My First ever competitive team

[149]

Aerodactyl
Pressure
Jolly
6 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spe
Life Orb
-Aqua Tail
-Fire Fang
-Stealth Rocks
-Earthquake

Max Speed, so I try to set up rocks first. After that, hopefully I have an advantage on type, and I got with that. May replace it with an Aerodactyl, different set, including Taunt.

Scizor
Technician
Adamant
6 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spe
Life Orb
-Brick Break
-Swords Dance
-Bullet Punch
-Bug Bite

Max Attack, set up with Swords Dance, attempt to sweep with Bullet Punch.

Dragonite
Inner Focus
Adamant
Unsure of EV's I think, 6 HP,252 Atk,252 Spe
Life Orb
-Earthquake
-Aqua Tail
-Outrage
-Fire Punch

Max Attack, late game sweeper if Scizor fails. Huge STAB with Outrage, ggod type coverage. Sometimes I run Leftovers.

Machamp
No Guard
Jolly
12 HP, 252 Atk, 244 Spe
Choice Scarf
-Dynamic Punch
-Payback
-Ice Punch
-Thunder Punch

Can switch into things Scizor fears, good speed for surprising my opponent. Good type coverage.

Salamence
Intimidate
Adamant
236 HP, 64 Atk, 116 SpD, 92 Spe
Leftovers
-Dragon Claw
-Dragon Dance
-Earthquake
-Roost

Can take an Ice Beam! Set up with DD, then Dragon Claw. Can heal with Roost.

Swampert
Torrent
Impish
240 HP, 52 Atk, 216 Def
Leftovers
-Earthquake
-Avalanche
-Rest
-Sleep Talk

Can switch to things Scizor fears. Heals with Rest, can attack while sleeping with Sleep Talk.


I don't know much of competitive battling, but I put this together. I have not tested Swampert, Salamence or Scizor in battle. I know they may not compliment each other well, but it is my first attempt at a competitive team. They don't really have synergy, I just put some lv100s together, I haven't tested it. I may replace Aerodactyl with Skarmory, but I don't want two Steels, so I am not sure. Again, I may replace Aero with an Azelf or Gengar. Salamence and Machamp are fillers as of now, unless they work well. I plan to train an Alakazam to special sweep. I have an Espeon, but Alakazam is better, and I like him more. This is my first team rating and competitive team ever, what do you think? Please be honest and don't hold anything back. I need to know what I am lacking. Thanks for looking.

 

[coolking503]

the only reason to use aerodactyl is to stop SR from being set up, so give it taunt and a focus sash. Replace the other attack with stone edge since it is stronger as a STAB attack. Give D-nite a choice band or dragon dance, since it can set up or hit harder. Also, you really need another ice resist, so replace swampert with metagross or jirachi, so you can survive pokemon like glygon or d-nite trying to sweep with outrage. I'd say scarf jirachi, and make machamp a sleep talk set.

 

[Ino-Chan]

I prefer SuperPower over Brick Break and U-Turn over Bug Bite on Scizor personally.

Though I disagree with getting rid of Swampert, i do think Taunt needs to be on Aerodactyl.

 

[149]

I am keeping Swampert. I taught my Aerodactyl, Rock Slide and Taunt.
I have Brick Break on a second Salamence, with the same EV spread.
Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

And nice username, Tabula Rasa.

 

[coolking503]

I prefer SuperPower over Brick Break and U-Turn over Bug Bite on Scizor personally.
.

the reason you wouldnt out those on a SD scizor is because unlike one with a choce band, where you would switch out, this one you dont switch out on. Meaning after an SD, you are either switching out (bad idea after a boost) or decreasing your boosted stats (which means you are forced to switch out and decreasing your stat boosts). Either way, the other alternative is better

 

[Badal]

You should remove Fire Fang/Aqua Tail and replace it with Taunt since this way you'll have advantage over other Set up leads. This is useful since if you're faster and you are facing a Mesprit or Uxie, then you can simply Taunt and thus prevent them from being able to Set up.

Get rid of Machamp's Ice Punch/Thunder Punch, replace it with rest and give it a Lum Berry, this way you can spam Dynamic Punches and then when you're close to dying simply rest and then start all over again, this strategy helps a lot against those several bulky/non-bulky attackers and sometimes even against stallers.

 

[PlatinumDude]

Get rid of Machamp's Ice Punch/Thunder Punch, replace it with rest and give it a Lum Berry, this way you can spam Dynamic Punches and then when you're close to dying simply rest and then start all over again, this strategy helps a lot against those several bulky/non-bulky attackers and sometimes even against stallers.

Did you see the item? It's holding a Choice Scarf and the OP is intending on making Machamp a revenge killer (as a surprise factor).

 

[Badal]

Did you see the item? It's holding a Choice Scarf and the OP is intending on making Machamp a revenge killer (as a surprise factor).

Yes I do know that though I don't really see how a Machamp revenge killer will be any better than what I suggested.
Machamp would be better as a bulky hard hitter

 

[149]

I made my Aerodactyl the lead set on Smogon, adding Taunt and Stone Edge. I am thinking of replacing SE with Rock Slide.

I like the Machamp Idea, I think I will do that. I mostly use Dynamic Punch anyway.

@PlatinumDude: What is OP, option?

 

[Piano]

Original Poster.
What's a revenge killer?

 

[Our Wasted Years]

Original Poster.
What's a revenge killer?

It's a Pokemon that can be switched in after one of your dies. That Pokemon that you're going to switch in is strong and fast enough to kill the opponents Pokemon via priority or some sort of ability. They mostly have low HP, Def, SpDef, and really high Speed and Atk/SpAtk. They are purely used just to take out the Pokemon that killed yours.

For example:
-Your Sceptile vs Opponents Entei
-Entei OHKO's Sceptile with Fire Blast
-You send in Dugtrio.
-Dugtrio traps Entei via it's ability Arena Trap and revenge kills it with Earthquake or Sucker Punch if the Entei is at really low HP.

Hope you understand now. However you should have asked in the Simple Q&A thread instead of here.

 

[F-22]

You have a bad weakness to LO and CM Latias. I'm not sure which tier listing you go by since not everyone uses Smogon tierings (and it's a suspect anywho), so I'm not going to go further on that.

Since I'm assuming this is for Wi-Fi play, you need a check for HP Grass Bold Zapdos, as it counters nearly everything on your team. I would suggest taking out Swampert for Thick Fat Snorlax, which has better synergy with your team since with its ability it resists Fire and Ice. In addition to switching in to things that Scizor doesn't like (chiefly Heatran), it also helps protect Salamence from random Ice Beams and Dragon Pulses thrown in its way. You could run a set like Body Slam / Fire Punch / Rest / Sleep Talk to help it last a long time, with Curse or EQ as options in the last slot. Body Slam also helps spread paralysis, as your team is slow.

I would also prefer a more offensive spread and switching to Jolly on Salamence. What can it take an Ice Beam from? If anything, it loses one-on-one to other Salamence.

I would either get rid of Dragonite, since it's redundant with Mence on the team, or make it mixed. Your team is too physical for my taste, and a badly placed WoW from something could hurt you. A Zapdos of your own would not be a bad idea for a wall, especially if Machamp is dead, as it helps with enemy Lucario, Scizor, and other like physical threats. Ice moves are rare, and even rarer as STAB in a Steel centered metagame, so Snorlax will be enough to pick up the extra ice weakness. Alternately, you could just put generic bulky Water or Starmie in its slot, depending on whether you want more bulk or keeping the offensive pressure up.

I really like that Machamp, by the way. I might try it myself, since it seems interesting. I hope my advice helped (I might write more later), and good luck!

 

[149]

^^ Thanks a lot for your suggestions. I have a Timid Zapdos I planned on training. I will most likely add a Snorlax or Starmie, I just need to train one. I do have a Timid Starmie, but I'm unsure of it's spread.
As for phsyical, I like special more, these are just the mons I have IV'd and EV'd. I've trained a few Alakazams, but none to my liking, and I haven't gotten around to training a good one. I want, and think I need a Psychic, what do you think? I do need some speedy pokes, I just don't know who. 'Zam is fast, and my Zapdos is timid, I'm just not good at making teams yet. Thanks for your help, and I do hope you post more.

 

[F-22]

I'm personally not a big fan of Alakazam simply because Pursuit and priority are far too common. I think Starmie is a great choice because it adds much needed speed on your team. Since your DD Mence doesn't run Fire Blast for Bronzong and Skarmory, it can also aid in setting up for a sweep. Since there is no Rotom-A on Wi-Fi, stall is less common and you can run a full Counterstar set (Surf / Thunderbolt / Ice Beam or Psychic / Recover @ LO) without feeling obligated to run Rapid Spin. Since Aero is likely to Taunt the enemy lead, they will be unlikely to get their rocks up.

Hopefully that Snorlax isn't too difficult to get for you. I really can't think of much else that could fill in for it besides Blissey, whom I'm not a big fan of because of its chronic four slot syndrome. You could put Swampert back in its place, but I'm concerned about HP Grass Heatran who are unfortunately common.

 

[149]

I have can get mons rather easily on another forum.
May I ask, what did you mean by priority about Zam? What do you think is the best nature for a good mence set? And do you think I need a Psychic?

 

[F-22]

Priority = priority move. Like Bullet Punch, Quick Attack, and Extremespeed. All of these are devastating to Zam due to its poor physical defense.

It depends what you want. If you want to keep the Mence you currently have, run Jolly with 252 Atk / 252 Speed. Although you lose much of its bulk, you are able to do much more damage and have a monster late game sweeper. I'm under the impression that the rest of the team's purpose is to help Mence set up and sweep. Jolly and max speed is critical since you not only speed tie (or outrun) enemy Salamence, but you are also able to match Pokemon with the same base speed (like Jirachi) and outrun other things that Adamant can't (like Jolly Lucario, Gliscor, the rare Electivire).

Nah, you don't need a Psychic, as Zapdos handles the vast majority of Fighting threats quite nicely. If anything, they end up being trapped by Pursuiters. I'm not against using Starmie though.

 

[149]

I had not thought about what I my team is supposed to do, I just put some lv100s together. I know I need strategy, but I am unsure of what I want to do. My team is able to help Salamence set up and sweep? I hadn't realized. I planned on training a Jolly mence eventually. I will train some, and post back when I am ready. Thanks a lot for all your help and suggestions. Oh, I thought about training a Jolteon that substitutes, or something that subs, as that has given me trouble in the past. I also want a baton passer, but idk what I should use. Maybe Smeargle? Something that can pass swords dance to Scizor or Mence. what do you think?

 

[F-22]

You should focus on finding opportune times for your offensive core of Salamence and Scizor to set up and do as much damage as possible by eliminating their checks, hence why I suggested things that would aid their sweep.

It is a good idea to use something that you've found annoying, but truthfully I don't know where you would fit a BPer on your team without compromising for some severe weakness.

I think you should keep what you have after the changes I suggested, test your team out and see how it goes because it looks fine to me. You really can't know the full capabilities of a team without actually playing with it.

Feel free to PM/VM me when you've tested your team out, and a particular threat is giving you problems or you have some other concern. Good luck!

 

[149]

^^ Thanks a lot. Lately, I have been using Aerodactyl, Dragonite, Scizor, and Machamp as they are listed in the first post. I've switched out Salamence and Swampert for GS Modest Jirachi and Wish/Psychic/Signal Beam, HP Fire Espeon. With that team, I've won 3 battles today, and lost zero! The most exciting one, I was down to my Dragonite, and he had 3 left. Dragonite was confused from Outrage, but he pulled through and took out half HP Umbreon, 3/4 HP Dusknoir, and Raikou with SR damage. I really thought I was going to loose. I think I am getting better at predicting, as well. Thanks for all your help.