Optimize Your Annihilape VGC Team | Pokémon Champions
Summary
In the Pokémon Champions | VGC Battles & Tournaments server, members are collaborating to optimize an Annihilape-centered VGC team. The discussion focuses on balancing a core of Metagross, Hydreigon, and Annihilape while addressing critical weaknesses like speed control and type overlap. This thread provides a great opportunity for players to share feedback on EV spreads and tech moves to improve competitive viability in the current meta.
Primeape was one of my favorite Pokemon as a kid, so naturally Annihilape is my favorite. This team gets a little influence from my prior post about Staraptor (and getting sent down a Dragonite, Annihilape rabbit hole) and a recent Delphox/Ape team that got 5th in last Saturday’s tournament.
Metagross, Hydreigon, and Annihilape feel like a great core covering each others weaknesses. Hydreigon was the last mon in and felt perfect with teams ground weakness and his ability. I had Maushold but Sini just felt like a better support Mon for Ape since it helped with some harder matchups (rain and trick room). Incin for Intimidate rotations and then Raichu is in there as he pretty much perfectly counters the Rain/Sun team you see (with Sini).
Obvious limitations might be no weather control or speed control and this team might be dead in the water there tbh. Struggles are trick room and the rain/sun teams although Raichu has really been a star there.
I could use some help optimizing some of the spreads (specifically Ape, Incin, Raichu, and Sini). Any other feedback for tech moves or “hey get a weather setter / tailwind” in there would be welcomed.
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Ngl having 2 megas weak to ground prob not the smartest decision
Ye the lack of speed control prob aint good either
But you are aware of that
Annihilape could be coaching
Aside from that you have A LOT of type overlap. Ground, Fairy, Fire, Ice and pert rain just looks like it is a constant struggle.
Not too familiar with coaching. Where would it help the most besides for Metagross? I always just bulk up while incin or Raichu fakeout
Ye true but I think that might be intentional
I assume you added metagross, annihilape and sinistcha then added 2 dark types?
Cuz like ghost
And dark sort of
Well you could use other mons which appreciate it too like araquanif
Yeah, the Hydreigon was in because of the ghost and ground resist/imminity. my original build had Sneasler but subbed him out for Incin
Ok so I think I can help you
I use metagross too, without annihilape but still
And while this might vary for some people I find farig far easier to work with than sinistcha alongside it
I think I’m really sold on Metagross and Hydreigon tbh. I’d love to make Ape work but if it makes sense for a different setup that works too
Farig stops sucker punch, and it makes it so that you'd have only one net dark weakness after adding a single dark type
Rn annihilapes aren't actually even running rage fist drain punch, the most common set is close combat, and phantom forcr
With sash
Cuz its a bit difficult to use it with the whole beat up strat rn without tera
Yeah I was hoping to make the bulk up / set up strat work but if it makes more sense to run phantom, cc, rock tomb I do have a focus sash spot open in this team
Ok, do you like incin or hydreigon more?
Probably Hydreigon since it’s like the perfect pair to Metagross
But I do like intimidate. I thought about even adding a Gyrados
Ok what abt arcanine hisui
Balances out fairy weaknesses
Actually you'd have to run sash on it so that means that you'd have to run bulky annihilape
Then with raichu, you could replace it with blastoise so that you can do a blastoise tr strat
Annihilape just doesn't feel right here tbh. Like I get the Dark/Psychic/Fighting core you are going for but it just doesn't feel like this is working
I mean it’s only fitting to remove him considering my initial post was to improve my Staraptor team and now this post is to improve my Annihilape team lol.
Well I would say the way to improve this annihilape team is to make it a staraptor team lmfao
Is there a good mega that helps with the rain/sun team or more specifically the rain team?
Lolllll full circle with it
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Personally I would keep raichu and change it to non mega max speed max attack volt switch. Go ahead and calc what happens to bulky charizard lol
The best mega against rain is venu and the second is charizard y (ik it sound ridiculus but that thing is insane)
Hmmm this is interesting.
:0 wait you can run aura sphere blastoise
Does it make sense to sash the arcanine and find a replacement for the Ape slot?
Yeah I was thinking aura sphere and then replace the fighting type Ape for something else
Only sash it if you run rock head
I thought you like annihilape tho?
I do but I ultimately want the best team
And its a good mon you can prob build around it unlike other mons like freaking castform
lol
There is no "best team" there are good teams but you will never see a team completely perfect
You have really two options then. Either swap to something like raptor to complete your psychic/dark/fighting core or you could swap it to a fairy mon to create a new steel/dragon/fairy core
Not even big 6 (the original, not the knock offs that are the new yard teams) was perfect it went through constant variation since there were always things that gave it some trouble
Hey, I will have you know I made a draft league team and put castform on with actual enthusiasm. Castform deserves love and respect, we don't deserve him
I present to you, Rinya Sun
What about Metagross, Hydreigon, Blastoise, Farig, Sylveon?
That was good but even dad varied. You had the lunala version and the older onr
Sylveon benefits in TR too
Yeah but I think those are just more preferences tbh. The core was arguably perfect
I like that, it feels cohesive
but that is now more in line with sini over farig to me
Yeah true I wouldn’t have as many ghosts since ape is gone.
I mean like if it was perfect then it would have won worlds
Or maybe Prim instead of Sylveon?
Prim is one of my 3 shinies
But I thought you wanted annihilape cuz its your fav or smthing 
lol I’m just sticking to the trend of completely abandoning the name on the title of my post
He is my fav. Maybe I’ll make a singles team for him
But hes a good mon
Does Ape, Hydreigon, Metagross, Blastoise, Sylveon/Prim, Farig/Sini have legs?
This would probably be focus sash ape not bulky
Hmmmm
Kinda but it is a bit more special than physical
So if you replaced hydreigon then maybe
Hydreigon or blastoise yeah
I am a balance player so I'm prob looking way to much into it, 4 special attackers won't harm ya much but still nice to have equal amounts
If you picked prim, I would drop blastoise. Otherise I would agree with hydreigon going
Ye ik, a guy in my draft did that too but like they said it was just cuz they needed to save points for the big boiz
I picked it because I ran dual weather and somehow got all the pieces lol
Yeah I was thinking this new team would have 2 modes - Hydreigon, Metagross, ape for speed side
Sylveon, Blastoise, Farig/Sini for trick room
That works ye
Might have 6 slot syndrome cause unfortunately it feels like you want both farig and sini like that haha
Otherwise I guess chomp or basculegion as a scarf physical
I personally find farig easier to use and its more consistant at setting tr but some people are rly good with using sinistcha so depends on your ability
I like to run a sneaky little nasty plot sinistcha and that really messes people up
I have wayyyy more experience with sini and like the redirection but not against the priority blocking
Ohr you were a staraptor spammer in a past life
Ye sinistcha prob works then
Is there a slow physical attacking Mon we can replace sylveon or prim with.
Makes the tr mode a bit worse but is always good to have some comfort food
Ape maus got me from poke ball to high ultra ball and then Staraptor spam got me to mb2 before I kinda plateu’d at the 7-10k range haha
I mean there are some but most of them lack spread damage
you could run -speed mega garchomp
There is ryperior I think
eh mega garchomp isnt as slow as i remembered
nevermind on that
And I love araquanid, that boi hits insanely hars and works well with defiant and coaching
But that aint spread
Still hits rly hard tho
I just picked him up in recruiting
The bug?
Ye
There is always mega steelix but he just doesn't have the staying power without sand up
Mega Mawile and Water Bug for Blastoise and Sylveon?
Kinda works
Very weak to fire / Charizard tho
Ya won't have fake out tho
mega ttar is super slow
Ah shit true
Also wait metagross and mawile?
Yeah that won’t work
Like you could use giant enemy crab or the giant stone golum thing
Yeah you just miss out on spread damage
Whatever golurk is supposed to be
I mean I think golurk has eq but headlong rush is better
So what’s the best support Mon for speed mode Metagross, Hydreigon, and Ape? Farig or Sini? Let’s start there
farig with ape
Uhhhhhhhhhhh
Ye farig
Also better with metagross
Okay then it’s Farig and Blastoise and we need to find one more for the slow mode
see that is where it rubs different lol
the moment you say blastoise it switches to sini haha
Lolol
I mean blastoise can work with farig so its prob fine
I could always try them both maybe I’ll just be Better with one or the other
Ye true
Farig makes more sense with the 3x ghost weakness of the OG 5
yeah I would definitely pick farig if you have ape. or friend guard maus would probably be a nice bulk
but since most people aren't running fist then probably not
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Here’s how it looks rn for team comp
Omg I am stupid asf
Mudsale
Use mudsale
Forgot abt that thing
I was thinking gambit might make sense too but i could fuck with Mudsdale
Mudsale is usually run as an anti tr mon cuz its good in tr
So you should be able to use it as a regular tr mon fine
Let me see if I have him
I don’t have him yet from recruiting :/
What about this?
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For now Ig its fine
Use offensive cc incin tho
Ask wahhhh for the set
Was ape ever great
In sv
In mb it has one like 1 or 2 tourneys and its decent
Good offensive typing and stats
And its only defiant competition is gambit who can't punish incin as wel
you have an incin set I’m supposed to ask about?
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Interesting! Thanks. I don’t know if I need CC on it with all my fighting moves but I like the offensive set for sure
thoughts on a much further iteration from yesterdays team building?
I also built a Swampert version instead of Metagross too but having some good vibes on this one. Trick room is still a struggle but an Early KO with quick guard and dark pulse or Draco meteor from Hydreigon and follow it up with Peli and Dnite for bulk has been decent
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