Another Fine Day (UU Sunny Day)

Sunny Day

By End Fashion, October 2009


One day, I decided to make a weather team. It was a Rain Dance team, and it worked well. Along my way, I encountered two other excellent teams that employed hail and sand. This was very interesting to me, but I preferred my offensively based rain team. Then, somehow, I stumbled across another weather move called Sunny Day. This move intrigued me as I had not seen it in battle, and I knew that for every weather move, there was a set of Pokemon who functioned most efficiently when it was in play. Immediately, I became curious about the sunshine. I was soon to realise, however, that the sunshine Pokemon did not function in the same way as the rain Pokemon, who appeared much more powerful in their drizzly conditions. At this point, I did not know what direction I needed to take to make the team better. Did I need to rely on sweepers or draw from some stall principles first? Am I relying on power or status? Not knowing the sunshine's niche made me sad, but I endeavored to assemble a team that would at least be mildly competitive. Finally, after much deliberation, I formed a team that sometimes allowed me to control the pace of games much like I had with my rain team. This made me very happy. So happy, in fact, that I would like to share it with you so you may tell me very bad things about it in the hopes of making it better.

This team was the product of rigorous testing on the Smogon Shoddy ladder. As such, it is highly moulded around the metagame of October, before the changes to BL saw Raikou and co. drop back to UU. The team has scored a number of pleasing wins against some of the top ranked players on the Smogon server, beating top 50 and even some top 15 teams. The team aims to correct the mistakes of a lot of Sunny Day teams which I have seen and personally built in the past. For starters, this team does not make the mistake of being hyper offensive and having a team loaded with Chlorophyll Pokemon. It is about having the sweepers, but also having their necessary supports. The second common mistake tends to occur on the defensive, where a lot of players often use general or common walls to patch their defenses, rather than looking at specific threats and holes in the team itself. To amend this, I started with my offensive Pokemon, saw what threatened them, and worked from there. In today's metagame, it is not about just setting up the sun and blasting away. It is more about scouting teams and being able to clear a safe path for your sweepers to do their work. Speed is pivotal, as is defensive capability.





Jumpluff (M) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 232 HP/24 Def/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Sleep Powder
- U-turn
- Sunny Day
- Encore / Aromatherapy

a. Why Jumpluff?
Jumpluff is a tricky little lead with Sleep Powder, and is lightning fast in the Sun. Whilst Jumpluff is not the most aggressive lead, it can play a good supportive role with Encore. A lot of the metagame at the moment is seeing the likes of Feraligatr and Mismagius using stat boosting moves. Locking these Pokemon into a move forces switches and allows me to get a free switch myself. Jumpluff is also a beacon of Sunny Day. Honestly, I was against Jumpluff in the beginning because it tends to give away your team's strategy. That said, so do Abomasnow and Hippowdon in OU, and these teams are successful due to exquisite build quality.

b. Leading competition

• Ambipom: Ambipom will not be able to resist a Fake Out. Switch to Spiritomb and keep hitting with Pursuit.
• Uxie: Sleep Powder, Sunny Day, U-Turn.
• Yanmega: Is Yanmega still UU? Um, either way I'll just set up Sunny Day. If they protect, I win since I will be faster even after a speed boost and force Yanmega out with Encore. If they attack, at least I get the sun up.
• Electrode: It will probably try to Rain Dance or Taunt. Electrode is a pain and it is annoying that Rain Dance teams have the fastest lead in the tier but not Sunny Day. Try to sleep it and hope it hits on a Rain Dance. Then Sunny Day.
• Hippopotas: Sleep Powder to counter Stealth Rock, then Sunny Day. Hippo is likely to come in again and again, so I will hold off on bringing out Exeggutor until it goes down since I get no SolarBeam access.
• Honchkrow: Straight to Regirock. It will probably switch out allowing for Stealth Rock. If it stays in it will likely use Superpower, which I survive. Go to Spiritomb next for Sunny Day setting and Will-O-Wisp.
• Lopunny: Sleep it, and proceed to sun-set and U-Turn.
• Arcanine: Straight to Regirock.

Regirock (M) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP/36 Def/220 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Sunny Day
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Explosion

a. Why Regirock?
Regirock is supposed to be a defensive pivot for the team. In the sun, the water weakness is cut by 50%, while his solid defenses allow him to take even some ground and fighting attacks and still stand - that said, he does have typing support in these areas. In the early stages of this team, Scarf Moltress could really rip this team to shreads if it wanted to. That said, flying types in general are an issue with this team, and hence, Regirock can switch in and make life hard for them.

b. The moves.
i. Sunny Day
No need to explain.

ii. Stealth Rock
Some of the biggest threats to the team, namely bug-, fire-, flying- and ice-types are hit hard with Stealth Rock, making repeated switches painful for them and gives the sweepers a good head start on their prey.

iii. Stone Edge
I was originally using Counter here to catch greedy attackers off-guard. This strategy worked surprisingly well, since Regirock's immense bulk let me take even super effective physical hits and survive to effectively KO opponents. However, Counter and Explosion alone left me as set-up fodder for Ghosts, and if they got a sub up I was in trouble. Stone Edge gives me some offensive capabilities, although it is stressed that Regirock's main duty is still to come in, set up rocks, and explode to get a sweeper in.

iv. Explosion
As above, I don't see much need in using an attacking move. Explosion lets me take something like Milotic out, or at least to the verge, and lets me get Exeggutor or Tangrowth in for free, with one less hurdle to tackle and hopefully maximum time in the sun.


Spiritomb (M) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/140 Atk/116 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Sunny Day
- Pursuit
- Sucker Punch
- Will-o-wisp

a. Why Spiritomb?
Spiritomb is a good defensive unit who usually takes a couple of hits to KO. This is fortunate as it allows him to be a Sunny Day setter whilst filling some defensive gaps. Spiritomb works well in tandem with Jumpluff as a leading pair, with Ambipom being so popular. It turns the tide on the little monkey as his role is usually to chip off damage, but instead, he gets landed with Pursuits taking some nice chunks out of him. Will-O-Wisp helps the team on the defensive front, and whittles down foes. Importantly, Spiritomb is a good spin blocker. Stealth Rocks are vital to this team, allowing Exeggutor's Psychic to handle fire-types, and making Tangrowth's Rock Slide a OHKO on more things like Altaria.

The original Pokemon in this position was Hitmonlee, who was more agressive and addressed a number of issues related to the metagame, namely Registeel and Chansey who lead with Thunder Wave. However, Registeel appears to have taken a small dive in popularity midway through the month, perhaps after people started building teams to cater for it. I felt that the team lacked supports and synergy, so I've gone for something more defensive, whilst moving Arcanine and Tangrowth into more offensive roles.

b. The moves.
i. Sunny Day
Support.

ii. Pursuit
Used for trapping and stopping stuff like Mismagius from getting keeping subs up.

iii. Sucker Punch
Reasonably powerful priority attack. A combo of Pursuit and Sucker Punch can really mess with an opponent if managed correctly. This allows Spiritomb to take some health off attackers before going down.

iv. Will-o-Wisp
Will-o-Wisp is such a great support move, and allows me to have the 140 Atk EVs whilst covering defense.


Arcanine (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 192 HP/252 Atk/64 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Flare Blitz
- Extremespeed
- Toxic
- Morning Sun

a. Why Arcanine?
Arcanine is a sturdy Pokemon on any team, and hence it is not hard to fit him onto a team that he should thrive in. Arcanine's Intimidate is an amazing tool to use against physical attackers. ExtremeSpeed is also a handy weapon to take out weakened foes. Couple this with a powerful STAB boosted by the weather, and excellent recovery in the weather, and you have a very handy and reliable Pokemon indeed.

b. Role and EVs.
Arcanine has seen a number of roles in this team. He was originally very offensive with a Howl set. However Howl just doesn't give him the masses of power I feel needed to sweep, and I was feeling the need for a sturdy Pokemon. From there, Arcanine went to a Sleep Taking shuffler who could come in on a number of threats and use Roar to not only stack up the Stealth Rock damage, but also scout teams and counters. After another switch where Spiritomb handles a lot of defensive duties, I have made Arcanine more offensive, albeit durable and supportive with Toxic.

c. A note on Intimidate and Flash Fire.
I see a lot of Sunny Day teams who run Flash Fire over Intimidate saying that they can lure fire attacks with the Chlorophyll Pokemon and catch them out with Arcanine, powering up his Flare Blitz. This is a viable tactic, however, rarely is Arcanine in a position to sweep an entire team with this boost. Flash Fire also becomes useless to Arcanine once all fire-types are eliminated. What's more, Arcanine doesn't really have the tools to take on another fire-type one-on-one, with no secondary STAB or neat movepool. That said, Intimidate allows Arcanine to have repeated switches and to do what he does best - take large swipes out of teams and pester them as they switch again and again.

d. The moves.
i. Flare Blitz
Obligatory STAB. 120 base power + weather enhancement = pain for non-resists.

ii. ExtremeSpeed
Powerful priority move that can help late game with cleaning up the opposition.

iii. Toxic
Toxic is one of the best options for taking out counters in the sun, namely bulky waters like Slowbro and Milotic. In the sun their Surfs are neutered, and Morning Sun has maximum recovery allowing to effectively Toxic stall.

iv. Morning Sun
This was a great addition to Arcanine's movepool, and in the sun it allows him to Toxic stall against a number of Pokemon, including bulky waters. Morning Sun gives Arcanine some endurance even in the face of Stealth Rock also.


Tangrowth (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Power Whip
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance

a. Why Tangrowth?
First, Chlorophyll. Second, coverage. With Earthquake at her disposal, Tangrowth can take on fire types who think they can scare me out. Same can be said for flying and bug types with Rock Slide. Aside from that, Tangrowth has the best physical STAB grass attack in the game. Finally, access to Swords Dance makes Tangrowth a powerful and often underestimated sweeper, particularly with Stealth Rock support.

b. Nature: Jolly vs Adamant.
It is a toss up as to whether I run Adamant or Jolly. In the sun, Adamant seems sufficient to outpace most threats. However, I think the recommendation on Smogon is to run Jolly, and hence, Tangrowth will lose to opposing Tangrowth running a mixed set. I don’t see too many of them though, so this will do for now I suppose.

c. The moves.
i. Earthquake
Ground beats fire, the #1 counter to this guy. Also lets me take chunks out of Registeel.

ii. Power Whip
Power Whip has 120 base power, and is STAB. Accuracy is a bit iffy, and has honestly cost me matches from missing in the past. Still, I can always claim "hax" ( :P ) and rage quit haha. Anyway, this is Tangrowth's primary neutral attack tool.

iii. Swords Dance
How to make a Sweeper in one easy step.

iv. Rock Slide
Again for coverage. This will do masses of damage to the likes of Moltress, Yanmega and Scyther. Bug and flying attacks are super effective, and Rock Slide can stop these threats.


Exeggutor (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Solarbeam
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Substitute

a. Why Exeggutor?
Like Tangrowth, Exeggutor becomes extremely fast in the sun. Secondly, Exeggutor has a huge special attack stat to work off, and with the sun up he gets access to the best special grass attack (barring Seed Flare) in the game. Some may argue that Leaf Storm is better, but seriously, use that once and you have to switch out.

b. The moves.
i. Solarbeam
STAB 120 base power off a massive special attack stat. Obvious choice.

ii. Psychic
Basically the only other usable special attack outside of a Hidden Power. It hits most things for neutral although I rarely rely on it.

iii. Hidden Power [Fire]
HP Fire takes out other grass-types, steel-types, and ice-types who otherwise wall the set. It is not the most powerful move and is best used when the opponent has been weakened. For example, Registeel can survive a HP Fire with relative ease and treaten with Thunder Wave, basically ending my sweep.

iv. Substitute
Substitute protects from status, ie. Registeel as mentioned above. It also protects against Sucker Punch, which is used a lot in UU by the likes of Hitmontop who wants you to use Psychic.

c. Major threats to Exeggutor.
Sucker Punch. Namely, Honchkrow and Absol. Honchkrow can come in and threaten me big time. Rarely (if ever) have I been hit with Pursuit, since they pretty much force me out with Sucker Punch. If it hits, I'm gone. Two guys can come in and make life difficult for Honch. First is Regirock, who generally comes in on an attempted Sucker Punch and threatens with Stone Edge. He can also survive a Superpower if Honchkrow tries to be a hero. Guys like Toxicroak can also rattle me for the same reasons. Cacturne is another who could come in and pose a lot of problems, since it can threaten with Sucker Punch and force a switch, but set up a sub on the switch and go to town on my counter with Focus Punch. Arcanine is best suited to come in thanks to Intimidate.

Standard Venusaur can take a Psychic and survive, whilst likely taking me out with Sludge Bomb when considering Life Orb damage. In general Venusaur is one of the biggest threats to disassembling the team, and I think I need to focus on finding a solution for him. Aggron is likely to survive a Solarbeam, whilst the other Rock/Steels definitely will. Registeel, despite being weak to HP Fire, is barely 2HKO'd and spoils me with Thunder Wave. Obviously Chansey is the best swtich-in, forcing me out immediately. Bulky steels and Chansey are generally forced out by Hitmonlee, who is immune to Thunder Wave.

• Absol: Depends on when he switches in. If it comes in on Exeggutor, I risk being Pursuited or Sucker Punched. Substitute lets me win if they Sucker Punch. If they use Pursuit then the sub is broken and they will probably win. Arcanine can switch in and Intimidate.
• Aggron: Tangrowth generally puts Aggron down with Earthquake.
• Alakazam: Spiritomb can generally force beat it and Pursuit to death. In the sun Tangrowth belts it. Exeggutor can probably take it out with SolarBeam too.
• Altaria: Altaria is the reason I miss an ice attack on the team. HP Ice on Exeggutor would work, but not all the time.
• Ambipom: Almost exclusively leads. Switch to Spiritomb and pester it with Pursuit. It will usually try to Taunt me when I come in, giving me a free attack.
• Arcanine: Regirock comes in with ease, needing only be worried about Iron Head / Tail (which I have never seen). This gives me a turn to set up Stealth Rock, taking that vital 25% of damage off per switch in that Exeggutor needs to OHKO with Psychic. Arcanine can also work as a secondary check. Tangrowth needs to be careful if Arcanine switched in, cutting his attack.
• Azumaril: Tangrowth need only fear Ice Punch, but generally comes in on a water move anyway. Exeggutor wins in the sun. He can't switch into a grass-type, and switching into almost any of the others (Arcanine, Regirock and Spiritomb) is likely to provoke a water-type attack to get a grasser in safely. Will-O-Wisp from Spiritomb will shut it down also.
• Blastoise: Tangrowth's Power Whip and Exeggutor's SolarBeam.
• Blaziken: Under the sun Blaziken isn't really a threat. Psychic from Exeggutor takes him down, as does Earthquake from Tangrowth. Arcanine can Intimidate and Toxic stall.
• Chansey: Chansey coming in on Exeggutor can be a real pain. Without Explosion, I am forced to switch. Switching means I risk taking status. Arcanine is probably the best suited to take it out with his STAB boosted attack. Or if I fear status, I could opt for Regirock and Explode.
• Claydol: SolarBeam and Power Whip. Enough said. Spiritomb doesn't mind coming in and Pursuiting. Many Claydol lead though, and Jumpluff can handle them with Sleep Powder or Encore.
• Clefable: Everyone knows how much of a pain this is. Without Hitmonlee on the team anymore, I have no surefire way of dealing with it. Arcanine and SD Tangrowth probably fare the best, or an Explosion from Regirock. Jumpluff may be able to sleep it or lock it into something useless like Protect. Endeavour Clefable and its pre-evo pals have been hunting around, making Spiritomb a big asset to the team.
• Donphan: Tangrowth can take it on one-on-one. Regirock can beat it with Counter. No chance against Exeggutor if the sun is up.
• Drapion: Arcanine can Intimidate it, Regirock can Explode on it, Spiritomb can WoW it, and Tangrowth can Earthquake it. It is more worrying as a lead, where it can set up Toxic Spikes if I miss with Sleep Powder which my team is weak to without a spinner.
• Dugtrio: Depends on what he comes in on. Without the sun he can be a bastard, outspeeding the entire team. If he comes in on Arcanine I am screwed and just ExtremeSpeed before I die, taking a good chunk of health on the way out (70%). Regirock will survive a hit to take it out/finish its support duties. Other than that, Tangrowth can hold its own, and Exeggutor can in the sun, fearing only Sucker Punch.
• Electrode: Faster weather setter with a nasty habit to Taunt me. Not much I can do except maybe U-Turn to Arcanine and weather the storm.
• Espeon: Taken out by all my offensive Pokemon. Spiritomb can Pursuit too.
• Feraligatr: Feraligatr is outclassed by Tangrowth, particularly the SD versions. DD types can be a bit more challenging if for some reason I allow them to get set up. Jumpluff loves to Encore Feraligatr, and Spiritomb can WoW. If the sun is up he loses.
• Galladade: Tangrowth takes it on fairly easily in the sun. Arcanine can Intimidate it and take it out. Spiritomb will cripple with WoW.
• Gardevoir: Trace makes this a dangerous switch-in to the entire team. Spiritomb is the best option to harass with Pursuit.
• Hariyama: Exeggutor takes it down with Psychic. Tangrowth can beat it rather quickly, whereas Arcanine can hit with Toxic and whittle it down.
• Hitmonlee: Spiritomb comes in on STAB Close Combat, and Arcanine can Intimidate. Hitmonlee threatens Exeggutor with Sucker Punch, so if it switches in use Substitute and enjoy the protection.
• Hitmontop: Arcanine can come in and Intimidate. Again if Hitmontop comes in on Exeggutor, he is going to Fake Out and Sucker Punch most of the time. It may be better to go straight to Arcanine or Spiritomb to avoid the Fake Out.
• Honchkrow: Big threat to Exegguotor, much like Absol. Arcanine Intimidates and Spiritomb WoWs. Tangrowth beats it with Rock Slide, and can take a Sucker Punch.
• Houndoom: Thankfully Houndoom has seen a bit of a useage drop. That said, if he comes in on a fire attack he can cause some serious damage. He can be easily beaten by Tangrowth if the sun is up, and Regirock can Explode as a last resort. With weak defense, Arcanine's ExtremeSpeed can really hurt it if it is scarfed.
• Kabutops: With no weather in play Kabutops is handled by Tangrowth. With the sun, Exeggutor beats it too. In the rain, I could be in trouble. Tangrowth is the best defensive option, and Jumpluff may come in on a Swords Dance and use Sunny Day. Spiritomb goes for WoW.
• Lanturn: Tangrowth or Spiritomb. In the sun it can be taken care of easily.
• Ludicolo: I have no super effective moves against Ludicolo, and I really need the sun to be up. In the sun Arcanine can play around with it with Toxic and stall it out, or Spiritomb can WoW and allow me to whittle it out with physical attacks.
• Magneton: Arcanine and HP fire on Exeggutor send it to Hell. Tangrowth's Earthquake tops it too.
• Mesprit: See Uxie.
• Milotic: Switching in on Milotic can be troublesome, however if the sun is up Arcanine can take a Surf and ruin it with Toxic. Spiritomb can pester with WoW to negate Leftovers. Jumpluff can put it to sleep, and the sweepers can take care of it. It is just difficult to switch in to since I risk taking status or a predicted Ice beam to my grass sweepers.
• Miltank: Spiritomb can WoW and pester it, taking status with Rest. Pressure runs down Heal Bell quickly. Miltank is 2HKOd by Exeggutor, but must watch out for status that will hinder the sweep. Arcanine can Toxic. Jumpluff often Encores a Curse or Earthquake.
• Mismagius: Mismagius was a big threat when I didn't know how to deal with it properly. Now I know the best thing to do is say in and keep hitting it. Tangrowth and Arcanine do well through sheer pestering. Missy can't switch in on either sweeper while the sun is up, and fails to OHKO Tangrowth at full health, putting her in a bad position as Power Whip topples her. If she tries to substitute, she is whittled down. If she attacks, she dies. Spiritomb plays mind games with Sucker Punch and Pursuit.
• Moltres: Moltress leads are the reason for Regirock being on the team. He can come in and begin to set up Stealth Rock and Sunny Day. Moltress leads generally travel with a spinner, who is blocked by Spiritomb and met with WoW. Scarfers are brutal though, which is why Regirock abd Stealth Rock are so important.
• Nidoking: WoW on Spiritomb nullifies it physically. With the sun up, he falls to Exeggutor and Tangrowth, and to a lesser extent Arcanine.
• Omastar: Omastar is just a fish (thing) out of water without the rain. As a lead I sleep it to prevent Spikes, and set up the sun. Conversely, if the rain is out it can sweep me.
• Raikou: Raikou destroys the team without the sun in play. When the sun is up he can be Encored, or dealt with by Tangrowth mainly. Behind a substitute he dominates. Spiritomb and Arcanine's priorities can go a long way to dealing with Raikou too.
• Regirock: Both sweepers take him out, particularly Exeggutor. Tangrowth might OHKO even before a Swords Dance.
• Registeel: Switching in to Registeel is the problem, as it loves to hit you with Thunder Wave. Spiritomb usually takes the status, and then go to Arcanine as they attack or set up rocks. Substitute protects Exeggutor from status.
• Rhyperior: Weak to both sweepers, and is often set up fodder for Tangrowth. Rhyperior is usually pretty predictible.
• Rotom: Handled by STAB moves across the board. Can be a pain to switch in to, with Trick being really annoying.
• Spectile: If I don't have the sun up I can have a lot of trouble. He is so fast and can have such a varied movepool. The Leech Seeder can be pestered by Jumpluff. If the sun is out Exeggutor takes it down.
• Scyther: Arcanine Intimidates, and under the sun Rock Slide or HP Fire takes care of it from the sweepers. Stealth Rock makes life hard for Scyther.
• Slowbro: Solarbeam is a OHKO, and Power Whip without a boost may be too. Under the sun Arcanine can even Toxic stall with Morning Sun and weakened Surfs, while Spiritomb can WoW to negate Leftovers and Pressure Slack Offs if I am desperate.
• Spritomb: Arcanine switches in for a WoW, and can deal with it one-on-one.
• Steelix: Steelix can be handled with STAB boosted Flare Blitz, HP Fire, or simply crippled with WoW.
• Swellow: Regirock walls it, and makes life hell with Stealth Rock.
• Tangrowth: Tangrowth walls my Tangrowth, and usually forces a switch in case it is mixed. Spiritomb is a safe switch or response if Tangrowth takes me out, threatening with WoW. Arcanine Intimidates when coming in also, usually surviving a
• Torterra: Arcanine can come in on a setup move, or Jumpluff can lock it in to something and make bringing in the appropriate swich easier. Exeggutor and Arcanine are the only ones who can take it out really. Spiritomb wrecks it with WoW.
• Toxicroak: Sucker Punch threatens Exeggutor so I gotta Substitute against them. Tangrowth and Arcanine do fine.
• Typhlosion: Scarfers are a real problem since my sweepers don't outspeed it even with the sun up. He forces a switch, so hopefully I have Regirock still there to absorb the predicted Flamethrower. If they have seen Regirock and predict with Focus Blast, I can lock him in and switch to Spiritomb. Stealth Rock needs to be up to weaken it with repeated switch-ins.
• Umbreon: WoW hurts the Curser, as does Encore.
• Uxie: Uxie annoys me since I can't OHKO it. I want to put it to sleep so it can't ruin me with Thunder Waves.
• Venusaur: Sleep Powder is a nuicence, so I usually sacrifice Spiritomb. From there I can switch in Arcanine the safest. If Exeggutor is out there already, Psychic takes it down with SR damage factored in.
• Weezing: Exeggutor's Psychic nails it. Arcanine switches in fairly easily and hurts it with Flare Blitz. In the sun it is a 2HKO.

Okay first of all I would like to congrat. you for trying on an SD team ^^
But I have suggestions:

Make Tangrowth mixed, this would really benefit you and makes sure you don't really need Exeggutor as well (one is good but not both!)
This are my suggestions:

Since you have to many fire weaknesses I would suggest you did switch Scyther to Ambipom.


Tangrowth @ life orb/ naive/ Chlorophyl (29 HP IV's makes sure you even out life orb damage)
200 Atk, 80 SAtk, 228 Spe

- Earthquake
- Power Whip
- Hidden Power (fire)
- Ancient Power

--> This set can be destructive when used mid-late game, and might even sweep an entire team. A speed boosting nature nature make sure you out speed Scarfed enemies.

Since this way you have NO need of using Exeggutor as well and you need a Heal Beller. That's why I suggest the following: (don't laugh)


Chimecho @ heat rock (or leftovers/ light clay since you already have 2 heatrocks)/ bold/ levitate
252 HP, 116 Def, 80 SAtk, 60 SDef

- Heal Bell
- Reflect/ Wish
- Light Screen/ Knock Off
- Psychic

--> First of all, this is not a joke or anything! Chimecho makes great team support for your team. It's also provides resistance. You can come in easily on a Earthquake aimed at Regirock or Entei, and do some support.

If you use Chimecho, you can put Rest on Regirock. I suggest over Earthquake (already on Mixgrowth) and switch Stone Edge to Rock Slide (PP issues).

Also You could replace Blaziken with a CM Entei (very dangerous in sun light)


Entei @ leftovers/ timid/ pressure
252 Spe, 252 SAtk, 6 Def

- Calm Mind
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Substitute/ Sunny Day

--> Like I said this thing could be a pain in the butt (at least for you opponent) if used right. Especialy after a couple of CC's. Entei's base 100 Spe isn't bad eiter outspeeding much in UU (be careful of Dugtrio though)

Okay I rated and commented, hopefully you like it!
Anyway nice team ^^

Thanks for the suggestions BlackScizor. I'll get to trying them out soon.

Before I test them out, I will add some comments about the suggested changes.

The first thing that struck me was your suggestion to get rid of one of my Chlorophyll users. I see where you are coming from here, but to say I have NO need for him is a bit drastic, IMO. What's more, the mixed Tangrowth set has failed me time and time again due to crucial misses and whatnot. As it stands, Exeggutor is the primary attacking force, and if anything, Tangrowth plays more of a supporting role with accurate Sleep Powders, while remaining a strong threat.

The next thing is Entai, who I would have no issues with having on my team if only he had a damn useful physical move *cough* Flare Blitz *sigh* I used him in early versions of the team, but he just lacks the immediate threat that I am looking for in the team. I just don't think he's overly viable over Blaziken when I am looking at breaking defensive combos with the likes of Chansey in them.

That is just prospective and theoretical at this point, however I feel that I have a nice balance of offense and support at the moment. Taking out a powerful tool such as Exeggutor for another supportive type would leave me with too few offensive options, IMO.

One thing I would suggest is getting Sunny Day on one more member of your team. This is because that neither of your Sunny Day users have any form of recovery, so if your opponent manages to both survive your initial sweep as well as wear down your Sun set ups, you will be in a bit of hot water.

The only place I could see it fitting in is on Tangrowth over Rock Slide. I say this because while it is true that 4x Rock Weak Pokes like Moltres and Yanmega will be no match for Tangrowth under the sun, Stealth Rock already weakens these threats greatly, so it really isn't needed as much. And under the sun, you can simply put those threats to sleep.

Another thing I notice is how weak your team is to Toxic Spikes. As you said before, Roserade ties with Golbat, so what do you do if you lose the speed tie and get put to sleep? That is basically a guaranteed 2 layers of T-spikes if they run it (1 layer on the switch and another guaranteed by sash). And because Golbat is flying, he cannot absorb the spikes. This will greatly hinder your sweeping ability as well as wear down your unrecoverable walls. I think a Drapion could work as a potential lead, having better bulk than Golbat, the ability to absorb T-spikes, and still Taunt and set up Sunny Day, all while outrunning Roserade.



Drapion @ Heat Rock
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 Atk/ 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
-Taunt
-Sunny Day
-Whirlwind
-Poison Jab/Crunch/Earthquake

VS Common Leads:

Ambipom: Not such a great match-up. Fake Out+Return won't KO, allowing sun to be set up but with a weakened Drapion. But if they Taunt, Poison Jab won't 2HKO, so you're forced to switch.
Roserade: Outspeed and taunt the sleep. Set up sun.
Uxie: Taunt, Sun, Crunch if you have it.
Yanmega: Set up sun first turn to see what it does. Generally you lose to this guy.
Moltres: Switch to Regirock.
Electrode: Most likely a RD set. They will always either Taunt or set up first turn. Lots of different outcomes, so switching to Regirock is a good choice.
Hippo: You easily outspeed and Taunt. If you can kill it off early, that's better as it will hinder your team greatly.
Honchkrow: You can always set up sun first turn and survive anything it throws at you, especially if they have sash over LO.
Lopunny: You never really know what this thing will do. Setting up sun is always best.
Arcanine: Set up sun, get out.

I think it may help your team out a bit. The EVs are just offa the top of my head, so yeah. Definitely mess with them if you feel they need tweaking.

Good luck with the team. :)

Thanks for the reply Megapants. Drapion has been someone I considered a very long time ago, but honsetly forgot him. I don't think he fitted in well with an early version of the team, but he looks pretty good now with the current layout. I'll give him a whirl. Another one who could be interesting is Nidoqueen with a Lum Berry. I guess the problem there is that I lose the Heat Rock, which is a bummer.

A constant thorn in my side is running into the likes of Registeel and Blissey, and being forced to make a switch. The thing that annoys me is that I am basically having to cop a Thunder Wave, which annoys the crap out of me. To remedy this, I am switching Scyther (who kinda sucked at scouting for me after a while) with Hitmonlee, who is immune to paralysis and scares special walls out with his heavy physical moves.


Hitmonlee (M) @ Choice Band / Life Orb
Ability: Limber
EVs: 40 HP/252 Atk/216 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Blaze Kick
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge / Sucker Punch

This set has a number of useful properties. First of all, there is limber which I discussed above. Secondly, Hitmonlee can come into suspected Trick users and take just about any Choice item and not really mind (Specs will be the most annoying, but he still has the phsical power of a scarf; a Scarf will turn him into a dangerous revenge killer).

Blaze Kick will be my main attacking option against Blissey and Registeel with the Choice Band, in case the opponent has that Mismagius waiting in the wings. In the sun it scores a clean 2HKO on both of them with either item, whilst they have little else to defend themselves with.

On a side note, I tested out Victreebel again and it sucked. Not enough oomph in the attacks for my liking. Secondly, I have been testing Blaziken with a Choice Scarf, which has worked out well so far. The moves, if I recall correctly, are:

- Fire Blast
- Superpower
- Solarbeam
- HP Ice

well that hitmonlee seems great.
You could also put a scarf on it, otherwise I would keep choice band

Downside is, you have 4 flying weaknesses and only 1 resist. So I suggest swapping blaziken for another wall breaking fire type:


Arcanine @ life orb/ naive/ flash fire
252 Atk, 72 SAtk, 216 Spe

- Fire blast
- Hidden power (ice)
- Extreme speed
- Thunderfang/ iron head

--> this is also a sweeping, wall breaking fire type. Capable of finishing of weakened team late game. I opt for flash fire over intimidate so that you could absorb fire attacks aimed at exeggutor or tangrowth. Of course you could switch to intimidate if you thinks that would benefit the team.

A powered up fire blast in sunshine is sure to dent anything not resisted to it (even if resisted). hidden power (ice) is for Altaria flying types (like jumpluff) thunderfang is for bulky water like milotic, you can also opt for iron head to take out rock types. Extreme speed finishes of sash users and faster, frailer pokemon.


Okay I hope this helped as well ^^
Good luck

I don't really see why you're using Golbat as a lead. It's not particularly fast, can't do a lot of damage, and doesn't have a lot of bulk.

Uxie is almost strictly better. It has much higher defenses, slightly higher speed, access to U-Turn and Memento for switching in sweepers, and also has access to Stealth Rock. It gets hit by Ambipom's Fake Out, but for little damage as Uxie is very bulky. As four of your five other team members resist Stealth Rock (and none are weak unless you switch Blaziken to Arcanine, which IMO you should), Taunt is pretty much useless.


Uxie@Heat Rock
Jolly, Levitate
252 HP, 252 Spe, 4 Def (EVs could also emphasize bulk, although I like emphasizing Uxie's solid 95 Spe, which helps it outrun most Taunters.)

~Sunny Day
~Stealth Rock
~U-Turn
~Memento

Use it, love it.

Golbat could now learn Super Fang so I suggest:


Golbat @ heat rock/ jolly/ inner focus
144 HP, 252 Spe, 112 Def

- taunt
- sunny day
- super fang
- u-turn

--> Superfang does 50% damage to your foes health. So it's exellent when used on a lead. You can come in later the game and bite 50% of of Registeel, ...'s health.

Just an update and some mods. Firstly, this team is slowly finding its feet. With good prediction and understanding of the current UU standards, I am winning battles against some top notch teams and players. I have been able to answer offensive threats such as Honchkrow and Mismagius, as well as topple the UU OU combos of Registeel, Chansey and Milotic.

Now, on to the changes. I put Super Fang on Golbat, and made him a bit of a suicide lead. Depending on what I am facing or what is switched in on turn two, I will U-Turn or spam Super Fang until I'm dead. For example, if Aggron comes in and tries to bully me out, I will just Super Fang knowing that I will go down pretty quickly, meaning I have not only severly crippled him, but also will probably have a fair bit of time left in the sun. I tried out Drapion and had mixed results. I'm finding Golbat to be more consistent and useful, especially since I started using Super Fang. This is surprising, in all honsety. The whole speed tie thing with Roserade is annoying, but that is only one lead and in recent times I'm seeing far less of her. Inner Focus allowing me to set up through Ambipom is one thing that really set the two apart.

I've also swapped Blaziken for Arcanine. Still playing around with the setup at the moment, but I'm pretty sure that I'll be running Intimidate over Flash Fire. I don't really want to run a Choice Band set on him, because I don't like switching too much with this team.

Uxie@Heat Rock
Jolly, Levitate
252 HP, 252 Spe, 4 Def (EVs could also emphasize bulk, although I like emphasizing Uxie's solid 95 Spe, which helps it outrun most Taunters.)

~Sunny Day
~Stealth Rock
~U-Turn
~Memento

Use it, love it.

Click to expand...

Tried it before, and I was never really comfortable with it. Again, it was with a vastly different team setup, so it may work better this time. I'd also consider this over Regirock, although that would remove my answer to a lot of threats. It is a shame Exeggutor can't learn Growth, since Momento would likely allow a boost.

Bumping this thread since I have changed two Pokemon, and changed the move sets of the reamaining four, significantly, IMO.

This bump (or as I see it refresh) is in line with:

7. Bumping. If your team is interesting enough to comment on, people will do it for you. If no one at all comments on your RMT for around 24 hours, feel free to bump it. After you have bumped your thread once, or after it has been inactive for two weeks, do not bump it again unless you are making significant changes. "Stealth Bumps" will not be tolerated. Moderators and Administrators can see your deleted posts, so do yourself and us a favor and do not even attempt this.

Click to expand...

This is essentially the same base that I have worked off from the word "Go!" but updated to accommodate the current metagame. I bump/update this more for the fact that I am very passionate about Sunny Day teams, and hope to be an influence if not pioneer in the Sunny Day format.

The crux of the post:

After taking a short break from battling I ran this team again and it started to get thumped. So I've made a few changes in an attempt to tighten up the team.

First is Jumpluff replacing Ambipom. Ambipom brings a lot to the team in terms of leading, but Jumpluff kind of screams "This is a Sunny Day team, and it is proud!" Also, barring the small group of Pokemon faster than it, it has that neat support option in Encore that is quite useful when used right. Sleep Powder is also a handy, albeit slightly wonky, support option on a fast lead. So, here is the set:


Jumpluff (M) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 232 HP/24 Def/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Sleep Powder
- U-turn
- Sunny Day
- Encore

The EVs are to maximise speed, and then work on defense. Attack is useless IMO, so I've opted for durability. It's not much, but Jumpluff relies on speed above all else. However, my issues with this switch are as follows:

- has a less reliable way of countering setups;
- predictible and identifies the team: everyone knows what Jumpluff's game is. Ambipom's game is usually known too, but Sunny Day is an unexpected twist;
- speed ties with the now UU Froslass.

Next I needed to support Jumpluff as I don't think it is quite the all-round lead that Ambipom is. In fact, Ambipom can counter Jumpluff pretty easily. I also wanted another Sunny Day user, and decided that Hitmonlee could probably be removed. I lose my Thunder Wave counter, but I'm not too fussed in sacrificing speed on this dude, who happens to be...


Spiritomb (M) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/140 Atk/116 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Sunny Day
- Pursuit
- Memento
- Will-o-wisp

Spiritomb switches in easily on Ambipom and hassles it with Pursuit. I am still tossing up with the EVs. The current ones hurt Ambipom and psychics more, but a bulkier set may be advised since Will-O-Wisp sometimes isn't the best way to protect against physical threats with such slow speed and no recovery. Pursuit still chips away which is good for my sweepers. Comments oh how I should run this? Momento is there to get a sweeper in late game, namely Tangrowth who now runs a boosting set. I'm also considering Rest on the set to absorb status and to give me some longetivity.

Next there are a few move changes to note, starting with Tangrowth.


Tangrowth (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Power Whip
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance

Swords Dance Tangrowth is a very powerful tool as I found when I used it in an OU team a while back. I overlooked it originally due to what I believed to be inadequate team support for it, but after bringing in Momento Spiritomb, I figured I could afford to have the boosting set on the team. Also, since Jumpluff now carries sleep support and this is usually used early in the game, it seemed a bit wasteful to have Tangrowth as a supporter when he could work as a powerful sweeper. He gets good coverage with Power Whip, Rock Slide and Earthquake. The only bad thing is how the accuracy of these moves can be a bit dodgy without the Wide Lens, but the power is needed for sweeping. I'll consider Life Orb, but it kills his survivability, which he has with such good physical bulk.


Arcanine (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 192 HP/252 Atk/64 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Flare Blitz
- Extremespeed
- Toxic
- Morning Sun

Arcanine moves from a bulky physical counter to a more offensive weapon. Losing Rest means he can't absorb status, but he gains ExtremeSpeed and Toxic which can take out weakened foes, and whittle down walls and bulky types such as Slowbro. The sun and Morning Sun let him take on water types with Toxic, although he must be wary of being inflicted himself, or being boosted on.


Regirock @ Heat Rock
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP/36 Atk/220 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Sunny Day
- Counter
- Explosion

Regirock's movepool is now for full support. Counter is such an amazing tool with Regirock's stellar defenses. Donphan and Rhyperior consistently fall to the trap of trying to EQ him, only to be countered. They do take huge chunks out of Regi, but at least he still stands. Explosion is simply to take something out to get a sweeper in. Regirock has no answers to the likes of Milotic and indeed most Pokemon one-on-one, hence Stone Edge's usefulness is rather limited. In this team he is more of a kamikaze defensive pivot rather than an attacking cohort. Eight turns of sun against potentially 5 Pokemon is a nice advantage.

Exeggutor also got a slight mod. I've decided on Substitute for the final slot. It is the best defense against Sucker Punchers and Registeel who will not be OHKO'd and counters with Thunder Wave. With the Life Orb it can take its toll, but the types who switch in on Exeggutor tend to show themselves early on or not at all. For clarity, the set looks like:


Exeggutor (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Solarbeam
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Substitute

I'll make the appropriate edits to the initial post when I get the time to give full analyses. There may be more changes to be made, since I have noticed a shift in the metagame again with Froslass and Raikou re-entering the UU tier (on Smogon).

Beyond the bump and update, I am also looking for opinions on Spiritomb. Rest? Potentially Sleep Talk (Venusaur is running rampant right now)? I have a good defensive pivot in Regirock, and faith in my sweepers. I think a good set on Spiritomb could be the icing on the cake for this team, which I am very proud of.

Thanks in advance,

End Fashion

With Spiritomb it depends on if you want to give a pokemon time to set up with Memento of survive longer with rest. It's really your opinion. However, if you're using Tangrowth as a late-game sweeper than go with Memento to give him the free Swords Dance

Threat list added to the original post. I went with Rest on Spiritomb, and I'm considering Aromatherapy on Jumpluff. Also think it might be better to EV Spiritomb more defensively and switch Will-O-Wisp on him with the Toxic on Arcanine. That will give Arcanine even more power over Gallade, and Pressure + Toxic wears down walls faster.

One more test that I may make for this team is to try to squeeze in Porygon2. Trace with Discharge / Toxic / Recover / Sunny Day would be the ideal counter to a Rain Dance team, who thanks to Electrode tend to beat me in the setup.

On a side note, this team has been scoring wins against a number of the presently top rated players (40s, 30s, 15s and above), which is incredibly satisfying only because I think a lot of people write Sunny Day off.