Tbird

The following post(s) contains spoilers. Read at your own descretion.

As with the last generation, I started a thread that speculated as to how new additions would affect the Pokemon metagame. As the last thread received some good reception I thought I'd start the process all over again.

At the moment there's not a huge deal known, however, with the bombshell of a new typing, a couple new pokemon and moves also thrown into the mix we can all start to make some fairly educated judgements. Also as there's more known, more can be speculated.

In the spoiler below I'll update what we know of the new games (as far as is relevant) as and when the information comes. Feel free to use it as mini encyclopaedia of new information, if you will.

I will be relying mainly on the information given from Serebii and Google. If you think anything else should be added, post with a reliable source.

So have at it, kids! As ever mods feel free to update/reformat this OP in however which way you feel right.

As stated, the idea is to discuss and speculate on the information given. Try to stay away from saying things such as "I think _pokemon_ will learn _move_." But feel free to say things like "If _pokemon_ learned _move_ It could probably Work well as a _role_ because of _reason/Nature/Other known moves_"

I know they seem similar but the latter better provokes discussion, and also provokes, at best, solid educated guesses.

Wraith, you and your ice types. A year later and I just know you're still sore about articuno.

Garunteed Granbull gets forgotten about and doesn't get fairy type. Think Flareon - flare blitz.

If fairies are weak to steel it won't change much, still 4drag2mag with maybe a fairy thrown in. I don't know, I'm dubious albeit pretty excited.

(Would love to see gardevoir vs gallade)

Here's how you do it:

Step one: Pick any 4 four dragons.

Step two: Put a choice band/scarf/specs on them.

Step three: Put a Magnezone on your team

Step four: Put a Magneton on your team.

Seriously though, go make a team and test it out. Then people might have something constructve to say.

Roost Poison Heal Gliscor. Forget Sky Upper-Cut; the thing will be impossible to break down. when you consider that some things do still fail to OHKO it with Hidden Power Ice, all it has to do is Protect for a turn and roost the next to be back on almost full health, all the while scouting what your plan of action is. Gliscor was a bitch, anyway, now it's a bitch that can't be touched (to that end, maybe people will start running fast Glisc' again; I haven't agreed with the slow spread since I first saw it). However, this means that in UU Gligar can utilise Immunity and Roost, which to me seems to be fair enough.

Haxorus getting Low Kick and Super Power, this isn't good news. Though at least it didn't get fire punch? CB Set can now reek more havoc, expectant Ferro/Skarm Switch ins take a fat Super Power to the Face. However with the prevalence of the new Genie forms, Haxorus is going to want to be careful spamming Superpower, given that Tornadus-T will set up on it and start killing stuff. Haxorus also got Aqua Tail, though, which I imagine is going to be a pain if it's got a CB + Rain Boost.

And What about Outrage + Moxie + DD Mence? This could be a bit of fun, or hell even just CS + Outrage and Moxie. Mence is seeming a little underwelming though, given that pretty much every pokemon is carrying Hidden Power Ice, and if they aren't they're a dragon type anyway... and the Genies are just trollingly fast.

Mamoswine should prove to be quite cool, with thick fat, and priority to stop the new Genies. CB Ice Shard KOs them after Rocks?

Talking about the Genies, the new Thunderus looks like it could run a scary set of Nasty Plot / Thunder(bolt) / Hidden Power Ice / Focus Blast (Super Power) Quite similar to its old staple set, just with ability to kick the good shite out of Blissey and Tyranitar more reliably.

All the rage seems to be about rain teams now, the heat only let off of rain a little anyway,m but now it seems to be in full force. Like a few other people I'm hoping we can see an unban of Garchomp / Excadrill just to keep these rain mons in check. Hell just gimme Garchomp back.

Anyway that's what I've taken from this so far, not had a fully in depth look just yet.

| 1 | Mienfoo: Larvesta can switch into pretty much anything the bulky set is packing and threaten to burn it or dent it. The scarf varient is eaten alive by Gastly.

| 2 | Misdreavus: Can be a reet pain in the ass. However, if I switch in Scraggy as Misdreavus comes in I can set up on and faint it easily enough. However that means I have to play my hand early a lot of the time. Aside from that, Gastly behind a subsitute can generally beat it.

| 3 | Chinchou: Mostly scarf variants are played, however, Sandshrew beats both scarf and bulky with good prediction. Can be a problem though; mainly just gotta smack it around.

| 4 | Staryu: Can't touch Chinchou unless it's packing HP grass... even then it has to outspeed me.

| 5 | Scraggy: Mienfoo beats it every Day of the week, Larvesta can stand up to it so long as luck is on my side (in as much as Will-o-wisp hits and isn't instantly healed.)

| 6 | Murkrow: Torments the good shit out of me. But between chinchou and Gastly I can generaly get passed it.

| 7 | Bronzor: Set up bait for Scraggy. In a Pinch Larvesta can dispatch of it.

| 8 | Hippopotas: Chinchou and Gastly can beat it, Scraggy can set up on it. The sand is annoying more than anything else though.

| 9 | Croagunk: Another pain in the ass, Generally gastly can get passed it, Larvesta can put the hurting on him too, though.

| 10 | Porygon: Not actually faced a single one, I however imagine that Scraggy could quite easily set up on it and that Mienfoo could pretty much beast it.

| 11 | Natu: Gastly literally laughs at it.

| 12 | Ferroseed: 2 fighters and a fire type on the team...

| 13 | Lileep: has got on my nerves in the past. I usually get passed it easily enough though by smacking it hard with Larvesta and friends.

| 14 | Drilbur: should be way more of a problem than it's proven itself to be. Sandshrew is quite handy in that regard.

| 15 | Abra: Not seen as much of these as I expected to, between repeated fake outs and U-Turns though, he usually goes down without causing too much trouble.

| 16 | Timburr: Disable Gastly walks all over it.

| 17 | Larvesta: Chinchou and disable Gastly beat the prominent Mono Attacker.

| 18 | Gastly: If it's a choice Scarf Gastly predicting the move is the best bet, either Scraggy will set up on it or my own gastly will remove it.

| 19 | Dwebble: I hear dwebble is supposed to be really quite good but I haven't seen too much of it and when I have chinchou has been able to beat it.

| 20 | Snover: Larvesta eats it up all day long as does Mienfoo, however in a pinch Chinchouy can be used to switch in on blizzard.

| 21 | Magnemite: No steels on team to worry about. Mienfoo beats it down nicely, scraggy can set up on it, Larvesta can outright annihilate it.

| 22 | Shroomish: Larvesta eats it up. aside from that, Chinchou's Ice beam can be used in a pinch.

| 23 | Vullaby: A massive problem to my team.

| 24 | Ponyta: Chinchou outspeeds and OHKOs

| 25 | Dratini: Chinchou hurt it with Ice Beam. If it gets a chance to set up properly, I'm in a poor state of affairs.

| 26 | Houndour: Chinchou can deal with it quite nicely. Just gotta watch out for well timed HP Grass. Ghastly can revenge, get VTurned in, watching out for sucker Punch

| 27 | Frillish: Chinchou and Gastly can both purt a hurting on Frillish

| 28 | Stunky: as pretty much the best Pursuiter, it isn't a threat to Disable Gastly, and is walked all over by larvesta.

| 29 | Pawniard: Mienfoo / Larvesta... depends on my mood.

| 30 | Slowpoke: Chinchou can deal with it nicely, watching out for toxic.

| 31 | Clamperl: Switching chinchou in on a shell smash means I can OHKO with Volt Switch.

| 32 | Taillow: Can't touch Chinchou, sandshrew works in a pinch, too.

| 33 | Aipom: Beaten by mienfoo.

| 34 | Tirtouga: Only come across the one and it got beat by chinchou.

| 35 | Diglett: I imagine scraf Diglett could be a problem to my Chinchou, aside from that Gastly can deal with it easily enough.

| 36 | Munchlax: Set up bait for Scraggy

| 37 | Tentacool: Gets beaten by chinchou.

| 38 | Nosepass: beaten by Mienfoo set up bait for Scraggy.

| 39 | Axew: Not actually faced him, but I imagine he could really hurt if he sets up.

| 40 | Shellder: Pretty much any set it runs is beaten by Chinchou.

| 41 | Koffing: Beating the good God out of it with Gastly / Chinchou is my best bet.

| 42 | Baltoy: Gasty loves baltoy.

| 43 | Bulbasaur: Larvesta, can be revenged by Chinchou, too.

| 44 | Drifloon: Chinchou and Gastly should have no problem removing it. Not come across it though personally.

| 45 | Wynaut: Depends on the situation.

| 46 | Omanyte: Between chinchou and the fighters, it shouldn't cause too much trouble.

| 47 | Elekid: If it has any Ice Typed move it can probably do some mean things to my team. Best bet is Larvesta and solid play with Chinchou.

| 48 | Duskull: Gastly shouldn't have too much trouble getting passed it.

| 49 | Squirtle: Chinchou.

| 50 | Lickitung: Set up bait for Scraggy or destroyed by Mienfoo.

Overview

Hi all, long time no post. Sorry about that been a busy little bee...

Anywho, without further ado, this is my first team in a damn long time and I thought I'd share it with you lovely folk.

I'd seen a lot of talk about the VolTurn strategy, something that I'd been playing with before my departure, and I'd seen that it had been widely popularised in the OU tier with Scizor and Rotom-W at the forefront. I figured I'd take that strategy and apply it to an LC team.

The aim of the team is to wear the opposing team down with passive damage via VolTurn, which racks up a nice amount of damage and switches which when used in conjunction with Stealth Rock can start to whittle a team down nicely. Once the opposing team is worn down enough it is down to scraggy to get a sweep on.

At a Glance & Team Building

Lead

Lou (Mienfoo) (F) @ Eviolite

Trait: Regenerator

EVs: 156 Atk / 196 Def / 36 SDef / 76 Spd

Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)

- Fake Out

- U-turn

- Drain Punch

- Payback

This is my lead and 1/3 of the VolTurn strategy. The reason I chose Mienfoo for the lead position is because he is great at instantly scouting and putting the momentum into my hands. Not only that but he has similar counters to Scraggy, so when they are used in tandem they can quite effectively wear down each other's counters into a range of which the other can effectively remove them completely.

The EVs ensure that Mienfoo can get the jump on unboosted Misdreavius, Payback being a 2HKO whilst Shadow ball can't boast the same. This is important because misdreavius can cause a lot of problems for my team if it's not caught quick enough. Regenerator allows for Mienfoo to fulfill this task and then get out with enough health to switch into resisted dark, rock attacks later on. Mienfoo really is an all purpose pokemon on this team.

Homeboy

Terrence (Scraggy) (M) @ Eviolite

Trait: Shed Skin

EVs: 236 Atk / 36 SDef / 212 Spd

Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)

- Dragon Dance

- Drain Punch

- Crunch

- Ice Punch

This set is beautiful. It can sweep weakened teams with absolute impunity, I really do enjoy playing with this guy. Once Croagunk, random fighters and scarfed flying types have been disposed of, he can really shine. Drain Punch, Eviolite and Shed Skin all but make Scraggy untouchable, given his bulk, recovery and semi immunity to status he can usually find a time to set up at will. Given that his counters have been eliminated it's pretty much game.

The EVs give him as much power and speed as possible, he is able to outspeed the whole unboosted metagame after a +1 as he's sitting on a trolling 22 speed. The rest are dumped into SpD just to give him that one extra stat point that's up for grabs.

Drain Punch is used for recovery, Crunch has great synergy and is a lovely secondary STAB Attack, Ice beam is mainly used for Murkrow, Though if I see one more Croagunk I'm going to slap Zen HeadButt on him instead.

Revenge Killer

Amata (Chinchou) (F) @ Choice Scarf

Trait: Volt Absorb

EVs: 56 Def / 232 SAtk / 220 Spd

Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)

- Volt Switch

- Hydro Pump

- Thunderbolt

- Ice Beam

Given that Lanturn is one of my favourite pokemon of all time and that Chinchou gets Volt Switch, it should come as no surprise how she ended up on the team. Favouritism aside, though, she plays a crucial role on the team in getting rid of bulky water types, Switching into straty Scalds and Flying Typed attacks, and generally scouting with Volt Switch.

The EVs and nature are pretty straight forward, be as powerful and fast as possible. With a healthy speed stat of 24, she can outspeed slower +1 pokemon and the unboosted metagame, the modest nature and EVs are then just to smack said pokemon around.

The moveset has great coverage, hitting a lot of threats for super effective damage, such as tailow, doduo and that beast murkrow, who could otherwise potentially end my sweep. The Volt Switch + Thunderbolt combination is used over hidden power Grass, as although I am now countered by opposing Chinchou, I can get rid of Murkrow pretty flawlessly (so long as they're not packing Toxic.)

Get behind me Satan Fighting types

Malone (Larvesta) (M) @ Eviolite

Trait: Flame Body

EVs: 76 HP / 236 Atk / 156 Def / 40 Spd

Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

- U-turn

- Will-O-Wisp

- Flare Blitz

- Morning Sun

Larvesta forms the 3/3 of my all singing and dancing VoltTurners. Larvest's main purpose is to remove bulky grassers and cripple the fighters abound, whilst also maintaining the momentum is on my side.

I chose a more bulky spread for Larvesta, though I initially wanted to play it as a CB set, the drop in longevity is considerably noticeable and its middling speed doesn't really allow it to function so well as a CB attacker. The bulky spread allows it to switch into pretty much any fighting typed pokemon and cripple it with a nasty burn. The rest is thrown into attack to make Flare Blitz hit like a truck, Morning sun is to aid in longevity, whilst U-Turn is good for putting Grass types into a check mate position; stay and get potentially OHKOd by Flare Blitz, Give me a free Switch in, or ake a STAB super Effective U-Turn to the face.

Utility

Shelly (Sandshrew) (F) @ Eviolite

Trait: Sand Veil

EVs: 196 HP / 76 Def / 196 SDef / 40 Spd

Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)

- Stealth Rock

- Earthquake

- Rock Slide

- Rapid Spin

Sandshrew's main job is to lay down some entry hazards as and when she can, but more importantly remove SR for Larvesta. Sandshrew also acts as quite a nice check to things like Larvitar and Drilbur, the latter of which could really cause some trouble to my team. Sandshrew on this team attempts to fill the void that the Gligar ban left, which it does do quite well, in my opinion.

The EV spread is pure bulk and a bit more bulk. 14 Atk is strong enough to get a 2HKO on things that don't resist the QuakEdge combo, and usually strong enough to OHKO things that are weak to it; IE Larvitar. Sand Veil is quite the boon for Sandshrew as this allows her to take on some of the stronger sand sweepers quite well with bulk and an effective Double Team under her belt, allowing her to more easily set up SR or generally tank.

Spin Blocker

Milton (Gastly) (M) @ Leftovers

Trait: Levitate

EVs: 40 Def / 200 SAtk / 200 Spd

Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

- Substitute

- Disable

- Shadow Ball

- Hidden Power [Fighting]

Gastly's job is to maintain that SR stays on the opposing teams side of the field. Spinners such as Baltoy and Sandshrew also find themselves in a tricky spot when facing this set. Sandshrew will find its Rock Slide / Night Slash Disable, rendering it a virtual sitting mouse-duck-thing. Baltoy is simply forced out. Gastly is also good at aiding Larvesta in taking out opposing fighters, if SR is still on the Field Larvesta isn't going to want to risk switching in and getting taken out, allowing bulky grassers to dictate how the match goes, so plan be is Gastly. Gastly can take out opposing Scraggy nice and easily, disable Croagunks Sucker Punch, should it be carrying it, as well as disabling Mienfoo's Payback, which forces most fighters back into their cave, buying me a little time to pur Larvesta back into a nice healthy place. Gastly can also, if played right, get rid of Murkrow; who can be a real pain. The Sub Roost set with is forced to use roost when their sucker Punch is Disabled, allowing me to smack it hard with a Super Effective HP Fighting.

The spread is pure speed and offence, as that is what gastly is going to appreciate more than anything. Leftovers, while controversial in LC is my item of choice as I dislike the 1-time use of Oran berry, whereas after 4 turns behind a substitute I can be at full health again. There is a time and place for Oran Berry though, so I may have to give it a fair shout at some point.

After thoughts / things I'd now like to try

Thanks for reading. I know the competitive side here is pretty much dead at this point, and there are little to no LC fans, so I don't expect much in the way of a response, but thanks for reading anyway

Cloyster needs 48 Spe EVs if I remember rightly, this allows it to outpace scarfed base 100s; which is a great boon given how many scarfed 100s there are. Also, Cloyster 9/10 needs a lum berry; if cloyster gets any status it's spent and worthless, and remember he only really has one chance to sweep.

I would also change your gliscor for a different set, and give him some jellicent support like Toffeuy suggested. However, the paraflinch (SpD Focused) Jirachi makes a great defencive partner gliscor and could easy be put in place of Blissey (Wish/Iron Head/Body Slam[or TWave]/Stealth Rock[or U-Turn]) playing these two would severely help you current scizor situation. Given that Scizor ATM can pretty much beast your whole team, so IMO Paraflinch 'Rachi > Flame Thrower Blissey. Also with a steel on your team you are way less vulnerable to getting decimated by every dragon and their brother.

Welcome to the Forum, DrapDoom

I assure you we're equally as pleased to have you join the community. Fancy telling us any more about yourself?

Have a good stay, my friend!

Hey marc,

Nice to meet you. I dabble very lightly in the whole hacking game; frankly I haven't got the attention span. You're about the same age as my little brother; only not quite as dissapointing. Have a fun stay, mi amigo.

Sorry it's taken two days for anyone to welcome you. Need anything of any capacity, feel free to ask. Take it easy!

If you're just playing for fun with your cousin then honestly, don't worry about all of this. It'll suck the fun out of it. If you want to play competitively then learn how, read all the guides on all the various sites that provide them (here, Serebii, Smogon) and do so.

If you want an in-game team rated then there is a thread for that in this very subforum. If you want a compeitive rate then make a competitive team and post it in the RMT section.

If you want someone to give you pokemon, ask in the Requests forum.

I honestly don't know what you're looking for here, so I'm sorry if I sound rude. We don't know enough information about the battle that you're going to be playing, are there any tiers that you guys will be playing by? What sort of "advantages" does he have? If they are unfair advantages; is it wise even playing with him. Again, sorry, I'm not sure what you are asking.

Nice to meet you, to meet you, nice!

Gotta love a bit of "Brucey".

Have a good one.

It's about thinking, more than anything. It all starts with a goal, let's start with a basic one - A desired sweeper. Now your team should be tailored to give that chosen pokemon every advantage towards a successful sweep. First part is picking the pokemon you want to sweep, now, you can do this by just having a favourite pokemon that has the tools to sweep or by looking at the top 10-20 used pokemon and find a pokemon that can beat most of them under the right circumstances. So the next part is the moveset, you can straight up rip from smogon, which isn't a bad thing!!! They have put the hours into testing, it's fine to use that to your advantage. Now let's say you're using Lucario in this instance. His short comings are his speed and frailty, he also has a few solid checks that he's never getting passed. So we know that our team has to make up for what he lacks, this means we need a pokemon that are going to create opportunities for him to switch in whilst also removing threats to his sweep, and they also have to support him well. He's going to run a fairly standard set of:

Lucario @ Life Orb

Inner Focos (I believe that's his ability anyway)

Jolly

252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

- Swords Dance

- Close Combat

- Extreme Speed

- Crunch

This is beaten everyday of the weak by Gliscor, so we need a way of getting Gliscor out of the picture first and foremost. Your best bet is to use a lure, Jirachi works great because he shares the same weaknesses as Lucario and can usually be beaten by Gliscor, so what are we going to do? Tailor our Jirachi to beat Gliscor! "If I send in Jirachi, the opponant will send out Gliscor as gliscor can't be paralysed (usually), I know Gliscor has a crippling weakness to Ice, so I will use hidden power Ice on the set, however if my opponent even hints at there being something funky going on he won't send gliscor out and I will lose my chance to remove my sweepers counter! So I need to make my Jirachi look completely normal in most regards, I'll give him Leftovers and a moveset of Body Slam / Iron Head / Wish / Hidden Power Ice and through the match use him as normal until I see Gliscor appear and then unload with Hidden Power Ice" boom, biggest threat eliminated. And with Jirachi you've also gained a huge boon in as much as with body slam you can paralyse fast pokemon like Latios and random choice scarfed 'mons which means they won't threaten Lucario's sweep. Now you need a way to get Lucario, you need to lure a few pokemon out that mean Lucario can switch in every day of the week. Chansey will be your best bet, so now you know you need a special attacker that will Draw Chansey out. Rotom-W would be great here as he covers your other two pokemon's weakness perfectly and they resist his sole weakness. Now your best set here would be a Choice Scarf set:

Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf

Levitate

Modest / Timid

4 Hp / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

- Trick

- Volt Switch

- Thunder Bolt

- Hydro Pump

This set works brilliantly for what you want because you can cripple physical walls like Skarmory with a Choice Scarf, meaning he won't be doing much for very long, once you've ditched your scarf Chansey and Blissey won't fear switching in on you, and when they do you Volt Switch out to Lucario who will take the expected toxic. they are then placed in a horrible position, they can ether stay in and try to hurt you with Seismic Toss, or they can switch out, either way you're going to get a +2 from swords dance and start tearing holes into the opponant's team.

Now all you need are a few pokemon that just make life easier, for instance you're now weak to Ferrothorn, you don't want to set up on it with Lucario because Ferrothorn will Twave it and ruin your game plan, so what you need now is something that can help with this without adding a weakness. Now Salamence can fit in perfectly here, he can smash holes in walls and make it easier for Lucario to clean up later on in the game, given he is weak to Ice and Dragon he also provides Lucario and Jirachi with means of switching in and he can roast the likes of Skarmory and Ferrothorn whilst being able to severely dent a lot of the bulky waters all of the place. His weaknesses are covered and he further covers the weaknesses of the rest of your team. Now magnezone could be used in this slot to remove skarmory and Ferrothorn, however he would fuurther add to your ground and fighting weaknesses without helping very much in the way of coverage, because he'd be running a similar set to Rotom-W.

Now I know this post is wildly irrelevent to your team, however I want you to apply that sort of logic to this team, even if it means getting rid of half of the team. Hopefully you can see where I used the XYZ thing all throughout there, and I hope I've helped.

No no, when I said choice band I was referring to Victini, sorry I wasn't more clear. If it's choice locked at all, houndoom will annihilate it. Houndoom probably wants a set like:

Houndoom @ Life Orb/ Expert Belt

Flash Fire

Hasty / Lonely

252 Atk / 12 SpA / 244 Spe

Pursuit

Over Heat

Sucker Punch / Crunch / Dark Pulse

Hidden Power Grass / Will-o-wisp / thunderfang

I'll explain a little; for the most part you're only really concerned with pursuit, take out them pesky Mew and Victini. Overheat coincides with the EV spread perfectly; You outspeed and OHKO Nidoking, a pretty big threat in UU, not only that but you can get a 2HKO on Nidoqueen most of the time (and certainly if there are Rocks on their side on the field) which is one less threat for you to deal with. (as a side note, Over Heat will also OHKO Bronzong whilest Crunch can get a 2HKO). A plausible scenario would be:

Turn X

Opponant switches in Victini

Turn 2

Victini uses V-Create

You switch in Houndoom

Houndoom gets a flash fire boost

Turn 3

Opponant Switches out Victini

You use Pursuit

Victini is OHKOd

Turn 4

Opponant switches in Nidoqueen

Houndoom uses Overheat (Min damage 64% W/o Flash fire boost, minimum 95% after Flash Fire [OHKO if Stealth Rocks are on their side])

A) Nidoqueen faints

B) Nidoqueen Uses Earth Power (Maximum of 74%)

C) Nidoqueen uses Stealth Rocks (if they expect you to switch out)

Turn 5 (if it lasts that long)

Houdoom Uses Overheat

Nidoqueen faints.

Scenarios like that help me build my team. I'm always thinking "Ok this moveset means that I can accomplish X, the opponant will react via Y, so I need Z to keep momentum"

Using that template for the above example:

"This moveset means that I can beat Victini and Mew pursuit, the Opponant will react by sending in a wall to scare me, so I need a move that will keep momentum in my hands" the move in question here is Overheat.

As for the rest of the set, Dark Pulse, Crunch, Sucker Punch are reliable consistant second Stab options, for instance you might be against a, I dunno, Weakened altaria (around 60% HP) and you need a solid move to hurt it, 40bp Pursuit isn't going to be much help and itit resists Over Heat, so Crunch is the way to go. Sucker Punch is for if you're worried about Azelf and other Dark weak yet fast attackers, such as Mismagius and to an extent Rotom. The last slot is filler, really. Hidden Power Grass will help with Quagsire, and the newly UU Swampert, Will-o-wisp means you can cripple something on the way down; IE Intimidate Hitmontop who rarely pack Mach Punch, you can outspeed him and burn him on the way down, toxic could work here, too, to cripple slowbro. Thunderfang is lol, but it's an option over hidden power grass.

Anyway to sum up that set, if you can use it effectively and find it the right support it can actually really help you with your current issues that you face against a lot of walls whilst also removing some potentially lethal offencive threats. The only problem you might face with houndoom is that he doesn't have longevity like Arcanine (Arcanine is probably better suited for Balanced teams for that reason) however his movepool does make up for it.

Again, sorry for being so long winded.

I really don't like that Ambipom, Having a normal Gem on a guy that's meant to switch out seems pointless. In fact I hate the gems in general; I refuse to see their viability - Even more so in this Case!! Switch it for a Life orb so you can consistantly get a power boost. A 10% boost across all moves is much better than a one of 50%. Think of it like this, You will be faking out and U-Turning most of the time anyway, why not have each one be slightly more powerful? I know acrobatics is nice and powerful for it, but you have no STAB on acrobatics; unlike Gliscor, and it adds very little in the way of coverage. So I would go as far as to say replace that move for taunt and just go the tried and true method of Ambipom. Taunt will help infinitely more than Acrobatics. Whilst you may nail... Primeape or something acrobatics, taunt allows you to immobalise a wall and set up on it, which could potentially win you the match or save you from a potentially game changing situation. Meh didn't mean to say quite so much; not played in a while.

Anyway...

You can use Houndoom to your advantage in much better ways than you are, sash-countering died when the lead game did, and given you have no spinner you're not going to be pulling off any surprise feat any time soon, and then all you've done is lost arguably your best defence to victini. More on that in a second.

I have a problem with half of your team, personally, now I'm out of touch so don't take me too seriously but you asked me to take a look so here I am . Now half of your team is weak to rock, you have no spinner and only one resistance to a rock barrage. So, killing two problems with one ...rock (god I suck)... change your ambipom for hitmontop, You can use hitmontop in a similar way to ambipom, he can come in on the lead position when you have no idea what to do and spam Fake Out, he can also provide much needed rapid spin support and get rid of one of your biggest threats; CB/CS Mamoswine with Mach punch.

Hitmontop @ Life orb

Technician

Adamant

240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe

- Fake Out

- Mach Punch

- Rapid Spin

- Sucker Punch / Foresight

Not only will he help in the aforementioned areas but he is a great self sufficent spinner. Last time I played UU there were a few Mismagius playing weird games and he can instantly get rid of then with sucker punch; just watch out for will-o-wisp, with foresight he can demolish spiritomb, too, but again watch out for being burnt. He can also revenge Kill victini, too!

Now, houndoom, he's going to be your best bet against things like Alakazam, Victini and Mew. Victini will be firing off V-Creates all day long, if it's a choice band variant you ppretty much demolish it straight up with pursuit; however you will need Stealth Rocks to ensure the OHKO, If you put technitop on team you will probably see more Psychic attacks being dished out by 'Zam and Mew, meaning you have prime chance to switch in and remove them with Sucker Punch, again Stealth Rock support is needed to ensure the OHKO on Offensive Varients of mew. However don't assume you're safe from victini with this change, if victini is a LO varient you will need to try and use quagsire as best as you can, and if it it's an Expert belt Bluffing a choice band, then it's safe to say you're a goner if you don't read it quickly enough, if you see hidden power grass assume it has an expert belt until you know otherwise; depends on how smart the person your against is aswell, though. Forget what I said about zam didn't realise he's now OU

So that's a few offencive threats dealt with. You should be able to deal with heracross. Roserade could be problematic, just try not to let Houndoom die if you see roserade in Team Preview. In fact qith Quagsire you should be able to deal with most offencive threats in a round about way.

Defencive threats; I don't see you getting passed many of them if I'm honest. Problem with balanced teams is that they really struggle against anything that's got strong defences, for instance I don't see you getting passed Bronzong and Suicune; two pokemon I'm sure we're going to start seeing being paired up. I don't see you getting passed Snorlax anytime soon, And you got no chance against a defencive Zapdos. Youch, I'm gunna have to mull this over a bit. Simply put, you need a strong wall breaker or just someone that can break stall... OR someome that can do both without adding another weakness elsewhere. This pokemon will probably go over Yanmega. Sorry I couldn't be more help for the mass amount that I wrote lol.

Welcome buddy, make sure you enjoy yourself.

... Not too much though.

Welcome to the site, vince.

If you're interested in distributing things you might want to take a look over the GTS thing that we have set up here, I don't know the ins and outs of it but you can find the information in the miscellaneous emulation forum.

I hope you enjoy your stay here, and if you have any questions ask away.

Take it easy!

Quagsire

Water / Ground

Damp / Water Absorb / Unaware

95 / 85 / 85 / 65 / 65 / 35

Intermediate

Quagsire's a weird one. On paper its stats are mediocre at best, it has a cool typing, some great abilities and pretty extensive movepool. In saying this, he is actually considerably bulky, even if his stats might suggest otherwise. He was a premium wall in the UU tier with the advent of HGSS allowing him to use recover for instant... recovery and as such was made quite the staple bulky water, somewhat like Milotic only with a cool immunity to electric attacks and a more unpredictable movepool, in the overused tier, however he was basically a poor man's swampert that lacked Stealth Rocks. In the Gen IV Uber tier it had its novelty as the best Kyogre Counter in the game, as it was immune to 2-3/4 of Kyogre's common attacks.

It is now in Generation 5 where Quagsire has really come into its own with the Dream World ability Unaware, which basically means you can let the opponent's Salamence get 6 Dragon Dances, then switch in Quagsire and LOL at it with Ice Punch. Along side Slowbro, it is one of the best or near-enough counters to the now banned Blaziken; yes it is that damned good.

So given the prior information we can see that Quagsire is best used as your generic bulky water. It has movepool enough to pull this off with its Dual stabs in Surf and Earthquake and nice coverage moves such as Stone Edge and Ice Punch, It also has access to recover and yawn allowing it to switch on set up sweepers, scare them to sleep or flee and then recover off any residual damge.

Quagsire is not without its faults, however. It suffers from a very poor special defence score and is weak to every status other than electric based paralysis, and such is its downfall. Unlike starmie how can remove status on switching out, and tentacruel who outright absorbs Toxicity, Quagsire falls very quickly to any Status condition. However, in knowing this one can pack a heal beller in the form of Celebi, how can switch in on grass typed attacks aimed at Quagsire, or a generic status absorber like Shinbora, who can also switch in on grass typed attacks for Quagsire. A great partner for Quagsire in the lower tiers is Victini how can switch in on Quagsire's grass weakness, break bulky grassers and give most walls a generally hard timing, allowing Quagsire to wall easier. Infernape can do the same sort of thing in the higher tiers, and is thankful Quagsire removing things like Excadrill, Landorus and Gliscor

Noctowl

Psychic Normal / Flying

Insomnia / Keen eye / Tinted Lens

100 / 50 / 50 / 76 / 96 / 70

Advanced

Noctowl is another one of my very favourite pokémon ever. However, a running theme to my favourites is their general suckishness in a competitive POV. However, while you won't find Noctowl in the higher tiers given that Shinbora does Noctowl's Job better, it is still a pretty coolWall in the UU environment if you need someone to take out problem Pokémon like Hitmonlee or maybe Shaymin.

Noctowl's main selling point in Generation IV was its ability to Psycho-Shift Burn and sleep around teams with the moves Rest / Sleep Talk / Psycho-Shift / Filler, this meant it could switch in on something like Hitmonlee's Sucker Punch, and hit it with a nasty burn, then sleep off the damage and maybe get someone to sleep, too.

Generation V wasn't kind, however. It made an outclassed pokémon even more outclassed and then to make matters worked, it mocked Noctowl with a Bad ass ability that it could ill use anyway. It is still a pretty cool Special wall in the Lower tiers, but with things like Victini and Weavile running rampent it will find itself over powered most of the time, with experience you may be able to find ways to switch it in and burn a predicted counter as it switches in, but it's by no means an easy feat.

One of Noctowl's best partners is hitmontop, as it can switch in on Rock typed attacks aimed at it and also OHKO weavile with Mach Punch, not only that but it can spin away the ever present Stealth Rocks that all birds so hate. It also appreciates the removal of walls like Chansey, who can be taken out by Nidoking who can also boast the ability to switch in on Rock typed attacks, electric typed attacks and most statuses that might be thrown in Noctowl's Direction, Noctowl in return provides a ground immunity for nidoking

Donphan

Ground

Sturdy / Sand Veil

90 / 120 / 120 / 60 / 60 / 50

Easy

Donphan is a freaking boss of a Pokémon. It has a huge movepool, some pretty awesomely aligned stats and a really cool physically defencive typing. What sets Donphan apart from other physical walls is his ability to really hit back quite hard, and what sets him apart from other rapid spinners is his ability to catch ghost types switching in with Assurance which deals heavy Damage if the Ghost type takes Stealth Rocks Damage switching in.

in gen IV his main job was to tank as many physical hits as possibly, maybe lay Stealth Rocks and get a rapid spin in. And it fulfills this role really quite easily and Autonomously. In the UU of the past it had the ability to catch things like Mismagius and and Altaria off guard, with the moves Assurance and Ice Shard, respectively. In the new UU it pretty much plays the same role with just more things to hit, for instance it can switch in on a predicted Victini Thunder, and hit the switch in with Assurance for boss damage, or it can switch in on a predicted Flygon Outrage and OHKO it with Ice shard. Or maybe weavile is giving you some jip? He can switch in on Pursuit or low kick and OHKO with Stone Edge. Let's say things go perfectly for Donphan, it can take down two pokémon in 3 turns fairly easily. Let's say you switch in on the aforementioned thunder, you nail the ghost type with assurance as it switches in Expecting Rapid spin or even Earthquake, then they switch in Victini again, it hits you with a V-Create and you OHKO it with a Sturdy Activated Earthquake... fun times.

Of course Donphan isn't without its flaws. As a primary rapid spinner it is susceptible to Toxic Spikes and status in general, meaning it can't switch in too easy sometimes, also it has a terrible special defence score and it can't get passed most walls without invested a large amount of EVs that would then jeopardise its walling capabilities. To cure this you could pair it with someone like Victreebel, who can absorb toxic spikes and switch in on water and grass types for Donphan. A wall breaker is then needed, Arcanine doesn't particularly fair at this job, however watch out for the shared water weakness (which is somewhat negated with Arcanine's ability to use Wild Charge.)

Wait, what are your standards? From what I'm seeing, it's all based on either your experiences (seeing how most Pokemon you are playing a lot with are either Easy or Intermediate) or it's based off their competitive value. But I'll give you what I was thinking.

My standards were based more on them getting in and staying in and doing their elected jobs... Like with these next two guys...

Beedrill "Easy" because it's easy to play with; simple attacker. That was my reasoning; not on how great it is in battling.

Getting him on the field is a hard ass feat considering his typing and lack of bulk, then factoring his speed and not so great attack / stabs he finds it hard to even stay in. So I guess theoretically he's a simple attacker he is very complicated to get to work, so for that factor I ranked him harder.

Fearow is simple too. Raticate was Intermediate because it requires itself to burn itself to do great, otherwise it's pretty simple. Though I'm a little confused with these guys too because some of my judgments are based off how well they do in a team, and these guys aren't really... meant to play competitively. So yeah, I'm quite confused here.

Same as above for these guys, I was looking at it like how easy they are to use effectively, like that seems more important than whether the theory behind them is easy enough to grasp. Like with driving, The theory is easy enough to grasp, but if your car sucks it's going to be hard to drive... making sense?

My TL;DR here is basically that the pokémon they are is a huge deciding factor on whether or not they are easy to use, whilst Beedrill might have a simple concept, making it fulfill that task is rather hard.

Beedrill -> Advanced

Pidgeot -> Hard

Raticate -> Hard

Fearow -> Intermediate

Arbok -> Hard

Clefable -> Intermediate

Ninentales -> Intermediate

Arcanine -> Easy

Alakazam -> Easy

Dodrio -> Intermediate

Dewgong -> Hard

Cloyster -> Easy / Intermediate (depending on set)

Gengar -> Easy

Hitmonchan -> Hard

Chansey -> Easy

Starmie -> Easy

Aerodactyl -> Easy

Zapdos -> Easy

Lanturn -> Intermediate

Scizor -> Easy

Skarmory -> Easy

Blissey -> Easy

Entei -> Hard / Advanced (to make it shine out from Arcanine you gotta be a damned pro)

Weavile -> Intermediate

Yanmega -> Intermediate

Hydreigon -> Intermediate

Them be the only changes I'd make B:

I enjoyed this, but I have a question; why? I think most of the same things as you, but I keep most of it personal to me and spill if someone asks. I am just vein enough to believe that my insight is a reward - or a gift if you will - for the people that care enough to ask.

I love your work though, it's nice to read, reaffirms the thoughts I think and has some nice eye candy to it, too.

To that end, do we all think the same things? Just some of us feel it necessary to blurt while the rest of us are told it's best to just keep quiet?

.. And do we all see different colours but just follow the universal names for our perceptions of them? I mean we all have different favourite colours after all.

cheers!

Infernape

Fire / fighting

Blaze / Iron Fist

76 / 104 / 71 / 104 / 71 / 108

In generation 4 Infernape broke the mould. You could no longer just run SkarmBliss and say hell to the rest of the team, Infernape came to kick ass and take your team down with it. It has stats that are, or were, pretty much perfectly alligned. Its fire and Fighting typing makes the generic walling types shudder in fear, but what sets it apart from other wall breakers is its extra speed allowing it to also function as a stand alone sweeper. Its typing also means that its not plagued by the fire types instant 25% loss in health when it switches in on Stealth Rocks, which is a big deal given that Infernape likes to switch in, create a hole and get out; rinse and repeat.

With the 5th generation it has somewhat fallen from grace with new walling types and the fact that 108 is no longer such a great milestone. It is still a force to be reckoned with, howeber it doesn't have the bulk required take the strongs hits from the plethora of fast things flitting around like Excadrill and the re-allowed Latitwins. With Jellicent's typing that was pretty much made to make Infernape weap, it struggles to break such walls as effectively. However, as always there are contingencies that can be made to aid Infernape with Longevity. The first two being Mach Punch and U-turn. It can still hit very hard with mach punch that gets further boosted by Iron fist, allowing it to hit at 68BP, which isn't terrible when coupled with a Choice Band. The rest of its worries can be dealt with with its Coverage moves; such as adding Hidden Power Ice and Thunder Punch to the set. The only problem, though, is that Infernape can start to be ineffective when you try to run it as the Jack-of-all. your best bet is to realise its short comings and use your team to work around these.

That being said the biggest walling combos currently are Jirachi + Gliscor and Tyranitar + Skarmory and Ferrothorn + Jellicent, and infernape can be tailored to remove any that may be troubling your team. For the Former, Hidden Power Ice and Flare Blitz/Fire Blast will do the job, for SkarmTar Close Combat and Fire Blast will seal the deal, however the Latter Might be a little harder to deal with, my recommendation is to run a choice Band set and use intermitent Flare Blitzes coupled with U-turns.

The best way to support infernape is to have pokemon on team that can remove the Lati Twins, Ghosts, starmie and his number one Counter: Tentacruel. Tyranitar can murder these things pretty easily as can a Scarfed Flygon if played well. Starmie gets a special mention as it has great synergy with Infernape and can destroy stall very easily when coupled with infernape.

Entei

Fire

Pressure / Flash Fire

115 /115 / 85 / 90 / 75 / 100

Entei is overlooked by many due to its other fire brethen being seemingly, and frankly better than entei in most aspects. It has a curse that appears to plague all of the cool looking pokémon, a high attack but not much to do it with it; A la flareon and Luxray. It struggles to find slots on teams due to Heatran and Infernape having better distributed stats and typing in the higher echleons, and in the lower it is fairly outclassed by arcanine. HOWEVER! Not all hope is lost! Entei has some cool tricks under its sleeve. Like its beastly brethren it can abuse a sub calm mind set rather well given its decent bulk. It also gets Flame Charge, allowing it to set up later on in the game and speed tie with things like Scarfed Flygon. It also has a very usuable Attack stat and a nice offencive movepool to boot with moves like Stone Edge, Extreme Speed ... bite, alas no Flare blitz. Stone Edge Netting a nice strong hit on Kyurem is possibly the only reason you might use Entei over Arcanine, but given that Arcanine has Close Combat the point could be moot.

In my opinion the best way to play Entei is with a Sub CM set. It sits on a very usuable and crowded base 100 speed and can abuse it fairly well. It can function very well on sun teams with Substitute, calm mind, solar beam and Fire Blast (Ninetales provides sun and can arguably do it better, though remember!). what it has over Ninetales is the ability to run 417 HP, meaning that it can make 6 substitutes whilst against a seismic toss user and net +6 calm minds if it is running leftovers.

It can function as some sort of utility pokemon given that it has roar, Will-o-wisp, Toxic and reflect, however, defencively fire types don't generally work out all that well, Entei has the bulk over most other fire types, however-- use at your own risk.

Given that entei will be liable to functioning off of its weaker attacking stat, it is wise to pair it with pokemon that can set hazards down. A great partner is Skarmory as they have fairly decent synergy together. To that end, Entei is susceptible to all forms of entry hazards. Starmie is a great rapid spinner and also has pretty cool synergy with Entei. If you're running a physical Entei you are going to want Sturdy walls like Skarmory removed, and if you go special you'll want Chansey and co removed. Dragonite can do this fairly well, as can gyarados, and they both again have decent coverage with Entei.

----Not sure if I did Entei Justice, feel free to edit or rewrite----

Lanturn

Water / Electric

Illuminate / Volt Absorb / Water absorb

125 / 58 / 58 / 76 / 76 / 67

Lanturn is a favourite Pokémon of mine. It's awesome looking, has a great typing, pretty cool stats and a huge movepool. Lanturn is usually played defencively given its awesome Special bulk. It has a utility movepool to die for formed of heal bell, Toxic, Thunderwave, Confuse Ray, Toxic, Substitute, Flash, Protect And Stock Pile. Lanturn is one of your generic bulky waters with a twist, it isn't destroyed by starmie and can truly mess up the opponent by spreading paralysis and confusion until the cows come home. But wait! There's more! Its stabs get all but universal coverage, being walled by - ironically - itself and ferrothorn.

These days it generally can't take the power of OU, but it is always worth a shot in the underused tier, where things like Victini and Arcanine run rampent.

Its best partners are those that can take the strong physical hits and fast grass types, like celebi, out. Moltres can do this quite effectively, as it can switch on things like Quagsire and aforemention Celebi and attack back with STAB Fire Blast and Hidden Power Grass. Forretress makes a cool partner for Lanturn, too, as it can tank string physical hits layu down all the hazards under the sun and spin away the destrimental Toxic Spikes, they also have pretty awesome synergy together too. Given that Lanturn will be forcing switches with Parafusion, having a lot of entry hazards down is a fine idea, as this puts the opposition in a damning position, roll the dice with parafusion or allow another pokemon to be poisoned. Lanturn hates coming across other walls as she doesn't have very much in the way of a strong attacking stat, so the removal of these walls is lovely. In the Lower Tiers Victini is a fine idea, and in the higher tiers Salamence or Gliscor is a fine idea.

Changes in bold

MetaKnight (Metagross) @ Lum Berry

Trait: Clear Body

EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spd

Jolly

- Stealth Rock

- Earthquake

- Meteor Mash

- Ice Punch

The lead of my team. Set up SR, and dish damage. If all else fails, Explosion. Not much to say.

Due to explosion getting nerfed it's not really got a whole lot of use at present. You'll probably find that Gliscor will be switching in on your metagross and as such Ice punch is in place. Thunderpunch is cool too for Jellicent and Skarmory, but gliscor is used more. Not only that but this gross can be a real pain for the commonly seen Jirachi + Gliscor combo. the speed allows you to outpace and OHKO the SpD Jirachi with EQ, and most Gliscor too (with Ice Punch)

The speed is there to outpace Ttar and things that try to outspeed it, too.

Lava Dome (Heatran) (M) @ Leftovers

Trait: Flash Fire

EVs: 252 HP / 208 Def / 48 SDef

Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

- Protect

- Substitute

- Toxic

- Lava Plume

stalls with toxic, protect, substitute. If needed, I can Lava Plume and get a possible burn.

This set works much better as a torment set with Toxic Spikes, however you're not doing that currently and as you're giving very limited description as to how and why he works on your team I'm thinking tran will be replaceable, or at least his set.

Lochness (Gyarados) (M) @ Life Orb / Leftovers

Trait: Intimidate

EVs: 156 HP / 84 Atk / 96 Def / 172 Spd

Jolly

- Dragon Dance

- Waterfall

- Taunt

- Stone Edge

Typical Gyara set. D-Dance, then go for an epic sweep.

If it's not bulky you don't want to be running it. This outpaces 394ers; jolteon and co at +1, and is used to set up on things like Blissey, Skarmory and even Jellicent if it's packing will-o-wisp over Boil Over. This thing is easy to switch in, easier to set up and generally more fun to use.

Bolt (Jolteon) (M) @ Choice Specs

Trait: Volt Absorb

EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd

Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

- Thunder

- Shadow Ball

- Hidden Power [ice]

- Volt Switch

Just in case of rain teams, I have thunder. Also, for stab. Shadow Ball, just as a move to possibly lower Sp.D and get good damage. Hidden Power Ice, for the roaming dragons in the current metagame. Volt Switch as a safe switch.

I'm going to suggest switching this guy for rotom-W check the latter portion of this post.

Nurse (Blissey) (F) @ Leftovers

Trait: Natural Cure

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef

Bold

- Aromatherapy

- Softboiled

- Seismic Toss

- Thunder Wave

T-Wave, seismic toss for 100 HP Loss, get rid of status with Aromatherapy, and heal with softboiled.

You always bulk Bliessey's ~Defence over its special defence. However you are better off running Chansey if you're not using Ice Beam / Flamethrower.

Da Bug (Forretress) (M) @ Leftovers

Trait: Sturdy

EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 SDef

Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)

- Toxic Spikes

- Spikes

- Rapid Spin

- Gyro Ball

Just to Rapid spin, and set up spikes. Gyro ball for stab.

My main problem with this team is that you are hugely weak to Magnezone. Zone can switch in on Forretress, stack up maybe +3 against forretress and then wreak havoc on the rest of your team and there's nothing that you have that can effectively beat it.

You're also rather weak to sand teams. Excadrill can switch in on blissey, Forretress, Jolteon set up +2 and start sweeping.

Landorus is in the same vein as Excadrill.

Reuniclus can set up on blissey, jolteon, heatran, forretress... everything other than gyarados.

Now your best attempt at salvaging this weakness is using a nice defencive Swords Dance Scizor over Forretress.

name: Bulky Swords Dance

move 1: Swords Dance

move 2: Bullet Punch

move 3: Bug Bite / Superpower

move 4: Roost

item: Leftovers / Life Orb

nature: Adamant

ability: Technician

evs: 252 HP / 40 Atk / 216 SpD

Scizor is covered by heatran and heatran is covered by gyarados.

However you are still very dominated by Magnezone. Gliscor can cover this weakness, sort of. More of a check than a counter, but it will pair nicely with Scizor. Gliscor could go over gyardos, as gyarados is your prot of call for things physical foes and fighters, gliscor covers the same people as well magnezone and excadrill, something that your Gyarados can't boast. This then leaves you down a bulky water, and who better than Rotom-W.

[sET]

name: Choice

move 1: Volt Switch / Thunderbolt

move 2: Hydro Pump

move 3: Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ice

move 4: Trick

item: Choice Scarf / Choice Specs

ability: Levitate

nature: Timid

evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

This seems like a more reliable pokemon than your current Jolteon and absolutely murders rain teams. I prefer the defencive variant, personally, though.

[sET]

name: Standard

move 1: Thunderbolt

move 2: Hydro Pump

move 3: Will-O-Wisp / Hidden Power Fire

move 4: Pain Split

item: Leftovers

ability: Levitate

nature: Modest

evs: 112 HP / 252 SpA / 144 Spe

That's about all I can conjure up, give all of it a test, some of it, none of it, whatever... i think it could help.