I am relatively new to competitive pokemon and have only really been focusing on random battles up to this point to try and learn all the new pokemon, items, abilities, and mechanics. This is my first attempt to make a team, I have played with it a decent amount and believe I am aware of its weaknesses. But I wanted to use this as an opportunity to see what I may have missed.
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When I first was working on my team I knew I wanted to start off with a defensive core starting with a Teleport Clefable and a Hippowdon. I chose these two because I saw thought that Hippowdon could cover Clefable's weakness to steel types, and Clefable could help with Hippowdon's weakness to fighting types. I then added Choice Band Rillaboom to cover for Hippowdon's water weakness, Sword Stance Landorus-Therian, and Guts Conkeldurr as Wallbreakers/Sweepers, and finally Blacephalon for clean-up.
As you may have noticed the Hippowdon is gone, Becuase as I played with the team I decided it would be better to have something that is both a tank and can get use rapid spin or defog. I had heard that Corviknight was a fanominal Wall that could also use defog, so he met my requirements perfectly and let me change my focus from an awkward Balance team to a much more fitting Bulky Offense. (I may be categorizing those teams wrong please let me know.)
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 208 Def / 48 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Teleport
Clefable wasn't a pokemon I was super familiar with but I was familiar with playing around with wish users because of Random Battles. So, I tried making my own version of Clefable. I balanced out the def and spd so that it should be able to take a hit from most things. While lowering its spd does put it at risk of being OHKO'd frequently. So far the upped def has saved me plenty of times and I have only been OHKO'd once or twice. Besides that, it is your average Teleport Clefable. This pokemon's main purpose is to help me keep Conkeldurr, Rillaboom, and Landorus-Therian around longer.
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
As I mentioned above Corviknight was the perfect replacement for my Hippowdon. While I lose the attack power and Stealth Rocks, I think giving myself a wall that I can toss up even before Clefable. Which allows me to treat Clefable more as a Cleric than a wall really helps me out. I believe this is a standard Corviknight build I don't quite know, but either way, I think that this is an essential core of this team.
Blacephalon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
- Pain Split
- Trick
Origonally I had a Bisharp for Clean Up/Revenge kills but I quickly discorved that I needed somthing with a difrent move pool. And as I was scrolling through a suggested list of Revenge Killers I saw Blacephalon. I really liked the Fire, Ghost type match up and so I figured I would give it a try. It has been very useful as a pokemon that out speeds most other pokemon becuase of the Choice Scarf. While Beast Boost enables it to become a powerful sweeper even if I am stuck with my Choice Scarf. And trick with any kind of Choice item I think can be great. I have switched out Fire Blast for Pain Split just because I never used Fire Blast and wanted to try new try something new. I am very open to suggestions, I also thought maybe it would be good to switch out Blacephalon for Zeraora, which would let me keep my speed but give me access to electric-type moves that I think are needed. But that would also mean losing my Shadow Ball, Flamethrower, and Trick (Choice Scarf).
Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Grassy Glide
- Knock Off
- High Horsepower
- U-turn
Ever since gen 7 came out I wanted to try this guy out so I just chucked him in there when I needed something to cover for my (no longer existent) Hippowdon. I recently heard people have been switching High Horsepower for Wood Hammer but I haven't given it a go just yet. This is partly because my opponents would use a steel type to try and KO my Rillaboom, but I would have High Horsepower to get KO them instead. It's a similar story with fire types, but they often require damage done to them previously.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
I don't really have anything for this guy I was looking for possible Wallbreakers and Sweepers. And well this was the first pokemon to come to mind, it helps me KO flying types mostly, but also hits hard and fast with its earthquake and high-speed stats.
Conkeldurr @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Facade
- Knock Off
- Mach Punch
I have always wanted to try a pokemon with the Guts ability so I took this as my perfect chance. It has been a very good starting pokemon because of its moves and shear force. Its biggest weakness is its speed and how squishy it can be sometimes, but I use Clefable to resolve that issue.
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Before I continue with what I beleive my teams greatest weaknesses are along with what I have been considering to fix it. I wanted to just say while this team is obviously missing somthing I have really enjoyed playing with this team because it has forced me to think outside the box with my stratagies. That is somthing I would like to keep about this team, but at the same time I don't think I will get much farther that 1300 or maybe 1400, currently I am around 1250.
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The biggest threats I have been facing are Pelipper, Dragapult, and Trick Rotom Wash.
I have been thinking about what I can do to solve these issues, and have come up with the fact that a Electric type would help me, and maybe a Rain Setter.
I was considering Kyoger becasue I think Pelipper is a bit too bulky, but I could consider switching him out for Corvikinght even though I am not a big fan of that idea. With a rain setter I am thinking I could use maybe a Toxtricity, Regieleki, Tapu Koko, or maybe a Zeraora. With these changes I could get poison to deal with grass and fairy types. Electric moves such as Thunder which won't miss if I use a Damp Rock Rain Setter, or just use powerful electric types shuch as Regieleki, Tapu Koko, or Zeraora who are all very fast pokemon. But I am unsure what I would switch out.
I apreciate any input you give, on anything even how I coould have made a better post.
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When I first was working on my team I knew I wanted to start off with a defensive core starting with a Teleport Clefable and a Hippowdon. I chose these two because I saw thought that Hippowdon could cover Clefable's weakness to steel types, and Clefable could help with Hippowdon's weakness to fighting types. I then added Choice Band Rillaboom to cover for Hippowdon's water weakness, Sword Stance Landorus-Therian, and Guts Conkeldurr as Wallbreakers/Sweepers, and finally Blacephalon for clean-up.
As you may have noticed the Hippowdon is gone, Becuase as I played with the team I decided it would be better to have something that is both a tank and can get use rapid spin or defog. I had heard that Corviknight was a fanominal Wall that could also use defog, so he met my requirements perfectly and let me change my focus from an awkward Balance team to a much more fitting Bulky Offense. (I may be categorizing those teams wrong please let me know.)
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 208 Def / 48 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Teleport
Clefable wasn't a pokemon I was super familiar with but I was familiar with playing around with wish users because of Random Battles. So, I tried making my own version of Clefable. I balanced out the def and spd so that it should be able to take a hit from most things. While lowering its spd does put it at risk of being OHKO'd frequently. So far the upped def has saved me plenty of times and I have only been OHKO'd once or twice. Besides that, it is your average Teleport Clefable. This pokemon's main purpose is to help me keep Conkeldurr, Rillaboom, and Landorus-Therian around longer.
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
As I mentioned above Corviknight was the perfect replacement for my Hippowdon. While I lose the attack power and Stealth Rocks, I think giving myself a wall that I can toss up even before Clefable. Which allows me to treat Clefable more as a Cleric than a wall really helps me out. I believe this is a standard Corviknight build I don't quite know, but either way, I think that this is an essential core of this team.
Blacephalon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
- Pain Split
- Trick
Origonally I had a Bisharp for Clean Up/Revenge kills but I quickly discorved that I needed somthing with a difrent move pool. And as I was scrolling through a suggested list of Revenge Killers I saw Blacephalon. I really liked the Fire, Ghost type match up and so I figured I would give it a try. It has been very useful as a pokemon that out speeds most other pokemon becuase of the Choice Scarf. While Beast Boost enables it to become a powerful sweeper even if I am stuck with my Choice Scarf. And trick with any kind of Choice item I think can be great. I have switched out Fire Blast for Pain Split just because I never used Fire Blast and wanted to try new try something new. I am very open to suggestions, I also thought maybe it would be good to switch out Blacephalon for Zeraora, which would let me keep my speed but give me access to electric-type moves that I think are needed. But that would also mean losing my Shadow Ball, Flamethrower, and Trick (Choice Scarf).
Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Grassy Glide
- Knock Off
- High Horsepower
- U-turn
Ever since gen 7 came out I wanted to try this guy out so I just chucked him in there when I needed something to cover for my (no longer existent) Hippowdon. I recently heard people have been switching High Horsepower for Wood Hammer but I haven't given it a go just yet. This is partly because my opponents would use a steel type to try and KO my Rillaboom, but I would have High Horsepower to get KO them instead. It's a similar story with fire types, but they often require damage done to them previously.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
I don't really have anything for this guy I was looking for possible Wallbreakers and Sweepers. And well this was the first pokemon to come to mind, it helps me KO flying types mostly, but also hits hard and fast with its earthquake and high-speed stats.
Conkeldurr @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Facade
- Knock Off
- Mach Punch
I have always wanted to try a pokemon with the Guts ability so I took this as my perfect chance. It has been a very good starting pokemon because of its moves and shear force. Its biggest weakness is its speed and how squishy it can be sometimes, but I use Clefable to resolve that issue.
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Before I continue with what I beleive my teams greatest weaknesses are along with what I have been considering to fix it. I wanted to just say while this team is obviously missing somthing I have really enjoyed playing with this team because it has forced me to think outside the box with my stratagies. That is somthing I would like to keep about this team, but at the same time I don't think I will get much farther that 1300 or maybe 1400, currently I am around 1250.
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The biggest threats I have been facing are Pelipper, Dragapult, and Trick Rotom Wash.
I have been thinking about what I can do to solve these issues, and have come up with the fact that a Electric type would help me, and maybe a Rain Setter.
I was considering Kyoger becasue I think Pelipper is a bit too bulky, but I could consider switching him out for Corvikinght even though I am not a big fan of that idea. With a rain setter I am thinking I could use maybe a Toxtricity, Regieleki, Tapu Koko, or maybe a Zeraora. With these changes I could get poison to deal with grass and fairy types. Electric moves such as Thunder which won't miss if I use a Damp Rock Rain Setter, or just use powerful electric types shuch as Regieleki, Tapu Koko, or Zeraora who are all very fast pokemon. But I am unsure what I would switch out.
I apreciate any input you give, on anything even how I coould have made a better post.
-> 
Clefable is a very solid pick in the metagame, but in this team you definitively need a Water resistance, but would also love to have a better Weavile check. I think Slowbro is something to try. Physically defensive Slowbro can easily take care of Urshifu and Barraskewda under Rain while helping against Weavile with a Colbur Berry + Body Press set. You can also run Teleport to slow pivot into Conkeldurr just like you were doing with Clefable, but instead of passing a Wish, you can pass a Future Sight which can help breaking bulkier teams. Wish + Teleport is often unpractical to use anyway, and Future Sight + Conk is super good to force kills. Here is the pivot Slowbro set that doesn’t to lose to Weavile (just be carefull against Choice Band Beat Up Weavile as only the first hit of Beat Up is weakened by Colbur Berry):
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This is something you can try as it has advantages and drawbacks, but I would test a version of the team with Heatran over Corviknight. Heatran also serves as a bulky Steel types and even if, unlike Corviknight, it can’t use a recovery move, it pairs well with Rillaboom and its terrain and applies much more pressure on the opposing team than Corviknight while providing utility moves like Stealth Rock (which you don’t have and would love to add). You can run a specially defensive set to help with special threats like Dragapult. Here is an example of set with Protect as an option as it’s pretty good to rack up more recovery with the terrain and to scout some Choice locked opponents:
I don’t think you want to run an offensive Landorus-T set here. You really need a more solid defensve backbone and you may end up having Rillaboom’s terrain preventing you from clicking strong Earthquake. I would shift Landorus-T to the standard Specially defensive one to help with stuff like Tapu Koko, Heatran and Dragapult while also providing either a rocker if you keep Corviknight or a Defogger if you replace it with Heatran. Defensive Landorus is also good to slow pivot into stuff and let Conkeldurr in for free. Here is the most common defensive Lando-T set:
Would just change Pain Split for Overheat. Fire Blast is another option, but if you don’t use it, Overheat is something you could try. It’s useful when you want to fire the most powerful hit you have on something you won’t be able to 2HKO with Flamethrower and that will force you out anyway. Pain Split could work against a few Pokemon, but overall, you’ll struggle to use it properly because Blacephalon defenses are extremely bad.
Would just run Superpower over High Horse Power to hit Ferrothorn and take off a weakened Corviknight. You also smack Heatran with it and Grassy Glide should do enough to stuff like Toxapex while Knock Off already destroys Slowking Galar.
You could try Close Combat over Drain Punch, you’ll lose a recovery tool, but will be able to beat more stuff as Drain Punch base power is relatively low. Take this just as a suggestion to test because there’s scenarios where Drain Punch is more useful and others where you’ll rather have Close Combat.
