You are a type specialist in a hostile region. How do you best represent your chosen element?

[QuentinQuonce]

Voting is over and we have a winner - congratulations to Pikachu315111 on your fourth win! Chasing Cobalt Empoleon for the top spot, I see...

 

[QuentinQuonce]

...and we have our next topic.

You are an Electric-type specialist in BDSP Sinnoh. How do you best represent your chosen type?​

A reminder to please read the guidelines in the OP before commenting, especially if you're new to the thread.

BDSP Sinnoh Dex is here for those who need it. A gentle reminder that BDSP's expanded roster of options compared to the original games do not count as part of the Sinnoh Pokedex so please do not include them in your selections. Any teams including Pokemon outside of the listed 151 will be disqualified.

You have until May 9th, 9PM GMT to make your case!

Teams so far

WarriorGallade: Luxray, Pikachu, Gyarados, Mr Mime, Whiscash, Cherrim
Pikachu315111: Pachirisu, Luxray, Raichu, Mismagius, Gyarados, Lopunny
Ironmage: Luxray, Whiscash, Staraptor, Drifblim, Octillery, Mantine
igiveuponaname: Pachirisu, Drifblim, Bibarel, Ambipom, Pelipper, Floatzel
Hugin: Pachirisu, Luxray, Raichu, Luxio, Pikachu, Golem
Cobalt Empoleon: Pachirisu, Luxray, Raichu, Chatot, Chimecho, Kricketune
Eeveeto: Pachirisu, Raichu, Pikachu, Pichu, Gyarados, Azumarill
CTNC: Pachirisu, Luxray, Raichu, Pikachu, Clefable, Pelipper
DrPumpkinz: Pichu, Buizel, Skorupi, Chimchar, Turtwig, Starly
gvmgvm40: Pachirisu, Luxray, Raichu, Pikachu, Clefable, Mismagius
jhm5: Pachirisu, Luxray, Raichu, Bronzong, Pelipper, Mismagius
Valteyek: Pachirisu, Luxray, Lumineon, Kricketune, Clefable, Machamp

 

[WarriorGallade]

This topic has quite a bit of variety to experiment with. Sinnoh in general has examples of fitting differently typed Pokemon into a team intended to be monotype, so this wouldn't be too out of place to actually find in the games.

The team below focuses on setting up two field conditions - Electric Ter(rain), to amp up the power of allies' moves, though they aren't integral to the team's functionality.

@ Shuca Berry
Ability: Intimidate
- Electric Terrain
- Volt Switch
- Ice Fang
- Thunder Wave
First up, Luxray
Unfortunately, the Terrain Extender doesn't exist in BDSP. That being said, Luxray has a basic purpose in being here - set up Electric Terrain, then pivot out with Volt Switch. The other moves aren't necessarily powerful, but they've got their uses, either to hurt Electric resists, or stop a foe from setting up.

@ Light Ball
Ability: Static
- Volt Tackle
- Thunder
- Brick Break
- Surf
Second up, Pikachu.
To make the most out of both field effects and its unique item, Pikachu runs a mixed set. It's not very durable, but can punch quite a hole in the opponent's team if given free reign to attack. Not too much to add here,

@ Life Orb
Ability: Flower Gift
- Nature Power
- Dazzling Gleam
- Weather Ball
- Giga Drain
Third up, Cherrim.
Like Pikachu, Cherrim also appreciates both field effects being active - Nature Power turns into Thunderbolt during Electric Terrain, and Weather Ball turns Water type during the Rain. Giga Drain pads this out with STAB and recovery to offset the Life Orb's recoil. An interesting observation about Cherrim (and Cherubi), is that it's apparently the only Pokemon in the BDSP 151 that gets Nature Power - otherwise I'd have more heavily leaned into this theming.


@ Damp Rock
Ability: Hydration
- Rain Dance
- Spark
- Dragon Dance
- Rest
Fourth up, Whiscash.
I still have no clue why this thing gets Spark. But it's funny and fits in well with the team's theme. Rain Dance and Rest allow for good and reliable recovery thanks to Hydration, but the ambient electric terrain may foil this plan, which may require careful timing to correctly use. Dragon Dance lets it do something else in the free turns it can generate, but it'd usually prefer switching out after setting the rain. Pelipper was considered here, but it'd overlap too much with the next team member, so I decided against it.

@ Expert Belt
Ability: Intimidate
- Thunder
- Hydro Pump
- Hurricane
- Ice Beam
Fifth up, Gyarados.
There's surely some comedy in having a 4x Electric-weak Pokemon in an Electric leader's team. But that being said, Gyarados' special movepool features notably higher power moves than its physical movepool, and synergizes very strongly with rain - Hydro Pump being boosted, Thunder and Hurricane never missing. The held Expert Belt helps patch up what might otherwise be an underwhelming Special Attack stat, given the types hit.

@ Shell Bell
Ability: Technician
- Charge Beam
- Grass Knot
- Stored Power
- Icy Wind
Last up, Mr. Mime.
What do you do when there aren't enough Electric types to use? Mimic one! Mime's job here is to use Technician to make Charge Beam a somewhat reliable move to spam, all the while making it stronger. Grass Knot either hits a heavy target or gets Technician boosted like Icy Wind. Stored Power gets a final place that lets Mime use its accumulated boosts as brute strength. Even though this move is SwSh exclusive, it's believable that Mime could've been traded there at some point in time to learn it.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Follow Me To Sinnoh:
Oh yeah, I'm going there.

So let's imagine a meta universe where the Pokemon VGCs also happen in-world. The real life players all have a trainer avatar and its televised/streamed all over the Pokemon world as you would expect for such an event. For up-and-coming Pokemon Trainers this would be like the Super Bowl to them, which I'd imagine would include a lot of kids, such as this lad from Floaroma Town:

It's 2014 and he just finished watching the PWT Masters Division where Se Jun Park pulls off an amazing victory with a Pachirisu using Follow Me! An impressionable youngster and a big fan of Electric-types (here's a picture of him when he was a pre-schooler in his favorite jammies), he decides he wants to make a team just like Su Jun Park! However not all of the Pokemon on Park's team is in Sinnoh, plus he's not allowed to wander far from home. But that's not going to deter him, and so he adepts his team using surrounding Pokemon and more of his favorite Type. Let's jump forward to now where the kid (now an Ace Trainer) looks like this and here's how his team has formed:

(Shiny) Pachirisu (Volt Absorb. Sitrus Berry. Nuzzle, Follow Me, Super Fang, Protect)
Mega Gyarados (Intimidate. Life Orb. Dragon Dance, Waterfall, Earthquake, Thunder Wave)
Gothitelle Lopunny (Female. Cute Charm. Leftovers. Headbutt, Thunder Wave, Charm, Protect)
Gardevoir Mismagius (Levitate. Focus Sash. Shadow Ball, Psychic, Dazzling Gleam, Thunderbolt)
Talonflame Raichu (Lightning Rod. Mystic Water. Volt Tackle, Surf, Thunder Wave, Protect)
Garchomp Luxray (Guts. Flame Orb. Wild Charge, Facade, Ice Fang, Volt Switch)

Adapting (Volt) Switches

Note that this is a team that's meant to be used in Double Battles, notably with a heavy hitting Earthquake user. So most of them have Protect for the reason of protecting themselves against Earthquake. As for the the Electric-type that doesn't have Protect, I'll explain later.

(Shiny) Pachirisu: The team headliner and Pokemon that inspired him, no ordinary Pachirisu would do. Notably Follow Me needs to be bred onto a Pachirisu, so this Pachirisu isn't our trainer's first (nor second, nor third... he kind of became obsessed with the EleSquirrel; lucky for him they were common on the route right next to Floaroma Town, Route 205). Once he was old enough, and allowed to go to further away routes, he went to Route 202 and looked around for a good male Sentret to catch & train until it learned Follow Me (evolving into a Furret in the meantime). On a trip to Solaceon Town (all the way on the other side of Mt. Coronet) he dropped the Furret & his best female Pachirisu at the Daycare there. Worried how they were getting along (and not fully understanding the process), when he visited Solaceon Town again he found his Pokemon and a batch of Pokemon Eggs waiting for him. He took them home and worked on hatching the Eggs, hoping for one to have at least Follow Me. Well not only did all of the Pachirisu have Follow Me, but there was one unique one that was pink light red instead of cyan and sparkled! He knew that this was the Pachirisu to help him achieve his dream. Don't worry, all his other normal Pachirisu (and the Furret) are back home and allowed to roam around the surrounding forest (mainly because mom complains about the electric bill whenever they hang around the house for too long).
Aside from it being Shiny, Pachirisu is the only Pokemon that 1:1 matches the one of Se Jun Park's team.

/Mega Gyarados: The powerhouse of the team, sorta. As you may be able to tell, there's one problem between this Gyarados and Se Jun Park's: there are no Mega Evolutions in Sinnoh. To give Gyarados anywhere close the power that its Mega has, it was given a Life Orb, hopefully it could power itself enough with Dragon Dance that the HP cost isn't that major. In addition it was given Thunder Wave to potentially buy it more time to power-up (and give it a little Type synergy). You can fish up Magikarp pretty much anywhere there's water, and Floaroma is surrounded by routes with river, but since this is the only other Pokemon that's also on Se Jun Park's team it only felt fitting to also catch it on Route 205.

/Gothitelle Lopunny: The first replacement, Lopunny takes over the role of defensive wall from Gothitelle (even though aesthetically Mismagius is more of a match). Caught in Eterna Forest (also on Route 205), Lopunny does its best to imitate the role but in its own way. Instead of trapping with Shadow Tag, Lopunny goes for stalling (& possibly forcing a switch) via infaturation with Cute Charm. Funny enough they both hit the opponent's Defense stat, Gothitelle with a strong Psyshock, and though Lopunny doesn't hit as strong, Headbutt as an additional chance to Flinch. Though oddly enough, the Buneary family doesn't learn tickle (yet the Gothita family does, you try figuring out GF's logic there), so simply relies on good ol' Charm for a double Attack decrease. Lopunny may not be able to trap or have as high of defenses as Gothitelle, but it has its own way of keeping the opponent on their feet and ways to stall to keep up the Leftover healing.

/Gardevoir Mismagius: And replacing Gardevoir as the team special attacker is Mismagius (though aesthetically some would say Lopunny would go here, infact that was my original plan before realizing the roles were better switched; still, I replaced the two feminine Pokemon with two other feminine Pokemon, so it all works). Having also caught it in Eterna Forest when he snuck out one night, Mismagius is a pretty good substitute for Gardevoir learning similar enough Moves. However, Mismagius is a bit frailer than Gardevoir so it was decided to move the Focus Sash over to it, the decreased power compensated for higher speed. Unable to learn Swagger, while it could have replaced it with Confuse Ray, that wouldn't leave room for Thunderbolt (honestly he could has gotten rid of Psychic as both Shadow Ball and Dazzling Gleam mostly fill the Types it covers, but he's trying to stick as close as possible to Se Jun Park's team while having his own spin on it).

/Talonflame Raichu: Up til now the team has been pretty lax on Electric-types, but that's about to change. While there are some good bird substitutes for Talonflame, a speedy recoil user is a good spot to fill in with a Raichu. Our trainer received this Raichu when it was a Pikachu as a gift, it coming from Mr. Backlot's famous Trophy Garden. While Raichu sadly doesn't have an Ability like Gale Wings, instead it has Lightning Rod; normally unremarkable, but remember this is a Double Battle Team where all members have an Electric-type Move, so Lightning Rod suddenly becomes a useful way to power-up Raichu at the cost of its partner's turn. Volt Tackle is just an Electric-type Brave Bird, no Taunt so makes do with Thunder Wave, no Quick Guard though prefers Protect as it's not immune to Earthquake, and finally instead of Heat Wave opts for Surf for Ground-type defence. With Life Orb going to Gyarados, Raichu doubles down on Surf holding a Mystic Water. A bit unconventional, but so is this entire team.

/Garchomp Luxray: Finally a switch that didn't necessarily need to be done, after all Garchomp's first stage is right nearby... supposedly. Despite from what he heard, our trainer never could find a Gible in the cave underneath Cycling Road on Route 206. But that's alright, he wanted to fit in another fierce looking Electric-type Sinnoh Pokemon anyway: Luxray. Catching his Shinx on Route 204, he went with a competitive build of Guts+Flame Orb. It's his only non-Gyarados Pokemon without Protect, but that's because it's not planned to stay out at the same time as Gyarados (and if it ever found itself in that situation has Volt Switch to get it out of there while doing some damage). With dwindling HP itself thansk to Flame Orb and Volt Tackle, Luxray is not meant to stay out long but do big damage where it can, having Facade for a strong neutral attack and Ice Fang for coverage.

 

[Ironmage]

So, we have Luxray,

I thought about going all-in on real-life electroreception but there wasn't much move overlap on the local shark or platypus. As a result, I ended up broadening to other ways of detecting a target.


Luxray @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
- Volt Switch
- Quick Attack
- Discharge
- Snarl
Main Electric-type, with the ability to detect a much wider band of EM frequencied than most noted in its dex entry. Ends up focusing on pivoting and disruption since the rest of the team has a lot of immunities scattered around.


Staraptor @ Expert Belt
Ability: Intimidate
- U-turn
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Close Combat
VoltTurn partner of Luxray owing to its position in Conquest and birds of prey often being considered the peak of visual targeting.


Whiscash @ Magnet
Ability: Oblivious
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Spark
- Waterfall
In addition to having prominent sensory structures, this is the only available mon where the equivalent real-life animal has species that can deliver a shock where the movepool actually backs that up, even if it's only slightly.


Mantine @ Aguav Berry
Ability: Water Absorb
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Scald
- Defog
Sharks and rays are known for good electroreception, I went with a ray in this slot because some rays can also produce a discharge. While Mantine lacks Electric moves (I've tried to compensate a bit with Scald), it's association with military planes reasonably fits into the concept of "target locked" and, in a roundabout way, references the electric rays in question (i.e. the genus Torpedo, for which the weapon was named).


Octillery @ Scope Lens
Ability: Sniper
- Focus Energy
- Ice Beam
- Charge Beam
- Hydro Pump
Turns out Volkner isn't completely out there, though in this case I chose it because it can run an effective set with a lens as the item.


Drifblim @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
- Thunder Wave
- Hex
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
I wanted to include a ghost type since curses are usually pretty good about finding their target and went with Drifblim because of how often balloons are/were used in monitoring or scouting.

 

[igiveuponaname]

If there's any one location in Sinnoh which can be associated with electricity, it's Sunnyshore City the Valley Windworks, home to the power plant the player must save from Team Galactic as well as one of DP/BDSP Sinnoh's few electric types, Pachirisu. Our trainer this time around is a worker at the Valley Windworks power plant who likes to catch the pokemon who live nearby during their free time, it's a simple life but one they enjoy nonetheless.


Pachirisu @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
- Thunderbolt
- U-turn
- Super Fang
- Rain Dance

Pachirisu was the first pokemon our trainer caught shortly after they started working at the power plant, it's a cute little mon and the only electric type which can be found in the area. It mostly is here to play a support role with moves like Super Fang to chunk the opponent's HP, U-turn for pivoting, and Rain Dance to help set up the rest of the team to cause some damage. Having an electric immunity thanks to Volt Absorb is also very helpful here considering how much of the team is weak to it. It can still pack a punch though with STAB Thunderbolt, which our trainer taught Pachirisu after finding the TM for it behind the power plant one day.


Bibarel @ Lum Berry
Ability: Simple
- Charge Beam
- Thunder
- Surf
- Ice Beam

Bidoof was the next pokemon our trainer caught, eventually evolving into Bibarel. It plays the role of an unconventional setup sweeper with Simple Charge Beam giving Bibarel a 70% chance to boost its SpAtk by +2 each time after using it. With STAB Surf, Ice Beam, and Thunder for when rain is active, it can be deceptively difficult to switch into after a boost or two.


Floatzel @ Damp Rock
Ability: Swift Swim
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rain Dance
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast

Not too long after catching Bidoof, our trainer had caught themselves a Buizel which they quickly trained until it evolved into Floatzel. After giving it a Damp Rock and teaching it Rain Dance, Floatzel turned into a blazing fast wall breaker and sweeper while under rain thanks to its mighty STAB Hydro Pumps and Swift Swim ability. Ice Beam and Focus Blast are used to round out the moveset with coverage.


Pelipper @ Choice Specs
Ability: Drizzle
- Surf
- Hurricane
- U-turn
- Shock Wave

One day while surfing along the water next to the power plant, our trainer encountered a Pelipper and caught it. With its Drizzle ability and Choice Specs equipped, it becomes a fearsome wall breaker with its mighty STAB Surfs boosted by rain and perfect accuracy STAB Hurricanes, with U-turn to pivot and bring in other team members to take advantage of the rain themselves.


Ambipom @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
- Fake Out
- Shock Wave
- Double Hit
- Water Pulse

After learning about pokemon who would show up if you rubbed honey onto certain trees, our trainer tried it out on the tree just outside the building and found themselves an Aipom to catch and train until it evolved into an Ambipom. Making use of its high speed and Technician boosted attacks, Ambipom becomes a strong mixed wallbreaker with its physical Normal STAB options like Fake Out and Double Hit as well as special coverage moves Shock Wave and Water Pulse, the latter being boosted even further in power while rain is active.


Drifblim @ Flame Orb
Ability: Flare Boost
IVs: 0 Atk
- Weather Ball
- Thunder
- Shadow Ball
- Tailwind

Our trainer had heard rumors of a pokemon who would show up around the windworks every Friday, but despite all the years they've worked there, they had never encountered it. One fateful day, however, they ran into Drifloon while getting ready to go home, caught it, and eventually raised it into becoming a Drifblim. Having access to the unique ability Flare Boost, which boosts its special attack by 50% while burned, Drifblim is another special wall breaker, albeit one which is much less common compared to its Unburden sets. With its access to the rare move Weather Ball, as well as the much more common Thunder, Drifblim takes advantage of the rain set up by its teammates in a most surprising way while not being totally reliant on them thanks to STAB Shadow Ball and being able to support its teammates with Tailwind.

 

[Hugin]

I call this team "Volkner needed to commit to the bit."

Movesets

Golem (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Earthquake
- Heavy Slam

Raichu (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Brick Break
- Volt Tackle
- Volt Switch

Pachirisu (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pickup
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Super Fang
- Nuzzle
- U-turn
- Flash

Luxio (M) @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Light Screen
- Thunder Wave
- Rain Dance
- Volt Switch

Pikachu (F) @ Light Ball
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Grass Knot
- Thunder
- Rain Dance

Luxray (F) @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Facade
- Ice Fang
- Crunch
- Wild Charge

5 electric types, led by a mon that gets an electric-type alternate form(I refuse to try to make Pichu work ESPECIALLY in a gen without Eviolite). Standard lead Golem, physical priority Raichu, the standard annoying Pachirisu, Luxio to set things up, special rain Light Ball Pikachu, and Guts Luxray to finish it out. They all except Golem get an Electric move as well, and there's at least a bit of Volt Turn available.

This trainer became an electric-type gym leader and went all-in on that theme. Heavy on the "shocking start" type puns, lightning bolt hair, etc. What you find out is that this is all a facade to cover up how completely out of their depth they are. They were a natural prodigy, trained up mons quickly, and now there's a team of overpowered, high-energy electric types that are constantly testing the leader's control. Pikachu and Luxio are because this leader absolutely can't let them evolve and get any more powerful. Golem was brought in to counter the rest of the team, but it just blows up when stressed, making things worse. Eventually, they realize that the team is out of control because they're trying to match the leader's high energy, and since the leader's Flannery-level facade was just to fake being in control, it's easy enough to just...stop. Relax, go with what fits and what works, and the mons will relax too. There's still a lot of adaptation to do, the mons and the leader both have a lot of ingrained bad habits, but it's all solvable if they work together.

This team was pretty easy. Golem was the only question, I could have gone with any "learns an electric move" mon, but that felt like admitting Volkner was justified(he isn't), and Alolan Golem seemed a good touchstone. Movesets were harder, I may take another look at them this weekend, but I like the support options that Electrics get, given it's such an offensive type on paper.

 

[Cobalt Empoleon]

DP and BDSP are always tricky!


This trainer is the big boss of all Guitarists, pulling off an absolute face-melter with their sound-focused team. It's your classic super fragile pairwise doubles strategy (where things rapidly fall apart if Pokemon get KO'd individually), but luckily this trainer cares more about putting on a show than winning battles.

In this team, there are three non-Electric 'performers', each paired with an Electric-type 'amp'. Mostly, the Electric mons hype up the artists with direct power boosts, but a concert's a complicated thing to pull off, so they double as a sort of support staff, with moves that can help manage the crowd and the technical elements of the show too.

Opener

Kricketune Ability: Technician - Taunt - Fury Cutter - Perish Song - Sticky Web

Luxray Ability: Intimidate - Wild Charge - Ice Fang - Snarl - Howl

Kricketune is our opening act, firing up the concertgoers with some (lightly antagonistic) crowd work before getting into its Fury Cutter set. Luxray adds to the hype with Howl, but its Intimidate and Snarl keep the crowd from getting too rowdy.

The best openers know not to overstay their welcome, so Kricketune has Perish Song to put an explicit timer on its performance (and also help preserve the pair structure of the team).

Sticky Web doesn't have a fun narrative justification but the team seriously appreciates speed control

Light show

Chimecho Ability: Levitate - Psychic - Dazzling Gleam - Skill Swap - Perish Song

Raichu Ability: Lightning Rod - Discharge - Fake Out - Follow Me - Encore

The fans didn't come here just to see some pretty lights, but a light show is a rock concert staple and, done well, can take the set to a whole other level. After a Skill Swap, Chimecho and Raichu put on a spectacular display with Discharge and Dazzling Gleam, building to a crescendo as Chimecho accumulates boosts with its new Lightning Rod ability. Fake Out keeps the crowd on their toes while Follow Me directs their attention to the key visuals. Once again, Perish Song keeps the show on schedule.

Headliner

Chatot Ability: Tangled Feet - Hyper Voice - Air Cutter - Encore - Nasty Plot

Pachirisu Ability: Volt Absorb - Discharge - Super Fang - Fake Tears - Flatter

The wait is finally over! Chatot is the main event, boosting and attacking with STAB spread moves. Pachirisu massages Chatot's rock star ego with Flatter, further powering it up while also activating Tangled Feet (and its signature Jagger-esque dance moves). Flatter's also useful for buttering up the crowd (who hasn't heard an artist say "you're the best crowd we've ever had"?) and Fake Tears softens them up for the ballads.

------------

Struggled for a while before this finally came together! I was almost ready to pivot to something else entirely and throw this concept to the thread as a free idea, but once I stopped trying to overcomplicate the synergies it all fell into place fairly neatly. Finally finding the BDSP tab in the Showdown! teambuilder was also a huge help because checking move legality was a bit of a nightmare.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

buttering up the crowd (who hasn't heard an artist say "you're the best crowd we've ever had"?)

Literally last night

 

[Kin+ak (✧∇✧)]

I do not know if I'm doing it right but it looks hella fun So...

Im the north of Sinnoh There is Regigigas. To wake him up you need all the regis, including regiELEKI. So basically this electric-oriented team is based on Hail (Rest in peace, dear annoying asf weather)

Froslass (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Cloak
- Hail
- Thunderbolt
- Destiny Bond
- Blizzard
Froslass is a good lead to show some challenger that it's not going to be an easy fight. A rather deadly one, In fact.
Lanturn @ Icy Rock
Ability: Volt Absorb
Serious Nature
- Hail
- Blizzard
- Thunderbolt
- Brine
Second Hail setter, also has Blizzard because we all agreed on hating Torterra smh And Brine because its effect is one of the funniest on people Who do not know how it works
Abomasnow @ Icy Rock
Ability: Snow Warning
- Leech Seed
- Blizzard
- Aurora Veil
- Wood Hammer
Hail teams are not fun without Aurora veil And another Blizzard User. I pick Abomasnow because it does fit With the Hail theme of the team, And is rather easily (I think) encounterable In the Sinnoh region In multiple location And has always been There for at least a thousand years.
Luxray @ Never-Melt Ice
Ability: Intimidate
- Volt Switch
- Ice Fang
- Wild Charge
- Crunch
Luxray is arguably a Lynx, a rather polar feline, So it does fit in the team.
Besides, luxray is THE sinnoh electric type And it's a war crime not to include it in an electric team (it's a joke, relax).
Jolteon @ Expert Belt
Ability: Volt Absorb
- Weather Ball
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
Weather ball in hail becomes Fairy Ice type And Jolteon is one of the default Electric types in the game, And is a Good choice for an electric type.
Rotom-Frost @ Chople Berry
Ability: Levitate
- Blizzard
- Thunder Wave
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
Then the one that originally gave me this Idea, my favorite (not that I got much choice) fridge Pokémon! This set is Nasty and nasty plot + Blizzard are sure going To nuke the opponents. Also choppe berry cause Who would not want To finish their opponent With their Starter Infernape?


Still I don't know if I'm doing This right or if it looks too much like a RMT but it's fun!

 

[Eeveeto]

Just like almost everyone, my team will be designed for Double Battles:

Item: Focus Sash. Ability: Lightning Rod. Moves: Fake Out, Electroweb, Charm, Endeavor. Ok, this is a Pichu. What does have Pichu over Pikachu and Raichu? Lowest possible bulk, Pichu is meant to die quickly. But not before using Fake Out and activating Focus Sash. Pichu supports its lead teammate with Lightning Rod redirecting opposing electric moves, giving him free turns to boost with Charm and Electroweb. Endeavor is a move that abuses the broken Sash. Honestly, one of the best things of BDSP is that said game started giving actual competitive movesets to almost all important trainers. This allows Mons like Pichu to truly shine despite having pathetic Stats.

Item: Gyaradosite. Moves: Dragon Dance, Crunch, Waterfall, Ice Fang. Platinum/Shield Pokedex: Once it begins to rampage, a Gyarados will burn everything down, even in a harsh storm. Harsh storms could be storms with thunders. In fact, Gyarados does learn some electric moves, despite not using them in this team, so it fits. Gyarados is meant to welcome all those challengers that came to the Gym with Ground Mons expecting no resistances. It uses Dragon Dance on the turn Pichu uses Fake Out and goes wild after that, supported by Pichu and next teammates. One thing that almost never happens in games is the Mega Evolution being used as a lead, its nice to do these kind of changes.

Item: Shuca Berry. Ability: Minus. Moves: Electro Ball, Nuzzle, Helping Hand, Mud Slap. The whole point of a Double Battle is to use this guy and its partner. Minun is the bulkiest of the 2, so it has a less offensive set and more focused on supporting with Mud Slap, Nuzzle and Helping Hand.

Item: Life Orb. Ability: Plus. Moves: Thunder, Helping Hand, Grass Knot, Signal Beam. The other pikaclone. Still can support with Helping Hand but this one actually hits hard and has coverage.

Item: Light Ball. Ability: Static. Moves: Volt Tackle, Dig, Brick Break, Discharge. The original Pika. Hits really hard with Volt Tackle before the ace Pokemon appears. After the ace Mon appears, it should be using Discharge to support the ace while doing damage to the foes. Pikachu in the anime always is represented as a fast Mon that avoids hits, well this one has Dig to simulate that, despite being slower than Raichu in games. Its important to have Static as ability on Pika in order to not redirect ace Mon's Thunderbolts.

Item: Air Balloon. Ability: Lightning Rod. Moves: Nasty Plot, Thunderbolt, Surf, Focus Blast. Unsurprising ace, it really is the strongest available electric Mon. Its bulkier than Pikachu, which allows it to use Nasty Plot. It benefits from every surviving teammate using Electric Moves to hit even harder, using Lightning Rod. With a +3 (at least) boost, it should be a powerful final challenge.

Remember this Kalosian guy that likes Pikaclones (and marine monsters)? Well, he traveled to Sinnoh now, leaving Plusle and Minun behind, but getting 2 more Pikaclones in Sinnoh.

Item: Focus Sash. Ability: Lightning Rod. Moves: Fake Out, Charm, Rain Dance, Thunder. Pichu isn,t allowed to use Endeavor or Electroweb in Sinnoh, but still is able to support the powerful Gyarados that is its lead partner. Even Pichu's Thunders are gonna hurt.
Item: Life Orb. Ability: Intimidate. Moves: Dragon Dance, Waterfall, Stone Edge, Ice Fang. The justification for Gyarados is still the same one as before, it appears in harsh storms and destroys everything. Gyaradosite is not available in Sinnoh, so Gyarados just uses a regular Dragon Dance set designed to destroy everything.
Item: Shuca Berry. Ability: Volt Absorb. Moves: Nuzzle, Super Fang, Follow Me, Growl. The Sinnoh Pikaclone. Basically, Sejun Park set but with Growl as last move. Supports the Water moves by attracting opposing Electric moves, paralyzing, reducing Attack and a lot of HP with Super Fang.
Item: Sitrus Berry. Ability: Huge Power. Moves: Belly Drum, Aqua Jet, Play Rough, Protect. Many people thought Marill was Pikachu related, so Azumarill gets the honorific title of Pikaclone. This one uses Belly Drum and sweeps with Aqua Jet.
Item: Light Ball. Ability: Static. Moves: Volt Tackle, Dig, Brick Break, Discharge. The original Pika and one that can use the same Kalos set. Discharge will allow Raichu to get boosts, Pachirisu (if still alive) to heal and Azumarill won,t be bothered by it due to having Protect.
Item: Air Balloon. Ability: Lightning Rod. Moves: Nasty Plot, Thunderbolt, Surf, Grass Knot. Still the Pikaclone ace. It could have used the exact same set as in Kalos like Pikachu, but since there is no one on the team with Grass Knot, Raichu is allowed to use that in order to kill even more Ground types. It continues to benefit from surviving Electric types (Pikachu or Pachirisu mainly) to boost and sweep.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

I do not know if I'm doing it right but it looks hella fun So...

Im the north of Sinnoh There is Regigigas. To wake him up you need all the regis, including regiELEKI. So basically this electric-oriented team is based on Hail (Rest in peace, dear annoying asf weather)

Froslass (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Cloak
- Hail
- Thunderbolt
- Destiny Bond
- Blizzard
Froslass is a good lead to show some challenger that it's not going to be an easy fight. A rather deadly one, In fact.
Lanturn @ Icy Rock
Ability: Volt Absorb
Serious Nature
- Hail
- Blizzard
- Thunderbolt
- Brine
Second Hail setter, also has Blizzard because we all agreed on hating Torterra smh And Brine because its effect is one of the funniest on people Who do not know how it works
Abomasnow @ Icy Rock
Ability: Snow Warning
- Leech Seed
- Blizzard
- Aurora Veil
- Wood Hammer
Hail teams are not fun without Aurora veil And another Blizzard User. I pick Abomasnow because it does fit With the Hail theme of the team, And is rather easily (I think) encounterable In the Sinnoh region In multiple location And has always been There for at least a thousand years.
Luxray @ Never-Melt Ice
Ability: Intimidate
- Volt Switch
- Ice Fang
- Wild Charge
- Crunch
Luxray is arguably a Lynx, a rather polar feline, So it does fit in the team.
Besides, luxray is THE sinnoh electric type And it's a war crime not to include it in an electric team (it's a joke, relax).
Jolteon @ Expert Belt
Ability: Volt Absorb
- Weather Ball
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
Weather ball in hail becomes Fairy Ice type And Jolteon is one of the default Electric types in the game, And is a Good choice for an electric type.
Rotom-Frost @ Chople Berry
Ability: Levitate
- Blizzard
- Thunder Wave
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
Then the one that originally gave me this Idea, my favorite (not that I got much choice) fridge Pokémon! This set is Nasty and nasty plot + Blizzard are sure going To nuke the opponents. Also choppe berry cause Who would not want To finish their opponent With their Starter Infernape?


Still I don't know if I'm doing This right or if it looks too much like a RMT but it's fun!

Please read the guidelines, this team is ineligible due to containing disallowed Pokemon.

 

[CTNC]

Maybe I should do an interesting theme instead of mostly focusing on a team of the type... or I could just do whatever like I usually do while trying not to bash BDSP for once. I like doing whatever even if it's not much of a theme.

I'm making this a Doubles team and treating it like an alternate version of a Volkner rematch where he's restricted to the DP Dex. I usually assume my teams use the default game AI, but this time I'm assuming it knows to target allies in the same way it knows to use Pollen Puff on allies and that it will use Protect to block spread moves.



Pelipper@Damp Rock
Drizzle
-Shock Wave
-Hurricane
-Soak
-Protect

There's a lot of things wrong with BDSP, but the movesets and rematch teams definitely aren't one of them. Pelipper feels odd for the Volkner rematch team that's in BDSP when it makes him the only Gym Leader to not use 6 Pokemon of his type, but I like that he uses Drizzle for Thunder. I usually wouldn't consider Pelipper for an Electric team, but I want to show respect to one of the things I like about BDSP.

Shock Wave is 90% there because it's Pelipper's only Electric attack and 10% because the first Pokemon I taught Shock Wave to was a Wingull. I never understood why Pelipper could learn Shock Wave, but I wasn't complaining when I had my Pelipper against a Ditto. Even though it's an attack, it's also usable as a support move due to Lightning Rod and Volt Absorb. Hurricane is the most powerful accurate STAB and hitting Grass types Super Effectively is very nice when Electric types struggle to hit them hard. Soak is used over Hydro Pump because it's more accurate, turning any Pokemon into a type that's weak to Electric seems like interesting support for an Electric Team, and I wanted to embrace that Pelipper is here for support because an offensive moveset with a 60 Power coverage move feels laughable. Protect is for spread moves and is practically Pelliper's signature move after every single Pelipper in Hoenn and half the ones in Gen 4 know the move.


Pikachu@Light Ball
Lightning Rod
-Thunder
-Surf
-Grass Knot
-Feint

A Light Ball makes Pikachu strong enough to be worth using and using Pikachu along with the fully evolved Electric types lets me use four Electric types. That means two oddballs. One's a Water type, like Octillery on Volkner's original team, and I'll get to the Normal type replacing Ambipom later.

Being a lead with Pelipper begs for a moveset that loves rain, so Thunder has the be the STAB of choice and Surf is very good for Ground types (other than Gastrodon and Quagsire) even without Rain. Grass Knot looks pretty bad outside of being an attack that doesn't hurt the ally because every type it hits Super Effectively is already weak to Electric or Water and it's another move that's resisted by Grass and Dragon, but it has 60 Power against Gastrodon and 80 against Quagsire. Those two being immune to Thunder and Surf made Grass Knot worth it. Feint is the last move because it's priority that can KO through Protect and Pikachu doesn't get any more Special coverage unless you count the 40 Power Disarming Voice. I didn't want to use Physical covorage because the rematch trainers that are in BDSP have EVs and good Natures and a Physical Attack with 252 SpA/252 Spe feels wrong and Brick Break (the only Physical move worth considering) might be worse than Grass Knot.

Lightning Rod is used to make Pelipper's Shock Wave less questionable and take advantage of an ally's Discharge. It's not too bad to prevent the next Pokemon from using its Electric attack, the fourth Pokemon knows Discharge too, and the fifth Pokemon has Non-Electric STAB because it's Ambipom's replacement. Lightning Rod is a problem if it's down to Pikachu and the last Pokemon, but Pikachu being a lead with terrible bulk means it's probably isn't surviving until then.

The reason I'm not using Discharge is Raichu feels like it needs Thunder, Discharge, and Surf. Having two Pokemon share 3 moves feels like I'm being lazy.


Pachirisu@Sitrus Berry
Volt Absorb
-Nuzzle
-Follow Me
-Super Fang
-Protect

This is a Doubles team just for Se Jun Park's legendary VGC winning Pachirisu from 2014. The moveset is shamelessly copy/pasted because he was easily the best Pachirisu ever and I'm glad I'm not the only one using his moveset. (I checked the event Pachirisu given out to celebrate his victory to make sure I got the Pachirisu's gender right. He's male.)


Raichu@Wide Lens
Static
-Thunder
-Discharge
-Surf
-Focus Blast

This was the hardest Pokemon to make a moveset for. Thunder for single target STAB, Surf for coverage that's boosted by Rain and Discharge for a spread STAB all felt needed. I considered Dual Screens with Thunder and Discharge, but the idea of automatically losing to Ground types if it's down to Raichu is painful. It doesn't help that Pachirisu already pretty much loses if it's down to just him, which probably isn't happening because of Follow Me, but still not a fun thought. I ended up not having Pikachu use Discharge so they'd only be sharing 2 moves. I went with Discharge on Raichu because it comes in after other Pokemon have fainted, which means it's likely to be out with Pikachu or Pachirisu at some point, and Pikachu can only support Pachirisu with Discharge.

For the last move, I went with Focus Blast just because Pikachu doesn't learn it. It's nice to have something Pikachu can't when the Light Ball makes Pikachu stronger than its evolution and the only other Special coverage gained from evolution is Hyper Beam. I wasn't sure what to do for the item because the next Pokemon seemed like the better Life Orb user and I'm going with every Pokemon having a unique item because trainers in game do that. Focus Blast made me realize a Wide Lens would be good for Thunder if Rain isn't up any more. (Not that I think it will miss, but I'll get to that rant a little later. :P)

Raichu doesn't have Lightning Rod because not having it lets use Pachirisu paralyze opponents with Nuzzle and the last Pokemon is a physical attacker, which would mean no STAB until Raichu faints.



Clefable@Life Orb
Magic Guard
-Thunder
-Dazzling Gleam
-Life Dew
-Protect

As I said earlier, if I'm going for a Volkner rematch team and Octillery is replaced with Pelliper then it makes sense to replace Ambipom with another Normal type, like Blissey, or at least someone that was a Normal type in Gen 4. It feels cheeky even though no one said I have to use a Normal type.

Even though Clefable is the second to last Pokemon, Thunder is still used with the hope that Rain is still up. If Rain isn't, it's still going to hit because Focus Blast has taught us that 70 Accuracy moves only hit or miss when you don't want to. The game has no wants, so the player's desire is the only one influencing the Accuracy. The player's will means it will hit. (Focus Blast also teaches us we're superstitious and paranoid because we don't understand odds.)

Life Dew is for support and Protect, needless to say, Protects against Surf and Discharge. I slapped on a Life Orb Clefable because Pachirisu already had a Sitrus Berry and a base 95 SpA with Magic Guard to stop the drawback makes it a really good item.

I thought a little about using Clefairy for Friend Guard, but Eviolite isn't in BDSP and Pachirisu meant there's already had one Pokemon that's too weak to KO anything and I didn't want another.


Luxray@Flame Orb
Guts
-Wild Charge
-Facade
-Play Rough
-Protect

Must resist ranting about Luxray not learning Wild Charge until Level 80...

I failed to resist.

Did you know that Shinx learns Wild Charge at Level 48? That means it's a legal move even in Volkner's first BDSP match! Isn't keeping the levels Pokemon learn moves fron SwSh's DLC a great idea? I'm sure Zubat agrees! It's not like they need Poison STAB before Level 15 or a Flying attack before Level 25 and I'm sure Altaria doesn't miss Dragon Dance or that Tentacruel doesn't miss Toxic Spikes! At least they fixed Luxray's Level moves SV, right? I'm as positive about all that as I am about that as I'm positive about how much I hate being sarcastic!

Also, did you know some Pokemon know moves they can only learn from SwSh TRs? It's so fun to run into Hurricane Kingdra in the Battle Tower knowing you can use one too! Good thing you can transfer Pokemon from games and have them keep their movesets! I'm totally not still pissed off about that!

Okay, enough sarcasm. There's a lot of reasons BDSP is the first game I skipped since I started playing back in Emerald. (The most major being forced easy mode affection.)

It's probably better to have Intimidate for a Double Battle, but Wild Charge's recoil made me think of adding more self inflicted damage. Using a Flame Orb let Luxray have 140 Power Facade, which is stronger than Super Effective Ice or Fire Fang unless they're 4 times as effective. Protect can be used to buy time to activate the Flame Orb, but it's mostly for Discharge and Surf. If you want to tell me Play Rough isn't a legal move in BDSP, I'm not going to rant again, but I want you to tell that to Volkner's Luxray in the rematch that's in BDSP. I can't resist having at least one thing on a BDSP team that's a jab at BDSP.




TL;DR The idea is an alternate Volkner rematch team that's restricted to the DP Dex. It a different Water type than Octillary and a former Normal Type replacing Ambipom. It's also a Double Battle because of VGC 2014.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

"I'm gonna be the very best someday! Just like my favorite cartoon character!"

(the Pokemon anime is now a TV show in-universe in this thread's canon, I guess)

Listen, his team may be entirely unevolved, and he may not really know what he's doing, but the kid really wants to be like Ash when he grows up. Let him have this.

Hide

"Pikachu" @ Light Ball
Ability: Static
- Thunder Shock
- Tail Whip
- Play Nice
- Sweet Kiss


"Staraptor"
Ability: Keen Eye
- Tackle
- Growl
- Quick Attack
- Wing Attack


"Torterra"
Ability: Overgrow
- Tackle
- Withdraw
- Leafage
- Growth


"Infernape"
Ability: Blaze
- Scratch
- Leer
- Ember
- Taunt


Buizel
Ability: Swift Swim
- Tackle
- Growl
- Tail Whip
- Quick Attack


"Gliscor" @ Air Balloon
Ability: Battle Armor
- Poison Sting
- Leer
- Hone Claws
- Fell Stinger

There isn't much to say about the teambuilding itself, since it's just the baby forms of Ash's initial six in Sinnoh with the first four moves they learn through level-up, but I do want to highlight the two held items he's given to his Pokemon. Light Ball does absolutely nothing for Pichu, but someday it will... probably... if it ever evolves... he thinks it makes Pichu stronger, anyway. Meanwhile, since Gligar isn't in the base Sinnoh dex, the kid had to get creative with his last mon and substituted a Skorupi with an Air Balloon. Air Balloon is technically unavailable in BDSP, and I could have given it a Razor Fang to further tie back to Gliscor, but the mental image of a Skorupi dangling from a balloon and this kid just pretending it's a Gliscor is really funny to me.

 

[gvmgvm40]

Pachirisu @ Air Balloon: Nuzzle/Sweet Kiss/Super Fang/Volt Switch
Luxray @ Toxic Orb (Guts): Wild Charge/Facade/Fire Fang/Ice Fang
Mismagius @ Life Orb: Nasty Plot/Shadow Ball/Thunderbolt/Mystical Fire
Raichu @ Magnet: Charge Beam/Thunderbolt/Focus Blast/Grass Knot
Pikachu @ Light Ball: Substitute/Volt Tackle/Iron Tail/Reversal
Clefable @ Leftovers: Thunder Wave/Thunderbolt/Dazzling Gleam/Moonlight

 

[jhm5]

The first thought that came to mind regarding this prompt was making a rain team that abuses the rain to use Thunder and other strong electric type moves. However, what I noticed was that most of the other rain abusers do not learn electric type moves. Ultimately, I settled on a doubles team that uses the rain and electric type moves power through opponents. Also of note, this team satisfies the item clause, making it VGC legal. Furthermore, the three non electric-types do not share any types, yet they are all immune to ground type attacks. Finally, every team member has an electric type move and puts it to good use.




Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
- Shock Wave
- Hurricane
- U-Turn
- Soak

Pelipper helps to set up the rain with Drizzle and a Damp Rock for strong special attacks, including its own Hurricane. Soak leaves opponents vulnerable to electric type attacks, like its Shock Wave, and it can U-Turn out to replenish the rain later.



Pachirisu @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Volt Absorb
- Nuzzle
- Follow Me
- Thunder
- Protect

Pachirisu is here in a support role, with Nuzzle to paralyze the opponent and Follow Me to divert electric attacks away from Pelipper. Protect and a Sitrus Berry help its longevity, while Thunder provides strong output in the rain.



Mismagius @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
- Shadow Ball
- Thunder
- Dazzling Gleam
- Hex

Mismagius uses Choice Specs Shadow Ball to blast through opponents, with Thunder abusing the rain, Dazzling Gleam as spread coverage, and STAB Hex taking advantage of paralyzed opponents. Finally, Levitate gives it a massive ground immunity on this team.



Luxray @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
- Crunch
- Wild Charge
- Ice Fang
- Volt Switch

Luxray has Intimidate, which is incredible in doubles, plus Volt Switch, which allows it pivot in and out. Choice Band boosts the damage output of STAB Wild Charge, its main attack, while Ice Fang and Crunch are coverage for the team's main counters.



Bronzong @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
- Charge Beam
- Psychic
- Flash Cannon
- Weather Ball

Bronzong gets Levitate, giving it a massive immunity to ground type attacks. It also gets access to Charge Beam, an electric type move that, along with a Life Orb, can turn its special STAB Psychic, STAB Flash Cannon, and rain boosted Weather Ball into huge threats.



Raichu @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightning Rod
- Fake Out
- Encore
- Thunder
- Surf

Raichu acts as the main rain attacker, with Thunder and Surf destroying opponents. Focus Sash helps it stay alive, while Fake Out and Encore are incredible support moves, especially with Lightning Rod drawing in electric type attacks and boosting its output.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

When I saw this prompt i knew that i wanted to do a grass/fire sunnybeam team, so here goes.
Sudowoodo @ Heat Rock
Ability: Sturdy
Sunny Day
Stealth Rock
Fire Punch
Wood Hammer
Um..... he looks like a plant lol. It's unexpected and provides a resistance to Fire type leads.

Victreebell @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
Weather Ball
Solar Beam
Sludge Wave
Sunny Day

If Sunny Day is stopped, he can restore it. Otherwise, he just kills things with decently strong stab and Weather Ball.

Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll

Leaf Blade
Knock Off
Sucker Punch
Low Kick

With his low defenses, he isn't gonna live very long. So the set is just a sun sweeper set like victreebell.

Tangrowth @ Heat Rock
Ability: Regenerator

Power Whip
Sleep Powder
Knock Off
Sunny Day

It's a decent pivot, hitting hard and resetting up sunny day. Sleep powder isn't fun, either.

Lilligant @ Leftovers
Ability: Chlorophyll

Quiver Dance
Sleep Powder
Solar Beam
Dream Eater

They really don't give liligant anything, do they?

Blaziken @ Blazikenite
Ability: Speed Boost

Hi Jump Kick
Fire Blast
Solar Beam
Stone Edge

Even though it's a starter, it's my favorite pokemon, and in the sun, it's gonna kick ass with that coverage.

Please actually read the guidelines before posting.

 

[Valteyek]

This trainer is a film technician, his Pokemon therefore help him in his work!

The team

Pachirisu @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Charge
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- U-turn

Pachirisu provides electricity if there's a power failure (without being exploited -- don't worry) and absorbs it if there's a problem. He can even re"charge" devices. Supportive set, can cripple foes with Thunder Wave and pivot with U-Turn.



Machamp @ Expert Belt
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Dynamic Punch
- Ice Punch
- Bulk Up

Machamp carries the equipment and helps move heavy things. He's also a strong physical attacker with Bulk Up to set up and great coverage -- and even an Electric-type move!



Luxray @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wild Charge
- Crunch
- Fire Fang
- Ice Fang

Luxray can identify the origin of equipment problems thanks to its special eyes, as well as doing a bit of lighting if needed. 4 moves to hit every Pokemon!



Lumineon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Flash
- Defog
- Ice Beam

Lumineon is doing the lighting with the patterns on its fins -- and with Flash -- as well as absorbing water if necessary. A supportive set to help its teammates, Defog to get rid of hazards, Scald for STAB and burn chance, Ice Beam for coverage.




Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aromatherapy
- Wish
- Thunderbolt
- Moonblast

Clefable is the make-up artist and is responsible of the costumes. Another supportive set (with an Electric-type move!).



Kricketune @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sticky Web
- Fell Stinger
- Aerial Ace
- Brick Break

Finally, Kricketune is the musician as it can plays beautiful melodies, and its ability is literally "Technician". An offensive set with moves that take advantage of its ability and Sticky Web to help Machamp and Luxray to sweep.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Good evening everyone: this round is now closed.

Let's do some analysis.

Numbers

Pachirisu: 9
Luxray: 9

Raichu: 6

Pikachu: 5

Pichu: 2

Luxio: 1

Gyarados: 3
Mismagius: 3
Pelipper: 3
Clefable: 3

Whiscash: 2
Drifblim: 2
Kricketune: 2

Lopunny: 1
Staraptor: 1
Starly: 1
Azumarill: 1
Mr Mime: 1
Octillery: 1
Ambipom: 1
Lumineon: 1
Turtwig: 1
Mantine: 1
Chimchar: 1
Cherrim: 1
Bibarel: 1
Golem: 1
Machamp: 1
Chatot: 1
Chimecho: 1
Bronzong: 1
Floatzel: 1
Skorupi: 1
Buizel: 1


Analysis

More interesting round than I was expecting, this one.

Of course, Sinnoh basically wrote the book on "fill a team with off-beat picks and justify it somehow", so it stands to reason this round had a lot of fun concepts for the taking. But making a team that clearly embodies a solid theme is harder than it looks. The three Electric lines viable for this concept don't offer the most versatility when it comes to interesting combinations: all are weak to Earthquake, and all have fairly lacklustre offenses.

Still, if you want an honest-to-god rain team, you're spoilt for choice. Lots of Water-types. Lots of Hurricane users. A bunch of Swift Swim users. And of course there's the Pikachu line's Lightningrod to build around, though amusingly the other significant Lightningrod user saw no use.

The wildcards, though, were truly superb this round. Mismagius is a very cool choice, and Clefable makes an odd sort of sense when you consider its elemental range (I've always felt it's a natural fit for a Hail team, actually). Kricketune got a couple of moments in the spotlight, along with several other Pokemon I like to see get their due - Lumineon, Cherrim, Mantine, Octillery, Lopunny. And how funny to see two 4x Electric-weak Pokemon (Gyarados and Pelipper) end up as joint most common wildcards.

We also saw a lot of appearances from NFEs, which is always fun. Both Pichu and Pikachu can legitimately put in work, and Luxio has some surprising utility thanks to its artificial bulk and access to a bunch of good coverage options.


Stuff I expected to see more (or at all):

Honestly, not much that wasn't already used. But...

Whiscash. Good choice for a Discharge team thanks to being Ground-immune. I guess Quagsire and Gastrodon fit too for the same reason, but Whiscash obviously has more immediate relevance thanks to Spark. Hey, a Luxray/Pachirisu/Raichu/Quagsire/Whiscash/Gastrodon Rain Dance/Discharge team could have been interesting...

Garchomp. Sinnoh has a surprising abundance of Ground-types, and an Earthquake+Protect team has some merit.

Mr Mime. Surprised this was only chosen once. Electric has that slightly kooky, zany vibe that Mr Mime embodies in spades.

There's a lot of competition when you're a Water-type in DP Sinnoh, but Floatzel fits the Electric colour scheme (you can call me... orange lightning. Za-za-zing!) and would be my personal first pick for a Rain Dance team thanks to Swift Swim and its useful physical prowess.

Seaking. Aim for the horn!

Medicham. Because Medicham apparently fits everywhere in Hoenn and Sinnoh.

Quick question before I post the poll: so far, each poll has been "rank the top five entries" but I'm wondering if people would prefer "rank every entrant" instead. What do you reckon? Let me know and if a clear consensus in either direction emerges, I'll proceed.

 

[CTNC]

Gyarados: 3
Mismagius: 3
Pelipper: 3
Clefable: 3

I'm not surprised Mismagius was used that much when it's Iono's Tera Pokemon and Levitate is an amazing Ability for an Electric team. If anything, it's surprising it was only used 3 times.

Both my non-Electric Pokemon are tied for most used non-Electric Pokemon... I wasn't trying to be original this round, but I may have been too unoriginal. :P

Quick question before I post the poll: so far, each poll has been "rank the top five entries" but I'm wondering if people would prefer "rank every entrant" instead. What do you reckon? Let me know and if a clear consensus in either direction emerges, I'll proceed.

For the vote for everyone option, would you have to rank everyone or could you chose not to rank someone? That'd be nice so I wouldn't have to think about how fair or unfair it is to vote for yourself.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Quick question before I post the poll: so far, each poll has been "rank the top five entries" but I'm wondering if people would prefer "rank every entrant" instead. What do you reckon? Let me know and if a clear consensus in either direction emerges, I'll proceed.

I would keep it to Top 5:

• In order to figure out the order of Top 5 we need to look at all the teams anyway, so it's not like anyone is going to be overlooked.
  
  
• Figuring the order of the Top 5 can be tricky enough, having then to figure out where every entrant after 5 would feel like splitting hairs.
  
  
• Finally I feel it may overinflate the number of votes which could obscure how much did an entrant actually win by (unless it was a landslide victory).

 

[QuentinQuonce]

I'm not surprised Mismagius was used that much when it's Iono's Tera Pokemon and Levitate is an amazing Ability for an Electric team. If anything, it's surprising it was only used 3 times.

Both my non-Electric Pokemon are tied for most used non-Electric Pokemon... I wasn't trying to be original this round, but I may have been too unoriginal. :P


For the vote for everyone option, would you have to rank everyone or could you chose not to rank someone? That'd be nice so I wouldn't have to think about how fair or unfair it is to vote for yourself.

You'd rank everyone (i.e. if there were 15 people you'd have to order them all with 15 points to the top person and 1 point to the lowest).

I would keep it to Top 5:

• In order to figure out the order of Top 5 we need to look at all the teams anyway, so it's not like anyone is going to be overlooked.
  
  
• Figuring the order of the Top 5 can be tricky enough, having then to figure out where every entrant after 5 would feel like splitting hairs.
  
  
• Finally I feel it may overinflate the number of votes which could obscure how much did an entrant actually win by (unless it was a landslide victory).

All fair points. A couple of people have mentioned in the past five sometimes feels restrictive when there's a lot of people, so the idea occurred while creating the current poll.

 

[jhm5]

I would keep it to Top 5:

• In order to figure out the order of Top 5 we need to look at all the teams anyway, so it's not like anyone is going to be overlooked.
  
  
• Figuring the order of the Top 5 can be tricky enough, having then to figure out where every entrant after 5 would feel like splitting hairs.
  
  
• Finally I feel it may overinflate the number of votes which could obscure how much did an entrant actually win by (unless it was a landslide victory).

Agreed. I think 5 is a good number for this.

 

[Pikachu315111]

All fair points. A couple of people have mentioned in the past five sometimes feels restrictive when there's a lot of people, so the idea occurred while creating the current poll.

While I obviously can't say for certain, I have a strong feeling if we went from "Top 5" to "Rank All" the complaints would swing in the opposite direction of "too much order fiddling". Can't please everyone, am I right?

Not that I don't understand where those who complained are coming from. I myself had sometimes got my top 4 picks set (sometimes 3) but then have two or three I could see being the final slot(s) and now gotta make a tough choice who's getting the last point(s). It can feel unfair, but at the same time that just is the nature of voting. Since the top five positions give different amount of points, no matter what you do you are picking someone over someone else multiple times; you're saying "this entrant deserves to win over this one, and this one over that one, etc". I feel already that positions #5 (and possibly #4) are the consolation prize as, from each voter's perspective, they already picked the gold, silver, bronze, and runner-up.

Everyone wants something from at least competing. That's why I like giving Likesfor those who submitted a team (and receiving Likes for those you liked mine); it's the participation prize for looking through the Dex & coming up with a team. It's not much, but it's a small recognition that shows your work has been seen. As I said, it helps keep the voting process from getting too overwhelming as we can keep it to just a top number of people getting votes who were that more clever/mindful/lucky that round; there will always be another round.

To wrap things up, QuentinQuonce, if you still feel entrants who deserve votes are being excluded, two options:

1. Add in a sixth slot and see how things go. If you still feel that's not enough you can add in a seventh; and if you feel that is too many can go back a number next poll.
   
   
2. See the number of entrants there are and let the point ranking be half (rounded up. If there was 10 or less participants we'd only rank 5 (keep that number the min), if there was 13 we'd be ranking 7). As I discussed above, by the time you get to the bottom half you're giving out consolation points, I feel for that half is the good cut off point.

For the vote for everyone option, would you have to rank everyone or could you chose not to rank someone? That'd be nice so I wouldn't have to think about how fair or unfair it is to vote for yourself.

That is the one problem with the voting we have now: since it's completely anonymous who voted as we don't include names, for everyone who submitted an entry that means they can vote for themselves. It gives the conflict of wanting to give yourself an advantage or separating your personal influence out of a sense of "fair play".

Now, it's pretty noble for someone to go the "play fair" route, even if its just that they gave the first (and maybe second) spot to someone else they genuinely thought was better then their entry. That's what I actually did for a little while. Don't get me wrong, plenty times I gave myself all 5 points, but there was a time I did decide to go "I feel this person deserves more points than me".

But, as you can guess from the tone, I don't do that anywhere. I now just always give myself the first position. Why?

• Well, let's just pull that bandaid off: selfishness. There was results where I saw I was close to someone above me or I tied and thought "had I voted for myself I may have been in a better position, even if it wasn't a top spot". How do I know that everyone else isn't giving themselves the top spot, or at the very least the winners? Why am I tossing away this advantage I can give myself, perfectly allowed, not wanting to seem selfish for results no one will see; knowing that others just has much of the chance of giving themselves max points?
  
  
• For a second thing: Confidence. You put a team together that you feel, even if not completely, is worth to show everyone that "this is this Type Specialist would be done if I was making the calls". Not giving your own team the max amount of points you can give feels like the joke where a coach/mentor/supporter tells someone/a team that they have their full confidence only for a scene later showing that person at the bookie putting in a bet against them. Show confidence in your team! Even if you saw someone make a theme you like more and wish you did, even if you don't think they'll get a top position, you put in the effort to submit a team so you should give it as much as a push you can.

I think everyone should vote for their own team; heck, in a way that is a consolation prize we can allow ourselves. And no, I don't feel this is a reason to increase the number of voting positions, like even if you weren't going to give yourself the number one spot I would at least hope you thought your team good to give it second or third.

 

[Cobalt Empoleon]

That is the one problem with the voting we have now: since it's completely anonymous who voted as we don't include names, for everyone who submitted an entry that means they can vote for themselves. It gives the conflict of wanting to give yourself an advantage or separating your personal influence out of a sense of "fair play".

Now, it's pretty noble for someone to go the "play fair" route, even if its just that they gave the first (and maybe second) spot to someone else they genuinely thought was better then their entry. That's what I actually did for a little while. Don't get me wrong, plenty times I gave myself all 5 points, but there was a time I did decide to go "I feel this person deserves more points than me".

But, as you can guess from the tone, I don't do that anywhere. I now just always give myself the first position. Why?

• Well, let's just pull that bandaid off: selfishness. There was results where I saw I was close to someone above me or I tied and thought "had I voted for myself I may have been in a better position, even if it wasn't a top spot". How do I know that everyone else isn't giving themselves the top spot, or at the very least the winners? Why am I tossing away this advantage I can give myself, perfectly allowed, not wanting to seem selfish for results no one will see; knowing that others just has much of the chance of giving themselves max points?
  
  
• For a second thing: Confidence. You put a team together that you feel, even if not completely, is worth to show everyone that "this is this Type Specialist would be done if I was making the calls". Not giving your own team the max amount of points you can give feels like the joke where a coach/mentor/supporter tells someone/a team that they have their full confidence only for a scene later showing that person at the bookie putting in a bet against them. Show confidence in your team! Even if you saw someone make a theme you like more and wish you did, even if you don't think they'll get a top position, you put in the effort to submit a team so you should give it as much as a push you can.

I think everyone should vote for their own team; heck, in a way that is a consolation prize we can allow ourselves. And no, I don't feel this is a reason to increase the number of voting positions, like even if you weren't going to give yourself the number one spot I would at least hope you thought your team good to give it second or third.

I think this post alone does a really good job of giving people licence to vote for themselves, even if they don't want to do it every round. I'm in the same boat as you, where I've wavered over time, but I agree that you should want to vote for your own team. Submissions always express your personal flair and so it's natural that you'd usually like yours better than anyone else's. I'll reward a team that really blows me away over my own, but most of the time I like mine best.

I'd also add that voting for yourself acts as an appropriate reward for engaging with the voting process. Sometimes the number of votes is noticeably lower than the number of entrants, which is a bit of a shame!