There have been a -lot- of teams being posted lately; it seems like it's becoming the fashionable thing to do around here. That's all well and good, but most of these teams all share the same problem and it's not a Gyarados weakness (though most have that too).
What is this problem? It's the lack of a unifying, central strategy behind the team. Six "standard" pokemon that are capable on their own, nothing else. These teams are being built solely with new and old standards in mind, and inserting their counters. I think that the mindset behind these teams is something like "Okay, Pokemon x1, x2, ..., are threats, so here are pokemon that can counter them...and then y1 and y2 for offense", or something close to that. This worked reasonably well in Advance. This will not work in DP.
I posted something in an earlier thread that a couple people have quoted; I'm going to repost it here and then explain in more depth what I meant.
So what is my point in all this? I'm saying that DP teams need to have a central, unifying strategy. Take this strategy and enough pokemon strong enough to stand on their own in case something goes wrong, and work to set it up. Plan ahead. Think about how you can mess up your opponent's team and follow the path you've set with every move. This isn't to say you should eschew defense. On the contrary, use the most general walls and general counters that you can think of to stop threats on various ends of the spectrum, preferably ones with as few physical weaknesses as possible. Bulky grounds, bulky waters, Blissey, Crescelia. But make sure that they can do something, and that they can work with your strategy in some way.
Why is it necessary to have this strategy? It is necessary because you can't deal with every threat anymore. There are just too many out there now. Too many pokemon to counter with your 6 pokemon and 24 moves. You will not successfully do it. You'll counter a lot of stuff, and then someone will come at you with something your team isn't prepared for and rip you apart; with alarming frequency. So, instead of trying to deal with all these threats, make a unique threat of your own. Instead of making a threat out of a single pokemon, make it out of two, or three, or four, or six. You will be much more dangerous, much more difficult (if not impossible) to counter. This is the kind of thinking that will win you battles.
Work strategy into your team, and I guarantee you that you will beat any team made up of counters and some generic offense. Learn how to learn your opponents' strategy and plan ways to mess it up, and you'll beat them too.
What is this problem? It's the lack of a unifying, central strategy behind the team. Six "standard" pokemon that are capable on their own, nothing else. These teams are being built solely with new and old standards in mind, and inserting their counters. I think that the mindset behind these teams is something like "Okay, Pokemon x1, x2, ..., are threats, so here are pokemon that can counter them...and then y1 and y2 for offense", or something close to that. This worked reasonably well in Advance. This will not work in DP.
I posted something in an earlier thread that a couple people have quoted; I'm going to repost it here and then explain in more depth what I meant.
There are just too many threats to have counters for anymore. This is a new situation, as you could conceivably counter most tough things you'd run up against in Advance teams. Go to Mekkah's Advance teambuilding guide on the main site, he gives a list of things that all teams should counter. Things are different now, though. DP will change the status quo. There are so many new pokemon, and so many old pokemon, and pokemon both new and old that are capable of kicking your ass in many different ways. Salamence comes to mind, as does Infernape. Try countering physical Salamence and then immediately lose a pokemon to CG Salamence. In Advance this was called the element of surprise and would win you battles; in DP it's not very hard to be surprising.
So what is my point in all this? I'm saying that DP teams need to have a central, unifying strategy. Take this strategy and enough pokemon strong enough to stand on their own in case something goes wrong, and work to set it up. Plan ahead. Think about how you can mess up your opponent's team and follow the path you've set with every move. This isn't to say you should eschew defense. On the contrary, use the most general walls and general counters that you can think of to stop threats on various ends of the spectrum, preferably ones with as few physical weaknesses as possible. Bulky grounds, bulky waters, Blissey, Crescelia. But make sure that they can do something, and that they can work with your strategy in some way.
Why is it necessary to have this strategy? It is necessary because you can't deal with every threat anymore. There are just too many out there now. Too many pokemon to counter with your 6 pokemon and 24 moves. You will not successfully do it. You'll counter a lot of stuff, and then someone will come at you with something your team isn't prepared for and rip you apart; with alarming frequency. So, instead of trying to deal with all these threats, make a unique threat of your own. Instead of making a threat out of a single pokemon, make it out of two, or three, or four, or six. You will be much more dangerous, much more difficult (if not impossible) to counter. This is the kind of thinking that will win you battles.
Work strategy into your team, and I guarantee you that you will beat any team made up of counters and some generic offense. Learn how to learn your opponents' strategy and plan ways to mess it up, and you'll beat them too.
