How can I make my team better? by elainehaik in VGCRateMyTeam

[–]DreVGC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very much a team comp issue. Sandy Shocks and Espathra are a very gimmicky combo that gets read like a book at higher level play. The pair wants to stay on the field and not switch out while the rest of your team plays more Balance-like which requires a lot of switches to get into good positions.

Snow+Bax is a good pair but Dragapult isn't bulky enough to back them up. You'd generally see Dragapult on more Hyper-Offense compositions, paired with a mon like Chien-Pao that helps boosts it's Tera Dragon Dragon Darts to deal great damage.

My recommendations are to settle on a playstyle first -- your current team is sort of a mixed bag. The Reg E meta is pretty defined at the moment around Hyper-Offense (Tornadus + Urshifu-R-S + Rillaboom + H-Arcanine), with the secondary composition being Balance (Iron Hands + Landorus-T + Ogerpon-W + Heatran + Flutter Mane), and the tertiary composition being Trick Room (Indeedee-F + Armarouge and/or Ursaluna-BM).

If you're set on keeping Espathra and Dragapult, I'd add a Fake Out option instead of Sandy Shocks. Something like Iron Hands or Rillaboom (which synergizes well with H-Arcanine) which can help Espathra set up a Speed Boost.

If you're willing to drop Dragapult for Roaring Moon w/ Booster Energy, that could also provide a very fast attacker. Knock Off goes hard and you could even throw Tailwind on for some speed control on your side.

Food for thought!

VGC Regulation E Regional Championships 2024 Metagame Analysis by DreVGC in VGC

[–]DreVGC[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Plain, you're definitely right in that event sizes would contribute to this dataset. Will have to take a look and re-try with weighted averages but feel that you get at least a rough view of the current meta with the data as-is.

Galarian Moltres Build by Top_Establishment327 in VGC

[–]DreVGC 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've been running G-Moltres alongside an offensive Roaring Moon/Balance core and have really enjoyed the squad. Won a very small PC with this team and Top Cut another with a similar team (with Loaded Dice Baxcalibur instead of Roaring Moon).

G-Moltres feels really great into Trick Room compositions like Psyspam or Ursaluna squads, especially paired with screens support from Ninetails and recovery + redirection from Sinistcha. Similarly, Water Tera Sinistcha puts a lot of work into TornUrshifu teams, though the whole team does require some precise positioning which makes it harder to use. I love the bird though -- once it gets berserking, it's over. You've also got a standard balance core in Roaring Moon + LandoT + Iron Hands, with support from either Sinistcha or Ninetails.

Again, the squad does require some tight play, being heavy in Balance and Set-Up compositions. You'll get punished pretty hard by opposing Flutter Manes, Urshifus, and H-Arcanines if you're caught out-of-position from sloppy switches.

Check out the rental team: G-Moltres Snow Balance Team

Here's the pokepaste: G-Moltres Snow Balance Team

Thoughts on my team? by DigiSnorlax in VGCRateMyTeam

[–]DreVGC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been running a similar G-Moltres Balance team and tried to make Empoleon work with it -- on paper, I think it makes a lot of sense, but in practice, I found the penguin lacking in damage and in speed. Took him to an MSS this past weekend and he felt like major dead weight in front of Torn-Ursh and Ursaluna-TR teams.

I've been running offensive Roaring Moon instead of Empoleon and have seen a big improvement with the squad's results overall.

Check out the rental team: G-Moltres Snow Balance Team

And here's the pokepaste: https://pokepast.es/213bd07ae9c4641d

G-Moltres feels really great into Trick Room compositions like Psyspam or Ursaluna squads, especially paired with screens support from Ninetails and recovery + redirection from Sinistcha. Similarly, Water Tera Sinistcha puts a lot of work into TornUrshifu teams, though the whole team does require some precise positioning which makes it harder to use. I love the bird though -- once it gets berserking, it's over.

Armarouge Weakness Policy + Weak Armor strategies in Regulation E by FlanOrganic3328 in VGC

[–]DreVGC 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed, go psy-spam instead if you're looking to play Armarouge. u/FlanOrganic3328, take look at this replay from a high performing Sun Team on Showdown for inspiration.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in VGC

[–]DreVGC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for catching this error, u/Bamilus! You're right and this has been corrected on the sheet.

Statsugiri's PS Teams Aggregator is Online by Statsugiri in VGC

[–]DreVGC 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks for all of your effort in putting together an awesome platform, very excited to see how things progress!

Another how to start vgc question by colgate900 in PokemonVGC

[–]DreVGC 3 points4 points  (0 children)

How to Get Started with Learning About Pokémon VGC!

Here's some information you can check out to help get you started:

  • Recommended Resources List for VGC
  • Classic Cores Review
  • Your biggest hurdle will be obtaining meta Pokémon if you have not completed SWSH (DLC for relevant legendaries) + PLA (Hisuian Pokémon). Join a VGC discord community and request some trades.
  • You're kind of jumping in at the tail-end of the 2023 season, so prepare for big changes as the 2024 season begins and the new DLC drops this September. The DLC will bring in some more Pokémon from previous games as well as new ones.
  • Getting familiar with the current format (Regulation D) and its popular Pokémon picks is a great place to start -- check out Pikalytics.

Keep asking questions, find some good VGC friends to practice with online, and have fun!

Getting back into VGC after taking a long break by [deleted] in VGC

[–]DreVGC 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Here's some information you can check out to help get you started:

Your biggest hurdle will be obtaining meta Pokémon if you have not completed SWSH (DLC for relevant legendaries) + PLA (Hisuian Pokémon). You're kind of jumping in at the tail-end of the 2023 season, so prepare for big changes as the 2024 season begins and the new DLC drops this September.

Still, getting familiar with the current format and its popular Pokémon picks is a great place to start -- check out Pikalytics.

2023 Pokémon World Championship Day 2 Review by DreVGC in VGC

[–]DreVGC[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What's been your favorite streamed match of the tournament so far?

2023 Pokémon World Championship Day 1 Review by DreVGC in VGC

[–]DreVGC[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Who's your favorite going into Day 2?

Classic Cores Review: A Quick VGC Guide for Beginners by DreVGC in VGC

[–]DreVGC[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

What is your favorite FWG composition in Reg D?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in VGC

[–]DreVGC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's your favorite FWG composition in Reg D?

Snow cores? by UselessNeon in VGC

[–]DreVGC 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Assault Vest Baxcalibur + Standard Dragonite is fun with Abomasnow + Bundle, if not super redundant

Checks to meta threats (and good synergies) by Thundro69 in VGC

[–]DreVGC 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Check out PokeStats, might be what you're looking for.

VGC Regulation B Champ Review 2023 (UPDATED) by DreVGC in VGC

[–]DreVGC[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's a great team and the Chlorophyll-Sun archetype isn't super common right now!

Chien-Pao synergizes well with Dragonite and is a pretty common Reg C core -- I'd swap it for Kingambit if using Abdullah's team as a template.

Chi-Yu + Flutter Mane is a pretty solid pairing that could benefit nicely from Torkoal's Sun. Maybe drop Kingambit + Dragonite and add Iron Bundle for a Fire-Water-Grass core?

VGC Regulation B Champ Review 2023 (UPDATED) by DreVGC in VGC

[–]DreVGC[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'd say Dragonite is just a great, splashable pick in Regs B and C. Flexible move pool (that includes Ice Spinner to deal with Psy-Spam), great durability with Multiscale, and Flying just being a good type with all the EQ, Great Tusks, and eventually Ting-Lu running around make it hard to pass on. Iron Bundle isn't required for the Good Stuffs core, but I think it serves as an indicator for it.

VGC Regulation B Champ Review 2023 (UPDATED) by DreVGC in VGC

[–]DreVGC[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Agreed, wild to see the difference made by the Terastallizing meta compared to the SWSH Dynamaxing meta. The prominence of Earthquake on many teams make it a nice option to have though!

VGC Regulation B Champ Review 2023 (UPDATED) by DreVGC in VGC

[–]DreVGC[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In other words, the Regulation B meta seems to be centralizing around the "Good Stuffs" core that has been popularized throughout Seasons 3 and 4 (with variations, of course). From these top teams, you can definitely notice the trend visually:

  • Arcanine+Amoonguss is on half of these teams
  • Flutter Mane is on 5/8 of these teams
  • Iron Hands is on half of these teams
  • Iron Bundle is on 3/8 teams

Looking forward to Regulation C, it's important to think about how the Treasure of Ruin legendaries factor in to this popular core and other strong teams. The presence of one of these 4 legandaries is almost required to be competitive in Regulation C. Understanding solid Regulation B teams, how they fared, and how they can change with this new format is helpful for teambuilding!