Ok, so I was getting bored with my old team and decided to make a new one. There was one Pokemon that I really wanted to try out, so I sort of built the rest of the team around it. This is a very offensive team, so please rate it as such. Without any further ado, here is my team.
Overview:
Sprite.png)
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 80 HP/252 Atk/176 Spe
Jolly nature (+Spe, -Satk)
Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 48 HP/252 Atk/208 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 84 Atk/216 Satk/208 Spe
Mild nature (+SAtk, -Def)
Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Timid nature: (+Spe, -Atk)
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 136 HP/156 Def/216 Spe
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
Spiritomb @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/96 Satk/160 SpD
Calm nature (+SpD, -Atk)
We there’s my team. It has done very well so far, but I want it to be as good as it can be, so all of your opinions are needed. My threat list and team building process are to follow.
Threat List
Aerodactyl: I usually only run into it as a lead, in which case Jirachi beats it with Iron Head.
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Alakazam: Spiritomb is a reliable counter. It is immune to Psychic and Focus Blast and KO’s with Shadow Ball
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Azelf: With flinch hax, Jirachi beats it as a lead. Again, Spiritomb also counters it well.
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Breloom: I’ll switch something with low health in to absorb the Spore, and then move to Spiritomb so he can’t Focus Punch.
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Dragonite: Salamence outspeeds most and KO’s with Draco Meteor
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Dugtrio: Salamence or Breloom will come in after the kill and attack with Draco Meteor/Earthquake or Seed Bomb, respectively
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Electivire: I don’t see them very often, but Salamence can come in on a resistance and KO with Earthquake
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Empoleon: Every member of my team except Jirachi has a move that is super effective against it, so it should be a big problem.
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Flygon: Probably one of the hardest opponents for my team to beat. Most of the ones I see are Scarfed, which is a problem. I guess I’ll bring Salamence in on the Earthquake, but if Salamence is gone, I'll bring in Rotom-W and hit it with Hydro Pump/Shadow Ball
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Gengar: He is the entire reason that I put Spiritomb on the team, so Spiritomb should effectively counter it.
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Gyarados: Rotom-W outspeeds and KO's with Thunderbolt.
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Heatran: Salamence’s Earthquake will KO, and Spiritomb, Rotom-W and Starmie can switch in fairly easily as well.
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Heracross: Salamence hits it hard with Fire Blast. Jirachi can flinch hax it to death if all else fails.
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Infernape: Starmie is the prime counter, resisting Fire and Fighting. In theory, Salamence has the same resistances to Fire and Fighting and could work well too.
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Jirachi: Salamence will do very well with Fire Blast and Earthquake. Rotom-W can hit it pretty hard with Shadow Ball as well.
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Jolteon: Another Pokemon that could cause me a ton of problems. I have no surefire counter for it, but, its fairly fragile, so a neutral STAB hit will damage it a lot. Salamence also has Earthquake for it.
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Kingdra: Salamence outspeeds when there is no rain and can damage it heavily with Draco Meteor.
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Latias: Salamence’s Draco Meteor, Jirachi’s U-Turn, Spiritomb’s Shadow Ball, and Rotom-W's Shadow Ball will all damage it quite a bit.
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Lucario: Salamence again does well with Earthquake/Fire Blast. Breloom can Mach Punch it as well. Spiritomb can come in on Close Combat and hit it with HP Fighting.
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Machamp: Spiritomb comes in with immunity to DynamicPunch and hits pretty hard with Shadow Ball.
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Magnezone: Salamence’s Earthquake/Fire Blast. Spiritomb’s HP Fighting.
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Mamoswine: Jirachi can come in on Ice Shard and hit hard with Iron Head, but needs to watch out for Earthquake. Salamence, Starmie, Rotom-W, Spiritomb, and Breloom all pack super effective moves too, but need to be wary of incoming attacks.
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Metagross: Salamence with Fire Blast/Earthquake.
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Porygon-Z: Spiritomb comes in on Tri-Attack and can hit hard with HP Fighting.
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Rhyperior: Starmie can kill it with Surf. Jirachi can Iron Head, but should watch out for Earthquake. All 6 on my team pack a super effective move.
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Salamence: Salamence can try to Draco Meteor before he hits me. Jirachi can Iron Head for flinch hax.
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Scizor: Salamence can Intimidate and OHKO with Fire Blast.
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Starmie: My own Starmie can Thunderbolt it. It won’t enjoy Jirachi’s U-Turn, and Breloom can Seed Bomb as long as it doesn’t have Psychic or Ice Beam. Rotom-W and Spiritomb can beat it up with Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball, respectively.
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Togekiss: Starmie can Thunderbolt it. Jirachi will outspeed and hit with Iron Head.
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Tyranitar: Jirachi haxes it well with Iron Head. Salamence hits hard with Earthquake, but is scared of Stone Edge. Rotom-W has Hydro Pump for it. Spiritomb has HP Fighting. Breloom is probably the best switch, with resistances to Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Crunch, while killing it with Mach Punch.
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Weavile: Breloom should watch out for Ice Shard, but can kill it with Mach Punch.
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Yanmega: Fire Blast from Salamence hurts it, but it doesn’t particularly enjoy and neutral hits.
Defensive Threat List:
Blissey: Jirachi can flinch it to death, Salamence can Earthquake it for massive damage, Breloom has Mach Punch. Spiritomb both has HP Fighting, so it can hit it fairly hard.
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Bronzong: Salamence Fire Blasts it, and Rotom-W can wear it down with Shadow Ball.
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Celebi: Really hates U-Turn from Jirachi and doesn’t like Fire Blast.
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Cresselia: Jirachi can U-Turn. Rotom-W can deal with it nicely too.
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Donphan: Ice Shard doesn’t kill Salamence with Intimidate and I can kill with Draco Meteor.
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Foretress: Salamence’s Fire Blast.
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Gliscor: Salamence with Draco Meteor hurts. Starmie can damage it with Surf
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Hippowdon: Draco Meteor and Surf are good to get rid of it.
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Skarmory: Salamence with Fire Blast and Rotom-W with Thunderbolt are good choices.
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Snorlax: Two of my Pokemon have fighting moves, one being physical. Breloom handles it well.
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Suicune: Salamence takes a chunk of health with Draco Meteor, but is afraid of Ice Beam. Seed Bomb hits it hard as well.
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Swampert: Draco Meteor and Seed Bomb should work.
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Tentacruel: Salamence can Earthquake, Rotom-W can Thunderbolt.
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Vaporeon: Breloom’s Seed Bomb will hit hard, but he needs to be wary of Ice Beam.
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Zapdos: Draco Meteor can hit it hard. Jirachi can flinch hax.
Team Building Process:
As I stated at the beginning, there was one Pokemon that I really wanted to try out, so I built a team around it. That Pokemon was Porygon-Z.
On offensive teams, I really like to have at least one attacker that is purely Special and one that is purely Physical. I had the Special one covered with Porygon-Z, so now I need to look for a physical one. I picked Breloom to cover this role.
I am a firm believer that, if you don’t have a good lead, you won’t have a good team. I also needed a Pokemon that could take a few hits, because Porygon-Z and Breloom are both relatively frail. I went with Jirachi.
Now I need a Pokemon that could take Fire and Ground moves aimed at Jirachi. A few that came to mind were Dragonite, Salamence, Flygon, and Gyarados. I also needed a mixed sweeper/wall breaker. Gyarados’ special attack sucks so I ruled him out right away. Flygon’s isn’t a whole lot better, and he’s out. I originally wanted to go for Dragonite, but I realized after a little testing that it just wasn’t fast enough to pull the job off as well as Salamence could. Pokemon number four is Salamence.
The next thing I wanted was something that could support the team a little bit, while still bringing some offense to the table. Not a whole lot of Pokemon do both at the same time extremely well. I also realized that with Salamence’s weakness to Stealth Rock and his Life Orb would be whittling away at his HP quite quickly. I resolved to rid him of one burden, and it wasn’t the Life Orb. I thought I needed a spinner, so I went with Starmie.
The final Pokemon was a Machamp. I had not used one in the past and wanted to try out a Restalk set.
I used it and had some success with it. One thing I did notice, though, was that it was kind of off on its own. It didn’t have much synergy with the rest of the team. Then, one match I was completely swept by Gengar. This was when I realized that I needed a Gengar counter. I removed Machamp and added Spiritomb in his stead.
A few different raters said that Rotom-W would make a better special sweeper that Porygon-Z. I tried it out a little bit and found they were right.
These six Pokemon have come together to make my current team. The team is effective, but no doubt flawed, which is exactly why I posted it here.
Overview:
Sprite.png){kind=icon}
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 80 HP/252 Atk/176 Spe
Jolly nature (+Spe, -Satk)
- Iron Head
- Trick
- U-Turn
- Stealth Rock
Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 48 HP/252 Atk/208 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Mach Punch
- Seed Bomb
- Spore
Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 84 Atk/216 Satk/208 Spe
Mild nature (+SAtk, -Def)
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
- Roost
Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Timid nature: (+Spe, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Hydro Pump
- Trick
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 136 HP/156 Def/216 Spe
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
Spiritomb @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/96 Satk/160 SpD
Calm nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Calm Mind
- Will-O-Wisp
We there’s my team. It has done very well so far, but I want it to be as good as it can be, so all of your opinions are needed. My threat list and team building process are to follow.
Threat List
Aerodactyl: I usually only run into it as a lead, in which case Jirachi beats it with Iron Head.
---
Alakazam: Spiritomb is a reliable counter. It is immune to Psychic and Focus Blast and KO’s with Shadow Ball
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Azelf: With flinch hax, Jirachi beats it as a lead. Again, Spiritomb also counters it well.
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Breloom: I’ll switch something with low health in to absorb the Spore, and then move to Spiritomb so he can’t Focus Punch.
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Dragonite: Salamence outspeeds most and KO’s with Draco Meteor
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Dugtrio: Salamence or Breloom will come in after the kill and attack with Draco Meteor/Earthquake or Seed Bomb, respectively
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Electivire: I don’t see them very often, but Salamence can come in on a resistance and KO with Earthquake
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Empoleon: Every member of my team except Jirachi has a move that is super effective against it, so it should be a big problem.
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Flygon: Probably one of the hardest opponents for my team to beat. Most of the ones I see are Scarfed, which is a problem. I guess I’ll bring Salamence in on the Earthquake, but if Salamence is gone, I'll bring in Rotom-W and hit it with Hydro Pump/Shadow Ball
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Gengar: He is the entire reason that I put Spiritomb on the team, so Spiritomb should effectively counter it.
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Gyarados: Rotom-W outspeeds and KO's with Thunderbolt.
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Heatran: Salamence’s Earthquake will KO, and Spiritomb, Rotom-W and Starmie can switch in fairly easily as well.
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Heracross: Salamence hits it hard with Fire Blast. Jirachi can flinch hax it to death if all else fails.
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Infernape: Starmie is the prime counter, resisting Fire and Fighting. In theory, Salamence has the same resistances to Fire and Fighting and could work well too.
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Jirachi: Salamence will do very well with Fire Blast and Earthquake. Rotom-W can hit it pretty hard with Shadow Ball as well.
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Jolteon: Another Pokemon that could cause me a ton of problems. I have no surefire counter for it, but, its fairly fragile, so a neutral STAB hit will damage it a lot. Salamence also has Earthquake for it.
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Kingdra: Salamence outspeeds when there is no rain and can damage it heavily with Draco Meteor.
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Latias: Salamence’s Draco Meteor, Jirachi’s U-Turn, Spiritomb’s Shadow Ball, and Rotom-W's Shadow Ball will all damage it quite a bit.
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Lucario: Salamence again does well with Earthquake/Fire Blast. Breloom can Mach Punch it as well. Spiritomb can come in on Close Combat and hit it with HP Fighting.
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Machamp: Spiritomb comes in with immunity to DynamicPunch and hits pretty hard with Shadow Ball.
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Magnezone: Salamence’s Earthquake/Fire Blast. Spiritomb’s HP Fighting.
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Mamoswine: Jirachi can come in on Ice Shard and hit hard with Iron Head, but needs to watch out for Earthquake. Salamence, Starmie, Rotom-W, Spiritomb, and Breloom all pack super effective moves too, but need to be wary of incoming attacks.
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Metagross: Salamence with Fire Blast/Earthquake.
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Porygon-Z: Spiritomb comes in on Tri-Attack and can hit hard with HP Fighting.
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Rhyperior: Starmie can kill it with Surf. Jirachi can Iron Head, but should watch out for Earthquake. All 6 on my team pack a super effective move.
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Salamence: Salamence can try to Draco Meteor before he hits me. Jirachi can Iron Head for flinch hax.
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Scizor: Salamence can Intimidate and OHKO with Fire Blast.
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Starmie: My own Starmie can Thunderbolt it. It won’t enjoy Jirachi’s U-Turn, and Breloom can Seed Bomb as long as it doesn’t have Psychic or Ice Beam. Rotom-W and Spiritomb can beat it up with Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball, respectively.
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Togekiss: Starmie can Thunderbolt it. Jirachi will outspeed and hit with Iron Head.
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Tyranitar: Jirachi haxes it well with Iron Head. Salamence hits hard with Earthquake, but is scared of Stone Edge. Rotom-W has Hydro Pump for it. Spiritomb has HP Fighting. Breloom is probably the best switch, with resistances to Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Crunch, while killing it with Mach Punch.
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Weavile: Breloom should watch out for Ice Shard, but can kill it with Mach Punch.
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Yanmega: Fire Blast from Salamence hurts it, but it doesn’t particularly enjoy and neutral hits.
Defensive Threat List:
Blissey: Jirachi can flinch it to death, Salamence can Earthquake it for massive damage, Breloom has Mach Punch. Spiritomb both has HP Fighting, so it can hit it fairly hard.
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Bronzong: Salamence Fire Blasts it, and Rotom-W can wear it down with Shadow Ball.
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Celebi: Really hates U-Turn from Jirachi and doesn’t like Fire Blast.
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Cresselia: Jirachi can U-Turn. Rotom-W can deal with it nicely too.
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Donphan: Ice Shard doesn’t kill Salamence with Intimidate and I can kill with Draco Meteor.
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Foretress: Salamence’s Fire Blast.
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Gliscor: Salamence with Draco Meteor hurts. Starmie can damage it with Surf
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Hippowdon: Draco Meteor and Surf are good to get rid of it.
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Skarmory: Salamence with Fire Blast and Rotom-W with Thunderbolt are good choices.
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Snorlax: Two of my Pokemon have fighting moves, one being physical. Breloom handles it well.
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Suicune: Salamence takes a chunk of health with Draco Meteor, but is afraid of Ice Beam. Seed Bomb hits it hard as well.
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Swampert: Draco Meteor and Seed Bomb should work.
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Tentacruel: Salamence can Earthquake, Rotom-W can Thunderbolt.
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Vaporeon: Breloom’s Seed Bomb will hit hard, but he needs to be wary of Ice Beam.
---
Zapdos: Draco Meteor can hit it hard. Jirachi can flinch hax.
Team Building Process:
As I stated at the beginning, there was one Pokemon that I really wanted to try out, so I built a team around it. That Pokemon was Porygon-Z.
On offensive teams, I really like to have at least one attacker that is purely Special and one that is purely Physical. I had the Special one covered with Porygon-Z, so now I need to look for a physical one. I picked Breloom to cover this role.
I am a firm believer that, if you don’t have a good lead, you won’t have a good team. I also needed a Pokemon that could take a few hits, because Porygon-Z and Breloom are both relatively frail. I went with Jirachi.
Now I need a Pokemon that could take Fire and Ground moves aimed at Jirachi. A few that came to mind were Dragonite, Salamence, Flygon, and Gyarados. I also needed a mixed sweeper/wall breaker. Gyarados’ special attack sucks so I ruled him out right away. Flygon’s isn’t a whole lot better, and he’s out. I originally wanted to go for Dragonite, but I realized after a little testing that it just wasn’t fast enough to pull the job off as well as Salamence could. Pokemon number four is Salamence.
The next thing I wanted was something that could support the team a little bit, while still bringing some offense to the table. Not a whole lot of Pokemon do both at the same time extremely well. I also realized that with Salamence’s weakness to Stealth Rock and his Life Orb would be whittling away at his HP quite quickly. I resolved to rid him of one burden, and it wasn’t the Life Orb. I thought I needed a spinner, so I went with Starmie.
The final Pokemon was a Machamp. I had not used one in the past and wanted to try out a Restalk set.
I used it and had some success with it. One thing I did notice, though, was that it was kind of off on its own. It didn’t have much synergy with the rest of the team. Then, one match I was completely swept by Gengar. This was when I realized that I needed a Gengar counter. I removed Machamp and added Spiritomb in his stead.
A few different raters said that Rotom-W would make a better special sweeper that Porygon-Z. I tried it out a little bit and found they were right.
These six Pokemon have come together to make my current team. The team is effective, but no doubt flawed, which is exactly why I posted it here.
