How do you make a balanced competitive team?
https://pokemondb.net/pokebase/349832/whats-difference-between-bulky-offense-hyper-offense-balance. This question was asked by Kyoka Suigetsu and it got me thinking about all of the roles. I want to make a balanced team, but I don’t know all of the roles or sets or pokes to use. As far as I see, the types are Sweepers/wallbreakers, Walls/Sponges, Hazard control/Defoggers, Tanks and some more. Can someone tell me what these mean and what is a good team?
Pleaselog inorregisterto add a comment.
Sweepers are Pokemon meant to get a few KOs before getting KOed, sometimes taking care of whole teams. These Pokemon sometimes use set up (Swords Dance, Quiver Dance, Nasty Plot, etc.) to sweep, and others just use raw power or Choice items/a Life Orb. They are usually very fast with good raw offensive stats.
Wallbreakers are similar to sweepers, in the fact that they hit hard and use the same tactics as a sweeper to deal damage. One difference between them is that wallbreakers are for punching holes in Defensive teams, so some are slower but more powerful. A lot of wallbreakers use set up moves to deal greater damage.
Walls/Sponges are Pokemon that can take lots of hits, usually while stalling the opponent. Pokemon with high defenses (preferably HP, Defense, and Special Defense, but that’s not always the case) tend to make the best walls and sponges (for obvious reasons).
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 128+ SpD Shuckle: 109-129 (44.6 - 52.8%) – 23.8% chance to 2HKO
-2 252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. +1 252 HP / 128+ SpD Shuckle: 36-43 (14.7 - 17.6%) – possible 6HKO
-4 252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. +2 252 HP / 128+ SpD Shuckle: 18-22 (7.3 - 9%) – possibly the worst move ever
-6 252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. +3 252 HP / 128+ SpD Shuckle: 12-15 (4.9 - 6.1%) – possibly the worst move ever
I like using Shuckle as a damage sponge/wall personally, since it gets Contrary + Shell Smash.
Defoggers are Pokemon with Defog, which remove hazards for the team.
Hazard control Pokemon usually have Defog/Rapid Spin for removing hazards.
Defoggers/Hazard Controllers are sometimes offensive and sometimes defensive.
Tanks are Pokemon who can both take hits and hit hard themselves, so they usually have fairly balanced stats. I love using Ferrothorn and Clefable as tanks, personally. Ferrothorn is a Physical Tank, and Clefable is a Special Tank (though the sets I run on them can take both physical and special hits).
Sweepers/Wallbreakers:
Dragapult @ Choice SpecsAbility: InfiltratorEVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe- Draco Meteor- Fire Blast- Shadow Ball- U-turn
Scolipede @ Black SludgeAbility: Speed BoostEVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 SpeJolly Nature- Substitute- Earthquake- Poison Jab- Swords Dance
Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty BootsAbility: Flame BodyEVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 SpeModest NatureIVs: 0 Atk- Bug Buzz- Fiery Dance- Giga Drain- Quiver Dance
Alakazam @ Life OrbAbility: Magic GuardEVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 SpeTimid NatureIVs: 0 Atk- Dazzling Gleam- Energy Ball- Psyshock- Shadow Ball
Rain Sweeper:
Kingdra @ Choice SpecsAbility: Swift SwimEVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 SpeModest Nature- Draco Meteor- Flip Turn- Hurricane- Surf
Walls/Sponges:
Umbreon @ LeftoversAbility: SynchronizeEVs: 228 HP / 164 Def / 116 SpDBold NatureIVs: 0 Atk- Toxic- Wish- Protect- Foul Play
Shuckle @ Chesto BerryAbility: ContraryEVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpDIVs: 0 AtkCalm Nature- Shell Smash- Rest- Infestation- Sticky Web
Skarmory @ Rocky HelmetAbility: SturdyEVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpDImpish Nature- Brave Bird- Roost- Whirlwind- Stealth Rock
Milotic @ Flame OrbAbility: Marvel ScaleEVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpDBold Nature- Skitter Smack- Scald- Recover- Protect
Hazard Control:
Excadrill @ Focus SashAbility: Mold BreakerEVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 SpeJolly Nature- Earthquake- Iron Head- Stealth Rock- Rapid Spin
Corviknight @ LeftoversAbility: Mirror ArmorEVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpDImpish NatureIVs: 0 Atk- Body Press- Defog- Iron Defense- Roost
Recommended for Rain Teams:
Pelipper @ Damp RockAbility: DrizzleEVs: 156 HP / 224 Def / 128 SpAModest Nature- Hurricane- U-turn- Defog- Roost
Tanks:
Clefable @ Power HerbAbility: UnawareEVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 140 SpA / 4 SpDModest NatureIVs: 0 Atk- Meteor Beam- Stored Power- Cosmic Power- Wish
Ok, and how you build a team of these Pokemon is simple. Pick the ones that synergize with each other the best, such as Kingdra + Ferrothorn + Pelipper for a balanced rain team. Play around with the team, and test it out, changing things along the way. Note that I did not include every Pokemon viable for each role, so make your own sets for different Pokemon and try them out as well.
Hope this helps! :)
