help me please!!!

[tsubasa292]

I'm fairly new at trying to make competitive teams and having them rated so I would really appriciate any advice. I'm not really trying for OU or UU or anything like that...

So first try, here it goes *gulp*
(I'm adding 1 at a time so it may take a few minutes, sorry)
;292;
Shedinja@Spell tag
Wonder Guard
252 Speed, 252 Attack, 4 SAttack
-Shadow Claw
-Shadow Sneak
-Shadow Ball
-Dig
Umm... it seems like a good choice against most pokemon. I just have to be careful of type matchups and statusers. I really wanted a good physical sweeper and I love ghost types. It also works well for just annoying the opponet which is always fun


;135;
Jolteon@Magnet
Volt Absorb
252 Speed, 252 SAttack, 4 HP
-Agility
-Thunder Fang
-Thunder
-Charge Beam
A special sweeper obviously...It has good base speed an SAtk. I also wanted an electric type on my team (I was thinking of Amphoros). Agility boost speed and charge beam for SAtk, Thunder because it's a powerful special and electric move, and thunderfang for a physical move if I need it.


;196;
Espeon@Leftovers
Syncronize
252 Spd, 252 SAtk, 4 HP
-Swift
-Future Sight/Psybeam (need advice!)
-Psychic
-Morning Sun
Another Special sweeper. I chose Espeon because 1) I hate being statused 2) has good base Spd and SAtk 3) I like Psychic. I have swift to hit dig/dive/fly/double team users. The rest is kinda self-explainitory...

halfway there...*wipes away sweat*


;213;
Shuckle@Focus Band
Gluttony (was trying for sturdy -_-)
252 HP, 129 Def, 129 SDef
-Rest
-bide
-Earthquake
-Power Trick
This is my defensive wall. If I'm [extemely] careful of timing I can use power trick + EQ. The 600+ Def and SDef and the EVs help make up for the low HP. If someone faints my Shedinja with sandstorm this it a good switch...

;169;
Crowbat@Toxic Plate
Inner Focus
252 Spd, 129 Atk, 129 SAtk
-Cross Poison
-Confuse Ray
-Poison Fang
-Air Slash
I guess this is kinda like my statuser. It also has good base speed and it adds poison and flying to my party.
Last one!


;142;
Arrodactyl@Kings Rock
-Fly
-Giga Impact
-Crunch
-Iron Head
My other physical sweeper. I struggled with this one for a while because a wanted a poke'mon with a lot of raw power and this one seemed to fit best. It only really gets STAB from fly but the rest are fairly powerful.


I'm sure there are a lot a huge oroblems I've overlooked so please help me out!

 

[randomspot555]

Overall, your team is poorly constructed with no real rhyme or reason, the items are bad/not helpful or illegal (Focus Band), and there is little distinction between physical and special moves. Please spend some time reading the game mechanics section of the main site, the Rules thread, Smogon entries, and so on.

Dig spells doom for Shedinja. Earthquake is extremely common. It also has no real business using Shadow Ball with only 4 EVs in Special Attack. Lose Shadow Claw for X-Scissor to capitalize on STAB bug. Dig* and Shadow Ball are useless and need to be replaced.

**99% of the time, ANY move that requires two turns is bad. Fly is used very rarely on some Charizard sets, but Dig, Fly, Dive, Hyper Beam, Solar Beam w/out Sunny Day, and so on just give your opponent a free turn to switch, set up, or attack.

These "increase [type of attack] by 20%" items are almost never used in competitive play. Shedina almost always uses Focus Sash.

Physical moves are horrible on Jolteon and it almost never needs to be faster unless it is baton passing. Jolteon is also fragile and can't afford a miss with Thunder, so it either needs Rainy Day support or use T-bolt.

Swift is a pretty horrible attack on Espeon, and two Psychic attacks aren't ever needed. Psybeam is just a wussy version of Psychic, and Future Sight takes two turns. Psychic and Shadow Ball instead, and you still have one more slot to fill.

Shucke is honestly absolutely useless unless you're using it as a gimmick. Sorry. Also, Focus Band is banned in regular competitive play.

Aerodactyl is going to get destroyed by everything, (Giga Impact recharge, free counter/set up during Fly) and doesn't even have a STAB Rock move.

Crobat is not a mixed sweeper like you want it to be. Sorry.

Overall comments also include no one who can affectively absorb status (But Espeon can at least give some revenge to status users), and THREE Stealth Rock weak Pokes. Along with your entire team being very, very fragile.

Sorry, but it's back to the drawing board.

 

[tsubasa292]

Wow...definitly need to work on it 0.o
I knew there were a lot of problems so I posted here before actually constructing it. I'm glad I did...And I need to re-read the items rules since I overlooked the focus band. (which should have been obvious I realize now -_-)
Thanks a lot for all the help ^_^

 

[MM_Zero]

Well, yea I have to agree with random. It's just a random group of 6 EV'd pokes with no real strategy. First off, Shedinja is not a good pokemon at all (except in the uber metagame) as a lot of things in OU can knock it out immediately.

Jolteon has some poor move choices here (there's no need for thunder fang, charge beam is interesting, but jolteon cant really afford to set up.) Perhaps consider Zapdos instead? Zapdos can do a whole lot of things, and can easily find a spot in your team.

Espeon....not a bad pokemon really. BUT, there are better psychic types. Azelf, Alakazam, and Deoxys-S are much better. Azelf can nasty plot, Alakazam can abuse choice specs, and Deoxys-S is a really annoying revenge killer.

Erm...well....Shuckle has too low HP to really be a wall. Alos noting that it really cant do anything either. Perhaps consider Skarmory or Foretress, for a physical wall. Also, focus sash is a better option for any pokemon then focus band, since band doesn't even always work.

Um, Crobat is much better off a lead with U-turn. It's mainly an annoyer.

Well, Aerodactyl is not the best physical sweeper tbh. It's better off as a stealth rocker, and as a lead.

Well, I'm not really trying to fix this team since its not really a team lol. I'm just letting ya know basically what your pokemon that you chose can do, and what other, better options you can consider.

 

[randomspot555]

Well, Aerodactyl is not the best physical sweeper tbh. It's better off as a stealth rocker, and as a lead.

As an Aerodactyl fan, I have to briefly defend it. It can be more than a suicide lead (though it's probably among the best because of it's extreme speed) due to it's aforementioned speed and attack stat. With sand stream support, it can gain some special defense. With Life Orb instead of Choice Band, it gains the ability to completely sweep due to it's move pool.

But Aero users need to keep in mind a few facts:

1. It still has a host of weaknesses. Sand storm support is almost a must, as is having a Rapid Spinner if it isn't going to be your starter.
2. It's one of the few Rock Pokes where Rock Slide can be used, since it's fast enough to utilize the chance of flinching.
3. But also, it's two STAB moves (Stone Edge, Rock Slide) have less-than-perfect accuracy, and the elemental fangs still have that 5% chance of missing too. The lack of any powerful flying moves also hurts the move pool, though it does get Crunch to hit Gengar.

There's also the relatively new Drugodactyl set. Use Curse and attack the White Herb, and now Aero can actually take a hit!

EDIT: To the OP:

Dig has one other HUGE disadvantage because of Earthquake.

When someone is underground and is attacked by Earthquake, EQ's damange is DOUBLED before Type effectiveness is calculated. That's right, it becomes base 200! The only safe STAB Dig user is Flygon due to it's ability, but it'll never Dig due to EQ access itself.

 

[tsubasa292]

I still don't really get why fly is such a bad move?
I like it because it is two turn...It gives you a chance to avoid an attack that will KO you. You could still get KOed the next turn but the opponet may use an attack that won't because of pp. and it has a fairly good, if not great, base power plus it gets STAB...
Can you please explain why it's so bad since I don't seem to get it?

 

[randomspot555]

I still don't really get why fly is such a bad move?
I like it because it is two turn...It gives you a chance to avoid an attack that will KO you. You could still get KOed the next turn but the opponet may use an attack that won't because of pp. and it has a fairly good, if not great, base power plus it gets STAB...
Can you please explain why it's so bad since I don't seem to get it?

Fly/Bounce Pokes are still vulnerable to:

Thunder
No Guard ability
Sky Uppercut

In addition, it gives the opponent a turn to either set up or switch to a counter. This could mean anything from a turn to Nasty Plot/Swords Dance/Dragon Dance up, to switching to a wall or any number of Pokes who don't mind getting hit by Fly. If something like hail or sand storm is up, the Flyer will still get hit on both turns, and paralyzes can still happen. It also can miss.

 

[Poke-friend]

Well, this is coming from someone that isn't used to competitive, but Fly, Bounce and other two-turn moves could work well against pokemon that like to use Protect a lot. For example:

You used Fly
Opponent uses Protect
Protect doesn't do anything
Opponent tries to use Protect
It fails!
You use Fly
You hit opponent

I don't know. This needs careful prediction, and it is not guaranteed that your opponent won't be able to use Protect again. So, I guess randomspot555 is right.

 

[habeas]

I'm fairly new at trying to make competitive teams and having them rated so I would really appriciate any advice. I'm not really trying for OU or UU or anything like that...

So first try, here it goes *gulp*
(I'm adding 1 at a time so it may take a few minutes, sorry)
;292;
Shedinja@Spell tag
Wonder Guard
252 Speed, 252 Attack, 4 SAttack
-Shadow Claw
-Shadow Sneak
-Shadow Ball
-Dig
Umm... it seems like a good choice against most pokemon. I just have to be careful of type matchups and statusers. I really wanted a good physical sweeper and I love ghost types. It also works well for just annoying the opponet which is always fun

Swellow and any normal flying completly walls this set. I would say drop Dig, as it gives way for easy switches to levitate/flying mon. It really depends what your wanting to do with it. you can spread status around with toxic/will-o-wisp which can be problems for counters. Give it X-scissor & Shadow sneak for STAB Then if you want give it swords dance & focus sash. But remember Stealth rock hits Shedinja so inless you have a spinner he's going to go down straight away.


;135;
Jolteon@Magnet
Volt Absorb
252 Speed, 252 SAttack, 4 HP
-Agility
-Thunder Fang
-Thunder
-Charge Beam
A special sweeper obviously...It has good base speed an SAtk. I also wanted an electric type on my team (I was thinking of Amphoros). Agility boost speed and charge beam for SAtk, Thunder because it's a powerful special and electric move, and thunderfang for a physical move if I need it.

you are really only wanting to give this Agility if your planning to baton pass it to something, as Jolteon can reach 394 max speed. you should give it charge beam or thunderbolt. Charge beam has 95acc iirc and less power but has the chance of a spatk boost which will work well for baton passing. Thunderbolt has 100% accuracy and higher base power which is a better choice for a set without baton pass. But both are STAB so are pretty good to have. You can always give him Substitute, so he can BP the sub onto something or as you are most likely to outspeed most things you can see what your opponent move is. His movepool is rather poor so there isn't many useful moves he can learn but if you can get your hands on one with HP grass/ice that is useful as they both hit ground types for super effective damage which your current moves dont hit, or you can give him shadow ball which can hit a few things. Also your best giving him leftovers if your after an agilty set.


;196;
Espeon@Leftovers
Syncronize
252 Spd, 252 SAtk, 4 HP
-Swift
-Future Sight/Psybeam (need advice!)
-Psychic
-Morning Sun
Another Special sweeper. I chose Espeon because 1) I hate being statused 2) has good base Spd and SAtk 3) I like Psychic. I have swift to hit dig/dive/fly/double team users. The rest is kinda self-explainitory...

Similar to Jolteon it's movepool is rather poor. If your planning to use morning sun as a heal move your really going to need sunny day support to take full advantage of it. For a heal move (if your wanting one) your best bet is wish, which can also support the rest of your team. Psychic is good for attacking with due to stab but you can't hit dark types. So HP fighting is a useful move here (but this may be hard to aquire). You can also give espeon shadow ball/grass knot depending what you want to cover. It also has access to calm mind & fake tears which can bost your special attack & defence or cripple special sweepers respectively. But i don't really think jolteon & espeon work well together in the same team.


;213;
Shuckle@Focus Band
Gluttony (was trying for sturdy -_-)
252 HP, 129 Def, 129 SDef
-Rest
-bide
-Earthquake
-Power Trick
This is my defensive wall. If I'm [extemely] careful of timing I can use power trick + EQ. The 600+ Def and SDef and the EVs help make up for the low HP. If someone faints my Shedinja with sandstorm this it a good switch...

First of all levitate mon & flying types wall this set. I would advise not to use Power Trick inless it's in trick room. And anything with a decent attack and a prioty move destroys Trick room shuckle. I would say go for Earthquake, stone edge, power trick & rest/substitute. Here you can at least hit everything. For the EV spread i would say 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD as with a neutral spdef nature you will have a minium of 496 Special defence and it allows you to take full advantage of Shuckles massive defence. But this is really only good for trick room as shuckle as the lowest base speed along with Munchlax. But i would reccomend you go for a different shuckle set such as the standard toxic/ encore/ rest/ knock off/ stealth rock. It can't hit much but it can destroy teams with toxic & knock off.

;169;
Crowbat@Toxic Plate
Inner Focus
252 Spd, 129 Atk, 129 SAtk
-Cross Poison
-Confuse Ray
-Poison Fang
-Air Slash
I guess this is kinda like my statuser. It also has good base speed and it adds poison and flying to my party.
Last one!

you should make it physical or special, not both. Hypnosis is a good status attack and it has good enough speed to pull it off. There are lots of things you can do with crobat though. You can use him as a scouter, with taunt/hypnosis/u turn & a STAB'd attack. You can go for a mean look trapper which runs similar to a scouter. Go with a nasty plot sweeper (I can give you a zubat wiht nasty plot & hp ground 69 ) or a physical set. He has a fairly average special & physical attacking stats so it is best to aim for one & not both so you can take full advantage of his attacks.

;142;
Arrodactyl@Kings Rock
-Fly
-Giga Impact
-Crunch
-Iron Head
My other physical sweeper. I struggled with this one for a while because a wanted a poke'mon with a lot of raw power and this one seemed to fit best. It only really gets STAB from fly but the rest are fairly powerful.

First of all get rid of giga impact & fly. Giga impact has high attacking power but your opponent can easily set up a revenge kill. Similar to fly when you fly up they can switch to a physical wall to resist fly. Go with stone edge/rock slide, they are STAB but have bad accuracy but have the chance to crit/flinch & with your speed you can flinch quite a few things. Give him EQ as that has a high amount of coverage, and stone edge hits things that avoid EQ. Ice fang is useful for threats like Mence & ground types. for the last move you can go for fire fang or pursuit, both good for different situations. For the EV spread give it 42 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
He will be able to outspeed quite a few things but allows him to survive a few hits aswell. You can always give him Whirlwind but remember this is a minus Priority move. Depending how hard you want to hit give him Choice band/ Life orb or leftovers.


I'm sure there are a lot a huge oroblems I've overlooked so please help me out!

Made a few suggestions. But overall i would say you need to get rid of jolteon/espeon as you don't need both in there and you could do with a spinner so shedinja doesn't get destroyed for the switch in. I would also reccomend you don't lead with shedinja but leave him for the later of the game. And if your still planning to run power trick shuckle your team will be quite frail and fairly easy to take down, depending on if shedinja can be hit. But whatever you decide to do don't go for 3 electric attacks on the same mon like you did with jolteon.

 

[tsubasa292]

Thanks for adding specifics probles/tips for each pokemon. It's really helpful.
^_^

 

[randomspot555]

Pursuit is useful on Aerodactyl, but I'd rather put Crunch on. Not many are going to be fleeing from Aerodactyl due to how fragile it is. Plus, even to Pokes that resist Dark attacks, it can still lower their defense.