First team, little more thought, need input on it

[Sythe]

First team, little more thought, looking for input

I'd gotten one reply and one infraction for the last post due to lack of details. I'm trying to get the team rated so that I can improve it, so I'll ask about what can be improved on most of them on a few points.

Since I didn't know much about EV training before I got here (last game in the Pokemon Series I played was Crystal), I plan on taking full advantage the EV training and Natures to get their stats as high as I can. So far I've reset the EVs using the berries listed in the 4th gen EVs in the Smogon University, and I'm training them to get the EVs higher. They are not maxed out yet, so If somebody just complains about that, at least back it up by saying what the EVs could be of use. So for the moment, I have the EVs tested by using Shoddy, and some of the stats derived from that. If they are, I'll mark it with *!*


Current Team

1.) Lead
Lanturn @ Wise glasses
Ability: Volt absorb
nature: Modest
EVs: 18 HP, 252 Special Attack, 240 Speed
HP: 395
Att: 136
Def: 152
Sp. Att.: 276 *!*
Sp. Def.: 187
Speed: 230 *!*
Attacks
- Ice Beam
- Discharge
- Surf
- Brine (thinking about replacing. due to reasonable health, substitute (thanks for the suggestion Soonerorlater), or another offensive ability such as signal beam)

I had this one as lead due to the types and ability. To those of you not familiar, Lanturn is a Water/Electric mix, which means that it is resistant to Water, Fire, Rock, Ground is balanced, with Volt Absorb is immune to electric, but has a weakness to Grass and Dragon. I think I've countered it by having Ice beam equiped. With its current moves, it can attack Fire, Ground, Rock with Surf to get super effective hits (damage*2*1.5 for super effective hits, and the attack matches one of its types). With Discharge, it can hit Water and Flying (damage*2*1.5). With Ice, it can hit Grass, Ground, Flying, and Dragon types, which can even the tables against its two main weaknesses. I'm considering replacing Brine, so which move can it learn to max out its damage efficiency?

Since somebody might ask why I'd have Wise Glasses instead Choice Lens, I'll explain. Wise glasses can improve the effectiveness of special attack based moves (which is its only type of attack). Choice lens, while doing the same thing, limits the attacks that it can use to whatever the first one while it was out. Given the fact that I'm trying to get it to be effective against as many types as possible, this would be counter productive. Expert Belt would work for this, but would have the added damage limited to whatever attack scores the super effective bonus.

I've been EV training it against those that provide EV points to Health, and a power lens to give it 4 Special Attack points with each fight. And since I'm talking about EV training, I'll ask one question. It says that any pokemon that took part in a battle will gain EVs, but if you have one with something like power lens (+4 Spec. Att. EVs)equiped on one, and another has Power Weight (+4 HP EVs), do you get the EV effect from both of them if each pokemon was in the battle?

2.) Physical Tank / possible lead?
Rhyperior (no item equiped, looking for suggestions)
Ability: Lightningrod
Nature: Relaxed
EVs: 150 HP, 160 Attack, 250 Defense
HP: 408 *!*
Att.: 356 *!*
Def: 380 *!*
Sp.Att: 146
Sp.Def: 156
Speed: 108
Attacks
- Earthquake
- Rock Climb (plan on replacing with giga impact or other attack)
- Ice Punch/Thunder Punch/Fire Punch
- Stealth Rock

I have this one set up as a physical tank because of its high defense and health. I plan on replacing this one with one that has the Rock Solid ability to max out this effect against those that deal damage based on their attack stat. Its types make it resistant to Fire, Fighting, and Rock, immune to electric, weaknesses to Poison, Bug, and Steel negated, and receives super effective damage from Water, Ground, and Grass. To solve those weaknesses, I'm considering switching Stone edge with either Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, or Ice punch. Since Fire Punch gives it extra damage against Grass, Ice, Bug, and Steel, as compared to Thunder Punch has bonus damage against Water and Flying, and Ice punch works against Grass, Dragon, and flying. I'm uncertain which one to go with, for obvious reasons. Each one does something against one of its weaknesses, Fire punch goes well against the high defense Steel types, Thunder punch works against water types which I see more than grass types,and Ice punch works well against Dragon types. I'm having difficulty settling on one. But since I'd like to have Giga Tackle (the hyper beam physical equivalent), which move could be replaced? (maybe Stone Edge).
Stealth rock is the reason I'd consider having it as a lead, since most leads use something such as stealth rock, meaning he won't have to worry about an attack. Are there any water or grass types that can be used as a lead that I should be worried about if I do that? I haven't seen any used for that purpose, but I'm not certain if it can't be done, so I might select the punch based on that.

For items to equip, I'm considering Leftovers due to its high health. Are there any other items such as Muscle band that are worth considering?

3.) Possible lead alt
Crobat, once again no item equiped.
Ability: Inner Focus
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 244 HP, 46 Att, 220 speed
HP: 372 *!*
Att.: 249 *!*
Def: 196 *!*
Sp.Att: 158 *!*
Sp.Def: 196 *!*
Speed: 351 *!*
Attacks
- Brave Bird
- X-scizzor
- Zen Headbutt
- Hypnosis

Being part poison, it is resistant to a lot of attacks, but I'd say its main threats are psychic, rock, and electric type attacks. X-scizzor was selected to allow it to do damage against Psychic types, but also does more damage against dark types. I'm a tired at the moment, so I won't do all the work for the people rating right now.
Brave bird works against grass and bug types, which seems to be something that this team works well against already. Its high base damage and recoil work though, since it has enough health. X-Scizzor is useful against psychic and dark types, allowing this to have the potential to take down Tyranitar. Zen Headbutt allows it to go against other poison types, combining its speed with damage. Hypnosis was choosen due to the fact that it can make the other pokemon sleep for a few turns while it works.

Which items would be of use to Crobat?



4.) Vengence
Gardevoir
Ability: Trace
Nature: Mild
HP: 260
Att.: 165
Def: 185
Sp.Att: 313
Sp.Def: 257
Speed: 190

Attacks
- Shadow Ball
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Charge Beam

Being a Psychic type, its weaknesses are Bug, Ghost, and Dark, and strong against Fighting and Poison. To counter the threat of Ghosts, I gave it Shadow Ball, which also gives it an edge against other Psychics. Psychic is just an overall effective attack when you combine high special attack with type bonus (damage *1.5 for type bonus). Shadow Ball and Psychic both have a chance to lower the Foe's Special Defense, which means if it doesn't take it out in one hit, a two hit KO is likely. Focus Blast was choosen to counter Dark types, but also does more damage against normal (that'd be of use against Blissy if it didn't have such a high special defense), Ice, Rock, and Steel. Charge beam was choosen due to the potential to raise Special Attack, making all the other attacks more effective, and does more damage against Water and Flying.

I called this one Vengence because I was considering replacing Charge Beam with Destiny Bond, allowing it to take its foe with it should the match not be evenly balanced. Would this be a good decision to look at? "If you can't beat your enemy, make them join you."

I'm considering switching this one with Metagros (already asked about this, but if somebody could give me details as to what to look for when trying to find a Metagros) to give a bonus to the defense and special Defense.

OR, This alternate
Metagross @ muscle band
Ability: Clear body
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 160 HP, 200 ATT, 52 defense, 96 speed
Stats
HP: 341 *!*
Attack: 391 *!*
Defense: 309 *!*
Special Attack: 203 *!*
Special Defense: 216 *!*
Speed: 200 *!*
Attacks
- Aerial Ace?
- Bullet Punch?
- Zen Headbut?
- Explosion

This one addresses one of Gardevoir's weaknesses, which is its low defenses and health, getting a boost to speed, sacrificing Special Attack for Attack. I know this move set is weak, with explosion being used as a last ditch move, so the moves I'm leaving open. Since explosion won't work on ghost types, I'm looking for an attack that Metagross can learn, and is super effective against ghosts. Otherwise, the base damage of the attacks is low, compensated for with the high attack stat, but since this always seems to go against those with high defense, I'm uncertain about the moves. Aerial Ace was to take out bug types, although I'm uncertain about keeping it since I havn't found it to be of much use against anything else.

For Metagross, I'M LOOKING FOR ALL THE ADVICE I CAN GET.

5.) Nasty Plot
Houndoom
Ability: Early Bird
Nature: Careful
EVs: 110 HP, 110 speed, 220 special attack
HP: 331 *!*
Att.: 216
Def: 136
Sp.Att: 279 *!*
Sp.Def: 215
Speed: 253 *!*
Attacks
- Nasty Plot
- Flamethrower
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb

I know the stats on this one are horrible, but I'm working to see if I can fix that. A Fire/Dark type mix, it has an advantage against Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel, and Ghost types, Completely immune to Phychic attacks, but isn't as effective against Fire (A reason I'm working towards getting one with the ability Flash Fire) and Dark, and weak against Water, Rock, Dragon, and Fighting. Nasty Plot raises Special Attack, which means at most I only have one shot to use it. Flamethrower has the chance to inflict a burn, lowering attack and lowering HP each turn. This move is effective against most fighting types as their main stat is attack (and makes things a bit easier) when it inflicts a burn, Grass, Ice, and Steel. Dark Pulse has a chance to cause the other pokemon to flinch, and causes more damage against Psychic and Ghost types. I'm considering switching Sludge Bomb with something else because it already has one status inducing move that works much better, and am looking for suggestions.

6.) Last Chance
Abomasnow @ Occa Berry
Ability: Snow warning (causes a hailstorm)
Nature: Impish nature
EVs: 96 HP, 162 speed, 252 special attack
HP: 317 *!*
Att.: 219
Def: 250
Sp.Att: 254 *!*
Sp.Def: 179
Speed: 196 *!*
Attacks
- Blizzard
- Water Pulse
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power

I know the stats on this one are even worse, but this one has mostly been just to test out this pokemon. So far I've tested it a time or two on shoody with a similar move set (hidden power was switched a few times), and found it effective as a final option, managing to take out one or two before finally going down, usually in flames. The numerous weaknesses are mentioned enough for this one, so I won't go into that. Although, it is resistant to Water, Electric, Grass, and Ground.

For the move set, Blizzard was choosen due to the advantage that Snow warning provides to its otherwise less than hopeful accuracy (70%), and provides extra damage against Grass, Ground, Flying (one of its weaknesses), and Dragon. Water Pulse was choosen due to the damage it does against Fire types (biggest threat), Ground, and Rock. Energy Ball does extra damage because it matches types (just like blizzard, so both recieve extra damage), and does a reasonable ammount of damage against Water, Ground, and Rock. I've been switching Hidden power just to test it. If anybody knows how to figure out what type of damage it deals through something other than trial and error on Heart Gold, it'd help because I've been unsuccessful in regards to this. Should Hidden power do extra damage against types that its already well set against, what would it be worth switching for? Because Attack and Special attack are so close together, which moves could be replaced by a more powerful physical equivalent.

And in regards to it's stats, I'm considering attack based moves, so which natures would allow it to no longer have the lowered Special attack Growth, but sacrifice speed in favor of one defense type.

I'm going over it a bit more, trying to up a threat list by type, but otherwise, what should I be looking at improving?

Since I said I'd include future team, here is how I plan to improve the team
1.) Lanturn
- Replace Brine
2.) Rhyperior
- Moves: Earthquake, Fire Punch, Giga Tackle, and last move?
3.) Skamory
- looking to completely redo this one, or remove altogether if I switch Gardevoir with Metagros
4.) Gardevoir
- Replace Charge Beam with Destiny Bond
- or replace with Metagross
5.) Houndoom
- Replace Sludge Bomb, breed to get Flash Fire and a nature that works a little bit better for attacks
6.) Abomasnow
- Breed for a different nature, take advantage of similar Attack and Special Attack

For all of the above: - Take advantage of EV training. Going through the EV training section in the Smogon University.
- Add items to each.

 

[Lucien Lachance]

items are imporant as it can be the difference between a Lucario sweeping your team, or a dead Rotom. Always use items.

Your lead idea may seem smart, but your just really running an inferior Starmie.
Wide Lens? Use Life Orb or leftovers.

Really, you need a lead who can either KO their lead, or set-up SR. Rhyperior and lanturn can't really do that. Crobat is a decent suggest for a lead, but is outclassed by other pokemon.

The only OU Pokemon you have is Metagross, not good. Really use OU pokemon. There much better.

Aerial Ace and Zen Headbutt on Metagross? They both hit the same types and are both resisted by pretty much everything.

Overall, the team isn't well prepared, the team isn't complete, becuase you have extra pokemon, and haven't really decided the roles of your pokemon. Not good.

 

[Sythe]

items are imporant as it can be the difference between a Lucario sweeping your team, or a dead Rotom. Always use items.

Your lead idea may seem smart, but your just really running an inferior Starmie.
1.)Wide Lens? Use Life Orb or leftovers.

2.)Really, you need a lead who can either KO their lead, or set-up SR. Rhyperior and lanturn can't really do that. Crobat is a decent suggest for a lead, but is outclassed by other pokemon.

The only OU Pokemon you have is Metagross, not good. Really use OU pokemon. There much better.

3.)Aerial Ace and Zen Headbutt on Metagross? They both hit the same types and are both resisted by pretty much everything.

4.)Overall, the team isn't well prepared, the team isn't complete, becuase you have extra pokemon, and haven't really decided the roles of your pokemon. Not good.

1.)My problem with life orb is that it lowers health to increase damage. Although switching to leftovers would allow it to keep doing damage, and with its high health, would allow it to heal more each turn.

2.)Why do you say that Lanturn wouldn't be able to KO the lead or that Rhyperior wouldn't be able to set up Steal Rock (asides from his low speed)?

3.) Thats why I asked about it. Didn't you read the description?

4.) The extra pokemon was there as an alternate, and there to get feedback on which one would be a better one to go with. Did you actually read the whole thing, or just the name, moves, and stats?

Otherwise, thanks for the input.

 

[NightShadow]

unfortunately for you, luchien lachance is right. very right.
here are my comments on your pokes:

lanturn: hehehehe, lead lanturn? it doens't accomplish ANYTHING as a lead. it gets owned by all leads out there. azelf set up rocks and gets blows up. machamp dynamicpunches you. hehe. aerodactyl EQ. etc. also, it is not weak to dragon (lol). it is not resistant to ground (LOL). honestly. this lead sucks. sorry, but it does.

rhyperior: hehe, no item? LIGHTNINROD? lightningrod has no effect in single battles. no kidding. solid rock is the obvious choice for ability. as for item, leftovers is nice. it is not resistant to fighting. it is not weak to poison or bug. DO NOT USE GIGA IMPACT! the recharge turn gives your opponent a free-turn to set-up =.=

metagross: muscle band. NO =.=.

i'm not even going to talk about the rest of this team. if you're new, i suggest using the smogon sets, which are very good.

 

[Sythe]

I was basing the resistances/super effective on some of the old formulas that I'd found from Gen. 3 in a guide published by. I doubt they would've been allowed to screw up like that.

Water types recieved .5x damage from ground, while electric types recieved 2x.That should be a weakness negated (.5x2= 1, no damage increase or decrease). I'll need to see a ground type attack used on it to confirm though. By, its weak against dragon types, its attacks that are the same as its type (electric and Water), recieve a .5x multiplier due to being innefective attacks.

although in regards to the weaknesses for Rhyperior, I had read the chart wrong, so you are right on that point. If giga Impact is so inadvisable, which move would work in its place? (note: I've been looking for one with solid rock. No luck yet, so until I get one with it, its lightning rod.)

Metagross. Read the last line. I don't see anybody recommending corrections for it. I wish people wouldn't comment on it unless they also have some way to remmody what they mention. If muscle band (which boosts the power of moves that use the Attack stat), is that horrible, what'll work better?

I'd rather not use the smogon sets, since then they are pretty much the same as what everybody else is using. I have no problem with looking at them and trying to see issues, but I'd rather use a team I've for the most part created, and imrpove it to the best of its capabilities. So instead of saying whats wrong with it, say how to improve it. Often going over moves, I pass something over because it doesn't look like a good option, so suggesting a move, or commenting on a point I've made, can help more than just saying whats wrong with it.

 

[jchen]

I was basing the resistances/super effective on some of the old formulas that I'd found from Gen. 3 in a guide published by. I doubt they would've been allowed to screw up like that.

Water types recieved .5x damage from ground,

Metagross. Read the last line. I don't see anybody recommending corrections for it. I wish people wouldn't comment on it unless they also have some way to remmody what they mention. If muscle band (which boosts the power of moves that use the Attack stat), is that horrible, what'll work better?

where the fuck are you getting this shit? please give us the source so we can tell these people how retarded they are.

also for meta, Life orb/Choice band/berry are the only real options for an item.
basically your set depends on what you want to do. if you want to sweep, use agility/meteor mash/earthquake/coverage move with life orb
if you want to hit something really hard choice band with meteor mash/earthquake/2 other moves of your choice.
if you want it to lead (meta is actually a usable lead, unlike your useless lanturn) use occa/lum berry with stealth rock/3 attacking moves of your choice, preferably having bullet punch in there.

at least READ the smogon sets before you start using pokemon, if you dont want to use them you at least get a sense of what that pokemon's strength/weaknesses are so that when you do deviate you do so in a direction thats beneficial in some way.

 

[Sythe]

1.)where the fuck are you getting this shit? please give us the source so we can tell these people how retarded they are.

also for meta, Life orb/Choice band/berry are the only real options for an item.
basically your set depends on what you want to do. if you want to sweep, use agility/meteor mash/earthquake/coverage move with life orb
if you want to hit something really hard choice band with meteor mash/earthquake/2 other moves of your choice.
2.)if you want it to lead (meta is actually a usable lead, unlike your useless lanturn) use occa/lum berry with stealth rock/3 attacking moves of your choice, preferably having bullet punch in there.

3.)at least READ the smogon sets before you start using pokemon, if you dont want to use them you at least get a sense of what that pokemon's strength/weaknesses are so that when you do deviate you do so in a direction thats beneficial in some way.

1.)The Official Guide From Nintendo Power: Pokemon Emerald, page 5. I don't know if you can still find it or not, but if you can, check it for yourself. Summed up, damage multipliers are x2 for super effective attacks, x4 when a pokemon has two types, both weak to the attack, x2 for critical hits, x1.5 for type matches (attack and one of the pokemon's types), x.05 for less effective attacks, and x0 when the defending pokemon is immune to the attack, according to the book. I seem to have run across a few slight variations of this, but because of the source, I'd trust it.

2.) I consider Lanturn to be a worthwhile starter because it has or can learn attacks (considering switching one of its moves, remember?) that work against several starters that I've seen people going with, both on here and on shoddy. It can take out Infernape, it can go against Aerodactle, if it learns signal beam, it can take out Azelf, Uxie, and the other thats similar to it (x2 damage for super effective, bug attack against psychic), similar story if somebody decides to use Celebi (x4 due to two types that would be weak to bug type attacks). Going over the list, with a good move set, I can't see a reason why it couldn't go toe to toe with most members of the OU set, and thats why I use it, and thats why I plan on working on improving its move set.

I think I've stated this earlier, but my issue with life orb is that while it boosts damage, it takes health. Just how much does it increase damage by? With its high health and reasonable defenses, is this worthwhile?

I've tried out those choice items before, and found myself repeatedly suffering from them. Sure, they give some increase in damage, until the person switches out with something immune or less effected by the attack, then usually its game over. I like being able to switch moves, but choice items ultimately take that away. So thats my beef with them.

3.)I've done that, and trying to tailor the attacks to take advantage of their stats, and where possible, counter weaknesses. I'm going over both, and cannot see any. I'm having it rated so somebody can point out the weaknesses, and suggest ways to improve or remove. Thank you for having done this in regards to Metagross. I'll be testing it out.

I've never been one to use support type attacks, since I've never seen them provide a significant enough effect to turn the tide of any battle. I perfer offensive, with a chance to effect the other person's pokemon in other ways (example would be thunderbolt, a move I've been testing with Lanturn).

 

[BinarySolo]

I'd just like to confirm that Water does not in fact resist Ground, nor do Dragon attacks affect Lanturn super-effectively. Everyone here is very familar with the game mechanics of Pokemon, so you don't need to explain simple stuff like super-effective hits to us. For more information on how types affect each other, see the Smogon Type Chart.

Furthermore, your guide is wrong, I'm afraid. Test out a Ground move against a Water type in battle if you don't believe me. The same goes for the Dragon attacks vs. Lanturn example. In the future, I would avoid strategy guides for the 3rd generation when learning about the 4th gen - not all principles from one game may carry over to the next.

Okay, I'm going to be blunt here: you still have a LOT to learn about competitive Pokemon. Support moves play a huge role in battling, and are often the difference between a win and a loss (look up Stealth Rock, an entry hazard which can easily deal 200% damage over the course of a battle). When choosing movesets for Pokemon, don't just slap random moves on a Pokemon: if it's a sweeper go for the best neutral or super-effective coverage; a supporter moves that help your team the most; a wall moves to increase longevity and shut down sweepers. Don't choose a Pokemon just because it looks cool; think about stats, movepool and how it fares in the current metagame. Generally you should use OU Pokemon, who are usually the best at what they do - only use "outclassed" Pokemon if you have a special niche to fill.

That's just sone advice off the top of my head. I recommend reading many, if not all of Smogon's articles for more help, or sign up for the Battling 101 program. I don't have any specific advice for your team, but try to build a team around a Pokemon or goal, such as a SD Lucario sweep. Good luck!

By the way, Lanturn is a pretty shit lead because it will be KO'd before it can do anything.

 

[Sythe]

By the way, Lanturn is a pretty shit lead because it will be KO'd before it can do anything.

Since it doesn't have the ground resistance, then surf would work as an option. But if I gave it psywave through breeding, would that make it more effective against the likes of Machamp which I've also seen lead? I ask specifically about Machamp since Infernape is already covered through surf. but then that leaves psychic and dark type leads uncovered, so which is more common? Fighting, Poison, Psychic, or Dark type leads?

For its EVs, is there any way at all to give it a little staying power? Such as putting more into speed to allow it to move first and possibly get the KO, or more into defense and health? Its already fairly good at defending against a lot of special attack moves from what I've seen on Shoddy.

 

[jchen]

Since it doesn't have the ground resistance, then surf would work as an option. But if I gave it psywave through breeding, would that make it more effective against the likes of Machamp which I've also seen lead? I ask specifically about Machamp since Infernape is already covered through surf. but then that leaves psychic and dark type leads uncovered, so which is more common? Fighting, Poison, Psychic, or Dark type leads?

For its EVs, is there any way at all to give it a little staying power? Such as putting more into speed to allow it to move first and possibly get the KO, or more into defense and health? Its already fairly good at defending against a lot of special attack moves from what I've seen on Shoddy.

...
psywave is a set damage move that does not receive type boost, so it doesnt actually hit machamp super effectively. you are only going to be doing 50-150 damage a hit.

also plz just get in into your head, lanturn SUCKS as a lead. a lead needs to do one of three things:
1)kill opponents lead while taking little to no damage to self.
2)prevent opponent from setting up rocks.
3)set up rocks.
lanturn can do none of those 3 things. yeah you can hurt suicide leads with it, but ANY pokemon can do that.
alot of people much more experienced than you keep telling you why it sucks, you need it listen.
ie,
vs azelf they stealth rock, you signal beam for like 70%. whop dee do. then they explode and you die. its 5-5 but they have rocks and you dont.

vs aero they SR while you surf, knocking them down to 1 hp with sash. they earthquake, dealing around 80% damage before dieing. and they now can easily set up on your lanturn or revenge kill with anything.

vs metagross they SR first turn while you surf, then they earthquake when you surf again. they have ~20% left when you get OHKO'd plus they still have rocks up.

vs heatran they SR while you surf for ~80%, then explode and kill you.

vs swampert they set up rocks then kill you with eq, laughing at the pathetic surfs.

vs machamp you just get raped by D-punch since you cant hurt it in return.

vs Roserade you get put to sleep or outright OHKO'd by leaf storm

Dragonite OHKO's with earthquake, hell even infernape beats you with fake out +2 close combats since it has sash and you have no priority.

the only common lead you actually "beat" is probably gliscor, and thats only cause the standard lead runs no hp so eq does "only" 80-90%

It doesnt matter what coverage moves lanturn has, its just too fucking slow and too weak. even if it can 4x celebi with signal beam, leaf storm OHKO's lanturn before it can blink.

Change the lead to something usable, either and anti-lead that A)has priority or B) is fast, or use a SR lead. if you dont and stubbornly decide to keep lanturn in, well theres no point in any of use talking to you since you cant take the advice of people who know better, and no one can stop you from losing 90+% of your games. before you ask, there is NOTHING that you can do that will make lanturn a usable lead. short of hacking it and increasing all of its basestats by 25-30 at least.

 

[DropTheNuke]

You should actually test out this team on Shoddy before making and RMT here. That way, you'll be able to solve 90% of your problems on your own. Alot of these EV spreads and natures (Careful Houndoom anyone?) are messed up.

Life Orb and Choice Items are both amazing for sweepers. Life Orb gives a 30% boost in power, which is substantial compared to the 10% from Muscle Band, and 20% from the type boosters. Choice Items really require prediction to make the most of, but even then they are better than the items you're currently holding.

I recommend you review your knowledgebase on competitive battling. Natures, movesets, EV spreads, all of these need work on.

 

[Sythe]

You should actually test out this team on Shoddy before making and RMT here. That way, you'll be able to solve 90% of your problems on your own. Alot of these EV spreads and natures (1.)Careful Houndoom anyone?) are messed up.

2.)Life Orb and Choice Items are both amazing for sweepers. Life Orb gives a 30% boost in power, which is substantial compared to the 10% from Muscle Band, and 20% from the type boosters. Choice Items really require prediction to make the most of, but even then they are better than the items you're currently holding.

1.) just saying what I have on the actual game. I can't see much use to saying something else when I wouldn't be able to use it. I've mentioned it in what I'm working towards improving at the bottom of the first post. From the first post: *5.) Houndoom
- Replace Sludge Bomb, breed to get Flash Fire and a nature that works a little bit better for attacks

2.) Thanks for the info on life orb. How much damage does it take from the pokemon, and when does it take the health (between moves, after an attack successfully hits?) For a similar power up items, have you, or anybody else, been able to find a site where the items and their effect are listed (such as power ups by % increase, recovery items by %, etc)

I've tested it on shoddy, setting it to find me a match, and going against most of the starters I've seen, I did attack first, and and haven't seen a lot of problems against the typical team. If I loose, it tends to be 1-0 left.

to jchen, it just means that it wouldn't recieve a type bonus. the move is still super effective. Although that result set does give a little bit more. I keep hearing about its issues, when I test I never seem to run across those starters (but similar by type), so I apply the results to them.

For the lead, I did say that there were two potential alts. Crobat which has the speed, but poor move set as of now, Rhyperior which has Stealth Rock, but lacks speed. If Lanturn is so ineffective, which would work better?

If I mentioned it in what I'm working towards, doesn't it seem useless to mention it again? I tend to become stuborn when that happens.

 

[Blastburner]

The best advice I can give you is to first familiarize yourself with the game. 3-step tutorial:
1) Read http://www.smogon.com/dp/articles/intro_comp_pokemon and http://www.smogon.com/dp/articles/pokemon_dictionary to get you started. Later on you might want to read more articles, but these will do for now.
2) download shoddy battle (use a search engine like google to find it), build a team, battle, and start improving.
3) Once you created a team that you tested thoroughly and that played decently according to your standard, feel free to post it here and ask for advice.

Blast