New to Competitive...

[LordArrogantXVI]

... but this team's been doing pretty well so far. They're 3 wins 0 losses in the current configuration, though they've been switched around a lot. I tend to have team-ADD.
Current setup has little cohesion, I was sort of hoping for help with that.
My main strategy can be summed up as "Lead with Klefki, switch in to whoever seems appropriate when Klefki drops."
I go into each 'mon's individual role in their description, but basically I use Greninja, Haxorus, and Talonflame as heavy hitters, Sylveon as a special wall, and Chesnaught as what amounts to a substitute that does a bit of damage. He's the one I really need help with, the rest seem to function just fine.

Haxorus @ Lum Berry (Nicknamed Balerion)
Adamant nature
252 atk/ 252 spe/ 4 HP
Ability: Mold Breaker
-Dragon Claw
-Dragon Dance
-Poison Jab
-Earthquake

Balerion here is a carryover of sorts from Gen V, where I had an Adamant natured Haxorus with Mold Breaker and similar moves. He's primarily my big threat, with Poison Jab there to counter fairies and Earthquake because it's my favorite move. Dragon Dance should be self-explanitory, and Dragon Claw as well (replacing his old move, Outrage). Either way, he's been a solid beatstick for two generations now.

Greninja @ Life Orb (Nicknamed Sasuke >.> I'm a self-ashamed Narutard)
Timid Nature
252 sp.atk/ 252 spe/ 4 atk
Ability: Protean, of course
-Ice Beam
-Hydro Pump
-Dark Pulse
-U-Turn

This guy here surprised me. I expected a frail little dude who went down after a couple shots, but he's been pretty much my main fighter since I added him. Assault Vest is there primarily because I'm not a fan of choice items, partially because it's allowed him to tank a few moves he couldn't otherwise. Swapped Assault Vest for Life Orb. Greninja's done wonders for me.

Klefki @ nothing right now (Korean, no real nickname, but I tend to call him 3/2 or Jinglekeys)
Bold Nature
252 HP/ 128 def/ 128 sp. def
Ability: Prankster
-Toxic
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Foul Play

I'll admit, Klefki isn't my favorite lead, but he's done a bit of good for me. He tends to just set up Toxic and one of the screens before dropping, though I've had him KO some high attack pokemon, including a Mewtwo X in one hilarious little battle, with Foul Play. He's not awful I guess, but he's also not particularly vital. Also, the EVs weren't me, got it in a Wonder Trade like that. I'm kind of guessing on the defenses, but they seem pretty evenly split.

Sylveon @ Leftovers (Nicknamed Crimsa)
Calm nature
252 HP/ 252 sp. def/ 4 sp. atk
Ability: Cute Charm
-Moonblast
-Draining Kiss
-Substitute
-Calm Mind

She's quite clearly a special wall. In my 3 battles, she's held her own relatively well, though I'll admit she needs Shadow Ball or something to really work, I just... haven't gotten that TM yet. >.< Still, she stands up pretty well whenever I send her out. I typically use Substitute, the CM, then either Draining Kiss (if she's missing too much HP) or Moonblast (if not). Her special attack seems higher than average, since she rarely fails to 2HKO anything with Kiss after a CM, usually 1HKO with Moonblast. I've had quite a bit of fun with her.

Talonflame @ Choice Band (New addition, no name yet)
Adamant Nature
4 HP/ 252 atk/ 252 spe
Ability: Gale Wings
-Brave Bird
-Flare Blitz
-U-Turn
-Tailwind

This one's just in the testing stage right now, see Luxray's comment for its setup.

Chesnaught @ Rocky Helmet (Nicknamed Chester)
Adamant Nature
252 HP/ 252 atk/ 4 def
Ability: Overgrow
-Hammer Arm
-Substitute
-Seed Bomb
-Bulk Up

Chester's a bit iffy and the only one of my team besides maybe Klefki I'm really not keen on keeping. He tends to get off a Bulk Up and an attack before dropping, and his double-weakness to fire is... not the best. I went with a Sub-Bulk set mainly because I liked how Sub-CM worked for Sylveon and wanted to try the physical variant. It hasn't been phenomenal, to say the least, though he tends to be decent to switch into to protect another teammate, which I guess is helpful.


Any comments/criticism would be appreciated. Like the title says, I'm sort of new to competitive battling, so I realize I'm not the best >.>

EDIT: I should note that they're 3-0 in randoms (well, 4-1 now), but I've used most of the team minus Chesnaught as they are for a few days, mainly against friends. Before Chesnaught I had a borrowed Charizard with Charizardite Y, but it felt redundant with Talonflame, and I had to give it back anyway.

 

[LightningLuxray]

Hi! I decided to give your team a rate because you seemed like a nice user, and I think you deserve one. Anyways, from the looks of things, this seems to be an in-game team, so I won't recommend any legendary Pokemon (since you can't breed for natures, IVs, etc.)

From this looks of this team, it also looks like you're new to competitive Pokemon. So, I think I'll be going over each of your teammembers individually. Changes will be in bold.

Haxorus:

Shell Bell is a really bad item for Haxorus. It's very frail, and it only recovers HP when you attack, making it near useless. As such, I'd recommend running Lum Berry > Shell Bell. Lum Berry is really helpful, since it lets you set up all over status users, such as Rotom-W. I'd also recommend running Dragon Claw > Outrage, as Haxorus's attack stat is already high enough, especially with Adamant, so the extra power isn't necessary.

Greninja:

First and formost, lose Assault Vest. Greninja is so frail to the point where Assault Vest really doesn't help it out. As such, I'd recommend running Life Orb > Assault Vest on Greninja. Life Orb allows you to dish out even more damage, which is something Greninja's all about. I'd also recommend you run Hydro Pump > Scald, as Greninja isn't the most powerful, meaning it needs all the power it can get. Finally, since this is an in-game team, I won't recommend running Hidden Power. I do feel, however, that you should run Dark Pulse > Grass Knot, as Grass Knot does pitiful damage to Rotom-W due to its low weight, while Dark Pulse is super helpful for muscling past Aegislash.

Klefki:

I'm going to be honest, I'm not liking Klefki. Since your team seems to be more balance, I don't feel Dual Screen support is necessary. You also already have a Fairy-type in Sylveon, making it pretty redundant. As such, I think you should completely replace Klefki with Skarmory. Ferrothorn allows you to counter a bunch of scary threats to this team, such as Azumarill, Mega Pinsir, and Excadrill. It also can better support your team by setting up Defog, removing the Stealth Rocks that really hurt your Talonflame.

Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 232 Def / 252 HP / 24 Spd
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Defog

Leftovers/Roost for recovery, Brave Bird so you're not complete Taunt bait, Whirlwind to prevent Pokemon from setting up all over you, and Defog for the previously mentioned reasons. I know Defog is a Fourth Generation move, but you REALLY need some way to remove hazards while running Talonflame... and as such, it's very important. Overall, a pretty standard set, but it could be really helpful for your team!

Sylveon:

I'm not liking Calm Mind Sylveon. Honestly, it's really outclassed by Clefable, who has better abilities, access to Flamethrower, and better all-around bulk. I also noticed you don't really have a good, dedicated, special wall. As such, I'd really like to see Sylveon changes to a standard Specially Defensive set. This way, you have a reliable special wall on your team that can easily support your teammates. Here's the set:

Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 4 SDef / 252 HP / 252 Def
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Toxic
- Hyper Voice

Wish + Protect gives reliable healing, while Hyper Voice means it's not set-up fodder. I would normally run Heal Bell in the third slot, but I'm pretty sure that's really hard to get on Eevee, so I'll just recommend Toxic to cripple the opponent.

Talonflame:

This is a pretty decent Talonflame. I'm not really sure I like Bulk Up, though, just because you already have Dragon Dance Haxorus, and right now I really feel you're lacking a good wallbreaker. Also, with the combination of Brave Bird/Flare Blitz recoil, hazards, and Life Orb, your Talonflame won't be surviving for long, even with Roost. As such, I'd recommend you run a Choice Band Talonflame. I know you mentioned you don't like Choice items, but the power Choice Band provides is super helpful. It helps break walls, an you're really only spamming Brave Bird on Talonflame anyways.... Anyways, here's the set:

Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Tailwind

Everything bar Tailwind is pretty self-explanatory. Tailwind is meant to be a last-ditch effort move; right as you're about to die, you can use Tailwind to speed up your next team member that comes in. Otherwise, though, I could really see Choice Band Talonflame being a powerful and helpful addition to your team.

Chesnaught:

I love Chesnaught. Believe me, I really do. But unfortunately, I think you're going to need to switch him out. Right now, not one member of your team wants to switch into Talonflame. As such, I think the choice of Hippowdon > Chesnaught would be very beneficial. Hippowdon can set up Stealth Rocks to cripple Talonflame, and is also able to switch into Aegislash with some Special Defense investment. Anyways, here's the set:

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Slack Off

Earthquake for a STAB move, Slack Off for healing, Stealth Rock to cripple Talonflame, and Roar to prevent set-up Pokemon. Fairly simple set. I'd just like to note, however, that even though the EV's/Nature make it seem like it's a special wall, it actually functions much more like a mixed wall, due to its much higher defense stat. Overall, though, Hippowdon is a great Pokemon that I'm sure won't disappoint.

Anyways, cool team! If you'd like, you can try it out on the simulator, found here: http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/
Hope this helped! :)

 

[LordArrogantXVI]

First, thanks for the input!
Believe it or not, this isn't an in game team. I put it together postgame. Ingame, I did use a Talonflame and a Greninja, but that's about all I kept from the ingame side.

I like Dragon Claw over Outrage on Haxorus, as well as Lum Berry over Shell Bell. I'll add those immediately.
Dark Pulse and Life Orb seem like good changes to Greninja. Honestly, I just learned that Pulse is a TM >.< I'm slightly behind this gen.
Skarmory seems a good addition, my single problem is adding Defog x.x I don't have Bank at present. Until I get that, I'll stick with Klefki, though I'll get the lv. 1 Skarmory all set up. :)
Talonflame I'll look into, though I think that one I'll breed another and hold onto the one I've got as well. I like how she's been working for me, but I do agree the Band set seems better. I'll probably use the Band set competitively, the suicide bird for fun.
Hippowdon seems pretty decent as well, though I'm personally not a fan of it for... personal reasons >.> My little brother ran one that tended to wipe me out back in Gen 4. I'll add it if there's nothing else, but are there any other suggestions for that slot? I did mention I don't really want Chesnaught in the team, so really I'm open to anything.

Thanks again for the help. And I'm open to other options besides readily-available mons, I can wait and trade it out if I need to :p

 

[TheJFrenzy1]

I like your desicions but I honestly think you should run Physically Defensive Hippo, as it takes on Tflame better and the team already has a special wall in Sylveon.

 

[LordArrogantXVI]

I like your desicions but I honestly think you should run Physically Defensive Hippo, as it takes on Tflame better and the team already has a special wall in Sylveon.

I might have to. As of right now my main way to beat Tflame is Greninja using Scald (Well, Hydro Pump now I s'pose), which typically does pretty well for me, though admittedly not perfect.

 

[TheJFrenzy1]

I might have to. As of right now my main way to beat Tflame is Greninja using Scald (Well, Hydro Pump now I s'pose), which typically does pretty well for me, though admittedly not perfect.

Tflame actually outspeeds Greninja btw, at max speed investment with a timid nature it reachs 377 speed, where talonflame with max speed investment and an adamant nature reachs 386.

 

[LordArrogantXVI]

Tflame actually outspeeds Greninja btw, at max speed investment with a timid nature it reachs 377 speed, where talonflame with max speed investment and an adamant nature reachs 386.

Yeah, I know that pretty well. :p The only Talonflame I've seen is a friend's and it must have some weird investment. It's only OHKO'd Greninja with a crit, and usually drops to Scald. I admit I'm inexperienced fighting Talonflame, it just hasn't been as common as I expected.

Oh! I've seen a few using one of my other 'mons, but that's a Garchomp with physical bulk (I don't remember the exact EVs off the top of my head, I think 252 HP and some in Defense) using Stone Edge, Rocky Helmet, and Rough skin.

 

[LightningLuxray]

I like your desicions but I honestly think you should run Physically Defensive Hippo, as it takes on Tflame better and the team already has a special wall in Sylveon.

It can definitely work; however, this team is really having problems with Aegislash atm too. The reason I chose Hippowdon is it can deal with both Talonflame AND Aegislash while also setting up Stealth Rocks, something only Specially Defensive Hippowdon can do.

 

[LordArrogantXVI]

It can definitely work; however, this team is really having problems with Aegislash atm too. The reason I chose Hippowdon is it can deal with both Talonflame AND Aegislash while also setting up Stealth Rocks, something only Specially Defensive Hippowdon can do.

That makes a lot of sense, actually. Aegislash is something I haven't actually seen, to be honest.
Hippopotas with Stealth Rock is only really accessible in Gen IV, and as I said, I'm currently lacking PokeBank. :/ Anything you can recommend in the meantime that's more readily accessible in VI? Really only until Wednesday, though my team-ADD might see it find a home elsewhere.

 

[LightningLuxray]

That makes a lot of sense, actually. Aegislash is something I haven't actually seen, to be honest.
Hippopotas with Stealth Rock is only really accessible in Gen IV, and as I said, I'm currently lacking PokeBank. :/ Anything you can recommend in the meantime that's more readily accessible in VI? Really only until Wednesday, though my team-ADD might see it find a home elsewhere.

Well... you could run Skarmory as your Stealth Rocker, and then run Mandibuzz in the last slot... The thing that sucks though is that you still can't get Defog Mandibuzz without Pokemon. It also give you a whopping three Flying-type Pokemon, making Ice-, Rock-, and Electric-type moves very threatening for this team.

Really their are no viable hazard clearers outside of Excadrill, who I don't think would be a good fit for your team since it's so frail and loses to Talonflame. You REALLY need Defog support for Talonflame... I'm sorry, I don't think I really have any suggestions where you aren't using a Pokebank Defogger :(

I guess for now get your Defog Skarmory and Stealth Rock Hippowdon ready for when you have access to Pokebank. Until then, just use the team you got.

 

[LordArrogantXVI]

I've got the Skarmory ready (happened to have a lv. 1 Impish with Brave Bird and Whirlwind bred onto it leftover from when I was breeding them en masse on Platinum, all I had to do was teach it the TM/HM), the Hippopotas will be a bit, since I have to catch one, breed it for nature/IV/Slack Off, but I ~should~ be able to get one. I hope.