rated battle spot singles discussion

[Chris Eubank Jr.]

the rated area of the battle spot is probably the most competitive scene in pokemon. japanese trainers are the most predominantly encountered and are well known for their unpredictable play styles. tbh, this is one of the most fun competitive battling scenes in pokemon and requires a lot more strategy than you might think! this is the team that I use

Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Grass Knot
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam

Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Tomb

Aegislash @ Lum Berry
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 164 HP / 252 Atk / 92 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Level: 50
EVs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD / 200 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Power-Up Punch
- Rock Slide
- Sucker Punch
- Substitute

Hippowdon @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb
- Yawn
- Slack Off

Latias (F) @ Latiasite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 128 HP / 128 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Psychic


im not gonna go too in depth here, but i'd just like to say that i've had massive success with this team so far and no one really sees a lot of the moves coming. try it out on showdown yourselves = D

[Raphetty]

I think Aegislash really needs King's Shield over either Sacred Sword or Iron Head, I would prefer to keep Sacred Sword myself. The reason is that after you have attacked it allows you to take another hit, and possibly put them at -2 Attack. Also choice locked Pokémon, for example Choice Band Talonflame can't play around it, and are forced to attack with the same move or switch out if it's not their last Pokémon. Weakness Policy is also an option for its item.

I don't like Rock Tomb on Hippowdon, it has access to Rock Slide, Stone Edge or Ice Fang for that slot. It could also use Toxic over Yawn.

[SaRo|Rapidash]

A couple of fairly minor improvements in terms of EVs (assuming this is played at level 50, I believe that's battle spot?):

-> Greninja's spread should be 248/12/248 because the formula for working out stats at level 50 basically uses 0.5 IVs and 0.125 EVs, so as SpA and Speed have IVs of 30 (+15 to their stat), the EVs in those stats should be divisible by 8 so as to not have a remainder (252/8 is 31.5, so you lose nothing by dropping to 248/8, or 31, as pokemon rounds down for stats). The 12 in SpD will grant you a stat point on top of what you already have (+15.5 for 31 IVs, currently +.5 for 4 EVs, for a total of +16, but +1.5 for 12 EVs so +17)

-> In a similar way, Kangaskhan has a lot of wasted EVs. 48 HP can be 44, as 31/2 + 48/8 = 21.5, wasting 4 EVs. 200 speed can be 196 (31/2 + 200/8 = 40.5) and SpD can be 4 not 8 (31/2 +8/8 = 16.5). Then you have 12 EVs spare, with the same stats. I'm not familiar with level 50 speed tiers, but if an extra speed point is needed I'd put 8 there (again, no point in 12 as it adds 1.5 stats) and 4 in Defence or something, otherwise distribute them as you like, doesn't matter much, but it gets you an extra stat point or two.

These are both fairly minor things tbh that have very little consequence in practice, like if it's in game I wouldn't bother retraining or anything, but if it's just on showdown may as well get all the boosts you can.

Edit: Latias' EVs are dodgy too, in HP and Defence, just move 4 from defence to HP and you'll have +1 HP at no cost to defence

[Chris Eubank Jr.]

A couple of fairly minor improvements in terms of EVs (assuming this is played at level 50, I believe that's battle spot?):

-> Greninja's spread should be 248/12/248 because the formula for working out stats at level 50 basically uses 0.5 IVs and 0.125 EVs, so as SpA and Speed have IVs of 30 (+15 to their stat), the EVs in those stats should be divisible by 8 so as to not have a remainder (252/8 is 31.5, so you lose nothing by dropping to 248/8, or 31, as pokemon rounds down for stats). The 12 in SpD will grant you a stat point on top of what you already have (+15.5 for 31 IVs, currently +.5 for 4 EVs, for a total of +16, but +1.5 for 12 EVs so +17)

-> In a similar way, Kangaskhan has a lot of wasted EVs. 48 HP can be 44, as 31/2 + 48/8 = 21.5, wasting 4 EVs. 200 speed can be 196 (31/2 + 200/8 = 40.5) and SpD can be 4 not 8 (31/2 +8/8 = 16.5). Then you have 12 EVs spare, with the same stats. I'm not familiar with level 50 speed tiers, but if an extra speed point is needed I'd put 8 there (again, no point in 12 as it adds 1.5 stats) and 4 in Defence or something, otherwise distribute them as you like, doesn't matter much, but it gets you an extra stat point or two.

These are both fairly minor things tbh that have very little consequence in practice, like if it's in game I wouldn't bother retraining or anything, but if it's just on showdown may as well get all the boosts you can.

Edit: Latias' EVs are dodgy too, in HP and Defence, just move 4 from defence to HP and you'll have +1 HP at no cost to defence

thank you for pointing that out = )
although, this is just something rough i sketched out on showdown so i wouldn't have to type it all up. as far as i know, the EVs are legit in-game because it was mostly done on super training

[Raphetty]

thank you for pointing that out = )
although, this is just something rough i sketched out on showdown so i wouldn't have to type it all up. as far as i know, the EVs are legit in-game because it was mostly done on super training

You can actually set the Pokémon to level 50 in Showdown, so you can see exactly how the EVs affect the stats, saving you from doing any maths. You have to keep adjusting the sliders by 4 EVs to see if any EVs are wasted. In general though, if the IV is 31 it's safe to use 252 EVs, if it's 30 use 248 instead.

[Chris Eubank Jr.]

I think Aegislash really needs King's Shield over either Sacred Sword or Iron Head, I would prefer to keep Sacred Sword myself. The reason is that after you have attacked it allows you to take another hit, and possibly put them at -2 Attack.

the lack of king's shield plays a key part in aegislash's role in this team, alongside the lum berry.
again,with the theme here being to be as unpredictable as possible, most players tend to hesitate in fear of king's shield lowering their attack allowing aegislash to set up a swords dance. the lum berry helps too, as most people expect a weakness policy and tend to throw out status. coupled with prankster, this can be a problem, but any other pokemon and aegislash gets to set up a free swords dance = D

Also choice locked Pokémon, for example Choice Band Talonflame can't play around it, and are forced to attack with the same move or switch out if it's not their last Pokémon.

as far as choice pokemon go, you'll find that they're quite rare (with the exception of scarf garchomp) in rated 3v3, especially around the higher ranks (~1800) due to the fact that it's simply too risky to lock yourself into one attack with just 2 other pokemon by your side, unless of course you plan on using trick or switcheroo

I don't like Rock Tomb on Hippowdon, it has access to Rock Slide, Stone Edge or Ice Fang for that slot. It could also use Toxic over Yawn.

hippowdon is used as a seriously bulky support pokemon, primarily used in sync with aegislash.
-rock tomb allows you to slow down pokemon that would otherwise outspeed any of your other pokemon (mainly m-kanga)
-yawn+slack off is an amazing set to use alongside hippowdon's bulk. i've noticed that at higher ranks, trainers tend to want to keep their pokes alive for as long as possible so tend to switch out a lot after the yawn. slack off allows you to regen and simply knowing which pokemon they're packing is a great help and allows you to pan out your game plan, making shifty switches and always keeping the pace leading to a smooth victory.

[Chris Eubank Jr.]

You can actually set the Pokémon to level 50 in Showdown, so you can see exactly how the EVs affect the stats, saving you from doing any maths. You have to keep adjusting the sliders by 4 EVs to see if any EVs are wasted. In general though, if the IV is 31 it's safe to use 252 EVs, if it's 30 use 248 instead.

i'll be sure to do that next time. thanks again!
= D

[Raphetty]

as far as choice pokemon go, you'll find that they're quite rare (with the exception of scarf garchomp) in rated 3v3, especially around the higher ranks (~1800) due to the fact that it's simply too risky to lock yourself into one attack with just 2 other pokemon by your side, unless of course you plan on using trick or switcheroo

Choice Band is the most common item on Talonflame in Battle Spot Singles. 30.4% carry Choice Band, 18.2% Rocky Helmet, 16.9% Life Orb, 15.5% Sky Plate, 9.6% Sharp Beak. Data from the Global Link site.

[Chris Eubank Jr.]

Choice Band is the most common item on Talonflame in Battle Spot Singles. 30.4% carry Choice Band, 18.2% Rocky Helmet, 16.9% Life Orb, 15.5% Sky Plate, 9.6% Sharp Beak. Data from the Global Link site.

While figures from that site do possess some integrity, once you encounter trainers who grind around the upper mid level (approx 1700-1850) you'll notice that they use a lot more niche sets on their pokemon. My rating for this season peaked at almost 1900 and I very rarely encountered Talonflame at all, nevermind the choice band sets.
If anything, those figures give a representation of the more conventional players, usually at around the 1500ish mark is where most trainers are at.

[Chris Eubank Jr.]

Hmm....
After hitting an all time low in my singles rating, I noticed that this team doesn't work as well at the lower ratings. Probably due to the sheer abundance of the usual talonflame jank. I suppose at a higher rating players more away from those kinds of strategies

[Raphetty]

I don't actually play rated Battle Spot at the moment, but I would imagine that Blaziken is also more common at the lower ratings, and Talonflame obviously counters Blaziken. Maybe try Rotom-Wash.

[SirBlaziken]

Bold Rotom Wash is the best to stop Talontroll. You'll want a psychic type with that because Rotom Wash has nightmare about Mega Venusaur

[Raphetty]

You'll want a psychic type with that because Rotom Wash has nightmare about Mega Venusaur

Or he could just put Extrasensory on Greninja.

[SirBlaziken]

That works too. That's actually a good idea. However, Greninja suffers from 4MSS, so you'll have to use the other pokemon to cover what greninja can't.