My first RU Team on Showdown

Hello everyone, new to this forum and to competitive Pokemon (and, I'm ashamed to say, relatively new to Pokemon in general). For the last few weeks I've been playing around on Showdown. Most people are extremely tolerant of my occasional slip-ups, but there have sadly been exceptions to this rule who haven't hesitated to tell me how bad my plays and/or team are. I'm not upset by them because hey, this is the internet, but I am frustrated: "You suck, retard" might tell you you're bad, but it misses the crucial point of telling you in what way. So I've come here in hope of getting some more constructive feedback.

So far I have made NU and RU teams. The NU team is probably pretty crappy, but I'm pleased with the RU one and have had some neat victories with it, so I'm going to post it here. I'd be grateful if you could let me know what you think and give any suggestions you have for tweaking it. he movesets are mostly straight out of the Smogon Pokedex because as I say I'm new to this.

Here goes:
Steelix @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Sassy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
-Stealth Rock
-Earthquake
-Toxic
-Gyro Ball

I chose Steelix because it's a reliable wall and Stealth Rock is always nice to have. I tend to use it as a lead and get the rocks on the field early. Later it can be switched into electric and fairy moves. Toxic can be used for stalling and Gyro ball gets a shout-out because I've found it can can deal very well with less bulky Diancie variants, which gives Absol less to worry about.

Venusaur @ Black Sludge
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: Modest
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Giga Drain
-Sludge Bomb
-Sleep Powder
-Synthesis

Venusaur is one of the best tanks in my opinion, and people often expect them to be bulky so I decided to try and think of a more offensive set. It be switched into electric, rock, water and fairy attacks and break through bulky opponents, including slower Venusaur variants. Once a Pokemon is burned or poisoned this Venusaur is also a good staller with Synthesis. Sleep Powder can prevent a setup and if all else fails and you're low on HP, Giga Drain+Overgrow can sometimes buy you time. The major downside to this set is that it doesn't have any coverage, but the rest of the team seems to compensate for that as long as I switch carefully.

Absol @ Life Orb
Ability: Super Luck
Nature: Naughty
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
-Sucker Punch
-Knock Off
-Fire Blast
-Pursuit

I chose Absol as it has insanely powerful Attack and can double up as a wallbreaker and a sweeper. Running a mixed set catches people off guard and Fire Blast can deal with Escavalier, which often gets switched into this Absol. Sucker Punch and Pursuit are also incredibly effective at getting rid of key Pokemon on the other team when I get my predictions right, and Knock Off is a 'safe option' that can also get rid of key items such as leftovers on Alomomola.

Fletchinder @ Eviolite
Ability: Gale Wings
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Def / 28 SpD
-Swords Dance
-Acrobatics
-Will-o-wisp
-Roost

Fletchinder was the last Pokemon I added and I chose it so I could have a switch-in to Will-o-wisp and ground type moves. It would probably be the one I'd be most willing to change (one of my alternative ideas being Flygon, as then I could hit Dragon types super-effectively, which I can't as the team stands). Its main use is as a late-game cleaner as otherwise I find it quite hard to switch in safely and set up properly. However, once it is in it can also use Roost to stall a statused Pokemon. I do find the lack of Fire STAB troubling as Absol is pretty fragile and can go down easily, but there isn't really anything I can reasonably take out of this set.

Hitmonlee @ Life Orb
Ability: Reckless
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
-High Jump Kick
-Knock Off
-Rapid Spin
-Mach Punch

Hitmonlee is absolutely necessary for entry hazard removal and can also be a very good late game cleaner. HJK can potentially OHKO, Mach Punch is the safe option if I'm worried there's going to be a switch and Knock Off can be handy if Absol goes down too early.

Alomomola @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
Nature: Bold
EVs: 120 HP / 36 Def / 252 SpD
-Wish
-Scald
-Protect
-Toxic

I chose Alomomola as it can cleric really well with Wish and keep my two Life orb users alive for longer than would otherwise be possible. It's also a wall that's capable of stalling with Toxic + Protect, and can potentially get a burn with Scald.

Anyway, that's the team as it stands now, and I hope that I managed to write this correctly. really enjoy using this team and hope I can keep it going with only minor tweaks in Gen VI so I ca make it a reality in an actual game.

I'm sorry if this was longwinded. Thanks for taking the time to read this if you did, and I hope you have a nice day.
 
Steelix / Venusaur / Absol / Hitmonlee / Alomomola / Fletchinder

Hi, cool team dude, I like the use of regular Steelix which isn't seen that often but is still viable. I have some changes that could help improve the effectiveness of this team overall.

My first change would be running Knock Off on Alomomola and changing the nature to Impish. There is a few reasons for this change. Pokemon like Hoopa and Meloetta if they predict properly and due to your Alomomola running an extra amount of SpDef than regular variants it functions as the best check but it can be in trouble vs sub variants. Knock Off allows you to break Meloetta's sub without the Atk decrease or just simply get rid of an item that may be troublesome in the future like a Colbur that can trouble Absol, while OHKOing Hoopa with Knock off. Scald doesn't need extra power as it usually used for the primary reason of burning anyway, and it still works in the same way despite the drop. While Steelix remains a good status spreader.

My second change would be regarding Fire Blast on Absol, which is a very niche pick used to deal with Escavalier, which i don't think is necessary due to Pokemon like Steelix and Fletchinder on your team. Instead I would run Iron Tail over Fire Blast giving you a way to deal with Diancie which can counter your current set and OHKO back with Moonblast. Iron Tail allows you to OHKO Diancie while also being able to deal a fair amount of damage to Togetic and Granbull, etc. Superpower isn't that necessary on Absol, because Absol can still use Knock Off vs Stuff like Registeel which deals a fair amount of damage.

My last changes would be running a small amount of Speed (8 Speed) on Fletchinder taken from HP in order to outcreep standard Fletchinders which may pose a problem in winning a game due to a 50/50. You can also choose to run more Speed in order to outspeed stuff like Sucker Punch Emboar or Sucker Punch Absol which will also take away from your bulk but give you more off an offensive presence. However, I would prefer to keep most of the bulk because of checking Escavalier better. Secondly, I believe running Adamant on Hitmonlee is a better choice due to Jolly only outspeeding very niche mons like Rotom-Mow, Kabutops, Max Speed Braviary, while Adamant gives you much more Power.

I hope I helped with the changes, good luck with your team!
 
Thanks for getting back to me. I'll try and test out your suggestions. I also feel I could do with a Malamar check, because that Pokemon is a huge problem. Also, which move on Alomomola should I get rid of in favour of Knock Off?
 

Pepeduce

PepeDuce, le seul, l'unique ! #SGZ
is a Tiering Contributoris a Past SCL Champion
First, don't worry about what people can say because of you or your team, don't care about, there are always idiots among us. That's a good idea to post your team here, it looks pretty nice with previous advices.

Indeed, you have severals problems in your teams which struggle against most threats in RU.
I would change defensive core, the main flaw w your actually core it allows bulky set up Sweepers like Braviary Sub BU or Malamar (as you said) to set up easily mainly Braviary. If you want play Mola you have to add a defensive mon in your core , so play balanced.
You can try a thing like Aromatisse+Registeel (thunderbolt 68 spA for Brav max SpDef)+Flygon (Bulky enough speed to outspeed Drapion). So you can remove Lee instead of Flygon.

Finally, I like a lot Absol but I think you have to be faster than Sigilyph another threat. You can run Scarf for a stronger Pursuit than Drapion Scarf and lure or simply Sneasel, it deals well.

That's it, hope these advices helped you.
 
amazing team....but if i may you could try HP fire --> sleep powder on venusaur fire more reliability as well as taking advantage of the special attack evs
you may also like to try ice punch on hitmonchan for flygon and sigilyph if absol dies please tell me how they work out for you n_n
 

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