Discussion On Teambuilding In-Game

[SuperSixFighters]

Hi there! As suggested by Codraroll, I've decided to start a thread discussing teambuilding in-game. I really can't think of much to put here, so conversation away!

Questions to get you started (feel free to suggest):

Do you use HM slaves or do you share the load among the team.
What Megas do you use? What Megas do you think would improve teambuilding?
What Gen 7 Pokemon do you want to see teambuilding-wise? HM slaves or strong attackers?
Do you feel ORAS pressures you into using water types (for surf, waterfall, dive)?
Are HMs really needed? Which ones? Why?
Do you use false swipe? On how many pokemon? Do you add a paralyzing or sleeping move?
Which starters are best teambuilding-wise? Why? What would you want to see in one?
Do you use your starter? Why?
New Pokemon-are they a curse or a blessing in-game?
Do innovations like the DexNav make teambuilding easier? How about the Pokemon range?
For Pokemon with certain evolution methods, is it practical to do them? Does this prevent usage on teams?
Are there any mons which could improve your team, but you don't use due to disliking them?
Is there a correlation between competitive viability and viability when teambuilding? Why?
Do you use 'Bonus TMs' like Sweet Scent?

MORE DISCUSSION POINTS:
(Thanks MikeAU)

What do people think of legendaries in-game? Are they as broken as they seem?
Are cores relevant here?
Is a false swiping starter a good or a bad idea?

 

[Lady Vader]

Do you use HM slaves or do you share the load among the team.

I typically use HM slaves, though a few HMs (Surf, Waterfall Post-Gen IV, Strength, Fly) do make it on my team from time to time, with Surf being a guarantee.

What Megas do you use? What Megas do you think would improve teambuilding?

Currently, I've used three Megas: Blastoise (Y), Lucario (Y), and Swampert (Alpha Sapphire) with a fourth one coming soon (Venusaur in X). The Megas we have natural access to are very powerful, especially Lucario and the Latis.

What Gen 7 Pokemon do you want to see teambuilding-wise? HM slaves or strong attackers?

We have plenty of good HM slaves, so we need better attackers.

Do you feel ORAS pressures you into using water types (for surf, waterfall, dive)?

No since Water is a great type to have anyway. There has never been a Pokémon I've played where I haven't used a Water-type.

Are HMs really needed? Which ones? Why?

There are some that makes me want to keep HMs, mostly Surf and Waterfall.

Do you use false swipe? On how many pokemon? Do you add a paralyzing or sleeping move?

Occasionally, though I would only have it on one. I remember such an occurrence (a Scizor) allowed me to get my first true wild Shiny in my playthrough of SoulSilver (a Golbat in Victory Road). I also do add paralyzing/sleeping moves if I can, especially if I am using something like Bulbasaur or Vivillon.

Which starters are best teambuilding-wise? Why? What would you want to see in one?

Kanto: All three are great, though I feel as if Bulbasaur is the best as once it starts needing team mates, you have them.
Johto: For me, Totodile all the way.
Hoenn: Swampert gives you powerful moves, great typing, and doesn't have a disadvantage against either team.
Sinnoh: With an amazing movepool, great stats, and a rare (in Sinnoh) typing, Infernape is the only choice.
Unova: Sadly, only the Oshawott line had a decent combination of traits for a playthrough.
Kalos: Similar to Kanto, there isn't a bad choice.
A good starter really needs to have the standard thing any playthrough Pokémon should have: decent movepool (with many of the best moves being level up), decent power, and decent speed.

Do you use your starter? Why?

Always, especially since many are excellent choices.

New Pokemon-are they a curse or a blessing in-game?

They are always fun to try out, though sometimes, they can be a waste of time. I'm looking at you, Aurorus.

Do innovations like the DexNav make teambuilding easier? How about the Pokemon range?

I can't really say as the only time I used the DexNav when I played through the game was the tutorial with the Poocheyna (which I named Anakin and used as a regular team member).

For Pokemon with certain evolution methods, is it practical to do them? Does this prevent usage on teams?

This can be a deciding factor. Some are too wasteful for me to want to use, some are impossible (Gliscor in later games), and some makes you think first. I usually don't use some of these, especially stone based, though there are exceptions such as any of the purchasable ones in Kanto or my Chandelure in Black.

Are there any mons which could improve your team, but you don't use due to disliking them?

The only 'mon I really don't like is Barbaracle and there are far better Water-types anyway.

Is there a correlation between competitive viability and viability when teambuilding? Why?

Occasionally. It just depends on the typing, base stats, and movepool. Something like Gyarados works fine but something like Chansey doesn't.

Do you use 'Bonus TMs' like Sweet Scent?

Occasionally, but almost never Sweet Scent. I did have Secret Power on my Zigzagoon/Linoone who was an HM slave in Alpha Sapphire.

 

[MikeAU]

Do you use HM slaves or do you share the load among the team.

First play-through, generally spread the essential HM movies (Fly, Surf, Strength) across my main team -- the supplementary/less-useful HM's I typically give to a random/psuedo-HM slave.

Subsequent playthrough, I.e. I will generally breed out a specific team targeting nature, egg moves, IV's, etc. When I do this, HMs frustrate me and always go with a slave or to.

(On a side note, i've got a HM slave on my OR cartridge called DHR-107 -- not sure why but someone in IRC decided to call it that when trading it over).

What Megas do you use? What Megas do you think would improve teambuilding?

I didn't really explore megas in ORAS too much, they were nice in XY but i think I took too long to play and restarted games too many times and I kind of ruined the experience for myself. Mega-venusaur I've always had a spot for as it is in my top-3 favourite. Shout out to Mega-garchomp too!

What Gen 7 Pokemon do you want to see teambuilding-wise? HM slaves or strong attackers?

I'd probably say attackers and continuing with dual-type. With so many pokemon now available, I find the multi-types a little harder to deal with (marginally). Also, a bigger variety early on is always nice.

I guess, i'd like to see more variety in type and what is available early on and to counter any type-advantages, make the trainer pokemon a higher level.

Do you feel ORAS pressures you into using water types (for surf, waterfall, dive)?

I haven't actually finished ORAS yet, but from memory -- yes.

Are HMs really needed? Which ones? Why?

I believe they are required, as annoying as they are (waterfall, dive), i think pokemon should have the option to have a HM-slot. This would give you 4 moves PLUS a HM that could only be used outside of battle. Saves ruining a move slot with something you may not frequently use.

Do you use false swipe? On how many pokemon? Do you add a paralyzing or sleeping move?

I do try and keep one party member with this move at all times -- mainly when it is a new-gen like XY when you never know what will lie around a corner, in the wild grass. Personally, too many times have I encountered a new pokemon in the wild or been after one specifically, only to kill it by accident. Esp. with ORAS since you can get a look-in at what move it has before hand. If its a second-time play-through, I generally just catch a modest-level pokemon (~L30) and it stays in the box unless I know i'll need it.

As far as disablers, generally try and keep one of them in my team. For some reason, I recall gen1 having access to poison, paralyse and sleep was a big help. I feel in subsequent generations that it's become less important and doesn't always actually help.

Replaying gen 1 with my butterfree having sleep powder, poison powder, stun spore is really helpful! I was surprised how fond I was of this and immediately went (wasted time leveling up a butterfree before gym 2).

Which starters are best teambuilding-wise? Why? What would you want to see in one?

My pick and thoughts are as follows:

• Gen 1 - Bulbasaur, he goes great against the first two gyms, as soon as you get vine-whip the caves aren't that much of a problem. Second I would probably say Squirtle. My preference was always Bulbasaur for Gen 1 as he really helps early game progress however, come Gym 6 onwards -- you really need to diversify your team a bit.
• Gen 2 - I didn't mind cyndaquil and found him quite useful on the play-through. Out of habit, first time I went with Chicorita -- didn't get the bang-for-buck I felt I did with Venusaur. Totodile and subsequent evolutions is probably my favourite of this generation.
• Gen 3 - I actually first encounted gen 3 during ORAS. As I've not finished it yet I can't really comment other than Swampert is really holding its weight!
• Gen 4 - Infernape. Only played through once and I really, really enjoyed having him in the team.
• Gen 5 - Not Serperior. My god, I love the grass-type starters but as I read somewhere -- 'posh spice' aka serperior is a pain. I really didn't feel it added a great deal compared to the Lilligant I had in my party at the same time. Maybe it isn't as bad as I remember, but I just remember having to grind a lot of battles even when it was quite high.
• Gen 6 - Started with Chespin and really enjoyed it. Did a subsequent run through with Froakie and found it just as helpful. Would be a coin-flip between which one i'd choose to start with next time.

I certainly think as dual-types are the way to go and I doubt we would ever be presented with an option other than fire-water-grass, however there've been some pretty good ideas bouncing around on the forums lately. I'd certainly like to see dual-types continue and some interesting pairings at that. I.e. Grass/Dragon, Fire/Fairy, Water/Ghost.

Do you use your starter? Why?

Yep -- pretty much. From memory, it was only Meganium and Serperior that ever got 'boxed' mid-late game. I like using the starter as it feels part of your journey and generally is with you until the end!

New Pokemon-are they a curse or a blessing in-game?

I like the new pokemon we get with each new generation. It makes the journey feel fresh and new. Sometimes its sad when we don't get a lot of new ones (looking at you, Kalos!) but new is still good. My only issue is if they are going to make these weird and random pokemon (vanilite, etc) make them a little more competitive.

Do innovations like the DexNav make teambuilding easier? How about the Pokemon range?

I really liked the DexNav, can't wait to hipefully use it in Gen 7. I like how pokemon now come with special moves, makes it a little more competitive and interesting.

For Pokemon with certain evolution methods, is it practical to do them? Does this prevent usage on teams?

I think it is, from memory the main methods are stone, trade, happiness/friendliness and then the malamar technique. I don't think any are 'flawed' but certainly could benefit from refinement. My biggest issue is with dusk/dawn stones being available so late in the game and so few available. Their availability should be the same as water/leaf, etc. This is becoming more important as the available recipients is increasing.

Are there any mons which could improve your team, but you don't use due to disliking them?

Not really, although some should have a move-pool change considered. Magikarp and splash, abra and teleport, would be nice to get one early on that could actually (try to) hold its own.

Is there a correlation between competitive viability and viability when teambuilding? Why?

Can't really comment here as I don't have any experience.

Do you use 'Bonus TMs' like Sweet Scent?

I do when searching for hordes, etc. But typically it is on a designated EV training pokemon or similar use. Not actually for battling/competitive purposes.

Actually, after writing these responses i've come back to touch on Serperior. I actually felt a bit disappointed with it -- not sure why but if I could describe it in a reaction, it would be:

 

[SuperSixFighters]

Do you use HM slaves or do you share the load among the team?

Well, my team is used for a competitive secret base League, so my first three pokes have a fully competitive moveset. However, this is a water team so surf and waterfall are used there. My false-swiper gets cut and my Dragonite does the rest.

What Megas do you use? What Megas do you think would improve ?

I used Megabert as soon as I got the stone. I toyed around with mega Gyarados too. I used megatoise for a bit in XY, and Gallade as a false swiper sometimes in ORAS.

What Gen 7 Pokemon do you want to see teambuilding-wise? HM slaves or strong attackers?

Definitely cool attackers. Or a cool swipe-scent Mon I'd like.

Do you feel ORAS pressures you into using water types (for surf, waterfall, dive)?

I use 4 water mons, and I still need my Dragonite 4 dive ;).

Are HMs really needed? Which ones? Why?

I like surf and dive as hms, but would prefer dive to be part of surf. Strength and cut should just be items, and i'd prefer fly and rock smash to be optional tms.

Do you use false swipe? On how many pokemon? Do you add a paralyzing or sleeping move?

I DID use a swipe-t-wave Gallade-mega, but switched it with a shiny Bisharp (with similar moveset).

Which starters are best teambuilding-wise? Why? What would you want to see in one?

Probs Mudkip overall for ORAS, but Torchic is best on cores and treeko for false swipe. I'd say Chesnaught or Fennekin in-game XY for their power.

Do you use your starter? Why?

Yes, but for sentimental reasons.

New Pokemon-are they a curse or a blessing in-game?

Blessing, as long as we get the DexNav. Otherwise I never get the right Pokes...

Do innovations like the DexNav make teambuilding easier? How about the Pokemon range?

See above.

For Pokemon with certain evolution methods, is it practical to do them? Does this prevent usage on teams?

I barely use these in-game...

Are there any mons which could improve your team, but you don't use due to disliking them?

Ludiculo? I use a Lotad...

Is there a correlation between competitive viability and viability when teambuilding? Why?

Yes and no... Everyone else already said...

Do you use 'Bonus TMs' like Sweet Scent?

Not always but I love Lotad and Oddish so...

MORE DISCUSSION POINTS:


What do people think of legendaries in-game? Are they as broken as they seem?
Are cores relevant here?
Is a false swiping starter a good or a bad idea?

 

[MikeAU]

MORE DISCUSSION POINTS:


What do people think of legendaries in-game? Are they as broken as they seem?
Are cores relevant here?
Is a false swiping starter a good or a bad idea?

Quite like the idea of this thread. Will answer the additional points later tonight.

I'd suggest updating the initial post to include these in the list, that way we'll hopefully get others views and thoughts on these topics too.

 

[Lady Vader]

What do people think of legendaries in-game? Are they as broken as they seem?

Legends are very powerful for playthroughs as they have solid bulk and power, making them very difficult for the NPCs to fight.
Personally, I haven't used a Legendary in a playthrough (other than randomizers) since SoulSilver and I have only used 1 competitive Legendary on my main OU team (Terrakion). I just don't personally like using Legends.

Are cores relevant here?

They can, though not to the same level as competitive. Having defensive and offensive coverage across your team (including cores) really helps. I often have a Grass/Water/Fire core with rare exceptions (I didn't use Fire-types in either Hoenn playthrough...I believe that is all, actually) and it works very well (just as it does in competitive). I would imagine that a Dragon/Steel/Fairy core would also work well, though not as well as GWF since offense matters more in-game and Steel weaknesses are uncommon across NPCs (unlike competitive players where Fairies are fairly common).

 

[Suspicious Derivative]

Do you use HM slaves or do you share the load among the team?
I do almost always use HM slaves. The only exception was probably in Gen 1 where I for the most part distributed the HMs among my whole party (except for Flash) because there were only 5 HMs then and most of them weren't that useless, plus many Pokemon didn't even learn 4 useful moves back then either.

What Megas do you use? What Megas do you think would improve teambuilding?
This is too early to answer for me. Megas haven't been around that long, and I only used them in OR/AS as I wanted to only use Kalos Pokemon in X/Y. Anyway, in Omega Ruby, I used Swampert, Mawile, Manectric and Mawile, while in Alpha Sapphire, I used Blaziken, Altaria, Glalie and Gallade. Not sure which ones really improve teambuilding, too early to answer that too.

What Gen 7 Pokemon do you want to see teambuilding-wise? HM slaves or strong attackers?
Strong, fast attackers are usually the best for in-game runs so those are what I want to see. Though I'll be happy to see what new ideas the creators can come up with.

Do you feel ORAS pressures you into using water types (for Surf, Waterfall, Dive)?
Not more so than any other game. Surf is practically always needed, Waterfall is not due to the small amount of Waterfalls in the game. While Dive is necessary to advance the story, I just used a HM slave for it. I used Surf on my team in both games, Waterfall in Omega Ruby (since I had Swampert), but a HM slave for Dive in both games and for Waterfall in Alpha Sapphire.

Are HMs really needed? Which ones? Why?
Yes. Surf and Fly are absolutely mandatory for me in any game. As for the rest, I use HM slaves. Except if I have a team member which benefits from having one of them, such as Swampert as mentioned above, which benefits from having Waterfall.

Do you use False Swipe? On how many Pokemon? Do you add a paralyzing or sleeping move?
For the most part, yes. I will complete the Pokedex in the game later on anyway, and having a False Swiper in my team while playing through the main story and catching many Pokemon for the Pokedex is very helpful. I usually only have one with the move. I might use a Paralyze- or Sleep-move if a member in my team can learn one.

Which starters are best teambuilding-wise? Why? What would you want to see in one?
Fast and powerful ones because they make the game go faster and (for what it's worth) make it easier too. What I want to see in one? Not sure...

Do you use your starter? Why?
Most of the time, yes.

Quick rundown for each generation:
R/B/Y: Used all three at various times while playing through the games, pretty sure I used my starter in every playthough. For Yellow, I am pretty sure I used Pikachu and all three starters every time I played through the game.
G/S/C: Used one on every playthough, and used each of them at least once.
R/S: I think I used Swampert on both games, actually. A bit strange in retrospect, but that's how it was.
FR/LG: One of the exceptions. I used my starter (Charizard) in LG (and then again with Venusaur when I restarted), but wanted to be a "rebel" and not use my starter in FR so I did not use my starter there.
Emerald: Rebellious phase once again, I did not use my starter here.
D/P/P: Rebellious phase over, used Chimchar in Pearl, Turtwig in Diamond and Piplup in Platinum. Also used Chimchar again on my second copy of Platinum.
HG/SS: Totodile on SS and Cyndaquil on HG. Never going to use Chikorita again after the nightmare it was in Crystal.
B/W/B2/W2: A bit of a mix. Used Snivy in Black, Oshawott in White and Tepig in Black 2. Did not feel like using any of them again in White 2, so I picked Oshawott but quickly got rid of it and used a Riolu which I caught at the Floccesy Ranch as my "starter" instead. Also got N's Zorua later in the game and used it as a "second starter".
X/Y: Froakie in X, Fennekin in Y.
OR/AS: Mudkip in OR, Torchic in AS.

New Pokemon-are they a curse or a blessing in-game?
Always a blessing. If there is one thing I love using in new games (first pairs in particular), it is using new Pokemon. While I do re-use Pokemon sometimes, I generally try to use new ones or ones I haven't tried before.

Do innovations like the DexNav make teambuilding easier? How about the Pokemon range?
Kind of. The DexNav made it easier to find some Pokemon, if anything.

For Pokemon with certain evolution methods, is it practical to do them? Does this prevent usage on teams?
Depends. Trade evolutions can be tricky if I only own one game from the generation in question, so I often have to exclude them. Stone evolutions can be annoying if the stone needed isn't available early, but I have solved that by simply trading over the stone from another game when I need it. Others might be difficult too but there are ways to get around them. I would say that some are a bit impractical and it prevents usage for some Pokemon, but it depends a bit on your playstyle.

Are there any mons which could improve your team, but you don't use due to disliking them?
I guess so. Gardevoir, for example. It could probably have been good on either of my OR/AS teams but since it my least favorite Pokemon, I'd never use it. Screw it to eternity and beyond. There might be others too but that's on top of my head.

Is there a correlation between competitive viability and viability when teambuilding? Why?
To an extent, I guess. Some Pokemon that are good in-game are also good competitively but there are exceptions. Defensive and Stall-oriented Pokemon might be good competitively but they are not that good in-game since they just slow down the time it takes to play through a game.

Do you use 'Bonus TMs' like Sweet Scent?
I sometimes use Bonus TMs depending on what I might need for my teams and which ones are available.

What do people think of legendaries in-game? Are they as broken as they seem?
They are kind of broken, but most of the time they are available rather late. Though the games are still very easy and you are never forced to have a legendary on your team (except for the battles against N/Ghetsis in B/W and against Lysandre in X/Y).

Are cores relevant here?
Wouldn't say they are relevant, but they can surely be helpful. I generally try to have a FWG core in most of my in-game teams just for balance.

Is a false swiping starter a good or a bad idea?
Can work either way I guess, if there is no other Pokemon on the team that learns False Swipe, the starter might be the best choice.

 

[Lady Vader]

What do people think of legendaries in-game? Are they as broken as they seem?
They are kind of broken, but most of the time they are available rather late. Though the games are still very easy and you are never forced to have a legendary on your team (except for the battles against N/Ghetsis in B/W and against Lysandre in X/Y).

You don't have to use those Legends then. You can given the option to box them immediately if you so wish (I remember that in Black as it took me a few tries to beat N and I eventually just had to use Reshiram to defeat his Zekrom as my team was underleveled. EDIT: I've just captured Xerneas in X and it allowed me to immediately box it, so yeah, you don't have to).

...but I have solved that by simply trading over the stone from another game when I need it.

This actually reminds me of something related to this topic: how many of us have traded over Pokémon to take advantage of TMs and Move Tutors from later in the game.
It's not like I ever traded over an Ivysaur to Alpha Sapphire to teach it Giga Drain and Toxic or Houndoom over to teach it Flamethrower, Dark Pulse, Sludge Bomb, and Overheat. Or Frogadier Surf, Ice Beam, and Dark Pulse. Not at all.

 

[Perseu]

I just build when I role play pokemon, using any mons that I like and find exciting playing with, if i want utility I just solo the game with the starter, use hm slaves and add 1 or 2 legendaries late game (in sapphire and A. Sapphire kyogre is totally shit broken in game, just destroying wallace and soloing the E4 by itself, for example).

 

[jellsprout]

Do you use HM slaves or do you share the load among the team.
I always use a full team of 6 fighting Pokemon and I share the experience equally among them. I feel that using any less Pokemon just makes the game too easy. As such, I am forced to either divide the HMs among this team or temporarily switch out one of my team members if none of my Pokemon can learn the HM. For example, I once did an Eeveelution playthrough of HeartGold, where I could only use Eeveelutions. None of them can learn Fly or Rock Climb, so I was forced to use a HM slave for those moves.
Ordinarily though I design my teams such that they can use all HMs.

What Megas do you use? What Megas do you think would improve teambuilding?
I generally play older generations, so I rarely actually use Megas. So far I have only used Mega Aerodactyl, Blaziken and Altaria in-game.
My opinion on Megas is that they are a neat addition to the game, though they are generally too overpowered and too many of them can only be gotten post-game. I see a cool Mega I want to use and then see their Megastone can only be gotten after beating the E4.

What Gen 7 Pokemon do you want to see teambuilding-wise? HM slaves or strong attackers?
I want to see more original type combinations. Pokemon like Conkeldurr could be fun, but they simply aren't different enough from Machamp or Hariyama for me to bother using.

I also want more Pokemon able to use HMs that aren't of their type. The only non-Legendary, non-Flying type Pokemon that can learn Fly are Vibrava/Flygon, Golurk, Hydreigon and Volcaron, and the latter two are impractical for in-game runs, for Waterfall we only have Dratini/Dragonair/Dragonite and Dragalge, and for Dive we only have Dragonite, Beartic and Dragalge, with Dragonite again being completely impractical for in-game runs.
This severely limits your team options and it would be great to have more options here.

Do you feel ORAS pressures you into using water types (for surf, waterfall, dive)?
Yes, definitely. As I said before, there are very few non-Water types available for Waterfall and Dive and none of these are in RSE/ORAS. Same applies to GSC/HGSS with Whirlpool instead of Dive, though this HM has a wider learnpool. What is worst about this is that your Water type is forced to have three Water moves, only leaving one move for coverage. If you use Lanturn, for example, this means it can only have either Thunderbolt or Ice Beam, leaving it susceptible to either Water or Dragon types. Almost forces you to give Surf to a different Pokemon.

Are HMs really needed? Which ones? Why?
No. I think BW had them non-mandatory, with the HMs not being required to beat the game, but only to further explore the world and get new Pokemon or items.

Do you use false swipe? On how many pokemon? Do you add a paralyzing or sleeping move?
Only in post-game. In-game they aren't required, but post-game I like to raise a Smeargle or Breloom for the purpose of catching Pokemon.

Which starters are best teambuilding-wise? Why? What would you want to see in one?
Generally speaking, Water > Fire > Grass, though Infernape and Blaziken win out over their Water types. The Water type starters learn most HMs, tend to have Ice type coverage available and have a good stat mix. Grass types generally have almost no HM compatibility, have almost no coverage moves, Grass has crap coverage itself in-game, being resisted by Grass, Poison, Bug, Fire, Steel, Flying, Ghost and Dragon types, and in many games there are no strong Grass type moves available to the starters.

What I want in a starter is a Pokemon that I want to keep in my team for the entire game. Good match-ups, good coverage options, good HM compatibility and good stats/moves. I want them to be a Pokemon that I would want to use, even if I didn't get them automatically. Infernape is an example of this, being strong, fast and having several high power moves available to him of different types, Meganium is an anti-example of this, being slow, weak and without any good coverage moves.

Do you use your starter? Why?
Usually, yes. I just feel a special connection to them.

New Pokemon-are they a curse or a blessing in-game?
Blessing. More is better.

Do innovations like the DexNav make teambuilding easier? How about the Pokemon range?
I never used DexNav or such for my in-game team, but I did like the addition. I always like more different ways to encounter and catch Pokemon.

For Pokemon with certain evolution methods, is it practical to do them? Does this prevent usage on teams?
Very much. I rarely use trade-evolution Pokemon in my in-game teams for this reason and it is very annoying to get Magnezone or Probopass in ORAS. I do like most of these methods, though.They allow for different ways to play the game, which is always fun.

Are there any mons which could improve your team, but you don't use due to disliking them?
I dunno. There usually are so many options available that it doesn't matter much if you don't want to use one specific Pokemon. And even then, the only Pokemon I generally don't want to use on in-game runs are legendaries. I still use Pokemon I dislike, such as Ditto, even if only to try out how bad they actually are.

Is there a correlation between competitive viability and viability when teambuilding? Why?
A bit. If a Pokemon has high stats and a good movepool, they are more viable competitive and in-game. But obviously there is still a difference. In Gen I, nearly every Pokemon the in-game trainers use are Poison, Bug, Grass, Fire or Flying types, which makes Bulbasaur pretty crap in-game, but in competitive these types are a bit more rare, making Venusaur better. Status is also more important in competitive than in-game, thanks to AI hax, and stall is less effective in-game.
There are also availability issues, with most Dragons being good competitive, but being so difficult to get that they are useless in-game.

Do you use 'Bonus TMs' like Sweet Scent?
Sweet Scent has its uses. If you have a level 40 Pokemon, you can combine it with Repel to easily encounter the Legendary Beasts in GSC. But TMs such as Teleport or Sky Attack, I simply store in the PC.

 

[PSDuckie]

Here are my answers. To distinguish them from the questions, my answers are in blue:

• Do you use HM slaves or do you share the load among the team. It depends on the game. In some files, like my aS file, I use HM mons (Bibarel is awesome for that!), but in others, like my Ruby and X Scramble files, I try to avoid using them.
  
• What Megas do you use? What Megas do you think would improve teambuilding? Actually, I am currently using no Megas at all. I use my Y and aS files for teambuilding, and the team I'm currently building is Mega-free. As for my X Scramble file, I don't have any possible Megas in my Scramble team.
  
• What Gen 7 Pokemon do you want to see teambuilding-wise? HM slaves or strong attackers? Strong attackers. We already have the ultimate HM mon in the form of Bibarel.
  
• Do you feel ORAS pressures you into using water types (for surf, waterfall, dive)? Yes, I feel aS pressures the use of Water-types (I don't have oR, and this reason wouldn't work for oR anyway), but not for the reason you gave. The reason I feel Water use is so pressured is simple: Primal Kyogre.
  
• Are HMs really needed? Which ones? Why? It depends on the game. RBY need all but Fly and Flash. BW2 don't need any. That said, Surf is still an amazingly powerful move regardless of the game.
  
• Do you use false swipe? On how many pokemon? Do you add a paralyzing or sleeping move? Not unless I'm trying to catch a legendary.
  
• Which starters are best teambuilding-wise? Why? What would you want to see in one? The ones I've used in teams are Venusaur, Charizard, and Swampert, and I like the power from all of them, plus Mega Charizard Y's Drought ability. Venusaur and Mega Charizard Y together totally tore up the Battle Maison!
  
• Do you use your starter? Why? It depends on the game and on the challenge I'm playing. In my Yellow Scramble, my starter (unevolved because I didn't have any other RBY carts to trade to) was one of my MVPs against the Elite Four. In my White N challenge, my starter got released. In my Y and aS files, I still have my starters, but they aren't really being used all that much.
  
• New Pokemon-are they a curse or a blessing in-game? It depends on the point of the file. As far as completing the Dex, a curse. As far as making teams, a blessing.
  
• Do innovations like the DexNav make teambuilding easier? How about the Pokemon range? Yes and yes!
  
• For Pokemon with certain evolution methods, is it practical to do them? Does this prevent usage on teams? The only evolution methods I haven't yet tried are Milotic and some of the Eeveelutions. That said, the only Pokemon I stay away from on teams for in-game reasons are the legendaries.
  
• Are there any mons which could improve your team, but you don't use due to disliking them? No. Some people don't like the likes of Vanilluxe or Garbodor, and in fact I haven't used them on teams. But that's because they're bad mons, not because they're disliked.
  
• Is there a correlation between competitive viability and viability when teambuilding? Why? Most of the teams I build in-game are for Global Link tournaments, so yes. However, I do have a few teams that are not competitively viable, but do have a purpose, like the team I'll talk about in the next question:
  
• Do you use 'Bonus TMs' like Sweet Scent? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! My EV-training team of Simipour (for surf), Talonflame (for fly), Masquerain (for Sweet Scent), and whatever I'm trying to EV train would not work at all without those three key moves.

 

[lucariomaster2]

Do you use HM slaves or do you share the load among the team.
It really depends on the game. One thing I love that Gen VI has done has reduced the need for HMs. In previous generations (DPP being the worst offender), it was not an uncommon occurrence for me to have a nice, balanced team of 6, and then have to leave 1 or even 2 team members behind for HM slaves. It just felt anticlimatic, climbing a giant mountain to stop the universe from being destroyed, when one of your Pokemon is a level 20 Bibarel.
What Megas do you use? What Megas do you think would improve teambuilding?
I don't often use Megas in-game, solely because it gives the player an unfair advantage. In the games we've seen so far, the only characters able to use Megas are you, your rival, the evil team boss, and the champion. But what if some Ace Trainers, especially the ones in Victory Road, could also Mega Evolve? That would, on top of adding a degree of difficulty that I've been sorely missing, justify the player being able to do the same and lower the amount of what I've begun to call "Player Character privilege" (along with having a full team of 6, switching on a regular basis, etc).
What Gen 7 Pokemon do you want to see teambuilding-wise? HM slaves or strong attackers?
I hope we see more strong attackers because you only really need one HM slave in each game. The HM user's job is not to be original; it's to do the grunt work so that the rest of your team doesn't have to.
Do you feel ORAS pressures you into using water types (for surf, waterfall, dive)?
If you're not using a Water-type in ORAS, you will definitely have a Water HM slave (usually Sharpedo). This wouldn't be as much of a problem if the selection of Water-types were simply expanded upon, especially in the Water routes - almost half the region is water, and yet all we can find are Tentacool and Wingull?
Are HMs really needed? Which ones? Why?
HMs are, in my opinion, an obsolete concept. A much better idea would be to make it so that, once you have the appropriate gym badge, any slashing move can cut down trees, most Fighting-type moves can smash rocks, moves that involve brute force can move boulders, most Water-types can carry you on water, etc. The HM moves would still exist (to teach to a Pokemon as a last resort to progress), but they would become optional. ORAS took a huge step in the right direction with this by introducing the Eon Flute, thereby removing the need for a Flier and allowing me to finally run a Brave Bird/Return/Facade/U-Turn Swellow.
Do you use false swipe? On how many pokemon? Do you add a paralyzing or sleeping move?
What I do is I have one Pokemon in my utility box (a Breloom with False Swipe, Spore, and Substitute) that's dedicated to catching Pokemon. I just pull it out whenever I need to catch something or SR a legend.
Which starters are best teambuilding-wise? Why? What would you want to see in one?
I'll go through this one generation at a time.
RBYFRLG: Honestly, all of the starters are pretty solid. Bulbasaur is a star early-game and stays a decent bulky attacker; Charmander struggles hugely against the first two gyms, but when it evolves it becomes a powerful special sweeper. Squirtle does decently well through the whole game, and has the benefit of learning Surf.
GSCHGSS: Don't pick Chikorita. Just... don't. It's terrible. It has some good support options, but really, in-game is all about offense. For the other two, it's really just a matter of whether you want to go Physical or Special; I'd argue for Totodile since it evolves the earliest, runs mixed well, and gets the Water HMs.
RSEORAS: Oh, Sceptile... Why can't your Attack and SAtk be switched? Your design with its razor sharp leaves and claws screams "fast physical sweeper", you have a great physical movepool with Leaf Blade, Acrobatics, Earthquake, Drain Punch, X-Scissor, and Swords Dance for setup... and yet you have 85 Attack and 105 SAtk. This isn't to say Sceptile isn't a good choice; it's still my go-to for most Gen III runs. Just... I feel like its potential was wasted. When its Mega was first announced, I was hopeful... but they kept it as a Special attacker instead of making it Physical.
Blaziken is just really good; it gets great moves by level up, it has good stats, and if you don't want a challenge, its Mega Evolution completely breaks the game. More or less the same for Swampert; it's just slower and bulkier.
DPPt: Torterra's decent. Getting Earthquake by level up is always a plus, and it can hit pretty hard, especially considering how Sinnoh has quite a few things weak to it. Infernape... do I really have to say anything? With twin 104 offenses, 108 Speed, and an amazing level-up movepool, Chimchar may be the best starter in the entire franchise. I can't say too much about Piplup since I've never used it, but I hear it's mainly defense-oriented. Water/Steel is a really good defensive typing, anyway.
BW/BW2: Honestly, all of the starters are fairly lackluster. Since we're speaking from an ingame perspective in which Hidden Abilities do not exist, Serperior just doesn't hit that hard. Plus, it learns hardly any moves. Emboar is actually decent, and it definitely pulled its weight in my last White run (in which I used 6 super-slow mons and then traded Reuniclus and Chandelure over to B2 to teach them Trick Room). Samurott, like Piplup, I've never actually used, so I can't really comment on it.
XY: They're all solid picks. Chesnaught is tanky as hell, Delphox hits really hard and can technically go mixed with Psyshock, and Greninja is stupidly fast.
I usually go for the Grass starter (After all, Sapphire was my first game ever and I started with Treecko), so I'll just say that in Sun and Moon I'm really hoping to see a fast, physically-oriented Grass starter (basically, what Sceptile could have been had its stat distribution been different).
Do you use your starter? Why?
Yes, always. Unless I pre-plan my team before starting a run or get unlucky in a Nuzlocke, my starter always makes it onto my final 6.
New Pokemon-are they a curse or a blessing in-game?
I feel like they're a blessing as long as it's not all new Pokemon. In the first playthrough of a new generation, I make it a point to only use new Pokemon; however, if there aren't a few familiar faces thrown in, the region risks coming across as strange or even alien.
Do innovations like the DexNav make teambuilding easier? How about the Pokemon range?
Coming for someone who, in his Alpha Sapphire playthrough, spent 2 hours grinding DexNav for a Brave Bird Taillow, I can definitely say that it makes the game more fun - it rewards patience with a (possibly overpowered) Pokemon for your team.
For Pokemon with certain evolution methods, is it practical to do them? Does this prevent usage on teams?
The only ones I can think of offhand that make the Pokemon less viable for an ingame run are trade evolutions since, at least for me, I don't know anyone else IRL who has the games, so I need to find someone on Smogon who can evolve it for me.
Are there any mons which could improve your team, but you don't use due to disliking them?
If we're talking about ingame teams, I base them all on design anyway, and it doesn't usually matter since the games are really easy as long as you know about type coverage and the importance of non-damaging moves.
Is there a correlation between competitive viability and viability when teambuilding? Why?
Teambuilding ingame definitely leans towards Pokemon that hit hard and fast; after all, Chansey is a beast in OU, but when was the last time you ever heard of someone using it on an ingame team?
Do you use 'Bonus TMs' like Sweet Scent?
Nah, those moves are usually useless in battle (Though I have a Sweet Scenter in my utility box for EV training).

MORE DISCUSSION POINTS:
(Thanks MikeAU)

What do people think of legendaries in-game? Are they as broken as they seem?
I run a trade thread, so I generally skip all of the ingame legends during the playthrough and then come back and RNG/SR them (depending on the game). :P
Are cores relevant here?
No, not really. As long as you don't overlevel one Pokemon while ignoring everything else or stack your team with a bunch of same-typed mons, you'll do just fine. This will be unlikely to change unless Gym Leaders base their gyms around strategies (HO, Stall, Hazards, etc.) instead of types.
Is a false swiping starter a good or a bad idea?
Sceptile and Samurott are the only starters that can learn False Swipe, so...

 

[Kurona]

Legendaries... really depend on what the Pokémon's like just as anything else, but generally yeah Legends will be good. I personally haven't used legendaries in-game too much; Suicune in Colosseum, Zapdos in Leafgreen, Articuno in Blue (but that was a playthrough meant to be broken; I used missingno to buff the fuck out of my team anyway)... oh, and Latios in Omega Ruby. I'll always go with Zekrom in a playthrough of White because y'know, climax. ... gosh I use quite a legends, actually. I also used Palkia in Pearl when I was a kid to destroy everything.
I feel it's balanced out due to them being very hard to train, the fact they're kind of on par with Pseudo-legendaries people are somehow okay with, and the fact that they only learn a new move like every 11 levels. Latios is an absolute pain in the ass with no reliable dragon move.

 

[SuperSixFighters]

Debate time! Did megas make teambuilding easier, or are they just one more thing which Game Freak tries to shove in your face ;).

 

[MikeAU]

Legendaries... really depend on what the Pokémon's like just as anything else, but generally yeah Legends will be good. I personally haven't used legendaries in-game too much

I'm with you on this -- gen 1 I definitely used the Zapdos, gen 2 was suicune and since then -- haven't really used any. I felt ORAS (first exposure to gen 3) kinda dropping latios(?) so early was a bit off putting. I mean here i was trying level and evolve all my team up and BOOM! It has pretty much stayed in a box since... I jsut find so early on it takes the challenge away. I didn't mind the gen 1 or gen 2 'legendary' pokemon. I don't have anything against them -- just hasn't caught my attention the past 2 gen's.

 

[MegaFlareon]

Had a good read with the previous posts above. I'll answer some questions too...

Debate time! Did megas make teambuilding easier, or are they just one more thing which Game Freak tries to shove in your face ;).
In-game, I actually only liked the mega-evolution by aesthetics so not much. As far as gameplay goes, I just use it like my regular Pokemon. It's fun to use them though.

Do you use HM slaves or do you share the load among the team.
HMs go to my team during the early-game but I eventually replace them with more powerful moves and I put HMs on a slave. Thank you move deleter!

Postgame, my HM slaves eventually went on to level 100 thanks to Exp. Share. Not much of slavery because I paid them back. :)

What Megas do you use? What Megas do you think would improve teambuilding?
Starter and pseudo-starter megas only as the stones were given to me as a gift. Specifically Sceptile in Omega Ruby and Blastoise in X. I also used Lucario in X just to make Korrina proud.

What Gen 7 Pokemon do you want to see teambuilding-wise? HM slaves or strong attackers?
Probably both but of course more leaning to strong attackers. I just want diversity in general so I'm fine with both.

Do you use False Swipe? On how many Pokemon? Do you add a paralyzing or sleeping move?
I'm not really a fan of False Swipe as I prefer inflicting paralysis/sleep on legendary Pokemon. On weaker Pokemon, I just use Quick Ball then spam Ultra Balls if the first one fails.

Do you feel ORAS pressures you into using water types (for surf, waterfall, dive)?
Not really. Surf and Dive go to my team then Waterfall goes to a slave as I'm only going to need it on Victory Road.

Are HMs really needed? Which ones? Why?
Contrary to others' opinion, I still like the concept of HMs. It gives you interaction with your Pokemon outside of battles and the new Amie. Sacrifing a moveslot for it is a challenging decision for me (especially in Gen1) but now it doesn't really hurt much thanks (again!) to the move deleter.

New Pokemon-are they a curse or a blessing in-game?
Still quite a blessing as it gives the player more selection on teambuilding. As a Gen 1 fan though, at least half of my team is composed of first gen Pokemon.

Which starters are best teambuilding-wise? Why? What would you want to see in one?
All starters have balanced stats so they all perform well ingame, at least in my opinion.
Gen1: All are solid throughout the game. Squirtle probably gets my pick as get gets the best TM coverage learning powerful moves such as Blizzard and Earthquake which hit both of its weaknesses while also having the utility in Surf and Strength. Bulbasaur is also an appealing option as it rocks the first three gyms. As far as Charmander goes, I don't really think it sucks early game. You roast the Viridian Forest with its Ember and you can easily beat Brock as well despite the type disadvantage (both Pokemon have low Specials and in RBY they don't have a super-effective Attack on you; in FRLG, Charmander gets Metal Claw).
Gen2: As much as I love Cyndaquil, I have to admit Totodile is the star here. Cyndaquil is still awesome in-game thanks to its high power and Speed. Chikorita? It's fun to use as it gets an early Razor Leaf and Body Slam and it beats Whitney's Miltank handily thanks to its good bulk and Reflect. What sucks for Chikorita though is its type match-ups against most of the trainers in-game.
Gen3: Mudkip has good bulk and gets the most powerful moves early-game. For me, Treecko gets the best stats but only has weak moves even up until mid-game.
Gen4: Haven't finished the game because I only played this on emulator and NDS emulators are pretty slow. I still think Infernape is the best here in terms of stats and movepool.
Gen5: Haven't played it. :(
Gen 6: I chose Chesnaught here and it still did a great job but I think Delphox is the best here as it is the most powerful of the three while still having and above average Speed. It also gets the most type advantages out of all gym leaders.

Do you use your starter? Why?
YES. ALWAYS. As my first Pokemon, I feel a special bond with it. Blastoise is and will always be my favorite Pokemon because it was my starter choice in my very first Pokemon game.

For Pokemon with certain evolution methods, is it practical to do them? Does this prevent usage on teams?
As long as it doesn't involve trade in it, then I'm fine with it.

Are there any mons which could improve your team, but you don't use due to disliking them?
Pseudo-legendary Pokemon. I like them a lot but they are a pain to train because they evolve so late and their middle evolutions are quite weak.

Is there a correlation between competitive viability and viability when teambuilding? Why?
Same as what other people said. As long as it has a good Speed and a decent Attacking stat, it works.

Do you use 'Bonus TMs' like Sweet Scent?
Yes but not on my team though. I specifically have a Gloom in the storage just for Sweet Scent and Cut.

What do people think of legendaries in-game? Are they as broken as they seem?
I think of them as trophy Pokemon in-game. I don't really use them but it is fun squashing my Rival with it for just one battle.

 

[Lady Vader]

Gen4: Haven't finished the game because I only played this on emulator and NDS emulators are pretty slow. I still think Infernape is the best here in terms of stats and movepool.

It's not the emulator. Trust me.

 

[jordanthejq12]

I'll take a crack at these, because Wynaut?


Did megas make teambuilding easier, or are they just one more thing which Game Freak tries to shove in your face?My first run of X, I actually only mega'd twice (against Lysandre and Diantha), because I got my entire team to max affection in Pokemon-Amie and didn't want to lose those bonuses. I really don't care if my team has a mega or not, if it does great, if not, I'm sure I can figure out a way to handle it. Not every competitive team needs a mega, and the same is true in-game.


Do you use HM slaves, or do you share the load among the team?
I have tended in the past not to use HM slaves. In my current ORAS run, however, I've gotten great mileage out of Zigzagoon having Cut/Surf/Strength/Rock Smash. I also use it for Pickup duties, which it does very well. The EXP Share is very helpful here, allowing Ziggy to reach Linoone (required for Surf) while not needing to ever touch the battlefield.

What Megas do you use? What Megas do you think would improve teambuilding?
As I said, IDGAF about megas in-game. I really don't. Starters are definitely good to use since you get the stone anyway, and I did make full use of the welfare Lucario in Kalos because Wynaut.

What Gen 7 Pokemon do you want to see teambuilding-wise? HM slaves or strong attackers?
I'm sure we'll see both. If some combination of Zizgagoon/Bidoof/Tropius is available, I think we'll be fine.

Do you use False Swipe? On how many Pokemon? Do you add a paralyzing or sleeping move?
My Breloom has False Swipe+Stun Spore. Generally, it helps to use False Swipe or Thunder Wave in place of another TM move, allowing an easy swap-out when you want to catch stuff versus when you're facing trainers.

Do you feel ORAS pressures you into using water types (for surf, waterfall, dive)?
That's why you get a Zigzagoon. That said, Water is a good type to have anyway, but possibly needing two Waters, or a Water and a Surf-capable non-Water is a bit of a pressure.

Are HMs really needed? Which ones? Why?
I've seen a creative solution to the HM issue. Some fangames make use of HM items, which are Key Items that replace an HM, freeing you to delete the move itself if you so choose (though you generally still need the move at first). This preserves the HM system while removing their biggest practical hassle, weak moves serving no purpose outside of their field use taking up vital moveslots.

New Pokemon-are they a curse or a blessing in-game?
Depends. I personally don't care what gen it comes from; if it works, it works, period.

Which starters are best teambuilding-wise? Why? What would you want to see in one?
High but balanced stats and a pretty solid movepool--this is how starters have tended to operate throughout franchise history, and how they should continue to go. Mudkip fits this role perfectly, as do all three Kalos starters--the most impressive thing about XY to me is that all three starters work so beautifully.

Do you use your starter? Why?
Usually, my team is built around my starter. Of course I do!

For Pokemon with certain evolution methods, is it practical to do them? Does this prevent usage on teams?
The ones I avoid are trade-based and any of the unique ones (like hell I'm going to nauseate myself just to get a Malamar). Stone-based evos can be a pain too, since you have to wait until you've gotten the last level-up move you want before using the stone and thus risk that mon falling behind.

Are there any mons which could improve your team, but you don't use due to disliking them?
Dislike? Honestly, no. I have never cared that much about a mon's design or underlying concept. If it works, it works.

Is there a correlation between competitive viability and viability when teambuilding? Why?
There is, but it's not a particularly strong one. Given Pidgey and Starly in the same route or close by, you bet I'm taking Starly 100% of the time. Many competitive staples are only so because of event, Tutored, or Egg moves, which are of course difficult or impossible to get during your run through the region. Others have high evolution levels or difficult evolution methods to contend with. On the other hand, mons that are good in-game can find themselves outclassed when they have mons outside their Regional Dex to contend with for their role and opposition.

Do you use 'Bonus TMs' like Sweet Scent?
When convenient. Sweet Scent bagged me my Magnemite in ORAS, while Dig and Teleport (not a TM anymore, but whatevs) are useful enough while they're around, but usually find themselves removed for more useful moves.

What do you think of legendaries in-game? Are they as broken as they seem?
I'll generally never use the cover legends because of their sheer power. The thing with trios and Mythicals is not that they're broken, it's that you've built a bond with whatever it's going to be replacing, and it can be difficult to box something you've had for so long.

 

[SuperSixFighters]

I'm back! I think I'll start making weekly discussion points or something. This week: how do you think the Gen 7 Starters will effect teams in-game? I'd like to see all three getting false swipe for role compression on teams, alongside all getting cut and strength (and surf, dive and waterfall for the water and fly for grass). I think they have a lot of potential.

 

[jordanthejq12]

One easy one: Rowlet being a Flying type offers role compression of starter and Flier, and also a potential incentive to pick the Grass-type (which historically it kinda needs; looking at you, Chikorita and Snivy).

 

[Kurona]

Well. We know practically nothing about them so far; all we can reasonably say is that Rowlet will likely get Fly, Popplio will likely get Surf/Waterfall and some of them will likely get Cut, Rock Smash and Strength.
Hell, not even that; we don't know if some of those moves will be in the game or not. There's not really any meaningful, non-speculation discussion we can say until we have more information. It's about as good a question as "how do you think they'll be competitively", we just know nothing to answer that question with.

 

[Codraroll]

Oh, I just realized I haven't posted in this thread yet. Time to do something about that!

I tend to build my team as I go along. I pick my starter, catch an early-route Pokémon or two, and by the time I hit the first Gym, I usually have a party of 3 or 4. I rarely plan any of my captures, I tend to walk into areas, encounter a Pokémon, and then figure out whether or not it could be a worthwhile addition to the party. It's mostly a question of whether or not I already have the type covered already, and whether it's fun to use. The early-route 'mons tend to be swapped later in the game, when their power level starts to wane and more fun options present themselves.

Recently, I've had the idea of running through the game raising two teams. It fixes many of the problems associated with, among other things, TMs and Mega Pokémon. Basically, the games are so easy that using Megas, Legendaries, Pokémon-Amie training or late-game TMs don't serve any purpose. You one-shot most opponents anyway, so whether you do it Mega Evolved or not, and whether you use Bulldoze or Earthquake, doesn't have anything to say. One-hit-KO is one-hit-KO no matter how you do it. However, if you play in a way to keep your team constantly underlevelled, these usually-redundant tools suddenly become crucial to win battles.

As such, now I don't have any qualms about sticking a Mega on my teams. Many battles will be close calls anyway, so a Mega can serve as the team's "ace in the hole" rather than the usual "unstoppable bulldozer". I tend to steer away from Uber legendaries, though, as they are so much stronger compared to the rest of the team that they feel off-balance, and they're usually strong enough to even negate level differences versus in-game trainers (which again negates the spirit of the play style).

As for HMs, I tend to let the team share the load, though I guess that depends on the game. I haven't played the HM-heavy games much lately, but it works fine in recent games. I can even keep some HMs exclusive to one of the teams, since you usually only use them to pick up items anyway. There's usually room for Surf and Fly on most in-game teams in any case, and those are the ones you'll use the most.

When it comes to False Swipe, I almost never bother with it in-game. "Mandatory" legendaries have their catch rates cranked insanely high nowadays, other legendaries can wait until the post-game, and the rest of the game's Pokémon can be caught easily enough without the aid of False Swipe. A Sleep or Paralysis move is usually enough. No need to sacrifice a moveslot - or even seek out False Swipe-learning Pokémon - until the post game, where I can train a "catcher" quickly and easily.

 

[meowmachine]

Hi there! As suggested by Codraroll, I've decided to start a thread discussing teambuilding in-game. I really can't think of much to put here, so conversation away!

Questions to get you started (feel free to suggest):

Do you use HM slaves or do you share the load among the team.

HM Slaves. Normally I'll look up which HMs I'll need for the area and only carry the essentials.
What Megas do you use? What Megas do you think would improve teambuilding?

Megas tend to be very powerful. I've used a lot of mega swampert. With a few exceptions like m-Heracross, Megas generally improve your team.
What Gen 7 Pokemon do you want to see teambuilding-wise? HM slaves or strong attackers?

I'd like to see another OP HM Slave Bibarel or Pelipper.
Do you feel ORAS pressures you into using water types (for surf, waterfall, dive)?

It did, but they were all decent moves at least. DPP forced you to carry Defog. HGSS wanted you to use whirlpool.
Are HMs really needed? Which ones? Why?

HMs make thematic sense. It shows people and Pokemon working together not just to battle. Surf is a decent move and non-water-types can carry you across water. On the other hand, are you telling me that tree just keeps regrowing? Cut is stupid.
Do you use false swipe? On how many pokemon? Do you add a paralyzing or sleeping move?

I have specialized mons for catching and I tend to just throw pokeballs at rare pokemon I've never seen before. For me, catching pokemon is more of a post game thing. If it's a legendary or a 1-of-a-kind, I'll bring false swipe specifically for that. If its a nuzlocke, a pokemon in party is worth 2 in the grass. Paralyzing moves are okay but I find sleep moves not named dark void or spore to be too inaccurate.
Which starters are best teambuilding-wise? Why? What would you want to see in one?

The Kanto starters are all usable in FRLG. In RBY, stick with Bulbasaur or Squirtle since Charmander is kind of bad in that game. Charizard doesn't even learn fly.
Totodile has the good coverage. Cyndaquil's mono-fire covers the almost all the gyms. Chikorita makes the game a lot harder.
All 3 Hoenn starters are viableish. Treeko isn't too good in R/OR and learns almost only grass moves. Torchic isn't too good in S/AS. Mudkip is great.
All 3 Sinnoh starters are viable. Empoleon's typing isn't the greatest though.
The Unova starters kinda suck. Tepig is pitfully slow without flame charge. He's also stuck with arm thrust for too long. Snivy sucks from lack of power and bulk. Oshawott is in a similar boat but has better typing.
Froakie is great in general. Water is a blessed type and it has passable bulk. Fennekin is also good. Chespin isn't great until it evolves into chesnaught.
Do you use your starter? Why?

I use the starters because they have high base stats and evolve early.
New Pokemon-are they a curse or a blessing in-game?

They are good. I like seeing new pokemon and getting to know them better.
Do innovations like the DexNav make teambuilding easier? How about the Pokemon range?

Both help.
For Pokemon with certain evolution methods, is it practical to do them? Does this prevent usage on teams?

I'm not going to put 2 pokemon on a team reliant on the same evolutionary item that you only find 1 of in game (shiny stone). I find it annoying that items like dusk stone and razor claw are hard to find. Also, why do I have to trade a pokemon holding a consumable item? And what's up with Goodra being impossible to evolve in Hoenn without Kyougre's help?
Are there any mons which could improve your team, but you don't use due to disliking them?

Not really.
Is there a correlation between competitive viability and viability when teambuilding? Why?

Very little. The speed brackets are completely different. Switching after KOing makes OHKO checks much better. Items make it a much softer environment.
Do you use 'Bonus TMs' like Sweet Scent?

Yes, but mostly post-game. Secret Power is another big one.

MORE DISCUSSION POINTS:
(Thanks MikeAU)

What do people think of legendaries in-game? Are they as broken as they seem?

They are, but you often catch them relatively underleveled.
Are cores relevant here?

Yes, in most games, it is impractical to train 6 pokemon. You'll normally focus on 3 which cover each other well. For gym battles, I take maybe 4 pokemon advantageous to the gym whether it be resistances, super effective, or just having a super effective move. This is especially true in nuzlockes so I can sacrifice a weak mon over one I normally carry on the team that happens to be weak to the gym type.
Is a false swiping starter a good or a bad idea?

Pretty bad, but I tend to not use false swipe unless its on legendaries.

Some of this is from a nuzlocke perspective.

 

[DHR-107]

I'm back! I think I'll start making weekly discussion points or something. This week: how do you think the Gen 7 Starters will effect teams in-game? I'd like to see all three getting false swipe for role compression on teams, alongside all getting cut and strength (and surf, dive and waterfall for the water and fly for grass). I think they have a lot of potential.

Let's not talk about Gen 7 anywhere other than in the Sun/Moon thread please. We don't know anything about the Pokemon themselves apart from their typing. It's only another few days until I can reopen the thread with some more news... So let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.

 

[Siggu]

Do you use HM slaves or do you share the load among the team.

On games without a Mobile PC, I'd rather share the load because I hate having to go to the Pokémon Center to swap party members.

What Megas do you use? What Megas do you think would improve teambuilding?

I only used Mega Sceptile in Alpha Sapphire and that's because it was the starter. In Y I did not use any Mega because none of the Pokémon in my party could Mega Evolve in the first place.

What Gen 7 Pokemon do you want to see teambuilding-wise? HM slaves or strong attackers?
Do you feel ORAS pressures you into using water types (for surf, waterfall, dive)?

Hoenn has many nice-looking Water-type Pokémon lines. You're going to want to use one of them regardless of the HMs.

Are HMs really needed? Which ones? Why?

No. Never. By any means, NO. I'm not against the existence of HMs but I'm against them being required.

Do you use false swipe? On how many pokemon? Do you add a paralyzing or sleeping move?

Never on the story team. I have better things to do.

Which starters are best teambuilding-wise? Why? What would you want to see in one?

All I expect from a starter is a scaly or feathery body. It's not going to be part of my team if it fulfills none of those conditions.

Do you use your starter? Why?

See previous answer for more information.

New Pokemon-are they a curse or a blessing in-game?

A must in the first paired games of a generation (I will not use Pokémon that are NOT new in those cases).

Do innovations like the DexNav make teambuilding easier? How about the Pokemon range?

I plan the team with enough anticipation so no, it doesn't change a thing.

For Pokemon with certain evolution methods, is it practical to do them? Does this prevent usage on teams?

Pokémon that require trading are a big no. Apart from that, I don't mind.

Are there any mons which could improve your team, but you don't use due to disliking them?

Those that look like dogs. No matter how good they might be for in-game, I won't use them, under any circumnstance. And if they are gifts or forced catches, they are almost immediately released (e.g. Zacian).

Is there a correlation between competitive viability and viability when teambuilding? Why?

Not at all. I use Pokémon I like and that I preferably never used before.

Do you use 'Bonus TMs' like Sweet Scent?

I'd rather not, unless a Pokémon I like is behind them. Fortunately, that hasn't happened so far.

What do people think of legendaries in-game? Are they as broken as they seem?

They are, which is why I prefer to not give them more time than a non-legendary. Say, I used Eternatus in the first Champions Cup battle in Sword and then benched it, and in Let's GO I only used the birds for one Elite Four battle each.

Are cores relevant here?

Hah! Not even close. I've had teams where the near entirety of it was weak to the same type. For example, in Ultra Sun, I had FIVE Pokémon weak to Ice, and the one that wasn't was neutral.

Is a false swiping starter a good or a bad idea?

False Swiping during the story is a bad idea, no matter who you give the move to. There are better things to do.