D/P/Pt Bad at strategizing D=

Before anything, I'd like to mention that I don't participate in competitive battling with wi-fi or whatever those popular sites/programs/whatevers are. This team is for entering a tournament with a bunch of friends at school, and I wanted some pointers so I can brag about my epic victories. I just wasn't sure where to post it, so...yeah '^-^
Also, just a little note, but since I don't participate in actual competitive battling, I'm not too familiar with the terms used and such. I know some of the move abbreviations (EQ, HP, SD, etc.) but I catch on pretty slowly...Oh, and this team is for single battles.
Please be patient with me if you decide to help =3

And YES I TEND TO RAMBLE SO WHAT =P


[Crimson] (F) @ Wacan Berry
Adamant / Intimidate
(Not recorded)
~ Earthquake
~ Aqua Tail
~ Bite
~ Ice Fang

Notes: I just have Bite on for those Psychic- and Ghost-types with annoying Electric moves and such, also for flinching effect. She used to have Return instead of Earthquake, but my friend suggested I teacher her EQ to cover her 4x Electric weakness, and also pointed out that even though she loved me so much that Return was almost as powerful as Aqua Tail, she didn't get STAB from it. Then of course there was the occasional Magnezone that really pissed me off. I used her in my first run-through of Platinum, so her EVs aren't recorded, but I can mention that her Attack is at 343 and her Speed is 227. If she's at level 100, could I still use those berries to reset her EVs? I'd like to train her properly, but I wasn't sure.

[Corduroy] (M) @ Wise Glasses
Modest / Poison Point
(Not recorded)
~ Giga Drain
~ Sludge Bomb
~ Shadow Ball
~ Stun Spore

Notes: I also got him during my first run-through, but I remember that he has at least 50 EVs on Special Attack. His Special Attack and Speed are 344 and 228, respectively. Also, I know he could have had Extrasensory as a Budew, but I caught him as a Roserade since, at that point, I didn't have access to the good massages in Resort Area or whatever it's called. I think Stun Spore could use a good replacement move, since he never seems to use it.

[Cyndicate] (F) @ Focus Band
Modest / Levitate
252 SpA / 252 Spd / 4 HP
~ Thunderbolt
~ Focus Blast
~ Sludge Bomb
~ Shadow Ball

Notes: I know Focus Blast's accuracy isn't so great, but I needed it to combat the "strong Normal-type" that I had heard a future opponent was raising. Dark Pulse used to be in Focus Blast's spot. Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball for STAB. She used to have a Focus Sash because she's so delicate, but she once survived a Shadow Claw with a decent amount of HP left, so I plopped a Focus Band on her. Not sure if this is a good choice of item though, since its effect doesn't always activate.

[Cartesian] (M) @ None
Adamant / Intimidate
252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
~ Zen Headbutt
~ Dragon Claw
~ Aerial Ace
~ Crunch

Notes: He actually has a Lucky Egg attached because he's still in training, but I was hoping to finish before I went to sleep tonight. Suggestions for a decent item would be greatly appreciated. I never really did like Dark moves much (its coverage isn't so great, is it?), but its base power is decent, so I let him have Crunch. Zen Headbutt is iffy, so I was considering replacing it with Fire Fang. Also, Aerial Ace's base power isn't exactly amazing, but based on what his stat increases have been and his level now, his Attack will be at a minimum of 356, and I have great confidence that he will surpass that minimum. So because of that, I figured it's fine, what with his STAB and all. I also noticed he could learn Aqua Tail and was wondering if he could put it to good use?

[Confute] (M) @ Leftovers
Bold / Synchronize
252 Def / 252 SpD / 4 HP
~ Moonlight
~ Toxic
~ Protect
~ Faint Attack

Notes: As my team is mostly filled with sweepers, I decided that a balanced tank should be included as well. Because a Blissey, for example, would go down pretty quickly to some physical moves, right? I have Faint Attack instead of Dark Pulse because I once came across an annoying opponent that DT'ed to no end, and Confute couldn't get a hit in - he had missed his first Toxic, and he definitely couldn't beat that opponent with the Evasiveness boost. I'll take suggestions for a better, balanced tank.

[Clyde] (M) @ Quick Claw
Adamant / Solid Rock
252 Atk / 252 Def / 4 HP
~ Crunch
~ Earthquake
~ Fire Fang
~ Thunder Fang

Notes: Since switching will be allowed in the tournament, Clyde's here because he's an awfully violent brute. If, for example, Corduroy is out against something with deadly physical attacks, that's what Clyde is for. His Attack is at 404 and his Defense is at 358, and with Solid Rock for those opponents with a type advantage, he's virtually unstoppable. To any physical attacker, that is, since his Special Defense is pretty fragile. And since he has a horrible Speed stat, Quick Claw might allow him to attack first. He's never sent out first, of course - Crimson is this team's lead, since her stats are the most balanced and she also happens to be the oldest.

Alright! A moveset challenge! Note, however, I don't train on Effort Values, and have no idea what they do, so my suggestions are only to cover the widest possible area of strengths and weaknesses. Also note, I use one pokemon when I battle, and don't usually battle other trainers.

[Crimson] Gyarados-f (F) @ Wacan Berry
Adamant / Intimidate
~ Earthquake
~ Aqua Tail
~ Bite
~ Ice Fang

Alright here, Gyarados is a Water Flying type. So you have a 4x weakness against Electric type Pokemon, so Earthquake stays. Aqua Tail is good, and there are multiple types that are weak against Water types, so it can stay. Bite... now, here's something tricky. If you still have it, use Brine to replace it. You have two STAB attacks, and one of them gets more powerful late round. If not, it should be fine itself. Last, Ice Fang. There is an attack that is a) not as accurate and b) not as powerful as other Ice type attacks. Switch this out with Ice Beam. Five less PP, but you can fix that with PP Ups, and it has roughly 30 more power and better accuracy.

[Corduroy] Roserade (M) @ Wise Glasses
Modest / Poison Point
~ Giga Drain
~ Sludge Bomb
~ Shadow Ball
~ Stun Spore

Giga Drain sucks. Get rid of it. None of the leach type attacks are useful, and you can find much better attacks really easily. If you can, get it to learn Magic Leaf. Much more useful. Sludge Bomb is good, keep it. Shadow Ball is a good OHKO move for when you're up against Psychic types, but I'm worried it won't hit first. Stun Spore is far and away your worst move here. My suggestion is Grass Knot, since most fully evolved Pokemon are really quite heavy, as are most Legendaries.

[Cyndicate] Gengar (F) @ Focus Band
Modest / Levitate
~ Thunderbolt
~ Focus Blast
~ Sludge Bomb
~ Shadow Ball

I don't understand. Why is Thunderbolt in here? Gengar is a Ghost Poison pokemon, it should have a Dark, Ghost, Psychic, Poison moveset. As for the 'strong normal type' GENGAR DOESN'T TAKE DAMAGE FROM NORMAL TYPE MOVES! Alright, rant done. You have a Ghost and a Poison type attack, which is good. Replace Focus Blast with Dark Pulse and Thunderbolt with Psychic, and you should be good.

[Cartesian] Salamence (M) @ None
Adamant / Intimidate
~ Zen Headbutt
~ Dragon Claw
~ Aerial Ace
~ Crunch

Crunch is good in a crunch, and it's good against both Psychic and Ghost types. First ting I see, though. You need a Fire type attack. And it has to be a fast one. Why? You have a 4x weakness to Ice type attacks. Replace Zen Headbutt with either Flamethrower or Fire Blast. Dragon Claw is good. Aerial Ace is okay, but not the kind of move I would use. Go ahead and keep it, though. It could come in handy.

[Confute] Umbreon (M) @ Leftovers
Bold / Synchronize
~ Moonlight
~ Toxic
~ Protect
~ Faint Attack

Get rid of Moonlight. He's supposed to be able to take a lot of damage, and hit just as hard. Moonlight prevents that, by wasting a slot that could be a really powerful attack. Same with Protect. Neither of them are really useful, so replace them. Dark Pulse is good, so go back to the Move Relearner and get that to switch with either Moonlight of Protect. For the other one, give him Shadow Ball.

[Clyde] Rhyperior (M) @ Quick Claw
Adamant / Solid Rock
~ Crunch
~ Earthquake
~ Fire Fang
~ Thunder Fang

Crunch and Earthquake are both good moves. Actually, pretty much all of this moveset will work. So... keep it as is.

All in all, most of your team is good. You've made good choices, though my Torterra could probably kill you dead. I would suggest getting into Wi-Fi battles with people, and experiment for yourself what will and won't work.

..Tsunami please know what you're talking about before giving advice. No offence but your advice is awful. :/

Firstly, Gyarados has rubbish for Special Attack, no to Brine. You'll always do more with a Waterfall / Aqua Tail anyway.
Secondly, you should be switching Gyarados out of anything that threatens it with electricity -anyway-.
Now there are two things to do with this Gyara - you seem to have an all-offensive moveset in mind, perhaps you're looking for a Choice Bander. Again, you should never let Gyara be hit by electricity. Going for Choice Band would let you pack the extra oomph. In this case, however, replace Bite with Stone Edge. If you still want a Dark move, swap Ice Fang for Payback.
Now.. you don't EV train. Normally these sets would have 184 Speed, 252 Attack, and 72 HP. 184 Speed EV's comes out to a boost of 46 speed points - Every 4 effort points gives one pure stat point - and it hits a speed cap with this. BUT, you may opt for a Dragon Dance set, instead. Dragon Dance relies less on speed caps and allows you to, for the most part, outspeed anything after a few are up. In this case, I suggest;

- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake / Bounce

And for this set, use Leftovers as an item to maintain your HP while buffing.


Second, Roserade has some better options.
Firstly is Choice Specs, which would give you a powerhouse of a special attacker. Swap Giga Drain for Leaf Storm and play switching games to deal some massive damage.
No matter what, use Leaf Storm - Roserade should be a hit-and-run Poké. Normally I would suggest Hidden Power Fire, however.. but I don't believe you have a way to figure on that, so unless you're very lucky..
Your other option is switching her to the lead. In this case you would be better off with a Timid nature, and using a Focus Sash. Use this set;

- Sleep Powder
- Toxic Spikes
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Sludge Bomb

Again, HP-Fire is preferred, but since you don't manipulate individual values don't worry about that. Basically, Toxic Spikes cripple a team. The idea here is to use her speed to put the opponent's lead to sleep, and proceed to lay down spikes. A sash helps assure you can get two layers down, even if a Powder misses. From there, use her to plaster Leaf Storms between switch-ins, essentially.


For Gengar, Focus Band is terribly unreliable for -anyone-. I suggest a Life Orb. Keep Focus Blast, Fighting and Ghost are a combo that is unresisted by -any- one Pokémon. It helps your coverage immensly. Keep Shadow Ball, of course, and Thunderbolt is fairly standard.
Normally, Gengar pack HP-Ice, but... uck, bear with me, I'm big on the competitive community so I'm trying to work around this. xD;; Don't use Sludge Bomb, however, it's coverage is awful, even for the STAB. If you must, use Energy Ball - is covers the very, very annoying Swamperts and Quagsires that can easily OmNomNom Gengar's other moves without difficulty.


Salamence..... doesn't have an item? Please fix that. s: Use a Life Orb or Leftovers, your choice.
With that, try using Dragon Dance, again... Zen Headbutt is un-needed and offers poor coverage. Aerial Ace is rather rubbish, I would put Earthquake instead. You may also opt for Outrage instead of Dragon Claw, it's a choice between pure power and adaptability there.
Alternately, you can throw Draco Meteor in there for a little mix-up, Salamence is good on both ends of the attacking spectrum and Draco is absolutely destructive no matter what. This is best combo'd with a Life Orb, and usually used with Dragon Claw, Earthquake, and either Dragon Dance or Brick Break. It's generally called a MixMence. Use a Rash nature in this case, so you don't lower your Special Attack. It should be noted that Dragon and Fighting are another unresisted combination.


Umbreon shouldn't be attacking really, focus on it's defence. Use Wish instead of Moonlight, it allows you to pass on healing to your allies. If you opt for this build, it's generally known as Toxistalling - in which case you should certainly keep Protect. This allows to to assure your wish will heal you up and allows Toxic to do it's work. Faint Attack in this case isn't a bad option for filler damage dealing, although I prefer Payback personally.
Alternately, if you prefer to attack, replace Toxic with Curse - buff yourself up, use Wish to maintain health, and use Payback to deal damage. Careful nature is preferred in this setup since you will be buffing your defence. You may also wish to replace Protect with Baton Pass so you can pass on your Curse boosts, but it's a tradeoff.


Finally, Thunder and Fire fang are just bad coverage for Rhyperior. IF any fang, use Ice Fang. Otherwise, throw Stone Edge on him for secondary STAB - Rhyp launches some of the strongest Edges in the game. The last move is a choice between Megahorn and the aforementioned Ice Fang. So he should look like -

- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Ice Fang
- Megahorn

If attacking is what you prefer. Put Leftovers on him as well, Quick Claw is really bad. If you want speed, try using Rock Polish in place of one of the two latter moves. You can also use Swords Dance to send his attack sky flippin' high. He can take hits like a champ, so buff moves work well.


Hope I was more helpful than confusing..

[Confute] Umbreon (M) @ Leftovers
Bold / Synchronize
252 Def / 252 SpD / 4 HP
~Moonlight
~Wish
~Toxic
~Mean Look

This is the set I would essentially go for. It's annoying as hell, but unless you're against a poison type, or a Pokémon which can cure toxic, or has immunity, you can just stall your way to victory.

[Cyndicate] Gengar (F) @ Black Sludge
Modest / Levitate
252 SpA / 252 Spd / 4 HP
~Focus Blast
~Shadow Ball
~Psychic
~Hypnosis/Toxic

This is the set I have on my own Gengar. It covers every individual type for at least neutral damage. Gengar is a very fast Pokémon; Gengar is frail in terms of HP and defences, but it is fast enough to outspeed a lot of things. In the case of a faster Pokémon, just switch out for another Pokémon more suited for countering that threat. Switching is very effective at times, especially if you can predict surfs with a water-absorb Pokémon. Black Sludge is very useful in the way that it heals Gengar, and should a Pokémon with trick decide to swap, it'll damage them instead. Put tricky to handle Pokémon to sleep, or poison them.

Also, I think the name Clyde suits Rhyperior. :x

...Tsunami please know what you're talking about before giving advice. No offense but your advice is awful. :/

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Eh, I train one Pokemon teams. I had a Gyarados that was pretty successful on Ruby, though he did have Waterfall. I really don't pay much attention to stats, actually... and I mostly look at the largest number of types covered when looking at movesets, especially weaknesses. Like I said, I practice making Solo Pokemon teams, Pokemon that are capable of going against the E4 without recovery items or much difficulty at all. But that's just me, and I can get a team with those movesets to work. Although... can someone please explain how the EVs work? Or, more accurately, how Pokemon can get them?

I know L'il Dwagie already yelled at Tsunami but I must point this out:

Tsunami said:

I don't understand. Why is Thunderbolt in here? Gengar is a Ghost Poison pokemon, it should have a Dark, Ghost, Psychic, Poison moveset.

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Er... STAB isn't always the best thing to go with depending on the types. I mean it's nice and all but it doesn't always work. Ghost and Poison aren't really so great as attacking types: Poison can only super-effective on Grass types (which four other types can also hit in the same way, one of which is Ice, which is a whole lot better and more commonplace - yes I know Gengar's only chance at an Ice move is HP Ice, but my point still stands). Ghost hits the exact same things Dark does, but Dark is better since it can also hit Normal types. Just because Gengar is Ghost/Poison doesn't automatically mean it needs a Psychic move: Thunderbolt is stronger and all-around better so why must Psychic be there?

Then there's this:

Get rid of Moonlight. He's supposed to be able to take a lot of damage, and hit just as hard. Moonlight prevents that, by wasting a slot that could be a really powerful attack. Same with Protect. Neither of them are really useful, so replace them. Dark Pulse is good, so go back to the Move Relearner and get that to switch with either Moonlight of Protect. For the other one, give him Shadow Ball.

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... what? Umbreon is not meant to be an attacker. It was never meant to be an attacker. Not all Pokémon are meant to be attackers. Just look at Umbreon's base stats - see any other strong sweepers with 60/65 for attacking stats? That's basically the same as saying you want to use Jolteon as a tank instead of a sweeper/Baton Passer. It just doesn't work.

Leafpool said:

Ghost and Poison aren't really so great as attacking types: Poison can only super-effective on Grass types (which four other types can also hit in the same way, one of which is Ice, which is a whole lot better and more commonplace - yes I know Gengar's only chance at an Ice move is HP Ice, but my point still stands). Ghost hits the exact same things Dark does, but Dark is better since it can also hit Normal types.

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...Huh? Ghost is for sure a better all-around attacking type than Dark. Don't forget, Dark is resisted by Fighting - one of the more common types. The only Normal type that's in common circulation is Blissey, and you shouldn't be attacking it with specials anyway, it gets you nowhere. Plus, with a Fighting move at your disposal anyway...
Mind you, Dark / Fighting ALMOST covers everything - except Toxicroak and Heracross. Kind of amusing but you still lose the 100% neutral coverage, they both resist both elements.


Now.. Espeon, why Psychic on Gengar? It's pretty useless, everything it hits, Shadow Ball hits better. You mention neutral coverage but again, Ghost / Fighting does that on it's own.
Hypnosis is something good I forgot to mention, though - but Gengar shouldn't pack a healing item, it's meant to sweep, it really won't be able to utilise recovery.

And Tsunami... The E4 =/= real people. The E4 doesn't get the concept of type matches and switching, anyone can sweep them with anything. And I do mean anything. Let me fetch my Sunkern.

L'il Dwagie said:

Don't forget, Dark is resisted by Fighting - one of the more common types.

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Right, right, forgot about that. :/ Guess I needed to check my facts a little bit more. Sorry 'bout that.

@Tsunami: I was told this Normal-type had Shadow Claw, which would have been deadly. Hence the Focus Blast =3
Also, Gyarados is a physical attacker, so...Ice Beam does have more base power, I've considered it, but her Attack stat is far greater than Special Attack, especially because of her Adamant nature. And the occasional flinch from Ice Fang works wonders with her, I find.
Also, she can already take out the E4 on her own~
But thanks, I'll consider all of that =D
Also, I learned my basics about EVs and such from Serebii. The guides on Game Mechanics and such over there are pretty useful~

@L'il Dwagie: Wow. Just reading all of that, I feel honored to be advised by you. You seem to know your stuff~! I'm definitely going to put some of this to use. One thing though - my Roserade is a male :<
Oh, and I mentioned in the notes for Cartesian the Salamence (though I doubt anybody read them, I ramble too much) that he doesn't have an item because he's not at level 100 yet - he's still in training.

@Espeon: I was actually told by a friend that I should have Mean Look on Confute, and I was going to work on that in a bit, at least after I had trained Cartesian up a bit more. I totally forgot about Black Sludge for Cyndicate, though.
Hehe, thanks. All my Pokémon in Platinum have names that start with C. So I go through the C words in the dictionary and look for a name that I think seems to fit.

@Leafpool: Omg you posted! We haven't spoken in forever and a half~