VGC RMT Move over Metagross, Mega Gallade is here

[robbah9]

Introduction​

I did post my team earlier on reddit RMT and they were really helpfull. After I made some adjustments I tested the team on Showdown and acutally are 25-20 with it. So I'm happy. Hope you guys here on Smogon can help me out with the last changes.

So here is the team I used on showdown https://pastebin.com/btHRYX8N
And the original team before I got help https://pastebin.com/rg1PS6HF (I don't have the detailed descritptions why I choose said pokemons since it's in another pastebin what got expired)

Most losses I took were against Milotic, Aegislash, Arcanine, Mega Metagross, Mega Salamence, Whimsicott, Volcarona and Landorus-T. Further teams with two Intimidate users, Flinch or Status abuse and last but not least Greninja has returned.

I do well against most Trick Room and Weather teams. Amoonguss is no problem at all, priority abusers stand no chance and Gallade with Lele is just great. Just love the Naganadel, it hits all the Tapu's but doesn't OKO Lele, fears Dragons and other Fairy types out, Ferrothorn and Scizor dont like it and is fast with scarf, which is a suprise to a lot of players. Had some success with Karatana and I never even regret slapping Tyranitar on here. Togekiss didn't see a lot of play, I din't use Follow Me a lot and Encore is hard to use since it's slow.

I changed some moves and replaced Togekiss. But I feel with Zapdos I have 2 beasts, a Legendary and a Tapu. It feels likes abuse and I don't like it that much. I would like 3 normal but effective mons and 3 of the latter. So help me what I could actually use with keeping the checks I have with this team.

Teambuilding Process​

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**Why did you choose this pokemon?**

**Why did you choose this pokemon?**

**Why did you choose this pokemon?**

**Why did you choose this pokemon?**

**Why did you choose this pokemon?**

**Why did you choose this pokemon?**

The Team​

Gallade-Mega @ Galladite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Zen Headbutt
- Knock Off
- Protect
​

Just love it when I lead with Tapu Lele and Gallade and the Amoonguss goes for Rage Powder. Needless to say Trick Room setters with Amoonguss didn't actually set Trick Room. Metagross does the same, sure. But Metagross doesn't actually scare Snorlax, Porygon2, Cresselia, Heatran, Mega Kangskhan, Ferrothorn, Celesteela, Scrafty or Stakataka. MGallade can't OKO everyone of these, but it can make them easier to deal with.

That said: I feel like Knock Off is not doing enough. It helps a lot against Ghost types who don't expect it and against most Psychic Trick Room setters. And it did good work against some known AV users, Cresslia, Snorlax and Porygon2, but those last two fear a Close Combat more. But I don't like the Ice Punch that much since it only covers Lando-T and the Dragon Types who are 4x weak to it. I like Swords Dance though, but it will be hard to set up with Togekiss gone. Fire Punch and Thunder Punch are just no options. The only thing that comes to mind is Leaf Blade with a hight crit ratio but Zen Headbutt will hit Water type mons harder except Swampert and Gastrodon who don't scare me that much. So what should I opt for or just leave the Knock Off.

Kartana @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Detect
​

If I would replace a pokemon it would be Kartana, even though I have some mixed success with it. I can replace it with Aegislash but I always find it hard to use, I'm not that great with mind reading. With that I would lose the answer to Tapu Fini and SpD bulky Water/Rock type pokemons. I'm really not sure what to go for cause Ferrothorn is just to slow and I can't think about another usefull Steel or Grass type who can do the same thing.

Naganadel @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]
​

Hidden Power Ground was not doing it for me. I have answers for Heatran and since that pesky brat on Lando or Mence puts Gallade on -1 it doens't really threaten them if I would run Ice Punch on it. Hidden Power Ice however will score the OKO on both, if it is not wearing a AV or is heavily invested in HP and SpD.

Zapdos @ Wiki Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 244 HP / 68 Def / 28 SpA / 92 SpD / 76 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tailwind
- Heat Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Reflect
​

I replaced Togekiss with Zapdos. Zapdos is also a bulky mon with access to Tailwind but gives more offensive presence even with little investment. Heat Wave is to threaten Ferro and Scizor the latter who I have encouterd a lot. Thunderbolt is a great move against Rain Teams and because of the fast pace I decided not to go for Roost. I want to test out Reflect to boost the Def on my team mons. I don't know if two setup moves on Zapdos will be any good but it's worth a shot, if it doesnt't work there are enough other options to go for.

Tapu Lele @ Life Orb
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Taunt
- Protect
​

I'm happy with this set, Taunt is just great it did help me a lot against Breloom, Smeargle and Trick Room setters I could not faint with Tyranitar MGallade lead. Further if I outspeed common Tailwind setters it's almost a free win.

Tyranitar (M) @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 236 HP / 124 Atk / 52 Def / 28 SpD / 68 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch
- Protect
​

Same goes for this mon. Enough power, good bulk it lived more than I expected. Again I'm not sure about Ice Punch. I almost never use it, but Low Kick would have no real use either. Of the 45 games played I didn't bring Gallade to 2 of those fights.

Conclusion​

It's a lot to read, I know, but I wanted to be specific and let you know why I posted here. It's not really a rate my team, it's more help me improve my team.

Pastebin if you want to test it on Showdown https://pastebin.com/Mm7ebwBX

I had a pastebin with the teambuilding progress but the page expired -.-

So that's it! Hope you enjoy and can take a look at the things in bold. Hope you guys understand I don't want to look like a legendary abuser (and don't come up with, they are strong go for it) if I wanted to do that I would play Ubers on Showdown :p

Importable

Gallade-Mega @ Galladite
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Zen Headbutt
- Knock Off
- Protect

Kartana @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Detect

Naganadel @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Zapdos @ Wiki Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 68 Def / 28 SpA / 92 SpD / 76 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tailwind
- Heat Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Reflect

Tapu Lele @ Life Orb
Ability: Psychic Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Taunt
- Protect

Tyranitar (M) @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 124 Atk / 52 Def / 28 SpD / 68 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch
- Protect