My First Team! (Please help O.o)

[AmeliaSenpai]

Hi! I've been playing pokémon games since gen 1, however I've usually just breezed through the game without much difficulty or thought especially in the newer generations (as I have understood more and more about the game). So I decided I wanted to do two things:

1. Finish Pokémon X with a difficult challenge.

2. Begin playing competitive Wi-Fi battles after the league. As soon after as possible in fact.

So here is what I thought of: I will build a team of my favorite Pokémon that can easily become a competitive team after the league, then play though the league with them under leveled so as to make it hard. The Challenge isn't what matters to me as much as just building a team and then getting some time to play with them and learn about them before I jump into battles with them.

Here is the team I have built so far.

Meowstic (F)
252 Speed
252 SpAtk
4HP

Meowstic (F) is just a fun Pokémon for me, one of my favorites for this generation, so I thought I would include it seeing as most people suggest to build your team around your favorites. Move choices aren't in stone for her but… psychic, psyshock, shadow ball, charge beam, you know… SpAtk moves?

Gardevoir
?
?
?

Honestly I wanted a fairy type and Gardevoir is just my favorite of them… not a necessary addition to the team but… you know if I could work it in I will… -_-

Delphox
252 SpDef
? ?
? ?
Another Pokémon I just really wanted in my team… I think I can give it calm mind and use it as a special tank… of sorts? (Remember I'm not REALLY making this team to win or be the very best, mostly just to have fun… but winning would be fun… no?)

Relicanth
252 HP
252 Def

Relicanth is just a Pokémon I have never used before, it has 4x resistance to fire, which sounded pretty cool? And can counter Charzard and Talonflame, which are pretty common..? This like most of my pokémon I have no idea what moves to teach it… (sighs)

Sableye
252 HP
split Def/SpDef

I actually really like this Pokémon and think I have a pretty good setup even for competitive battles. I run him with protect, will-o-wisp, toxic, and recover… he survives forever and just pisses people off :D

Jolteon
252 Speed
252 SpAtk

Let's be honest as of before Jolteon my type coverage sucked… Jolteon helps cover flying and water types… a fairly large hole in my team… is super fast and well… I just love eeveelutions!!

So that's my team. Others I have considered for positions: ANY eeveelution, Chandelure (good replacement for relicanth also one I've never played with), Scizor (Helps cover against fairies and dark types), Venusaur (Could take Jolteon's place, covers my water, rock, ground, and is tanky and cool)… I have access to basically any pre-league Pokémon and would love to change this team around…. maybe even completely rebuild it ( -_- ) So let me know what you think… or would change… I mean my opinions are based on my little to no knowledge so maybe I would actually hate Meowstic in competitive land? I don't know. thanks for reading and thanks preemptively for the help!

 

[Handsome Samurott]

Hi, Amelia!

I'm not an expert on any of these matters, so you will want to compare what I say with what others say. I only started getting into the competitve battle scene in the past month or two, trying out half of my team. I have a lot to learn, but I thought I would share my insights with you based on my experiences.

First, it is fun to face the Elite Four under-leveled. In fact, when I had bred and EV trained half of my team, I brought them to the Elite Four to see how they would do. They were about 10-15 levels lower than the Elite Four but they performed pretty well! That is the nifty thing about perfect IVs, EV training, and held items - they really make a difference!

As for your competitive team, you need to realize that what is good in-game is not necessarily what is good in the competitive scene. Or maybe it is only good in certain contexts, such as double battles, triple battles, or rotation battles, not necessarily single battles. I find two resources very helpful in building competitive teams. One is Bulbapedia. The page for each Pokemon contains a wealth of information, including the base stats for a Pokemon as well as all the moves a Pokemon can learn by level up and by breeding. Often times, if you analyze a Pokemon's base stats and moveset, you can often discern their best function. Another great resource is Smogon. Smogon has so much great information on Pokemon: how they are typically used, what movesets are typically used on them, the best items to hold to maximize their function, and the best Pokemon to counter them with. But the information is easily overwhelming, so you need to take your time with it; and furthermore, while people act like Smogon is the inspired, definitive, and authoritative guide to Pokemon, that is NOT true. It is a guide, nothing more; even their "rules" are not official Pokemon rules. So use their guides, but do so with common sense and creativity.

As for the team you mentioned specifically in your post, one major thing that stood out to me is that there is no theme or thread that ties your team together. Each Pokemon seems to stand on its own; and although each member of the team should have defined functions, each member should also contribute to the whole so that the entire team flows together. For example, I plan on using Politoed, Vaporeon, Greninja, Ferrothorn, Volcarona, and Dragonite on a team. The obvious thread that ties them together is rain - Politoed with his Drizzle ability and Rain Dance. Almost all the members of my team benefit from this: Vaporeon as a wall with the Hydration ability; Greninja for boosted power to his Surf in the rain; Ferrothorn having his 4x weakness to Fire reduced to a 2x weakness; and Volcarona getting 100% accuracy for his Hurricane. Dragonite is the only member of my team that does not see a direct benefit from the rain, but I will use him to absorb grass, fire, and electric attacks and to rip apart the other team with Dragon Dance and his powerful moves (especially Extreme Speed)! Also, I use Politoed for the rain, Vaporeon as a wall, Ferrothorn to absorb attacks and to set up Stealth Rock, Greninja and Volcarona as special attackers, and Dragonite as a physical attacker. Everyone has his place, and they are tied together by the rain and how they contribute to the weather.

Weather teams are obvious for how they connect the members of a team together, but your team does not need to be weather-dependent (rain, sun, sand, hail) to be connected and thematic. (In fact, most people advise against using a weather team now. But that's for another discussion.) They just need to work together as a harmony, and that's what seems to be lacking on your team.

As for the individual members of your team, my comments will be based on the assumption that you you will be participating in singles competitive battling. In my view, Meowstic is quite useful in-game, especially female Meowstic, because of the large number of good moves it can learn (as you highlighted). But competitively, it is not very good because its stats, on the whole, are average and thus cannot handle opponents which are stronger, faster, or more defensive.

As for Gardevoir, Gardevoir will only be useful in its Mega form, and even then you need to be careful about how you use it and when you bring it into battle. I would not use both Meowstic and Gardevoir on the same team because both are psychic (of course, Gardevoir is Psychic/Fairy) and both learn similar moves.

As for Delphox, I just don't see it being competitively viable right now. It has glaring weaknesses to Water and Ground moves, which are ubiquitous, as well as to Dark and Ghost moves, which, although less common, are still common enough to watch out for. Even worse for all psychic types - and this includes Mega Alakazam - are moves with increased priority, such as Sucker Punch and Shadow Sneak. These moves will knock out a psychic type with a single hit.

As for Relicanth, I'm not sure how useful that will be competitively; I'd have to do research on that one. As for Sableye, it definitely has competitive value, especially now that it is getting a Mega Evolution in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire (ORAS). But I haven't done enough research yet to learn how best to use it.

Finally, the thing with Jolteon is that, while it is fast, there are other Pokemon who can do its job better and who have more versatility, such as Mega Ampharos, Mega Manectric, Thundurus (if you happen to have one from Black/White or Black 2/White 2), and Zapdos (if you happen to have one from Fire Red, Leaf Green, Heart Gold, Soul Silver, X, or Y).

The last things I would say are that, while IV breeding, EV training, and held items are all extremely important to have a chance in competitive battling, (1) learning to anticipate your opponent's moves and strategy are more important, and (2) we should always remember to have fun playing Pokemon, because to me Pokemon is really about joy and bringing people together. If you happen to win, that's icing on the cake.

Good luck!

 

[PlatinumDude]

Female Meowstic is highly outclassed by other offensive Psychic Pokemon like Lati@s and (Mega) Alakazam. Both have better Special Attack and Speed to take advantage of. Given how the Latis need to be transferred via Poke Transfer, I'd use Gardevoir as the Psychic of the team. Take note this one needs Poke Transfer as well, since Hyper Voice is a B2/W2 tutor move:
-Psyshock
-Hyper Voice
-Focus Blast
-Taunt/Will-o-Wisp/Substitute/Calm Mind
Nature: Timid/Modest
EVs: 24 Def/232 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace

Delphox isn't that good in standard play because it's outclassed by Heatran (who has better offensive and presence), Talonflame (which has priority Brave Bird to revenge kill threats), Infernape (better offensive move pool) and even Volcarona and Chandelure, which have stronger offensive presence as well:

Heatran (needs Poke Bank):
-Lava Plume
-Toxic
-Taunt/Earth Power/Roar
-Protect/Stealth Rock/Earth Power
Nature: Calm
EVs: 248 HP/192 SDef/68 Spe
Item: Leftovers

or
-Overheat/Fire Blast
-Flash Cannon/Hidden Power (Ice)
-Earth Power/Flamethrower
-Stone Edge/Ancient Power
Nature: Timid/Modest
EVs: 252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf

or
-Stealth Rock
-Fire Blast
-Earth Power
-Will-o-Wisp/Stone Edge/Flash Cannon
Nature: Timid
EVs: 12 HP/252 SAtk/244 Spe
Item: Air Balloon

Talonflame:
-Swords Dance
-Flare Blitz
-Brave Bird
-Roost
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Sharp Beak/Sky Plate
Ability: Gale Wings

or
-Flare Blitz
-Brave Bird
-U-turn
-Tailwind/Roost
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Choice Band/Sharp Beak/Sky Plate
Ability: Gale Wings

or
-Bulk Up
-Brave Bird
-Roost
-Taunt/Will-o-Wisp
Nature: Careful
EVs: 248 HP/8 Def/252 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings

or
-Brave Bird
-Taunt
-Will-o-Wisp
-Roost
Nature: Careful
EVs: 248 HP/252 SDef/8 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings

or
-Swords Dance
-Flare Blitz
-Brave Bird
-Natural Gift
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 120 HP/252 Atk/136 Spe
Item: Liechi Berry/Salac Berry
Ability: Gale Wings

Infernape:
-Fire Blast/Flare Blitz
-Close Combat
-Grass Knot/Stone Edge/Thunder Punch
-U-turn/Mach Punch/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

Volcarona:
-Quiver Dance
-Fire Blast
-Bug Buzz/Giga Drain
-Hidden Power (Ground)/Bug Buzz
Nature: Modest
EVs: 96 HP/252 SAtk/160 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Lum Berry/Passho Berry
Ability: Flame Body

Chandelure:
-Overheat/Fire Blast
-Shadow Ball
-Hidden Power (Fighting/Ice)
-Trick/Energy Ball
Nature: Timid/Modest
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire

or
-Shadow Ball
-Fire Blast/Will-o-Wisp
-Substitute
-Taunt
Nature: Modest
EVs: 160 HP/156 SAtk/192 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire

While Relicanth does have a neat 4x resistance to Fire, its defensive typing is downright terrible because it's weak to Ground, Electric and Fighting, all relatively common attacking types. A 4x weakness to Grass doesn't really help either. If you want a defensive Water Pokemon, you can't go wrong with Slowbro; it's not weak to Fighting like Relicanth is and can take Earthquakes much better:
-Scald
-Psyshock/Ice Beam/Fire Blast
-Thunder Wave/Toxic
-Slack Off
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/232 Def/24 SDef
Item: Leftovers/Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator

The problem I see with your Sableye moveset is that it's very prone to Taunt. It has to run Taunt itself so that it's not bait for non-Prankster Taunters. It also has to use Foul Play or Knock Off as an offensive move so that if in case it does get hit by Taunt, it can still do something:
-Taunt
-Will-o-Wisp
-Recover
-Foul Play/Knock Off
Nature: Bold/Impish
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Prankster

Jolteon is rather subpar this generation because there are better Electric Pokemon out there that have better utility, like Wash Rotom, Zapdos and both Thundurus formes:

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

Thundurus:
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden Power (Ice)
-Psychic/Focus Blast
-Thunder Wave
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Leftovers
Ability: Prankster

or
-Nasty Plot
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden Power (Flying/Ice)
-Substitute/Focus Blast/Psychic
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Leftovers/Life Orb
Ability: Prankster

or
-Thunderbolt
-Knock Off
-Superpower/Thunder Wave
-Hidden Power (Ice)
Nature: Hasty/Naive
EVs: 76 Atk/180 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

Therian Thundurus:
-Nasty Plot
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden Power (Flying)
-Focus Blast
Nature: Modest
EVs: 20 HP/252 SAtk/236 Spe
Item: Leftovers/Lum Berry

or
-Agility
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden Power (Flying/Ice)
-Focus Blast/Psychic
Nature: Modest
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

or
-Agility
-Nasty Plot
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden Power (Ice/Flying)
Nature: Modest
EVs: 156 HP/252 SAtk/100 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Leftovers

Zapdos:
-Thunderbolt
-Defog
-Roost
-Heat Wave/Toxic/U-turn
Nature: Bold
EVs: 248 HP/168 Def/68 SAtk/20 Spe
Item: Leftovers

(note that Thundurus and Zapdos need Poke Transfer; the former from Gen V and the latter for Defog, as Defog is a Gen IV TM)

 

[AmeliaSenpai]

Ok. Thanks for the posts! I've began to rethink my team taking the advice you gave me… I think I'll go talonflame, with u-turn and gardevoir… So Talonflame should handle the threats to gardevoir, and revenge kill if needed. I might take Rotom… and am seriously considering running a Mega-Mawile however that may just be asking for too much on a single team… Still I may need a support but have no experience building them or picking the right one for a team. Are there any Eevee-lutions that are considered good for this gen?

 

[PlatinumDude]

Ok. Thanks for the posts! I've began to rethink my team taking the advice you gave me… I think I'll go talonflame, with u-turn and gardevoir… So Talonflame should handle the threats to gardevoir, and revenge kill if needed. I might take Rotom… and am seriously considering running a Mega-Mawile however that may just be asking for too much on a single team… Still I may need a support but have no experience building them or picking the right one for a team. Are there any Eevee-lutions that are considered good for this gen?

Generally, Sylveon is the best Eeveelution to use. Note that this needs a Dream World/Hidden Ability Eevee transferred via Poke Bank, as Hyper Voice, again, is a tutor move from Gen V:
-Wish
-Protect
-Hyper Voice
-Heal Bell/Calm Mind
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/216 Def/40 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate

or
-Hyper Voice
-Psyshock
-Shadow Ball
-Baton Pass/Hidden Power (Ground)
Nature: Modest
EVs: 244 HP/252 SAtk/12 Spe
Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate

Honorable mentions are Vaporeon and Espeon:

Vaporeon:
-Wish
-Protect
-Scald
-Ice Beam/Toxic/Heal Bell
Nature: Bold
EVs: 248 HP/252 Def/8 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb

Espeon:
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Baton Pass
-Psyshock/Psychic/Yawn
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Light Clay
Ability: Magic Bounce

 

[AmeliaSenpai]

Gardevoir-Mega (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pixilate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Psyshock
- Thunder Wave
- Encore

Talonflame @ Sky Plate
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Tailwind

Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 142 Def / 116 SpD
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Foul Play
- Toxic
- Recover

Still seems to be no team synergy… so far.

 

[PlatinumDude]

Gardevoir-Mega (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pixilate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Psyshock
- Thunder Wave
- Encore

Talonflame @ Sky Plate
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Tailwind

Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 142 Def / 116 SpD
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Foul Play
- Toxic
- Recover

Still seems to be no team synergy… so far.

Mega Pokemon can't hold items besides their Mega Stones. By default, Gardevoir has to hold the Gardevoirite, its Mega Stone. Also, Mega Gardevoir must use Hyper Voice as a Fairy STAB, since moves that are already Fairy don't benefit from Pixilate. If you don't use Hyper Voice on Gardevoir, there's no reason to use its Mega Evolution at all, and Mega Evolution is the sole reason to use Gardevoir in the first place.

Talonflame is 4x weak to Stealth Rock, so you need Rapid Spin/Defog support. Examples down here:

Starmie:
-Hydro Pump
-Psyshock/Thunderbolt
-Ice Beam
-Rapid Spin
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure/Analytic

or
-Scald
-Reflect Type
-Rapid Spin
-Recover
Nature: Timid
EVs: 248 HP/20 Def/16 SDef/224 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure

Tentacruel:
-Scald
-Acid Spray
-Sludge Bomb/Knock Off
-Rapid Spin
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/224 Def/32 Spe
Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze

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

Skarmory:
-Roost
-Defog
-Brave Bird/Counter
-Taunt/Whirlwind
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Item: Shed Shell
Ability: Sturdy

Excadrill:
-Earthquake
-Iron Head
-Rock Slide
-Rapid Spin
Nature: Jolly/Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf/Air Balloon/Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker

 

[AmeliaSenpai]

I'm not going to go out and buy a game I don't own beat it, then RNG my way to a perfect ralts (or Eevee) then teach it hyper voice just so I can have 20 more power on an attack. Would it just be better to not use fairy types if that is really the only use for sylveon and gardevoir?

So... What I'm asking (and am upset about) is should I just grab a weavile or a mega-mawille and forget these two pokemon ever existed until AS/OR come out? I'm okay with that I love mawille and weavile... But I just wanted to use new gen VI Pokemon or at least their evolutions.

 

[PlatinumDude]

I'm not going to go out and buy a game I don't own beat it, then RNG my way to a perfect ralts (or Eevee) then teach it hyper voice just so I can have 20 more power on an attack. Would it just be better to not use fairy types if that is really the only use for sylveon and gardevoir?

So... What I'm asking (and am upset about) is should I just grab a weavile or a mega-mawille and forget these two pokemon ever existed until AS/OR come out? I'm okay with that I love mawille and weavile... But I just wanted to use new gen VI Pokemon or at least their evolutions.

There are other viable Fairy Pokemon out there besides Sylveon and Gardevoir. Those Pokemon are Togekiss, Klefki and Azumarill. Take note that Azumarill needs to be bred Aqua Jet on it. Parents that pass down Aqua Jet to Marill/Azumarill include Golduck and Floatzel. There's no need to RNG in Gen VI, due to the new breeding mechanics. While Mega Mawile is also good in its own right, it's an Uber Pokemon:

Togekiss:
-Thunder Wave
-Air Slash
-Dazzling Gleam/Aura Sphere/Flamethrower/Defog/Heal Bell
-Roost
Nature: Bold/Calm
EVs: 248 HP/252 Def/8 SDef or 248 HP/8 Def/252 SDef (Calm)
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace

or
-Nasty Plot
-Air Slash
-Baton Pass
-Roost
Nature: Calm
EVs: 248 HP/244 SDef/16 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace

Azumarill:
-Waterfall
-Aqua Jet
-Play Rough
-Superpower/Knock Off
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 228 HP/252 Atk/28 Spe (former 3 items) or 16 HP/252 Atk/240 SDef (latter item)
Item: Choice Band/Mystic Water/Splash Plate/Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power

or
-Belly Drum
-Aqua Jet
-Play Rough
-Waterfall/Superpower
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 92 HP/252 Atk/164 Spe
Item: Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power

Klefki:
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Spikes
-Fairy Lock/Foul Play/Play Rough
Nature: Bold/Impish
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Item: Light Clay
Ability: Prankster

or
-Spikes
-Play Rough/Dazzling Gleam
-Foul Play
-Thunder Wave
Nature: Impish/Bold
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Prankster

Edit: regarding Weavile, while it's a good Pokemon, it needs Poke Transfer as well, since Knock Off and Low Kick are important moves on it.

 

[BadPokemon]

I'm not going to go out and buy a game I don't own beat it, then RNG my way to a perfect ralts (or Eevee) then teach it hyper voice just so I can have 20 more power on an attack. Would it just be better to not use fairy types if that is really the only use for sylveon and gardevoir?

So... What I'm asking (and am upset about) is should I just grab a weavile or a mega-mawille and forget these two pokemon ever existed until AS/OR come out? I'm okay with that I love mawille and weavile... But I just wanted to use new gen VI Pokemon or at least their evolutions.

You can go on pokemon showdown and join the trading section of the chat. If you ask for what you want, there are many people who can hook you up with a trade as long as you have something to trade back. The forums here also have a trade section.

It is a necessity to run hyper voice on gardevoir. Be careful if you are going to use Mawile- because smogon players won't play you in OU if you do.

Research team building guides, defensive cores, and synergy. I think it will help a lot. Also, research tiering and what pokemon fulfill what role in a team. Hope I helped and good luck! :)

 

[Handsome Samurott]

Amelia,

If you'd like to use Mega Mawile, go ahead. Smogon rules are NOT official rules, and not everyone on Wi-Fi competes according to Smogon rules. (I dare say the majority of people do not.) It is a matter of crafting an intelligent, coherent, creative team that you can have fun with and have a chance winning with. So, when people adamantly bring up Smogon, whether on this site or elsewhere, take it with a grain of salt.

Also, I'm like you, Amelia: I like to use Pokemon available this generation. Not everyone has played all the games in the past, or not everyone has time to transfer Pokemon over. That's why I don't use a number of Pokemon people recommend, such as Keldeo, Thundurus, Heatran, Suicune, etc. I use what is available to me, and that still gives me a lot of options. In fact, I have a friend who has composed her team of Pokemon available only from this generation, and she's so good she's never lost a single ratings or Wi-Fi battle! So, don't worry about trying to get Pokemon that will otherwise be a hassle to get.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask anyone! I'll try to help you the best that I can or point you to a resource that can help you when I can't. Just remember, Pokemon is about having fun and bringing people together. If you don't lose sight of that, the entire process will be much more pleasurable :)