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Typhlosion Lead

Alright, So I'd really like to make a team with my Typhlsosion in the lead just because he can sweep very well Locally

Typhlosion: Charcoal
Mild nature
Hp 4 Sp, Atk 252, Speed 252
1 Eruption
2 Extrasensory
3 Focus Blast
4 Flamethrower

I read on the Basics the King of Lucario posted, or, well, more didn't read that Eruption or Extrasensory are good moves, but they've served me well
I'm not being closed minded and will change them if a valid point is brought up to counter them

Other pokemon I have in mind:
Volcarona: Sliver powder
Timid Nature
Hp 4, SP.Atk 252, Speed 252
1 Sunny Day
2 Heat wave
3 Psychic
4 Bug Buzz

Haxorus: Razor fang
Adamant Nature
Hp 4, Atk 252, Speed 252
1 Shadow Claw
2 Poison Jab
3 X-Scissor
4 Dragon Claw

Snorlax: Leftovers
Impish Nature
Hp 252, Def 184, Sp. Def 72
1 Earthquake
2 Rock Slide
3 Wild Charge
4 Body Slam

Gengar: Razor Claw
Modest Nature
Hp 72, Def 184, Sp. Atk 184, Speed 72
1 Shadow Ball
2 Toxic
3 Giga Drain
4 Psychic
 

KoL

Expert FPS Player
Staff member
Moderator
You didn't have to PM me to ask whether Eruption was good.

Anyway, in answer to your question, Eruption is a good move to have on Typhlosion (especially since his movepool is very small to begin with) but should be used with caution since it very quickly becomes useless as Typhlosion takes damage...which leads me to my next point.

Typhlosion is not a good lead since he'll likely get beaten up by the common leads of this generation, Politoed especially since Drizzle will leave Typhlosion at a horrible disadvantage right away. A sweeper should be coming in near the end of the game, not at the start, unless they have a moveset geared towards stopping other leads, and Typhlosion really doesn't. Either that or have someone else do the straight sweeping instead (you have Volcarona, that'll do.)

Anyway...

- Extrasensory is...well, adequate. The only reason I'd even think of suggesting it on Typhlosion is purely because his movepool is so terrible he hasn't got anything else to choose over it besides Hidden Power, and getting a good Hidden Power type in-game is quite a pain - I can personally attest to that. Otherwise, your moves are OK, but your item and nature are not. Timid is far and away the best nature for Typhlosion to take advantage of his above average Speed stat, and most Typhlosion using Eruption tend to use Choice items, either Choice Scarf to sneak a full-power Eruption in before the opponent can strike back, or Choice Specs to boost its damage by another 50%.

- Volcarona without Quiver Dance? For shame...but if you want some sunlight on your team, a Dream World Ninetales has just the ability you need (Drought) and in a generation where most good teams carry a weather-changer (usually Politoed or Tyranitar) it certainly helps to have your own on-hand. So, yeah, Quiver Dance over Sunny Day, either Fire Blast or Fiery Dance for your Fire-type attack, and again, a good Hidden Power will do wonders over your Psychic attack if you can get it.

- Again, no Dragon Dance on Haxorus, same problem as Volcarona. Poor item as well, nature is OK since Haxorus is already a bit on the slower side of the scale this generation, but consider Jolly if you encounter issues with your Speed being too low. Also, Mold Breaker is the only ability to have for this guy since it lets Haxorus's Earthquake strike levitating Pokemon. Consider Outrage and Taunt as other options, but overall everything bar Dragon Claw on your moveset is useless.

- Defensive EVs, nature and item for Snorlax, and a moveset consisting of nothing but attacking moves - I hope I'm not the only one seeing an issue with this. Curse Snorlax is the best moveset the guy has, combined with some assortment of moves like Body Slam, Crunch, Fire Punch, Rest etc. but overall, you need to make sure your EV spreads, natures and whatever work with your chosen moves.

- Timid is far better than Modest on Gengar due to its frailty, Razor Claw is just no, your EV spread is terrible and your move choices aren't much better. Shadow Ball is the only move you have worth keeping here, and typically Focus Blast, Thunderbolt and to a lesser extent Icy Wind and Hidden Power Fire (both VERY situational) are the only other offensive attacks Gengar should consider. That said, Gengar is quite deadly with Substitute, since it prevents him from being victimized by Sucker Punch and Gengar becomes much more dangerous if the Substitute is allowed to stay alive. Moves like Hypnosis, Will-O-Wisp and Pain Split work well with Gengar's Substitute, but Sub + 3 attacks works nicely as well.

You have space for a sixth person here, but I'll leave that choice in your hands. What I will say is this: Typhlosion and Volcarona both get murdered by entry hazards (Spikes, Stealth Rock) and these will appear almost everywhere if you battle good opponents. Your current team layout is currently very one-dimensional as well (four attackers and Snorlax, who isn't a great defender nowadays) and lacks the basic things most good teams need (aforementioned entry hazards, defense against enemy weather changes) to succeed.

In short, you've got a lot of changes to make to this before it comes close to being good.
 
Ahahahaha, I love how later turned into more than a week
Alright, I made it into a 4v4 doubles team for the Battle Subway


Typhlosion
Expert Belt (ATM, will be changing to Choice Scarf once I get enough BP)
Timid
252 Sp Atk, 4 Sp Def, 252 Spe
1- Lave Plume (ATM- still leveling and working to Eruption)
2- Extrasensory (30 Cyndaquils breed, not one could get Rock, Grass, or Ground for a Hidden Power so I'm working with it, seeing as it's a bit diverse)
3- Focus Blast
4- Flamethrower


Tyranitar
Rocky Helmet (I know, I'm bad with items but the only good ones take a lot of time, I'm working on it)
Brave
252 HP, 252 Atk, 4 Def
1- Crunch
2- Stone Edge
3- Thunder Fang
4- Earthquake


Venusaur
Leftovers
Sassy
200 HP, 104 Def, 200 Sp Def (I've gotten mixed reviews, but am very happy with the EV spread, seeing as nothing local can 3-hit KO without type advantage, and anything with type advantage has trouble 3-hit KOing him because of his moves)
1- Sludge Bomb
2- Giga Drain
3- Curse
4- Growth


Arcanine
Shell Bell (Working toward the Life Orb)
Jolly
4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spe
1- Flare Blitz
2- Wild Charge
3- Close Combat
4- Extreme Speed


Now, I figure you may point out the weakness to Water, Ground, and Rock, but I haven't had any problems so far
Even Bulky Water types can't seem to take two Wild Charge, or Thunder Fang (Granted that it is local, but my friends do know how to EV train)
Lava Plume-Flare Blitz combo is working well for Typhlosion and Arcanine
Sand Stream finishes off all none resistant Studys that Tyranitar can't
Curse-Growth-Giga Drain is working extremely well, but I'm debating on turning Sludge Bomb into Toxic for Venusaur
 

KoL

Expert FPS Player
Staff member
Moderator
Obviously you have very little experience with doubles, and neither do your friends if this is all it takes to beat them. This might work OK for Battle Subway, but against any half-decent player this team would get destroyed.

- Protect/Detect are MANDATORY. If any Pokemon lacks either of these moves in doubles, they'd better have a good reason for it.

- You need to focus on fitting attacks that strike both your enemies into your movesets, within reason. Obviously moves like Surf or Earthquake will prove slightly more problematic to fit in since they'll hit your partner too, but combinations like your Typhlosion + Arcanine work very well (so basically, you need a LOT more of that.) Which brings us onto the next point...

- Rock Slide and Earthquake are very common in doubles, and both moves can decimate your team effortlessly. Terrakion almost beats your entire team by himself, and probably would do if Tyranitar has already been KO'd since Terrakion gains an extra 50% Sp.Defense in sandstorms.

- Curse and Growth are useless in doubles too, since a smart opponent will double-team Venusaur the moment he's seen using either of them. Curse + no physical moves is pointless as well.

- No use of or defense against Tailwind or Trick Room, both of which are very common in doubles these days. Also no defense against Drizzle Politoed; a good Rain team in doubles will destroy this lot with ease.

Doubles is completely different to singles; many strategies that work brilliantly in singles competition completely fail in doubles and vice-versa. There's so much wrong with this team for doubles right now that summarizing it would take far too long.
 
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