Hey guys! My parents never allowed me to play Pokemon as a kid... so this is my first chance to really get into it! I'm naturally a competitive person, so I've been doing my research on team concepts to prepare for the world of competitive Pokemon. I've just designed my first worth-while team, and I want to get your guy's thoughts and opinions!
So here's my team!
Diddy Kang (Infernape) @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Blaze Kick
- Thunder Punch
- Brick Break
- U-turn
When I need to revenge kill, Infernape is my go-to monkey. He has great damage, coverage, and pretty nice speed. There are only 3 Pokemon that don't take normal damage from his move-set. I took Blaze over Iron Fist because I only run one Punch move. I took E.V.s in attack and speed for extra damage and for the necessity of moving first. I took the one extra point in HP, but I might switch it to SpD because most of Infernape's threats are Special Sweepers (Ex. Starmie.) I made Infernape adamant because the way I play him, SpA is useless. I'm still debating on what item to put on him. I love the extra damage from life orb, but I hate the fact that you practically kill yourself with it... That's one area I definitely need advice on (I'm still trying to find my way around item optimization.)
I take Blaze Kick over Fire Punch for the higher base damage and critical-hit ratio. Thunder Punch is an obvious choice to be able to OHKO Water and Flying-Types. I have mixed feelings about taking Brick Break. I took it for the STAB and to kill screens, but I don't see much screen usage... I'm tempted to swap it out for close combat for the massive damage increase. I took U-turn for Psychic threats or to escape from a sticky situation, but again, I damage myself in the process of doing it...
Gannon (Mamoswine) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 196 HP / 252 Atk / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Protect
I mainly use Mamoswine as a Dragon-slayer. Once all the enemy dragons are clear I leave him in to sweep till he faints. I take a Focus Sash to save me from being OHKO'd and at-least get one attack off. I like my pigs with thick fat; they takes less damage from Fire-moves, Ice-moves, and the bacon tastes better. I maxed his attack stat because he has one job - to kill. Since Mamoswine won't be winning many races, I gave him a slight speed boost just to beat out the other "Slowpokes." The rest I put into HP because it was the only other thing worth putting E.V.s into. Again, the adamant nature speaks for itself.
I take Ice Shard for a priority OHKO on the squishier Dragon-types and as a revenge-kill move. Earthquake is for a really strong STAB move. Icicle Crash deals really nice damage, is a STAB move, and can help me live longer due to its 30% flinch chance. Protect helps me bait-out some of the opponents moves to give me the advantage of knowing their move-set, and, well, it protects me.
Rosalina (Gardevoir) @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Will-O-Wisp
I use Mega Gardevior for Utility and as a Special Sweeper. The item-choice was obvious here. Trace lets me discover what ability that pesky Clefable really has and any other Pokemon I'm unsure of. I took modest on Gardevior because again, it seemed to me that it was the only useful option. I put as many E.V.s as I could into Spe to help me be able to out-speed some of the slower sweepers. I put a majority of my leftover E.V.s into SpA to increase my damage out-put, and a little bit into Def for an extra pinch of durability.
I take advantage of Pixilate with Hyper Voice to bring Dragon and Fighter-types to their knees. Psyshock is taken for the STAB and to get around Special Walls. Focus Blast helps me punch through Dark-types, and Will-O-Wisp helps me melt through walls. It's also useful when there's no hope of surviving or doing any major damage
Yoshi (Greninja) @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Dark Pulse
- Toxic Spikes
Greninja is my main Special Sweeper. Protean is the only viable ability on Greninja in my opinion. I gave him Life Orb just for the extra damage. Full SpA and Spe to kill things quickly and efficiently. I took timid to help maximize Greninja's speed.
Hydro Pump is to blast through Rock and Fire-types. Ice beam is for Flying-type threats, Dragon-type threats, and the 10% chance to freeze. I took Dark Pulse because most people expect Extrasensory. I use Toxic Spikes as an unexpected move that should catch my opponents off guard. It doesn't help the situation Greninja is in, but it helps the rest of my team in the long run. It also gives me a break from Life Orb.
Jigglypuff (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Heal Bell
- Calm Mind
Clefable is my bulky cleric. I chose the ability Unaware to give me extra durability against Swords Dancers and damage against Calm Minders. I put Leftovers on Clefable for extra healing. I took HP and Def E.V.s for more durability. I chose Def over SpD because of Calm Mind. I increased my Def even more with the Bold nature.
I took Moonblast just to have an attack move. It's a STAB and has decent base damage. Soft-Boiled gives me ridiculous sustain. I've kept Clefable in battle for 80 consecutive turns before because of this move. Heal Bell keeps the enemy team from stalling with Toxic or any other indirect move. Calm Mind increases the damage I deal and my SpD. I'm debating swapping Calm Mind out for Amnesia; Calm Mind gives Clefable more dueling power but Amnesia gives Clefable more durability.
Arwing (Skarmory) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
I LOVE Skarmory as a setter! I've taken down entire teams with Skarmory alone. He's extremely tanky with Leftovers and defensively based E.V.s. Sturdy can help survive a Fire-type move.
Roost gives Skarmory extra staying power by constantly healing against weaker/physical Pokemon. Whirlwind is useful to get rid of bonus stats, threats, and to deal crazy damage with field full of rocks and spikes. The Stealth Rock and Spikes speak for themselves.
Thanks for taking the time to look at my team guys! I appreciate it and hope to get some good advice from experienced players :) If anyone is interested in coaching me, that'd be great as well! - ReagerC
