Is team building that hard?

Started by WingedDragon April 19th, 2014 4:29 PM
  • 797 views
  • 11 replies
Age 35
Male
Milwaukee, WI
Seen November 2nd, 2020
Posted March 24th, 2020
1,288 posts
11 Years
It just seems like that with all the helpful articles on here and other forums I go to they just make seems like its just that easy. Some of them been doing it for years or just a year. Here I am thinking been doing this for 18 months I have it together and I dont. At regionals I almost got my clock cleaned by a dude that had just started playing two weeks ago. I just wonder if I am making harder than it has to be.
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PS3 - Mkeborn87
IGN - Adrian

Griffinbane

I hate Smeargle.

Age 35
Female
Pennsylvania, US
Seen November 28th, 2019
Posted February 19th, 2017
1,293 posts
15.2 Years
If you refuse to to take advantage of tutoring sessions that are offered and just c/p and play with a whole lot of different teams while never learning how to properly use any of them, you'll get the same result you did at regionals. Posting on the forums and asking what you're doing wrong will only work so far.

Stick to one flappin' team, dammit, and learn how to use it and tweak it! Don't keep switching from one to another just because you get pissed off at it! Furthermore, you may have copied another person's team but they usually don't reveal their EVs so you could be battling with a completely different spread and therefore built to handle stuff completely differently. Your playstyle is wonky too but only experience will cure that.

Seriously, I think at this point live help will only help you. Get onto nuggetbridge's IRC and see if you can't find a tutor. One last thing. 4-4 is damn GOOD for a person at their first regional.
Terriermon and Lopmon

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Hot of Dog

Failed Earth Adept

Male
Texas
Seen October 16th, 2018
Posted May 1st, 2014
11 posts
9.8 Years
[QUOTE]Stick to one flappin' team, dammit, and learn how to use it and tweak it! Don't keep switching from one to another just because you get pissed off at it! Furthermore, you may have copied another person's team but they usually don't reveal their EVs so you could be battling with a completely different spread and therefore built to handle stuff completely differently. Your playstyle is wonky too but only experience will cure that.[/QUOTE

I think this can be true. However sometimes you do need to change which Pokemon you use. Its not just about covering each other's weaknesses while having one strategy, but each Pokemon must fufill a specific role. You need a good combination of sweepers and bulky Pokemon. Don't sacrifice a Pokemon until their role is complete if at all possible. Look at your opponent's team and see what threats they have and keep your checks alive to deal with it. Maybe you just need to switch a couple of moves or changing the ev spread to accomplish this without much change to your team.

Griffinbane

I hate Smeargle.

Age 35
Female
Pennsylvania, US
Seen November 28th, 2019
Posted February 19th, 2017
1,293 posts
15.2 Years
There's no such thing as sweepers in VGC doubles, which is what he's referring to. Well, there CAN be, but those sweepers need to be built to withstand at least 1 attack from their worst threats or they're almost worthless.
Terriermon and Lopmon

White: 1463 5558 5309
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I think building a great competitive team is extremely hard. There is so much to consider while making one. Things like EV spreads (not the standard 252, 252, 4), items, synergy etc. However, I think the most important thing to think about while creating it is 'Can my team handle all the threats in the format?'. I always ask myself this while creating a team.

For example, say I was building my VGC 14 team. Now I know that Char Y and Venusaur combo is commonly used, and is a massive threat, so I think to myself how can I beat these Pokemon? Well, these two are heavily reliant on the weather, so what if i could change the weather. So I pop a Tyranitar with Sandstream on my team, which severely hampers this pair.

So yes, team building is somewhat hard, however it can be made much easy if you have a thought process behind your team. When I make a team, the first thing I consider is my playstyle. Do I want to shut my opponents team down, or do I want to wreck their face every turn? Then (especially important in VGC) I choose my core Pokemon (usually a mega). Lets say for example, I choose Mega Scizor. Well I know that Mega Scizor is a physical powerhouse, but is extremely weak to fire, and with Pokemon such as Charizard Y and Talonflame running riot in VGC (and singles) so I need a Pokemon that can tank fire type attacks. Tyranitar (again) completely tanks and shuts down most fire types, and can hit them for super effective damage with Stone Edge or Rockslide. I can even use a special Tyranitar, to help take down highly defensive Pokemon (such as Ferrothorn) that Scizor has trouble with.

I then continue to add pokemon that compliment each other, and cover their weaknesses. I make sure that my team is not as frail as a sheet of ice, or not so bulky that it can't deal enough balance. Then when I'm finished, I run through my team and check if I can counter almost any threat that the metagame can throw at me. This is very difficult, maybe even impossible to achieve, but if you can get close to this, you're one step closer to having a winning team. I also like my teams to have at least one intimidator, one choiced Pokemon and one Will-o-Wisper, but thats just personal preference.

But in the end, remember that a great team will only carry you so far. You have to be comfortable using the team, know its ins and outs, weaknesses and strengths, and know how to tweak it accordingly. This comes with the amount of experience you have with the team. And you will lose sometimes. Maybe even a lot. It happens. More than half my teams end up being pretty average, and I get hammered. However, losing doesn't mean your team is trash. Every loss is a new learning experience, and you adjust accordingly, whether its through changing and EV spread or changing playstyle.

But remember, good players can win with weaker teams. The team is only going to contribute to around 50% of your result. Being able to predict and knowing what moves to make is equally as important, and this comes with practice. So practice, practice and practice, and you will get better.

TL;DR: Team building is a sequential process, that requires time and thought. But the team isn't always the most important, your battling skills are just as crucial. These are just my thoughts, and the processes I go through when making my VGC teams. I like you find teambuilding hard but if you work at it, you will see improvement. Stick with it, as the game is very rewarding once you get your head around it. Hope I helped and thanks for reading!
Age 35
Male
Milwaukee, WI
Seen November 2nd, 2020
Posted March 24th, 2020
1,288 posts
11 Years
If you refuse to to take advantage of tutoring sessions that are offered and just c/p and play with a whole lot of different teams while never learning how to properly use any of them, you'll get the same result you did at regionals. Posting on the forums and asking what you're doing wrong will only work so far.

Stick to one flappin' team, dammit, and learn how to use it and tweak it! Don't keep switching from one to another just because you get pissed off at it! Furthermore, you may have copied another person's team but they usually don't reveal their EVs so you could be battling with a completely different spread and therefore built to handle stuff completely differently. Your playstyle is wonky too but only experience will cure that.

Seriously, I think at this point live help will only help you. Get onto nuggetbridge's IRC and see if you can't find a tutor. One last thing. 4-4 is damn GOOD for a person at their first regional.
Actually It was my 2nd. I was 4-3 last year. So I did a loss more. However you are right. I have such a hot competitive nature. My flawed belief of if youre not first youre worst gets me in trouble a lot. Lol. I was reading on another forum how this guys safeswagger team did the same as mine did at one regional. Re-did his team and came in fourth. I wish I could afford to go to at least 3 regionals a year, but it is what it is.
X- 2406 5987 8799
PS3 - Mkeborn87
IGN - Adrian
Actually It was my 2nd. I was 4-3 last year. So I did a loss more. However you are right. I have such a hot competitive nature. My flawed belief of if youre not first youre worst gets me in trouble a lot. Lol. I was reading on another forum how this guys safeswagger team did the same as mine did at one regional. Re-did his team and came in fourth. I wish I could afford to go to at least 3 regionals a year, but it is what it is.
Don't worry about not being top, as there are some extremely competitive people in the community, that eat, breathe and live Pokemon, and have been playing a heck of a lot longer than you have been. Don't get disheartened, and keep going to regionals, if you can. Thats probably the best place to gain experience, and even meet people that can give you better advice than I can!

Griffinbane

I hate Smeargle.

Age 35
Female
Pennsylvania, US
Seen November 28th, 2019
Posted February 19th, 2017
1,293 posts
15.2 Years
A lot of us have that same wish. Anyhow, have you checked any youtube videos? And I don't mean that idiot Verlisify. Here's Cybertron's Youtube channel. I had the unfortunate luck to battle him last year and he makes someone as entrenched as I am look like newcomers.
Terriermon and Lopmon

White: 1463 5558 5309
X: 2208 5685 5454
- - - -
A lot of us have that same wish. Anyhow, have you checked any youtube videos? And I don't mean that idiot Verlisify. Here's Cybertron's Youtube channel. I had the unfortunate luck to battle him last year and he makes someone as entrenched as I am look like newcomers.
Cybertron is an incredible battler, and I think it would benefit you greatly to check out his videos. He has some great ones on VGC team building, team analysis and individual Pokemon analysis, that will benefit even the most experienced players greatly.
Age 35
Male
Milwaukee, WI
Seen November 2nd, 2020
Posted March 24th, 2020
1,288 posts
11 Years
A lot of us have that same wish. Anyhow, have you checked any youtube videos? And I don't mean that idiot Verlisify. Here's Cybertron's Youtube channel. I had the unfortunate luck to battle him last year and he makes someone as entrenched as I am look like newcomers.
Cybertron is an incredible battler, and I think it would benefit you greatly to check out his videos. He has some great ones on VGC team building, team analysis and individual Pokemon analysis, that will benefit even the most experienced players greatly.
I have his channel bookmarked. I watch the vids on Chomp and T-Tar
X- 2406 5987 8799
PS3 - Mkeborn87
IGN - Adrian
Age 27
Female
The Mountains
Seen April 20th, 2014
Posted April 20th, 2014
36 posts
9.5 Years
I've been taking competitive battling quite seriously for over 3 years now and only now am I able to make good pokemon builds entirely on my own and not long ago I was able to grasp the value of putting your EVs in exactly the right place. I'm able to give advice from what I know and learned but no one has a PHD in pokemon, if your losing it's probably just lack of battle experiance and a large amount of chance. If I can quote Verlisfy, to gain experience you must lose.

I love to battle! Feel free to add or message me!