Building Teams with Mega Barbaracle & Mega Emboar | VGC
Summary
The Pokémon Champions | VGC Battles & Tournaments server explores a unique team-building challenge featuring the least used Megas: Barbaracle and Emboar. This announcement breaks down how to optimize these underutilized Pokémon using Shell Smash, Trick Room, and specific EV spreads to overcome their competitive weaknesses. It is a must-read for trainers looking to innovate their VGC strategies and master off-meta picks.
Just for shits and giggles, I want to see if I can make a decent team off of the least used megas (based on limitless tcg data. Bottom two this season are apparently... Mega Barbaracle and Mega Emboar. Oh boy.
Right away we have some problems. Both are weak to ground, water, and psychic. Not great types to be weak to all in all. Additionally, they are both in a very awkward speed tier at 75 and 88 speed. Lastly, Emboar can't really hit ground types and Barbaracle can't really hit water types.
This is my solution:
Barbaracle: This guy has one thing going for him and thats tough claws+shell smash. After a shell smash, the only mons in the format he can't ohko reliably are basculegion and M-Venusaur (M-dragonite too but that doesnt count). We can't afford to miss any moves and so, unfortunately, we are dropping our rock attack. Poison Jab/Brick Break/ Liquidation/ Shell Smash. Max Attack, Max HP, and 2 Sp Def. No speed investment because after a ShellSmash we outspeed most anything but scarf chomp and scarf hydreigon. But to set up Shell Smash we need some help.
Emboar: Before we get to the support, lets look at emboar. Our best bet for this lad is probably to run min speed and use TR. 85 speed is still faster then we want to be but it is workable. This decision means we can shove 32 points straight into his DEF to allow us to potentially survive such hits as M-Aero dual wingbeat, talon flame dual wingbeat, and H-Arcanine Head Smash. We can shore up our weakest stat and boost our strongest with bulk up. It also gives us something to do incase they double our TR setter. Drain punch combos well with bulk up to keep emboar around, Heat Crash give us a fire attack without recoil (and in most matchups where fire matters, it will be the same base power, this only really hurts our venusaur matchup (Also, did you know mold breaker means that Emboar Flareblitz OHKO's M-Venusaur?) Sucker punch gives us coverage into psychic and ghosts and a form of priority.
1/several
i wanted to use babaracle, he seemed really good into the meta and like a good mon in theory with shell smash, tough claws, and high attack, with the rock and fighting typing
i'd change brick bread for something with bigger damage, maybe put on protect over liquidation, and switch poison jab for a rock move it actually gets stab and hits yard for
oooh i just noticed heatproof sin
and inner focus mudsdale?
acrobatics and rock slide sneasler?!?!
these sets are wild and I fw them
only one thread at a time please. If you are done with the other you can delete it
Sinistcha: Does literally everything we need it to. Heatproof plus colbur berry severely limits how reliably meta threats can fuck with our trick room, rage powder is neccesary for this team (follow me would be alot better given the grass weaknesses on barb and mudsdale but honestly, we have to make do). Standard set, save for the heatproof. We simply can't run both Occa and Colbur.
Mudsdale: One of the slowest mons in the game and the heaviest mon in the game, Mudsdale provides max power heavyslams into the threatening fairy types, and High Horsepower (pretend EQ isnt there) gives us ground stab. Roar prevents opposing teams from removing trick room and gives us a way to reset M-Staraptor and other setup sweepers. Passho berry lets us live all wave crash and pelipper weather ball.
Mimikyu: Back up TR setter, mental herb to block taunt. really hard to kill in one turn, more reliable then sinistcha but worse utility
Sneasler: I kept going over and over and over what mon to put here. Gambit, Starmie, heliolisk, Corviknight, A-ninetails, even fucking Simipour. Fake out
Understood, will do
Did that work?
After a shell smash, more damage is kind of overkill. With as horrible a defensive typing rock/fighting is, I figure that you can't afford any misses. No rock moves that are physical are fully accurate and none of them are contact moves for tough claws.
No intimidate, no fake out stalling our TR
Ultimately, the goal was best of a bad situation
he gets close combat for more damage, and sure, none are acurate or contact, but stav is just that strong, and again, yard can prove difficult for your team. yard now survive sneasler rock slide and could steal matches
Yep thank you
Yard is definitely really rough, but honestly im not bringing barb into yard. He needs a shell smash or he is kinda useles against opponents faster then him. Would lead Mimikyu Emboar, go for bulk up/trick room, and try the best from there. If they stop TR, +1 sucker does 50% to Yard and Emboar is only really threatened by sylveon on the standard sun team anywho.
On Barb, Close combat does more damage but you are rarely gonna get one off without a speed boost before getting merced by any mon with a decent power SE move
yeah, but shell smash doubles your speed aswell?
Punch harder.
Seriously though, these megas do pretty nutty damage after a single turn setting up, and I just didnt see a special attacker that made sense to me. Once Sini and Mudsdale were selected, needed mons that worked outside TR to help out Barbaracle and the special attackers that out sped charizard or basc or other threats just didnt provide the utility i was looking for, save for maybe a rotom form.
Yeah, Barbaracle wouldn't be used on the TR mode
Like, Lead Barb/Sini or Barb/Sneasler to setup
Its not a good team, 100% admitting that
then why are you scared of being slower? 140 speed is alot
im gonna eventually make a team with him, he seems really interesting
Before Shell Smash, you are outsped and ohko'd by the most common mons in the format (Ychu, Chomp, Star, Sneasler, Delphox, ScarfBasc, excadrill outside sand, meta fross, annhilape, etc. etc.)
130 Def, 106 SpD aint what it used to be.
Whims moonblast does almost 98% off of a base 77 SpA
If you are gonna have 7 weaknesses, you gotta be way fast.
Cool and all until they ask what is the delphox answer
This just dies to the standard double redirection team
Mega staraptor also goes dummy
