Pokemon Sword and Shield - Rental Team List

Overview

The battle tower in the Galar region is a facility that hosts offline battles. However, you can’t take part in battles unless you have a team. Fortunately, you can talk to the guy at the right counter near the Hyper trainer to borrow a full team of six. Each team specializes in different aspects and there are some teams which might be tough to pull off.

Recommended for single battles

Basic team

The basic team lives up to its name since it offers a balance of the three starters. Each starter covers up the weakness of its allies and the moves appear to be fairly straightforward. Haxorus and Togekiss can buff each of their stats and can snowball some teams in the single battle format. Meanwhile, the rest of its members can fight right off the bat. Despite its strengths, the team does not have a favorable matchup against ice type Pokemon. If you suspect to bump into an ice type team this round, you might want to avoid putting Rillaboom, Haxorus, and Togekiss on the same team.

Skill team

Similar to the basic team, the skill team consists of Pokemon that have great synergy. Despite the lack of grass or fire types, the team makes up for it with the addition of a steel type. It also carries some Pokemon that rely on buffs to clobber their foes at the expense of having being slower. The trick is to lead with Duraludon and have it use Reflect, Light Screen, or both on the first turn. You can then switch in a Pokemon that resists or is immune to the foe’s attack and start accumulating buffs to prepare for a sweep. This team is far from perfect since it can be preyed on by powerful fairy types.

Tough team

The tough team assembles a roster of Pokemon that excel with high attack stats. Each of the members has powerful attacks that can cut through most teams. However, it also comes with Pokemon that use status moves such as sleep or burn to help the team escape from predicaments. One of the downsides to this team is its glaring weakness to ghost types.

Recommended for double battles

Rain team

The team depends on keeping rain present to sweep through an enemy’s roster. Great choices to start with include Pelipper and either Raichu or Ludicolo to guarantee that the team gets the speed advantage with Tailwind. Raichu can also work as a great switch in to redirect electric moves away from Pelipper. Choosing which other Pokemon to use is up to you. Barraskewda and Seismitoad can replace Ludicolo once it goes down due to their exceptional speed while it’s raining. On the other hand, Ferrothorn can occupy a slot since it hits hard and can punish other Pokemon that remain on the field. Be sure to preserve Pelipper if you anticipate that the battle will take a while to ensure that rain continues to pour. Without rain, this team can get swept due to the shaky accuracy of some moves. Apart from that, its members can’t get knockouts if they fail to pick up the pace.

Slow team

The slow team revolves around using the move Trick Room to make slower Pokemon move first for a few turns. Lucario is an interesting addition to the team since it can use Final Gambit in hopes of taking its own life to knock out one of its foes. Its high health and speed almost always guarantee that it knocks out one of the foe’s Pokemon. One of the downsides to using this team is that it struggles against certain matchups. For example, foes that have slow Pokemon of their own, dark types, and ground types are all tricky to go up against.

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