Lineup questions for Pokemon veterans.

[TerrorsNight]

Hey guys!

So I am new to the forum community and before I get on with my dilemma I just want to say "What's up?" to everyone in the community so far.

Okay, now onto business. Within my group of friends 3 of us have picked up HG/SS. Two of us have SS and one has HG. Now we are all busy leveling up and gearing ourselves toward 100 and battling each other once we've finished. So, I have played through all the first and second gen games before but SS is a little different and I am having trouble deciding on a final lineup that will destroy my friends given the fact that there are 4th gen pokemon and 4th gen moves for 2nd gen pokemon in this game.

My lineup is as follows currently. (Keep in mind I have yet to teach any of my pokemon TM's)

lvl 37 Heracross - Brick Break/ Horn Attack/ Throwdown/ Close Combat
Lvl 31 Ampharos - Thunder Punch/ ThunderShock/ Thunderwave/ Charge
lvl 32 Gyarados - Dragon Rage/ Ice Fang/ Twister/ Bite
lvl 35 Feraligatr - Crunch/ Headbutt/ Surf/ Bite
lvl 34 Crobat - Shadowball/ Bite / Mean Look / Fly
lvl 32 Scyther - Wing Attack/ Agility / Pursuit / Slash

Now I know this lineup is weak. Not terrible but definitely weak. There's just so many good pokemon in SS that I don't know where to begin. I'd like to get a Nidoking and a Dragonite in there somewhere and then eventually look at the legendary pokemon's stats and see where they lie. Just want your guys opinion on this, where do you think I should go from here?

 

[Pokemon Game Fan]

(I don't think this belongs here, but I'll help you out anyway)

Well for starters, try to remember that while type effectiveness and stats are very important, coverage and "filling in the holes" is as well.
Example: You have a powerful Gyarados, if you face an electric type, you're likely screwed. What do you do? Give him faster speed and earthquake. That's called coverage. Dragon Rage, Twister, and Bite are weak, I suggest changing them for maybe Dragon Dance, Waterfall, Earthquake? Unless he's a special attacker, which would likely kill his entire point.

If your friends allow you to use legendaries, that might be an answer, but keep in mind. Even a UU Pokemon can bring a legendary down if a person knows how to use it. For your movesets, try Smogon. Look up each Pokemon in your team up on Google and click on whatever links you to "Smogon university" or something like that, it should give you the best movesets and natures.

Whatever you decide to use as an actual part of your team is completely up to you. Bear in mind, it's not just about "Finding really strong Pokemon to destroy everyone!", it's about using the ones you like in a smart and balanced manner.

 

[bobandbill]

Going to punt this off to In-game Team help as that's the right section for team advice (there's also the competitive section but if you just want to beat your friends for fun... this may do in itself).