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The In-Game Team Advice Thread

So I've been messing with my team a bit and was wondering if I should switch one of my Pokemon out for another Pokemon or edit my team?
My team consists of:
Lv. 100 Mimikyu (Holds Mimikium Z)
Lv. 99 Greninja (Holds Icium Z)
Lv. 86 Lucario (Holds Lucarionite)
Lv. 83 Lurantis (Holds Safety Goggles)
Lv. 73 Whimsicott (Holds Lucky Egg)
Lv. 71 Gardevoir (Holds Gardevoirite)
I'm pretty happy with my team, but don't have much in terms of defense against Grass or Steel types. They all have good stats and level up pretty quickly. I really don't wanna switch out my Lurantis, Whimsicott or Gardevoir because they're shiny (plus I'm emotionally attatched.) Have any suggestions for me?

What's the team for? WiFi battling? The Battle Tree? You're so far overleveled for the main game that your team selection doesn't really matter there.

There's really no point in having 3 fairies on your team, and if you insist on keeping Whimsicott and Gardevoir, then Mimikyu has to go, unless you're really intent on just fairy-spamming your way to victory. If you do want to do this, then maybe consider a Sticky Web or Screens setter to give Mimikyu and Gardevoir an easier time to set up.
Magnezone or Alolan Golem are worth considering for their Magnet Pull ability, allowing you to trap and remove troublesome steel-types for your fairies to sweep.

If you don't want to run a "fairy-spam" team, then a fire-type 'mon is the best way to add checks for grass- and steel-types in a single slot. In my mind, this is just screaming Heatran at me, but I don't know how you feel about using legendary 'mons on your team.

Is Greninja Protean or Battle Bond? If it's neither, then I would suggest swapping it out for a ground-type 'mon to beat steel- and poison-types for your fairy 'mons. Gliscor seems like a good choice to me, since, thanks to Poison Heal, you can give it a Toxic Orb and freely switch it into status moves aimed at the rest of your team, and it can also set Stealth Rock to make it that much easier for your offensive 'mons to land KOs, or even Defog to keep the entry hazards off your side of the field.

If you're going to run Mega Gardevoir, then there's no real point in using Lucarionite. (Even though Mega Luke is busted, non-mega Lucario is far better than non-mega Gardevoir IMO, so I'd stick with the Gardevoirite.) Same goes for Z-crystals. While the flexibility is nice in being able to pick which Z-move you want to use based on how the match is going, you usually end up handicapping yourself by taking away an valuable item slot from the 'mon that doesn't get to use its Z-move.
 
Currently plotting a team to make a first venture into the Ultra Series, the currently set up team being Gastrodon (Storm Drain, Muddy Water, Earth Power, Curse, Yawn, Leftovers), Mega Sceptile (Leaf Storm, Dragon Pulse, Substitute, Leech Seed), and Zapdos (Discharge, Tailwind, HP Ice, Roost, Pinch berry). I'd like advice for the two Ubers and a final teammate who can cover types, rolls, and likely popular mons that the three above would not.
 
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Got some quick questions regarding two Mons. I ended up restarting my White run, as the first run got glitched (my fault, I put the DS Lite down while still playing it, then accidentally knocked it over, causing the cartridge to pop out during gameplay, glitching it), so I've had to make up for lost time. I've started up a new team, but I'm not sure about two of them.

I currently have a Palpitoad and Krokorok in my team, two Mons I haven't really used much. I've used Palpitoad in the past, but only until I get the Cover Fossil, as Caracosta is my favorite fossil Mon, and the best Water Mon to use in-game (outside of the starter). So, I've never really used Palpitoad for very long, but I'm thinking of running this one instead of Caracosta as my Water Mon for a change of pace. The same goes for Krokorok, as I generally prefer Excadrill as my Ground Mon, but I've had terrible luck in getting a Drilbur (I either accidentally KO it or another Mon interrupts my search), so I settled for Sandile. What I want to know is that are these two worth running? And if so, what moves would work best for them? I'm about to face Elesa, which is why I have two Ground Mons (though I did have to grind a bit for Krokorok). Oh, their current setups are as followed:

Palpitoad (Rhythm)
Lv 31, Male, Hydration, Muddy Water/Bubblebeam/Mud Shot/Uproar

Krokorok (Bandit)
Lv 29, Male, Moxie, Dig/Rock Tomb/Bite/Crunch

Yeah, Rhythm is a bit overleveled. I was just grinding Bandit mostly, but then it kinda leaked into the rest of the team. Now everyone, except Bandit, are in the 30s, particularly my starter, Nitro, who just evolved into Emboar. Anyway, thanks in advance to whoever answers this.
 
Got some quick questions regarding two Mons. I ended up restarting my White run, as the first run got glitched (my fault, I put the DS Lite down while still playing it, then accidentally knocked it over, causing the cartridge to pop out during gameplay, glitching it), so I've had to make up for lost time. I've started up a new team, but I'm not sure about two of them.

I currently have a Palpitoad and Krokorok in my team, two Mons I haven't really used much. I've used Palpitoad in the past, but only until I get the Cover Fossil, as Caracosta is my favorite fossil Mon, and the best Water Mon to use in-game (outside of the starter). So, I've never really used Palpitoad for very long, but I'm thinking of running this one instead of Caracosta as my Water Mon for a change of pace. The same goes for Krokorok, as I generally prefer Excadrill as my Ground Mon, but I've had terrible luck in getting a Drilbur (I either accidentally KO it or another Mon interrupts my search), so I settled for Sandile. What I want to know is that are these two worth running? And if so, what moves would work best for them? I'm about to face Elesa, which is why I have two Ground Mons (though I did have to grind a bit for Krokorok). Oh, their current setups are as followed:

Palpitoad (Rhythm)
Lv 31, Male, Hydration, Muddy Water/Bubblebeam/Mud Shot/Uproar

Krokorok (Bandit)
Lv 29, Male, Moxie, Dig/Rock Tomb/Bite/Crunch

Yeah, Rhythm is a bit overleveled. I was just grinding Bandit mostly, but then it kinda leaked into the rest of the team. Now everyone, except Bandit, are in the 30s, particularly my starter, Nitro, who just evolved into Emboar. Anyway, thanks in advance to whoever answers this.

Krookodile is very much so worth it. Moxie is an insanely good ability for it. Once it gets Earthquake too, enjoy murdering stuff.

Haven't used Palpitoad that much myself (Since I have Samurott on the team) but depending on what you want to hit you might want a physical variant to get Ice Punch (Cause for some reason it doesn't get Ice Beam) or you could run it mixed to make use of Scald. Unless you have a way to trade it to BW2 and get Earth Power on it, the special variant also doesn't get a good STAB from Ground-type moves. So I'd say a physical or mixed one would be the way to go.

EDIT: Never mind. Ice Punch is a tutor move too. I guess a special variant is the best since it also doesn't get physical Water stab. Scald/Surf, Earthquake, Drain Punch and whatever else you want to hit in your last slot. (Sludge Wave/Bomb for Grass-types perhaps.)
 
Got another question. I'm looking to adding in a Steel-type to my team, but I'm not sure which one to pick. Usually, as stated before, I tend to have Excadrill (or when it comes to B2W2, Lucario) as my Steel Mon. So, I wanted to know which of these Steel Mons is better: Escavalier or Klinklang. I've raised the former before, but not much, as I usually use Galvantula, Crustle, or Leavanny as my Bug Mon, while I've never really raised Klink before outside of data. I know there is also Ferrothorn, but I already have a Grass Mon, so that's out of the question. In any case, my question is this: which Steel Mon is better Escavalier or Klinklang? And what moves/ability would be best? Thanks in advanced.
 
Got another question. I'm looking to adding in a Steel-type to my team, but I'm not sure which one to pick. Usually, as stated before, I tend to have Excadrill (or when it comes to B2W2, Lucario) as my Steel Mon. So, I wanted to know which of these Steel Mons is better: Escavalier or Klinklang. I've raised the former before, but not much, as I usually use Galvantula, Crustle, or Leavanny as my Bug Mon, while I've never really raised Klink before outside of data. I know there is also Ferrothorn, but I already have a Grass Mon, so that's out of the question. In any case, my question is this: which Steel Mon is better Escavalier or Klinklang? And what moves/ability would be best? Thanks in advanced.

Klinklang has a pretty shallow movepool. It has Gear Grind and Shift Gear and... that's about it really. It's two abilities also don't really help.

While slow, Escavalier has pretty good bulk to show for it and hits like a truck. While its hidden ability is the best ability for it, Swarm and SHell Armour aren't bad for regular playthroughs. (Even though I'm not sure how often Swarm would come in clutch considering its activation requirement and Escavalier's slow speed.)

It's movepool is really good with stuff like Swords Dance, X-Scissor, iron Head, Aerial Ace and Poison Jab.

If you can afford having a 4 times weakness to Fire on your team and you can afford a slow mon, I'd say go for Escavalier, unless you plan to use Klinklang as a mixed attacker, considering Escavalier is pretty bulky and gives you two typings to take use of instead of just the one that Klinklang has while it's also the only proper physical attack it has (Unless you want to rely on Return).
 
Got another question, this time for a different game run (I finished my White run today), in this case, Omega Ruby. I restarted my OR game (it was at a point where I hadn't completed it yet, and I didn't know where I was going, so I just restarted it), and I traded over some mystery eggs which recently hatched. Two of them (well, technically, three, but two are the same Mon) are potential Water Mons to use for this run: Carvanha and Wailmer. They possess ideal(ish) natures, Egg Moves, and in Carvanha's case, its HA, but I'm not sure which one to run as my Water Mon. They are as followed:

Carvanha: Speed Boost, Naughty, Destiny Bond/Thrash/Double-Edge/Hydro Pump
Wailmer #1: Oblivious, Modest, Curse/Clear Smog/Aqua Ring/Snore
Wailmer #2: Water Veil, Modest, Curse/Clear Smog/Aqua Ring/Snore

The question I have is which one would be worth using the most in this run? My current team has Combusken, Kirlia, Electrike, and Lileep (also hatched from egg). I can swing either way, as both of these Mons have gotten me to post-game in the past, but which one do you think would be best? Thanks in advance.
 
Carvanha. It's fast as fuck as a Sharpedo, gets a nice second typing and can be a potential (good) Mega. It also has the better movepool.

Should you want more bulk, since your team seems a bit more on the frail side, go for Wailord. For everything else, I'd say Sharpedo.
 
Haven't started yet, but I'm planning on playing through Ultra Moon again, and I decided to go with this unusual team for kicks. What movesets and held items would anyone recommend for the following team to best handle every major totem/kahuna/boss/battle?

Rowlet/Dartrix/Decidueye
Grubbin/Charjabug/Vikavolt
Alolan Grimer/Alolan Muk
Growlithe/Arcanine
Staryu/Starmie
Stufful/Bewear

Also what level would anyone recommend I evolve Growlithe and Staryu?
 
Haven't started yet, but I'm planning on playing through Ultra Moon again, and I decided to go with this unusual team for kicks. What movesets and held items would anyone recommend for the following team to best handle every major totem/kahuna/boss/battle?

Rowlet/Dartrix/Decidueye
Grubbin/Charjabug/Vikavolt
Alolan Grimer/Alolan Muk
Growlithe/Arcanine
Staryu/Starmie
Stufful/Bewear

Also what level would anyone recommend I evolve Growlithe and Staryu?
Decidueye - Leaf Blade, Spirit Shackle, Shadow Sneak, Brave Bird/U-Turn
Vikavolt - Bug Buzz, Thunderbolt, Energy Ball, Agility
Alolan Muk - Poison Jab, Crunch, Ice Punch, Fire Punch
Arcanine - Flare Blitz, Crunch, Wild Charge, Extreme Speed
Starmie - Scald, Psyshock, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt
Bewear - Return, Hammer Arm, Shadow Claw, Ice Punch
Staryu's only noteworthy level-up move is Psychic, so you can evolve it at any time. Growlithe, however, learns the very useful Flare Blitz and Crunch, so I don't recommend evolving it too early.
 
Okay, with OmegaRuby out of the way, I decided to take up Gen 7 again. After a little blooper (I was planning on resetting an unused Sun version, but instead did it to my previous UltraSun run that I asked for help on here earlier... not one of my smarter moments... damn insomnia strikes again), so I'm working with that instead. Once again, I'm going to do a Grass/Fire/Water core, and I've already got the Grass and Water Mons set (Rowlet and Vaporeon, since the latter served me well before I screwed up, and I had a leftover Wish Eevee egg from a previous breeding experiment), but now I need the Fire element. I'm not sure which Mon would work best for this run. Outside of Litten, I've run Mons like Alolan Marowak, Turtonator, and Salazzle for the Fire element, and I'm not sure if I should dabble with something else or go with one of those three. Any suggestions? I'm still on Melemele Island, just about to take Ilima's trial, so I know my options are a bit slim right now. Oh, also, my team consists of Dartrix, Rockruff (Own Tempo), Vaporeon, Noibat, Trumbeak, and Magnemite. Trumbeak is temporary filler until I beat Hala unless something else comes up. Anyone have a suggestion for me? And movepool ideas would be helpful, too. Thanks in advance.
 
Okay, with OmegaRuby out of the way, I decided to take up Gen 7 again. After a little blooper (I was planning on resetting an unused Sun version, but instead did it to my previous UltraSun run that I asked for help on here earlier... not one of my smarter moments... damn insomnia strikes again), so I'm working with that instead. Once again, I'm going to do a Grass/Fire/Water core, and I've already got the Grass and Water Mons set (Rowlet and Vaporeon, since the latter served me well before I screwed up, and I had a leftover Wish Eevee egg from a previous breeding experiment), but now I need the Fire element. I'm not sure which Mon would work best for this run. Outside of Litten, I've run Mons like Alolan Marowak, Turtonator, and Salazzle for the Fire element, and I'm not sure if I should dabble with something else or go with one of those three. Any suggestions? I'm still on Melemele Island, just about to take Ilima's trial, so I know my options are a bit slim right now. Oh, also, my team consists of Dartrix, Rockruff (Own Tempo), Vaporeon, Noibat, Trumbeak, and Magnemite. Trumbeak is temporary filler until I beat Hala unless something else comes up. Anyone have a suggestion for me? And movepool ideas would be helpful, too. Thanks in advance.

Pick Arcanine.

Put an Assault Vest on him.

He's the best boy.
 
Hi, me again. I took up my SoulSilver run again (a lot of stuff has been happening here, so I didn't get any time to play until recently.) and I'm starting to build up my team. I started with Cyndaquil (now Quilava), and I caught an Onix, which I have plans to evolve her into a Steelix to act as the defensive Mon. My question is as followed: Should I evolve her into Steelix now or wait? I have a number of Metal Coats on-hand, stockpiled from past runs, so I have plenty of resources there, and, while I know Steelix isn't that great of a Mon, I want to give one a try for this run. So, should I evolve her right away or wait a bit? And what would be a good set of moves to run with her? I also have a lot of stockpiled TMs, so if a certain TM is needed, I can get it. Thanks in advance.
 
Hi, me again. I took up my SoulSilver run again (a lot of stuff has been happening here, so I didn't get any time to play until recently.) and I'm starting to build up my team. I started with Cyndaquil (now Quilava), and I caught an Onix, which I have plans to evolve her into a Steelix to act as the defensive Mon. My question is as followed: Should I evolve her into Steelix now or wait? I have a number of Metal Coats on-hand, stockpiled from past runs, so I have plenty of resources there, and, while I know Steelix isn't that great of a Mon, I want to give one a try for this run. So, should I evolve her right away or wait a bit? And what would be a good set of moves to run with her? I also have a lot of stockpiled TMs, so if a certain TM is needed, I can get it. Thanks in advance.

Just evolve it already cause Onix hits like a wet noodle.

I'd say Iron Head, Earthquake, Crunch and Stone Edge/Rock Slide. Should you see no use for either Crunch or Stone Edge/Rock Slide, Explosion could be a nice option for big neutral damage as last resort.
 
Aaaaaand here we go again. I started a Platinum run for old times sake, as well as to experiment with some new ideas, and I need some advice on two teammates this time.

First off, I plan to catch a Drifloon as my flyer, as I've used Staraptor to death (I do love Staraptor, mind), and I want to try something different. I have yet to free the Windworks, as I just started yesterday, and I'm about to face Roark, so it'll be a bit before I have access to Drifloon. Now, the question is: what would be a good setup for it? This includes nature and ability (thought those aren't guarantees), and TM/tutor moves are more than welcome, as Platinum has Move Tutors scattered about the region instead of just post-game like most Move Tutors in most games.

Secondly, for my defensive Mon, I'm going with my favorite Sinnoh fossil: Shieldon. I have the right ID number for digging up Shield Fossils, so I'm not concerned about that. So, like Drifloon, I need some ideas for it. Nature, moves, and whatnot are what I'm looking for. And, likewise, TM and Tutors are welcome. If someone feels it would be worth the time, I'd also be willing to breed one for Egg Moves and such, though I'd prefer to use the fossil, but I will breed one if someone recommends it.

Thanks in advance to whoever decides to answer. I know these guys aren't top-tier Mons, but it's mostly for a fun run, as well as to just mess around with some ideas that recently came to mind. Thanks again.
 
I recommend getting Will-O-Wisp on Drifloon. I think it's best to go with Bold Nature, unless you are going to run around leveling up the Pokemon where you are significantly stronger based on level alone, then you can go with whatever SpAtk Nature. But I think you'll need Wisp to beat him. Also get Earthquake on Shieldon.
 
And I have another question. I'm taking a short break from Platinum to continue where I left off in Soul Silver (I actually forgot about it, but due to all the migraines I've been having lately, it's easy to see why). I caught an Exeggcute, and I want to know when would be the best time to evolve him? As in, what level (and by that extension, what moves are the most desirable) would be most ideal to evolve him? I already traded over a Psychic TM from another game, so I don't have to worry about not giving him a decent Psychic move later on, but I wanted to know if/when would be most ideal for him to evolve. Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Forgot one thing. In the same vein, when would be a good time to evolve a Poliwhirl into Poliwrath? My Poliwag just evolved, and I want to know if/when is a good time for it to evolve. Double thanks in advance.
 
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And I have another question. I'm taking a short break from Platinum to continue where I left off in Soul Silver (I actually forgot about it, but due to all the migraines I've been having lately, it's easy to see why). I caught an Exeggcute, and I want to know when would be the best time to evolve him? As in, what level (and by that extension, what moves are the most desirable) would be most ideal to evolve him? I already traded over a Psychic TM from another game, so I don't have to worry about not giving him a decent Psychic move later on, but I wanted to know if/when would be most ideal for him to evolve. Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Forgot one thing. In the same vein, when would be a good time to evolve a Poliwhirl into Poliwrath? My Poliwag just evolved, and I want to know if/when is a good time for it to evolve. Double thanks in advance.

I think Poliwhirl is off fine evolving immediately. It's learnset isn't all that and definitely not worth waiting for when it gets the better moves by tutor or TM/HM.

Same thing for Exeggutor. I would wait until like 23 after it learned the Powders. Since Exeggcute's only other relevant move is Psychic at level 47. So basically the same story as with Poliwrath.
 
Sophie just hatched a 6 IV Ditto should we keep it or trade it for a event mon?
 
Hi, me again. I took up my SoulSilver run again (a lot of stuff has been happening here, so I didn't get any time to play until recently.) and I'm starting to build up my team. I started with Cyndaquil (now Quilava), and I caught an Onix, which I have plans to evolve her into a Steelix to act as the defensive Mon. My question is as followed: Should I evolve her into Steelix now or wait? I have a number of Metal Coats on-hand, stockpiled from past runs, so I have plenty of resources there, and, while I know Steelix isn't that great of a Mon, I want to give one a try for this run. So, should I evolve her right away or wait a bit? And what would be a good set of moves to run with her? I also have a lot of stockpiled TMs, so if a certain TM is needed, I can get it. Thanks in advance.

Always upsets me how bad Onix/Steelix is needed a complete rework of stats.
 
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