Written By: Jordan Barela and John Preer

This week’s RetroSpec is a little different. Jordan Barela, social media editor, and John Preer, features editor, are two avid Pokémon fans. What do Pokemon fans, especially big fans like these two editors do? They figure out who has the better Pokémon team.

There is only one way to figure out whose team is better. In the grand tradition of Pokémon, a battle must happen.

There are a couple of rules that John and Jordan put into place before deciding to build their teams.

1. No legendries.
2. The team has to have one starter and it can be from any generation.
3. No HM moves.

 

When it comes to my Pokemon team, there is one word that I use to describe it. That word is balance.

At first glance, my team does not appear to be balanced. However, take into account that half of my team has two types. This allows me to cover more bases, both offensively and defensively.

The second strongest aspect of my team is each individual Pokemon’s moves set. Each Pokemon, other than Metagross and Ampharos, has a move that power up stats. An example of this type of move would be “Calm Mind,” which powers up the special attack stat, along with special defense. This move coupled with “Psychic,” a special attack move, makes Espeon a force to be reckoned with in battle.

For a balanced Pokemon team, it is essential to have what is known as a “tank.” A tank is a Pokemon that serves as the defensive powerhouse for the team. The tank on my team is Metagross. Metagross is the epitome of tank because of his 130 defense stat. Not only is Metagross’s defense stat high, but Metagross is also a Psychic type. With Metagross being a Psychic type, it can easily overpower fire and ground types, its only two weaknesses.

There is one thing that every Pokemon trainer needs to win a battle, and that is balance. If you have strictly one type on your Pokemon team, another trainer could easily beat the entire team with one Pokemon that type is weak against. As a trainer, you are only as strong as your Pokemon.

Any player with basic skill can compile a team that is well-balanced; the mark of a true master is their strategic ability. Staying that one step ahead of your opponent is critical, especially when facing a tough opponent. My team has a decent balance, but some pretty exploitable weaknesses. In order to compensate for my team’s short comings, I’ve equipped my team with an unorthodox move set that will throw an unsuspecting trainer off.

My starter Pokemon is Typhlosion. I’ve given him the classic combo of Sunny Day and a powerful fire type attack like eruption. Solarbeam is there to counter Typhlosion’s weakness to water attacks. Aerial Ace rounds out the moveset with a wild card Flying type.      

The “tank” of my team is Tyranitar. With a heavy defense stat and pretty nasty attack, Tyranitar is a formidable opponent. I believe every great team has at least one dragon type and I’ve chosen Flygon for my team. Although there are a few other Ground/Dragon types out there that are stronger than Flygon, he is a personal favorite that had to be on my list.

Since over half of my team has a weakness to water types, I’ve added the seldom-used Grass/Fighting type, Breloom, and perhaps the most badass electric type, Luxray, to help with my ground and water weaknesses. The last member of my team is how I expect to gain an edge over my opponent. Toxicroak is a Poison/Fighting type with a truly disruptive moveset. Toxic spikes will poison any Pokemon that is switched out. That coupled with venoshock is a devastating combo. Finally, Bulk Up and X-scissor protect him from any Psychic types that may come my way.

 

Jordan’s Team:

Blastiose (Starter):

   Type: Water

   Move Set: Hydro Pump, Rain Dance, Earthquake, Ice Beam

Salamance:

     Type: Dragon/Flying

     Move Set: Dragon Claw, Dragon Dance, Brick Break, Aerial Ace

Espeon:

     Type: Psychic

     Move Set: Psychic, Calm Mind, Shadow Ball, Dazzling Gleam

Houndoom:

     Type: Fire/Dark

     Move Set: Flamethrower, Sludge Bomb, Sunny Day, Solarbeam

Metagross:

     Type: Steel/Psychic

     Move Set: Meteor Mash, Psychic, Hyper Beam, Zen Headbutt

Ampharos:

   Type: Electric

   Move Set: Thunderbolt, Toxic, Charge Beam, Seismic Toss

 

John’s Team:

Typhlosion (Starter):

     Type: Fire

     Move Set: Eruption, Sunny Day, Solarbeam, Aerial Ace

Flygon:

       Type: Ground/Flying

      Move Set: Earthquake, Dragon Claw, Rock Slide, Giga Impact

Luxray:

       Type: Electric

       Move Set: Rain Dance, Thunder, Crunch, Double Team

Tyranitar:

       Type: Rock/Dark

       Move Set: Ice Beam, Dark Pulse, Shadow Claw, Hyper Beam

Toxicroak:

         Type: Poison/Fighting

         Move Set: Bulk Up, Toxic Spikes, Venoshock, X-Scissor

Breelom:

         Type: Grass/Fighting

         Move Set: Mach Punch, Mega Drain, Sky Uppercut, Iron Tail