• Ever thought it'd be cool to have your art, writing, or challenge runs featured on PokéCommunity? Click here for info - we'd love to spotlight your work!
  • Our weekly protagonist poll is now up! Vote for your favorite Trading Card Game 2 protagonist in the poll by clicking here.
  • Welcome to PokéCommunity! Register now and join one of the best fan communities on the 'net to talk Pokémon and more! We are not affiliated with The Pokémon Company or Nintendo.
    Register

Team-Building Workshop

Status
Not open for further replies.
Adrasteia said:
I'm working on a general team and I'm a bit worried my team is too focuses on power and not enough on strategy so any advice I could get would be much appreciated.
I have a few different Pokemon with there mega stones which is pointless since I can only use one per battle so any advice as to the best one to keep and what to replace the rest with would also be appreciated :) I'm happy to breed Pokemon with different natures or abilities.
I currently have;

Spoiler:


Thanks a lot :)
Click to expand...
Are you planning to do singles or doubles? Cuz that changes how you gotta do things a lot. And yeah, you are kind of lacking in strategy.

For example, (if you're doing singles) you might want something with Rapid Spin/Defog since Dragonite is Stealth Rock weak and hazard damage negates Multiscale, Dragonite's primary selling point. Hazard removal is just nice to have in general. Chlorophyll Venusaur needs sun to function at full capacity, so you can replace one of your pokes with Ninetales, Mega Charizard Y, or Primal Groudon, since all Battle Spot formats allow that thing now. Lucario likes to be paired with a slow Volt Switch/U-turn Pokemon so it can be brought in safely, because it's very frail. Or better yet, paired with a Pokemon that is weak to something Lucario checks/counters, so it can get a free switch-in if you predict correctly.

When you're making a team you basically want to try and think about how the individual 'mons support each other/what they do for each other.

But out of all the Pokemon that you have there for Mega choices, Kangaskhan is, regardless of singles or doubles, the best choice. It's kind of a dumb 'mon really and not terribly difficult to fit into most teams. On Battle Spot you can actually get away with having 2 megas on a team since you don't use your whole party, so you can choose which mega will be better suited to the opponent's team. Lucario or Gardevoir could be your secondary mega. Just that in singles they both really prefer to be in mega form, so you can't run both really. Doubles is a little different since they both have niche uses in their base forms. Venusaur is one of the rare Pokemon that functions fine both with and without Mega Evolving. Aggron should be dropped from the team though, since your mega slot is gonna be taken up by other things and Aggron is pretty meh in standard play.

Once you've decided what you're keeping you can begin to fill the remaining slots with things to support/synergize with those 'mons.

Also just a couple of things about the sets. You want Choice Band on Dragonite, not Choice Specs. Specs boosts Sp.Attack, Band boosts Attack. Dragonite's running all physical moves so it needs Band. Mega Kangaskhan has pretty low Sp.Attack so Blizzard's not the best choice for a move; it doesn't hit anything noteworthy that I can think of anyway. Having some sort of Normal STAB is better. Or even Fake Out/Sucker Punch for pseudo-priority. Focus Punch is also kind of a risky move, since if you get hit you waste its turn. You almost always see it in tandem with Substitute, which gives it the time it needs to ready the Focus Punch. Might even be able to do that with Mega Kanga. But if you don't run Substitute, Focus Punch should be swapped for something else. And then offensive Mega Gardevoir wants max Sp.Attack EVs, not Sp.Def EVs. Base 165 Sp.Attack is hella nice but means a lot less if it's not invested in.
 
PlatinumDude said:
What's the point of Choice Specs on Dragonite when it's not using special attacks at all? 4 attacks Dragonite is best with Choice Band.

Venusaur and Aggron are only worth using as their Mega Evolutions; the former's niche as a Chlorophyll attacker isn't as needed anymore, due to Drought being nerfed; the latter's defensive typing is absolutely horrible. A potential Grass replacement for Venusaur is Serperior, while Excadrill can be the Steel replacement. Both are good entry hazard setters, while the latter can provide Rapid Spin support for Dragonite, as it's weak to Stealth Rock:
Spoiler:

Telepathy is useless on pre-Mega Gardevoir in single battles. The preferred ability for Mega Gardevoir on singles is Trace in order to let it get a useful ability (like Flash Fire on Heatran) before it Mega Evolves. Also, why are you not using Special Attack EVs on Mega Gardevoir? (unless this is a typo). The EV spread should be 24 Def/232 SAtk/252 Spe to avoid the 2HKO from Latios' Psyshock.
Click to expand...

Your right I didn't spot my mistake using the specs over the band that was very stupid -_-'
That's brilliant thank you I'll breed what you've suggested and test them out And yes it was a typo Gardevoir has maxed out Special Attack
 
Nah said:
Are you planning to do singles or doubles? Cuz that changes how you gotta do things a lot. And yeah, you are kind of lacking in strategy.
Spoiler:
Click to expand...

I'm planing on using this team for single battles, I know iv only recently started trying to strategise and realised I have no idea how to do that :)

Okey so I'll drop Aggron and lucario, I'll switch blizzard to something more appropriate. I'v been trying to work in a Pokemon with Defog/rapid spin perhaps Pigeot, Scizor or Excadrill?

I didn't spot my mistake with the choice specs but iv rectified it now :) I made a slight typo with gardevoir and it does have max speed and species attach EV's
 
Adrasteia said:
I'm planing on using this team for single battles, I know iv only recently started trying to strategise and realised I have no idea how to do that :)

Okey so I'll drop Aggron and lucario, I'll switch blizzard to something more appropriate. I'v been trying to work in a Pokemon with Defog/rapid spin perhaps Pigeot, Scizor or Excadrill?

I didn't spot my mistake with the choice specs but iv rectified it now :) I made a slight typo with gardevoir and it does have max speed and species attach EV's
Click to expand...
Ah, thought that those might be typos.

But like Platinum suggested, Excadrill is a pretty good choice; SR resistant, can both lay down and remove hazards if need be, Ground/Steel is a pretty nice type combination, has good abilities, etc. I personally don't really like Defog Scizor on most teams and (Mega) Pidgeot probably has better things to do than Defog.
 
Nah said:
Ah, thought that those might be typos.

But like Platinum suggested, Excadrill is a pretty good choice; SR resistant, can both lay down and remove hazards if need be, Ground/Steel is a pretty nice type combination, has good abilities, etc. I personally don't really like Defog Scizor on most teams and (Mega) Pidgeot probably has better things to do than Defog.
Click to expand...

Okey, Excadrill it is, thank you so much for the help :)
 
PlatinumDude said:
Dark Pulse has redundant coverage with Gengar's Ghost STAB in Shadow Ball. Get rid of it and replace it with Taunt (to stop walls from setting up), Substitute (to give Gengar a safety blanket on a predicted switch; the item should be Black Sludge should you choose to use it), or Destiny Bond (to give Gengar a shot of bringing an opponent down with it when it's about to get KOed). Gengar is fine with Ghost/Poison/Fighting coverage.

I honestly think Cacturne sucks. It's slow and frail at the same time and has plenty of common weaknesses. If you want a better Dark Sucker Punch abuser, there's Bisharp, which has a better set of resistances to take advantage of and can act as a backup Fairy killer when needed:
-Sucker Punch
-Iron Head
-Knock Off
-Pursuit/Swords Dance
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe or 252 Atk/52 SDef/204 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Black Glasses/Dread Plate/Lum Berry
Ability: Defiant

or
-Sucker Punch
-Iron Head
-Knock Off
-Pursuit
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 192 HP/220 Atk/96 Spe
Item: Assault Vest
Ability: Defiant

If you still want something that absorbs Water attacks, Gastrodon is a better alternative because it only has one weakness to exploit:
-Scald
-Earthquake/Ice Beam
-Toxic
-Recover
Nature: Relaxed/Bold
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain

or
-Curse
-Scald/Waterfall
-Earthquake
-Recover
Nature: Sassy/Careful
EVs: 252 HP/112 Def/144 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain

There are better revenge killers than Tauros out there. Yes, it has Sheer Force to make its attacks stronger, but that doesn't justify its use, IMO. Therian Landorus or Wash Rotom should be in its place, as either can bring in Camerupt safely with U-turn or Volt Switch, respectively, if they go last. This is helpful, as Camerupt is both slow and frail, a bad combination of traits to have in a Pokemon:

Therian Landorus:
-Stealth Rock
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge/Rock Slide/Knock Off
-U-turn
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP/240 Def/8 SDef/8 Spe
Item: Leftovers/Rocky Helmet

Wash Rotom:
-Volt Switch
-Hydro Pump
-Will-o-Wisp
-Pain Split/Rest
Nature: Bold
EVs: 248 HP/252 Def/8 SDef
Item: Leftovers/Chesto Berry

Though Mega Camerupt isn't the best Mega to use in OU, due to its sluggish Speed, it has its perks of hitting insanely hard. It doesn't need Flash Cannon, as Fire Blast is strong enough to hit Fairy Pokemon, while Earth Power allows Mega Camerupt to hit Azumarill hard on the switch. While it's true that Flash Cannon hits Mega Altaria, that's all it's good for and you should have teammates to cover it (like Bisharp and Gengar). Replace Flash Cannon with Will-o-Wisp, Toxic (to burn/poison incoming switch-ins), or Stealth Rock (the most important entry hazard ever).

I suggested Bisharp as a Steel Pokemon, so I don't think Metagross will be needed here. A Fighting Pokemon that can break through Chansey, such as Terrakion, is more helpful:
-Swords Dance
-Stone Edge
-Close Combat
-Rock Polish/Substitute
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

or
-Stone Edge
-Close Combat
-Rock Slide
-Iron Head/X-Scissor/Toxic
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf

Noivern was a decent Pokemon in the early stages of Gen VI, but it's not nowadays because there are too many Dragon Pokemon that do its role better. Dragalge has the same base Special Attack as Noivern, but hits harder with Adaptability-boosted attacks. Adding it would increase the team's weakness to Ground Pokemon, though. Though Hydreigon is slower than Noivern, it hits harder and has a wider movepool to take advantage of. Latias and Latios are also stronger than Noivern, but they're also decently fast (albeit slower than Noivern as well) and can provide Defog support to get rid of opposing entry hazards:

Hydreigon:
-Dark Pulse
-Draco Meteor
-Flash Cannon
-Fire Blast/Superpower
Nature: Modest/Mild
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

or
-Dark Pulse
-Draco Meteor
-Earth Power/Fire Blast
-Flash Cannon
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf

Latias:
-Draco Meteor
-Psyshock/Hidden Power (Fire)
-Defog
-Healing Wish/Roost/Recover
Nature: Timid
EVs: 72 HP/184 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

Latios:
-Draco Meteor
-Psyshock
-Hidden Power (Fire)/Earthquake/Roost/Recover
-Defog/Roost/Recover
Nature: Timid/Hasty
EVs: 252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

or
-Calm Mind
-Draco Meteor
-Psyshock
-Surf/Recover/Roost
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

or
-Draco Meteor
-Psyshock
-Defog/Hidden Power (Fire)
-Trick
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf
Click to expand...

I'll try all of this, but I feel that i should keep flash cannon because of Diancie. It's the pokemon i lose to most often.
 
ShinyGyaradosisShiny said:
I'll try all of this, but I feel that i should keep flash cannon because of Diancie. It's the pokemon i lose to most often.
Click to expand...
Sheer Force Earth Power with your EV spread OHKOs (Mega) Diancie, so Flash Cannon's not really needed.
 
Nah said:
Sheer Force Earth Power with your EV spread OHKOs (Mega) Diancie, so Flash Cannon's not really needed.
Click to expand...

yeah, as much as it sounded like a good idea, i have to agree.
just tried it and it didn't work, so i replaced it with will o wisp :3
thanks for the feedback. :D
also, i might as well post my new and improved team :p it's doing a lot better than i expected it would.

Gengar (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Taunt
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- Zen Headbutt
- X-Scissor

Camerupt (M) @ Cameruptite
Trait: Solid Rock
EVs: 168 HP / 252 SAtk / 88 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Ancient Power
- Will-O-Wisp

Rotom-W @ Chesto Berry
Shiny: Yes
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rest

Bisharp (F) @ Assault Vest
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 192 HP / 220 Atk / 96 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Knock Off
- Pursuit

Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Shiny: Yes
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Healing Wish
 
Hi all, I want to get back into the game, and I don't like any of my older teams from October or so (and need a change of pace anyway). I want to make a bulky offense team and decided to take a stab at building around an old favorite of mine, Mega Gyarados.

[PokeCommunity.com] Team-Building Workshop

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Waterfall / Ice Fang
- Earthquake

I'm leaning toward Waterfall here. Ice Fang has some utility, mostly against Helmet Chomp (is this still everywhere?) and Mega Altaria, but hitting Clefable, Hippowdon, Tyranitar, Lopunny, and Mega Scizor pre-mega evolution seemed a bit more useful, so I think I'm going to roll with that. Also, it would give all of my moves perfect accuracy, and that pleases me to no end. I'm running Jolly to outpace Lopunny and Manectric after a DD.

Naturally, I want to build an effective offensive core around this poke, which means using mons that pressure its checks and mons whose checks give Gyarados free turns. I decided to group its defensive checks and found two main groupings:

Fairies: Azumarill, Clefable, Mega Altaria
Grass-types: Amoonguss, Ferrothorn, Mega Venusaur

There are some other relevant mons here that can soft check, Keldeo/Scald in particular, but I'm mostly relying on wearing those Pokemon down or relying on another Pokemon to clean after Gyarados mortally wounds them. I tend to like my offensive cores in threes, with booster/fast breaker/slow breaker being the general mold I like to go with, but synergy is more important than the categories. (There is also Mega Sableye, but I think the types of builds it's on will be better attacked with other mons anyway, which is why I'm also not sweating Amoonguss too much.)

Anyway, the big thing I notice is that all of these mons except Clefable are really vulnerable to hazards an generally prone to being pressured or worn down (or both). Spikes could be an option here, but I mostly want Pokemon that can steal momentum from these Pokemon. I have some calcs below that indicate how weakened they need to be for Gyarados to overpower them, with some being more promising than others:

Spoiler:


With that in mind, I'm curious if anyone has ideas, especially of those that might be up-and-coming in the metagame. I don't want to use Magnezone, but am open to pretty much anything else. I've considered Tornadus-T, but hate its lack of reliability, and Life Orb Clefable, but am unsure if that's actually an effective enough Steel lure or a strong enough breaker in stall match-ups. I could try to overload Azu/Keld/Clef with Weavile or Bisharp, but I don't love that look defensively, especially with Weavile. I'm very intrigued by a boosting Talonflame but am terrible building around that thing, haha.

Might update this if I get any great ideas, but feel free to give suggestions. Can't say I've heard of many Mega Gyarados builds these days to draw inspiration from...
 
Anti said:
snip
Click to expand...

talonflame pressures most of those checks (which can also act as a cleaner if needed), and you can form a neat voltturn core with talon and zone. zone also helps gyara by pressuring the use of ferro and skarm. zone also can help against thundurus, unless focus blast. healing wish support would also be nice.
 
srinator said:
talonflame pressures most of those checks (which can also act as a cleaner if needed), and you can form a neat voltturn core with talon and zone. zone also helps gyara by pressuring the use of ferro and skarm. zone also can help against thundurus, unless focus blast. healing wish support would also be nice.
Click to expand...

Anti said:
I don't want to use Magnezone
Click to expand...

:x

definitely open to talonflame but i'm a little shaky on how to approach the hazard game in the modern meta b/c obviously you gotta keep rocks off w/ a gyara/talon core
 
Anti said:
:x

definitely open to talonflame but i'm a little shaky on how to approach the hazard game in the modern meta b/c obviously you gotta keep rocks off w/ a gyara/talon core
Click to expand...
Would Heatran be a good option for you to consider? It checks all the 'mons you mentioned bar Azumarill, and isn't SR weak.
 
oh that's nice, + it can weaken keld. will try building around it and talon and see if i have an easier time compensating for poor initial speed or hazard issues/poorer initial power
 
So, here I am yet again and I think I have came up with a new core again. This time it consists of Whimsicott and Heatran. I chose these two in particular because 1. They cover eachothers weaknesses and 2. I wanted to try both of them. So I would like some advice on how to improve their movesets and/or what would work best with my core. Anyways, here it is.

Whimsicott @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Encore
- Moonblast
- Leech Seed
- Substitute

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Taunt
- Toxic
 
So I tried this team out but I think it can be improved...

Gardevoir@ Gardeviorite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 Spa/ 4 SpD/ 252 Spe
Nature: Modest
Hyper Voice
Psyshock
Focus Blast
Calm Mind

Tyranitar@ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Nature: Jolly
Stone Edge
Pursuit
Superpower
Ice Fang

Talonflame@ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Nature: Adamant
Brave Bird
Flare Blitz
U-Turn
Tailwind

Raikou@ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 Def/ 252 SpA/ 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
Calm Mind
Thunderbolt
HP Ice
Substitute

Magnezone@ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 248 HP/ 252 SpA/ 8 SpD
Volt Swtich
HP Fire
Flash Cannon
Thunderbolt

Garchop@ Focus Sash
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk/ 4 SpD/ 252 Spe
Stealth Rock
Earthquake
Dragon Claw
Swords Dance
 
So, I decided to redo my team AGAIN and I think I may have something that MAY BE solid as a core and would like some help on what pokemon I should add to this team. This is intended to be a balanced team. However, this may end up a stall team. So here are the pokemon I have right now.

Birdemic (Talonflame)
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bulk Up
- Taunt
- Acrobatics
- Roost

Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Calm Nature
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Foul Play

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 28 SpD / 16 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Acid Spray
- Toxic Spikes
 
FennekMaster said:
So, here I am yet again and I think I have came up with a new core again. This time it consists of Whimsicott and Heatran. I chose these two in particular because 1. They cover eachothers weaknesses and 2. I wanted to try both of them. So I would like some advice on how to improve their movesets and/or what would work best with my core. Anyways, here it is.

snip
Click to expand...
Hmm, I think it'd be better to start building a team with a win condition (something that can sweep with a set up move). However, you could try filling that role with something like Manaphy, (Mega) Slowbro, Suicune, etc. Encore would be especially useful for Mana as it only needs one turn of set up to be a major threat. It also threatens slow teams like stall.
Lrachelr5 said:
So I tried this team out but I think it can be improved...

snip
Click to expand...
You should post an RMT thread instead. This thread is for incomplete teams.

Anyway, the high amount of Choice items seems iffy to me. Consider using Swords Dance + Sharp Beak on Talon. You also need entry hazard control to support Talon. Definitely consider Starmie as you're weak to Keldeo and you need a reliable switch-in to Heatran's status shenanigans. Test it out over either Raikou or Magnezone. If you replace Raikou, you should consider Scarf Magneton. Unlike Magnezone, Magneton can outrun Tornadus-T, which is a big issue for this team if you replace Raikou. Scarf Ttar is redundant with Magneton, so maybe try a Fighting-type like Specs Keldeo to help vs Bisharp. Then use tank Garchomp to patch up the weakness to Talon after replacing Ttar.
FennekMaster said:
So, I decided to redo my team AGAIN and I think I may have something that MAY BE solid as a core and would like some help on what pokemon I should add to this team. This is intended to be a balanced team. However, this may end up a stall team. So here are the pokemon I have right now.

snip
Click to expand...
You need a reliable switch-in for Keldeo, such as Amoonguss, Celebi, and Latias.
 
I need help with my team... My older brother ALWAYS kicks my butt... I asked him to go easy on me and I think I found a good team for that.

Venusaur (My Mega)
Dragonite (Offensive)
Luxray (Speed)
Aggron (Defensive)
Weavile (Speed/Offensive)

My last Pokémon is Heracross but I feel kinda unsure about him... Is there any other ideas to replace Heracross?

Also I need help with my competitive online team...
I'm thinking

Dialga (Offensive/Defensive)
Weavile (Speed/Offensive)
Salamence (Mega)

I need help thinking of three more, please help?
 
We have our very first official VGC Premier Challenge Tournament coming up in a month and I'd really want to hear suggestions and ideas how to build my team so I can kick some Stunfisks. :D

The rules are that every battle is Double Battle and that Pokémon need to have Kalos Pentagon on them which is not an issue. Basically the normal VGC rules that apply in every official Tournament.

At the moment I have these three on my team:

Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability: Marvel Scale
384/134/266/214/284/180
Bold Nature
Ice Beam
Recover
Hydro Pump
Dragon Tail

Steelix @ Steelixite
Ability: Rock Head
347/200/433/129/234/72
Sassy Nature
Gyro Ball
Stone Edge
Earthquake
Stealth Rock

Sceptile @ Sceptilite/Miracle Seed/etc.
Ability: Overgrow
Modest Nature
Dragon Pulse
Focus Blast
Endeavor
Energy Ball

I have usually used these with these three:

Infernape @ Metronome
Ability Iron Fist
292/307/169/219/178/346
Jolly Nature
U-Turn
Mach Punch
Fire Punch
Thunder Punch

Reuniclus @ -
Ability: Overcoat
353/148/183/345/286/72
Sassy Nature
Psyshock
Reflect
Focus Blast
Calm Mind

Krookodile @ Soft Sand
Ability: Moxie
300/342/168/126/175/279
Adamant Nature
Outrage
Brick Break
Crunch
Earthquake

I've usually used these in double battles and they've worked decently. Steelix and Infernape are good to put in front line since M-Steelix can take quite many hits before it falls down and can put up Stealth Rocks which can chip of a little damage and make a huge difference in the end. Infernape usually works as a scout but with it's speed, Metronome and Iron Fist ability it can also throw a punch and really hurt Grass/Water/Dark type Pokémon for instance.

The second pairing is usually my Sceptile and Milotic. If I am not using Steelix I prefer to use M-Sceptile because of it's amazing speed, special attack and ability to shiel Milotic from Electric type attacks and stealing a little boost for itself in the same time. The only problem is that I'd prefer something else than Endeavor to take it's last move slot. Milotic in the other hand isn't that good offensively but can stand it's ground even against some hard hitting Electric type Pokémon. Of course it isn't as sturdy as M-Steelix but with Leftovers and Recover it's usually stayed alive long.

Reuniclus and Krookodile are both good in their own ways. Reuniclus isn't good offensively but after Reflect and Calm Mind it can hit surprisingly hard even. Krookodile is on the other hand a good counter for Steel-type Pokémon and Moxie has saved me a few times thanks to it boosting Krookodile's Attack stat.

I feel like my team is average or good but is it good enough to rank high? I don't know. I need other opinions and ideas how to improve my team. :)

Thank you in advance~
 
In VGC 2016, most of the "restricted" legendaries are free to use, but you're limited to 2 per team. These are Mewtwo, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde. All other legendaries don't apply to this.

Competitive is the superior ability on Milotic because Intimidate is pretty much everywhere and using that against them is very useful:
-Scald
-Ice Beam/Icy Wind
-Recover/Icy Wind
-Protect/Mirror Coat
Nature: Modest
EVs: 236 HP/140 Def/132 SAtk
Item: Leftovers/Sitrus Berry/Assault Vest
Ability: Competitive

Steelix is an underwhelming Mega, mainly because it's reliant on sand from Tyranitar or Hippowdon (latter not very useful in doubles formats) to be effective. Mega Mawile is a harder hitter because of Huge Power-backed attacks and only suffers from 2 weaknesses. Sceptile is an alright Mega, but it just faces too much competition from things like Mega Salamence and Mega Rayquaza. The former has crazy-strong Aerilated-powered attacks in Return, Double-Edge, and Hyper Voice, while the latter can afford to hold another item like Life Orb and Mega Evolve at the same time while still packing plenty of power in STAB Dragon Ascent. They're slower, but they get the job done just as well:

Salamence:
-Draco Meteor
-Hyper Voice
-Double-Edge/Fire Blast/Tailwind
-Protect
Nature: Naive/Timid
EVs: 4 Atk/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate

Rayquaza:
-Draco Meteor/Overheat/Earth Power
-Dragon Ascent
-Extreme Speed
-Protect
Nature: Naive
EVs: 252 Atk/4 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb

or
-Swords Dance/Dragon Dnace
-Dragon Ascent
-Extreme Speed
-Protect
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk/4 SDef/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Lum Berry

Mawile should be used over Steelix, since it's stronger, as I already mentioned. Base 105 Attack backed by Huge Power is crazy strong:
-Play Rough
-Iron Head
-Sucker Punch
-Protect
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SDef
Item: Mawlite
Ability: Intimidate

Remember that Protect is everywhere in VGC formats. It's useful for stalling out field conditions, punishing gang-ups, and letting a partner take out a counter. This makes Metronome a less appealing option on Infernape, since Protect can punish spamming i some cases. Blaziken is better over Infernape, since it has Speed Boost to make itself faster as the match goes on:
-Overheat/Fire Blast
-Superpower/Low Kick
-Hidden Power (Ice)
-Protect
Nature: Naive
EVs: 68 Atk/188 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost

Talonflame is also another good alternerative, since it has priority Brave Birds thanks to Gale Wings:
-Flare Blitz/Overheat
-Brave Bird
-Quick Guard/Taunt/Tailwind
-Protect/Quick Guard/Tailwind
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Sharp Beak/Sky Plate/Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings

However, if you intend on keeping Infernape, the best it can do is a fast support role, since the above Pokemon do all-out offense better. Iron Fist will be useless in this case:
-Fake Out
-Overheat
-Close Combat
-Quick Guard/Protect
Nature: Naive
EVs: 152 Atk/100 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Focus Sash
Ability: Blaze

I don't see much merit of Krookodile here, since its weaknesses are easily exploitable. Primal Kyogre and Xerneas, for example, can easily bring it down. Primal Groudon is better, since Desolate Land will make it immune to Water attacks, one of its biggest banes, while leaving it with a sole weakness to Ground:
-Earth Power
-Eruption
-Flamethrower/Fire Blast
-Protect
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Red Orb

or
-Precipice Blades
-Fire Punch
-Rock Slide/Overheat
-Protect
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spe
Item: Red Orb

Cresselia is a better support Pokemon than Reuniclus because of its better bulk:
-Psychic/Ice Beam
-Helping Hand
-Skill Swap/Gravity
-Protect/Gravity
Nature: Sassy
EVs: 244 HP/108 Def/156 SDef
Item: Leftovers
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top