Team Improvements?

[Valin]

Ever since coming in second place in a Pokemon tournament I participated in about four months ago (word to the wise: never underestimate Tailwind, especially if you have a speed-oriented team against a defensively-oriented team), I'd been hard at work trying to improve my team for the next. Below is the current results of my efforts. I've had a fairly successful run with it, but I'm totally open to any improvements I can make on it.

Gallade @ Expert Belt
Adamant
Steadfast
252 Attack/252 Sp. Defense/4 Speed

-Close Combat
-Psycho Cut
-Leaf Blade
-Shadow Sneak

Max Sp. Defense and Speed IVs, if that helps out in any way.

Magmortar @ Power Herb
Modest
Flame Body
252 Sp. Attack/252 Speed

-Flamethrower
-Solar Beam
-Thunderbolt
-Psychic

Max Sp. Attack and Speed IVs.

Scizor @ Flying Gem
Adamant
Technician
252 Attack/252 Defense/4 Speed

-X-Scissor
-Bullet Punch
-Acrobatics
-Brick Break

Max Defense IVs.

Hydreigon @ Choice Specs
Modest
Levitate
252 Sp. Attack/252 Speed/4 Sp. Defense

-Dragon Pulse
-Dark Pulse
-Flamethrower
-Surf

Max Speed IVs.

Gengar @ Focus Sash
Timid
Levitate
252 Sp. Attack/252 Speed/4 Sp. Defense

-Shadow Ball
-Sludge Bomb
-Thunderbolt
-Energy Ball

Max Sp. Attack IVs

Garchomp @ Life Orb
Jolly
Sand Veil
252 Attack/252 Speed/4 Defense

-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Brick Break

Max Attack and Speed IVs.

 

[KoL]

OK...

- Gallade would probably be better off with full HP rather than full Sp.Defense since while full Sp.Defense would sponge special attacks better for you, full HP would grant you some physical bulk along with decent special bulk also. I'd also consider Drain Punch over Close Combat for a bulky set like this, since just a single Close Combat defense drop can make you very frail even with training.

- You're better off with Hidden Power Grass over Solarbeam here, although with Wi-Fi HP Grass is hard to get. It's worth it though if you can, and since Maggy has only one ability to his name I'd at least attempt to get this if you have the patience for it. Psychic can be a bit spare on Magmortar, so consider other options if you find it isn't worth the moveslot. Also Fire Blast should be your STAB attack, not Flamethrower.

- Acrobatics is wasted on Scizor, especially when you're losing Swords Dance or Pursuit for it. X-Scissor is also weaker than Bug Bite thanks to Technician, so Bug Bite for the Swords Dance set or U-Turn for a Choice Band set should be your Bug STAB. Superpower is a possibility over Brick Break, and Sp.Defense Scizor is generally considered superior to physical defense Scizor nowadays thanks to Reuniclus.

- Consider a Choice Scarf for Hydreigon, since the speed increase will generally do more for you than the power increase would. Either way, Draco Meteor is a must-have on Choiced Hydreigon since you'll be switching out a fair bit anyway to select different moves, which would also remove your Sp.Attack drops. Consider Fire Blast over Flamethrower and possibly Focus Blast as well.

- Sludge Bomb on Gengar is rubbish since he gets more mileage out of his good coverage options than he would out of Poison STAB. Also lose the Sash since Stealth Rock will break it anyway and you lack a Rapid Spinner, and also because Gengar loves Substitute.

- Yache Berry for the item, Swords Dance over Stone Edge, and either Fire Blast or Substitute over Brick Break. Note that Garchomp isn't quite as potent without a sandstorm, and his inability to increase his speed becomes a lot more problematic when your ability is rendered somewhat null as well.

Overall I'm quite surprised you managed second place with this considering you don't have a single move that isn't an attack - any decent team would be able to wall you forever and slowly grind you down to nothing with what you have right now, and your lack of entry hazards, healing moves, or hell anything besides attacks would prevent you from doing anything against a team with a solid defense.

If you want even better advice, look for better opponents.

 

[Valin]

Overall I'm quite surprised you managed second place with this considering you don't have a single move that isn't an attack

I didn't use this team or tactic during the tournament. I led with Ninjask, equipped with a Focus Sash, used Protect and Swords Dance to boost stats, and Baton Passed to something else. Besides, the tournament allowed 18 Pokemon, which players could rotate between in best-two-out-of-three rounds, so this is just a small part of a much bigger force.

Anyway, thanks for the advice.

 

[KoL]

BP Ninjask stopped being good in Gen III once everyone (good) figured out how to beat it (Roar/Whirlwind.) That was about 8 years ago.

That aforementioned surprise has not gone away.

 

[Valin]

- Gallade would probably be better off with full HP rather than full Sp.Defense since while full Sp.Defense would sponge special attacks better for you, full HP would grant you some physical bulk along with decent special bulk also. I'd also consider Drain Punch over Close Combat for a bulky set like this, since just a single Close Combat defense drop can make you very frail even with training.

Alright, I'm working on Gallade right now, according to your suggestions. However, since he's still on my Gen IV games, there's a lot of move possibilities, and I'm wondering what you might suggest among the moves I'm considering:
Move 1: Drain Punch
Move 2: Psycho Cut/Zen Headbutt
Moves 3 & 4: Bulk Up/Swords Dance/Shadow Sneak/Ice Punch/Leaf Blade/Night Slash/Return/Stone Edge

Acrobatics is wasted on Scizor, especially when you're losing Swords Dance or Pursuit for it. X-Scissor is also weaker than Bug Bite thanks to Technician, so Bug Bite for the Swords Dance set or U-Turn for a Choice Band set should be your Bug STAB. Superpower is a possibility over Brick Break, and Sp.Defense Scizor is generally considered superior to physical defense Scizor nowadays thanks to Reuniclus.

Pardon my ignorance, but what about Reuniclus makes a Sp. Defense build preferable? I'm also wondering if an HP build would work for reasons similar to Gallade.

 

[KoL]

Pardon my ignorance, but what about Reuniclus makes a Sp. Defense build preferable?

The fact that little else reliably destroys the thing. Also, it's just a good build. It'll need both HP and Sp.Defense training to be effective mind you since a lot of Reuniclus carry both Calm Mind and Life Orb, which means Focus Blast will still 2HKO you if your special bulk isn't good enough.

As for Gallade, the set you had there would have been sufficient itself, although Bulk Up would work nicely with a bulky build as well. I'd keep Psycho Cut over Zen Headbutt since you never know when Headbutt's accuracy will bite you in the ass.