Ladder Legends #4 – 0.null.0

Welcome to our fourth installment of Ladder Legends! In this article series we take a look at teams used in the higher echelons of the Pokémon Showdown ladder for VGC 2020! As always, whilst we’ll stick as close to the original team’s items and move sets, our featured teams won’t contain the exact EV spreads of the originals; instead, we’ll provide sample spreads so you can copy & paste your way to the top of the ladder and tweak as you go!

Your fourth Ladder Legend is 0.null.0 who took a very offensive version of Milotic into the mid 1700’s on the ladder!

Click this link for the full Poképaste!

Milotic @ Life Orb
Ability: Competitive
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Def / 188 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
– Recover/Hypnosis
– Ice Beam/Icy Wind
– Mud Shot
– Muddy Water

In the games I observed, Milotic was the clear MVP. It boasts enough bulk to tank some of the most powerful Dynamax moves in the game. The competitive ability, in tangent with the Life Orb, ensures not only can Milotic sponge attacks, it becomes an offensive powerhouse once one of its stats are lowered – either by abilities such as Intimidate or one of the many stat decreasing Dynamax moves. The EV spread is designed to make use of both Milotic’s offensive and defensive prowess, enabling it to knock out Incineroar or Dynamaxed Coalossal with Max Attacks as a benchmark. The creator’s Milotic seemed to be min speed which makes sense to take advantage of the two Trick Room users on the team.

Over the games I observed, 0.null.0’s Milotic only revealed Muddy Water, Max Quake and Max Hailstorm; I chose to select Ice Beam and Recover for the sample team as Mud Shot holds the added benefit of decreasing speed making Icy Wind somewhat redundant whilst Recover ensures we increase Milotic’s longevity, however you may wish to add a “blind” Hypnosis as a last resort to immobilize opposing threats.

Milotic will be the most common Pokémon you’ll look to Dynamax and it certainly doesn’t disappoint!

Arcanine @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 100 HP / 148 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Snarl
– Safeguard
– Heat Wave
– Will-O-Wisp

Arcanine has always been a very popular choice in VGC due to its excellent base stats, diverse movepool and intimidate ability. Though Incineroar  has been the most used Fire type intimidate user in recent years, Arcanine has been making a comeback of late and is actually – according to pikalytics – slightly more used on the showdown ladder!

We didn’t see much of 0.null.0’s Arcanine so I’ve provided us with a more support oriented doggo. The EVs maximise Arcanine’s speed and give us an 88% to survive a Max Quake from Excadrill without the need to Dynamax.

The moves revolve around crippling opponents offensive output to make sweeping slightly easier for Milotic & Ferrothorn with Snarl lowering special attack and Arcanine’s ability + Will-O-Wisp ruining physical attackers. As sleep inducing attacks are incredibly common at the moment, Safety Goggles prevents Arcanine from being put to sleep by opposing Sleep Powder users, allowing Arcanine to set up a Safeguard to protect the rest of the team.

Mimikyu @ Lum Berry
Ability: Disguise
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Trick Room
– Play Rough
– Shadow Sneak
– Phantom Force

A very basic moveset and EV spread for Mimikyu, however it doesn’t need anything fancy to be effective. Lum Berry + Disguise allows Mimikyu to set Trick Room fairly consistently and hit opposing teams relatively hard with Play Rough and Phantom Force. Shadow Sneak is added to the set to support the next Pokémon…

Dragapult @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Fly
– Protect
– Dragon Darts
– Phantom Force

Similarly to Mimikyu, another standard cookie cutter spread. When deciding on the EV spread I had a quick look to see how much we would need to invest to survive an opposing Max Phantasm – as it turns out simply Dynamaxing is enough to ensure the survival. Dragapult’s Weakness Policy can be self activated by Mimikyu’s Shadow Sneak granting us +2 Attack; since we will almost always be Dynamaxing Dragapult when bringing it to matches, Dragon Dance seemed redundant as Max Airstream would give us the speed boost anyway.

Dusclops @ Eviolite
Ability: Frisk
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 164 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
– Haze
– Pain Split
– Trick Room
– Night Shade

Dusclops rounds out a variant of a Triple Ghost core and provides us with a second Pokémon capable of setting Trick Room. Barring opposing Imprison/Taunt, both Trick Room users are capable of twisting the dimensions against team compositions the other struggles with.

The moves we’ve given this Dusclops are the same as the four this team’s creator. Pain Split, Trick Room and Night Shade are staples across most Dusclops sets with the final move dependent on the remainder of your team. With Belly Drum Snorlax once again picking up in usage, Haze seems like the perfect choice to rid opposing Pokémon of their stat boosts; just be careful not to Haze away your own Milotic’s competitive boosts.

Ferrothorn @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Atk / 92 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Gyro Ball
– Body Press
– Power Whip
– Knock Off/Acid Spray

In the few games I played with this team, Ferrothorn was the standout performer for myself. With the support Arcanine provides in lowering opponents offensive stats and Milotic being able to comfortably deal with most of it’s common threats, it was very easy to position Ferrothorn into game winning positions. Dynamaxing Ferrothorn under Trick Room also gives us the opportunity to boost our defense with Max Steelspike or our attack with Max Knuckles. The EV spread, together with the Assault Vest, ensures we survive a Charcoal, Sun boosted Eruption from opposing Torkoal whilst Dynamaxed which seems absolutely outrageous!

With Assault Vest restricting us to just attacking moves, Gyro Ball, Power Whip and Body Press are guaranteed spots on this set. 0.null.0 used Knock Off to round off this moveset; Knock Off is indeed the more standard choice, however I trialed Acid Spray in testing to some success. Often, I managed to maneuver into a position where I had both Ferrothorn and Milotic on the field under Trick Room. Acid Spray would lower an opponents Special Defense by two stages allowing Life Orb Milotic to pick up some surprise KO’s; definitely a tech worth testing out if you’re looking to have a bit of fun!

Time to have a look at the squad in action below! Once again, we’ll feature both wins and losses for that full unbiased reflection of how the team performs!