help With Competitive battling team moves?

Flare54 · Jul 18, 2011

Well,Ive recently wanted to start Competitive battling,I would like some help on choosing which moves i should keep and which i should remove and replace..

Feraligatr lvl100 Ability Torrent
Thrash
Aqua tail
Superpower
hydro Pump

Raikou lvl100 Ability Pressure
Thunder
Aura Sphere
Extreme Speed
Strength

Stoutland lvl100 Ability Sand rush
Crunch
giga Impact
Last resort
Surf

Serperior lvl100 Ability Overgrow
Slam
giga drain
Energy ball
Leaf Storm

Unfezant lvl100 Ability Big Pecks
air Slash
Sky Attack
facade
Fly

Simipour lvl100 Ability Gluttony
Cut
Dive
Acrobatics
Waterfall

So,it would really help if somebody could help me out.

Fairy · Jul 18, 2011

Hi there!

Well, welcome to the CBC and the world of Competitive Battling! :3

There are just a few things I want to say before I get going. The raters here will give you advice on more than just your Pokemon's move sets. So we will also suggest different Pokemon for your team that will help with certain threats your team may be weak to. Like now, it's pretty clear that Electric types are going to give you a problem because three of your Pokemon take Super effective damage from Electric type attacks.
Pssst.. This will help you identify threats to your team.

My suggestion is to get rid of Unfezant. It's typing is inadequate, its move pool is limited, and it's base stats are mediocre at best. :( Also, the move set that you are currently using has its own flaws. Unfortunately, two-turn moves like Fly are not the best options for competitive battling because that extra turn is a free move for your opponent to set up against you. But! This is a good opportunity for you to replace Unfezant with something that's much better for your team as a whole. There are lots and lots of Pokemon that can fill this role. Lets, for the sake of example, choose Ferrothorn.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet / Shed Shell
Iron barbs
252 HP / 168 Defense / 88 Sp.Defense
Relaxed [+Defense; -Speed]
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock / Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball

This is a pretty standard set. As far as I can tell, none of your Pokemon have any embellished Defensive capabilities. Nor do you have any Pokemon that can use Entry Hazards (Spikes, Stealth Rock.. etc.). So Ferrothorn will do more for your team than deal with the Electric weakness because it will support your team pretty well and take almost every hit like a champ. The Shed Shell will make sure Magnezone doesn't suck you in with Magnet Pull. Rocky Helmet will give added damage along with Ferrothorn's ability.

It seems like your team doesn't follow the laws of tiers. As your team stands, Feraligatr, Serperior, Stoutland, and even Raikou are all in UU (a tier below standard play, OU). While Unfezant and Simipour are a tier below that even. This is all fine if you are battling in UU, but your team is going to seriously struggle if you try to battling in OU. You can read more about tiers here. Note that Ferrothorn is in OU and would not be allowed in UU if you choose to play in that tier. I also want to mention that some of the HMs are not particularly good, save Waterfall and Surf. But Cut, Strength, and Fly have zero competitive merit. That being said, it opens up a slot for stronger and better moves that will help deal with certain threats an individual Pokemon will face. Like Raikou.

Flare54 said:
Raikou lvl100 Ability Pressure
Thunder
Aura Sphere
Extreme Speed
Strength

Right now, your Raikou is running a "Mixed Set" (A set that relies on both Physical and Special Attacks.) Where Raikou, in its essence, sports one of the highest Speed and Special Attack stats for its respective tier. So I'm going to recommend a set that capitalizes on Raikou's innate abilities.

Raikou @ Life Orb
Pressure
252 Speed / 252 Special Attack / 4 HP
Timid [+Speed; -Attack]
- Thunderbolt
- Aura Sphere
- Extrasensory
- Hidden Power [Grass] / Calm Mind

As you can see, EVs are distributed in Speed and Special Attack, and the move set reflects it. Sadly, this means getting rid of ExtremeSpeed. ;( Thunderbolt is infinity more reliable than Thunder. The 70% accuracy is just not worth the extra base power unless you're running a Rain team. Aura Sphere is just.. so great. If you've got it, use it. Extrasensory will hit common Raikou checks like Venusaur. HP Grass will hit other threats like Donphan, Lanturn, and Rhyperior. Alternatively, you can run Calm Mind to get a serious boost to Special Attack in tandem with the Life Orb for some serious sweeping. Plus, this set works really well with entry hazard support. I just want to emphasize again that Strength is not a good option for Raikou. :(

Flare54 said:
Feraligatr lvl100 Ability Torrent
Thrash
Aqua tail
Superpower
hydro Pump

Whenever you can help it, you should avoid using two moves of the same type. It limits the amount of threats you can hit super effectively.

Feraligatr @ Choice Scarf / Choice Band
Torrent
252 Attack / 252 Speed / 4 HP
Adamant [+Attack; -Sp.Attack]
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Superpower / Aqua Jet / Crunch

Feraligatr can actually do some serious damage with the assistance of a Choice Item. In this case, STAB Waterfall, is one of the best available options for a physically offensive Water type Pokemon. Feraligatr also has Earthquake at its disposal which is pretty much mandatory for any set as it will take care of Rock and Steel types who don't Levitate. Ice Punch will deal with the Dragons out there, if they're unboosted and you're running the Choice Scarf you will (probably) get the first hit. The last move slot is really up to you. You already have Superpower in there, which is a great choice. But Aqua Jet is a STAB priority move that you may find useful for picking off weaker opponents who don't faint from entry hazards. Crunch can hit the Psychic and Ghost types in UU.

Flare54 said:
Serperior lvl100 Ability Overgrow
Slam
giga drain
Energy ball
Leaf Storm

Serperior @ Light Clay
Overgrow
252 HP / 252 Speed / 4 Attack
Jolly [+Speed; -Sp.Attack]
- Safe Guard / Taunt
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Leaf Blade / Leaf Storm

I have never used Serperior, but from what I understand, it has access to Safe Guard, Dual Screens, and Taunt. However, it seems that Serperior has no outstanding attacks to rely on, making it a little more than dead weight once it's done setting up or if it has been Taunted. But, because of its Speed, Serperior can set up screens before most Pokemon can attack and use Safe Guard to protect against status abusers. The Light Clay will keeps your screens up longer. The reason for only one slot being dedicated to Attacks is simply because you don't want Serperior (with this particular set) out there too much. So one strong, effective STAB attack will work just fine. Lead Blade has the high critical chance, while Leaf Storm will hit harder. Both will be assisted by Overgrow when the opportunity arises.

Ugghhh... Sorry that was soooo long winded. I got pretty sloppy near the end there so if anyone wants to come in a clean things up, feel free.

Next time I won't carry on so much. ;________;
I promise <3

Good luck!

Snorelacks · Aug 24, 2011

Listen to Alexial, she knows what she's talking about. I agree with her on everything in that review. I'm covering the Pokes she didn't.

QUOTE=Flare54;6754172]

Stoutland lvl100 Ability Sand rush
Crunch
giga Impact
Last resort
Surf
[/QUOTE]

First of all, it isn't really important to post the level of your Pokemon. We just assume that they're level 100.

If you really want to run a Last Resort set (which is pretty gimmicky) you might consider this, as special attacks are bad on Stoutland (which in itself is actually not a great Pokemon) and Giga Impact works badly with Last Resort, and it just works badly in general:

Stoutland @ Leftovers/Life Orb/Salac Berry
Nature: Adamant/Jolly (Natures do matter btw)
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe (EVs matter as well)
Ability: Sand Rush (So do abilities :P)
Last Resort
Reversal/Thunder Wave/Protect
Protect/Endure
Fire Fang/Ice Fang

The preffered set here is really Last Resort/Reversal/Endure/Fire or Ice Fang @ Salac Berry w/Adamant, but Stoutland doesn't have that many great coverage options. Fire Fang hits some Steels better than Reversal but leaves you walled by Giratina and Jellicent, as well as having Chandelure be immune to all of your attacks. Ice Fang provides coverage for Dragons, but leaves you walled by Jellicent, Froslass, Shedinja, and Chandelure. At least this time you can do paltry damage to the Chandelier. I'd go with Ice Fang.

Flare54 said:
Simipour lvl100 Ability Gluttony
Cut
Dive
Acrobatics
Waterfall

Simipour is a Special Attacker, and two-turn moves like dive (just like Alexial said) aren't good for CB. Cut is a bad move in almost all cases. Acrobatics isn't ever good without Flying Gem, but it does provide some nice coverage. Waterfall is not good, because again, it should be Specially attacking:

Simipour @ Life Orb/Leftovers/(maybe even) Wise Glasses
Nature: Modest/Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SpAtk/252 Spe
Ability: Torrent (you can use Gluttony if you want, but it's useless)
Nasty Plot
Surf
Ice Beam
Focus Blast/Grass Knot

Pretty straightforward. Water/Ice is a standard combo, but it can also have great moves in Focus Blast and Grass Knot. Nasty Plot sweeps.

help With Competitive battling team moves?

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Flare54

Fairy

Snorelacks

Ready to get burned?