How do you make a balanced competitive team?

Question

https://pokemondb.net/pokebase/349832/whats-difference-between-bulky-offense-hyper-offense-balance. This question was asked by Kyoka Suigetsu and it got me thinking about all of the roles. I want to make a balanced team, but I don't know all of the roles or sets or pokes to use. As far as I see, the types are Sweepers/wallbreakers, Walls/Sponges, Hazard control/Defoggers, Tanks and some more. Can someone tell me what these mean and what is a good team?

Comments

https://pokemondb.net/pokebase/251737/what-does-a-balanced-team-consist-of
This shows what it consists of, so it should help somewhat.

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Ya it does kinda help, but I still would like to hear more in detail and some pros and cons of pokes that are like wall breakers or sponges or what not

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What format/rules are you playing with?

Answer 1

Sweepers are Pokemon meant to get a few KOs before getting KOed, sometimes taking care of whole teams. These Pokemon sometimes use set up (Swords Dance, Quiver Dance, Nasty Plot, etc.) to sweep, and others just use raw power or Choice items/a Life Orb. They are usually very fast with good raw offensive stats.

Wallbreakers are similar to sweepers, in the fact that they hit hard and use the same tactics as a sweeper to deal damage. One difference between them is that wallbreakers are for punching holes in Defensive teams, so some are slower but more powerful. A lot of wallbreakers use set up moves to deal greater damage.

Walls/Sponges are Pokemon that can take lots of hits, usually while stalling the opponent. Pokemon with high defenses (preferably HP, Defense, and Special Defense, but that's not always the case) tend to make the best walls and sponges (for obvious reasons).

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 128+ SpD Shuckle: 109-129 (44.6 - 52.8%) -- 23.8% chance to 2HKO

-2 252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. +1 252 HP / 128+ SpD Shuckle: 36-43 (14.7 - 17.6%) -- possible 6HKO

-4 252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. +2 252 HP / 128+ SpD Shuckle: 18-22 (7.3 - 9%) -- possibly the worst move ever

-6 252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. +3 252 HP / 128+ SpD Shuckle: 12-15 (4.9 - 6.1%) -- possibly the worst move ever

I like using Shuckle as a damage sponge/wall personally, since it gets Contrary + Shell Smash.

Defoggers are Pokemon with Defog, which remove hazards for the team.

Hazard control Pokemon usually have Defog/Rapid Spin for removing hazards.

Defoggers/Hazard Controllers are sometimes offensive and sometimes defensive.

Tanks are Pokemon who can both take hits and hit hard themselves, so they usually have fairly balanced stats. I love using Ferrothorn and Clefable as tanks, personally. Ferrothorn is a Physical Tank, and Clefable is a Special Tank (though the sets I run on them can take both physical and special hits).

Sweepers/Wallbreakers:

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- U-turn

Scolipede @ Black Sludge
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
- Swords Dance

Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Fiery Dance
- Giga Drain
- Quiver Dance

Alakazam @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Energy Ball
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball

Rain Sweeper:

Kingdra @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Flip Turn
- Hurricane
- Surf

Walls/Sponges:

Umbreon @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 228 HP / 164 Def / 116 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Wish
- Protect
- Foul Play

Shuckle @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk
Calm Nature
- Shell Smash
- Rest
- Infestation
- Sticky Web

Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Stealth Rock

Milotic @ Flame Orb
Ability: Marvel Scale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Skitter Smack
- Scald
- Recover
- Protect

Hazard Control:

Excadrill @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin

Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Mirror Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Body Press
- Defog
- Iron Defense
- Roost

Recommended for Rain Teams:

Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 156 HP / 224 Def / 128 SpA
Modest Nature
- Hurricane
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost

Tanks:

Clefable @ Power Herb
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 140 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Meteor Beam
- Stored Power
- Cosmic Power
- Wish

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 104 Def / 136 SpD
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Spikes

Ok, and how you build a team of these Pokemon is simple. Pick the ones that synergize with each other the best, such as Kingdra + Ferrothorn + Pelipper for a balanced rain team. Play around with the team, and test it out, changing things along the way. Note that I did not include every Pokemon viable for each role, so make your own sets for different Pokemon and try them out as well.

Hope this helps! :)

Comments

Thanks Y!

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No problem! :)

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This answer is good, but I want to alert you to a few things it doesn't mention:
* This general model of Pokemon roles is quite common, but it's only a good representation of singles metagames. Doubles has a very different playstyle. I also think formats like BSS (which is a faux-3v3 game) need separate descriptions too. You should have mentioned the battle format you want in your question.
* This answer does not mention pivoting once. The ability to pivot is one of the most important defensive functions on most competitive teams, and absolutely constitutes its own section in a list like this. Pivots can be vaguely likened to what the answer describes as a 'tank', but more separates them than just balanced stats.
* There could be more description of Pokemon that fit utility roles other than setting hazards and clearing hazards. Weather setters are one example, but there are lots more.
* It's hard to make a complete list of roles, and just as hard to introduce all the terminology. Even with some of the above detail, it would probably miss some things. You need to play the game and experience it yourself.
* The original question never mentions a battle format, but there's still a list of Pokemon and sets as examples for each role. It might be totally irrelevant to you based on what you're playing. It looks based on Gen 8 OU to me.
* The answer's list of Pokemon for each role isn't exhaustive. There are plenty of Pokemon left out. I also think it mischaracterises Gen 8 OU's metagame by listing Pokemon like Umbreon before Mandibuzz, or Milotic before Toxapex.
* The Shuckle and Clefable sets in this answer aren't their standard sets. Shuckle is usually used as a Webs + SR lead on offence teams, not defensively. Clefable is a wishpass pivot and sometimes a slow CM win-condition.

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As for what Pokemon I gave examples for, I tried to chose some from different formats since the format wasn't clear. While most of the answer was leaning towards Gen 8 OU, I wasn't very sure, so I added a few Pokemon from lower tiers.



I see what you're saying about the Shuckle and Clefable movesets. While not very standard, I've found that they work pretty well. Sometimes I like to suggest sets that wouldn't be seen as "normal",  which isn't super practical but I feel that sharing strategies with people is kind of cool, so other people can test them out.


I tried to nail the roles the asker specifically asked about, but yes, this answer does not include every role. Pivoting completely slipped my mind, I should've added that.