When you create a team, what steps do you take?

[Taylor]

These simple instructions of how we build our teams has to stop. Guys, explain the way you construct teams without this method of using a hyphen/number and then a simple instruction. Be more detailed and create more discussion, otherwise we are reading the exact same instructions over and over again; the thread may as well be closed if that's the case.

 

[Mastadi]

Well, I had huge problems with starting building teams, but thanks to app. program, I learned what it was! I started by picking out a few pokemon, rather than a strategy. Not only it helps you make the outline of the team, but also helps you pick the right one. Instead of picking out of 250 fully evolved pokemon allowed in standard play, you have to pick out of what, maximum 50 pokemon that fit certain role that you want (Often, a lot less pokemon do: Sandstorm/Hail starters, for example). Also, most people by play testing seem to think "Play a bit and get used to the team then post RMT". You should try to come up with solution yourself, since it is your team. Also, make changes. If your team is losing most of it's matches, there's rather high probability that changes won't make it worse, but better.

 

[Magik0722]

select 6 random pokemon
Play test
Replace problem with more random pokemon until I start to win

 

[Sqwert]

First, I pick a strategy (all-out-offense, bulky offense, stall, etc.), then I choose a pokemon or combination of pokemons that performs well in that strategy and build a core with it that complements the principal poke (if it's an offensive pokemon, for example, the next poke I pick should take down its main counters for the first poke to sweep more easily). After I'm done with the core, I usually pick a lead. Then, with approximately 2-3 slots left for my team, I theorymon threads to my strategy and add the necessary counters to these threads.

Finally, I test the team out and make changes, ask for help, or drop the team and start over again according to the results.

 

[Legacy Raider]

[WARNING: LONG POST]

The majority of my teams are offensively minded, and so when I am making a new team I like to base it around a combination of sweepers that can effectively take out each other counters and continue a sweep. I never base it on one sweeper alone, but rather on two of three that can work together really well. This can only be learnt by experience and trial and error, but eventually you get to know which sweepers are effective together. For example, in one of my teams I want to use an offensive core of Mixmence and Magnezone:

Salamence and Magnezone not only cover each others weaknesses perfectly, but they help take out each other's counters. Magnezone removes all of Mence's Steel counters and does a hefty number to Bulky Water counters, while Mence can help Magnezone a lot by taking out the predicted Blissey with a Brick Break. However, Brick Break is still only a 2HKO, so I now need a more reliable way of taking out common special walls such as Blissey and Snorlax:

Machamp easily smashes through both Blissey and Snorlax, who wall the Salamence/Magnezone combination pretty well. But why Machamp? Why not some other Fighting type, maybe one with more speed like Infernape or Lucario? Well first of all Machamp shares no common weakness with either Salamence or Magnezone, unlike Lucario (Ground/Fire/Fighting) and Infernape (Ground). Secondly, Machamp is bulky enough to take any Rock move aimed at Salamence that Magnezone cannot absorb (e.g. from a pokemon running both Stone Edge and Earthquake). Also, Machamp's Dynamicpunch can make a very nice Parafusion combination alongside Magnezone's Discharge, which singles him out as the best choice.

Now I look and check if any one pokemon can easily wall my trio of sweepers so far. A couple of pokemon stand out, being able to take hits pretty well from all 3 and recover of the damage - Cresselia, Celebi and Zapdos being front and foremost. Also, most dedicated special walls bar Blissey and Snorlax will give this trio trouble. So we need something physical and with the raw power to take out Cresselia, Celebi and Zapdos. I think we all know who I'm talking about:

Good old Tyranitar. His Sandstream will help do that little bit extra needed to turn many 2HKOs into possible OHKOs. STAB Crunch and Stone Edge will wreck Cress, Zapdos and Celebi. But what set? Well looking at my other 3 sweepers, they are all mid-game sweepers who need no set up. I need something to be able to rip through a weakened team in the end game, so DD Tyranitar it is.

Now that I have my Sweeper core, I look to see if there is any type(s) of attack that can do a number on all four. Salamence, Magnezone, Machamp and Tyranitar actually have a very balanced type combination, but still there are some common weakness - Magnezone and Tyranitar's shared Ground and Fighting weaknesses. Also, none of my four sweepers is particularly fast, so I need something with quite a bit of pace to make up for it. Once again, the answer is blaringly obvious:

Gengar laughs (manically) at all Ground and Fighting attacks, and his type synergy is great with the rest of the team. He adds plenty of speed, but just to be sure, I will slap on a Choice Scarf. ScarfGar makes an excellent lead, and my team needed one, so it is put in as #1.

Now that I have 5 pokemon, I now see if I have missed anything out while I was so busy worrying about synergy and combination attacks. There is a very important thing that I have neglected to include - Stealth Rock. Also, a rather shocking Scizor weakness has emerged - it can 1-2HKO all of my guys. Swampert fits this void well:

Gets the rocks on the field and can take a good beating from anything bar Grass. Fixes the Salamence weak with a strong Ice Beam to take him out. Plus he's neutral to Sandstorm, which is always a good thing on a team with Tyranitar. And so Swampert comes in at #6 to complete the team:

So there we have it. It is a lengthy process, and the end products are never perfect, but they usually do turn out pretty well. This team looks good on paper but still it is not without its faults. For one, it lacks a real water resist, so during my games I try my best to play around this (e.g using Gengar's Destiny Bond to take out a bulky water I otherwise would have difficulty with).
By happy coincidence, this team that I have theorymoned has 2 physical sweepers (Machamp and Tyranitar), 2 Special Sweepers (Magnezone and Gengar), and 2 Mixed Sweepers (Salamence and Swampert). I didn't specifically try to get this balance, but rather I just kept an eye out while I was making the team for what spectrum I was focused on.

Oh, and this program is excellent for finding out how your type synergies are turning out. It's a great help for making and modifying teams.

[/POINTLESS LONG POST]

 

[LostNo.]

I wait for inspiration.
I read battles, strategies, and other people's ideas, and sooner or later something will hit me. That will be my team's focus.

As for building it, I choose moves and abilities that go well with the strategies. Items come later to support the finished result (with a few exceptions).
Then I evaluate all synergy (note I do 2v2 teams) and test it. After this I do Items.
Then it's just little tweaks as I go along...

 

[Jenigmat]

I'm going to use a team that I just retired from D/P as an example of how I build my teams.

To start off, this team was on the Suspect Ladder during the Garchomp test. I'd previously made teams that had a SDLuke, but I had never been successful with them. Curious as to what the hype was all about, I decided to try again.

So obviously we've got the standard SDLuke to start off. Now Lucario has several counters, and I need to work around those. Gyarados, Salamence, Gliscor, Hippowdon, Weezing, Cresselia and Spiritomb are at the front of the list. Now Cresselia and Spiritomb also happen to be decent counters for other pokemon I could potentially put on my team, and it's generally a good idea to split up the jobs of countering counters, instead of just using Starmie to take out half the above list.

Cresselia and Spiritomb both get raped by Guts+CB Heracross, and if I add Heracross to this team then I get a strong middle game sweeper. Heracross is a great switch in for many pokemon that show up mid-game, like Blissey. Also, even though Gliscor is an incredibly good Lucario and Heracross counter, Gliscor can only take so much when it comes to repeated powerful hits. As in chess, if you force a Pokemon to repeatedly come in, the damage can rack up. One might ask why I don't add a Flame Orb+SD Facade 'Cross, and I'd say something about how Heracross tends to ease prediction a bit. With few exceptions, Heracross can just throw out CB+CC's at random.

In short, adding CBCross forces the opponent to reveal his/her SDLuke counter, while also serving as a potent midgame sweeper and non-sleep status absorber.

So the team so far is
SDLucario and CB Cross.

Now, I have a way to force the opponent to show any Gliscor he might have, and so I should probably add something that can switch into Gliscor, not take much from any attacks, something that can take advantage of any switch and set up, and something that adds to the pressure that sweepers like CBCross and SDLuke give. Not only should this pokemon be able to set up and hit Gliscor SE, but in keeping with the preparation for the eventual Lucario set up, it should also hit relatively hard off the bat. LOGyarados fits the bill perfectly, also able to own any Infernapes without an electric attack.

Now I've got SDLuke, CBCross and LO+DDGyarados.

All of these get owned by Starmie, and none can take on too many hits. I need a couple walls. Ideally, one would be able to Wishpass, as Heracross and Gyarados might be switching in quite often. Blissey can do this really well. Toxic also helps in wearing down Gliscor.

None of the four pokemon I have then can take physical hits at all. Negating Leftovers would also be a great aid. Knock Off on a pokemon will be able to identify any switch ins of Salamence or other versatile sweepers. Sleep is a great status to have, and so I pick Tangrowth, able to stop Gyarados from raping me.

Everything I have is quite slow, and nothing attacks from the special side, and nothing can lead. Gengar is fast, strong, can sleep other leads, and adds to the pressure from the very first turn. Don't let the fact that it looks like my team is divided into sweepers and walls deceive you; pressure is the goal, and the team's walls can add pressure as well as another Sweeper.

Here's what the final team looks like:

Basically what I do is pick what I want my team to be like, as in a SDLuke team, a stall team, an offensive team, a TSS team, etc. and reason out what it should be. I made only two changes to this team after the first ten matches I played to test it and then I decided that it was good as it is.

 

[Imran]

I feel, as I always post in my team rates, that having an overall strategy is the most important thing to do when building a team. For example my most recent team (offence, by far my most succesful) is built around Aldarons Lucario / Tyranitar combination.

Tyranitar - Mix tar lures out gliscor and kills it, also has Chilian Berry to take out Gengar
Lucario, clean up sweeper

Then I chucked a suicide lead on the fron because even with the new Anti-Suicide leads, 90% of the time it give me a good aggressive start to the game. I also have Mix Mamoswine who clears the path for Lucario more. It has Ice Beam and HP Electric. HP electric deal with most Gyara after Stealth Rock, and Ice Beam helps to take out things like Hippo, which will otherwise give Lucario Trouble. The last member is Deoxys which keeps me safe if something else sets up on me (i.e. Dragon Dance, I do have some probalem with CMers, although that is why I have my last member CB Salamence, to constantly keep on the offensive pressure)

Team Building is all about executing your strategy, and finding the best pokemon for the job. I often find the hardest thing is coming up with a strategy in the first place.

 

[wildfire393]

I have only been playing for a few weeks, but I have made several teams of varying effectiveness in this time.

Generally, it starts with an idea, usually a Pokemon or set that I'm not using on my current team and want to try out. For example, with my latest team, that idea was Hustle/Choice Band Togekiss.

The second step entails coming up with a nice tie-in idea. Since I was running a physical set on what people usually assume is a special sweeper, I decided to go with a special set on something people often assume is a physical sweeper: Specsmence (Yes, this is a reasonably common set, but DDmence has become a lot more common these days).

The next step is the shoring up of my weaknesses. Since both of the listed pokemon are flying, this invites people to use a lot of Electric Attacks, so Electivire seems like a good choice, especially since I've been a fan of him before. In goes Expert Belt Electivire, which is great because his main weakness (Ground) gets absorbed by these fliers. The set so far consists of two choice pokemon and a simple physical attacker, so I'd like at least one thing that can set up for a huge sweep. But since this will likely be the only one of its kind, I want it to be resilient. So let's try out BulkyDos. This also invites even more electricity for Electivire to switch in on, and yet another Ground absorber. But in case Electivire dies, I want another electric absorber. And preferably one that can spin away Stealth Rock, since my team is looking mighty weak to that at the moment. Donphan could work, but Claydol seems like a better option, and he can run Shadow Ball to take out the inevitable Ghost switch-in, and my team lacks anti-psychic coverage currently. He also makes for a decent wall, both Physical and especially Special. So what this leaves is a Starter. I would prefer something that can set up stealth-rocks, and it probably needs to be something that does well against Ice, as 3 of my pokemon are weak to it, and one is double-weak. Heatran does this nicely (double resists, and is super against ice-types), as well as providing a potential counter to other fire types if I need it. Will-o-Wisp, Stealth Rock, and Earth Power are givens, but I decided to try Magma Storm as the fourth move; It's a heatran exclusive. It's a little less accurate than fire blast (Which is kinda bad), but it will kill Focus Sashers where Fireblast will not, which makes it better on a starter. Wide Lens is then chosen for the item, as it makes Magma Storm less risky and improves the accuracy on Will-o-Wisp to boot.

 

[Bourbon]

When I make a team, usually what I do is see what is popular, and counter it. Instead of using what is obviously good at the time (and ending up with some really annoying mirror matches) I use things that are good against what is popular.

It's also important to remember team synergy. Don't slap a bunch of crap together and say "this is my team." Why did you choose them? What do they do for the team? How do they work together with the other team members?

For example, here is my Wifi team right now.

Porygon2
Spiritomb
Tentacruel
Lucario
Celebi
Salamence

At a glance, you can see that for the most part, the weaknesses of every team member are covered by another member. If a fighting pokemon comes in to threaten Porygon2, then I have a number of pokemon I can switch to next. Spiritomb can take special based fighting assualts, such as from Alakazam. Salamence makes a great switch in to Heracross and Lucario.

So basically, pick any member of my team, think of what counters them, and I've got a good answer for it.

A lot of people say this is playing a step behind, that attempting to counter your opponent is letting them execute their strategy while not executing yours.

This couldn't be further from the truth.

The two most important pokemon in this team are Celebi and Tentacruel. Usually I take advantage of Bulky Waters so that I can start setting up residual damage, such as Leech Seed or Toxic Spikes. Leech Seed encourages switches. Toxic Spikes makes my opponent think twice before sending in a pokemon that could possibly be poisoned. This puts them in a difficult position, and generally limits the team members they are willing to send out.

The other pokemon are put into the team to promote this slow, painful death, until they are open for a sweep. Specs Lucario smashes through any physical walls. Porygon2 counters a huge pile of pokemon, and inflicts Toxic on anything airborne. Spiritomb prevents spinning, and uses Taunt to stop any of my opponent's attempts to Recover or set up.

Eventually I can take advantage of Salamence's large assortment of resistances to get up a Dragon Dance or two, and clean up. If Specs Lucario did his job, then there should be little to no physical resistance left. Then he should be able to sweep. Anything that is sturdy enough to be a threat I usually go to one of my walls, such as Porygon2 or Celebi, and try and stall them into very low health. Another option is to get in Lucario and smack them around suicidally. Then I come back with Salamence and try again. I repeat the process until my opponent is too weak to retaliate.

As you can see, I am not "playing a step behind" my opponent. The team has a lot of support moves, but also has enough disruptive tactics so that it is difficult to set up on. Porygon2's Bolt Beam combo prevents a lot of pokemon from setting up on him. Celebi has Sub and Leech Seed which will punish anything that neglected attacking him. Spiritomb has Taunt and Hypnosis. Things like this make it so that even though I've got a team full of tanks, I can prevent my opponent from taking advantage of them. I am executing my strategy (setting down TS, using my assortment of walls to weaken, then sweep with mence) while preventing them from using theirs.


So there you have it. When I make a team, I don't think of it as six members. I think of it as a battle plan. Don't be like "I am going to use these six pokemon because their resistances compliment each other." That's a good way to start, but then you often don't have any cohesive plan and you eventually fall apart to a more well executed strategy.

1. Come up with a plan. Toxic Stall, agiligross sweep, whatever. Decide the first pokemon or pair of pokemon with which you will execute the plan.

2. Brainstorm supporting pokemon to help execute the plan. Make sure these pokemon can do something to put you back on track if your opponent messes you up. IE, your opponent has Timid Scarftan. This could screw up your Metagross. Maybe have a Scarftrio so you can remove it.

3. Have a good way to counter the more popular strategies. Make sure you've got answers for those gay Dual Screen leads, DD Gyarados, Suicune, and stuff like that. You not only have to get your plan in motion, but you've got to make sure your opponent doesn't.

4. Put the team together and test it. You'll probably have some weakness you overlooked. Ask yourself if there is another pokemon that could replace the weak link. Would Jumpluff work instead of Sceptile? Slowbro over Vaporeon? Eventually you'll get the coverage you need and it will work the way you want it.

 

[pyrzi]

1. Phys-Spec spread

I decide how many physical and special pokemon I use. I always go with Blissey
and Porygon-Z because the other is the best special wall in the game while the other one
is the best special Choice Scarfer... IMO.

2. Pick a lead

My lead depends on what strategy I use.

3. Pick sweepers

4. Pick walls

5. Check team synergy

5. If any additional spots are left, I put a spinner/spiker or a revenge killer.

6. EVs and moves.

7. Practical testing.

 

[McGrrr]

I pick 6 Pokemon with resistances/immunities to as many different types as possible, and multiple resistances/immunities to common attack types like ice. I try to avoid shared weaknesses and aim to have 3+ immunities to toxic spikes/2+ immunities to spikes. Where I go from there is determined by practical success.

 

[MythTrainerInfinity]

I pick a random theme and then build upon it. I pick sets that I think will work and ignore most bog standard sets there are. I tend to lean towards more bulkier teams than most because most people are too impatient to develop a team that'll sweep and last a long time.

 

[Amelia]

Well, this is going to be long, so if you want just go tl;dr, and move on, but, this is how i completed my hail team.

The obvious first word here is Hail.

With that in mind, it's obviously Abomasnow inside the team, but the moves, the evs, basically, the only thing i had was Abomasnow, nothing else. I don't know where it would be, or what moves it would carry.

I decided that the team would be focused on stopping their leftover recovery with Hail, and using Toxic Spikes to wear them down, along with Stealth Rock. I decided to go with Forretress, as it supplied both Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock. Since i was relying on indirect damage to win, i decided that it would not have attacking moves. Rather, I wanted it to be physically bulky, so the obvious solution was Rest/Sleep Talk. Item would obviously be Leftovers.

To recap, what i have now was

1. Abomasnow.

2. Forretress @ Leftovers, T Spikes, Stealth Rock, Rest, Sleep Talk.

I needed a special wall, obviously. The main thing that struck out to me was Tentacruel. It was Bulky enough, and it was another source of Toxic Spikes. Again, i needed it to keep coming it and putting out those spikes, so Rest / Sleep Talk again. The choice now was between Rapid Spin and Knock Off. I'll let that off for now. Again, item is Leftovers.

I needed a backup Tank which could block both sides of the spectrum. It was definitely one of those legendary pixies, i just had to think which one. At length, i decided to go with Celebi. The obvious move was Recover, and i went with Heal Bell to remove status from my team. Again, indirect damage, so i went with Leech Seed. Finally, to top it off, i needed to stall, so i went with Protect. Again, item is Leftovers.

Recap:

1. Abomasnow.

2. Forretress @ Leftovers - T Spikes, SR, RestTalk

3. Tentacruel @ Leftovers - T Spikes, Resttalk, (Knock Off / Rapid Spin)

4. Celebi @ Leftovers - Leech Seed, Protect, Recover, Heal Bell.

I know i would need something that will counter everything in a pinch. Just in case some Ttar comes out and uses taunt or Gyarados / Salamence Dragon Dance or something. The most obvious Pokemon would be a Scarf Gengar. Not only does this outspeed a lot of things in existence, it even outspeeded some that had +speed. (Dragon Dance, basically). My first move of choice was Destiny Bond, so that it could take down anything. My two biggest fears in this team was Taunt Gyarados and Taunt Tyranitar, so Focus Blast and Thunderbolt came next. Finally, i went with Hidden Power Ice to destroy Salamence (And with Platinum out, Skymin). And for an added note, it blocked Rapid Spin.

With this out, i could finally decide on Abomasnow. I went with Leech Seed first, for that indirect damage. Sub obviously came next, as Subseeding is a good tactic on Abo. Blizzard was a good choice, as it had STAB and came with the Hail. Finally, since it was my lead, I went with Protect to scout. My item of choice was the Leftovers, to support Leech Seed Recovery.

Recap:

1. Abomasnow @ Leftovers - Leech Seed, Blizzard, Protect, Substitute.

2. Forretress @ Leftovers - T Spikes, SR, RestTalk

3. Tentacruel @ Leftovers - T Spikes, Resttalk, (Knock Off / Rapid Spin)

4. Celebi @ Leftovers - Leech Seed, Protect, Recover, Heal Bell.

5. Gengar @ Choice Scarf - Destiny Bond, Focus Blast, Thunderbolt, Hidden Power Ice

One final Pokemon. A good tank. I just decided on Zapdos, and went with SubRoost. Again, to stall. Thunderbolt obviously came next. For my final move, I already had too many Ice Moves, and I was slightly weak on the Special Side. So i placed Light Screen on Zapdos, and made it Specially Oriented. Again, obvious Leftovers here.

So, with all 6 chosen, I decided that Stealth Rock wasn't a problem for my team. I had no focus sash, and nothing which was totally weak against it apart from Abomasnow, which had Leech Seed recovery, and Zapdos, which could roost. So I took Knock Off.

Final:

Abo @ Leftovers
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Blizzard
- Substitute

Forry @ leftovers
- Toxic Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Tentacruel @ Leftovers
- Knock Off
- Toxic Spikes
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Celebi @ Leftovers
- Recover
- Leech Seed
- Heal Bell
- Protect

Gengar @ Choice Scarf
- Destiny Bond
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice

Zapdos @ Leftovers
- Thunderbolt
- Roost
- Substitute
- Light Screen

As for EVs, it was mostly defensive oriented, apart from Gar which had Modest 252 SpA, 252 Speed.

This was the team which took me up to Round 3 of the Strikeout Tourney, until i was forced to retire due to Shoddy which stopped working on my com.

Also, Gouki once swept this team 6-0 with a CM Clefable, as I had no Physical Moves. That was the most embarrassing part of this team's career.

 

[wildfire393]

Well, this is going to be long, so if you want just go tl;dr, and move on, but, this is how i completed my hail team.

The obvious first word here is Hail.

With that in mind, it's obviously Abomasnow inside the team, but the moves, the evs, basically, the only thing i had was Abomasnow, nothing else. I don't know where it would be, or what moves it would carry.

I decided that the team would be focused on stopping their leftover recovery with Hail, and using Toxic Spikes to wear them down, along with Stealth Rock. I decided to go with Forretress, as it supplied both Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock. Since i was relying on indirect damage to win, i decided that it would not have attacking moves. Rather, I wanted it to be physically bulky, so the obvious solution was Rest/Sleep Talk. Item would obviously be Leftovers.

To recap, what i have now was

1. Abomasnow.

2. Forretress @ Leftovers, T Spikes, Stealth Rock, Rest, Sleep Talk.

I needed a special wall, obviously. The main thing that struck out to me was Tentacruel. It was Bulky enough, and it was another source of Toxic Spikes. Again, i needed it to keep coming it and putting out those spikes, so Rest / Sleep Talk again. The choice now was between Rapid Spin and Knock Off. I'll let that off for now. Again, item is Leftovers.

I needed a backup Tank which could block both sides of the spectrum. It was definitely one of those legendary pixies, i just had to think which one. At length, i decided to go with Celebi. The obvious move was Recover, and i went with Heal Bell to remove status from my team. Again, indirect damage, so i went with Leech Seed. Finally, to top it off, i needed to stall, so i went with Protect. Again, item is Leftovers.

Recap:

1. Abomasnow.

2. Forretress @ Leftovers - T Spikes, SR, RestTalk

3. Tentacruel @ Leftovers - T Spikes, Resttalk, (Knock Off / Rapid Spin)

4. Celebi @ Leftovers - Leech Seed, Protect, Recover, Heal Bell.

I know i would need something that will counter everything in a pinch. Just in case some Ttar comes out and uses taunt or Gyarados / Salamence Dragon Dance or something. The most obvious Pokemon would be a Scarf Gengar. Not only does this outspeed a lot of things in existence, it even outspeeded some that had +speed. (Dragon Dance, basically). My first move of choice was Destiny Bond, so that it could take down anything. My two biggest fears in this team was Taunt Gyarados and Taunt Tyranitar, so Focus Blast and Thunderbolt came next. Finally, i went with Hidden Power Ice to destroy Salamence (And with Platinum out, Skymin). And for an added note, it blocked Rapid Spin.

With this out, i could finally decide on Abomasnow. I went with Leech Seed first, for that indirect damage. Sub obviously came next, as Subseeding is a good tactic on Abo. Blizzard was a good choice, as it had STAB and came with the Hail. Finally, since it was my lead, I went with Protect to scout. My item of choice was the Leftovers, to support Leech Seed Recovery.

Recap:

1. Abomasnow @ Leftovers - Leech Seed, Blizzard, Protect, Substitute.

2. Forretress @ Leftovers - T Spikes, SR, RestTalk

3. Tentacruel @ Leftovers - T Spikes, Resttalk, (Knock Off / Rapid Spin)

4. Celebi @ Leftovers - Leech Seed, Protect, Recover, Heal Bell.

5. Gengar @ Choice Scarf - Destiny Bond, Focus Blast, Thunderbolt, Hidden Power Ice

One final Pokemon. A good tank. I just decided on Zapdos, and went with SubRoost. Again, to stall. Thunderbolt obviously came next. For my final move, I already had too many Ice Moves, and I was slightly weak on the Special Side. So i placed Light Screen on Zapdos, and made it Specially Oriented. Again, obvious Leftovers here.

So, with all 6 chosen, I decided that Stealth Rock wasn't a problem for my team. I had no focus sash, and nothing which was totally weak against it apart from Abomasnow, which had Leech Seed recovery, and Zapdos, which could roost. So I took Knock Off.

Final:

Abo @ Leftovers
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Blizzard
- Substitute

Forry @ leftovers
- Toxic Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Tentacruel @ Leftovers
- Knock Off
- Toxic Spikes
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Celebi @ Leftovers
- Recover
- Leech Seed
- Heal Bell
- Protect

Gengar @ Choice Scarf
- Destiny Bond
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice

Zapdos @ Leftovers
- Thunderbolt
- Roost
- Substitute
- Light Screen

As for EVs, it was mostly defensive oriented, apart from Gar which had Modest 252 SpA, 252 Speed.

This was the team which took me up to Round 3 of the Strikeout Tourney, until i was forced to retire due to Shoddy which stopped working on my com.

Also, Gouki once swept this team 6-0 with a CM Clefable, as I had no Physical Moves. That was the most embarrassing part of this team's career.

Two Toxic Spikes users seems kind of Iffy. Anything with Levitate or Flying Typing evades getting toxic'ed forever. A user of Toxic and/or Will-O-Wisp (for the steels, dunno what you'd do about Hetran) would be recommended.

 

[Chou Toshio]

I guess I try to think of the pace of the team, as well as resistances when building. This goes hand-in-hand with creating an offensive team, as offensive teams should look to control the pace rather than figure out how to wall things.

Unlike the OP, I try to start with the lead if I can. The lead sets the pace of the game, and if you don't know what you're trying to accomplish from the start, what comes later cannot follow. Since I'm thinking of the game as a timeline, I'll think of my lead, what I want it to achieve, and what are the most likely things to go wrong with that plan, bringing the others into it from there.

From there I'll try and work out the early game. The early game is a following of the lead's game, either when it succeeds or fails. There should be 2, possibly 3 other pokemon who I plan to be involved with the early game. Again these should be pokemon who can deal with the lead's failures or follow its success. Often I'll want them to be mix-sweepers or substitute users. In any case they have to be pokemon who can respond to a wide number of threats at least to the degree where they can leave a huge dent. If possible, I prefer my lead to carry some moves to make is useful in the later stages of the battle as well since there are probably lots of situations where it will have to be withdrawn (such as when faced with a lead who beats it).

4-5 are mid-game pokemon, and should be pokemon who can cover the weaknesses of the first 3 pokemon as well as continue the sweep. Ideally these pokes would not be weak to stealth rock, and better if they can resist it and immune sandstorm. If they can handle toxic spikes and spikes, power to them. This leads to one of them usually being a ground type, if I don't have one in 2-3. As I mentioned I might try to design a pokemon who can handle both early and mid game well.

Last, I'll want 1 pokemon who excels and late game sweeping. This should be something very fast. A choice Scarf pokemon or Dragon Dance/Agility/Priority user would be a good example. Scarf can be really useful as it can often lend a hand in the early game as well when needed.

 

[Calciphoce]

One thing I'm noticing that worries me a bit with a lot of these posts is that people are trying to counter every threat in some instances. Come on guys, D/P has gone on long enough to the point where that kind of strategy just will not work. I shouldn't have to be explaining this.

Another thing that bugs me is a lack of a backup strategy in some of these teams. Sure, you have a backup to take out whatever gets in the way of your centerpiece of your team, but things will not go perfectly. What I'm saying is that some of you rely too much on one Pokemon beating another. For instance, just because you have a fighting type on your team does not mean that Blissey is completely removed from the game and you no longer have to worry about her existence.

As for my method, it was greatly challenged by Platinum's additions, so right now I actually don't have a concrete method of making teams. It seems extreme to some of you I'm sure, but my D/P team building method will be greatly different from my soon-to-be Platinum one. Damn you, Platinum. Damn you.

 

[Amelia]

One thing I'm noticing that worries me a bit with a lot of these posts is that people are trying to counter every threat in some instances. Come on guys, D/P has gone on long enough to the point where that kind of strategy just will not work. I shouldn't have to be explaining this.

Another thing that bugs me is a lack of a backup strategy in some of these teams. Sure, you have a backup to take out whatever gets in the way of your centerpiece of your team, but things will not go perfectly. What I'm saying is that some of you rely too much on one Pokemon beating another. For instance, just because you have a fighting type on your team does not mean that Blissey is completely removed from the game and you no longer have to worry about her existence.

As for my method, it was greatly challenged by Platinum's additions, so right now I actually don't have a concrete method of making teams. It seems extreme to some of you I'm sure, but my D/P team building method will be greatly different from my soon-to-be Platinum one. Damn you, Platinum. Damn you.

You know what i find these days?

Hey look i have a perfect theme, all I need to do is to execute it... (Scizor comes in and Bullet Punches everything to heaven)

Or (Skymin comes in and uses Seed Flare, and all my Pokemons start flying away)

Or (Scarf Heatran enters and Fireblasts everything away)

While I'm getting Shoddy to work, I need to find a theme which is not totally countered by these...

 

[Chou Toshio]

Well, as an example for what I posted, let's say it goes like this:

Lead: Azelf, tricks stuff, carrying some sweeping moves and boom for later on.

2 + 3:
Mix-lucario: Sets up on bug/dark/ghost attacks that got tricked and procedes to bust shit open. Try to draw out physical walls
Tyranitar: Chase down shit that killed azelf with Pursuit.

4+5:
Skymin: Comes in against users of Ground/Fighting who were used to kill TTar/Lucario and threatens a sweep. Also used for killing bulky waters.
Swampert: Because Heatran and Scizor on the enemy side are likely to appear around here. Roar is also good in mid-battle to stop shit trying to sweep. Also can add some good play to the early game with SR. Also here because now's about the time the enemy realizes that Mamo wipes out most of your shit.

*hopefully boom something with Azelf around here*

Late Game:
Bring out Salamence and sweep their ass with DD.


Something like that. Anyway you get the point that my formula can end up creating some really standard-looking teams, in terms of just the pokemon used.

 

[133tSneasel]

Honestly, I think there are to many ways, because there are to many team types.

(Like Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Sand stream/Toxic/Stealth Rock), Stall, Choice Band, Choice Specs, and the list goes on. )

I usually just pick one Pokemon and start from there. Look at his weaknesses and what he or she can do. )What is there role) I try to build themes on teams, but it doesn't always work out. Also I check out the standard Metagame and make a team like that. But some pokemon I always use are "Gengar, Salamence, Alakazam, Swampert, Weavile, and Suicune.

I was never one for Electric types except Zapdos and Lanturn, so I try to fit them in somewhere and Forrtress is defined as a good one in my opinion

 

[Byhamz]

my technique is a little similar to Articanus'.

Basicaly i just pick any six pokemon which i think are pretty cool. not caring about synagy, resistances, or very much at all. obviously some things are kept in mind, for example i want one pokemon to be a lead, but mostly it's random.

the rest is all down to playtesting. so far i've always been lucky and ended up with pretty good teams from the start, but obviously they're never exactly brilliant. But the rest of it all comes down to the testing itself, if something is raping my team, i change the thing thats doing the least to a good counter. in this way the whole team gradually changes, my current team only has one pokemon from the originals it. everything else has just been gradually moved along to suit the metagame.

this is all in UU tho, i doubt this tactic would work in a OU enviroment

 

[Darkflagrance]

What are the most powerful, close to broken pokemon in the metagame?

Pick 6.

Rape on the ladder.

If there are any weaknesses I missed, I replace as necessary.

This is for OU. Stuff like Skymin and Scizor are powerful enough that even if synergy is not so great prediction carries through. It's all about picking a team that gives the player a maximal amount of options, as opposed to necessarily going with a sweeping strategy; the latter is not so hot nowadays considering the premier set-up sweeper is now banned.

EDIT: Personally, this kind of team-building style is more for me to sample the relative over-centralization and/or brokenness of the metagame rather than to actually build a good team. It may be because my team-building goals are not the same as many other people's, for I try to measure the effectiveness of the strategies and pokemon considered to be the best against the general metagame.

 

[mAn-kAt]

I have a Very simplistic view on making a team, as all my team try to have the following:
2 Physical Sweepers
2 Special Sweepers
1 Physical Wall
1 Special Wall

If one of the Six comes with Rapid Spin, that is good, but other than that I don't usually go out of my way for any type of trickery that I could use

 

[Matt_Lane]

Honestly, I think there are to many ways, because there are to many team types.

(Like Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Sand stream/Toxic/Stealth Rock), Stall, Choice Band, Choice Specs, and the list goes on. )

I usually just pick one Pokemon and start from there. Look at his weaknesses and what he or she can do. )What is there role) I try to build themes on teams, but it doesn't always work out. Also I check out the standard Metagame and make a team like that. But some pokemon I always use are "Gengar, Salamence, Alakazam, Swampert, Weavile, and Suicune.

I was never one for Electric types except Zapdos and Lanturn, so I try to fit them in somewhere and Forrtress is defined as a good one in my opinion

Just wanna say 2 things:

1) You don't need a comma before "because"

2) I'm pretty sure "Toxic" "Stealth Rock" "Choice Band" and "Choice Specs" are NOT a team type like you listed it with.

 

[Stathakis]

for me, I either copy a team from the rmt forum, ask someone for a team, or slap 6 random pokemon together. from there, I work it until I like it, "revamping" the team (switching 3 or 4 pokemon) many times until the end product is something I like. most of the time, it ends up doing the opposite of what it was supposed to in the beginning (when I try and make a stall team they all somehow end up turning into offense) and often with not a single pokemon on the team that was originally there. as far as a "central strategy," for me my "central strategy" may be a deoxys-s sweep with magnezone to take out steel types. beyond that, the team really doesn't go towards that goal other than really maybe having lots of fire and ground moves. because every time I've tried to dedicate my team to something (i.e. team ursaring) it ends up failing pretty hard. I find that a team tha can adapt well and have a choice of ways to win, like say a bunch of sweepers that on a moments notice can turn a game around, so that even if the whole enemy team is dedicated against one you can still sac it and work around them, and stuff like that, work the best (yea its a run-on sentence).

if anyone got anything from this rambling jumble of words, I guess that means i articulated myself well. pfft, nothing I ever write turns out readable.