Ask a Question Thread - READ FIRST POST

[Eaglehawk]

Try using some cores. Cores are a pair or trio or Pokemon that have an offensive or defensive synergy together. Usually, if you snoop around Smogon, you're bound to find cores that are pretty strong in the current metagame. Usually when someone introduces the core, they will also state some potential teammates for that said core, allowing you to (basically) build a complete team from there. It's a very good learning experience for beginners like you and helps you understand the state of the metagame better.

 

[varanus_komodoensis]

I need help with team building. I'm fairly new to Competitive, and I can do pretty well on Showdown with a SmashPass team my friend designed. But when it comes to designing my own team, I'm useless. I've read team building guides and watched team building videos, but none seem to help me. Whenever I try to build my own team, I rarely win with it if I do. Part of that might be my stupidity (using Toxic on a Magic Guard Alakazam), but part of it might be bc my team lacks "synergy," whatever that means. So do you have any general team building advice? Or a link to a good team building guide? This novice would greatly appreciate it

Also try the Team Building Help Thread. It will come in handy

 

[ilyas1503]

First time EV training...

I’m here to ask if I have EV trained my Raichu properly since it’s my first time EV training
My Raichu is now Lvl. 100 and has a modest nature Sp.Atk/ Atk
Here are its stats:
HP: 239
Attack: 183
Defense: 144
Sp.Atk: 276
Sp. Def: 195
Speed: 287

Its EV spread is:
252 Sp.Atk/252 Speed/ 4 HP

Any recommendations for move set?
-ThunderShock
-Nasty Plot
-Electro Ball
-Thunderbolt

Advice for the next time I EV train???
Thanks in advance ~ ilyas1503

 

[cxinlee]

Is there a little cup thread?

 

[varanus_komodoensis]

I’m here to ask if I have EV trained my Raichu properly since it’s my first time EV training
My Raichu is now Lvl. 100 and has a modest nature Sp.Atk/ Atk
Here are its stats:
HP: 239
Attack: 183
Defense: 144
Sp.Atk: 276
Sp. Def: 195
Speed: 287

Its EV spread is:
252 Sp.Atk/252 Speed/ 4 HP

Any recommendations for move set?
-ThunderShock
-Nasty Plot
-Electro Ball
-Thunderbolt

Advice for the next time I EV train???
Thanks in advance ~ ilyas1503

You did EV train your Raichu correctly Good job! In case you're curious, here's its IV spread:

HP 8
Att 19
Def 29
SpA 3
SpD 30
Speed 19

As for the moves, they need a lot of work. Your Raichu has THREE electric attacks! Why??? And why does it still know Thundershock??? We need to fix that. You should also get rid of Electro Ball. Raichu is out-speeded by too many things for it to be really useful, and Thunderbolt is more reliable.

Your Raichu should have a Hidden Power type Steel, with a power of 66. The power is very good, but Steel isn't an HP type that's used on Raichu; usually Raichu uses HP Ice. You can use HP Steel if you want, but it's not Raichu's best. But it IS a strong attack, with a Base Power of 66.

This is what I would do with Raichu:

Nasty Plot
Thunderbolt
Focus Blast/Volt Switch/HP Steel (if you want it)
Grass Knot

Is there a little cup thread?

I couldn't find one, but you can always make one!

 

[ilyas1503]

Thanks for the feedback

You did EV train your Raichu correctly Good job! In case you're curious, here's its IV spread:

HP 8
Att 19
Def 29
SpA 3
SpD 30
Speed 19

As for the moves, they need a lot of work. Your Raichu has THREE electric attacks! Why??? And why does it still know Thundershock??? We need to fix that. You should also get rid of Electro Ball. Raichu is out-speeded by too many things for it to be really useful, and Thunderbolt is more reliable.

Your Raichu should have a Hidden Power type Steel, with a power of 66. The power is very good, but Steel isn't an HP type that's used on Raichu; usually Raichu uses HP Ice. You can use HP Steel if you want, but it's not Raichu's best. But it IS a strong attack, with a Base Power of 66.

This is what I would do with Raichu:

Nasty Plot
Thunderbolt
Focus Blast/Volt Switch/HP Steel (if you want it)
Grass Knot

Thanks for the feedback plus I wasnt too interested in perfecting the moves as I was just practisin EV training to see the stats I know raichu is quite a poor choice for a special sweeper

 

[The desert spirit]

Is it at all possible to have a 6v6 single battle over wifi without trading friend codes with another person?

 

[varanus_komodoensis]

Is it at all possible to have a 6v6 single battle over wifi without trading friend codes with another person?

I don't think so...but I might be wrong.

Also, I'M the biggest fan of everything Flygon! Flygon's one of my favorite Pokemon; I've always had one on my team since Gen III!

 

[alexfirefist6]

i'm totally new to competitive pokemon so my question is does a competitive pokemon team have to have certain roles? such as i can have a decent team with all physical sweepers or half physical sweepers and half tanks? a good example of this would be league of legend. for those of you have played it you would know generally a team would be consisted of a solo top(could be a variety), solo mid either mage or burst ad, duo bot with adc and support and a jungler.

 

[cxinlee]

i'm totally new to competitive pokemon so my question is does a competitive pokemon team have to have certain roles? such as i can have a decent team with all physical sweepers or half physical sweepers and half tanks? a good example of this would be league of legend. for those of you have played it you would know generally a team would be consisted of a solo top(could be a variety), solo mid either mage or burst ad, duo bot with adc and support and a jungler.

I would say yes. There are sweepers, walls, revenge killers, spinners, hazard setters and more. A lot of mons have more than one role, and in a team you want to have a good mix.

 

[alexfirefist6]

I would say yes. There are sweepers, walls, revenge killers, spinners, hazard setters and more. A lot of mons have more than one role, and in a team you want to have a good mix.

so then what would be a good mix? would be it alright to have 2 physical sweepers?

 

[varanus_komodoensis]

so then what would be a good mix? would be it alright to have 2 physical sweepers?

It depends on how many Pokemon are on your team, and whether it's a Single or Double Battle. I prefer Double Battles, and my Doubles Sun team has a Weather inducer, a hazard setter, a wall, and a physical and special sweeper that I rotate among.

 

[pikkichu]

Extreme ev training noob question
Basically I don't play competitively but wanted to try ev training but I'm lazy about.the process, have pokerus + power lens so that's 12 evs right? So if I beat like 13 or however many litwicks (plus.having 100 evs from vitamins) would that give me all 252 evs for sp atk that i would need or is not that simple to get all evs I need for oneq stat

 

[varanus_komodoensis]

Extreme ev training noob question
Basically I don't play competitively but wanted to try ev training but I'm lazy about.the process, have pokerus + power lens so that's 12 evs right? So if I beat like 13 or however many litwicks (plus.having 100 evs from vitamins) would that give me all 252 evs for sp atk that i would need or is not that simple to get all evs I need for oneq stat

Okay...If I'm understanding this correctly, you're training a Pokemon in Sp. Attack and you want to know how many EVs per Litwick you get with the Power Lens, Pokerus, and 10 Calciums.

Litwick gives 1 Sp. Attack EV. Pokerus adds 4, and Power Lens doubles it, stacking with Power Lens. So that's (1+4)*2, or 10 Sp. Atk EVs per Litwick.

If you want to have 252 EVs in Sp.Atk, then you need to defeat 252/10, or 26 Litwicks. But, if you give your Pokemon 10 Calciums, it will gain 100 Sp. Atk EVs right off the bat. That means that you'll have to defeat ((252-100)/10), or 16, Litwicks to get 252 Sp. Atk EVs.

 

[alexfirefist6]

thanks everyone who answered my previous questions i have another one
why use revenge killers in competitive play? this is just based off what i've read but they are suppose to come in when one of your team dies but then couldn't the enemy just manually switch their pokemon that way whatever your about to use to ohko wouldn't ohko the one they send out?

 

[Touché Amoré]

thanks everyone who answered my previous questions i have another one
why use revenge killers in competitive play? this is just based off what i've read but they are suppose to come in when one of your team dies but then couldn't the enemy just manually switch their pokemon that way whatever your about to use to ohko wouldn't ohko the one they send out?

Typically Revenge Killers are used to finish off weakened Pokemon. So a lot of the time it is better to fodder off that Pokemon then to send in a different one to take the damage. For example Stoutland is a exellent revenge killer with Sand Rush+STAB Retaliate. Since Retaliate can OHKO or severely weaken a large amount of threats it is usually better to just let your weakened Pokemon faint then to switch in a different Pokemon instead because of how much power Retaliate will have during that turn. But since a lot of revenge killers use Choice Scarfs switching out can be a option if you have something on your team that will resist , is immune to , or will be able to easily take the attack you are expecting. For example while Retaliate from Stoutland can be deadly to a large amount of Pokemon if you know the Stoutland is holding a Choice item and not a Silk Scarf or Life Orb then you might consider sending in Ferrothorn who will take Retaliate no problem and give Iron Barb recoil as well or send in a Ghost type like Jellicent or Gengar. By doing this (assuming you are not predicted and your opponent uses SuperPower or Crunch) you will have a free turn to set up a sub or hazards or whatever you feel you need to do. So basically whether or not you should switch out on a revenge killer depends on if you have anything to check the revenge killer. If not it is usually better to just fodder off the weakened Pokemon you already have in play

 

[ZombifiedHorror1031]

Hello there everyone,

I'm not certain whether this is the proper thread for this problem, but having looked around, I don't believe there really is a more appropriate setting.

So, I have a shiny Tepig. I plan to raise it into an Emboar. It has been sitting in my PC for numerous months, as I am horribly confused about what to do with it.

Now, one would think the answer is obvious; the thing is built for physically attacking things, therefore raise it to do just that. However, my problem is that the Tepig is Modest. Not only that, but it has a perfect IV in Special Attack.

Now, an Emboar's Special Attack stat isn't too horrid. Competitively speaking, is a specially oriented Emboar worth the surprise factor? Smogon doesn't seem to think so. I considered a mixed attacking set for a little while, but not sure whether attempting to salvage a -max stat is worth it.

I do not currently battle competitively, but I like to raise my Pokemon to a competitive standard in case I choose to in the future. I generally use the best natures available, but I don't really want to put the Tepig to waste.

I realize the answers will likely vary from person to person, but as I am not currently used to the competitive scene, I figured it couldn't hurt to seek some advice from those more knowledgeable in the field.

Thank you for your time, and if this isn't the ideal place to ask, I humbly apologize.

 

[varanus_komodoensis]

Hello there everyone,

I'm not certain whether this is the proper thread for this problem, but having looked around, I don't believe there really is a more appropriate setting.

So, I have a shiny Tepig. I plan to raise it into an Emboar. It has been sitting in my PC for numerous months, as I am horribly confused about what to do with it.

Now, one would think the answer is obvious; the thing is built for physically attacking things, therefore raise it to do just that. However, my problem is that the Tepig is Modest. Not only that, but it has a perfect IV in Special Attack.

Now, an Emboar's Special Attack stat isn't too horrid. Competitively speaking, is a specially oriented Emboar worth the surprise factor? Smogon doesn't seem to think so. I considered a mixed attacking set for a little while, but not sure whether attempting to salvage a -max stat is worth it.

I do not currently battle competitively, but I like to raise my Pokemon to a competitive standard in case I choose to in the future. I generally use the best natures available, but I don't really want to put the Tepig to waste.

I realize the answers will likely vary from person to person, but as I am not currently used to the competitive scene, I figured it couldn't hurt to seek some advice from those more knowledgeable in the field.

Thank you for your time, and if this isn't the ideal place to ask, I humbly apologize.

Here's what I think about this. If your Tepig is Modest, it will lose 10% of its Attack Stat, while gaining 10% in its Sp.Atk. Honestly, this pretty much evens out your Tepig's Attack and Sp. Atk base stats, making them essentially about the same, around 110 each. Stats-wise, whether you make your Emboar a physical or special attacker probably won't matter in the long run because of this. The problem I forsee is that Emboar has very poor choices of special moves. If you want a Special Attacker, I would do something like this:

Emboar
Modest @ Choice Scarf
/ 252 Sp.Atk/ 4 Sp. Def/ 252 Spe

Fire Blast
Toxic/Will-O-Wisp
Focus Blast
Grass Knot

 

[lecheroflakes333]

What kind of move set should i have on my prankster sableye and what kind of nature should i have impish (+D/-SpA) or careful (+SpD/-SpA)?

 

[Touché Amoré]

What kind of move set should i have on my prankster sableye and what kind of nature should i have impish (+D/-SpA) or careful (+SpD/-SpA)?

Try this

Sableye (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 134 Def / 126 SpD
Impish Nature (+Def, -SpA)
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Night Shade




These two might work for you also

Sableye (M) @ Iron ball
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 134 Def / 126 SpD
Impish Nature (+Def, -SpA)
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Fling

Sableye (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 134 Def / 126 SpD
Impish Nature (+Def, -SpA)
- Toxic
- Will-O-Wisp
- Swagger
- Foul Play