My First Competitive Team

[Zinimi]

I've made a few changes to my team, after some extensive testing, and have ended up changing a couple of Pokemon.
The main goal of my team is variety, to use moves that Pokemon are commonly weak against. The only Pokemon that does not fit this theme is Forretress, but mainly for Yanmega, a spinner was necessary, and Explosion is akways good for one-on-one encounters, but I'll get into that later.

The Lead:

Faide (Mamoswine) (F) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Snow Cloak
EVs: 176 HP/116 Atk/196 Spd/20 SDef
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

I have an emotional connection to this old girl, mainly because she's the first Pokemon I finished EV Training... ever. Her Expert Belt has worked out very well, sometimes OHKOing Dragons with Ice Shard even if they have Yache Berries. Her biggest strength is Earthquake mixed with her Speed, however. She can outrun most Heatran (mainly not Scarfed) and some Lucario, being the two main ones. Stone Edge has been very helpful against Charizard, Moltres and Ninjask, and of course, as she is my lead, she needs her Stealth Rock.

The Spinner:

K-Kaze (Forretress) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 176 HP/80 Atk/252 Def
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Toxic
- Explosion
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock

I have her lead sometimes, but not very often, as starters with Fire-type moves are all too common. She has become more of a Spinner than a Set-Up, but if she gets on a good run, she'll have plenty of time to Spin, Stealth and Explode, or Toxic if I think she can survive long enough. Her main flaw is her Special Defense, but she's still buff enough to survive two Surfs from an average Vaporeon, giving her time to Explode a 1 for 1.

The Tank:

Spectros (Dusknoir) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/136 Def/120 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Shadow Sneak
- Thunderpunch
- Pain Split
- Will-o-wisp

This guy is the one Pokemon on my team that I'm yet to raise, although through Shoddy I've learned his strengths pretty well. He makes a good switch-in on a lot of threats and is actually pretty strong for having no Atk EVs. His Thunderpunch is mainly there for Gyarados, of which I've yet to face any, but it has 2KO'd other Flying-types, so I'm confident it can at least 2-KO a Gyara. Shadow Sneak allows for some Gengar and Alakazam pain, and through the Atk drop given by Will-o-Wisp and the HP recovered from Pain Split, he's definitely a great Tank.

The Mixed Sweeper:

Rath (Infernape) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 136 Atk/232 Spd/140 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Flamethrower
- Close Combat
- Grass Knot
- Nasty Plot

I gotta say, this guy amazes me. He can't take much in the way of hits, but even if I can't predict well enough to get off a Nasty Plot, he can deal enough damage to take down arsenals of Pokemon. OHKOs on Skarmory, Bastiodon, Swampert, Blissey, Steelix, and many others. With one Nasty Plot, he can OHKO a Starmie with Grass Knot. Indeed, he's a very powerful addition to my team, and I wish he could just take a little punishment.

The Special Sweeper:

Wedic (Yanmega) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 120 Def/136 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Air Slash
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Bug Buzz
- Protect

Nice and standard, nothing special about him. I do plan on re-breeding him later, as right now his HP Ice only has a base power of 58, but even so it's enough to OHKO Dragonite and Garchomp, and almost Salamence (I'm sure a 65+ would do it there). His SAtk IV is awesome, however, and with Bug Buzz he easily takes down Weavile, Slowbro, Starmie, and a few other Psychic types. Air Slash takes out Heracross pretty fast, and to most other Pokemon still does some decent damage. The little bit of Defense he has does amazing, as I learned after he survived a Critical Fire Punch from a Dusknoir. It's his Special Defense that scares me...

The Physical Sweeper:

SewerBeast (Feraligatr) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Aqua Tail
- Ice Punch
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake

Just finished this guy last night, and I'm liking how he's doing so far. Even though he has no EVs is his Defenses (basically), he can still take hits pretty well, even Special hits. Aqua Tail's OHKO'd a couple of Pokes it was neutral too without Torrent or SD, and Ice Punch can 2HKO regular Shaymin at the very least, which makes me excited to see how it does against a Pokemon doubly weak to it.


And there they are, my Pokemon. Feel free to leave comments about them, criticize them, rate the team as a whole, whatever you'd like to do. I just ask you keep it constructive. Keep in mind, this is my first real Competitive Team.

 

[Zinimi]

It's been well over 24 hours and I've made some changes, so here's my bump.

 

[Venom]

I find Yanmega a much more effective lead than Mamoswine is. Mamoswine is a great Pokemon when it comes to terms of revenge-killing Dragon types and others, and its Ground / Ice combination makes it a great Pokemon, but Mamoswine does not make a great lead, mostly because some of the top leads such as Swampert and Bronzong are capable of handling it and shutting it down cold. On the other hand, Yanmega seems like the Pokemon that can cause intimidation to other Pokemon thanks to its Special Attack and ability to boost up its Speed, and probably the most effective Pokemon to be a lead in this team, so consider Yanmega as your lead. Forretress can also be a good lead Pokemon, setting up some Stealth Rocks is always helpful.

Talking about Forretress, the Forretress you are running there seems like it need fixing. First off, Toxic is a pretty good move in terms of status affliction, but Forretress has a much better option to inflict poison status, which is Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes will work as Stealth Rock does, but instead of the switch-in Pokemon taking damage, it will come in and get poisoned, something that will make Toxic Spikes of more use than Toxic, mostly because Toxic Spikes poisons Pokemon without any limit, barring its a Poison or Steel-type. I don't see the point of running 2 Stealth Rock inducers, so I would free that slot that Forretress has with a attacking move, such as Gryo Ball or Earthquake, Gyro Ball for Ghost-types that can try and predict and Explosion, and just be annoying, and Earthquake for handling Tyranitar much better, so its a choice of personal matter really. In the transition of DP to DPP, Platinum gave us a much more effective Ghost-type Pokemon, which easly outclasses Dusknoir. Rotom-H is the Pokemon that will do a much better job than Dusknoir. Rotom-H is capable of covering your Ground and Fighting type threats with ease, being unnafected by both thanks to Levitate and its Ghost typing, and Fortress + Rotom-H can make a pretty good physical walling combo. If you need a good Rotom-H set, I would suggest using Discharge / Overheat / Reflect / Will-O-Wisp, Discharge for the Electric attack that can handle Gyarados and other Water types, and random paralyzes are always fun, Overheat for Lucario, Scizor, and other Pokemon like Heracross who Rotom-H is excellent at walling at, Reflect is for handling physical attacks much better, such as blows from Gyarados. If you don't like running Will-O-Wisp and Relfect, then Will-O-Wisp will probably be your best option, for reducing the attack of Pokemon, mostly Tyranitar. You should also run 88 Speed EVs, with a neutral nature is fine, as given Speed EVs are meant to outspeed Adamant max Speed Scizor and Tyranitar, for faster Will-O-Wisps against these and other threats. Heatran can also give major problems, so looking how you have a Rapid Spinner, Gyarados can probably be a good and safe switch-in into any Heatran, and Gyarados can perform the role of Feraligatr much better. If you fear Burn status from random Flamethrowers and Fire Blasts, consider using Rest / Sleep Talk / Dragon Dance / Waterfall, which will prevent Burn status and other status afflictions, while you are able to Dragon Dance and even Dragon Dance in your sleep, so its a pretty nifty moveset, and something to deeply consider. You will really lack some Special Defensive cover, so if you really want some, you should consider some sort of Special Wall tank, such as Blissey or Heatran, though using Heatran will make you gamble your horrible Heatran weakness. Instead of Gyarados, you can always consider a Zapdos, a Special Defensive Zapdos. For a good set, I would advice looking at the Zapdos analysis, which will offer a great moveset. If you decide to do that, something else could do Feraligatrs job much better, one of them being Lucario or Scizor, both will make great physical Pokemon, so choosing either one make a good option. Hidden Power Ice > Nasty Plot on MixApe, DPP is so fast-paced, fragile Pokemon such as Infernape have little or no time to set up, and HP Ice will provide coverage against Dragon-types, particulary Salamence.

Good luck with the team.

 

[Zinimi]

Whew... giant wall of text with a lot of info...
*reads and contemplates*
I'll definitely test out, and possibly switch over, Forretress's moveset. I like the Toxic Spikes/Gyro Ball idea, personally.
As for a more Special Defense Pokemon, what do you think about using that Rotom-H? Honestly, I wouldn't mind replacing Feraligatr with Rotom-H once the switch comes.
Trying to avoid using Legends, just a personal preference, but I'll keep a Zapdos in mind.
I greatly appreciate the help, gives me a lot to test out. Thanks.

 

[Aeroblacktyl]

I do second that Yanmega would make a better lead seeing as how Azelf by itself will cause havoc like no other to this team, as it already OHKO's like 5 things, and you don't want any of that bullshit happening off the bat.

I really dislike the fire problem though, with ScarfHeatran being able to inflict a shitload of damage, or even Infernape itself. Would it be too much to go with the cliche Gyarados over FEraligatr to even help that out just a wee lil bit?

I also wouldn't mind Jirachi over Forretress that much. Rapid Spin doesn't seem -that- vital if we start with Yanmega and just fuck up as much shit as we can with it. Jirachi can still Stealth Rock, but more important it can Wish, which will definitely come in handy should you decide to use Gyarados and what not. The screens it can offer also helps as well.

 

[Zinimi]

I'd still like a spinner, especially if Venom's ideas for her work as well as I hope they will, but I am seriously considering a Gyarados. Feraligatr really is too slow to get much done, I hate to say.
I'll also do some testing on the Yanmega lead. I'm actually surprised I didn't before, considering how I've taken some beatings from them...
Thanks for the thoughts, I 'preciate it.