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Struggles with teambuilding


PedroHenrique

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For some reason, everyone says my team is full of holes, and I even agree with it, but when I'm comfortable with my team I manage to win a lot in showdown.

So someday I asked people to help me building the team from a scratch, picking cores, doing all counters and checks for OU, but once I started to use the team, I didn't like it a bit, it didn't feel comfortable at all and I'd lose almost every fight. So I just gone and built a team with 6 pokemons that can play different roles, and cover any type weakness, but I did it without thinking on checking threats, even so I won almost every fight in the showdown.

So I'd like to ask you guys, if there is any problem on just using the team I'm currently using, really, everyone just makes a big deal out of it saying I shouldn't be using them and they're bad for OU, but it's been working for me. Should I try to learn how to fight like everyone else, or it's fine if I just continue with what I'm comfortable with?

Team I am using now:

Team I build with help of some veterans:

Summing up, should I just stay using this team as long as I'm doing well with it, or should I learn how to use counters and checks?

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The problem with the 1st team is that it has too many choiced mons that shouldn't be choiced! Serperior, Arcanine and Togekiss don't like to be locked into one move. I won't tell you to change any of your mons since you seem to work well with them, but you should totaly change their items and sets. I suggest SubSeed Serperior with lefties, Life Orb Arcanine with the same moves and Nasty Plot Toge with Thunder Wave

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Personally speaking, you should use whichever team you feel more comfortable with. If that;s Team 1, great! Use it! IF it's team 2, great! Use it!

I like your first team more than I like the team that the veterans helped you build. It has a lot of coverage and probably, like you said, has a good flow to it after you use it for a few rounds.

The veterans team, however, doesn't seem (to me) like it would work very well. Without looking at it too much, I can already tell that it's made out of some of the most common competitively used Pokemon. Alone, they are good Pokemon, but together on a team? they won't work so well. It's not a well-balanced team; one reason being half the team would go down to a good fire-type, one being a Mega Camerupt. It doesn't seem like veterans helped you make it, it looks more like someone was on YouTube and that person sent you a list of some of the 6 most used competitive Pokemon.

SO (I'm ranting at this point) I'd say use team one, especially if you like it more than the second. (It's nice that it gets more wins too :) )

Edit: For help with your first team, look at the Three-Legged Pirate's comment, he's got good points

Edited by Dypatome
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Yeah, I went to the competitive tutoring chat on showdown, then some people there started building the team with me, they just chose the pokémon considering: Well this one will use stealth rock, this one will counter Mega-Loppuny, this one will counter Keldeo.

But they don't consider someone using a pokémon out of their expectations, which half of the people I battled do, that's why I don't like considering checks and counters, I want my team to be able to cover as many weaknesses as possible, and a wide variety of attacks, it's very simple but it kind of works for me.

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You should make a team, post it the right way in the RMT subforum so we can help you in detail.

I will assume that's what you want to do with your team, so I will use the first one and step-by-step make my proposals that will help you improve it.

Make sure to read the Teambuilding Tutorials we upload from time to time. It's a work in progress, but it will help amateurs such as yourself become better, all the while using their favorite pokemon.

Right now your team looks like this

Serperior @ Choice Specs
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Glare
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
Arcanine @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Wild Charge
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
Togekiss @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Dazzling Gleam
- Aura Sphere
- Fire Blast

As mentioned before me, too many choiced items may ruin your team. The last thing you want is to get locked in a move you cannot use, and thus be forced to switch out (lose 1 turn) and possibly switch back in again to use another move with the same pokemon (lose 2 turns). At first it won't bother you but as you climb the ladder it will show up as a great weakness. Keep in mind that most experienced players keep 1 choiced mon in their teams, maximum 2. I personally enjoy having 0-2 based on the team and its needs, and it usually will be scarf. 4 is plain suicide.
My guess is that you want to base your team around M-Tyranitar and Serperior. I warn you: this is a very hard pokemon to build around, given that regular T-Tar usually does the job just as well. Nevertheless, we shall try :)
Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Ice Punch
The set above is the one I prefer for the pokemon. Regular T-Tar has the same SpA but with a single DD boost your power will be much higher and you won't have to invest in SpA. Keep dual STAB for maximum damage input, and make sure to destroy its checks and counters before you attempt a sweep. For the time being, I'm undecisive between Ice and Fire Punch. I'll see what I have later to decide.
Note: Taking into consideration checks and counters may win you a game, as it will help you strategize better. Destroying the pokemon that can come in and stop T-Tar is a big deal, and you should keep tabs on them. That's why everyone makes such a big deal of them. Your Tyranitar here has good coverage, but it won't last forever if you don't treat it well enough.
Now, your Serperior will be the Special sweeper/wallbreaker of the team. It has nice synergy with T-Tar and is definitely worth a shot. Its moveset might change in the process, but this is a teambuilding procedure. Everything is fluid till the last brushes on the painting are made.
Let's start with a regular offensive set, shall we?
Serperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Leaf Storm
- Substitute / Glare
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Ground]
I went with Ground instead of the regular Fire, because T-Tar already covers that part. We will also keep your Magnezone from before to make sure I don't change your team too much, and it will keep its own HP-Fire, so it's redundant to give it to Serperior as well. It's also a nice surprize to deal with Heatran, Magnezone, Jirachi and more. Give it lefties for longevity. Life Orb is not much needed here because of the constant Leaf Storm boosts.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Discharge
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
I kept that as I found it, because this set is pretty standard. HP-fire will alleviate some problems with Steel types as they will have been trapped inside our magnetic field. It's also neat to battle against fliers, and of course Skarmory, which is the combination, stands no chance.
I think that a volt/turn core would benefit this team, since its mega is slow at first and we already tossed Magnezone in there. We could opt for a physically defensive or a specially defensive pokemon that knows U-turn. Both ways work. Since others have already suggested Landorus-Therian, I shall go with that option. A defensive set would cover up many things for your team, namely: SR setting, EQ coverage, U-turn pivoting, Intimidate and bulk for physical defense, pretty good typing. It's a win-win and that's why it works like glue in so many teams.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Since you are new, this is the most optimal Lando-T set for your team. It's guaranteed to survive M-Manectric's HP-ice at full health while killing it with EQ, has enough bulk to survive many physical hits, and can outspeed Jolly Azumarill so it's a plus if you can end it fast enough. You can also use Rocky Helmet there, since this team is not that defensive, but it's your choice. I'm just showing you the options.
At this point I'm contemplating whether an offensive spinner like Starmie is good enough. Seems like it will cover up your problems with Ground and Ice types. It's a good spinner and it can get you out of trouble really fast.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Hydro Pump
- Psychic
- Recover
This set allows Starmie some longevity while making the most out of its offensive capabilities with dual STAB. Naturally, instead of Recover in the last spot you could put Ice Beam to further pressure your opponents, but I prefer to keep my Starmie healthy as long as possible. Given Analytic is such a powerful ability, you might not see them switch out often, but if they have something that can take all that Starmie throws at it, make certain they will switch out to that so you got your chance to get back some health. You'll have quite enough chances to do so, don't worry. The rest of the choices are self-explanatory.

Time for our last spot on the team. You need something that can take a few special hits, and hit back hard. Usually I place a Fairy type here, but given the circumstances I might consider Volcanion. Suprizingly, it shares only Electric as its weakness with Starmie, and you already have Serperior, Magnezone and Lando-T to take those. Given seldom someone uses a physical electric move, T-Tar can also tank them, courtesy of Sandstorm's boost to SpDef by 1.5 . Therefore a wallbreaker of that caliber might actually be of use here. Slap an Ass Vest on it to make it more durable and voila your team is ready to go.

Volcanion @ Assault Vest
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steam Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
As it's evident, it needs no speed to do its job, only power. The EVs of the last one are experimental since this is the first time I make this set. Feel free to tell me if this works best for you. I'm curious since I tried to make it work based on what you gave us. I think I did a good job there.
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Wait a bit. I'm in the middle of teambuilding, but I'm also trying to explain why I do each step, so you don't get lost.

This is what I've made of your team. In the end, the only changes in pokemon are:

Togekiss --> Replaced by Landorus-Therian
Arcanine --> Replaced by Volcanion

The rest are changes in movesets and EV spreads.

Importable

Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Ice Punch
Serperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Leaf Storm
- Glare
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Discharge
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Hydro Pump
- Psychic
- Recover
Volcanion @ Assault Vest
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steam Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power

if you have further questions and need help, don't hesitate to ask
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