Generation VI of Pokémon breathed new life into the series by introducing some powerful Pokémon that have become staples of competitive matches. We also saw the controversial Mega evolutions that turned previously unused Pokémon into absolute powerhouses.
This team is a little different from those you might see in other generations as it relies upon high defense and resistance to win, rather than straight offense through glass cannon builds. It’s a slow, but effective tactic for winning matches. There are no legendaries on this list as frankly you don’t really need them and they’re often barred from competitions anyway.
6 Greninja
Greninja is the first Pokémon you want in the lineup as he’s your suicide lead. His goal is to get in, drop some environmental hazards to hopefully damage your opponents for the rest of the match, and then stay alive as long as possible. Focus Sash is needed to prevent one-hit knockouts.
Toxic Spikes will poison enemies that switch in and do damage over time, this is really handy when going up against wall-based teams with deep HP pools. The other move Spikes is good for offensive teams especially if you can get a few layers in. Once you’ve dropped either Spikes or Toxic Spikes you’ll use Taunt to prevent the opponent from using Defog or Rapid Spin to remove them and Shadow Sneak to deal damage. The Protean ability is handy for changing typing to counter whatever your opponent throws at you. Get him in place, drop the environmental hazard, keep it around as long as possible, and dish out as much damage as you can until Greninja falls.
5 Mega Mawile
Mawile saw a significant boost in usefulness thanks to her Mega form introduced in Generation VI. She’s technically a Generation III Pokémon, but because of the Mega form, she’s included on this list. This Mega form grants her the highest attack stat in the game making her great at countering specific threats to your team. The item she needs is obviously Mawilite.
Iron Head is a handy attack to take down Fairy types and occasionally inflict flinch. Play Rough is used for bringing down powerful Dragon types. Sucker Punch is a handy 100% accuracy move to ensure a hit when you need to. Finally, Baton Pass is used when Mega Mawile just isn’t cutting it or she did her job and you need to switch for something else. If the enemy has none of the aforementioned Pokémon, then Mega Mawile is a bait switcher to hopefully throw off the opponent’s strategy.
4 Aegislash
Aegislash is one of the more controversial Pokémon in Generation VI, but a very strong Pokémon to have in competitive matches or when breezing through the storyline. It’s an effective wall against all but the most powerful of Pokémon, so use Aegislash to weed out the weaklings and draw out more powerful foes. It’s also used to counter Xerneas specifically. Leftovers is useful for sustainability.
King’s Shield is a handy move that blocks most damage and causes the opposing Pokémon to lose Attack if the move makes physical contact. Gyro Ball is used to counter an offensive Xerneas. Toxic is for punishing anyone that switches in and for dealing gradual damage while tanking hits. The final move is Pursuit to punish anyone that decides to switch out.
3 Talonflame
Talonflame is equally useful as a sweeper or special wall. Because most players use it as a sweeper it helps to disrupt strategies by using it as a special wall on this team while still giving it teeth through strong attacks. Talonflame should not have an item as it’ll be using Acrobatics which gets a boost if no item is equipped.
Acrobatics is the main attack as its damage doubles due to having no item. If you absolutely need to have an item, put Leftovers on Talonflame and switch Acrobatics for Brave Bird. Roost for recovery. The last two moves are situational. Bulk Up is nice for raising attack and defense, Will-O-Wisp is handy for applying burn while walling an enemy, and Taunt will prevent foes from using Rapid Spin or Defog to remove the Spikes Greninja laid down. Any combination is useful and should be based on what you expect to go up against.
2 Goodra
Goodra is typically used as a special tank with teeth, thanks to rounded out stats and pure Dragon typing. To catch enemies off guard it can be handy to turn it into a powerhouse-lite. Choice Band is used to dramatically improve the single move it chooses to use when in play.
Outrage is a phenomenal attack that can obliterate foes, assuming there aren’t any Steel or Fairy types to switch in and ruin things. If Steel types are a problem, Earthquake is a great secondary attack or use Fire Punch to counter annoyances like Forretress. Power Whip is used to counter tanky water types and Iron Tail is used to handle any Fairies. Just be careful which attack you choose and maybe hold off on using Goodra until you’ve thinned the herd a bit and won't get locked into a useless attack.
1 Noivern
The final Generation VI Pokémon you should consider having on your team is Noivern to serve as your wallbreaker. With this setup, it can also serve as an endgame sweeper if certain threats like Fairies have already been dealt with. If you want more tankiness to serve as a better wallbreaker, go with Leftovers or if you want to lean on the sweeping abilities, use Life Orb.
Draco Meteor is a powerful attack that can crush most glass cannons and hinder a special sweeper's effectiveness. Flamethrower is a good attack to counter against Steel Pokémon or Air Slash if you’d prefer to inflict flinch now and then. Taunt is nice to disrupt buffing attempts or environmental hazards and Roost is used to recover lost health and keep Noivern in the game. Use it early if your opponent leads with a wall or keep Noivern in reserve as a late sweep if there are a lot of steel, ice, and fairy types that need to be dealt with first.