Nova Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 (edited) With the new season, I am going to take my first attempt to the Reborn League. This is my team. (credits to http://www.pkparaiso.com for sprites used): Toxicroak (F) @Life Orb Trait: Poison Touch Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -SpAtk) EVs: Attack and Speed Role: Offensive Lead/Physical Sweeper Taunt Sucker Punch Poison Jab Drain Punch Toxicroak is my offensive lead hero. He can quickly taunt an opponent setup hero, then take them out using his STAB moves. Sucker Punch provides some attack power against Psychic and Ghost types, as well as adding some priority attack power. Poison Touch allows for some status ailments, which the rest of my team lacks. Hydreigon (M) @Expert Belt Trait: Levitate Nature: Modest (+SpAtk, -Atk) EVs: Special Attack and Speed Role: Revenge Killer/Special Sweeper Earth Power Draco Meteor Heat Wave Dark Pulse Toxicroak and Hydreigon are best buddies. Let me explain to you why: -Hydreigon is immune to and powerful against Toxicroak's major threats: Ground and Psychic. -Toxicroak resists or is powerful against most of Hydreigon's major threats: Ice, Fairy and Fighting. In Double Battles, this means they can work together perfectly. In Single Battles, they can easily switch in on their buddy's weakness moves and take out the Pokémon that causes them. Cloyster (F) @Leftovers Trait: Skill Link Nature: Careful (+SpDef, -SpAtk) Evs: Attack and Special Defense Role: Bulky Attacker Ice Shard Shell Smash Rock Blast Icicle Spear Cloyster takes Gorebyss's role as a Shell Smash user, adds a priority move and all-round bulk. Lucario (M) @Choice Band Trait: Justified Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpAtk) Evs: Attack and Speed Role: Revenge Killer/Priority Attacker/Physical Sweeper Bullet Punch Extreme Speed Swords Dance Close Combat Lucario takes Lapras's place as an additional attacker, allowing sweet revenge kills with priority moves. Lapras's Water/Ice typing and defensive bulk goes to Cloyster. Gallade (M) @Lum Berry Trait: Justified Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -SpAtk) Evs: Attack and Speed Role: Main Physical Sweeper Swords Dance Leaf Blade Psycho Cut Rock Slide Gallade can use Swords dance to boost its Attack even if Gorebyss is down already. With a great coverage from 3 moves, Gallade can take on nearly any opponent in a fury of blades. Armaldo (M) @Muscle Band Trait: Battle Armor Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpAtk) EV: Attack and Speed Role: Offensive Rapid Spin/Physical Sweeper Rapid Spin Rock Slide Earthquake X Scissor Armaldo takes its role as a supporting physical sweeper, and a good user of Rapid Spin. Several questions for my improvement: Which pokémon should be altered/replaced? What battles of the Reborn League are double battles? Do you have any tips for me in competitive battling? Changelog: V1.0 - Team Created V1.1: Toxicroak trait: Dry Skin > Poison Touch Toxicroak power: Knock Off > Sucker Punch Armaldo held item: Muscle Band > Assault Vest Hydreigon power: Flamethrower > Heat Wave Hydreigon power: Surf > Earth Power Cloyster replaces Gorebyss Lucario replaces Lapras Old Pokés: Gorebyss (F) @Focus Sash Trait: Swift Swim Nature: Timid (+Spd, -Atk) EVs: Health and Speed Role: Baton Pass Buff Shell Smash Surf Confuse Ray Baton Pass Shell Smash is a great move with great opportunities. Combined with Baton Pass, it can be passed to any of my sweepers to make them extremely powerful, albeit at the cost of defense. Focus Sash allows Gorebyss to survive the first hit it takes. Then, on the second turn, the Shell Smash speed bonus is often enough to outspeed the opponent and pass it to a sweeper. Lapras (F) @Leftovers Trait: Water Absorb Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk) EVs: Defense and Special Attack Role: General Support Surf Ice Beam Heal Bell Roar I'm not really sure about this Pokémon. I had one place remaining, and a need for a general support pokémon, so i went with Lapras. Surf and Ice Beam are two basic attacking moves, while Heal Bell and Roar are for supporting teammates. Edited March 6, 2014 by Nova Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sithe Fahrenkopf Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 I like most of the team members except for gorebyss. Since many of the battles are triples its hard for baton passers and walls to really shine. the person you baton pass shell smash to might not be able to withstand 2 or more attacks coming their way, so that's something to consider. Cloyster is a good shell smasher though and can deal some nice damage. I would consider a change, but then again its all speculation. I would try your team out first before making any changes. If you like the team and you think it can work go for it. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraRPetO Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Heat Wave on Hydreigon instead of Flamethrower because Heat Wave is stronger and hits all 3 opponents fro middle in triples battle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanco Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 I don't think that Dry Skin is the best ability for Toxicroak given that you have Water Absorb Lapras + two other Water resistances; the increase in Fire damage will also hurt. In this scenario I'd go Poison Touch given the lack of status inflictions through the rest of the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezzdog Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 I think you've built a pretty decent team here. I'd maybe consider Freeze Dry on Lapras, but I don't think it's necessary. Assault Vest and Stone Plate are also options on Armaldo if you want to consider that as well. I'd also agree with the stuff that's been suggested so far, definitely Heat Wave > Flamethrower and changing Toxicroak's ability makes sense. One thing that sticks out to me is the sore lack of priority on your team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nova Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 (edited) I like most of the team members except for gorebyss. Since many of the battles are triples its hard for baton passers and walls to really shine. the person you baton pass shell smash to might not be able to withstand 2 or more attacks coming their way, so that's something to consider. Cloyster is a good shell smasher though and can deal some nice damage. I would consider a change, but then again its all speculation. I would try your team out first before making any changes. If you like the team and you think it can work go for it. Good luck! It might be best to swap Gorebyss and Cloyster around, but i already have Lapras as a Water/Ice type. Lapras is prone to being replaced anyway. Heat Wave on Hydreigon instead of Flamethrower because Heat Wave is stronger and hits all 3 opponents fro middle in triples battle Will do. I don't think that Dry Skin is the best ability for Toxicroak given that you have Water Absorb Lapras + two other Water resistances; the increase in Fire damage will also hurt. In this scenario I'd go Poison Touch given the lack of status inflictions through the rest of the team. I thought it would be an amazing tactic to stack Surf on my Pokémon to heal Toxy in Double Battles, but i'll probably change that. I think you've built a pretty decent team here. I'd maybe consider Freeze Dry on Lapras, but I don't think it's necessary. Assault Vest and Stone Plate are also options on Armaldo if you want to consider that as well. I'd also agree with the stuff that's been suggested so far, definitely Heat Wave > Flamethrower and changing Toxicroak's ability makes sense. One thing that sticks out to me is the sore lack of priority on your team. Assault vest for Armaldo is a good idea. I'll also swap Lapras for some pokémon that can do a priority move, as well as swapping maybe 1 or 2 other moves for priority moves. Thanks everybody. Also, i realized as i live in GMT+1, it is very difficult for me to get on during League Hours (it is in the middle of the night on weekdays, so that sucks...) EDIT: Version 1.1 is out! Edited March 6, 2014 by Nova Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanco Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Will do. I thought it would be an amazing tactic to stack Surf on my Pokémon to heal Toxy in Double Battles, but i'll probably change that. Well keep in mind that you can change abilities, items and natures as you please in between battles; just that this would help you in most situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezzdog Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Well keep in mind that you can change abilities, items and natures as you please in between battles; just that this would help you in most situations. What a lot of people do is they have the same team loaded twice with different abilities/EVs/itemsets so they can switch on the fly once the challenge window comes in and see whether they'll be challenged to Singles/Doubles/Triples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nova Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 Well keep in mind that you can change abilities, items and natures as you please in between battles; just that this would help you in most situations. i did not know that, that is very useful to know. Thank you. I have already done some matches on Pokémon Online and it's going pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chevaleresse Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 you have a LOT of ground weaknesses in this team; that is going to hurt you severely, especially in doubles/triples Gallade is also very slow for what it does and lacks multi-target moves to round out your doubles/triples; consider replacing him or adding a tailwind/baton passer to speed him up you have pretty much nothing defensive; while dedicated walls are bad in doubles and triples, your lack of effective walls makes you susceptible to set-up sweepers, since Armaldo doesn't have Sturdy. You need something that can effectively tank and either phaze or KO enemy attackers. Cloyster needs setup to do so, making it a poor choice for this task. Typically, you scarf your revenge killer, since Hydreigon has decent but not great speed. That 98 speed leaves it slower than most offensive threats, so you'll need at least a Timid nature if not a scarf for the role you intend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.