XY Competitive Campaign Run

Poke's I've slotted thus far:
Talonflame
Aegislash
Azumarill


I'm looking for meaningful feedback on what I can add, change, and use for a team that is fun in story line gameplay, as well as competitive and well-rounded against online opponents.

Thanks so much to everyone in the community.
Please move topic if there is a better fit for this thread elsewhere.

Thanks!
 
Pick Froakie (Greninja) as your starter, try to catch/breed a Breloom, and use a megaZard as your sixth imo.

This is also probably the wrong place for this thread - the Orange Islands might be a better fit.
I actually do have some protean Froakies sitting in one of my games PCs.. How exactly does he classify as users? I don't really see it because his defenses are mediocre, attack is lackluster... Only good thing is speed and type change on move.

Breloom is too overused for me. Solid poke but I've used him a lottt.

MegaZard is really not one of my favorite pokes either.

Thanks for the feedback though!
 
I actually do have some protean Froakies sitting in one of my games PCs.. How exactly does he classify as users? I don't really see it because his defenses are mediocre, attack is lackluster... Only good thing is speed and type change on move.

Breloom is too overused for me. Solid poke but I've used him a lottt.

MegaZard is really not one of my favorite pokes either.

Thanks for the feedback though!
Greninja with Protean was considered powerful enough to send to Ubers. The type change and effective STAB makes a deceiving difference coming off his lackluster offensive stats, and his coverage is amazing.

Other stuff I could recommend though:
Gastly
Magikarp
Abra (both for base and Mega later on)
 
Greninja with Protean was considered powerful enough to send to Ubers. The type change and effective STAB makes a deceiving difference coming off his lackluster offensive stats, and his coverage is amazing.

Other stuff I could recommend though:
Gastly
Magikarp
Abra (both for base and Mega later on)
I do have a gengar. I was considering him to be my mega.

If I'm already using Azumarill, Greninja, Talonflame, do I really want any more water/weak to lightning pokes?

Are they any viable pokemon from the XY generation that are good ?
 
Aegislash is simply amazing, good enough to be banned even if said ban was controversial. Get Honedge. (Also Doublade is usable too)
 
Are they any viable pokemon from the XY generation that are good ?
Goodra, Pangoro, Hawlucha, Klefki, Noivern, Diggersby, Dragalge, Tyrantrum, and Sylveon are all arguably viable. Mainly Sylveon (cleric, Pixilate), Klefki (Prankster and an actual movepool to go with it), and Tyrantrum (head smash for days).
 
Aegislash is simply amazing, good enough to be banned even if said ban was controversial. Get Honedge. (Also Doublade is usable too)
Yeah I'm for sure using Aegislash as I stumbled upon a shiny Honedge by chance! I as well breeded a shiny huge power marill, found a shiny fletchinder and my brother hooked me up with a protean froakie.. But other than those pokes I'm not to sure what my team is missing. Any ideas are really appreciated :)
 

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Keep in mind that considering IVs, Natures and all that faff, you might end up spending more time preparing for the game than actually playing it. Also, all the random opponents you'll encounter throughout the game will yield equally random EVs, so unless you do one of the following your team will be nowhere near competitive in the end:
1) EV train your Pokémon beforehand, or at the earliest opportunity. Unless you do this in Super Training (which takes hours, especially if you're going to do it for the entire team), your team will be massively overlevelled before you even get off to the start.
2) Reset your EVs and EV train them in the middle of your adventure. This also creates a rather long and uninspiring break, besides your team will not be competitive until the very end (which might go against the spirit of your challenge).

At any rate, such a tailored team will bulldoze through most situations the game cares to throw at you. Using only the strongest Pokémon around will severely blunt any resemblance of a challenge. The journey is (usually) what matters, and what you're doing will take most of the spontanity and uncertainity out of it. Beating in-game opponents, be it regular trainers, evil teams or Gym Leaders will mostly be a routine business, and since your team is predetermined, you'll get to make few choices while playing.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't go through with this, I'm just warning you that it might be more fun to plan the playthrough than to play it. There's a reason why the usual OI stance on competitiveness is: "Just mess around and complete in-game at your own pace first, then acquire competitive Pokémon after you've finished the story".
 
Keep in mind that considering IVs, Natures and all that faff, you might end up spending more time preparing for the game than actually playing it. Also, all the random opponents you'll encounter throughout the game will yield equally random EVs, so unless you do one of the following your team will be nowhere near competitive in the end:
1) EV train your Pokémon beforehand, or at the earliest opportunity. Unless you do this in Super Training (which takes hours, especially if you're going to do it for the entire team), your team will be massively overlevelled before you even get off to the start.
2) Reset your EVs and EV train them in the middle of your adventure. This also creates a rather long and uninspiring break, besides your team will not be competitive until the very end (which might go against the spirit of your challenge).

At any rate, such a tailored team will bulldoze through most situations the game cares to throw at you. Using only the strongest Pokémon around will severely blunt any resemblance of a challenge. The journey is (usually) what matters, and what you're doing will take most of the spontanity and uncertainity out of it. Beating in-game opponents, be it regular trainers, evil teams or Gym Leaders will mostly be a routine business, and since your team is predetermined, you'll get to make few choices while playing.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't go through with this, I'm just warning you that it might be more fun to plan the playthrough than to play it. There's a reason why the usual OI stance on competitiveness is: "Just mess around and complete in-game at your own pace first, then acquire competitive Pokémon after you've finished the story".
Yeah very true bud. I've realized that many times, but yeah I'll reset EVs and train them later so I'm not worrying about the distribution during gameplay - yes I realize that adds lots of time, it's ok.

I think Tyrantrum would be very fun, but his abysmal speed bothers me... I don't really know exactly what I'm looking for I suppose. I've beaten the game already multiple times so I want to go through it again with a full team thats built around competitive play, which obviously means it will destroy the standard gameplay.
 
Goodra, Pangoro, Hawlucha, Klefki, Noivern, Diggersby, Dragalge, Tyrantrum, and Sylveon are all arguably viable. Mainly Sylveon (cleric, Pixilate), Klefki (Prankster and an actual movepool to go with it), and Tyrantrum (head smash for days).
Who would best synergize around Azumarill-Greninja-Talonflame-Aegislash?

What coverage do I need, does Tyrantrum fit well in this team, should I switch out someone?
 
Who would best synergize around Azumarill-Greninja-Talonflame-Aegislash?

What coverage do I need, does Tyrantrum fit well in this team, should I switch out someone?
Diggers, Dragalge and Tyrantrum all provide electric resists/immunities if you need that
 
I would recommend garchomp, he provides a nice resist to electric which bothers your team quit a bit, however it being weak to ice really blows. Garchomp can also help your team with the useful stealth rocks, arguably the best move in the 6v6 singles metagame. I don't really know what you want to play, but Garchomp is pretty much viable in any format it is allowed in!
 
Are you allowing pokemon to be traded in, or do you actually have to catch them during the main playthrough? I'm unclear if you're using perfect IV pokemon that you'll be transferring in or if you're catching them in-game. If you actually need to catch them then hidden abilities could be problematic. Talonflame and Greninja are simply not viable competitively without their hidden abilities, and you can't get them with their hidden abilities until the post-game. Talonflame's evolutionary line in particular also has a terrible movepool at low levels, and doesn't learn a decent STAB move until Acrobatics at level 39 (as a Fletchling; you'll have to wait longer if you evolve). Similar problems exist with other suggestions; Tyrantrum, Dragalge, and Diggersby all need their hidden ability to be competitively viable and they aren't available with it during story mode.

Aegislash and Azumarill are fine, though, since they don't rely on hidden abilities to be viable. With Azumarill, keep in mind that a lot of its moveset needs to be bred onto it so make sure you know what you want. Aqua Jet for priority is probably the only mandatory one.

Garchomp is the obvious choice among ground-type pokemon that's available in XY. However, I'd like to give a shout-out to one of my favorites: Nidoking. Since Nidoran is available as a horde encounter its hidden ability is accessible during main story-mode, and this thing is an absolute monster with the power boost of Sheer Force. I was floored by just how easily this guy swept through the Kalos Elite 4 and champion, and its poison-typing finally gets a chance to shine offensively in gen 6.

Mega Venusaur and Mega Aerodactyl are both great contendors for your mega slot. Both are available very early in the game, mega stone included, and are fun to use.
 
Are you allowing pokemon to be traded in, or do you actually have to catch them during the main playthrough? I'm unclear if you're using perfect IV pokemon that you'll be transferring in or if you're catching them in-game. If you actually need to catch them then hidden abilities could be problematic. Talonflame and Greninja are simply not viable competitively without their hidden abilities, and you can't get them with their hidden abilities until the post-game. Talonflame's evolutionary line in particular also has a terrible movepool at low levels, and doesn't learn a decent STAB move until Acrobatics at level 39 (as a Fletchling; you'll have to wait longer if you evolve). Similar problems exist with other suggestions; Tyrantrum, Dragalge, and Diggersby all need their hidden ability to be competitively viable and they aren't available with it during story mode.

Aegislash and Azumarill are fine, though, since they don't rely on hidden abilities to be viable. With Azumarill, keep in mind that a lot of its moveset needs to be bred onto it so make sure you know what you want. Aqua Jet for priority is probably the only mandatory one.

Garchomp is the obvious choice among ground-type pokemon that's available in XY. However, I'd like to give a shout-out to one of my favorites: Nidoking. Since Nidoran is available as a horde encounter its hidden ability is accessible during main story-mode, and this thing is an absolute monster with the power boost of Sheer Force. I was floored by just how easily this guy swept through the Kalos Elite 4 and champion, and its poison-typing finally gets a chance to shine offensively in gen 6.

Mega Venusaur and Mega Aerodactyl are both great contendors for your mega slot. Both are available very early in the game, mega stone included, and are fun to use.
Talonflames base speed is 126 meaning it's the 14th quickest mon in the game. Though I admit priority Brave Bird/Roost is awesome I don't see it as being absolutely necessary + there's a chance to burn opposing mon on hitting me.

Also I appreciate all the feedback everybody! Currently I've: Doublade/Talonflame/Azumarill. Talonflame I found as a shiny with no gale wings, and doublade I found shiny as well but the ability is fine on him. Azumarill was a breed with aqua jet that I brought over a while ago... Currently working on aquiring the necessary pokes as I play to breed a Tyrantrum with Dragon dance,Head smash,Earthquake and Ice fang... I'm thinking the boosted Ice fang is better than negation of recoil on head smash. Even more so if I switch out for Stone Miss for the added crits (won't happen though).

Still looking for team suggestions, thanks everybody for being awesome!!
 
Having priority on all your flying-type attacks means you don't need to run maximum speed investment. You can run Adamant nature and invest some (or even all) of those EV's in HP instead for better bulk and still outspeed everything thanks to priority. However, even presuming you're running 252+ Spe investment there's still good reasons why you'd want priority. It lets you beat other priority moves; Sucker Punch fails if you outspeed it with a priority move of your own, and most Aqua Jet users come pretty close to OHKO'ing you with it so being able to outspeed them with your own priority is huge. Competitively, Choice Scarf is really common; even Tyrannitar with its laughable base 61 speed outspeeds your Talonflame when scarfed. You will also want to use Talonflame to revenge-kill pokemon that have already obtained speed increases. Dragon Dance is a common and powerful boosting move.

Currently working on aquiring the necessary pokes as I play to breed a Tyrantrum with Dragon dance,Head smash,Earthquake and Ice fang... I'm thinking the boosted Ice fang is better than negation of recoil on head smash.
It isn't. I've run both Rock Head and Strong Jaw Tyrantrum, and Rock Head is by far the stronger of the two. The ability to just freely use Head Smash over and over again lets him break through almost anything. It's not worth giving up that power for a little bit of coverage. Run Outrage instead of Ice Fang and go for Rock Head.
 
Having priority on all your flying-type attacks means you don't need to run maximum speed investment. You can run Adamant nature and invest some (or even all) of those EV's in HP instead for better bulk and still outspeed everything thanks to priority. However, even presuming you're running 252+ Spe investment there's still good reasons why you'd want priority. It lets you beat other priority moves; Sucker Punch fails if you outspeed it with a priority move of your own, and most Aqua Jet users come pretty close to OHKO'ing you with it so being able to outspeed them with your own priority is huge. Competitively, Choice Scarf is really common; even Tyrannitar with its laughable base 61 speed outspeeds your Talonflame when scarfed. You will also want to use Talonflame to revenge-kill pokemon that have already obtained speed increases. Dragon Dance is a common and powerful boosting move.


It isn't. I've run both Rock Head and Strong Jaw Tyrantrum, and Rock Head is by far the stronger of the two. The ability to just freely use Head Smash over and over again lets him break through almost anything. It's not worth giving up that power for a little bit of coverage. Run Outrage instead of Ice Fang and go for Rock Head.
Alright, so how do I acquire and breed the ability Rock Head? Friend safari?
 
It's really tricky to get. It was distributed as a special promotion a while back, so unless you have a code you're out of luck and will need to trade with someone to get the hidden ability.
 

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