ABSOLUTE ASCENDANCY

BUILD STRENGTH - ELIMINATE WEAKNESS - UNLEASH POTENTIAL

Gaming Zone – Pokemon VGC 2020 Team

Commencing operation . . .

Overview

I recently reconnected with one of the people who shared with me the gruelling trial of an all-nighter to visit the London Pokemon Centre, last November. We had a few random battles on Pokemon showdown, but as she specialises in VGC, I decided to build a VGC team.

Note that I am a singles man when it comes to Pokemon, and my experience in double battles is limited. It doesn’t help that the Dynamax mechanic introduces a lot of wombo combo potentialities which makes it challenging to keep up with all of the new situations that can be imposed on a player.

Having said that, I did manage to put a team together.

Overdark Dragon VGC

Hydreigon (M) @ Life Orb

Ability: Levitate

EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

– Draco Meteor

– Dark Pulse

– Flash Cannon

– Protect

Hydreigon is an interesting Pokemon in this metagame. He hits hard, has decent bulk, and with a timid nature, he sits at a decent speed. He outspeeds many opponents and has the destructive capabilities to break down studier adversaries.

Draco Meteor is your nuke as always, and in Dynamax mode, it hits incredibly hard without the drawback. I usually end up Dynamaxing Hydreigon, so this works out perfectly. Dark pulse is your reliable STAB move, and Max Darkness puts in work when partnered with Weezing as it allows Weezing to hit harder with his special attacks also. Flash Cannon is there to put the hurt on fairy types, and with Perrserker’s Steely Spirit ability, Flash Cannon becomes a legitimate fairy killing weapon.

Dragapult (F) @ Weakness Policy

Ability: Clear Body

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

– Dragon Darts

– Shadow Ball

– Thunderbolt

– Ally Switch

Dragapult is a fantastic partner in crime for Hydreigon as they form a very threatening double Dragon pairing. I tried a few Dragapult builds before I settled on this one. Weakness policy works a treat here as Dragapult is already very fast, and his physical attacking options are not the best outside of Dragon Darts. Clear Body can work well, and I have activated Weakness Policy from an opponent’s icy wind to gain +2 to both attacking stats without suffering a speed drop, which was devastating for my opponent to then deal with.

I love how Dragon Darts avoids targeting Pokemon who have used Protect as well. So if 1 opposing Pokemon protects itself, Dragon Darts will automatically strike twice at the other Pokemon. Although Dragon Darts is not so good for focussing down on a Pokemon otherwise, after Weakness Policy triggers, it will hit both opposing Pokemon plenty hard.

Shadow Ball is secondary stab and does okay damage, but you really need Weakness Policy to activate, to get any decent usage out of the move. Same goes for Thunderbolt which I added for a coverage option. It hits Togekiss, which is popular and water-type Pokemon, so it has its merits.

Ally Switch has proven to be a pretty great move all in all, especially when paired with Weezing. Switching Weezing to eat dragon and fairy attacks is great. As for dazzling Gleam, you will live one of those and trigger Weakness Policy. Ally Switch is a lifesaver when used correctly, but it does take skill and luck to use it right.

Perrserker (F) @ Focus Sash

Ability: Steely Spirit

Level: 50

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Adamant Nature

– Iron Head

– Fake Out

– Taunt

– Protect

I was musing around looking at some of the new Pokemon when this guy popped onto my radar. I like rage, fury and wrath, so the name piqued my interest. I did a double-take when I read through his abilities. Steely Spirit is actually insane. It not only makes his Iron Head hit that much harder but he essentially gives a STAB boost to any of his partner’s steel type attacks. Thankfully the designers didn’t give this guy bullet punch, or he would be running rampant, punching holes in the tier.

While Perrserker has a great defence stat, his special defence is lacking, his hit points are mediocre, and his speed leaves a lot to be desired as well. Hence the Focus Sash. Perrserker serves mainly as a utility mon, providing that increased boost and harassing opponents with Fake Out and Taunt.

Rhyperior (F) @ Assault Vest

Ability: Solid Rock

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

Impish Nature

– High Horsepower

– Rock Slide

– Iron Head

– Ice Punch

Tribute to the Rocket Boss. I don’t usually opt for Rhyperior, but he has come in handy on occasion. He is a good counter to Trick Room and Sandstorm strategies, for example. He has plenty of coverage options and hits hard. Trick Room and Sandstorm solve two problems that Rhyperior has – he is slow and has an awful special defence.

With this team composition, Rhyperior is usually considered as an anti-meta choice.

Weezing-Galar (M) @ Sitrus Berry

Ability: Neutralizing Gas

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

Bold Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

– Sludge Bomb

– Dazzling Gleam

– Corrosive Gas

– Pain Split

Weezing is here to support the team and help deal with opposing dragons and fairies. Neutralising Gas shuts down lots of annoying abilities which lead to ridiculous combos. Think weather and terrain inducers as classic examples of abilities I want to be negating. The great thing is that most of my team do not rely all that heavily on their abilities so my team does not suffer much of a drawback when Neutralising Gas is in play. Hydreigon couldn’t care less about losing Levitate, and I often pair these two together as my lead. Dragapult doesn’t mind too much about losing Clear Body. Steely Spirit is really the only ability which I wouldn’t want to be negated, the rest of my team have potential use out of their abilities, whereas Steely Spirit is always in use.

Dazzling Gleam is opted over Strange Steam for some spread damage potential which can be useful. Sludge Bomb is your primary attacking weapon, however. Corrosive Gas gives Weezing another way of harassing opponents as some Pokemon – Eviolite users particularly – are crippled without their held item. Again, most of my Pokemon are not going to care too much if they lose their held item. Life Orb is a controversial item anyway, Focus Sash and Weakness Policy are one-off uses.

Pain Split has proven itself useful, but sometimes I think Protect may be better in this slot. I often find that once Weezing is weakened, people tend to leave it alone, which grants an opportunity to recover some health and weaken an opponent with Pain Split.

Bisharp (M) @ Black Glasses

Ability: Defiant

EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Adamant Nature

– Assurance

– Sucker Punch

– Iron Head

– Protect

Finally, we have Bisharp to round off the team. Pretty standard stuff really, although Throat Chop is usually in place of Assurance. Due to the nature of a lot of Dynamax moves causing stats to lower, and the many Intimidate users in the tier, Bisharp can make good use of Defiant. Paired with Perrserker, Iron Head hits like a truck.

Conclusion

The idea behind the team is to shut down abilities and items with Weezing while applying offensive pressure with the dragons. The other members of the team serve backup roles and help fulfil niche responsibilities.

I have prepared three matches that you can view below.