Finally! A Finished Team!

[GloomyFrost13]

Hi everyone!
Thanks for your patience and feedback on my last two team building posts; you've been really helpful and nice! I guess not all competitive Pokemon players are horrible people after all.

With that in mind, here it is: My completed casual online battle team!

Lycanroc @Focus Sash (Nickname: Duran Duran)
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252Atk/252Spe
- Stone Edge
- Accelerock
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
This is my SR guy - when he can find an opening to get them off. People have suggested using Lycanroc as a suicide lead, but that's just not my style, so he's kind of a mix between a revenge killer and hazard placer. Crunch is there for coverage.

Salazzle @Life Orb (Nickname: Eau de Murder)
Nature: Modest
Ability: Corrosion
EVs: 252SpAtk/252Spe
- Flamethrower
- Dragon Pulse
- Sludge Wave
- Nasty Plot
My special sweeper. I took off Fire Blast just because Salazzle can't afford to miss with its paper-thin defenses, and with a Nasty Plot (which I find a surprising amount of leeway to set up) Flamethrower is strong enough anyway. Once again, Dragon Pulse is just there for neutral coverage - I tried Hidden Power, but it ended up being Poison-type. Bummer.

Dhelmise @Assault Vest (Nickname: Pirate Metal)
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Steelworker
EVs: 152Def/104SpDef/152Atk
- Shadow Claw
- Power Whip
- Anchor Shot
- Rapid Spin
My hazard remover, and a nice well-rounded one too. Dhelmise is bulky enough to take quite a few neutral hits, and hits back hard. Anchor Shot synergises well with Tapu Koko, Araquanid and Lycanroc to trap Flying, Fire and Bug-type switches to be torn apart.

Araquanid @Assault Vest (Nickname: Water Nope)
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 252Atk/252HP/4Def
- Scald
- Lunge
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
Pretty obviously a tank. I heard Araquanid was beastly, and holy ****, you guys weren't kidding. Lunge and Scald deal with its lower Defense stat, Leech Life is there for longevity and oooohh man, Liquidation. I'll say one thing: Water Bubble is BROKEN. I love it.

Tapu Koko @Pixie Plate
Nature: Timid
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252SpAtk/252Spe/4SpDef
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Volt Switch
Special Attacker and Pivot that can also shut down setup. I went with Pixie Plate over Zap Plate for more consistent STAB damage across types rather than superpowered Electric attacks - Electric Surge works just fine, and it's not likely Tapu Koko will be out for more than five turns straight anyway. Volt Switch is there just in case Tapu Koko needs to escape, and to preserve momentum. One thought: This or U-turn? Even with -Atk, Tapu Koko's Attack stat isn't rubbish, and nothing is immune to Bug. Thoughts?

Celesteela @Leftovers
Nature: Serious (Weird, I know, but bear with me...)
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 152SpAtk/100SpDef/52Def (Like I said, bear with me...)
- Earthquake
- Flash Cannon
- Air Slash
- Leech Seed
OKAY. This is super unconventional, but it works! I went with Serious partly because I couldn't get anything else at the time, and because my Celesteela is meant to be a toolbox-type 'mon - not excelling at anything, but doing a few things well. In line with this, my EV spread takes advantage of Celesteela's impressive tankiness, with extra emphasis on Special Attack too, just to make sure Beast Boost buffs the stat I want. Earthquake hits Electric-types (which aren't usually physically tanky) hard even with no EVs invested in Attack, and my two STABs deal out crazy damage after a Beast Boost. Lastly, Leech Seed is there to benefit my entire team (mostly Araquanid and Dhelmise) and is devastating against an opponent trapped by Dhelmise's Anchor Shot, and Celesteela holds a Leftovers to keep it going as long as possible on top of that.




.....And there you have it! Thoughts or suggestions are welcome. At the moment, I'm grinding my team to Level 100 so I can finally make use of my bottle caps, and then I'm set to battle!

 

[PlatinumDude]

Celesteela should use Heavy Slam instead of Flash Cannon because it's the heaviest Pokemon that can learn it, therefore making said attack hit for maximum power almost all the time. It also doesn't need Air Slash, since Heavy Slam hits Air Slash's targets hard enough already. In-game, you can catch two Celesteela in Moon, meaning you can try again for the nature you want. Max HP is also better than your current spread because Beast Boost doesn't boost HP when Celesteela scores a KO with its attacks:
-Heavy Slam
-Earthquake/Flamethrower
-Leech Seed
-Protect
Nature: Sassy
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 SDef
Item: Leftovers

Salazzle is also outclassed by Alolan Marowak because the former has no way of hitting Heatran outside of Hidden Power Ground; even then, it's completely helpless against Air Balloon variants. Marowak also checks the Electric spam that's been flying around, especially from Tapu Koko and Xurkitree. This is something worth considering once Poke Bank updates. Here are sets if you're interested:
-Flare Blitz/Fire Punch
-Shadow Bone
-Bonemerang/Stealth Rock
-Will-o-Wisp/Stealth Rock
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 120 HP/252 Atk/4 SDef/132 Spe
Item: Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod

or
-Fire Punch
-Shadow Bone
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
Nature: Careful
EVs: 248 HP/8 Atk/252 SDef
Item: Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod

 

[Nah]

Does Araqunid really need an Assault Vest when it has HP investment and a base 132 SpDef?

As for Volt Switch vs U-Turn on Tapu Koko, Volt Switch is typically better since it does significantly more damage, but if you're really onlyusing it for the switching effect, you could probably use U-Turn so you don't have to worry about immunities.

 

[GloomyFrost13]

Celesteela should use Heavy Slam instead of Flash Cannon because it's the heaviest Pokemon that can learn it, therefore making said attack hit for maximum power almost all the time. It also doesn't need Air Slash, since Heavy Slam hits Air Slash's targets hard enough already. In-game, you can catch two Celesteela in Moon, meaning you can try again for the nature you want. Max HP is also better than your current spread because Beast Boost doesn't boost HP when Celesteela scores a KO with its attacks:
-Heavy Slam
-Earthquake/Flamethrower
-Leech Seed
-Protect
Nature: Sassy
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 SDef
Item: Leftovers

Salazzle is also outclassed by Alolan Marowak because the former has no way of hitting Heatran

I chose not to use Heavy Slam because I wanted a Special Attacker Celesteela, and I can't try for another nature because I've already done the UB story. I also mistyped my EV spread; there is a Max HP Spread in there somewhere.
And I don't like Alolan Marowak, so I'm not using it. Simple as that.

 

[PlatinumDude]

I chose not to use Heavy Slam because I wanted a Special Attacker Celesteela, and I can't try for another nature because I've already done the UB story. I also mistyped my EV spread; there is a Max HP Spread in there somewhere.
And I don't like Alolan Marowak, so I'm not using it. Simple as that.

Most Fairy Pokemon are specially defensive or naturally have better Special Defense than Defense, meaning they can easily take a Flash Cannon. OHKOing Fairies with Heavy Slam outright (or bringing them close to it) is better than Flash Cannon leaving them alive long enough for them to switch out:

152 SpA Celesteela Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 84+ SpD Clefable: 192-228 (48.7 - 57.8%) -- 50.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

0 Atk Celesteela Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 172 Def Clefable: 272-324 (69 - 82.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

152 SpA Celesteela Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Altaria-Mega: 204-240 (70.1 - 82.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

0 Atk Celesteela Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Altaria-Mega: 240-284 (82.4 - 97.5%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

152 SpA Celesteela Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Lele: 186-222 (66.1 - 79%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

0 Atk Celesteela Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Lele: 330-390 (117.4 - 138.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

And I hate to be blunt here, but there are times when the Pokemon you don't like are better choices in standard play than personal preferences. Give them a try before you knock them. Do some tests with the suggested changes, then report back. Another reason why Marowak is better over Salazzle is because it pairs well with Celesteela by covering its Electric weakness with Lightning Rod.

 

[GloomyFrost13]

And I hate to be blunt here, but there are times when the Pokemon you don't like are better choices in standard play than personal preferences. Give them a try before you knock them. Do some tests with the suggested changes, then report back. Another reason why Marowak is better over Salazzle is because it pairs well with Celesteela by covering its Electric weakness with Lightning Rod.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great you're trying to help, but...
If I just use a Pokèmon I hate simply because someone on the internet thinks it's better than one I like, all the fun of the game is lost for me. I don't like Marowak, therefore I will have no fun using it, thanks all the same.
I'd also like to add that number-crunching has the same effect - I play for fun, not to have over calculated probability thrown in my face. Makes everything less enjoyable.