Please don't laugh. Trying to salvage this, somehow.

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Disclaimer: This is more of a "help me with teambuilding thread" rather than "look at my movesets for me". If this shouldn't be posted here, I apologize.

Embarrassingly enough, I have been using the same team of 6 pokemon since 4th gen. And unsurprisingly, they're no longer good. And now I'm at the point where I really don't know how to use any other pokemon. So I'm going to list what I have now, and I'm totally open to major restructuring.

butterfree.gif

Flitter (Butterfree) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SDef / 4 Atk
Jolly Nature
- Sleep Powder
- U-turn
- Protect
- Nightmare

If you're going to post here to tell me I'm dumb for using Butterfree, please don't waste your time. When Swampert, Metagross, and friends were top 10 pokemon, this wasn't as bad of an idea, but I understand it's bad now. The idea behind this pokemon was to give Magnezone/Kingdra/Azelf a free turn to set up, so I'm definitely willing to get rid of Butterfree, but I'd like to keep that role in place (free turn giver).

tyranitar.gif

Bulldozer (Tyranitar) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Assault Vest is a great new item, and it was a welcome replacement to the Leftovers he previously had, even if it meant dropping Substitute. Tyranitar is still great, and I'm going to keep him. He walls and kills off the majority of special attackers I encounter, and Stone Edge spamming is still a decent strategy when I have nothing else to try.

magnezone.gif

Roswell (Magnezone) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SAtk / 144 Spd / 112 HP
Modest Nature
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Charge Beam
- Hidden Power [Ice]

This is the other pokemon I'm going to keep. Magnezone is how I've been winning my games (when I actually win them). I'm not sure on his EV's completely though. The 144 Speed was to outspeed something specific I've long since forgotten.

kingdra.gif

Kraken (Kingdra) @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 160 Spd / 96 SAtk
Naughty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Outrage
- Waterfall
- Rain Dance

This used to be my main sweeper, but he has a lot of trouble now, especially with Azumarill around. And the power creep has kind of left Mixdra in the dust. He needs to go, but I'm not sure what to replace him with. I'd prefer to keep a mixed attacker in this slot though.

bronzong.gif

Dinner Bell (Bronzong) @ Occa Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 88 Def / 168 HP
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Rain Dance
- Explosion

Here's my other support pokemon, and my main answer to dragons and ground type attackers. He still mostly accomplishes that job, but the new weaknesses really hurt, and since Kingdra struggles now, it seems like Bronzong just sits there to soak up attacks rather than setting up for something dangerous. I'm willing to replace him, but I also think his roles need to be spread out through the rest of the team, since there is a lot of pressure on this one pokemon to stop Mamoswine/Dragonite/etc from ravaging me.

azelf.gif

Pressure Point (Azelf) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Energy Ball

My nasty plot sweeper, obviously. He still does ok, but I'm scared to send him into battle a lot of times due to frailty. HP Ice always seems to be unexpected, and I definitely need that ice attack as well as his speed. I experimented with NP Crobat (I know, I know) as a fast NP replacement, and that failed for obvious reasons. I was thinking of trying Thundurus in this slot, but I'm not completely sure yet.

--------------------------------------
How I play with this team
The overall team structure:
Offensive mode:
butterfree.gif
-------->
magnezone.gif
,
kingdra.gif
,
azelf.gif
---------
tyranitar.gif
,
bronzong.gif

Gives a free turn to --> one of these based on opponent's team ---- Sit back to swap to defense if needed
* A major issue is when Butterfree loses matchups/can't get sleep off, forcing me into defensive until I can sneak in a Sleep Powder
* Also, Sleep Powder often requires sacrificing Butterfree, hindering my ability to transition to offense multiple times
* Special walls are a real pain, and I can lose to them if Kingdra or Tyranitar can't break through

Defensive mode:
tyranitar.gif
<--------------->
magnezone.gif
<--------------->
bronzong.gif
---------->
kingdra.gif

Most special attacks <-> Some choiced attacks <-> Most physical attacks and sets up --> try and swap to offense
* Major issue is the extreme pressure put on Tyranitar and Bronzong, as I often feel like the others have to hide until the opportune moments
* Fighting attacks are really devastating, and I honestly have to switch in Butterfree to tank a Close Combat sometimes
--------------------------------------
What is required based on playstyle:
1."Momentum grabber"
-Reliable method to disable another pokemon
-Move such as U-turn or Baton Pass to take advantage of disabled pokemon

2. Tyranitar
3. Magnezone

4. "Set up sweeper"
-Either mixed or physical
-Utilizes a situation (not necessarily weather) set up by #5/Tyranitar in order to transition to offense

5. "Physical wall"
-Switch in to dragons
-Sets up a situation that allows transition to offense via #4 (unless Tyranitar does so)

6. "Special sweeper"
-Fast
-Ability to have ice and fire moves

Must be somewhere:
Fighting resist
Ground immunity

Roles can be shuffled around a little bit, but I'd like to keep the offense/defense balance since I feel that balance is the team archetype that fits me the best
--------------------

I have considered Heatran and Thundurus for different spots on this team, but what I really need to do before that is to come up with a method to transition to offense multiple times, which is what I'm asking for help with. Once I get that down, it might be more straightforward from there which pokemon I need to use.

Thanks in advance for any help offered to me, and hopefully I haven't been overly picky/vague/annoyingly helpless
 
Disclaimer: This is more of a "help me with teambuilding thread" rather than "look at my movesets for me". If this shouldn't be posted here, I apologize.

If that is really what you want, I suggest checking out Smogon's Mentorship Program or Smogon's Apprentice Program both programs are phenomanal, now I cant say I've seen them firsthand, however I have heard phenomanal things about them by some now amazing battlers and team builders. If you have any more further questions on it, you can checkout the Learn section of the forums.
 
If that is really what you want, I suggest checking out Smogon's Mentorship Program or Smogon's Apprentice Program both programs are phenomanal, now I cant say I've seen them firsthand, however I have heard phenomanal things about them by some now amazing battlers and team builders. If you have any more further questions on it, you can checkout the Learn section of the forums.
I thought about posting there, but I didn't think I'm a good fit for that since I'm not actually new. If that's where I need to go to have an in depth discussion, I can do that though?

Is that what it's for? I don't need the basics of battling or anything, I just need help brainstorming ideas
 
For my own reference: (I'll just edit this post from now on to avoid bumping myself)

I managed to put together some improved pokemon that have basically the same roles as before.

-Gyarados is better than Kingdra in every way. Mixed sweeper not needed. Used Bulky DD EV's with Gyaradosite.
-Heatran replaces Bronzong using the Sp Def set for now. I miss the ground immunity but I'm trying to spread out the defensive roles. I also might miss having a physical wall but we'll see.
-Azelf has become Thundurus like I thought. Still not 100% on the moveset. I may or may not need a fire move. I could take a step toward defense and use Zapdos instead, but am undecided. Probably dependent on what happens with Butterfree's spot. It may be possible to combine Azelf and Butterfree with a U-turn Thundurus, but I may need move coverage more.
-Butterfree has become Mandibuzz. Defog is amazing, and I get to keep U-turn. Sleep Powder will be missed, but I am trying to learn to live without it. I made her physically defensive because I would be lacking that otherwise. Hopefully Mandibuzz can handle all that pressure. Skarmory may be a better option, but lacks U-turn.
-I could shuffle Skarmory to Bronzong's role rather than Butterfree's, and drop Heatran and Mandibuzz and pick up something else with U-turn.
 
Locked on demand of the RMT's owner.

I, indeed, strongly recommend you to open a new thread.
Have a nice day.
 
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