There are many Pokémon in X and Y, so I obviously cannot cover all of them. What I can do is talk about the different roles a Pokémon can have in a team and what is suggested based on that. Refer to my earlier guide on Super Training if you don’t understand how basic stats work or how to raise them.
There are leads, sweepers, walls, tanks, and support. Each of these roles can be broken down further and will use a different stat distribution. My next guide will go over move sets and strategies of each role. This guide will only go over the stats. Each Pokémon is different so the stat distribution will not work for every Pokémon of that role, but it will give you a basic idea. Let’s start with leads.
Lead your team to victory
A lead can have a few different roles. It can either set up entry hazards, such as Spikes, take out other leads, suicide with a move like explosion, or pass on stat increases with Baton Pass. This role will want a high speed among everything.
If it is an entry hazard lead, you’ll want high HP and usually Defense to make sure you stay alive long enough to set up 2 or 3 sets of hazards. The best option here is 252 HP and 252 to either Defense or Special Defense and the rest in Speed.
If it is an anti-lead, that is a Pokémon sent to take out other leads, you want to make it attack hard. 252 Attack/Special Attack and 252 HP can be common. Depending on the Pokémon, you may want to take some away from the attacking stat and HP to get some Speed or Defense/Special Defense in there.
Suicide leads will usually want a high Speed as well as high Attack/Special Attack. 252 to both will be good, the rest in HP, and make sure it has a move like Explosion to use when near death.
Baton Pass leads want high Speed for sure to get those stat boosting moves off and use Baton Pass to pass the increases on to a Sweeper. 252 Speed, 252 Attack/Special Attack if you want to do some damage before you Baton Pass, and the rest in HP. Alternatively, you can have 252 Speed, 252 of either HP or Defense/Special Defense, and the rest in Attack/Special Attack. You will want a move like Swords Dance to increase your attack significantly before Baton Pass.
Swords Dance is the number one move to Baton Pass to a Sweeper.
Sweep up the mess
Sweepers are the main source of damage in any team. They are meant to attack hard and fast and take out as many Pokémon as they can before fainting. There are 3 types of sweepers, physical, special, and mixed.
Physical Sweepers rely on high Attack and Speed. 252 Attack and 252 Speed for sure. The rest can go into either HP or Defense/Special Defense, depending on the Pokémon.
Special Sweepers are exactly like Physical Sweepers, except they have high Special Attack instead of Attack. 252 Special Attack, 252 Speed, and the rest in anything.
Only Speed and Damage matters with Sweepers.
Mixed Sweepers have both high Attack and Special Attack. This is a little trick as you want to keep a high speed but still have decent Attack and Special Attack. 192 Speed is usually good for this type, then split the remaining between Attack and Special Attack.
Stall the enemy with a good Wall
A Wall’s purpose is to stall the enemy with high HP and Defense/Special Defense, slowly damage the enemy with status moves, and stop Sweepers. There are two types of Walls, physical and special.
Physical Walls make use of a high Defense stat. 252 Defense, 252 Hp, rest in Speed. they should soak up damage from any Physical Sweeper.
Special Walls do the same, but with Special Defense. 252 Special Defense, 252 HP, and the rest in Speed.
Take damage like a Tank and hit like one too
Tanks are a mix between Sweepers and Walls. Like Sweepers, they have a high Attack/Special Attack and can take out many Pokémon. They can also take damage like Walls, just not as much.
High HP and Attack will make this a threat, especially when it Mega Evolves.
Tanks will want to have a high HP to withstand attacks, and a high Attack/Special Attack. 252 HP, 252 Attack/Special Attack depending on which is better, and the rest anywhere.
Support your team like a boss
Support is very important to a team because they can save it from harmful effects that can otherwise cripple you. There 3 main types, Dual Screeners, Rapid Spinners, and Healers. All of these want max HP to survive long enough to do their support. The rest depends on the type of support and Pokémon.
Dual Screeners will use both Light Screen, raises Special Defense of team for 5 turns, and Barrier, raises Defense of team for 5 turns. 252 HP then split the rest between Speed, Special Defense, and Defense.
Rapid Spinners are used for one thing, the move Rapid Spin. Rapid Spin gets rid of entry hazards so this can be a helpful addition to any team if your opponent uses entry hazards. 252 HP, 252 Defense/Special Defense, rest in Speed. Just send them in after entry hazards are placed and uses Rapid Spin.
Healers will heal your party of any status ailments. Get a Pokémon with a move such as, Heal Bell or Aromatherapy. These will heal your whole party. 252 HP, 252 Defense/Special Defense, the rest in Speed.
Don’t forget to use Super Training for your Stat Distribution.
This has been a basic guide to understanding Pokémon roles and stat distribution, but I cannot stress enough that it will be different depending on the Pokémon. There is not a lot of information of the Pokémon stats in this generation yet, so I can only go by what I use.
If you would like specific information on a Pokémon, ask in the comments. I’ll let you know the best stat distribution if it is one I am familiar with in this generation. Look forward to my next guide on move set and natures.
