I'm listing these in such a way as to leave the MVP at the bottom.
Emergency
Female | Careful | Emergency Exit
Met: Poni Breaker Coast @ Lv40
Died: Elite Four Hala @ Lv49 (9 levels)
Emergency was the fifth of my "big six" - The 6 team members that made up my charge through Vast Poni Canyon and made up my team entering the Elite Four. I call them that mostly because this was the team that had zero deaths for the entire Poni Island arc, including Lusamine. Emergency, despite a type clash with a teammate, proved to be incredibly helpful defensively, although Emergency Exit screwed me over more times than it helped. Unfortunately, an Outrage Crit from Primape did her in.
Daybreak
Male | Bashful | Keen Eye
Met: Ten Carat Hill @ Lv12
Died: Totem Mimikyu @ Lv32 (20 Levels)
Daybreak was a godsend, and I'm glad I Repelled through the cave part of Clawmark Hill to get him. Came in clutch at so many moments, and his Speed was much needed for my otherwise quite slow team at that point. Totem Mimikyu likely would have been a whiteout if not for him as well.
Royal
Male | Mild | Overgrow
Met: Exeggutor Island @ Lv43
Died: Kukukukukui @ Lv53 (10 Levels)
Yes, I know, it's not in the Alola dex. Island Scan exists. Every other encounter on the Island at that point would have triggered Species (I owned a Pelly and the static Exeggutor). The 6th member of the Big 6 and the final real addition to my team, Royal didn't get used as much as the main 4, but when he did he came up big. Most notably, he literally SOLOED Olivia. Which was good for a team with 2 Bugs and a Fire/Flying.
Shade
Female | Serious |
Levitate Cursed Body
Met: Thrifty Megamart @ Lv30
Died: Elite Four Kahili @ Lv53 (23 Levels)
Shade came in at a very dark time for my team. Totem Mimikyu had just killed off three Pokémon, including two on this list. However, she managed to fill those very big shoes quite well. I initially loathed the loss of Levitate on Gengar, but Cursed Body came up huge on multiple occasions, saving her (or someone else of my choosing) from death at least 5 or 6 times. And, as you could have guessed from the death location, Shade was an integral member of the Big Six.
Bipolar
Ungendered | Gentile | Sturdy
Met: Trainer's School @ Lv7
Died: Totem Mimikyu @ Lv33 (26 Levels)
Judging by level, Bipolar had the 3rd longest tenure on the team, and the longest by a good bit of anyone not in the Big 6. That said, it was easily my ace from my starter's death in the first trial to its own in the sixth. The Steel type is just so good. Paralysis spamming was insanely helpful too.
The three Pokémon below were the three that survived the Elite Four gauntlet.
Dusk
Male | Rash | Super Luck
Met: Tapu Village @ Lv29
Died:
SURVIVED @ Lv54 (25 Levels)
So fun fact: QR Rental Teams are fun to abuse. In this case, I spammed a team in Battle Royals to unlock the Idol Style (which I never used), but ALSO to get Dusk a Scope Lens. And DAMN did it pay off. In gen 6-7, +3 crit is 100%. This meant that with a Skope Lenz and Super Luck, Psycho Cut, Night Slash, and Shadow Claw all were 100% critting. That's fair. Like, really fair. His Defences did leave a lot to be desired however.
Fletch
Female | Serious | Flame Body
Met: Wela Volcano Park @ Lv19
Died:
SURVIVED @ Lv55 (36 Levels)
This doesn't change my opinion on Talonflame. Ok maybe a little.
Fletch just did whatever was needed all the time. Flame Body was amazing, and for a number of particularly bad matchups in the E4 (especially birds) was basically my win condition. Spam Potions until they proc Flame Body, then start attacking. I'm not sure what else to say here.
And the MVP award goes to...
Mtn Dewpider
Male | Mild | Water Bubble
Met: Brooklet Hill @ Lv14
Died:
SURVIVED @ Lv54 (
40 Levels)
I F****** love Araquanid. Sure Mtn's offensive stats were subpar for an evolved Pokémon. However, you need to remember a few things. First, he was fully evolved before anyone else on my team, giving him early use of said stats. Second, I always underestimated his tankiness, especially on the Special side. For a long time, Mtn's SpDef was the highest single stat on my team, though Fletch's Speed did overtake it in the end. He also had the second highest Defense on the Big Six, after his Water/Bug sister Emergency. But third and most importantly, WATER BUBBLE IS A BUSTED ABILITY. 160 Base Power Scalds from nearly as soon as I got him. Araquanid is now one of my favorite Pokémon easily. All this said, it only felt right when he was able to be the one to land the final blow on Kukui. Also he had the hands down best nickname this run.
. Also counting evolution lines here, so no getting a Graveler every single cave after my Geodude died.
