Team Help

[PandaShogun]

I've spent a lot of time trying to organize a team but I still couldn't get the results I wanted. I only play ingame and competitively with friends (they're pretty good but definitely not the really competitive battle type, but they are still quite good).

My team at the moment:
Lucario - Lucarionite
Aura Sphere
Return
Extremespeed
Dragon Pulse

Gengar - Gengarite
Dazzling Gleam
Shadow Ball
Thunderbolt
Venoshock

Vaporeon - Leftovers
Wish
Surf
Aurora Beam
Aqua Ring

Staraptor - Sharp Beak
Roost
Brave Bird
Close Combat
Fly

Ferrothorn - Big Root
Leech Seed
Ingrain
Power Whip
Curse

Zoroark - King's Rock (I don't know what to put on it)
Flamethrower
Night's Daze (something like that)
Shadow Claw
Foul Play

I haven't beaten the Elite Four yet nor beaten the 8th gym.

 

[SQQDQQ]

I think lucario should make use of the ability it gains from the mega evolution. bullet punch close combat should be used instead of extreme speed and return. I prefer speed and attack build instead of attack and special attack,since mega lucario has some noticable speed.
Ferrothoern should get hazard such as spikes and stealth rocks.. etc
Having two mega stones in one team is a potentially waste, so maybe get something else for gengar,I prefer choice scarf .

I recommend to finish the game first and then start to build a team, it will make it easier.

 

[PandaShogun]

Thank you! I got rid of Dragon Pulse and replaced it with Close Combat, and replaced Return with Earthquake, and I'm thinking of replacing extreme speed with Bullet Punch (if it can be remembered)

I don't have a choice scarf yet :( so I'm going to give it black sludge.

I also just got a Scizor and it knows bullet punch, aerial ace, double hit, and X scissors. Should I take out anyone in my team for it?


Also, what's a good dragon type? :P

 

[SQQDQQ]

Thank you! I got rid of Dragon Pulse and replaced it with Close Combat, and replaced Return with Earthquake, and I'm thinking of replacing extreme speed with Bullet Punch (if it can be remembered)

I don't have a choice scarf yet :( so I'm going to give it black sludge.

I also just got a Scizor and it knows bullet punch, aerial ace, double hit, and X scissors. Should I take out anyone in my team for it?


Also, what's a good dragon type? :P

It seems that bullet punch can only be learned by breeding. so yea,get that in post game.
I think Groomy is a good dragon type you can get before the game, evolves into Goodra after.
if you really trying to fix the scizor in, replace lucario would be a logical choice( since they are kind similar in a way).But I still recommend to think about those stuff after you beat the elite four XD.

 

[PlatinumDude]

Take note you can only Mega Evolve once per battle. Also, natures and EVs would be appreciated.

To add, Lucario's physical set should look like this:
-Swords Dance
-Close Combat
-Extreme Speed/Bullet Punch
-Earthquake/Crunch
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Lucarionite

Gengarite got banned in Smogon OU. Gengar's regular form is still good:
-Shadow Ball
-Sludge Bomb
-Focus Blast/Hidden Power (Fire)
-Substitute/Protect
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Black Sludge/Life Orb

or
-Shadow Ball
-Sludge Bomb
-Focus Blast
-Hidden Power (Ice)/Dazzling Gleam
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf

or
-Shadow Ball
-Sludge Bomb/Focus Blast
-Taunt
-Destiny Bond
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Focus Sash

or
-Substitute
-Disable/Pain Split/VWill-o-Wisp
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast/Sludge Bomb
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Black Sludge/Life Orb

Aqua Ring doesn't see much use on Vaporeon, and should only be used on Baton Pass teams. Aurora Beam is weak, and is outclassed 100% by Ice Beam. I recommend you beat the 8th gym before even using Vaporeon:
-Wish
-Protect
-Scald
-Ice Beam/Toxic/Roar
Nature: Bold
EVs: 248 HP/252 Def/8 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb

Fly has good in-game utility, but in the competitive world, it's easy to play around:
-Brave Bird
-Close Combat
-Return/Double-Edge/U-turn
-U-turn/Roost
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Sharp Beak/Sky Plate

Ingrain is a terrible move for Ferrothorn because it forces it to stay in battle, making it unable to switch out of the Fire and Fighting Pokemon it's weak to. I'm afraid you need to re-breed it:
-Spikes/Stealth Rock
-Leech Seed
-Power Whip/Protect
-Gyro Ball/Thunder Wave
Nature: Relaxed
EVs: 252 HP/208 Def/48 SDef
Item: Leftovers/Shed Shell
Ability: Iron Barbs

Zoroark isn't as good as it used to be in X/Y. Shadow Claw isn't worth using because it's redundant with Zoroark's Dark STAB; Foul Play shouldn't be used either because Zoroark is strong enough to dish out its own damage already:
-Nasty Plot
-Dark Pulse/Night Daze
-Flamethrower
-Focus Blast
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Focus Sash

Also, some Goodra sets for you to use:
-Draco Meteor
-Fire Blast/Flamethrower
-Thunderbolt/Sludge Bomb
-Focus Blast/Dragon Tail
Nature: Modest/Quiet
EVs: 248 HP/8 Def/252 SAtk
Item: Choice Specs/Assault Vest
Ability: Gooey/Sap Sipper

or
-Dragon Pulse
-Fire Blast/Flamethrower
-Thunderbolt
-Toxic/Dragon Tail
Nature: Calm/Sassy
EVs: 248 HP/8 SAtk/252 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Gooey/Sap Sipper

 

[PandaShogun]

Wow! Thank you so much! :D I'll definitely heed your advice.

I'm thinking of rushing through the Elite Four (because my in game team is actually pretty high leveled from the cafe battles trying to level up my egg pokemon lol) so I can get the friend safari.

I played a couple of battles online and oh my god. Not to sound racist or anything but every Japanese person I meet can wipe me out with a snap, but I could have a fair battle with any non-Japanese person. Those guys are really good.

What I've noticed is that Talonflame, Greninja, and Aegislash gets used a lot. Usually Talonflame wipes out my whole team (I don't know how I can counter Talonflame, it wiped out Vaporeon with a brave bird). Aegislash was just annoying. And the Greninja I battled against had ridiculous speed and ability (protean or something). Thankfully my friends that I play against don't use them but I am tempted to take their ideas. c:

Is Talonflame > Staraptor or Staraptor > Talonflame?

Sorry for so many questions, but I thought of a build for Meowstic. I really like the prankster ability but unfortunately my favorite (Whimsicott) is unobtainable until Pokemon Bank comes up :(

Meowstic - Focus Sash? If I can get it. If not... uhhhhhhh
Reflect
Light Screen
Yawn
Thunder Wave

 

[PlatinumDude]

Sorry for not getting back to you on this, but Meowstic faces competition from Klefki and Sableye as Prankster abusers. Its current set is Taunt bait as well. The best Meowstic can do with Prankster is a Trick support set:
-Trick
-Psychic/Psyshock
-Thunder Wave
-Toxic/Yawn
Nature: Bold/Modest
EVs: 252 HP/180 Def or SAtk/76 Spe
Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Prankster

Klefki:
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Spikes
-Foul Play/Dazzling Gleam/Play Rough
Nature: Calm/Careful
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 SDef
Item: Light Clay
Ability: Prankster

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

or
-Substitute
-Torment
-Toxic
-Foul Play
Nature: Calm
EVs: 252 HP/152 Def/104 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Prankster

Sableye:
-Taunt
-Will-o-Wisp
-Recover
-Foul Play/Night Shade/Snarl/Confide
Nature: Bold
EVs: 248 HP/188 Def/72 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Prankster

 

[Nolafus]

Adding onto what PlatinumDude said, Talonflame is better than Staraptor in my opinion because of its hidden ability Gale Wings. What that does is give all flying moves priority. So Talonflame now has priority Roost and Brave Bird. If you can get that hidden ability, here's a set for it that I found very effective:

Talonflame @ Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 164 Spd / 252 Atk / 92 HP
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
With a Swords Dance boost, there is hardly anything that can stop it. However, only use Swords Dance when you're predicting a switch. Talonflame is pretty frail, so it often can't take a huge hit. The weird EV spread is to maximize Talonflame's effectiveness while also being able to outspeed huge threats like Mega-Kangaskhan. I use this set, and it works great. I hope I helped and good luck!