Team Coal, Niche gold! Anti-meta Niche Pokemon Analyses. VGC 16

Hi guys today I’ll be bringing something a bit different for you guys, known as ‘team coal, niche gold’ for this time I will take a few teams in vgc 16 of mine which weren’t top quality and I will discuss the Antimeta choices and Pokemons that I used in that team and describe their potential, hopefully you will like these pokemons, so without further ado let’s get into this post:

Team 1: Zygarde and friends:

Oh boy I don’t know what I thought when I decided to make this team, but the concept is something that I will discuss and also I’ll mention this team became a collection of pokemons that I wanted to use at that time, especially zygarde and aegislash the main reason for failure of this team was that well I am using a zygarde:



Zygarde @ Sitrus Berry  
Ability: Aura Break  
Level: 50  
EVs: 244 HP / 4 Atk / 20 Def / 20 SpD / 220 Spe  
Jolly Nature  
- Land's Wrath  
- Safeguard  
- Protect  
- Glare

Zygarde has a lot of potential but it is just bad, it can cut through strategies like the xy teams as well as, the main problem is that it is after all a zygarde and can’t get much done, it’s biggest selling points are that it learns the move glare which can paralyze pokemons of all types, mainly primal groudon in this format which is really big and it’s aura break ability which can question opponents to bring yveltal or not in the game; the main strategy of this team was how Sejun Park’s worlds inning team was built; get in those supports t weaken your opponents and then use the main sweepers to finish the job off; this teams works by mostly leading zygarde + x and trying to paralyze your opponents and then bringing out that mega gengar with hex and pickup almost any mon right off from the field.



Raichu @ Focus Sash  
Ability: Lightning Rod  
Level: 50  
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe  
Jolly Nature  
IVs: 0 HP  
- Fake Out  
- Feint  
- Wild Charge  
- Encore

Raichu was also very interesting of a pokemon, it was my first time using a volt tackle sashed raichu as I had seen one at nationals, it really gives you the effect of having two separate raichus in one team, one uses the durablility of sash and the other deals a whole lot of damage with the volt tackle, the focus sash might mislead people into thinking of it as a different moveset than it really is, overall it was a very fun pokemon to use in this team.



Gengar-Mega @ Gengarite  
Ability: Levitate  
Level: 50  
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe  
Timid Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Hex  
- Sludge Bomb  
- Will-O-Wisp  
- Focus Blast

Gengar is the forced one to use in this team, I don’t have any protect on it at all as you can see, needed sludge bomb, hex was the core strategy, will-o-wisp I needed in absence of any type of intimidate usage and didn’t had anything to hit that ferrothron, that’s all I can say about it.



Aegislash @ Life Orb  
Ability: Stance Change  
Level: 50  
Shiny: Yes  
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA  
Quiet Nature  
IVs: 0 Spe  
- Gyro Ball  
- Shadow Ball  
- King's Shield  
- Wide Guard

Aegislash is very very fun of a pokemon and at the time I used right after nats it was extremely good against a lot of the strategies that were very common at that time, it could handle xerneas, cresselia as well as that bronzing while really giving this metagame a challenge with it’s wide guard as well as that tricky kings shield.




Togekiss @ Rocky Helmet  
Ability: Serene Grace  
Level: 50  
Shiny: Yes  
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA  
Calm Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Air Slash  
- Dazzling Gleam  
- Follow Me  
- Tailwind

Togekiss is standard as it gets however for this one I used the fairy move dazzling gleam, it was so as most people didn’t had much answers to it in this form and there was also a lot of weavile and liepard as well as that rayquaza around, which it could really beat with this move and it surely got it’s job done fairly well.

Other members:

Kyogre-Primal @ Blue Orb  
Ability: Primordial Sea  
Level: 50  
EVs: 108 HP / 116 Def / 28 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe  
Modest Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Water Spout  
- Scald  
- Ice Beam  
- Protect

Team 2: Primitive crocus




Cherrim @ Coba Berry  
Ability: Flower Gift  
Level: 50  
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe  
Timid Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Heal Pulse  
- Weather Ball  
- Grass Knot  
- Protect

Oh boy my long desire of using a double primal team effectively, but nope, couldn’t get better with it, the base of this team was cherrim which I found as the ideal pokemon for my playstyle to support the fast double primal; I used and tested a lot of grass types to support this duo but nothing worked as well as a cherrim, cherrim had the ability to support the primal groudon with it’s flower gift ability as well as it’s capability to handle opposing kyogres, and helped my primal kyogre with heal pulse which had the water spout greatly. Funnily enough when I asked a friend of mine on help with this team, who told me that he also had a cherrim team, we ended up literally having the same movesets, items as well as those natures, which told me to stick to this pokemon, and showed me that I was headed in the right path to make an effective double primal team, however it never patch up to the last slot solidly and I do feel like going back int the concept of double primal and cherrim and make this team work once again for good.

Other members:

Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb  
Ability: Desolate Land  
Level: 50  
EVs: 20 HP / 228 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe  
Jolly Nature  
- Precipice Blades  
- Fire Punch  
- Roar  
- Protect

Kyogre-Primal @ Blue Orb  
Ability: Primordial Sea  
Level: 50  
EVs: 108 HP / 116 Def / 28 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe  
Modest Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Water Spout  
- Scald  
- Ice Beam  
- Protect

Standard Kangaskhan Pup variant, Zapdos and a Weavile with icy wind.

Team 3: Loppuny and The Big B

This team wasn't coal but the niche was gold



Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite  
Ability: Cute Charm  
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe  
Jolly Nature  
- Fake Out  
- Teeter Dance  
- After You  

- Low Kick

Mega loppuny is a pokemon that had been around very little bits when the season started out, but it soon faded away and couldn’t be recognized as a viable mega any more, before going into this moveset, I would stick to the wise wording of Jon Hu that loppuny is a good support mega, which is something I wanted this lopp to be and this one did a little offense too. This set almost complements the entirety of the members of this team except that mega salamence cuz most likely it wouldn’t be brough in the same game as loppuny is and it also has it’s own purpose on the mega slot. After you if some move I really wanna talk a lot about, when someone sees a loppuny coming their way their first thoughts are disruption with encore, teeter dance etc but don’t many actually think about after you which can turn into one of their biggest mistakes in the course of the match, as you will observe later that I have a bulky/slower smeargle this loppuny can really allow it to move faster than a lot of mons which can be really useful. After you can also help pdon and xerneas to be a fast sweeper and set-up early respectively, the best part about having it is setting that trick room without the -7 priority which really comes in handy when my mons are just about to faint and don’t have enough room for that kind of set-up. Teeter dance is another really interesting move which can be a pioneer to switch around any match through RNG of course I am not much in favor of this but where there is a lot of opposition doing this, why shouldn’t i? now for the offensive bit of it low kick + fake out from mega loppuny can 100% OHKO 252/252/4 kangaskhans which is always nice, a lot of heavy pokemons have arrived on the scene, considerately pogre, pdon as well as the always threatening ferrothorn

Other members:

Smeargle @ Focus Sash  
Ability: Own Tempo  
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 SpD  
Relaxed Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe  
- Follow Me  
- Spiky Shield  
- Crafty Shield  
- Dark Void  

Xerneas @ Power Herb  
Ability: Fairy Aura  
EVs: 100 HP / 4 Def / 148 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe  
Timid Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Dazzling Gleam  
- Moonblast  
- Geomancy  
- Protect  

Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb  
Ability: Desolate Land  
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk  
Brave Nature  
IVs: 0 Spe  
- Precipice Blades  
- Fire Punch  
- Swords Dance  
- Protect  

Bronzong @ Lum Berry  
Ability: Levitate  
EVs: 252 HP / 28 Atk / 116 Def / 112 SpD  
Sassy Nature  
IVs: 0 Spe  
- Gyro Ball  
- Trick Room  
- Skill Swap  
- Gravity  

Salamence-Mega @ Salamencite  
Ability: Aerilate  
EVs: 44 Atk / 212 SpA / 252 Spe  
Naive Nature  
- Double-Edge  
- Dragon Pulse  
- Tailwind  
- Protect  

Team 4: X-Ray be bulk:

So I did this team when the x-ray hype was up after nationals mainly after Enosh Sachar’s team as well as that Arcanine team that at a point everyone was very interested in. this inspired me in making my own x-ray team for this metagame, and so got in the making of it. Gyarados and some calculation about claydol is something that I’ll discuss in this bit of the team:




Gyarados @ Lum Berry  
Ability: Intimidate  
Level: 50  
Shiny: Yes  
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 20 Def / 4 SpD / 228 Spe  
Jolly Nature  
- Waterfall  
- Taunt  
- Roar  
- Thunder Wave

Gyarados is such a boss, this wasn’t my first time appreciating the use of mega gyarados as I had it before in a team however in the more offensive and mega form, however this time this pokemon was all out about giving that support, it was the third pokemon I out I after deciding to ofcourse put the x-ray on this team firstly it has such an amazing switch in counter strategy to all types of those primal grodons and supported xerneas well with it’s intimidate ability, further adding to this I would discuss it’s very useful moveset, it can nearly OHKO if not OHKO all primal groudons with some supportive help of rayquaza’s ability, it can also counter smeargles in all form, it can trade out against mental herb smeargle until it is taunted, also handle sash and scarfed smeargle in the same fashion, more importantly combining it with the move roar really gives it much more mobility as it can roar things like the usual trick room setter or the xerneas away and waste that turn of setup, then the next turn go for that taunt on smeargle.



Claydol @ Sitrus Berry  
Ability: Levitate  
Level: 50  
EVs: 252 HP / 100 SpA / 156 SpD  
Modest Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe  
- Earth Power  
- Psyshock  
- Ice Beam  
- Trick Room

Claydol is still meh but I have some postulates for what niche it may hold, it can do real offense to primal groudon, that’s it now go home people…. (it also has good defenses and the levitate ability)

Conclusion:

Other members:

Xerneas @ Power Herb  
Ability: Fairy Aura  
Level: 50  
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 4 SpA / 84 SpD / 12 Spe  
Modest Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Dazzling Gleam  
- Moonblast  
- Geomancy  
- Protect  

Rayquaza-Mega @ Focus Sash  
Ability: Air Lock  
Level: 50  
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe  
Naive Nature  
- Dragon Ascent  
- Extreme Speed  
- Overheat  
- Protect  

Hitmontop @ Expert Belt  
Ability: Intimidate  
Level: 50  
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD  
Adamant Nature  
- Fake Out  
- Close Combat  
- Wide Guard  
- Helping Hand  

standard leftoseed ferrothorn

Conclusion:

I really do hope that you guys really liked this post as I really was tempted to get all the pre worlds teams out on the blog, and still there are atleast two more team reports to come before worlds inclusing a standard giratina team and a marowak part perish trap team so watch out for those as they come out soon and hopefully I am able to get them up before worlds, hope you enjoyed bye for now.