Hey guys,
This is my first team built in the new Gen, and I have been slowly breeding this team in game for some competitive play. That said, I've only got 3 / 6 complete, and I don't want to get too deep before having the team properly discussed and rated. I played Pokemon Showdown casually in Gen V but have never been overly competitive until recently.
So, this really has been a lot of experimentation since the new Gen came out, and hasn't been as structured as I normally prefer team building to be. Around the 3rd iteration I found a core I was comfortable with, and built around that.
I started playing around with this sun team towards the end of BW2, after Charizard's mega evolution had been revealed. Seeing my favorite Pokemon gain Drought excited me. It became clear that this would be a major buff for Zard, making him viable and able to replace Ninetales. While sun ultimately has gone down hill this gen, I still decided to experiment with it, and base my first team around Charizard. I used my BW PO sun team as my base.
I began experimenting with some of the X and Y Pokemon while using the basic roles in my previous team. I tried out a Solar Power Helioptile instead of Jolteon. I had a Strong Jaw Tyrantrum Fire Fanging in place of Infernape. Really though, I didn't find many X and Y Pokemon too friendly to my team, and opted to move away from this failed experiment. Still, I did toss a Cloyster in here to replace my Rapid Spinning Donphan and cover off Dragons (which I was having issue with), and I quite liked what he brought to the table. Not a total failure. Ditching sun-inducing Ninetales also allowed me to play with a Gengar.
After some reading on Smogon I decided to give Sticky Web a spin, along with Snorlax. Snorlax was a Pokemon I was considering as well, and after reading someone's thoughts on his synergy with Char-Y, I decided to try it out. Galvantula was to bring Sticky Web to the table, which someone else suggested would work well with Char-Y. While slowing down the other team was neat, it felt a little unnecessary, and Galvantula really wasn't capable of much else. Snorlax, however, was a success. The last experiment with this iteration was a Breloom, as I wanted to experiment with Growth. I quickly realized that Sword Dance worked just as well and didn't require sun. If I was going to use Growth, I wanted to try something that could take advantage of both the Atk boost and the SpA boost.
With Sun's shortened duration, I found that it was hard to take advantage of Char-Y's drought with 2 Sun sweepers. I opted to get rid of Exeggutor all together, and replace Breloom with a mixed Tangrowth. I used Tangrowth as a bit of a physically defensive Pokemon where Cloyster was weak. I ditched the Sticky Web idea for something to set up rocks, and lastly I decided to give a Weakness Policy Dragonite a try. I actually had a lot of success with this build, but there were some key threats that were pummeling me. Namely Mega Kangaskhan. I needed an answer.
Which finally ends this tale of experimentation with...
The current team, and the team I'm looking for help fleshing out. A Rocky Helmet Ferrothorn is probably the best Mega Kanga counter I could come up with. I decided that Weakness Policy Dragonite was too gimicky, and decided to switch to a Sub + Disable Gengar instead, which also helps against some of the threats doing too much damage to me team.
I started playing around with this sun team towards the end of BW2, after Charizard's mega evolution had been revealed. Seeing my favorite Pokemon gain Drought excited me. It became clear that this would be a major buff for Zard, making him viable and able to replace Ninetales. While sun ultimately has gone down hill this gen, I still decided to experiment with it, and base my first team around Charizard. I used my BW PO sun team as my base.
I began experimenting with some of the X and Y Pokemon while using the basic roles in my previous team. I tried out a Solar Power Helioptile instead of Jolteon. I had a Strong Jaw Tyrantrum Fire Fanging in place of Infernape. Really though, I didn't find many X and Y Pokemon too friendly to my team, and opted to move away from this failed experiment. Still, I did toss a Cloyster in here to replace my Rapid Spinning Donphan and cover off Dragons (which I was having issue with), and I quite liked what he brought to the table. Not a total failure. Ditching sun-inducing Ninetales also allowed me to play with a Gengar.
After some reading on Smogon I decided to give Sticky Web a spin, along with Snorlax. Snorlax was a Pokemon I was considering as well, and after reading someone's thoughts on his synergy with Char-Y, I decided to try it out. Galvantula was to bring Sticky Web to the table, which someone else suggested would work well with Char-Y. While slowing down the other team was neat, it felt a little unnecessary, and Galvantula really wasn't capable of much else. Snorlax, however, was a success. The last experiment with this iteration was a Breloom, as I wanted to experiment with Growth. I quickly realized that Sword Dance worked just as well and didn't require sun. If I was going to use Growth, I wanted to try something that could take advantage of both the Atk boost and the SpA boost.
With Sun's shortened duration, I found that it was hard to take advantage of Char-Y's drought with 2 Sun sweepers. I opted to get rid of Exeggutor all together, and replace Breloom with a mixed Tangrowth. I used Tangrowth as a bit of a physically defensive Pokemon where Cloyster was weak. I ditched the Sticky Web idea for something to set up rocks, and lastly I decided to give a Weakness Policy Dragonite a try. I actually had a lot of success with this build, but there were some key threats that were pummeling me. Namely Mega Kangaskhan. I needed an answer.
Which finally ends this tale of experimentation with...
The current team, and the team I'm looking for help fleshing out. A Rocky Helmet Ferrothorn is probably the best Mega Kanga counter I could come up with. I decided that Weakness Policy Dragonite was too gimicky, and decided to switch to a Sub + Disable Gengar instead, which also helps against some of the threats doing too much damage to me team.
After all the building, my team really has a Bulky Offense look, which seems like it will be one of the more preferred playstyles this Gen. Almost all have some form of recovery or another, and can pack a punch to boot. What I'm trying to find are threats I may have missed. Clear dangers that I have overlooked.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SDef
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Protect
I start with Ferrothorn in almost all instances, UNLESS the opponent has a Kangaskhan. In the event of a Kanga, Ferrothorn holds tight right up until that overpowered piece of garbage is sent out. If I can use him to set up Spikes and Seeds, fantastic. He is built to cripple one of my opponents attacking threats. He truly shines against Mega Kanga's double attacks though. Talonflame can give him trouble, as can anything with Earthquake (which Kanga can run, so I have to be careful). For the most part he is quite effective.
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Roost
- Focus Blast
- SolarBeam
Charizard-Y, the Pokemon I spent months dreaming about playing with. I find myself using him to take out threats early, as this very standard set allows for a lot of coverage. Plenty of people are still sending out Water Pokemon to try and take this guy down, only to be destroyed with a Solar Beam after Spikes. He is a beast who sets up sun, and if I normally see most success when I use him early to limit my opponents choices.
In the event that my opponent has a Ferrothorn or Forettress that I think he is going to start with, Charizard can quickly become a very threatening lead. Not needing to worry about entry Hazards on the first turn, he can make quick word of an opponents Hazard-setter, allowing me to Rapid Spin the worry away and spend the rest of the battle unfazed by Hazards.
Snorlax @ Assault Vest
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 52 Def / 200 SDef / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
- Wild Charge
- Return
A Special Tank that works incredibly well with Charizard-Y. I have tried to build him in such a way as to cover many of Charizard's weaknesses or checks, with Earthquake taking down pesky-electric types and Wild Charge able to take out Talonflame (which can switch into Char-Y and sit there for days, I can't do a damn thing about it). With Assault Vest and Pursuit, he also does very well against Gengars, which are a common threat that anyone should be prepared for. Mega Gengar in particular would give me trouble without this guy. Focus Blast is always a concern, but I haven't seen nearly as much of that this Gen. I see more Gengars running Sludge Bomb now to deal with fairies, which I am quite alright with.
Tangrowth @ Leftovers
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Naughty Nature
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
- Growth
Speaking of dealing with Fairies, Tangrowth's Poison Jab hurts, especially after a Growth in Charizard's sun. If I can successfully switch in immediately after the sun comes out, this thing can sweep. Earthquake does wonderful against Steel types, and Giga Drain provides some health recovery along with Leftovers. Considering Tangrowth's impressive defense, the damage it can dish out sometimes seems a bit unfair. The main problem I've been facing is opponents taking advantage of Char-Y's Drought against Tangrowth, particularly Dragons. Even a non-STAB Flamethrower in Sun will make pretty quick work considering Tangrowth's very poor SpD. I need to watch out for this, and it may be that the ball of noodles needs replacement?
Cloyster @ King's Rock
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Rapid Spin
- Shell Smash
Cloyster is another Pokemon I have loved for a long time, but I am worried that I have it doing too much on my team. I need a spinner, given Charizard's awful rock weakness, but I find I have most success with Cloyster when I use him late. This can be a problem, and is one that I would love some thoughts on. After Charizard's early sweep, this thing does a very effective job of cleaning house after one Shell Smash. I love it. If I need to get him in early to spin, however, I risk losing him far sooner than I want to. I'm not sure if I should look at getting a different spinner or not, but I do know that I have far more success when I can save this guy for an end game cleanup.
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Disable
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
Sub + Disable Gengar rounds out my team and allows me to easily weaken a threat. In the event that there is a Pokemon causing me a lot of trouble, Gengar does a great job of stopping it in its tracks. Switch in after a death, Substitute to lock the sweeping Pokemon into the move it most wants to use against me, then Disable it. Black Sludge heals much of the damage of the initial substitute, and Gengar can then do the damage that I likely need him to do. Best case scenario, the opponent will be forced to switch out their Disabled sweeper. Mission accomplished if this is the case.
Anyway, I have built a few teams for fun in the past but have rarely put as much thought into them as I have this one. I hope it isn't awful, and would really appreciate feedback. As stated, I have begun breeding for this team in game, and would love to have some constructive criticism to think about before finishing it all off. Give it to me, I have thick skin and the best learning comes from having your mistakes pointed out.
Thanks all! I look forward to reading your replies.
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