Against Samson

[Froiky]

So my next challenge is Samson, the Fighting type gym leader, and seeing at how difficult it currently is to train I want to make sure I'm putting my efforts into the right Pokemon. Here's my team:

(Assume these will be leveled to 65 by the time I attempt the gym)

Ampharos: Discharge, Signal Beam, Power Gem, Cotton Gaurd

Gardevoir: Shadow Ball, Psychic, Confusion, Magical Leaf

Pangoro: Hammer Arm, Sky Uppercut, Crunch, Body Slam

Crobat: Acrobatics, Air Slash, Poison Fang, Shadow Ball

Hawlucha: Sky Attack, Not sure on the rest

Cradilly: Grass Knot, Confuse Ray, Strength, Ingrain

What do you think? Any moves that I should train for or get for the circus? Are there better Pokemon suited for this gym?

[Etesian]

Cotton Guard is really not that great as that doesn't boost special defense, meaning you can set up all you want, once a special attacker comes in, you either have to switch out and lose your boosts and the time you spent getting those up or you can stay in and go down. Use T-wave instead, your team is rather slow.

I really do think Heliolisk is the better Electric type in all regards (except for bulk, but it's so fast and hits so hard, it'll be getting hit waaaaaaaay less than Ampharos), but hey. If you wanna switch, Thunderbolt, Grass Knot, HP Ice, Surf/Dark Pulse is Heliolisk's best set.

I guess you have Confusion for lack of a good move? Check the Breeding Guide in this section, E12 gets Gardevoir Thunderbolt/Energy Ball. You also don't have Moonblast.

But the way you're using it, I'd say Alakazam would work much better. Or Reuniclus.

Pangoro really isn't anything special, there's much better Fighting types around. I'll just copy-paste from a previous topic:

"Now, for a Fighting type, there's 5 really good ones in Reborn, Hitmonlee, Toxicroak, Mienshao, Hawlucha and Scarfty. For movesets, best would be:

-Unburden, Blaze Kick, High Jump Kick, Bullet/Mach Punch, Thief (TM later) for Hitmonlee. Another option would be Reversal and Endure instead of High Jump Kick and Blaze Kick or the priority, that option lets you get the Unburden boost easier, though Gems are a thing, so it's no big deal anyways.

-Poison Touch, Poison Jab, Drain Punch, Sucker Punch, Bulk Up (E12) for Toxicroak. The chain for both Drain Punch and Bulk Up is in the guide.

-Reckless, High Jump Kick, Knock Off, Acrobatics/Poison Jab/Rock Slide for Mienshao (Farfetch'd for Knock Off, Acrobatics and/or Poison Jab, Camerupt>Donphan>Mienfoo for Knock Off and Rock Slide(Acrobatics is a TM you get way later)).

-Unburden, High Jump Kick, Acrobatics, Swords Dance/Poison Jab/Rock Slide for Hawlucha (just continue the chain for Mienshao to get these moves onto Hawlucha) (Feather Dance is also an option to make setting up stupidly easy, which is why I'd say it's the best Fighting type in the game right now)

-Moxie, Dragon Dance, Ice Punch, High Jump Kick, Crunch for Scrafty. Since this one doesn't have Unburden, you can give it a Wide Lens to make High Jump Kick 99% accurate."

Special Crobat is much better than the physical one. Nasty Plot, Venoshock, Air Slash, Hidden Power Fighting/Ground.

Hawlucha is covered above. Sky Attack is an option, but I assume you'd use it with Power Herbs so that you can skip the charging and get the Unburden boost? I'll just say that Sky Attack is 140 BP and can miss and can only be used once cause you consume your Power Herb, while Flying Gem Acrobatics has 143 BP at first, then a stable, spammable 110 BP.

Sadly, Cradily is only good as a wall and walls aren't useful in-game. If you really wanna keep it, give it Toxic and Stockpile via E12 breeding. But I really see no reason to keep it.

For replacements, it depends. Would you prefer a Grass type or Rock type?

[Commander]

Samson honestly is not that hard and Lv 65 would be overkill (unless this is the hardcore mod which I highly doubt). I know 66 is a good range for the next gym so 60-62 should be sufficient enough. As for your team, Crobat and Gardevior should be able to handle most of them (watch out for Mienshao and Conkeldurr though). I'd say scrap Pangoro for a different fire or fighting type (Hariyama works pretty well) and just follow anything Esteian says if you're really struggling (though nothing is to the point where you need to breed).

[mde2001]

I think your team is ready to go. Samson (in my opinion) is the easiest leader in reborn and your team is good for him. I'm pretty sure acrobatics gets a boost from the field too so you should do well with crobat.

[Fumble]

If you want to replace any of your Pokemon for extra useful Pokemon (although temporarily) if you really aren't confident, a Pokemon with Will-o-Wisp can be great for this battle, since I believe that all (or most) of Samson's Pokemon are physical attackers. Granbull can also be pretty useful for that Charm / Intimidate combination, but Granbull isn't too great at this point of the game... This battle really is similar to Kiki's, but with a different field and some different Pokemon.

[Omega_Ra1der]

Just watch out for hawlucha, blazkien and his ace which is 1 level over the cap.

[Heartless]

His Hawlucha also has swords dance as well, which on the field the stats raised are doubled. Don't forget that the teams are based on the fields as well.