XY/ORAS Singles Competitive Team Rough Draft

[RiasRed]

This is my first competitive team and I was wondering what you think of it. I would like suggestions and am open to criticism.

Carbink holding Light Clay.
Ability: Clear Body?
EVs: 252 Hp with the rest into Def and Sp. Def
Moves: Stealth Rock, Reflect, Light Screen, Explode.

Cloyster holding NeverMeltIce or Kings Rock?
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Speed, 4 Hp
Moves: Shell Smash, Icicle Spear, Rock Blast, Razor Shell.

Ninjask holding Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Hp, 252 Def, 4 Speed
Moves: Protect, Substitute, Sword Dance, Baton Pass.

Aggron holding Aggronite
Abilities: Sturdy and then Filter
EVs: 252 Atk with the rest into Def and Sp. Def
Moves: Head Smash, Earthquake, Heavy Slam, Aqua Tail or Toxic?

Scizor holding Choice Band or Life Orb?
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk, the rest into Hp and Speed
Moves: U-turn, Bullet Punch, Superpower, Sword Dance.

Aegislash holding Metronome?
EVs: 252 Def, 252 Sp. Def, 4 Hp
Moves: Kings Shield, Sword Dance, Shadow Sneak, Sacred Sword or Iron Head?

 

[KoL]

I won't bother with moveset advice because there's too much wrong here for it to be of any use.

You're running far too many Steel-types and not enough that resists Fire. A Heatran with Flash Cannon could probably eat through your entire team by itself as it is now and with Pokemon Bank arriving in about 3 weeks we'll probably be seeing Heatran arrive in droves fairly soon. Also, you have not a single special attack on this entire team; I know special attacks have been nerfed and all, but this team will get slaughtered by anything with a decent Defense stat, a healing move and Roar/Whirlwind, a problem not helped at all by the fact that you don't have anything to fight off bulky Water-types with either.

Honestly, I'd go back to the drawing board and start anew. You have some good ideas for movesets here (albeit some very glaring mistakes - Metronome on Aegislash for example) but the team as a whole will fall flat against anyone using a team with any good defensive capability.

 

[RiasRed]

Well that was brutal.

There is that much wrong with the move sets? I thought it was good, but what do I know.

I was going to send Carbink out first to set up stealth rock, reflect, and light screen then use explode to get Cloyster out and use shell smash to give him +2 attack and speed and use icicle spear with kings rock.
Ninjask would use substitute and protect to make use of his ability and sometimes use swords dance then baton pass it to Aggron and mega evolve him. Scizor could use U-turn and not get locked using it. Aegislash? Yeah I don't know why I put metronome on him. Leftovers was taken.

Should I just replace Scizor or Aegislash with a plant or electric special attacker? Or should I take out the Aggron, Ninjask combo?

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[RiasRed]

Here is my revised team. I would like to know if this is better.




Carbink @ Light Clay
Impish
Clear Body
252 Hp, 128 Defense, 128 Sp. Defense
-Stealth Rock
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Explode
Cloyster @ Kings Rock
Adamant
Skill Link
252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Hp
-Shell Smash
-Icicle Spear
-Rock Blast
-Razor Shell
Gengar @ Gengarite
Timid
Levitate/Shadow Tag
252 Speed, 252 Sp. Attack, 4 Defense
-Dazzling Gleam
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
-Fire Hidden Power
Heat Rotom @ Leftovers
Calm
Levitate
252 Hp, 128 Sp. Attack, 128 Sp. Defense
-Overheat
-Thunderbolt
-Volt Switch
-Will O Wisp
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Impish
Poison Heal
252 Defense, 252 Hp, 4 Speed
-Earthquake
-Toxic
-Substitute
-Protect
Scizor @ Choice Band
Adamant
Technician
252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Hp
-Bullet Punch
-U Turn
-Superpower
-Sword Dance

 

[KoL]

Your revision is a lot better.

- Carbink does not want Explosion due to it being nerfed horribly in Gen V, Carbink's dreadful Attack stat and Defog now working as an alternative to Rapid Spin. Worth noting that Defog will literally render Carbink completely null and void since it removes Stealth Rock and both screens (at the cost of the user's entry hazards, if they have any up.) You will likely need to reapply Stealth Rock at least more than once, and Carbink can't do that if he's dead. I'd drop it for another status move since Carbink is Taunt-bait no matter what moves he runs.

- My preferred Cloyster would run White Herb as the hold item so that the defense drops from Shell Smash are removed, allowing Cloyster to remain strong in physical defense so that priority attacks (most of which are physical, Talonflame's Gale Wings effect included) won't bother Cloyster too much. I'd also run Hydro Pump/Surf over Razor Shell, since Shell Smash also boosts Cloyster's Sp.Atk considerably, and if anything with high physical defense comes in to wall you, you can take it down with your special attack.

- With MegaGengar you may as well exploit Substitute's strength combined with Shadow Tag here. Hidden Power Fire and Focus Blast aren't as necessary here since Shadow Ball is no longer resisted by Steel and Sludge Bomb/Wave are now viable options due to them hitting Fairy for super-effective. The third attack can be whatever you like, although since Cloyster is a bit put off by bulky Water-types coming in to interrupt his sweeping, Thunderbolt or Giga Drain would be nice choices.

- Keep in mind that Heat Rotom is no longer the best Rotom choice since the changes to the formes in Gen V. The good news is that you have quite a bit more freedom of choice as to which forme to go with. Heat Rotom or Wash Rotom would work nicely with Carbink due to them resisting types that Carbink is weak to (specifically Steel) so they can switch in on anything that might threaten Carbink. I'd run either Thunderbolt or Volt Switch on Rotom here, not both since he doesn't really have the coverage to run both on one set, and you could be missing out on some useful status moves like Pain Split as well. I'd honestly run Thunderbolt on this and use a Wash Rotom to really disrupt bulky Water-types attempting to wall Cloyster. I'd also put more of a focus into Sp.Attack on Rotom here and focus on only one of the defenses to make the most of Rotom's damage potential.

- Gliscor is fine as he is. Setting up well-timed Substitutes and landing Toxic on enemy walls will be crucial to his success here. Consider Taunt as a possible option for Gliscor too, and HP/Speed training can be viable as well if you want a quicker and more disruptive set as opposed to a durable, stalling one that grinds opponents down.

- Swords Dance is unusable with Choice Band since the Band locks your moveset down to the first move you use, and if that move is Swords Dance that's all you'll be using until you switch out. Pursuit would work nicely on a Banded Scizor though, especially with MegaGengar able to trap opponents. If you trap a 'Mon weak to Pursuit with Gengar, you can easily drop Scizor in on them (they can't switch out on the turn Scizor switches in) and murder them with Pursuit if you feel like saving Gengar for something else.

Carbink and Cloyster seem to be this team's core, so the best idea is to build the rest of the team around them to cover their weaknesses and support them. Your first team setup completely failed to compensate for each other's weaknesses, which despite the individually good movesets (for the most part) is why I said it was bad.

 

[Toastie]

Just thought I'd interject - if you're planning on using this team on Pokémon Showdown, Gengarite has been banned to Ubers, so the only way to test this team as it is will be to create it in-game and battle online.

 

[RiasRed]

Glad to hear Its improving.



Carbink @ Light Clay
Impish
Sturdy
252 Hp, 128 Defense, 128 Sp. Defense
-Stealth Rock
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Toxic
Cloyster @ White Herb
Adamant
Skill Link
252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Hp
-Shell Smash
-Icicle Spear
-Rock Blast
-Hydro Pump
Gengar @ Gengarite
Timid
Levitate/Shadow Tag
252 Speed, 252 Sp. Attack, 4 Defense
-Giga Drain
-Shadow Ball
-Substitute
-Sludge Bomb
Wash Rotom @ Leftovers
Calm
Levitate
252 Sp. Attack, 252 Sp. Defense, 4 Hp
-Hydro Pump
-Thunderbolt
-Pain Split
-Will O Wisp
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Impish
Poison Heal
252 Defense, 252 Hp, 4 Speed
-Earthquake
-Toxic
-Substitute
-Protect
Scizor @ Choice Band
Adamant
Technician
252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Hp
-Bullet Punch
-U Turn
-Superpower
-Pursuit



Wow, I called it explode... Toxic is one of the few, if not, the only, status inflicting moves Carbink can learn. I think it would work well on him considering his defenses, Reflect and Light Screen.


I hadn't even thought of using a White Herb. I was going to use Reflect and Light Screen to cover his weak defense after Shell Smash but this will work even better.


I'm going to have to transfer a Gengar up from gen V to get Giga Drain. If I wanted to use Sludge Wave I would need to get him from the Dream World.


I would have used Volt Switch after Overheat with Heat Rotom, but I'll use Wash Rotom instead. Since he is only weak to grass, and still 1/4 resists Steel I think he would work better.


I thought Choice Band only activated once you use an offensive move. Sword Dance is out. I'm putting in pursuit but would the target switch out against Scizor? Does technician's effect apply if they do switch out and I use pursuit?


If Mega Gengar is banned then here is a potential set I could use.

Gengar @ Black sludge
Timid
Levitate
252 Speed, 252 Sp. Defense, 4 Sp. Attack
-Protect
-Shadow Ball
-Giga Drain
-Sludge Bomb

 

[Toastie]

I like the idea of using Carbink. It's one of my favourite Gen VI Pokémon, and it's cool to see others having it on their team. However, it's a bit of a liability at the moment. You need Sturdy on it. If it's going to set up anything, it needs to be practically guaranteed to live at least one turn, and when a Scizor can OHKO it with Bullet Punch and an Aegislash can OHKO it with Iron Head, it has to have that 'insurance'.

 

[RiasRed]

After four hours of searching, I finally found a Carbink with Sturdy. Mime Jr. is now my least favorite Pokémon. On to the Battle Institute to get BP.