My First Team (Tailwind)

Galactic · Jul 22, 2011

Hi :) To start off, I would like to say that I'm rather new to the competitive battling community and competitive battling in general. This is the first team I've built, and I've been using it to quite good success on the Wi-Fi servers, but I'm not one to say that it's without it's flaws. I'm intending to go to Worlds (grinders), and am just looking for general advice on this team to help it do better in the competitive environment. The team is built around Tailwind support, with Whimsicott+Terrakion as leads and Thundurus and Conkeldurr as attackers. I am currently in the process of choosing the final two team members and would appreciate suggestions on what to choose if possible :)

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Leads:

*~Terrakion~*
Nature: Jolly
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
-Earthquake
-Close Combat
-Rock Slide
-Protect

A typical partner to Whimsicott, thanks to the ability to heighten it's attack power massively thanks to Beat Up and boost it's speed with Tailwind. First turn I always want to use Protect while Whimsicott uses Tailwind, then next turn (Whimsicott will most likely have survived thanks to Focus Sash) use Beat Up on Terrakion to start OHKOing with Earthquake/Rock Slide. Earthquake/Rock Slide/Close Combat are there for coverage. I'm thinking of changing Rock Slide to Stone Edge, but hate the accuracy and don't think that I really need the extra power.

*~Whimsicott (M)~*
Nature: Timid
Item: Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP/4 SpD/252 Spd
-Tailwind
-Beat Up
-Taunt
-Protect

My other primary lead, this one is to purely set up and stop Trick Room thanks to priority Taunt. As I described above, Tailwind and Beat Up are there to set up Terrakion, while Protect is there to give it a turn to live if needed. Focus Sash is there so that Whimsicott gets to attack with Beat Up/Tailwind on the second turn almost 99% of the time, unless my opponent ends up attacking it twice in one turn.

Attackers

*~Thundurus (M)~*
Nature: Timid
Item: Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spd
-Thunder Wave
-Taunt
-Focus Blast
-Thunderbolt

This is one of my attackers I use primarily after Terrakion gets KOed, but it can be also used as a lead to spam Thunder Wave and use Taunt. Prankster allows both of these to hit first, so it's great to cripple attackers that rely on Speed with Thunder Wave, as well as Trick Room users thanks to Taunt. Focus Blast and Thunderbolt are my attacking moves (obviously), but I'm really looking for something to replace Focus Blast as I hate the low accuracy... :/

*~Conkeldurr (M)~*
Nature: Adamant
Item: Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
-Hammer Arm
-Mach Punch
-Rock Slide
-Protect

The team's other main attacker, this one boosting it's attack thanks to Guts+Flame Orb and then hitting heavy with STAB Hammer Arm, as well as Rock Slide for extra type coverage. Mach Punch is an amazing attack, allowing me to freely KO things that have been heavily damaged by Terrakion/Thundurus and aren't immune to it. Protect is to stall for Flame Orb.

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And... That's all. I don't expect this team to be great at all and I know it probably has lots of problems, but I'm just looking for advice on what to add/change to make it better.

Thanks,
~Glaciate

tlyee61 · Jul 22, 2011

add pictures.
also include 2 moar pokes because VGC allows 6 in your party.
Jolly>Adamant on Terrakion to outspeed some pokes that u couldnt w/ adamant
Drain Punch>Hammer Arm on Conk for longevity
Protect>EQ on Conk to stall a turn for Flame Orb
HP Ice or Flying on Thundurus over Focus Blast
Electric Gem on Thundurus
Close Combat>Sacred Sword on Terrakion for more power

Galactic · Jul 22, 2011

tlyee61 said:
add pictures.
also include 2 moar pokes because VGC allows 6 in your party.
Jolly>Adamant on Terrakion to outspeed some pokes that u couldnt w/ adamant
Drain Punch>Hammer Arm on Conk for longevity
Protect>EQ on Conk to stall a turn for Flame Orb
HP Ice or Flying on Thundurus over Focus Blast
Electric Gem on Thundurus
Close Combat>Sacred Sword on Terrakion for more power

Ok, I added the pics, changed the Conkeldurr set, and gave Thundurus the Electric Gem. My Thundurus' Hidden Power is Poison (ugh), and as I said I don't exactly have a way to change it... I have already bred for the proper Conkeldurr with Mach Punch and have EV trained it, so I don't really want to go through all that again since Hammer Arm is still a good move IMO.

Thanks for the suggestions :)
~Glaciate

Wildfire · Jul 23, 2011

Glaciate said:
Changes in bold

Leads:

*~Terrakion~*
Nature: Jolly
Item: chople berry, life orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
-Earthquake
-Close Combat(It's very frail so -1 d and -1 sp.d isn't doing much)
-Rock Slide
-Protect

A typical partner to Whimsicott, thanks to the ability to heighten it's attack power massively thanks to Beat Up and boost it's speed with Tailwind. First turn I always want to use Protect while Whimsicott uses Tailwind, then next turn (Whimsicott will most likely have survived thanks to Focus Sash) use Beat Up on Terrakion to start OHKOing with Earthquake/Rock Slide. Earthquake/Rock Slide/Sacred Sword are there for coverage, and I picked Sacred Sword over Close Combat since I dislike the Defense loss and found it able to OHKO after Beat Up anyway. I'm thinking of changing Rock Slide to Stone Edge, but hate the accuracy and don't think that I really need the extra power.

*~Whimsicott (M)~*
Nature: Timid
Item: Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP/4 SpD/252 Spd
-Tailwind
-Beat Up
-Taunt
-Giga drain(If it get's taunted, it's screwed)

My other primary lead, this one is to purely set up and stop Trick Room thanks to priority Taunt. As I described above, Tailwind and Beat Up are there to set up Terrakion, while Charm is used to lower Fighting type Pokemon's (Mienshao, Scrafty, Conkeldurr, etc...) attack power before they are able to attack Terrakion. Focus Sash is there so that Whimsicott gets to attack with Beat Up/Tailwind on the second turn almost 99% of the time, unless my opponent ends up attacking it twice in one turn.

Attackers

*~Thundurus (M)~*
Nature: Modest (It's nearly impossible for me to get a nature other than this without trading or restarting my Pokemon White, which I don't want to do...)
Item: Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spd
-Thunder Wave
-Taunt
-Hp ice (for the x4 landrous)
-Thunderbolt

This is one of my attackers I use primarily after Terrakion gets KOed, but it can be also used as a lead to spam Thunder Wave and use Taunt. Prankster allows both of these to hit first, so it's great to cripple attackers that rely on Speed with Thunder Wave, as well as Trick Room users thanks to Taunt. Focus Blast and Thunderbolt are my attacking moves (obviously), but I'm really looking for something to replace Focus Blast as I hate the low accuracy... :/

*~Conkeldurr (M)~*
Nature: Adamant
Item: Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 242 HP/252 Atk/16 Spd
It's not outspeeding much even in tailwind.
-Drain punch(it says drain punch in your analysis, but not the moveset, not sure why)
-Mach Punch
-Rock Slide
-Protect

The team's other main attacker, this one boosting it's attack thanks to Guts+Flame Orb and then hitting heavy with STAB Drain Punch, as well as Rock Slide for extra type coverage. Mach Punch is an amazing attack, allowing me to freely KO things that have been heavily damaged by Terrakion/Thundurus and aren't immune to it. Protect is to stall for Flame Orb.

Lucien Lachance · Jul 23, 2011

tlyee61 said:
add pictures.
also include 2 moar pokes because VGC allows 6 in your party. He doesn't need to. I usually use the same 4 pokes but the other two are back-up.
Jolly>Adamant on Terrakion to outspeed some pokes that u couldnt w/ adamant
Drain Punch>Hammer Arm on Conk for longevity
Protect>EQ on Conk to stall a turn for Flame Orb
HP Ice or Flying on Thundurus over Focus Blast HP Ice is better.
Electric Gem on Thundurus Charti Berry or Focus Sash IMO.
Close Combat>Sacred Sword on Terrakion for more power. The point is moot. If you run Chople Berry on Terrakion and an EV spread of 4 HP, 4 Def, 252 Atk, and 248 Spe, you lose the speed tie against other Terrakions, lose about half to CC, and OHKO back unless they have Sash.
And definately trade for Timid nature on Thundurus.
Protect >> Charm on Whimsicott
Protect >> Taunt on Thundurus.

Should cover everything major.

Guys... Protect is NECESSARY on all pokes that aren't choiced.

tlyee61 · Jul 26, 2011

Also maybe replace EQ on terrakion for quick attack. Then u can kill sashers with ease that aren't chandelure

Rukario · Aug 2, 2011

To start off, I would add two more guys. This is because the element of surprise isn't absent if the opponent doesn't know which 4 Pokemon will be sent out. :)

Alright, I see Amoonguss as a potential threat to your team should your Thundurus go down early to maybe a Scarf Terrakion or something else under Tailwind. After that, nothing you really have can efficiently deal with Amoonguss, one of the most common Pokemon in VGC 2011. Also, a Jellicent (Scarfed or not) under Tailwind could also be another threat to your team with a good partner. Only Whimsicott can take a fully powered Water Spout and hit back. Although limiting yourself to Beat Up as your only attacking move could also hinder it's abilities to combat Jellicent. Everything else gets a chunk taken out of their HP from a fully powered Water Spout.

Also, try and run Quick Attack over Earthquake on Terrakion. This is because should Thundurus go down early in the match, everything you have takes damage from Earthquake. Just test it out. If it doesn't work as well, you can always revert back to Earthquake.

As for an extra two guys on your team, a Scrafty might be good. Just try and test around with a lot of the powerful guys in VGC 2011 and you'll find two that works with your team. :)

risenreturn · Aug 4, 2011

May I suggest using Wide Guard over protect on terrakion or conkledurr? As most of your team can easily die to certain wide-spread attacks.

Your thunderus dies from rock slide, your terrakion dies from earthquake/surf(don't know how common surf is)and water spout, while whimsicott really doesn't appreciate heat wave.

Its a slight change, but it may end up saving you in the long run.