Help a Smogon-Singles newb build a team?

[chaos_Leader]

Normally I play by VGC standards, and I've got a good team for that, but I've been interested in expanding my repertoire into other metagames. Obviously this comes with the first obstacle of different gameplay formats and different standards. I can't use my VGC team in a Smogon-approved match; partly because the rules don't allow half my mons/moves, partly because singles matches demand an entirely different strategy than doubles. In any case, this means I need to build another team, one built for Singles matches, and with the Smogon Seal of Approval to boot.

I'm already halfway there, having very recently finished breeding and raising 12 different mons, most of which were bred from wondertrade stock. Out of these twelve, I would be super grateful to the guys here if I could have some input and thoughts, especially those familiar with the intricacies of Smogon Metagame.


The setting these mons are meant to battle in is Smogon OU singles.

Minor Caveat: I do not own any Gen V games. Therefore, it's extremely difficult for me to obtain any mons that know Gen V transfer-exclusive moves. Please keep that in mind when offering advice and pointers.

The twelve mons, in Alphabetical order:

Absol@Absolite
Super Luck (Magic Bounce)
Jolly
252 Spd/252 Atk/4 HP

- Sucker Punch
- Psycho Cut
- Stone Edge
- Something Else

I'm honestly not sure what to do with this. I'd really like to make use of it, and I've looked up some sets, but I'm still unsure. I might not use it at all, but if it can have a good set that I can put on it, I'd be willing to try it out.



Aggron@Assault Vest
Rock Head
Careful
252 HP/252 SpD/4 Atk

- Head Smash
- Double Edge
- Earthquake
- Metal Burst

Rock Head+Head Smash Aggron returns! I made a post about this guy a while ago in the "rate my one mon" thread, but here he is again anyway. The only thing I'm not too sure about right now is Double Edge. In my playtesting this Aggron, there have been staggeringly few instances where Head Smash doesn't outright out-damage Double Edge, even in instances where the opposing mon resists Rock-type moves and is damaged normally by normal.



Ampharos@Ampharosite
Static (Mold Breaker)
Modest
252 HP/252 SpAtk/4 Def

- Thunderbolt
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast
- Electric Terrain

It's a fairly standard set for a Mega Ampharos. I can definitely consider swapping out Electric Terrain for another move if there's more useful options.



Blastoise@Blastoisinite
Rain Dish (Mega Launcher)
Modest
252 HP/252 SpAtk/4 SpDef

- Hydro Pump
- Dragon Pulse
- Aura Sphere
- Aqua Ring

I received a Squirtle with Dragon Pulse/Aura Sphere, I had the Mega Stone, so I figured I'd breed up a Mega Blastoise and give it all the fixings. I've never really used one of these things before, so I'm pretty much clueless when it comes to M-Blastoise, and input would be handy.


Galvantula@Silver Powder
Compound Eyes
Timid
252 Spd/252 SpAtk/4 HP

- Thunder
- Bug Buzz
- Gastro Acid
- Thunder Wave

Got the breed-stock in wondertrade, has a pretty handy typing and intriguing moveset that I'd like to experiment with. Really not too much else to say, except to ask you lot what could be done with it. So, what could it do?



Jolteon@Magnet
Volt Absorb
Timid
252 Spd/252 SpAtk/4 HP

- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Charm
- Shadow Ball

I'd be hard-pressed to make a team without Jolteon. I've had too much success using it before, and the fact that it's one of my all-time favorites is a nice bonus. With this Jolteon, I wanted to try having Charm/Baby-Doll Eyes on it to mitigate physical threats. In the internal debate between Charm/Baby-Doll Eyes, I decided to go with Charm, mostly because Jolteon is going to outrun 98% of things its up against anyway, meaning Baby-Doll Eyes would only find use vs. priority users, and Charm has double the attack-lowering power.



Luxray@Flame Orb
Guts
Adamant
252 HP/252 Atk/4 Def

- Facade
- Crunch
- Wild Charge
- Electric Terrain/Protect/Something Else

This was bred from a really lucky find in my wondertrades: a female Adamant Luxray with Guts and a fair number of perfect IVs. I wasn't really too impressed with Luxray in my mind before, but the fact that it has Guts and can learn Facade is just freaking scary, so I bred it up and tried it out. The only thing I'm not too sure about is the fourth move slot. It has Electric terrain at the moment, mainly to breed it on to Mareep, but I'd been using Protect on it before, mainly to guarantee the burn and to cover Luxray before Guts took effect. I know Superpower is a popular move for this kind of Luxray, as well as other move tutor moves, but again, I don't own a Gen V game, so it's pretty difficult for me to acquire them.


Magneton@Eviolite
Sturdy
Modest
252 HP/252 SpAtk/4 Def

- Discharge
- Flash Cannon
- Metal Sound
- Thunder Wave

This guy was an absolute pain to breed, but it finally got done. Between Eviolite Magneton/Magnezone, I found that Magneton has substantially more survivability than Magnezone, at the cost of 10 points in Special Attack, which I'm okay with. If there are reasons why I ought to go with Magnezone instead, I'll hear them and consider them. Mainly though its the moveset I'd like some thoughts on: what it can use, what might be more useful, etc...



Ninetails@Wise Glasses
Drought
Timid
252 SpAtk/252 Spd/4 HP

- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hex

Speedy Sweeper Drought-tails. I've tried out this moveset, and been pretty satisfied with it so far. If there are more useful things than Will-O-Wisp/Hex though, I'd be interested, and would be willing to try it out.



Rotom@Leftovers
Levitate
Modest
252 HP/252 SpAtk/4 Def

- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hex
- Confuse Ray

This is a standard Rotom, not Heat or Wash or any of the other flavors. I like most of the things on it as is, but I'd definitely be open to swapping out Confuse Ray with something else if it's useful.



Tyrantrum@Expert Belt
Strong Jaw
Adamant
252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpDef

- Fire Fang
- Ice Fang
- Thunder Fang
- Dragon Dance

This guy was a lot of fun when I playtested him. The Dragon Dance powers his monster Attack stat up even more, as well as making him worryingly speedy. The fact that it has Fire/Ice/Thunder fang gives it remarkably wide coverage options, especially against threats that opponents would instinctively send out vs. a Rock/Dragon type.



Umbreon@Leftovers
Synchronize
Careful
252 HP/252 Spd/4 Def

- Toxic
- Wish
- Curse
- Payback

A Toxic staller if ever there was one. I know that Foul Play is the move of choice for this kind of Umbreon, but lest we forget, I don't own a Gev V game. Even so, a few curses makes even weak lil' old Payback troublesome, and has consistent damage that isn't dependent on the opponent. Don't get me wrong, I really like Foul Play, I run it on my Sableye, and I'd run it on this Umbreon if I could, but I can't.



Well, that's the 12 mons I've got that I'm considering making a Smogon OU-qualified singles team out of. And yes, I'll be using some combination of the above for the BBL starting next week. There's also the makings of (hopefully) a pretty solid mono-electric type team in there as well.

Like I said before, I don't have access to any Gen V games of my own, so I can't make use of the transfer exclusive moves. However, if it really means that much that I have to have gen V transfer moves, and if the person suggesting it is willing to do it themselves, I'd accept a Gen V mon with the appropriate transfer move.

Anyways, that's enough from me, I want to hear what your thoughts are on all this.

 

[UB-01 Kenobi]

Most of those sets are subpar and some may require re breeding for egg moves. I'll brb with an edit once I put together a decent 6 mon team out of these.

E1: You have way the hell too many electric types (and Ground weaknesses). I might have to suggest some stuff that you don't already have :/

 

[chaos_Leader]

Most of those sets are subpar and some may require re breeding for egg moves. I'll brb with an edit once I put together a decent 6 mon team out of these.

re-breeding for egg moves shouldn't be too much of a hassle, since all the mons that can learn egg moves can be bred up again fairly quickly, provided I can get my hands on the appropriate parents with the right moves.

E1: You have way the hell too many electric types (and Ground weaknesses). I might have to suggest some stuff that you don't already have :/

There are twelve individuals there. Still, I do see your point, and can definitely see the pattern. I could add a list of mons for which I have usable breeding stock if that'll help.

Thanks for the really quick response! I wasn't expecting a reply that fast.

 

[TerraTF]

I would recommend checking out some of the threads in Smogon's 6th gen OU thread. The only remotely usable Pokemon sets that you've built are the ones for M-Blastoise and M-Absol and those could still be better. Definitely doing some research before teambuilding would be a nice asset. Learn some of the archetypes of teams that are usable in Smogon OU Singles such as VolTurn, Baton Pass, Sand Storm, Hyper Offense, Balance, and more.

 

[UB-01 Kenobi]

Disclaimer: This is far from my best work since I tried to use as many Pokémon from your pool as I could.

Spoiler

Blastoise-Mega @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Rapid Spin
- Hydro Pump
- Aura Sphere

Rotom-Cut @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 SDef / 248 HP / 180 SAtk / 8 Spd
Modest Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Volt Switch
- Thunder Wave
- Will-O-Wisp

Galvantula @ Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Thunder
- Bug Buzz
- Sticky Web
- Thunder Wave

Aggron @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Double-Edge

Milotic @ Life Orb
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Def
Modest Nature
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Recover

Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Def
Calm Nature
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Foul Play
- Recover

This is what we in the biz call a "hyper offense" team built around a "double dragon" core. "Hyper Offense" means that it is focused on dealing hard fast damage, "double Dragon" refers to a core in which two Pokémon with similar checks and counters are used in conjunction - the first lures in the pair's collective checks/counters and weakens them so the second can sweep. Your "double dragon" core is Blastoise/Milotic, with Blastoise using his high-powered coverage moves to put dents in opposing Water types so that Milotic can sweep later. This is called your "win condition" - the circumstances under which you expect to win most games. Your win condition can be summarized as "sweep with Milotic after opposing Water types have been eliminated". Let me run down how to use this team: You'll want to immediately identify how effective Sticky Web will be against the opposing team. If it has many fast, grounded Pokémon, you want to prioritize getting up Sticky Web. If it is slow and bulky, you want to prioritize spreading Burn with Sableye and Rotom-C. If it is fast, but contains 3+ Pokémon with Flying type or Levitate, you want to prioritize spreading Paralysis with Galvantula and Rotom-C. After your priority goal is established, proceed to accomplish the other two if possible for good measure. Once one out of those 3 Pokémon dies (typically Galvantula - as a matter of fact, try your hardest to make it Galvantula, as the other two can come in majorly handy in the endgame should something go awry), bring in Blastoise. If the opponent has managed to set up hazards (they usually won't have, thanks to Sableye's priority Taunt), Spin them away, but focus on shooting off your Mega Launcher coverage moves to weaken foe bulky waters (this is where Rotom-C is majorly helpful if you've still got him, as he can wreck opposing bulky waters with Leaf Storm or soften them with Volt Switch). When Blastoise goes down, you have to make a judgment call - either bring in Aggron and continue to wallbreak, or bring in Milotic and sweep. Choose the first if they still have Water types, Mega Venusaur, Chansey, Blissey, or other walls that might give you trouble. Choose the latter if you think you have a clean shot, reserving Aggron for cleanup duty should things go wrong. That should be your basic strategy in almost all your matches. Now, an in-depth look at how to play your team.

Rotom-C: This is your MVP most matches. Dual Status is deadly effective, and Rotom-C is also immune to paralysis and Spore/Sleep Powder, making him your status absorber as well as spreader. His EVs are designed specifically to outspeed and one-shot Rotom-W, and it even will OHKO Specially Defensive Rotom-W after it switches in on a weak attack/if it isn't fully invested (more common than you might think).

Sableye: Spinblocker for Sticky Web, spreads Burn to help patch up Milotic's lower Physical Defense, prevents opposing status moves, hazards, and recovery with Taunt. Your primary Mega Venusaur check - Taunt it to prevent Leech Seed, Synthesis, and Sleep Powder, and stall out its Giga Drains with Recover after Will-O-Wisping it. Your goal is to get it in range for a kill from Head Smash (~39%), Dark Pulse (~32%), or Ice Beam (29% flat or 55% if you snag a Competitive boost).

Galvantula: Set up Sticky Web, spread Paralysis, break opposing bulky Waters with Compound Eyes Thunder. Here's a secret that you'll know but your opponent won't - Sticky Web isn't that important to your team, you have 2 paralysis spreaders to fix Milotic, Blastoise, and Aggron's speed! What you're really doing is baiting Defog so you can get a Competitive boost with Milotic.

Blastoise: Spins hazards and beats spinblockers with Dark Pulse. Wallbreaks for Milotic.

Aggron: Wallbreaks, but also baits Intimidate to proc Milotic's Competitive. Cleans up if things get messy. The only moves you should EVER use are Head Smash and Earthquake. The others are filler.

Milotic: Sweeps with Competitive. Hydro Pump is your main STAB, Scald is for accuracy should you not need the power behind Hydro Pump, Ice Beam is for Grass types, Recover is to patch yourself up after a hit or remove some Life Orb recoil.

OU replay: Stuffy cud vs. Thereversal24 - Pokémon Showdown

Here is a replay demonstrating how you want things to go ideally. note the way I baited Landorus-Therian to come in and Intimidate Aggron, opening the way for the Milotic sweep.

OU replay: Vicyo vs. Stuffy cud - Pokémon Showdown

Here is one demonstrating how to dig yourself out of a hole - I hadn't thought his Garchomp would be Scarfed, since I assumed his Typhlosion was, but Aggron, Sableye, and Rotom-C were able to clean up the remnants of his team quite nicely.

 

[JustJeff]

I don't wanna be mean or anything, but if your gana play Smogon OU, try using 1 or More OU pokemon.
Of course some UU and below tier pKmN work well in the OU category, but seriously. You shud fix that.
And if you want I cud give you 1 of my teams~

 

[chaos_Leader]

I don't wanna be mean or anything, but if your gana play Smogon OU, try using 1 or More OU pokemon.
Of course some UU and below tier pKmN work well in the OU category, but seriously. You shud fix that.
And if you want I cud give you 1 of my teams~

I appreciate the thought and consideration, that you'd be willing to give a complete team away. However, I'm perfectly capable of rapidly breeding my own mons (barring Gen V transfer moves or lack of breeding stock). My roommate seems to think I have some kind of uncanny good luck when it comes to breeding. If you'd like to offer to loan breeding stock though, or specific mons with transfer moves I can't get normally, that would be great.

like I mentioned before, I have other pretty good breeding stock available for mons that just haven't been bred and raised yet. In particular, I'm pretty much ready to begin breeding these immediately, and they're all Smogon OU:
- Ferrothorn
- Azumarill
- Aegislash
- Medicham
- Gengar
- Greninja
- Skarmory
- Breloom, but conditionally. I have a shroomish with pretty good IVs, but I'd be far more interested in using Breloom if I can breed one that knows the move Drain Punch, which requires a parent that learned the move in an earlier gen, which I don't have.

 

[TerraTF]

I don't wanna be mean or anything, but if your gana play Smogon OU, try using 1 or More OU pokemon.
Of course some UU and below tier pKmN work well in the OU category, but seriously. You shud fix that.
And if you want I cud give you 1 of my teams~

I appreciate the thought and consideration, that you'd be willing to give a complete team away. However, I'm perfectly capable of rapidly breeding my own mons (barring Gen V transfer moves or lack of breeding stock). My roommate seems to think I have some kind of uncanny good luck when it comes to breeding. If you'd like to offer to loan breeding stock though, or specific mons with transfer moves I can't get normally, that would be great.

like I mentioned before, I have other pretty good breeding stock available for mons that just haven't been bred and raised yet. In particular, I'm pretty much ready to begin breeding these immediately, and they're all Smogon OU:
- Ferrothorn
- Azumarill
- Aegislash
- Medicham
- Gengar
- Greninja
- Skarmory
- Breloom, but conditionally. I have a shroomish with pretty good IVs, but I'd be far more interested in using Breloom if I can breed one that knows the move Drain Punch, which requires a parent that learned the move in an earlier gen, which I don't have.

Ferrothorn, M-Medicham, and Greninja would be a nice core to start off.

 

[JustJeff]

I appreciate the thought and consideration, that you'd be willing to give a complete team away. However, I'm perfectly capable of rapidly breeding my own mons (barring Gen V transfer moves or lack of breeding stock). My roommate seems to think I have some kind of uncanny good luck when it comes to breeding. If you'd like to offer to loan breeding stock though, or specific mons with transfer moves I can't get normally, that would be great.

like I mentioned before, I have other pretty good breeding stock available for mons that just haven't been bred and raised yet. In particular, I'm pretty much ready to begin breeding these immediately, and they're all Smogon OU:
- Ferrothorn
- Azumarill
- Aegislash
- Medicham
- Gengar
- Greninja
- Skarmory
- Breloom, but conditionally. I have a shroomish with pretty good IVs, but I'd be far more interested in using Breloom if I can breed one that knows the move Drain Punch, which requires a parent that learned the move in an earlier gen, which I don't have.

- Ferrothorn
- Azumarill
- Aegislash
- Medicham
- Gengar
- Greninja
- Skarmory
- Breloom

I can breed you the pKmN thats not crossed out. 4 Egg moves and the corresponding nature. Of course all having 5 ore more IV's

Ferrothorn --- Relaxed -----Iron Barbs ------- Leech Seed, Stealth Rock, Spikes, Seed Bomb
Azumarill ---- Adamant --- Huge Power ----- Future Sight, Superpower, Belly Drum, Aqua Jet
Medicham --- Jolly -------- Pure Power ------ Ice Punch, Psycho Cut, Bullet Punch, Fake Out
Skarmory ---- Impish ----- Sturdy ------------ Drill Peck, Assurance, Whirlwind, Stealth Rock
Breloom ----- Adamant -- Technician ------- Bullet Seed, Drain Punch, Focus Punch, Seed Bomb

If you want all of them, just slide a Black Sludge, a Choice Scarf and a Venusaurite my way~ And you got yourself a deal!

 

[chaos_Leader]

Ferrothorn --- Relaxed -----Iron Barbs ------- Leech Seed, Stealth Rock, Spikes, Seed Bomb
Azumarill ---- Adamant --- Huge Power ----- Future Sight, Superpower, Belly Drum, Aqua Jet
Medicham --- Jolly -------- Pure Power ------ Ice Punch, Psycho Cut, Bullet Punch, Fake Out
Skarmory ---- Impish ----- Sturdy ------------ Drill Peck, Assurance, Whirlwind, Stealth Rock
Breloom ----- Adamant -- Technician ------- Bullet Seed, Drain Punch, Focus Punch, Seed Bomb

If you want all of them, just slide a Black Sludge, a Choice Scarf and a Venusaurite my way~ And you got yourself a deal!

Ferrothorn I can breed myself, as well as Azumarill, Skarmory, and everything you have crossed out. Medicham I can get most of the way except for Bullet Punch.
Breloom I would take you up on for sure, though I'm not sure what use the Technician ability will get with moves like those.

 

[UB-01 Kenobi]

Not sure why you feel the need to have Drain Punch (or any of those moves besides Bullet Seed) when Breloom's best set is the Sash set? If you want a SubPuncher ten MMawile is better since it has better bulk, forces more switches, and gets delicious Fairy/Fight/Dark coverage, if you want a bulky Fighting type to abuse Drain Punch you have AV Conkeldurr, and if you want a fast, strong Fighter with tons of recovery you have Mienshao. The below set is what keeps Breloom PU and is the one that should be used pretty much 100% of the time.

Breloom @ Focus Sash
Technician
Adamant/Jolly
252 Atk/4 Def/252 Speed
~Spore
~Bullet Seed
~Mach Punch
~Rock Tomb

 

[chaos_Leader]

I have just finished breeding the following mons to the best of my capabilities. I'm still tweaking the EVs, items, and even the movesets on them (many are planned and not yet on the mon at all), so a lot listed here isn't yet final. I'm hoping it doesn't have to come to it, but if it is really absolutely do-or-die necessary for this team to have pre-Gen VI exclusive moves, I'd be willing to make arrangements with someone who could help. I'm really hoping though that I can get a solid team out of some combination of the mons listed below and those listed above.

So anyways, here's what I've got so far. Any input you've got on team makeup possibilities, EV spreads, item distribution, etc. would be awesome. Thanks again to everyone who's helped out so far!


Ferrothorn@Rocky Helmet/Leftovers/something else?
Iron Barbs
Relaxed
(No EVs yet)
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Power Whip


Azumarill@_____
Huge Power
Jolly (can breed to Adamant instead)
(No EVs yet)
- Superpower
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough


Medicham@Medichamite
Pure Power (Pure Power)
Adamant
252 Atk/252 Spd/4 HP
- Ice Punch
- Fake Out
- Psycho Cut
- Drain Punch


Skarmory@____
Sturdy
Impish
(No EVs yet)
- Drill Peck
- Steel Wing
- Whirlwind
- Spikes


Scrafty@____
Moxie
Adamant
(No EVs Yet)
- Dragon Dance
- Drain Punch
- Zen Headbut
- Crunch

 

[JustJeff]

Aye!!!!! @Chaos Leader

Ferrothorn@ Rocky Helmet
Iron Barbs
Relaxed
252 Hp / 252 Def / 4 SpD
IV's: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes / Knock Off
- Gyro Ball


Azumarill@ Sitrus Bery
Huge Power
Adamant
252 Hp / 252 Attk / 4 SpD
- Superpower / Waterfall
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough


Medicham@Medichamite
Pure Power
Jolly
4 Hp / 252 Attk / 252 Spe
- Ice Punch / Fire Punch
- Fake Out
- Psycho Cut / Bullet Punch
- High Jump Kick


Skarmory@ Leftovers
Sturdy
Impish
252 Hp / 232 Def / 24 Spe
- Brave Bird / Drill Peck
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Roost


Scrafty@____
Moxie
Adamant
(No EVs Yet)
- Dragon Dance
- Drain Punch
- Zen Headbut
- Crunch
- No

Might wanna choose between Skarmory or Ferrothorn.

 

[UB-01 Kenobi]

That Ferrothorn is suboptimal. 252 HP/48 Def/208 SDef Relaxed is what you want, and Power Whip has more PP and a more reliable power than Gyro Ball.