Team Building

[Andy Snype]

Eh, I generally play to counter. If there's anything I notice in my battling style, it's the fact that I want to obtain and maintain momentum. As a result, I like to run u-turners (mainly Scizor and ScarfApe) and I try sets that surprise people, stuff that isn't on the main smogon website, which will open holes for me to try to exploit. From there, it's usually covering the biggest metagame threats. So stuff like anti-lead champ, scarftar, scizor, swampert (Wish + CM Rachi is a pain) and some of the more unconventional sets, such as scarfape, mixed DD mence, and WoW leadtran.

For tourneys that are a bit stricter on teambuilding, I just look at what choices my opponent has, think of what I can use to counter his likely choices (if I've battled them before, this helps a lot since I already know their playing style), and look at what he would use to counter me.

 

[bobbycat]

Making a team based on an end game sweeper just because you lost to it once or sounded good on paper can definitely lead you down the wrong path. Certain pokemon just aren't compatible with the metagame. It's also about key resistances to fit the metagame... having no Grass or Psychic resist in OU is probably okay but Dragon and Steel are practically mandatory. The most important part is to have a general plan and a few pokemon that can function well against a variety of threats and not just the metagame (examples: Explosion, Scarfers, Trick, Focus Sash, priority). In UU, Knock Off/Leech Seed Tangrowth checked almost everything because who wants to lose its item or get seeded. Even if a counter came in, the knock off/leech seed weakened it enough so the rest of my team could take care of it.

Also, you should always look at what's popular or suspect and abuse it or have counters to it. In a tourney setting, abusing the rules leads to better teams and wins. If 2 ubers are allowed, then use 2 and shape the rest of your team around it (Kyogre is the uber, but makes Kingdra and Stall Ludicolo almost uber as well =P)

 

[WECAMEASROMANS]

First, I try and test out a pokemon or a creative set that pops into my head, and then base the rest of my team around it. For instance, my last team was revolving around TormentSkarmory and Flame Orb Heracross. I thought about what counters these pokes and what pokes can pair up nicely with them.

Usually if my team doesn't revolve around a specific pokemon (the team members are all equally important), I focus on what the team attempts to accomplish, and make all the adjustments to make this goal easier.

There is really no "wrong" way to build a team, but a well, thought out team that took a long time will probably acquire more success than a random team of six pokes that took 5 minutes to build. Most of teambuilding skill comes from experience by laddering, or you can just check out the RMT archive for some of the best teams out there.

 

[connoisseur]

I first pick a DD sweeper (Gyarados[I choose this most often, it has the most useful resistances of any OU sweeper imo with all the scizor around], Salamence, and Tyrantitar are the most threatening sweepers in OU imo), pair it with latias and work from there (latias takes T-Bolts for Gyarados, and is an awesome special counterpart to Tyrantitar and Salamence).

All my teams have metagross leads though because I cannot get anything else to work (other than the gimmicky hypnosis rain dance crobat lead I used to use with rain dance teams).

After that I plop on scizor because it's u-turn is awesome and provides a great switch in after I explode my metagross. Scizor is probably the thing I'd replace if someone in the quartet had to go though.

The last two vary depending on my needs. I used to use starmie and magnezone(to rape scizor no matter what) in my first team, that has been replaced by lucario and either rotom-h or scarftar (obviously when I am not using DDTar) as time went on. I generally lack the ability to pull a brand new team out of thin air so what I make is usually a variation on one of my teams or one of my friend's (I usually ask supermarth64) teams.

 

[CHENN]

I'll get a random 6 pokemon, and like you, just play with them, and when I don't think some work well with the team, I'll either change the team or the pokemon around until I like it, but sooner or later that changes, too.

 

[Galactic Boss Cyrus]

First, I try and test out a pokemon or a creative set that pops into my head, and then base the rest of my team around it. For instance, my last team was revolving around TormentSkarmory and Flame Orb Heracross. I thought about what counters these pokes and what pokes can pair up nicely with them.

Usually if my team doesn't revolve around a specific pokemon (the team members are all equally important), I focus on what the team attempts to accomplish, and make all the adjustments to make this goal easier.

There is really no "wrong" way to build a team, but a well, thought out team that took a long time will probably acquire more success than a random team of six pokes that took 5 minutes to build. Most of teambuilding skill comes from experience by laddering, or you can just check out the RMT archive for some of the best teams out there.

Yeah... About your sig... A team like that wouldn't be good. In fact, it'd be downright terrible. I just made one and my CRE is crying... The choice items limit too much, and if one Pokemon goes down the entire team will apart. Even if you can U-Turn to a Pokemon that avoids an attack, that one can be locked into another attack and be countered, unless you stick to ineffective, STABless U-Turns. It's too easy to play around.

Hear that, kids? Sig quotes can lie to you. As if we didn't all need one more thing to watch out for these days.

 

[The SPrinkLer]

Not to mention the fact it's very easy to overpredict and uturn when they don't switch. You basically autolose to stall as well since the hazards are too much and you can't break through skarmbliss with a bunch of choice users along with the other 4 slots the opponent has. But this thread isn't the place for that, and quite frankly, someones signature isn't relevant to this topic. Even if it's about a team, the topic is how we build teams, not what kind of gimmicks we can try.

 

[Raj]

I don't just pick 1 member and build a team around it. The first thing I do is look at what Pokemon are threats in the current metagame, then I work out a synergy from there. The majority of my teams run like clockwork, with each member working smoothly with its teammates. Also, I rarely have to revise any of my teams as they turn out so well. I'll either use it or scrap it when it. If it doesn't show potential in the first couple of matches, I find it better to go a differerent way rather than tweaking it.

I also think surprise is important. The majority of my teams aren't what you would call ordinary and I usually develop my own moveslots and EVs, varying from the standard. The majority of my teams incorporate some kind of gimmick, or at least something that strays beyond the orthodox, but I don't really consider them gimmicks as much as the shit no one else has learned to abuse.

 

[YTP]

I find something I like (whether it be in the RMT forum, or on IRC) and find a good partner for it. Then I just add more combos that support each other and boom. Touch up, test ect.

 

[Ace Emerald]

I first choose a pokemon (generally a favorite) for example metagross. I then go to his page and look up counters. Then I go to the counters' pages and look up what counters they have and common. Then I repeat for the pokemon I just added until I have four or five pokemon with good synergy. I then fill in gaps if needed and choose a lead to fit the team.

 

[Lockeness]

Teambuilding for me takes a long time. I generally come up with a team idea or strategy and then build a team around the idea. I draw up the idea on paper and then fill in the gaps. This way I generally have a really good idea of what kind of team I want and whether or not the idea is logical. If the idea is good then I will make an rmt of the team on my computer. I do not post it but I keep the doc. so I can look over it while battling. I then begin testing the team and see if it is viable or if any changes need to be made.

I also log my team results in the word document so I have a better I idea of who I have faced and where my weaknesses are. It generally takes my team several weeks before I deem a team worthy and useful. I will then use them for a long period of time until they become "stale".

I have been using my current team for about a month now and it is just beginning to show promise.

 

[gbelste]

My way isn't smart, but it's fun and it gets you into the game.

I tried the game finding a pokemon, and building a team to counter, and 'take care of threats'. Picking a pokemon just to fill a gap. It left the game feeling kinda cold and heartless.

So, I decided to pick a favorite pokemon, and then go around finding random pokemon you like. Often, I transfer pokemon from older games that i'm already attached too. Of course, there are the pokemon I pick for strategic reasons rather than emotion reasons-- but i still have an attachment to that pokemon.

Yeah, I'm not a 'battler' when playing. And I'm not in it to win. But I do love my pokemon. :3

 

[biaj]

I pick pokemon im thinking off top of my head or that i know i already have work on shoddy to look at moves they can learn and go from there filling in weakspots and such

 

[Lucalibur]

since i only use hyper offense most of my teams resemble each other, i usually start off thinking what exactly i want from the team, if i want to destroy stall or if i want to setup with a pokemon to sweep or anything like that, i first pick a lead that will get entry hazards in field most of the time and die in the process(a suicide lead), then i start picking the main pokemon, not a team based around that certain pokemon, just the main pokemon, the partner of the trainer etc etc(this is what happen when you watch the anime too much...) and use the set that fits the team criteria the most, i check some pokemons that work well with that certain pokemon and pick one, after this i pick pokemons that can kill each other counters, supporting each other in the process and allowing to rip the enemy team with powerful mixed sweepers and/or wall breakers, when i see something that is not working on the team(a certain pokemon) i test different sets until i reach A:found a good set or B:realize that i need to replace the pokemon, regardless of the decisions i make, the teams i do are always offensive.

 

[The SPrinkLer]

Not to be rude, but this thread isn't discussion beyond "I build teams like this". No one is attempting to elaborate on other peoples posts, so this thread is turning into nothing more than what I stated previously. It's like a question thread and someone answers. That's all I have to say but I'll probably edit my post relating to the thread later.

 

[Kietharr]

Start with a general strategy, for example, a rain team.

Then, think what pokemon would be the best to fill the core out. Let's say Kingdra sweep.

Now work on counters/resists. Kingdra is Dragon weak and needs someone who can set up rain, get Bronzong.

Now there is no electric resist, bad idea on a rain dance team. Get Swampert

This is a solid 3 pokemon core. Now we think past resists. Which pokemon can potentially wall Kingdra? The only pokemon that resists the standard dragon/water/normal setup of a sweep Kingdra is Empoleon. Empoleon is uncommon in OU. Other pokemon that may pose threats are bulky waters, who force Kingdra to use his non STAB normal move or his non rain boosted dragon move. So offensive electric type is a good idea, especially given the availability of Thunder under rain. Jolteon is a good option with electric STAB and high SpA. Jolteon may also be able to further facilitate the Kingdra sweep with sub passes. Double good.

Now with four pokemon and a decent spread of resists we can further expand on our core strategy. Any good Rain Dance team ought to have two rain dance users and multiple rain dance abusers. Ludicolo becomes a good option.

Final slot becomes something of an end note, look at all of the weaknesses you've got and make a shot. The only weakness typewise left completely uncovered here is bug, so a good bug resist and allaround defensive/supportive pokemon like Zapdos might be a good option. But honestly, you have to keep in mind the individual pokemon on a threatlist too. Because this team was just thrown together as an example there are a couple of weaknesses here.

The best part about team building is completely reworking a team only takes a few clicks in Shoddy so if you make a mistake it's not a big deal. You will discover the mistake and correct it. I build teams on this model, run them against a threatlist, then battle. Adjustments need to be made based on what the metagame is trending towards, nothing is ever set in stone.

 

[Death Watch]

I always look at the types first then make different cuts or adjustments around the main pokemon in the team. The main pokemon is usually one of my favorites then I look at its weaknesses and try to make a very diverse team.

 

[Lockeness]

A lot of people have posted how they build their own teams ,but are they successful? Does a successful team have certain qualities that other teams do not have? Or does the team not matter only the player? Are there any tips or strategies to build a really good team; if so- what are they?

 

[Bribery]

A lot of people have posted how they build their own teams ,but are they successful? Does a successful team have certain qualities that other teams do not have? Or does the team not matter only the player? Are there any tips or strategies to build a really good team; if so- what are they?

The player's skill and experience is a huge factor to a team's success. Anyone can copy one of those "Peaked at #1 Teams" from the RMT forums but that doesn't mean they'll be as successful with it as the creator was.

A lot of the teams I build are fairly solid and other people also tell me that (like the one in my sig). However, I don't battle that often so I still make careless mistakes or reckless moves. Thus, I've never been on the leaderboard, yet alone get a CRE higher than 14xx.

 

[Banryu]

Ha, I try to pick UU or uncommon OU Pokemon and make a team that focuses on making them good. Porygon-Z and especially Aggron are the ones I've had some success with.... working on finding a way to make Gallade and Charizard work too.

Because it's no fun when you're just using all the common sets and Pokes. I also like to use things like Aerodactyl in an unexpected way, like as a Choice Bander in Aero's case.

 

[EpicTurtle]

I set up how much tanks, walls and sweepers I want my team to have then I pick one of my sweepers and make a team with the amount of tanks, walls, ect I wanted around it.

 

[pokeMONstar]

is there a place on this site where people help you build your team? or is this the place?

 

[Wafle]

I just pick a playstyle I want Stall, Semi-stall, Heavy Offense

Grab some pokemans that fit the style

Work on defensive and offensive synergy, and I usually get a good team.

Theres a lot more that goes on such as movesets and all that stuff but it's a general outline.

 

[Airfoil]

I start w/ a main theme. I always avoid the standard because what fun is running Mixmence, CB Scizor, Leadpert, Jirachi, Gyarados, and Suicune over and over again? The fact that a lot of teams on Shoddy look identical is usually the inspiration behind my teams. I have only made one standard team, and even then, it was unique in using Staraptor, Gyravire, and Donphan in OU and Weavile (apparently, running standard anti-lead Weavile w/ Counter is "unique", even if it's straight from the smogon article)...

 

[BinarySolo]

I'm no team building expert, and as a result most of my teams are terrible, so here's how I made my most successful team to date: I chose a playstyle, semi-stall, then I chose a sweeper, Suicune, and then I filled the team out with Pokemon who had good synergy with Suicune and each other and could contribute to the goal of a late-game Suicune sweep, e.g. toxic spiker, spiker, then I added Rotom-H for spin blocking, Hippowdon for rocks and general walling, and TormenTran because it works best with Toxic Spikes up. I ended up with Froslass, Drapion, Suicune, Rotom-H, Hippowdon and Heatran.