[RATE MY TEAM] My 2015 VGC Team (Attempt #1)

[KevMan]

I think your original team could work but you'd need to do a lot of testing. One of the advantages to using something uncommon is that people may have a difficult time predicting what you'll do. You will need to get a lot of experience battling with this team and I think that will better equip you with the knowledge as to what needs to be tweaked, what needs to go, and what should stay. At a glance I would say drop Florges and keep Blissey there. Let's look at a few damage calcs to see if Blissey can pull weight for you.

252+ Atk Life Orb Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 188-224 (51.9 - 61.8%) -- 97.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Life Orb Talonflame Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 188-224 (51.9 - 61.8%) -- 97.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Starting off it looks like you can at least withstand one for sure Brave Bird from Talonflame. Not the best but could be worse. You wouldn't out speed it so your best bet would be to get in there to maybe get off a Twave then get out. Let's look at some other threats specific to Normal type like Blissey. I'm thinking Terrakion who is right now #9 on Global Link.

252 Atk Terrakion Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 360-426 (99.4 - 117.6%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

You aren't going to have a fun time facing a Terrakion so you'll need something to deal with this. Honestly since your mega is Medicham (and Terrakion is weak to fighting) I think you may have a few counters up your sleeve here.

What it really comes down to is your ability to predict and outplay your opponents. Your team is different but it isn't bad so don't feel like this needs a complete overhaul. I would advise just playing some games and getting to understand how your team will function. Once you have done that you will be able to see the weaknesses and make true adjustments from there. What we see on paper (or a computer screen lol) is probably going to be a little bit different from what will play out.

[iflytoohigh]

(Mar 29, 2015, 07:47 AM)KevMan Wrote: I think your original team could work but you'd need to do a lot of testing. One of the advantages to using something uncommon is that people may have a difficult time predicting what you'll do. You will need to get a lot of experience battling with this team and I think that will better equip you with the knowledge as to what needs to be tweaked, what needs to go, and what should stay. At a glance I would say drop Florges and keep Blissey there. Let's look at a few damage calcs to see if Blissey can pull weight for you.

252+ Atk Life Orb Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 188-224 (51.9 - 61.8%) -- 97.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Life Orb Talonflame Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 188-224 (51.9 - 61.8%) -- 97.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Starting off it looks like you can at least withstand one for sure Brave Bird from Talonflame. Not the best but could be worse. You wouldn't out speed it so your best bet would be to get in there to maybe get off a Twave then get out. Let's look at some other threats specific to Normal type like Blissey. I'm thinking Terrakion who is right now #9 on Global Link.

252 Atk Terrakion Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 360-426 (99.4 - 117.6%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

You aren't going to have a fun time facing a Terrakion so you'll need something to deal with this. Honestly since your mega is Medicham (and Terrakion is weak to fighting) I think you may have a few counters up your sleeve here.

What it really comes down to is your ability to predict and outplay your opponents. Your team is different but it isn't bad so don't feel like this needs a complete overhaul. I would advise just playing some games and getting to understand how your team will function. Once you have done that you will be able to see the weaknesses and make true adjustments from there. What we see on paper (or a computer screen lol) is probably going to be a little bit different from what will play out.

Thanks for such an encouraging comment, KevMan! I appreciate you running some damage calculations as well. I have tinkered with Nugget Bridge's damage calc, but I find it a tad bit overwhelming. I need to use it more thoroughly than I presently am, admittedly.

Yeah, I think your suggestion is valid. I've only done a few practice matches, but only one true ranked battle on Battle Spot (which I won, yay). I've been watching a lot of CybertronVGC, and I feel as though his videos have been immensely helpful in understanding how important accurate predicting and understanding all of your opponents' options can be. I've got a LONG way to go before I'm good at that, but I do agree that my best course of action would be to play more games.

Thanks for chiming in! ^^

xx

[KevMan]

Hey np. I think it's good to give constructive feedback but also be motivating at the same time. I also understand the desire to want to try breaking the mold with non typical sets. It is good to understand the meta, but it's important to have fun as well. As your rating increases you'll find yourself maybe having a harder time with "fun" sets but it isn't impossible. I strongly believe it just comes down to understanding how your team functions and what they can do. As long as you aren't making super noob mistakes over and over again you should see yourself improve and slowly climb the ladder.

I would also suggest continuously looking at pokemon global link to see what your main threats are. Kang, Lando, and Sylveon have been the Big 3 for awhile (with Talonflame also not seeming to go away) but you do see some fluctuations with like 9-12 in those top slots. You just always want to be prepared and adaptable to what's going on. But you seem eager to learn and open to other ideas so I am sure you will be fine.

Out of curiosity do you like Lopunny? I see it's your profile pic so why not consider building a team around that mega? Medicham is good and definitely underrated but if one of your goals is a cute team, I think Lopunny fits you more. :P

[iflytoohigh]

(Mar 29, 2015, 08:12 AM)KevMan Wrote: Hey np. I think it's good to give constructive feedback but also be motivating at the same time. I also understand the desire to want to try breaking the mold with non typical sets. It is good to understand the meta, but it's important to have fun as well. As your rating increases you'll find yourself maybe having a harder time with "fun" sets but it isn't impossible. I strongly believe it just comes down to understanding how your team functions and what they can do. As long as you aren't making super noob mistakes over and over again you should see yourself improve and slowly climb the ladder.

I would also suggest continuously looking at pokemon global link to see what your main threats are. Kang, Lando, and Sylveon have been the Big 3 for awhile (with Talonflame also not seeming to go away) but you do see some fluctuations with like 9-12 in those top slots. You just always want to be prepared and adaptable to what's going on. But you seem eager to learn and open to other ideas so I am sure you will be fine.

Out of curiosity do you like Lopunny? I see it's your profile pic so why not consider building a team around that mega? Medicham is good and definitely underrated but if one of your goals is a cute team, I think Lopunny fits you more. :P

I actually love Lopunny! My family name is Bunny, and I've always liked Rabbits (plus, my husband claims that if I was a Pokémon, I'd look like Lopunny, haha). I'm not sure how I feel about one as a Mega Evolution, as I haven't ever really seen it in action. I suppose I could go do some digging on it, but for now I'm happy with Medicham. ^^

Do you think Lopunny is a better MegEv than Medicham?

[KevMan]

(Mar 29, 2015, 11:35 AM)iflytoohigh Wrote: I actually love Lopunny! My family name is Bunny, and I've always liked Rabbits (plus, my husband claims that if I was a Pokémon, I'd look like Lopunny, haha). I'm not sure how I feel about one as a Mega Evolution, as I haven't ever really seen it in action. I suppose I could go do some digging on it, but for now I'm happy with Medicham. ^^

Do you think Lopunny is a better MegEv than Medicham?

I don't think Lopunny is better but it is more popular than Medicham. I was just curious if you had considered using it as your mega since you seem to like cute pokemon and Lopunny gets the Normal|Fighting typing when it mega evolves.

As an aside do you have a Tailwind user picked out yet? If not, check this out! I'm not sure if you like Mantyke but this is a pretty legit support/utility set for it. Heisenberg did a pretty cool job with this one plus it's a cute one so it would fit will with your theme lol.

[Marcusube]

It really depends of what the definition of better means for you. Lopunny is faster, has a better defensive typing and gets an ability which makes her attacks hit everything for at least neutral while Medicham clocks in the mid speed range but its offensive power is through the roof.