How to Build the Strongest Pokemon Team

Consider your goals. If your aim is to defeat a friend, you'll need to craft a team tailored to counter theirs. If you're building a team for competitive battles, focus on creating a lineup capable of taking on the strongest Pokémon. If you're simply bored or want a team for fun, think about selecting your favorite Pokémon.

Learn about all Pokémon and their moves. You may need to visit websites like Serebii.net, Bulbapedia, or Smogon. If you can't obtain the desired Pokémon in your version, use the GTS (Global Trade Station) in Jubilife City to acquire them. If the Pokémon obtained through trading has unsatisfactory stats or moves, you can address this by breeding after making a clear plan.

• Remember to breed with a male Pokémon of the same species, and the female Pokémon should be replaced with Ditto.

Choose Pokémon wisely. If your goal is to defeat a friend, try using Pokémon types that strongly counter theirs. Also, devise strategies to counter their team. For example, if their main Pokémon is a tank like Snorlax, which can endure heavy damage and heal with Rest, consider using a "Sub-Punching" strategy. Use Substitute first, then Focus Punch on the next turn.

• Teams should have type diversity, typically avoiding more than two Pokémon with the same weakness. Combine types and balance physical and special attackers. However, if using Baton Pass with Nasty Plot or Swords Dance, having multiple attack types provides more flexibility.
• Another strategy is to include Pokémon in your team that aren't primarily for attacking but for healing or tanking damage, known as "stalling."
• If not battling competitively, you don't need to be overly selective, but remember your team will be much stronger if you are!

Build a team around a specific battle mechanic or move. Some teams can be formed around mechanics like weather, Trick Room, or Tailwind. If you choose this approach, your team should include Pokémon that benefit from these conditions. Also, include Pokémon that can cover weaknesses and one or two that can set up battlefield conditions.

Ensure your team has strong core Pokémon. This is crucial for competitive teams. The core consists of two or three Pokémon with complementary strengths and weaknesses that can switch roles as needed.

Give Pokémon the right nature. A nature decreases one stat by 10% while increasing another by 10%. It's important to choose a nature that boosts the Pokémon's key stats while reducing less important ones, such as lowering Special Attack for a physical attacker.

Consider breeding Pokémon. To obtain Pokémon with the best combat capabilities, you may need to breed for egg moves, Individual Values (IVs), or desired natures. Pokémon can inherit moves from their parents. If both parents know a move that the offspring can learn by leveling up, it will start with that move.

• There are also special moves called egg moves that Pokémon can only learn by breeding with a parent (from Generation VI onwards) that knows the move.
• TM (Technical Machine) and HM (Hidden Machine) moves can only be inherited from previous game versions into Generation VI. These moves can only be passed down from the father.
• Natures can be inherited if the father holds an Everstone. The inheritance chance is 50% in versions before Pokémon Black/White 2 and guaranteed from that version onward.

Understand that Individual Values (IVs) can be inherited. IVs are hidden random values for each stat, ranging from 0 to 31. At level 100, stats increase significantly due to IVs, while the increase is smaller at lower levels. This can greatly impact a Pokémon's strength and determine its Hidden Power type. You may want high IVs, but low IVs are sometimes preferred for Trick Room teams or specific Hidden Power values.

• Hidden Power is a special move most Pokémon can learn, changing its type and power based on IVs. It’s useful for special attackers needing a specific type. Online calculators can help determine the required IVs for Hidden Power.
• Three IVs are randomly inherited from the parents. If a parent holds a Power item (e.g., Power Bracer, Anklet, Band, Lens, Weight, Belt), the child inherits the corresponding stat. If both parents hold such items, the child inherits one stat randomly from either parent, plus two other random IVs. From Black/White onward, if a parent holds a Destiny Knot, five IVs are inherited.

Breed for Hidden Abilities. Hidden Abilities can be inherited if the female Pokémon has one. Male and genderless Pokémon can pass down their Hidden Abilities when bred with Ditto. Females have an 80% chance to pass down their Hidden Ability. This chance does not apply if Ditto is the parent.

Plan clearly so each Pokémon in your team has a specific role. Examine each Pokémon's stats and moves to determine if it fits its assigned role. Consider roles like:

• Physical Sweeper (high Attack stat)
• Special Sweeper (high Special Attack stat)
• Physical Wall (high Defense stat, can tank hits)
• Special Wall (similar to Physical Wall but for Special Defense)
• Lead (sets up conditions or initiates early-game strategies)
• Crippler (inflicts status conditions, then switches out for a Sweeper)

Choose moves for your Pokémon carefully. Ensure the moves assigned suit their roles. Avoid giving Pokémon two moves of the same type, like Surf and Hydro Pump, unless necessary. Pokémon should cover as many types as possible. Moves that boost stats or heal are acceptable (e.g., Synthesis, Aromatherapy, Growth, Petal Dance), as are versatile moves like Flamethrower and Overheat.

• An attacker should have one or more strong STAB (Same-Type Attack Bonus) moves and a coverage move to handle different types. Some attackers benefit from stat-boosting moves, while others use support or healing moves like U-Turn. Priority moves are also valuable, as they act before slower moves.
• Tank Pokémon should have high HP and moves like healing, Taunt, Protect, Substitute, or status moves. Moves like Aromatherapy or Wish can support teammates.
• Support Pokémon use status moves to cripple opponents, counter stat-boosting sweepers, or aid your team.

Select a strong lead Pokémon. This is the Pokémon you send out first. Leads are often fast to prevent slow moves or attacks from opponents. Some leads are bulky and can deal significant damage throughout the match. They may set up hazards like Stealth Rock, Sticky Web, Spikes, or Toxic Spikes, or create favorable conditions like weather, Reflect, Light Screen, Trick Room, or Baton Pass. They often have disruptive moves, status effects, or ways to counter stat boosts, ensuring they remain useful even if Taunted.

Don’t rely solely on brute strength. Competitive battles require strategy and prediction. Ensure you can set traps (e.g., Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes) and use stat-boosting moves like Swords Dance. Even a 50% boost can be impactful. Use moves with secondary effects, like Flamethrower's burn chance or Blizzard's freeze chance, and ensure moves align with your Pokémon's stats.

• For example, using Flamethrower and Blizzard on a Pokémon with low Special Attack is ineffective.
• Many Pokémon excel in non-attacking roles, using status moves to maximize utility.

Check your team for weaknesses. If half your team is weak to a specific type, replace at least one Pokémon. Avoid adjusting move combinations, as this won't solve the issue and wastes move slots. For example, giving a Water-type move to Gallade with Fire Punch doesn't address Water-type weaknesses. Replace a Water-type Pokémon to resolve the problem.

Build your team around types. Gym leaders and trainers who favor a specific type often create teams centered around one type, such as Water, Electric, Poison, etc. However, a mono-type team lacks balance. Adjust your team to handle multiple Pokémon types. Include Pokémon that can counter most major types—especially the most common ones.

Include Pokémon of basic elemental types. A balanced team might feature Fire, Water, and Grass Pokémon. You can always choose from the three starter types: Fire, Water, and Grass. For example, in Pokémon X/Y, the Grass starter is Chespin, the Fire starter is Fennekin, and the Water starter is Froakie. Regardless of your starter choice, you can still catch or trade for other starter types.

• Fire Pokémon counter Grass, Ice, Bug, and Steel types but are weak to Water, Dragon, and Rock.
• Water Pokémon counter Fire, Ground, and Rock types but are weak to Electric, Grass, and Dragon.
• Grass Pokémon counter Water, Ground, and Rock types but are weak to Fire, Poison, Flying, Bug, and Dragon.

Consider Pokémon from other common types. You’ll likely encounter Bug, Flying, Poison, Psychic, and Electric Pokémon early in the game and throughout your adventure. These types aren’t overly powerful, but Flying types, for instance, are useful for quick travel and delivering strong Flying-type attacks.

• Electric Pokémon counter Water and Flying types but are weak to Grass, Electric, Ground, and Dragon.
• Flying Pokémon counter Grass, Fighting, and Bug types but are weak to Electric, Rock, and Ice.
• Bug Pokémon counter Grass, Psychic, and Dark types but are weak to Fire, Flying, and Psychic.
• Poison Pokémon counter Grass and Fairy types but are weak to Ground, Rock, Psychic, and Steel.
• Psychic Pokémon counter Fighting, Poison, and Ghost types but are weak to Ghost, Dark, and Steel.

Include at least one physically strong, resilient Pokémon. Ground and Rock types resist many common types, though they have weaknesses. Their high Defense stats can balance out other Pokémon’s vulnerabilities. Fighting types counter physical and "hard-to-hurt" types but are vulnerable to strong special attacks.

• Ground Pokémon counter Fire, Poison, Electric, Rock, and Steel types but are weak to Grass, Flying, and Water.
• Rock Pokémon counter Ice, Fire, Flying, and Bug types but are weak to Fighting, Ground, and Steel.
• Ice Pokémon counter Grass, Ground, Flying, and Dragon types but are weak to Fighting, Fire, and Steel.
• Fighting Pokémon counter Normal, Ice, Rock, Dark, and Steel types but are weak to Poison, Flying, Bug, Ghost, Fairy, and Psychic.

Generally, avoid Normal types. While some Normal-type Pokémon can be incredibly strong, they don’t provide significant advantages against other types. Normal types don’t counter any specific type but are weak to Fighting, Ghost, Rock, and Steel. Their strength lies in versatility: they can learn TMs from various types.

Choose less common types for unique advantages. Dark, Dragon, Ghost, and Fairy types are relatively rare in the Pokémon world, but they can become some of the strongest fighters when paired with sturdy and more common teammates.

• Dark-type Pokémon counter Ghost and Psychic types but are weak to Fighting, Fairy, and Bug.
• Dragon-type Pokémon counter other Dragon types but are weak to themselves, Ice, and Fairy.
• Ghost-type Pokémon counter Ghost and Psychic types but are weak to Dark and Psychic.
• Fairy types counter Dragon, Fighting, and Dark but are weak to Poison and Steel. They are also weak to Fairy and Fire.
• Steel-type Pokémon counter Ice, Fairy, and Rock but are weak to Water, Fire, and Steel.

Train Pokémon through battles. This is a more effective way to increase happiness and strength compared to using rare candies for quick leveling. If you plan to compete, ensure all your Pokémon are trained to level 100. Otherwise, they’ll face significant disadvantages.

Understand and use EVs (Effort Values). These are points your Pokémon gain from defeating wild or trainer-owned Pokémon. EVs are crucial for training strong Pokémon. Different Pokémon yield different EVs, so ensure you train against those that provide the right EVs. Note that EVs aren’t earned in link battles with friends or at Battle Tower/Battle Subway. Check this list for Pokémon and their EV yields: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/List_of_Pok%C3%A9mon_by_effort_value_yield

• You can have up to 255 EVs per stat, with a total of 510 EVs across all stats. Every 4 EVs in a stat increase that stat by 1 point at level 100. This means the maximum usable EVs for stat boosts is 508. Avoid using 255 EVs in one stat; instead, use 252, leaving 4 EVs for another stat.
• Maximizing EVs for a Pokémon’s most important stat is often a good strategy. However, in some cases, you might use fewer—like when your Pokémon only needs moderate Speed to outpace most opponents.
• Determine which stats to boost, which Pokémon to battle, and how many to defeat for the desired EVs. Keep a progress log and consider using spreadsheets to track your stats.

Use vitamins to enhance EV training. Purchase plenty of vitamins (such as Protein, Carbos) for your Pokémon and use them before EV training. Each vitamin increases 10 EVs in a specific stat, but they only work for the first 100 EVs.

• If your Pokémon already has 100 or more EVs in a stat, vitamins won’t work. For example, Carbos adds 10 Speed EVs. Using 10 Carbos with no prior Speed EVs grants 100 Speed EVs. If you already have 10 Speed EVs, you can use 9 Carbos. If you have 99, using 1 Carbos will only add 1 EV.
• Ensure EVs align with your Pokémon’s strengths. For instance, don’t give Attack EVs to Alakazam, as it’s not a physical attacker.

Use items to speed up leveling. If you plan to compete online, pre-train EVs using Power Items. Use Experience Share or Macho Brace at lower levels. Macho Brace doubles EVs earned from battles but halves speed while held.

• Give Pokérus (a beneficial virus) to your Pokémon if available. It also doubles EVs without reducing speed. Even after Pokérus fades, its effects remain permanent, allowing faster EV gains.

Equip held items to prepare your team for battle. Sweepers should hold items like Life Orb, Choice items, or Expert Belt to boost attack stats. Assault Vest suits bulkier attackers, while Choice Scarf can outspeed opponents or lock them into a move. Defensive Pokémon benefit from Leftovers for longevity. Poison types can use Black Sludge as a substitute if their item is stolen. Mega Evolvable Pokémon need their respective Mega Stones, and other items may suit specialized builds.