Hello everyone!
I've been using and fine-tuning this team over the first season. It peaked at 1845 on Battle Spot, but unfortunately, I missed the top 100. (I'm not sure what my final raking was, but it was somewhere in the top 150-300s). If you can give me some advice where I went wrong, I'd appreciate it.
If you'd like to fight it please nudge me and I'd be happy to oblige.
I'd love to be able to get into the top 100 next season.
Anywho...
Geninja (ProteanShake) @ Focus Sash (formerly Expert Belt)
Naive Nature
Ability: Protean
96 Atk/160 SAtk/252 Spd
- Dark Pulse
- Rock Slide (formerly U-Turn)
- Ice Beam
- Mat Block
This guy has been AMAZING. Mat Block protects from damaging attacks at normal priority. Rock Slide hits Talonflame and MegaZard-Y. Focus Sash is for random scarfers trying to OHKO him. Oh and by the by if I play really smart this Greninja will take 0 damage from weather, which is huge if he hasn't taken any damage yet. Dark Pulse is obviously bog standard with Greninja and helps deal with opposing Meowstic and such.
Did you know that Mat Block cannot be broken by Feint? Feint has a 2 priority, so Mat Block has a lot of interesting use.
Blaziken (Banned) @ Wide Lens
Jolly Nature
Ability: Speed Boost
4 Def/252 Atk/252 Spd
- High Jump Kick
- Flare Blitz
- Rock Slide (formerly Baton Pass, never used it though lol)
- Swords Dance
With Meowstic's Quick Guard he can face Talonflame head on and easily OHKO with Rock Slide. I absolutely hate missing, especially when you will take 50% damage from missing HJK. A wonderful partner for Meowstic, as he can check if not counter many of its threats. Opposing Trick Room teams give him a headache, but with Reflect support from Meowstic he can still get a good hit or two in.
Can deal with stuff like Mega Kanga with HJK if they opt for Fake Out when I have Meowstic out.
If I feel like trolling I'll have both Greninja and Blaziken spam Rock Slide, which together has an obnoxiously high flinch rate...
Gyarados (Mr. Fish) @ Sitrus Berry
Jolly Nature
Ability: Intimidate
252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Taunt
I used to run an Adamant one, but that got outrun by a number of base 130+ 'mons, so I changed that. Trick Room is really deadly in Triples, so when one runs a pretty fast team Taunt is mandatory (unless if you are fighting Aromatisse/Slowbro). Intimidate helps ease the pain against things like Hitmontop and such, which people are religiously using... Intimidate also helps ease the pain of Earthquakes/Rock Slides by stuff like Tyranitar and Garchomp.
Mawile (Fairy Poots) @ Mawilite
Adamant Nature
Ability: Intimidate -> Huge Power
252 Atk/216 Def/40 SDef
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Play Rough
- Swords Dance (formerly Brick Break)
With all sorts of Trick Room teams floating about I needed a very slow, yet powerful 'mon and Mega Mawile's attack just does wonders with its reasonable bulk. It has the possibility of even OHKOing a 252 HP/0 Def Machamp with Play Rough with Reflect up. So, with Meowstic's help she easily OHKOs opposing Hitmontop on the first turn. A very very scary pokemon to fight.
Its interesting to note that with a Quick Guard up Gale Wings Talonflame cannot do damage with flying moves, so it'll likely use Flare Blitz, right? Which Sucker Punch deals with...
Meowstic-M (Psykitty) @ Rocky Helmet
Bold Nature
Ability: Prankster
252 HP/248 Def/8 SDef
- Fake Out
- Quick Guard
- Reflect (tried Light Screen, but didn't do as well)
- Psychic
In Triples you will quickly find that priority is EVERYWHERE. Fake Out leads are super common and with some teams abusing two or more Fake Out users from the get-go Meowstic is the pokemon to use. Fake Out has a priority of 3 and so does Quick Guard, however... When used with Prankster your team becomes immune to Fake Out.
I find it silly for anyone to use a Meowstic that does not have a regular attacking move. For smart players that means it is often nothing, but fodder. Even if it just chip damage he has scored a number of crucial kills for me.
What is scarier than a Blaziken with +2 Atk/+1 Spd and a Mega Mawile with +2 Atk? How about removing some of their checks and making them bulky? Meowstic often lets me easily plow through most teams. The top players have been getting smart about playing around this though with using Dark Pulse Tyranitar and Greninja leads.
In retrospect I probably should've spread his EVs out a bit more...
I actually faced a team with Shedinja that had Safety Goggles, was paralyzed, with Sturdy, and in a Trick Room. The only way I could've won that with this team was giving one of my 'mons Rocky Helmet, which I did. A fun pokemon to throw at Mega Kanga.
Blissey (FatEggThing) @ Leftovers
Bold Nature
Ability: Natural Cure
252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
- Aromatherapy
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
- Soft-Boiled
A way to deal with most of my team is to status them. Most teams do not have a reliable way to deal with status, so I quickly opted for Blissey. Usually Bliss walls as well as she always does (I love it when she tanks when two or more attackers are focused on her). Intimidates and Reflect from Meowstic turns her into one of the most obnoxiously tanky pokemon ever. Toxic helps me deal with ghosts not named Gengar and Aegislash. Its hilarious to see stuff like Close Combat barely doing 1/4 damage when all is said and done.
Shifted out:
Rotom-W (Tide) @ Choice Scarf
Timid Nature
Ability: Levitate
124 HP/168 SAtk/216 Spd
- Trick
- Thunder Wave
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
I have a philosophy to not use moves that have below 85% accuracy. After one time missing 5 Hydro Pumps in a row (back in Gen I) I said enough missing was enough. I put aside that philosophy with this guy, but it has not been performing as well as it could be. This team didn't really synergize well with it. Probably should've used a bulkier one with Will-o-Wisp.
The speed was for outrunning Jolly Gyarados after a DD.
Lucario (BARK!) @ Lucarionite
Jolly Nature
Ability: Steadfast -> Adaptability
4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Bullet Punch
Thing hits like a truck and is really fast after it goes mega. Great synergy with Greninja. Lucario hates Trick Room, which a lot of good Triples teams run. I needed something bulkier with a bit more utility, so I swapped him out for Mawile. He just seemed a bit too frail, y'know? Close Combat made his defenses even worse, so I really wasn't feelin' it with Megacario.
Sylveon (Bishounen) @ Lum Berry
Calm Nature
Ability: Cute Charm
252 HP/200 Def/56 SDef
- Calm Mind
- Dazzling Gleam (formerly Moonblast)
- Shadow Ball
- Rest
After things get intimidated he works as an all-around tank. Also, the EVs are optimized for mixed tanking. Has trouble with certain Steels obviously though... The slowest (but cutest!) Eon gets targeted by a lot of physical moves in Triples and obviously loathes Mawile. I love using tanks to sweep because it becomes a lot easier for them to continually sweep and a lot less risky in general. You should take luck-based Criticals into account when building a team.
Garchomp (Landmaster) @ Focus Sash
Jolly Nature
Ability: Rough Skin
252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
- Swords Dance
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Outrage
Standard Garchomp set, did not really feel that great on my team, so I only briefly used her. Did not feel like she synergized well with the others as they had more important roles to play, so I decided to use something else. Rock Slide was for flinching/hitting multiple targets and a Garchomp's EQ is always fearsome.
Overall:
I am quite pleased with how this team served me. I had really not taken much of an interest in Triples (and there are very few English speakers that are in the top 500!), so I thought it would be a good challenge to attempt to get into the top 100. I failed, but this team did overall really well.
The smarter players easily knew what was coming and danced around Meowstic, which was eh.
My biggest problems that I encountered were opposing Will-o-Wisp and teams that had two or more Intimidators that frequently switched in and out. You obviously can't send Blissey freely out against physical sweepers, which a number of Intimidators are.
Now that I think about it the mons I switched out are much better suited for singles...
Thoughts or advice?
I've been using and fine-tuning this team over the first season. It peaked at 1845 on Battle Spot, but unfortunately, I missed the top 100. (I'm not sure what my final raking was, but it was somewhere in the top 150-300s). If you can give me some advice where I went wrong, I'd appreciate it.
If you'd like to fight it please nudge me and I'd be happy to oblige.
I'd love to be able to get into the top 100 next season.
Anywho...
Geninja (ProteanShake) @ Focus Sash (formerly Expert Belt)
Naive Nature
Ability: Protean
96 Atk/160 SAtk/252 Spd
- Dark Pulse
- Rock Slide (formerly U-Turn)
- Ice Beam
- Mat Block
This guy has been AMAZING. Mat Block protects from damaging attacks at normal priority. Rock Slide hits Talonflame and MegaZard-Y. Focus Sash is for random scarfers trying to OHKO him. Oh and by the by if I play really smart this Greninja will take 0 damage from weather, which is huge if he hasn't taken any damage yet. Dark Pulse is obviously bog standard with Greninja and helps deal with opposing Meowstic and such.
Did you know that Mat Block cannot be broken by Feint? Feint has a 2 priority, so Mat Block has a lot of interesting use.
Blaziken (Banned) @ Wide Lens
Jolly Nature
Ability: Speed Boost
4 Def/252 Atk/252 Spd
- High Jump Kick
- Flare Blitz
- Rock Slide (formerly Baton Pass, never used it though lol)
- Swords Dance
With Meowstic's Quick Guard he can face Talonflame head on and easily OHKO with Rock Slide. I absolutely hate missing, especially when you will take 50% damage from missing HJK. A wonderful partner for Meowstic, as he can check if not counter many of its threats. Opposing Trick Room teams give him a headache, but with Reflect support from Meowstic he can still get a good hit or two in.
Can deal with stuff like Mega Kanga with HJK if they opt for Fake Out when I have Meowstic out.
If I feel like trolling I'll have both Greninja and Blaziken spam Rock Slide, which together has an obnoxiously high flinch rate...
Gyarados (Mr. Fish) @ Sitrus Berry
Jolly Nature
Ability: Intimidate
252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Taunt
I used to run an Adamant one, but that got outrun by a number of base 130+ 'mons, so I changed that. Trick Room is really deadly in Triples, so when one runs a pretty fast team Taunt is mandatory (unless if you are fighting Aromatisse/Slowbro). Intimidate helps ease the pain against things like Hitmontop and such, which people are religiously using... Intimidate also helps ease the pain of Earthquakes/Rock Slides by stuff like Tyranitar and Garchomp.
Mawile (Fairy Poots) @ Mawilite
Adamant Nature
Ability: Intimidate -> Huge Power
252 Atk/216 Def/40 SDef
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Play Rough
- Swords Dance (formerly Brick Break)
With all sorts of Trick Room teams floating about I needed a very slow, yet powerful 'mon and Mega Mawile's attack just does wonders with its reasonable bulk. It has the possibility of even OHKOing a 252 HP/0 Def Machamp with Play Rough with Reflect up. So, with Meowstic's help she easily OHKOs opposing Hitmontop on the first turn. A very very scary pokemon to fight.
Its interesting to note that with a Quick Guard up Gale Wings Talonflame cannot do damage with flying moves, so it'll likely use Flare Blitz, right? Which Sucker Punch deals with...
Meowstic-M (Psykitty) @ Rocky Helmet
Bold Nature
Ability: Prankster
252 HP/248 Def/8 SDef
- Fake Out
- Quick Guard
- Reflect (tried Light Screen, but didn't do as well)
- Psychic
In Triples you will quickly find that priority is EVERYWHERE. Fake Out leads are super common and with some teams abusing two or more Fake Out users from the get-go Meowstic is the pokemon to use. Fake Out has a priority of 3 and so does Quick Guard, however... When used with Prankster your team becomes immune to Fake Out.
I find it silly for anyone to use a Meowstic that does not have a regular attacking move. For smart players that means it is often nothing, but fodder. Even if it just chip damage he has scored a number of crucial kills for me.
What is scarier than a Blaziken with +2 Atk/+1 Spd and a Mega Mawile with +2 Atk? How about removing some of their checks and making them bulky? Meowstic often lets me easily plow through most teams. The top players have been getting smart about playing around this though with using Dark Pulse Tyranitar and Greninja leads.
In retrospect I probably should've spread his EVs out a bit more...
I actually faced a team with Shedinja that had Safety Goggles, was paralyzed, with Sturdy, and in a Trick Room. The only way I could've won that with this team was giving one of my 'mons Rocky Helmet, which I did. A fun pokemon to throw at Mega Kanga.
Blissey (FatEggThing) @ Leftovers
Bold Nature
Ability: Natural Cure
252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
- Aromatherapy
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
- Soft-Boiled
A way to deal with most of my team is to status them. Most teams do not have a reliable way to deal with status, so I quickly opted for Blissey. Usually Bliss walls as well as she always does (I love it when she tanks when two or more attackers are focused on her). Intimidates and Reflect from Meowstic turns her into one of the most obnoxiously tanky pokemon ever. Toxic helps me deal with ghosts not named Gengar and Aegislash. Its hilarious to see stuff like Close Combat barely doing 1/4 damage when all is said and done.
Shifted out:
Rotom-W (Tide) @ Choice Scarf
Timid Nature
Ability: Levitate
124 HP/168 SAtk/216 Spd
- Trick
- Thunder Wave
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
I have a philosophy to not use moves that have below 85% accuracy. After one time missing 5 Hydro Pumps in a row (back in Gen I) I said enough missing was enough. I put aside that philosophy with this guy, but it has not been performing as well as it could be. This team didn't really synergize well with it. Probably should've used a bulkier one with Will-o-Wisp.
The speed was for outrunning Jolly Gyarados after a DD.
Lucario (BARK!) @ Lucarionite
Jolly Nature
Ability: Steadfast -> Adaptability
4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Bullet Punch
Thing hits like a truck and is really fast after it goes mega. Great synergy with Greninja. Lucario hates Trick Room, which a lot of good Triples teams run. I needed something bulkier with a bit more utility, so I swapped him out for Mawile. He just seemed a bit too frail, y'know? Close Combat made his defenses even worse, so I really wasn't feelin' it with Megacario.
Sylveon (Bishounen) @ Lum Berry
Calm Nature
Ability: Cute Charm
252 HP/200 Def/56 SDef
- Calm Mind
- Dazzling Gleam (formerly Moonblast)
- Shadow Ball
- Rest
After things get intimidated he works as an all-around tank. Also, the EVs are optimized for mixed tanking. Has trouble with certain Steels obviously though... The slowest (but cutest!) Eon gets targeted by a lot of physical moves in Triples and obviously loathes Mawile. I love using tanks to sweep because it becomes a lot easier for them to continually sweep and a lot less risky in general. You should take luck-based Criticals into account when building a team.
Garchomp (Landmaster) @ Focus Sash
Jolly Nature
Ability: Rough Skin
252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
- Swords Dance
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Outrage
Standard Garchomp set, did not really feel that great on my team, so I only briefly used her. Did not feel like she synergized well with the others as they had more important roles to play, so I decided to use something else. Rock Slide was for flinching/hitting multiple targets and a Garchomp's EQ is always fearsome.
Overall:
I am quite pleased with how this team served me. I had really not taken much of an interest in Triples (and there are very few English speakers that are in the top 500!), so I thought it would be a good challenge to attempt to get into the top 100. I failed, but this team did overall really well.
The smarter players easily knew what was coming and danced around Meowstic, which was eh.
My biggest problems that I encountered were opposing Will-o-Wisp and teams that had two or more Intimidators that frequently switched in and out. You obviously can't send Blissey freely out against physical sweepers, which a number of Intimidators are.
Now that I think about it the mons I switched out are much better suited for singles...
Thoughts or advice?