I'm trying to make a Battle Tower team. That counts as in-game, right?
Ninjask @ Liechi Berry
Adamant Nature
EVs: 166 HP / 252 Att / 70 Spe
Protect
Substitute
Baton Pass
X-Scissor
My lead. After a Protect, it outspeeds everything in the game thanks to Speed Boost, and it can pass the boosts to my other teammates. This set is virtually guaranteed to pass the speed boost to Breloom, which needs it greatly.
Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Adamant Nature
EVs: 50 HP / 252 Att / 208 Spe
Spore
Substitute
Focus Punch
Seed Bomb
SubPunching Breloom. This is the only member of the party that I already have. I've had this Breloom for a while and it's served me very well. Spore + Substitute + Focus Punch is completely unfair in the absence of Sleep Clause, and thanks to the +Speed passed to it by Ninjask, I can safely Spore, Sub, Punch my way to victory.
I don't know what to use for a third member yet. I'm still evaluating what my team needs. Glaring weaknesses to this strategy:
- Breloom's Grass and Fighting STAB has pretty bad coverage. Luckily, Breloom's enormous Attack power + the 150 bp of Focus Punch can put a big dent even in Pokemon like Latias, Moltres, and Venusaur.
- Insomnia/Early Bird/Lum Berry/Shed Shell. Could be a nasty surprise for Breloom.
- Priority attacks. There's no Flying, Fire, or Electric priority moves, so I'm not in huge danger of getting killed, but they can still be a pain.
- Strong attacks that Breloom can't switch in on. In the best case scenario, my opponent uses a status move and gives Ninjask a chance to put up and Sub and give Breloom a free switch in. However, Ninjask and Breloom share Fire, Ice, and Flying weaknesses, so if I have my opponent spamming Flamethrower, Breloom is going to have a hard time switching in. Breloom isn't incredibly defensive, either, so it may have problems with other moves.
A bulky water type seems to be the best addition to this team. It can take priority attacks, and resist Fire and Ice attacks. I could also use a Rock or Ice type attack to deal with the Pokemon that Breloom has trouble with. Most water types have access to Ice Beam, so that's pretty easy to take care of.
Options I've considered so far:
Milotic
This would be the easiest option for a team member, because I already have one. It has Hypnosis/Surf/Ice Beam/Recover, which is kind of redundant with Breloom, but I could probably swap Hypnosis for Toxic. The Hidden Power on this Milotic is useless, so I'd have to breed a new one if I wanted to use that.
Problems:
- This Milotic has been in at least 2 stall battles where it lost. One with another Milotic, and one with a Blissey. If Breloom dies unexpectedly and they still have a staller, Milotic is pretty much useless. It is also vulnerable to status effects.
- Hypnosis is redundant since I already have Breloom. I can switch that out, though.
Vaporeon
Defensive beast. Can offer Wish support, and can Baton Pass Acid Armor and Aqua Ring, but then my team hinges far too much on Breloom. One critical hit and I'm dead. Roar could be useful, but otherwise this doesn't do much more than Milotic.
Suicune
Stats are better than Vaporeon in most respects. Has access to Calm Mind, but no recovery except for Rest. Unlike Milotic and Vaporeon, it can outstall stallers, since it has Pressure.
Swampert
Very good defensive typing, and Grass is heavily resisted by both Breloom and Ninjask, so it's not much of a problem. Can hit hard with both physical and special attacks if needed, and it has Stone Edge, which helps expand my type coverage. Swampert's stats are excellent all around except for its speed, so it also benefits greatly from Speed Boost. Swampert is also stuck with only Rest as a form of recovery.
Tyranitar
A more offensive option for the third slot. Good to have if Breloom falls. Tyranitar expands the attack coverage of this team greatly, and has pretty good defenses and benefits greatly from Speed Boost.
I'm leaning towards Suicune, but I'm afraid of getting haxed to death. Swampert may be a more reliable choice.
Ninjask @ Liechi Berry
Adamant Nature
EVs: 166 HP / 252 Att / 70 Spe
Protect
Substitute
Baton Pass
X-Scissor
My lead. After a Protect, it outspeeds everything in the game thanks to Speed Boost, and it can pass the boosts to my other teammates. This set is virtually guaranteed to pass the speed boost to Breloom, which needs it greatly.
Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Adamant Nature
EVs: 50 HP / 252 Att / 208 Spe
Spore
Substitute
Focus Punch
Seed Bomb
SubPunching Breloom. This is the only member of the party that I already have. I've had this Breloom for a while and it's served me very well. Spore + Substitute + Focus Punch is completely unfair in the absence of Sleep Clause, and thanks to the +Speed passed to it by Ninjask, I can safely Spore, Sub, Punch my way to victory.
I don't know what to use for a third member yet. I'm still evaluating what my team needs. Glaring weaknesses to this strategy:
- Breloom's Grass and Fighting STAB has pretty bad coverage. Luckily, Breloom's enormous Attack power + the 150 bp of Focus Punch can put a big dent even in Pokemon like Latias, Moltres, and Venusaur.
- Insomnia/Early Bird/Lum Berry/Shed Shell. Could be a nasty surprise for Breloom.
- Priority attacks. There's no Flying, Fire, or Electric priority moves, so I'm not in huge danger of getting killed, but they can still be a pain.
- Strong attacks that Breloom can't switch in on. In the best case scenario, my opponent uses a status move and gives Ninjask a chance to put up and Sub and give Breloom a free switch in. However, Ninjask and Breloom share Fire, Ice, and Flying weaknesses, so if I have my opponent spamming Flamethrower, Breloom is going to have a hard time switching in. Breloom isn't incredibly defensive, either, so it may have problems with other moves.
A bulky water type seems to be the best addition to this team. It can take priority attacks, and resist Fire and Ice attacks. I could also use a Rock or Ice type attack to deal with the Pokemon that Breloom has trouble with. Most water types have access to Ice Beam, so that's pretty easy to take care of.
Options I've considered so far:
Milotic
This would be the easiest option for a team member, because I already have one. It has Hypnosis/Surf/Ice Beam/Recover, which is kind of redundant with Breloom, but I could probably swap Hypnosis for Toxic. The Hidden Power on this Milotic is useless, so I'd have to breed a new one if I wanted to use that.
Problems:
- This Milotic has been in at least 2 stall battles where it lost. One with another Milotic, and one with a Blissey. If Breloom dies unexpectedly and they still have a staller, Milotic is pretty much useless. It is also vulnerable to status effects.
- Hypnosis is redundant since I already have Breloom. I can switch that out, though.
Vaporeon
Defensive beast. Can offer Wish support, and can Baton Pass Acid Armor and Aqua Ring, but then my team hinges far too much on Breloom. One critical hit and I'm dead. Roar could be useful, but otherwise this doesn't do much more than Milotic.
Suicune
Stats are better than Vaporeon in most respects. Has access to Calm Mind, but no recovery except for Rest. Unlike Milotic and Vaporeon, it can outstall stallers, since it has Pressure.
Swampert
Very good defensive typing, and Grass is heavily resisted by both Breloom and Ninjask, so it's not much of a problem. Can hit hard with both physical and special attacks if needed, and it has Stone Edge, which helps expand my type coverage. Swampert's stats are excellent all around except for its speed, so it also benefits greatly from Speed Boost. Swampert is also stuck with only Rest as a form of recovery.
Tyranitar
A more offensive option for the third slot. Good to have if Breloom falls. Tyranitar expands the attack coverage of this team greatly, and has pretty good defenses and benefits greatly from Speed Boost.
I'm leaning towards Suicune, but I'm afraid of getting haxed to death. Swampert may be a more reliable choice.