Route 7

A blog dedicated to Competitive Pokémon (VGC). Investigating the potential of different pokémon spreads.

[locuan-blog]

Sylveon: DaWoblefet edition

Sylveon ######## move 1: Protect move 2: Shadow Ball move 3: Helping Hand move 4: Dazzling Gleam ability: Cute Charm item: Leftovers evs: 172 HP / 188 Def / 60 Sp. Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 84 Spd nature: Modest

This spread allows Sylveon to survive Adamant Bisharp's Iron Head close to 100% of the time.

252+ Atk Bisharp Iron Head vs. 172 HP / 188 Def Sylveon: 162-192 (84.3 - 100%)

Additionally, it allows Sylveon to survive Timid Mega Gengars Sludge Bombs 100% of the time.

252 SpA Mega Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 172 HP / 4 SpD Sylveon: 152-180 (79.1 - 93.7%)

Moreover, it allows for more HP recovery from leftovers, 12HP.

Moveset:

Protect is self explanatory.

Shadow Ball was chosen after looking at the meta game. The most common steel types at the moment are Aegislash and Bisharp, with the random Ferrothorn and Scizor thrown in. Dazzling Gleam could already hit Bisharp for neutral damage so I was satisfied with that. I then had to choose between Hidden Power Fire or Shadow Ball. Since Aegislash is more common than Ferrothorn and Scizor, I decided to pick Shadow Ball which hits Aegislash super effectively while still dealing neutral damage to Ferrothorn and Scizor.

Helping Hand allows Sylveon to help the team by having an ally deal half more damage from its attack. My team would greatly benefit from this since I have a lot of powerful Pokémon and the additional damage can get the KO.

Dazzling Gleam is a spread move that deals 80 base damage and has 100% accuracy. It allows Sylveon a more offensive presence on the field while hitting opposing dragon types hard. In my opinion, it was a better choice over Moonblast on this set.

Ability:

As you probably saw when you looked at the set, I have the ability as Cute Charm! While the ability is gimmicky in its own right, Pixilate would have done this set no good. Since I don’t use any offensive normal moves with this set, I decided to go with something that has a chance of working other than using something that wont work at all.

Damage Calculations:

Versus Bisharp

60+ SpA Sylveon Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 58-69 (41.1 - 48.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Versus Aegislash

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 172 HP / 4 SpD Sylveon: 134-158 (69.7 - 82.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

60+ SpA Sylveon Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 56-66 (33.5 - 39.5%) — guaranteed 3HKO

Versus Dragons

60+ SpA Sylveon Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Salamence: 102-122 (59.6 - 71.3%) — guaranteed 2HKO

60+ SpA Sylveon Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 98-116 (53.2 - 63%) — guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 172 HP / 188 Def Sylveon: 70-84 (36.4 - 43.7%) -- 98.7% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Garchomp Rock Slide vs. 172 HP / 188 Def Sylveon: 36-43 (18.7 - 22.3%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery

164 SpA Sylveon Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 184-220 (109.5 - 130.9%) — guaranteed OHKO

Versus Tyranitar

In sand:

60+ SpA Sylveon Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 56-68 (31.8 - 38.6%) — 97.2% chance to 3HKO

Out of sand:

60+ SpA Sylveon Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Tyranitar: 84-102 (47.7 - 57.9%) — 91.4% chance to 2HKO

Versus Gengar:

60+ SpA Sylveon Shadow Ball vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Gengar: 96-114 (70.5 - 83.8%) — guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 172 HP / 4 SpD Sylveon: 122-146 (63.5 - 76%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Versus Mega Gengar

252 SpA Mega Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 172 HP / 4 SpD Sylveon: 152-180 (79.1 - 93.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

60+ SpA Sylveon Shadow Ball vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Gengar: 80-96 (58.8 - 70.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

[locuan-blog]

Sylveon: Update 2

After DaWoblefet reviewed my spread he had very good points to bring up. In other words, there were corrections to the Sylveon spread that accomplishes a lot of the same tasks but with better overall bulk. Here's his reply:

Thoughts:

You could probably switch the Mr. Mime benchmark if you're unsatisfied with it. LO Talonflame's Brave Bird is right around that mark. Sitrus Berry is probably a good item choice if you're not already using it. A few more EV's will allow you to survive Adamant Kangaskhan's Return very close to 100% of the time.

Sylveon's EV spread can be improved by quite a bit. I was actually going to post this as the next EV spread tip of the day, but if you're aiming to survive two attacks on both the physical and special side, investing in HP first nearly always improves the overall bulkiness of the spread. 

If you move all the Sp. Def EV's to HP, you don't survive Mega Gengar's Sludge Bomb anymore, but you over-survive Bisharp's Iron Head, meaning you can move some EV's from Def to HP to survive both attacks regularly again. 84 HP / 172 Def / 4 Sp. Def, Bold, accomplishes this. In addition, since we are now at a point where we no longer have to use the Bold Nature, we can switch Natures to Modest, a spread of 84 HP / 252 Def / 60 Sp. Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 84 Spd, which grants us 24 extra EV's. I placed those extra EV's in bulk, then began to move around EV's to get to 192 HP, which would net 12 HP recovery from Leftovers. Finally, I ended up with this:

172 HP / 188 Def / 60 Sp. Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 84 Spd, Modest

This does the same things as your previous spread, but provides considerably more special bulk.

252 SpA Mega Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 172 HP / 4 SpD Sylveon: 152-180 (79.1 - 93.7%)

252+ Atk Bisharp Iron Head vs. 172 HP / 188 Def Sylveon: 162-192 (84.3 - 100%)

You do not unfortunately survive Bisharp's Iron Head 100% of the time, but that can be accomplished with a spread of 156 HP / 204 Def / 4 Sp. Def; just be aware that you only recover 11 HP from Lefties instead of 12.

His corrections and my previous spreads both have the same SpA stat. Therefore, the damage calculations from Sylveon's attacks would remain the same. However, the defensive calculations would change. I will update the Sylveon spread with a new post.

[locuan-blog]

Sylveon: UPDATE

So while investigating a bit further I found out that with some EV investment in SpD, Sylveon would be able to survive Timid Mega Gengar's Sludge Bomb. The spread would be the following:

4 HP/ 204 Def / 164 SpA / 52 SpD / 84 Spd

252 SpA Mega Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 4 HP / 52 SpD Sylveon: 144-170 (84.2 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

The major difference from the original:

4 HP/ 204 Def / 212 SpA / 4 SpD / 84 Spd

is that Sylveon now has a 97.2% chance to 3HKO the 4 HP/ 0 Sp. Def Tyranitar in the sand and a 91.4% chance to 2HKO out of sand; in the original spread it was a guaranteed 3HKO and 2HKO respectively.

If you do not mind having Mega Gengar having a chance to OHKO you then you can use the original spread!

[locuan-blog]

Sylveon

Yea I have a thing for  types! Anyways, the flavor of today is Sylveon and its "aggro-control?" role I have been investigating today. Let's get to it!

Sylveon ######## move 1: Protect move 2: Shadow Ball move 3: Helping Hand move 4: Dazzling Gleam ability: Cute Charm item: Leftovers evs: 4 HP / 204 Def / 164 SpA / 52 SpD / 84 Spd nature: Bold

Alright lets get to analyzing this spread!

First I wanted Sylveon to be able to survive Adamant Bisharp Iron Head's 100% of the time. The lowest possible EV stat distribution that I could find for HP/Def was 4 HP and 204 Def. The damage calculation shows:

Versus Bisharp

252+ Atk Bisharp Iron Head vs. 4 HP / 204+ Def Sylveon: 144-170 (84.2 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Next, I wanted to outspeed anyone who was at or below the 90 speed tier. These Pokémon include 0 neutral Bisharp, 0 neutral Scizor, 0 neutral Politoed, amongst others. Therefore, I needed to invest 84 EV points in speed which places Sylveon at a speed stat of 91.

This allowed me to have 216 unspent EV points! Then I added 52 points into SpD to survive Timid Mega Gengars Sludge Bomb 100% of the time. Finally, I added the 164 points that were left over into SpA.

Moveset:

Protect is self explanatory.

Shadow Ball was chosen after looking at the meta game. The most common steel types at the moment are Aegislash and Bisharp, with the random Ferrothorn and Scizor thrown in. Dazzling Gleam could already hit Bisharp for neutral damage so I was satisfied with that. I then had to choose between Hidden Power Fire or Shadow Ball. Since Aegislash is more common than Ferrothorn and Scizor, I decided to pick Shadow Ball which hits Aegislash super effectively while still dealing neutral damage to Ferrothorn and Scizor.

Helping Hand allows Sylveon to help the team by having an ally deal half more damage from its attack. My team would greatly benefit from this since I have a lot of powerful Pokémon and the additional damage can get the KO.

Dazzling Gleam is a spread move that deals 80 base damage and has 100% accuracy. It allows Sylveon a more offensive presence on the field while hitting opposing dragon types hard. In my opinion, it was a better choice over Moonblast on this set.

Ability:

As you probably saw when you looked at the set, I have the ability as Cute Charm! While the ability is gimmicky in its own right, Pixilate would have done this set no good. Since I don't use any offensive normal moves with this set, I decided to go with something that has a chance of working other than using something that wont work at all.

Item Choice:

I decided to use Leftovers to have Sylveon stay a while longer on the field while helping its teammates. Unfortunately, the 171 HP stat only allows it to recover 10 HP each turn with Leftovers. However, using the defensive spread as above allowed me to invest more in it's offensive presence which will be of great help in battles. Therefore, I believe it is more than worth it.

Miscellaneous Calculations:

Sandstorm Damage: 10HP per turn.

Burn Damage: 21HP per turn.

Damage Calculations:

Versus Bisharp

164 SpA Sylveon Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 58-69 (41.1 - 48.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Versus Aegislash

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 4 HP / 52 SpD Sylveon: 128-152 (74.8 - 88.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

164 SpA Sylveon Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 56-66 (33.5 - 39.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Versus Dragons

164 SpA Sylveon Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Salamence: 102-122 (59.6 - 71.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

164 SpA Sylveon Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 98-116 (53.2 - 63%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 204+ Def Sylveon: 63-75 (36.8 - 43.8%) -- 99.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Garchomp Rock Slide vs. 4 HP / 204+ Def Sylveon: 32-38 (18.7 - 22.2%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery

164 SpA Sylveon Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 184-220 (109.5 - 130.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Versus Tyranitar

In sand:

164 SpA Sylveon Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 56-68 (31.8 - 38.6%) -- 97.2% chance to 3HKO

Out of sand:

164 SpA Sylveon Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Tyranitar: 84-102 (47.7 - 57.9%) -- 91.4% chance to 2HKO

Versus Gengar:

164 SpA Sylveon Shadow Ball vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Gengar: 96-114 (70.5 - 83.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 4 HP / 52 SpD Sylveon: 116-140 (67.8 - 81.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Versus Mega Gengar

252 SpA Mega Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 4 HP / 52 SpD Sylveon: 144-170 (84.2 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

164 SpA Sylveon Shadow Ball vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Gengar: 80-96 (58.8 - 70.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

And that is it for this spread!

edited May 30, 1:51AM A.S.T.

edit note: updated spread

[locuan-blog]

Breeding Update: Rotom-H

First try trying to breed for Hidden Power. And success. Did not have to breed to long. Only 3 generations.

31/29/31/31/31/30

I'll work on a spread for this little guy soon enough!

[locuan-blog]

Mr. Mime: Support + Icy Wind

It was a matter of time before I got to this guy. I do believe he is the best Icy Wind user due to Mr. Mime's typing . Additionally, its Filter ability is great, it decreases the damage it takes from super-effective moves by 25%. It also gets great support moves, Fake Out, Wide Guard, Quick Guard, Encore, etc. However, its base HP and base DEF stats are less than stellar. Mega Kangaskhan's Return will close to OHKO it in most situations if it possesses the adamant nature.

Regardless, it seems to be a very interesting Pokémon and can get results. As shown by Squirtwo in his Salt Lake 3rd place report.

In my spread I focus on Icy Wind to support teammates with speed control, as well as having Quick Guard plus Wide Guard.

Mr. Mime ######## move 1: Icy Wind move 2: Wide Guard move 3: Quick Guard move 4: Dazzling Gleam ability: Filter item: ??? evs: 220 HP / 188 Def / 60 SpA / 12 SpD / 28 Spd nature: Modest

The 220 HP and 188 Def EV's where calculated to be the minimum EV's required to survive Bisharp's Iron Head's 93.5% of the time. Since most people run Bisharp CB'd these days, I decided to not have this spread survive 100% of the time from Bisharps Iron Heads. This also allowed me to have less HP which would make this Mr. Mime take less damage from Sandstorm and Burn, 8 HP and 17 HP respectively.

Versus Bisharp

252+ Atk Bisharp Iron Head vs. 220 HP / 188 Def Filter Mr. Mime: 121-144 (84.6 - 100.6%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

The 28 Speed EV's place Mr. Mime at a speed stat of 114, which allows it to outspeed Adamant/Modest 252 Spd Tyranitar's.

The 12 SpD allows this Mr. Mime to survive Timid Mega Gengar Sludge Bombs 100% of the time.

Versus Mega Gengar

252 SpA Mega Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 220 HP / 12 SpD Filter Mr. Mime: 118-141 (82.5 - 98.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

The rest of the EV's where placed into Special Attack.

Here are some additional damage calc's regarding the other common Pokémon that Mr. Mime is weak to:

Versus Aegislash

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 220 HP / 12 SpD Filter Mr. Mime: 108-127 (75.5 - 88.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Versus Mega Venusaur

252+ SpA Mega Venusaur Sludge Bomb vs. 220 HP / 12 SpD Filter Mr. Mime: 103-123 (72 - 86%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Versus Ferrothorn

252+ Atk Ferrothorn Gyro Ball (79 BP) vs. 220 HP / 188 Def Filter Mr. Mime: 100-118 (69.9 - 82.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Versus Gengar

252 SpA Gengar Shadow Ball vs. 220 HP / 12 SpD Filter Mr. Mime: 87-105 (60.8 - 73.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 220 HP / 12 SpD Filter Mr. Mime: 99-117 (69.2 - 81.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Here are some damage calc's regarding the things that are weak to Mr. Mime's moveset:

Versus Dragons

60+ SpA Mr. Mime Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 90-108 (48.9 - 58.6%) -- 95.3% chance to 2HKO

60+ SpA Mr. Mime Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 168-204 (100 - 121.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

60+ SpA Mr. Mime Dazzling Gleam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Salamence: 96-114 (56.1 - 66.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

60+ SpA Mr. Mime Icy Wind vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Salamence: 88-104 (51.4 - 60.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

I think this Mr. Mime will end up replacing both my Gardevoir and my Machamp since it can perform what they both were supposed to do in one single set (Support the team + Mega Charizard Y).

[locuan-blog]

Vanilluxe: Update

After a discussion with DaWoblefet he pointed out a more efficient EV spread.

This is what he had to say:

Vanilluxe is pretty cool, not going to lie. I don't have any experience using it, but it's been one of those Pokemon that sounds cool in theory. Your specific speed stat is also more handy than you think, because you outspeed Modest/Adamant 252 Speed Tyranitar at 114 speed. I'm a bit worried about how I think it'd do in practice, because Weak Armor mitigates a ton of that physical bulk you've invested, although the ability to outspeed Garchomp after a Rock Slide is definitely cool. I've got a improved EV spread, unlike last time.

228 HP / 124 Def / 20 Sp. Atk / 20 Sp. Def / 116 Spd, Bold

Compare the damage calculations against Talonflame and Rotom-H:

252+ Atk Talonflame Flare Blitz vs. 244 HP / 124+ Def Vanilluxe: 150-176 (84.7 - 99.4%)

252+ SpA Rotom-H Overheat vs. 244 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Vanilluxe: 146-174 (82.4 - 98.3%)

252+ Atk Talonflame Flare Blitz vs. 228 HP / 124+ Def Vanilluxe: 150-176 (85.7 - 100.5%)

252+ SpA Rotom-H Overheat vs. 228 HP / 20 SpD Assault Vest Vanilluxe: 144-170 (82.2 - 97.1%)

Basically, I moved some EV's to Sp. Def to take Special Attackers better, and also reduce chip damage (burn, Sand, etc.) by a point. I don't know any top players running Talonflame without Life Orb or Choice Band (except mattj maybe), so the calc isn't as important in my opinion, especially since Talonflame can easily KO with a Brave Bird immediately afterwards if you didn't target it with Water Pulse. Also, would a Hidden Power possibly be useful on Vanilluxe? I can't think of anything useful as of right now.

Very interesting points! I do have to consider a hidden power for Vanilluxe. Though, which one?...

[locuan-blog]

Vanilluxe: Icy Wind Speed Control

Icy Wind is an  move that deals 55 damage with a 95% accuracy. Its effects are: "Has a 100% chance to lower the target's Speed by one stage." Additionally, it hits both opponents. In other words, if used successfully, it will deal damage to both opponents and lower their speeds by one stage 100% of the time. I had investigated a couple of Pokémon for this role, Cryogonal, Glaceon, Mr. Mime, Vanilluxe. However, from those four only Vanilluxe and Glaceon caught my attention. And from those two Vanilluxe stood out by having a semi-useful ability in Weak Armor, as well as access to Freeze Dry; an Ice type move with 100% accuracy that deals 70 damage and is super effective against water types. Rotom-W I'm looking at you. However, it is quite difficult to 2HKO Rotom-W with Freeze Dry. Therefore, the spreads main role is speed control with Icy Wind, while nKO'ing anything that is weak to ice. There are a couple of sets, but given Vanilluxe's impressive bulk an assault vest set shows promise. I will investigate the other sets soon enough.

Vanilluxe ######## move 1: Icy Wind move 2: Freeze Dry move 3: Water Pulse move 4: Flash Cannon ability: Weak Armor item: Assault Vest evs: 244 HP / 124 Def / 20 SpA / 4 SpD / 116 Spe nature: Bold

Vanilluxe has four weaknesses: , , , and . Three of those weaknesses are primarily from Pokémon that deal physical damage. And two are seen from Pokémon that deal special damage.

I analyzed the top two primary Rock Slide users who would threaten Vanilluxe due to its weakness.

Garchomp:

252 Atk Garchomp Rock Slide vs. 244 HP / 124+ Def Vanilluxe: 58-70 (32.7 - 39.5%) -- 99.8% chance to 3HKO

And Vanilluxe can OHKO back with Freeze Dry:

20 SpA Vanilluxe Freeze Dry vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 204-244 (110.8 - 132.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Mega Tyranitar:

252+ Atk Mega Tyranitar Rock Slide vs. 244 HP / 124+ Def Vanilluxe: 114-134 (64.4 - 75.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage

If it resists this, it will survive Tyranitar's Rock Slide 100% of the time.

In terms of its weakness three Pokémon can come to mind quickly. Charizard-Y, Talonflame, Rotom-H. Due to Charizard-Y's ability to summon sun, he will OHKO this spread regardless so I analyzed Rotom-H and Talonflame.

Rotom-H:

252+ SpA Rotom-H Overheat vs. 244 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Vanilluxe: 146-174 (82.4 - 98.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

INSANE

Vanilluxe can survive with little to no SpD investment with an Assault Vest? Sign me up.

Talonflame:

Then I looked for the minimum defense EV investment to survive Talonflame's Flare Blitz which was 244HP/124 Def. Hence, the 244HP/124 DEF in the above calculations.

252+ Atk Talonflame Flare Blitz vs. 244 HP / 124+ Def Vanilluxe: 150-176 (84.7 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Then I asked myself, if it can survive a 252+ SpA Rotom-H Overheat how would it fare against the type Flash Cannon from Aegislash:

Aegislash:

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 244 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Vanilluxe: 116-138 (65.5 - 77.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Bisharp:

252+ Atk Bisharp Iron Head vs. 244 HP / 124+ Def Vanilluxe: 134-158 (75.7 - 89.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

In terms of it's  weakness I analyzed how it would fare against Machamp, Mienshao and Scrafty.

Machamp:

252+ Atk Machamp Dynamic Punch vs. 244 HP / 124+ Def Vanilluxe: 170-204 (96 - 115.2%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

However, most Machamp do not run 252 EV's in attack.

0+ Atk Machamp Dynamic Punch vs. 244 HP / 124+ Def Vanilluxe: 140-168 (79 - 94.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Scrafty:

252+ Atk Scrafty Drain Punch vs. 244 HP / 124+ Def Vanilluxe: 102-120 (57.6 - 67.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Mienshao:

252 Atk Mienshao High Jump Kick vs. 244 HP / 124+ Def Vanilluxe: 198-234 (111.8 - 132.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

In conclusion, would be a major weakness to this spread. This is due to Mienshao and Machamp's possibility to OHKO at max Attack.

Now unto something that might seem confusing. As you can see, there are 116 EV points invested in speed. This places it at a speed stat of 114. The importance of that speed stat is due to Weak Armor. Weak Armor raises Vanilluxes speed by one stage and lowers its defense by one stage after being hit by a physical attack. Seeing all the things Vanilluxe can survive with this spread I wanted a speed stat that would allow it to outrun Garchomp by at least one point after being hit by a physical move. And the 114 speed stat was the magical number. 114 * 1.5 = 171, it will outrun Jolly 252 EV Speed Garchomp by two points. 113 Speed stat would leave Vanilluxe with 169 speed which would tie it with Garchomp.

Here are the damage calcs for 20 Sp.A and the things that are weak to it.

20 SpA Vanilluxe Freeze Dry vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Salamence: 208-252 (121.6 - 147.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

20 SpA Vanilluxe Freeze Dry vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 98-116 (58.3 - 69%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

20 SpA Vanilluxe Freeze Dry vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Amoonguss: 84-98 (38 - 44.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

20 SpA Vanilluxe Freeze Dry vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Rotom-W: 62-74 (39.4 - 47.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

20 SpA Vanilluxe Freeze Dry vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Venusaur: 90-108 (57.6 - 69.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

In terms of Sandstorm damage, this spread would receive 11HP points in damage, while it would receive 22HP points in damage from Burn.

And that is it for this spread! It seems to have potential so I will be testing it if I come up for a team for it.

[locuan-blog]

Gardevoir: Choice Scarf Spread

I've been working on improving my gardevoir from a support role to a more offensive role with some bulk. My team needed a better answer to dragon types as well as increasing the teams overall speed. I think I came up with something interesting.

Gardevoir ######## move 1: Moonblast move 2: Psychic move 3: Shadow Ball move 4: ??? ability: Telepathy item: Choice Scarf evs: 172 HP / 4 Def / 140 SpA / 36 SpD / 156 Spe nature: Modest

The 156 Speed places it at 120 speed stat. With choice scarf it allows it to outrun Gengar by two points (180 compared to 178). Therefore, this makes it faster than Garchomp and non scarf Salamence/Hydreigon. Since those two scarfed Pokémon outrun it already I decided not to invest the full 252 speed on that stat and go with the 156 as explained before.

140 SpA allows it to OHKO standard offensive dragons with Moonblast 100% of the time.

Now for the Defensive spread:

In terms of Gengar:

252 SpA Gengar Shadow Ball vs. 172 HP / 36 SpD Gardevoir: 116-140 (70.3 - 84.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 172 HP / 36 SpD Gardevoir: 134-158 (81.2 - 95.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Gardevoir's Psychic will OHKO 100%.

In terms of the Dragons I would be facing:

252+ SpA Hydreigon Fire Blast vs. 172 HP / 36 SpD Gardevoir: 58-69 (35.1 - 41.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ SpA Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 172 HP / 36 SpD Gardevoir: 63-75 (38.1 - 45.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

  252 Atk Garchomp Rock Slide vs. 172 HP / 4 Def Gardevoir: 60-71 (36.3 - 43%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 172 HP / 4 Def Gardevoir: 90-106 (54.5 - 64.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

  252 SpA Salamence Fire Blast vs. 172 HP / 36 SpD Gardevoir: 49-58 (29.6 - 35.1%) -- 15.5% chance to 3HKO

252 SpA Salamence Fire Blast vs. 172 HP / 36 SpD Gardevoir: 49-58 (29.6 - 35.1%) -- 15.5% chance to 3HKO

I decided to check how it would take Aegislash's attacks (As it has become quite a popular Pokémon):

140+ SpA Gardevoir Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Blade: 152-180 (91 - 107.7%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 172 HP / 36 SpD Gardevoir: 144-170 (87.2 - 103%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 172 HP / 36 SpD Gardevoir: 144-170 (87.2 - 103%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

  I also checked how it would fare against Mega Venusaur both offensively and defensively:

140+ SpA Gardevoir Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mega Venusaur: 98-116 (52.4 - 62%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 SpA Mega Venusaur Sludge Bomb vs. 172 HP / 36 SpD Gardevoir: 104-126 (63 - 76.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Mega Venusaur Sludge Bomb vs. 172 HP / 36 SpD Gardevoir: 128-152 (77.5 - 92.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

  I varied the SpD and HP to see if I Aegislash had a 6.25% chance to OHKO this Gardevoir but I couldn't find it on the long run. However, I do believe that if I cut speed so that it only outruns garchomp, I would be able to get that spread. It all depends on the popularity of gengar in the coming months.

The additional calculations involve the damage I would take from Sandstorm which would be 10HP and 20HP from burn damage. There were additional spreads that achieved the 12.5% chance of aegislash OHKO's, but these had less HP and higher SpD which I did not prefer.

And that is it for this spread!