This is the team I am building for VGC 2023 Series 2. I wanted to build around Palafin with rain support and around Flutter Mane/Gholdengo with Dazzling Gleam or Make It Rain spam, respectively.
Palafin once Zero to Hero
is activated is incredibly strong and rain and/or tera boosted Jet Punch hits most things hard. Pelipper sets up the rain and can set up Tailwind to give the team a speed boost if needed. Pelipper's Hurricanes are perfect accuracy in the rain helping Palafin with Grass types.
Flutter Mane takes advantage of rain by receiving less neutral fire damage from fire types that resist its Dazzling Gleam spam. I could also upgrade Thunderbolt to Thunder, which is perfect accuracy in the rain, though less reliable outside of it. Gholdengo takes less damage from super effective fire type moves in the rain which are a major problem for it because fire types also resist its Make it Rain spam. Both Flutter Mane and Gholdengo can get rid if their Ghost typing through Terastalization to deal with Dark types.
With 3 offensive mons and a support mon I figured I needed a bit more defense. Amoonguss provides sleep support and Rage Powder misdirection to bail out some of the more offensive mons. It also fully takes on its role as a defensive/support with Rocky Helmet, defensive water Tera Type and Pollen Puff for healing allies. For the final slot I went with a Pokemon that can take some damage while also dishing some out in Baxcalibur. Baxcalibur can take advantage of rain with its ability, tanking fire hits better and getting a cheap boost. Baxcalibur, Flutter Mane, and Gholdengo complete a Dragon, Fairy, Steel core.
I am new to the VGC format so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also though I'd like to keep as much of the team intact as I can, I am still open to any suggestions on switching out team members because I want to get better at competitive Pokemon.
Flutter Mane @ Choice Specs
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
- Mystical Fire
- Thunderbolt
One last blurb for each of the Pokemon. Flutter Mane's main Stab is Dazzling Gleam blowing away both sides of the field. Mystical Fire is for stubborn steel types. Shadow Ball is the other stab move and Thunderbolt (or potentially Thunder) rounds out some more coverage, especially opposing water types. Sometimes sun teams break up the rain with their shine but they are immediately punished with a faster Flutter Mane.
Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 236 HP / 84 Def / 188 SpD
Bold Nature
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Clear Smog
- Pollen Puff
Spore puts opposing foes to sleep helping Amoonguss' teammates get free damage off. Rage Powder works in the same way, especially effective against physical contact moves activating Rocky Helmet. Clear Smog is weak stab that is very useful to remove opposing stat boosts. Pollen Puff can heal allies or hurt opposing Psychic and Dark types, the former which threatens Amoonguss when not terastalized.
Palafin @ Choice Band
Ability: Zero to Hero
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 60 HP / 124 Atk / 60 Def / 12 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Jet Punch
- Flip Turn
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
Flip Turn is used to activate Zero to Hero and Jet Punch is an especially brutal priority move with Tera and/or rain support. Close Combat covers Dark, Steel, and Normal which can sometimes be a problem for other team members. Ice Punch gives good coverage against ground and grass types.
Pelipper @ Focus Sash
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Tailwind
- Hydro Pump
- Protect
Pelipper is fairly frail so Focus Sash ensures it at least gets off a supportive Tailwind or perfect accuracy Hurricane before being taken out. Hydro Pump is stab and the last slot is for Protect to keep Pelipper alive a little longer or maybe Wide Guard to block are. Ground type Tera can be used to bait electric types and give our team a free turn.
Gholdengo @ Life Orb
Ability: Good as Gold
Level: 50
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 212 HP / 252 SpA / 44 Spe
Modest Nature
- Make It Rain
- Shadow Ball
- Nasty Plot
- Protect
Gholdengo takes advantage of Nasty Plot and Protect to set up into a good situation. Tera steel allows it to do exceptional damage with Make It Rain even outside of set up. Shadow Ball is another stab. Life Orb gives Gholdengo a little extra punch to knock out foes.
Baxcalibur @ Assault Vest
Ability: Thermal Exchange
Level: 50
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 132 HP / 244 Atk / 12 Def / 92 SpD / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Glaive Rush
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
Baxcalibur takes advantage of its good HP, decent defense and Assault Vest to take hits for the team. Glaive Rush and Icicle Crash are very strong stabs. Earthquake is good coverage and are, just have to watch who's beside Bax. Ice Shard is good priority to finish off weak foes. Dragon Tera Type removes extra weaknesses from Ice making Bax a better defensive mon while also boosting Glaive Rush.
