This is one of the first teams I have built. It isn't much but I tried executing some strategies I picked up here and there to put this team together. In any case, I have done a little bit of testing with this team and went 2-2 drop at the VGC tournament with it. (Don't ask why I dropped, it's a long story) Anyway, I would like to improve my team-making abilities so many concept ideas and explanations for fixes would be really nice. Thank you.
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Lucario is basically the core of my team. I went with a standard Special Attacker to have better offensive synergy with Gyarados who is by default next to Lucario. I went with Detect over Follow me because once again, Lucario is the core of this team and his job is to sweep the team, not to be the punching bag. I also chose Dark Pulse over HP Ice because I felt like I wanted something to kill off Cresselia or Chandelure.
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One of the things I read up was that you need to pick a Pokemon to build a team around on basic terms then research what beats that Pokemon then what beats those. After that, you tally up who can beat a majority of them and put that along side that guy. Gyarados won that count. According to statistics, Intimidate alone should cripple Pokemon like Hitmontop, Tyranitar, Heatran, and Gliscor. Waterfall is specifically put in for STAB and Volcarona in addition to Gliscor. (Volcarona can also be paralyzed with Thunder Wave) Hippowdon shouldn't be able to stand up to stab moves as well. Focus Sash sounds a little silly but it has surprised a couple people. I thought Zapdos would be popular so having that type of insurance felt worth it so Gyarados can survive a turn and possibly do whatever it needs to do.
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After looking at Lucario and Gyarados as a whole and felt like I needed something that can take a few hits but still further eliminate a couple more Lucario threats, Cresselia looked like it could fit both criteria. Terrakion and Toxicroak shouldn't like a well placed Psychic attack from Cresselia. Ice Beam was put in for Salamence (and possibly Garchomp) although I'm not sure if Ice Beam should be Icy Wind instead. Thunder Wave was another option to paralyze Salamence and any other speedy foes. Rain Dance I felt was needed because Lucario does not enjoy Sunny Day so that was my way of cooling things down sort of speak.
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I must admit that looking at statistics and seeing how popular Zapdos is, that I should add in something to deal with Zapdos. Doing some research, it appeared Rotom-H was the best choice since it resists all of Zapdos's standard moves and can hit back pretty hard. Rotom-H also doubles as one of my late game spreaders with the use of Discharge. Since Rotom-H was in solely for its typing and ability to Discharge, I didn't see a reason to stray away from the standard move-set.
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Even though Lucario has Dark Pulse, I felt like I needed something to take out Chandelure if it ever popped up. After taking into consideration Chandelure's standard move-set, I decided Houndoom would make a unique check for Chandelure since it can resist all of Chandelure's attacks and hit back for STAB Crunch. Other than that, it was really the only reason Houndoom was added to the roster.
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Trick Room is listed as one of the big four categories of teams. I wasn't quite sure if I could handle Trick Room teams with the current five so I decided to add someone who can survive effectively inside Trick Room. With Rhyperior's base 40 speed, I thought it would perform excellently and wipe through a team in seconds.
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Known Issues
Since I am somewhat of a novice at battling, I am unsure if something is truly an issue or if I'm just playing the match wrong. I have noticed that I can't seem to do much against Rain Dance teams. My thoughts were to start with Cresselia and Gyarados who can absorb Surf and start crippling their Pokemon with Thunder Wave, but that doesn't seem to work completely.
I have also noticed in checking the weaknesses that half my team is weak to rock type attacks and considering Rock Slide is a big move in doubles, that I should be worried about Rock Slide teams. Lucario resists Rock Slide so I'm not sure if I should be extremely worried but it has been something I noticed.
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At A Glance
[icon]448[/icon][icon]130[/icon][icon]488[/icon][icon]479-2[/icon][icon]229[/icon][icon]464[/icon]
[icon]448[/icon][icon]130[/icon][icon]488[/icon][icon]479-2[/icon][icon]229[/icon][icon]464[/icon]
Pokemon Analysis
Pokemon: | Lucario | Item: | Chople Berry |
Ability: | Inner Focus | EVs: | 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd |
Nature: | Modest | Moves: |
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Lucario is basically the core of my team. I went with a standard Special Attacker to have better offensive synergy with Gyarados who is by default next to Lucario. I went with Detect over Follow me because once again, Lucario is the core of this team and his job is to sweep the team, not to be the punching bag. I also chose Dark Pulse over HP Ice because I felt like I wanted something to kill off Cresselia or Chandelure.
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Pokemon: | Gyarados | Item: | Focus Sash |
Ability: | Intimidate | EVs: | 252 Atk / 8 Def / 250 Spd |
Nature: | Adamant | Moves: |
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One of the things I read up was that you need to pick a Pokemon to build a team around on basic terms then research what beats that Pokemon then what beats those. After that, you tally up who can beat a majority of them and put that along side that guy. Gyarados won that count. According to statistics, Intimidate alone should cripple Pokemon like Hitmontop, Tyranitar, Heatran, and Gliscor. Waterfall is specifically put in for STAB and Volcarona in addition to Gliscor. (Volcarona can also be paralyzed with Thunder Wave) Hippowdon shouldn't be able to stand up to stab moves as well. Focus Sash sounds a little silly but it has surprised a couple people. I thought Zapdos would be popular so having that type of insurance felt worth it so Gyarados can survive a turn and possibly do whatever it needs to do.
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Pokemon: | Cresselia | Item: | Sitrus Berry |
Ability: | Levitate | EVs: | 252 HP / 6 Def / 252 SDef |
Nature: | Calm | Moves: |
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After looking at Lucario and Gyarados as a whole and felt like I needed something that can take a few hits but still further eliminate a couple more Lucario threats, Cresselia looked like it could fit both criteria. Terrakion and Toxicroak shouldn't like a well placed Psychic attack from Cresselia. Ice Beam was put in for Salamence (and possibly Garchomp) although I'm not sure if Ice Beam should be Icy Wind instead. Thunder Wave was another option to paralyze Salamence and any other speedy foes. Rain Dance I felt was needed because Lucario does not enjoy Sunny Day so that was my way of cooling things down sort of speak.
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Pokemon: | Rotom-H | Item: | Electric Gem |
Ability: | Levitate | EVs: | 252 HP / 6 Def / 252 SAtk |
Nature: | Modest | Moves: |
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I must admit that looking at statistics and seeing how popular Zapdos is, that I should add in something to deal with Zapdos. Doing some research, it appeared Rotom-H was the best choice since it resists all of Zapdos's standard moves and can hit back pretty hard. Rotom-H also doubles as one of my late game spreaders with the use of Discharge. Since Rotom-H was in solely for its typing and ability to Discharge, I didn't see a reason to stray away from the standard move-set.
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Pokemon: | Houndoom | Item: | Life Orb |
Ability: | Flash Fire | EVs: | 6 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd |
Nature: | Naive | Moves: |
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Even though Lucario has Dark Pulse, I felt like I needed something to take out Chandelure if it ever popped up. After taking into consideration Chandelure's standard move-set, I decided Houndoom would make a unique check for Chandelure since it can resist all of Chandelure's attacks and hit back for STAB Crunch. Other than that, it was really the only reason Houndoom was added to the roster.
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Pokemon: | Rhyperior | Item: | Rock Gem |
Ability: | Solid Rock | EVs: | 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 SDef |
Nature: | Brave | Moves: |
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Trick Room is listed as one of the big four categories of teams. I wasn't quite sure if I could handle Trick Room teams with the current five so I decided to add someone who can survive effectively inside Trick Room. With Rhyperior's base 40 speed, I thought it would perform excellently and wipe through a team in seconds.
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Known Issues
Since I am somewhat of a novice at battling, I am unsure if something is truly an issue or if I'm just playing the match wrong. I have noticed that I can't seem to do much against Rain Dance teams. My thoughts were to start with Cresselia and Gyarados who can absorb Surf and start crippling their Pokemon with Thunder Wave, but that doesn't seem to work completely.
I have also noticed in checking the weaknesses that half my team is weak to rock type attacks and considering Rock Slide is a big move in doubles, that I should be worried about Rock Slide teams. Lucario resists Rock Slide so I'm not sure if I should be extremely worried but it has been something I noticed.