I’ve been trying to build a team for a while now that can confidently hold its own in today’s metagame. Probably not possible. That aside, I’ve tried my best to make a balanced team, and I was wondering if anyone could help.
The basic idea for the team is offensive, but trying to keep everyone alive is also fairly important (wouldn’t want to lose now, would I?) but the basis is to set up with Scizor or Umbreon and sweep. Obviously, it doesn’t always pan out that way, so I can wall, revenge kill, use entry hazards, the whole enchilada. Right, cliché over.
I would appreciate any suggestions for changes, and would like to point out that I don’t use legendaries, so please don’t suggest them. No particular reason, but I don’t.
My Team:
-Swampert
-Scizor
-Umbreon
-Cofagrigus
-Haxorus
-Rotom-H
Lead
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP/ 216 DEF/ 52 SpDEF
Impish Nature (+DEF, -SpATK)
-Stealth Rock
-Rest
-Earthquake
-Ice Punch
Not the most common lead you say? Meh... I like Swampert and always have. And, I needed a lead that could take a hit, whilst still being able to hit back. Sets up Stealth Rock as well as any other poke, or hits something as it gets Taunted. Earthquake is there, because it’s awesome, and it gets STAB, and Ice Punch deals with dragons and Gliscor. I did use another attacking move for a while, but it left Swampy a bit... dead. So, in goes Rest. Also, because of the 4x weakness to Grass (so annoying), I use him to lure out grass types like Breloom and Whimsicott, hit them with Ice Punch, then run like hell.
Synergy:
Grass: Scizor, Haxorus, Rotom-H
SD Sweeper
Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP/ 40 ATK/ 216 SpDEF
Adamant Nature (+ATK, -SpATK)
-Bullet Punch
-U-Turn
-Swords Dance
-Roost
Pretty much the basic SD set, with a bit of bulk. Pretty simple to use too; switch into something he threatens, Dance on the switch, then rain lead hell with Bullet Punch. Done.
Nah, there’s a bit more to it than that. U-turn lets Scizor scout, and deals with pesky Darks and Psychics like TTar and Reuniclus. It also lets me run, because, thanks to team preview, I can see his checks pretty clearly, and Magnezone is evil. It also has the added bonus of hurting whatever it hits after a SD should things go awry. Roost is recovery, and adds to his respectable bulk.
Synergy:
Fire: Swampert, Haxorus, Rotom-H
Special Wall/Cleric
Umbreon @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 ATK/ 252 SpDEF
Careful Nature (+SpDEF, -SpATK)
-Curse
-Payback
-Wish
-Heal Bell
Pretty much my favourite pokemon. So cute, but so awesome at the same time, and it fills quite a few roles on my team. First of all, you’ll notice it looks similar to the Curse set. That’s because, well, it is. Switch in, Curse up, Payback. Sweet, simple and very difficult to kill. He is also my Cleric, with Wish and Heal Bell; a Status Absorber, with Synchronize and Heal Bell; and a Wall on the special side. Not brilliant for resistances, but he only has 2 weaknesses, which are easily covered by my team. Has good synergy with Cofagrigus; the pair are my defensive core.
Synergy:
Fighting: Cofagrigus
Bug: Scizor, Cofagrigus, Rotom-H
Revenge Killer/Scarf Sweeper
Haxorus @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 ATK/ 252 SPD
Adamant Nature (+ATK, -SpATK)
-Outrage
-Brick Break
-Earthquake
-Poison Jab
My God, this thing hurts. I mean, really hurts. More than 400 Attack and Speed is incredible!
OK, bit over the top... (deep breath)... There we go. But really, this guy rocks. Excellent late game sweeper. I was originally using Salamence over Haxorus, but the added power is just too good to pass up. Outrage is crazy good, Earthquake is Earthquake, and those too alone give great coverage. Brick Break deals with any floaters (lol) and Poison Jab deals with pesky Grass types without locking me into Outrage, because I don’t really like being setup fodder.
Synergy:
Dragon: Scizor
Ice: Rotom-H, Scizor
Physical Wall
Cofagrigus @ Leftovers
Ability: Mummy
EVs: 252 HP/ 136 DEF/ 120 DEF
Bold Nature (+DEF, -ATK)
-Will-O-Wisp
-Hex
-HP Fire
-Rest
Not a big fan of Ghosts as a rule. Not scared of them, Mr./Mrs Jumps to Conclusions, just not too fond of how they look (yes, I’m shallow). This one really grew on me, in a really weird, dead dude kind of way. And I needed a physical wall. In comes Cofagrigus, the evil coffin. Switches in on physical attackers, sponges the hits and Will-O-Wisps them into submission. Well, not really, but it does wreck sweeps. It also has great synergy with my special wall, Umbreon. Hex lets me damage stuff with STAB, even harder after a burn, and HP Fire is for Ferrothorn and Skarmory, because, as said before, I don’t like being setup fodder.
Synergy:
Dark: Umbreon, Scizor
Ghost: Umbreon, Scizor
?
Rotom-H @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 40 HP/ 216 SpATK/ 252 SPD
Timid Nature (+SPD, -ATK)
-Thunderbolt
-Overheat
-Hex
-Thunder Wave
The final slot has been giving me a headache. Electivire wasn’t bulky enough, Eelektross was too slow, and, well, those were the only too I could think of. The last slot is for coverage at the moment, with Rotom-H having key resistances to certain types that were plaguing my team. Mainly, the ground immunity was nice, giving me a chance to stop Excadrill. Not reliably, mind, hence why I’m looking for a replacement. Thunderbolt and Overheat are the basic dual STAB, and Thunder Wave lets me slow down anything not ground, or otherwise immune (Electivire and Zebstrika mainly). Hex is used because it adds a bit of super effective coverage, and recovery is reliably handled by Wish (Max HP Umbreon FTW). But, any which way you look at it, not the ideal choice.
Synergy:
Rock: Swampert
Water: Haxorus
Yeah, well. Enough said. Any suggestions would be nice, and I would like to reiterate, no legendaries. You may be willing to scroll back up to the top to reread; I am not. Thanks for any and all feedback, and apologies for the lack of pictures, I’m kinda new to the forums.
The basic idea for the team is offensive, but trying to keep everyone alive is also fairly important (wouldn’t want to lose now, would I?) but the basis is to set up with Scizor or Umbreon and sweep. Obviously, it doesn’t always pan out that way, so I can wall, revenge kill, use entry hazards, the whole enchilada. Right, cliché over.
I would appreciate any suggestions for changes, and would like to point out that I don’t use legendaries, so please don’t suggest them. No particular reason, but I don’t.
My Team:
-Swampert
-Scizor
-Umbreon
-Cofagrigus
-Haxorus
-Rotom-H
Lead
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP/ 216 DEF/ 52 SpDEF
Impish Nature (+DEF, -SpATK)
-Stealth Rock
-Rest
-Earthquake
-Ice Punch
Not the most common lead you say? Meh... I like Swampert and always have. And, I needed a lead that could take a hit, whilst still being able to hit back. Sets up Stealth Rock as well as any other poke, or hits something as it gets Taunted. Earthquake is there, because it’s awesome, and it gets STAB, and Ice Punch deals with dragons and Gliscor. I did use another attacking move for a while, but it left Swampy a bit... dead. So, in goes Rest. Also, because of the 4x weakness to Grass (so annoying), I use him to lure out grass types like Breloom and Whimsicott, hit them with Ice Punch, then run like hell.
Synergy:
Grass: Scizor, Haxorus, Rotom-H
SD Sweeper
Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP/ 40 ATK/ 216 SpDEF
Adamant Nature (+ATK, -SpATK)
-Bullet Punch
-U-Turn
-Swords Dance
-Roost
Pretty much the basic SD set, with a bit of bulk. Pretty simple to use too; switch into something he threatens, Dance on the switch, then rain lead hell with Bullet Punch. Done.
Nah, there’s a bit more to it than that. U-turn lets Scizor scout, and deals with pesky Darks and Psychics like TTar and Reuniclus. It also lets me run, because, thanks to team preview, I can see his checks pretty clearly, and Magnezone is evil. It also has the added bonus of hurting whatever it hits after a SD should things go awry. Roost is recovery, and adds to his respectable bulk.
Synergy:
Fire: Swampert, Haxorus, Rotom-H
Special Wall/Cleric
Umbreon @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 ATK/ 252 SpDEF
Careful Nature (+SpDEF, -SpATK)
-Curse
-Payback
-Wish
-Heal Bell
Pretty much my favourite pokemon. So cute, but so awesome at the same time, and it fills quite a few roles on my team. First of all, you’ll notice it looks similar to the Curse set. That’s because, well, it is. Switch in, Curse up, Payback. Sweet, simple and very difficult to kill. He is also my Cleric, with Wish and Heal Bell; a Status Absorber, with Synchronize and Heal Bell; and a Wall on the special side. Not brilliant for resistances, but he only has 2 weaknesses, which are easily covered by my team. Has good synergy with Cofagrigus; the pair are my defensive core.
Synergy:
Fighting: Cofagrigus
Bug: Scizor, Cofagrigus, Rotom-H
Revenge Killer/Scarf Sweeper
Haxorus @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 ATK/ 252 SPD
Adamant Nature (+ATK, -SpATK)
-Outrage
-Brick Break
-Earthquake
-Poison Jab
My God, this thing hurts. I mean, really hurts. More than 400 Attack and Speed is incredible!
OK, bit over the top... (deep breath)... There we go. But really, this guy rocks. Excellent late game sweeper. I was originally using Salamence over Haxorus, but the added power is just too good to pass up. Outrage is crazy good, Earthquake is Earthquake, and those too alone give great coverage. Brick Break deals with any floaters (lol) and Poison Jab deals with pesky Grass types without locking me into Outrage, because I don’t really like being setup fodder.
Synergy:
Dragon: Scizor
Ice: Rotom-H, Scizor
Physical Wall
Cofagrigus @ Leftovers
Ability: Mummy
EVs: 252 HP/ 136 DEF/ 120 DEF
Bold Nature (+DEF, -ATK)
-Will-O-Wisp
-Hex
-HP Fire
-Rest
Not a big fan of Ghosts as a rule. Not scared of them, Mr./Mrs Jumps to Conclusions, just not too fond of how they look (yes, I’m shallow). This one really grew on me, in a really weird, dead dude kind of way. And I needed a physical wall. In comes Cofagrigus, the evil coffin. Switches in on physical attackers, sponges the hits and Will-O-Wisps them into submission. Well, not really, but it does wreck sweeps. It also has great synergy with my special wall, Umbreon. Hex lets me damage stuff with STAB, even harder after a burn, and HP Fire is for Ferrothorn and Skarmory, because, as said before, I don’t like being setup fodder.
Synergy:
Dark: Umbreon, Scizor
Ghost: Umbreon, Scizor
?
Rotom-H @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 40 HP/ 216 SpATK/ 252 SPD
Timid Nature (+SPD, -ATK)
-Thunderbolt
-Overheat
-Hex
-Thunder Wave
The final slot has been giving me a headache. Electivire wasn’t bulky enough, Eelektross was too slow, and, well, those were the only too I could think of. The last slot is for coverage at the moment, with Rotom-H having key resistances to certain types that were plaguing my team. Mainly, the ground immunity was nice, giving me a chance to stop Excadrill. Not reliably, mind, hence why I’m looking for a replacement. Thunderbolt and Overheat are the basic dual STAB, and Thunder Wave lets me slow down anything not ground, or otherwise immune (Electivire and Zebstrika mainly). Hex is used because it adds a bit of super effective coverage, and recovery is reliably handled by Wish (Max HP Umbreon FTW). But, any which way you look at it, not the ideal choice.
Synergy:
Rock: Swampert
Water: Haxorus
Yeah, well. Enough said. Any suggestions would be nice, and I would like to reiterate, no legendaries. You may be willing to scroll back up to the top to reread; I am not. Thanks for any and all feedback, and apologies for the lack of pictures, I’m kinda new to the forums.