Sun/Moon Singles Battle Tree Help!

[Celesteela]

Hey guys, I'm Celesteela, and I'm new here. I'm trying to start learning how to EV train, and am currently working on a Battle Tree Singles Team. Gotta grab those Mega Stones! So far, my team composition has been:

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Relaxed
Beast Boost
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpDef

- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
- Leech Seed
- Protect

Garchomp @ Life Orb (Planning to be Garchompite)
Adamant
Sand Veil
252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP

- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Crunch
- Swords Dance

I need help figuring out a third team member! I'm thinking either Toxapex or Araquanid for a Water-type Special Wall to fight off Fire-types or stall Ice-types. Or should I go for some third option? Any help is appreciated!

(By the by, I wasn't sure if Battle Tree went here or the Doctor's Clinic, since it's single player. If that could be clarified, I would appreciate it.)

 

[KoL]

Moved to the correct board.

3vs3 singles is all about starting out strong and trying to run over the opponent before they can really do anything. The battles are effectively won and lost on the first turn a lot of the time, so you'll want to lead off with something that beats most opponents 1vs1.

As for the team:

- Celesteela might prefer Substitute over Protect on this set due to the possibility of the effect sticking around longer than Protect. A well-placed Substitute alongside Leftovers and Leech Seed can make Celesteela a massive pain to get past while you're free to unload Heavy Slams without any risk. Consider full Attack over full Defense and Brave nature on this set if you find it doesn't pull its weight enough, since one Beast Boost on Celesteela's Attack stat could be a game changer.

- I'd personally use Salamence over Garchomp for this since Dragon Dance is a better sweeping move than Swords Dance is thanks to the speed boost the former provides, but Garchomp can do the job very well himself. You can actually lead off with Garchomp by putting a Focus Sash on him, popping a Swords Dance and attempting to just tear through the opponent right away. Jolly nature is preferable for this since there's less chance of opponents outspeeding you, which allows you to tear through their whole team more reliably.

The final slot can be, as you've said, anything to fill out the type weaknesses you want to cover up. You've mentioned something to resist Fire and Ice-types, and a good Fire-type can do both. Alolan Marowak can be a bit slow but hits unbelievably hard thanks to Thick Club, while Arcanine can grab a stat boost with Flash Fire or Intimidate to drop the opponent's Attack before going on the attack. You want to make sure whatever it is provides an immediate offensive threat to the opponent as soon as it hits the field so that you can keep control of the battle.

 

[Celesteela]

Oh, thanks for the ideas! I definitely forgot about Substitute on Celesteela; now that you mention it, it sounds like an absolutely better idea than Protect, especially with Celesteela's sustainability. In addition, that Focus Sash Garchomp sounds really good, especially as a lead, and having a Fire-type instead of a Water-type is a good idea. With that in mind, my revised build is this:

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Brave
Beast Boost
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def

- Heavy Slam
- Seed Bomb
- Leech Seed
- Protect

Garchomp @ Focus Sash
Jolly
Sand Veil
252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP

- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Crunch
- Swords Dance

Arcanine @ Life Orb
Jolly
Flash Fire
252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP

- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Wild Charge
- Extreme Speed

I switched out Flamethrower for Seed Bomb, given that with Arcanine, I need something to cover against Water-types more, and he basically acts as my switch-in against some of Celesteela's more dangerous enemies. I do see that I'm having problems dealing with Fighting-types, however, so I'm wondering if I should keep Relaxed Celesteela? Not to mention the looming problem of a Tapu Fini setting up Calm Minds. For a secondary build, I tried coming up with this:

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Brave
Beast Boost
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def

- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
- Leech Seed
- Protect

Salamence @ Life Orb (Planning to be Salamencite)
Jolly
Intimidate
252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP

- (Unknown Flying Move; Aerial Ace? Fly? Will be Double-Edge when Salamencite is obtained.)
- Dragon Claw
- Thunder Fang
- Dragon Dance

Mamoswine @ Thick Fat
Adamant
Thick Fat
252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 HP

- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Superpower

OR

Gastrodon @ Rindo Berry
Calm
Storm Drain
252 HP / 252 SpDef / 4 SpAtk

- Earth Power
- Scald
- Recover
- (Unknown move; Clear Smog for hazing? Ice Beam? Substitute?)

The Salamence comes out with the most damage here, and is the main sweeper, of course. Celesteela gets back Flamethrower to account for Steel-types, Grass-types, and Ice-types. The clencher is the third member; either Mamoswine or Gastrodon, because I felt that I needed a strong Ground-type tank in order to round it all out. Mamoswine provides the power needed in a 3v3 situation, but in the case of a last-minute check, Gastrodon might be able to threaten any physical threats, Electric-types, and Water-types. I think I'm just really concerned for Tapu Fini and Tapu Koko... In any case, I'm wondering if my builds seem alright. I really don't want to slog through the Battle Tree to no avail, y'know!

 

[KoL]

If Fighting-types are a problem Alolan Marowak can help a bit, although Fighting-types tend to use Rock and Ghost/Dark moves for coverage and he's weak to both and quite slow as well. Machamp especially can carry Knock Off to really ruin your day since it removes your Thick Club if you survive it. Salamence is a pretty solid option against Fighting-types on your second team thanks to Intimidate, although Stone Edge critting and Ice Punch will still sting a bit. An offensive Mimikyu set can really hurt Fighting-types hard since the Fairy-type neutralizes the Dark weakness and allows you to hit back with Play Rough, plus Disguise gives a lot of opportunities to set up or attack safely.

I'd pick Mamoswine over Gastrodon for this since offensive power is a lot more valuable in 3vs3 than defensive power is, since you can't really make a solid defensive setup with only three Pokemon available, and Mamoswine's raw power, coverage and access to Ice Shard can prove invaluable.

As a side pointer, I'd consider Poison Jab/Iron Head over Crunch on Garchomp to tackle Fairy-types. Salamence can run Earthquake over Thunder Fang and possibly Roost over Aerial Ace (Aerial Ace's power is too low to warrant using) if an opportunity presents itself to use it, or another coverage move since Dragon/Ground gets shut down by any Fairy-type that resists Ground.