Dragapult (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shadow Ball
- U-Turn
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
Quick without Tailwind and good at providing offensive pressure through Choice Specs STAB Shadow Ball and Draco Meteor to eliminate vulnerable threats. Also immune to normal-type attacks. Helps me deal with Trick Room users by 2HKOing eviolite Dusclops and OHKOing Hatterene with Modest Nature instead of Timid. I choose Modest because I will have Tailwind up, making Timid seem redundant.
Kyurem-Black @ Leftovers
Ability: Teravolt
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 120 HP / 136 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Protect
- Fusion Bolt
- Dragon Dance
A very powerful Pokemon that can quickly eliminate common threats like Garchomp, Landorus, and common water types through Icicle Spear and Fusion Bolt. Gets even stronger and faster through the use of Dragon Dance, though I seem to struggle to find situations in which I can safely use it. Please give advice on when to use it effectively if possible, it would be of great help. Given EVs and Adamant nature are to "always OHKO Zygarde with two hits from Icicle Spear, while maximum Speed investment allows it to tie Adamant Zygarde unboosted and outrun Dragapult and Zeraora at +1 Speed." (This is Smogon's explanation.) However, since I am using Tailwind, are other EV spread viable because I'll be faster than all Pokemon under Tailwind? Please let me know if I can invest more EVs into HP while maintaining optimal speed.
Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Protect
- Sludge Bomb
- Psychic
A very strong special attacker with good coverage. Life Orb and Sheer Force are standard and boost all Landorus' moves to make them more threatening. Earth Power is STAB and hits many common threats such as Heatran, Volcanion, and some electric types. Also immune to electric which is useful for my Urshifu and Volcanion in some situations.
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Surging Strikes
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- U-turn
A very strong Pokemon, especially in Doubles where Protect is more commonplace. Surging Strikes is standard and hits many Pokemon hard, OHKOing many of them. Close Combat hits Black Kyurem, Porygon2 (OHKO because Choice Band), and other Pokemon that would be weak to it. Ice Punch hits common Pokemon such as Landorus. I don't find myself using U-Turn much, but I believe it's for pivoting out of unfavorable matchups with psychic types and grass types.
Volcanion @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 112 HP / 252 SpA / 144 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steam Eruption
- Protect
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
Steam Eruption is standard, hitting common Pokemon like Heatran, Landorus, and Incineroar for super effective damage. Heat Wave is good for hitting both opposing Pokemon, and counters grass types like Amoongus, Rillaboom, and Ferrothorn nicely. I run Earth Power instead of Substitute to hit electric types and possible opposing Volcanion. Very strong and a bit bulky too with HP investment. Originally 252 HP/252 SpA/4 SpD, however, Smogon said shifting HP to Speed to outspeed Zeraora under Tailwind (which I am running) is a possibility. Did I do it correctly? I also have Safety Goggles since I have no Substitute to counter moves like Spore. I don't believe I have encountered Amoongus much though, so is it still necessary? Or is Leftovers a better option?
Whimsicott (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tailwind
- Protect
- Encore
- Trick Room
A very core part of my team, providing essential Prankster Tailwind. Focus Sash is standard, and so is Protect for Fake Out. Encore over Taunt because I believe it has much more application and can totally shut down opposing Pokemon. (Prankster allows me to abuse it.) Trick Room is here to counter other Trick Room users. I love using Whimsicott over other Tailwind options because it's faster and provides much more utility, sacrificing offensive capabilities.
Overall, I find my team to be effective. However, since I'm fairly new and I've not gotten feedback yet, I feel as though my team might be able to use some more improvement in terms of Pokemon choice and I could use some advice. I struggle a lot with Trick Room teams despite my Whimsicott having Trick Room. Teams with Psychic Surge and Magic Bounce Hatterene are an especially big threat because my Whimsicott can't do much due to Prankster Encore being unusable in Psychic Terrain and Magic Bounce bouncing back Encore. Having my Whimsicott get knocked out or failing to predict opponents' Trick Rooms cost me the match often.
