Opinions on a sixth member?

[Lumaca]

Finally Beat the Elite 4!

So, in case anyone cares (especially arceus who helped me a lo), I finally managed to beat the elite 4 on my second try with a big slice of luck:

Refrige-Rotom - Einherjar
Docile
Item: Luck Incense
- Discharge
- Confuse Ray
- Shadow Ball
- Blizzard

Truly my MVP, not only did he net the most kills (anything with wings and aquatic), he also doubled my profit!

Empoleon - Caladbolg
Modest
Item: Quick Claw
- Sleep Talk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Rest

Incredibly useful at stalling whilst I heal the others, but his greatest contribution was in the offensive front: an incredibly lucky Quick Claw-ed, critical Ice Beam on Cynthia's Garchomp!

Gabite - Gae Bolg
Serious
Item: Soft Sand
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Fang
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

My go to guy, Garchomp is truly a monster in this game.

Gallade - Ascalon
Sassy
Item: Quick Claw
- Close Combat
- Psycho Cut
- Swords Dance
- Night Slash

Perhaps the least active from my team, but still managed to take down Infernape and Houndoom.

Houndoom - Gevaudan
Hardy
Item: BlackGlasses
- Thunder Fang
- Flamethrower
- Dark Pulse
- Sucker Punch

Surprisingly, was the star of the show: doing a job on Lucian and Aaron. Sucker Punch, there just as a filler until I got Nasty Plot, showed me how awesome priority moves can be.

Drifblim - Cailleach
Bashful
Item: Chesto Berry
- Rest
- Shadow Ball
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt

Covers much of the same thing as Rotom, but I just brought her to fill the sixth slot despite being almost 10 levels lower than Rotom (45-54). Rest-Chest-Unburden is fun though!

I am currently thinking of adding a speed passing Ninjask to my team to solve my team's chronic lack of speed, but that's basically my team. Now I gotta train and reinforce for the rematch!

 

[arceus03]

Shadow Ball > Ominous Wind and Thunderbolt/Discharge > Shock Wave for Rotom. What forme are you planning to use?

Modest Empoleon =]
Go for Grass Knot. Steel moves in general are bad choices because they don't cover much type. The same goes for Psychic. Empoleon has great attacking stats, but unfortunately his movepool aren't that wide. For the last slot, you can go for Stealth Rock (this rapes Aaron's bugsies SO much) or Signal Beam or Iron Defense (the last two are mainly fillers.)

For Garchomp, go Fire Fang/Earthquake/Stone Edge/Outrage, and give him a Choice Band. If you're not keen on being locked on one move, you can opt Swords Dance > Stone Edge. You'll miss the coverage Ground+Rock offer, but you get to hit Bronzongs harder.

Close Combat is a must on Gallade. If you're going for Fire Fang on Garchomp, then change Fire Punch to Ice Punch instead. Psycho Cut, again, gives little coverage, but I guess he gets STAB for that.

You have the Dark Pulse TM for Houndoom That, and Nasty Plot, hurts a lot. Keep Thunder Fang if you wish.

Well.. Hope I helped.

 

[Lumaca]

Thanks for the recommendations!

My pokes are all still in their early 40s, so they haven't got all the recommended moves yet.

Rotom is probably going to be either Oven or Lawnmower, since I don't like Blizzard and Hydro Pump's low accuracy, and I think he's wasted on Fan. Houndoom's got fire covered though, and I think Lawnmower will do better against those pesky Ground and/or Rock types. I will teach him Shadow Ball soon (5pp Wind is starting to piss me off) and am waiting for Discharge.

As for Empoleon, well there goes my 12k for Hidden Power. I did realize that it couldn't kill a Golbat without a crit, as opposed to Ice Beam.

It did kinda ruin my plan when I realized that almost every Dark moves is physical (they used to be all special).

Any recommendation on which pokemon to complete the party, while I go back to look for shards for Ice Punch?

I am currently considering

Roserade
Hardy
- Petal Dance
- Aromateraphy
- Worry Seed/Sleep Powder/Stun Spore/Toxic Spikes
- Worry Seed/Sleep Powder/Stun Spore/Toxic Spikes

 

[arceus03]

Thanks for the recommendations!

My pokes are all still in their early 40s, so they haven't got all the recommended moves yet.

Glad I helped.
Well, yeah, since it is against the rules to post your current team _unless_ you already have 7 badges, I gave the sets that you should have in the future.

As for Empoleon, well there goes my 12k for Hidden Power. I did realize that it couldn't kill a Golbat without a crit, as opposed to Ice Beam.

Figures. Ice Beam has 95 base power, while Hidden Power at most will have 70. Even against Fighting types, assuming the Hidden Power has 70 base power, you'll get 140 base damage. Neutral STAB Surf nets you 142.5, unless you're fighting a Pokemon that's quadruple weak to Psychic, like Croagunk. (Which is the _only_ Pokemon quadruple weak to Psychic, IIRC)

It did kinda ruin my plan when I realized that almost every Dark moves is physical (they used to be all special).

XD Well, yeah, the physical-special splits are now move-specific instead of type-specific.

Any recommendation on which pokemon to complete the party, while I go back to look for shards for Ice Punch?

That actually depends on your team. Take a whole look, see what you're lacking. If your team seems to be filled with physical hitters, you might want to pick a special sweeper, or vice versa. Right now, I see that the physical-special aspect is quite balanced, so you might want to consider another factor: type. Find out which type you have a lot of weakness to, and pick a Pokemon that can counter them.

Another option: defenses. Your team seems to be lacking in the Defense department. Well, Rotom has high Def and SDef, but his meager HP isn't at all appealing. Garchomp's defenses are nice, but he has that 4x weak to Ice. Houndoom and Gallade are frail. Right now, only Empoleon seems to be able to take a few hits (thanks to his Steel part), but he crumples under Earthquake.

Or, if you think your team is already fine as it is, and you can already cover all types without having to add in another Pokemon, just keep the slot open for HM slaves.

I am currently considering

Roserade
Hardy
- Petal Dance
- Aromateraphy
- Worry Seed/Sleep Powder/Stun Spore/Toxic Spikes
- Worry Seed/Sleep Powder/Stun Spore/Toxic Spikes

Roserade doesn't really work well being a support. Well, in competitive she would, but for in games, support are rarely needed lest you get bored to death while training. I'd say have one (or maybe 2) support moves, then give her powerful attacks for the rest; Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, Energy Ball are all good moves to utilize her high SAtk. Then you can have Sleep Powder/Leech Seed/Toxic etc. Worry Seed is... meh. Unless the opponent has Rest in one of his moveslots, or has Pressure (or a few other abilities that could harm you), you wouldn't be using Worry Seed that much. Hidden Power can be a great asset here, HP Fire or Ice can help her against her other Grass opponents and/or Dragons, etc, but getting the right type _with_ the optimum base power is a bit catchy. You don't want the base power to be lower than 60, at least.

And oh, Energy Ball > Petal Dance. The SDef rate (though a bit low) is worth it. You can still go for Petal Dance, if you want to, though. Just give her lots of Persim Berry to hold.

 

[Lumaca]

Lol, admittedly Worry Seed is pretty gimmicky. I'll just save it for my grudge match against my friend and her Medicham. Just wait... *evil laugh*

XD Well, yeah, the physical-special splits are now move-specific instead of type-specific.

Yeah, but Dark, as I just checked has almost NO special move whatsoever. Quite a drastic change.

Another option: defenses. Your team seems to be lacking in the Defense department. Well, Rotom has high Def and SDef, but his meager HP isn't at all appealing. Garchomp's defenses are nice, but he has that 4x weak to Ice. Houndoom and Gallade are frail. Right now, only Empoleon seems to be able to take a few hits (thanks to his Steel part), but he crumples under Earthquake.

My Sassy Gallade resists special quite well actually, but also has crummy HP.

I actually captured a Calm Chansey with Serene Grace, but it looks like such a pain to raise, evolve and/or use.

I think I will check Gliscor, but the fact that I don't have any more Earthquake TMs kinda hurts. I must either get my friend to send me a high leveled pick up poke or use Dig... They really, really need to put in more ground-type moves. It's either that or bite the bullet and go with Leafeon. For now the sixth slot will be a Tropius with Cut-Fly-RockSmash-Strength.

Thanks again for the great recommendations.

 

[arceus03]

My Sassy Gallade resists special quite well actually, but also has crummy HP.

Mhm. I had the experience of using Gallade once. He has high SDef, yes, but low HP. You're going to meet a few Shadow Balls and Air Slashes in the E4, and they hurt quite a lot.

I actually captured a Calm Chansey with Serene Grace, but it looks like such a pain to raise, evolve and/or use.

Blissey excels in SDef, which Empoleon can soak up pretty well already.

I think I will check Gliscor, but the fact that I don't have any more Earthquake TMs kinda hurts. I must either get my friend to send me a high leveled pick up poke or use Dig... They really, really need to put in more ground-type moves. It's either that or bite the bullet and go with Leafeon. For now the sixth slot will be a Tropius with Cut-Fly-RockSmash-Strength.

Thanks again for the great recommendations.

Gliscor might be a good option, with sturdy Defense, usable HP and access to Swords Dance, but beware that adding in Gliscor will add to your Ice weak. Not to mention that both he and Garchomp take serious damage from Ice. I'm not very good with team building, tbh. Maybe you can VM other raters to ask for their advice with team synergy. Moveset-wise, I can help a bit.

No problem. Glad to be of help.

 

[Lumaca]

Question: what does Grass Knot actually help Empoleon with? Are there still big water users besides Crasher Wake? I actually was starting to consider Rest-Sleep Talk on him. Rotom will be perfectly fine against most water pokemon anyway, especially as a Lawnmower.

And is this Bastiodon any good for in-game?
Bastiodon
Bashful
- Taunt
- Metal Burst
- Stone Edge
and I realize how ridonculous this sounds (and probably looks)
- Magnet Rise

Does it even matter if I give him Physical or Special moves, with his base Atk only 5 points higher than the SpAtk?

 

[arceus03]

Hmm. To be fair, Grass Knot only threatens Water users, yeah. Rock/Ground gets drowned by Surf. Then again, Empoleon doesn't really have a wide moveset. Other options include Signal Beam/Stealth Rock/Agility. Agility is really great if you can get it, but you'd need to breed. SleepTalking Empo could work, I guess. I never had any experience with SleepTalkers, so I can't help you with that. Sorry. Same goes for Bastiodon. Try to ask other raters

 

[Lumaca]

If only Empo learns Thunderbolt... Well that would be asking too much. I think I'll go with Sleep Talk.

And for the sixth slot, I think I'll just get the coolest looking pokemon I find. It's a game and it's supposed to be fun

 

[Lumaca]

So, in case anyone cares (especially arceus who helped me a lo), I finally managed to beat the elite 4 on my second try with a big slice of luck:

Refrige-Rotom - Einherjar
Docile
Item: Luck Incense
- Discharge
- Confuse Ray
- Shadow Ball
- Blizzard

Truly my MVP, not only did he net the most kills (anything with wings and aquatic), he also doubled my profit!

Empoleon - Caladbolg
Modest
Item: Quick Claw
- Sleep Talk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Rest

Incredibly useful at stalling whilst I heal the others, but his greatest contribution was in the offensive front: an incredibly lucky Quick Claw-ed, critical Ice Beam on Cynthia's Garchomp!

Gabite - Gae Bolg
Serious
Item: Soft Sand
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Fang
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

My go to guy, Garchomp is truly a monster in this game.

Gallade - Ascalon
Sassy
Item: Quick Claw
- Close Combat
- Psycho Cut
- Swords Dance
- Night Slash

Perhaps the least active from my team, but still managed to take down Infernape and Houndoom.

Houndoom - Gevaudan
Hardy
Item: BlackGlasses
- Thunder Fang
- Flamethrower
- Dark Pulse
- Sucker Punch

Surprisingly, was the star of the show: doing a job on Lucian and Aaron. Sucker Punch, there just as a filler until I got Nasty Plot, showed me how awesome priority moves can be.

Drifblim - Cailleach
Bashful
Item: Chesto Berry
- Rest
- Shadow Ball
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt

Covers much of the same thing as Rotom, but I just brought her to fill the sixth slot despite being almost 10 levels lower than Rotom (45-54). Rest-Chest-Unburden is fun though!

I am currently thinking of adding a speed passing Ninjask to my team to solve my team's chronic lack of speed, but that's basically my team. Now I gotta train and reinforce for the rematch!