I need help making team better

[Serge365]

My pokemon are:
Lv.50 Gengar w/Dread Plate
Careful
At:88
Df:90
Sp.At:137
Sp.Df:102
Sp:133

Shadow Ball
Dark Pulse
Sucker Punch
Shadow Punch

Lv.50 Flygon w/Draco Plate
Serious
At:114
Df:99
Sp.At:100
Sp.Df:101
Sp:120

Hyper Beam
Draco Meteor
Dragon Pulse
Dragon Claw

Lv.52 Lucario w/Quick Claw
Lax
At:132
Df:103
Sp.At:132
Sp.Df:82
Sp:116

Close Combat
Aura Sphere
Dragon Pulse
Dark Pulse

Lv.55 Jolteon w/Zap Plate
Lonely
At:119
Df:81
Sp.At:153
Sp.Df:129
Sp:175

Hyper Beam
Thunder
Thunderbolt
Dig

Lv.55 Starmie w/Splash Plate
Lax
At:110
Df:129
Sp.At:133
Sp.Df:100
Sp:159

Hydro Pump
Surf
Psychic
Recover

Lv.100 Charizard w/Flame Plate
Rash
At:233
Df:173
Sp.At:293
Sp.Df:176
Sp:267

Blast Burn
Flare Blitz
Heat Wave
Fly

Any help would be appreciated. :)

[*Karl*]

bit of advice comming up,if you post this in the rate my team sectyion,you will get better answers faster.

I am crap with teams otherwsie id help you

[Serge365]

Thanx Karlhauge

[Red67]

teach ur starmie an electric move:) ••••es people off hahaha

[Serge365]

alright
but y does it need an electric move if its weak against grass and electric types
or is there another reason?

[rainxspear]

Okay having thunderbolt and thunder is kind of useless on jolteon because there both electric moves.
Keep thunderbolt because thunder is going to miss put shadowball over hyper beam, also put hidden power ice and put substitue
-thunderbolt
-shadow ball
-hidden power [ice]
-substitue
On lucario a good fighting move set would be...
-swords dance
-close combat
-ice punch
-bullet punch

[Ballade]

I'll give you a good run down of the stuff that happens in competitive play. *inserts copy/paste*

Ok, since you're new, you're going to have to do a bit of homework before your team can actually be rated.

Lesson 1: Tiers. Every Pokemon is put into some kind of tier to create a better battling field. These tiers literally break the game apart into different categories so that each person can fight in a different way without being considered a cheater or overpowered (after all, if it weren't for tiers, how many teams do you think would have Pokemon such as Mew, Arceus, Rayquaza, and the such?). The tiers are: Uber, O(ver)U(sed), B(order)L(ine), U(nder)U(sed), and N(ever)U(sed). The last tier is Not Fully Evolved (or NFE), but that one literally speaks for itself, and is pretty much the least common tier people use.

A bit of info about the tiers: any Pokemon in a tier that is LOWER than the one you're in can be used. OU can be in Uber, BL can be in OU, and UU can be in BL (though, at the moment, there are no BL-tier Pokemon, but the rule still stands). This means that if you find a UU or BL Pokemon to be useful in the OU, you can use that Pokemon without negative repercussions. However, the reverse is NOT true, meaning Ubers can not be in OU and so on.

Smogon is the commonly referred to tier-structure guide, so if you have any questions as to what Pokemon are in what tier, check them out at smogon.com

Lesson 2: Natures. If you notice, every Pokemon in the entire game has a nature. It can be Adamant, Calm, Bold, Brave, Timid, or Jolly. This may not seem like much, but they impact the game just as heavily as moves. Every nature causes a stat to either go higher or lower depending on just what the nature is. For example: Adamant increases the height of Physical Attack power, at the cost of lowering the height of Special Attack power. Does it sound bad? Kind of, but apply it to a Pokemon that has horrible Sp. Attack already, such as Machamp or Weavile. They never want to make contact with a special attack anyway, and they're better off with more physical attack power. This is just one example, there are a total of 25 Natures, with 5 natures being considered "Neutral". The Neutral natures are the ones you're going to want to avoid. While they're not necessarily the WORST natures, they're also not the best, and when you're not having a change in power for whatever reason, you're allowing the opponent to out run and out power you. This is where breeding comes into play so you can obtain a better nature. Smogon also has a Nature guide, but Serebii.net's Nature guide is much better, along with the fact that Serebii's Pokedex for the DPPt Gen. is much, much more detailed than Smogon's.

Lesson 3: EV's or Effort Values. In the game, every time you beat a Pokemon, you get some experience. Along with that experience, the Pokemon also gets a value added to it's stat unknown to the open called an Effort Point, Effort Value, or simply EVs. The value given varies for each type of Pokemon, meaning that Magikarp gives out different EVs than Zubat or Starly. This part is why Serebii's Pokedex is much better than Smogons, because they display the EV's you get for beating every single Pokemon. When you obtain an EV, it pretty much just sits there, until it gets some company. Every 4 EV's in a single stat will raise that stat by an extra point upon leveling up. Example: Gyarados beats Heracross and gets 2 EVs for Attack. Gyarados levels up and normally obtains +2 attack. However, if Gyarados beats 2 Heracross' before leveling up, it will obtain 4 EVs in Attack, and then get +3 (+2 for the normal leveling up, and +1 for the 4 EVs it obtained prior to the level). On the other hand, if Gyarados beats that 2nd Heracross after leveling up, then the EVs will be applied on the next level (meaning the aforementioned example of +2 will stay +2). There are a variety of limits that are set, however, to prevent the game from being too easy at the start and too chaotic at the end. Every level has a 'limit' of what EV's are applied. That means that if you were to completely fill up every single EV before the next level up (however the means are), you won't get a huge amount of points upon leveling up (so don't be surprised if you see +4-6 in a stat rather than +20-30). Just because there's the limit, doesn't mean that the EVs are wasted; by level 50 to 100, the EVs are all applied so you don't have to worry. There are also two other limits: an EV stat limit, and the overall EV limit. The overall EVs that any Pokemon can have at any one time is 510. Divide this by 4, and you can see how huge of a leap in power a Pokemon can have. That is why there's the EV stat limit. Every EV can only have up to 255 points put into them. However, if you look around, you'll see that most people put 252 points into a stat. Why is that? It's because 252 is the last number divisible by 4 without going over 255. Hence, why you're better off with 252 EVs than 255 (though, except for speed, +1 in any stat will pretty much not matter, so in reality, it doesn't matter if you have 252 or 255 in two stats). When dividing up EVs on paper, make sure that each point is divisible by 4 and doesn't add up past 510. There's also another little catch; no matter what, you will ALWAYS be left with 2 EVs after the calculations are made. This explains why you'll see 6 EVs on a stat when two others have 252. 252 is, again, the last divisible number by 4 without going past 255, and that leaves you with 6 EVs. Since only 4 EVs can make a difference, you're then left with two points out of the previously remaining 6. Don't bother with trying to change that fact, unless you feel like going insane.

[Ballade]

Lesson 4: IV's and Hidden Power. If you remember the move Hidden Power from the Unown back in the days of Gold, Silver, and Crystal, you might remember how it hit other types harder or weaker and sometimes in varying powers. That's because there's another hidden stat known as IV's. Since the 3rd Generation, the IV system has been changed (which explains why you can't trade between GSC and RSE). There are 32 different possible numbers in IVs, from 0-31. These points determine what stat at level 100 get a certain amount of points. If you check out Serebii's guide, every Pokemon has an absolute max for every stat. In order to hit that absolute max, you need to have 31 IV's, 252 EVs, and a positive nature for that stat. It's difficult to tell when IV's are actually applied, so it's best to compare the stats of a Pokemon at level 100 when everything's been said and done. As to how IV's are applied and done, that's something I can't understand (however there ARE other members that do understand it, as well as guide's on the internet, with one such guide on Serebii, that goes into further details about IV's). Now that you know how Hidden Power is essentially powered (the formula is somewhat complicated for 'off-the-head' stuff, but if you actually want to know, Serebii, again, can give you the answer), it's now time to talk about how it's useful. Hidden Power is classified as a Normal attack, but the opposite is true; it can be ANY type EXCEPT Normal. It's use is great for Pokemon that are great for Special Sweeping (a term used for Pokemon that are high in Speed and Sp. Attack), but can't hit a certain type. For example: Infernape has no Ice attack whatsoever. It can't learn Ice Punch, Ice Beam, or anything remotely close to it. However, thanks to Hidden Power, you can have an Infernape with an Ice attack. Because of it's uses, the highest power that Hidden Power can hit for is 70, much lower than Flamethrower or Ice Beam or Thunderbolt. Just because it's an attack that can strike up to 70 power, doesn't mean it's useless though; it's thanks to Hidden Power as an Ice type that Infernape can hit Dragon type Pokemon extremely hard. It also allows certain Pokemon to complete the "Bolt/Beam" combo of Thunderbolt or Ice Beam (except for Lanturn, no other Pokemon resists those two) by having an Electric attack, and HP (Hidden Power) Ice, or vice versa, or the Ghost/Fighting combo that no Pokemon resists. Getting a particular Hidden Power is difficult, however, because of how random the IV system is. It's best to, when breeding, just take the Pokemon with the nature you wanted on paper, and then when you have enough (6-30), ask if someone can "IV battle you", and then just set the levels to 100 (don't bother putting in any EVs into the stat, just get the Pokemon with the nature, store them away at lv. 1, and then use the IV/Hidden Power Calculator on Serebii), and then calculate away, retrying with a different group until you get the one Hidden Power type and strength you want (keep in mind that it WILL be frustrating and long, so don't rely on a team with every member having Hidden Power). When it comes to IV's, it's better to have an IV calculator and determine the IV's and Hidden Power from it.

Lesson 5: Combos and strategies. There are a lot of Pokemon, and there are more Pokemon moves. Not all are attacks, however, and some can be used to form different combos, involving the Pokemon, it's role, and it's ability. A small example is Stat-up + Baton Pass. Baton Pass switches the Pokemon out and replaces it with another member. However, it also passes any Stat ups or downs or positive effects. What this means is, you can have a Pokemon like Gliscor (which is a sturdy Pokemon) use Swords Dance or Agility, and then Baton Pass that boost to the next Pokemon. Another combo is Stealth Rock and/or Spikes + Whirlwind/Roar. Whirlwind and Roar force the opponent to switch out, and Stealth Rock and Spikes cause damage whenever the Pokemon changes. Effectively, you can Whirlwind the opponent away and then simply keep doing so to rack up passive damage. There are tons of different combinations to try out and use, and many of which involve the ability of a Pokemon. Two examples of weather based moves with Pokemon. Exeggutor has the ability Chlorophyll, which doubles it's speed in the sun. You can have Sunny Day on Exeggutor to make it run twice as fast for 5-8 turns, without it being slowed down in any way (aside from Paralysis). However, two other moves that can use the weather to there advantage are Solarbeam and Synthesis. Synthesis restores HP to 100% in the sun and Solarbeam doesn't require a start-up time. This means that Exeggutor can use Sunny Day for three different combined effects: double the speed, a powerful attack that doesn't require a start-up turn, and a healing move that restores it's HP to 100% That leaves Exeggutor with only one move left, and Steel types being able to completely wall it (since they resist grass attacks). If you recall, however, Hidden Power can be used in this situation, and Exeggutor with HP Fire can rip through Steel types like butter thanks to Sunny Day's powering up Fire attacks, as well as Steel types' weakness to Fire attacks. Another weather combo is Kingdra and Rain Dance. With Swift Swim, Kingdra doubles it's speed in rainy weather, which makes Rain Dance all the more useful. Starmie can also take advantage of the Rain Weather since it can learn Thunder, which becomes perfectly accurate in the rain.

Last minute advice: Never have two attacks that are of the same type unless they're different type attack type (meaning never have two physical/special attacks of the same type; an attack in physical and special that are both Fire or so is different). On a side note about attacks, there are two types of moves you should either never use, or hardly use (depending on the situation): Power-reduction moves, and recharge/charge-up moves. Unless the power-reduction move is the ONLY one of it's attacking type (like Overheat being the only special attack), you should never have it on there (a good example is how Salamence can 1-2HKO Skarmory with Fire Blast, but with Draco Meteor on it and used prior, that possible OHKO can turn into a 3HKO with Fire Blast), and charge-up/recharge moves take up a turn, which means you're opponent can hit you hard or stat up on you without you being able to do anything (which is why Solarbeam is hardly used except on Sunny Day teams). Also, be smart with your attacks and moves; Fire Blast has an accuracy of 85, so it's better to use it than Flamethrower MOST of the time, where as Thunder has an accuracy of 70, so it's better to use Thunderbolt than Thunder, unless you're using a Rain Dance team. Know you're opponent's Pokemon, and study what common sets are so you can be somewhat prepared. Also, make sure you're team's diversity is great; it may seem odd, but the higher the number of weakness', the better. Why? Imagine a team that's all weak to Ice. It's only one type, but now any Pokemon with Ice Shard, Punch, or Beam can wipe out your team with little to no effort. A team that has a giant number of weakness' means that it's going to be tough. Study the game a bit, make a team on paper, and then identify the weakness' that they all have, tallying up how many are common. If you have more than 2 Pokemon that are weak to a certain type, then get rid of a couple of them. Flygon, Dragonite, and Salamence on a single team is NOT a good idea. They all have a 4x weakness to Ice, and Weavile is one of the best Ice attackers in the game, able to outrun all three of them, and can Ice Punch each one in the face, more than likely causing a OHKO (One Hit KO). Last, but not least, make sure you look at the items that are used. Generally, defensive Pokemon are going to want items like Leftovers or Shell Bell or Light Clay or (for Steel types) Shed Shell (Skarmory in particular), while offensive Pokemon are going to want items like Choice Band, Choice Scarf, Choice Specs, Wise Glasses, Life Orb, Muscle Band, or Berries like Salac, Leichi, or Petaya. On a note about items, don't use items like Mystic Water or Dragon Plate; they only power up one type of attack while the ones above can cause the attack to hit harder.

Hopefully you've learned enough to start up your team and make it better. Just take it bit by bit and slowly. If you don't understand something, just PM me and take baby steps (like if you didn't understand a word I said, just pick a subject and we'll go from there).

[Serge365]

::D Lol thanx Ballade
At first i thought that Rainxspear advice was good
but u gave me more information than i could ever hope for
It'll take a while before i insert all of ur info into my pokemon team but hopefully i undrstand everything u talked about and that might make the difference between having a good pokemon team and having a great pokemon team

Thanx again Ballade :)

[Ballade]

Just take it in slowly and focus on one part until you understand it, then move on. The tier's are easy. When making a team, just pick a tier (until the BL tier situation is figured out, stick with the OU), and then look through the possible Pokemon. Don't copy paste straight from Smogon, and go for original sets, then work your way up. If it turns out a Smogon set is better for a certain situation, then so be it.