Baby Zard - A Regulation M-B Team Report

Mega Charizard? Why?

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Introduction

People who are even peripherally familiar with me will know that Torkoal is my favorite Pokemon, so let me be absolutely clear: this team was built with the singular focus of allowing me to bring Torkoal to as many games as possible, in order to work towards the unlockable “Torkoal Professor” title. Still, I didn't want a one-dimensional Hard Trick Room lineup, because you actually have to win the games to get title progress, and I think that you need at least a little bit of flexibility to do that reliably.

That said, the thing which I suspect most people will find interesting about this team is not the inclusion of Torkoal, but rather the way in which the rest of the team leverages the expectations set by the existing metagame to cause a lot of confusion on team preview. It's a type of camoflage which exists only on ladder, where team sheets do not exist.

Basically, the team is made of various good-stuff staples, but the items are all mixed up and the roles are swapped around; Basculegion’s typical Choice Scarf goes to Charizard, Charizard’s typical Mega Stone goes to Venusaur, and Venusaur’s typical Focus Sash goes to Basculegion. Meanwhile, Incineroar, for some reason, has a White Herb and is a sweeper!

These relatively simple changes enable a fairly diverse set of options that I feel give me a good plan into most matchups, despite the team as a whole appearing to be completely Sun-dependent on from the outside.

This team took me on a 14-0 win streak through Master Ball during the last weekend of the ranked season, so I'm reasonably happy with it overall. The section below outlines my iterative process. But, if you'd prefer, you can jump to the Paste and Replica Code or watch some clips of it in action.

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The Process

As I mentioned, my goal with building was to find a team that allowed me to bring Torkoal a lot and win with her, so I started with a team from one of the winningest guys out there: Wolfey Glick.

He put out a video about a Mega Pyroar team which seemed interesting; it had a compelling fast mode which leveraged Mega Pyroar’s exceptional speed stat, as well as Vileplume’s convenient ability to be exactly 2 points faster than the fastest Pokemon in the game while Sun was active. And it still had a solid Trick Room backbone, which is a style that I do enjoy playing quite a lot, despite what my jeering comment about it in the opening paragraph may have you believe.

Both modes leveraged Torkoal's Sun-setting power and thus aligned with my stated goal, so these seemed like great options and a recipe for success!

Take 1 - Mega Pyroar

Ironically enough, almost everything about this Mega Pyroar team felt great except for the Mega Pyroar aspect. Sure, it was extremely fast and was able to stack a lot of damage multipliers to really power though a lot of teams… But it resulted in a one-dimensional, all-in strategy which was so clearly telegraphed on Team Preview, that I ultimately felt like I was giving my opponent way more information about my plan that I was able to glean about theirs. And that's not a very fun way to play, in my opinion!

Besides the Mega Pyroar, this team also had a Mega Floette running the Calm Mind set. However, the rest of the team was not coherent in helping protect her while she set up, as there was no redirection or healing available to protect her.

Also, notably, neither of these Megas felt particularly usable inside the Trick Room mode. Let's put a pin in that and come back to it later.

With things as they were, the team really struggled in to almost everything. Wolfey was able to make it work, but I don't have the same level of game sense as the World Champ. I needed to restructure the team to work for my skill level.

Let's examine some matchups, at least as far as I understood them:

• Against Rain, I basically had no recourse but to continually jockey for weather control, taking a lot of damage as I repositioned, all while trying to get the most out of Mega Floette. Vileplume, meanwhile, was stretched far too thin, being my only defensive switch-in against Water-type damage, my primary source of Grass-type damage, and my fastest form of speed control with Sleep Powder.
• Against Sun, god help me, that was somehow even worse; five of the six members of the team, including both Megas, were walled by literally any rival Fire-type. Granted, our Fire-types walled their Fire-types back, but other teams usually had a bit more type diveristy to work with from an offensive perspective.
• Against Sand, uh… Hm…

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Take 2 - Rotom Wash

Clearly, the team was facing an uphill battle near-constantly, and something would need to change. And because my goal was still to bring Torkoal to a lot of games, I sought to keep the identity of the team as being Sun-oriented when considering what those changes would. Thus, I opted to keep the Mega Pyroar, and instead tried replaccing the Mega Floette with a Life Orb-equipped Rotom-Wash, running Thunderbolt, Hydro Pump, Volt Switch and Will-o-Wisp.

The theory here was the combination of Electric and Water-type coverage gave me excellent options into opposing Water and Fire, and Rock-types, such as Milotic, Ceruledge, and Tyranitar, who otherwise would wall the team fairly well. Levitate, meanwhile, gave me a defensive switch-in against Ground-type damage, which this team completely lacked a resistance to before.

I think this could have worked fairly well if I was willing to put in the time to refine Rotom’s stat spread and moveset. However, I got frustrated by the inconsistency having two moves with 85% or lower accuracy. Plus, I still kept finding myself not wanting to bring Mega Pyroar to most games, as it still suffered from all of the shortcomings which I had mentioned earlier. Adding a Rotom didn't change that truth. Maybe if we were playing a vanilla format without Megas, these five would be enough. But we aren't, so they weren't. And so, it was back to the drawing board…

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Take 3 - Solar Power

Which finally brought me here! This is something of a re-invention of the team from first principles, focusing on what each member of the original team did, and thinking about those aspects could best be improved to make a more robust, well-rounded package. Here's the breakdown.

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The Team Breakdown

Let's think back to where this team began: with Mega Pyroar. It had two majorly desirable features: the ability to outpace most things with a high speed stat, and the ability to stack multipliers in service of doing tremendous Fire-type damage. The drawback, of course, is that it was extremely one-dimensional, and if any of those stacking modifiers got disrupted, it felt like you had wasted your Mega slot. So, what if we could get all of those positives without using a Mega in the first place, and thus drastically reduce our opportunity cost? Enter base-form, non-Mega "baby" Charizard.

With Choice Scarf and maximum Speed investment, base Charizard hits a blistering final Speed stat of 250, and with Solar Power active, it hits a final Special Attack stat of 241, which is actually 10 points higher than even maximum investment Modest Mega Charizard-Y! This Charizard soars past almost everything else in the game, and most players don't expect this at all.

This element of surprise is a fantastic weapon. According to the in-game stats, only 0.1% of Charizards are holding this item, compared to over 93% of them holding a Mega Stone. Thus, when your opponent sees Charizard on team preview with no supporting Tailwind-setter, they will intuitively expect that any of their mons which can outpace Charizard's unboosted base-100 Speed stat will be able to threaten it before it can move. They will also anticpate that is will be your Mega Evolution, and thus your most valuable piece, making them index incredibly hard on taking it down. They will send out leads like Mega Staraptor or Mega Raichu, thinking that they can strike you first for big damage.

They are wrong. Prey on their conditioning and seize the moment by inflicting a Helping-Hand-Solar-Power-Sun-Boosted Heat Wave upon them. Even if you don't get a double knockout, you will have undoubtedly done severe damage to their team. And if they do take you down you in exchange, well, that's fine. You have likely traded favorably, because you still have your actual Mega in the back, and she matches up very well against things which resist Fire-type damage. We'll get to her later.

Possible Alterations

This Charizard runs the Timid nature to assure that it is the fastest thing on the field, but it's possible that Modest nature would still let you be fast enough while getting a little bit more damage on the board. I ran a few calculations and didn't see anything that suddenly became an OHKO, so I left it at that, but feel free to experiment further.

Offensive Calcs To Know

• 32 SpA Solar Power Charizard Ancient Power vs. 2 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard Y in Sun: 164-196 (105.8 - 126.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 32 SpA Solar Power Charizard Helping Hand Heat Wave vs. 32 HP / 2 SpD Mega Staraptor in Sun: 195-229 (101.5 - 119.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 32 SpA Solar Power Charizard Helping Hand Heat Wave vs. 32 HP / 12 SpD Farigiraf in Sun: 213-252 (93.8 - 111%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
• 32 SpA Solar Power Charizard Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 32 HP / 0 SpD Mega Raichu Y in Sun: 205-243 (122.7 - 145.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 32 SpA Solar Power Charizard Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 32 HP / 0 SpD Mega Gengar in Sun: 177-208 (105.9 - 124.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 32 SpA Solar Power Charizard Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 2 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp in Sun: 97-114 (52.4 - 61.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 32 SpA Solar Power Charizard Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 32 HP / 25 SpD Archaludon in Sun: 186-220 (94.4 - 111.6%) -- 68.75% chance to OHKO

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"Basculieve in Yourself". Basculegion is still the apex late-game closer. Here, he's holding the Focus Sash, which used to be somewhat popular on this mon, but as of recent has fallen signifigantly behind in usage to more offensive items like Choice Scarf, Mystic Water and Life Orb.

Basculegion feels like a much more effective Focus Sash holder than Vileplume was on the prior team composition, because you're not relying on him for early-game speed control (Chlorophyll, After You, Sleep Powder) or mid-game defensive properties (being a Grass-type switch-in). This makes it much easier to preserve the Focus Sash until the end-game, letting you reliably get two hits off against the final opponent, which is usually enough to get the KO.

Keep in mind that there is the potential for anti-synergy if you set up the Sun before sending Basculegion out, as you'll weaken your own water moves. Adaptability helps offset this potential risk a bit, and you'll often find that you're a Last Respects-clicking machine anyway. Plus, Basculegion is at his most effective against the Rain and Sand lineups, where you probably don't want to be struggling to keep Sun up while trying to do Fire-type damage in the first place.

Possible Alterations

I do think that this is the most flexible slot on the team, and if you wanted to substitute it for a different Pokemon that checks some necessary boxes, that would make a ton of sense to me. I have considered Focus Sash Mamoswine and Life Orb Swampert for better matchups against Dragon-types, but in my experience, Basculegion is simply Him.

Offensive Calcs To Know

• TBD

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One thing that was immediately clear to me from the very beginning is that maximum Attack investment Incineroar with a White Herb felt like a cheat code for the Trick Room mode.

He continues the trend of standard mons being played in non-standard ways; most opponents will see Incineroar with teammates like these and assume that it will adopt a defensive, pivot-oritented playstyle. But not this Incineroar. Oh no. He's here to stay put and do damage. Because as it turns out, having a physical attacker that cannot be burned and also gets to shrug off one stack of Intimidate for free goes a really, really long way. And similarly to Charizard, you can stack a lot of offensive modifiers on him between Helping Hand and Sun to further increase his damage potential.

Besides just letting him shrug off Intimidate, his White Herb can instead let him ditch the defensive drop that he incurs from using Close Combat, if the situation calls for it. Speaking of which, he also gets Close Combat! Tyranitars never see this coming and hate him for it.

With Dark and Fighting-type coverage at his disposal and a great defensive typing of his own, this guy checks things such as Ceruledge, Delphox, Pyroar, and the occasional Hisuian Arcanine. However, unlike the first iteration of the team, he is no longer the only check to them, so while he is meant to act as a sweeper, sometimes it's still perfectly alright to let him fall after getting a Fake Out and Intimidate off to improve your board position.

Possible Alterations

If you wanted to tweak the build a little bit, I think there's an argument to be made for swapping out the White Herb for a Life Orb. While the presence of Farigiraf and lots of Fire-type damage on your team will very frequently encourage your opponent to bring an Incineroar of their own, it doesn't happen all the time. In games where you do not need to dispel a rival Intimidate, the Life Orb would give you a fair bit more power in your initial punches.

In some of the calculations below, Incineroar comes just shy of OHKOing several things, and Life Orb would push it over the threshold. However, it's impossible to say if you would find yourself at -1 from an undispelled Intimidate in those same situations if you didn't have the White Herb, and would thus still be doing less damage overall.

Offensive Calcs To Know

Close Combat

• 32+ Atk Incineroar Close Combat vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Mega Tyranitar: 196-232 (94.6 - 112%) -- 68.75% chance to OHKO
• 32+ Atk Incineroar Helping Hand Close Combat vs. 32 HP / 12 Def Incineroar: 204-240 (100.9 - 118.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 32+ Atk Incineroar Helping Hand Close Combat vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Archaludon: 166-196 (84.2 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Flare Blitz

• 32+ Atk Incineroar Helping Hand Flare Blitz vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Archaludon in Sun: 186-220 (94.4 - 111.6%) -- 68.75% chance to OHKO
• 32+ Atk Incineroar Helping Hand Flare Blitz vs. 32 HP / 20+ Def Farigiraf in Sun: 229-271 (100.8 - 119.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 32+ Atk Incineroar Flare Blitz vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Kingambit in Sun: 270-318 (130.4 - 153.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Darkest Lariat

• 32+ Atk Incineroar Darkest Lariat vs. 2 HP / 0 Def Basculegion: 206-246 (104.5 - 124.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 32+ Atk Incineroar Helping Hand Darkest Lariat vs. 27 HP / 18 Def Colbur Berry Ceruledge: 111-132 (62.7 - 74.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Against Common Megas

• 32+ Atk Incineroar Darkest Lariat vs. 2 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard Y: 90-106 (58 - 68.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 32+ Atk Incineroar Flare Blitz vs. 32 HP / 11 Def Mega Raichu Y: 144-171 (86.2 - 102.3%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
• 32+ Atk Incineroar Flare Blitz vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Mega Mawile: 170-204 (108.2 - 129.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 32+ Atk Incineroar Helping Hand Flare Blitz vs. 26 HP / 2 Def Mega Floette: 169-201 (96.5 - 114.8%) -- 81.25% chance to OHKO
• 32+ Atk Incineroar Helping Hand Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Staraptor: 154-183 (96.2 - 114.3%) -- 81.25% chance to OHKO
• 32+ Atk Incineroar Darkest Lariat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Delphox: 192-228 (128 - 152%) -- guaranteed OHKO

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Probably the most standard member of the team, this Farigiraf does what Farigirafs do best: blocks Fake-Out and sets up Trick Room.

25 points invested into HP brings her to a nice, even HP value of 220, which is relevant for making sure her Sitrus Berry activates reliably in the face of things like Super Fang from Maushold, or after several turns of percentage-based chip effects.

With a well-placed Intimidate from Incineroar by her side, she can withstand the most heinous attacks imaginable. I'm talking Life Orb Adamant Basculegion Wave Crash in Rain. This was chosen as my target defensive benchmark under the rationale that it would be the single hardest hit achievable on Turn 1 that could be coming from something which cannot be Faked Out.

On the special side, she can endure a Weather Ball from Modest Charizard-Y in Sun, but it's a roll to survive a Fairy Feather-boosted Hyper Beam from Modest Sylveon or a Fairy Aura-boosted Light of Ruin from Mega Floette. But, like I said, you can Fake Out either of these threats, so hopefully you just never end up facing them both at the same time.

Thunderbolt is there to snipe Pelippers and rival Charizards, which is a thing you will find yourself doing surprisngly often. According to the in-game stats, this is also a fairly common move choice, so I don't think it needs much more explanation.

Do not be afraid to click Helping Hand frequently. As demonstrated with Incineroar, every other member of this team is offensively-tuned and designed to do a lot of damage.

Possible Alterations

Psychic Noise might be worthwhile over plain-old Psychic, if for no other reason than it being really funny to wall out Ceruledge completely, and to make Milotic sweat a bit. Remember, the heal block effect doesn't just remove the healing aspect, it fully disables the ability to click healing moves such as Bitter Blade. That said, the power drop is considerable, and Psychic honestly does great neutral damage into a lot of things, even without any Special Attack investment.

Defensive Calcs To Know

Physical Hits

• -1 32+ Atk Life Orb Adaptability Basculegion Wave Crash vs. 25 HP / 26 Def Farigiraf in Rain: 185-218 (84 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• -1 32+ Atk Mega Tyranitar Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 25 HP / 26 Def Farigiraf: 152-180 (69 - 81.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage
• 32+ Atk Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 25 HP / 26 Def Farigiraf: 170-204 (77.2 - 92.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Special Hits

• 32+ SpA Mega Charizard Y Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 25 HP / 15+ SpD Farigiraf in Sun: 171-202 (77.7 - 91.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
• 32+ SpA Mega Launcher Mega Blastoise Dark Pulse vs. 25 HP / 15+ SpD Farigiraf: 162-192 (73.6 - 87.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
• 32+ SpA Fairy Feather Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Beam vs. 25 HP / 15+ SpD Farigiraf: 189-223 (85.9 - 101.3%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
• 32+ SpA Fairy Aura Mega Floette Light of Ruin vs. 25 HP / 15+ SpD Farigiraf: 207-244 (94 - 110.9%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

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What if Vileplume was incredibly bulky? This is question that few dare to ask but for which I have the answer. As discussed earlier, while Vileplume's versatile Speed stat and its Water-resistant typing made it an appealing incusion for a Sun team, it still had a few glaring issues that made it feel like not quite the right tool for the job.

Firstly, it would always have its Speed doubled in the Sun, no matter what, resulting in occasional awkward board states once Trick Room was set up and Torkoal was brought out to sweep. Secondly, it was simultaneously the only Water-resist and the Focus Sash holder, meaning that it would functionally lose its item immediately if you ever needed to make a defensive switch-in.

Venusaur, and more specifically Mega Venusaur, solves both of these problems. A mere 12 points of Speed investment allows her to reach a final Speed stat of 112, which is the same as maximum-investment Vileplume. This number is important, because it is still slow enough to be usable inside Trick Room, but when doubled with Chlorophyll, hits the magic benchmark of 224. That's exactly 2 points faster than the base-150s, who are currently the fastest unboosted Pokemon in the entire game.

Importantly, unlike with Vileplume, Venusaur has the option of turning off Chlorophyll by Mega Evolving, allowing her to sit comfortably in a Trick Room scenario where Sun has already been set up. And of course, if you don't see Trick Room in the immediate future, you can just delay your Mega Evolution for a little while and enjoy the Speed boost while you need it.

And it's not like she just gets a useless ability in exchange for Chlorophyll, either. The replacement is Thick Fat, which nullifies her Fire and Ice-type weaknesses, leaving her only vulnerable to the less-common Psychic and Flying-type damage. This ability, in addition to the naturally superior bulk stats, allows Venusaur to feel much, much better than Vileplume as defensive countermeasure to the Water, Rock and Ground-type damage that would otherwise completely run over earlier versions of the team. Add restoration from STAB-boosted Giga Drain on top of that, and you have a mon that can really stick around.

And, of course, by virtue of being a Mega Pokemon and needing to hold a Mega Stone, Venusaur freed up the Focus Sash to be held by another member of the team. One which, as discussed earlier, isn't also serving double-duty as a defensive pivot!

Just keep in mind that this Venusaur is not designed to pick up huge OHKOs, but instead complement the rest of the team and help put things in range for other members, or to clean up after them.

Possible Alterations

Venusaur also has the option of going for Sleep Powder just like Vileplume, but here I have opted to go for a third attack instead, with Earth Power. Special Ground-type damage is at a premium in this format, giving the team an additional answer for guys like Archaludon, Kingambit and Ceruledge. Overall, I preferred this to the inconsistency of Sleep Powder, but it is by no means definitively the correct moveset.

Offensive Calcs To Know

Giga Drain

• 22+ SpA Mega Venusaur Giga Drain vs. 2 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 73-87 (39.4 - 47%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
• 22+ SpA Mega Venusaur Giga Drain vs. 2 HP / 0 SpD Basculegion: 162-192 (82.2 - 97.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (it is worth mentioning that even 32+ SpA cannot guarantee an OHKO here)

Earth Power

• 22+ SpA Mega Venusaur Earth Power vs. 32 HP / 1 SpD Mega Gengar: 106-126 (63.4 - 75.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 22+ SpA Mega Venusaur Helping Hand Earth Power vs. 27 HP / 1 SpD Ceruledge: 152-180 (85.8 - 101.6%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
• 22+ SpA Mega Venusaur Earth Power vs. 32 HP / 25 SpD Archaludon: 112-132 (56.8 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Sludge Bomb

• 22+ SpA Mega Venusaur Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 2 SpD Mega Staraptor: 82-97 (51.2 - 60.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 22+ SpA Mega Venusaur Sludge Bomb vs. 2 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 67-81 (43.2 - 52.2%) -- 10.94% chance to 2HKO

Defensive Calcs To Know

Physical Hits

• 32 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Earthquake vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Mega Venusaur: 70-83 (37.4 - 44.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
• 32 Atk Mega Staraptor Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Mega Venusaur: 124-148 (66.3 - 79.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Special Hits

• 32+ SpA Pelipper Hurricane vs. 32 HP / 0 SpD Mega Venusaur: 144-170 (77 - 90.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 32+ SpA Mega Charizard Y Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 32 HP / 0 SpD Thick Fat Mega Venusaur in Sun: 144-170 (77 - 90.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

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Finally, the star of the show (in my heart): it's Torkoal! What is there to say? She is the Tried and True Trick Room sweeper. On this team, she can play both an offensive and supportive role, with Helping Hand chosen over a third attack. There are a great many leads which you can reduce to ash by simply providing a Helping Hand boost to Charizard on rip.

This Torkoal is my beloved Partner Pokemon and has been with me since Generation 6. She has every ribbon she can get. I am happy that she continues to find new friends to play with, season after season.

Possible Alterations

There is a real argument to be made for replacing Helping Hand with Earth Power so as not to get walled out completely by the Flash-Fire-having Ceruledge in certain board states. I say you haven't lived until you've won on the first turn with a Helping-Hand-Solar-Power-Sun-Boosted Heat Wave. But I won't deny that the team's Ceruledge matchup is still somewhat difficult, even with Venusaur and Incineroar on the roster.

Offensive Calcs To Know

• 32+ SpA Charcoal Torkoal Helping Hand Eruption (150 BP) vs. 32 HP / 12 SpD Farigiraf in Sun: 252-297 (111 - 130.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 32+ SpA Charcoal Torkoal Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 0 HP / 2 SpD Mega Staraptor in Sun: 136-162 (85 - 101.2%) -- 6.25% chance to OHKO
• 32+ SpA Charcoal Torkoal Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 2 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp in Sun: 72-86 (38.9 - 46.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Defensive Calcs To Know

Physical Hits

• +1 32+ Atk Black Glasses Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Torkoal: 111-132 (62.7 - 74.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 32 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Earthquake vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Torkoal: 127-151 (71.7 - 85.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

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The Paste

Copy the PokePaste to Clipboard!

The Replica Code at the time of this writing is L9VSPYV70U! However, it will likely not stay up forever, so please consult the above Paste for reference!

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Common Brings

Sun Hyper-Offense

Front

Back

Against teams which do not have a meaningful way to resist Fire damage (such as Alolan Ninetales + Mega Raichu Y), you can just turn up the heat immediately. Leading with Torkoal sets you up in a position to either just click Helping Hand, or hard switch into Farigiraf to block an expected Fake Out. You can also lead with Farigiraf and hard switch in to Torkoal if you are worried about weather control.

From there, you just click Heat Wave for as long as they let you, and navigate for setting up Trick Room in the mid-game. Venusaur can be preserved until the end-game fairly well and clean up either under cover of Sun with Cholorphyll, or by Mega-Evolving. Basculegion is also a fine choice here, as the Sun often expires by the time the game reaches this point, allowing you to rip at least two attacks into something with your Focus Sash preserved.

Sun Room

Front

Back

Against teams which seek to outrun you, this is the bread-and-butter Trick Room composition. The combination of Incineroar and Farigiraf allow for an extremely safe combination of Fake Out + Trick Room, with fairly few ways to stop it. From there, Incineroar can flex its full investment in Attack while Farigiraf can click Helping Hand, fire off neutral hits, or hard switch into a stronger attacker. Against the ever-present Kingambit, who is slower than both Incineroar and Farigiraf, I often find myself switching Farigiraf out for Torkoal while targeting Kingambit with a now-boosted Flare Blitz. Torkoal's base 140 physical Defense will keep it going even against a +1 Kowtow.

This is also the composition I bring against Rain teams (unless they have a manual Rain setter like Sableye, in which case Torkoal often becomes Basculegion). Incineroar can get a lot done against Archaludon, and its Intimidate is valuable against Swampert. Pelipper has to live in fear of Thunderbolt from Farigiraf. Throw down damage early and often, and trust in Venusaur to close it out for you.

I Am Fighting A Sand Team

Front

Back

Against Tyranitar, who does not care if you assert Weather control, and who does not have its super-effective damage output mitigated by said Weather control, you typically do not want to bring your Sun mode under any circumstances. Fortunately, everyone else who isn't Charizard or Torkoal matches up fairly well in to Rock-types.

Incineroar's Intimidate allows Farigiraf to get Trick Room up fairly freely, even in the face of Dark-type damage from Tyranitar's Knock Off. You can then follow up with a Close Combat on Turn 2 for an OHKO, which opponents may not see coming.

From there, your goal is to do damage while waiting out Sandstorm, in service of getting Basulegion on the field without having its Focus Sash chipped. It should be able to close out the game for you.

Garchomp is of course fairly scary, but you can generally just muscle through it with big Giga Drains and other STAB-boosted neutral hits.

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Media

Marcos "MoxieBoosted" Perez gave the team a spin to great results on his YouTube channel.

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Closing Remarks

Thank you for reading! This team report is almost certainly way too long, but it was my first time feeling truly good about a team I built for a standard format, and also my first time sitting down to commit to writing one of these. I love Torkoal and hope that she continues to shine in to Regulation M-C and beyond.