Sorry in advance, I forgot how to spoiler-wrap the team progression section.
Staraptor is one of my favorite Pokemon, so when I learned that it worked well as a Tailwind user I got pretty hyped. I'm trying to get into VGC battling and began making a team around it. It was originally a Tailwind + Hail team, but I could never fit Abomasnow, Staraptor, a Fake Out user, and a Hail abuser into a team well. I dropped the Hail Pokemon and tried to muscle through without them. It worked decently, but my faster Pokemon were being slaughtered by Trick Room teams. I've tried to go back to the basics and add a slight twist to the game with Smeargle and some other Pokemon... Eh, I'll just show you.
To give you a good idea of my team-building process, here's a bit of a map of it's formation.
<spoilers>
I wanted to focus my team on a Tailwind Staraptor, so I figured Hitmontop had good synergy with him. Abomasnow put up hail, while Glaceon was a great Blizzard spammer under Hail and Tailwind. I wanted another Blizzarder, so Rotom-F was my choice. To be honest, I can't remember why Garchomp joined, but it was probably because of how good he is with Hitmontop.'
Hitmontop did not pull his weight, so I replaced him quickly with Infernape, whose Heat Wave came in handy immediately. I however, I began getting smacked around by Trick Room. I replaced Glaceon with Froslass to add Taunt support and turned Rotom-F into Rotom-W for better countering.
Trick Room was still a pain, so I experimented with some unsuccessful ways to beat it. Eventually I stumbled upon the idea of using Imprison. Hmm, interesting. I looked for Pokemon that learned it, but none of them suited my playstyle well. Then came upon a savoir. Smeargle. After playing around with him, I realized that his Imprison was amazingly useful in shutting down both Cresselia and Amoonguss, so I decided to change the team around and ditch the Hail theme. Abomasnow and Froslass got the obvious axe to make way for CB Terrakion (I don't need the speed with Tailwind) and my custom Smeargle. Rotom-W stayed as water support and works well with Garchomp, leaving my finalized team as follows:
</spoilers>
So, without further ado, my team's current itineration:
Staraptor (F) @ Flying Gem
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 140 SDef / 116 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Tailwind
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- Protect
A team favorite. It's a twist on the usual Staraptors seen, but gets the job done. Tailwind is for team support and I usually get it out. Brave Bird + Flying Gem OHKOs all Amoonguss variants, a Pokemon that I often struggle with. Close Combat is for coverage, while Protect is just standard. He does his job and is surprisingly sturdy. I wish I could run Wacan Berry, but that first-turn Amoonguss KO is crucial.
Smeargle (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Moody
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Imprison
- Trick Room
- Protect
My Trick Room counter. Imprison shuts down several Trick Room users and is generally unexpected. I usually use the next turn to Spore an opponent to sleep until Smeargle falls while Staraptor Brave Birds or Infernape Heat Waves them into submission. There's not much more to say, but the usefulness of Imprison is great. Moody is just haxy fun that allows me to Spore more and more.
Infernape (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 116 Atk / 140 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Heat Wave
- Protect
A good opener with Smeargle and Staraptor. Fake Out gives Smeargle time to set up Imprison and Staraptor a chance to Tailwind. Offensively, he works, but doesn't shine too much. He does his job and then I either retreat him or let him fall. He's a star lead, but doesn't pack the punch late-game.
Garchomp (M) @ Yache Berry
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Protect
My team powerhouse (well, before Terrakion). His Dragon Claw under Tailwind often OHKOs opposing Dragons, while Earthquake coupled with Rotom-W and Staraptor is nice. He does a nice job dealing damage once my opponents are incapacitated (Spore) and when he's sped up.
Terrakion @ Choice Band
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- X-Scissor
My team's new powerhouse. CB > CS because Tailwind does the boosting job for its speed. It's pretty standard, but compliments my team well. He's picked up a lot of his partner's slack since I added him.
Rotom-Wash @ Electric Gem
Trait: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Hydro Pump
- Shadow Ball
- Discharge
- Protect
I don't know what to make of him. He's a generic rain counter who can't do the job super well. Sitrus Berry didn't work well, so I replaced Thunder Wave with Discharge and gave him an Electric Gem to tag team with Garchomp. He KOs well now, but struggles against Kingdra and Ludicolo. I use him often as my only Special Attacker.
Leads:
Staraptor and Infernape- A reliable way to set up Tailwind. I usually use this if I don't see any Trick Roomers.
Smeargle and Infernape- A great Trick Room stopper. I Fake Out the offensive Pokemon and Imprison to stop the TR user. Then I cross my fingers and try to Spore them until support comes to take out the opposition.
Staraptor and Smeargle- Sometimes works. I use this if I sense a Trick Room and don't feel a Fake Out. Theoretically it's the best, Tailwinding and stopping TR on the first turn, but Fake Out on Smeargle kills the game if TR goes up.
Team Examples (Leads in Front):
Staraptor, Infernape, Garchomp, Rotom-W (Rain teams)
Staraptor, Infernape, Garchomp, Terrakion (Most Teams)
Infernape, Smeargle, Staraptor, Terrakion (Trick Room Teams)
In general, one of my problems with team building is getting too caught up in a gimmick. My last team tried to incorporate Trick Room, Rain, and team attacks into a too-complicated train wreck. This one began as a Hail, Tailwind, Glaceon, Staraptor team, but I decided to "simplify" it bit. Any tips on how to avoid getting caught up too much in Tailwind?
Overall the team works well, but it lacks a certain unity. It struggles against Rain teams badly, despite my Rotom-W's attempts to stop it. I'm very open to lineup changes, just with a few conditions. First, it's an ingame team too, so I can't use any legendaries except for Terrakion. Secondly, I'd like to keep Staraptor, as it was the glue of my team, and Smeargle, he has surprised me in his usefulness. Rotom-W, Infernape, and Garchomp are fairly generic, so I'm completely okay with changing/replacing them. Other than that, I'm open for suggestions. Are there moves that my Pokemon should run instead? Are there Pokemon that do what they do better than them?
Thanks in advance! I've been a Pokemon fan since the series began and would love to compete in the official playstyle.
Staraptor is one of my favorite Pokemon, so when I learned that it worked well as a Tailwind user I got pretty hyped. I'm trying to get into VGC battling and began making a team around it. It was originally a Tailwind + Hail team, but I could never fit Abomasnow, Staraptor, a Fake Out user, and a Hail abuser into a team well. I dropped the Hail Pokemon and tried to muscle through without them. It worked decently, but my faster Pokemon were being slaughtered by Trick Room teams. I've tried to go back to the basics and add a slight twist to the game with Smeargle and some other Pokemon... Eh, I'll just show you.
To give you a good idea of my team-building process, here's a bit of a map of it's formation.
<spoilers>
I wanted to focus my team on a Tailwind Staraptor, so I figured Hitmontop had good synergy with him. Abomasnow put up hail, while Glaceon was a great Blizzard spammer under Hail and Tailwind. I wanted another Blizzarder, so Rotom-F was my choice. To be honest, I can't remember why Garchomp joined, but it was probably because of how good he is with Hitmontop.'
Hitmontop did not pull his weight, so I replaced him quickly with Infernape, whose Heat Wave came in handy immediately. I however, I began getting smacked around by Trick Room. I replaced Glaceon with Froslass to add Taunt support and turned Rotom-F into Rotom-W for better countering.
Trick Room was still a pain, so I experimented with some unsuccessful ways to beat it. Eventually I stumbled upon the idea of using Imprison. Hmm, interesting. I looked for Pokemon that learned it, but none of them suited my playstyle well. Then came upon a savoir. Smeargle. After playing around with him, I realized that his Imprison was amazingly useful in shutting down both Cresselia and Amoonguss, so I decided to change the team around and ditch the Hail theme. Abomasnow and Froslass got the obvious axe to make way for CB Terrakion (I don't need the speed with Tailwind) and my custom Smeargle. Rotom-W stayed as water support and works well with Garchomp, leaving my finalized team as follows:
So, without further ado, my team's current itineration:
Staraptor (F) @ Flying Gem
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 140 SDef / 116 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Tailwind
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- Protect
A team favorite. It's a twist on the usual Staraptors seen, but gets the job done. Tailwind is for team support and I usually get it out. Brave Bird + Flying Gem OHKOs all Amoonguss variants, a Pokemon that I often struggle with. Close Combat is for coverage, while Protect is just standard. He does his job and is surprisingly sturdy. I wish I could run Wacan Berry, but that first-turn Amoonguss KO is crucial.
Smeargle (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Moody
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Imprison
- Trick Room
- Protect
My Trick Room counter. Imprison shuts down several Trick Room users and is generally unexpected. I usually use the next turn to Spore an opponent to sleep until Smeargle falls while Staraptor Brave Birds or Infernape Heat Waves them into submission. There's not much more to say, but the usefulness of Imprison is great. Moody is just haxy fun that allows me to Spore more and more.
Infernape (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 116 Atk / 140 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Heat Wave
- Protect
A good opener with Smeargle and Staraptor. Fake Out gives Smeargle time to set up Imprison and Staraptor a chance to Tailwind. Offensively, he works, but doesn't shine too much. He does his job and then I either retreat him or let him fall. He's a star lead, but doesn't pack the punch late-game.
Garchomp (M) @ Yache Berry
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Protect
My team powerhouse (well, before Terrakion). His Dragon Claw under Tailwind often OHKOs opposing Dragons, while Earthquake coupled with Rotom-W and Staraptor is nice. He does a nice job dealing damage once my opponents are incapacitated (Spore) and when he's sped up.
Terrakion @ Choice Band
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- X-Scissor
My team's new powerhouse. CB > CS because Tailwind does the boosting job for its speed. It's pretty standard, but compliments my team well. He's picked up a lot of his partner's slack since I added him.
Rotom-Wash @ Electric Gem
Trait: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Hydro Pump
- Shadow Ball
- Discharge
- Protect
I don't know what to make of him. He's a generic rain counter who can't do the job super well. Sitrus Berry didn't work well, so I replaced Thunder Wave with Discharge and gave him an Electric Gem to tag team with Garchomp. He KOs well now, but struggles against Kingdra and Ludicolo. I use him often as my only Special Attacker.
Leads:
Staraptor and Infernape- A reliable way to set up Tailwind. I usually use this if I don't see any Trick Roomers.
Smeargle and Infernape- A great Trick Room stopper. I Fake Out the offensive Pokemon and Imprison to stop the TR user. Then I cross my fingers and try to Spore them until support comes to take out the opposition.
Staraptor and Smeargle- Sometimes works. I use this if I sense a Trick Room and don't feel a Fake Out. Theoretically it's the best, Tailwinding and stopping TR on the first turn, but Fake Out on Smeargle kills the game if TR goes up.
Team Examples (Leads in Front):
Staraptor, Infernape, Garchomp, Rotom-W (Rain teams)
Staraptor, Infernape, Garchomp, Terrakion (Most Teams)
Infernape, Smeargle, Staraptor, Terrakion (Trick Room Teams)
In general, one of my problems with team building is getting too caught up in a gimmick. My last team tried to incorporate Trick Room, Rain, and team attacks into a too-complicated train wreck. This one began as a Hail, Tailwind, Glaceon, Staraptor team, but I decided to "simplify" it bit. Any tips on how to avoid getting caught up too much in Tailwind?
Overall the team works well, but it lacks a certain unity. It struggles against Rain teams badly, despite my Rotom-W's attempts to stop it. I'm very open to lineup changes, just with a few conditions. First, it's an ingame team too, so I can't use any legendaries except for Terrakion. Secondly, I'd like to keep Staraptor, as it was the glue of my team, and Smeargle, he has surprised me in his usefulness. Rotom-W, Infernape, and Garchomp are fairly generic, so I'm completely okay with changing/replacing them. Other than that, I'm open for suggestions. Are there moves that my Pokemon should run instead? Are there Pokemon that do what they do better than them?
Thanks in advance! I've been a Pokemon fan since the series began and would love to compete in the official playstyle.