How do you build your casual teams?

[Stryke]

I thought about making this a poll but it feels too nuanced for that and also I don't know how to make polls. Anyways, how do you make your teams when you're playing through a new game or replaying an old game or what have you? Personally, I like to pick out my 6 team members beforehand by picking ones I think look cool and trying to balance it by making sure there aren't any glaring weaknesses or anything. Then, I run through and catch the ones I pick as I go, along with a couple HM slaves if needed. Lately that feels kind of inefficient though, and its not great for if I wanna run through a new game blind, so I wanted to see what other ways people do it. How do you guys make your teams for casual runs?

 

[Herbe]

Usually I just improv it and see what I catch along the way, i catch as many as i can and then build the team from there based on how everybody works together, I really don't think it through before getting into the game though

 

[DawningWinds]

I pick out my team members ahead of time. Usually on my first playthrough, I make the whole team Pokémon introduced in the region the game's set in (sometimes with one exception), and subsequent non-challenge playthroughs I'll try to keep at least half the team as that region's Pokémon and do whatever with the other half.

I mostly just pick Pokémon I like, without too much concern for balance, though I do avoid type overlap for the most part. I always keep my starter on my team for the main story in non-challenge runs, just cause... Idk, never really been inclined not to. I usually like at least one of the starters plenty.

 

[M&F]

I used to plan my teams for runs ahead of time, trying to nail down a balanced team that I could also capture in a mostly even pace. also, I was aiming to use every Pokémon at least once at some point; I wasn't ever keeping track exactly, but by now, I think I've just about gotten there

lately, though, I'm almost always nuzlocking when I do play Pokémon, and my go-to strategy for that has been to maintain a huge team on rotation. while it does mean I won't always be ahead of the level curve to overpower things, it also means I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket, so losing any one Pokémon is usually less of an entire crisis. I've also been feeling like playing that way is more enjoyable overall though, even on the rare occasion I'm not nuzlocking; playing with a large team of more than 6 Pokémon gives you a broader, richer experience as well as a lot more flexibility when it comes to building movesets. turns out that, when you're not fussing about covering 18-odd different offensive types in just 24 move slots, it doesn't feel like such a waste to run things like wacky situtional moves or support-heavy movesets!

 

[haneko]

I try to balance my team as much as possible while also picking Pokemon I like, though I’ve got a much longer list of criteria than that:

- The Pokemon should have good base stats (ie at least one of them should be 100).
- It’s got to have a good movepool, too. Good stats mean nothing if they can’t be harnessed by good moves.
- I need to be able to catch and evolve it before the final gym at the latest.
- Each Pokemon has to have a unique type combination (ie Water/Flying and Water/Fairy are OK, two Water/Flyings is not, two pure Water-types is not fine either).
- No trade evolutions, legendaries, or Pokemon with complicated methods of obtaining/evolution (like Spiritomb or Feebas).
- They’ve got to cover each other’s weaknesses. I’m not meticulous about this; I just consider what types each Pokemon will have a tough time battling against, and make sure someone else has got a move or type advantage which can eliminate that.

I don’t consider things like team cohesion or whatever it is competitive battlers call that - synergy? - or overarching strategy when I’m making in-game teams.

So I figure out the species and move sets before I play the game, but I don’t go as far as EV training or selecting one specific nature. ( I try to catch Pokemon with natures that boost their best stat, but I’m not going to care which stat the nature hinders).

…Huh. I actually do more planning than I thought.

 

[Blast]

Personally, I always like using Pokémon that were introduced in the same Generation. I also avoid using Pokémon that I've used in previous playthroughs (excluding starters) to keep things fresh. I know some people go out of there way to include their favourite Pokémon in their team as much as possible, but that isn't for me. Other than that I try to use a balanced team with different types, for example Fire/Water/Grass, a flyer (in the older Gens) and two free spots.

 

[The Real Miror B]

• Ludicolo
• Ludicolo
• Ludicolo
• Ludicolo
• Sudowoodo
• Random other Shadow Pokemon

 

[Paul Zook]

My favorite Hoenn/Gen3 team:

• Golem
• Rhydon
• Donphan
• Tyranitar
• Aggron
• Groudon

 

[Marillyn]

Generally, just through trial and error. I catch a lot of Pokémon, try raising several, and then keep the ones that seem to work out the best for me.

In Generation I, for instance, I wound up using Starmie because the Water/Psychic typing worked well in-game. In later Generations, I do always seem to find myself raising at least one Psychic type... Gardevoir in Generation III, Sigilyph or Beeheeyem in Generation V, Farigiraf in Generation IX, etc. Probably because I was so impressed by psychic types early on. I also usually have an Electric type on my team, though not always.

I tend to at least try to have a couple of newer Pokémon, but sometimes I do fall back on the ones I know already if nothing else is convenient. But other factors that go into it often involve trying to raise something I have on hand that will be effective against the next gym leader, raising one that made a strong impression on me when another trainer used it, etc.

Generally, I just try to do what I think an actual trainer would do and immerse myself in the game. Incidentally, this results in my teams not being great for competitive battles, but it makes the actual game pretty fun.