Building teams
A six-pass builder that starts with lead order, progress, and concrete threat coverage.
A list of six checks can still lose because none of them creates progress. Build around what each Pokémon does after it enters safely.
Pass 1: choose the lead
Write the lead into slot one before filling the rest of the paste.
Common lead jobs include:
| Lead job | Published or observed examples |
|---|---|
| immediate Water pressure | Politoed, Octillery |
| early Spikes | Roselia, Cacturne |
| physical pressure and status | Stantler, Hitmonchan |
| fast disruption | Rapidash, Banette |
| defensive information | Meganium, Mantine |
A lead does not need to win every one-on-one. It needs a planned response to a poor opening. If Roselia meets Swords Dance Meganium, for example, the team needs a switch sequence rather than hope that one layer of Spikes pays for a lost Pokémon.
Pass 2: mark the Speed plan
Record:
- fastest unboosted Speed;
- Mach Punch, Quick Attack, or other priority;
- Thunder Wave, Stun Spore, Icy Wind, or Mud Shot;
- Salac, Agility, Sunny Day, Rain Dance, or another boost route.
Raichu sits at a common maximum of 328. Rapidash reaches 339. A team below those lines needs priority, paralysis, bulk, or a deliberate trade plan.
Pass 3: name the answers
Write one line for each problem:
| Problem | Questions |
|---|---|
| Raichu | What enters Thunderbolt? What happens against Surf, HP Ice, HP Grass, Toxic, or Encore? |
| Rapidash | What takes Fire damage and Double-Edge? Which coverage or status move breaks that answer? |
| Aggron | Who enters Rock Slide or Double-Edge? Can Thunder Wave, Substitute, or a called Focus Punch punish the switch? |
| Hitmonchan | Which Pokémon handles Fighting damage? Can it absorb Rock Slide, status, or Spin pressure? What Speed target justifies lost bulk? |
| Banette | Who takes Shadow Ball? What happens against Hidden Power Fighting, burn, Taunt, Destiny Bond, or Salac? |
| physical Normal/Flying | Is the resistance healthy and repeatable, or a one-time trade? |
| Grass setup | What stops Swords Dance Meganium or Victreebel after one free turn? |
| Psychic setup | What prevents Xatu, Hypno, Mr. Mime, or Chimecho from turning support into a sweep? |
Shared checks can work. They also create one visible pressure point. If Aggron covers every Normal and Flying attacker, preserve it until those jobs are finished.
Pass 4: choose one main progress engine
Four common routes are:
- Spikes plus forced switches;
- paralysis into a slower breaker or setup threat;
- direct wallbreaking backed by priority;
- status and Explosion trades that clear one named obstacle.
A team may use more than one. One route should remain clear enough to guide turns. Spikes carry more weight after the ban, so a spikeless team needs a concrete reason to give them up: enough immediate damage, item disruption, paralysis, or setup pressure to win before grounded pivots settle in.
Pass 5: price the hazard exchange
For a Spikes team, identify the setter, the Pokémon that forces switches, and the response to Rapid Spin. Banette is the first spinblocker to test because it can also attack, spread status, Taunt slower pieces, or trade with Destiny Bond.
For a spikeless team, identify which grounded wall is expected to absorb chip and how it recovers. Hitmonchan can remove Spikes, but only sets carrying Rapid Spin perform that job. Banette and Haunter can block Spin, but preserving a Ghost has a cost.
Pass 6: decide what may be spent
Mark the Pokémon allowed to trade early and the one that must survive.
Explosion users need a target. Damp Politoed or Poliwrath can cancel the planned trade, so confirm the opposing ability when possible. A wall at low HP may still be the team’s only answer to a live setup threat. Keep it until the threat is gone or priority has taken over.
Final builder audit
- The intended lead is first.
- Every Hidden Power set passed
gen3ruvalidation. - Exact Speed was checked after IV changes.
- The team has a route through Raichu, Rapidash, Aggron, Hitmonchan, and Banette.
- The plan for Spikes names both the remover and likely spinblocker.
- Hitmonchan’s Speed EVs name a target; the rest buy the bulk its jobs require.
- Rapidash’s set explains why it is mixed or why a physical lock is worth it.
- Paralysis and Toxic absorbers are identified.
- Explosion has a target and a Damp contingency.
- The setup-endgame map still has a denial, revenge, or trade line after the primary wall is chipped.
- At least one endgame survives the loss of the primary wallbreaker.
Save that note with the paste. After a game, change the failed assignment rather than the Pokémon that happened to faint first.