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The In-Game Team Advice Thread

i'm going to be playing another copy of pokemon moon whenever


this is going to be my team :3
*i LOVE these pokemon...i've had these pokemon in mind for so long, i've grown attatched to them... :unsure: *



fuki the scatterbug (F) gentle nature
moves: tackle, bug bite, stun spore, poison powder
ability: compound eyes


ito the spinarak (F) bold nature
moves: bounce, bug bite, fury swipes, poison sting
ability: insomnia


lava the slugma (F) naive nature
moves: ember, body slam, rock slide, rollout
ability: flame body



galva the joltik *who's going to evolve into galvantula* (F) brave nature
moves: slash, discharge, sucker punch, signal beam
ability: compound eyes


kemu the wurmple (F) calm nature
moves: tackle, poison sting, bug bite, string shot
ability: shield dust


raupy the caterpie (F) timid nature
moves: tackle, string shot, bug bite
 
Currently braving Victory Road in Pokemon White and while I'm quite happy with my team, despite not being perfectly balanced, their movesets are still lacking...

  • Samurott: Aqua Jet, Razor Shell, Surf, Revenge (lotso water type moves, yikes, but replacing Aqua Jet or Razor shell with Swords Dance)
  • Lilligant: Quiver Dance, Magical Leaf, Stun Spore, Giga Drain (grass types don't get nice things -_-)
  • Simisear: Cut, Rock Slide, Brick Break, Flame Burst (I actually just mirrored Cheren and Biance's monkeys' movesets and that's working quite well. Have to replace Cut though)
  • Duosion: Psychic, Hidden Power Dark, Roll Out, Recover (just need to replace Roll Out I think. Also, it's holding an Eviolite, which is working pretty well so far)
  • Lampent: Hex, Will-O-Wisp, Flame Burst, Flash (not sure if I want to evolve it yet)
  • Fraxure: Dragon Dance, Strength, Dragon Pulse, Dragon Claw (one level away from evolving, considering giving it Poison Jab and Bulldoze)
The issue though is that quite a few helpful TMs are locked behind the post-game. Trick Room, Calm Mind, Earthquake, Ice Beam. All TMs I'd like to use, but currently not available to me. Hence why I'm a little at a loss. Any help would be appreciated.
 
Hello! Completely new to Sun/Moon here! I left Pokemon around Gen III and while I kinda caught up with Gens IV and V through a friend's DS and missed Gen VI I finally decided to get a 3DS and a brand new Moon. So what does my planned team look like to you?
Pokémon Sun & Pokémon Moon Team Planner
 
Thinking about replaying OR due to the fact that my savefile got corrupted.

Planning my team (with mons only available post game being traded from other games.) to be this:

- Swampert
- Salamence
- Metagross
- Gardevoir
- Manectric
- Sableye

Sableye is intended to be more specially offensive, but it doesn't get special stuff until 30+.
 
So this seems like too much for "Simple Questions/Simple Answers" so I'm making my own thread. Let me know if you'd rather I'd have posted it there.

I'm playing my way through Ultra Sun, and wondering about advice for the Dragon trial, particularly Kommo-o as the Totem Pokemon. Now I beat Moon about a year and a half ago, but it seems like the trials are much more difficult this time around, and I remember this one being hard even in the previous game. However, half my team are Fairy-types, with some strong Fairy-type moves like Play Rough, Moonblast and Dazzing Gleam, and one (Primarina) also knows an Ice-type move. [Edit: Never mind, he doesn't, I forgot I got rid of it to teach him Dazzling Gleam.] I also have a Lvl. 56 Lapras I'm training up in Poke Pelago just in case I should swap it out for this trial. It knows Brine, Frost Breath, Smart Strike and Sheer Cold.

Here's my current team:

Tyranitar lv. 57 - M - Rash nature
Rockium Z
Bulldoze - Brick Break - Earthquake - Rock Slide
Sand Stream ability

Mimikyu (Totem Size) lv. 58 - M - Quiet nature
Mimikium Z
Feint Attack - Shadow Ball - Play Rough - Shadow Claw
Disguise ability

Whimsicott lv. 59 - M - Relaxed nature
Grassium Z
Solar Beam - Giga Drain - Moonblast - Dazzling Gleam
Infiltrator ability

Noivern lv. 59 - F - Relaxed nature
Flyinium Z
Air Cutter - Air Slash - Steel Wing - Flamethrower
Infiltrator ability

Malamar lv. 59 - M - Rash nature
Psychium Z
Psycho Cut - Night Slash - Foul Play - Psychic
Contrary ability

Primarina lv. 59 - M - Hardy nature
Primarium Z
Dazzling Gleam - Bubblebeam - Moonblast - Sparkling Aria
Torrent ability

What strategies would you recommend for defeating Kommo-o? Should I swap out somebody for the Lapras, and if so, whom? (I thought about swapping out Tyranitar but he seems like he'd be too useful for the Necrozma battle right after.)
 
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You shouldn't have too much trouble with your team as is. You could give Primarina a Fairium-Z for this trial to try and one-shot Kommo-o. It's definitely possible. And since your Noivern has Flamethrower, it's the best counter for Scizor. It's a good choice against the totem too.
 
You shouldn't have too much trouble with your team as is. You could give Primarina a Fairium-Z for this trial to try and one-shot Kommo-o. It's definitely possible. And since your Noivern has Flamethrower, it's the best counter for Scizor. It's a good choice against the totem too.

Isn't Fairium Z only available after you beat Mina's trial? And you can only do that after the Dragon trial?

Could Mimikyu potentially one-shot him instead with Let's Snuggle Forever? I've had difficulty in USUM with using super-effective Z-moves against totems, at least on first move, it seems like they always have some way to reduce or neuter it
 
OK, so....I just recently started Pokemon Silver (via good ol' VC) and I'm legit unsure how to construct my team. I know for a fact that I'm going to have Typhlosion, and I'm fairly sure I'll be using Ampharos too. Beyond that, I'm not 100% sure who else to involve. I can see a lot of potential in a lot of options, so I was wondering if I could get some advice.

As a little heads-up, though - I don't like using Legendaries on my main teams if I can avoid it, and also I have a habit of trying not to use the same Pokemon more than once across two or more generations. So in this case, Venusaur, Fearow, Raichu, Nidoking, Vileplume, Gyarados, Lapras, Snorlax and Espeon are all out of the question, I'm afraid. Oh, and ideally my team should be complete before I get to the Pokemon League.
 
In my Platinum run, I need a place where I can grind Special Attack EVs for my Tentacruel and Special Defense for Magnezone, any places or trainers that will work? I know the Old Chateau has Gastly and Haunter, but their too weak to level up Tentacruel quickly.
 
In my Platinum run, I need a place where I can grind Special Attack EVs for my Tentacruel and Special Defense for Magnezone, any places or trainers that will work? I know the Old Chateau has Gastly and Haunter, but their too weak to level up Tentacruel quickly.
Try the Fuego Ironworks for Magnemite (1) and Magmar (2), or if you have access to it already Route 224 for Roselia (2), Gloom (2), and Beautifly (3) for you Tentacruel. Route 223 and Tentacruel (2)/Mantyke (1) might be best for your Magnezone. But honestly, I would focus on EV first, levelling up second.
 
Welp... my Y run has been put on hold due to both of my 3DS's acting up (I dropped my main one by accident, and when up boot it up the screen is distorted, so I have to send it out for repairs, while the other one's battery is not holding a charge, so I have to order another battery), so I'm going back in time to the age of Gen IV. I'm going to do a HeartGold run but I need some ideas for teammates. I want to limit the run to Johto Mons as much as possible (which includes cross-gen evos like Mamoswine), but I know that Johto's biggest problem is the over-reliance of Kanto Mons, so I know my options aren't great. I'll be starting with Cyndaquil, as always, but I need some ideas for other Mons. I'll also be trading over a bunch of stockpiled items from other games to give this one a head-start (like, for example... a LUCKY EGG to mitigate that blasted level curve), so if I need evolutionary items and TMs, I can get them. I won't breed for anything, though, limiting my choices to what I can catch, so no breeding suggestions. Do note that I am allowing Mons that aren't in the Johto dex into my team but evolve from Mons in said dex (such as Honchkrow and Gliscor, for example) in order to widen my options, so if you want to suggest one of them, go right ahead. Moves and ability recommendations are welcome, too, as it's been way too long since my last Gen IV run, so I don't remember everything 100%.

Sorry for the tall order, but it's been a while, and I need something new to do until I get my two 3DS's back online. Thanks in advance to anyone who suggests things.
 
Sorry for the double post, but a new situation has arisen. In Gen IV, what would be a good level to evolve a Sneasel into a Weavile? I ended up with a hatchling Sneasel in my HG run (mystery eggs, you gotta love 'em) and I wasn't sure if/when would be the most ideal time to evolve her. She's currently at Lv20, Adamant, with Quick Attack/Screech/Feint Attack/Ice Punch (the last one was an egg move), and I already have a Razor Claw in my bag (had other ideas for it, but now...), but I'm not sure when would be best to evolve her. So, at what level would be best for her to evolve at? Thanks in advance.
 
Sorry for the double post, but a new situation has arisen. In Gen IV, what would be a good level to evolve a Sneasel into a Weavile? I ended up with a hatchling Sneasel in my HG run (mystery eggs, you gotta love 'em) and I wasn't sure if/when would be the most ideal time to evolve her. She's currently at Lv20, Adamant, with Quick Attack/Screech/Feint Attack/Ice Punch (the last one was an egg move), and I already have a Razor Claw in my bag (had other ideas for it, but now...), but I'm not sure when would be best to evolve her. So, at what level would be best for her to evolve at? Thanks in advance.
The only move you'd be missing out on is Ice Shard (49) which could be helpful but if you don't really care for it then you could probably just evolve it now since it still has level up moves since it's not a stone evolution. Weavile's dark level up moves makes Slash redundent and is already fast and frail to use agility even for in game.. If there is a move you wanted that weavile doesn't get though then it might be best to wait until it has that move.
 
Well, here I am again. My HG ended up glitching and I lost everything, so that effectively iced that run, so now, with my newly fixed 3DS's, I've decided to try an Alpha Sapphire run instead. And, besides, I like Hoenn better than Johto anyway, and AS is a bit less dated in terms of mechanics and such (plus I love beating up Team Aqua, as I'm a Team Magma supporter). But, anyway, on with my requests.

As always, I'll be starting with Torchic (I like Treecko well enough, but not enough as my starter Mon, and I don't like Mudkip, so that ends up narrowing the field instantly), and Torchic (eventually Blaziken) will be my Mega Mon. I also plan to, as usual, add Gardevoir to my ranks. That leaves the remaining four slots open. I was debating on my usual Manectric for an Elec Mon (to deal with Water ones, obviously), but I've been wondering if Magnezone would be a good idea. Granted, I've very, very sparsely used Magnezone, so I don't really know it's full potential yet, as those past runs in other games were rather limited due to options and accessibility, so if someone thinks it would be good alternative, let me know. Either way, that leaves me with three slots remaining. Obviously, I'll need a Water Mon, given Hoenn's 50/50 land/water ratio, as well as heavy need for Water HMs. I've used a fair few in the past, though only Sharpedo and Milotic made it to endgame territory, so I'm open to suggestions there. That leaves two slots left, and those two are very much up for grabs, though, obviously, I'll need ones that can use the necessary HMs to complete the game (I tend to consider Fly as optional, as it isn't totally needed, and Soaring pretty much makes it redundant when obtained). Also, try to keep it limited to the Hoenn Dex, meaning no DexNav exclusives like Zorua and such (besides, they come so late anyway it wouldn't be worth the extra grinding).

As always, move/Ability suggestions are welcome, and this time I'm opening up Move Tutor moves as options (though no Egg Moves baring ones obtained by the DexNav). I've got plenty of BP leftover in my main Hoenn game, so I can just trade the Mon in question over for a few minutes to teach it a move, then trade it back without repercussions to friendship or affection. So, if you think a certain Move Tutor move would be good, let me know. Held Item suggestions are also welcome, as I can just trade over any of my stockpiled items if needed.

Tall order, yes, but it's been a very long time since my last Hoenn run, so I need bit of a refresher course. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes this challenge on.
 
Well, here I am again. My HG ended up glitching and I lost everything, so that effectively iced that run, so now, with my newly fixed 3DS's, I've decided to try an Alpha Sapphire run instead. And, besides, I like Hoenn better than Johto anyway, and AS is a bit less dated in terms of mechanics and such (plus I love beating up Team Aqua, as I'm a Team Magma supporter). But, anyway, on with my requests.

As always, I'll be starting with Torchic (I like Treecko well enough, but not enough as my starter Mon, and I don't like Mudkip, so that ends up narrowing the field instantly), and Torchic (eventually Blaziken) will be my Mega Mon. I also plan to, as usual, add Gardevoir to my ranks. That leaves the remaining four slots open. I was debating on my usual Manectric for an Elec Mon (to deal with Water ones, obviously), but I've been wondering if Magnezone would be a good idea. Granted, I've very, very sparsely used Magnezone, so I don't really know it's full potential yet, as those past runs in other games were rather limited due to options and accessibility, so if someone thinks it would be good alternative, let me know. Either way, that leaves me with three slots remaining. Obviously, I'll need a Water Mon, given Hoenn's 50/50 land/water ratio, as well as heavy need for Water HMs. I've used a fair few in the past, though only Sharpedo and Milotic made it to endgame territory, so I'm open to suggestions there. That leaves two slots left, and those two are very much up for grabs, though, obviously, I'll need ones that can use the necessary HMs to complete the game (I tend to consider Fly as optional, as it isn't totally needed, and Soaring pretty much makes it redundant when obtained). Also, try to keep it limited to the Hoenn Dex, meaning no DexNav exclusives like Zorua and such (besides, they come so late anyway it wouldn't be worth the extra grinding).

As always, move/Ability suggestions are welcome, and this time I'm opening up Move Tutor moves as options (though no Egg Moves baring ones obtained by the DexNav). I've got plenty of BP leftover in my main Hoenn game, so I can just trade the Mon in question over for a few minutes to teach it a move, then trade it back without repercussions to friendship or affection. So, if you think a certain Move Tutor move would be good, let me know. Held Item suggestions are also welcome, as I can just trade over any of my stockpiled items if needed.

Tall order, yes, but it's been a very long time since my last Hoenn run, so I need bit of a refresher course. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes this challenge on.

So after a yearlong hiatus, I'm finally back until I get bored of Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee. This team was really fun to build, though hopefully I'm not too rusty. I did manage to avoid any egg moves, although I did put hidden abilities on some of the 'mons. I also tried to note any BP moves where applicable. Held items are mostly open, although you could do worse than lefties or a bunch of Sitrus berries.

So the first couple of sets seem pretty obvious to me. Here's your Gardevoir and Blaziken sets:

Blaziken @ Blazikenite
Ability: Blaze (speed boost after mega)
-Protect
-Blaze Kick / Flare Blitz
-(pick two) Swords Dance / Bulk Up / Stone Edge / Rock Slide / High Jump Kick / Sky Uppercut

Blaziken's set is pretty linear. Protect to activate a Speed Boost, SD if you can, and then break things in half with STAB combo.

Gardevoir @
-Moonblast
-Psyshock / Psychic
-Shadow Ball
-Calm Mind

I feel like Gardevoir is best as a Calm Mind sweeper as opposed to an all-out attacker. I feel like Choice specs or scarf are sub-par because it doesn't quite have enough power to be locked into a single move. Try to use her better special bulk to set up against special attackers.

Do give Magnezone a try. At first I tried to use different 'mons in my various playthroughs, but I always ended up with a Magnezone to the point where I just accept that I'm going to use one on my team and build accordingly. My favorite set is Thunderbolt / Volt Switch / Flash Cannon / Thunder Wave (Though I'd recommend giving HP fire a shot if you're lucky enough to get it) with Sturdy (Magnet Pull isn't really necessary since the AI don't ever switch anything). Just use its incredible 11 resistances and amazing raw bulk to switch it in liberally and spread status or pivot out with Volt Switch.

Magnezone
Ability: Sturdy
-Thunderbolt
-Volt Switch
-Flash Cannon
-Hidden Power (Fire) / Thunder Wave

As far as teammates go, you'll definitely want a ground resist or two to cover Mag's biggest weakness. My first thought was Skarmory to form a formidable physical backbone, as well as just being highly annoying with Spikes and Whirlwind Roar. However, I ultimately ended up scrapping Skarm because his inclusion would have left the team with a single water-switchin, so instead I decided to add Flygon + Breloom as the ground resists.

Skarmory
Ability: Sturdy
-Spikes / Toxic
-Roar
-(pick two) Iron Head (BP tutor) / Aerial Ace / Roost / Counter

So as I mentioned, As good of a blanket check as Magnezone is, he still appreciates not having to do all of the defensive work himself, and really does like having a couple of teammates to switch out to eat an Earthquake or two. Flygon seems like a good fit here, with its secondary dragon typing offering plenty of handy resistances as well as the desired ground immunity (thanks to Levitate). While I've admittedly not used Flygon much, it does have a really fun move set to play with (sadly no Dragon Dance til gen 7 -- Game Freak pls). Consider something like the following:

Flygon @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Careful nature (+SpD, -SpA)
-Earthquake / Bulldoze
-Stone Miss / Rock Slide / Rock Tomb
-Power-Up Punch / Hone Claws
-U-turn

I would highly recommend a +SpD nature on Flygon in case he's needed as an emergency check to
Rock + Ground moves provide near-perfect neutral coverage (just watch out for Breloom), and one of them can be used to lower opponents' speed to make things a bit easier for the rest of your team. Power-up punch or Hone Claws can be used to boost Flygon's attack in lieu of Dragon Dance, while U-turn forms a nice pivoting core with Magnezone. I had considered Dragon Tail to go along with Skarmory's spike-stacking annoyance, but that ends up being rather detrimental with the set I came up with for Breloom.

Actually, I lied. I came up with 2 Breloom sets. The first one is designed to take advantage of Breloom's 5 type resistances and be generally annoying while living as long as possible with a combination of Poison Heal, Leech Seed, and Drain Punch.

Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
-Spore
-Leech Seed
-Drain Punch (BP tutor)
-Mach Punch / Facade / Seed Bomb (BP tutor)

The other Breloom set adds more offensive presence, but still manages to stay alive mostly thanks to Drain Punch. This set is nice, because you can choose Poison Heal or Technician, and swap the moves to get similar effects. Poison heal mostly mandates use of a Swords Dance, but Toxic Orb greatly aids in setting up said boost, while Technician sets can achieve snowballing through Power-up Punch or just start swinging with Technician-boosted priority or Rock Tomb.

Breloom @ Toxic Orb (Only if Poison Heal)
Ability: Poison Heal / Technician
-Swords Dance / Power-up Punch (SD can be used by both sets, but only use PuP with technician)
-Drain Punch
-Mach Punch / Seed Bomb / Bullet Seed (if Technician)
-Facade (if PH) / Rock Tomb (If Technician)

Breloom can also use Rock Smash, especially if you choose the Technician variant, as long as you need to break those crumbly rocks in your path.

So onto the team's water type: After giving consideration to Lanturn, I decided against it because I felt like, even with 2 Earthquake switch-ins, having 3 ground weaknesses was a bad idea. I also didn't like that Gardevoir is the only defensive answer to fighting-types, so I decided on a bulky Gyarados set. Gyarados is also the only electric weakness while the team sports Magnezone, Flygon, and Breloom as switch-ins (and Gyarados can run Earthquake itself). Intimidate combined with decent special bulk makes it a surprisingly good switch-in to anything that isn't a rock- or electric-type move, which makes it a good primary answer for fighting-types.

Gyarados @
Ability: Intimidate
Impish nature (+Def, -SpA)
-Waterfall
-Thunder Wave
-Earthquake
-Crunch / Bounce / Stone Edge

Gyarados can also use all 3 of the water HMs as long as you need it to, and I guess you could keep Surf over Waterfall, though that's a bit sub-optimal IMO.

Some other notes on this team:
-Try to spread the yellow magic around as much as possible with Gyarados and Magnezone to make it easier for Flygon and Gardevoir to set up and sweep.
-While this team has at least 2 switch-ins for most things, Magnezone is the only defensive answer for flying-types, and this team doesn't really have any defensive measures for Claydol. If you can somehow manage to seed it with Breloom, great, but otherwise you'll just have to blow past it with sheer offensive pressure.
 
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So my last Pokémon for Platinum will be Frosslass. I have a female Snorunt. But I'm not sure what moves to teach it. I definitely want her to learn Confuse Ray, but I'm not sure of the others. I'm currently racking up mostly Special Attack EVs and take advantage of her speed to make her a hit hard, hit fast character.

Also, I taught Payback to Umbreon, but it can't take advantage of the double damage because it outspeeds opponents.
 
So my last Pokémon for Platinum will be Frosslass. I have a female Snorunt. But I'm not sure what moves to teach it. I definitely want her to learn Confuse Ray, but I'm not sure of the others. I'm currently racking up mostly Special Attack EVs and take advantage of her speed to make her a hit hard, hit fast character.

Also, I taught Payback to Umbreon, but it can't take advantage of the double damage because it outspeeds opponents.
If you're still pre E4 Destiny Bond might not be quite feasible, cause level 59, yikes. Definitely give her Shadow Ball and Ice Beam. Not quite sure what you're gonna use Confuse Ray for if she's a hit hard, hit fast character, but you've got the moveslot space. You might wanna check her Hidden Power, Bug or Fighting could come in handy. Otherwise it depends a little on the rest of your team

As for your Umbreon, if its attack stat is better than its special attack, just give it Faint Attack. Its base power is slightly higher than Payback, so if your Umbreon outspeeds most opponents anyway, you might as well go with that. Alternatively, you could consider Sucker Punch, which is a move tutor move (route 212). Downside to that is that it fails if your opponent doesn't use an attack move...

You could also go for Dark Pulse if you want to make it a special attacker
 
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