Chocolate Death said:
Wait, what do you mean by core and playstyle? I understand the pokemon one (but I have so many it'll make a big list lol). And, don't worry. I know most, if not all, the basic tiers.
A core is two or more pokemon who work well together. They form a team within a team if you will. Some famous examples include SkarmBliss, Celetran, Deosharp, and Scrotom. A playstyle is something like stall, hyper offense, balance, bulky offense, semi-stall, or trick room (if you want to use a mediocre gimmick). Was generally paired with weather last gen for things like rain stall. These are generally your overall strategy for how you attempt to win. A stall team has Pokemon that can take a lot of hits and generally tries to outlast and wear down the opponent with hazards, toxic, or other residual damage. Hyper offense uses powerful offensive pokemon, generally sent in after a lead that sets up hazards and/or dual screens and attempts to use brute force to defeat the opponent by wearing down your opponent with stallbreakers and finishing off with sweepers or cleaners, all the while keeping pressure one your opponent so they can't get rid of your hazards or break your momentum. These are the extremes and everything else is generally between the two on a spectrum of defense vs offense.
Edit: How about this, on my X version I just started, I'm training a shiny Modest Synchronize Ralts (female), and I plan to get Jolteon, Hawlucha, Simisear, Escavalier, and Lickilicky since they're all my favorite pokemon in the XY dex. So, What abilities, movesets, items, and natures should I aim for? And what stats should I increase in Super Training?
First of all, if you're playing in game and want to have an optimal team, then you'll want to make sure your Pokemon have perfect or near-perfect IV's. Since the objective of competitive play is to win, you should seek to optimize your team instead of using subpar Pokemon. Speaking of subpar Pokemon, all of these are outclassed in OU except maybe Gardevoir. Hawlucha is BL, Escavalier and Jolteon are RU, Simisear is bad everywhere, and Lickilicky is NU. Nobody is forcing you to use something better, but keep in mind that if you want to win in OU (again, the objective of competitive play), then you should change most, if not all of your team. If you just want to use these as best you can in casual matches, then by all means feel free to do so. Still, as best you can does mean optimal IV's. Also, you could make a decent RU team with Jolteon, Escavalier. For the rest of the post I'll be operating under the assumption that you want to use the mons you listed earlier as best you can in casual matches. Also I will be assuming single battles because as I stated in my previous post, VGC 2014 is over, we don't know the rules for VGC 2015, and hardly anybody plays regular doubles. Also good luck finding help with any format that isn't Smogon singles or VGC. You're gonna need it. Here are the sets I would recommend:
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 232 SAtk / 252 Spd / 24 Def
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice / Moonblast
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Will-O-Wisp
Mega Gardevoir is the best Gardevoir in OU. Hyper Voice is Mega Gardevoir's most powerful move because of Pixilate, and it bypasses Substitute. It's only available as a move tutor move in BW2, but it's really imperative that you have it. Moonblast is the next best thing, but it's just not as good. Psyshock is for STAB and hitting things that are weak to Psychic or have lower Defense stats. Focus Blast is for Tyranitar or Steel types. I have Will-O-Wisp as the last move to provide useful burn support or to hit things on the switch that might try to come in and KO you such as Scizor, Aegislash, Tyranitar, Bisharp, other physical attackers, etc. Shadow Ball is a good option instead, as it hits Aegislash hard, plus special attacking Aegislash care less about burns. Hidden Power Fire is useful, if you can get it, as it can hit Scizor and Aegislash hard on the switch. Keep in mind that Aegislash and Scizor can deal some serious damage to Gardevoir, so your only real option for getting rid of them without switching out is to nail them with something while they come in, otherwise they could could do some serious damage with powerful priority. I have 32 Def EV's here because they make it so you aren't KO'd by a Latios Psyshock and can KO back with Hyper Voice, while still having the max Speed that Gardevoir so desperately craves. Trace is the best ability for regular Gardevoir because you can take advantage of your opponent's ability such as Flash Fire, Levitate, or Multiscale.
It's cool that yours is shiny, but Trace is better, Timid is pretty much required, and its IV's are probably bad, so I suggest you get a new one.
Hawlucha @ Power Herb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 192 Spd / 252 Atk / 64 HP
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sky Attack
- Acrobatics
- High Jump Kick
This is Hawlucha's only real set, at least until Flying Gem comes out. You'll want to save Sky Attack for until your opponents' checks are gone. Power Herb does three great things for Hawlucha. It makes it so Sky Attack doesn't need to charge, activates Unburden, and makes Acrobatics double in power. Never use Sky Attack after Power Herb is gone because charging a move is terrible. Also keep in mind that Unburden wears off after you switch out. This EV spread is enough to outspeed base 110 Pokemon before Unburden such as Latias or Gengar, with the leftovers put into HP.
Jolteon @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Jolteon aka Mr. I'm outclassed by Raikou, Thundurus, and Mega Manectric as a fast Electric special attacker. Jolteon's movepool is pretty lame, so this is the best you can do. Luckily it's enough. If you can't get HP Ice, then you can try Thunder Wave or Heal Bell (HGSS tutor if you can get it. Plus it opens up a moveslot on Lickilicky), but HP Ice is pretty vital for coverage.
Escavalier @ Occa Berry
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Drill Run
Overcoat got buffed to now block powder moves. Have fun being immune to Spore/Sleep Powder. SD is here to set up and deal damage, specifically against Venusaur(screw you, sleep powder), although Escavalier is pretty prone to getting killed by a faster Fire move, so that's why I put Occa Berry. Megahorn and Iron Head are for STAB. Drill Run is for coverage. Lefties can be used for recovery. Choice Band can be used to hit hard right off the bat and Assault Vest can be used for more bulk, just keep in mind that you must replace Swords Dance if you use either of these. Knock Off or Pursuit are good options to replace it.
Lickilicky @ Leftovers
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Def
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Heal Bell
- Protect
- Dragon Tail
Lickilicky isn't a bad pokemon per se; it's just mediocre. It's movepool is great, but everything else is just decent. Not bad, but not good enough to make it useful outside of RU at best. Offering Cleric support is really the best it can do. It is lucky enough to get Wish alongside a solid HP stat to pass nice wishes to heal your teammates. Heal Bell is also a rare but good move for healing status. Protect is here to guarantee you get healed by Wish, scout your opponents move, and get a little lefties healing or residual damage on your opponent. Dragon Tail is to provide further support by phazing out your opponent, should you have trouble with boosts. Knock Off is good option over Dragon Tail because nothing is immune to it and it can support your team by removing your opponents' items. It can also be used over Protect if you don't find it very useful. With such a wide movepool as Lickilicky, if you want to add something to check a specific threat, by all means go ahead. Examples include Power Whip, Toxic(nice residual damage), Ice Beam, Fire Blast, Thunderbolt, Earthquake, Shadow Ball, Brick Break, and Surf. Oblivious is the best ability because it now protects against Taunt.
Simisear @ Petaya / Salac Berry
Ability: Gluttony
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Focus Blast
- Grass Knot
Simisear isn't even good in NU. This is about the best I can do for it. Nasty Plot (egg move) boosts might make you do some damage and Salac/Petaya is in case you take damage but somehow don't get OHKO'd. Salac would be the best option, but with priority being more common this gen, especially Talonflame and Azumarill, you'll probably get killed before it would matter, so the extra Special Attack boost from Petaya could be better. Do whatever you find best. Fire Blast and Focus Blast may have shaky accuracy, but Simisear needs all the power he can get. Grass Knot is for coverage. Grass Knot is good for Water types and heavy Pokemon like Hippowdon.
meepster123 said:
Ralts needs spAtk if it will evolve into gardevoir, and defense as it's ev spread. If it will evolve Ito gallade,(which might get a mega evolution in OR/AS) then use a balance of attack and sp attack and defense. Jolteon needs speed, and sp.atk, simisear needs sp.atk and your choice, and those are what I know. I hope you get to be a great player in 2015!
Why would you ever run SpA EV's on a Gallade? Its base Attack stat is literally almost twice that of its Special Attack. He did mention that he had a female Ralts, so it can't evolve into a Gallade anyway.
