Draco's Teambuilder

Building a good team is at the heart of being a good trainer. A team is six pokemon that you use together in battle especially when battling other people. Your team needs to be well balanced, not all water pokemon or fire etc. In G/S Teambuiliding is much more complicated. These are some general rules for buidling a good team that can take on all opponents. These aren't hard and fast rules and you can build sucessful teams that break these rules but they will generally be better if you follow them:

1)How do you start? Well I've found the best way is to start with one or two pokemon that you really like and build the team around them. Once I started with Omastar and Rapidash and I ended up with a very good team. Plus if you start with pokemon you just like, it will be more fun for you to train your team. Another thing about starting with Omastar and Rapidash is that they are complete opposites in both stats and Types. I have found using two opposite pokemon in a team tends to balance it out signifcantly. Starting with a theme in mind can also helpful.

2)If you start with one or two pokemon you like try to count your team's weaknesses. You usually don't want to have more than 2 weaknesses to any TYPE attack. Some of my best teams break this rule and have three weaknesses to ground. But generally try to keep your weaknesses to a minimum.

3)In G/S Synergy in your team is EXTREMELY important. The team must work together as a whole and not cause conflicts such as one pokemon having rain dance and another having Sunny Day. Avoid Status conflicts. Go with Paralysis OR poison on your team. Sleep can be mixed in to some extent since it wears off. 2)One thing every team should have if facing skilled human opponents is a way to haze. This does not NECESSARILY mean Haze the move it can mean Whirlwind, Roar or Even psych up. Haze however is the gold standard and is a good thing to have on any team.

3)Having a Type advantage against every pokemon is simply impossible in G/S. If you tried to to that you would have no room for anything but attacks and would be easily run over by baton passers or other status changers. Instead you must often rely on your overall team strategy and Stat advantages to win.

4)Make sure that you have pokemon with different strengths. Having a pokemon that can really Take damage is a great thing to have. Having a High special or high attack pokemon is also good. Don't make your team with all Tanks or all special sweepers it simply won't work too well.

5)Other good things for a team is to use some confusion, Paralysis, Poison or attraction. This brings your opponent to their knees. Be careful when using swagger however. I find that Using swagger without Paralysis and/Or attraction in combination can be suicide. If the opponent DOESN'T hit themselves and they have an attack based move then you've essentially given them a free swords dance. They can clean you out and you can be forced to haze them. However in combination with screech Swagger is Deadly. Check out The Art of Status Changing for more info. 6)Try some THEMES. Thematic teams aren't always the best but little peices of each on can be combined to form a great team.

Here are some of the common theme teams around with examples and explanations:

Okay Well that should be all/ Most of the basics Now we're going to go through the general team types and strategies

General Team types and Strategies

With the numerous moves now available in G/S Team have now been given the ability to diversify. These are several common and general team types that are prevalent. Not all teams fall into one of these types Some are combinations of the general types.
  1. The All Out Attacker type

    This is commonly the first type of team anyone builds It's usually close to what you would see in RBY. This is THE newbie team type. It's biggest failing is that if faced with virtually any other team type it crashes and burns becuase it has no strategy to deal with it. You should NEVER use this team type unless you KNOW that you're facing someone who isn't very good at the game and even then there are FAR better ways to destroy a Newbie . . . . . .
    Example Team

    Meganium
    Razor leaf
    Body slam
    Earthquake
    Giga drain
    >>Miracle seed

    Typhlosion
    Earthquake
    Flamethrower
    Return
    Thunderpunch
    >>Charcoal

    Feraligatr
    Surf
    Ice Punch
    Earthquake
    Rock Slide
    >>Mystic water

    Tyranitar
    Fire blast
    Crunch
    Earthquake
    Rock slide
    >>Quick claw

    Lugia
    Earthquake
    Psychic
    Recover
    Aeroblast
    >>Twisted spoon

    Raikou
    Crunch
    Thunder
    Reflect
    Rain dance
    >>Magnet

    This is pretty much a standard Newbie-ish team. Don't use this as an example for your team. The movesets are relatively good but the strategy is nonexistant. You'll be run over if someone gets a or a baton pass tank set up. Also Type boosters as item attachments are almost a complete waste of space.

    Parafusion/ttraction

    What's parafusion you may ask? The basic idea is that a pokemon that's both paralysed and confused at the same time has little chance of being able to attack. One of the more difficult team types to defend against IMO. Moves usually include thunderwave, swagger and confuse ray. Pure annoyance to an opponent especially of the above team type since they have NO way of defensing against it. A similar theme is parrattraction which can be even more annoying since the only defense is to have pokemon of the wrong gender. Combine Parafusion with attraction and people will hate you.

    EXAMPLE:

    Starmie
    Thunderwave
    Confuse Ray
    Surf
    Recover
    >>King's Rock
    This is the Standard Death Starmie and the best Parafuser out there. Thunderwave to paralyse and confuse ray to confuse even worse is King's Rock which causes flinches on slower pokemon and after thunderwave anything that wasn't slower before will now be subjected to flinches as well. Pure evil.

    Miltank
    Heal Bell
    Milk Drink
    Body Slam
    Swagger
    >>Leftovers
    Heal bell is a defensive move against OTHER Parafusion or status changing based teams.

    Dragonite
    Haze
    Wing Attack
    Thunderwave
    thunderbolt
    >>Leftovers

    Paralyses and attacks

    Ninetales
    Flamethrower
    Confuse Ray
    Attract
    Grass HP/Roar
    >>leftovers

    Attract give the opponent only a 50% chance of attacking, couple that with confuse ray and it'a a really raw deal. Even better if the opponent has been paralysed previously. Roar is for Removing status changes from the opponent and messing up their strategy.

    Machamp
    Cross Chop
    Focus Energy
    Rock Slide
    Earthquake
    >>Scope Lens

    Comes in and take advantage of all of the mayhem caused by the previous pokemon. Focus energy plus scope lens will cause cross chop to have a 50% critical hit rate. Good for taking out Blisseys and Snorlaxes

    Espeon
    Bite
    Psychic
    Reflect
    Morning Sun
    >>Leftovers

    Also takes advantage of the work of earlier pokemon. Bite is for flinches and other Psychics Reflect for added defense Psychic for STAB and morning sun for healing

    Baton Passing Teams

    Baton Passers are those that can pass on status changes like swords dance and double team. They are excellent to use against newbies who don't use/know what haze and roar do. A pure baton passing team can be pretty unstable against an opponent with skill so use them with care.

    Scizor
    Swords Dance
    Baton Pass
    Agility
    Steel Wing/Bug HP
    >>Miracle Berry

    Agility and swords dance and pass to someone who can use it! If set up you're almost assured victory.

    Girafarig
    Psych Up
    Baton Pass
    Psychic
    Crunch
    >>Leftovers

    A semi-Hazer Copied the opponent's status changes and passes them on. Machamp
    Cross Chop
    Focus Energy
    Rock Slide
    Earthquake
    >>Scope Lens/Black Belt

    It's a sweeper without a baton pass but with it. . . . Hide in the Bomb shelters.

    Aerodactyl
    Ancient Power
    Wing Attack
    Earthquake
    Whirlwind
    >>Bright powder

    Evil Just simply Evil. Aerodactyl is tied for second fastest pokemon in the game and with two swords dances is basically unstoppable.

    Misdreavus
    Protect
    Mean Look
    Perish Song
    Rest
    >>Mint Berry

    THIS thing is EVIL! The only way out is to have a whirlwinder or be fast enought and powerful enough to take it out in two hits.

    Espeon
    Psychic
    Morning Sun
    Bite
    Reflect
    >>Miracle Berry

    Miracle Berry keeps the status change off for a while. A special sweeper where one was needed

    Toxic/Storm/Spikes

    This team type is based around switching your opponent's pokemon and damaging them with spikes toxic and sandstorm all at once. Does well against baton passers since thay are usually not in long enough to set up. Another annoying team type. Your biggest problem can be running into other steel, rock and ground types.

    Forretress
    Spikes
    Toxic
    Sandstorm
    Explosion
    >>>Miracle Berry

    Spikes are the most important part of a Toxic Spikes storm team. Then use toxic. Sandstorm if time. Explosion is standard on Forretress. Miracle berry ensures you get your spikes down.

    Tyranitar
    Fire Punch
    Sandstorm
    Rock Slide
    Toxic
    >>Leftovers

    Fire punch is there for steel types. Rock Slide for flyers that can avoid spikes.

    Aerodactyl
    Substitute
    Whirlwind
    Sandstorm
    Earthquake
    >>Leftovers

    Aerodactyl is so fast that it can sub up again before the opponent has a chance to attack. If it can last a few turns without it's sub breaking then leftovers will heal it back to where it started. Whirlwinding will keep spikes and sandstorm working.

    Lapras
    Surf
    Roar
    Ice beam
    Thunderbolt
    >>>Leftovers

    Thunderbolt for Water and Flying types Ice beam and Surf for STAB. Leftovers heal damage from Sandstorm.

    Shuckle
    Wrap
    Toxic
    Sandstorm
    Rest
    >>>Mint Berry/Leftovers

    A NASTY Shuckle That's difficult to defeat.

    Rest Bell

    This a nasty bit of team that could really make an opponent mad. Basically have several resting pokemon and a heal beller The beller simply wakes them up!

    Machamp
    Cross Chop
    Rest
    Rock Slide
    Earthquake
    >>Scope Lens

    Machamp has enough staying power for rest to work realtively well

    Suicune
    Surf
    Ice Beam/Return
    Mirror Coat
    Rest
    >>Mint Berry

    Suicune has good Staying power and so can take a nap and put people back where they started Also works well with mirror coat.

    Miltank
    Milk Drink
    Return
    Earthquake
    Heal Bell
    >>Leftovers

    Performs the function of waking everyone up. Hangs around and does Damage ETC.

    Zapdos
    Drill Peck
    Thunderbolt
    Whirlwind
    Rest
    >>Mint Berry

    Does damage kills machamps. Whirlwind for psuedohazing

    Celebi
    Giga Drain
    Recover
    Heal Bell
    Psychic
    >>Leftovers

    A heal beller for those who might expect Miltank and switch to Machamp

    Muk
    Haze
    Rest
    Sludge Bomb
    Body Slam

    >>Mint Berry/leftovers

    A True Hazer and a Decent Tank as well.

    The Neutral Type

    This team type combines apects of several of the different team types. This is probably the best tyep as it is more adaptable and if one strategy fails there is another for the trainer to use.

    I'll let you make your own descisions with regard to this type as there are an almost endless number of possiblities.

    Make sure you read the rest of the guides on this site so you can be sure of how to battle with your team and what moves to give your pokemon. Back to The Center for Pokemastery