Team Testing!!

Hello, all! If you have any interest in someone testing out your team and giving you feedback on it, this is the place for it. Just PM/post your team with all of the necessary specifications (nature, EVs, movespread, item), and I'd be happy to respond back with what changes I think would be a good idea, if any are necessary.

Awesome idea Perry. I will be happy to give constructive criticism as well. I will post a team shortly to see how you go.

Awesome. As soon as I think of something I'll post it.

As I have a bunch of sets I've made for 5th gen, I'll post some eventually.

Jellicent
252 hp
252 Sp.Def
@Lefties

Toxic
Recover
Will-O-Wisp
Confuse Ray

(I have max IVs on all of these Pokemon)
So this is my B?W team currently. Any suggestions?

Ferrorthorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 def/ 252 sp def/ 4 atk
nature: Careful +sp def -sp atk
-Spikes
-Stealth Rock
-Explosion
-Power Whip

Why this Pokemon?
I picked Ferrorthorn, because he looks pretty awesome and he is one of the better Pokemon in the fifth generation. He is my lead. His purpose is to set up stealth rock and if he has time he also is there to set up spikes. After he sets up stealth rock depending on who Ferrothorn is up against his power whip is strong enough to 2HKOd anything that its super effective on. The final move slot is explosion for massive damage in tough situations. His defenses are high enough to make him bulky enough to resist many common leads. His special defense is higher to defend against fire moves, such as heat wave and flamethrower. Ferrothorn with steal typing avoids Toxic and other poison moves.


Crawdunt @ Razor Claw
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252atk /252 def/ 4 hp
nature: Adamnet +atk -sp atk
-Crabhammer
-Crunch
-Swords Dance
-X-Scissor

Why Crawdunt?
Crawdunt is one of the coolest pokemon from the Hoenn region. He is just so awesome looking, he has astar on his head and he is a lobster. He is a major beast! The strategy behind Crawdunt is to utilize the Dream World ability Adaptability. Since it doubles the power of all STAB moves. First I would use Swords Dance and then I use either Crunch or Crabhammer depending on what the oposing Pokemon is. Crabhammer is the preferred choice, because with my Razor Claw I have access to a high critical hit ratio and that makes Crabhammer even more powerful. The Dark typing allows me to switch into a physic move and take no damage. X-scissor is just a filler, so what else could be my fourth move?


Seismitoad @ Rocky Helmet
EVs: 252 speed /252 sp atk /4 hp
Ability: Swift Swim
nature: timid +speed -atk
-Sludge Wave
-Surf
-Earth Power
-Rain Dance

Why would I use a frog?
Seismitoad is the perfect Pokemon to pull off a Rain Dance and Swift Swim combo. First off you use Rain Dance to obtain your double speed. With the uped speed Seismitaod can outspeed any Pokemon in the metagame. He even out speeds Speed Form Deoxys. Since Seismitaod is bulky he can take a hit from any move thats normaly effected. With his ground typing he avoids electric moves and can be switched with Crawdunt to help avoid electric moves. With Rain Dance in effect Siesmitoad then uses either Surf or Earth Power. Surf is preferred, because it gets the boost from the rain. Slludge Wave is there to to deal with grass Pokeman and the chance of poisoning.


Scyther @ Choice Scarf
EVs: 252 atk /252 speed /4 hp
Ability: Technician
nature: Jolly + speed -sp atk
-U-Turn
-Aerial Ace
-Bug Bite
-Brick Break

Is Scyther really a good choice?
The advantages of being both bug and flying types are very easy to see. Most people underestimate the use of Scyther over Scizor. Since Syther is part flying he avoids ground moves and can switched in to earthquake and take no damage. With Choice Scarf Scyther outspeeds most Pokemon in competitive play. His attack is relatively average, but with Technician and his moves Aerial Ace and Bug Bite Scyther can take out most Pokemon in one hit! U-turn is a good choice for easy switch out of tricky situations.


Volcarona @ Life Orb
EVs: 252 sp atk/ 252 speed /4 hp
Ability: Flash Fire
nature: Timid +speed -atk
-Fiery Dance
-Quiver Dance
-Bug Buzz
-Huricane

Why another Bug type on my team?
Volcarona is one of the best Pokemon from the fifth generation. The typing of Volcarona makes it perect for defending against Fighting, Bug, Steel, Grass, and Ice types. His high speed and high special atack make Volcarona perfect for sweeping. First off you use Quiver Dance, this gives a boost in speed, special atack, and special defense. Then depending on what your up against you use one of his three other moves. Fiery Dance is the preferred choice, because it has a fifty percent chance of ading a special atack boost. Bug Buz is here to take out Physic types and to case some serious havoc. Hurricane is the final move choice. Hurricane is a perfect moves, because it has a base power of 120 and it has chance of confusing the target.


Haxorus @ Haban Berry
EVs: 252 atk /252 speed /4 hp
Ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Adament +atk -sp atk
-Earthquake
-Dragon Claw
-X-Scissor
-Dragon Dance

Why Haxorus?
Haxorus is beastly. enough said. His super high attack and his other average stats he can be a great sweeper. First off you would use Dragon Dance and get your boosts. Since Haxorus isn't the fastest Pokemon out there Dragon Dance is a better choice. Next you would use STAB Dragon Claw or Earthquake to cause major damage with his over 450 atack (with the boost). Since Haxorus has mediocre defenses the use of the Haban Berry protects against common foes like Hydreigon and its Dragon Pulse. If you can pull of Two Dragon Dance's then you could sweep!

I think I've seen the exact same ferrothorn everyone else is using.

Quote :

I think I've seen the exact same ferrothorn everyone else is using.

Well, so since everyone is using it, that means its good.

That also means it's highly-predictable, and it's a Standard OU. Try to make it less obvious and predictable. Instead of just following the bandwagon by doing what everyone else does.

Quote :

That also means it's highly-predictable, and it's a Standard OU. Try to make it less obvious and predictable. Instead of just following the bandwagon by doing what everyone else does.

Sharpedo @ Expert Belt
EVs: 252 at /252 speed /4 def
Ability: Speed Boost
nature: Jolly +speed -sp atk
-Protect
-Crunch
-Waterfall
-Earthquake

Why?
Sharpedo works great as a lead with this set. Sharpedo gains a wonderful ability from the Dream World. With his max speed stat at 317 Sharpedo makes a better Speed Boost than even Yanmega. First I would use protect adn then out speed most Pokemon in the metagame. Coupled with an attack stat of 339 Sharpedo can work at killing any Ground, Physic, Fire, Rock, and Electric types. Along with Rain Dance from Seismitoad Sharpedo will get a boost on his Waterfall making it a perfect move for crippling any team!

Forretress @ Leftovers
EVs: 144 def / 112 atk / 252 hp
Ability: Sturdy
nature: Relaxed +def -speed
max IVs in everything, but 0 IVs in speed
-Toxic Spikes/Stealth Rock/ Spikes
-Toxic Spikes/Stealth Rock/ Spikes
-Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball

Why?
It will replace Ferrothorn as my spikes layer. I figure I can lay Toxic Spikes and then maybe get double Toxic Spikes, but since in B/W you can see their team before you battle I figured if their team does nor rely heavily on flying types then laying spikes would be just as good or even better. Which is better Spikes or Toxic Spikes or is even Stealth Rock better on Foreretress? I would use Gyro Ball to take out certain Pokemon such as Rock and Ice types. Rapid spin is used to take out the opponent's entry hazards.

Thank you for posting a team, Tracey! In defense of your Ferrothorn, I wouldn't say using a common set is a bad thing at all. In fact, it can really work to your advantage. Not only do you know that the set does work (since people actually use it), but you can actually use your highly-predictableness to your advantage; if you know that they know what your going to do, then you know what to NOT do, and can easily counter THEIR predictability. Read that a couple more times and hopefully it makes sense. Basically, using a standard set is A-okay, provided you don't mind thinking ahead and predicting. However, in the not defense of your Ferrothorn, you have two pokes that are going to take 50% to stealth rocks, which can royally screw you over without a spinner, making Forretress advisable. I'll test it with whatever lead you would like, though. The choice is totally up to you!

I should get some of the testing done this weekend (fingers crossed). Sorry for the wait, Mime.Jr! Haven't forgotten!

Okay! So I got your team tested, Tracey.

Results:

Ferrothorn: While many opponents pack hp fire, which completely screws over this lead, this poke does serve as a potent wall. Personally, though, to give it a bit more livability, you may want to consider packing Leech Seed, which I found to work pretty well with your team. The set I ended up using was Leech Seed, Protect, Gyro Ball, and Stealth Rocks. Oftentimes, due to the heavy presence of fire type moves on leads, I switched Seismitoad in for the lead, setting up Rain Dance on the first turn.

Seismitoad: As mentioned, I often used this for a lead when it looked like the opponent could easily counter a Ferrothorn. It doesn't have the greatest attack stat, which means that if the opponent can take a hit neutrally, it's probably going to have the chance to hit for neutral damage. Note: I would pack the Damp Rock over Rocky Helmet. Also, being quad weak to grass means you're practically forced to switch out when you have no supereffective move. Make sure you keep your Scyther alive for these situations, as Volcarona gets totally nerfed in the rain.

Scyther: Great counter for any psychics and darks, especially things like Zoroark and Espeon, which have become mildly prominent. The typing works really well with this team, I experienced, with two quad resists and an immunity. Stealth Rocks is obviously really going to hinder this, though, as I mentioned before. It hits for a little less damage than I initially expected, but with its type coverage, it is not enough to hinder it.

Volcarona: Didn't get to test this poke as much as I liked due to an error on my part, but I did get to play a few rounds with it. Overall, while it can become a force to be reckoned with, it doesn't play a large role on your team (I played without it most of the time, successfully), especially on a Rain Dance team. If you're going to consider switching something out of your team, this is the Poke I would recommend dropping.

Haxorus: Holy cow. Bread winner. After a single DD, this thing can wreck the opposing team, and it often does. The Haban Berry allows it to come in as early as midgame without worrying about something countering it. As long as you can get off a DD, there's really very, very, very little hindering you, apart from, like, Scarfed Latios, which, I found, can one shot you EVEN WITH the Haban Berry with its Draco Meteor. That was the main problem that I found with this. Just make sure you aren't going to be taking any of those. Fortunately, I had no problems with ice, as I hardly ever ran into anything that packed it.

Crawdaunt: Hits like a truck. With an SD and the Adaptability bonus, you can nearly OHKO a dedicated physical wall every time. I'm pretty sure this thing actually hits harder than your Haxorus does. The only thing stopping it? Speed. Without speed, this thing is a one kill pony. It'll take out anything slower than it that is silly enough to stay in, but as soon as the next Poke comes in, you usually become death fodder very quickly. I would consider packing DD on this if possible. That may help. Having Haxorus on this team in conjunction with Crawdaunt is still slightly repetitive, though. Mainly, Crawdaunt is going to be used for taking down walls, while Haxorus for general sweeping. On the other hand, though, it is quite nice to have such marvelous defense as it does, especially after the investment. It allows you to easily get a low-damage switch out of Scyther and Ferrothorn when they're faced with a fire type move, which often provides Crawdaunt with an opportunity to boost, as it can totally truck any fire type move.


Overall, this team is really quite good. I enjoyed a fair amount of success with it, and I'm not even a dedicated battler. On the whole, though, there were a couple of things that I noticed that you may want to alter. First, you are VERY heavily invested into speed, even on your Swift Swimmer and your scarfer. This is fine, but when you're hitting upwards of 400 speed, it gets a little bit ridiculous, and both of those pokes could use a bit more fire power, so I would recommend changing to a positive offensive nature. Second, like I have mentioned, bring a spinner. That's really going to bring up the usefulness of Scyther, and will increase your team's already-good teamwork to an even higher level. It'll also give Volcarona much more time to set up, which I found it to need.

This is just a Drought team I drafted up real quick. Sorry for the repeated EV spreads on some of them, it's the best I can think of for a Drought sweeper. Also sorry that some items are repeated.

Ninetales @ Life Orb
[Drought] [Timid] [252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Special Defense]
-Fire Blast
-Solarbeam
-Calm Mind
-Will-O-Wisp

Typhlosion @ Choice Scarf
[Flash Fire] [Modest] [252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Special Defense]
-Eruption
-Solarbeam
-Hidden Power Ice
-Lava Plume (In case you're too weak to use Eruption on the switch-in.)

Venusaur @ Life Orb
[Chlorophyll] [Modest] [252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Special Defense]
-Solarbeam
-Sludge Bomb
-Hidden Power Rock
-Amnesia

Exeggutor @ Expert Belt
[Chlorophyll] [Timid] [252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Defense]
-Solarbeam
-Psychic
-Sludge Bomb
-Hidden Power Rock

Chandelure @ Choice Scarf
[Flash Fire] [Modest] [252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Special Defense]
-Solarbeam
-Flamethrower
-Shadow Ball
-Hidden Power Ice

Meganium @ Light Clay
[Leaf Guard] [Calm] [252 HP, 128 Defense, 128 Special Defense]
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Aromatherapy
-Solarbeam

Edit- The Typhlosion was supposed to be Modest, not Timid. Changed that real quick.

Sweet! I'll get to it ASAP. Should have a reply by the end of the week. Hopefully before then.

Calm Mind sweeping Ninetales? You do realize it gets Nasty Plot, right? Unless the Special Defense boost is really that important for you.

For Venusaur, maybe you'd want Growth instead of Amnesia (unless you really need the Special Defense boost). In 5th Gen, Growth boosts Attack and Special Attack by 2 stages in the Sun. You might also want that on Exeggutor instead of Sludge Bomb. Also, Venusaur and Exeggutor have very similar type coverage. Maybe you could considering giving one HP Fire instead to deal with Steel types and since it's boosted by the Sun.

The point of Calm Mind IS to get the Special Defense boost. I know it gets Nasty Plot, but I decided against it.

The Special Defense boosts like Amnesia and Calm Mind are there to nerf any Water/Fire attacks. (I know Water is automatically weakened, but still.) I figured I don't necessarily need Hidden Power Fire, since there's already three Fire types on the team. Hidden Power Rock is to cover the weaknesses, not necessarily to cover types that wall. This is just a draft, anyways.

Well, you could still consider Growth. Sludge Bomb isn't really the best for Exeggutor as it doesn't get STAB and only hits Grass super effectively (and a lot of them have a secondary type that resists it anyway)

Which I why I have the Expert Belt, I don't really need STAB. And yeah, that's why I have it. For grass types. IDK though.

Magikarp @ Nothing
31 IVs in everything
252 ev's in Atk and Sp. Atk


Move:
Splash




DANGEROUS!

:I Eviolite Magikarp pwns all.

May change Shiftry to Meganium...

OK, I changed Shiftry to Meganium.

Okay. Sorry this took so long. First off, the experience I had with your team was actually pretty good. As I was making your team, I was a little skeptic at first, because it's basically the same Poke in every slot: special sweeper. The only difference was the Shiftry, which was physical. As such, I actually thought that it made a valuable asset to your team, providing you with your only reliable means of taking down a Volcarona once it's set up with Quiver Dance. Personally, if I were to switch something out, I would take out one of the other 4 supplementary special sweepers.

Surprisingly, though, I wouldn't replace it with a wall. From what I found, your hyper-offense worked out surprisingly well. What you lack is unique coverage and good switching. Since most of your Pokes suffer from similar weaknesses, you may want to replace one of them with something that's not only bulky, but also capable of dishing it out (even when it's not in the sun; I encountered radical amounts of Drizzles). You could use Scizor, which really isn't affected by the sun since it's practically dead without it in terms of fire weakness, you could use Milotic, which could give you a great rain counter, capable of soaking up attacks and still dish it out. The set that MTGXerxes used most recently is one that I personally really like. It's an offensive set. I recommend checking it out.

The one thing that I would worry about, which is something that I never actually encountered, is Blissey. You have no solid counter for it outside of that Shiftry, making it a really bad idea to take it out. If you can't get through a Blissey, you're really going to have problems going up against standard OU matches.

Lastly, there was one problem that I encountered, which may just be the result of a mistake on my part: the Chandelure that you're using is considered Dreamworld Ubers according to the tiers list, which I find strange. I didn't realize that it was banned. So yeah. I ended up getting about a 50% win rate while playing in ubers the entire time. Not bad. This is without the Meganium, by the way.

I was thinking about Rapidash, or Breloom/Virizion as another physical attack, as a replacement for Chandelure.