VGC Please help me with my team

[pokopish]

This is my Sun and Moon VCG 2017 team.

Buzzwole @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Ice Punch
- Leech Life
- Fell Stinger

1) I chose Buzzwole because i wanted a fighting type pokemon on my team and an Ultra beast, so why not combine them? Also i really like this pokemon. 2)Basically he's a bulky physical sweeper and my Normal type killer. 3) Hammer arm is good damage stab Move; Ice punch is for ground types and flying types and Assault vest is for some extra defenses.

Salazzle @ Expert Belt
Ability: Corrosion
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Venoshock
- Toxic
- Substitute

1) I chose Salazzle for some more type coverage and good toxic user. 2)She's a supportive toxic user and all-right special attacker. 3) Fire blast is for fire type stab and coverage; Venoshock is for a good hitting move after toxic and substitute is for anti-death.

Mismagius @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Confuse Ray
- Hex
- Destiny Bond

1) Mismagius is in my team for some extra support. 2) It's a support pokemon for staus moves. 3) Thunder wave is a good sweep stopper; Confuse ray is there for if I ever need some extra Not-hit chance; destiny bond is there for when Mismagius is almost dead and the Ghostium Z is there for destiny bond so that it's guaranteed that the enemy hits Mismagius.

Electivire @ Life Orb
Ability: Motor Drive
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
- Brick Break
- Thunder Wave

1) I chose Electivire because it's a decent Electric type Physical hitter. 2) It's my only Flying type stopper (which is bad for my team.) and a pretty fast pokémon. 3) Thunder punch is a physical electric type move; Ice punch is for grass types and ground types; Brick break is for Rock types and thunder wave is for a little bit of extra utility.

Carbink @ Focus Band
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Dazzling Gleam
- Light Screen
- Stealth Rock
- Protect

1) I chose Carbink because he has good defense and Sp.Defense. 2)Carbink is my beginning setup pokémon. 3) Light screen is for if my team needs some extra SP.Defense; Dazzling gleam is for damage after all the setup is complete and protect is for extra stalling.

Salamence @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
- Draco Meteor
- Fly

1) I chose Salamence for some extra type coverage. 2) He is a fast physical hitter. 3) Dragon dance is for a bit of setup; dragon claw is a physical dragon type stab move; Draco meteor is for high defense opponents; Sitrus berry is for HP recovery.

 

[Project_Mars]

First off: Where's the Protects? In VGC (and doubles in general) Protect is a very valuable move that can save a Pokemon from a double target situation or make it easier to run spread moves. You have a few frail Pokemon that would appreciate it.

Having a fighting-type doesn't work out amazingly well this year since several of the major threats (Tapus, Alolawak, Gyarados) all resist it, with most having a Super Effective attack vs Buzzwole and one having Intimidate.

Salazzle is probably going to be better post-Pokebank once it gets Fake Out and Knock Off, but for now it is pretty frail and I'm not sure what you want Substitute to do on it: It will likely put it up, but your opponent is likely to break it. (And if they use Bonemerang, it's likely to KO even through Sub)

I'm not sure what Mismagius would accomplish. Thunder Wave is still a pretty good method of speed control, but several factors have made it less appealing this year (several top threats are immune to it, with one being able to redirect it with Lightningrod) while the nice Special Attack of Mismagius is being wasted with a subpar attack in Hex, which is only good some of the time. Shadow Ball is much more consistant damage and can be another option for use with the Z-Crystal if Z-Destiny Bond isn't a good idea. That said, Gengar is quite a bit better compared to Mismagius, as it is slightly faster and can hit harder.

I do like Electivire, but Thunder Wave is an odd choice considering you can run Earthquake for Super Effective damage vs a large majority of typings (making Expert Belt a good item choice on it, rather than Salazzle.)

Did you mean Focus Sash instead of Focus Band on the Carbink? Focus Band is unreliable since it is a chance to proc vs Sash's guarentee to proc. Stealth Rocks is pretty rubbish in VGC, since games tend to be over in less than 10 turns and the cost of setting up hazards is usually far greater than the benefit.

Without Mega Salamence, Physical Salamence is pretty lackluster and I don't think Dragon Dance can help its general lack of a good physical movepool. Fly is also very meh, since if your opponent can guess which one you are trying to target, they can just Protect to block all the damage. I would consider switching to a Special variant.

All In all: Drop Buzzwole, Salazzle, Carbink, and Mismagius for sure. Definitely Replace Mismagius with Gengar since it is strong vs Tapus and can deal a ton of damage to Alolawak via Shadow Ball, while still being a fast Z-Destiny Bond if you still want that option. You'll also want a good Bulky Water like Gyarados, Milotic, or Gastrodon, with each having different strengths over the others. If you still want something support-y, then Togedemaru has actually had some success, although Your Milage May Vary heavily. Still, Fake Out, Lightning Rod, a pretty neat Signature Move in Zing Zap, and Nuzzle are pretty good reasons for people to have run it. You would also want either Alola Marowak or Arcanine, since Celesteela is a huge threat and having a few methods of dealing with it is nice. AlolaWak also has Lightning Rod and is popular because it deals a ton of damage and has great matchups vs several threatening Pokemon (although its star power may diminish over time as the meta shifts.) While Arcanine is another Intimidate Poke and has a great support movepool (btw: i would avoid having more than 2 Intimidate users to avoid hard times vs Competitive Milotic) And finally: if Electrivire doesn't work out too well, then try Tapu Koko or maybe Alolan Raichu depending on your team comp.

 

[pokopish]

First off: Where's the Protects? In VGC (and doubles in general) Protect is a very valuable move that can save a Pokemon from a double target situation or make it easier to run spread moves. You have a few frail Pokemon that would appreciate it.

Having a fighting-type doesn't work out amazingly well this year since several of the major threats (Tapus, Alolawak, Gyarados) all resist it, with most having a Super Effective attack vs Buzzwole and one having Intimidate.

Salazzle is probably going to be better post-Pokebank once it gets Fake Out and Knock Off, but for now it is pretty frail and I'm not sure what you want Substitute to do on it: It will likely put it up, but your opponent is likely to break it. (And if they use Bonemerang, it's likely to KO even through Sub)

I'm not sure what Mismagius would accomplish. Thunder Wave is still a pretty good method of speed control, but several factors have made it less appealing this year (several top threats are immune to it, with one being able to redirect it with Lightningrod) while the nice Special Attack of Mismagius is being wasted with a subpar attack in Hex, which is only good some of the time. Shadow Ball is much more consistant damage and can be another option for use with the Z-Crystal if Z-Destiny Bond isn't a good idea. That said, Gengar is quite a bit better compared to Mismagius, as it is slightly faster and can hit harder.

I do like Electivire, but Thunder Wave is an odd choice considering you can run Earthquake for Super Effective damage vs a large majority of typings (making Expert Belt a good item choice on it, rather than Salazzle.)

Did you mean Focus Sash instead of Focus Band on the Carbink? Focus Band is unreliable since it is a chance to proc vs Sash's guarentee to proc. Stealth Rocks is pretty rubbish in VGC, since games tend to be over in less than 10 turns and the cost of setting up hazards is usually far greater than the benefit.

Without Mega Salamence, Physical Salamence is pretty lackluster and I don't think Dragon Dance can help its general lack of a good physical movepool. Fly is also very meh, since if your opponent can guess which one you are trying to target, they can just Protect to block all the damage. I would consider switching to a Special variant.

All In all: Drop Buzzwole, Salazzle, Carbink, and Mismagius for sure. Definitely Replace Mismagius with Gengar since it is strong vs Tapus and can deal a ton of damage to Alolawak via Shadow Ball, while still being a fast Z-Destiny Bond if you still want that option. You'll also want a good Bulky Water like Gyarados, Milotic, or Gastrodon, with each having different strengths over the others. If you still want something support-y, then Togedemaru has actually had some success, although Your Milage May Vary heavily. Still, Fake Out, Lightning Rod, a pretty neat Signature Move in Zing Zap, and Nuzzle are pretty good reasons for people to have run it. You would also want either Alola Marowak or Arcanine, since Celesteela is a huge threat and having a few methods of dealing with it is nice. AlolaWak also has Lightning Rod and is popular because it deals a ton of damage and has great matchups vs several threatening Pokemon (although its star power may diminish over time as the meta shifts.) While Arcanine is another Intimidate Poke and has a great support movepool (btw: i would avoid having more than 2 Intimidate users to avoid hard times vs Competitive Milotic) And finally: if Electrivire doesn't work out too well, then try Tapu Koko or maybe Alolan Raichu depending on your team comp.

Thank you very much for your advice!

I'll be sure to apply most if not all of it to my team!

Also, would it be better if i replace Salamence with turtonator?

 

[Project_Mars]

Turtonator doesn't look appealing. If you want to replace Salamence with another dragon then people, including the winner of the recent London International, have been having success with Assault Vest Garchomp, running Dragon Claw, Earthquake, Poison Jab, and Fire Fang as the moves.

 

[pokopish]

Turtonator doesn't look appealing. If you want to replace Salamence with another dragon then people, including the winner of the recent London International, have been having success with Assault Vest Garchomp, running Dragon Claw, Earthquake, Poison Jab, and Fire Fang as the moves.

Alright, thanks!