So I haven't done much Pokemon gaming since the original ruby and sapphire, but my wife and I decided to pick up ORAS, and I've decided I want to get into it seriously. After playing through the game a couple of times, doing a lot of research and testing, I've come up with my team. It's not ground breaking or anything new, just something effective to get the job done. I win alot more than I lose so far, but I'm still very new, so please, be brutal. Any advice at all would be great.
My Process
I started this off with Mega Kangaskhan. I always thought she was great in past generations, and I realized that she's a great offensive threat in gen VI so she was the first member of my team. Being a very offensive player, I opted for Landorus-T for his excellent typing, decent bulk with intimidate, and great attack power. From there, I added Thundurus and Talonflame to give a level of synergy, and allow Landorus to spout earthquakes with relative abandon. Terrakion was added to give some more firepower with his typing, followed by Heatran for more coverage and to add a bit of defense.
The Team
Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 164 Spe / 88 HP / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Steel Wing
- Flare Blitz
- U-Turn
- Brave Bird
I was originally skeptical about using Talonflame on my team due to its low bulk and mere 81 atk stat, but priority Brave Bird won me over after some use. With choice band, this thing hits like a truck. It has great synergy when used with Landorus-T, as it is immune to Earthquake and has excellent coverage. Steel wing is mainly for coverage here, particularly with fairies, when I need something extra. Brave Bird and Flare Blitz are the standard STAB moves here with U-Turn being used in case of an immediate exit being needed from the start.
I went with pure attack in the spread, with enough speed to cover my bases with other priority users, and the rest into bulk to survive an extra attack or two.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- U-Turn
- Hammer Arm
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
Landorus was an easy choice for me, as his excellent typing and great attack power fit in perfectly with my style. Earthquake provides a powerful stab move, while Rock Slide gives him excellent coverage. U-Turn is for when he’s leading my team and I need to make an immediate switch. I chose Hammer Arm over something like Superpower because it gets more benefit off of his amazing attack stat. It’s mainly a coverage move when I have nothing else, so in those situations, the speed increase I think is negligible.
His spread is pretty basic. Full attack and speed to hit everything hard, and to do it first. I used choice scarf on him as most of my team is pretty fast already, and the extra speed really does him some favors.
Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Dark Pulse
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
Thundurus was another easy decision, as I already had two incredible physical attackers. Thundurus functions as a special attacker with the potential to seriously annoy with his prankster thunder wave. Thunder Wave for the obvious implications, Thunderbolt for STAB. Dark Pulse I added for coverage purposes, as it hits ghosts and psychic types hard which is something I was lacking. Grass Knot is also for a bit of extra coverage, although eventually I’d like to exchange that for HP Ice which will help greatly with my lack of a dragon counter.
Spread here is for power and speed, with Life Orb to help him do extra damage. I figure he won’t take too many hits, and I didn’t want to be locked into a single attack with choice specs.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 HP
Modest Nature
- Earth Power
- Protect
- Fire Blast
- Flash Cannon
Heatran joined my team originally as a powerful fire/steel type attacker, but has really stayed for his utility. Even without any investment, I’ve found him to be quite bulky and a great counter to fairy types like Sylveon. Fire Blast and Flash Cannon function as his main STAB moves, with Earth Power for coverage. Since I was using leftovers on him, I decided to give him protect to take advantage of it.
His EV spread is purely offensive (as you can tell, that’s really what I like my pokemon to be), but I’ve been thinking of giving him a little bit of extra bulk. If it’s not super effective, he’ll be fine. But he tends to drop if you can hit him with a weakness. I had originally considered giving him choice specs, but opted against it for the extra survivability and to prevent him from being locked into one particular move.
Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Protect
- Swords Dance
Terrakion entered my team for his dual fighting/rock type coverage. With his ability to hit tons of pokemon very hard, it wasn’t a difficult decision. Close Combat and Rock Slide are my STAB moves on him, with Swords Dance to boost his already great attack when I can. I chose to use protect on him as well, as he tends to be a bit flimsy, and I like being able to scout out oncoming attacks.
Again, power and speed for his spread to round things out. I went with a focus sash on him to make sure he can survive at least a single super effective attack and continue fighting. I’ve found that a single hit from Terrakion can be the difference between a win and a loss.
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Parental Bond
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Power-Up Punch
- Fake Out
- Return
Kangaskhan was the first pokemon I decided on since I’d always really liked it, and once I realized how incredible it’s mega evolution was, I decided to add it to my team. It’s set is pretty standard with Return for STAB, Sucker Punch for priority, and Fake Out for utility and damage. Power-Up Punch didn’t originally seem like it would come in handy often, but with the fighting type hitting a lot of things very hard, and the double attack bonus, I’ve come to use it quite frequently.
Kanga gets my generally attack and speed spread with her stone to allow her to evolve. I wanted her especially to hit extremely hard and make sure she could outspeed most things that would threaten her.
Problems
1. First and foremost, I have nothing to deal with dragon types. So far this hasn’t been too much of a problem, thanks to being able to take advantage of dual typing, but this is definitely something I’d like to be able to address.
2. My team has a lot of power and hits really hard. Most people don’t seem to be expecting a team with this much offense honestly, but if I hit a powerful wall, I’ve gotten stuck once or twice, and sometimes I can’t recover. This is something I’m not sure how to fix.
3. My team shares a lot of types, and therefore a lot of weaknesses. This surprisingly hasn’t been too much of an issue yet, but I suspect that it will definitely come up more in the future.
This is my first team ever that wasn’t just for an in game play through. I know it’s nothing incredible, but it’s my very first attempt. Feel free to offer any and all criticism, and thanks for reading it.
My Process
I started this off with Mega Kangaskhan. I always thought she was great in past generations, and I realized that she's a great offensive threat in gen VI so she was the first member of my team. Being a very offensive player, I opted for Landorus-T for his excellent typing, decent bulk with intimidate, and great attack power. From there, I added Thundurus and Talonflame to give a level of synergy, and allow Landorus to spout earthquakes with relative abandon. Terrakion was added to give some more firepower with his typing, followed by Heatran for more coverage and to add a bit of defense.
The Team
Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 164 Spe / 88 HP / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Steel Wing
- Flare Blitz
- U-Turn
- Brave Bird
I was originally skeptical about using Talonflame on my team due to its low bulk and mere 81 atk stat, but priority Brave Bird won me over after some use. With choice band, this thing hits like a truck. It has great synergy when used with Landorus-T, as it is immune to Earthquake and has excellent coverage. Steel wing is mainly for coverage here, particularly with fairies, when I need something extra. Brave Bird and Flare Blitz are the standard STAB moves here with U-Turn being used in case of an immediate exit being needed from the start.
I went with pure attack in the spread, with enough speed to cover my bases with other priority users, and the rest into bulk to survive an extra attack or two.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- U-Turn
- Hammer Arm
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
Landorus was an easy choice for me, as his excellent typing and great attack power fit in perfectly with my style. Earthquake provides a powerful stab move, while Rock Slide gives him excellent coverage. U-Turn is for when he’s leading my team and I need to make an immediate switch. I chose Hammer Arm over something like Superpower because it gets more benefit off of his amazing attack stat. It’s mainly a coverage move when I have nothing else, so in those situations, the speed increase I think is negligible.
His spread is pretty basic. Full attack and speed to hit everything hard, and to do it first. I used choice scarf on him as most of my team is pretty fast already, and the extra speed really does him some favors.
Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Dark Pulse
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
Thundurus was another easy decision, as I already had two incredible physical attackers. Thundurus functions as a special attacker with the potential to seriously annoy with his prankster thunder wave. Thunder Wave for the obvious implications, Thunderbolt for STAB. Dark Pulse I added for coverage purposes, as it hits ghosts and psychic types hard which is something I was lacking. Grass Knot is also for a bit of extra coverage, although eventually I’d like to exchange that for HP Ice which will help greatly with my lack of a dragon counter.
Spread here is for power and speed, with Life Orb to help him do extra damage. I figure he won’t take too many hits, and I didn’t want to be locked into a single attack with choice specs.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 HP
Modest Nature
- Earth Power
- Protect
- Fire Blast
- Flash Cannon
Heatran joined my team originally as a powerful fire/steel type attacker, but has really stayed for his utility. Even without any investment, I’ve found him to be quite bulky and a great counter to fairy types like Sylveon. Fire Blast and Flash Cannon function as his main STAB moves, with Earth Power for coverage. Since I was using leftovers on him, I decided to give him protect to take advantage of it.
His EV spread is purely offensive (as you can tell, that’s really what I like my pokemon to be), but I’ve been thinking of giving him a little bit of extra bulk. If it’s not super effective, he’ll be fine. But he tends to drop if you can hit him with a weakness. I had originally considered giving him choice specs, but opted against it for the extra survivability and to prevent him from being locked into one particular move.
Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Protect
- Swords Dance
Terrakion entered my team for his dual fighting/rock type coverage. With his ability to hit tons of pokemon very hard, it wasn’t a difficult decision. Close Combat and Rock Slide are my STAB moves on him, with Swords Dance to boost his already great attack when I can. I chose to use protect on him as well, as he tends to be a bit flimsy, and I like being able to scout out oncoming attacks.
Again, power and speed for his spread to round things out. I went with a focus sash on him to make sure he can survive at least a single super effective attack and continue fighting. I’ve found that a single hit from Terrakion can be the difference between a win and a loss.
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Parental Bond
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Power-Up Punch
- Fake Out
- Return
Kangaskhan was the first pokemon I decided on since I’d always really liked it, and once I realized how incredible it’s mega evolution was, I decided to add it to my team. It’s set is pretty standard with Return for STAB, Sucker Punch for priority, and Fake Out for utility and damage. Power-Up Punch didn’t originally seem like it would come in handy often, but with the fighting type hitting a lot of things very hard, and the double attack bonus, I’ve come to use it quite frequently.
Kanga gets my generally attack and speed spread with her stone to allow her to evolve. I wanted her especially to hit extremely hard and make sure she could outspeed most things that would threaten her.
Problems
1. First and foremost, I have nothing to deal with dragon types. So far this hasn’t been too much of a problem, thanks to being able to take advantage of dual typing, but this is definitely something I’d like to be able to address.
2. My team has a lot of power and hits really hard. Most people don’t seem to be expecting a team with this much offense honestly, but if I hit a powerful wall, I’ve gotten stuck once or twice, and sometimes I can’t recover. This is something I’m not sure how to fix.
3. My team shares a lot of types, and therefore a lot of weaknesses. This surprisingly hasn’t been too much of an issue yet, but I suspect that it will definitely come up more in the future.
This is my first team ever that wasn’t just for an in game play through. I know it’s nothing incredible, but it’s my very first attempt. Feel free to offer any and all criticism, and thanks for reading it.
