Twilight's Team (Overview): Twilight's philosophy that she used to gather her Pokemon can basically be summed up in one sentence.
Preparation through specialization.
Each of her Pokemon has one thing it is very, very good at, like taking blows without even noticing (Sapphire), special based offense (Starswirl, Tesla), physical based offense (Megasoma), and status infliction (Aristo). Almost all of them can do other things as well (except Megasoma, who is all physical might, no surprises unless you count some attack types) but each of them has their specialty and usually when Twilight sends them out they're primed for that role.
The exceptions to the above rule are Spike, Apus, and Echo. Spike escaped Twilight's pigeonholing by being her all-arounder, her jack of all trades. Apus was a parting gift from Celestia, and she still hasn't been able to make a real spot in her team for the poor Sigilyph. And Echo... Capturing Echo was kind of an accident, and while she does have quite a bit of promise as a harrier and speed demon, Twilight's still a bit wary of bats, so she hasn't really gotten anywhere yet.
In short, Twilight's team is based on having the exact right answer to any given situation, each in a different Pokemon. Enemy has a powerful attacker who's weakness is physical blows? Time for Megasoma! Need to hold back the enemy for a while to prep her strategy? It's Sapphire's turn! Etc. It's not exactly foolproof, but with Spike waiting in the wings to take over when one of the others can't do its job right (Sapphire trying to tank a fighting type, for instance) and a couple of newbies just waiting to find their place in her team, it can't be denied that she's got an answer for most things Johto can throw at her.
Interactions with Twi: There's not a single one of Twilight's roster that isn't affectionate towards her. And it's no surprise, given the friendly, caring way she treats them. Most are also rather protective of their physically frail, scrawny little trainer, but the ones who understand how intelligent she is can't help but admire it (particularly Starswirl). In turn, Twilight tends to impress upon her team the importance of strategy, and knowing where their strengths lie and what to do if they get over their heads. She also does her best to teach them the importance of friendship and working together, natch. Some of them take better to her lessons than others, but more on that further down.
Headcanon: I base most of my assumptions on the games, some on stuff I really liked in the anime and movies, and a lot else on "hey, wouldn't it be cool if..."
Twilight's Pokemon are varying levels of intelligent, with Starswirl being a super-genius because, well, Kadabra, Tesla being quite intelligent but not able to communicate it well, Spike and Apus being relatively smart, Megasoma being at about the level of a college fratboy, and the others being more animalistic, though they can all recognize emotions and usually understand what's being said to them, though only the more intellectual ones can usually follow a conversation going on without them being directly involved. Even Sapphire the Snorlax, who evolved when she accidentally fell on a poor Treeko and smothered it into unconsciousness (Fluttershy was horrified) can usually tell when she's being addressed or someone's upset with her.
I don't really go for name-speak either. Usually I just have them make the sort of noises I imagine animals of their type making.
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Preparation through specialization.
Each of her Pokemon has one thing it is very, very good at, like taking blows without even noticing (Sapphire), special based offense (Starswirl, Tesla), physical based offense (Megasoma), and status infliction (Aristo). Almost all of them can do other things as well (except Megasoma, who is all physical might, no surprises unless you count some attack types) but each of them has their specialty and usually when Twilight sends them out they're primed for that role.
The exceptions to the above rule are Spike, Apus, and Echo. Spike escaped Twilight's pigeonholing by being her all-arounder, her jack of all trades. Apus was a parting gift from Celestia, and she still hasn't been able to make a real spot in her team for the poor Sigilyph. And Echo... Capturing Echo was kind of an accident, and while she does have quite a bit of promise as a harrier and speed demon, Twilight's still a bit wary of bats, so she hasn't really gotten anywhere yet.
In short, Twilight's team is based on having the exact right answer to any given situation, each in a different Pokemon. Enemy has a powerful attacker who's weakness is physical blows? Time for Megasoma! Need to hold back the enemy for a while to prep her strategy? It's Sapphire's turn! Etc. It's not exactly foolproof, but with Spike waiting in the wings to take over when one of the others can't do its job right (Sapphire trying to tank a fighting type, for instance) and a couple of newbies just waiting to find their place in her team, it can't be denied that she's got an answer for most things Johto can throw at her.
Interactions with Twi: There's not a single one of Twilight's roster that isn't affectionate towards her. And it's no surprise, given the friendly, caring way she treats them. Most are also rather protective of their physically frail, scrawny little trainer, but the ones who understand how intelligent she is can't help but admire it (particularly Starswirl). In turn, Twilight tends to impress upon her team the importance of strategy, and knowing where their strengths lie and what to do if they get over their heads. She also does her best to teach them the importance of friendship and working together, natch. Some of them take better to her lessons than others, but more on that further down.
Headcanon: I base most of my assumptions on the games, some on stuff I really liked in the anime and movies, and a lot else on "hey, wouldn't it be cool if..."
Twilight's Pokemon are varying levels of intelligent, with Starswirl being a super-genius because, well, Kadabra, Tesla being quite intelligent but not able to communicate it well, Spike and Apus being relatively smart, Megasoma being at about the level of a college fratboy, and the others being more animalistic, though they can all recognize emotions and usually understand what's being said to them, though only the more intellectual ones can usually follow a conversation going on without them being directly involved. Even Sapphire the Snorlax, who evolved when she accidentally fell on a poor Treeko and smothered it into unconsciousness (Fluttershy was horrified) can usually tell when she's being addressed or someone's upset with her.
I don't really go for name-speak either. Usually I just have them make the sort of noises I imagine animals of their type making.