Just happened across this thread and figured I'd talk about the team I used in Pokemon Sword when I beat it day one
I'm someone who almost always picks the Water starter in whatever Pokemon game he plays, so when Sobble was revealed naturally I decided to go for it (even if I was very tempted to use Scorbunny). I like Inteleon's design well enough but as an in-game team member? It really just felt like a budget Greninja. Yeah it was stronger but it lacked Gren's Dark typing. In fact, it lacked a lot of what made other Water starters interesting so it ended up just being a pretty generif fast, strong Water type which, while effective, wasn't all that glamorous. Not only that, but in most instances past the 3rd gym where Inteleon could be useful, I found myself just using my other, more interesting mons for the most part, so Inteleon spent a good chunk of the game in the back passively collecting EXP. It wasn't a bad mon per se just not a very interesting one.
This was a mon I fell in love with the moment I saw it in the trailers and the moment I could pick up Rookiedee, I did it without any hesitation. To be blunt, this thing was the MVP of the run, coming right out the gate with a decent STAB move and a good boosting move in Hone Claws and only getting better and better as the game went on, culminating in an absolute
monster of a Pokemon that through a combination of Hone Claws (later Bulk Up) and its STABs, tore through just about every normal trainer and boss fight it took part it. It got to the point where I had to deliberately go out of my way to use my other members because Corviknight found it so goddamn easy to just rip through a significant chunk of the game. It helped significantly that Corviknight wasn't just bulky, but that the game itself was
really not prepared for a Steel/Flying type. The only bad thing about it was that I couldn't get Roost on it since it was an egg move but I'd like to think that was the game trying desperately to prevent it from
completely crushing the region. Honestly if you want any semblance of challenge, don't use Corviknight.
Initially, I was planning on using Yamper/Boltund since I thought it looked cute and outside of Inteleon/Corv I was just picking up random mons to see how they'd fit, but after Yamper turned out to completely suck and realizing I could just get this thing for free, I decided to pick it up and I was definitely not disappointed. It takes a bit of babying to get it to evolve, but once it does it just put in a ton of work between its STABs and later Boomburst. It wasn't exactly the most fastest or bulkiest Pokemon, but it put in a good amount of work over the course of the game and was a great go-to option when I needed click buttons.
Same deal as Toxtricity in a way. I was initially using the Blipbug line, it started falling off, I saw this thing in Kabu's gym, picked it up and dropped Blipbug, and never looked back. Centiskorch was actually the first Bug type I've ever used in a normal playthrough and thankfully, it didn't disappoint in the slightest. Bug/Fire STAB isn't the absolute best, especially for gyms (except Piers where it completely dominated) but it's still a pretty decent STAB to have when u wanna rip through routes and the rivals. It didn't have the best coverage but between STABs and Coil it didn't really need it tbh. Really solid mon.
Sandaconda was something I decided to pick up because I figured I could go for a really nice Ground type, and it exceeded my expectations in that regard. Like I was just expecting it to take on Electrics and Fires and stuff, but between Glare, Headbutt, Bulldoze, and later Coil, it was actually a really clutch tank that could stop dangerous setup sweepers and even become one itself. It had issues hitting Flying types later on once I went with Glare/Bulldoze/Coil/secondary Ground move I think but outside of that it was able to hold its own against just about anything and especially came in handy vs Hop, Raihan, and Leon. Sand Spit was a bit annoying, but also really nice at the same time, letting it slowly but surely chip down stuff and increasing its tankiness. It also paired really well with Corviknight in that regard.
Gonna be honest, this is the one addition I actually regret. See, after Circhester I realized that I didn't really have anything great for Normal types and I wanted a Fighting type. I was also getting kind of desperate to round out my team since I hadn't found anything I liked beforehand (I renegged on Falinks and I blew through their areas so fast I couldn't find Impidimp and Sinistea) and in a moment of "sure, why not" I went ahead and grabbed the static Grapploct. It was...well it was a bog standard Fighting type. It did its job really well, especially against Hop's Snorlax and Raihan's Duraladon, but outside of that...it was just kinda okay. I kinda wished I used something else though.
Overall, I liked my Sword team for the most part. It had a nice level of diversity, each member had their chance to shine (some more than others) and I really felt like I got a taste of what Galar had to offer.
In terms of best to worst I'd probably rank them Corviknight>Toxtricity=Centiskorch>Sandaconda>Inteleon>>>Grapploct
