Other My first attempt at a competitive team..

[Shadoxfoxspirit]

First I want to say that I am new to competitive battling, but not new at all to pokemon. This team I made started off as trying to put some favorites into a power sweeping team (Arcanine+Lucario). Testing in showdown made me realize that the strategy I wanted to do (baton pass to sweeper) just was getting crushed because of common weaknesses. This team here has a common weakness, however it has some speed and tricks to avoid being swept by earthquake. The team is as follows:


Milotic (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Marvel Scale
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Aqua Ring

First off Milotic is by far my favorite pokemon. It is strong defensively all while being one of most beautiful pokemon. I chose this set to have her act as my wall. The 252 SpD EVs and Calm nature gives her a whopping 383 SpD which lets her tank her two major weaknesses to about 2-3 hits before KO.

Diancie @ Focus Sash
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Electric]

Diancie is my only Stealth Rock setter. I want to use her Mega but since ORAS isn't out yet I chose Focus Sash. Focus Sash allows me to at least get stealth Rock up no matter who starts for my opponent. I chose to make Diancie a defensive set to hopefully hand out a toxic or two after setup. The Hidden Power Electric is an odd choice I must admit however it is one of my only outs to opposing water types.

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Thunder Punch
- Drain Punch
- U-turn

I don't really know what to say here about Jirachi. However I chose Jirachi over Lucario here. The set was pretty much exactly taken from Smogon's suggestions and I love it. Jirachi is my little Fairy killer and annoying flincher. Thunderpunch was chosen to hit Flying hard which my team doesn't hit very well, and also water. A water vs. Milotic is quite annoying and endless. Switching into a thunderpunch Jirachi is very helpful.

Cinccino @ Choice Band
Ability: Skill Link
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Blast
- Tail Slap
- Knock Off

Cinccino, So cute and yet so powerful. I skipped the BW era in pokemon due to a lack of money at the time but now I wish I had the games sooner. Cinccino has become a top 5 favorite of mine. This set is similar to a cloyster but better in my opinion. Bullet Seed and Rock blast help me get through pesky substitutes and which a choice band she is quick and hits hard. Knock Off is kind of an annoying move to me and while it is useful, the choice band makes you switch out after use.

Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Brick Break
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch

Mawile is my Mega. Mawile is my answer to Ghosts and Fairy types. What she lacks in speed she makes up for in power. She is able to take a couple Earthquakes while dishing out powerful Sucker Punches. The Brick Break is my only fighting move on this team.

Gliscor (F) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang

The primary focus of this team. Swords Dance/Baton pass is one of my favorite combos in competitive style battling. This set takes away from some of Gliscor's natural bulk, but I think the speed and power helps make Gliscor a reliable sweeper. In a doubles match I was down to a 1v3 and Gliscor was my last. A STAB Earthquake knocked out two and I cleaned up with a surprise Ice Fang. I like Ice Fang a lot. I can hit Dragons with a surprise Ice Fang at a +2 while chance of flinch makes Ice Fang a reliable 4th move to me. Granted this team isn't necessarily a doubles team but it was one of the few things I could test this team in and it tested well.

I hope to here from as many people as possible about how to make this better. I hope to have this team be a good primary team. It tested very well in doubles. In Doubles my starters were usually Gliscor and Diancie. It is my first real attempt at a team and I have already acknowledged that this team has a major weakness to Earthquake so I hope people avoid pointing that out over and over. Any suggestions to strategy or battle types you think this team will succeed in are also very helpful to me. With that let the rates begin! :D

 

[ium]

please indicate what metagame/ruleset this is for in your post, or else nobody will know what is included here. is this for battle spot? smogon doubles (it has its own tag which should be used over "other" if so)? some kind of custom metagame?

 

[ShatteredSummers]

My best advice would be not to post an RMT until you are familiar with all the ins and outs of competitive battling. In the beginning, people start out with some weird teams (myself included), but the best thing I can suggest is to not to tweak this team, but for you to keep playing, testing things out, and learning. Experience is your best weapon.

One thing I want to say is that you shouldn't think you're creating an amazing team by throwing in a Stealth Rock setter, your "favorite mon," and a Mega Evolution. The typical competitive team has a Win Condition or team focus. This is when all the members of the team play together, and not as on their own. All the members aid in their own way to contribute to this "win condition."
examples:
My team's objective is:
-to overwhelm the opponent with fast, hard-hitting, offensive Pokemon,
-to set up Trick Room effectively and sweep under it.
-to stall out the opponent's team and gradually wear it down with Toxic and recovery moves.
-to win with an offensive core with added Baton Pass and hazard support.

For example, if I were to win with Dragonite, I would first need a member to remove Rocks, such as Excadrill. Maybe another member to cover Excadrill's Ground and Fighting weakness, like Mega Venusaur. Then you might realize your team is slightly slow, so you add a revenge killer, a fast offensive Pokemon or a fallback defensive core in case things go wrong. And take it from there.

Sorry, I'd like to say a lot more, but I'm afraid that it won't make much sense or that I'm just spouting a lot of convoluted nonsense and giving bad examples.

Main point: keep playing! Learn to predict, and make good plays; learn the good Pokemon and movesets from the bad ones, develop your own way of teambuilding, and practice, practice practice to gain knowledge and experience.

^ That, I think, will help you much better in the long term that to point out a few flaws in this team and have you change them.