Pokemon HeartGold 6th team member suggestions

[PureChaos]

When it comes to Pokemon I've barely ventured outside the first generation. I had Blue all those years ago and got LeafGreen a few years ago but they're are the only games I've really played. I had Emerald at one point but the game broke before I was able to complete it. I recently got a 3DS so thought it would be a good time to try out some of the other games. I'm soon to finish A Link Between Worlds so plan on getting HeartGold very soon. I like to pre-plan my team so have been looking to the 2nd gen pokemon to see who to go for. So far my team will consist of:
Feraligator (water)
Houndoom (dark/fire)
Ampharos (electric)
Espeon (psychic)
Crowbat (poison/flying)

but can't decide who to have as the 6th member of the team. There are several things I take into consideration when choosing the team:
Base stats - doesn't have to be HUGELY strong but decent enough to know I won't have to spend ages level grinding to be able to finish the game

Type - try to have one of each type but if there's a cross over with 2 dual-types I might allow it

Location - like to gradually build up the team so don't want to have 5 pokemon before the first gym but also don't want to spend 75% of the game with only 2.

Move set - no point in having a high stat pokemon if its moves suck (it's why I found Dragonite to be a bit disappointing in LeafGreen)

Taking all these things into account I have narrowed it down to 3 posibilities:
Heracross (bug/fighting) - decent stats, not too bad moves and looks like I can get it fairly on

Donphan (ground) - decent states and moves but might be late appearing which some of the other members of the team already are

Tyranitar (ground/dark) - amazing stats and decent moves but, again, possibly a late arrival and I'm not entirely sure I'll get Pupitar to a high enough level so it will it will evolve (55) allowing me to make good use Tyranitar.

The only other option is to have 5 battling pokemon with the 6th being used to teach most of the HMs to. I'd quite like an ice pokemon but none of them are that great. I could get a first gen pokemon but, if I'm going to be using first gen, I may as well just play LeafGreen.

Any thought/suggestions/ideas would be great.

Thanks

 

[Master_Archer53]

Heracross!! hes awesome

 

[Roguebubble]

Tyranitar is rock/dark but I'd agree with the level being too high for the elite four 1st time anyway
Maybe you could try Mamoswine for ice/ground coverage. Just make sure to hold onto the first heartscale you get so you can evolve Piloswine when you get one. I used a Mamoswine in my Soulsilver playthrough with success due to its high attack and good bulk.
If you can trade then Scyther into Scizor or Onix into Steelix with metal coat might also work for you as they're both quite powerful and good typing

 

[Someone Depressing]

I'd get a bug or a rock/ground.

Bug, because they have good defence against things, and they level up fast and have pretty good base stats.

And Rock/Ground because the team you've composed is mostly Special/mixed ability, so it'd probably be great to have a physical fighter to fall back onto.

What I just described is Heracross. Get Heracross.

 

[silver wolf009]

Go for Scizor. Only one weakness, albeit a really big one, Bullet Punch, Agility, Sword Dance, X-Scissor, awesome attack stat and a good defense stat too.

All around, probably one of the best Pokemon ever.

 

[Thebazilly]

Out of the three you're considering, I'd definitely go with Heracross. Tyranitar levels up slow, and you probably won't get him to evolve before the Elite Four, and Donphan's pre-evo is on the route after the 8th gym.

If you want an ice type, I'd recommend Lapras. It's one of my favorites. You can find them one day of the week in the very bottom of Union Cave (only accessible after you get Surf), or in the Safari Zone in HeartGold/SoulSilver.

 

[Another]

Scizor, Mamoswine, or Heracross are all good bets.

I also have a special place in my heart for Miltank. Used one in a nuzloke and it worked out really well. Especially since miltank can be a walking heal dispenser.

 

[Auron225]

I've never used any of the ones you're suggesting, so my opinion likely doesn't amount to much. Having said that, I know that Tyranitar isn't a great option unless you're fine with getting him very late and grinding to have him fully evolved. Given your criteria, I don't think it's a wise choice. He's probably one of those things that you'll be glad of doing once you have him though...

I've always wanted to try using Mamoswine... although he again you won't be able to obtain for a little while. Neither will Donphan as you pointed out...

It seems that Heracross's big advantage here is your ability to get him much earlier. Also there is an Elite 4 member with Dark pokemon if I remember correctly. Bug & Fighting are both good against Dark - your Heracross will destory her

 

[Headsprouter]

Well...

When it comes to the main part of the game, I find it hard to give a crap about this kind of stuff. I'll try to take it into account when I'm deciding between which team member to put in a slot, but to put it into perspective, I had a total of 3 bug-types on my team in Pokemon X. 2 of which were Bug/Flying. And the other one, the fighting-type Heracross, he wasn't all that unique because I had Chesnaught. That's 4 Pokemon weak to Flying. Did it hinder my progress? Not notably.

When it comes down to it, it doesn't matter at all unless you're playing competitively. I'd just pick my favourite of your selection, Heracross. And if you wanna get technical, it's available much earlier than Larvitar and Phanpy and has a nice, broad moveset and you have a Pokemon to deal with its flying-type weakness via a quick switch out. Provided the AI is smart enough to use it in the first place...not only that, you'll probably be faster than most flying types you'll come to face.

Oh, and Tyranitar is Rock/Dark.

 

[2xDouble]

First of all... Dragonite has access to Dragon Dance, Outrage, Ice Beam and Thunderbolt, and can use them all effectively. What more do you need? *Grumble, grumble* saying Dragonite sucks... *grumble*

OT: Heracross is definitely a good choice and solid pokemon. Excellent typing and coverage moves, with some sweet stats to back them up. Scizor is another powerful offensive and defensive pokemon, but difficult to obtain on your own. Breloom, though potentially a pain to get, brings both Grass and Fighting coverage, as well as powerful priority moves that your team sorely lacks.

It seems you might need something with Ice and/or Dragon attacks. Feraligatr is pretty good for that, but some backup/redundancy should serve you well:
Dragonite is downright boss, assuming you don't have access to Salamence, but you may have more fun with Kingdra instead.
Kingdra is a surprising pokemon, balancing power, versatility and quirkiness. Its move pool is massive.
Mamoswine is certainly attainable, and quite the powerhouse on its own as well as filling in some gaps on your team.
Sneasel/Weavile is also perfectly viable, though pretty much the definition of "glass cannon". Teach one Ice Punch and let the good times roll.
Cloyster is another powerful Ice pokemon, especially with Skill Link'd Rock Blasts and Icicle Spears. Sadly, it's just not the same ungodly killing machine until it learns Shell Smash in Gen V, but still, a force to be reckoned with.

...Obligatory mention of my own favorite pokemon, Lanturn. Lanturn has absolutely massive HP, Volt Absorb, which can be quite handy, and has access to the extremely annoying and potentially team-breaking "para-fusion" combo (Thunder Wave + Confuse Ray). Not the best competitive pokemon by any stretch, but Lanturn is damn fun to use and has been pretty clutch for me most of the time.

I can't help but notice you have a lot of slow offensive pokemon (and Crobat) on your team. Perhaps some additional support or defense pokemon would be appropriate? Such as:

Skarmory, though decidedly defensive in nature, can be quite a terror with hazard damage, with access to Spikes (and/or Toxic Spikes), Stealth Rock, and Whirlwind. Round out the move set with Steel Wing or Fly (because the game AI has serious trouble with moves like Fly) if you don't want to go all-in on hazards, or give it Agility to help ensure Whirlwind hoses the opposing team. Skarmory also has Roost to help it recover a bit if you're not threatened by whatever Whirlwind drags out, and Slash, Air Slash, Aerial Ace, Stone Edge, etc. for some offensive variety.

Chansey/Blissey sponge special attacks like no other Pokemon, regardless of typing (though a Focus Blast still hurts a fair bit), and can Softboiled back to full almost every time. The pink eggs can also pack Aromatherapy and/or Heal Bell, which get rid of those nasty status effects that can mess up a sweep. Main problem is, they shatter completely to physical attacks... almost any physical attacks.

A Baton Pass pokemon, particularly Ninjask. Sadly, Ninjask isn't obtainable in Heart Gold till after you beat the Elite Four, but a well-timed Baton Pass, sending Swords Dance and even one Speed Boost to one of your offensive threats can be "GG". Gligar/Gliscor can pull double duty here, as an effective Ground type set-up sweeper and a Swords Dance passer. Girafarig or some other Eevee-lutions (Vaporeon or Jolteon, specifically) can BP useful boosts such as Agility or Wish, and Girafarig in particular is quite handy against Ghost trainers, who don't often supplement their moves with Dark attacks and tend to be vulnerable to both Psychic and Crunch.

 

[PureChaos]

Right...

Heracross!! hes awesome

Seems to be a popular opinion here!

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Dunno why I put ground/dark...oops. Mamoswine is 4th gen and, as I never got to play the original Gold, I'd like to keep to 2nd gen for now so I can get as close to the original game as possible for my first play through. Any pokemon that need a trade to evolve (Scyther, Onix, Seadra etc) are out as I don't want to be faffing about trying to find someone to trade with. I have a friend that has Soul Silver but I don't want to have to rely trading with someone to get my team together. If the opportunity arises in subsequent runs then fine, bring on the action, but not for my first attempt.

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See reply to previous person

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The 3 possibilities were all more towards the physical side of things (or at least had a decent Attack rating) due to the fact all my others were more Special Attack. You're another vote for Heracross!

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Didn't realize Donphan's pre-evo (someone else mentioned him, too!) appeared so late. You're a third vote for Heracross. Lapras was part of my team in LeafGreen so want to avoid using pokemon I've had in previous teams, other wise I may as well just play LeafGreen again..but, yes, Lapras is awesome!

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Scizor and Mamoswine I have dealt with and Heracross now has 4 votes! Miltank...not really considered that much. Maybe I'll give her/it a whirl on another run.

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Don't mind a bit of grind but it sounds like I'd have to do LOADS to get Tyranitar. As you say, probably be a great member of the team once he's there but, as it's my first go, it would probably be best to avoid too much grinding. Mamoswine has already been dealt with. Looks like you're vote #5 for Heracross...didn't realize it was so good against dark either so there's an extra bonis

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A 6th gen game like X is probably loads different to a 4th gen game, even if you did have 4 bug types. Chesnaught wasn't even introduced until 6th gen (yes, I looked that up!). I won't be playing competitively, just want to try the games so I'll take you as vote #6 for Heracross. And already mentioned my fail on Tyranitar's type combination...really should change that!

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That kinda made my brain hurt towards the end, got a bit technical!
I didn't say Dragonite sucked, just that his move set let him down. His stats are great but very few dragon moves for STAB and very few pokemon are weak to dragon types (strangely dragon is weak to dragon). A lot of your alternate suggestions either require trading, are 3rd gen+ pokemon or first gen which I have already covered. Ice would be great but those in the 2nd gen list aren't that good and Feral-what's-his-face had OK special attack to give a decent Ice Beam against any dragon types (I used to use Gyarados in Blue and his special is lower than...thingy's!). Chancey/Blissey may be great healers but their offensive capabilities are far too weak for my play style. Baton Pass is a nice move but not something I would pick a pokemon for purely because it has it mainly because I tend not to rely on stat boosting moves (the only one I would consider using is Calm Mind but that's 3rd gen!)

So far it seems like Heracross is in the lead!

 

[Legendairy314]

I really like your team and would also like to throw in a vote for Heracross. His weakness to flying really hurts but with a bulky Ampharos you should be fine. Though if you're looking for some additional bulk I would recommend Donphan since it is a version exclusive for Heart Gold. Forretress would be another good choice with fun options like explosion and gyro ball to back it up. Though he's more of a competitive mon' that would only really slow you down when just having fun.

So as far as a recommendations for a simple in game team it would be

1. Heracross
2. Donphan
3. Forretress

 

[StormDragonZ]

Checking out your team, two of them are weak to Rock-type and none of them resist Rock-type attacks.

My personal choice would be Donphan.

 

[krazykidd]

Machamp.

Dynamite( dunamic?) punch , shadow claw, thunder punch , stone edge.

Ev Train in HP and Phys attack. Or phys attack and speed.

Enjoy

 

[Nemusus]

Of the Pokemon you've listed, definitely Heracross, it made the 3rd gym one of the easiest, which, should you attempt sans Heracross, you may find the hardest by far. However, I'd like to draw your attention to this:

Houndoom (dark/fire)

You're only gonna need to spend a fair amount of time at the Safari Zone because of the weird mechanics (I couldn't be bothered trying to work them out, I only remember that you need to unlock certain arbritrary items and them place them in certain arbitrary patterns in arbitrary areas to unlock pokemon and that it took a fair amount of time to do) and it gets very old very quickly, or at least it did for me. Therefore, I'd recommend you go with 2 of your selections and leave Houndoom behind. That's just my 2 cents though, so do feel free to ignore me. If you do want a second selection, I'd go with Donphan, it works better with the rest of the team (because Tyranitar brings in that sandstorm, which, while good in online play, is just a pain offline when your non-sandstorm-immune pokemon that can kill everything the opponent has left is taken out by what is effectively friendly fire.)

 

[SD-Fiend]

Ursarang.
Quick Feet.
Jolly Nature.
With Shadow Claw/Crunch,Bulk up/Swords Dance,Facade and whatever else.
Holding a Toxic Orb.

I found a shiny one whilst training at Mt. Mortar and it is without a doubt the luckiest thing to happen to me in a Pokemon game. It's a shame I sent it to White before teaching it Fire Punch.
Why has Game freak made it so hard to get those moves anyway?

 

[PureChaos]

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7 votes for Heracross! Forretress seems interesting...might save it for another run.

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Machamp requires trading so he's out (plus he's a first gen which I covered eariler), otherwise I'd have used him long ago!

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Houndour can be found on route 7 but, after checking, turns out that's the Kanto route 7! Hmm, may need to come up with a new fire type. And 8 votes for Heracross!

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Ursaring isn't available in Heart Gold so he's out

 

[Nemusus]

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Houndour can be found on route 7 but, after checking, turns out that's the Kanto route 7! Hmm, may need to come up with a new fire type. And 8 votes for Heracross!

The only other worthwhile fire types are Arcanine and Typhlosion. Typho means you'll have to give up Feraligatr (maybe for Lanturn/Quagsire?) while you won't be able to evolve Growlithe until after the Elite 4 unless you start grinding at the bug catching contest.