RMT:Juggernauts (First Team)

[Fireclipse]

Team Juggernauts!
Hello, Smogon. I'm very new to comptative battleing, so this is my first team after roughly what adds up to about a week of Shoddy/PL.

Crush "The Austere Fist" (Metagross) @ Occa Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 248 HP/232 Atk/28 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk,-SpAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Stealth Rock
Common lead Metagross; kind of straightforward here. Considering different Nature and EV Spreads. I would like input on Synergy with my other pokemon in this team.

Blind "The Hapless Ninja" (Ninjask) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 176 HP/252 Atk/80 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd,-SpAtk)
- Baton Pass
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- X-Scissor
Batton Passer here, I like him to have a bit of an edge though, to counter Taunt, and his attack is not horrid either, especialy with a Swords Dance in. This guy has these options: Pure speed Pass to DOS, or mix pass to Tide. Btw, +2 Attack/Speed Swampy has rarely let me down. I also enjoy substitute VS substitute matches.

Tide "The Soldier of Earth" (Swampert) (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 200 HP/220 Atk/30 Def/40 Spd/20 SpDef
Adamant nature (+Atk,-SpAtk)
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge
- Waterfall
I like this guy. Even without Blind, he can more then hold his own. Attack Swampys are pretty good, and most people do not think "Offence" when the see one. I know that EV spread is a bit strange, so input about that would be appreciated. Also, the reason why the moves are pure offence (no protect, rest, etc) is because usualy it has Blind's buffs. Btw, its stats are 391 HP, 342 Attack, 223 Defence, 166 Speed, 185 Special Attack, and 221 Special Defence. Stating that so you can calculate buffs and that strange EV spread.

Luna "The Guardian Queen" (Cresselia) (F) @ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/96 Def/68 Spd/78 SpAtk/16 SpDef
Timid nature (+Spd,-Atk)
- Light Screen
- Moonlight
- Psychic
- Reflect
This girl has some incredible bulk (444 HP, 300 Defence 300 Special Defence) and 205 Special Attack that ensures it will do a LITTLE damage; however I really need help on a replacement for Psychic. This pokemon has shielded many of my pokemon from death, and led me to victory, however, like you would think, it needs a little help offencively. I might get a Smeargle w/nasty plot to remedy this, or not. Maybe run full support.

DOS "The Paradox" (Porygon-Z) @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SpAtk
Timid nature (+Spd,-Atk)
- Dark Pulse
- Hidden Power (Fighting)
- Nasty Plot
- Tri Attack
Sweeper. Used with or without Blind's speed boosts. Usualy either wrecks a team or dosn't. I'm considering slaping on a faster pokemon such as Infernape or Weavile.

Grave "The Master of Suffering" (Dusknoir) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/28 Atk/228 Def
Impish nature (+Def,-SpAtk)
- Earthquake
- Pain Split
- ThunderPunch
- Will-O-Wisp
Not going to lie, sometimes I wonder what to call the role of this pokemon. But I know he's wreaked havoc and has been an invaluable asset, crippleing physical fighters with Burn and lending a helping hand with a little offence. Have not tried Blind's Buffs on him.

ALL advice/critism is welcome.

 

[Faladran]

Hi Fireclipse,

I've just finished looking over your team, and I'm quite sorry to say that I can't offer any meaningful suggestions to you at the moment. The problem is that there are several major changes that I had in mind, but all of them would involve completely rebuilding your team. This would not only conflict with your wishes to retain several of your team members, but also alter the team's structure so significantly that I would be unsure whether the new version is effective. Since you have requested a rate, I hope you don't mind if I offer some team-building advice that may assist you in revamping your team, rather than suggesting specific replacements for team members.

Probably the biggest obstacle to this team's success is the fact that it lacks an established direction. At first glance, members such as the Metagross lead and LO Porygon-Z make it seem like an offensively-inclined team. However, the addition of Dusknoir, Cresselia, and Swampert slow down the pace considerably and shift the direction of the team to a more stall-based theme. Moreover, the presence of Ninjask seems quite out of place, as its Baton Passing abilities and 4x weakness to Stealth Rock make it more suitable as a lead for fully Baton Pass-based teams.

To sum it up, the main recommendation I'd like to make is that you stick to a particular "theme" or playstyle in the creation and modification of your team. Having a combination of Pokemon suited for completely different purposes with varying playstyles creates a lot of contrast, which means that each individual team member is quite often not supported by the other Pokemon. Addressing this team specifically, it would likely be to your benefit to focus on a particular type of style. For clarity, I'll provide an examplesfor a possible offensive version of this team:

The only two Pokemon you currently have that would function effectively on an offensive team are Metagross and Porygon-Z. If you decide to go with this playstyle, think about team additions that would help you eliminate your members' counters and assist them in sweeping; be sure to consider team synergy as well. As an example, Metagross is very susceptible to Fire-based attacks, while Porygon-Z is unable to sweep past Blissey. The common SkarmBliss combination has no trouble walling both of these Pokemon. As such, Heatran could work well as a potential team member, due to its ability to threaten Skarmory with strong specially-based Fire attacks and take out Blissey with Explosion, opening up an opportunity for Porygon-Z to sweep. From this point, it's up to you to decide on additional team members that would synergize well with your existing choices, while helping to support your team's overall goal of sweeping. Be sure to regularly inspect your team for any glaring weaknesses to common threats, and to add in checks to those threats when needed.

 

[Problem2]

I'm a bit worried about your Ninjask here. Your lead can't guarantee to stop opposing stealth rock, plus you have no spinner. This means most of the time you're switching in Ninjask, he's starting off at half health, and usually takes several attempts to pull off a successful baton pass. Without being able to constantly switch in Ninjask ends not getting it's use in efficiently.

Instead of giving up someone else for a support to support a support, maybe you should try baton pass gliscor.

Gliscor @ Yache Berry
Abiltiy: Hyper Cutter
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -Atk)
- Taunt
- Baton Pass
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance / Roost

This is the normal set found on Smogon, but because Porygon-Z doesn't need +Atk, I put the option for Roost to keep Gliscor healthy. Gliscor should have nice synergy with this team. He doesn't take a lot from Stealth Rock, and he's hard to beat behind Reflect and Light Screen. In fact, you may want to run lunar dance on Cresselia to get a good healthy switch in at the cost of the pokemon itself. It's a pretty offense minded move though. If you tend to lean on Cresselia for switching into, it might not be a good idea.

Also, I've ran a mixed Swampert with a simular spread before. Using only 100 Atk EVs, it's able to 2hko most Gyarados after Stealth Rock despite being intimidated. That's of course, if you don't miss with stone edge. :p Only thing I would suggest is a little more defense in place of attack. My Swampert runs 200 Def EVs, turning some 2HKOs against him into 3HKOs. You should test cutting a litte attack for it.

 

[Fireclipse]

Thank you for the advice. I like that Gliscor; I usualy don't have trouble with SR because most of the times I make sure my lead dosn't let SR happen, then I try to Baton Pass right away; but I hate Ninjask's low defences, and Rock Polish+Swords Dance is plenty power.
@Faladran If it's not too much trouble, could you mention those changes anyways? I have completely remade teams before.