PAX Pokemon League

Hi folks,

So I'm trying to pull together a team in time for PAX East this week. I've got the National Dex, but haven't had much time to explore, so I'm trying to pull together the team almost exclusively from Unova Pokemon. Any thoughts on the below? I'm aiming for a reasonably balanced, but more offense-focused team. I am brand new to the Metagame, so please let me know everything I've done wrong!

Mienshao: Lead. I'm not sure I'm 100% clear on how the lead works in the metagame, but I guess what I'm gathering is that my goal is to use Mienshao's high speed to take out opponents' leads before they can get an entry hazard like Stealth Rock out there, correct?

Ferrothorn: Defensive. Sets up entry hazards and can absorb a good amount of punishment.

Jellicent: I see Jellicent described as a "Utility Counter," which as I understand it, means that the typing (Ghost/Water) is tough to damage, and can thwart a lot of otherwise-powerful attacks (like anything Fighting).

Tornadus: Weather/offense. Tornadus is one I'm really not sure on, but it seems like it would be useful to have in case I'm fighting a weather-dependent team. Tornadus can either make it rain (if the opponents use sand or sun), or can just make use of hurricane to use the rain to its advantage. But I'm not sure if this really makes sense, or is a viable way to counter weather-dependent teams.

Hydreigon: Offense/substitute. A reasonably strong attacker, with the ability to substitute to keep opponents on the run.

Volcarona: Sweeper. Pretty much speaks for itself, I think. Big special attack, should take down most who aren't specifically resistant.

That team looks pretty good.

My advice (in general) is always to think about typing. Make sure that there aren't 2 types that will roll your team completely, and make sure that there aren't a lot of types that you can run over as well.
Defensively, you've got it good with jellicent and Ferrothorn, but without listing the moves that you've got, it's hard to tell how you stand offensively (but I think it should be OK)

Ferrothorn and Jellicent make the "perfect couple" in that they resist the others weaknesses. Having used Jelli myself he can take a lot of punishment with Recover, and makes for a better special wall. Which good since Ferro is a physical wall.

Mienshao is more of an attacking scout. With regen ability and u-turn people abuse it to hit and run, usually.

Hydra is good but can be weak defensively. Keep that in mind since bugs and fighting types can have decent attack.

sounds like a kick ass team as it is!

First of all, make sure that you enjoy the pokemon you are using. I've always found it easier to make the Pokemon you like good, than to take good Pokemon and make them blend, and best of all, you have fun doing it.

Starting with Mienshao, most opponents will use leads that can take out the opponents, or set up weather or status, other such things. What I've found is that Mienshao with Regenerator is an amazing Pokemon for throwing your opponent off. If your opponent is trying to set up a sweep, Mienshao has the physical movepool to stop them from doing so. I've found that Stealth Rocks and Spikes are less commonly used now, but Mienshao gives you the opportunity to smash your opponent with a hard, Life Orbed physical move, and then leave with U-Turn. He's a great lead and can totally throw an unprepared opponent off.

As for Jellicent, I've never used him competitively. He's got fantastic defensive typing, and the stats to back it up, so once you've decided on moves and stuff for your other teammates, Jellicent is malleable enough to serve all of the defensive purposes you need. Same thing with Ferrothorn, mine specifically has Substitute and Leech Seed to constantly regain health, rarely take hits, and his defenses mean he's not afraid to drop a Power Whip when he needs to.

Hydreigon is an amazing Pokemon. Fighting, Ice, Dragon, and Bug are all problems, but Ferrothorn and Jellicent combined resist all of those types, meaning crafty switches are really easy for you to pull off. If your opponent has a Mienshao, for example, and Hi Jump Kicks, and you switch into Jellicent, they're taking a huge hit right there. With Hydreigon, the Substitute strategy seems good, because his Subs will be pretty strong, and he can get free hits back at your opponent too. A really brutal Pokemon, give him a bunch of type trumping moves and you're gold. Alternatively to Substitute, you could give him Dragon Dance and try to sweep with him.

Volcarona, a great special sweeper. Two or Three Quiver Dances and he successfully sweeps the entire team that I got 8 badges with in one day last year. If you get a good switch, you win, end of story. Basically, if your opponent gives you the opportunity to Quiver Dance once, you'll survive any non Rock types that come in, get a second one, and beat face.

Tornadus is a pretty good Pokemon to take advantage of weather, but seeing as I completely ignore the fact that weather is in the meta, I can't really comment on this, haha =) He seems like a solid Pokemon choice though. All in all, I'm really liking this team, I hope you do well with it!

Awesome, thanks all, really appreciate the comments. Helped to give me a little direction as I train them with moves, and I'm feeling a lot more confident about the team now. See you all in Boston!