New to the game and would like advice on team building

[Majikdusty]

I'm brand new to the game and have never gotten into competitive in any Pokemon game. At this point I don't need the the number 1 ranked Pokemon in each position. I would rather sacrifice winning ability to have pokemon I somewhat enjoy. Everytime I try to look up teams they always look the same (that's not fun). The only problem is I don't understand competitive very well, and I don't know how to even begin constructing a team I like.

 

I really like the idea of a rain team because not only is water my favorite type, but Kingdra is my absolute favorite pokemon. It seems like I'm pretty much required to have a Politoad (which is fine because I love him). But what else? Is it possible to make a semi competitive team with pokemon like ampharos, scizor, gardevoir, absol, vaporeon because these are all pokemon i really like, but i want to be able to win sometimes? It would be nice to include at least a few I really enjoy! The only two I have set in stone are Politoad (unless there is a better alternative) and Kingdra. Part of my issue is not knowing what roles are required for a team AND which pokemon belong to the role. It's all so confusing!

[Carmillum]

Don't let people tell you how you should play (or at least: not now). Experience it yourself, or you will never be satisfied about your team (since it wont be your idea). I would push you in the rain-team direction. In any case, you need to understand the PRO metagame to build your team, e.g. counter the counters of your team.

 

If you wanna build a rain-team, go on with Politoed/Kingdra as a basis. I would recommend adding a magnet-pull Magnezone with hidden power fire (to trap Ferrothorn, which is a total counter to any rain team) + Mamoswine (thick fat) to counter any electric type + and a sweeper outside the rain team (talonflame for example) + also a ferrothorn as a mixed wall (under rain would be lots more protected vs fire) to protect your pokemons from any other threatening pokemon.

 

Not a perfect team, but still an interesting basis. Improve it yourself with your upcoming defeats (we have all been through this). You will be able to identify what is lacking with the current trending pokemons in PRO. ;)

[Kansu]

Just as heads up, Scizor is extremely good in Rain because it negates his only weakness to fire, and its offense works well with Kingdra (kills grass and fairy types). Therefore starting with those 3 pokemon seems like a very potent idea. As mentioned by majikdusty, Magnezone would also have a very good fit on this team, especially since Scizor is also walled by every steel types like Skarmory. Magnezone also helps cover opposing water types that can be hard for kingdra to get throught, like Milotic. Gardevoir would not be wrong on this team, althought probably not the bet since its not the best in PvP, because he is outclassed by other fairies like Togekiss and psychics like Alakazam (maybe B or C tier). As for vaporeon, you are already stacked in water types, and Ampharos / Absol aren't great in PvP (i guess you could use Absol.. but meh).

 

Now pick between hyper offense, offense or balance, (your team is already offensive so you certainly won't have a stall (defensive) team) and pick your two pokemon in the whole bunch that are viable in pvp. In any case, I'd recommend using a stealth rock user in the fifth spot, as this move is probably the best one to use in PvP, especially given the fact that Talonflame can be annoying for rain with his priority. Since Politoed+Kingdra+Scizor+Magnezone already have good typing synergy together (the only shared weakness being fire and hindered by the rain), many pokemon can fit your team.

 

You can also think about what your current team is weak to. In this case, Venusaur and other defensive grass types can give huge trouble to your team. A sun team composed of Ninetales + chlorophyll user would also be very worrysome, so make sure they are covered. Gale Wings Talonflame would help against them, but its one of the most expensive pokemon.

 

Finally, if one or two of your pokemon are weak to Stealth rock (like talonflame), a rapid spin user can be very valuable. Some pokemon can learn both stealth rock and rapid spin, like donphan, which would also help against strong electric types like Electivire (electric types are really uncommon in PRO metagame, thought).

 

Hope I was able to help, thought the best way to become a pokemon master is to browse internet resources (smogon and pokemon db) and practice. Also there are many existing threads in this forum that can help you. To build a good typing synergy, Team magma builder is extremely useful too.

 

Kansu