Metagame Little Cup Doubles

Merritt

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is a Tournament Directoris a Site Content Manageris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Dedicated Tournament Host
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Approved by macle and not disapproved by Quote (lots of inspiration from the doubles uu thread)

LITTLE CUP DOUBLES



it's here
What is LC Doubles?
Exactly what it sounds like! It's Little Cup in the doubles format, only with a somewhat different (currently smaller) banlist than standard play. It's a largely unexplored metagame that plays pretty differently to normal LC and DOU with only a few players.

Where can I play it?
Currently the best place to play it is on http://azure.psim.us/lcdoubles due to having an accurate banlist and clauses implemented (namely Sleep Clause). There's also an LC Doubles room there where you can find people to play with.

What's banned?
- The moves Dragon Rage, Sonic Boom, and Swagger are banned in LC Doubles
- The item Eevium Z is banned
- Meditite, Aipom, Murkrow, Scyther, Sneasel, Swirlix, Tangela, and Yanma are banned
- The ability Moody is banned

Unlike DOU Sleep Clause is also ON.

Some topics for discussion:
  • What currently shapes the metagame? Are there any big threats that need to be addressed?
  • Is Sleep Clause necessary or can it be turned off without many issues?
  • What kind of teams are fun and effective? What playstyles have potential (Trick Room, weather) and what playstyles don't (stall)?
Current Council:
Merritt (TL)
dsr95
rhydonphilip
Memoric
Nido-Rus
 
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Merritt

no comment
is a Tournament Directoris a Site Content Manageris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Dedicated Tournament Host
Head TD
VIABILITY RANKINGS


Tier 1
These Pokemon are great fits to almost any type of team, due to their offensive and/or supportive roles. They may employ various different roles, or excel outstandingly with just one set. Their presence in the metagame cannot be ignored.
Gligar
Misdreavus
Porygon

Tier 1.5
These Pokemon are generally very effective in the roles they fulfill, which include checking popular team playstyles or being key to such playstyles. However, their offensive and supportive capabilities tend to be more limited than that of Pokemon on the tier above.
Bellsprout
Chinchou
Dwebble
Foongus
Grimer-Alola
Magnemite
Omanyte
Pawniard
Ponyta
Scraggy
Snubbull
Spritzee
Tirtouga
Vulpix
Vulpix-Alola


Tier 2
These Pokemon have useful niches that justify their use on certain types of teams, but their niches tend to be generally less useful than those of Pokemon in tiers above. They are also held back by their weaknesses and/or their lack of strong offensive/supportive capabilities.
Abra
Amaura
Archen
Bulbasaur
Carvanha
Corphish
Cottonee
Cranidos
Croagunk
Cutiefly
Dewpider
Diglett
Elekid
Frillish
Honedge
Houndour
Mantyke
Meowth
Mienfoo
Mudbray
Munchlax
Sandshrew-Alola
Shellder
Skrelp
Snover

Tiers 3 and 4 coming soon (hopefully)!
 
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This post is kinda long so if you'd like to skip to certain topics, use CTRL + F and search for the topic you're looking for. That said, here's some key words that I have mentioned in the post: Trick Room, Spritzee, Hail, Sun, Rain, Omanyte, Purrloin, Vullaby, Drifloon, Doduo, Offense, Ponyta, Bronzor, Gligar, Meditite, Misdreavus, Porygon, Foongus, Munchlax

From what I've played so far, I've noticed one thing: Trick Room is very strong. When you have a viable setter that is immune to taunt in Spritzee and multiple ways of supporting it into setting Trick Room such as Fake Out, Intimidate, or redirection support (Follow Me and Rage Powder), it's kind of hard to deny this playstyle has a lot of potential. Also, while Spritzee seems like a sitting duck after setting Trick Room, that's really not the case. With Wish and Calm Mind it can establish itself as a threat to other Pokemon that aren't Meditite and Scraggy. Dazzling Gleam as a spread STAB, or Draining Kiss for semi-reliable recovery make its longevity quite high and it's really all it'll need to attack, as the teammate should be ready to take apart any Poison, Steel, or Fire types from the opposing side. Apart from Spritzee's amazing setter capabilities, the playstyle also has tools such as Foongus to spread sleep, Munchlax so make the sun matchup less annoying, among a lot of other Pokemon that can excel in Trick Room.

I believe there's a lot of room for potent and creative strategies in this metagame, as I've seen things like Z-Trick Room Bronzor, Z-Sunny Day Ponyta, among other things that seem to really pull their weight. Hail and Sun seem to be the most prevalent and viable weathers, although I feel like Rain has potential cause Omanyte has that strong Muddy Water and Purrloin having Encore, Thunder Wave and all those disruptive moves really messes up the opponent if not attended quickly. Having to set rain manually is a bit of a pickle, though. As for offensive play styles, I think there's a wide variety of ways to build offense and the only requirements for success that I can think about is that you need to be have a good lead vs Trick Room, ways to get around weather teams, and a check to the Tier 1-1.5 Pokemon, which is not too hard, as they can fall prey to a lot of different things. This can all change as players innovate new strategies however, so if you believe I'm wrong, show me.

There's a few Pokemon that I think could be doing some serious work but I haven't seen anybody pick them up, like Vullaby, Drifloon, and Doduo. I don't have much opinions on them, but their kit seems to be good enough to be viable in some way, so I'll leave that up as discussion points.

And finally, a little bit of information about the Tier 1 Pokemon that I think is worth mentioning to give everyone a heads up on what they can do, and what they're weak points and limitations are.

Gligar has an amazing STAB combination, great 19 Speed, very good bulk even without Eviolite, Swords Dance as a setup move, and good Attack, but I personally find it to be slightly underwhelming considering its movepool, stats, typing, and ability are so good. It needs to trigger Berry Juice in order to use Acrobatics, and in a Doubles environment, you can easily be double targeted and never get to trigger the juice. Earthquake is surprisingly weak because of the 25% damage reduction that spread moves receive in Doubles.

236 Atk Gligar Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 156 Def Ponyta: 18-24 (85.7 - 114.2%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
236 Atk Gligar Earthquake vs. 36 HP / 236 Def Grimer-Alola: 18-24 (72 - 96%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 236 Atk Gligar Earthquake vs. 36 HP / 236 Def Eviolite Grimer-Alola: 24-30 (96 - 120%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO

Long story short, Gligar will simply trigger the Berry Juice of a full health Ponyta (with 21/14 bulk) and fail to OHKO a Pokemon with a Super-Effective +2 Earthquake if it has 25/14 bulk with Eviolite. However, at least Gligar has a pretty immense movepool with Taunt, Tailwind, Knock off, Rock Slide, U-turn and probably a million other things to make itself a very diverse Pokemon both as utility and offensive presence. I've also seen some Groundium Z sets bouncing around that sort of help Gligar's issues with Earthquake, so that's neat. it also dies to random ice moves and lots of scarfers

Meditite is funny. It's probably the best Fake Out utility in the meta, it has reasonable bulk (21/12/12 with Eviolite), semi-reliable recovery in Drain Punch, great coverage, and its strong af. However... it's 16 speed as a fighting type makes it prey to Flying types, and Misdreavus. Fairy types like Spritzee, Cutiefly and especially Snubbull can also find it in themselves to give Meditite a rough time. I feel Meditite shines when supported via speed control, so it can make use of its coverage and sheer power.

Misdreavus is the premiere Ghost-type and is boasting a nice 19 Speed at max, a great Special Attack stat, respectable bulk, perfect coverage with Shadow Ball and Dazzling Gleam, having a setup move in Nasty Plot, and a plethora of support moves such as Taunt, Will-O-Wisp, Icy Wind, and perhaps even Z-Destiny Bond. But being a Ghost-Type is a very hard life, being weak to Knock Off, Sucker Punch, while being unable to break through Pokemon like Grimer-a, Porygon, Foongus and Pawniard. It also loses to Carvanha.

Porygon has incredible bulk, nice coverage, decent speed, lots of power, and two different sets that are played very differently (Trick Room and Z-Conversion), and even then, it still has other support options like Icy Wind and Electroweb, so it's a very good mon. Sadly, Porygon has a few flaws that include being completely obliterated by Meditite and to a lesser extent, Scraggy, having difficulty vs opposing speed control, and having to set up to show its threatening presence. Let's also keep in mind that part of Porygon's offensive prowess comes from the Download ability, which you can counterplay with something as simple as your EVs. That aside, it's still a powerful presence that needs to be accounted when building a team.

I await further discussion on all this and much more!
 
What currently shapes the metagame? Are there any big threats that need to be addressed?
- I'd say the Tier 1 and Tier 1.5 mons are the ones that are mostly filling up the metagame atm, especially since many of the Pokemon that boast their viability in LC singles are actually less effective once they come into the doubles format, and thus not used as much. I'm really satisfied how support mons are really getting to shine more in doubles such as Cottonee's significant presence in the battlefield thanks to its access to prankster + tailwind / encore which can really be a game deciding factor. Also, I like how setup sweeping is less threatening thanks to two mons being able to deal with it at once, and the existence of many unexpected variables that can completely change the game flow unlike singles.

Is Sleep Clause necessary or can it be turned off without many issues?
- I'd say sleep clause is very necessary in LC. The reason is because unlike the normal DOU there aren't enough sleep immune / grass type Pokemon or strategies that block sleep such as psychic / electric terrain in LC, especially since you can't use goggles and with the absence of murkrow now. Also, LC seems to depend more on one mon being active than it is on DOU (Actually experienced this on a battle vs rhydonphilip) so letting more than one Pokemon sleep can be really mindblowing. I'm expecting that many people will start running the all mighty foongus because of its access to rage powder and how great it fits into trick room teams, so I think keeping sleep clause would be a good idea.

What kind of teams are fun and effective? What playstyles have potential (Trick Room, weather) and what playstyles don't (stall)?
- Sun, Hail, Trick Room, Tailwind are the playstyles that I think are the best right now in my opinion. Stall is bad, and by bad I mean very very bad. It's even worse in doubles than it is in singles because you just get beaten up by x2 mons and just die doing nothing. Not recommended. Tailwind and Trick Room are really good because the four / five turns feel a lot longer and mean a lot more than they do in singles since a lot of things happen in a matter of few turns. As with weather, hail surprisingly seems to be equally useful as sun is in doubles (Of course alolan sandshrew is still bad). The main reason is because normal vulpix doesn't show a significant difference in damage input due to the spread move damage reduction in doubles, and because sun abusers such as bellsprout aren't as powerful as they are in singles. Alolan vulpix is really nice because it can set up Aurora Veil for 8 turns, which is probably just going to be active until the game ends.

Expensive Duck (Porygon) @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 156 HP / 40 Def / 156 SpA / 156 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Tri Attack
- Shadow Ball
- Recover
Levi Shroom (Foongus) (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 196 HP / 156 Def / 156 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Giga Drain
- Protect
Apple Jelly (Solosis) (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 76 HP / 116 Def / 236 SpA / 80 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Protect
OPearl (Clamperl) (F) @ DeepSeaTooth
Ability: Shell Armor
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 236 HP / 24 Def / 248 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 1 Spe
- Muddy Water
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Protect
Scraggod (Scraggy) (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 116 HP / 156 Atk / 196 Def / 40 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Fake Out
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Detect
Kirby Much (Spritzee) (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Aroma Veil
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 212 HP / 196 Def / 24 SpA / 76 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect

This is a Trick Room team that I made right after the Swirlix, Yanma, Murkrow ban. I put in three mons that can set up Trick Room so I can take control over the game consistently and reliably throughout the game. Porygon and Spritzee are the mandatory mons for a Trick Room team with their outstanding bulk. Scraggy lets the Trick Room setters do their job more easily with its Fake Out and Intimidate support. Overcoat Solosis exists because Foongus is a real nightmare under Trick Room and for back up. Clamperl is the main damage nuke of the team, and Foongus protects Clamperl from fatal attacks and can shoot off fast spores under Trick Room.
 
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What currently shapes the metagame? Are there any big threats that need to be addressed?
I'm really satisfied how support mons are really getting to shine more in doubles such as Cottonee's significant presence in the battlefield thanks to its access to prankster + tailwind / encore which can really be a game deciding factor. Also, I like how setup sweeping is less threatening thanks to two mons being able to deal with it at once, and the existence of many unexpected variables that can completely change the game flow unlike singles.
Cottonee seems to have a lot more potential. It has automatic presence and advantage given that it switches in at a good time since you can punish defensive play such as Protect and other status moves with Encore. It can also spread Paralysis, set Tailwind, and even use priority Charm to help out its teammates. It also has a nice Giga Drain for STAB that helps vs Omanyte, Chinchou, and other water mons. As for setup sweeping, the only ones that I can say are very strong so far are Gligar and Misdreavus and only due to the fact that they don't really need much support to pull off their setup sets. All you really need is to use the teammate to cover them for a turn, which depends on the player being smart, and then you're probably fine. Being a self-sustainable setup sweeper is a big thing on LC Doubles. (Omanyte and Dwebble are great too)

What kind of teams are fun and effective? What playstyles have potential (Trick Room, weather) and what playstyles don't (stall)?
- Sun, Hail, Trick Room, Tailwind are the playstyles that I think are the best right now in my opinion. Stall is bad, and by bad I mean very very bad. It's even worse in doubles than it is in singles because you just get beaten up by x2 mons and just die doing nothing. Not recommended. Tailwind and Trick Room are really good because the four / five turns feel a lot longer and mean a lot more than they do in singles since a lot of things happen in a matter of few turns.
Speed control in general is very good in this meta, be it Tailwind, Trick Room, Icy Wind, and maybe Thunder Wave. Having control of the speed will definitely switch momentum to your side in a heartbeat. Scarfers are also super good on certain teams, especially the likes of Chinchou, who can make opponents double guess their decisions vs it because of how well it can do against a lot of different Pokemon.

This is a Trick Room team that I made right after the Swirlix, Yanma, Murkrow ban. I put in three mons that can set up Trick Room so I can take control over the game consistently and reliably throughout the game. Porygon and Spritzee are the mandatory mons for a Trick Room team with their outstanding bulk. Scraggy lets the Trick Room setters do their job more easily with its Fake Out and Intimidate support. Overcoat Solosis exists because Foongus is a real nightmare under Trick Room and for back up. Clamperl is the main damage nuke of the team, and Foongus protects Clamperl from fatal attacks and can shoot off fast spores under Trick Room.
In regards to your team, I really like it. However, I think it loses to Pawn + Tite though, which is a very strong offensive core vs Trick Room. The team can be pretty much annihilated by a well-played Pawniard when considering your only way of getting around it is Foongus or Scraggy, and the latter triggers Defiant, which is quite disadvantageous. I also think an opposing Porygon with Trick Room can give your team a hard time, since they can disarm your Trick Room and then start applying pressure to you until you're able to set it again. Munchlax is another Pokemon that can probably give this a hard time, given that 5 of your Pokemon are Special Attackers that can't break through it easily, and 2 of them are kinda passive. I think the team has a lot of strain on Scraggy to handle various different things, although this can be fixed by maybe switching out Solosis for something that hits hard on the physical side and gives Scraggy some help. I think Mudbray over Solosis could be a cool fit that helps vs Pawniard and the Normal Types (and High Horse can 2HKO Evio Tite), because while Solosis being used as a Foongus check makes sense, you can't really do much if Foongus is on the field and Solosis isn't because you have to predict who is getting spored to get the switch right and even if you get the switch right, you need to poke Foongus with some kind of move because...
240+ SpA Solosis Psychic vs. 124 HP / 160 SpD Eviolite Foongus: 20-26 (80 - 104%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
You don't even OHKO consistently so if you don't poke Foongus, it stays with full health, and if Trick Room is active it will go first next turn because the thing is 1 point slower than Solosis, which means you have to play defensively to avoid another Spore (Keep in mind you're consuming your Trick Room turns simply switching into this and trying to avoid having a Pokemon being put to sleep). And then if you do get the Psychic hit and don't OHKO, it potentially puts Solosis's teammate to sleep and then can switch out to annoy you later. (unless again, you protect solosis's teammate while you Psychic it, and such defensive play gives the Foongus player the ability to just switch out or Protect and use its teammate freely)

tl;dr Solosis has a lot of scenarios/possibilities where it fails to fulfill its purpose as a Foongus check and Trick Room doesn't really need 3 setters, since Spritzee and Porygon have what it takes to set it once every game and maybe twice depending on how you play them. You could also try using Ice Beam over Shadow Ball on Porygon, since Scraggy can either dent missy or outright kill Missy under Trick Room, and Foongus can also get under Missy's non-existent skin through either sporing her, or redirecting her moves so a teammate can hit her. You could also try out Substitute over HP Grass on Clamperl to further strengthen your team against Foongus, since people will try out to Protect-stall Trick Room and it's an easy opportunity to put your self in a favorable situation behind the sub. But hey! These are just suggestions that I think could optimize this team further :3 also cm spritzee is gud

But seriously Pikasohn, great job on the team. I'm surprised how easily and quickly you picked this up o:
 
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I think you should change the tiering system so that the very best Pokemon are Tier 0. That way you don't have a Tier 1.5 because I think that's pretty awkward.
 
I think you should change the tiering system so that the very best Pokemon are Tier 0. That way you don't have a Tier 1.5 because I think that's pretty awkward.
For legitimacy and organization purposes, we've followed DOU's tiering system rather closely. Also, tier 0 is for absolute monsters (This is where Murkrow and Swirlix were before we banned them) and neither of the Tier 1 Pokemon are on the same level that those two were.

OP says krows banned, thought you both might want to know.
They know, it's just the fact that we did have a few weeks of playtesting Swirlix, Yanma, and Murkrow before we were able to run a council vote on 'em.

Nominating Clamperl for 1.5 tier
While I do agree Clamperl can be a pretty strong threat, being reliant on speed control to pull it off, having little bulk, and needing extra support from the teammates to set up Shell Smash doesn't really fit into a Tier 2 Pokemon's criteria. Not saying it's bad, just harder to throw on a team because of how specific it can be, and it has competition from Tirtouga and Omanyte as a Shell Smasher. I'm open to changing my mind given that I see Clamperl being useful in more situations and being consistently effective.
 
Clamperl isn't really a Shell Smasher actually, it's just a hard damage nuke that pulls off significant net damage on the opposing team. (I actually didn't have shell smash on that replay above) The idea is to be able to function as a strong dealer even without having need to set up Shell Smash, which is extremely hard considering you get beat up by two Pokemon. Also, Clamperl doesn't really lose out on bulk either as it survives everything that Omanyte won't be able to take twice either (For example, Gligar's EQ, Pory's Tri Attack, and Meditite's ZHB) I don't really see how it loses out so much on Omanyte or other smashers since all it needs is just a single Tailwind and does equally or even more work than them as it's rather more flexible. I actually think it's easier to use since you don't have to risk Clamperl itself before sweeping.

But oh well, if you say so Z:
 
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UPDATE: The council is currently in the process of shaping a tier 3 to post in the Viability Rankings. Once it's posted, feel free to dispute and discuss the Pokemon within them.

Pikasohn You already know clam's going up lmao

Also, everyone else feel free to post your thoughts about the mons within the current rankings or any rising stars that should be ranked. Any questions related to the meta will be swiftly replied. :)

pony is amazing, anyone who disagrees is clearly wrong
 
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I'm here to bring you guys my patented MTV TailRoom™ team!



Foongus @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 124 HP / 156 Def / 156 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Protect
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Giga Drain

Meditite @ Eviolite
Ability: Pure Power
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 196 Atk / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- Ice Punch

Misdreavus @ Berry Juice
Ability: Levitate
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Def / 236 SpA / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt

Spritzee @ Eviolite
Ability: Aroma Veil
Level: 5
EVs: 52 HP / 116 Def / 252 SpA / 76 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick Room
- Wish
- Helping Hand
- Moonblast

Tirtouga @ Berry Juice
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 5
EVs: 212 Atk / 12 Def / 76 SpD / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Protect
- Shell Smash
- Liquidation
- Rock Slide

Vullaby @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 156 Atk / 76 SpD / 116 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Roost
- Tailwind
- Brave Bird
- Knock Off


The team is focused around the MTV (Missy-Tite-Vullaby) core, which has the collective strength to wear down and/or defeat a big portion of the metagame due to their fantastic offensive typings and the way they can remove threats for each other. The use of Tailwind and Trick Room on this team is key, as it allows the player to adapt to nearly every situation so that you're able to stay on the offensive. Generally, your win cons are Misdreavus and Tirtouga, and the rest of the team are key supporters that ensure the checks to these two are out of the way or crippled enough to the point that they're unable to stop you. Below is an individual explanation of each Pokemon.

Foongus
  • Set/Spread: With 25/14/14 bulk and Eviolite, Foongus is able to tank a wide variety of hits, including Jolly Meditite's Zen Headbutt, Porygon's +1 Ice Beam, and even Ponyta's Flare Blitz. Having minimal speed allows Foongus to take the most advantage out of Trick Room with its Spore and STAB. Foongus' Regenerator ability heals enough so that it can switch in multiple times through a match without much problem.
  • Moveset: Giga Drain is Foongus' main STAB, allowing it to hit Water-types that can be a nuisance for Tirtouga. Spore can put an opponent to sleep, and it's especially useful when Trick Room is active, as Foongus is one of the slowest Pokemon in the meta. Rage Powder allows Foongus to redirect opponent's attacks towards itself to support it's teammate, most importantly Tirtouga, who is weak to Electric and Grass-type moves that Foongus has no trouble taking. It also takes hits for Misdreavus if you're trying to set up a Nasty Plot or Substitute. Protect simply helps Foongus punish the opponent for double-targetting it and keeps it alive while you're switching the teammate to gain momentum.
Meditite
  • Set/Spread: The spread is the standard bulky Meditite set. With 21/12/12 bulk and Eviolite, Meditite is able to take hits such as Misdreavus' Shadow Ball, or even Snubbull's Play Rough.
    The rest of the spread maximizes Meditite's Speed and Attack so that it's able to outspeed as many Pokemon as possible and hit them with its powerful moves coming from an insane 26 Attack stat thanks to to its Pure Power ability.
  • Moveset: Drain Punch is Meditite's main STAB move and provides semi-reliable recovery. Drain Punch's main targets are Porygon, Pawniard, and Scraggy, who can threaten the other 2 members of the MTV core. Zen Headbutt is the secondary STAB that hits mainly relevant Chlorophyll Pokemon, Foongus, and Misdreavus. Ice Punch is nice coverage against Ground-types like Gligar, and Cottonee. Fake Out grants the team easy momentum and deals very good chip damage. Useful for the team to pick up some KOs. It also provides setup opportunities for Misdreavus and Tirtouga.
Misdreavus
  • Set/Spread: This spread lets Misdreavus reach 19 speed, which is a great speed tier and gets it a great 18 Special Attack stat. The rest of its EVs go into some physical bulk but there's not really much I could find that makes those 36 EVs too relevant. The most relevant thing it can survive with those 36 EVs on Defense is Adamant Meditite's Zen Headbutt. Berry Juice grants Misdreavus some HP Recovery while it sets up Substitute or Nasty Plot.
  • Moveset: Shadow Ball is its main STAB, hitting Meditite super-effectively, and a large portion of the metagame with neutral damage. Thunderbolt is the coverage move of choice, hitting Vullaby for a big chunk of damage, and Water-types (barring Chinchou), which takes some of the weight of defeating Water-Types off of Foongus'... er... head? Nasty Plot is how you you turn Misdreavus into a killing machine that can steamroll a lot of the metagame with its STAB Shadow Ball, which does neutral damage against a lot of relevant Pokemon and Thunderbolt making sure Vullaby doesn't wall you and that Porygon takes a big hit. Substitute is Misdreavus' way to stay safe on the field, and it's very useful when an opponent's Meditite is about to use Fake Out. It also helps stall for safety while you switch its partner to a more favorable one, and prevents status such as Paralysis or Sleep coming from Snubbull, or Foongus, respectively. You can also force Berry Juice to activate with it.
Spritzee
  • Set/Spread: Spritzee's spread provides the same bulk numbers as Foongus. 25/14/14 bulk with Eviolite lets Spritzee tank Pawniard's Life Orb Iron Head, Bellsprout's Life Orb Sludge Bomb, and Magnemite's Flash Cannon. Quiet nature with max Special Attack investment allows Spritzee to have a 75% chance to OHKO bulky Meditite with Moonblast, it does a big chunk of damage to bulky Pawniard (2HKO) and can OHKO Scraggy, unlike uninvested Dazzling Gleam. It also gives Spritzee the strength to apply offensive pressure so that its not a sitting duck while on the field. The real kicker about Spritzee is its Aroma Veil ability, which can prevent your Misdreavus, Tirtouga, or Foongus from falling prey to Taunt and Encore, so they are able to set up safely in the face of Cottonee, Purrloin, Misdreavus, Gligar, and others.
  • Moveset: Moonblast is your STAB to hit the Pokemon mentioned in the paragraph above. Fairy type is also a very good typing with neutral damage against a lot of the metagame so Moonblast alone will serve its purpose as your sole attacking move. Wish allows Spritzee to have a means of HP recovery, although this team benefits more from using Wish as a way to bring a teammate in more safely. Helping Hand is a great move that helps Meditite, Misdreavus, Vullaby, and Tirtouga get some KOs that they normally wouldn't. Trick Room serves two purposes. The first is that it can unset the opponent's Trick Room if it's unfavorable for you to play with Trick Room set. The second is for you to be able to use it to gain advantage when the opponent is under the effects of Tailwind, Chlorophyll, and moves that boost speed such as Shell Smash.
Tirtouga
  • Set/Spread: Tirtouga's spread maximizes its Attack stat and gives 11 Speed so that it can outspeed the unboosted meta after Shell Smash and hit with as much strength as possible. The rest of the EVs go into added bulk but with the combination of Berry Juice and Sturdy, your bulk will rarely be relevant as you're just going to go back to full health after taking a big hit, and then 2 more hits minimum will be required before Tirtouga goes down.
  • Moveset: Liquidation is your main STAB, hitting the likes of Gligar, Ponyta, and Mudbray for big damage. Rock Slide provides a spread move with 30% flinch chance that hits the likes of Vullaby, Alolan Vulpix, and Snover while also putting some damage on its partner. It's also an alternative to hit Fire-type Pokemon when Sun is active. Shell Smash turns Tirtouga into an absolute monster, but you should be careful of using this if you think there's a probability that your opponent or you are going to use Trick Room later on. Protect is mandatory to stop potential status, stop Fake Out from breaking Sturdy, and simply buying you time while you switch into your Foongus or Spritzee in case it's necessary.
Vullaby
  • Set/Spread: The spread grants Vullaby just enough attack to OHKO bulky Meditite with Brave Bird. It also maximizes damage vs Scraggy, even though you won't be able to OHKO Scraggy with Brave Bird even with a maximized Attack spread. Having (again) 25/14/14 bulk with Eviolite lets Vullaby be a tanking machine just like its partners Spritzee and Foongus. Vullaby can be much bulkier, but that is not possible for this set because you really need that 15 Attack stat for the KOs mentioned above and you also need 14 Speed so that Vullaby can outspeed Chlorophyll Pokemon with 13 Speed, Shell Smashers, and most Scarfers after using Tailwind. Overcoat ability lets Vullaby ignore weather chip damage, but most importantly turns Vullaby into a reliable switch-in to Foongus.
  • Moveset: Vullaby's offensive typing is fantastic, even if its offensive stats are average. Brave Bird is your main STAB that hits Meditite, Scraggy, Foongus, Cottonee, and Chlorophyll Pokemon. STAB Knock Off can let Vullaby support the team by removing Eviolites from the opponent's team so that you can take down bulky threats much easier. Tailwind lets Vullaby put itself and its teammates at amazing speed tiers. This is a crucial part of the MTV core, because it allows Meditite and Misdreavus to be overwhelming offensive presences for 4 turns.
    Roost is there so that Vullaby can punish an opponent's defensive play by healing back damage, extending its longevity so that it can continue to support the team. It's also useful for removing your Flying-Type after you have set Tailwind, so you can take moves like Chinchou's Volt Switch easily and force the opponent into awkward situations.
General Notes/Tips:
  • Be careful how you use your Tailwind and Trick Room so that you don't screw yourself over. Plan ahead.
  • Make sure you use Spritzee very carefully when the opponent has a Cottonee, because that's your best way to prevent Tirtouga or Misdreavus from getting stopped cold as they're trying to set up a sweep.
  • Use Tirtouga carefully, because Shell Smashing is a big commitment that you won't be able to back off from. Make sure there's some way for you to prevent it from being interrupted in the Shell Smashing turn.
  • Use Foongus' Spore carefully, remember that LC Doubles has Sleep Clause and whatever you put to sleep must count.
  • Given that the team doesn't have a direct answer to Fairy-types other than Foongus, use Vullaby's Knock Off or Foongus' Spore to cripple the opponent's Fairies. Tirtouga, and especially Misdreavus at +2 don't really mind Spritzee or Snubbull very much so you can easily pick them off with one of your win cons. Meditite, while weak to these two, can use its powerful Zen Headbutt to pick off a KO if they're weakened enough. Spritzee can also give take a nice chunk from them with its Moonblast or simply use Helping Hand to get the partner to finish them off.




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Last edited:

Merritt

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Head TD
Hey quick LC Doubles question, is there plans or a timeframe for lcDubs to have a ladder on main?
We'd love to have a ladder on main, however it's pretty unlikely purely because it's not a hugely active tier. If we get enough activity we might be able to get a challenge option or a ladder, but as it stands there's not exactly a timeframe for something like that. We'd love to try and get one eventually though!
 

freezai

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LPL Recently concluded, here are the usage stats from that tour!
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon | Use | Usage % | Win % |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1 | Misdreavus | 18 | 60.00% | 50.00% |
| 2 | Porygon | 16 | 53.33% | 56.25% |
| 3 | Foongus | 15 | 50.00% | 40.00% |
| 4 | Pawniard | 13 | 43.33% | 61.54% |
| 4 | Scraggy | 13 | 43.33% | 38.46% |
| 6 | Clamperl | 11 | 36.67% | 63.64% |
| 6 | Gligar | 11 | 36.67% | 36.36% |
| 8 | Vullaby | 8 | 26.67% | 50.00% |
| 9 | Vulpix-Alola | 6 | 20.00% | 66.67% |
| 9 | Cottonee | 6 | 20.00% | 66.67% |
| 9 | Mienfoo | 6 | 20.00% | 50.00% |
| 9 | Togepi | 6 | 20.00% | 33.33% |
| 13 | Cutiefly | 4 | 13.33% | 50.00% |
| 13 | Vulpix | 4 | 13.33% | 50.00% |
| 13 | Spritzee | 4 | 13.33% | 50.00% |
| 13 | Diglett | 4 | 13.33% | 50.00% |
| 17 | Ponyta | 3 | 10.00% | 66.67% |
| 17 | Bellsprout | 3 | 10.00% | 33.33% |
| 17 | Elekid | 3 | 10.00% | 33.33% |
| 20 | Rufflet | 2 | 6.67% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Gothita | 2 | 6.67% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Litten | 2 | 6.67% | 100.00% |
| 20 | Frillish | 2 | 6.67% | 50.00% |
| 20 | Cyndaquil | 2 | 6.67% | 50.00% |
| 20 | Woobat | 2 | 6.67% | 50.00% |
| 26 | Munchlax | 1 | 3.33% | 100.00% |
| 26 | Mudbray | 1 | 3.33% | 100.00% |
| 26 | Slowpoke | 1 | 3.33% | 100.00% |
| 26 | Squirtle | 1 | 3.33% | 100.00% |
| 26 | Natu | 1 | 3.33% | 0.00% |
| 26 | Tirtouga | 1 | 3.33% | 0.00% |
| 26 | Magnemite | 1 | 3.33% | 0.00% |
| 26 | Growlithe | 1 | 3.33% | 0.00% |
| 26 | Cranidos | 1 | 3.33% | 0.00% |
| 26 | Zigzagoon | 1 | 3.33% | 0.00% |
| 26 | Wailmer | 1 | 3.33% | 0.00% |
| 26 | Riolu | 1 | 3.33% | 0.00% |
| 26 | Omanyte | 1 | 3.33% | 0.00% |
| 26 | Ferroseed | 1 | 3.33% | 0.00% |

 

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