VGC Alolan Ninetales + Alolan Sandslash

[Feesh Squad]

|

|

|

|

|

Introduction

Well, this is my first RMT for VGC 17 and here's a team I have been using for a few weeks as of now. I decided to build around a rather uncommon Pokémon: Alolan Sandslash. This team has done rather well but I would absolutely appreciate some comments on it. Without further ado, here we go!

The Team

Ninetales-Alola @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Blizzard
- Icy Wind
- Aurora Veil
- Protect

The Pokémon that makes this all possible, Alolan Ninetales makes an excellent hail setter for Alolan Sandslash. I chose Alolan Ninetales over Vanilluxe because a.) I already have Choice Scarf used up so I can't alleviate its poor speed and b.) Aurora Veil is an amazing asset. Aurora Veil gives my team much appreciated bulk and aides in sweeps from Mimikyu and Xurkitree. Blizzard is a powerful and perfectly accurate STAB move while Icy Wind slows down opposing Pokémon. Focus Sash almost always guarantees I get to set up Aurora Veil and the given EVs maximize Special Attack and Speed to threaten faster Pokémon more easily.

Sandslash-Alola @ Groundium Z
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 60 SpD / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
- Protect

Alolan Sandslash has a rather interesting typing, along with having access to pretty good offensive STAB moves in Iron Head and Icicle Crash. Unfortunately, most are threatened by the near omnipresent Arcanine. This is where Earthquake comes in. With Groundium Z, Earthquake becomes a powerful Tectonic Rage, capable of seriously damaging Arcanine, even at -1, although I almost never lead with Alolan Sandslash.

252+ Atk Sandslash-Alola Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 188 Def Arcanine: 182-216 (92.8 - 110.2%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
-1 252+ Atk Sandslash-Alola Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 188 Def Arcanine: 122-144 (62.2 - 73.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Figy Berry recovery

The given EVs I found off of the VGC 17 damage calculator and I actually really like it. The Speed investment lets me outspeed max Speed Tapu Koko in hail. Max Attack and an Adamant nature for full damage output. TBH, I'm not quite sure what the defensive EVs do. Some clarification with that would be pretty nice.

Arcanine @ Aguav Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 244 HP / 188 Def / 76 SpD
Careful Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Snarl
- Roar
- Protect

Good ol' Arcanine. It's hard to go wrong with using such a useful Pokémon. I chose Flare Blitz over Flamethrower for a higher damage output. Snarl is a nice move for weakening opponent's Special Attack while giving it a way of hitting Alolan Marowak. Roar helps me deal with Trick Room, which I find to be very threatening to this team. The given EVs survive Life Orb Tapu Lele's Psychic and give Arcanine an even HP, which is useful with Aguav Berry. The rest are dumped into Defense.

Milotic @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Competative
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 172 SpA / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Protect

Other than dealing with Fire-types for Alolan Ninetales and Alolan Sandslash, Milotic is great at threatening Intimidate Pokémon thanks to Competative, boosting Special Attack by 2 every time one of its stats is lowered. Scald is a nice STAB move that deals decent damage while also having a chance to burn, weakening physical attackers. Recover heals Milotic whenever it gets weakened, which is nice in situations where I need to out-stall an opponent. While most Milotic carry Ice Beam for threats such as Garchomp, I chose Haze to deal with dangerous setup sweepers, most importantly Belly Drum Snorlax. The EVs I found on the Smogondex page for it, although I have considered moving 120 SpA to SpD to survive LO Tapu Koko's Thunderbolt.

Xurkitree @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Energy Ball
- Volt Switch

Never sleep on Choice Scarf Xurkitree. This thing deals serious damage vs. almost anything not named Alolan Marowak. Thunderbolt is an extremely powerful STAB move that hurts quite a lot. Dazzling Gleam deals with most Dragon-types while also dealing respectable damage against Electric resists. Energy Ball is really only for Gastrodon, but does come in handy against a Water-type when a Lightning Rod user is out. Volt Switch lets me switch out against an opponent while keeping up momentum.

Mimikyu @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Play Rough
- Shadow Claw
- Swords Dance
- Protect

I used to have Tapu Lele in this slot, but I found that I never really used it. I asked for suggestions on Discord and someone requested Swords Dance Mimikyu, since it benefits from Aurora Veil. I decided to run Ghostium Z to help more against Alolan Marowak, with Play Rough for STAB, Swords Dance for boosting Attack, and Protect being an excellent move in all Doubles-based formats. Not sure what EVs are the best, so I just went for max Attack/Speed with a Jolly nature.

Conclusion

Seems like one of the biggest threats to my team as of now is Trick Room and, although I have some ways of checking it, I have had some difficulty vs. it. Thanks for reading!

Importable

Ninetales-Alola @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Warning
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Icy Wind
- Aurora Veil
- Protect

Sandslash-Alola @ Groundium Z
Ability: Slush Rush
Level: 50
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 60 SpD / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
- Protect

Arcanine @ Aguav Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 188 Def / 76 SpD
Careful Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Snarl
- Roar
- Protect

Milotic @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Competitive
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 172 SpA / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Protect

Xurkitree @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Energy Ball
- Volt Switch

Mimikyu @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Disguise
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Play Rough
- Shadow Claw
- Swords Dance
- Protect[HIDE/]

 

[Milhau5]

Not a bad team, but it can use some work.

Mimikyu is a Pokemon that doesn't really need Protect, so you could have Taunt in the last slot. That stops all TR setters cold, other than Oranguru (who commonly carries Mental Herb). If you still want to fit in another move (like Destiny Bond or Will-O-Wisp), you could also ditch Play Rough, although I'm personally not a fan of mono-attacking Mimikyu. Also, Arcanine really does benefit from having Extremespeed; it's utility is too good to pass up. I'd put that in over Roar or Snarl, whichever you find to be the least useful in testing.

And this is an option, not really a critique: if you don't care about bulk, Milotic can hold Adrenaline Orb instead of a berry.

EDIT: you're kind of left high and dry without Terrain control. It wouldn't be a bad idea to run Tapu Fini over Milotic. It's a good partner with Arcanine, keeps the team's theme of bulk, protects from status, and also has Haze.

 

[MDK]

What he said ^
Drop Protect on Mimikyu for something else, Mimikyu is more comfortable being support rather than offense, maybe change it to something like Taunt, Will O Wisp, Shadow Claw and Destiny Bond, Z-Destiny bond is fantastic for set up so maybe you can use that on your team since you might be able to give Xurkitree Tail Glow, Z-Destiny Bond and Aurora Veil mean you can set up Tail Glow relatively safely

 

[freakingShane]

I agree about switching up Mimikyu's move set, but honestly Milotic is bulky enough. I think if you swapped in Fini in place of Milotic your team would be too weak to Steel and Poison, because that would put you at 3 Fairy types.

The only other thing I would say is possibly changing out Xurkitree. In a large majority of battles I've seen or experienced with him, he was easily disrupted and often felt like the weakest link. Other than that, the team looks nicely built.