How do you figure out if your team has good synergy? How do

>>28724894
I came back to poks recently. Watching shittons of YT vids about teambulding sure helps. Also watch random pokebattles to see how poks are used.

>>28724930
>Watching shittons of YT vids
Any channels in particular you'd recommend?

What are the basics of team building? I'm not trying to get into the ultra-competitive scene, I just want my mons to work well together.

>>28724942
>Any channels in particular you'd recommend?
Just go with most popular ones. I'm not saying they are the best, but these guys usually make whole series of teambuilding vids.

>What are the basics of team building?
You need to decide on format of battles, singles, doubles etc. You should start with building team around you favorite pok, and pick up strategy that will allow you to fully utilize it.

>>28725000
Thanks, I'll do that then.

The way I understand it you start with one pokemon you want to use, then build the team around them.

as in "okay, what is the most glaring weakness/help needed of this one pokemon I want to use?"

so you add a second one to deal with that. then you analyze what else is needed to help these two.. and so on, until you have a team.

that's singles of course, doubles is a bit different

Go with common cores like Steel/Fairy/Dragon or Fire/Water/Grass

Have a Pokémon that can handle hazards, Pokémon that can handle ones that threaten most of your team

>>28725008
"Synergy" mostly just refers to type coverage afaik (also pretty new). As other people here have said, start w just one: for example, if you started with Pikachu, you'd want to add a Water, Ice, or Grass type to take care of Ground-types

>>28725022
>>28725030
>>28725047
Well, I didn't really start with one favorite since there are two pokemon I always use, Tyranitar and Porygon-Z. In-game it's not much of a problem, but when it comes to competitive (even in the frontier) they seem quite incompatible as far as I know. I'm trying to find teammates that can glue the team together and make TTar and PoryZ work well, but I'm struggling.
Type coverage in terms of offense isn't really a problem, it's mostly on the defensive side that I'm running into problems

Just build your team, then ban anything you'd have to change it to counter.

wins = good synergy
loses = bad synergy

1 hazard remover
1 status mon
1 madman (e.g Final Gambit Vicitni)
3 Attackers

That's how I do it

>>28725061
>Tyranitar and Porygon-Z.
You have good bulky attacker and special attacker. Now you need to cover their typing and add mons that will help them, >>28725083 is a good example.

>>28725083
>1 hazard remover
Is this absolutely necessary if I'm not playing on showdown?
>1 status mon
You mean toxic staller or something like that?
>>28725151
>cover their typing
So outside of their common fighting weakness, they can work together fine? That's good.
Since Tyranitar has so many weaknesses though I won't be able to cover everything, what should I focus on aside from fighting types?

>>28725175
>Is this absolutely necessary if I'm not playing on showdown?
Well, it's better to have someone who can set them up, and someone who can clear them up. You don't want your porygon to lose much health on switch in.

Tyranitar is bulky, he can take a hit, especially, mega ttar..
You can use this, should help. http://www.teammagma.net/teambuilder/

>>28725292
I understand. A hazard remover could be any mon immune to spikes and stealth rock that can learn defog, right? Could I have a bulky attacker do that?

Thanks for that link, it's great

>>28724894
Are you getting your ass kicked? Then your team doesn't have good synergy

Instead of looking at ways your team is GOOD, you should be looking at all the ways your team is BAD. Then focus on plugging those holes. The only way to do this is experience. If you can't immediately eyeball your team and see what beats it, then you need to playtest until you CAN. Remember that no team will ever be completely perfect, too. There will always be something that beats you. And just because your team beats someone else's in the matchup doesn't mean you auto win. You still have to play, and if you get outplayed, you will lose, regardless of how good your team is.

So, to start,
>pick a mon or a core you want to build around
>identify it's goal (is it your sweeper? your pivot? lead? is it meant to wall certain threats to a win con?)
>now identify threats to your core, things that you can't get past
>put in a mon that helps get past those threats but brings in as little new wholes as possible
>keep plugging holes til you have six mons and their sets all figured out

>>28725316
Rapid Spin and Defog. There are mons that can clear AND set hazards up. You can also have something like Chansey that can set up rocks and heal up/remove status from team. Mons like Skarmory with Defog/Spikes/Roost are good too.
Also Excadrill, Starmie, Zapdos, Cloyster, Forretress, Gliscor, etc.

>>28725316
it could be but doesn't necessarily have to be. Your hazard control depends on what you need it controlled for

Defog removes YOUR hazards as well, so if you need SR support to secure some KOs, you might want to run rapid spin instead. Also, your mon doesn't necessarily need to be immune to spikes. Starmie and Excadrill are the best spinners in the game. Defog is for slower teams that are playing the long game. Most defoggers generally cost a lot of momentum, so they are better suited for bulkier teams.

>>28725369
I understand
How do you assess whether or not a pokemon should be used as pivot, lead or sweeper? What are the usual criteria?
>>28725385
>>28725422
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

>>28725552
Sweeper is usually a pok that can dish out alot of damage with or without a set up. You intend to kill as many as you can with a sweeper. Nasty Plot Porygon-Z with Tri-Attack and some coverage moves in our example.

As for lead you usually go with something that can set up hazards or counter enemy lead. In my Trick Room team i was using Bronzong, he's bulky enough to take few hits, can set up Stealth Rock and Trick Room then attack with Gyro Ball and finish with Explosion.

Many poks can be used in different roles, it all depends on their moveset, abilities you give them and the rest of team.

>>28725653
I'm always afraid of running Nasty Plot on Porygon-Z because it usually gets KO'd right after. Can't give him sash either or I lose choice scarf (and sash would be made useless by TTar's sand stream)

I see, so something bulky would be preferable as lead. I'm not a fan of entry hazards, so I guess Tyranitar (mega) could be used as lead?

OP, I'd just like to throw out there that most of the information in this thread is only useful for 1 format or another, without really explaining anything.

The absolute first thing you need to do is choose your format. VGC is a bring 6, choose 4 doubles format. Smogon has a 6v6 singles format. Battlespot is a bring 6, choose 3 singles format. There are other formats, but these are the three that are the ones most played by a significant margin. Every single one of them has massively different teambuilding requirements, and knowledge from one format is near useless in the others.

You can experiment and figure out what you want to play the most. For example:
>>28725083
>>28725292
>>28725385
These are posts aimed at the Smogon metagame. If you're not going for that, then none of the information they said is useful.

Smogon still has guides for VGC and Battlespot, and Nuggetbridge is a website devoted to VGC, so those are very good places to go if you want more information on those formats.

>>28725735
I mostly play on battle spot, where my team (Porygon-Z, Tyranitar, [whatever else I feel like using]) is constantly threatened by mega Lucario, and has trouble dealing with the likes of megamom

I'm also interested in 6vs6 singles. I almost never play on showdown though, I usually just go on the battle spot.

>>28725775
A good resource for Battle Spot information then is http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/singles-viability-rankings.3554616/

It shows what Pokemon are strongest and clicking on their name leads to a page with strong sets for them. You can also click on those pages and scroll down to look for information on counters. For example, Mega Gengar is listed as a viable answer to both Mega Lucario and Mega Kangaskhan, so you can then go to Mega Gengar's page and see what set makes it strong against those here: http://www.smogon.com/dex/xy/pokemon/gengar/battle_spot_singles/ The bulky trapper set burns and can Trap, Burn, and Kill Kanga and Luke, and it has good synergy with your other team members, so it'd be a good fit for your team.

You can use the same process of choosing mons you want to use and then adding counters to their counters to build any team you want.

>>28725867
Great, thanks a bunch anon

>>28725867
>Porygon-Z isn't even listed in the viability ranking
Well, shit. And yet Porygon2 seems to be ubiquitous. How come the battle spot metagame is so different from Smogon's 6v6?

>>28725175
SR isn't an issue in doubles and 3v3 battlespot singles.

Just throw in 5 walls and a tank together and call it a day.

>>28726069
Porygon2 is better than Porygon-Z in every format, not just battle spot. It's just better than its evo due to Trace and Eviolite. Porygon2 was used more than Porygon-Z in Gen 4 OU even before Eviolite as well. A bulky utility just outdoes a frail and slow attacker.

For any other reason why the metas differ, 3v3 is still a major change from 6v6. Game length is a major factor in the strength of certain Pokemon and tactics.

>>28726069
>How come the battle spot metagame is so different from Smogon's 6v6?
This is Smogon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=014i_7dk1YI

>>28726336
>frail and slow attacker.
Even with scarf, is Z still mediocre?
Should I swap him out for 2 then, or is it still usable?

>>28727133
Porygon-Z with Life Orb and Adaptability.
https://youtu.be/vKpWw6AI6bM

>>28727425
How does it manage to outspeed mega Lucario if it isn't scarfed?
That video is pretty impressive, but I did try to run that exact set (nasty plot + life orb boost tri attack) and always ended up being 1 or 2HKO'd by Kangaskhan or whatever.

Gengar is a good compliment to T-Tar and Porygon2/Z

>>28727529
Yeah, I was looking into that
SubDisable or purely offensive? Since the mega slot is already taken by TTar I can't use gengarite

File: d3832.jpg (66KB, 215x250px) Image search: [Google]

66KB, 215x250px

>>28726342
>not playing ubers

>>28727565
>playing genies: the game
No thanks, ima stick to my fav poks.

>>28724894
Electivire @ Expert Belt
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
- Cross Chop
- Earthquake

Gyarados @ Leftovers
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Gengar @ Life Orb
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Substitute

This has cleared three of the facilities (working on the 1v1 facility with a Porygon Z).

>>28728087
Is Electivire good?
I've always liked him and Magmortar but never used them.

>>28728134
He's fantastic in this and pairs well against the Frontier trainers AI. I've gotten loads of Motor Drive boosts switching from Gyarados and his coverage is fantastic. I typically start with Gengar as a lead, though, not him.

>>28727488
>How does it manage to outspeed mega Lucario if it isn't scarfed?
Because that video was just against him sweeping somebody's shitty ingame team. Didn't you see the Lapras using Rock Smash?

>>28726342
who is this guy? he sounds obnoxious

>>28728622
Oh, so he would've gotten btfo otherwise?

>>28728648
I mean, Porygon Z can do work, but its pretty frail physically. You won't get many free opportunities to set up Nasty Plot like that.

Still, I've used one in Gens 4, 5, and 6. I was happy enough with it, its a pretty cool Normal type that can fit in well with a lot of teams.

>>28728704
Did you use it with life orb or choice scarf?

>>28728752
I used Scarf with Hidden Power Fighting.

>>28728967
nasty plot, tri attack, ice beam and hp fighting?
Was the increase in speed worth losing the 30% offensive boost?

>>28729039
I should probably clarify: I currently have three Porygon Z between my Gen 4, 5 and 6 games. I've got something like this in Gen 4:

Porygon-Z @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Ice Beam
- Tri Attack
- Dark Pulse
- Hidden Power Fighting

And for Gen 5, I use this:

Porygon-Z @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Tri Attack
- Dark Pulse
- Hidden Power Fighting
- Trick

I can't remember what Porgyon Z version I use in Gen 6, but I think its still a Scarf version. I basically just Smogon'd it up but the coverage in gen 4 helps in the Battle Frontier and the Trick in Gen 5 helps fuck up sets on the Subway and at the PWT.

>>28729133
Thanks for clarifying
Do you only use it in game right now?
If not, how do you manage to make it work online? Since you don't run nasty plot nor life orb, I imagine it's pretty hard to hit hard enough or stay alive long enough

>>28729236
I used it online in Gen VI and its basically the same thing as I do in Gen V. Be careful about switching it in because its frail. Send it out to mop up weakened stuff because even if they switch out, Tri Attack hurts even without Life Orb. Trick stuff if you think its going to set up, Choice Scarf can cripple certain pokemon. You may also consider Choice Specs if you want to go balls to the walls.

>>28729452
Not the same guy, but Porygon-Z's too frail to afford missing out on the stat boost provided by Nasty Plot

I've seen people run a Focus Sash set with Agility and Nasty Plot too

I use 4 stall mons talonflame and clefable, works everytime

>>28729644
>Agility
>on PorygonZ
for what purpose

>>28730241
To go faster