This is my first attempt at making a competitive Black & White team, and I have been using it on Random Matchup to see just how it plays out. Now, I've had a lot of trouble online against players (mostly Japanese players), but I am able to completely wreck a lot of players (mostly American) who obviously don't EV train.
So, I want you to have a look and tell me what you think I'm doing wrong, if anything. But not only that, if you see something in my team that you particularly like, please let me know that too, because I take all of your criticism into account. It all helps me. Here goes.
Also, I EV trained some of these guys before I knew that anything above 252 was a waste, so don't lecture me on that. I'm already aware.
Toxicroak @ Poison Barb
Dry Skin
255 Attack; 255 Speed
Docile Nature
Poison Jab
Drain Punch
Sucker Punch
Swords Dance
Toxicroak was my first successful crack at making a sweeper. He is fast, but fragile, like most sweepers. I understand that many of you would never choose dry skin, because it essentially adds a weakness to fire, but I disagree. If anything, it allows me to switch in safely on water types, and it actually has given me free turns in online matches. (It also opens up the floor for a possible future Rain Dance team, if I ever wanted to try one).
Blissey @ Brightpowder
Natural Cure
252 HP; 4 Defense; 252 Sp. Defense
Hasty Nature
Softboiled
Minimize
Ice Beam
Toxic
Now, before anyone says anything, I am aware that this particular Blissey is totally illegal in Smogon battles. Should I participate in one, I would not use Blissey. A lot of you will probably say I made a mistake in focusing on Sp. Defense, rather than Defense. I disagree. Even with maxed out Defense, Blissey is still decimated by physical attacks. However, maxing out Sp. Defense makes it, essentially, immune to special attacks. My Blissey has never been knocked out by a special attack. This allows for a safe switch in on pretty much any special threat. However, she doesn't come in handy quite as often as I like. I am considering replacing it.
Starmie @ Expert Belt
Natural Cure
255 Sp. Attack; 255 Speed
Timid Nature
Hydro Pump
Psychic
Ice Beam
Thunderbolt
My Starmie is a standard special sweeper. Because of its heavy reliance on attacks (no status moves), Starmie usually goes down pretty easily to super-effective and STAB hits. However, Starmie's nice movepool allowed for a plethora of types, and as such I decided to hand over the Expert Belt, so when Starmie manages to get that super-effective hit (which is almost always), it gets a boost there too.
Yanmega @ Silverpowder
Tinted Lense
252 Sp. Attack; 4 Defense; 252 Speed
Lax Nature
Bug Buzz
Air Slash
U-Turn
Shadow Ball
I added Yanmega to my team, mostly because of the allegedly deadly Tinted Lense. It may just be my Yanmega, but it's fairly unimpressive. My Yanmega is on the brink of being replaced, because his offense is really not so impressive, compared to my other sweepers, and his speed is sub-par at best. However, mostly due to his nature, my Yanmega has unusually high defense, for a sweeper. There have been many cases in which my Yanmega has survived multiple super-effective hits, just with his defense.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Iron Barbs
102 Attack; 204 Defense; 204 Special Defense
Serious Nature
Power Whip
Iron Head
Ingrain
Iron Defense
My Ferrothorn is my own, personal tank. Offensively, he's decent. (Once managed to OHKO a Jellicent). Defensively, he is unstoppable. Once he's set up with Ingrain and an Iron Defense or two, his only real bane is fire. With Rocky Helmet piled on top of Iron Barbs, he punishes those who dare waste his time with their pathetic physical attacks. He stands not a chance against specially-oriented fire types, but most Pokemon have their Achilles heel.
Alakazam @ Twistedspoon
Synchronize
255 Special Attack; 255 Speed
Rash Nature
Psychic
Psyshock
Shadow Ball
Focus Blast
My Alakazam is the star on my team. For him to be outspeeded is incredibly rare for me, and his offensively-oriented movepool allows him to counter most threats. With Shadow Ball and Focus Blast, he makes his way through other Psychic types, Ghost types, and Steel types, all of which would otherwise cause problems. Psyshock counters special walls like Blissey.
So, yes, please, give me your thoughts. I will hear you out through any suggestions. As it is, I am heavily considering replacing my Blissey and Yanmega (well, if I were to participate in a Smogon battle, I would have to replace Blissey anyway).
So, I want you to have a look and tell me what you think I'm doing wrong, if anything. But not only that, if you see something in my team that you particularly like, please let me know that too, because I take all of your criticism into account. It all helps me. Here goes.
Also, I EV trained some of these guys before I knew that anything above 252 was a waste, so don't lecture me on that. I'm already aware.
Toxicroak @ Poison Barb
Dry Skin
255 Attack; 255 Speed
Docile Nature
Poison Jab
Drain Punch
Sucker Punch
Swords Dance
Toxicroak was my first successful crack at making a sweeper. He is fast, but fragile, like most sweepers. I understand that many of you would never choose dry skin, because it essentially adds a weakness to fire, but I disagree. If anything, it allows me to switch in safely on water types, and it actually has given me free turns in online matches. (It also opens up the floor for a possible future Rain Dance team, if I ever wanted to try one).
Blissey @ Brightpowder
Natural Cure
252 HP; 4 Defense; 252 Sp. Defense
Hasty Nature
Softboiled
Minimize
Ice Beam
Toxic
Now, before anyone says anything, I am aware that this particular Blissey is totally illegal in Smogon battles. Should I participate in one, I would not use Blissey. A lot of you will probably say I made a mistake in focusing on Sp. Defense, rather than Defense. I disagree. Even with maxed out Defense, Blissey is still decimated by physical attacks. However, maxing out Sp. Defense makes it, essentially, immune to special attacks. My Blissey has never been knocked out by a special attack. This allows for a safe switch in on pretty much any special threat. However, she doesn't come in handy quite as often as I like. I am considering replacing it.
Starmie @ Expert Belt
Natural Cure
255 Sp. Attack; 255 Speed
Timid Nature
Hydro Pump
Psychic
Ice Beam
Thunderbolt
My Starmie is a standard special sweeper. Because of its heavy reliance on attacks (no status moves), Starmie usually goes down pretty easily to super-effective and STAB hits. However, Starmie's nice movepool allowed for a plethora of types, and as such I decided to hand over the Expert Belt, so when Starmie manages to get that super-effective hit (which is almost always), it gets a boost there too.
Yanmega @ Silverpowder
Tinted Lense
252 Sp. Attack; 4 Defense; 252 Speed
Lax Nature
Bug Buzz
Air Slash
U-Turn
Shadow Ball
I added Yanmega to my team, mostly because of the allegedly deadly Tinted Lense. It may just be my Yanmega, but it's fairly unimpressive. My Yanmega is on the brink of being replaced, because his offense is really not so impressive, compared to my other sweepers, and his speed is sub-par at best. However, mostly due to his nature, my Yanmega has unusually high defense, for a sweeper. There have been many cases in which my Yanmega has survived multiple super-effective hits, just with his defense.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Iron Barbs
102 Attack; 204 Defense; 204 Special Defense
Serious Nature
Power Whip
Iron Head
Ingrain
Iron Defense
My Ferrothorn is my own, personal tank. Offensively, he's decent. (Once managed to OHKO a Jellicent). Defensively, he is unstoppable. Once he's set up with Ingrain and an Iron Defense or two, his only real bane is fire. With Rocky Helmet piled on top of Iron Barbs, he punishes those who dare waste his time with their pathetic physical attacks. He stands not a chance against specially-oriented fire types, but most Pokemon have their Achilles heel.
Alakazam @ Twistedspoon
Synchronize
255 Special Attack; 255 Speed
Rash Nature
Psychic
Psyshock
Shadow Ball
Focus Blast
My Alakazam is the star on my team. For him to be outspeeded is incredibly rare for me, and his offensively-oriented movepool allows him to counter most threats. With Shadow Ball and Focus Blast, he makes his way through other Psychic types, Ghost types, and Steel types, all of which would otherwise cause problems. Psyshock counters special walls like Blissey.
So, yes, please, give me your thoughts. I will hear you out through any suggestions. As it is, I am heavily considering replacing my Blissey and Yanmega (well, if I were to participate in a Smogon battle, I would have to replace Blissey anyway).
