Battle Tower Team Building Guide
I've recently been quite hooked to the Battle Tower and spent quite some time coming up with a team that worked well. The Battle Tower is quite distinct from the other Battle Frontier facilities in that it is one that can be "beaten" without needing excessive amounts of luck. With a good team you can definitely get 100+ wins within the first 5 tries if you know what you are doing. The only thing you need is a decent knowledge of the game and a carefully selected team that is up for the task.
0mGz H4xxOrZ!!111!1!!
I'm sure that anyone who has ever tried the Battle Tower will at some stage have wanted to smash the screen because of the ridiculous hax you encounter there. However, it may be of some consolation that the reason for this is not merely to annoy players, but an attempt to balance out some limitations of the AI:
- Every Battle Tower pokemon only has a maximum of 4 movesets with fixed items and EVs.
- Opposing trainers can't switch pokemon until they faint unless it has been specifically programmed for a certain situation (very rare).
- The moves (and movesets to a lesser extent) enemies use are fairly predictable.
- Every trainer is restricted to using a group of pokemon, so a perfect counter team may never be seen even though the individual pokemon are programmed into the database.
If you think about it, these are quite some serious handicaps the AI has to deal with considering you are at liberty to use basically any team and switch whenever you please whilst taking full advantage of the AI's own handicaps. The key to a succesful team lies in exploiting the AI's limitations more than its hax will disadvantage you. Although all this speculation may seem very elusive, I can assure you there are some very effective strategies to do so which I will describe next.
The Lead
This is most likely the most important pokemon of your team so you need to be very careful in selecting one. A whole team of raw power sweepers like Garchomp, Salamence, Lucario and Starmie will not work so you can forget about that as a lead. The reason is that the AI is not retarded and will eventually always have a lead that can take on yours without any problem. With the dawn of Focus Sash, sweepers have lost a lot of their former strength which includes the Battle Tower. Finally, you are not even remotely exploiting any of the AI weaknesses by just blasting high power moves in their direction so your team is nowhere near its full potential.
Instead, I strongly suggest using something that will severely weaken your opponent's offensive capabilities and then proceed to set up a sweeper before killing their lead. It is usually a good idea to get a bulky pokemon as a lead with moves like: Flash, Protect, Thunder Wave, Will-o-Wisp, Charm, Trick, Torment, Confuse Ray, Spore, Attract, Captivate... Your opponent won't be able to switch while it is being crippled, your enemy powerless to stop you setting up a monstrous sweeper that will rip his team to shreds.
Here are a couple of candidates for this lead role:
What these pokemon have in common are decent defensive stats and the move Trick, which is fantastic in the Battle Tower considering your opponents don't switch (give them an item like Choice Scarf/ Band/ Specs). They each have their individual merits and you will just need to select one based on the rest of your team. Latias has the highest Speed and can still be used offensively too. Cresselia has massive defence and hp but not the best movepool. Uxie learns the magnificent Memento, while Metagross can still squeeze in a physical move from its massive 135 base Att. Finally, Spiritomb is the weakest in both defences and speed but instead has no type weaknesses and can learn Grudge (a fantastic move when it is used well).
If you've had enough of all this talk and want to see some action, here is a Spiritomb lead in action during two battles in a 300+ Battle Tower Streak.
Alternatively you could try a mix between a sweeper and a staller. Something like a Latios with Trick, Choice Specs and some damage moves. This gives you the additional option of going for the kill or deciding to stall instead. Personally I'm not too much of a fan because it locks you into one damage move and may force a switch you can't afford at a later stage. Additionally, it also means you need to give up some move slots which you may need to make your lead most effective.
There are tons of ways to design your lead and the strategy outlined above is only an example of one that I found effective. Trick leads are obviously not the only good leads but they are generally quite reliable as an overall strategy because it means you only need to cope with one move from the enemy, not 4!
I have a lead, now what?
There are two things you need to care of: type coverage and have some stat enhancing moves so that your lead didn't weaken your enemy for nothing. You are really completely open to do what you like here but just make sure that you end up with a coherent team, not 3 random pokemon. There are some general tips though which can be useful in choosing:
- Having a Steel type somewhere can be useful as they have massive type coverage with so many resistances.
- Make sure you are very good at resisting any weaknesses of your lead because your opponent will often be stuck in a move that is super effective against it.
- Make sure you have a way to cope with status effects.
- Substitute is your friend, trust me (it really protects your from criticial hit and status hax).
- Focus Sash/ Band can be a real pain so be prepared for it.
- It may seem obvious, but never ever have two pokemon weak to the same type.
- Choose pokemon that have good overall stats. Pokemon with monstrous offense and frail defences like Alakazam are no good because they die too easily.
- Try not to base your team completely on one pokemon. Make sure that if any one pokemon dies you are not completely defenceless.
Example 1: lets say you selected the Spiritomb lead I used in the battles earlier:
*
Spiritomb (Maelstrom) @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Bold
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Hp, 124 Def, 132 Sp. Def
- Trick
- Grudge
- Protect
- Taunt
You might have noticed it uses the Trick-Grudge combo to remove the enemy's PP. The general idea is to remove all the opponent's PP and lock it into a lowly Struggle for the following 5 turns whilst my sweeper sets up. As my second in command you will have seen this hero:
*
Scizor (Eclipse) @ Life Orb
Nature: Adamant
Trait: Technician
EVs: 30Hp, 255 Att, 225 Def
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Roost
Scizor is an ideal pokemon after Spiritomb because with Swords Dance it can set up extremely quickly while the enemy uses Struggle. Along with the fact that it has very good Attack, defence and a good priority move, it is an excellent option. Substitute helps against Focus Sashers and other pokemon I can't take down with one Bullet Punch later on. Status moves are not a problem either because as you saw in the second Battle, Taunt from Spiritomb can work around those.
Example 2: you might be disappointed by the fact the Spiritomb isn't too good at resisting some very powerful moves and will sometimes die before using Grudge effectively. In that case Uxie is a pretty good alternative (my favourite) and can run some pretty nice movesets. Lets say you go for this one:
Uxie @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Bold
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 255 Hp, 255 Def
- Trick
- Thunder Wave
- Flash
- Memento
This is a much bulkier lead than Spiritomb but does not lock the enemy into Struggle so you are still vulnerable to critical hits and status hax. Additionally, this guy does have type weaknesses, so be ready for a lot of Bug and Ghost moves. However, you don't have any Ground and Fighting moves coming your way now due to levitate. Now you can also spend longer setting up because the opponent is not going to kill himself that quick with recoil damage. So as a second we want something that can be weak to Ground and Fighting but has good defensive stats (especially to Dark and Ghost) and great offensive potential once set up. How about this:
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Nature: Adamant
Trait: Sandstream
EVs: 252 Att, 252 HP, 6 Def
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Substitute
- Protect
This guy works wonderfully together with Uxie and has very few weaknesses so all you need is something with Grass-Bug-Water resistance for your third pokemon. You could easily add in the Scizor from before and I can guarantee you that the Uxie/Scizor/Tyranitar team will do very well in the Battle Tower. It has nice type coverage, except for the double Ground weakness which is taken care of the Levitate on Uxie. The few moves that can take down a monster like Tyranitar (Grass-Bug) are easily countered with Scizor. Thunder Wave-Substitute completely neutralises status moves after the free switch in from Memento. Sandstorm is a nice addition because it helps against Focus Band/Sash users too.
Conclusion
There are so many more things to say about the Battle Tower, but I hope this has been somewhat helpful if you were interested in testing out your Battle Tower skills any time soon. Finally, there is one last thing that I should mention because it is absolutely invaluable:
Snapper's Battle Frontier Pokemon Search
It has the database of all the pokemon you will meet in the Battle Tower and can help you plan your battles. Have fun at the Battle Tower and good luck!
I've recently been quite hooked to the Battle Tower and spent quite some time coming up with a team that worked well. The Battle Tower is quite distinct from the other Battle Frontier facilities in that it is one that can be "beaten" without needing excessive amounts of luck. With a good team you can definitely get 100+ wins within the first 5 tries if you know what you are doing. The only thing you need is a decent knowledge of the game and a carefully selected team that is up for the task.
0mGz H4xxOrZ!!111!1!!
I'm sure that anyone who has ever tried the Battle Tower will at some stage have wanted to smash the screen because of the ridiculous hax you encounter there. However, it may be of some consolation that the reason for this is not merely to annoy players, but an attempt to balance out some limitations of the AI:
- Every Battle Tower pokemon only has a maximum of 4 movesets with fixed items and EVs.
- Opposing trainers can't switch pokemon until they faint unless it has been specifically programmed for a certain situation (very rare).
- The moves (and movesets to a lesser extent) enemies use are fairly predictable.
- Every trainer is restricted to using a group of pokemon, so a perfect counter team may never be seen even though the individual pokemon are programmed into the database.
If you think about it, these are quite some serious handicaps the AI has to deal with considering you are at liberty to use basically any team and switch whenever you please whilst taking full advantage of the AI's own handicaps. The key to a succesful team lies in exploiting the AI's limitations more than its hax will disadvantage you. Although all this speculation may seem very elusive, I can assure you there are some very effective strategies to do so which I will describe next.
The Lead
This is most likely the most important pokemon of your team so you need to be very careful in selecting one. A whole team of raw power sweepers like Garchomp, Salamence, Lucario and Starmie will not work so you can forget about that as a lead. The reason is that the AI is not retarded and will eventually always have a lead that can take on yours without any problem. With the dawn of Focus Sash, sweepers have lost a lot of their former strength which includes the Battle Tower. Finally, you are not even remotely exploiting any of the AI weaknesses by just blasting high power moves in their direction so your team is nowhere near its full potential.
Instead, I strongly suggest using something that will severely weaken your opponent's offensive capabilities and then proceed to set up a sweeper before killing their lead. It is usually a good idea to get a bulky pokemon as a lead with moves like: Flash, Protect, Thunder Wave, Will-o-Wisp, Charm, Trick, Torment, Confuse Ray, Spore, Attract, Captivate... Your opponent won't be able to switch while it is being crippled, your enemy powerless to stop you setting up a monstrous sweeper that will rip his team to shreds.
Here are a couple of candidates for this lead role:
What these pokemon have in common are decent defensive stats and the move Trick, which is fantastic in the Battle Tower considering your opponents don't switch (give them an item like Choice Scarf/ Band/ Specs). They each have their individual merits and you will just need to select one based on the rest of your team. Latias has the highest Speed and can still be used offensively too. Cresselia has massive defence and hp but not the best movepool. Uxie learns the magnificent Memento, while Metagross can still squeeze in a physical move from its massive 135 base Att. Finally, Spiritomb is the weakest in both defences and speed but instead has no type weaknesses and can learn Grudge (a fantastic move when it is used well).
If you've had enough of all this talk and want to see some action, here is a Spiritomb lead in action during two battles in a 300+ Battle Tower Streak.
Alternatively you could try a mix between a sweeper and a staller. Something like a Latios with Trick, Choice Specs and some damage moves. This gives you the additional option of going for the kill or deciding to stall instead. Personally I'm not too much of a fan because it locks you into one damage move and may force a switch you can't afford at a later stage. Additionally, it also means you need to give up some move slots which you may need to make your lead most effective.
There are tons of ways to design your lead and the strategy outlined above is only an example of one that I found effective. Trick leads are obviously not the only good leads but they are generally quite reliable as an overall strategy because it means you only need to cope with one move from the enemy, not 4!
I have a lead, now what?
There are two things you need to care of: type coverage and have some stat enhancing moves so that your lead didn't weaken your enemy for nothing. You are really completely open to do what you like here but just make sure that you end up with a coherent team, not 3 random pokemon. There are some general tips though which can be useful in choosing:
- Having a Steel type somewhere can be useful as they have massive type coverage with so many resistances.
- Make sure you are very good at resisting any weaknesses of your lead because your opponent will often be stuck in a move that is super effective against it.
- Make sure you have a way to cope with status effects.
- Substitute is your friend, trust me (it really protects your from criticial hit and status hax).
- Focus Sash/ Band can be a real pain so be prepared for it.
- It may seem obvious, but never ever have two pokemon weak to the same type.
- Choose pokemon that have good overall stats. Pokemon with monstrous offense and frail defences like Alakazam are no good because they die too easily.
- Try not to base your team completely on one pokemon. Make sure that if any one pokemon dies you are not completely defenceless.
Example 1: lets say you selected the Spiritomb lead I used in the battles earlier:
Spiritomb (Maelstrom) @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Bold
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Hp, 124 Def, 132 Sp. Def
- Trick
- Grudge
- Protect
- Taunt
You might have noticed it uses the Trick-Grudge combo to remove the enemy's PP. The general idea is to remove all the opponent's PP and lock it into a lowly Struggle for the following 5 turns whilst my sweeper sets up. As my second in command you will have seen this hero:
Scizor (Eclipse) @ Life Orb
Nature: Adamant
Trait: Technician
EVs: 30Hp, 255 Att, 225 Def
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Roost
Scizor is an ideal pokemon after Spiritomb because with Swords Dance it can set up extremely quickly while the enemy uses Struggle. Along with the fact that it has very good Attack, defence and a good priority move, it is an excellent option. Substitute helps against Focus Sashers and other pokemon I can't take down with one Bullet Punch later on. Status moves are not a problem either because as you saw in the second Battle, Taunt from Spiritomb can work around those.
Example 2: you might be disappointed by the fact the Spiritomb isn't too good at resisting some very powerful moves and will sometimes die before using Grudge effectively. In that case Uxie is a pretty good alternative (my favourite) and can run some pretty nice movesets. Lets say you go for this one:
Uxie @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Bold
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 255 Hp, 255 Def
- Trick
- Thunder Wave
- Flash
- Memento
This is a much bulkier lead than Spiritomb but does not lock the enemy into Struggle so you are still vulnerable to critical hits and status hax. Additionally, this guy does have type weaknesses, so be ready for a lot of Bug and Ghost moves. However, you don't have any Ground and Fighting moves coming your way now due to levitate. Now you can also spend longer setting up because the opponent is not going to kill himself that quick with recoil damage. So as a second we want something that can be weak to Ground and Fighting but has good defensive stats (especially to Dark and Ghost) and great offensive potential once set up. How about this:
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Nature: Adamant
Trait: Sandstream
EVs: 252 Att, 252 HP, 6 Def
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Substitute
- Protect
This guy works wonderfully together with Uxie and has very few weaknesses so all you need is something with Grass-Bug-Water resistance for your third pokemon. You could easily add in the Scizor from before and I can guarantee you that the Uxie/Scizor/Tyranitar team will do very well in the Battle Tower. It has nice type coverage, except for the double Ground weakness which is taken care of the Levitate on Uxie. The few moves that can take down a monster like Tyranitar (Grass-Bug) are easily countered with Scizor. Thunder Wave-Substitute completely neutralises status moves after the free switch in from Memento. Sandstorm is a nice addition because it helps against Focus Band/Sash users too.
Conclusion
There are so many more things to say about the Battle Tower, but I hope this has been somewhat helpful if you were interested in testing out your Battle Tower skills any time soon. Finally, there is one last thing that I should mention because it is absolutely invaluable:
Snapper's Battle Frontier Pokemon Search
It has the database of all the pokemon you will meet in the Battle Tower and can help you plan your battles. Have fun at the Battle Tower and good luck!
