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[RMT] I'm new to this!

nkarr

4
Posts
12
Years
Hi everyone! I am new to CB and I am attempting to build a team. This is what I have come up with over the last couple days after doing some research. I don't know the Gen V Pokemon very well so I have only included Gen I-IV Pokemon, but I plan to battle in Gen V. I would appreciate any suggestions!

Well, here goes:

Aerodactyl@Focus Sash
EVs: 252 Attack / 4 Defense / 252 Speed
Jolly Nature
-Taunt
-Stealth Rock
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake
This would basically be a suicide lead and would get Stealth Rock into play. Taunt to prevent entry hazards and Stone Edge and Earthquake to do some damage if it survives the first couple turns.

Breloom@Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 36 HP / 252 Attack / 224 Speed
Jolly Nature
-Substitute
-Focus Punch
-Seed Bomb
-Spore
It can set up a Substitute and then be safe to attack with STAB Focus Punch and Seed Bomb.

Dusknoir@Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Defense / 84 Sp. Defense
Impish Nature
-Will-O-Wisp
-Pain Split
-Earthquake
-Ice Punch
Used as a tank, while crippling physical attackers with Will-O-Wisp. It can do damage and recover with Pain Split, and Earthquake and Ice Punch add good coverage.

Scizor@Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Attack / 8 Speed
Adamant Nature
-U-Turn
-Bullet Punch
-Superpower
-Pursuit
I would use it to scout the other team, also as a revenge killer. U-Turn and Bullet Punch both get STAB, Superpower and Pursuit are for coverage.

Flygon@Choice Scarf
EVs: 252 Attack / 4 Sp. Defense / 252 Speed
Adamant Nature
-U-Turn
-Earthquake
-Outrage
-Fire Blast
Another scout/revenge killer like Scizor.

Starmie@Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Sp. Attack / 4 Sp. Defense / 252 Speed
Timid Nature
-Surf
-Thunderbolt
-Ice Beam
-Rapid Spin
Special sweeper, plus Rapid Spin to get rid of entry hazards.

Well, that's what I've got so far. As this is my first time building a team, any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
 
Vrai

Vrai

can you feel my heart?
2,896
Posts
15
Years
  • Age 29
  • Seen Oct 24, 2022
Hi there. This seems like it would be a solid Gen IV team... however, there are a lot of adjustments that need to be made. Even if you just don't know the Pokemon yet, Gen V's metagame is much much much different than the Gen IV metagame. I'll delve into a little explanation but in all honesty it might be easier to pick up by watching matches/borrowing a tried-and-true Gen V team and experimenting to learn the metagame.

Firstly, suicide leads are non-existent (and they should have been last gen anyway but meh). Really, there is no such thing as suicide leads anymore unless you count like Deoxys-S (yes, that's unbanned) or Crustle (a new Gen V 'mon with Sturdy [basically now a free Focus Sash], Spikes, and SR). You want a lead that will help support your team as well as be a team player late in the game. An example of a common lead is Mixed Tyranitar: It runs Fire Blast and Ice Beam to help clear out Gliscor and Skarmory so that the two sand sweepers (Landorus and Excadrill) can clean house later. It also runs SR to get it up early, sets up Sandstorm to cut off other weathers, and acts as a special sponge. There are other examples too but Tyranitar is probably the premier "lead".

Part of the issue with having no suicide leads is the advent of Team Preview. You can see your opponent's entire team before every match now, and you have the option of switching your team around should you desire. You can always use this to your advantage - scouting your opponent's team is now purposeless beyond finding out sets, although you can guess most of them just looking at a teammate-by-teammate basis (for example, if the team looked like full stall you could guess a Gyarados would be a Restalk + Roar variant rather than a DD variant). It sounds negative, being unable to -hide- your Pokemon like last gen and completely eliminating the scouting/lead metagame for the most part but it's really so much more useful to know what checks you have to break down before you can complete a sweep and to know which team members are the most important and which ones you can sack and what you need to lure, etc. Knowing the opponent's team is so much of a boon that it really makes up for every other negative aspect that there could possibly be.

Anyway, there are tons of differences between Gen V and Gen IV and a lot that I just can't explain in one post, that you'll have to get through experience. Dusknoir, for example, doesn't really wall anything. Or beat anything. It's RU now (the lowest tier to date - NU will be coming up soon, I believe). There are much more effective users of Choice Scarf than Flygon. Starmie needs HP Fire or it will be flat-out walled by Ferrothorn (a new defensive behemoth - Grass/Steel typing and amazing defenses + Leech Seed + Spikes make it a huuuuge new threat and it's with Tyranitar to be the top 2 most used Pokemon).

Anyway, there is very little I could do to suggest to this without completely changing the team in essence since the Gen V meta is such a far reach from the Gen IV one - I'd basically be changing almost every set. You might want to invest some time into watching battles on the Smogon server or stealing a tried-and-true team for a bit to practice and get used to the metagame. That's my suggestion, anyway. :x
 
Fairy

Fairy

17,133
Posts
12
Years
  • Age 33
  • Seen Jan 12, 2024
Listen to Vrai, he's very experienced and he knows what he's talking about.

But all that aside, it's clear that you have done your homework. You obviously put some research into your team.

Don't get the impression that the Pokemon you've selected are inferior to Gen V regulations, it's just that they're not up to par with the other Pokemon available to you now. But really, lets face it, Aerodactyl is a fine lead and, personally, I wouldn't change the moveset at all. Does that make it the best? Maybe not once you're familiar with the Gen V Pokemon. It's up to you.

You might want to seriously think about using Ferrothorn > Dusknoir if you're looking for an all out defensive monster.

598.gif

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet?
Iron Barbs
252 HP / 196 Speed / 60 Defense
Relaxed [+Defense; -Speed]
- Spikes
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip

This set may not be perfect, I'm sure, but you get the point. This way, you'll have something that will wall Pokemon up and down. Ferrothorn really is a beast and it supports your team with Spikes.

Maybe you'd want to try Haxorus > Flygon.

Granted, I'm suggesting this based off of Vrai's comment on "Pokemon that use a Choice Scarf effectively". Haxorus, among others, is a good candidate for this facet. Just know that if you replace Flygon with Haxorus and keep Aerodactyl and Breloom, your team is going to be super weak to ice. So you're just going to have to work with this if you like it.

612.gif

Haxorus @ Choice Scarf
Mold Breaker
252 Attack / 252 Speed / 4 HP
Adamant [+Attack; -Sp.Attack]
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dual Chop
- X-Scissor / Dragon Claw / Rock Slide

These are just very loose examples of possibilities for your team. There are many options out there but the best thing you can do for yourself is go and get the experience.

Best of luck to you.
 

nkarr

4
Posts
12
Years
Obviously there is still a lot I don't know, so I will try to get a little experience. Thank you for the advice!
 

Snorelacks

Guest
0
Posts
I actually do use the standard Gen IV Suicide Stealth Rock Azelf, and it still works. Just saying.
 
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