Other Your Teambuilding Process

[Jirachee]

How do you guys build teams?

I've always been interested in other people's way to build teams because they help me improve my own way. Since sharing is caring I'll start by explaining my own process and hopefully you guys will reply with yours.

The first thing I do is choose between building Stall or Offense. I'm referring to them as play styles more than team archetypes; Stall's main goal being to "not lose" while Offense's goal being to win the game, usually by setting up a sweep for a particular Pokemon. I think the team archetype I'm going to use (ie Stall, Balance, Offense, HO, whatever) is simply going to come with the Pokemon I choose to build around.

Then I choose the Pokemon I want to build around. In XY, it's most likely going to be a Mega Evolution because they're just too good to pass up. I like to pick a set up Pokemon as my first because then I can simply focus the team around it. The second thing I pick is simply an offensive partner that synergies well with my first. One thing I like to do is pick something that can lure in set up opportunities for my first Pokemon. That way, I can improve the likelihood of my goal actually happening. For example, my most recent team uses Mega Heracross as a starting point (the standard SD variant), so the first Pokemon I added was Greninja. Greninja can lure in things like Chansey and Ferrothorn that are easy set up for Heracross, and in return Heracross can break down strong walls which makes it easier for Greninja to clean late game.

Then I don't really have anything set in stone. I try to support the offensive duo the best I can, for instance, if they need support to get in, I can add Volt Switch / U-turn users, there's also the obvious Stealth Rock user, if they like Pursuit support I can add Tyranitar or Bisharp, if they are both bad against Stall I can add a strong wallbreaker. Just follow up with the team's need. One thing I do, however, is have a checklist of things I absolutely need on every team. These functions can be filled by any Pokemon on the team really, but very often they'll be filled by the last 4 Pokemon:

1) Stealth Rock user. Kind of a no brainer I guess. Necessary for breaking Stall and limiting some very threatening Pokemon, and always useful really.

2) Water type. Water types are so threatening in XY that having your own is never a bad thing, and you'll probably need it to fight off your opponent's Waters. They also check a whole bunch of things which is pretty useful.

3) Steel type. Even with the nerf I find the use of a Steel type to be necessary. It's just too useful of a tool against some of the most threatening attacking types in the game, most notably Rock, Dragon, and Fairy. Sure you can deal with those with other individual types but the fact that they're grouped together in 1 check is just amazing.

4) Electric immunity. This mostly serves as a way to discourage Volt Switch and also absorbs Thunder Wave which can really ruin Offense's day.

5) Revenge killer. In DPP and BW I'm adamant on using a Choice Scarf PkMn but in XY I think there's more freedom as to what your RKer can be. It's crucial in fighting off other offenses because things like Mega Charizard X and Greninja are very hard to deal with without anything faster. I feel like you can pass this up if your team has a lot of priority users, ie something like Azumarill + Bisharp + Breloom.

Of course, you can pair those to have more free slots. Choice Scarf Landorus-T fills both 4) and 5) making it an excellent choice. Stealth Rock Landorus-I does 1) and 4), etc..

Obviously this is my process for Offense only as I don't really build Stall often (I just don't think it's very interesting to build) but if you guys have a way to build it don't hesitate to share

 

[Albacore]

I'm mostly used to building bulky offense, and I mainly teambuild like most people do, starting from one Pokamon (usually a win condition) and building my way around it. There are a few things I always feel the need to include on my team, namely, a Rock setter and hazard remover obviously, but also a stallbreaker and an SFD core. Simply put, Steel, Fairy, and Dragon are basically the three best types in the game (besides maybe Water) and the synergy they have with each other is amazing. My teams usually feel incomplete without them, and even if I don't consciously include one of each I usually end up with them anyway.

Another thing I take into account when teambuilding is what can come in for free on what. If I have a Pokemon that's defensive or passive, I make sure I have a good reply to the specific things that lke to switch on it for free. For instance, say I have a Ferrothron. I'll probably feel the need to support it with a Mega-Heracross switchin like Landorus-T. This can also apply to offensive Pokemon. If I have a Specs Keldeo for exapmle, I'll want something that can switch into Mega Gardevoir.

 

[QuickBH]

I first decide a Pokemon I really want to build off of (many of times they are more niche mons such as Infernape) and try to see what has really good synergy with them. Then I decide what playstyle works best for those Pokemon and decide what Pokemon gives good offensive and defensive (even in HO, to an extent, where I make sure it has at least a good check/revenge killer for all the common Pokemon in the metagame) synergy and after having 6 Pokemon (Majority of the times has Pokemon/Moves that qualify as to what you said were greatly beneficial for a team) I test the team out to see weaknesses I find that I wouldn't notice on paper. If the team manages to work well without replacing the Pokemon I have based it off of, I have created a successful team!

 

[Hydrium]

I play balanced teams almost exclusively so I pick the mega I want to use first then look at what Steel/Fairy/Dragon combinations work with it, after that I generally look at how my coverage and weaknesses are and add in one mon that provides a wide range of coverage or defensive support. Lastly I see what may be missing or what threat I may need covered then patch in the last poke and test away.

SFD cores have been good to me so I've generally almost always used Lati@s/Azu and then my steel varies based on the mega I chose.

 

[Tressed]

I usually build around a core, usually a sweeper / wallbreaker pairing or a defensive core. From there, I build outwards, adding support and removal as I go. I generally don't build with a playstyle in mind because I generally don't deal well with building with a set goal as a finishing point; I just add things that work well together and play whatever I end up with.

 

[Parker.]

Generally I play stall. I feel as if it's the most skill-conducive playstyle because there are generally more turns in a stall match, meaning that hax takes much less of a role (especially when compared to HO, where a crit or miss could stop a sweep and lose the game). I also love the satisfaction of taking out a threat that I couldn't threaten directly through hazards and other passive damage.

When I teambuild for stall, I start with a core that uses the fewest amount of Pokemon to handle the widest variety of threats. For example, in BW2 my most successful stall team used a Regen core of Amoonguss + Slowbro, plus Heatran. Very few things could single-handedly take out that core. When I teambuild for stall I also try to have recovery moves on every single one of my Pokemon, and if that's not possible a Wish passer/cleric is necessary (btw it's near impossible to build an XY stall team without Chansey).

I make sure all hazards are on my team (tspikes is optional) and look at the threatlist/viability rankings to make sure I have at least two checks/counters to everything. I also generally have something that can threaten defoggers directly, because they are the single biggest bane to stall teams this gen. Something like Rhyperior usually does the trick.

I agree with Jirachee in that a Water-type and Steel-type are both usually necessary, but I don't necessarily pursue those because they end up on the team anyway.

I'd love to see innovative ways to build Bulky Offense and HO!

 

[Croven]

Honestly, much of my teambuilding process has already been said. When I build teams, it's usually because I found a cool strat that I wanted to try, such as Trick Room, or an innovative lure/sweeper. I usually identify the biggest threats to that mon/strat, and deal with them appropriately. Then I usually add something to lure in a mon I can set up on. Afterwards, it's usually filling up a SFD core, or dealing with the top pokemon in the way that is the best for the team.

 

[AM]

I'll be perfectly honest. I just build around what I think would practically work to check relevant stuff, I don't really have some in depth team process and I don't take a long time making teams. One of the issues I find with newer players when they team build is they wrap their head around a single team for a long time and over think everything through a bunch of theorymonning. I usually tell people who ask me for advice to have some sort of basic concept that has relevant synergy and something you would actually enjoy using. OU teambuilding from an in-depth standpoint can be tedious when you take into account every single threat in the metagame and because of this makes the process of building displeasing sometimes. I would rather just build around what I like and not focus on stereotypical standards that a lot of people subject themselves to. I feel this expands your mind a bit more and helps you find new ways to incorporate synergy and and knowledge in team building personally.

Basically to summarize my general philosophy, I've made better teams that are more so successful in 3-5 minutes and editing through practical use, than teams I would spend hours or days on that in the end failed because the practical use would simply fail from constant editing and over thinking.

 

[Clone]

I pick things that I think will work, test them out, then cry when I go on a losing streak because of how bad of a builder I am.






In all seriousness though I generally pick a popular core to work around and work on finding stuff that supports it well. An example would be the pinsirmag core, which I'll generally support with rocks and hazard removal as well as things that can break for Pinsir. I'll go into more detail in a another post, but generally I pretty much stick to cookie cutter builds with slight deviations in EV spreads every once and a while.

 

[RedsCharizard]

Generally, I build hyper-offensive teams, having only 1 tank, 2 at the most. One's purpose is usually to set up rocks, while the other is there to remove any hazards from my side of the field, or a single Pokemon that fullfills both those roles(such as Skarmory with SR + Defog). For my attackers, I usually go with 1 bulky attacker and 3-4 fast sweepers, all covering each other's weaknesses. I have a Choice Scarf on every one of my teams, as I don't want to get swept after a Gyarados/Charizard X gets up a single Dragon Dance, etc. . I also like to run a Band/Specs on my team, as wallbreaking is very important.

 

[I AM THE JAMAICAN BOBSLED TEAM]

k this is going to be a bit in depth so be prepared to read a lot

Now when I build a team, I try to fit all of these in(ty tutor Unbirthday):
2 water resists, 2 fight resists, 2 dragon resists or 1 immunity, 1 flying check, an electric check or 2 resists, 2 ground resists or immunities (at least 1 by passing mold breaker) and 2 semi dark resists

A pool of SR setters I choose from
Consistent:

Suicide Lead:
Now with all these Stealth Rock setters at my disposal, I figure out how to fit it onto my team. Starting off with the consistent group(yes I know I left out stuff but I would never use those on any team that isn't full stall and you know I don't like full stall) Clefable is a great Fairy type. Magic Guard allows it to not be bothered by chip damage, so it can set up SR consistently throughout the match. With the spread of 252/160/96+, it covers Thundurus, Greninja, Lati@s(well Latios has a 5.5% chance to break through), non Iron Head Kyu-B, and non Flash Cannon Heatran. This resilience and threat coverage lends itself to find a spot on a lot of teams. Next, Landorus-T isn't as consistent as Clefable but it can serve as a great check to some huge threats. These include Pinsir, Zard-X, Terrakion, Garchomp, and Talonflame, as well as some I may have missed. It also provides great pivoting potential with Intimidate and U-Turn, and since most Lando-T are scarfed, it can throw the opposition into a loop. Also serves as a ground immunity. Ferrothorn is a great counter to non-Superpower Azumarill, Mega Gyarados, Excadrill, most Mamoswines, and can provide Leech Seed support. Also has a fair bit of juice considering its STABs are high powered. Also it hurts when you touch it. Heatran is about as consistent as Lando-T, but can serve as a clutch check to Zard-X, Mega Scizor, and Talonflame. I prefer an offensive Air Balloon set because it has some neat type coverage. Next, Hippowdon is something I kinda use as a last resort. It's really passive(Ice Fang does like 30~ to Hawlucha) but if I managed to fail fitting in an Electric check then Hippowdon is one of the best.

Next, suicide leads. Terrakion is easily the best sporting a fast Taunt, Stealth Rock, and killer offensive coverage. It's the fastest common lead, so thats a big bonus. It also serves as a Pinsir check, so thats a nice thing. It's the best in the business at setting up SR, but its competition does have some niches over it. Now the next best SR setter is Mamoswine. It pretty much guarantees it because of Sash+Oblivious making it immune to OHKOs and Taunt. It's offensive coverage is on par, if not better than, Terrakion's considering that it hits 9 out of 18 types SE with its STAB alone. This makes it a particularly deadly tool against offense, considering it has Ice priority. Now, not far behind is Garchomp that I have taken a shine to as of late. It's lure set consisting of Life Orb and DM+Fire Blast are a great asset for offense. Fucking up Lando-T, Slowbro, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Scizor is great for a lot of members on offense teams since they struggle to break through them. Gyarados in particular enjoys a lot of these gone, as does Terrakion. Just be careful when lobbing out these hits since once the secret's out you can't take it back.

Now that I have went over what I use for Stealth Rock, lets see what I pick from to remove it.(offensive->balance)

Offensive(fit on balance too):

(offensive variants)
Balance:

(defensive variants)

Ok, so starting off with balance, I should make it clear that I only use Zapdos if I manage to be unable to fit a bird check+defog user on the same team. Starting off, Mandibuzz is usually my first choice because its so BALK. It can Defog consistently, and isn't setup bait because it has Foul Play. My second choice is usually Skarmory since it can handle Mega Pinsir, Gyarados(pray to god it isn't sub), and non-HP Fire Lati@s. I run Shed Shell since Magnezone is a little shit. Then, if I use spikestacking Ferro+Clef, I use Starmie since it preserves my hazards and beats Keldeo, which otherwise beats that core. Can escape Pursuit with Reflect Type(pray it isn't a smart player with a scarf tar)and can spin on everything.

Now for my offensive hazard removers, I usually pick Latias first since it can HW and bring something back to life. Also if I don't need HW I can run Roost and be a nice check to Keldeo and Zard-Y(just play safe around a Tyranitar). Latios is usually my next choice considering obscene power with Draco Meteor and the fact that there are literally 2 things that can switch into all of its possible coverage moves. Starmie is used if I use spikestacking because it preserved my own hazards.



Now you may be wondering, how do I decide the right hazard remover for my hazard setter? There are a number of things that go into this. If I'm using a suicide lead, I just pick an offensive hazard remover. Whether or not its a Lati or a Starmie depends on the importance of the hazards. If I'm stall weak(god forbid) I use Starmie since it keeps my own hazards up. Latias is also an option if you can keep it from dying. If I'm using a consistent SR setter, then I have more freedom. I like Clefable with Mandibuzz considering that Mandibuzz lures in Greninja and Thundurus like no tomorrow, Clefable walls them and sets up SR ez. That's only 1 example of this. Another thing I like is spikestacking Ferrothorn(protect is disposable, believe it or not) and Starmie because of the threat coverage. You beat basically every water and a bit more.

edits:
Now for wall breakers. There are obviously physical, special, mixed and I will list them as such.

Special:

(there are some fringe cases here, and as such didn't list them)
Physical:[URL='http://pldh.net/dex/sprites/medicham'][URL='http://pokemon.wikia.com/wiki/File:Terrakion_XY.gif'][URL='http://es.pokemon.wikia.com/wiki/Archivo:Azumarill_XY.gif'][/URL][/URL][/URL]


Mixed:[URL='http://pokemon.wikia.com/wiki/File:Kyurem_Black_XY.gif'][/URL]

There are some fringe cases for each of them, so I won't list those. But for what I did list, I'll explain each of them 1 by 1, starting with special.

Zard-Y: Easily one of the strongest, if not the strongest, pokemon in the OU tier. Fire Blast incinerates non-resists that aren't Chansey and shreds bulky waters with Solar Beam. It didn't make it to mixed because thats a lure set.
Lando-I: This thing is also hilariously powerful. If you aren't a special wall or you don't resist Earth Power you are in a world of pain. Not even Chansey stops this motherfucker. The only true stop to every one of its sets is Cresselia.
Garde: Really strong(its actually as strong as Lando) and hits from both sides of the spectrum. One of the biggest banes of stall teams, and has a good amount of special bulk.
Keldeo: Specs hits really hard on both sides of the spectrum, has a spammable STAB in Scald, and has a surprise coverage option for the last slot.
Physical:
Heracross: This thing has singlehandedly forced stall to run fast Mews, unreasonably speedy Gliscors, and Toxic Lando-T. It is ridiculously strong, featuring essentially 125+120 STAB moves with great coverage. And it has Rock Blast.
Medicham: Strongest motherfucker in OU, featuring a HJK that crushes even some bulky resists. And it has a coverage slot that allows it to beat Slowbro.
Terrakion: Really good STABs(hit all of OU for neutral damage) allow it 2 free moveslots for SD, SR, Taunt, Quick Attack, and even HP Ice.
Azumarill: CB hits with the power of trucks made of bombs. Great neutral coverage, and has that wildcard moveslot that can be Knock Off, Double-Edge, Superpower, or even Facade.
Mixed:
Kyurem-B: Ungodlike 170/120 mixed attacking stats, pseudo-boltbeam, Mold Breaker, and even recovery. This thing is a fucking menace.
Thundurus: This thing blows apart defensive cores with Electric/Dark/Ice/Fighting coverage and has the speed to be a pain for offense.

Now these were brief explanations, but I need your attention. How do I fit these on a team? Well, usually I pick either 1 wall breaker or maybe 2 if its an offense team. Basically, it comes down to typing and status vulnerability. Now status vulnerability applies mainly to physical attackers, but speedier special ones also are affected by this. If you have no way of curing status(HW, Heal Bell, whatever)go with a special wall breaker. If you can afford HW or Heal Bell, then a physical and mixed wall breaker can also fit. Typing is another biggie. So lets say that your team has a solid backbone and doesn't need any defensive synergy. Terrakion/Mega Medicham are great options considering they are godlike powerful and provide a means of pressure(just the threat of either of these 2 coming in is enough to force your opponent to play carefully). If your team needs a wall breaker that can come in on its own, the Azumarill or Mega Heracross are for you(Kyurem-B also deserves a mention considering 125/100/90 bulk). Weaknesses can also be a valid reason for a wall breaker to be on your team(EG if you are weak to Pinsir then Terrakion is a valid option).

next edition coming tomorrow

 

[Rosen]

sometimes I'll pick a certain teamstyle I wanna play, but more often then not I choose a specific mon I think is hot shit then choose the team archetype from there, and then start selectin the best mons for the roles on said archetype based on the original mon. Lemme work out my pro-cess for yuh:

So recently I've been workin on an offensive regen-based volturn squad w mienshao and torn-t. works p nice and is hella fun to play but wearin down shit with chip damage can get monotonous battle after battle after battle. So this time round I had the testosterone-driven urge to nuke the shit out of everything and their mother, n not much satisfies this urge quite like Staraptor:

Started brainstormin at this point at what team archetype to build this around. Normally you see Staraptor on a double/triple burd HO team, but after much pondering I decided "fuck talonflame" and decided to go with a bulky offense-style squadron instead, since a lot of (not all) bulky attackers really struggle breakin thru walls like Chansey, Clefable etc etc so I thought burd's assthrashing capabilities would be greatly appreciated on a squad of this style.

After adamantly deciding on "fuck talonflame," I needed something else that could wreck shit that threatens/walls raptor (M Pinsir, Skarmory, CB Azu, Keldeo, Talonflame, etc), so the next choice seemed p obvious:

Choice Scarf Zone is the tits, and has great synergy Staraptor. Fucks up skarmory and non-assvest Azu as well as M Pinsir, easily switchin in to return or quick attack or w/e n threatening a KO. Can't switch in to specs Keld obv but can revenge kill, which is nice. I know magneton is sometimes a better scarfer cuz it outspeeds ninja but I really didn't want to sacrifice that extra bulk n power on a bulky offense team, after all, so I decided I'd check ninja with other members. Good ninja checks are hard to come by, but fortunately there's a great one that fits well with the team atm that appreciates shit like Venu n Skarmory n Ferro gone as well as threatening the Latis, which I'm p weak to so far, and secondary Keld checks are always nice so voila, AssVest Azu:

AssVest Azu is excellent at putting lots o' pressure on shit n is much harder to wall than the banded set due to it not being locked into a specific move, n from experience having more than two choice users is not really a good idea as mispredicting becomes a very dangerous thing. Plus dat balk, hnnnggg... Anywheye, so far my team is having some difficulty with bulky waters like Azu n Rotom-W and Quag, especially if Raptor gets knocked out, and I have no solid CB azu counters, nor solid Keldeo ones, either. Or thundy, for that matter. So it seemed p obv that a bulky grass would be needed. Ferro didn't really cut it and I dislike being on edge everytime I face another Magnezone, n fuck amoonguss so TADA Mega Venu it is:

At this point the team is lookin really solid on paper, coverin each other both offensively n defensively reallllllllllllly nice-like. But there's still two more spots to fill and, well shit, I have a SR weak mon n two that commonly switch out with no recovery, so hazard removal is lookin p necessary. No rapid spinners really fit well, and HEY, why not have a D/S/F core for the helluvit? One of the Latis was looking necessary, and I'm a sucker for bulk (plus I don't have a red colored mon yet, which is clearly important), so enter Lah-tee-ass:

Defog support, got me some DragSpam (not really necessary but why not), tertiary Keld check (fuck keldeo), Zard-Y check, blahblah great support mon w/ Defog and nice offensive presence as well.

Now down to the final mon. What could possibly be missing at this point... hmm... what does every team need that I could be missing..? Is it... Stealth Rock? Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet, I forgot fkn STEALTH ROCK. Well let us take a looksie at what's available. Tyranitar? Nah. Garchomp? Fuck dat. Skarmory? Ferrothorn? Clefable? Seeing as how I'd rather not be assfucked by Magnezone, no. BUT WAIT. What doesn't get fucked by Magnezone, has SR, can wall/take on hella stronk shit, AND isn't Tyranitar (fuck Tyranitar)?

AW YISS FUCKERS IT'S MOTHAFUCKIN HIPPO TIME. However, whilst Hippowdon was fitting on this team gloriously, Sand Stream was REALLLY not helping Azumarill in the longevity department and Venusaur's Synthesis' were basically worthless, so I dropped Sand Stream for Sand Force and VOILA, A SQUAD IS BORN.



To summarize: Start with a single pokemon ya wanna use. Figure out the archetype you wanna build around it. Take a look at the individual roles necessary for that archetype and what mons fill those roles, then select the ones that work best on yo specific team. Can be kind of hard to start tho, so usually it's best to pick one specific mon for one specific role that works best with your original mon, then go from there. Yeah, I take cores n shit into account as reference, but I find it easy to stray from your original idea if you focus too hard on standard cores and whatnot that may or may not be best for the team in the first place. Anyway. That's what I do. I'm p tired so if I missed some shit or it's not clear/helpful point it out and I'll try to clean it up or something. Anyway here's the squad used in the example for muh processes if anybody gives a shit:

Rosenfeldius' Super-Dee-Duper Ultra Mega Bulky Offense Sexsquad ft. Staraptor the Starapist (Importable)

Staraptor @ Choice Band
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Double-Edge
- Close Combat
- U-turn

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch

Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Waterfall

Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Roost

Venusaur-Mega @ Venusaurite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 236 HP / 252 SpA / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Synthesis

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off

Plus a dicksauce low-ladder replay from my teamtesting alt (vs some scrub using that ~{D.M.F.P}~ team-o-rino that's gotten really popular as of late) for a visual example of what I attempted to describe above: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-164272658

 

[The Bravest Bird]

Nothing that hasnt been said before - I pick a mon or two that you dont see every other battle and figure out what support it need(something like Sub + Power-up Punch Victini would love grounds and zard x gone, hence keldeo). From there, it honestly depends on what style I'm using. I usually use balance/bulky offense or stall.

Something I guess I could bring up is teambuilding with other people. I build some of my teams with my fren MrAldo as we both have good knowledge in my main tiers(OU and RU) and its always nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of.

 

[Jukain]

i generally pick a fun concept to make a team off. i hate building around sweepers, i never thought it was a good idea. when you build around a sweeper, especially inexperienced teambuilders will throw all their balls into one basket. this is not only bad practice (multiple win cons is a basic rule of teambuilding) but also makes your team more matchup-based, even if you build correctly around your sweeper. when your opponent has multiple answers to your sweeping mons, that matchup is about to be hell? i almost feel like a sweeper can be a crutch to add in the beginning. i typically add sweepers towards the middle or the end of the teambuilding process when i have a clear idea of what my team is and what can actually contribute to my team under the conditions my team provides for it to succeed.

when i pick a concept, i can honestly just think of mons right off the bat. i need to cover xyz, xyz synergizes well fixes this. i make a lot of teams so i generally just play around with the different teams i've made and if i really like a team, finetune it to make it better. trying to perfect a team in the theorymon stage is really fool's play imo, you might as well be wasting your time because realistically you're never going to make a perfect theorymon team. i basically teambuild rough drafts and go from there.

i actually have a checklist for making stall teams in terms of answering pokemon:

1) mew answer
2) gliscor answer
3) answers to waters: keldeo, azumarill (particularly including some sort of contingency plan for bd), greninja, mega gyarados, suicune
4) some outlet against mag + pinsir/azumarill/gyarados
5) rotom and heatran switch-ins (this sounds trivial as fuck but seriously if you don't have this they're going to be a pain in the ass)
6) cm clefable answer
7) zard y answer
8) defensive answers to heracross, medicham, and gardevoir
9) not autolosing to dd + eq zard x
10) breloom check
11) answers to all coverage move options latios has (eq, hp fire, surf, tbolt)

some of this may sound excessively worrysome and nitpicky but these kind of issues occur and they are really annoying when they do.

 

[fail_at_battling]

First, I just throw together a team that isn't terrible, but isn't great either. I ladder with it for a bit, and see which threats seem to be popular. Afterwards, I build a team with 2-3 pokemon to counter what seems to be dominating the metagame, and add a few pokemon to cover for their weaknesses. I then ladder again, notice which threats are able to take care of my team most easily, then change my teammates to respond appropriately. I repeat the laddering with a new alt, and refine my movesets to respond to my team's counters while taking into account the threats that I rely on one pokemon to defeat. Eventually, I reach a point in which it seems that no improvements can or should be made to my team. Occasionally, the meta will adapt to the point where my old team can no longer function properly (this first happened with a rise in focus punch mega mawile, and then a rise in gothitelle and mega stallbreakers). When this happens, I take a long break from laddering, and eventually think of some general idea to counter the new trends. I then make a team, then test my theory, and repeat the process. Due to how I focus on countering things, I tend to lean more towards stall playstyles.

tldr; Instead of building many teams, I focus on a single team, and constantly attempt to adapt it to how I view the changing meta; I improve my team over long periods of time. When it can no longer adapt, I take a break, think of a concept, test my theory, then repeat.

 

[Entei The Swift]

First things first: look at current S ranks and highest usage threats. Next, find hidden gems and build a balanced team that can handle those threats. I usually avoid using any high tiered legends as I feel more accomplished getting to 1700s+ without them. Stall is boring so I stray from it as much as possible.

1. pokemon that's on 90% of my teams : Claydol : Spinner + rocks set up with custom ev spread. Check to non knock off genies (Most landorus I encounter run SR + 3 attacks) claydol is god. If you want his godly set I will edit in post with it.

2. Look through and pick 2 Megas then decide between the two.

3-4. Support cores usually with heal bell/status infliction that hard wall my sweeper's counters.

5. Taunt/sleep inducer/Encore/Anti-stall support or Wall breaker

6. The piece to put together the previous 5 choices. Look at type synergy and usually don't look towards type cores until I get here.

Main needs: Priority is key in winning. If I can't fit in priority I make sure to fit in a way to counter revenge killers. (Yeah talonflame you are always to be assumed to be on the enemy team)

Immunities: since I run claydol who is immune to the genie's main stabs, having water immunity for the ever present keldeos and Azumarills are quite essential. I usually enjoy the flying types with that added ground immunity on the offchance I run into mold breakers.

Momentum: probably the second most important aspect of any team. I usually try fitting at least 1 volt/turn user.

 

[Baharoth]

Like most people here i usually start with a pokemon that i want to use, normally a mega. Then i think about the threats to that mega and pick mons to cover them. Once i have a solid core i figure out what else is needed either in terms of offensive/defensive coverage, roles (hazardsetter/remover, Statusabsorber) or simply team balance (if the core is very passive i try to add more offensive mons and vice versa) since i prefer balanced team. If possible i always want to have a reliable switch in to the most common threats, especially those that can get a more or less free switch against one of my mons and/or pose a significant threat to the team as a whole. I usually end up with 2 to 4 defensive mons that form a defensive core depending on how self sufficient the core is. Some cover almost everything in 2 mons others need 3 or even 4 mons to work well.

 

[nmitchell890]

As a predominantly stall player, I have a checklist of things I need to include. They are;

• Stealth Rock (duh)
• Defog / Rapid Spin (duh)
• reliable recovery on every team member
• cleric support if I use RestTalk (which I nearly always end up doing)
• birdspam check that doesn't fear Magnet Pull
• electric and ground immunities that don't fear Mold Breaker
• Keldeo check
• Mega Charizard checks (both forms)
• Belly Drum Azumarill check
• Mega Heracross / Mega Medicham check
• Mega Gardevoir check
• dragon check that doesn't fear Magnet Pull
• Taunt + damaging status check
• CroCune / CroFable check
• some form of offence for pinch situations (revenge killer / last-mon sweeper)

A lot of these end up overlapping, for example Latias checks Keldeo and Mega Charizard Y while providing Defog support, Landorus-T is immune to both electric and ground while checking Mega Charizard and Mega Heracross while providing Stealth Rock. I will build a team based on this checklist and a few other pokemon that can be annoying (Rotom-W and Heatran) and test on the ladder, making changes as I see fit. Eventually I will have a team that covers most/all bases that can't be improved without weakening it somewhere else.

 

[4daptability]

I generally play Hyper Offense and base my teams around extremely common situations (ie. in B2/W2 Landorus-T would often SR first turn, making me more inclined to carry something less common like HP Ice to help my team break down balanced cores). A more modern example would be that many of my past teams have been MegaMan weak, so I decide to run a lure in SD Yache Chomp and often times lead with it to throw my opponent off. Anything else could work fine, such as Choice Scarf Landorus-I gaining a surprise KO first turn, but I tend to run through a sort of trial and error process. More formula like, sometimes I opt to carry the following: One mon to check Bird Spam, a mon to break Fairies, a check to setup mons (Mega Gyarados/Charizard X), a check to Sand Offense with Excadrill (priority or a pivot like Landorus-T), something for Mega Venusaur/Amoonguss, and something to clean with late game (MegaMan/Greninja/Scarf Landorus-T/CB Dragonite).

Occasionally, I will play balanced and prefer a Defog user, Stall-breaker/Win condition, (Gliscor/Mew/Sub DD Mega Gyarados/Mega Heracross/ Mega Charizard X, depending on the team) Bird check, a SR mon (usually a pivot like Landorus-T, Heatran, or Clefable), Scarfer/Revenge killer, and a Water Spam check (AV Tangrowth being one of my favorite toys atm).

Regardless of the team archetype, I usually go through a lot of trial and error upon testing my team on the ladder, and adjust accordingly.

 

[Paaadeli!]

Like some of you said I always end up building a team and then losing 3 battles in a row with it and saying "this team is shit lol"

Generally I try to build an offensive core around the mega, and then add a physical and special wall or two that counter the mega and its partners' weaknesses. I've really been looking to improve my style so reading all of yours is very helpful :]

 

[hey yal]

since i suck at teambuilding don't come and rage at me. i play offense, so this might not apply to stall. also if i trashed the thread, blame my brain cuz i have an IQ of -100.

for the lazy bishes that don't want to read my fking post

BITCH READ IT.

i (sort of) use frameworks to teambuild. this might not seem like the most effective way, because of synergy and w/e. However synergy is important and other things like checking common threats and having answers to offense and stall. anyway, i like to start with a goal in mind like, i want to use venutran or some shit idk and what playstyle you want to play. but always keep in mind to make logical choices when teambuilding(for example don't just slap on exca cuz you have ttar on your team).

1. Core
I usually with a core as opposed to one mon. a core is a more effective way to teambuild because when i build around a central mon, i wrap my head around for another mon that synergizes with it for a long time and it starts you off with a solid team.

For example, lets say i have a core in mind. This one will just be the standard birdspam core. I don't need to explain it. just wreck shit.

2. Support / Rocks Setter
Once i have a core, i add a support mon or a poke that has rocks. support can come in the form of trapping (goth+mag) or clerics and shit. if my core does not need too much support and is an offensive core i usually add a rocks setter instead like chomp or terrak.

Since my core is severely weakened by rocks, i want defog / rapid spin support. since suicide burd takes so much dmg, i think latias is the most logical choice because it has healing wish and it is not weak to rocks .

3. Pivots

Pivots are needed to take hits for common weaknesses from your core. I like my pivots to have u-turn / colt switch / bp or smth to gain momentum. if you run stall, this is where you patch up your weaknesses from your core or use stuff to beat common stallbreakers.

In my example, i will be running raikou (to deal with thundurus, greninja, and check opposing burdspam)+ lando-t (to set up rocks cuz i don't have them and check sand offense and burdspam and random shit i'm to lazy to mention).

4. Glue / Set Up Sweeper / Lead / Whatever the Hell you want.

Self explanatory p much. if you don't have rocks, put them in here. if you need a azumarill counter (jk there's none) or smth you can also put it into this slot. or if you are weird, use shiftry. if your team can weaken the opponent very much then you can add a late game cleaner or a set up sweeper to finish off the match.

since i am a lazy bish, i will use dd gyara cuz i luv it and i want to be a brainless d00d.

bad team is bad

Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Defog
- Healing Wish

Raikou @ Assault Vest
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 40 HP / 236 SpA / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Shadow Ball

Gyarados @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Earthquake

Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Will-O-Wisp

Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Frustration
- Quick Attack
- Earthquake

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn

 

[Stagnant]

My team building is different then most. My motto is "it's not a gimmick if it works." For example, I'll use something like a Lv1 Tailow Endeavor lead. Why? Because it has few counters/checks. Anything that counters Tailow has only transparent options to deal with her. Basically, 99.9% of the time I have a guaranteed lead from turn 1.

 

[Celticpride]

I usually try to start with a three man team, usually consisting of one set-up sweeper, one wallbreaker/stallbreaker and one anti-offense weapon. The first category is pretty self explanatory, examples include Mega Tyranitar, SD Talon, Mega Pinsir and Clefable (yes, not a typo. CM LO Clef wrecks unprepared teams). There are a few good wallbreaker and stallbreaker options out there, including Mega Hera, Mega Medi, Mega Houndoom, Victini, Staraptor, and again Talonflame. The last category consists of things that usually have high speed and can outrun a lot of common offense mons, hence the anti-offense label. Mega Manectric, Mega Aerodactyl, Greninja, Thundurus, Starmie and Latios are examples. Common theme: strong coverage, decent attack and a base speed at or over 105. From there, I find common synergy between the pool of options for the first three slots, making sure typing and opposing checks don't overlap too much. Next, I try to get Rocks and Defog/spinning into the team, although I don't try to jam those into one spot. Starmie and Latias are my go-to hazard controllers unless I am using another Psychic type, the I go towards ScarfDrill. As far as setters go, Rhyperior, Mamoswine and Azelf tend to be my top options. After that, the last spot goes to patching a weakness or putting something that checks a lot of things in there. Heatran, AV Azu or Victini usually fill that spot, they all check things that could be missed above.

Team Building Checklist (with some more specifics later on):

• Do you have a win condition?
• Do you have a second one, and does it overlap with the first too much? Eg. are they checked by the same things, do they share weaknesses (can be ok in some cases) or are they both special or physical (a big no no)?
• Do you have at least two methods to deal with standard stall? AKA can you break the Gliscor/Chansey/Skarm/Ferro-type stall (you know it when you see it) in at least two ways?
• Do you have something that can at least compete with HO "Gotta Go Fast!" type teams? Usually at least one thing, but sometimes two fit this bill. Again, the 105 speed benchmark is what you are shooting for at minimum.
  
• Rocks and Hazard Control. Got 'em? Good. Again, spread over two slots. Not good to jam them into one slot.
  
• Do you have at least one, but preferably two priority users?
  
• Do you have a massive weakness to one type (4+ members)?
• What's the plan against Sand Offense, Rain Offense and BirdSpam? You don't have to have hard counters lined up, but you should at least have a plan of what checks what.
• Way less important things: fast Taunt? Spinning over Defogging? Magic Coat? Pivots? All these are great but not required, except for maybe pivots.
• Final thing: Are you balanced with physical and special attackers? An even amount of physical and special attackers is ideal, but 4 to 2 in one direction isn't terrible either.

That may seem like a lot, but most of those roles can fit into multiple boxes. I may update later with specific examples.

 

[Paaadeli!]

I usually try to start with a three man team, usually consisting of one set-up sweeper, one wallbreaker/stallbreaker and one anti-offense weapon. The first category is pretty self explanatory, examples include Mega Tyranitar, SD Talon, Mega Pinsir and Clefable (yes, not a typo. CM LO Clef wrecks unprepared teams). There are a few good wallbreaker and stallbreaker options out there, including Mega Hera, Mega Medi, Mega Houndoom, Victini, Staraptor, and again Talonflame. The last category consists of things that usually have high speed and can outrun a lot of common offense mons, hence the anti-offense label. Mega Manectric, Mega Aerodactyl, Greninja, Thundurus, Starmie and Latios are examples. Common theme: strong coverage, decent attack and a base speed at or over 105. From there, I find common synergy between the pool of options for the first three slots, making sure typing and opposing checks don't overlap too much. Next, I try to get Rocks and Defog/spinning into the team, although I don't try to jam those into one spot. Starmie and Latias are my go-to hazard controllers unless I am using another Psychic type, the I go towards ScarfDrill. As far as setters go, Rhyperior, Mamoswine and Azelf tend to be my top options. After that, the last spot goes to patching a weakness or putting something that checks a lot of things in there. Heatran, AV Azu or Victini usually fill that spot, they all check things that could be missed above.

Team Building Checklist (with some more specifics later on):

• Do you have a win condition?
• Do you have a second one, and does it overlap with the first too much? Eg. are they checked by the same things, do they share weaknesses (can be ok in some cases) or are they both special or physical (a big no no)?
• Do you have at least two methods to deal with standard stall? AKA can you break the Gliscor/Chansey/Skarm/Ferro-type stall (you know it when you see it) in at least two ways?
• Do you have something that can at least compete with HO "Gotta Go Fast!" type teams? Usually at least one thing, but sometimes two fit this bill. Again, the 105 speed benchmark is what you are shooting for at minimum.
  
• Rocks and Hazard Control. Got 'em? Good. Again, spread over two slots. Not good to jam them into one slot.
  
• Do you have at least one, but preferably two priority users?
  
• Do you have a massive weakness to one type (4+ members)?
• What's the plan against Sand Offense, Rain Offense and BirdSpam? You don't have to have hard counters lined up, but you should at least have a plan of what checks what.
• Way less important things: fast Taunt? Spinning over Defogging? Magic Coat? Pivots? All these are great but not required, except for maybe pivots.
• Final thing: Are you balanced with physical and special attackers? An even amount of physical and special attackers is ideal, but 4 to 2 in one direction isn't terrible either.

That may seem like a lot, but most of those roles can fit into multiple boxes. I may update later with specific examples.

Isn't a "win condition" something that you determine during a battle? Theres no way to determine your "win condition" before a battle, I believe, I may be wrong, and correct me if I am but I believe a win condition is a poke that you absolutely 100% need to win. That would make it a poke you can only identify at the team preview.

 

[Celticpride]

Isn't a "win condition" something that you determine during a battle? Theres no way to determine your "win condition" before a battle, I believe, I may be wrong, and correct me if I am but I believe a win condition is a poke that you absolutely 100% need to win. That would make it a poke you can only identify at the team preview.

I guess you are right. What I meant (and I'll try to reword it) is that, when playing offense, you want to have at least one strong or probable win condition. It doesn't work in every battle, but things like Mega Tyranitar at +1, Mega Pinsir at +2 and Manaphy at +3 are your likely win conditions. While it is true you cannot determine your win condition before battle, you usually have a pretty solid grasp of what will be doing the big damage. Zapdos and Azelf are rarely win conditions, CM Clefable and DD Mega Char-X are commonly win conditions. It is true that you can not chose your win condition until later on in the battle, a lot of the time on offense (for me personally) the same two or three mons usually end up winning or doing heavy damage more often than not.