Okay before I get started I just want to say I've only been competitive battling for about a year and a half now. I normally don't like using the big baddies that everyone is using. Given this is a VGC team, it was very hard for me to pick 6 Pokemon and only get to use 4 in battle. I mostly tried to focus on types that would help each other out (i.e. Scizor and Chandelure). Anyways, let's get down to it.
P.S. I tried to build this entire team around Scizor.
Scizor Item: Scizorite ;212;
Ability: Techinician/Techinician
EVS: 4 Hp, 252 Attack, 91 Defense, 161 Special Defense
Nature: Adamant
-Swords Dance
-Bullet Punch
-U-Turn
-Roost
Here I was basically going for a full-on sweeper that could recover. I've trained another Scizor a lot like this one before, but I wanted to try for a more grounded and bulky Scizor (and VGC's 2014 don't allow Pokemon from White 2). And yes, I do know that 91 and 161 don't divide evenly into 4. I just didn't know what to do with the leftover 2. Also, this is one of the only times I've used a Mega Evolution competitively, so I thought what better Pokemon to use a M.E. than my favorite Pokemon? This Scizor has a lot of problems with faster Pokemon. Am I just using this set wrong, or is Defensive Scizor a lost cause? One thing that this Scizor does well is taking out Pokemon that are weak against Steel with a +2 Bullet Punch. It can usually OHKO anything that's weak to Steel to that. With Scizor's slow U-Turn I am able to safely switch in to another Pokemon, but this is difficult to pull off with all the Fire type moves everywhere, so I'm usually stuck with just regularly switching out. I'm trying to avoid actually obtaining the Pokemon in my Pokemon Y because I want to try him/her out first on Showdown.
Quagsire Item: Rindo Berry ;195;
Ability: Unaware (Hidden Ability)
EVS: 204 Hp, 48 Attack, 4 Defense, 252 Special Defense
Nature: Brave
-Yawn
-Recover
-Earthquake
-Waterfall
Ok, the ONLY reason I'm using Quagsire is because they won't allow Swampert into the VGC's this year, and I really needed a Water/Ground type. The Rindo Berry is self-explanatory and I just didn't want him to be OHKO'd by a Giga Drain or something. Quagsire's Hidden Ability, Unaware, seems to be the most preferred ability for him, but I would be fine with using Water Absorb. I wanted to give Quagsire a little bit of extra fire power by taking 48 EV's out of Hp and putting them in Attack. Also I maxed out Quag's Special Defense just because I wanted to sort-of even out his defenses. I gave him a Brave Nature because Speed, again, was not what I was looking for here. With Yawn, I was hoping to try and shake things up for my opponent, but, surprisingly, this doesn't seem to work as much as I thought it would have. Recover is just for giving Quag more time to stay in the battle, and just who doesn't like recovery moves. And Waterfall and Earthquake seem to be Quagsire's best way of hitting the opponent. While using him in Showdown, he seems to be one of the weakest members of my team because he can't take hits very well and can't really deal them back either.
Jumpluff Item: Sitrus Berry ;189;
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVS: 252 Hp, 4 Attack, 56 Special Defense, 196 Speed
Nature: Jolly
-Sleep Powder
-Rage Powder
-U-Turn
-Acrobatics
Man, I just LOVE me some Johto! Jumpluff, being one of the fastest (if NOT the fastest) sleep inducers allowed into the VGC's, is really working out for me. While sacrificing itself by using Rage Powder, this allows for my other Pokemon to set up a Substitute or get a free boost in stats, and this has turned out as an excellent strategy for me. My Jumpluff can be paired with almost any of my team members and suddenly become a dynamic duo. Sleep Powder just helps give my other teammate an extra turn to boost or whatever. U-Turn helps me perform the Scizor-Jumpluff U-Turn Combo. I would have rather used a Flying Gem instead of a Sitrus Berry, but since they're not in X an Y I'm stuck with the Sitrus Berry which is still the next-best choice. I gave a little boost in Special Defense because Jumpluff already outspeeds everything in the sun, and Jumpluff is a great Pokemon to turn against sun teams.
Chandelure Item: Life Orb ;609;
Ability: Flash Fire
EVS: 148 Hp, 16 Defense, 252 Special Attack, 16 Special Defense, 76 Speed
Nature: Modest
-Substitute
-Pain Split
-Heat Wave
-Shadow Ball
Chandelure is a great Pokemon that I can switch into and automatically get a boost to Special Attack. And with 1/3 of my team weak to Fire, this is a great thing. Life Orb is for that extra power that is greatly appreciated. I will admit that the Ev Spread is a little sloppy and would love to hear your opinion on it and what might need fixing. Substitute is just an awesome move for Chandelure in general, and this goes great with Pain Split, allowing me to recover a bit of health. Heat Wave isn't as strong as Fire Blast, but Heat Wave hits two Pokemon which is extremely helpful in Double Battles. Finally, Shadow Ball is just for hitting other ghosts and what not. Chandelure seems to be the Pokemon that I rely on most, and I still don't know if this is a good thing, what with all the Charizards lurking in the shadows.
Scrafty Item: Leftovers ;560;
Ability: Shed Skin
EVS: 100 Hp, 156 Attack, 126 Defense, 126 Special Defense
Nature: Adamant
-Dragon Dance
-Detect
-High Jump Kick
-Crunch
Using Chandelure comes with its faults, and Scrafty helps get rid of some of his disadvantages. I gave Scrafty Shed Skin because I find Status Conditions SO ANNOYING. And with Shed Skin, I don't have to worry about them (sometimes). The Ev Spread gives Scrafty a little bump in Hp, and I feel like I could part with the extra power. I decided to split the last 252 into Defense and Special Defense just so it can take both equally. Dragon Dance is what makes this set dangerous because it could potentially destroy an entire team (if only I had time to set it up). Detect is, well, Detect. Usually, I don't like using High Jump Kick, but its Base Power is something I can't say no to. Although I would love to use a less dangerous move, I can't find another Fighting Type Move with at least a 90 Base Power. And Crunch helps deal with a lot of threats that most of my team can't.
Dragalge Item: Black Sludge ;691;
Ability: Poison Point
EVS: 80 Defense, 176 Special Attack, 252 Special Defense
Nature: Calm
-Haze
-Sludge Wave
-Thunder
-Draco Meteor
Dragalge is the Pokemon I'm afraid of using most. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this Pokemon's design. It's badass to the core! It's just I couldn't find a better moveset for this thing. I probably will switch Thunder out with Thunderbolt eventually, but Thunder helps counter rain teams. I wanted to try something different and use Haze to help stop sweeps in their tracks, but, again, it doesn't seem to be as effective as I anticipated. Sludge Wave helps annihilate Fairies that would otherwise OHKO Scrafty. Draco Meteor helps deal some damage to some pesky Dragons out there.
Overall, I just don't feel like I have enough coverage. I did Showdown for quite a while and have realized Rotom Wash, Mega Charizard Y, and Garchomp are appearing in a lot of Player's teams. Unfortunately, all these Pokemon seem to completely destroy my Pokemon in less than 5 turns. I know there is no perfect team, but I think my VGC team is lacking in areas that it shouldn't. These might be great Pokemon together and I'm just not using them correctly, or they're just not as good as I thought. Please let me know! This is my first time actually competing in the VGC's and I don't want to feel like a total idiot!
P.S. I tried to build this entire team around Scizor.
Scizor Item: Scizorite ;212;
Ability: Techinician/Techinician
EVS: 4 Hp, 252 Attack, 91 Defense, 161 Special Defense
Nature: Adamant
-Swords Dance
-Bullet Punch
-U-Turn
-Roost
Here I was basically going for a full-on sweeper that could recover. I've trained another Scizor a lot like this one before, but I wanted to try for a more grounded and bulky Scizor (and VGC's 2014 don't allow Pokemon from White 2). And yes, I do know that 91 and 161 don't divide evenly into 4. I just didn't know what to do with the leftover 2. Also, this is one of the only times I've used a Mega Evolution competitively, so I thought what better Pokemon to use a M.E. than my favorite Pokemon? This Scizor has a lot of problems with faster Pokemon. Am I just using this set wrong, or is Defensive Scizor a lost cause? One thing that this Scizor does well is taking out Pokemon that are weak against Steel with a +2 Bullet Punch. It can usually OHKO anything that's weak to Steel to that. With Scizor's slow U-Turn I am able to safely switch in to another Pokemon, but this is difficult to pull off with all the Fire type moves everywhere, so I'm usually stuck with just regularly switching out. I'm trying to avoid actually obtaining the Pokemon in my Pokemon Y because I want to try him/her out first on Showdown.
Quagsire Item: Rindo Berry ;195;
Ability: Unaware (Hidden Ability)
EVS: 204 Hp, 48 Attack, 4 Defense, 252 Special Defense
Nature: Brave
-Yawn
-Recover
-Earthquake
-Waterfall
Ok, the ONLY reason I'm using Quagsire is because they won't allow Swampert into the VGC's this year, and I really needed a Water/Ground type. The Rindo Berry is self-explanatory and I just didn't want him to be OHKO'd by a Giga Drain or something. Quagsire's Hidden Ability, Unaware, seems to be the most preferred ability for him, but I would be fine with using Water Absorb. I wanted to give Quagsire a little bit of extra fire power by taking 48 EV's out of Hp and putting them in Attack. Also I maxed out Quag's Special Defense just because I wanted to sort-of even out his defenses. I gave him a Brave Nature because Speed, again, was not what I was looking for here. With Yawn, I was hoping to try and shake things up for my opponent, but, surprisingly, this doesn't seem to work as much as I thought it would have. Recover is just for giving Quag more time to stay in the battle, and just who doesn't like recovery moves. And Waterfall and Earthquake seem to be Quagsire's best way of hitting the opponent. While using him in Showdown, he seems to be one of the weakest members of my team because he can't take hits very well and can't really deal them back either.
Jumpluff Item: Sitrus Berry ;189;
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVS: 252 Hp, 4 Attack, 56 Special Defense, 196 Speed
Nature: Jolly
-Sleep Powder
-Rage Powder
-U-Turn
-Acrobatics
Man, I just LOVE me some Johto! Jumpluff, being one of the fastest (if NOT the fastest) sleep inducers allowed into the VGC's, is really working out for me. While sacrificing itself by using Rage Powder, this allows for my other Pokemon to set up a Substitute or get a free boost in stats, and this has turned out as an excellent strategy for me. My Jumpluff can be paired with almost any of my team members and suddenly become a dynamic duo. Sleep Powder just helps give my other teammate an extra turn to boost or whatever. U-Turn helps me perform the Scizor-Jumpluff U-Turn Combo. I would have rather used a Flying Gem instead of a Sitrus Berry, but since they're not in X an Y I'm stuck with the Sitrus Berry which is still the next-best choice. I gave a little boost in Special Defense because Jumpluff already outspeeds everything in the sun, and Jumpluff is a great Pokemon to turn against sun teams.
Chandelure Item: Life Orb ;609;
Ability: Flash Fire
EVS: 148 Hp, 16 Defense, 252 Special Attack, 16 Special Defense, 76 Speed
Nature: Modest
-Substitute
-Pain Split
-Heat Wave
-Shadow Ball
Chandelure is a great Pokemon that I can switch into and automatically get a boost to Special Attack. And with 1/3 of my team weak to Fire, this is a great thing. Life Orb is for that extra power that is greatly appreciated. I will admit that the Ev Spread is a little sloppy and would love to hear your opinion on it and what might need fixing. Substitute is just an awesome move for Chandelure in general, and this goes great with Pain Split, allowing me to recover a bit of health. Heat Wave isn't as strong as Fire Blast, but Heat Wave hits two Pokemon which is extremely helpful in Double Battles. Finally, Shadow Ball is just for hitting other ghosts and what not. Chandelure seems to be the Pokemon that I rely on most, and I still don't know if this is a good thing, what with all the Charizards lurking in the shadows.
Scrafty Item: Leftovers ;560;
Ability: Shed Skin
EVS: 100 Hp, 156 Attack, 126 Defense, 126 Special Defense
Nature: Adamant
-Dragon Dance
-Detect
-High Jump Kick
-Crunch
Using Chandelure comes with its faults, and Scrafty helps get rid of some of his disadvantages. I gave Scrafty Shed Skin because I find Status Conditions SO ANNOYING. And with Shed Skin, I don't have to worry about them (sometimes). The Ev Spread gives Scrafty a little bump in Hp, and I feel like I could part with the extra power. I decided to split the last 252 into Defense and Special Defense just so it can take both equally. Dragon Dance is what makes this set dangerous because it could potentially destroy an entire team (if only I had time to set it up). Detect is, well, Detect. Usually, I don't like using High Jump Kick, but its Base Power is something I can't say no to. Although I would love to use a less dangerous move, I can't find another Fighting Type Move with at least a 90 Base Power. And Crunch helps deal with a lot of threats that most of my team can't.
Dragalge Item: Black Sludge ;691;
Ability: Poison Point
EVS: 80 Defense, 176 Special Attack, 252 Special Defense
Nature: Calm
-Haze
-Sludge Wave
-Thunder
-Draco Meteor
Dragalge is the Pokemon I'm afraid of using most. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this Pokemon's design. It's badass to the core! It's just I couldn't find a better moveset for this thing. I probably will switch Thunder out with Thunderbolt eventually, but Thunder helps counter rain teams. I wanted to try something different and use Haze to help stop sweeps in their tracks, but, again, it doesn't seem to be as effective as I anticipated. Sludge Wave helps annihilate Fairies that would otherwise OHKO Scrafty. Draco Meteor helps deal some damage to some pesky Dragons out there.
Overall, I just don't feel like I have enough coverage. I did Showdown for quite a while and have realized Rotom Wash, Mega Charizard Y, and Garchomp are appearing in a lot of Player's teams. Unfortunately, all these Pokemon seem to completely destroy my Pokemon in less than 5 turns. I know there is no perfect team, but I think my VGC team is lacking in areas that it shouldn't. These might be great Pokemon together and I'm just not using them correctly, or they're just not as good as I thought. Please let me know! This is my first time actually competing in the VGC's and I don't want to feel like a total idiot!