Hey, so I've been wanting to make a few competitive teams for a long while now and have quite a bit of difficulty understanding how to do so. Every time I get a good idea, I find out I either don't understand it as well as I though, I end up with one extremely major weakness, or everything's just too much of a one trick pony.....ta. So, I came here in hopes of getting some help building a viable team, as well as advice on how to build them myself in the future.
The current team I'd like to work on most is a team functional in both singles and doubles with at least one strategy in each. Also, I'd like some pokemon most people say suck on there, like an Adamant Blue Basculin with max ATK and SPD with Flail and a Focus Sash (which I've done before but I stupidly put the last 4 IV's in HP for some reason).
So, what are the steps I need to take in order to set up a decent team? And what do I need to look for?
First off, not sure this is exactly the place for this kind of thread, but it'll probably be moved in short order.
Anyway, as someone who experimented with gimmicks a lot (especially in gen 5), I can say that many strategies look nice on paper but either don't work competitively or have gaping weaknesses form while still being highly effective everywhere else. Not everything is going to be able to work as a 'normal' competitive team.
When building my own teams, I find it best to start by finding a strategy and/or some pokemon I'd want to use, but set nothing in stone. Most of my successful teams had complete overhauls at least once in the process and few kept more than one original member even if the strategy didn't change.
As far as developing the team, always keep in mind both offensive and defensive synergy. A stall team with poor coverage (IE: relying solely on toxic and burn stall) will easily be walled no matter how good the defensive synergy (Heatran being immune to both statuses, for example) just like how a smashing Hyper Offense team will get nowhere if you have to sacrifice a pokemon every time you need to switch (either by letting the current pokemon die or sacrificing another to get the appropriate mon in unharmed. A team with 4 fast, powerful Psychic types may do well with good offensive coverage - that is until a Sucker Punch wielder comes in and single-handedly takes out most of the team).
I may not be as active in competitive play as I was about 6 months ago, but I wouldn't mind helping out with a team or two. I haven't really forgotten anything and I'm still keeping up with most of the changes going on.
Omfg I just realized I put the thread in the wrong place D: I completely did not even notice the Rate My Team - Rules thing... OTL
Okay, so I think a team best suited for me would be one big psyche out team where you can't exactly expect this or that... I've gone with a team of full mega-evolving pokemon with only one mega on there, as well as some pokemon with the "only one strategy" thing with a completely different strategy (such as non protean Greninja or Power Trick Iron Defense Aegislash without King's Shield).
One thing I'm currently trying is Life Orb Magic Guard Reuniclus, as well as a Curse + Gyro Ball Mega Steelix.
It's not going to work. Singles and Doubles are just that different that you can't use the same sets in both without it sucking in one or both formats. Doubles commonly uses moves that are useless in singles like Follow Me, Helping Hand, Rage Powder, and Wide Guard or moves that aren't useless but you can almost always use something better such as Protect(which is on most doubles sets), Heat Wave, or Trick Room.
So, what are the steps I need to take in order to set up a decent team? And what do I need to look for?
The first step is to not use stuff like Basculin. There's only so far you can go with using something uncommon/unconventional/nonstandard/etc because that route can easily lead to just being bad. Some uncommon sets, coverage moves, or Pokemon can be viable, but more often than not these things are uncommon because they're bad. If you'd rather go for novelty than viability, then feel free to use PU ranked mons when there are so many better ones, but if you want to have something unconventional/whatever without it making your team worse I suggest you read through analyses on Smogon for decent, but uncommon sets (you can also find usage stats for moves and EV spreads to learn what sets are uncommon before jumping in and playing games) and read the viability ranking thread in whatever tier to see how viable mons not used enough to be classified in your specific tier that are still viable.
Chocolate Death said:
Okay, so I think a team best suited for me would be one big psyche out team where you can't exactly expect this or that... I've gone with a team of full mega-evolving pokemon with only one mega on there, as well as some pokemon with the "only one strategy" thing with a completely different strategy (such as non protean Greninja or Power Trick Iron Defense Aegislash without King's Shield).
One thing I'm currently trying is Life Orb Magic Guard Reuniclus, as well as a Curse + Gyro Ball Mega Steelix.
There is zero reason to use regular Greninja ever. Literally the only reason it's ever used is because of Protean. Without Protean Greninja would be like RU at best in singles. This is a perfect example of trying so hard to be different for the sake of being different that you're throwing out any chance of making a good team. Power Trick Aegislash with Iron Defense and no King's Shield is also horrible because with that you still have shitty speed, but are making your Defense really weak and are ruined by Will-o-Wisp which special attacking Aegis isn't.
Using a team of all 6 mega capable Pokemon is a problem because you're putting more importance on a psyche out than an actually well built team. A well built team should choose mons on how well they support your team to cover as many offensive and defensive threats as you can, not just slap together a bunch of pokes. Part of the problem lies in how many Pokemon capable of mega evolving are viable in their non-mega state. The only ones are Gyarados, Scizor, Slowbro, Tyranitar, Garchomp, Latios, and Latias with the last three's megas are used far less often in their Mega forms than their regular forms and maybe Alakazam, Gardevoir, and Heracross in a niche requiring proper team support.
If you want to use something with a degree in unpredictability, your best bet is probably something like Mega Altaria which can run numerous different sets from physical sweeper to special attacker to a more support role that focuses on walling and being a cleric with Heal Bell. Charizard could be another good thing for you to use as it has two Megas with vastly different counters for both, but keep in mind that your opponent can figure out which one you have as every Pokemon requires team support and Charizard Y is often paired with Keldeo as they both cover each-other's threats well and those two are used with something like Pursuit Tyranitar which can kill Char and Keldeo's mutual enemies, Lati@s. Both Charizard X and Y can use unconventional sets pretty well. Charizard X can utilize a set with Swords Dance and Tailwind as a dual dance set that picks its boosting move based on what would help you more to sweep your opponent's team. Charizard Y can carry Earthquake to act as a good lure and OHKO Heatran instead of getting wrecked by it. You'll probably like lures as stuff like HP Fighting Latios get to carry moves that really hurt common switch-ins to them and in doing so can also help your team by removing mons that would threaten other Pokemon on your team.
Also Mega Steelix is pretty bad in OU. There are many offensive and/or defensive Steel or Ground types that are better. Mega Metagross and Mega Scizor are both pretty good Steel types that can sweep and can take a few hits back. I can only think of two viable Gyro Ball users, though. Ferrothorn I feel is better with other moves and Bronzong isn't all that great but it does have a niche. Ferrothorn gets Curse but it's not worth using on it. Reuniclus isn't that great either but I have seen it used once or twice from some of the best players. It's usable on a good team that can properly support it but isn't something you can fit on most teams.
tl;dr: if you want to have success with something uncommon/unconventional, make sure what you're trying to use is actually good and try to build a team that actually works well instead of being a gimmick.
...but if you want to have something unconventional/whatever without it making your team worse I suggest you read through analyses on Smogon for decent, but uncommon sets
I tend to end up like that with so many friends complaining about how it's so annoying how so many people use the same pokemon, on top of that the Worlds Pachirisu thing made me wanna prove that you don't always need to restrict your party to exclusively these "super incredible" pokemon and builds.
Cinesra said:
I can only think of two viable Gyro Ball users, though. Ferrothorn I feel is better with other moves and Bronzong isn't all that great but it does have a niche. Ferrothorn gets Curse but it's not worth using on it.
My good friend Cordell (2zombie if you've ever battled him) has an Avalugg with Curse, Gyro Ball, Recover, and some other ice-type move. He trained it mostly in Defense and HP I believe with some attack boosting or steel boosting item? But it devastates whether in single or double.
...but if you want to have something unconventional/whatever without it making your team worse I suggest you read through analyses on Smogon for decent, but uncommon sets
I tend to end up like that with so many friends complaining about how it's so annoying how so many people use the same pokemon, on top of that the Worlds Pachirisu thing made me wanna prove that you don't always need to restrict your party to exclusively these "super incredible" pokemon and builds.
The Worlds Pachirisu thing doesn't prove your point really. Pachirisu had a legit niche in VGC play as a Follow Me user and the guy was able to use it. But if you want to use something like Basculin to stand out, all you're doing is shooting yourself in the foot. If you don't feel like you want to use the "super incredible Pokemon", you don't need to jump right to the bottom of the barrel. Try something like Feraligatr, Crawdaunt, or Cloyster instead. They, like Basculin, aren't part of the "super incredible Pokemon" club in that they struggle getting used enough with stuff like Gyarados existing, but they're still strong Pokemon.
Thanks Prof. Palytuna! I'll try them out. And, speaking of water-types, one that's been punchin' me in the gut to use is Poliwrath. I'd like to play it safe and ask if these are good builds for Poliwrath...
You'd probably want a more defensive build with Poliwrath as his type is really good for defensive play (it checks really good threats like Bisharp, Scizor and Mega Gyarados).
Here's what I'd suggest
Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Circle Throw
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
RestTalk works well with Poliwrath's type and moveset. Scald meshes well with Poliwrath's bulk and Circle Throw works especially well with hazards (and the negative priority is negated if used through Sleep Talk).
Poliwrath is always isn't good outside of PU or maybe NU at the highest. I guess maybe it has a nihe as a more defensive version of Keldeo, but I have my doubts. There are just so many other better Water or Fighting Pokemon to use over it. On a rain team there are better mons to set up RD like Politoed or to sweep with it like Mega Swampert, Kabutops, Kingdra, or Omastar. Non-rain Water types have many better options, too such as Keldeo, Rotom, or Gyarados. Its stats are just painfully mediocre.
I can give you criticisms for the sets you listed to help you get a better idea of what to run, though. For the doubles one, Belly Drum, especially without Sitrus Berry to restore a chunk of your health is going to get you killed faster or even before you can attack anything the next turn because of double targetting, even when paired with a Lightning Rod mon. I don't really see too many healing moves in Doubles and that's because of the faster pace where most mons used are able to take and deal hits well and you'll likely want to get rid of something fast.
For both sets, maxing out Attack would be better than Defense. Poliwrath's base Attack stat is only like 90 which is really only acceptable on a wall or something with a crazy move or ability or something to make up for the mediocrity. You'd also want a Life Orb or Choice Band to boost it even further. A Luminous Moss or Cell Battery might sound nice, but it's only useful in the event that your opponent sends something out with a Grass or Electric move that doesn't KO you and even then you may not be able to kill it before it kills you.
For the singles set, Power-Up-Punch is pretty rarely seen because it's base power is just so low that you'd almost always want something stronger to deal more damage. Pretty much the only time it sees use is on Mega Kangaskhan in Doubles or Ubers because Parental Bond makes it hit twice to gain +2 Attack and specific Substitute sets on like two mons in OU and one of those mons isn't even OU by usage. I don't really know why you have EQ on there (also never use Bulldoze when you can use EQ; the speed drop isn't worth it) so I assume it's for Electric types. You don't run Waterfall which you really should, especially since you're trying to use it under rain. Waterfall is more useful in general as it would likely be your main attacking move and it hits Electric types fine, although even with EQ they'd probably still kill you faster because of that base 90 Attack. Under rain a neutral STAB Waterfall does more than a 2x effective EQ.
Chocolate Death said:
My good friend Cordell (2zombie if you've ever battled him) has an Avalugg with Curse, Gyro Ball, Recover, and some other ice-type move. He trained it mostly in Defense and HP I believe with some attack boosting or steel boosting item? But it devastates whether in single or double.
You'd probably want a more defensive build with Poliwrath as his type is really good for defensive play (it checks really good threats like Bisharp, Scizor and Mega Gyarados).
...
RestTalk works well with Poliwrath's type and moveset. Scald meshes well with Poliwrath's bulk and Circle Throw works especially well with hazards (and the negative priority is negated if used through Sleep Talk).
Alright, I'll try that out. Also, could you explain to me what checking is?
Cinesra said:
A Luminous Moss or Cell Battery might sound nice, but it's only useful in the event that your opponent sends something out with a Grass or Electric move that doesn't KO you and even then you may not be able to kill it before it kills you.
Chocolate Death said:
My good friend Cordell (2zombie if you've ever battled him) has an Avalugg with Curse, Gyro Ball, Recover, and some other ice-type move. He trained it mostly in Defense and HP I believe with some attack boosting or steel boosting item? But it devastates whether in single or double.
I must've misunderstood those items then. I thought they absorb the attack like some abilities would.
Also, that is the first time I've ever seen "shit" on here lol. But, I guess that's still technically PG-13 since PG-13 movies can say it no more than once.
Also, I forgot to leave in the thing about so many other pokemon being better, but my response to it is that something has been just making me feel the need to use it. I've never once liked poliwrath in my life, and still dont, but something is just saying "Use a damn Poliwrath!!" in me
Almost forgot, the Avalugg is doubles and almost always paired with a Trick Room Musharna.
My bad, I forgot those absorbed a hit. They still rely on your opponent having a move of that specific type and you can still potentially die the next turn. You'll still find something like LO to be better in general.
I assume shit is allowed because it's not censored lel
You might want to check out PU or NU where Poliwrath is a lot better.
Trick Room makes Avalugg sound better, but doubles has the potential for your opponent to have two mons that pack a decent special move or a super effective move or something like Follow Me. From what I've played of doubles, I don't really like setting up when I could be attacking instead or using a good support move like Helping Hand/Wide Guard/Rage Powder/etc, but that could just be me sucking. To my knowledge, Musharna is pretty outclassed, though.
This site doesn't censor your posts unless you, or a mod, censors it. I actually don't think any forum can do that. Also, it sounds like you and I are a lot alike if we both prefer attacking rather than setting up. The only setting up I prefer to do is stuff requiring Follow Me. Which reminds me... I got wiped bad by a guy using only Togekiss with follow me, a Belly Drum Charz Y, and a Latias earlier... ; - ;
friend, cunt, nashville hot chicken, friend, Friend, and fudge are all censored by the forums. Shit is the only real swear that isn't censored.
I like setting up in singles, but when I tried out VGC 2014 I used a Trick Room team and never found an opportunity where I'd rather use it as opposed to just killing something.
Lmao I had no idea that forums could censor. It makes me crack up at your message there. Also, yeah I meant X. I get them mixed up often 6_9
Set up in singles does feel so much more rewarding, I must say. I guess it's because in singles, you feel like you're supposed to have less of an opportunity to do anything other than attack? Hmm... Maybe that's just me. I'm gonna try to build a new team with no pokemon below the UU Tier now. I feel like I should have so much more in this post, but there's nothing else to say :/
How about this/these one(s)? They're both the same team, but with altered movesets and items and abilities. It's all for singles
Mega Latios is generally advised against as it is a bulkier but less strong version of Life Orb Latios. It's basically a slightly bulkier Latias. The real problem is the opportunity cost. Using Mega Latios is costing you the ability to use a much better Mega. For the moves, though, Shadow Ball might be okay against like Jirachi or Gardevoir maybe, but you'll often want a better move like Thunderbolt(for Azumarill), HP Fighting or Fire, EQ, or Surf. Magic Coat is hardly ever used and that's because it requires you to take damage to deal damage. Latios is a sweeper and you'll want to deal damage fast and you'll often want a coverage move or Defog for team support instead. Dragon Pulse is fine, but you'll generally want to use Draco Meteor instead of it because of the power, and Latios is no exception.
Never use Muscle Band. The boost just isn't worth using over something like Life Orb, Choice Band, Leftovers, or Lum Berry on Dnite. Maybe you're trying to conform to Item Clause, but you don't have to in singles because Item Clause is pretty damn stupid so it's not enforced. Why do you have both Fire Punch and Flamethrower? That's pretty pointless, especially when you're trying to compensate by lowering Dnite's Defense stat with Lonely and by adding 32 SpA EV's for some reason? Do those EV's help you against something specific or did you just pick a random number? Dragon Rush is bad because the accuracy is AIDS. Wing Attack is also pretty unheplful on Dragonite, even though it's STAB because 60 base power is weak and it doesn't hit anything relevant besides like the rare Chesnaught. Here are some better sets:
Dragonite @ Leftovers
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 216 HP / 64 Atk / 228 SpD
Careful Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Punch / Superpower
- Roost
- ExtremeSpeed
I'm no too sure about this last set, but Dnite is pretty bulky with Multiscale and it was listed on Smogon, so it can't be too bad. I feel like the CB set is the best.
Aggron (M) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Curse
- Double-Edge
- Head Smash
- Iron Tail
The only reason to ever use Aggron is for Mega Aggron. Being 2x weak to Water and 4x weak to Fighting and Ground is just awful. Regular Aggron would otherwise be like NU. Mega Aggron isn't all that great, either. It can take hits very well, but it has no recovery, is slow, and most importantly has the opportunity cost of better Megas. You'd be better off using something like Mega Metagross or Mega Scizor. Even if this weren't the case, this set needs a lot of help. First of all, even though it has Rock Head doesn't mean you should use Double-Edge. DE pretty much only sees use as a STAB move because Normal is super effective on nothing. You'd really want to use Earthquake or idk maybe Fire Punch if it learns it because being walled by Steel is bad. Curse would probably be okay, but I have my doubts on using it on something with a low Special Defense. Here's an example of a Mega Aggron set:
Aggron @ Aggronite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Def / 240 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Heavy Slam
and then pick from Avalanche for Gliscor and Landorus-T, Rock Slide for Flying types like Mega Pinsir, Talonflame, Gyarados, Dragonite, Fire Punch for Scizor, Ferrothorn, and maybe Skarmory(it might be too bulky for it to matter), EQ for Heatran and Excadrill, or Thunder Wave.
Snorlax (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Body Slam
- Curse
- Fire Punch
- Substitute
Snorlax is pretty bad in OU. Normal typing, lackluster physical defense and speed, and lack of recovery outside of Rest really hurt it. It might have a niche with Assault Vest to tank special attacks, but I really have my doubts. Back in the day and possibly currently in UU they ran a Rest+SleepTalk set, often with Curse and then with Body Slam or Crunch as your attack.
Mamoswine (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Shard
- Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
This one's more of an all-out attacker rather than SR user, although it could be used over Freeze Dry. FD and 12 SpA on here to 2HKO Rotom-W, Slowbro, and maybe the uncommon Alomomola. It might also OHKO regular Gyarados, but I can't say for sure either. The 29 HP is here to live an extra LO recoil. You could also use Superpower to 2HKO Ferrothorn and possibly do more damage to some Dark type or Chansey, idk. Knock Off is also an option, but meh. If you go with SR, you could go with Oblivious to avoid Taunt. You could use Icicle Spear over Crash to break Sashes, Subs, and Multiscale.
This one is a dedicated Stealth Rock lead with Sash to ensure you live a hit (besides the rare multi-hit move) and Oblivious to protect you from Taunt so you're pretty much guaranteed to get up an SR. Endeavor is used to bring down your opponent to 1 hit after your Sash protects you or just weaken something that would 2HKO you. Other options include Thick Fat or Icicle Spear/Knock Off over Endeavor. I say Icicle Spear over Crash because since you'll be using it as a lead you might find it useful to OHKO other leads such as Breloom or Garchomp that might run Sash.
Breloom (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Bullet Seed
- Force Palm
- Rock Tomb
Force Palm may sound nice with Technician, but you'll probably find Mach Punch to be better because it's boosted priority and Breloom isn't very fast. Speaking of Breloom's mediocre speed, you'll want to max out Spe instead of Def because it needs as much help as it can get and it isn't bulky anyway. You might want Jolly to outspeed other Adamant max Spe base 70's or mons that try to speed-creep them, but Adamant lets you 2HKO Zapdos and Lati@s with Rock Tomb. Life Orb is better for most attackers than Leftovers. Lum Berry might be usable, too. Breloom is also sometimes run as a Focus Sash lead. You could maybe run a Poison Heal set because it makes you immune to Burn and Paralyze which can also be good to switch in to expected status moves for its teammates, but I don't know a good one.[/spoiler]
version B said:
Dragonite (M) @ Muscle Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Tail
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Rush
- Iron Tail
Curse is awful for something like Mamoswine that isn't bulky, especially something part Ice type. Ice Shard is also like the biggest reason to use Mamoswine, too.
Type-weakening berries can sometimes be good, but only on bulky Pokemon like Heatran afaik. Breloom would still probably die to a Flying move anyway because of its lack of bulk and 2x weakness. Plus it's completely useless against Fire, Psychic, Poison, Ice, or other type moves. Offensive mons like items that help them do more damage most of the time.
Overall, this feels like you just slapped together a bunch of mons you like and didn't try to build a team that handles as many threats as possible and works well together. I'm not going to everything that can sweep you, because this post is already huge and I'm lazy, but I suggest you work on that. Some mons that sweep you are probably Mega Metagross, Gengar, Mega Altaria, Mega Gallade, Mega Sableye, Mega Lopunny, Mega Gardevoir, Mega Diancie, or Mega Zard X.
Latios originally had Thunderbolt and I completely forgot to remove Mirror Coat, as I accidentally misclicked and put it there.
Dragonite's moveset info was fixed an hour before you posted that. I didn't realize that I had replaced Aqua Tail with Fire Punch instead of Flamethrower.
Breloom's Coba berry, I found out quickly, really doesn't help with the weakness thing like you said.
Other than that, thank you for all the advice. I'm starting to take notes. You're the first person (other than that one friend I mentioned) who has told or taught me anything about competitive... And I feel like I can trust your teachings more than him since he's a mediocre player at everything anyway. And, yes, I did slap them together, but I was just getting a feel of what the pokemon were when I was doing so. I knew I wanted to make some teams with tons of different pokemon, and those happened to be the ones I've wanted most (UU and above, that is).
I'll try a better team now, hopefully I'll understand more this time. Thank you again for the help.
That's it. I give up. I've tried a total of 37 different OU parties with only 3 of the parties having a single UU or BL if any at all each, and I've encountered so much trouble with each one. I've been sweeped by a Mew with Leftovers and Roost using Toxic, Will-o-wisp, and Taunt, a Gardevoir spamming Calm Mind and Wish with Leftovers along with Draining Kiss and one unknown and unused move, as well as a damn party with nothing but Black Kyurem, Mega Metagross, Raikou, Keldeo Resolute, Dragonite, and a Baton Passing Substitute and Stat boost Celebi. ; - ; I don't know if it's like this all the time on 3DS as well, but I'm starting to get sick of sucking so bad.... I've even been using Smogon sets after realizing they're not as "ONLY USE THIS ONE MOVESET EVER" as I was told.
Sounds like you're focusing too much on the losses and not enough on prediction and team synergy. It really helps to have another competitive player look over your team (mainly to help catch checks/counters you may have overlooked) before you do a ton of testing just to [possibly] find out what they could have noticed straight off the bat. Just don't take it as 'your team is bad so you should feel bad' (even if they mean it like that - although in that case, find another person to check your teams...) or you'll just quickly give up and never have a chance to improve.
While, true, you did end up losing to rather gimmicky sets, that doesn't mean you always will. In any case, my teams usually went through hundreds of losses before I refined them to the point where I felt they were 'good enough'.
Even if you're borrowing a 'Smogon set', it still helps to use other tools when team building. Some I use often are those like type weakness calculators (tallies up how many pokemon are weak to, resist, double weak to, double resist, etc. each type to show any major defensive holes) and often a type coverage calculator (you put in the types of your offensive moves and it lists each species grouped by how they will be affected). The latter makes finding possible checks/counters considerably simpler than trying to do it all in your head/on paper/etc.
Lastly, try working on memorizing general principles behind the commonly used sets (namely, those listed on Smogon) and the relative strengths of each species. This way, you're likely to recognize patterns even if you're not immediately familiar with a pokemon you're facing. Also, you don't have to memorize every stat, but at least try to group pokemon by relative speed and separate them offensively as physical attackers, special attackers, and those that can be mixed/either/status-centered/etc. and defensively as physically bulky, specially bulky, and those that can have mixed bulk (or are just plain frail), etc. By getting these down (plus typing and a few of the most common moves/movesets) you'll find you can usually identify what the opponent is using and what they're likely to do next. Over-thinking it can still get you in trouble, but in time you'll get the right balance and it'll help you more than any strategy could alone.
Yeah, I suppose I am, huh? I mean, so far it seems like I'm having the best shot with the Breloom and Dragonite I've been using (although Dragonite has gone through multiple changes). The calculators I use are on http://pyrotoz.com/ but I don't just go with the plain and simple, unedited builds for them that it gives me by default. I look at their abilities more now, as well as all their moves. I'm still having difficulty thinking of many strategies or proper ways to counter some weaknesses though. On top of that, I'm still bad with items. I need to go to bed since I can't remember what I was gonna say next.
I remember what I was gonna say! Is it more important to make sure none of the pokemon are the same type, or is it just important to make sure not too many of a certain type?
