Infernape
- Flamethrower / Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Shadow Claw
- Stone Edge / Rock Slide
The best starter for a Sinnoh playthrough. Infernape has really solid mixed attacking stats and good movepool, being incredibly fast, meaning it can pull off so many sweeps on certain opponents depending on the moveset you run on it.
Staraptor
- Aerial Ace
- Close Combat
- Return
- Fly
Your flyer. Staraptor is hands down the best flyer for these games as it has got an insanely high 120 base attack stat and a solid 100 base speed to make use of that really good attack stat. It has good physical coverage, Close Combat for Rock and Ice types, and it gets the move via evolution. I recommend this for anyone who's looking for a solid flyer to use on their team.
Hippowdon
- Earthquake
- Iron Tail
- Rock Slide / Stone Edge
- Ice Fang / Thunder Fang / Fire Fang
Hippowdon is so overlooked. It's very bulky and can dish out some good damage with its 112 base Atk stat and its 108 base HP to make use of its good Defense. Good movepool to work with, having access to the elemental fangs — you can have either Ice Fang for Dragon types, specifically Cynthia's Garchomp, or Thunder Fang for coverage against Water and Flying types. Fire Fang is a good option for Ice types and Grass types, however I believe that Ice Fang is the best choice as Cynthia's Garchomp without a counter to it can be deadly, and its immense bulk makes it able to take a hit from her Garchomp and retaliate with Ice Fang that should be enough to knock it out with the Icicle Plate / NeverMeltIce attached onto it. Overall, Hippowdon is a very solid Ground type that should be used more often.
Floatzel
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang / Ice Beam / Blizzard
- Crunch
- Surf
Our surfer for this team. Floatzel is a really good Water type — high Attack stat and decent Special Attack makes it usable. With its 115 base Speed stat, it should be able to outspeed and KO the nightmare of playthroughs, Cynthia’s Garchomp, and the Water typing is useful in general, being good against 2 of the E4 members: Bertha and Flint. Access to Crunch makes it extremely useful against Fantina’s Ghost types and Lucian’s Psychic types. I highly recommend using this if you’re looking for a solid Water type with good coverage and can be your surfer at the same time.
Roserade
- Petal Dance
- Shadow Ball / Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Psychic
Another special attacker and a good one. Roserade is a really solid Grass type, having access to moves outside of its typing such as Shadow Ball and Psychic being there to counter some of its weaknesses. Shadow Ball is to counter Psychic types, and the move Psychic is there to counter other Poison types and Fighting types to take advantage of its resistance to Fighting types. Insanely high Special Attack and really good Speed — this will be your answer to Crasher Wake’s entire team of Water types except for his Gyarados that you need to watch out for. Overall, Roserade is a really solid Grass type. I highly recommend this for anyone looking for another special attacker with good coverage and typing.
Girafarig
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Charge Beam
- Shadow Ball
Girafarig is underrated. Unique typing and decent all-around stats, its solid 90 base Special Attack and its wide movepool means it will be a coverage killing machine with good enough Speed to work with. Normal/Psychic give it only 2 weaknesses — being Dark and Bug — with its Normal typing removing its Ghost weakness and its Psychic typing removing its Fighting weakness. I’ve used this in a playthrough of Platinum, then on my in-game team for Ruby version, and it was pretty solid. I recommend this if you’re looking for something decent with a typing that makes it not have that many weaknesses, and its movepool is very wide.
D/P might be lacklustre; however, they are remembered as the first ever set of Sinnoh games with new features that Gen 4 have introduced. While I love Gen 3, these games changed Pokémon forever with the physical-special split, making certain Pokémon more viable. However you should play Platinum over its predecessors.
Have fun using this team :D
