All-Normal Team

[betagold]

So, on a whim, I went to Shoddy and whipped up a team based entirely around Normal-Type pokemon.

Lickilicky w/ Focus Sash
Brave 252HP/252ATK/4DEF
Oblivious

Power Whip
Gyro Ball
Hammer Arm
Explosion

Now, normally this set comes with an Iron Ball, but that's not an option on Shoddy, so it's got a focus sash. Lickilicky's a strong opener, hitting hard with a low-speed Gyro Ball, lowered even further by Hammer Arm. When it's getting low, Focus Sash saves it just in time to use Explosion.

Togekiss w/ Leftovers
Calm 252HP/4SpATK/252SpDEF
Serene Grace

Air Slash
Aura Sphere
Roost
Thunder Wave

The typical Paraflinch Togekiss.

PorygonZ w/ Wise Glasses
Modest 6HP/252SpATK/252SPD
Adaptability

Dark Pulse
Ice Beam
Thunderbolt
Tri-Attack

The special sweeper. Wise Glasses are there instead of Choice Specs so I don't get locked into one move. Tri-Attack gets STAB and an Adaptability boost, along with wise glasses, and the other three are just to give it a wide range of attacks.

Ambipom w/ Leftovers
Timid 252HP/252SPD/252SpATK
Technician

Baton Pass
Nasty Plot
Swift
Thunder Wave

Thunder Wave makes quite a few appearances on this team. Baton Passer Ambipom sets up a T-wave, then nasty plots before passing to PorygonZ. Swift takes a STAB bonus, a Technician bonus, and a Nasty Plot bonus, which makes it the only viable offensive move for this set.

Blissey w/ Leftovers
Bold 6HP/252SpATK/252SpDEF
Natural Cure

Seismic Toss
Softboiled
Ice Beam
Thunder Wave

Basic non-supporting Blissey.

Kangaskhan w/ Choice Band
Adamant 6HP/252ATK/252SPD
Scrappy

Return
Earthquake
Hammer Arm
Sucker Punch

A viable physical moveset, the real star is Return. With scrappy, it hits for good damage on every type. The rest are decent physical moves, with Sucker Punch thrown in to suprise those who think they can outspeed Kangaskhan.

So, thoughts?

 

[dukeburger]

When it's getting low, Focus Sash saves it just in time to use Explosion.

No, it doesn't. Focus sash is good to save you from ONE possible OHKO if you are at full HP. And I think focus sash is pretty useless on something like Lickilicky. Unless of course you mean focus band, but there is still no guarantee that it will save you. Your opponent may not like the use of hax items, but anyway, you should use something that will actually help you. I'd say leftovers for longevity, but it seems like you're already over-using that on your team, which your opponent may also not like...

Also, I'm not so sure about power whip on him unless you are that afraid of Swampert, but I really don't think he poses that big a threat to your team... and even so, that wouldn't make too much sense if you're using this guy as an opener. But perhaps you or someone else may see something that I'm missing.

I'm pretty sure that most people would agree that you should max out defense on Blissey rather than special defense.

That's really all I see at a glance, other than you are obviously going to have a hard time dealing with fighting types/moves. I don't think Togekiss will be enough to help you, especially with Infernape which now that I think of it, will totally screw your team over. Maybe you should consider at least one type that can effectively deal with such problems? If you're adamant about having all normal types only, then maybe at least consider a choice scarf set on Togekiss with more offensive EVs. Of course, you should run some damage calcs (or maybe someone here who knows more than me can help) to double check all this and figure out a way to effectively deal with those fighting types.

 

[Pika25]

especially with Infernape which now that I think of it, will totally screw your team over.

Lucario in the exact same manner. I don't think any of those Pokémon of yours (save for Togekiss of course) will live a Close Combat from max Attack Lucario.

 

[Wiilio]

Focus Sash on something as bulky as Lickilicky is pretty ridiculous. For the most part, the movesets look fine. However, the EV sets are too simple. You might want to drop Kangaskhan's speed to 216, and put the leftovers in HP. This outspeeds neutral base 85s. Consider changing Blissey's Seismic Toss to Thunderbolt, and changing its IVs to 148 HP / 252 Def / 108 SpA. The Defense EVs are there to ensure that it, at least, survive SOME physical hits. The rest look okay.

Naturally, an all-normal team is going to have a problem with Fighting-types. Infernape and Lucario are two of the most common out there. For Infernape, all you have that MIGHT work is Togekiss, and if Infernape has Stone Edge and/or Thunderpunch, you're pretty much screwed. For Lucario... well, if it's SpecsLuke, Togekiss and Blissey can handle it, but SDLuke is going to tear through this team.

 

[dukeburger]

Lucario in the exact same manner. I don't think any of those Pokémon of yours (save for Togekiss of course) will live a Close Combat from max Attack Lucario.

Naturally, an all-normal team is going to have a problem with Fighting-types. Infernape and Lucario are two of the most common out there. For Infernape, all you have that MIGHT work is Togekiss, and if Infernape has Stone Edge and/or Thunderpunch, you're pretty much screwed. For Lucario... well, if it's SpecsLuke, Togekiss and Blissey can handle it, but SDLuke is going to tear through this team.

Yeah, I can't believe I left out Lucario. I'd still be careful around "SpecsLuke" but Wiil is right, as long as you're smart about it, you should be able to handle that version. You really, really may want to consider a bulky ground type or something.

 

[Wiilio]

Either that, or try to make Lickilicky defensively bulky. It'll probably still be hit hard by Close Combat from Lucario and Infernape but it should be able to survive it and hit them both back with Earthquake for a OHKO.

 

[Cheesus Is Lord]

You are really lacking a good physical wall here. Because you are going mono-type, you're going to have a tough time countering things, as everything has generally the same weaknesses and resists. Special hits you can sort of get away with because Blissey is so absurd, but on the physical side, I really don't know. I think you really should try to switch Lickilicky to a bulky defensive set. I don't know if that'll actually be enough though.

 

[ShinyFlareon]

You might try a Snorlax in there somewhere, with maxed HP and Defense EVs. Perhaps something like this?

Snorlax@Leftovers
Relaxed nature
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 Atk OR 4 Sp.Atk
-- Rest
-- Sleep Talk
-- Return/Earthquake
-- Fire Blast

Rest helps Snorlax tank more, and even recover from some of the harder physical hits. Sleep Talk means you're not vulnerable while sleeping, and also allows Snorlax to absorb sleep for the rest of your team. Rest also means you can PP stall opponents. Return for STAB and good neutral damage, Fire Blast for Steels and gives you something to hit ghosts. You might have some problems with Tyranitar, though, so you could run Earthquake over Return if you wanted. Crunch really doesn't do a whole lot, except hit Ghosts and Psychics a little harder, but generally, Fire Blast should serve you just fine. PP problems with it are fixed through Sleep Talk.

 

[dukeburger]

Hmm... Edo Kun's suggestion of Snorlax isn't bad... although it did remind me of something. I don't think this team is going to like Focus Blast Gengar much either. In that case, I would in fact go with Crunch if you choose to use Snorlax. However you should just let Blissey deal with Gengar anyway, but the coverage you'd get with Crunch couldn't hurt.

 

[ShinjiLover]

Everyone pretty much had it down. Fighting-types can be handled with flying-type attacks and Rukario (Lucario). . Well, Rukario can kick your Pokémon's you-know-whats until you can get a fire-type move in there somewhere. Since you have Thunder Wave in there a lot, try switching one of them for a fire-type.

Edo-kun has a good idea with the Kabigon (Snorlax), but don't expect as much from it as she says unless you max out the special attack.

 

[Wiilio]

Okay um... Fire Blast is for Steels with sucky SpD (i.e. Skarmory) so you don't need to max out its SpA because it's going to either OHKO or 2HKO (Probably 2HKO).

Snorlax's Defense is still low... its good defensive stat is SpD. Lickilicky has better Defense and can run that same set. They can also both run Curse sets.

 

[ShinyFlareon]

Snorlax's Defense is still low... its good defensive stat is SpD. Lickilicky has better Defense and can run that same set. They can also both run Curse sets.

Ah...my bad. Guess I'm still remembering the days when Snorlax could be used to wall anything and everything. Still, Snorlax's base HP is 160, compared to Lickilicky's base 110, so that might go some way towards making up for the lower base defense. This is quickly turning into an argument about personal preference, though, so I'll just leave it at that.

 

[Wiilio]

This has nothing to do with personal preference (Although that should play a role; I'll get to that). This has to do with what would fit the role better. Lickilicky has MUCH more versatility, but Snorlax has more power. If you do end up using a Curse set, Snorlax has the HP to help it survive more, but Lickilicky has Gyro Ball, which is powered up 2 ways by Gyro Ball. If you use a regular defensive set, both of these Pokémon have Earthquake to handle both Lucario and Infernape. As was already mentioned, Snorlax has more power, but Lickilicky has more versatility.

Now, I'm assuming you have chosen Lickilicky because you like it? In that case, even if Snorlax is the better choice, you will probably want to use Lickilicky. Battling should be about enjoyment. I find that if I use Pokémon that fit a role well but I don't like the Pokémon, I quickly get bored with it. For example, Lucario is a better Fighting-type, but I prefer to use Toxicroak because you don't see it every-friggin-where and... come on, an ass-whooping frog is pure excellence. So really, it's up to you whether you use Lickilicky or Snorlax. Don't let any of our debates make you think you have to use one or the other. Use what you like.