Newbie: The Starting Point

[SingleWoosh]

What's up guys? Let's skip my bio (I will say that I have very little competitive battle experience) and jump straight into the team. This team is a mess (which is why I'm here). I wanted a team focused on an offensive game.

I love Weavile. He's cool and can really pack a punch. I wanted him to become my late game sweeper (and maybe revenge killer). From here, I didn't know WHAT to do next.

Well, I needed a lead. I brought Tornadus into the team simply because he's strong and he has Prankster. Coupled with Tailwind, Taunt, and 2 attack moves, I couldn't resist. Then comes Terrakion, who can take any rock type moves aimed towards Tornadus. Tornadus helps out by providing fighting, ground, and grass checks for Terrakion. Tornadus is the anti-lead while Terrakion provides Stealth Rock support (both still doing considerable amount of damage.

Finally, I needed a core. Why not start off with a simple Fire, Grass, Water core? I'm a little unsure for the sets for these guys. But hey, they fill up the remaining slots.

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The Sets

Jolly @ Flying-Gem
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
-Acrobatics
-Superpower
-Taunt
-Tailwind
The leading... lady... genie... whatever. With Prankster, it takes on an anti-lead role while providing Tailwind support before it parts. Since not many resist flying moves, Acrobatics (coupled with flying-gem) provides some nice boosted STAB damage. And of course, Superpower is there to rid of those who resist it's flying prowess.

Jolly @ Focus Sash
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
-Stealth Rock
-Stone Edge
-Swords Dance
-Close Combat
Tornadus's lackey. He provides Stealth Rock while still being able to dent some holes. He and Tornadus have some decent synergy with each other. I wanted to keep up the offensive momentum when I switch in. Of course, Swords Dance is there when facing a wall for more wall-denting.

Modest @ Life Orb
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP/252 Sp.Atk/4 Sp.Def
-Scald
-Roar
-Ice Beam
-Shadow Ball
Yeah.. I flopped on this one. Absolutely clueless. I wanted to still keep up some offensive momentum with a naturally bulky pokemon. Vaporeon has the health and natural Sp.Def to do so. When it comes to a moveset, however, I seem to find myself bashing my head against a wall. I guess Scald could be replaced with Hydro Pump or Surf... ehh.

Mild @ Shuca Berry
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Sp.Atk/36 HP/220 Sp.Def
-Explosion
-Earth Power
-Fire Blast
-HP Electric
Shuca Berry Heatran. Uhh.. a friend reccommended this set to me but I heard Explosion was nerfed so I was kind of iffy on this one. Everything else seems to be in order when it comes to keeping up with offensive momentum (Man, I've been saying that a lot).

Adamant @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spe/4 HP
-Stone Edge
-Mach Punch
-Low Sweep
-Bullet Seed
A standard Technician Breloom. Nothing out of the ordinary here, really. Pretty nice type-coverage with Stone Edge, Mach Punch, and Bullet Seed. Plus he hurts. What's not to love?

Jolly @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk/224 Spe/32 HP
-Swords Dance
-Ice Punch
-Night Slash
-Low Kick
Late-Game sweeper. After all of Weavile's threats are out of the way, nothing can't stop him (although a few focus sashes almost caught me off guard). Jeez, he's blinding fast.

And that's my team in a nutshell. I will consider all team swaps, etc.​

 

[saxtonhale]

Howdy!
I have a couple of things to point out.
On Breloom, running CB with Spore is a bad idea, thanks to Sleep Clause. Try a Life Orb or Leftovers.
On Heatran, consider replacing Explosion (which got badly nerfed this gen) with Lava Plume, which carries solid power and a nifty chance to burn.
I would recommend replacing Tornadus completely with another powerful flying type like Dragonite or Thunderus-T (which would cover Vaporeon's electric weakness thanks to Volt Absorb.)

You've got the right idea, and teambuilding is the hardest part of Pokémon to get down. Keep it up! Feel free to PM me if you want a test battle or anything.
-saxton

 

[SingleWoosh]

I will definitely change Breloom and Heatran sets.

On the topic of Vaporeon, I was wondering if there are other viable candidates to replace it, or at least a more recommended offensive Vamporeon set.

Thunderus-T would actually be a better substitute for Tornadus. I'll test it out.

 

[SingleWoosh]

Okay. After some testing, I've come up with some results.

First off, half of my team can easily be outsped, although they can take hits (I'm looking at you, Vaporeon, Heatran, and Breloom). Sure, Tailwind helps but 3 turns pass by so fast.

Next, I have nothing to resist Electric-type moves. I've given Thunderus-T a try in place of Tornadus but that Prankster Tornadus have helped me out in the long run.

Priority moves will give my team trouble, especially against my Weavile.

So far, I've only made one real change to my team: Subbing in Jellicent in place of Vaporeon. However, this does not help with my speed problem.

 

[saxtonhale]

If you want a good Water type, consider a bulky build of Starmie. He is lightning quick, can dish out damage, use Recover, and absorb status thanks to Natural Cure. He could also use Rapid Spin, allowing you to replace Forretress with a fast or powerful Steel type. For that spot, I would recommend Scizor (whose Bullet Punch could help your priority issues) or maybe something less common like Lucario or Durant (who is lightning fast and extremely powerful.)

As for your Electric problem, simply replace a team member (I say Tornadus, but your call) with a Ground type. To maintain that Flying presence, look no further than Gliscor!

See if that helps.
-saxton

 

[FrozenBlastoise]

A susgestion of mine which would be beneficial to your team would to replace Weavile with a Mamoswine. Both play similar roles while Mamo has better attack, defense and typing. Mamo also has priority in ice shard which lets it bypass its lackluster speed. This is the set I suggest
Mamoswine@Life Orb-Thick Fat-Adament.
Ev: 252 atk/ 4 def/ 252 spe
*Icicle Crash
*Ice Shard
*Earthquake
*Super Power
This set lets you take out so many things that Weavile just can't.