[NU] The Third Foray

[Meaty Man]

UU comes first, RU second, but finally I think I've settled for the most diverse tier in the game (you can keep your OU well away) Originally I found Virizion most helpful, no doubt like many others in the early goings, but suffered significantly with Doublade and Durant, so in the end I was probably happy overall with those bans. Now, on to current matters, and I have gone through a significant amount of shifting to come to my current lineup, but now I need clarification as to whether I should go any further or retain my incumbent set of 6.

Masquerain @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Modest Nature
- Air Slash
- Bug Buzz
- Quiver Dance
- Sticky Web

You likely won't find anything out of the ordinary here. This is really a basic, run of the mill sort of Masquerain, and of course its purpose is laying out the Sticky Webs we all love so much these days. QuiverPass was considered but ultimately decided against because there'd really only be one teammate to pass it to, and I usually reserve Lanturn for later in the game.

Mega Gourgeist (C) (Gourgeist-Super) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 164 SDef / 252 HP / 84 Atk / 8 Def
Careful Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect

The biggest issue I had here was picking Seed Bomb or Shadow Sneak for my sole attack, so I'd appreciate thoughts on that. There really hasn't been any concrete sort of reason as to why Gourgeist has this particular EV spread, but I wanted to stray a little bit from the typical 252/252 sort of stuff, particularly as my RU and UU Gourgeist employ that basic physically defensive spread. It's called Mega Gourgeist because Gourgeist-Super (C) didn't fit and this is the captain of the team. In my other sides, there will always be a vice captain but there's none here because of the uncertainty of the team around Gourgeist.

Torkoal @ Leftovers
Ability: White Smoke
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock

Torkoal is the one Stealth Rock user that was able to get around Doublade reliably, and what I'd love to know is whether to run with White Smoke or go with Flash Fire instead. It's slower than I might have liked but it's a titan on the physical side, even though it isn't running a Balloon like I had considered. I don't really have any issues to address here other than the choice of ability.

Hariyama @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Power-Up Punch
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off
- Earthquake

I only very recently switched Hariyama from Leftovers to AV and I'm not sure whether I have found that truly successful or not yet due to the lack of recovery however I will say I have enjoyed Power-Up Punch much more than Close Combat as the Assault Vest SpD boost isn't compromised and Hariyama retains offensive momentum. Other than that, this is a pretty typical version.

Lanturn @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Heal Bell

The most recent addition to my team, the reason for this is that I had severe issues regularly with Fire, Flying and Ice and Lanturn combats all of them excellently, but my question for everyone with Lanturn here is whether I should favour a more defensive set and forgo some of its attacking power, maybe a more physically defensive sort of thing without Scald or Ice Beam and instead introducing a Sub or something like that.

Klinklang @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SAtk / 30 Spd
- Gear Grind
- Wild Charge
- Return
- Shift Gear

Moveset adapted from randbats, not for the first or last time, and as you all know of course, give this thing a free turn and you'll likely regret it. Once the team's a little more solid Klinklang will likely be made VC because of its fantastic ability to mount comebacks and turn a game in one or two turns. But here I ask, is the HP investment worth it? Should I go about making Klinklang a little faster and limit its staying power slightly?

So I've come and gone through such figures as Virizion, Throh, Dragalge, Ariados and Golurk, but have I come across a winning combination?

 

[ryan]

I spent a bit of time trying to identify specific issues with the team, but the fundamental problem with it is that it has no real purpose. There is no goal you're trying to accomplish. It just seems like a team that puts things together without any actual thought behind why exactly you're putting them together. It's not particularly bad, but it doesn't have a real purpose either.

The other huge problem is that you're running a Sticky Web team with no Pokemon that benefit from Sticky Web in any way. Klinklang is the only Pokemon on your team that poses any real offensive threat, and its claim to fame is boosting its Speed with Shift Gear. Everything else is primarily defensive.

Take some time to consider why you're using the Pokemon that you're using and why they do or don't work well together. Look at the top threats in the metagame and how well your team handles them. Ask yourself how you plan to beat your opponent. What if Klinklang can't sweep because the opponent has a Steelix or Seismitoad? There's nothing else on your team to pressure those Pokemon, so they can easily be preserved until Klinklang comes out. There's really no way for me to suggest ways of fixing the team before you answer these things for yourself. Otherwise, I'd have to completely reassemble the team in order to give it a purpose. Best of luck with it, and hopefully you can figure things out.