Hello everyone. I am relatively new to the competitive Pokemon scene, I jumped in towards the end of Gen 5 and I'm really looking to learn more now. I plan on applying to the next round of Battling 101, but now I'm just looking for some general pointers on my first truly competitive team of this generation. I've been trying to team build on my own for a few weeks, trying out different teams and this is the first one I've really had much success with at all despite my relatively low skill level (I think I'm getting better). Anyways, on to the team, which is a pretty basic team I think. If I do something wrong in posting this, I apologize I read the rules prior to this so I think I'm doing okay. Let me know though.
Excadrill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 SDef / 72 Atk / 184 HP
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
I chose to start with Excadrill on my rundown because it is generally what I find myself leading with. I went with a bulky set, so I can keep his spinning capabilities going for as long as possible, but I'm considering switching to a more offensive EV spread due to another member of my team. Despite it's bulk, it's produced a solid chunk of my knockouts. I went with Rock Slide as the fourth move mostly for a predicted Talonflame switch, but I realize that is a pretty rare situation. Not sure of a better fourth move though. Mold Breaker is also nice against Gengar and Rotom-W.
Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 44 Spd / 212 HP
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Superpower
The other Pokemon that I've been leading with, just because of the sheer amount of stuff I can hit with it, Choice Band Azumarill is nothing short of a monster. Aqua Jet is there for weakened opponents or frail fire/ground types that it can take out. Waterfall/Play Rough are the main STABs, and I'm finding that Play Rough hits even things that resist it pretty hard. Superpower is mostly for Ferrothorn, since I see that switch in a lot against me. Something I like to do sometimes is let a Mandibuzz (or anything that runs Knock Off) Knock Off the Band if they don't have anything particularly bulky left so I can choose between moves and revenge kill things easier.
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Roost
- Dragon Pulse
I realized that I needed a special attacker and thought that the coverage that Charizard-Y has was pretty good for what I needed. Fire Blast hits everything pretty hard except for resists especially when the sun is up. Solar Beam is the obvious choice for those bulky Waters. Roost is for recovery and Dragon Pulse is pretty much there, I don't find myself using it much unless I predict a MegaZardX or other Dragon to switch in. I also like having a Mega on the team, especially with the prominence of Knock Off that I've seen.
Trevenant @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Harvest
EVs: 160 SDef / 252 HP / 96 Def
Careful Nature
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Phantom Force
The reason that I chose Zard-Y over the other Mega evolutions was because I was running this guy. Harvest Sitrus Berry Trevenant is pretty fun to use, especially in the sun. This is really the only other Pokemon that takes advantage of the sun that Zard-Y sets up. It's fun to stall out something that really should be able to kill you with Sub-Seed, and then cripple them with Wisp and stall out the residual damage with Shadow Force, which I will use even against Normal and Fighting types to try to get that extra Sitrus Berry.
Mandibuzz (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Defog
- Taunt
- Foul Play
- Roost
This was actually the last Pokemon I added to my team. After I saw how weak I was to Stealth Rocks, I decided that another hazard remover would be useful on the team. I was really having a hard time picking which four moves I wanted to put here, as I really wanted to run Knock Off as well. Taunt is useful against those hazard setters and especially Smeargle and other Baton Passers, who I make sure to put Mandibuzz in. Foul Play is mostly for those powerful physical attackers that like to set up like Garchomp and others. I love how tanky this gal is.
Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Dragon Dance
- Fire Punch
REALLY wish I could run Roost on this, I would like it so much more. I really wanted to try out Weakness Policy Dragonite, to see if I could run it effectively. However, it seems like most people I battle against know better to break Multiscale before going for the Super Effective hit. Probably speaks more about me as a battler than the items effectiveness. So I swapped the Weakness Policy with a Lum Berry, which has come in handy for Outrage. I really like the moves I have now, especially now that I've swapped Thunder Punch for Fire Punch.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-79768327
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-80037224
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-80043168
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-80047344
This is the only replay I have for this team at the moment. In this battle, you can see me going with allowing Mandibuzz to Knock Off Azumarill's Choice Band, which allowed me to get his Alakazam down to it's Sash, and then Aqua Jet to finish it. Trevenant's Sub-Seed and Wisp also allow me to defeat a +2 DD Tyranitar, which set me up to finish his last two with a final Outrage from Dragonite and a bit of luck.
Added a few more replays.
So that's the team, I'm open to any suggestions, as I said before I'm pretty new to this whole thing. I hope I did this right, if not please let me know what I did wrong and I will do my best to fix it. Thanks. :)
Excadrill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 SDef / 72 Atk / 184 HP
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
I chose to start with Excadrill on my rundown because it is generally what I find myself leading with. I went with a bulky set, so I can keep his spinning capabilities going for as long as possible, but I'm considering switching to a more offensive EV spread due to another member of my team. Despite it's bulk, it's produced a solid chunk of my knockouts. I went with Rock Slide as the fourth move mostly for a predicted Talonflame switch, but I realize that is a pretty rare situation. Not sure of a better fourth move though. Mold Breaker is also nice against Gengar and Rotom-W.
Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 44 Spd / 212 HP
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Superpower
The other Pokemon that I've been leading with, just because of the sheer amount of stuff I can hit with it, Choice Band Azumarill is nothing short of a monster. Aqua Jet is there for weakened opponents or frail fire/ground types that it can take out. Waterfall/Play Rough are the main STABs, and I'm finding that Play Rough hits even things that resist it pretty hard. Superpower is mostly for Ferrothorn, since I see that switch in a lot against me. Something I like to do sometimes is let a Mandibuzz (or anything that runs Knock Off) Knock Off the Band if they don't have anything particularly bulky left so I can choose between moves and revenge kill things easier.
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Roost
- Dragon Pulse
I realized that I needed a special attacker and thought that the coverage that Charizard-Y has was pretty good for what I needed. Fire Blast hits everything pretty hard except for resists especially when the sun is up. Solar Beam is the obvious choice for those bulky Waters. Roost is for recovery and Dragon Pulse is pretty much there, I don't find myself using it much unless I predict a MegaZardX or other Dragon to switch in. I also like having a Mega on the team, especially with the prominence of Knock Off that I've seen.
Trevenant @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Harvest
EVs: 160 SDef / 252 HP / 96 Def
Careful Nature
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Phantom Force
The reason that I chose Zard-Y over the other Mega evolutions was because I was running this guy. Harvest Sitrus Berry Trevenant is pretty fun to use, especially in the sun. This is really the only other Pokemon that takes advantage of the sun that Zard-Y sets up. It's fun to stall out something that really should be able to kill you with Sub-Seed, and then cripple them with Wisp and stall out the residual damage with Shadow Force, which I will use even against Normal and Fighting types to try to get that extra Sitrus Berry.
Mandibuzz (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Defog
- Taunt
- Foul Play
- Roost
This was actually the last Pokemon I added to my team. After I saw how weak I was to Stealth Rocks, I decided that another hazard remover would be useful on the team. I was really having a hard time picking which four moves I wanted to put here, as I really wanted to run Knock Off as well. Taunt is useful against those hazard setters and especially Smeargle and other Baton Passers, who I make sure to put Mandibuzz in. Foul Play is mostly for those powerful physical attackers that like to set up like Garchomp and others. I love how tanky this gal is.
Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Dragon Dance
- Fire Punch
REALLY wish I could run Roost on this, I would like it so much more. I really wanted to try out Weakness Policy Dragonite, to see if I could run it effectively. However, it seems like most people I battle against know better to break Multiscale before going for the Super Effective hit. Probably speaks more about me as a battler than the items effectiveness. So I swapped the Weakness Policy with a Lum Berry, which has come in handy for Outrage. I really like the moves I have now, especially now that I've swapped Thunder Punch for Fire Punch.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-79768327
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-80037224
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-80043168
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-80047344
This is the only replay I have for this team at the moment. In this battle, you can see me going with allowing Mandibuzz to Knock Off Azumarill's Choice Band, which allowed me to get his Alakazam down to it's Sash, and then Aqua Jet to finish it. Trevenant's Sub-Seed and Wisp also allow me to defeat a +2 DD Tyranitar, which set me up to finish his last two with a final Outrage from Dragonite and a bit of luck.
Added a few more replays.
So that's the team, I'm open to any suggestions, as I said before I'm pretty new to this whole thing. I hope I did this right, if not please let me know what I did wrong and I will do my best to fix it. Thanks. :)
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