Topic: Need some advice for first competetive team

[ZD| Wattmole]

Hi, I'm new to competetive battling, never got into it in the previous Gens, but I've decided that I might give it the old college try here in Gen 6 where the meta hasn't been fully fleshed out yet. That being said I never got into competetive battling for two reasons, I didn't really understand EV's and couldn't be arsed to learn and EV train my team, and because I also couldn't be arsed to throw out my favorite team members because of some tier list or something. So I plan on using pokemon I like/enjoy battling with, but am looking for pointers to help make them better and add some new blood to the team.

So far I have five solid members:

Aether the Noivern

-Focus Blast
-Boom Burst
-Flamethrower
-Draco Meteor

Item - Normal Gem/Silk Scarf or White Herb/Dragon Fang
Ability - Infiltrator
Nature - Rash
EVs - 252 Spe / 252 SpA / 4 HP (I think. Super Training is a bit weird in that once I've fully maxed out the first two stats I want it seems to squeeze 6 EVs into the third, so it may be more of a 251/251/6)

Not much to say, Noivern is one of my new favorite pokemon from this gen, if not my MOST favorite of this gen. I wanted to take advantage of the fact that Noivern is the fastest dragon to date and built him as a special sweeper (that's the correct term, right?) I haven't locked down quite which item to give him, either Normal Gem to severely boost Boom Burst once, Silk Scarf to slightly boost it all the time, Dragon Fang to boost Draco Meteor, or maybe a White Herb to allow the use of Draco Meteor once without dropping his Special Attack. Focus Blast was put on to handle his Rock weakness and does well against Steel types that might pop up, and Flamethrower is for both Steel types and his 4x weakness to Ice types.

Icarus the Flygon

-Earthquake
-Dragon Claw
-Steel Wing
-U-turn

Item - Expert Belt/?
Ability - Levitate
Nature - Jolly
EVs - 252 Spe / 252 Atk / 4 HP (Once again, might end up as a 251/251/6 spread)

Flygon was my favorite dragon before Noivern came along, and I really wanted it in my team mostly because I had a friend raising a Salamence for competetive battling at the same time and I always pictured these two dragons as kind of rivals. Expert Belt was just to boost and super effective hits Flygon could land for an easier chance of knocking out an opponent in less attacks, but I'm open to other item options. Earthquake and Dragon Claw make for good STAB moves, I figure, and are just plain powerful. Steel Wing is there to cover for the introduction of his new Fairy weakness, and U-turn is mostly there for damage and swap potential, so I can get a free hit in even when I don't think Flygon is the best choice for the fight.

Eris the Mawile

-Play Rough
-Baton Pass/?
-Iron Defense/?
-Iron Head

Item - Mawilite
Ability - Hyper Cutter
Nature - Adamant
EVs - 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def (See above pokemon)

I wanted a Mawile for two reason, I needed a Fairy for the coverage it gives, and a Steel type to give me coverage for other Fairy types. Being Fairy/Steel leaves Mawile with only the Steel weaknesses and none of the Fairy weaknesses. The other reason I wanted it was to serve as my teams Mega Evolver, and with Huge Power upon Mega Evolving I figured it would make a good bulky physical sweeper. Right now the only moves I have concretely in place for the future are the STAB moves of Play Rough and Iron Head, the other two are guidelines that I can keep or change depending on feed back.

Rachni the Galvantula

-Bug Buzz
-Thunder
-Sticky Web
-Volt Switch/Energy Ball

Item - Life Orb/?
Ability - Compound Eyes
Nature - Mild
EVs - 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 SpD

I really enjoy Galvantula's design and it has been a favorite of mine since it was released. I figured I could use an electric type, and maybe one that wasn't too overused, so it seemed like a good idea to train it and see if I could make it work in competetive play. Bug Buzz and Thunder function as great STAB moves, plus Compound Eyes makes Thunder a lot easier to land. Sticky Web serves as my only entry hazard thus far, and gives the more speed oriented members of my team a good advantage over the opponents. Energy Ball gives more type coverage, but Volt Switch would allow me to do some damage while switching out to avoid a counter or a large hit I just don't want him to take, both would be good choices so I'm open on advice for which to use. As for items, I haven't really given them much thought, Life Orb seems like a decent idea unless someone can think of something better.

Persephone the Aurorus

-Light Screen
-Thunder/?
-Flash Cannon/?
-Ice Beam

Item - Icicle Plate/?
Ability - Refrigerate
Nature - Calm
EVs - 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 SpA (See above pokemon)

Aurorus was my original choice for trying to combat the typing disadvantages for my two dragons, having Ice Beam to deal with other Dragons and Flash Cannon to deal with Fairies. Light Screen feels like it goes well in her position as a special tank and with Light Clay could make itself more effective. Thunder was/is a filler move and I'm up for replacing it upon suggestion, just not sure what to put there. She suffers from a sever weakness to Fighting, though, and I'm just not sure if she can cut it on the full team unless I build her a bit better. Up for suggestions on tweaking or replacing her.



And that's pretty much it. That's what I have so far for a Gen 6 team and really need some advice for how to finish off the team and make it a bit more solid in places. Would love some feedback and help, thank you.

[SirBlaziken]

First off, welcome.

Second, there's a simulator run by smogon called Pokemon Showdown. It's good to use to experiment.

Persephone the Aurorus

-Light Screen
-Thunder/?
-Flash Cannon/?
-Ice Beam

Item - Icicle Plate/?
Ability - Refrigerate
Nature - Calm
EVs - 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 SpA (See above pokemon)

Aurorus was my original choice for trying to combat the typing disadvantages for my two dragons, having Ice Beam to deal with other Dragons and Flash Cannon to deal with Fairies. Light Screen feels like it goes well in her position as a special tank and with Light Clay could make itself more effective. Thunder was/is a filler move and I'm up for replacing it upon suggestion, just not sure what to put there. She suffers from a sever weakness to Fighting, though, and I'm just not sure if she can cut it on the full team unless I build her a bit better. Up for suggestions on tweaking or replacing her.

Aurorus has 2   x4 weaknesses, fighting and steel (Rock < Steel    Steel> Ice)

Steel is not that much of a worry due to it not being a very offensive type. Fighting is a problem though. 

Thunder is kind of hard to aim due to its I think 70% accuracy. So, thunderbolt is another option, I think.

[the bread dragon]

not really goimg to suggest anything but this is so much better than my first team so hats to you!

[SirBlaziken]

^ If you need help, just ask. A lot of users will help out.

Hi, I'm new to competetive battling, never got into it in the previous Gens, but I've decided that I might give it the old college try here in Gen 6 where the meta hasn't been fully fleshed out yet. That being said I never got into competetive battling for two reasons, I didn't really understand EV's and couldn't be arsed to learn and EV train my team, and because I also couldn't be arsed to throw out my favorite team members because of some tier list or something. So I plan on using pokemon I like/enjoy battling with, but am looking for pointers to help make them better and add some new blood to the team.

Wait, before I proceed. Which tier are you trying?

[SaRo|Rapidash]

Aether the Noivern

-Focus Blast Hurricane - Secondary STAB and Focus Blast doesn't give masses of coverage anyways, only against Heatran really. Rock types will usually be smashed by Draco Meteor regardless.
-Boom Burst
-Flamethrower
-Draco Meteor

Item - Normal Gem/Silk Scarf or White Herb/Dragon Fang
I'd suggest Choice Specs - they're really useful as Noivern is fairly weak in comparison to the offensive behemoths in the current meta, but insanely fast, so it loves choice specs. This isn't intended so much for sweeping as eliminating a single threat then switching back out.
Ability - Infiltrator
Nature - Rash
If this is at all a possibility, I think it'd be worth breeding for Modest or Timid nature.
EVs - 252 Spe / 252 SpA / 4 HP (I think. Super Training is a bit weird in that once I've fully maxed out the first two stats I want it seems to squeeze 6 EVs into the third, so it may be more of a 251/251/6)

EVs are done as 252 Max per stat, 510 overall. 252 + 252 + 6 = 510, so that's why

Icarus the Flygon

-Earthquake
-Dragon Claw
-Steel Wing
-U-turn

Item - Expert Belt/?
Choice Scarf would be a good option here - a general rule is every team needs a a scarfer, and Flygon is very good as one
Ability - Levitate
Nature - Jolly
EVs - 252 Spe / 252 Atk / 4 HP (Once again, might end up as a 251/251/6 spread)

Eris the Mawile

-Play Rough
-Baton Pass/?Sucker Punch - mega Mawile is PAINFULLY slow, and sucker punch ignores this by being a priority move.
-Iron Defense/?Swords Dance - Strongest physical pokemon in the game - let's double it's attack.
-Iron Head

Item - Mawilite
Ability - Hyper Cutter
Intimidate is superior, imo. Intimidate lowers there attack when you switch in, often forcing them to switch, in which turn you can swords dance to double your attack to insaner levels
Nature - Adamant
EVs - 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def (See above pokemon)

Rachni the Galvantula

-Bug Buzz
-Thunder
-Sticky Web
-Volt Switch/Energy Ball

Item - Life Orb/?
Life orb is good, yeah
Ability - Compound Eyes
Nature - Mild
EVs - 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 SpD

Persephone the Aurorus

-Light Screen
-Thunder Reflect - may as well carry dual screens if you've got half of it.
-Flash Cannon
-Ice Beam Nature Power - Always Tri Attack in competitive battles, and as TA is normal, it gets ~30% boost from refrigerate making it 104 Base Power, in addition to it's effects

Item - Icicle Plate/?
Ability - Refrigerate
Nature - Calm
EVs - 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 SpA (See above pokemon)

And that's pretty much it. That's what I have so far for a Gen 6 team and really need some advice for how to finish off the team and make it a bit more solid in places. Would love some feedback and help, thank you.

My comments in bold because I'm too lazy to quote like 50 times xD

[ZD| Wattmole]

Wait, before I proceed. Which tier are you trying?

I don't know, X and Y pokemon haven't been sorted yet...but if I were to go by indications from Gen V tiers, then UU as that's where Flygon is currently situated, making it the highest tiered pokemon on my team right now. Though I have a feeling Noivern might be tossed into OU once they start tiering the new gen. I dunno really. Just go with UU for now.

My comments in bold because I'm too lazy to quote like 50 times xD

Hm, thank you, I'll take the advice to heart. Also I'm thinking of replacing Aurorus as my tank with a special Carracosta build I found on Smogon. It's bred, it's EV trained, just need to evolve it and level it. It's build is:

-Curse
-Waterfall
-Stone Edge
-Aqua Jet/Ice Beam

Item - Leftovers
Ability - Solid Rock
Nature - Adamant
EVs - 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 Def

The main build can be found here: http://www.smogon.com/bw/pokemon/carracosta/ru using the "Tank" build, only difference being that, since Gen 6 removed Carracosta's ability to learn Stealth Rock, I'd use Curse in it's place to keep him rather bulky if he needs it.

[SaRo|Rapidash]

I'd recommend Vaporeon > Carracosta, if you're going for tank-ish waters, for a number of reasons.

1 - Your team has a rather large ice weakness, and although both resist this, Vaporeon has the special bulk to pull it off better.

2 - Little of your team has reliable recovery, Vaporeon can use Wish to heal them.

3 - Stats:
130/65/60/110/95/65 = Vaporeon
74/108/133/83/65/32 = Carracosta

4 - Weaknesses

Vaporeons:
2x Weak to Grass
2x Weak to electric

Carracostas:
4x weak to grass
2x weak to electric
2x weak to ground
2x weak to fighting

If you do decide to choose Vaporeon, I'd recommend:
252 HP / 252 Defence / 4 Special Defence
Bold Nature (+Def -Attack)
Water Absorb @ Leftovers
-> Wish
-> Protect
-> Toxic / Scald
-> Ice Beam (to cover the many OU things 4x weak to ice)

[ZD| Wattmole]

Hm...the Wish/Protect Vaporeon, I've actually heard of this before. I'll think about it, but possibly as my 6th party member, I did say I was making this team based off pokemon I like and enjoy, and I just don't want to remove my Carracosta now that I have him. That being said I have removed Aurorus and am still trying to figure out what I should put in as my final team member.

That being said your advice has been really good and I've gone back to make the changes I feel comfortable with. I didn't re-breed either my Mawile or Noivern for the different ability/nature you recommended specifically, but I did change their move pools to what you suggested. I've also been working in the Battle Maison to try and get the items I need, and am happy to say Noivern is the first to receive his item in the Choice Specs.

So my team thus far is Noivern, Flygon, Mawile, Galvantula, and Carracosta. Still really need a final team member though, and then I could actually begin testing the team on Pokemon Showdown, I just haven't wanted to go in there until I had a full team.

[SirBlaziken]

Flygon and noivern together aren't good because of them both have 4x weakness to ice.

Rotom Wash is a god scep sweeper:

Rotom Wash @ Leftovers/Choice Scarf
Levitate
Modest
Evs: 252 HP/ 252 SpA/ 4 Spe

Hydro Pump
HP Ice
Thunderbolt
Pain Split/Trick

Pain split for Lefties, Trick for CS.

[SaRo|Rapidash]

Flygon and noivern together aren't good because of them both have 4x weakness to ice.

Neither are intended to take a hit regardless, though, so it's not a massive issue.

Although I do think another Ice resist needs to be in there - just as an attempt to cover it.

Rotom-W is quite good, although if you go for a bulky sweeper it can be quite useful to do:

Rotom-W @ Choice Specs
252 HP / 32 Defence / 224 SpA
-> Trick
-> Hydro Pump
-> Will-o-wisp
-> Volt Switch / Thunderbolt

The given EVs avoid the 2hko from a 252+ Aegislash, and in return you can either WoW or Trick it choice specs. The great thing about this is that Trick isn't affected by Kings Shield, so if they try that they end up locked into king's shield until they switch. If you manage this, you volt switch on the next turn (provided they don't have a ground type) and switch into an appropriate counter to their counter.

[ZD| Wattmole]

Rotom-W is just a tier too high for my current team. I don't want to get locked into OU right now, especially if Noivern doesn't get sorted there. Plus...I just don't like Rotom in general. I was thinking I might need a Rapid Spinner, just to get rid of any field hazards, and if they need to be resistant or at least good against Ice I was wondering on opinions for say Blastoise or Hitmontop. Claydol might have made it if I didn't already have the glaring Ice weakness.

[SirBlaziken]

Just an idea. A phys spinner.

Hitmontop is your answer.

[SaRo|Rapidash]

I don't know if you were aware, but defog removes hazards from both sides, and as your team doesn't appear to be running hazards outside of Sticky Web, the user of which is weak to SR.

This being the case, you may want to consider Defog, which is learnt by many things in gen IV, which you can transfer when bank is released. The best user of it, imo, would be Empoleon, who 4x resists ice.

Something like:
Empoleon @ Leftovers
252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Speed
Calm Nature
-> Defog
-> Flash Cannon (For killing ice types)
-> Scald (Over surf due to burn chance)
-> Roar (For switching something out to burn another thing)

[ZD| Wattmole]

Is defog a thing I completely need? I still like the rapid spin option. And if I could maybe ignore field hazards I was thinking maybe a Chandelure, since beside Ice I have a few members with a glaring weakness to fighting and Chandelure could handle both of those. Otherwise, if the hazards are too much of a threat I'm thinking I'd try for Hitmontop and see if I can get him some moves for taking out Ice types.

[SaRo|Rapidash]

Is defog a thing I completely need? I still like the rapid spin option.

Not at all - it's just that rapid spin can be blocked by ghosts, and has much less distribution. But if you have your heart set on rapid spin it would still work fine!

I have a few members with a glaring weakness to fighting and Chandelure could handle both of those.

Whilst that seems good, it would also give you 3 Rock weaknesses - which as you likely know is one of the worst weaknesses to have.

Azumarill would be another option to consider. Water resists Ice, Fairy resists Fighting. He's also cute, which is an added bonus xD
In all seriousness, Azumarill is something you could consider if you don't care about entry hazards too much. You have two SR weak, 2 SR resists and one neutral so far. Flygon is going to be switching a lot, but he's immune to all entry hazards bar stealth Rock, which he resists.