Some of my friends has set a "Gym Leader" challenge and I have picked Steel for the job. They don't strictly follow anything like Smogon and tiers and whatnot, so the rules are different accordingly. Feel free to skip past the long explanations if you're intimidated by paragraphs.
Rules:
-No legendaries (yes this includes Heatran, Jirachi, and Genesect)
-No more than one of an item (so you can't have Leftovers on two pokemon)
-Can only use pokemon that all share a type (obviously)
-All lvl 100 (so no Aron F.E.A.R. strategy or whatever it's called)
-This is in Generation 5 (just as a reminder)
-We know the types everyone has but not the pokemon in the teams
Teams:
-Ground
-Dragon
-Water
-Ghost
-Normal
-Steel (mine)
Pokemon considered in my team: Bronzong, Escavalier, Metagross, Lucario, Magnezone, and Empoleon
Bronzong @ Damp Rock
Ability: Levitate/Heatproof
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Sp. Defense, 4 Def
Nature: Sassy (-Speed, +Sp. Defense)
-Rain Dance
-Trick Room
-Light Screen
-Gyro Ball
So this thing here is pretty much my support poke. Sadly there isn't recovery on this thing besides Rest. :I At least this'll make it tank hits better to pass off all it has to offer (and sadly Light Screen won't last as long as the Rain). I'm considering running Levitate over Heatproof, as my team isn't as much under threat of Fire as it is ground (considering I'll be battling a full team of ground types). Heatproof could fake them out, believing that Bronzong always runs Levitate, but I can't take that risk. Rain Dance I'll have to be careful with and probably won't use against the Water team, considering I don't have any water resist except with Empoleon. Trick Room since the majority of all steel types are quite slow, but mainly for one on my team in particular.
Escavalier @ Leftovers
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Attack, 4 Sp. Def
Nature: Brave (+Attack, -Speed)
-Megahorn/X-Scissor
-Pursuit
-Iron Head
-Reversal
Nobody will expect this thing to come on the field. Escavalier is the main Trick Room user, which is mostly what the rain is for, to pretty much cover for his great Fire weakness, making it only 2x (and Scizor isn’t as slow as some give it credit for). Bronzong will protect it with Light Screen as it switches in, and also has pretty good defense when it comes to Earthquake. Using this set to get better coverage, Pursuit for that Ghost coverage as they'll resist everything but Iron Head. Iron Head will provide some flinching while boosted by Trick Room and is also quite reliable. Reversal at low will do a lot as a last resort. X-Scissor may be used over Megahorn since it would really suck if you were to miss when you only have at most four turns to act. This guy should make for a good Hydreigon counter, as there will be no chance for it to hit with a Flamethrower after Escavalier is sent out, as well as something like Starmie when Trick Room is up. Being neutral to ground is a nice perk.
Empoleon @ Expert Belt
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Sp. Attack, 4 Speed (to break the speed tie with Swampert)
Nature: Serious nature (neutral)
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Aqua Jet
-Grass Knot
Empoleon and Swampert are both base 60 speed, so that one extra speed will make sure he doesn't get hit with a 110 base attack stab EQ before he can hit with Grass Knot. Hydro Pump for its power, as this Empoleon isn’t running anything like Choice Specs. Ice beam will hurt those Dragons A LOT. Grass Knot for that water or ground team, specifically Swampert (because who wouldn't slap him on there, or at least some other water/ground?). And, lastly, Aqua Jet, because none will expect it and will hit that Ground Team hard enough to maybe get a solid 10% at the very least with Expert Belt, even if with no attack investment (as it's not lowered either). Also notable to note that Empoleon can take advantage of Rain and resists those on the water team.
Metagross @ Air Balloon
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP (or Defense?), 252 Attack, 4 Sp. Defense
Nature: Adamant (+Attack, -Sp. Attack)
-Bullet Punch
-Zen Headbutt
-Ice Punch
-Thunder Punch
Since Bronzong is full support and no attacks, this guy will be full offensive. Air Balloon will protect from ground attacks at least at first so he can get some good damage off. Bullet Punch will take them off guard, especially when it's something crucial like against a low-health dragon with Flamethrower or a Ground type that can KO him the next turn. It also isn’t resisted by much other than the water team, so it’s not bad typing-wise. ThunderPunch will help against things like Gyarados, especially on that Water team. Ice Punch to obviously counter those ground-types and dragons.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 4 HP, 252 Sp. Attack, 252 Speed
Nature: Timid nature (-Attack, +Speed)
-Tri-attack
-Thunderbolt
-Flash Cannon
-Hidden Power (Grass)
It has limited coverage, but it's all the coverage that I need. Tri-Attack's for neutral, just in case, as well as those status possibilities. Thunderbolt and Flash Cannon are STAB, and Hidden Power is safe to lock myself into for the Water and Ground team, being especially useful against the likes of Swampert. With this speed, it's about 360 (if I’m right, not entirely sure), just about enough to outspeed most things non-scarfed. And Sturdy will protect it from being 1-shot with that 4x Ground weakness, of course. Magnet Pull is useless in this kind of mono-team contest, so Sturdy will be much more beneficial. This thing should make a good Rotom-W counter as well, considering it can’t do much to it; HP Grass for the win.
Lucario @ Focus Sash
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 252 Sp. Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Nature: Timid (-Attack, +Speed)
-Aura Sphere
-Dark Pulse
-Dragon Pulse
-Vacuum Wave/Magnet Rise
So, I lose some coverage against 4x-weak-to-ice-dragons by not having Ice Punch, but a lot will be hit harder on the special side, like against Garchomp. Plus, I suppose Metagross has the Ice Punch on him ready, assuming he can survive an EQ from a Chomp. Dark Pulse has the exact power of Crunch, so it won't be missed too much. As for the Vacuum Wave/Magnet Rise toss up, Magnet Rise will be beneficial as a lot of Ground types are extremely slow, but will be useless against the speedy Garchomp. Vacuum Wave will add that special priority that the rest of my team does not have, as well as perhaps taking out that Garchomp before he can hit with another EQ. Brought down to the sash, that priority will help to at least get some damage off on the next pokemon before being taken down (unless I happen to be faster). Aura Sphere also hits through Sand Veil, which is nice.
A lot of info and probably redundant stuff thrown in this long explanation, so sorry about that. But anyways, if there are any suggestions, I'll consider them. EV spreads I'd like to know a bit, as I'm a bit new to that. Made this account not too long ago, so go easy on me. Also, I know many of you will suggest Scizor over Escavalier, but I have a feeling that Escavalier will take many by surprise, seeing as it's not used often. If I'm given a really good reason to use Scizor over Escavalier, I'll consider it, though Scizor may be a bit too predictable as it's used all the time. I made these sets myself, not based on what's best for them individually, but by what coverage my team needs as a whole.
