New to Serious Battling. Help please?

[VelociLink]

Hello Smash Boards, I've been a casual player of Pokémon for a few years now, and now I think I'm interested in battling competitively. You see, a couple of friends and I are going to restart our Diamond (Pearl and Platinum also) versions, and have a little tournament after a few weeks of training; so, I'd like to build a great team. However, I don't think I know enough about the specifics and details (i.e. stats, IV, EV, etc.) and I'd like to ask for some guidance regarding a balanced, effective team. So far I know I'll have Infernape, and Swampert to compliment him, along with Spiritomb (as it doesn't have many weaknesses, right?). I need a grass type and then two others (these all have to be from Sinnoh BTW, except Swampert), any suggestions? I'm thinking that Gallade would be useful, as well as Lucario or Salamence. Any comments or tips? Thank you all in advance.

 

[Wave⁂]

http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=280310

 

[VelociLink]

Yeah, I've read it. I'm simply looking for those with experience to give me some help as I configure my team.

 

[Wave⁂]

Oh, so you want help with your team? Because it's really hard to help you with so little information. For example, "competitive" and "all have to be from Sinnoh" are not compatible.

 

[UltiMario]

I think he means he's playing 4th Gen for some odd reason?

If you have a skype or something I can help you man, I'm good at helping people build teams but I really just need to talk with people via IM to get things rolling.

 

[VelociLink]

Oh, can you elaborate on that point? I'm not aiming to become big-scale tourney-worthy anytime soon; I simply want to have a change against my lif'ing friends. I simply need to create a good team, but only one poké can be from outside of Sinnoh, and this makes the situation a bit complicated. I've been reading a bit more, and think I want a balanced team with some offensive pokémon and then some with really good defense (Infernape and Swampert respectively?). Is this effectively achievable?

 

[UltiMario]

Why can only one mon not be 4th Gen? Seems arbitrary.

 

[VelociLink]

Its part of the rules we set, complicated. it is kinda weird after I think about it. I don't think i know exactly, but those are the rules.

 

[UltiMario]

Then you're playing with the wrong kind of people lol

Find this wonderful application online called Pokemon Online. Hell, I'll link it for you.

http://www.pokemon-online.eu

Click the big download button. You can now practice against any player on Earth.

Enjoy restriction-less battling =p

 

[VelociLink]

Thank you! This should come in handy!

 

[Wave⁂]

Hm, okay. I'm down for some theorymoning around stupid restrictions, though I've seen worse before.

We'll decide on the wildcard last, because it's the most flexible. Infernape, Lucario, and Salamence are all very good choices, and you already have some good synergy here. Lucario runs Swords Dance because nothing else is viable, Infernape and Salamence can both go mixed. You'll want something for revenge-killing besides Lucario, since ExtremeSpeed isn't that good. Scarf Garchomp is perfect for this.

You'll want a lead; Bronzong, Azelf, Roserade (not really recommended, Leech Seed and Spike are illegal together, and you don't really need Toxic Spikes), and Hippowdon (could work well depending on your wildcard) are good options. I'll eliminate Hippowdon first, since you'll need to build a team around him (Gliscor, Mamoswine, the like). Roserade could be interesting, but I wouldn't recommend using her unless you run stuff like specially defensive Heatran or use Tyranitar / Abomasnow. Bronzong "counters" Garchomp and can revenge kill Lucario with Earthquake, so I'd pick him.

Bronzong
Lucario
Salamence
Infernape
Garchomp

Dragons and Steels, it looks like. For the final member of your team, you might want to look at a threatlist. Aside from the Pokemon I've already mentioned, you'll want to watch out for Rotom, Empoleon, Magnezone, and some smaller stuff like Staraptor as well. At this point, you'll want to give Lucario Crunch if you don't bring a wildcard with a Dark- or Ghost-type move. Infernape is also suffering from 4-move syndrome, as it'll likely want an Ice and Grass-type move. Gengar could fit well on your team.

 

[VelociLink]

Okay, thank you! I think this'll come in handy! thanks again!

I'm thinking that I should have a good chance.

 

[Deleted member]

pokemon is a lot less about what you play and a lot more about beating what you expect to play against. it gets pretty complicated, but pretty much pokemon ends up as a numbers game and if you're consistently winning 55-70% of your matches you're a "good player" for all practical purposes. since you deal with players in large numbers, you learn what you need to be able to fight against over time and you'll prepare for those pokemon better. it's not as bad as say gen 2 snorlax where every competitive team MUST have an answer for it, but that line of thinking is a good place to start, and it's ultimately more important than what EV spreads you run or the items you pick, etc.

 

[VelociLink]

Okay, so that in mind, should i focus more on typing? Cause right now, before thinking about the suggestions above ^, EV, or other complicated stuff, my team has: Infernape, Lucario, Swampert, Electivire, Torterra and Giratina. That way I have a mix of defensive, offensive, and typing. The only problem is that I have a big weakness to ground. Is this a problem or am I look at it the wrong way?

 

[Wave⁂]

Giratina

If you can use legendaries, use this team:

Arceus
Shaymin-S
Palkia
Dialga
Manaphy
Scizor

 

[UltiMario]

Why is Scizor in that last slot.

It clearly should be Kyogre

 

[Wave⁂]

I picked Scizor because he's Steel and I can't pick Ferrothorn.

But looking at the rest of the team, that was a horrendous mistake

 

[Deleted member]

Okay, so that in mind, should i focus more on typing? Cause right now, before thinking about the suggestions above ^, EV, or other complicated stuff, my team has: Infernape, Lucario, Swampert, Electivire, Torterra and Giratina. That way I have a mix of defensive, offensive, and typing. The only problem is that I have a big weakness to ground. Is this a problem or am I look at it the wrong way?

there are many successful ways to play but the best way to learn generally is to just try things and experiment to understand why things work on your own. If you really don't know where to start, start with simplistic pokemon that are really hard to screw up, like Vaporeon.

are you trying to play on DS or online? that actually changes quite a bit despite them being "the same".

 

[VelociLink]

I'm just playing against friends as of now, and I'm trying to follow most of the advice. I do have one Q: should I use Togekiss (with hustle) or Lucario (IDK the ability)? Which one would be best?

 

[Wave⁂]

Togekiss with Hustle is horrible. Togekiss with Serene Grace is still pretty bad. Lucario is awesome.

 

[VelociLink]

I'm breeding for Serene Grace, and I'll get Lucario just in case. What about Paraflinch Togekiss?

 

[UltiMario]

The only thing that can still do Paraflinch anymore is Jirachi. Togekiss is just plain *** at it.

Lucario is eh but will likely get the job done better, especially against teams without Gliscor or priority.

 

[Razehell]

What about Paraflinch Togekiss?

If you're playing fourth generation, Paraflinch Togekiss is fairly decent, despite what the others are saying.

The most common set would be:

252 HP / 252 SAtk
Item: Leftovers
Modest Nature
Trait: Serene Grace
- Thunder Wave
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Nasty Plot / Aura Sphere

This is obviously only if you have the means / patience to breed EV train the thing.

The last slot is iffy.
Nasty Plot is very nice, since Togekiss already has a massive base 120 SAtk.
However, I generally go with Aura Sphere, for the extended coverage.

The rest is pretty straightforward.
[hr]

For a lead, I really recommend Azelf.

In fourth gen, he was a terror because of his unpredictability.

 

[Circa]

Yeah Togekiss is decent, but it's also extremely niche. In almost every case there's simply a better option. If you absolutely want to use it though, then your best bet is to work an entire team around it.

Also that Kiss set is wrong. Get rid of the SAtk EVs and make it straight defensive. ParaFlinch Kiss needs the bulk a lot more than it needs that extra punch.