Competitive Team Advice

[For_Whom_The_Bronzong_Tolls]

I have my team mostly planned out, but am wondering if I am missing something that will kill this team.

Infernape @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fire Punch
- Thunder Punch
- Power-Up Punch
- Close Combat

Eelektross @ Quick Claw
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Coil
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- ThunderPunch

Malamar @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Psycho Cut
- Topsy-Turvy
- Foul Play

Greninja @ Expert Belt
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- U-turn
- Hydro Pump
- Shadow Sneak

Goodra @ Leftovers
Ability: Gooey
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Gentle Nature
- Infestation
- Outrage
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Whirlwind
- Brave Bird
- Spikes
- Roost

Thoughts?

 

[PlatinumDude]

Being locked into Power-up Punch is a bad idea on a Choiced Pokemon. It's weak, and Infernape needs to switch moves to take full advantage of the Attack boost. Even then, Mega Kangaskhan does Power-up Punch abuse better because of Parental Bond. Offensive Infernape is better off going mixed so that it's not walled entirely by stuff like Therian Landorus:
-Fire Blast/Flare Blitz
-Close Combat
-Grass Knot
-Hidden Power (Ice)/Thunder Punch
Nature: Hasty/Naive
EVs: 168 Atk/88 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

or
-Stealth Rock
-Overheat
-Close Combat
-Endeavor
Nature: Hasty/Naive
EVs: 168 Atk/88 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Focus Sash
Ability: Blaze

or
-Close Combat
-Will-o-Wisp
-Taunt
-Slack Off
Nature: Impish
EVs: 212 HP/4 Atk/252 Def/40 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Blaze

Eelektross is outclassed by other Electric Pokemon like Wash Rotom, Zapdos or Mega Manectric for the better utility they provide. Eelektross' bulk is modest at best and it's rather slow:

Wash Rotom:
-Volt Switch
-Hydro Pump
-Will-o-Wisp
-Rest/Pain Split
Nature: Bold/Calm
EVs: 248 HP/216 Def/44 Spe (Bold) or 248 HP/216 SDef/44 Spe (Calm)
Item: Chesto Berry/Leftovers

or
-Volt Switch
-Hydro Pump
-Hidden Power (Ice)/Will-o-Wisp
-Trick/Thunderbolt
Nature: Modest/Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf

Zapdos:
-Thunderbolt
-Defog
-Heat Wave/Toxic/U-turn
-Roost
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/168 Def/68 SAtk/20 Spe
Item: Leftovers

Mega Manectric:
-Thunderbolt
-Volt Switch
-Overheat
-Hidden Power (Ice)
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod

Malamar is terrible because of its lack of resistances and weakness to the common Fairy type (and the occasional Bug, which is 4x). Better alternatives for Dark Pokemon are Bisharp, Mandibuzz, Tyranitar and even Hydreigon, Crawdaunt, Weavile, Sharpedo and Mega Absol:

Bisharp:
-Sucker Punch
-Iron Head
-Knock Off
-Pursuit/Swords Dance
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Black Glasses/Dread Plate
Ability: Defiant

Mandibuzz:
-Foul Play
-Roost
-Taunt/Whirlwind
-Defog/Toxic/Knock Off
Nature: Bold/Impish
EVs: 248 HP/136 Def/108 SDef/16 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat

Tyranitar:
-Dragon Dance
-Stone Edge/Crunch
-Ice Punch/Crunch
-Earthquake
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream

or
-Stealth Rock
-Crunch
-Stone Edge/Ice Beam
-Earthquake/Fire Blast
Nature: Impish/Relaxed
EVs: 248 HP/252 Def/8 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream

or
-Stone Edge
-Crunch
-Pursuit
-Earthquake
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream

Hydreigon:
-Draco Meteor
-Dark Pulse
-Fire Blast
-Superpower/Roost/Flash Cannon/U-turn/Focus Blast
Nature: Mild/Rash/Modest
EVs: 24 Atk/252 SAtk/232 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Choice Specs

Crawdaunt:
-Crabhammer
-Knock Off
-Aqua Jet
-Crunch/Swords Dance
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Band/Life Orb/Mystic Water/Splash Plate
Ability: Adaptability

Weavile:
-Knock Off
-Ice Punch
-Ice Shard
-Low Kick
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Pressure

Sharpedo:
-Waterfall
-Crunch
-Destiny Bond/Earthquake/Ice Beam
-Protect
Nature: Adamant/Naughty
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost

Mega Absol:
-Sucker Punch
-Knock Off/Night Slash
-Fire Blast/Ice Beam
-Superpower/Play Rough
Nature: Hasty/Naive
EVs: 252 Atk/4 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Absolite
Ability: Justified/Super Luck

Greninja is better off using an all-out attacking set (or one that utilizes regular Spikes, since this team is offensive enough not to care about Toxic Spikes). Greninja isn't meant to stay in on Mach Punch users like Breloom or Conkeldurr, unless it changed its type to Psychic with Protean beforehand. It's also fast enough not to rely on Shadow Sneak's priority:
-Hydro Pump/Surf
-Ice Beam
-Extrasensory
-Dark Pulse/Hidden Power (Fire/Grass)/Grass Knot/Spikes
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Focus Sash
Ability: Protean

Goodra is better off utilizing its special move pool rather than its physical one, as 110 Special Attack is better than 100 Attack. Physical Goodra is also outclassed by other physical Dragons like Charizard X, Dragonite and even Salamence. Because of this, Goodra should use Assault Vest as the item:
-Draco Meteor
-Fire Blast
-Sludge Bomb/Thunderbolt
-Dragon Tail
Nature: Quiet/Modest
EVs: 248 HP/252 SAtk/8 SDef
Item: Assault Vest
Ability: Gooey/Sap Sipper

If you want a physical Dragon Pokemon, use the above Dragons I mentioned:

Charizard X:
-Dragon Dance
-Flare Blitz/Earthquake
-Dragon Claw
-Roost
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 248 HP/152 Atk/108 Spe
Item: Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze

or
-Flare Blitz/Earthquake
-Dragon Claw
-Will-o-Wisp
-Roost
Nature: Careful
EVs: 248 HP/228 SDef/32 Spe
Item: Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze

or
-Dragon Dance
-Flare Blitz
-Dragon Claw/Outrage
-Earthquake
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 40 HP/252 Atk/216 Spe
Item: Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze

Dragonite:
-Dragon Dance
-Outrage/Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Extreme Speed
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale

or
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Extreme Speed
-Dragon Claw/Fire Punch
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale

or
-Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Extreme Speed
-Roost
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 216 HP/64 Atk/228 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Multiscale

Salamence:
-Dragon Dance
-Outrage/Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Fire Blast
Nature: Naive
EVs: 252 Atk/4 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Lum Berry

 

[For_Whom_The_Bronzong_Tolls]

Being locked into Power-up Punch is a bad idea on a Choiced Pokemon. It's weak, and Infernape needs to switch moves to take full advantage of the Attack boost.

Eelektross is outclassed by other Electric Pokemon like Wash Rotom, Zapdos or Mega Manectric for the better utility they provide. Eelektross' bulk is modest at best and it's rather slow:

Malamar is terrible because of its lack of resistances and weakness to the common Fairy type (and the occasional Bug, which is 4x). Better alternatives for Dark Pokemon are Bisharp, Mandibuzz, Tyranitar and even Hydreigon, Crawdaunt, Weavile, Sharpedo and Mega Absol

Greninja is better off using an all-out attacking set (or one that utilizes regular Spikes, since this team is offensive enough not to care about Toxic Spikes). Greninja isn't meant to stay in on Mach Punch users like Breloom or Conkeldurr, unless it changed its type to Psychic with Protean beforehand. It's also fast enough not to rely on Shadow Sneak's priority:
-Hydro Pump/Surf
-Ice Beam
-Extrasensory
-Dark Pulse/Hidden Power (Fire/Grass)/Grass Knot/Spikes
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Focus Sash
Ability: Protean

Goodra is better off utilizing its special move pool rather than its physical one, as 110 Special Attack is better than 100 Attack. Physical Goodra is also outclassed by other physical Dragons like Charizard X, Dragonite and even Salamence. Because of this, Goodra should use Assault Vest as the item:
-Draco Meteor
-Fire Blast
-Sludge Bomb/Thunderbolt
-Dragon Tail
Nature: Quiet/Modest
EVs: 248 HP/252 SAtk/8 SDef
Item: Assault Vest
Ability: Gooey/Sap Sipper

Thank you for your help. I did end up changing up my Infernape, but I dislike using Legendaries, so I was not up for using a Landorus.

I have to disagree with you about Eelektross, though. With Coil, and its lack of any weakness, it is a valuable addition to my team. No one seems to remember that it has Levitate. I have used it on Showdown, and it OHKOs Mega Tyranitars with ease.

Malamar, with Contrary and Superpower, has wiped out whole teams because of its vast coverage and versatility. It also demolishes Aegislash, which is OU.

I did, however take your advice on the Greninja. Thank you.

Goodra is my Special Wall. It is meant to take hits and heal with Rest.

Thank you for your advice.

 

[KorpiklaaniVodka]

Infernape - use this set if you want a CB variant:

Infernape @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Mach Punch
- Close Combat
- Gunk Shot / Sleep Talk

Power-up Punch and Choice Band don't work well. With Mach Punch, your Infernape gets a nice priority move boosted by Iron Fist that gets the jump on Weavile, Terrakion and Greninja. Flare Blitz > Fire Punch even with Iron Fist, though, since it hits much harder and Infernape doesn't really kill anything with a 90 base power move or something. Lastly, Gunk Shot allows Infernape to get past all Fairy-type Pokemon in the game, such as Azumarill (Infernape can take an Aqua Jet), Clefable, Togekiss, Gardevoir, Whimsicott, Sylveon, Florges and the rare Slurpuff. But if you're worried about Breloom and Amoonguss, use Sleep Talk instead.

Your Eelektross should use Leftovers over Quick Claw and a more defensive EV spread (such as 192 HP / 100 Atk / 208 SpD). Consider using Dragon Tail over Knock Off.

Malamar is ok

Greninja: If you bother using physical variants, use Spikes over Toxic Spikes, Waterfall > Hydro Pump and a 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe spread with a Jolly nature.

Goodra: Flamethrower > Outrage and a Calm nature so Fairy-types don't lol at your Goodra.

Skarmory is ok, but consider using Defog over Spikes.

Nice team though

 

[PlatinumDude]

Thank you for your help. I did end up changing up my Infernape, but I dislike using Legendaries, so I was not up for using a Landorus.

I have to disagree with you about Eelektross, though. With Coil, and its lack of any weakness, it is a valuable addition to my team. No one seems to remember that it has Levitate. I have used it on Showdown, and it OHKOs Mega Tyranitars with ease.

Malamar, with Contrary and Superpower, has wiped out whole teams because of its vast coverage and versatility. It also demolishes Aegislash, which is OU.

I did, however take your advice on the Greninja. Thank you.

Goodra is my Special Wall. It is meant to take hits and heal with Rest.

Thank you for your advice.

Wash Rotom has Levitate too. It has a single weakness, sure, but it packs much more utility than Eelektross by burning opponents with Will-o-Wisp, especially (Mega) Tyranitar, and acting as a pivot with Volt Switch.

Malamar's average stats let it down in all departments, especially its Attack and Speed. Malamar is also completely dependent on Superpower for its offensive presence; given the move's low PP, Malamar tends to get forced out easily by things like Sylveon, Clefable and Scizor. Don't bother with it. Scizor can take a Superpower and OHKO back with U-turn or Bug Bite. Either that, or Malamar is forced out, wiping away its stat boosts. That's a testament on how terrible Malamar is. Some of the Dark Pokemon I mentioned don't even need Attack boosts to be threatening. Bisharp also has an easier time handling Aegislash because of its better offensive presence and Defiant completely negating King's Shield.

Also, some calcs to show that even a +1 Malamar can't really do much to Fairies. Sure, it can Superpower spam, but both can 2HKO back with their Fairy moves:

+1 252+ Atk Malamar Psycho Cut vs. 252 HP / 216+ Def Sylveon: 145-172 (36.8 - 43.6%) -- 99.7% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

+1 252+ Atk Malamar Psycho Cut vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 130-154 (32.9 - 39%) -- 9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

I hope you realize that with Assault Vest, Goodra's Special Defense hits dangerously high levels, making Goodra act as an offensive special wall. It does lose out on the utility of status moves, but Rest makes Goodra a sitting duck. Even then, there are better special walls out there, like Slowking (which still packs some form of offensive utility), as well as Mega Venusaur, which still has good special bulk even without investment:

Slowking:
-Scald
-Fire Blast
-Dragon Tail/Psychic
-Power Gem/Ice Beam
Nature: Sassy/Calm
EVs: 248 HP/164 SAtk/96 SDef
Item: Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator

or
-Scald
-Psyshock
-Thunder Wave
-Slack Off
Nature: Calm
EVs: 252 HP/44 Def/212 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator

Mega Venusaur
-Giga Drain
-Sludge Bomb
-Leech Seed/Hidden Power (Fire)/Earthquake/Knock Off
-Sleep Powder/Synthesis
Nature: Bold/Relaxed
EVs: 252 HP/240 Def/16 Spe
Item: Venusaurite

 

[Anti]

Malamar only sweeps bad teams, and Eelektross is most definitely in the same boat. There are superior choices to be made. If this is a favorites team and you want to use them, please clarify, but otherwise I'm going to offer superior replacements.

Right now, huge problem with Mega Gyarados, EQ hits through Levitate with Mold Breaker, and Skarmory only delays the inevitable. Counter is a decent option on Skarmory to deal with this, but you need to keep it healthy. Either way, run Stealth Rock over Spikes, as it is a superior hazard.

Run special Greninja with Hydro Pump/Ice Beam/Extrasensory/Dark Pulse so you threaten a wider variety of sweepers. If you want it to set hazards, Spikes is superior to Toxic Spikes (use over Dark Pulse), but it's generally a superior attacker.

Goodra kinda sucks IMO but Assault Vest lets it do pretty well against more offensive teams, and though it's pretty easy to wear down/stall weak, it has its strengths.

Terrakion does everything that Infernape does better with Close Combat/Stone Edge/EQ/filler@CB.

 

[MoxieInfinite]

Serious talk incoming.


What I feel most people do wrong, is that they think teams are build like this; "i have on spdef wall, one def wall, on physical sweeper one special sweeper one suicude lead and one watever". That kinda thinking doesn't work(and it rarely ever did). You either play fullstall, who runs literally zero sweepers in XY, or you run offense and pivot with your mons, you play on their resistances. Dumb thinking like the one I joked about in the beginning is close to balance more than anything (and a bad balance at that). And as everyone knows, balance is very inferior in xy ou.

 

[For_Whom_The_Bronzong_Tolls]

Thank you for your input, and I will definitely work on it more. All of the advice has been good so far. So, really, thank you.

 

[JustJeff]

You shouldn't really Choice an Infernape. It's coverage is way too high and his damage I would say, does already enough damage to OHKO or do some massive dmg to the opponent. A Mixed Set is the way to go for it being a really good wall breaker.
Infernape @ Life Orb
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 212 Atk / 44 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Naive
- Overheat
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
- Close Combat

One of my personal fave that a friend showed to me. Pretty troll but it hilarious on how it sweeps. And yes, it can and does sweep.
Only having 2 weakness', it can surely take hits w/ its EV spread, Item, and Stat Boosts.
Malamar @ Assualt Vest
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Psycho Cut
- Night Slash
- Rock Slide

 

[PlatinumDude]

You shouldn't really Choice an Infernape. It's coverage is way too high and his damage I would say, does already enough damage to OHKO or do some massive dmg to the opponent. A Mixed Set is the way to go for it being a really good wall breaker.
Infernape @ Life Orb
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 212 Atk / 44 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Naive
- Overheat
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
- Close Combat

One of my personal fave that a friend showed to me. Pretty troll but it hilarious on how it sweeps. And yes, it can and does sweep.
Only having 2 weakness', it can surely take hits w/ its EV spread, Item, and Stat Boosts.
Malamar @ Assualt Vest
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Psycho Cut
- Night Slash
- Rock Slide

The above Infernape set I posted is much more efficient. What purpose does Earthquake serve, honestly, when Fire Blast or Flare Blitz handle Aegislash just fine? Grass Knot or Hidden Power (Ice) are also important to let Infernape nail things like Quagsire, Garchomp or Therian Landorus. Mach Punch is also an option or priority.

As I mentioned before, Malamar is terrible because of its average stats. You can't just slap an Assault Vest on anything; that Pokemon has to be strong and bulky enough to make use of it and Malamar is neither of those. Sure, Malamar can jack up its offensive presence with Superpower, but it's totally dependent on the move for said offensive presence. While Bug and Fairy are its sole weaknesses, Malamar also lacks any resistances whatsoever apart from an immunity to Psychic (and that's a type not often seen). Malamar is easily forced out by stuff like Scizor, Clefable and Togekiss, which is why it's not a Pokemon to be used in standard teams.

 

[JustJeff]

The above Infernape set I posted is much more efficient. What purpose does Earthquake serve, honestly, when Fire Blast or Flare Blitz handle Aegislash just fine? Grass Knot or Hidden Power (Ice) are also important to let Infernape nail things like Quagsire, Garchomp or Therian Landorus. Mach Punch is also an option or priority.

As I mentioned before, Malamar is terrible because of its average stats. You can't just slap an Assault Vest on anything; that Pokemon has to be strong and bulky enough to make use of it and Malamar is neither of those. Sure, Malamar can jack up its offensive presence with Superpower, but it's totally dependent on the move for said offensive presence. While Bug and Fairy are its sole weaknesses, Malamar also lacks any resistances whatsoever apart from an immunity to Psychic (and that's a type not often seen). Malamar is easily forced out by stuff like Scizor, Clefable and Togekiss, which is why it's not a Pokemon to be used in standard teams.

Ok I do admit, Earthquake is teribble on Infernape, but just replace it w/ Mach Punch or U-Turn and you'll be good~!

As for Malamar, I just wanted to help the guy w/o changing his whole team composition. Cuz, you know, cause he asked for advice! If your going to Flame for everything that doesn't suit your way of playing, or that doesn't suit the metagame, I honestly would put you on my Ignore List. Some much for a new guy joining the forums.

 

[MoxieInfinite]

Rofl are you kidding me

Malamar has zero use outside of on non-serious teams. If you tried it vs some moderately average and above players, youd see it falls through

How did he flame you? He told you the truth, and if he didnt have, someone else would. Malamar sucks. Get over it.