Hello, I've poked around the forums a number of times to gather what information I could, but I finally decided to make an account to get more direct advice.
The format (obviously) is VGC. I've only actually been to one event, but I do have a good amount of experience with the video games and I've spent numerous hours on showdown in an attempt to refine my team. Without further ado, here is what I have so far:
Mawile @Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpD
Nature: Brave
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Rock Slide
Mawile is my main beater at the present time. Between coverage, typing, and sheer power, it makes for an outstanding powerhouse that can easily take down two other Pokemon, even if burned or under the influence of Intimidate. Trick Room makes this Pokemon all the more vicious. The moveset I've chosen for it isn't too extraordinary. Iron Head and Play Rough provide pretty even coverage across the board as well as having STAB. Sucker Punch is there for the sake of priority. I've hovered between several moves for the last slot, between Thunder Fang for Water-types, Fire Fang to cover Steel-types, and Protect for the sake of Protect. As of right now I'm sticking with Rock Slide because it's a solid move that kills in doubles, but I'm always open to suggestions.
Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP/252 SpAtk/4 Def
Nature: Quiet
- Trick Room
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Protect
No surprises here. Reuniclus can both tank moves and hit like a truck thanks to Life Orb. He's also my primary Trick Room-setter on this team. Trick Room is an obvious move, Psyshock is there to punish people that think Light Screen is going to work, Focus Blast is to kill Pokemon like Bisharp, Tyranitar, and other threats, and Protect is there because Protect.
Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 SpDef
Nature: Sassy
- Fake Out
- Foul Play
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
The sheer amount of utility that Sableye has at its disposal is astounding. Short of Talonflame, there are very few Physical sweepers that he can't cripple, and it is for this reason that I usually lead with him alongside a T-Room setter. Fake Out takes care of whatever poses the larges threat while his partner sets up Trick Room, then I usually follow up with a Will-O-Wisp to cripple anything from Kangashkan, to Metagross, to Tyranitar or (most commonly) Bisharp, and either finish them off or take a large bite out of their health with Foul Play. Recover is there to allow Sableye to last obscenely large amounts of time and makes him virtually unkillable versus physical sweepers. He does die to the likes of Gardevior, but thankfully that's what the rest of the team is there for.
Talonflame @ Charti Berry
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Def
Nature: Adamant
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Protect
- Taunt
Talonflame is here as a backup attacker in the case of events that Trick Room isn't up, and on top of that he can still pose a threat even in Trick Room. Brave Bird and Flare Blitz are somewhat obvious. They are some of the most powerful moves of their respective types, and each of them gets STAB from Talonflame. Because of this, my team gets coverage in a lot of areas where it would otherwise be at a disadvantage.
I've tried several moves for the last two slots, including Quick Guard, but I have never found it to be that useful in cases where I need it.
The above 4 members are the only ones I have set in stone. I've tried nearly a dozen different Pokemon in the last two slots, from T-Room setters like Chandelure and Slowking to sweepers and support Pokemon like Metagross and Amoonguss without much success. I'm still in the process of seeking suitable candidates (this is the main reason I'm posting, in fact), and I hope other members might be able to offer potential suggestions. Here are the last two members that I am currently testing:
Conkeldurr @Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpD
Nature: Brave
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Knock off
- Rock Slide
He beats Bisharp and a large number of other threats to my team. I've only just started testing him out, so this build is very rudimentary, but I should be able to refine it over time. Assault Vest helps him survive against offensive Psychic and Fairy Pokemon to some extent, and the move choice is pretty straightforward.
Swampert @Swampertite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpD
Nature: Adamant
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch/Rock Slide (uncertain on this one)
- Protect
Another very common list. He handles Dragon-types, Flying-types, and Fire-types with little trouble, and his primary weakness to Grass-types is taken care of by Talonflame. Will-o-Wisp is still annoying, but again, this is a WIP. I'll try to iron out weaknesses as time goes on.
... Well, this is what I have so far. I want to make sure that I have a good team set in stone before I spend the time to start breeding in-game (I've already bred Sableye and Mawile, currently working on Talonflame), and no matter what I've tried, the last two slots always wind up changing hands. If it helps, the Pokemon I currently have the biggest problems with are strong Electric-types (namely Zapdos), Mega-Salamence, and bulky Water-types. I'm testing Swamptert out, which takes care of the former two problems, but he doesn't necessarily take care of bulky Water-types, which is something that Gastrodon (another option I've been mulling over) covers in addition to the other two. Still, I'm always open to constructive criticism
Thanks in advance to anyone willing to drop some knowledge my way.
The format (obviously) is VGC. I've only actually been to one event, but I do have a good amount of experience with the video games and I've spent numerous hours on showdown in an attempt to refine my team. Without further ado, here is what I have so far:
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpD
Nature: Brave
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Rock Slide
Mawile is my main beater at the present time. Between coverage, typing, and sheer power, it makes for an outstanding powerhouse that can easily take down two other Pokemon, even if burned or under the influence of Intimidate. Trick Room makes this Pokemon all the more vicious. The moveset I've chosen for it isn't too extraordinary. Iron Head and Play Rough provide pretty even coverage across the board as well as having STAB. Sucker Punch is there for the sake of priority. I've hovered between several moves for the last slot, between Thunder Fang for Water-types, Fire Fang to cover Steel-types, and Protect for the sake of Protect. As of right now I'm sticking with Rock Slide because it's a solid move that kills in doubles, but I'm always open to suggestions.
Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP/252 SpAtk/4 Def
Nature: Quiet
- Trick Room
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Protect
No surprises here. Reuniclus can both tank moves and hit like a truck thanks to Life Orb. He's also my primary Trick Room-setter on this team. Trick Room is an obvious move, Psyshock is there to punish people that think Light Screen is going to work, Focus Blast is to kill Pokemon like Bisharp, Tyranitar, and other threats, and Protect is there because Protect.
Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 SpDef
Nature: Sassy
- Fake Out
- Foul Play
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
The sheer amount of utility that Sableye has at its disposal is astounding. Short of Talonflame, there are very few Physical sweepers that he can't cripple, and it is for this reason that I usually lead with him alongside a T-Room setter. Fake Out takes care of whatever poses the larges threat while his partner sets up Trick Room, then I usually follow up with a Will-O-Wisp to cripple anything from Kangashkan, to Metagross, to Tyranitar or (most commonly) Bisharp, and either finish them off or take a large bite out of their health with Foul Play. Recover is there to allow Sableye to last obscenely large amounts of time and makes him virtually unkillable versus physical sweepers. He does die to the likes of Gardevior, but thankfully that's what the rest of the team is there for.
Talonflame @ Charti Berry
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Def
Nature: Adamant
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Protect
- Taunt
Talonflame is here as a backup attacker in the case of events that Trick Room isn't up, and on top of that he can still pose a threat even in Trick Room. Brave Bird and Flare Blitz are somewhat obvious. They are some of the most powerful moves of their respective types, and each of them gets STAB from Talonflame. Because of this, my team gets coverage in a lot of areas where it would otherwise be at a disadvantage.
I've tried several moves for the last two slots, including Quick Guard, but I have never found it to be that useful in cases where I need it.
The above 4 members are the only ones I have set in stone. I've tried nearly a dozen different Pokemon in the last two slots, from T-Room setters like Chandelure and Slowking to sweepers and support Pokemon like Metagross and Amoonguss without much success. I'm still in the process of seeking suitable candidates (this is the main reason I'm posting, in fact), and I hope other members might be able to offer potential suggestions. Here are the last two members that I am currently testing:
Conkeldurr @Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpD
Nature: Brave
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Knock off
- Rock Slide
He beats Bisharp and a large number of other threats to my team. I've only just started testing him out, so this build is very rudimentary, but I should be able to refine it over time. Assault Vest helps him survive against offensive Psychic and Fairy Pokemon to some extent, and the move choice is pretty straightforward.
Swampert @Swampertite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpD
Nature: Adamant
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch/Rock Slide (uncertain on this one)
- Protect
Another very common list. He handles Dragon-types, Flying-types, and Fire-types with little trouble, and his primary weakness to Grass-types is taken care of by Talonflame. Will-o-Wisp is still annoying, but again, this is a WIP. I'll try to iron out weaknesses as time goes on.
... Well, this is what I have so far. I want to make sure that I have a good team set in stone before I spend the time to start breeding in-game (I've already bred Sableye and Mawile, currently working on Talonflame), and no matter what I've tried, the last two slots always wind up changing hands. If it helps, the Pokemon I currently have the biggest problems with are strong Electric-types (namely Zapdos), Mega-Salamence, and bulky Water-types. I'm testing Swamptert out, which takes care of the former two problems, but he doesn't necessarily take care of bulky Water-types, which is something that Gastrodon (another option I've been mulling over) covers in addition to the other two. Still, I'm always open to constructive criticism
Thanks in advance to anyone willing to drop some knowledge my way.
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