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It's basically going to be 40% teambuilding, 40% prediction, and 20% luck.
Lower tiered Pokemon are absolutely usable in higher tiers if you handle them well and synergize them with the rest of your team instead of just slapping them on there because you like them.
Remember to cover your defenses too. Test out your team and if you see you're having a huge problem with Heatran, just swap something out for a Heatran counter rather than giving up or starting over. A good team is a fine-tuned one.
Check out Serebii or Smogon for moveset ideas. Be sure to keep in mind that they're ideas and you don't have to follow them 100%, or even 10% really.
And don't forget that it's still just Pokemon. Interpret that last point how you will.
