6th Pokemon for my lineup?

[emeril322]

Okay, so I have 5 Pokemon for my lineup currently, and I'm trying to pick a 6th. Would love any suggestions, the only stipulation is that they have to be from X/Y (Gen.6) since that's all I have access to. Thanks in advance!

This is what I've currently got, comments & suggestions are also welcome about them. BYI I haven't bred any of them whatsoever. Also still kinda on the fence about Shuckle in general, but attracted to his very hands-off playstyle (as opposed to everyone trying to just do crazy damage as fast as possible).

• Sylveon @ Lum Berry | EV - Max Sp. Attack, Max Sp. Defense, HP
Nature: Lax
Characteristic: Thoroughly cunning

Moonblast (Fairy)
Psyshock (Psychic)
Shadow Ball (Ghost)
Hidden Power (Normal)

• Garchomp @ Garchompite | EV - Max Attack, Max Speed, HP
Nature: Bashful
Characteristic: Good Endurance

Dragon Claw (Dragon)
Poison Jab (Poison)
Flamethrower (Fire)
Brick Break (Fighting)

• Charizard @ Charizardite Y | EV - Max Sp. Attack, Max Attack, HP
Nature: Bashful
Characteristic: Good Endurance

Flamethrower (Fire)
Earthquake (Ground)
Dragon Claw (Dragon)
Air Slash (Flying)

• Shuckle @ Leftovers | EV - Max Defense, Max Sp. Defense, HP
Nature: Docile
Characteristic: Highly Curious

Rest (Psychic)
Power Split (Psychic)
Toxic (Poison)
Infestation (Bug)

• Mewtwo @ Mewtwonite Y | EV - Max Sp. Attack, Max Speed, HP
Nature: Mild
Characteristic: Capable of taking hits

Psystrike (Psychic)
Ice Beam (Ice)
Thunderbolt (Electric)
Aura Sphere (Fighting)

• Greninja @ Lum Berry | EV - Max Sp. Attack, Max Speed, Attack
Nature: Adamant
Characteristic: Sturdy Body

Ice Bream (Ice)
Hydro Pump (Water)
Dark Pulse (Dark)
U-Turn (Bug)

 

[PlatinumDude]

Remember that you can only Mega Evolve once per battle.

Lax is a terrible nature for Sylveon. You're wasting away its excellent Special Defense. Hidden Power got shafted in the generation shift (it's always 60 BP, as opposed to ranging from 30-70). You seriously need to take advantage of its strengths, which are its great Special bulk and good support move pool. Also, max out HP before going for the defenses; this gives Sylveon better overall bulk:
-Wish
-Protect
-Moonblast
-Shadow Ball/Hidden Power (Fire)
Nature: Calm/Bold
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 SDef or 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Item: Leftovers

or
-Calm Mind
-Moonblast
-Shadow Ball
-Hidden Power (Fire)
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Item: Leftovers

Mega Garchomp without Sandstorm support is absolutely pointless (Sand Force is only active under Sandstorm). The Speed drop also makes Mega Garchomp not worth using outside of said weather; in this case, you're better off using regular Garchomp:
-Swords Dance
-Dragon Claw/Outrage
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge/Fire Fang
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Yache Berry/Lum Berry/Haban Berry

or
-Outrage/Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Fire Fang
-Stone Edge
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Band/Choice Scarf

IMO, Charizard Y isn't a good fit on this team because of how Drought doesn't really benefit anyone (it even hinders Greninja's Water STAB). You're better off using regular Charizard or Charizard X:

Regular:
-Fire Blast/Overheat
-Air Slash
-Focus Blast
-Flamethrower
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Specs/Choice Scarf

Charizard X:
-Dragon Dance
-Flare Blitz/Fire Punch
-Outrage/Dragon Claw
-Fire Punch/Dragon Claw/Earthquake/Roost
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Charizardite X

Shuckle sucks. Really, it does. It can't do much offensively back to the opponent and it's easy Taunt bait. Ferrothorn makes a better wall than it would, while Galvantula or Scolipede are good offensive Bugs to fall back on:

Ferrothorn:
-Spikes/Stealth Rock
-Leech Seed/Thunder Wave
-Power Whip/Gyro Ball
-Stealth Rock/Gyro Ball/Protect
Nature: Relaxed
EVs: 252 HP/76 Def/180 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs

Galvantula:
-Sticky Web (slows down grounded opponents on the switch-in)
-Thunder
-Bug Buzz
-Volt Switch/Giga Drain/Energy Ball/Hidden Power (Ice/Fire)
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes

Scolipede:
-Swords Dance
-Megahorn
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide/Baton Pass
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost

or
-Spikes
-Swords Dance/Toxic Spikes
-Megahorn
-Baton Pass
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Focus Sash
Ability: Speed Boost

Like I said before, you can only Mega Evolve once per battle. It's better to devote the Mega Evolution slot to 1 Pokemon only. Having any other Pokemon hold Mega Stones is basically POINTLESS. Some people may frown down upon using Mewtwo in standard play because of its Uber status. Still, here are some better non-Mega Mewtwo sets you should try:
-Psystrike
-Ice Beam
-Aura Sphere/Fire Blast
-Fire Blast/Calm Mind
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

or
-Calm Mind
-Psystrike
-Flamethrower/Aura Sphere/Ice Beam
-Recover
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Leftovers

or
-Taunt
-Recover
-Will-o-Wisp/Toxic
-Light Screen/Psystrike/Substitute
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP/72 SDef/184 Spe
Item: Leftovers

or
-Psystrike
-Ice Beam
-Aura Sphere/Fire Blast/Flamethrower
-Flamethrower/Fire Blast/Trick
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf

You really need a backup Psychic user if people have problems with you using Mewtwo. Alakazam springs to mind:
-Psychic/Psyshock
-Focus Blast
-Shadow Ball/Signal Beam
-Substitute/Hidden Power (Ice/Fire)
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard

An Adamant nature is very pointless on Greninja. Not only does it fail to outspeed Alakazam, Dugtrio and Starmie with +Speed natures, it also weakens the damage output of all your Special moves (which Greninja mostly knows):
-Hydro Pump/Surf
-Dark Pulse
-Ice Beam
-U-turn/Hidden Power (Fire)
Nature: Hasty/Timid
EVs: 4 Atk/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Protean (Torrent is an acceptable substitute, though)

or
-Spikes
-Hydro Pump/Surf
-Ice Beam
-Dark Pulse/Hidden Power (Fire)
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Focus Sash

Edit: you need a Rapid Spinner/Defogger on the team, like Scizor, to clear away opposing hazards:
Scizor:
-Defog
-Bullet Punch
-U-turn
-Roost
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP/40 Atk/216 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Technician

 

[emeril322]

Hah it seems like none of my guys have the right Natures, or their abilities are wrong. I get the feeling I'm gonna have to do some seriously extensive breeding to get the things mentioned here. :P

Oh and I just realized, how am I supposed to get Defog on Scizor? >.<

I don't see it as a TM or HM in Gen VI.

 

[PlatinumDude]

Hah it seems like none of my guys have the right Natures, or their abilities are wrong. I get the feeling I'm gonna have to do some seriously extensive breeding to get the things mentioned here. :P

Oh and I just realized, how am I supposed to get Defog on Scizor? >.<

I don't see it as a TM or HM in Gen VI.

Defog is one of Scyther/Scizor's Egg moves. But you need to use Poke Transfer to get legitimate parents from past generations (that won't come out till December).

 

[emeril322]

Defog is one of Scyther/Scizor's Egg moves. But you need to use Poke Transfer to get legitimate parents from past generations (that won't come out till December).

Hmm that might be hard, since I don't own any of the older generations. For now though, I at least caught a Scyther (even though his Nature is wrong, and his ability lol).

 

[emeril322]

I'm curious, why Timid over Modest for Alakazam's nature?

 

[bizebest]

I'm curious, why Timid over Modest for Alakazam's nature?

You choose these depending if you want Alakazam to beat others on speed or if the extra special attack allows you to 1HKO or 2HKO key threats.

In his case, he has enough Sp attack that the extra boost is marginal and the speed increase allows you to pick off other Alakazams and speed tie with the timid ones

 

[emeril322]

You choose these depending if you want Alakazam to beat others on speed or if the extra special attack allows you to 1HKO or 2HKO key threats.

In his case, he has enough Sp attack that the extra boost is marginal and the speed increase allows you to pick off other Alakazams and speed tie with the timid ones

I see, makes sense. :)

I can breed whichever nature I want by using a Ditto (with the desired nature) to breed with Abra, right? Does the same ring true if Ditto has his "Hidden Ability"? Since this is my 1st game since Gen.2 I have very little knowledge on breeding. Even after reading about it a bit I still have various questions lol.

 

[Nolafus]

Natures are random when pokemon hatch, so there's no set way to get a certain nature. I once hatched over 100 Axew eggs looking for an adamant nature and still never got it.

It doesn't matter what nature the Ditto has, or what ability. The key to getting the hidden ability is to breed with the pokemon that already have it. I believe there is an item in X/Y that if you give it to your pokemon, the ability will switch, but I'm not sure. Hopefully someone with more breeding experience can include the details I don't know, but there's the basics.

 

[emeril322]

Natures are random when pokemon hatch, so there's no set way to get a certain nature. I once hatched over 100 Axew eggs looking for an adamant nature and still never got it.

It doesn't matter what nature the Ditto has, or what ability. The key to getting the hidden ability is to breed with the pokemon that already have it. I believe there is an item in X/Y that if you give it to your pokemon, the ability will switch, but I'm not sure. Hopefully someone with more breeding experience can include the details I don't know, but there's the basics.

gamefaqs.com/boards/696959-pokemon-x/67535721

That post has a ton of info about breeding (in X & Y) so hopefully it'll help you out. I read it a few times but still have a couple of small questions. Maybe someone knowledgeable about X & Y breeding will stumble upon this thread lol.

 

[Draven1234]

Natures are random when pokemon hatch, so there's no set way to get a certain nature. I once hatched over 100 Axew eggs looking for an adamant nature and still never got it.

It doesn't matter what nature the Ditto has, or what ability. The key to getting the hidden ability is to breed with the pokemon that already have it. I believe there is an item in X/Y that if you give it to your pokemon, the ability will switch, but I'm not sure. Hopefully someone with more breeding experience can include the details I don't know, but there's the basics.

Natures ARE random when pokemon hatch however, if you give one of the pokemons you're breeding an Everstone, it will pass down the Nature (100% of the time I believe). So if you had an adamant Ditto and an Axew and you gave an Everstone to the Ditto, the adamant nature should be past down. I hope this helps clarify things. Also the ability change item is bought in the Battle Maison I believe for 200 BP.

 

[emeril322]

Natures ARE random when pokemon hatch however, if you give one of the pokemons you're breeding an Everstone, it will pass down the Nature (100% of the time I believe). So if you had an adamant Ditto and an Axew and you gave an Everstone to the Ditto, the adamant nature should be past down. I hope this helps clarify things. Also the ability change item is bought in the Battle Maison I believe for 200 BP.

So if I'm understanding this correctly, (between your info & the link I posted) if I breed an Abra that was caught in the Friend Safari with a Ditto (that has the nature I desire & is holding an Everstone) then it will pass down the nature and have a chance of getting the Hidden Ability? So hypothetically I just need to crank out a few eggs with that pairing until I get one with the Hidden Ability (if I'm after it, which in this scenario I am)? Thanks for any help and sorry if I sound confusing >.<

 

[emeril322]

Okay I finally have an Abra with Magic Guard and now I'm confused. When he mega evolves he loses Magic Guard. So which is more powerful/effective? Mega Alakazam or normal Alakazam + Life Orb?

 

[PlatinumDude]

Okay I finally have an Abra with Magic Guard and now I'm confused. When he mega evolves he loses Magic Guard. So which is more powerful/effective? Mega Alakazam or normal Alakazam + Life Orb?

Mega Alakazam is only good as a late-game cleaner; once priority users are out of the way, Mega Alakazam is free to come in and sweep the rest of the team with its heightened Special Attack.

Regular Alakazam is useful in basically every scenario. Take your pick, but I'd personally lean towards regular Alakazam if your Mega slot is already taken by someone else.

 

[emeril322]

Mega Alakazam is only good as a late-game cleaner; once priority users are out of the way, Mega Alakazam is free to come in and sweep the rest of the team with its heightened Special Attack.

Regular Alakazam is useful in basically every scenario. Take your pick, but I'd personally lean towards regular Alakazam if your Mega slot is already taken by someone else.

My mega slot was gonna be Mewtwo Y but then many people said he is often banned, so I went with Alakazam to take his spot. Now who should be my mega >.<

I'm kinda thinking Charizard Y mega, and take Greninja off my team for... somebody.

Ideas?

 

[PlatinumDude]

My mega slot was gonna be Mewtwo Y but then many people said he is often banned, so I went with Alakazam to take his spot. Now who should be my mega >.<

I'm kinda thinking Charizard Y mega, and take Greninja off my team for... somebody.

Ideas?

Before you EVEN consider Charizard Y, think about who benefits from the sun and who doesn't. Otherwise, use something like Mega Gardevoir or Mega Alakazam as you said..

 

[emeril322]

Well my lineup is higher on the page. Who else even benefits from it lol.

 

[PlatinumDude]

My mega slot was gonna be Mewtwo Y but then many people said he is often banned, so I went with Alakazam to take his spot. Now who should be my mega >.<

I'm kinda thinking Charizard Y mega, and take Greninja off my team for... somebody.

Ideas?

Before you can even think about using Charizard Y on this team, think about who benefits from the sun and who doesn't. Otherwise, stick to Mega Alakazam or Mega Gardevoir. Note that some teams are successful even without Mega Evolutions.

 

[emeril322]

Well which hits harder, Mega Alakazam or Alakazam + Life Orb?

 

[PlatinumDude]

Well which hits harder, Mega Alakazam or Alakazam + Life Orb?

For the most part, Life Orb Alakazam hits harder than Mega Alakazam.