A rather strange arrangement of Pokemon

[Tango]

Hey, I'm Tango, I'm new here at Smogon.

So yeah, I'm not entirely sure what I was attempting with this. I really like to take obscure Pokemon combinations and mix and match to see what works for me, and surprisingly, this has been working out quite nicely for me.

Swalot (M) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Encore
- Toxic
- Pain Split
- Sludge Wave

So to start it off as a lead, I have Swalot. I use this because with his HP and Defense capabilities, he is a good candidate for Pain Split. Hand in hand with Toxic, this makes for a great stalling method to chip a Pokemon or two off of your opponent. Similar to Weezing with Will-O-Wisp. Encore is a good move to start with to do things like lock your opponent into Stealth Rock, Substitute, or another common starting move.

Regice @ Leftovers
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave
- Rest

Regice is a Pokemon that I find myself using more and more when I make baton passing teams. Regice's weak point is that he doesn't have a very substantial amount of Physical defense which can really put you in a pickle against close combat. However as for moves like Focus Blast, his boosted special defense is a great thing to have. He has weak speed so Thunder Wave is almost a must-have. Rest is more of a desperation thing, considering your opponent could easily switch during your slumber. A Chesto Berry might be a good thing to replace the Leftovers with if that's what you like.

Mr. Mime (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Filter
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Baton Pass
- Encore/Focus Blast/Substitute
- Psychic

What do you think of when you head 'baton pass'? Maybe Ninjask or Smeargle? Well when you ask me, I think of Mr. Mime. Mr. Mime is a seemingly underrated Baton Passer in my opinion. First I usually go for an Encore, which can indeed be risky, but depending on the Pokemon you're fighting against (Like Zangoose who often starts with Detect to activate their toxic orb) it's a good idea. Alternative moves here could be Focus Blast or Substitute. If Mr. Mime is one of your last Pokemon, you're going to need to have a bit of type coverage here (Specifically for dark types). So that's something I'll occasionally swap out. As the baton pass is meant for Regice, your main goal here is to use Calm Mind until Mr. Mime is in danger of fainting, then to baton pass to Regice and use that strategy.

Noctowl (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Insomnia
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Def / 248 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Air Slash
- Toxic

Noctowl is a Pokemon that I often times forget about, and until I decided to try him out in a team, I never realized that his abilities were better than I expected. He's pretty durable, and with the Evs boosting his HP, Defense, and Special Defense, it only helps even more. Air Slash isn't particularly powerful with Noctowl despite the STAB he gets, although it never hurts to have a little Fighting type coverage to protect your Regice and Probopass a bit. The main strategy here is Toxic, Whirlwind, Toxic, Whirlwind, etc. With Roost being a good recovery move, and Noctowls durability, it's not too difficult to get a few of your opponents poisoned in no time.

Ampharos (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 SDef
Hardy Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Cotton Guard
- Toxic
- Seismic Toss

Ampharos has always been a pretty popular Pokemon from what I've noticed. I've even seen him get a good deal of usage in the OU tier. I went for something a bit different than the typical Ampharos strategy here, with the main new additions being Seismic Toss and Cotton Guard. Cotton Guard is great protection against popular ground moves like Earthquake, and will generally get Earthquake doing only about 15% of your HP after two uses of this great defense booster. Using toxic after this is good because it will not only damage your opponent, but it will also encourage them to switch Pokemon. And at the same time, Seismic Toss's fixed damage will ensure that you don't have trouble with any defense tanks yourself. As for Thunderbolt, that STAB will help you out a lot when the time of need comes.

Probopass (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Earth Power
- Volt Switch

Probopass is indeed based more around defense than anything. I always throw Probopass if a type that doesn't have good coverage against him is out so I can get out a Stealth Rock when they switch Pokemon. Thunder Wave fixes the speed issue he has, and Earth Power is going to help you with some tough opponents like *cough* Ampharos. Volt Switch is a pretty common type coverage move to have on Probopass. It won't do a very impressive amount of damage, but it's a great hit and run tactic to switch to something more effective. Such as Ampharos if your opponent is using a water type. Having sturdy also nearly ensures that you'll be able to get out a Thunder Wave, meaning you can attack first and get out Stealth Rock as well.



Well, that's it for my NU team that I constructed. Any feedback on this would be appreciated, since there's always room for improvement. Also feel free to try out the team yourself.

 

[Aasgier]

Fast psychic types, like Gardevoir and Kadabra, form a huge threat. Gardevoir can hit your entire team for super effective damage, though which members exactly depend on the moves she actually carries.

That Probopass set...
Grass types generally wall this set, though not all of them like to take a Thunder Wave. However, Grass types with Nature Power or another Ground/Fighting attack will deal a lot of damage no matter what you do, and force you out, either by conventional means or with Volt Switch.
STAB Power Gem is more powerful than Earth Power if it comes to neutral hits, but its coverage is slightly worse alongside Volt Switch, and gets walled by Ground Types, though they force Probopass out no matter what as they threaten a 4× effective STAB move, and Volt Switch does not work, meaning Probopass has to switch out through conventional means and NO member of your team likes to take an Earthquake, except Noctowl - but he loses out against coverage moves.

Fighting types are also a problem. They can cut huge holes in this team with their coverage moves and Probopass is 4× weak to fighting. EBelt Sawk can wreck this team. The far more common CB Sawk not so much because it can't switch moves, but is also very dangerous and can at least punch a big hole.
CB Golurk is also very dangerous as your team is generally slow and Golurk threatens a lot of damage to whatever member of your team with a move of choice, even moreso if Noctowl is gone so it can spam STAB moves (and if Noctowl is not gone, it just uses Ice Punch, which also KO's it).

The fact that you don't run a priority user does not help your cause.

Your team has huge weaknesses left and right, and once a sweeper has set up Speed Boosts, there is no way you are gonna stop it. Shell Smash Gorebyss or Carracosta, Rock Polish Torterra, or just something that has Speed Boosts from Ninjask or Flame Charges from Flareon passed to it, especially the aforementioned Gardevoir or worse, Expert Belt Sawk, as Noctowl can't phaze the latter out because she does not survive an Ice Punch.

Yet, using Pokémon which are rare in NU is something I like to see. Noctowl is decent but tends to be outclassed by SubBU Braviary though in many roles it can fulfill, at least as long Contrary Serperior is not released.

Swalot is decent, but a lead like Glalie, which is just as rare as Swalot is, might work better.
Run Leftovers and no Sash as you don't want to lose it early because it is your only priority user and it will likely come in after Rocks if you need it later for a revenge kill through Ice Shard. Crunch and maximum speed alleviate your Gardevoir weakness a bit since it has a speed tie against maximum speed non-scarf Gardevoir.

You might need to rework your entire team, and it might be better to start all over again, how harsh that may sound, but at first, I think Swalot -> Glalie would improve a lot, while still taking your preference for uncommon Pokémon into account.

Then, we need to address the fighting weakness. You might not even need Stealth Rock as you have a Spike user in Glalie, so you can safely replace Probopass with something else. Golurk is an option if you still want Rocks, as it is immune to fighting type moves, but however, it is KO'd swiftly by Ice Punch from CB Sawk and it is a common coverage move on Gurdurr as well.
Physically defensive Misdreavus works better and is probably an even better choice as it can switch several times in Sawk's coverage moves. I think the standard Smogon set works the best for this team, actually. Will-O-Wisp is just too useful to pass up for this team. However, alongside Will-O-Wisp and Shadow Ball, you can, instead of Taunt and Pain Split, opt for Nasty Plot and an attacking move. This is certainly worth considering.

Last, a small suggestion, is to run Sleep Talk over Thunder Wave on Regice, as you don't have a cleric and you don't want to be complete set-up fodder when asleep.

Regice: Thunder Wave -> Sleep Talk
Swalot -> Glalie
Probopass -> Misdreavus

Glalie (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Ice Shard
- Crunch

Misdreavus (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Pain Split
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball

 

[WhiteDMist]

Ok, first I must tell you that this team has many faults. It's fine to want to utilize some undervalued Pokemon, but to use an entire team of it is a bit too gimmicky. To be honest, you should go check out Battling 101 to work on your battling and team-building skills (creativity you have in spades). There is a decent core hidden in your team though, so I will try and salcage what I can and maybe help put you in the top 100.

For Probopass, stick with Power Gem over Earth Power just so that you can handle SubBU Braviary. Also, move the Special Defense EVs into Special Atk and give it a Modest nature. For Regice, move its Defense EVs into HP to boost its overall bulk. Change its item to Chesto Berry, or you can change Thunder Wave for Sleep Talk; either change will work to make Regice a bulky special wall that'll help your team against Rain sweepers.

Mr. Mime's set should be Nasty Plot/Substitute/Baton Pass/Psychic to make use of all its benefits over Musharna. It'll help Ampharos sweep teams, especially since I'm recommending an Agility set over your current mismash.

Swalot has literally no purpose on your team since it just sits there and slightly annoys the opponent's team. I would replace it with a Grass type to help your team with Ground and Water types, the worst being Golurk and Floatzel. Tangela would be my top suggestion, but if you must have a more unique Pokemon, you can try Meganium as well. Tangela has more physical bulk, Regenerator, Sleep Powder and higher Special Attack; Meganium has more Special bulk, Speed, Aromatherapy, and the ability to use Leftovers. To be truthful, Meganium's Aromatherapy works very well for your team as a whole, so either choice would be acceptable.

Noctowl has only slightly more use than Swalot, so I think that having a Pokemon that can handle Fire-types like Rapidash would be more beneficial. While there are a few Pokemon that can fit that role, Samurott and Seismitoad are two of my top suggestions. Samurott provides a powerful physical attacker, priority, and Megahorn; Seismitoad is just as versatile with a Rain attacking set or a bulky tank set. Either Pokemon would work, though Samurott doesn't rely on Mr. Mime passing to it to clean up as much.

Changes:

Probopass: Modest Power Gem
Regice: 252 HP Chesto -OR- Sleep Talk
Mr. Mime: Nasty Plot Passer
Ampharos: Agility set
Meganium/Tangela>Swalot
Samurott/Seismitoad>Noctowl

Sets

Ampharos @ Life Orb/Leftovers
Trait: Static
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Meganium @ Leftovers
Trait: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed
- Aromatherapy
- Synthesis/Toxic

Tangela @ Eviolite
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Sleep Powder
- Leech Seed

Samurott @ Life Orb
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Megahorn

Seismitoad @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rain Dance
- Hydro Pump
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave

 

[jake]

hey there,

the above rates offer some interesting suggestions, and i suggest that you try them out. i'm not gonna list off a bunch of options here for you though because i really question how much that'd help you at this time. instead, i'm gonna try to help describe general faults in your teambuilding and give you some general advice on how to improve your teambuilding skills for future teams. i understand that this team might've just been made for fun, but if you do plan on improving, then you should learn some of the more basic theories behind teambuilding.

let me start off by asking you this: how do you plan on reliably winning games against good players? many obscure pokemon are that way because they are unreliable or outright ineffective, regardless of how many good traits you try to pull out of them. for example, your mr. mime set relies on the opponent not setting up hazards prior to its entrance and living at least one hit (if focus sash isnt intact then that's gonna be a pretty tough feat, given how frail it is). while i'll agree that encore is neat and the free turns it buys you is great, mr. mime's usage on this team is to sacrifice itself to provide a calm mind boost to one other pokemon and takes 3-4 turns doing it. do you see what i'm getting at here? you're using up an entire pokemon slot (you only get six of those, remember!) as well as wasting multiple turns doing something that requires only a single turn for other pokemon like gardevoir to accomplish. this moveset and pokemon selection alone sets you back against any given opponent, since you're essentially trading a pokemon for a moveslot. i know i'm oversimplifying a bit, but it needs to be said that this kind of stuff is just doing nothing but wasting the potential of your team.

it's really alluring to use pokemon that other people don't like to touch, i know. i did it a lot back when i was new to pokemon too, and it was really fun to use stuff that people just don't expect. but there will come a time when you want to just start winning, and the best way to do that is to build a good team of your own and to avoid being gimmicky just for the sake of it. that's really the best way i can describe your team, honestly: it's gimmicky for the sake of being gimmicky. don't take offense to that, but... a team with noctowl of all things (among other rare and unused pokemon) will struggle to win more often than not. yes, noctowl has its positives, but the negatives greatly outweigh those and really there is no reason you can justify using noctowl apart from "i wanted to use it", "it looked fun", or "no one gives it the respect it deserves!!". understanding that some pokemon are just plain bad or aren't worth using is essential to bettering your own skillset (and the majority of the pokemon on your team fall into this category...).

anyway, the biggest, most important flaw is that your team lacks any form of direction, unity, or even a win condition. all good teams require the ability to win, yes? yours does not have any clear, defined methods of winning apart from clicking toxic and hoping that they lose to poison damage faster than they can use substitute or crit you. i can see the beginnings of a strategy here and surely you'll improve on figuring out what works well for you with experience, but as a newer player i would almost always suggest that you work primarily with offensive teams until you're confident enough to try building stall or defensive teams (which i assume is what you were shooting for here, ya?). the reason for this is pretty simple: offensive teams have a very linear, clear direction and they're much easier to build around or experiment with while you're learning. you can pick any remotely interesting (but still effective!) threat and grab some pokemon that could probably work well with it and just go to town on the ladder, adjusting what you don't like and keeping what you do. you don't have to worry so much about trying to keep the major threats of the metagame from shredding your team to bits, just gotta remove what stops your sweeper from winning each game. this is also really interesting advice, if you want more reading material.


sorry for not really giving this team a legitimate rate, haha. if you want to follow advice on this team in particular, i wholeheartedly endorse WhiteDMist's suggestions. i hope that this post gives you a little bit more insight on where you should start with your next team, though - if not, then oh well. good luck with your team and other teams in the future!