Hello Smogon
I'm relatively new here and recently made my first team and here it is. Done well so far winning about 50% of matches but I'm not sure if me losing also due to my lack of skill which is possible.
Team at a glance:
Politoed (F) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
When making a rain team, you need rain. Felt like the Specs set allowed to make the most of Politoed. Has a nice spread of moves to hit a lot of leads hard which is always nice. I do feel like Specs does make me take Toed away a lot which works when other weathers are around. People don't seem to suspect Choice Specs at times and that has been a great advantage. They leave in Ferrothorn and get 70-90% damage when Focus Blast hits. Poli also is my sleep sacrifice if facing a Breloom or other sleeper as I feel whilst he hits hard, he is the easiest Pokemon to let go if the situation is needed. I have been debating Surf over Hydro Pump as the misses have been costly but being able to hit a lot of Pokemon for 40-60% on a switch in with Hydro Pump has almost been a game saver for me.
Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Secret Sword
My main weather power hitter. When the rain is down this guy has been awesome for me. Went with speed over power as if rain is up, it'll make up for the lack of specs. Not sure of Surf, feel like I could use a different move. I went with a Modest nature to hit harder as with the scarf my speed is higher than many threats. Went with Hidden Power Ice over Bug or Grass to revenge kill dragons. Secret Sword is also great for coverage and STAB.
Jellicent (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature
- Surf
- Recover
- Toxic / Will-o-Wisp
- Taunt
Spin block that likes the wet. Pretty standard but works. Surf in the rain has been pretty handy and Toxic support is always nice. I recently picked Will-o-wisp over Toxic as it helped against Pokemon such as Tentacruel 1vs1. This guy has stalled me to victory a few times. Once he beat a Jarachi and Blissey with Wisp and Surf. I was thinking for a more physically defensive Mon over Jelly but whenever I think that he cripples a team or saves me which makes me concerned about moving him.
Scizor (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- U-turn
- Superpower
I felt like I was running too much on the Special side so needed to be Physical. Scizor hits hard and strong. Standard Bander. Bullet Punch for quick KOs and Pursuit to stop Pokemon that could stop a Keldeo sweep. Lately he hasn't been netting me the KOs I'd have liked but Pursuiting is nice. It seems a lot of Mons are now running HP Fire and anticipating the Scizor switch in. Not sure of a possible replacement.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 88 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk / 166 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
I put in Ferro in over Donphan as I felt a bit Breloom weak and Ferro seemed like a good check. He also helps with Dragons locked into Outrage. Gyro ball has come in handy a lot when a fast Pokemon comes in expecting me to switch after using Stealth Rocks. My issues here are what Donphan offered: Ice Shard and Rapid Spin. Ice Shard helped get a few quick KOs and Spin got rid of Stealth Rocks which has been annoying a lot as of late. Also the extra Fire weak has been troubling, especially whenever rain isn't up.
Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunder
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast
Power > Speed is why I chose Thundeurus over Jolteon. Mid-game sweeper hoping to punch in a few holes in the opponents team allowing for Keledo to do what he does best. Thunder in the rain is crazy strong and anything that doesn't resist it and not in the Chansey line gets a fair hit. I do miss the great speed of Jolteon but the sheer power has also saved me at times. I could run scarf but I've got a lot of Choice users and I enjoy the freedom of switching moves. Hitting a potential counter SE the next turn when they predict me to switch is a lovely feeling. Also the SR weak hasn't been nice and has been stopping sweeps.
Old Team Members:
Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
Jolteon @ Life Orb
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunder
- Volt Switch
- Signal Beam
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Issues I have:
- Sun teams. I don't know why but I've never beaten a sun team.
- Breloom: Even with Ferro I still struggle with Breloom, he KOs me rather quickly
- Toxicroak+Tentacruel: Can't KO them.
- Stealth Rocks: I don't have a spinner and the damage has been coming annoying.
Like I said, the team feels average and I've won about half of my games but I also suck at battling so it could be me. Would like some tips and tricks to make it better :) Thank you :)
I'm relatively new here and recently made my first team and here it is. Done well so far winning about 50% of matches but I'm not sure if me losing also due to my lack of skill which is possible.
Team at a glance:
Politoed (F) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
When making a rain team, you need rain. Felt like the Specs set allowed to make the most of Politoed. Has a nice spread of moves to hit a lot of leads hard which is always nice. I do feel like Specs does make me take Toed away a lot which works when other weathers are around. People don't seem to suspect Choice Specs at times and that has been a great advantage. They leave in Ferrothorn and get 70-90% damage when Focus Blast hits. Poli also is my sleep sacrifice if facing a Breloom or other sleeper as I feel whilst he hits hard, he is the easiest Pokemon to let go if the situation is needed. I have been debating Surf over Hydro Pump as the misses have been costly but being able to hit a lot of Pokemon for 40-60% on a switch in with Hydro Pump has almost been a game saver for me.
Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Secret Sword
My main weather power hitter. When the rain is down this guy has been awesome for me. Went with speed over power as if rain is up, it'll make up for the lack of specs. Not sure of Surf, feel like I could use a different move. I went with a Modest nature to hit harder as with the scarf my speed is higher than many threats. Went with Hidden Power Ice over Bug or Grass to revenge kill dragons. Secret Sword is also great for coverage and STAB.
Jellicent (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature
- Surf
- Recover
- Toxic / Will-o-Wisp
- Taunt
Spin block that likes the wet. Pretty standard but works. Surf in the rain has been pretty handy and Toxic support is always nice. I recently picked Will-o-wisp over Toxic as it helped against Pokemon such as Tentacruel 1vs1. This guy has stalled me to victory a few times. Once he beat a Jarachi and Blissey with Wisp and Surf. I was thinking for a more physically defensive Mon over Jelly but whenever I think that he cripples a team or saves me which makes me concerned about moving him.
Scizor (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- U-turn
- Superpower
I felt like I was running too much on the Special side so needed to be Physical. Scizor hits hard and strong. Standard Bander. Bullet Punch for quick KOs and Pursuit to stop Pokemon that could stop a Keldeo sweep. Lately he hasn't been netting me the KOs I'd have liked but Pursuiting is nice. It seems a lot of Mons are now running HP Fire and anticipating the Scizor switch in. Not sure of a possible replacement.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 88 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk / 166 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
I put in Ferro in over Donphan as I felt a bit Breloom weak and Ferro seemed like a good check. He also helps with Dragons locked into Outrage. Gyro ball has come in handy a lot when a fast Pokemon comes in expecting me to switch after using Stealth Rocks. My issues here are what Donphan offered: Ice Shard and Rapid Spin. Ice Shard helped get a few quick KOs and Spin got rid of Stealth Rocks which has been annoying a lot as of late. Also the extra Fire weak has been troubling, especially whenever rain isn't up.
Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunder
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast
Power > Speed is why I chose Thundeurus over Jolteon. Mid-game sweeper hoping to punch in a few holes in the opponents team allowing for Keledo to do what he does best. Thunder in the rain is crazy strong and anything that doesn't resist it and not in the Chansey line gets a fair hit. I do miss the great speed of Jolteon but the sheer power has also saved me at times. I could run scarf but I've got a lot of Choice users and I enjoy the freedom of switching moves. Hitting a potential counter SE the next turn when they predict me to switch is a lovely feeling. Also the SR weak hasn't been nice and has been stopping sweeps.
Old Team Members:
Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
Jolteon @ Life Orb
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunder
- Volt Switch
- Signal Beam
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Issues I have:
- Sun teams. I don't know why but I've never beaten a sun team.
- Breloom: Even with Ferro I still struggle with Breloom, he KOs me rather quickly
- Toxicroak+Tentacruel: Can't KO them.
- Stealth Rocks: I don't have a spinner and the damage has been coming annoying.
Like I said, the team feels average and I've won about half of my games but I also suck at battling so it could be me. Would like some tips and tricks to make it better :) Thank you :)
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