Topic: Eva's Pokemon Gen II Team!

[Evaquaver]

This is my first time here on the forums but I've been a big fan of several things on the site for a long time (Like the Name Rater stuff!). Now that that's out of the way, I'm a bit new to the whole Competitive Battling thing, but some friends and I are getting together for a Gold/Silver/Crystal tournament and I want to win! I'll be playing with people that know tons about the inner workings of the game and have stuck with Pokemon through their whole lives (I only recently beat Sapphire and got my first taste of Diamond, so i'm not quite as up to snuff). After a ton of research I think I might have a killer team (while still using Pokemon I like and not like, Tyranitar or something). What do you guys think?


Dragonite
Item: Dire hit
1.) Outrage
2.) Zap Cannon
3.) Blizzard
4.) Dynamicpunch


Sandslash
Item: Soft Sand
1.) Swords Dance
2.) Earthquake
3.) Sandstorm
4.) Fury Swipes


Xatu
Item: Leftovers
1.) Psychic
2.) Giga Drain
3.) Confuse Ray
4.) Drill Peck


Vaporeon
Item: Leftovers
1.) Hydro Pump
2.) Aurora Beam
3.) Rest
4.) Acid Armor


Ampharos
Item: Magnet
1.) Thunder
2.) Dynamicpunch
3.) Fire Punch
4.) Thunder Wave


Clefable
Item: Pink Bow
1.) Return
2.) Moonlight
3.) Fire Blast
4.) Metronome


I'm super open to suggestions about anything; from the items to the moves to the Pokemon themselves. The only one I absolutely couldn't bear to consider swapping would be Ampharos, I love that Pokemon to bits, and also atm I'm planning for her to be my lead.

[quack98]

Firstly, welcome to the site! Anyway, on to the team,  first thing I notice about Dragonite is that his only move with 100% accuracy is outrage, which locks you in for 2-3 turns, so swapping  Zap Cannin for Body Slam may be a good idea, as only a 30% chance if paralysing is better than a 50% chance of missing completely.

Sandstorm on sandslash isn't a great idea, IMO, because if he dies whoever you send out will be hurt by it, and it isn't beneficial to him, I'd say replace it with Rock Slide for extra coverage. Double edge is a superior option to Fury Swipes, as it always does more damage (90 power on fury swipes with 5 hits, 120 on double edge) although, the recoil may not be appreciated.

Xatu looks good, but unfortunately even the best Xatu isn't great, so swapping it for Exeggutor is something I'd highly recommend, try this movement:
-> Giga Drain
-> Psychic
-> Sleep Powder/Stun Spore (depends on personal preference)
-> Explosion

Vaporeon looks good, but I'd say Growth over Acid Armour, as defence boosts aren't great, as one critical hit ignores them, and growth is a decent boost to his special attack, which is already good.

Ampharos looks good, possibly thunderbolt over thunder to last longer, and hit more often, but otherwise I can't see any changes.

Clefable should really lose metronome, it's too random to be of any benefit, try blizzard or something, I'm not too sure, as I've never used Clefable, but I know metronome is a poor move.

Anyway, as a whole your team was already fairly decent, but I think these changes should help 

[Evaquaver]

Thanks for the help Dick Grayson! I updated my team accordingly:

Dragonite
Item: Dire hit
1.) Outrage
2.) Thunder
3.) Ice Beam
4.) Dynamicpunch


Sandslash
Item: Soft Sand
1.) Swords Dance
2.) Earthquake
3.) Rock Slide
4.) Substitute


Eggsecutor
Item: Leftovers
1.) Psychic
2.) Giga Drain
3.) Sleep Powder
4.) Explosion


Vaporeon
Item: Leftovers
1.) Hydro Pump
2.) Growth
3.) Rest
4.) Acid Armor


Ampharos
Item: Magnet
1.) Thunderbolt
2.) Dynamicpunch
3.) Fire Punch
4.) Thunder Wave


Clefable
Item: Pink Bow
1.) Return
2.) Moonlight
3.) Fire Blast
4.) Belly Dance

I lowered Dragonite's Blizzard to an Ice Beam (Always hits) and his Zap Cannon to a Thunder (Which still might miss but it gives him something to super effective with should a water Pokemon come up and still has a chance to Paralyze).

I gave Sandslash Rockslide as per your recommendation instead of Sandstorm and in place of Fury Swipes he now has Substitute (I figured while I was remodelling his moves, if I use Substitute it would give me a few rounds to use Swords Dance. Is that a good swap? Or should I go with Double edge still?)

Xatu is now an Eggsecutor with the moves you reccomended (Sleep powder because I already have plenty of pokemon with Paralysis capabilities.)

Vaporeon I took a bit of a risk on. I took away Aurora Beam instead of Acid Armor and put Growth in like you recommended. Aurora Beam isn't STAB anyway so it's okay to lose it right? I'll put it back if you think it's invaluable, but I can't help think Vaporeon won't last long without Acid Armor What do you think?

Ampharos now has Thunderbolt instead of Thunder as per your recommendation.

I did some more research on Clefable and apparently it's good to put Belly Dance on her. I don't see it (Fire blast uses Special Attack, not attack right?) but I figured i'd add it over Metronome and see what you think.

[quack98]

Right, Dragonites all fine now, although leftovers may be a better item, but that's just personal preference.

Sandslash is good, Substitute is a good choice, as Earthquake and Rock Slide should provide all the coverage you need, and substitute will help you get your boosts. Definitely better than double edge, I just didn't think of it.

Sleep powder on Exeggutor is great, as you can potentially switch to sandslash who can then set-up whilst they try to awake!

Vaporeon looks good, although with 2 set-up moves, surf would allow you to last longer (only 8PP on Hydro Pump won't last long at all).

Ampharos should be good now, I actually want to use one now... Might have to get on SS 

By Belly Dance do you mean Belly Drum? If so, then it's a good move, because you shouldn't be using fire blast much anyway, only to not be walled by Steel types, Return should always be your attack provided they don't resist it.

Anyway, I think the team is looking good now, I'm pretty sure it will at least do well, if it doesn't win. Also, good luck in the tournament! 

[SirBlaziken]

3 Words:

Get a Blissey.

Richard will explain.

[Evaquaver]

By Belly Dance do you mean Belly Drum?

Yes. I have no idea why I typed Dance instead of Drum, sorry >:

Anyway, I think the team is looking good now, I'm pretty sure it will at least do well, if it doesn't win. Also, good luck in the tournament! 

Thanks, gonna do my best to take home the win and I feel a little more confident now, so here's hoping! It won't be for a little while yet but i'll try to report back here for closure's sake once all is said and done. Thanks again for all the help!

I guess before I get everything completely locked in I should ask about Surf and Blissey. 8 shots is only two shots more than a single revolver clip, but with maxed Special attack and STAB is it worth the risk for the extra power? Or does more hits matter more with this setup?

[SirBlaziken]

I know a place where you can get info on the gen to build the team,

smogon.com

Also, get a skarmory.

Or, do as what Richard and I would do, forget about gen 2, go to gen 3 and get the eternally awesome Blaziken

[Evaquaver]

I don't like smogon :v