Hey Smogon, what follows is essentially my first competitive team ever, which I've constructed over the last two days by messing around on Pokemon Showdown. I've had some successes and failures, and was wondering what you guys thought about this line-up and how it could be made even better.
Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Softboiled
- Stealth Rock
- Double-Edge
Clefable serves as my both my lead and bulky Special Defense wall. I typically start by laying down Stealth Rocks and then either switching out or hitting with a surprisingly powerful Double Edge (which I can use free from recoil thanks to Magic Guard). Wish and Softboiled are there to help me stall and restore health.
One problem I have noticed though is that the other opponent's lead sometimes uses Taunt and prevents me from setting up Stealth Rocks -__- A way to prevent Clefable from being Taunt bait would be appreciated!
Quagsire (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Impish Nature
- Curse
- Waterfall
- Recover
- Earthquake
Quagsire serves as my physically-oriented bulky water. Curse allows me to take advantage of Quagsire's low speed and boost up Attack and Defense, and I can then attack the opponent with either a STAB Waterfall or Earthquake.
Opting for Water Absorb over Unaware or Damp allows me to switch into Water Pokemon's attacks, only to have them heal Quagsire. Sometimes it catches people off guard too -- one time, someone attacked with Waterfall only to see that it replenished Quagsire's HP rather than get a KO.
Sigilyph (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Heat Wave
Replaced a Whimsicott I was running with this once I realized I needed more type coverage and a Special Attacker. Sigilyph serves as a special attacker, with Psychic and Air Slash there for STAB and Heat Wave to serve as coverage. Roost serves as a recovery move if I need to ensure that Sigilyph remains in the game.
Manectric (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Lightningrod
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat
Another special attacker of mine -- Choice Scarf is there for speed and so Manectric can hit with either STAB-boosted Thunderbolt or ensure a speedy and damaging switch with a STAB Volt Switch. Overheat and HP Grass are coverage moves that benefit nicely from Manetric's relatively high special attack.
Absol (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Super Luck
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Sucker Punch
- Night Slash
- Swords Dance
One of my two physically oriented attackers, Absol is meant to get in there and hit fast and hard. Swords Dance raises Absol's attack to prepare for a possible sweep. Night Slash allows me to get both STAB and an even higher chance to get a crit thanks to Super Luck, and Sucker Punch ensures that I get first hit if my opponent is ready to hit me even faster (question: would a switch to Pursuit be better to hit the opponent's Pokemon if they're switching out?) Superpower is there for coverage and to hit hard, thought the stat decrease after typically forces me to switch Absol out or risk him getting KO'd.
Drapion (F) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Sniper
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
- Swords Dance
My second physical attacker. Again, Swords Dance is there to boost Attack so Poison Jab and Crunch hurt extra hard with both the STAB and stat increase, while Earthquake is there for coverage.
Now that I've summarized my team, here are some overarching issues I've noted so far; I hope you guys catch anything else you can find:
And that's that. Thanks for looking and I really appreciate your criticism!
I've also been thinking about getting rid of Absol since it's so frail and the set I'm running is relatively predictable... any alternatives you guys have in mind?
Clefable (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Softboiled
- Stealth Rock
- Double-Edge
Clefable serves as my both my lead and bulky Special Defense wall. I typically start by laying down Stealth Rocks and then either switching out or hitting with a surprisingly powerful Double Edge (which I can use free from recoil thanks to Magic Guard). Wish and Softboiled are there to help me stall and restore health.
One problem I have noticed though is that the other opponent's lead sometimes uses Taunt and prevents me from setting up Stealth Rocks -__- A way to prevent Clefable from being Taunt bait would be appreciated!
Quagsire (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Impish Nature
- Curse
- Waterfall
- Recover
- Earthquake
Quagsire serves as my physically-oriented bulky water. Curse allows me to take advantage of Quagsire's low speed and boost up Attack and Defense, and I can then attack the opponent with either a STAB Waterfall or Earthquake.
Opting for Water Absorb over Unaware or Damp allows me to switch into Water Pokemon's attacks, only to have them heal Quagsire. Sometimes it catches people off guard too -- one time, someone attacked with Waterfall only to see that it replenished Quagsire's HP rather than get a KO.
Sigilyph (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Heat Wave
Replaced a Whimsicott I was running with this once I realized I needed more type coverage and a Special Attacker. Sigilyph serves as a special attacker, with Psychic and Air Slash there for STAB and Heat Wave to serve as coverage. Roost serves as a recovery move if I need to ensure that Sigilyph remains in the game.
Manectric (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Lightningrod
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat
Another special attacker of mine -- Choice Scarf is there for speed and so Manectric can hit with either STAB-boosted Thunderbolt or ensure a speedy and damaging switch with a STAB Volt Switch. Overheat and HP Grass are coverage moves that benefit nicely from Manetric's relatively high special attack.
Absol (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Super Luck
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Sucker Punch
- Night Slash
- Swords Dance
One of my two physically oriented attackers, Absol is meant to get in there and hit fast and hard. Swords Dance raises Absol's attack to prepare for a possible sweep. Night Slash allows me to get both STAB and an even higher chance to get a crit thanks to Super Luck, and Sucker Punch ensures that I get first hit if my opponent is ready to hit me even faster (question: would a switch to Pursuit be better to hit the opponent's Pokemon if they're switching out?) Superpower is there for coverage and to hit hard, thought the stat decrease after typically forces me to switch Absol out or risk him getting KO'd.
Drapion (F) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Sniper
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
- Swords Dance
My second physical attacker. Again, Swords Dance is there to boost Attack so Poison Jab and Crunch hurt extra hard with both the STAB and stat increase, while Earthquake is there for coverage.
Now that I've summarized my team, here are some overarching issues I've noted so far; I hope you guys catch anything else you can find:
1.) Fighting and Bug Types tend to present a challenge despite having some fire type moves available, since both Absol and Dorapion are either whole or part Dark type and Clefable is incredibly vulnerable to Fighting type moves. The fact that my Psychic/Flying Sp Attacker can easily be taken out with an Ice Punch doesn't help either.
2.) Clefable pretty much becomes unusable once the opponent uses Taunt and I have to switch, preventing me from setting entry hazards.
3.) I lack a Rapid Spinner to get rid of Stealth Rocks and Spikes.
4.) I also lack a Pokemon to put down Spikes (not sure how necessary this is?).
5.) Further, I feel like I could be lacking some sort of overall synergy. It, for some reason, feels like I have all the individual parts needed, but don't have a cohesive "team strategy" or anything, just switching in and out as needed based on the opponent Pokemon's type and team role.
2.) Clefable pretty much becomes unusable once the opponent uses Taunt and I have to switch, preventing me from setting entry hazards.
3.) I lack a Rapid Spinner to get rid of Stealth Rocks and Spikes.
4.) I also lack a Pokemon to put down Spikes (not sure how necessary this is?).
5.) Further, I feel like I could be lacking some sort of overall synergy. It, for some reason, feels like I have all the individual parts needed, but don't have a cohesive "team strategy" or anything, just switching in and out as needed based on the opponent Pokemon's type and team role.
And that's that. Thanks for looking and I really appreciate your criticism!
I've also been thinking about getting rid of Absol since it's so frail and the set I'm running is relatively predictable... any alternatives you guys have in mind?
