Introduction
Hello, today I bring you my first XY UU RMT. This team's creation was something of an accident. At the outset, the idea was to create a team using a Pokemon which I considered criminally under-appreciated in UU: Froslass. I then decided to pair it with an old BW favorite: Sharpedo. From there, I had to decide which direction I wanted to take the team in--Balance or Offense; and my gut told me to go with balance, as this would allow me to wear down Sharpedo counters early-game and sweep with it later. However, there was a problem--my opponents would get too many opportunities to remove my hard-earned hazards due to the momentum loss using Balance creates. Back to the drawing board.
I then decided to focus on keeping my hazards on the field no matter what the cost. Initially, the intent was to see if this could even be achieved with any sort of consistency in a tier in which, in addition to Crobat, Mega Aerodactyl, Mew, and Empoleon as Defog users, literally every single Rapid Spin user in the game not named Excadrill resides. However, I quickly discovered that not only is it possible, but the combination of Pokemon needed to do so actually creates one of the most offensively synergistic teams I have ever made. Between to the use of two Ghost-types to block Rapid Spin and three very fast Taunt users to block Defog, in addition to the offensive pressure the team puts out, my opponents are almost never in a good position to remove my hazards. This team doesn't fit any of the standard team archetypes you think of when teambuilding (stall, semi-stall, balance, offensive balance, bulky offense, offense, hyper offense); it's something kind of new, and, if I may say so myself, really fucking cool: total hazard control. I present:
Froslass @ Focus Sash
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Thunder Wave / Icy Wind
- Spikes
- Destiny Bond
- Taunt
Set Description
I lead with this thing almost every time I don't see an Absol on the opponent's team. If they have it, they usually lead with it to try to counter Froslass, so I lead with Hydreigon or Crobat, depending on the rest of their team, and U-turn into Swampert. Even if they decide not to lead with it, leading with a fast U-turn user is not a bad thing. Anyway, this thing's job is to lay down Spikes, fast, simultaneously blocking Rapid Spin and preventing my opponent's hazards/Defog with Taunt. Froslass is literally the only Pokemon in the entire game with this capability, which is pretty cool if you ask me. Destiny Bond is used to scare slower Pokemon out and rack up hazard damage or force a positive trade in my favor (a layer of Spikes + a kill with Destiny Bond is very nice). Sometimes I'll even get a kill on their Rapid Spin or Defog user, which great for advancing my win condition. Thunder Wave vs Icy Wind really comes down to personal preference, I've used both, and neither gets used a whole lot, but the benefits of each one are obvious. Keep in mind that Icy Wind does not 2HKO any of Mega Aerodactyl, Azelf, or Crobat, if it did, it would be infinitely better than Thunder Wave. If you do decide to run Icy Wind, move the HP EVs to Special Attack to at least do ~40% to them.
One last thing to keep in mind about Froslass is that, even at 1%, it is still useful, as it can come in off a U-turn or double switch and lay down another layer of Spikes. Even if there are hazards on your side of the field, it can still block Rapid Spin or Defog for one turn and give you the momentum by allowing you a free switch. It is worth keeping alive most of the time.
Swampert (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SDef
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Scald / Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
Set Description
The only tempo-killer on the team. I badly needed a Fire resist with Roar and access to Stealth Rock. This slot used to belong to Hippowdon because it had access to Whirlwind and Stealth Rock, and its Sand Stream was great for wearing down Sharpedo checks, but it lacked the Fire resist. I dealt with it for a while, but during the Magnezone test I had to switch over and when it ended, I decided to just keep Swampert. Roar is crucial in this moveset because with the XY mechanics, it allows me to phaze out Umbreon and Florges on their Protect, preventing them from receiving their own Wish, giving me a reliable way to wear down two big roadblocks when I'm attempting a Sharpedo sweep. Stealth Rock is needed for obvious reasons. Earthquake is the main STAB--used mostly to threaten Fire-types and weaken Florges and Umbreon before Roaring them out. Scald is the move you should be using if Salamence is voted BL, but if it stays, Ice Beam is obviously better.
Running Impish and some Speed is worth consideration (in fact, I did that during the Magnezone test) because that way Swampert will be faster than most Empoleon, therefore deterring Defog, but with Salamence in the tier you need almost need to keep the Relaxed nature to do as much damage as possible with Ice Beam. Ice Punch is not an option because of Intimidate, and hitting Chesnaught harder is important for Sharpedo's sweep.
Sableye (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SDef / 8 Def
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Taunt
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp
Set Description
Sableye was an obvious choice as soon as I decided to go the hazard control route, as it is both a Ghost-type and a priority Taunt user, making it the ultimate hazard guardian, for lack of a better word. It also comes with the perk of being able to use Knock Off to remove Leftovers, making Sharpedo's sweep a bit easier. It also does 72 - 85.8% to 0/0 Starmie, which is nice. Trading Sableye for their Rapid Spin user is sometimes worth it, and if their Rapid Spin user is Mega Blastoise, that's probably what will happen, but that's fine as long as you manage to get it down to about 35% so that Sharpedo can force it out, or kill it, and threaten a sweep. That is, of course, unless you need Sableye alive to check something like CurseLax or to burn something like Honchkrow, in those cases you should have kept Froslass alive at 1% to be able to use it as a one-turn Spin-blocker/death fodder. Its also worth keeping in mind that sometimes, Sableye isn't going to do much other than Knock Off some Pokemon's item and then Taunt it so it can't recover, and that's okay, as long as it advances your win condition and Sableye isn't needed for anything else.
Important calcs:
252 SpA Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Sableye: 195-229 (64.3 - 75.5%)
252 SpA Life Orb Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Sableye: 253-298 (83.4 - 98.3%)
Try to keep Sableye at full health if you see Hydreigon, as it has the easiest time bringing Hydreigon into Sharpedo's KO range and is kind of your best switchin to Scarf Draco Meteor.
Crobat (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Atk / 200 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost
- Taunt
Set Description
Three Dark-types, a suicide lead, and a Swampert. Yeah, I was a bit weak to Heracross and Florges, so my choice to bring Crobat into the squad was obvious. It just so happens that between U-turn, that fast Taunt, and the Ground immunity, Crobat advances this team's most typical win condition brilliantly. Crobat is my main Florges switchin, but it also acts as a Defog blocker and Fighting-type check, mainly Heracross since Sableye takes care of Mienshao just fine. Defog isn't here for obvious reasons. U-turn is awesome because Sharpedo can come in on a lot of Crobat's usual checks and do some damage to one of its own counters, then come back in later to sweep. The Speed EVs outpace Noivern, which is important because I don't have a Dragon resist on this team. Max Attack is needed to do as much damage as possible to well.. anything, which usually isn't Crobat's main job, but on this team you want shit to be worn down for Sharpedo.
Hydreigon (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- U-turn
- Fire Blast
Set Description
While most people who are in need of a Choice Scarf user immediately think "Hydreigon!", this is one of the few cases where it actually needs to be Hydreigon. The reason for this is mainly the strong Sucker Punch users in UU which have little trouble ripping through this team otherwise--Mega Absol and Honchkrow. Mega Absol is especially dangerous as it completely shuts down Sableye and Froslass. Anyway, Hydreigon is a bit tricky to use on this team--you'll almost always want to keep it around, but it doesn't necessarily have to be in tip-top shape (except when there are Sucker Punch users on the opponent's team), so you can have it tank that Victini's V-create if you need it to in order to not risk the U-turn out of Swampert into a fast Defog user. Situations like these arise a lot, and Hydreigon is pretty good at neutralizing them because of its good typing and very respectable damage output.
Important Calcs:
Draco Meteor on 252/4 Crobat: 66 - 78%
Draco Meteor on 120/0 Mega Aerodactyl: 65.2 - 77%
Dark Pulse on 252/232+ Mew: 46 - 54.9%
These may seem low at first, but when hazards are up and you've put enough pressure on your opponent, you'll realize this is plenty of damage, especially considering this is your Choice Scarf user, not one of the Pokemon meant to block Defog attempts.
Sharpedo (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 104 SAtk / 152 Spd
Naughty Nature
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Protect
- Ice Beam
Set Description
This Pokemon is fucking dangerous. Even in a tier where stall supposedly reigns supreme (it doesn't, people are fucking dumb), Sharpedo manages to consistently sweep. It's incredibly easy to slap a Hydreigon on your team and think you're safe from Sharpedo sweeps, but you'd be wrong, as with no investment, it's taking 60 - 71% from Ice Beam. 252/0 Chesnaught also takes 60-71%, and Toxicroak takes 41.3 - 49.1%. Those are the only three relevant Pokemon that resist Sharpedo's STAB attacks. The most important thing I can tell you about using Sharpedo is that you need to have a Damage Calculator handy, make sure everything actually is in it's kill-range before you attempt a sweep. After a while you'll kinda just "know", but its easy to misjudge Sharpedo's power if you're not familiar with it. Another tip I can give you is to take advantage of Crobat and Hydreigon's U-turns to try and get Sharpedo on the field early-mid game and get an attack off. This will usually result in weakening one of its checks to it can sweep later. There's obvious exceptions to that, such as when the opponent has obvious death fodder or when they managed to lay down Toxic Spikes (which means you fucked up, by the way, you have three Taunt users!).
Conclusion
The main thing to keep in mind about this team is that every single member is absolutely crucial to this team's success (which means you probably shouldn't be suggesting replacements!), but not in the sense that you must keep them alive at all costs like some other team archetypes. Each member has a role to play, and once that role is fulfilled, the member becomes expendable, this is important, because this team doesn't have reliable switchins to a lot of strong attacks, especially Draco Meteor and Outrage. You also have to keep in mind that, due to the way the team is built, Sharpedo will be your win condition most of the time, you will also run into teams where it just isn't going to sweep. For example, against stall teams, you'll probably want to try and win via Crobat or Sableye. It's important to establish your win condition early, so that you don't waste your resources trying to set up a sweep that is unlikely to happen.
Final Look
