XY UU Mega-Absol can support too! - UU Balanced Offense Team

[elite4]

At a Glance:

Introduction:
The building of this team all starts with me wanting to use Mega-Absol which IMO is a very underused mon in XYUU, and other mons are recruited to best suit Mega-Absol's needs. However, in the process of team building I found that Mega-Absol's role has changed from my original intention, so I tweaked its moveset a bit and shifted the focus of my team to Kingdra's sweeping ability. I decided to mention this because it explains why my team do not have an obvious core.

Absol @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 196 Atk / 96 SpA / 216 Spe
Naive Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Blast
- Will-O-Wisp

The move set of this Absol may seem a bit strange, but it perfectly suits its role as an anti-lead, or "anti-every SR user" mon in general. With team preview, using "anti-leads" may seem an odd decision, but the versatility of Absol combined with its hard-hitting STAB can really helps it against most of the SR users in the metagame. Knock Off hit all the psychics really hard, Fire Blast leaves Forretress to 1HP if it stays, and Will-O-Wisp is used to cripple anything else a.k.a. Donphan, Swampert and Hippowdon. Absol often helps me develop an advantage over the opponent from the start of the game which makes things much easier later.

SpA EVs ensure 2HKO on Mega Aggron coming in to tank me. Speed EVs let Absol outspeed neutral base 80s before ME, and 252+ Froslass after ME.

Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Brave Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Avalanche

Swampert is a replacement for Nidoqueen (thanks a bunch IronBullet93!) to nullify my team's weakness to Nidoking, and to be the SR user with Metagross gone. It worked surprisingly well for me and this set is perfectly working its job. Scald is used for burning physical attackers that I switch into, and Avalanche is always great to KO Hydreigon and inflict serious damage to those Grass-types who thinks they can come in safely.

calcs

252+ Atk Swampert Avalanche vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 546-644 (325 - 383.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Swampert Avalanche vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Celebi: 256-302 (63.3 - 74.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Swampert Avalanche vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Shaymin: 256-302 (75 - 88.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Swampert Avalanche vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Trevenant: 320-378 (85.5 - 101%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Swampert Avalanche vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Chesnaught: 160-190 (42.1 - 50%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

I have some doubts about the EVs though. What I want to do is maximise Swampert's Atk so that it can hit things hard and prevent being setup fodder for others. However, I'm not sure how much SpAtk EVs I should invest. And I suppose it is better if I invest the EVs in Def rather than in HP? Any idea?

Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Atk / 4 SpD / 176 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost / Defog
- Taunt / Defog

Crobat takes up the remaining responsibility of the former member Nidoqueen of taking Fighting- and Fairy- type attacks aimed at Absol, and works extremely well in that aspect (Many thanks again to IronBullet93). Although I have one less special attacker on my team, Crobat energized the synergy of my whole team due to its fast U-turn, and it is also the fastest pokemon on my team now. It is never a bad idea to have a fast Brave Bird to come to the rescue in a pinch. With 2 mons on my team now weak to SR, I would like Defog on Crobat. However, I value Crobat's UT way too much I cannot forgo that in place for Defog, so here comes the question: Replace Roost or Taunt with Defog on Crobat? Personally I prefer replacing Roost because Crobat already benefit much from Florges' wish support, but would the removal of Roost violate the point of this set? Perhaps I should use another spread instead?

Rotom-Heat @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpA
Modest Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Will-O-Wisp
- Volt Switch
- Overheat

This used to be 252SpA 252 Spd, but I am really uncomfortable with Kingdra as the only answer to Victini so I switched to a physically defensive variant. I am really happy with the combination of Rotom-H and Florges as both can tank UTVS while complementing each other regarding defensive sides. It is also one of my two answers to the most annoying Fire-type mons on the metagame which tears through your teams.

EDIT: I decided to use double status on Rotom-H to better deal with the annoying Victini. Would that work?

Florges (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Calm Nature
- Toxic
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect

I refrained myself from using this but I really couldn't since it is too good as a special wall. Status isn't too much of a problem with Mega Absol and Lum Berry in my team so I'm considering changing Arometherapy to another move, maybe Toxic? (Thanks RotomPoison for the suggestion of Toxic, and IronBullet93 for the spread)

Kingdra @ Lum Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Outrage
- Rain Dance

Kingdra is the one and only mon on my team that has a sweeping ability. I chose Kingdra over Haxorus because of several reasons: double STAB, better bulk and better typing. Unlike Haxorus, Kingdra cares much less about Bullet Punch and Ice Shard. Moreover, STAB Waterfall has fewer blind spots than EQ, while having nearly as much power. Most importantly, the structure of my team ensures fair chances for Kingdra to switch in on Water/Fire-type moves. Iron Head is for Florges. After switching to Rain Dance for the last slot, I am extremely pleased with how its working so fine for me. Apart from boosting my speed sky-high, the power boost to Waterfall is very much appreciated and it even has the surprise effect of confusing my opponent that this is a CritDra! I really appreciate RotomPoison for that suggestion.


I'm putting this team on the forum because I feel that its weakness to Poison-types are becoming more and more of a problem when I get a little bit higher on the ladder. I always have to sacrifice one or two mons when the opponent has Nidoking, because I don't have a counter for it and my best bet would be Kingdra as a check or Mega Absol as a sacrifice followed by Metagross' BP. Toxicroak can potentially be a threat too if it has Earthquake. I wish I could get some help from you :)
After taking suggestions from posters I think my team has improved a lot. The synergy of a Kingdra late-game sweep is very much improved since I now have Swampert as another Fire-resist so Kingdra's HP can be better preserved. One more U-Turn user really helps me switching out Kingdra when the time comes too. Thanks everyone for their help :)

Here's a boringly long battle (50 turns) which clearly displays every team members' role, and the fact that this team is "balanced" and won't fall against extremely stallish teams.
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/uu-151918671

Here's a battle which displays Kingdra's sweeping ability.
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/uu-149605470

Past Teammates

Nidoqueen (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Toxic Spikes
- Fire Blast

Metagross @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Atk / 28 Def / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Earthquake

Importable

Absol @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 196 Atk / 96 SpA / 216 Spe
Naive Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Blast
- Will-O-Wisp

Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Brave Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Avalanche

Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Atk / 4 SpD / 176 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost
- Taunt

Rotom-Heat @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpA
Modest Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Will-O-Wisp
- Volt Switch
- Overheat

Florges (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Calm Nature
- Toxic
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect

Kingdra @ Lum Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Outrage
- Rain Dance

Thank you for reading my RMT! This is my first UU RMT btw, so please don't hesitate to point out any mistakes :P

 

[TalonRaptor]

I really like your team and how you've chosen to use mega absolute. I myself use it in my ou team especially. From what I've played, absol is more suited to the role of an all out attacker. Will o wisp, while useful in some situations, can seem to be just taking up a moveslot. Besides you have willowisp on rotom.

I suggest you replace will o wisp with either superpower or play rough. If you want to be anti lead you may want to consider swords dance instead of knock off even. It works!

Finally, I suggest investment of full attack in the absol because that much special attack isn't really necessary and aggron isn't too common - you rather pack the extra physical punch. Apart from that - your team does seem very well balanced. Good luck and hope I could help!

[

 

[IronBullet]

Hey there,

This seems like a pretty solid team but as you said you do have serious problems with Nidoking. To remedy this, consider replacing Nidoqueen with a defensive Swampert. Swampert can easily switch into Nidoking's Poison type attacks and KO back with Earthquake. It also sets up rocks and gives you another great switch-in to Victin, which is important for your team as Rotom-H can't really afford to keep taking repeated V-creates especially with its SR weakness. Swampert also has great synergy with Florges, who can keep it alive throughout the game by passing Wishes. Here is the set:

Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Scald
- Roar

With Nidoqueen being replaced you now need a Pokémon who is able to take strong Fighting and Fairy type moves aimed at Absol. So, I suggest replacing Metagross with Crobat. Crobat offers you a great switch in to Pokémon who threaten Absol such as Florges and Heracross. Metagross is also no longer needed for SR with Swampert filling that spot. Crobat is also an effective stall-breaker, which is very important for balanced teams such as yours. Crobat can also use its blinding speed to be an effective revenge killer and check to frail sweepers such as Infernape and Mienshao. Here is the set:

Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Atk / 4 SpD / 176 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- U-turn / Defog
- Roost

Defog is an alternative to U-turn in order to clear SR, which can take its toll on your team as you now have two SR-weak Pokémon. I'm not sure about the effectiveness of WoW on Absol as the rest of your team deals with those bulky Ground types well enough anyway. You might be better off trying out Play Rough in its place, which is great for nailing Fighting types on the switch. It also hits Fairy types like Florges reasonably hard.

Lastly, I would recommend putting EVs into Defense rather than Special Defense for Florges as its Sp. Def is already sky high. The Defensive EVs really help out Florges when it comes to switching into physical Fighting and Dark type attacks from the likes of Heracross and Absol. An EV spread of 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Sp Def would be more suitable.

Edit: As RotomPoison has said below, Iron Head is wasted on Kingdra. I really like the suggestion of ChestoRest in place of your current set. Florges is taken down by boosted Waterfalls anyway. EVs of 152 HP / 96 Atk / 32 Sp Def / 228 Spe with an Adamant nature is the recommended spread as it prevents you from being 3HKOed by Starmie's Ice Beam.

Gl with the team, and hope I helped!

 

[RotomPoison]

Will-O Absol is kind of fun so I'll rate this quick

Nidoqueen needs to be running some Speed to actually do its job, and I would recommend enough for -1 Jolly Victini as your Absol lacks Pursuit, so change Nidoqueens EVs to 124 HP / 252 SpAtk / 132 Speed and change Fire Blast to Ice Beam. Fire Blast is kind of useless as it only hits Heracross harder, Ice Beam hits a bunch of Pokemon harder (I made a post Bout it in the Nidoking analysis, I'll edit that into this in a minute)

You never explained what those Rotom-H EVs do exactly, and Rotom-H is never a reliable answer to Victini because both are SR weak so Pain Splitting on it isn't smart. Maybe make it a but more bulky and ChestoRest, but again, those EVs aren't common.

Florges needs some Defense EVs (look at the above post but switch Defense and SpDef) and Aromatherapy does not need to be here. You have an immunity to every status on your team. Nidoqueen and Metagross are immune to Toxic. Rotom is immune to Burn and Paralysis. Kingdra has a Lum Berry, and Absol has Magic Bounce. Put Toxic over it, I know you can't hit Poison and Fairy types this way, but this allows you to wear down opposing walls as well, and Nidoqueen/Metagross can handle most Pokemon with opposing Toxic.

Get Iron Head off of Kingdra right now. It's weak, and Waterfall hits Florges/Aromatisse hard enough after a boost, and in the rain (I know you don't have it but this is a possible case in a battle) Waterfall is even stronger than Iron Head against them. So Rain Dance or Substitute or even ChestoRest DD Kingdra over your set

 

[elite4]

Hey there,

This seems like a pretty solid team but as you said you do have serious problems with Nidoking. To remedy this, consider replacing Nidoqueen with a defensive Swampert. Swampert can easily switch into Nidoking's Poison type attacks and KO back with Earthquake. It also sets up rocks and gives you another great switch-in to Victin, which is important for your team as Rotom-H can't really afford to keep taking repeated V-creates especially with its SR weakness. Swampert also has great synergy with Florges, who can keep it alive throughout the game by passing Wishes. Here is the set:

Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Scald
- Roar

With Nidoqueen being replaced you now need a Pokémon who is able to take strong Fighting and Fairy type moves aimed at Absol. So, I suggest replacing Metagross with Crobat. Crobat offers you a great switch in to Pokémon who threaten Absol such as Florges and Heracross. Metagross is also no longer needed for SR with Swampert filling that spot. Crobat is also an effective stall-breaker, which is very important for balanced teams such as yours. Crobat can also use its blinding speed to be an effective revenge killer and check to frail sweepers such as Infernape and Mienshao. Here is the set:

Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Atk / 4 SpD / 176 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- U-turn / Defog
- Roost

Defog is an alternative to U-turn in order to clear SR, which can take its toll on your team as you now have two SR-weak Pokémon. I'm not sure about the effectiveness of WoW on Absol as the rest of your team deals with those bulky Ground types well enough anyway. You might be better off trying out Play Rough in its place, which is great for nailing Fighting types on the switch. It also hits Fairy types like Florges reasonably hard.

Lastly, I would recommend putting EVs into Defense rather than Special Defense for Florges as its Sp. Def is already sky high. The Defensive EVs really help out Florges when it comes to switching into physical Fighting and Dark type attacks from the likes of Heracross and Absol. An EV spread of 252 HP / 232 Sp Def / 24 Def would be more suitable.

Gl with the team, and hope I helped!

Thank you very much for the help!! In fact I have previously considered Crobat but without Nidoqueen my special attacking side would be really weak, as Rotom-H would become my only special attacker. This produces problems when I face stall teams that feature physically defensive mons.

Swampert is a really good counter to Nidoking though. I'd definitely try to fit it into my team! It also kind of relieves my weakness to bulky Ground-types and acts as a quite good SR user too.

For Absol, Play Rough is not compatible with Knock Off, which IMO is much more important for Absol, but I see what you mean. I insist on using WoW on Absol because it often lures in physical walls and WoW is the best way to cripple them.

Thank you for your suggestion on the spread of Florges. I never realised that it doesn't actually need that much SpDef EVs.

Will-O Absol is kind of fun so I'll rate this quick

Nidoqueen needs to be running some Speed to actually do its job, and I would recommend enough for -1 Jolly Victini as your Absol lacks Pursuit, so change Nidoqueens EVs to 124 HP / 252 SpAtk / 132 Speed and change Fire Blast to Ice Beam. Fire Blast is kind of useless as it only hits Heracross harder, Ice Beam hits a bunch of Pokemon harder (I made a post Bout it in the Nidoking analysis, I'll edit that into this in a minute)

You never explained what those Rotom-H EVs do exactly, and Rotom-H is never a reliable answer to Victini because both are SR weak so Pain Splitting on it isn't smart. Maybe make it a but more bulky and ChestoRest, but again, those EVs aren't common.

Florges needs some Defense EVs (look at the above post but switch Defense and SpDef) and Aromatherapy does not need to be here. You have an immunity to every status on your team. Nidoqueen and Metagross are immune to Toxic. Rotom is immune to Burn and Paralysis. Kingdra has a Lum Berry, and Absol has Magic Bounce. Put Toxic over it, I know you can't hit Poison and Fairy types this way, but this allows you to wear down opposing walls as well, and Nidoqueen/Metagross can handle most Pokemon with opposing Toxic.

Get Iron Head off of Kingdra right now. It's weak, and Waterfall hits Florges/Aromatisse hard enough after a boost, and in the rain (I know you don't have it but this is a possible case in a battle) Waterfall is even stronger than Iron Head against them. So Rain Dance or Substitute or even ChestoRest DD Kingdra over your set

Thanks a lot for suggesting improvements to my team!

I am a bit hesitant to giving more speed to Nidoqueen because she takes too many hits and do not have reliable recovery. But I am taking your advice of changing Fire Blast to Ice Beam and it is working fine for me, so thanks a bunch!

In fact I've forgot what my EVs on Rotom-H are for... Trying to figure that out XD

I too feel Aromatherapy is very useless on Florges so I am going to change that to Toxic at once.

For Kingdra, I am really uncomfortable with +1 Waterfall not being able to 2HKO Standard Florges. Although Iron Head doesn't do quite as much too, at least it manages to hit ~70% off Florges after 1 DD.

+1 252+ Atk Kingdra Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 232 Def Florges: 178-210 (49.4 - 58.3%) -- 64.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ Atk Kingdra Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 232 Def Florges: 238-280 (66.1 - 77.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Rain Dance is a possible solution given that I have the chance to set up, so I might as well try that out.

 

[elite4]

Hey there,

This seems like a pretty solid team but as you said you do have serious problems with Nidoking. To remedy this, consider replacing Nidoqueen with a defensive Swampert. Swampert can easily switch into Nidoking's Poison type attacks and KO back with Earthquake. It also sets up rocks and gives you another great switch-in to Victin, which is important for your team as Rotom-H can't really afford to keep taking repeated V-creates especially with its SR weakness. Swampert also has great synergy with Florges, who can keep it alive throughout the game by passing Wishes. Here is the set:

Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Scald
- Roar

With Nidoqueen being replaced you now need a Pokémon who is able to take strong Fighting and Fairy type moves aimed at Absol. So, I suggest replacing Metagross with Crobat. Crobat offers you a great switch in to Pokémon who threaten Absol such as Florges and Heracross. Metagross is also no longer needed for SR with Swampert filling that spot. Crobat is also an effective stall-breaker, which is very important for balanced teams such as yours. Crobat can also use its blinding speed to be an effective revenge killer and check to frail sweepers such as Infernape and Mienshao. Here is the set:

Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Atk / 4 SpD / 176 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- U-turn / Defog
- Roost

Defog is an alternative to U-turn in order to clear SR, which can take its toll on your team as you now have two SR-weak Pokémon. I'm not sure about the effectiveness of WoW on Absol as the rest of your team deals with those bulky Ground types well enough anyway. You might be better off trying out Play Rough in its place, which is great for nailing Fighting types on the switch. It also hits Fairy types like Florges reasonably hard.

Lastly, I would recommend putting EVs into Defense rather than Special Defense for Florges as its Sp. Def is already sky high. The Defensive EVs really help out Florges when it comes to switching into physical Fighting and Dark type attacks from the likes of Heracross and Absol. An EV spread of 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Sp Def would be more suitable.

Edit: As RotomPoison has said below, Iron Head is wasted on Kingdra. I really like the suggestion of ChestoRest in place of your current set. Florges is taken down by boosted Waterfalls anyway. EVs of 152 HP / 96 Atk / 32 Sp Def / 228 Spe with an Adamant nature is the recommended spread as it prevents you from being 3HKOed by Starmie's Ice Beam.

Gl with the team, and hope I helped!

After some testing with the changes that you've suggested, I found that my team copes with Fighting-type attacks much better than before! Swampert is great as a Fire-resist too. It is never a bad idea diversifying my switch-ins to those UU Fire-type mons. However, Crobat also gives me a decent surprise with its high-speed UT and BB, not only giving me synergy but also rescuing me in a pinch. Thank you very much for the help!

Will-O Absol is kind of fun so I'll rate this quick

Nidoqueen needs to be running some Speed to actually do its job, and I would recommend enough for -1 Jolly Victini as your Absol lacks Pursuit, so change Nidoqueens EVs to 124 HP / 252 SpAtk / 132 Speed and change Fire Blast to Ice Beam. Fire Blast is kind of useless as it only hits Heracross harder, Ice Beam hits a bunch of Pokemon harder (I made a post Bout it in the Nidoking analysis, I'll edit that into this in a minute)

You never explained what those Rotom-H EVs do exactly, and Rotom-H is never a reliable answer to Victini because both are SR weak so Pain Splitting on it isn't smart. Maybe make it a but more bulky and ChestoRest, but again, those EVs aren't common.

Florges needs some Defense EVs (look at the above post but switch Defense and SpDef) and Aromatherapy does not need to be here. You have an immunity to every status on your team. Nidoqueen and Metagross are immune to Toxic. Rotom is immune to Burn and Paralysis. Kingdra has a Lum Berry, and Absol has Magic Bounce. Put Toxic over it, I know you can't hit Poison and Fairy types this way, but this allows you to wear down opposing walls as well, and Nidoqueen/Metagross can handle most Pokemon with opposing Toxic.

Get Iron Head off of Kingdra right now. It's weak, and Waterfall hits Florges/Aromatisse hard enough after a boost, and in the rain (I know you don't have it but this is a possible case in a battle) Waterfall is even stronger than Iron Head against them. So Rain Dance or Substitute or even ChestoRest DD Kingdra over your set

Thank you very much for the suggestion on Kingdra! Kingdra is the only sweeper in my team, and I can't believe changing only one move can produce such a large difference. Rain Dance helps me a lot when my opponent thinks they can switch in Scarfed or very fast mons like M-Aero to outspeed me when I DD, and due to the boost to Waterfall it's just like another DD with more speed boost.

 

[RichBitchGastly]

I like this team a lot. I use it often, and I can usually guarantee wins. I do want to point out that while Crobat does resist Fairies, it cannot touch them, and neither can the rest of your team. Maybe you could give Kingdra the Sniper ability, let it hold a Scope Lens, and replace Rain Dance with Iron Head? Another suggestion if possibly making Crobat a mixed attacker, with Sludge Bomb and U-Turn instead of Brave Bird? Fairies really do break this team apart. Also, maybe consider adding a spinner to the team. Crob atis an excellent Defogger, but 1) It loses a lot of health when rocks are up and 2) Defog removes hazards from both sides, so Swampert having Stealth Rocks is pointless. And maybe replace Scald with Waterfall? And with the spinner bit, the best member to be replaced is Rotom-Heat. Absolve already has Will O' Wisp, and some people might predict the Thunderwave and go into a Ground-Type. Just some suggestions. Later!