VGC Swordfish Double Genies‍

[Jacorncob]

Hey y’all. This is the first team I’ve built for the current VGC format and I’ve made it to abt 1400 with it. I’m still pretty new to VGC in general but so far I’ve gotten decent results with the team.



no zacian art :(


Zacian-Crowned @ Rusted Sword
Ability: Intrepid Sword
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Behemoth Blade
- Play Rough
- Sacred Sword
- Protect

When to bring: almost always
Lead: sometimes
Dmax: lmao

Big dog with big sword do big damage. I chose to run max speed and attack to try and outpace other Zacian, especially the bulky variant on Rinya sun. Not much else to say, zac is pretty straight forward. He can lead, stay in the back, file you taxes, raise your kids, and die to precipice blades, so be careful.

Kyogre @ Mystic Water
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
EVs: 188 HP / 68 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Water Spout
- Origin Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Protect

When to bring: every game
Lead: sometimes
Dmax: sometimes

The second half of the swordfish core, I chose a fast, somewhat bulky Kyogre so that it outspeeds bulky Groudon. Sure it will set up weather first and Groudon can take it back, but why the heck are you leading Kyogre into Groudon? Other than that, Kyogre is pretty much the only Pokémon you’re gonna be bringing to every game, except under some very, very specific circumstances

Incineroar @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 140 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Fake Out
- Parting Shot
- Flare Blitz
- Darkest Lariat

When to bring: usually
Lead: usually (as in, don’t bring it in the back if you bring it)
Dmax: rarely

The standard, Groudon checking kitty is here! Shuca berry so it isn’t sat on by Groudon, fairly standard ev spread and moveset. You typically won’t be dynamaxing incin, but there are definitely curcumstances I kind of see incineroar as kind of a physical-denying support as compared to the next Pokémon…

Thundurus (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 156 Def / 76 SpD / 32 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Eerie Impulse
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt

When to bring: usually
Lead: always
Dmax: if you have to…

While it seems like everyone else has been running Dmax defiant Thundy, I found that this prankster variant is a win con itself due to how many opponents quit after I twave and eerie impulse their gmaxed Zard. This Pokémon is a fantastic disruptor and provides great speed control against anything that isn’t dark, ground, or electric. Like previously stated, I feel like this Pokémon is kind of a special mirror to incin and I typically run it if I think my opponent will be leading with a special threat. Also, while you can lead Incin Thundy if you really want, this lead is generally

Kartana @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 132 HP / 4 Atk / 4 Def / 148 SpD / 220 Spe
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Aerial Ace
- Sacred Sword

When to bring: sometimes
Lead: sometimes
Dmax: usually

Dear lord this small thing hits hard, especially when you make the small thing big. Kartana is run with just enough speed to outspeed a max speed invested Kyogre, and has special bulk investment since living an extra hit is more important than dealing even more overkill to Kyogre and other targets. 181 attack is high enough and beast boost + airstream is usually all this monster needs to run away with the game.

Landorus-Therian (M) @ White Herb
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Fly
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance

When to bring: sometimes
Lead: usually
Dmax: usually

The other, non-Kyogre dmax option is everyone’s second least favorite kitty (or first if you play singles). Lando is here pretty much for two reasons: he has fantastic synergy with his brother, and he rolls eleki and Zard. Leading dual genies is typically what I see as the safest lead into Rinya. Hey that brings us into the section about…

LEADS

Safe leads:
Dual Genies (Thundy and Lando-T)
Thundy/Incin + restricted

Aggressive leads:
Kyogre + Kartana
Thundy/Incin + Kartana
(its almost like kartana is a aggressive Pokémon wow)

Hey you made it to the bottom of the article. Thanks for looking through my post! I’m really trying to improve at VGC to be prepared for next season hopefully (no regionals near me sadge), so if you have any feedback or there’s anything I missed I’d be happy hear it.

 

[Omastar68]

I try to rate VGC teams now cause, even though they are rare, BSS RMTs are nonexistent. But I can't really find anything wrong. The only 2 things I even think are 1) can Zacian use Close Combat well? You have Darkest Lariat and Sword on Kartana, so you're already ignoring Def buffs if those are a thing. Ofc the main point is to not lower defenses, but it's not a bulky Zacian plus you get little to nothing from the secondary effect. 2) Is White Herb on Landog plainly for Incin? I'd think so. That mon is really common, but I was wondering if you'd rather be +1 Spe and -1 Atk than +0 both. The reason is cause you can still SD tyo make up for Intimidtae drops. So my idea that I want to share is could you run Adrenaline Orb? Since the ite is only for Incin. The problem w/ that though is Landog is already faster than Incin. Idk, it's a thoughtl. If it helps, great.

 

[Jacorncob]

I try to rate VGC teams now cause, even though they are rare, BSS RMTs are nonexistent. But I can't really find anything wrong. The only 2 things I even think are 1) can Zacian use Close Combat well? You have Darkest Lariat and Sword on Kartana, so you're already ignoring Def buffs if those are a thing. Ofc the main point is to not lower defenses, but it's not a bulky Zacian plus you get little to nothing from the secondary effect. 2) Is White Herb on Landog plainly for Incin? I'd think so. That mon is really common, but I was wondering if you'd rather be +1 Spe and -1 Atk than +0 both. The reason is cause you can still SD tyo make up for Intimidtae drops. So my idea that I want to share is could you run Adrenaline Orb? Since the ite is only for Incin. The problem w/ that though is Landog is already faster than Incin. Idk, it's a thoughtl. If it helps, great.

I didn’t even think about the close combat over ss on zac but yeah that makes a lot of sense lol. The main reason I run white herb on lando is, like you mentioned, to stop intimidate, but also to counter scary face grimmsnarl as that’s a variant I’ve seen a lot when laddering. If I were to run something else, it’d probably be life orb since I typically max lando so the speed boost from airstream is typically enough. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Omastar68]

Also, at lvl 50 EVs for stat w. a 31 IV should be divisible by 4 but not 8. 32(Spe on Thund-I) is divisible by 8, so it wastes a point.