment to Slaking's physical. What if I replaced pulse or beam with Superpower?

 

[verycoolguy]

If you wanna keep Dragonite Special based, at least replace Ice Beam with perhaps Thunderbolt. Superpower isn't really a good option because you're lowering your defense stat, and bulk is important in doubles.

 

[SpiredMoth]

If you wanna keep Dragonite Special based, at least replace Ice Beam with perhaps Thunderbolt. Superpower isn't really a good option because you're lowering your defense stat, and bulk is important in doubles.

What if I were to replace Dragon Pulse with Surf?

Slaking will probably be the first Pokemon of yours to faint.

Garchomp, Mamoswine, Infernape, Snorlax.

I've decided to not even attempt to use Infernape at all. I've also made a possible set for each of the others you suggested as a replacement for Breloom, which are as follows:

Mamoswine@?
jolly/Snow Cloak
200 Atk, 200 SPe, 108 HP
Ice Shard/Avalanche
EQ
Rock Slide
Bite/Rain Dance/Protect

An attempt at full coverage with both STAB types and Rock Slide. For the last slot I narrowed it to 3 options: Bite to try to deal with Bronzong who would otherwise wall this, RD to stop Hail/Sandstorm for the rest of the team, and Protect in case I need to use a "global" move and he might faint from it.


Snorlax@?
adamant/Immunity
200 HP, 200 Atk, 108 Def
Return
Seed Bomb
Thunderpunch
Curse

Fairly obvious how this will be used. Return for powerful STAB, Seed Bomb for some bulky water, ground, or rock types that I can't already hit SE, and Thunderpunch for waters and flyers.


Garchomp@?
jolly/Sand Veil
200 Atk, 200 Spe, 108 HP
Crunch
Dragon Claw
Dig/EQ
Aqua tail

Another obvious set. Dragon Claw is used instead of Outrage because of the chance its ally will get hit and I don't think any of my pokes can take much, if anything, after an Outrage hit from this guy. Aqua Tail and Crunch are for coverage. Dig is a possibility over EQ for simiilar reasons to Outrage.


THESE ARE NOT A NEW TEAM, JUST POTENTIAL REPLACEMENTS FOR BRELOOM.

I know these might not be optimum sets, but they might work considering this team is for, as the title says, Frontier Doubles. I still haven't decided on items for these since they might need something already being used (stupid item clause )

Any help is welcomed, but please read the end of the first post before giving suggestion(s).

 

[SpiredMoth]

Sorry for double post, but bump for edit.

I still think my EV spreads need help, but otherwise I think this team will be able to do well.