Pokemon Team/Move/Composition Help Thread

[CynthiaLover]

A recent idea came to mind while I was without internet for most of the day (Spectrum was doing maintenance on their servers and systems so it knocked out all cable services for a sizable chunk of the day). Since many Poke-fics often have multiple characters with even more Mons on them I figured it might be a good idea to start a thread that would allow everyone to discuss/brainstorm/ask about possible team builds and move choices for the Mons in their fics. After all, not everyone are genius team builders or might be struggling to think of some good moves to put on their Mons. Especially in a written format like Poke-fics. So why don't we start a discussion on ideas and compositions to help fic writers come up with good/fun/creative teams and move choices for their stories? After all, getting feedback on your ideas is an important part of helping improve your story, right? So let's get discussing and see if we can help create new/fun/creative/good ideas to help improve the Mons in our stories. Post away and let's see what we can come up with as a group.

 

[CynthiaLover]

You know, it occurred to me that I should use one of my own Mons as an example (the past few days have been rough on me so I'm not thinking straight). Might as well set an example and show how this discussion thread works. So let's start off with this.

Gylfie

Decidueye

Grass/Ghost

Female

Overgrow

Relaxed

Leaf Storm Spirit Shackle Air Cutter Energy Ball Knock Off Haze

This is Geo's Decidueye, Gylfie, from the Alola arcs. While I'm fairly satisfied with her moveset I feel she could probably use some tweaking. Gylfie is designed to be a Foil to two different Decidueye in the series: Hau's and Geo's eventual Hisuian Decidueye, Stryker, both in personality and battling style. As such Gylfie taps into her archer motif more and is a Long-Ranged Fighter compared to how Hau's Decidueye (her rival) and Stryker are more Close-Quarter Combatants. Plus her personality is designed to be a Foil to both Hau's Decidueye and Stryker, being a more relaxed, friendly Cuddle Bug compared to how Hau's Decidueye is more aloof (but still generally friendly) and Stryker's is more serious but impulsive (fittingly, Gylfie's Nature is the opposite of Stryker's: Gylfie's is Relaxed while Stryker's is Hasty). As such Gylfie tends to lean more into being a ranged fighter compared to her rival and Hisuian counterpart. Now onto the nitty-gritty.

Spoiler: Details on how I decide/utilize moves

In terms of her moves, this is considered her "final" moveset during her tenure as a main cast member. Haze is a very important part of her moveset. Not only does it offer utility effects like neutralizing stat buffs (such as the Totem's auras) but it also functions like a Smoke Out technique where she can use it to create smoke to blind the enemy so she can launch ambush attacks like the anime (which considering she has a habit of Stealth Hi/Byes is fitting). Plus it neutralizes the drawback of Leaf Storm's Special Attack drop (yes, unlike the anime I include all pros and cons of certain moves, such as stat drops or recharge periods). Energy Ball is her primary damage dealer and uses the Energy Ball Charge technique Geo develops in Sinnoh, where she eats the Energy Ball to power herself up (think Ash's Grotle during the Twinleaf Festival... which was an idea that got dropped shortly after Dawn's Mamoswine copied the idea). Leaf Storm is basically her finisher (depending on the situation), but if it doesn't do the job she can simply use Haze to negate the drawback and try something different. The two moves I'm a bit iffy on are Air Cutter and Knock Off. Granted, later on Air Cutter is upgraded to Air Slash during the Final Journey season (curtesy of Jarvis) but I've been tempted to give her a different Flying-type move. Especially since Air Cutter wasn't the first choice I had earlier (it was Brave Bird) before choosing Air Cutter to further tap into her Long-Ranged Fighter style. And Knock Off, while a useful move in competitive, lacks some of its functionality in BFTH because of how Held Items, while present, aren't often used (plus they're not allowed in official battles like Gym, League, or Contests to ensure fair play in my series). So I'm thinking of possibly changing things a bit with those moves. Also, I should mention that her earlier moves consisted of Tackle, Peck, Leafage, and Razor Leaf before upgrading them to their current set and current battle style. Also, I tend to limit the amount of moves a Mon has during their tenure as a main cast member to six (discounting Mons like Lora). They can learn and have as many moves as they want but can only use 4 of them during official competitions (similarly to the Adventures manga), thus preventing battles from turning into pure chaos. This gives them plenty of options while also offering some different strategies.

I should also mention how I do things regarding choosing moves. First, I use the Mon's most recent/current moveset while also factoring in the moves they had available to them during the gen they are featured in. This is often because some moves in their toolkits are designed for certain purposes, usually plot-related but also for utility and possibly combo/improvised tactics. Secondly, TMs, TRs, and Move Tutors are a thing so they can teach a Mon a new move instantly like in the games (though practice is often required to master them). Also, a Mon can even learn TM/TR/Move Tutor moves on their own, such as Geo's Croagunk, Junko, knowing Brick Break off the bat, and later Geo's Torterra, Gaia, learning Rock Climb on the spot in one case. Also, any move a Mon learns in a later gen that is a TM but wasn't available in an earlier gen is considered a Move Tutor move more often than not. Next, Egg Moves are a thing (and are even mentioned in-universe, like Orion catching a Murkrow that has the Egg Move Sky Attack), thus they have to be on the Mon's starting moveset. If the Egg Move in question later becomes a teachable move in some form or another (like Haze becoming a TM in Gen 9) it's still treated as an Egg Move if that's how it debuted in on the Mon in question. I also try to avoid moves that are no longer teachable (ie: Round), have gone through a massive overhaul during generational shifts (Hail, instead using Snowscape), or ones that were flat-out deleted from the game (ie: Hidden Power). And finally, just because the move isn't the most powerful or optimal on the Mon doesn't mean it doesn't have its purposes. Geo often teaches his Pokemon certain moves because they either have a utility function (ie: Energy Ball on Gaia), are part of a combo/improvised tactic (String Shot on Leavanny), are associated with the Mon's personality/character development/battle style (ie: Giga Impact on Gliscor), or are used as a surprise/counter tactic (ie: Shadow Claw on Noivern). Plus Geo follows a saying that his father, Irvine, taught him: Power alone isn't the true strength (actually mentioned in a recent chapter I posted not too long ago in BFTH), thus his move choices tend to be ones that are Simple yet Awesome/Boring but Practical, especially if they have useful secondary functions.

That should about cover it. Granted, no one else needs to make this as long-winded as I did (it's a bad habit I admit), hence why I put it in a spoiler. But hopefully it explains how I do things with BFTH. And it should show how this thread will work. If anyone has a suggestion or two to improve Gylfie's moveset please feel free to post/comment. Thanks and happy posting.

 

[theclaw]

It'll be good hearing the processes of how other writers construct teams.

Trainers in my story have to plan carefully, as wild encounters are infrequent. Though some mons might not be too welcome in sanctioned battles. (Missingno exists)

 

[CynthiaLover]

Okay, time for me to post for real on this thread. I've been debating on either replacing or adding on a Mon to a Pokemon Team. Specifically, Courtney's Unova Team. The Mon I've been thinking of adding is Excadrill for many reasons. 1) It's a Ground/Steel type and Courtney has a preference for Fire, Ground, and Steel types in BFTH. 2) It can show up earlier in the story, thus have more of a role in her ranks. 3) It's a cool Mon overall. 4) It wouldn't overlap with her other Unovian Mons type-wise (bar Camerupt but that's a given). 5) It'll have a more unique fighting style and could help with certain tasks like tunneling out of dangerous locations or digging up items. The Mon I was thinking of replacing was Ferrothorn, given how late it'll be introduced and how it won't have as much of a presence on her team as her earlier Mons. So what do you think? Should I replace Ferrothorn with Excadrill? Or should I keep her team as-is? Or should I throw Excadrill onto her team alongside Ferrothorn and have her adapt a rotation tactic like Geo? Here are the two Mons and their planned traits/attacks/natures, etc.

Ferrothorn

Grass/Steel

Female

Iron Barbs

Impish

Pin Missile Gyro Ball Bullet Seed Power Whip Thunder Wave Shadow Claw

This is the original team member I had planned: Ferrothorn.

Excadrill

Ground/Steel

Male

Mold Breaker

Rash

Drill Run Dig Smart Strike Focus Blast X-Scissor Rapid Spin

This is the new idea I had: Excadrill.

I should also note that the rest of her team consists of Camerupt, Unfezant, Serperior, Gigalith, and Conkeldurr. In my personal preference, I'm leaning more toward Excadrill for the reasons I stated above. But I'm also not against using a rotation tactic since Geo has frequently done that, with Jodi joining him on that later in Sinnoh. And that's not counting characters like Orion, Freya, and Stu. So characters performing rotation tactics isn't unheard off for my series, be it main or rival/recurring ones. So what do you all think? Should Courtney go with Excadrill? Should she keep Ferrothorn? Or should she keep both and use a rotation tactic? Let me know. Thanks in advance.

 

[VeniaSilente]

Honestly the way I built teams for my OCs back in the day, in particular in the RPing days, was simply picking stuff from the lore I was building and mons I liked, or that catched my eye for giving them a try. So I don't really have eg.: characters with "meta" teams, their meta is just being so good (or not) they win (or lose) with the team they have.

For example, I played Ravir Eisenhorth in the short-lived Rise to the Top. Like 75% of my OCs, he has about 15 years of pre-existing history. He was a student of mechanical engineering, believes Pokémon should be able to live and move comfortably in urbanized human environments, and also was a former "heroics youngling with a hat" who has the disbandment of one regional Team Blank under his name.

Thus his team composition includes: Electabuzz (starter) and Kirlia, as humanoid mons who can operate the same kinds of machinery humans can; Gyarados as the water option to operate in narrow passages and environments where the available water is pressurized; Coalossal, Aggron and Pinsir to handle interaction with dangerous elements in a city environment, and a large Manectric as the Monstie / Ride option.

Tied to this team composition, he usually picks fights and small tournaments in urbanized areas and doesn't spend long in the wilderness unless he is setting Coalossal, Aggron or Pinsir at center stage to handle things. This lore and composition also affects an effect on what moves the mons learn and specialize upon and how do they fight: Coalossal and Pinsir are oppressive and destructive options, they are for when Kirlia or Electabuzz don't have type advantage as an absolute advantage, and he has to command them carefully in urban environments but can let them loose in arenas. Consequently they pack everything useful from EQ to Hyper Beam, as well as a few "upkeep" moves. Aggron and Gyarados serve a similar role but more specialized for when there actually is an advantage to wrecking infrastructure about (say, in a raid against an enemy base). As such they also handle HMs such as Surf. Kirlia is the team empath and communicator and can detect threats ("Detect Evil" style) around, so he basically serves a role making sure Ravir always knows when there's going to be, for example, a challenge while he's engaging in civil time as a student or in downtime, and serves as a first blocker with a number of Psychic abilities, defensive TMs and a well-trained Protect. Electabuzz as the starter can go at things alone and is the "you look at me funny, you die" option. Manectric as the ride is basically the equivalent of the Getaway Car trope but he's also buky and well-guarded and his role is basically to help Ravir plow his way into situations as well as serve as the gewtaway: basically he's the "mode switch" for engaging or disengaging from combat.

---

Okay, time for me to post for real on this thread. I've been debating on either replacing or adding on a Mon to a Pokemon Team. Specifically, Courtney's Unova Team. The Mon I've been thinking of adding is Excadrill for many reasons. 1) It's a Ground/Steel type and Courtney has a preference for Fire, Ground, and Steel types in BFTH. 2) It can show up earlier in the story, thus have more of a role in her ranks. 3) It's a cool Mon overall. 4) It wouldn't overlap with her other Unovian Mons type-wise (bar Camerupt but that's a given). 5) It'll have a more unique fighting style and could help with certain tasks like tunneling out of dangerous locations or digging up items. The Mon I was thinking of replacing was Ferrothorn, given how late it'll be introduced and how it won't have as much of a presence on her team as her earlier Mons. So what do you think? Should I replace Ferrothorn with Excadrill? Or should I keep her team as-is? Or should I throw Excadrill onto her team alongside Ferrothorn and have her adapt a rotation tactic like Geo? Here are the two Mons and their planned traits/attacks/natures, etc.

On this thing, I'm usually a proponent of "the more mons the better" so I'd suggest going for a rotation.

As for who to rotate and how, I feel like it mostly depends on how and how much does Courney move about during the story, but my first rotation candidate is [ Ferrothorn, Camerupt ]. The rationale is that, compared to the rest of the team composition and discounting the asusmption of Unfezant as the regular flier, Ferrothorn and Camerupt feel like they'd be far more efficient when left to their own niches. I feel Ferrothorn does not have a mobility any comparable to Conkeldur or Serperior, and having native Fire about does not always justify keeping a shared multiple weakness in the team (not tom ention, Camerupt and Gigalith would be troubeld by the same issues with terrain). This rotation allows, of course, to introduce Excadrill as a regular or as member of its own rotation (in which case I'd suggest [ Serperior, Excadrill ] since they both would more or less fulfill the roles of both item-grabber and evacc'ing dangerous terrain just in different, mostly incompatible circumstances).