Power-Up Punchin' Lucario

[BeyondOurwillMatt]

Lucario has always been one of my favorite Pokemon since I first laid eyes on him. I've tried and tried again in previous generations to make him work on a team, but to no avail. Please, help me use the power of my two favorite Pokemon (Lucario and Greninja) to full affect!!!

Atem (Lucario) (M) @ Lucarionite
Ability: Justified
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Power-Up Punch
- Bullet Punch
- Extreme Speed
- Ice Punch

Power-Up Punch provides set-up initiative and some extra damage to go with it. Works well when being STAB for Luke. Bullet Punch and Extreme Speed are for priority, obviously. Ice Punch gives me some coverage against Ground, Flying, and Dragon Types.

The Clamps (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock

I needed a physical wall and Gliscor seemed like a good pair for Lucario. He avoids those pesky ground type attacks and can take many physical hits. After tanking a hit or two, he can lay down his hazards and sometimes even take a Poke out with EQ.

Kakashi (Greninja) (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Protean
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Lonely Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam
- U-turn

I needed a special attacker that hit hard. Greninja can really abuse Protean and the huge power boost he gets with specs. U-turn provides a lot of momentum for him and this team especially if I use him as a lead to scout things out.

Zangetsu (Aegislash) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- King's Shield
- Shadow Sneak
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance

Pretty standard Aegislash. Double-STAB with King's Shield and Swords Dance. Usually sweeps late game after a SD. I prefer Double-STAB over Sacred Sword just for the power.

Misty (Vaporeon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Protect
- Wish
- Heal Bell

Vaporeon can take any water attacks Gliscor and Lucario aren't willing to take. Wish and Heal Bell help get rid of pesky status ailments and heal up some HP when given the chance.

Skarmory (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Defog
- Brave Bird
- Whirlwind

I wanted to try a Defog user and my friend suggested Skarmory. Skarmory can get rid of any hazards that I do mind being up and can phase out anyone who tries to set up on me. Brave Bird for coverage and STAB.

So what do you guys think? I believe this team is still very flawed. Help me out if you can :)

 

[Seiterman]

First, I'd like to direct you towards the rules thread. You need more information for your Pokemon. Explain why you chose who you did in more detail, you know? There's a lot that goes into the decision-making process, and it helps Raters a lot when you talk more about that and how your Pokemon work together.

Anyway, I wanna go a bit more in-depth into each Pokemon.

• Lucario- Ditch Power-Up Punch. For a Physical boosting option Swords Dance outclasses it completely. As a Fighting-STAB, two back-to-back PUP's (factoring in the +1 boost for the second punch,) will never do as much damage as a single unboosted Close Combat. You should definitely use Swords Dance and Close Combat, as you'll boost faster and hit way harder with your STAB. This will leave you with two more moveslots, which I know likely sounds troublesome since you're currently running ExtremeSpeed, Bullet Punch and Ice Punch. You should make a decision between ESpeed and BPunch. Due to Adaptability they're actually exactly as powerful as the other. The difference is what you want to hit. BPunch is resisted by more things, but nothing is immune to it and it has Super Effective coverage on certain threats. ESpeed is still resisted by a bunch of things, but Ghosts are also entirely immune (this includes Gengar, who is naturally faster than you.) ESpeed also has higher priority, meaning you can maybe take out a beaten-up Talonflame or Pinsir before it hits you with priority. This is your decision.
• Gliscor- Your team doesn't really need Spikes and Stealth Rock, so I'd probably just throw SR on Skarmory so you can free up a slot on Gliscor. He'd really, really appreciate the slot to use Roost so he can heal even further. Another option you may like is Taunt, which I would put over Protect if you are confident enough in your knowledge of what other Pokemon are running. If not, Protect is a fine option (especially if you are learning new Pokemon and moves.) If you decide to run Taunt, you'll want to move some Def EV's into Speed (he's super bulky on the physical side as is, and you'll want to outspeed certain threats.)
  
• Greninja- I have two suggestions for Greninja. First, replace that Choice Specs with a Life Orb. It's not like Greninja can take a hit to save its life anyway, so the recoil is fairly meaningless for him. He'll really like being able to switch moves (in case you get locked into an unfavorable move and want to U-Turn out, for example,) and it'll also boost U-Turn (whereas Specs do not.) The other thing I'd suggest is a Hasty Nature. Greninja needs that extra Speed. Without it you risk being outsped by a myriad of threats who will all be happy to make Greninja stop moving for the rest of the match.
• Aegislash- Your team would definitely appreciate a mixed wallbreaker set for this guy far more than the SD set (which is easy to play around for many Pokemon.) With a mixed set far fewer things will be willing to switch into Aegislash, and he'll be able to take out bulkier threats that threaten to stop Lucario sweeps. Try this set:

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Quiet Nature
252 HP/ 4 ATK/ 252 SPA
Stance Change
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Shadow Sneak
- Iron Head​

• Vaporeon- Vaporeon isn't bad by any means, but is not the best fit for the team. Wish Support and Heal Bell are neat, yeah, but does your team really need them? Lucario and Greninja will rarely live through more than a hit anyway and Gliscor would really prefer you not heal his Toxic status (it opens him up to a burn, which really messes him up.) Vaporeon is a lot more at home on slower, stallier teams. I'd suggest Rotom-W, as unoriginal as it is, in Vaporeon's place. It has a better set of resistances and, with Volt Switch and Will-O-Wisp, has far better synergy with your team.
• Skarmory- Like I said earlier, it'd be best to throw SR on Skarmory instead of Spikes. Otherwise, it's a Standard Skarmory that should work well.

Try some of what I suggested and let me know what you think. I hope I was helpful!