Sceptile @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow -> Lightning Rod
Nature: Jolly
-Grass Pledge
-Leaf Blade
-Swords Dance
-X-Scissor
Sceptile, although being my starter, was pretty average throughout the run. He was generally my go-to mon when nothing else on my team could deal with a threat. I am definitely replacing X-Scissor with EQ and Grass Pledge with Acrobatics though. One thing to note is that to make the run more challenging, I did not allow myself to Mega Evolve Sceptile until the Pokemon League. I also like Sceptile's base form a lot better, if that matters.
Skye (Salamence) @ nothing
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: no idea
-Draco Meteor
-Crunch
-Flamethrower
-Substitute
Despite joining the team just before the E4, Skye has definitely pulled his weight. Substitute was surprisingly useful: in the E4, I could often set it up against a defensive mon, and then having some insurance when a heavy hitter comes out to play. Furthermore, if it wasn't for Intimidate, Steven's Mega Metagross would have swept my entire team. That thing is just so OP. Well done, Skye, you saved the day.
Sir Gallade (Gallade) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Steadfast
Nature: Modest
-Swords Dance
-Close Combat
-Psycho Cut
-Night Slash
I don't care what the in-game tier list says; Sir Gallade was the undisputed MVP of my run. Although I did grind in Super Training for a Dawn Stone and use the Heart Scales from the Demo to get early Close Combat, it was well worth it. Gallade absolutely demolished Flannery, Norman, Phoebe, Glacia, and half of Steven's team with +2 Close Combats. The Modest Nature kind of sucks (especially since I had an Adamant Ralts in the box but didn't realize it until I had already invested a ton of XP into this one), but really, this is ingame.
Venus (Milotic) [F] @ Sea Incense
Ability: Competitive
Nature: Naive
-Ice Beam
-Recover
-Surf
-Hidden Power Grass
Milotic was just so much fun to use. I had the luck to get a Naive, Competitive, HP Grass Feebas, which made Venus the perfect Pokemon to kick Team Aqua's butt. Venus also gets honourable mention for sweeping Drake with Ice Beam spam, combined with turning his Salamence's Intimidate against it. Although Gallade was the MVP, Venus was the most enjoyable mon to battle with. She is also, I'm sure, a future Beauty contest star.
Mantisaurus (Armaldo) @ Metronome
Ability: Battle Armour
Nature: not sure (but it was -Atk)
-Rock Slide
-Aerial Ace
-X-Scissor
-Earthquake
A very unorthodox choice, I used Armaldo because I just wanted to try something new. Initially, Armaldo abused the very gimmicky Fury Cutter + Metronome, where Fury Cutter is just a 40BP move on the first turn, but jumps to something like 120 in the next. Eventually, I replaced it with X-Scissor because I wanted more immediate power. Beyond that, Armaldo was very slow and very bulky, and hit like a truck. He also put in major work against Sidney. A true bro. He did, however, get fully paralyzed 4 times in a row (1/256 chance!) against May's Raichu and was thus unable to OHKO with Earthquake, so that was sort of embarrassing.
Billy Bird (Swellow) @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Guts
Nature: Bold
-Brave Bird
-Return
-Facade
-U-turn
mrw no toxic orb
Named after Billy Bishop, a Canadian WWI ace, Billy Bird hit hard and fast. Generally, he was my lead, and I would U-turn out if the matchup was unfavourable or go for Brave Bird/Return if it was. And yes, I did indeed spend 2 hours looking for a Brave Bird Taillow. And no, I do not regret it one bit. Sadly, never once was Billy Bird poisoned/burned, so he never got to show his true power. Ah well.