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History of In-Game Teams
- Thread starter SgtWoodsy
- Start date
This is the most bog standard Sinnoh lineup ever...and I'm here for it.
Can’t help meself
Here are my teams in all the games I've played through completely. For the ones where there are more than six mons, I used more than six and rotated my party around for different battles. I'm also listing the teams in the order that I played the games
Emerald:
This was my first team and it's apparent that I had no idea what I was doing lol. Glacia was a pain and Rayquaza hard carried me through the league. I used Kyogre and Groudon a bit after catching them
Diamond:
Minus Hippowdon, this is a pretty standard Sinnoh team. Not much to say here
Platinum:
Also a fairly standard team minus Gallade. I though Giratina was super cool so I brought him to the Pokemon League with me
SoulSilver:
My friend helped me get Scizor and he passed me a Larvitar that was very useful for me
Black 2:
I took a bit of a break from Pokemon after SoulSilver and this was the game that got me back into the series. I was rusty so I ended up with a few too many Dark types on my team
Omega Ruby:
For the remakes of the first region I experienced, I intentionally made a team that was very similar to my original team
Y:
This is probably one of my least favorite teams since most of the Pokemon I used were just given to me by NPCs
White:
I eventually got around to Black and White 1 and I don't remember what I used before I caught Zekrom and Volcarona
Sun:
Probably my favorite team I've ever used. I was really curious about what Ash Greninja was like and it ended up putting in a lot of work. If I didn't use it I probably would've used Golisopod in its place
Ultra Moon:
Basically I abused Island Scan lol. I couldn't Mega Evolve Sceptile, Swampert, and Ampharos for the main story but I got their stones during the postgame
Let's Go Pikachu:
I have no idea why I even got this game but I took advantage of the ability to obtain all three starters. Venusaur ended up carrying
Sword:
When I learned about the fixed exp share I decided to use more than six mons and rotate them around. In the end I ended up using Haxorus for most battles and I used separate teams for the DLCs
Isle of Armor:
The Isle of Armor brought back many of my old buddies and I wanted to try a Talonflame for the first time. Also I don't know how to put the Gmax sprites for Blastoise and Urshifu in my message lol
White replay:
After using Samurott in every other Unova playthrough I finally tried out Serperior and now it's my favorite of the trio. For the other members I tried out Pokemon I had never used before
Omega Ruby replay:
I finally tried Blaziken in a Hoenn playthrough and really liked it. The other members were mons I wanted to use. Garchomp's Mega Stone was a pain to get so I traded with a friend for it
Ultra Moon replay:
In this run I basically tried to cheese Ultra Necrozma with Zoroark lol. Like in my previous playthrough I got the Mega Stones in the postgame
Y replay:
I liked this team a lot more than my previous Kalos team. I did not intend to use Garchomp at first but I found a random wild Gible so I slapped it on the team
Crown Tundra:
The Crown Tundra brought back many of my favorite Pokemon so I took the opportunity to use them all. I had seen the leaks about the Hoenn starters returning prior to the DLC's release, so I transferred over a few spares from my 3DS
Emerald:
This was my first team and it's apparent that I had no idea what I was doing lol. Glacia was a pain and Rayquaza hard carried me through the league. I used Kyogre and Groudon a bit after catching them
Diamond:
Minus Hippowdon, this is a pretty standard Sinnoh team. Not much to say here
Platinum:
Also a fairly standard team minus Gallade. I though Giratina was super cool so I brought him to the Pokemon League with me
SoulSilver:
My friend helped me get Scizor and he passed me a Larvitar that was very useful for me
Black 2:
I took a bit of a break from Pokemon after SoulSilver and this was the game that got me back into the series. I was rusty so I ended up with a few too many Dark types on my team
Omega Ruby:
For the remakes of the first region I experienced, I intentionally made a team that was very similar to my original team
Y:
This is probably one of my least favorite teams since most of the Pokemon I used were just given to me by NPCs
White:
I eventually got around to Black and White 1 and I don't remember what I used before I caught Zekrom and Volcarona
Sun:
Probably my favorite team I've ever used. I was really curious about what Ash Greninja was like and it ended up putting in a lot of work. If I didn't use it I probably would've used Golisopod in its place
Ultra Moon:
Basically I abused Island Scan lol. I couldn't Mega Evolve Sceptile, Swampert, and Ampharos for the main story but I got their stones during the postgame
Let's Go Pikachu:
I have no idea why I even got this game but I took advantage of the ability to obtain all three starters. Venusaur ended up carrying
Sword:
When I learned about the fixed exp share I decided to use more than six mons and rotate them around. In the end I ended up using Haxorus for most battles and I used separate teams for the DLCs
Isle of Armor:
The Isle of Armor brought back many of my old buddies and I wanted to try a Talonflame for the first time. Also I don't know how to put the Gmax sprites for Blastoise and Urshifu in my message lol
White replay:
After using Samurott in every other Unova playthrough I finally tried out Serperior and now it's my favorite of the trio. For the other members I tried out Pokemon I had never used before
Omega Ruby replay:
I finally tried Blaziken in a Hoenn playthrough and really liked it. The other members were mons I wanted to use. Garchomp's Mega Stone was a pain to get so I traded with a friend for it
Ultra Moon replay:
In this run I basically tried to cheese Ultra Necrozma with Zoroark lol. Like in my previous playthrough I got the Mega Stones in the postgame
Y replay:
I liked this team a lot more than my previous Kalos team. I did not intend to use Garchomp at first but I found a random wild Gible so I slapped it on the team
Crown Tundra:
The Crown Tundra brought back many of my favorite Pokemon so I took the opportunity to use them all. I had seen the leaks about the Hoenn starters returning prior to the DLC's release, so I transferred over a few spares from my 3DS
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I really like this idea of putting to paper all of my teams over the years, I definitely have a lot more than what I will list but I will put the first ones. I have played almost every main series game, but I will leave out the stuff I cannot remember, so here is the list:
Yellow:
This team is more of an amalgamation of what mons I remember using. Since I played this game when I was 3+ I could not read that well and my Charizard was level 70+ and had ember still. I never completed the game, but I sure had a blast.
Gold:
My first team that I fully remember, and might I add peak performance. How did I get two Ho-ohs? Well, it turns out the rumors on the playground were true, and I cloned them. Why two Kinglers? Turns out getting stuck in the ocean and being forced to grind endlessly led to a level 50+ Kingler just after I got Surf, and you bet I cloned that bad boy. Also, Typhlosion is the best Johto starter in my opinion.
Ruby:
This is one of my favorite teams and the first that I remember each part of my journey. It took me about 20+ attempts to beat the elite 4 because I did not know that I could save before the champion and only used a few hp and status restoring moves, because I bought hundreds of ultra balls. Probably the most hyped I have been to beat the elite four, ever.
Diamond:
I loved using this team, very offensive and the game was not much of a challenge. I actually quit the franchise after this one because I did not discover any of the activities in Pokemon that I actually still do to this day.
White:
The start of a new trend where I stayed away from starters, unless they were super cool. Also, this game is responsible for getting me back into the franchise. My buddy in high school also got me into this website back in early 2013 and paved the way for spending hundreds of hours in the franchise once again.
X:
Honestly, mega Lucario is broken, I had an absolute blast playing this game. I put in over 1000 hours in this game, and still have the original save to this day, though all the Pokemon are transferred up into the newest game. First level 100 Pokemon too!
Sun:
A fun team where I had to take the starter because I absolutely love the starter Decidueye. I had a great time in this game and completed the Pokedex for the first time.
Ultra Sun:
I bred a shiny starter and a shiny Araquanid to play through the game, they definitely carried the run, when they weren't disobedient.
Shield:
I really liked Pokemon Shield, but did not like some of the core mechanics. I really disliked dynamiting, and dens. I played it once and have not even played the dlc.
I might put some of my challenge run teams on here too.
Yellow:
This team is more of an amalgamation of what mons I remember using. Since I played this game when I was 3+ I could not read that well and my Charizard was level 70+ and had ember still. I never completed the game, but I sure had a blast.
Gold:
My first team that I fully remember, and might I add peak performance. How did I get two Ho-ohs? Well, it turns out the rumors on the playground were true, and I cloned them. Why two Kinglers? Turns out getting stuck in the ocean and being forced to grind endlessly led to a level 50+ Kingler just after I got Surf, and you bet I cloned that bad boy. Also, Typhlosion is the best Johto starter in my opinion.
Ruby:
This is one of my favorite teams and the first that I remember each part of my journey. It took me about 20+ attempts to beat the elite 4 because I did not know that I could save before the champion and only used a few hp and status restoring moves, because I bought hundreds of ultra balls. Probably the most hyped I have been to beat the elite four, ever.
Diamond:
I loved using this team, very offensive and the game was not much of a challenge. I actually quit the franchise after this one because I did not discover any of the activities in Pokemon that I actually still do to this day.
White:
The start of a new trend where I stayed away from starters, unless they were super cool. Also, this game is responsible for getting me back into the franchise. My buddy in high school also got me into this website back in early 2013 and paved the way for spending hundreds of hours in the franchise once again.
X:
Honestly, mega Lucario is broken, I had an absolute blast playing this game. I put in over 1000 hours in this game, and still have the original save to this day, though all the Pokemon are transferred up into the newest game. First level 100 Pokemon too!
Sun:
A fun team where I had to take the starter because I absolutely love the starter Decidueye. I had a great time in this game and completed the Pokedex for the first time.
Ultra Sun:
I bred a shiny starter and a shiny Araquanid to play through the game, they definitely carried the run, when they weren't disobedient.
Shield:
I really liked Pokemon Shield, but did not like some of the core mechanics. I really disliked dynamiting, and dens. I played it once and have not even played the dlc.
I might put some of my challenge run teams on here too.
Oooh, lemme see...
Yellow: Pidgeot, Snorlax, Tauros, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Pikachu.
This turned somewhat quickly into a half-assed Pidgeot solo run. I was a huge noob back then. I found TM44 on the S.S. Anne, booted it up, saw it taught Rest. I didn't know what the hell Rest was. All I knew was that it was a move my Pidgeotto could actually learn, something that was in pretty short supply. So I taught it, and I found out that it was a super-awesome healing move. I reasoned that if I overleveled Pidgeotto, it'd be able to shrug off any hits with ease during the turns it spent asleep. And to my credit this thinking did get me through much of the game. Just... not so much through Viridian Gym. Pidgeot was level 60, Snorlax level 30, Tauros level 28, Pikachu level 14, Bulbasaur and Squirtle level 10. I did not know Mimic or the TM for it were things back then. I probably got rid of Sand Attack and didn't think to go with Double Team. Rhydon was the end of the playthrough. You know that thing has Rock Slide in Yellow? Well, if you didn't, now you do.
Silver: Feraligatr, Togepi, Pidgey, Goldeen, Weedle, Beedrill.
Yeeeeaaaah, this was... another half-baked solo run, more or less. I remember Togepi had gotten to, like, level 18 or so, but by and large I just used my starter. This time I had made it all the way to Lance, and I would have got past him if... if I hadn't loaded Feraligatr up with HMs exclusively. All I had to do was axe Whirlpool for Ice Punch, but no, still relatively noobish back then.
Ruby: Swampert, Linoone, Shiftry, Pelipper, Castform, Wynaut.
Now this is when I started actually doing the whole team thing properly. Everyone on this squad got leveled up evenly and used evenly. Yes, even Linoone, who was the HM slave. STAB Strength comes in handy sometimes. And yes, Wynaut. Not Wobbuffet. Wynaut was my favorite thing back then. I still have... most of this team. Poor Pelipper never made it past Emerald- there was an incident involving a cheating device, the Battle Factory, and a harebrained scheme to steam rental Pokémon.
Colosseum: Espeon, Umbreon, Hariyama, Feraligatr, Dunsparce, Plusle.
Friggin' love Colosseum. My first time using most of these mons. I only really regret that Dunsparce can't get Headbutt in Colosseum (mine had Run Away anyway, as I recall). This was a solid team. And yes, that's including Plusle in that statement. Feraligatr and Plusle in Colosseum is a combo I make use of in Colosseum playthroughs to this day. They work so well together, and Plusle is a better pick than you'd think. Like, OK, yeah, you get it at level 13, the lowest level of any available mon in the game. Sure. But you also get it basically right before you get to find the Exp. Share, so there's that. And also, Plusle is treated as an outsider Pokémon due to having Duking's OT and ID number. And Colosseum has no level-based obedience mechanic because trading is only possible in the postgame, so you can level Plusle up fast, even overlevel it, without any drawbacks. And as for how it works well in this game? Well, right away it comes with Growl, Thunder Wave, and Helping Hand. Helping Hand is obviously a good pick in a game that's all double battles. Growl hits both opponents, but the real draw to that is that everything you're able to catch, and are encouraged to try to catch, knows a physical move with infinite PP and recoil. Weakening that may be a very, very good idea, don't you agree? And beyond that, there's Thunder. Why Thunder? Well, don't forget, I pair this thing with Feraligatr, who already comes with Rain Dance and Surf. And in Gen 3, Surf doesn't hit your ally. Starting to see it? Rain Dance powers up Surf and makes Thunder always hit, and Helping Hand can power Surf up all the more.
Pearl: Infernape, Bibarel, Luxray, Drifblim, Carnivine, Lucario.
I liked this team. Bibarel was every bit as useful in battle as Linoone- STAB on both Strength and Waterfall certainly didn't hurt its case! Carnivine and Drifblim weren't the easiest to use, but when they worked, they really worked, and I don't regret using them at all when you get right down to it.
HeartGold: Typhlosion, Togekiss, Dunsparce, Qwilfish, Weezing, Victreebel.
Hi, I'm Missingno. Master, and I absolutely love Poison-types, can you tell? :) I had this team planned out back when all we knew HGSS as was "those Johto remakes they're almost certainly gonna announce". Dunsparce, Qwilfish, Weezing, and Victreebel are four of my top five favorite Pokémon, and if I could've squeezed Arbok in here somewhere, would've had the whole top five, but I'm not one to ditch my starter, and also I needed someone for Fly. Ended up having to trade in the Shiny Stone to evolve Togetic before the Elite Four, but it was worth it. Very solid team- actually got Serene Grace and Headbutt on this Dunsparce, so you can bet your sweet ass there was some flinch hax going down! :)
Black: Emboar, Simisage, Swoobat, Zoroark, Klinklang, Red-Striped Basculin.
I had the basics of this team planned out from prerelease info alone. Every time something in the evolution line of one of these mons was first revealed, it just kinda clicked with me. This was the first generation where I had my starter picked within seconds of first seeing what the choices were. And no regrets whatsoever, either. Zoroark was an excellent pick in particular- everyone else was bitching about N's Sigilyph being stupidly hard. My experience with that one was just watching the thing spam Psybeam again and again against what looked like a Pignite. :) My only real regret was deleting Confusion for Heart Stamp on Woobat, but I learned my lesson when it came time to learn Psychic! Nothing here disappointed in the end. Basculin had Adaptability, so those Waterfalls hit like a freight train. I kept Klang from evolving right away to get Shift Gear a little earlier- very much worth it IMO. Pansage started to be a bit less useful after Striaton Gym, but I persevered with the guy until he learned Seed Bomb, used a Leaf Stone, and then I had an absolute powerhouse on my hands. And Emboar- lemme tell you, one Flame Charge, that usually fixes the Speed issue, I speak from personal experience.
Black 2: Samurott, Drifblim, Lucario, Venusaur, Heatmor, Garbodor.
This was the first time I traded in unhatched Eggs for an ingame team- after I beat Cheren, I traded in the Bulbasaur, Heatmor, and Trubbish Eggs- the Trubbish one was so I could have Rock Blast and early access to Gunk Shot. Drifblim was from Dream Radar, so I had it in time for the first Gym, and lemme tell you, Ghost's immunity to Normal doesn't mean a thing when everything in that Gym has Bite and is not afraid to use it. Ultimately, not a bad team when all was said and done, and Garbodor in particular has a special place in my heart for helping me clinch the battle against Colress in the story-mandated PWT tournament.
Y: Chesnaught, Pyroar (female), Farfetch'd, Meowstic (female), Heliolisk, Dragalge.
This team is somewhat different from my initial plans. I originally wanted a male Pyroar instead of a female, and a Noivern instead of a Farfetch'd. However, I was not aware of Litleo's uneven gender ratio, and combine that with how tired I was that late at night when I was looking for one for my team, I figured the game was trying to tell me something, so I caught a female and left it at that. As for the Flying-type... I aborted the plan for Noivern when I learned how ridiculously late in game Noibat was, and instead set my sights on Hawlucha. But then I heard Hawlucha couldn't do Sky Battles. I was still hyped about those back then, so I decided to go for a different one. So, in a cruel twist of irony, I went for Farfetch'd, only realizing long after the fact that Hawlucha was not the only one who couldn't do Sky Battles. Still a solid team, though, and yes, even Farfetch'd had its moments.
Omega Ruby: Sceptile, Pelipper, Dustox, Wobbuffet, Claydol, Sharpedo.
I didn't really plan this team out beforehand, which is rare for me. Hell, Dustox was thoroughly accidental. I caught a wild Wurmple because the DexNav readout said it had Bright Powder, which I figured might come in handy, and it was too early in the game to have any way to just steal the item. Forgot to put Wurmple in the PC, only remembered it was there when the Exp. Share helped it evolve into Cascoon. Now, I like Dustox, so I figured, y'know, why not? Dustox's position on the team was cemented when it wiped the battlefield with Brawly's team. :)
Alpha Sapphire: Feebas, Sunkern, Happiny, Nosepass, Luvdisc, Farfetch'd.
Yep. To prove a point about how easy the games were becoming, I played through Alpha Sapphire with this band of weaklings, allowing myself access to all the modern conveniences- Pokémon-Amie, the Exp. Share, easy Lucky Egg access through DexNav Pelipper, all the good stuff. None of them were allowed to evolve. Made for some fun and interesting moments. Like, just seeing a Happiny use Fire Blast is hilarious. Or seeing your Sunkern use Draco Meteor because it used Nature Power during the battle against Deoxys in space. Or taking down Wallace's Milotic, both times, with its own pre-evolution. That felt good. This... this was an interesting and memorable playthrough.
Moon: Incineroar, Midnight Lycanroc, Toxapex, Salazzle, Golisopod, Mimikyu.
Once again, I like Poison-types. :) So much so I was willing to go a little overboard on the type overlap to accommodate both Toxapex and Salazzle when I already knew I wanted to use Incineroar and Golisopod. I honestly wish I had held out for Merciless on Toxapex instead of settling for Limber- would've come in handy against Lusamine's Clefable- but other than that, good team. Golisopod was interesting to work with in particular. Made for a rather anticlimactic first attempt at fighting Nebby, but other than that, Emergency Exit was a cool Ability to try and work with. First Impression works really well with it.
Ultra Sun: Primarina, Crabominable, Noivern, Leafeon, Houndoom, Nihilego.
And this is where I began to see exactly why X and Y put Noibat so late in the game- because it is utter deadweight until it evolves into Noivern. I had to Supersonic Skystrike to get the thing to do even just decent damage. Noivern was worth the pain, though. Crabominable was alright- nothing amazing, not horrible. I do wish it was a faster mon, though. Overall, this was a decent team.
Ultra Moon: Venomoth, Arbok, Salandit (male), Tentacruel, Drapion, Naganadel.
Yep. I went mono-Poison in Ultra Moon. Traded in a Venonat Egg to serve as my starter. Deliberately went for a male Salandit for the challenge. I had fun with this. As you can imagine, though, I really had to plan for the Ultra Necrozma battle, but ultimately that plan worked out. I got the Focus Sash, gave it to Arbok to ensure I got off a Glare. Signal Beam from Venomoth, Hex from Tentacruel, before they each got OHKO'd. Then I brought in Drapion, used a Roto-Boost, force-fed the Blinding One a Black Hole Eclipse with Crunch as the base move, and that's the way the Necrozma crumbles. :)
Let's Go Pikachu: Pikachu, Victreebel, Nidoking, Kingler, Weezing, Alolan Persian.
I had the team planned out before we knew version exclusives. In hindsight, probably shouldn't have decided to use the Team Rocket mons in the version that was more similar to Yellow- had to use GO Park to get Weezing and Persian in, though my best friend traded me a Bellsprout for an Oddish very early on. I had a lot of fun with this, from beating an unexpected Rocket grunt at a moment where all I had to work with was my newly-caught Krabby, to feeling that nostalgic rush in sending in Pikachu at the beginning of a battle. Yellow was my first game, so yeah. :)
Shield: Cinderace, Barraskewda, Galarian Stunfisk, Galarian Weezing, Cursola, Indeedee (female).
This was a good, good team. :) Lemme tell you- beating Nessa with nothing but a Raboot and an Arrokuda, the only way that gets better is if the Arrokuda evolves into Barraskewda as a result of that victory. Ask me how I know. :) Stunfisk was amazing- got Adamant without even trying, and Revenge and Payback ended up staples of its moveset. Worked really well with Weezing against Raihan- Weezing could spam Sludge Wave, Stunfisk could spam Bulldoze, and they could hurt the opponents but not each other.
Sword: Skuntank, Galarian Slowbro, Venusaur, Garbodor, Amped Toxtricity, Galarian Weezing.
Another mono-Poison run. I held off on this until we had the DLC in its entirety, and it was worth the wait, this was a lot of fun. I used Max Soup to get the Gigantamax factor on Garbodor and Toxtricity. Garbodor in particular was something of the star of the team, right down to being the one to take out Leon's Charizard and making me Champion. Slowpoke was downright awful before it evolved, but once it did, well worth the wait. Shell Side Arm is insanely good.
And my planned BDSP team thus far is looking like; Torterra, Kricketune, Lumineon/Phione, Magmortar, Ambipom, Toxicroak. Subject to change based on any new information that might come to light. The Water-type depends on how soon we're able to get Ditto, because if we can get one before or even a reasonable amount of time after reaching Solaceon, I'll just breed the event Manaphy and get the Phione. Yes, I want to use Phione instead of Manaphy. I like it. It's cute. I've never used one ingame, and I want to try using one even while acknowledging its objective inferiority to Manaphy from a viability standpoint.
Yellow: Pidgeot, Snorlax, Tauros, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Pikachu.
This turned somewhat quickly into a half-assed Pidgeot solo run. I was a huge noob back then. I found TM44 on the S.S. Anne, booted it up, saw it taught Rest. I didn't know what the hell Rest was. All I knew was that it was a move my Pidgeotto could actually learn, something that was in pretty short supply. So I taught it, and I found out that it was a super-awesome healing move. I reasoned that if I overleveled Pidgeotto, it'd be able to shrug off any hits with ease during the turns it spent asleep. And to my credit this thinking did get me through much of the game. Just... not so much through Viridian Gym. Pidgeot was level 60, Snorlax level 30, Tauros level 28, Pikachu level 14, Bulbasaur and Squirtle level 10. I did not know Mimic or the TM for it were things back then. I probably got rid of Sand Attack and didn't think to go with Double Team. Rhydon was the end of the playthrough. You know that thing has Rock Slide in Yellow? Well, if you didn't, now you do.
Silver: Feraligatr, Togepi, Pidgey, Goldeen, Weedle, Beedrill.
Yeeeeaaaah, this was... another half-baked solo run, more or less. I remember Togepi had gotten to, like, level 18 or so, but by and large I just used my starter. This time I had made it all the way to Lance, and I would have got past him if... if I hadn't loaded Feraligatr up with HMs exclusively. All I had to do was axe Whirlpool for Ice Punch, but no, still relatively noobish back then.
Ruby: Swampert, Linoone, Shiftry, Pelipper, Castform, Wynaut.
Now this is when I started actually doing the whole team thing properly. Everyone on this squad got leveled up evenly and used evenly. Yes, even Linoone, who was the HM slave. STAB Strength comes in handy sometimes. And yes, Wynaut. Not Wobbuffet. Wynaut was my favorite thing back then. I still have... most of this team. Poor Pelipper never made it past Emerald- there was an incident involving a cheating device, the Battle Factory, and a harebrained scheme to steam rental Pokémon.
Colosseum: Espeon, Umbreon, Hariyama, Feraligatr, Dunsparce, Plusle.
Friggin' love Colosseum. My first time using most of these mons. I only really regret that Dunsparce can't get Headbutt in Colosseum (mine had Run Away anyway, as I recall). This was a solid team. And yes, that's including Plusle in that statement. Feraligatr and Plusle in Colosseum is a combo I make use of in Colosseum playthroughs to this day. They work so well together, and Plusle is a better pick than you'd think. Like, OK, yeah, you get it at level 13, the lowest level of any available mon in the game. Sure. But you also get it basically right before you get to find the Exp. Share, so there's that. And also, Plusle is treated as an outsider Pokémon due to having Duking's OT and ID number. And Colosseum has no level-based obedience mechanic because trading is only possible in the postgame, so you can level Plusle up fast, even overlevel it, without any drawbacks. And as for how it works well in this game? Well, right away it comes with Growl, Thunder Wave, and Helping Hand. Helping Hand is obviously a good pick in a game that's all double battles. Growl hits both opponents, but the real draw to that is that everything you're able to catch, and are encouraged to try to catch, knows a physical move with infinite PP and recoil. Weakening that may be a very, very good idea, don't you agree? And beyond that, there's Thunder. Why Thunder? Well, don't forget, I pair this thing with Feraligatr, who already comes with Rain Dance and Surf. And in Gen 3, Surf doesn't hit your ally. Starting to see it? Rain Dance powers up Surf and makes Thunder always hit, and Helping Hand can power Surf up all the more.
Pearl: Infernape, Bibarel, Luxray, Drifblim, Carnivine, Lucario.
I liked this team. Bibarel was every bit as useful in battle as Linoone- STAB on both Strength and Waterfall certainly didn't hurt its case! Carnivine and Drifblim weren't the easiest to use, but when they worked, they really worked, and I don't regret using them at all when you get right down to it.
HeartGold: Typhlosion, Togekiss, Dunsparce, Qwilfish, Weezing, Victreebel.
Hi, I'm Missingno. Master, and I absolutely love Poison-types, can you tell? :) I had this team planned out back when all we knew HGSS as was "those Johto remakes they're almost certainly gonna announce". Dunsparce, Qwilfish, Weezing, and Victreebel are four of my top five favorite Pokémon, and if I could've squeezed Arbok in here somewhere, would've had the whole top five, but I'm not one to ditch my starter, and also I needed someone for Fly. Ended up having to trade in the Shiny Stone to evolve Togetic before the Elite Four, but it was worth it. Very solid team- actually got Serene Grace and Headbutt on this Dunsparce, so you can bet your sweet ass there was some flinch hax going down! :)
Black: Emboar, Simisage, Swoobat, Zoroark, Klinklang, Red-Striped Basculin.
I had the basics of this team planned out from prerelease info alone. Every time something in the evolution line of one of these mons was first revealed, it just kinda clicked with me. This was the first generation where I had my starter picked within seconds of first seeing what the choices were. And no regrets whatsoever, either. Zoroark was an excellent pick in particular- everyone else was bitching about N's Sigilyph being stupidly hard. My experience with that one was just watching the thing spam Psybeam again and again against what looked like a Pignite. :) My only real regret was deleting Confusion for Heart Stamp on Woobat, but I learned my lesson when it came time to learn Psychic! Nothing here disappointed in the end. Basculin had Adaptability, so those Waterfalls hit like a freight train. I kept Klang from evolving right away to get Shift Gear a little earlier- very much worth it IMO. Pansage started to be a bit less useful after Striaton Gym, but I persevered with the guy until he learned Seed Bomb, used a Leaf Stone, and then I had an absolute powerhouse on my hands. And Emboar- lemme tell you, one Flame Charge, that usually fixes the Speed issue, I speak from personal experience.
Black 2: Samurott, Drifblim, Lucario, Venusaur, Heatmor, Garbodor.
This was the first time I traded in unhatched Eggs for an ingame team- after I beat Cheren, I traded in the Bulbasaur, Heatmor, and Trubbish Eggs- the Trubbish one was so I could have Rock Blast and early access to Gunk Shot. Drifblim was from Dream Radar, so I had it in time for the first Gym, and lemme tell you, Ghost's immunity to Normal doesn't mean a thing when everything in that Gym has Bite and is not afraid to use it. Ultimately, not a bad team when all was said and done, and Garbodor in particular has a special place in my heart for helping me clinch the battle against Colress in the story-mandated PWT tournament.
Y: Chesnaught, Pyroar (female), Farfetch'd, Meowstic (female), Heliolisk, Dragalge.
This team is somewhat different from my initial plans. I originally wanted a male Pyroar instead of a female, and a Noivern instead of a Farfetch'd. However, I was not aware of Litleo's uneven gender ratio, and combine that with how tired I was that late at night when I was looking for one for my team, I figured the game was trying to tell me something, so I caught a female and left it at that. As for the Flying-type... I aborted the plan for Noivern when I learned how ridiculously late in game Noibat was, and instead set my sights on Hawlucha. But then I heard Hawlucha couldn't do Sky Battles. I was still hyped about those back then, so I decided to go for a different one. So, in a cruel twist of irony, I went for Farfetch'd, only realizing long after the fact that Hawlucha was not the only one who couldn't do Sky Battles. Still a solid team, though, and yes, even Farfetch'd had its moments.
Omega Ruby: Sceptile, Pelipper, Dustox, Wobbuffet, Claydol, Sharpedo.
I didn't really plan this team out beforehand, which is rare for me. Hell, Dustox was thoroughly accidental. I caught a wild Wurmple because the DexNav readout said it had Bright Powder, which I figured might come in handy, and it was too early in the game to have any way to just steal the item. Forgot to put Wurmple in the PC, only remembered it was there when the Exp. Share helped it evolve into Cascoon. Now, I like Dustox, so I figured, y'know, why not? Dustox's position on the team was cemented when it wiped the battlefield with Brawly's team. :)
Alpha Sapphire: Feebas, Sunkern, Happiny, Nosepass, Luvdisc, Farfetch'd.
Yep. To prove a point about how easy the games were becoming, I played through Alpha Sapphire with this band of weaklings, allowing myself access to all the modern conveniences- Pokémon-Amie, the Exp. Share, easy Lucky Egg access through DexNav Pelipper, all the good stuff. None of them were allowed to evolve. Made for some fun and interesting moments. Like, just seeing a Happiny use Fire Blast is hilarious. Or seeing your Sunkern use Draco Meteor because it used Nature Power during the battle against Deoxys in space. Or taking down Wallace's Milotic, both times, with its own pre-evolution. That felt good. This... this was an interesting and memorable playthrough.
Moon: Incineroar, Midnight Lycanroc, Toxapex, Salazzle, Golisopod, Mimikyu.
Once again, I like Poison-types. :) So much so I was willing to go a little overboard on the type overlap to accommodate both Toxapex and Salazzle when I already knew I wanted to use Incineroar and Golisopod. I honestly wish I had held out for Merciless on Toxapex instead of settling for Limber- would've come in handy against Lusamine's Clefable- but other than that, good team. Golisopod was interesting to work with in particular. Made for a rather anticlimactic first attempt at fighting Nebby, but other than that, Emergency Exit was a cool Ability to try and work with. First Impression works really well with it.
Ultra Sun: Primarina, Crabominable, Noivern, Leafeon, Houndoom, Nihilego.
And this is where I began to see exactly why X and Y put Noibat so late in the game- because it is utter deadweight until it evolves into Noivern. I had to Supersonic Skystrike to get the thing to do even just decent damage. Noivern was worth the pain, though. Crabominable was alright- nothing amazing, not horrible. I do wish it was a faster mon, though. Overall, this was a decent team.
Ultra Moon: Venomoth, Arbok, Salandit (male), Tentacruel, Drapion, Naganadel.
Yep. I went mono-Poison in Ultra Moon. Traded in a Venonat Egg to serve as my starter. Deliberately went for a male Salandit for the challenge. I had fun with this. As you can imagine, though, I really had to plan for the Ultra Necrozma battle, but ultimately that plan worked out. I got the Focus Sash, gave it to Arbok to ensure I got off a Glare. Signal Beam from Venomoth, Hex from Tentacruel, before they each got OHKO'd. Then I brought in Drapion, used a Roto-Boost, force-fed the Blinding One a Black Hole Eclipse with Crunch as the base move, and that's the way the Necrozma crumbles. :)
Let's Go Pikachu: Pikachu, Victreebel, Nidoking, Kingler, Weezing, Alolan Persian.
I had the team planned out before we knew version exclusives. In hindsight, probably shouldn't have decided to use the Team Rocket mons in the version that was more similar to Yellow- had to use GO Park to get Weezing and Persian in, though my best friend traded me a Bellsprout for an Oddish very early on. I had a lot of fun with this, from beating an unexpected Rocket grunt at a moment where all I had to work with was my newly-caught Krabby, to feeling that nostalgic rush in sending in Pikachu at the beginning of a battle. Yellow was my first game, so yeah. :)
Shield: Cinderace, Barraskewda, Galarian Stunfisk, Galarian Weezing, Cursola, Indeedee (female).
This was a good, good team. :) Lemme tell you- beating Nessa with nothing but a Raboot and an Arrokuda, the only way that gets better is if the Arrokuda evolves into Barraskewda as a result of that victory. Ask me how I know. :) Stunfisk was amazing- got Adamant without even trying, and Revenge and Payback ended up staples of its moveset. Worked really well with Weezing against Raihan- Weezing could spam Sludge Wave, Stunfisk could spam Bulldoze, and they could hurt the opponents but not each other.
Sword: Skuntank, Galarian Slowbro, Venusaur, Garbodor, Amped Toxtricity, Galarian Weezing.
Another mono-Poison run. I held off on this until we had the DLC in its entirety, and it was worth the wait, this was a lot of fun. I used Max Soup to get the Gigantamax factor on Garbodor and Toxtricity. Garbodor in particular was something of the star of the team, right down to being the one to take out Leon's Charizard and making me Champion. Slowpoke was downright awful before it evolved, but once it did, well worth the wait. Shell Side Arm is insanely good.
And my planned BDSP team thus far is looking like; Torterra, Kricketune, Lumineon/Phione, Magmortar, Ambipom, Toxicroak. Subject to change based on any new information that might come to light. The Water-type depends on how soon we're able to get Ditto, because if we can get one before or even a reasonable amount of time after reaching Solaceon, I'll just breed the event Manaphy and get the Phione. Yes, I want to use Phione instead of Manaphy. I like it. It's cute. I've never used one ingame, and I want to try using one even while acknowledging its objective inferiority to Manaphy from a viability standpoint.