First NU Team :D

[Quicksand.]

So recently I decided I wanted to give competitive battling a chance. My favorite Pokemon have always been outclassed and never really knew about tiers or anything. After lurking around Smogon for a few days I decided NU was the tier for me!! I tried to make a balanced team with a couple cores that balance each other out and synergize well. Hopefully it's not too bad. I know the movesets are a bit cookie cutter, but I've listed changes I'd like to make in the summaries and would like a second opinion on them before I make them official. Also, I know absolutely nothing about EVs so that's where I'll need the most help.

Constructive criticism is much appreciated and if you suggest a change, please explain your reasoning. I'm trying to sponge up as much information about NU and competitive battling as I can. I would like to keep the Pokemon that are listed since I've grown attached and they are my first team after all, but I understand that there are probably gaping holes in it that are unknown to me. Without further ado, here's my team! :)

*bulbagarden.net image removed*Ninetales @ Leftovers Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 4 SpD / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Energy Ball
- Heat Wave / Fire Blast
- Nasty Plot
- Psyshock

Ninetales is my certified special sweeper. It's a very standard set but I'll go over the basics anyways. Nasty Plot helps it set up while the other three attacks offer amazing coverage. Roar, Flamethrower, and Will-o-Wisp are all viable changes but this is what I'm running now. I'm not sure whether Leftovers is the best choice for an item tbh so I'm open to any suggested changes! Help with an optimal spread for EVs/Nature would also be nice (maybe 4 SpD instead of Def?).

*bulbagarden.net image removed*Granbull @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Facade / Close Combat
- Fire Punch
- Play Rough

This guy is probably the one I'm most on the fence about. If he needs to be replaced, I'm all for it. I like Façade because 140 BP is no laughing matter and 70 with STAB is respectable (I think? lol). Maybe I should run Focus Sash? Toxic Orb? Roar/T Wave? Or just ditch him altogether? Idk lol. I'm sure there are better physical attackers that could replace him (Fairy STAB is nice tho lol…). If not, I would at least like help with its EV spread.

*bulbagarden.net image removed*Pelipper @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Scald
- U-turn

One of my favorite Pokemon growing up! He has great synergy with Camerupt being its physically defense counterpart and offering utility through burns and removing hazards. I've been testing out Air Slash as well and enjoy getting the hax flinch, so I might replace U-turn with it permanently unless someone gives me a good reason not to. As always, help with Evs and Nature is appreciated.

*bulbagarden.net image removed*Roselia @ Eviolite
Ability: Poison Point
EVs: 248 HP / 196 Def / 56 SpD / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Spikes
- Synthesis

This thing is probably my favorite member of this team. I chose to run Poison Point over Natural Cure because my Audino is running Heal Bell. I typically lead with her and if I predict the switch out correctly, I get a free layer of Spikes out! :D Poison Point and Sludge Bomb almost always poisons at least one Pokemon as well. I'd like to keep it with mixed defenses, but I'm open to suggestions or improvements.

*bulbagarden.net image removed*Camerupt @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Calm Nature
- Earthquake / Earth Power
- Lava Plume
- Roar
- Stealth Rock

Camerupt is my specially defensive wall. Earthquake and Lava Plume offer mixed offense, but I'm starting to think Earth Power might be the better choice. My team is kind of slow and relies (maybe a bit too much?) on residual damage from burns/poison and hazards so Roar is great utility. It might be replaceable, but I'm not sure with what… Would running Calm Nature with Earth Power be the better choice?

*bulbagarden.net image removed*Audino @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 232 HP / 20 Def / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Heal Bell
- Knock Off
- Protect / Encore
- Wish

Your standard cleric build. Knock Off is great. Even if the enemy knows you're running it and they switch out, you still force them to lose one of their items. :D I've been testing Encore instead of Protect, but I'm not the best at predicting the enemys moves. >.< Hopefully with time it will come a bit more naturally to me. I've only been battling for 2/3 days lol.

Special thanks to PlatinumDude for the edits!

 

[PlatinumDude]

Heat Wave only sees use in doubles. Fire Blast is the preferred alternative on Ninetales for more power while still having acceptable accuracy.

Facade isn't that useful on Granbull, really, now that it lost STAB on it. Facade only sees use on premier status abusers Ursaring, Swellow and Zangoose. While Granbull does have Quick Feet, it's not fast enough to take advantage of it. Instead of Facade, use Close Combat for harder hits on Steels and Normals, or Stone Edge for Fliers. Just move the 4 Defense EVs to HP, as I don't see the point of that.

 

[Quicksand.]

Heat Wave only sees use in doubles. Fire Blast is the preferred alternative on Ninetales for more power while still having acceptable accuracy.

Facade isn't that useful on Granbull, really, now that it lost STAB on it. Facade only sees use on premier status abusers Ursaring, Swellow and Zangoose. While Granbull does have Quick Feet, it's not fast enough to take advantage of it. Instead of Facade, use Close Combat for harder hits on Steels and Normals, or Stone Edge for Fliers. Just move the 4 Defense EVs to HP, as I don't see the point of that.

LOL this entire time i thought granbull was normal/fairy. should it be running a different item?

Hmm Ill definitely need to switch out Heat Wave for Fire Blast! Ty :) what do you think about leftovers on ninetales? also should i be using extrasensory instead of psyshock? im thinking about weezing in particular.

 

[PlatinumDude]

LOL this entire time i thought granbull was normal/fairy. should it be running a different item?

Hmm Ill definitely need to switch out Heat Wave for Fire Blast! Ty :) what do you think about leftovers on ninetales? also should i be using extrasensory instead of psyshock? im thinking about weezing in particular.

CB Granbull is fine.

Also, just stick to Psyshock; you'll never know when you'll be up against opposing Roselia, or special walls that resist Fire Blast. Also, a neutral STAB Fire Blast oh-so-slightly outdamages a 2x super effective Extrasensory:

252 SpA Ninetales Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Weezing: 177-208 (52.9 - 62.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

252 SpA Ninetales Extrasensory vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Weezing: 170-202 (50.8 - 60.4%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

 

[Quicksand.]

CB Granbull is fine.

Also, just stick to Psyshock; you'll never know when you'll be up against opposing Roselia, or special walls that resist Fire Blast. Also, a neutral STAB Fire Blast oh-so-slightly outdamages a 2x super effective Extrasensory:

252 SpA Ninetales Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Weezing: 177-208 (52.9 - 62.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

252 SpA Ninetales Extrasensory vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Weezing: 170-202 (50.8 - 60.4%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

i guess its settled then. psyshock it is lol!

one last question. i dont wanna annoy you, but is there a different item you would run on ninetales or is leftovers ok? thanks youve been a huge help!

 

[PlatinumDude]

i guess its settled then. psyshock it is lol!

one last question. i dont wanna annoy you, but is there a different item you would run on ninetales or is leftovers ok? thanks youve been a huge help!

Life Orb is an alternative for more power, as Ninetales isn't that strong unboosted, but Leftovers is still viable for survivability.

 

[Quicksand.]

Life Orb is an alternative for more power, as Ninetales isn't that strong unboosted, but Leftovers is still viable for survivability.

ill try running life orb!

 

[Zeffy]

You are weak to a lot of stuff (and I'm not even kidding when I say that some of them can 6-0 right off the bat) and I feel like Granbull is your only safest check to most of the threats. Though I'd consider changing its set to Bulky Attacker Granbull. With this set, you can switch into a lot of physical Fighting-, Dark-, or Dragon- type move with ease. Spreading paralysis is always a good thing, especially since your team isn't exactly the fastest of the bunch.

Granbull @ Leftovers | Intimidate
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def | Adamant nature
Play Rough / Earthquake / Thunder Wave / Heal Bell or Fire Punch

Though generally, I don't really see the flow of the team. Sure, you have Spikes but what do you use to take advantage of it? Your team looks really defensive, so you might be aiming for a stall-ish team. What's your general strategy during battle? Do you just click and hope for the best? I implore you to re-evaluate your strategy and modify your team according to your needs. Cheers!

 

[Quicksand.]

You are weak to a lot of stuff (and I'm not even kidding when I say that some of them can 6-0 right off the bat) and I feel like Granbull is your only safest check to most of the threats. Though I'd consider changing its set to Bulky Attacker Granbull. With this set, you can switch into a lot of physical Fighting-, Dark-, or Dragon- type move with ease. Spreading paralysis is always a good thing, especially since your team isn't exactly the fastest of the bunch.

Granbull @ Leftovers | Intimidate
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def | Adamant nature
Play Rough / Earthquake / Thunder Wave / Heal Bell or Fire Punch

Though generally, I don't really see the flow of the team. Sure, you have Spikes but what do you use to take advantage of it? Your team looks really defensive, so you might be aiming for a stall-ish team. What's your general strategy during battle? Do you just click and hope for the best? I implore you to re-evaluate your strategy and modify your team according to your needs. Cheers!

idk i really have no strategy other than hope for the best LOL. usually i try to set up hazards, knock off items, wish pass, and be a general nuisance with poisons/burns. it got me to 1200 so i must be doing something right(i know thats a bad score but im proud. this is only my first week after all :x lol).

when making this team i didnt really have any sort of objective in mind. i just picked and chose what i thought would go well together. pelipper and camerupt make a nice defensive core and roselia balances it out, solidifying the water/fire/grass triangle and bringing mixed defenses. having a cleric seemed like a nice idea and knock off is pretty much necessary on every team imo. i chose ninetales because it seemed like a really interesting pokemon. i liked the offensive capabilities it brought plus its soooo pretty LOL. yeah. and i chose granbull because i needed a physical attacker and it fit the bill!

youre right though. my team is on the slow side so i will try out thunder wave (but now i have no way of dealing with normal types... D:) would fire punch be more replaceable than close combat? also, if im supposed to only tank physical attacks with granbull, why not just put evs into defense rather than health? is it for wish or something? i dont really understand evs so forgive me if thats a stupid question.