The Monster - A Mega Gengar analysis

As you may remember, I said that I'd write in english only the first post, but I can continue to do this in the other ones thanks to a friend of mine: in this way, I can write almost everything in said language, in order to make everyone understand what I write here

Introduction

Today I want to show you a Mega Gengar set that I build by myself in this morning, after one of my friends asked me to give him one. He wanted a Perish Trap team, a team archetype based on the Perish Song move and the Shadow Tag ability, so I helped him with the main Pokémon of this core: Mega Gengar. If you're curious, here it is at a glance:

The typical Gengar's build

Now let's start talk about Gengar.
Gengar is a Pokémon that the great part of players has used since Markus Stadter won Germany National with it, and this is the Markus' Gengar set. A fast taunter that can spam Will-O-Wisp and totally counter Mega Kangaskhan is probably one of the most interesting Pokémon of the VGC'14 metagame.

Gengar @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Protect
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Shadow Ball

At this point of season Mega Gengar has a ~6% usage, so nobody expected to see it on a team, expecially in a team with another mega. Lock the opponent's Pokémon on the field when him don't expect that Mega Evolutions is a move that give you the match (I think that it's perfect for a BO1 oriented team).


 My Mega Gengar's set

Gengar @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate --> Shadow Tag
EVs: 140 HP / 156 Def / 148 SAtk / 20 SDef / 44 Spd
Timid Nature
- Protect
- Perish Song / Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb

Stats after mega evolving:
HP 153 - Atk x - Def 120 - SAtk 209 - SDef 118 - Spd 171

· Lives 252 Jolly Garchomp EQ
· Lives 252 Choice Band Adamant Talonflame Brave Bird
· Lives 252 Adamant MegaGyarados EQ
· 252 Jolly Tyranitar Crunch has 50% chance to OHKO
· Lives 252 Modest Salamence Draco Meteor
· Lives 252 Modest MegaCharizardY Heat Wave in sun
· Lives 252 Modest Politoed Hydro Pump in rain
· Sludge Bomb OHKO Zog's 212 HP / 36 SDef Azumarill
· Sludge Bomb has 96% chance to 2HKO 4 HP MegaKangaskhan
· Shadow Ball has 98.5% chance to 2HKO 4 HP Garchomp
· Outspeeds base 102's and every pokemon that has a garchomp-outspeeding set, because it has 171 in speed against 170

I think that Mega Gengar can be a very good Pokémon for all the teams: Shadow Tag is always nice and it can block your opponent's switch, you can spam Intimidate with a lot of switch-in and your opponent can't switch his intimidated Pokémon. It also counter Kangaskhan (burn her before she move), it can be one of the fastest Will-O-Wisp user, and, paired with a Pokémon with the Unnerve Ability it can burn Lum Berry Garchomp, stopping the activation of the berry itself. Mega Gengar is also the mvp of the Perish Trap based team, and it works especially well with Scrafty and Raichu.

Good partners for Mega Gengar

After Tony Cheung managed a Mega Gengar - Raichu combo to win the Seattle Regional Championships, a lot of people took that two Pokémon and put them in a Perish Trap team. Now, I'm not saying that this combo doesn't function in a Perish Trap team, but in my opinion if you use Tony's combo you can also use an HP Ice Mega Gengar. "Why?"
Because Garchomp is the most used Pokémon right now and trapping it + OHKO it with HP Ice is a good way to eliminate one of the Gengar - Raichu core problems. With the Raichu ability to learn Fake Out you can also give to Gengar the chance to make a Substitute in the first turn. And, since Raichu can learn Encore, both of the opponent's Pokémon will not use Protect, afraid to take an Encore and, after, can't switch due to the Mega Gengar's Shadow Tag.

Raichu @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Fake Out
- Encore
- Thunderbolt / Volt Switch
- Hidden Power (Ice) / Protect

Scrafty is probably one of the most paired Pokémon with Mega Gengar. Those two Pokémon cover the partner's weakness and make a god strategy of Intimidate + Perish Trap. To be honest I think that Scrafty paired with Mega Gengar can be very hard to beat, and probably works even better than Scrafty - Gothitelle. Scrafty can also learn Snarl, to drop the Special Attack of both of the opposing trapped Pokémon. I recommend to use the Wolfe's amazing Scrafty, that gave him a 9th place at Worlds paired with Gothitelle.

Scrafty @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 236 HP / 148 Atk / 108 Def / 12 SAtk / 4 Spd
Sassy Nature
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Snarl
- Taunt

The Liepard - Mega Gengar duo was very common till February/March, after Joe W. (RussianGG) used these two Pokémon in one of the biggest UK Tournament.
Liepard is in my opinion the best Mega Gengar supporter (after Scrafty), because it has a lot of support moves that Gengar needs. With Gengar your opponent can't switch his own Pokémon and with Liepard you can spam Charm, Thunder Wave, Encore, Swagger and Fake Tears.
If Liepard use Fake Tears on one of your opponent's Pokémon, its Special Defense will be harshly lowered. And, after it, Mega Gengar can sweep almost everything.

Liepard @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 244 HP / 4 Def / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out / Protect
- Encore
- Charm / Fake Tears / Swagger
- Taunt / Foul Play

252 Timid Shadow Ball MegaGengar OHKO -2 4 HP Garchomp
252 Timid Shadow Ball MegaGengar OHKO -2 252 HP / 252 SDef Aegislash
252 Timid Sludge Bomb MegaGengar OHKO -2 4 HP MegaKangaskhan

Lapras can works really well paired with Gengar, expecially over Rain Teams. You can trap Politoed and Ludicolo / Kingdra, then you can also OHKO Ludicolo / Kingdra and 2HKO the non-Sitrus Berry Politoed variant with Freeze Dry. If your Perish Trap team or your Mega Gengar-based team have problem with the really common Rain Teams just try Lapras. Lapras also counters Garchomp and Salamence, two popular Dragons. If you run the Assault Vest on Lapras you can also give some problems to all the Rotom forms.

Lapras @ Assault Vest
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 76 HP / 4 Atk / 4 Def  / 180 SAtk / 244 SDef
Sassy Nature
- Freeze Dry
- Ice Shard
- Hydro Pump
- Ancient Power

Conclusion

After all, Mega Gengar, if well supported, can sweep all the most common Pokémon right now. So, why nodoby use it? Probably due to is fragility, but if you use the bulky set that I wrote, you are bulkier than every specs gardevoir and than most of the other ones around there.

I hope that this article will be useful, until next time, see ya!

Italy Nationals - Seniors 7th Place Team Analysis

Hi! In this Team analysis I want to show you the team that I used at the 2014 Italy National Championships, my first VGC official competition, after just a year of playing VGC. I think that this team is really tough and i feel very confident with it, it also has a good sinergy between the members and it works really well - expecially in Senior division.
In march I won a local tournament with Aegislash, Gardevoir, Kangaskhan, Krookodile, Rotom-Heat and Amoonguss. Then, from March to May, I worked just on this team, and I finally get a solid team: the same as March's one with two changes, Azumarill on Gardevoir and Salamence on Krookodile. Just a week before the big event I put Lum Berry Garchomp on Amoonguss because i needed a good counter for the Khan-Artist combo. Here it is:

THE TEAM

SurrealPower (Kangaskhan) (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Double-Edge
- Hammer Arm
- Sucker Punch

• 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Hammer Arm vs. 84 HP / 12 Def Hydreigon: 180-213 (101.1 - 119.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Hammer Arm vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 168-198 (92.8 - 109.3%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
• 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Mega Charizard Y: 181-216 (97.8 -116.7%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
• 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 44 Def Rotom-W: 136-162 (86.6 - 103.1%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO

The only mega that I've used till January was a Dragon Dance MegaTyranitar (yeah, before everybody use it at worlds), but after thinking about Senior's metagame I ended up with the decision that Kangaskhan could be a good Pokémon: Fake Out support, fantastic output damage, the ability to counter the opponent's Kangaskhan with Hammer Arm. She's basically the MVP of the team. She provides a great support to Azumarill (I've used Belly Drum every game that I lead Kangaskhan-Azumarill) and also has a good priority move to finish off other Pokémon with not much HP left. I've runned a max Speed Jolly Kangaskhan just to be in speed tie with the other Kangaskhan. Fun fact: I didn't found any Jolly Kangaskhan or Khan-Artist combo at the event. Damn.

Rock Paper (Garchomp) (F) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Protect
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

Standard boring 4 HP Garchomp. I added it to the team just because it counters very well the always hated Khan-Artist combo, and I also used it to have a better matchup against some popular megas: Kangaskhan, Mawile, Manectric and Charizard. Nothing else to say, just a mainstream Pokémon that works well with its teammates.

Eddie (Aegislash) (M) @ Lefovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- King's Shield
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon

One of the best Pokémon right now, Aegislash was added on the team due to is insane bulkyness and offensive power. It also counters Kangaskhan, one of the most common Pokémon in Senior division, and I think that Aegislash give to whatever team a good switch-in option. I really hate the 252/252 spread, but I didn't found any better (maybe the Simon Yip's bulky one, but I read his report just after Italy Nationals) and I don't want to lost any Special Attack point. In my opinion the Modest Nature is the best Nature for an Aegislash: it reach a speed stat of 80, outspeeding Adamant Mawile (the Quiet Aegislash doesn't outspeed it) and it can make a Substitute before a possible Fire Fang.
This Pokémon is amazing, test it. For sure.

Mence Meat (Salamence) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Stone Edge
- Sleep Talk

Another dragon and another 252/252 spread. I really needed something to outspeed and KO Garchomp and Greninja (remember, I was in the Senior Divion. In the Master Division I'll probably use the Specs set, I love it) and Salamence was the perfect Pokémon for that purpose. I got addicted to Intimidate to the point that I lost the third top8 match against a Wigglytuff (a +2 Wigglytuff that spams Critical Hits for three turn isn't good). I chose Fire Blast over Flametrower to 2HKO Amoonguss and Aegislash, and OHKO Wolfe's bulky Mega Lucario. I decided on Modest Nature to deal more damage (mostly to Kangaskhan) because I never run into Salamence mirrors and most people run Timid anyway. I probably should have moved some EV's from Speed to HP and/or both defences as this speed stat isn't supposes to do anything special and having some extra bulk is always a good idea. Sleep Talk is another way to contrast the Khan-Artist, that I predicted will be very common at Nationals. 

Rikka (Rotom-Heat) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 140 SAtk / 12 SDef / 60 Spd
Modest Nature
- Protect
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Overheat

• 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 252 HP / 44 Def Rotom-H: 126-150 (80.2 - 95.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 140+ SpA Rotom-H Overheat vs. 252 HP / 196+ SpD Mega Mawile: 152-180 (96.8 - 114.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
• 252 Atk Garchomp Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 44 Def Rotom-H: 58-70 (36.9 - 44.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
• 252 Atk burned Garchomp Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 44 Def Rotom-H: 29-35 (18.4%-22.2%) -- possible 5HKO

I needed a Fire-Type and I choose Rotom-Heat due to its ability to stay in and cripple physical attackers. It's also one of the few Pokémon on this team that don't mind taking a hit from Mawile (apart Rock Slide or Stone Edge, obviously).
I use this Pokémon since January, and I've tested all the Rotom-H set: Sitrus Berry + Light Screen, Life Orb HP Ice, Weakness Policy, and finally get the (in my opinion) best one. I didn't want to lose to an Azumarill-Amoonguss combo, so i chose Safety Goggles to avoid the Amoonguss Rage Powder and can hit whichever Pokémon i wanted. The Safety Goggles also are a great way to counter the Sun Teams, but i founded zero of them, just a Charizard OHKO'ed by Kangaskhan's Double-Edge. Will-O-Wisp provides to halves the physical attack stat, and paired with Intimidate, it did a great job against Kangaskhan. The EV's are explained in the calcs, but now I'll explain you why 60 Speed EV's. This 60 Speed EVs let Rotom outspeed all the Rotom that I faced and neutral nature Tyranitar, which was a huge mistake of mine, I actually should have made it outspeed Adamant Bisharp.

Yaya (Azumarill) (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 212 HP / 196 Atk / 52 Def / 36 SDef / 12 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Protect
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough

Probably the co-MVP of the team, Azumarill was paired with Kangaskhan really often to get a Belly Drum off, and, after, sweep entire teams alone.
The moveset is the standard Belly Drum Azumarill one, but let me explain you the EV's spread.
212 HP EV's to activate the Sitrus Berry after a Belly Drum, 196 Atk EVs let Azumarill OHKO Garchomp before any boost and OHKO Salamence with -1 Play Rough + Aqua Jet. 52 Def EV's and 36 SDef EV's gives Azumarill a great bulkyness, it can also take a Thunderbolt from Max SAtk Rotom. Finally, the 12 Speed EV's let it outspeed the popular Zog's Azumarill with 4 Speed EV's.
I love that Pokémon and that EV's spread, I made it with a friend (and his nickame was the Azumarill's nickname). During a battle this Azumarill with a +6 boost has OHKO a full healt Garchomp with Aqua Jet with just a 40% chance to OHKO it.

Overall, this team was really fun to use, and after this analysis I'll probably give it another shot on Showdown, after some changes, like Salamence's EV set.
There are some new threats in the metagame that this team wouldn't perform very well (like Simon Yip's Us Nationals Team, an over-supported MegaBlastoise), but back in April and May i had an high win/lose ratios with it on PS! and managed to top the ladder once or twice. Thanks for reading, I hope that I'll do better next year in the Master Division and that I can afford my Worlds trip next year.

Final Position: 3rd after Swiss Rounds, 7th overall

Started from the bottom, now here I am

Here we go!

Hi, I'm Michelangelo (Ender on the forums), an Italian VGC player. I decided to set up my own blog after following some Japanese ones. Don't get me wrong - this is not supposed to be a place where I want you only to look at some teams or where I'd post some stories from my life. Feel free to say anything about any of the teams/things I post here - I believe that this way all of us can learn something about the game. Probably, this will be the only post I'll write in english because I don't speak it very well, but all my teams will be in that language ( just the Pokémon's sets, not the descriptions ).
I hope this doesn't end on a single post. You can find me on Twitter, @EnderVGC even though I don't use it often.