Pokémon Rate My Team
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Hello, i´ve been adventuring myself to VGC again, this time in the current rules 2022, can some of you guys rate my team? Its a Sun team focused on Ho-oh and Groudon.
I really would like to use Zoroark in this format, if you can submit team ideas to make Zoroark work I would appreciate it.
Groudon @ Life Orb
Ability: Drought
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Protect
- Fire Punch
- Rock Slide

R: Very important pick, putting sun and sweeping with speed, i think the most important role here is to check Zacian with life orb.

Zoroark (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Illusion
Level: 80
EVs: 128 Atk / 164 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Taunt
- Burning Jealousy
- Sucker Punch

R: Very neach pick, i think Dark type is very important in the current meta. I know there is better options like Grimmsnarl and Incineroar, but i would really like to make Zoroark work, i think it has potential.

Gastrodon (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Storm Drain
Level: 80
EVs: 180 HP / 204 Def / 124 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Yawn
- Ice Beam
- Protect

R: A great pick, bulky and perfect to redirect water attacks, yawn is very useful too.

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
Level: 80
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Def / 12 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tri Attack
- Ally Switch
- Recover
- Shadow Ball

R: I tought i just needed a very bulky Pokémon, Ally Switch always worked to me and im kinda scared of Calyrex so i think this might work.

Venusaur-Gmax (M) @ Coba Berry
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Earth Power
- Sleep Powder

R: I would say is the main sweeper, Chloropyll with Groudon´s Drought makes for a nice combination, decent coverage and sleep powder for support, Coba berry is there for flying moves, but fire might be dangerous too.

Ho-Oh @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 204 HP / 156 Atk / 12 Def / 4 SpD / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Earthquake
- Protect

R: A favorite of mine, i think he is underrated, Sacred Fire with the sun can be dangerous, Regenerator could help a lot too, i think maybe i should make him bulky to really use that Weakness Policy.

by

1 Answer

2 votes

First, I want to mention that the biggest rival to Groudon teams are, unsurprisingly, Kyogre. It's the second most used restricted legend behind Zacian. Most ogre teams like to lead Tornadus + Kyogre to set up Tailwind and Water Spout, and Tornadus often runs Rain Dance so that it can keep control of weather. Even with Venusaur, I think this team will struggle against TornOgre leads. I'll address this as I go through your team members.

Groudon
Your Groudon set is good, but while it wins a 1v1 with Zacian (assuming Precipice Blades lands), most Zacian players aren't going to let you 1v1 it. Behemoth Blade chunks you for about 70%, meaning that just a little chip damage beforehand and Zacian outspeeds and cleans your Groudon. Ho-Oh is probably better for dealing with Zacian, since Wild Charge is quite rare and it resists all of Zacian's other moves.
As far as the Groudon set itself, I would consider running Swords Dance > Fire Punch and Sitrus / Figy Berry > Life Orb, but the set you're using now is perfectly fine. Just know that you can't play it as an insta-win vs Zacian.

Zoroark
I also have a soft spot for Zoroark in competitive. On the plus side, Zoroark acts as pretty good Calyrex repellant from team preview, since it prevents the opponent from playing safely with it until they can confirm it's not on the field. I also like Taunt on it, since your opponent will be looking out for a disguised glass cannon and may be less prepared for an unexpected Taunt.
Unfortunately, that's about the extent of Zoroark's positives. It absolutely needs a Sash, but it also really wants a damage-boosting item, and while 105 speed is good, it isn't excellent, so instead of the glass cannon it wants to be, it's more like a glass handgun. Options for a replacement would be Moltres-Galar or Urshifu-Dark. Moltres is very bulky and is an excellent set-up sweeper with Nasty Plot, but it overlaps weaknesses with a few of your Pokemon. Urshifu gets Taunt and Sucker Punch, although some Calyrex run Draining Kiss specifically for it, especially on teams with Psychic Terrain where it's protected from SP.

Gastrodon
Very good pick for this team, and the moveset looks good. It would be worth looking at minimizing its speed, since it's already going to go last against non-Trick Room teams, but its slow enough to take advantage of opposing TR if needed.

Porygon2
I don't think your team needs Porygon2. Its main niche is as a TR setter, but you're not using it for Trick Room, and pretty much any dark type is a better counter for Calyrex-S. Two Pokemon that you might want to consider instead are Rillaboom or Regieleki, which are both great at handling Calyrex and Kyogre.
Rillaboom has Fake Out, Knock Off, and, most importantly, priority Grassy Glide when in Grassy Terrain, which it sets. Glide outspeeds and does about 60% to Calyrex, and it's a guaranteed OHKO on speedy variants on Kyogre, while still doing at least 87% on bulky variants (with a chance to OHKO).
Regieleki offers some of the best speed control in the game with Electroweb, allowing your teammates to deal with Calyrex before it can even move.

Venusaur
In my experience with using Venusaur, Coba Berry is absolutely the best damage-reducing option on it, since Max Airstreams are very common and hit very hard. If you feel inclined, you might want to try running 212 Spe EVs instead, with the rest in bulk. 212+timid in sun guarantees you outspeed Regieleki, but does run the risk of getting outsped in a mirror match, so you'll have to decide if the extra bulk is worth that. Other than that, the set looks good.

Ho-Oh
Is there a reason why you have that particular EV spread? If you're looking for a bulkier EV spread, I would recommend investing in physical Def, since its SpD is already so high, although your current spread is already very bulky. There's a lot of options for the EV spread that could work, I'd be inclined to go 60 HP / 252 Atk / 196 Spe / Jolly to outspeed Zacian after one Max Airstream, but something bulkier like 204 HP / 156 Atk / 148 Def / Adamant is also good, or you can stick to what you already have if I'm not seeing what it's been keyed towards. For Ho-Oh, I wouldn't recommend Spe EVs unless you have something in mind you want to outspeed.

Hope his helps.

by
I am very grateful for your help, i agree with almost anything you said, im still not convinced with Groudon, you think i should make him bulkier or its okay there, nor i should use another restricted mon. In the Zoroark part i dont really know, i will try use him anyway but i probably will end up changing it. Porygon goes out and i think Eleki will go in. Thanks!