Pokémon XII: Truth of the Ideal Thread

[Turalisj]

Oracle, not expecting N to show up in the sequel is like expecting Ash to stop making rookie mistakes in the anime.

Neva gonna happen.

[Partof1]

You mean Haunter and Machoke?

Are you available right now? And what Gen? Diamond/Pearl, HeartGold/SoulSilver, Black/White?

Yes, that's what I mean. On White.

And I'm available now, if anyone is.

[OracleofWuffing]

Oracle, not expecting N to show up in the sequel is like expecting Ash to stop making rookie mistakes in the anime.

Neva gonna happen.

I said it was inevitable, what more do I need to say to make it clear that even I know that such hopes and dreams are futile? Apparently, we're not allowed to have foolish hopes and dreams any more. Sorry I didn't get the memo, my mailbox exploded in an incident involving a toothbrush, and I haven't gotten around to replacing it yet.

And also, those rookie mistakes are why we have Thunder Armor today. At least those are good for comic relief.

[NineThePuma]

Go For The Horn Pikachu!!!!

[ShinyRocks]

I'm glad I gave up trying to Nuzlocke on my Ruby replay. Winona's Altaria having Earthquake is nasty. However, a Golbat with Confuse Ray against an Altaria that's done four Dragon Dances, plus a bit of luck from the RNG gods, got the job done.

[LansXero]

Hi everyone!

So, next Pokemon tournament is coming up soon-ish (mid June) and so I will have time to grind the needed 'mons, Im asking again for help with a team. Last time I stomped all over everyone :D but then again, at lv. 20 its a bit of rocket tag. Heracross was right deadly, and Starmie was a star. Wubbofet got neutralized by a Trapinch I made for the purpose, and my 0 happyness frustation Zangoose managed to get me a 6-0 win. All thanks to you nice people!.

Anyways, rules:

- 6 Pokemon Team
- No Legendaries, no duplicates.
- All pokemon catchable in any of the Gen 3 games, or tradeable to Emerald (as the tournament will be held on Emerald).
- Have to show 3 pokes before the tournament date (not really necessary, but idead on what to show and what not to would be fun).

What I need:
- Ideal team composition (pretty please? :D)
- Recommended moveset of the pokemons (so I have time to breed the right moves into them)
- Nature / Special Ability recommended (but I can see how it would be too much trouble)
- Item choices (same as above, but doesnt hurt to try ^_^)

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

Currently, Im thinking of going Salamence / Metagross / Milotic / Dragonite / Lapras / Golem. But I have no clue why.

[Mando Knight]

Return is usually better than Frustration due to how easy it is to build up Happiness.

Also, no Golem. Tyranitar. Or Magneton.

[Qwertystop]

Return is usually better than Frustration due to how easy it is to build up Happiness.

Also, no Golem. Tyranitar. Or Magneton.

And the fact that walking around increases happiness eventually.

[tgva8889]

Use Skarmory. Spikes is insane.

But actually, in Gen III I had moderate success with a terrible, terrible team involving Baton Passing Iron Defense. No seriously. But the parts of that team were pretty damn insane.

I strongly suggest Salamence and Swampert. You can find good Gen III sets for them on Smogon. They are incredibly strong choices. I also suggest Vaporeon, who has the ability to Wish and support your team in a very useful fashion. Wish is an awesome move and it gives you a lot more play.

[boj0]

Replace Lapras with this star:

Starmie@Leftovers
Natural Cure
Timid
40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
~ Thunderbolt
~ Ice Beam
~ Surf
~ Recover/Psychic

Starmie was/is/and always will be one of the most versatile special sweepers.

[LansXero]

Thats actually my lv. 20 Starmie, except its got recovery and psychic instead of Ice Beam, but thats fixable. So Ill just have to level it up it seems :D.

So, lets see:

Starmie (Thanks for the moveset and details!)
Salamence (whats Smogon?)
Swampert (will need to trade, I started with a Torchick)
Metagross
Skarmory (Will the same Drill Peck / Spikes / Protect / Toxic set up work? Nature? Im guessing Leftovers?)
Vaporeon?

Would that make a solid team?

[boj0]

Don't use Vaporeon; with Swampert and Starmie, you'll be putting yourself at a disadvantage with three Water types (Water is good defensively, but anyone spamming Grass/Electric will have the upper hand against half your team).

For Starmie, get rid of Psychic before Recover, not enough Poison/Fighting types around to make it useful.
Skarmory: you'll want a +Def nature (Impish is best for Skarmory)

Oh and Smogon the well is deep, but the water is good

[LansXero]

Ok, so no Vaporeon, so I guess Milotic is out for the same reasons. And I just realized Salamence is twice-weak to Ice :(. What should I round out the team with?

My current lv. 20 skarmory has the moves listed above, an Impish nature and the Keen-Eye ability; its also holding a Leftovers. Should I just level it up, or try to breed a similar one with the other ability? (the one that stops one-hit KO moves). Is leftovers allright?

[boj0]

Leftovers is perfect.
Sturdy is pretty weak in 3rd Gen as there are only four OHKO moves and they all have terrible accuracy.
Keen Eye is the just fine.

[tgva8889]

I had few problems running several water-types. I generally stuck with Vaporeon and Swampert myself, since Grass sucks in Gen III.

[Turalisj]

Hey, Breloom is awesome!

Of course, Breloom was my Smart Contest primary in Gen3....

[LansXero]

I know for sure of at least two people who will be running light ball Raichu with Volt Tackle (they actually requested it be in Emerald over Ruby just for this reason) so there is some merit to the idea of not carrying too many water types, since Skarmory is also weak to electric.

[Mando Knight]

I know for sure of at least two people who will be running light ball Raichu with Volt Tackle (they actually requested it be in Emerald over Ruby just for this reason)

Joke's on them: Raichu gains no benefit from Light Ball.

[LansXero]

:O Best they never find out. Still, electric attacks are guaranteed :P

[NineThePuma]

I recommend either a solid ground type then, or something that can annoy the crap out of them.

Guys, would him running Sporeloom be worthwhile?

Edit:
I don't see an equivalent of Sleepclause, so him leading off with Sporeloom might be a decent tool for harassment, and gives him a potential counter for electrics that isn't straight Ground, though admittedly Marshtomp has that well covered in theory.

I also don't see an equivalent of Evasionclause, so a Batonpass Doubleteam Ninjask might be... interesting.

[LansXero]

I actually sugested to them to look into tiers and competitive clauses, but they ignored me, so yeah, everything goes. Which is a double-edged sword.

Wouldnt Metagross be good as a ground? Also, batonpass on which poke?

[Sam cw]

Wouldnt Metagross be good as a ground?

Uhh... Metagross is Steel/Psychic, not Ground. IIRC, he can get EQ and I don't think he'd have much trouble stomping rats ether way, but he doesn't resist Electric.

[LansXero]

Uhh... Metagross is Steel/Psychic, not Ground. IIRC, he can get EQ and I don't think he'd have much trouble stomping rats ether way, but he doesn't resist Electric.

Goes to show how little I know. Trapinch was surprisingly good at lv. 20. Would he suck at 50? What would be a good Ground pokemon to round up the team? :D

[Prime32]

Goes to show how little I know. Trapinch was surprisingly good at lv. 20. Would he suck at 50? What would be a good Ground pokemon to round up the team? :D

Dugtrio?

I recommend either a solid ground type then, or something that can annoy the crap out of them.

Raichu, ironically, used to be great for this. Have it hold BrightPowder, teach it Thunderbolt/Attract/Thunder Wave/Double Team.

BrightPowder/Double Team/Baton Pass Ninjask also sounds good though.

[boj0]

Smeargle with Spore, Dragon Dance, Double Team, Baton Pass

Also Trapinch evolves into (Vibrava first, then) Flygon who is a Dragon/Ground type. Loses Arena Trap, but having STAB Earthquake is fantastic aginst many things. So having him as your Ground type should do well.
Here are some 3rd Gen sets for it.

EDIT: I noticed this time a distinct lack of a Wobbuffet ban

[Qwertystop]

Go for Wobbuffet. Also, get a Breloom with Spore, Substitute, Focus Punch, and whatever. Maybe something for healing.

[LansXero]

Id really rather not go for a Wobbufett; I understand the appeal and I agree its a good counter to most things, but it seems so... cheap. Also, last tourney everyone made a point of how "a wobbufett is autowin" so I got into an argument about how they are not, and since I won it, I would look kinda hypocritical bringing one now >_<

[boj0]

Did anyone see the teaser anime for BW2 before they all got pulled?
I haven't been this excited in a long time

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Elesa with black hair? I KEEP THROWING MONEY AT MY COMPUTER BUT NOTHING IS HAPPENING!

[Goldfly]

Did anyone see the teaser anime for BW2 before they all got pulled?
I haven't been this excited in a long time

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Elesa with black hair? I KEEP THROWING MONEY AT MY COMPUTER BUT NOTHING IS HAPPENING!

Looks like it was purposefully put out.

[OracleofWuffing]

Looks like it was purposefully put out.

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Aw rats, the Shadow Triad. One of those things even worse than N. Oh well, at least my headcannon that Elesa is a stripper has been confirmed.

Wait, Bianca? What's, um... What's the point of vacuum-sealing pokeballs like that?