I've been playing on Smogen for a while now and tried various teams and Pokemon in that time. Despite lots of attempts I have only managed to create one team that I feel is actually good, which is this uu sandstorm team.
After playing around a bit on smogen I noticed that things like Hail and Sandstorm are nearly always in play in OU, so most players prepare for it when they make a team. The same isn't true in UU, where the only weather effect you are likely to see is rain, and very rarely sun. I decided to have a go at making a team that took advantage of sandstorm stalling in uu, and this is the result...
Any comments/suggestions about pokemon or movesets are greatly apprecieated.
Hippopotas- Leftovers
Sandstream
Impish
HP 252, DEF 252, SPDEF 6
Earthquake
Stealth Rock
Slack off
Roar
This guy has two main jobs. The first is to appear on the field to create a permanent sandstorm, the second is to try to get SR on the field.
Thats it.
Anything else this guy can do in a battle is a bonus, although he has been used as a phazer, electric absorber, and a rather useful pokemon to switch in when the other pokemon is going to use trick. Other than that his usefulness is limited, but he is still an invaluble member of this team if only for the sandstorm. Unfortunatly using the mini-hippo means that for the most part the battle has to be won by 5 pokemon instead of 6, so they have to be good ones.
Shuckle - Leftovers
Sturdy
Impish
HP 252, DEF 252, SPDEF 6
Knock off
Toxic
Rest
Encore
This guy is awsome. I don't care about all those people who say Shuckle is rubbish, he just rules. While many people say that Regirock or Cradily make better SS walls Shuckle has two things going for it, Knock off and Encore. These tend to mess most things up that switch in, as any choice banders that switch in suddenly find themselves without their item, and anything that thinks it can set up are encored (I'm looking at you Missmangus). They usually switch out, which is when another item is knocked off or the pokemon poisoned. Very few things can seriously threaten this thing, the main threats being Rest Milotic and Slowbro, or any pokemon using trick. Stealth rock can be an issue to prevent continous switching, but rest helps unless comming in against strong water/rock attacks.
The ev's are spread to make Shuckle balanced defensivly, as with the SPdef boost from Sandstorm more ev's can be placed into defence.
Clefable - Leftovers
Magic guard
Bold
HP 252, SPATT 40, SPDEF 216
Wish
Protect
Toxic
Flamethrower
Clefable is a natural choice on a SS team due to Magic guard, but the wish support is vital for many of these pokemon to survive, and makes Clefable an annoying staller when combined with Toxic. Steels ruin toxic though, so Flamethrower is used. It is also useful because the team has two main weaknesses, Grass and Water, and Clefable can be used as a fairly decent switch in to most grasses, especially since toxic and Leach seed do nothing to him. Shaymin is the exception as Seed flare is just ridiculously powerful and toxic is worthless once he switches out, but luckily he's a suspect now so that makes Clefable's job easier. This guy is a vital part of my team.
Quagsire - Leftovers
Water Absorb
Impish
HP 252, DEF 132, ATT 124
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Yawn
Protect
I need this guy to make this team work. This team tends to attract water attacks like the plague, and Quaggy is there to absorb them and either yawn at the switch in or just Quake them to death.
As three of my pokemon carry toxic (which may be overkill, but it seems to work) steel types tend to be a problem, so Earthquake is used. SEdge is used for those flyers that want to ruin the fun.
There are a couple of problems with Quagsire, namly toxic and Ludicolo. Toxic stops this thing from staying and absorbing all those water attacks aimed at Shuckle et al, and Ludicolo's Grass knot eats this thing for breakfast. In fact Ludicolo is a pokemon that this team struggles with at all, as while I can switch in a couple of pokemon into either Surf or GK, only Clefable isn't weak against both. In the rain it takes alot of manouvering to get past Ludicolo.
Moltres - Leftovers
Pressure
Bold
HP 248, DEF 148, SPEED 112
Flamethrower
Toxic
Substitute
Roost
This is my main counter to any steel or grass type that switch into toxic, and is my main Roserade switch in. Other than roasting random bits of metal and vegetation, Stall-tres is there to toxic stall behind a substitute and attack if the oppetunity is there. It's also a good switch in if the opponent is going to trick a choice scarf/specs onto my shuckle, as Moltres does not mind either of these items being put on him. He makes a good tank, but stealth rock ruins Moltres so his bulk can be limited.
Claydol- Leftovers
Levitate
Bold
HP 252, DEF 144 , SPDEF 114
Earth power
Shadow ball
Rapid Spin
Explosion
Luckily for Moltres and Shuckle, Claydol is in the team to get rid of that annoying Stealth rock. Shadow ball is normally the first used move once claydol is in, because if the opponent has a ghost type they WILL switch it into claydol to stop the rapid spin. Missmangus will defeat Claydol one on one with Shadow ball, so getting the first hit in is important. If there isn't a ghost type comming then rapid spin comes easily.
Overview
The general stratagy for this team is to set up a Sandstorm, put SR on the field and then toxic stall the opponent to death. Against most pokemon this works quite easily, but there are a few problems that this team must overcome.
First is Steel and Poisen types, as they are immune to Toxic. This is one reason why everyone but Shuckle has either Flamethrower or Earthquake/power in their movepool. Once these pokemon are removed it's a lot easier to toxic stall the team to death. Having three pokemon toxic stall may seem to be a bit overkill, but they all do it in slightly different ways. Clefable is generally sturdy and can use the Wish/protect combo to stay aliveand support the team, while Moltres can toxic stall as well but also has more fire power to beat the opponent with flamethrower. Shuckle just doesn't die and annoys most pokemon that come into him. If one dies early then the others are able backups.
Defensivly Water and Grass moves are a major problem, which is understandable in a team dedicated to using sandstorm. Quagsire removes the water weakness when he's alive, while Moltres, Clefable and Shuckle are sturdy enough to switch into most grass moves. However, once Quaggy is defeated then it becomes a lot harder to beat pokemon like Milotic, Slowbro and Azumarrill. Ludiciolo had been mentioned already as a massive pain to defeat, but he is beatable if the team is in good health.
Another problem is the lack of a really offensive revenge killer, which is illistrated by the fact that all 6 pokemon have either bold or impish natures. Unfortunatly any revenge killers that have been used don't tend to last too long. Cacturne has been used in this team in the past, but I missed one of the elements that this line up has, which was normally moltres' reliable grass resist and healing. Cacturne is deadly in sandstorm, but I couldn't fit him into the side.
Toxic is also horrible to deal with, especially to claydol and quagsire who simply HAVE to stay alive if my team has a decent chance of winning. Heal bell Altaria was swapped with Moltres for a while, but it made the lack of a revenge killer even more obvious.
In conclusion this team can be very succesful against most of the UU metagame, but there are some pokemon that cause it problems. Any suggestions for different pokemon or movesets are welcome, as well as any comments positive or negative (as long as they are constructive).
After playing around a bit on smogen I noticed that things like Hail and Sandstorm are nearly always in play in OU, so most players prepare for it when they make a team. The same isn't true in UU, where the only weather effect you are likely to see is rain, and very rarely sun. I decided to have a go at making a team that took advantage of sandstorm stalling in uu, and this is the result...
Any comments/suggestions about pokemon or movesets are greatly apprecieated.
Hippopotas- Leftovers
Sandstream
Impish
HP 252, DEF 252, SPDEF 6
Earthquake
Stealth Rock
Slack off
Roar
This guy has two main jobs. The first is to appear on the field to create a permanent sandstorm, the second is to try to get SR on the field.
Thats it.
Anything else this guy can do in a battle is a bonus, although he has been used as a phazer, electric absorber, and a rather useful pokemon to switch in when the other pokemon is going to use trick. Other than that his usefulness is limited, but he is still an invaluble member of this team if only for the sandstorm. Unfortunatly using the mini-hippo means that for the most part the battle has to be won by 5 pokemon instead of 6, so they have to be good ones.
Shuckle - Leftovers
Sturdy
Impish
HP 252, DEF 252, SPDEF 6
Knock off
Toxic
Rest
Encore
This guy is awsome. I don't care about all those people who say Shuckle is rubbish, he just rules. While many people say that Regirock or Cradily make better SS walls Shuckle has two things going for it, Knock off and Encore. These tend to mess most things up that switch in, as any choice banders that switch in suddenly find themselves without their item, and anything that thinks it can set up are encored (I'm looking at you Missmangus). They usually switch out, which is when another item is knocked off or the pokemon poisoned. Very few things can seriously threaten this thing, the main threats being Rest Milotic and Slowbro, or any pokemon using trick. Stealth rock can be an issue to prevent continous switching, but rest helps unless comming in against strong water/rock attacks.
The ev's are spread to make Shuckle balanced defensivly, as with the SPdef boost from Sandstorm more ev's can be placed into defence.
Clefable - Leftovers
Magic guard
Bold
HP 252, SPATT 40, SPDEF 216
Wish
Protect
Toxic
Flamethrower
Clefable is a natural choice on a SS team due to Magic guard, but the wish support is vital for many of these pokemon to survive, and makes Clefable an annoying staller when combined with Toxic. Steels ruin toxic though, so Flamethrower is used. It is also useful because the team has two main weaknesses, Grass and Water, and Clefable can be used as a fairly decent switch in to most grasses, especially since toxic and Leach seed do nothing to him. Shaymin is the exception as Seed flare is just ridiculously powerful and toxic is worthless once he switches out, but luckily he's a suspect now so that makes Clefable's job easier. This guy is a vital part of my team.
Quagsire - Leftovers
Water Absorb
Impish
HP 252, DEF 132, ATT 124
Earthquake
Stone Edge
Yawn
Protect
I need this guy to make this team work. This team tends to attract water attacks like the plague, and Quaggy is there to absorb them and either yawn at the switch in or just Quake them to death.
As three of my pokemon carry toxic (which may be overkill, but it seems to work) steel types tend to be a problem, so Earthquake is used. SEdge is used for those flyers that want to ruin the fun.
There are a couple of problems with Quagsire, namly toxic and Ludicolo. Toxic stops this thing from staying and absorbing all those water attacks aimed at Shuckle et al, and Ludicolo's Grass knot eats this thing for breakfast. In fact Ludicolo is a pokemon that this team struggles with at all, as while I can switch in a couple of pokemon into either Surf or GK, only Clefable isn't weak against both. In the rain it takes alot of manouvering to get past Ludicolo.
Moltres - Leftovers
Pressure
Bold
HP 248, DEF 148, SPEED 112
Flamethrower
Toxic
Substitute
Roost
This is my main counter to any steel or grass type that switch into toxic, and is my main Roserade switch in. Other than roasting random bits of metal and vegetation, Stall-tres is there to toxic stall behind a substitute and attack if the oppetunity is there. It's also a good switch in if the opponent is going to trick a choice scarf/specs onto my shuckle, as Moltres does not mind either of these items being put on him. He makes a good tank, but stealth rock ruins Moltres so his bulk can be limited.
Claydol- Leftovers
Levitate
Bold
HP 252, DEF 144 , SPDEF 114
Earth power
Shadow ball
Rapid Spin
Explosion
Luckily for Moltres and Shuckle, Claydol is in the team to get rid of that annoying Stealth rock. Shadow ball is normally the first used move once claydol is in, because if the opponent has a ghost type they WILL switch it into claydol to stop the rapid spin. Missmangus will defeat Claydol one on one with Shadow ball, so getting the first hit in is important. If there isn't a ghost type comming then rapid spin comes easily.
Overview
The general stratagy for this team is to set up a Sandstorm, put SR on the field and then toxic stall the opponent to death. Against most pokemon this works quite easily, but there are a few problems that this team must overcome.
First is Steel and Poisen types, as they are immune to Toxic. This is one reason why everyone but Shuckle has either Flamethrower or Earthquake/power in their movepool. Once these pokemon are removed it's a lot easier to toxic stall the team to death. Having three pokemon toxic stall may seem to be a bit overkill, but they all do it in slightly different ways. Clefable is generally sturdy and can use the Wish/protect combo to stay aliveand support the team, while Moltres can toxic stall as well but also has more fire power to beat the opponent with flamethrower. Shuckle just doesn't die and annoys most pokemon that come into him. If one dies early then the others are able backups.
Defensivly Water and Grass moves are a major problem, which is understandable in a team dedicated to using sandstorm. Quagsire removes the water weakness when he's alive, while Moltres, Clefable and Shuckle are sturdy enough to switch into most grass moves. However, once Quaggy is defeated then it becomes a lot harder to beat pokemon like Milotic, Slowbro and Azumarrill. Ludiciolo had been mentioned already as a massive pain to defeat, but he is beatable if the team is in good health.
Another problem is the lack of a really offensive revenge killer, which is illistrated by the fact that all 6 pokemon have either bold or impish natures. Unfortunatly any revenge killers that have been used don't tend to last too long. Cacturne has been used in this team in the past, but I missed one of the elements that this line up has, which was normally moltres' reliable grass resist and healing. Cacturne is deadly in sandstorm, but I couldn't fit him into the side.
Toxic is also horrible to deal with, especially to claydol and quagsire who simply HAVE to stay alive if my team has a decent chance of winning. Heal bell Altaria was swapped with Moltres for a while, but it made the lack of a revenge killer even more obvious.
In conclusion this team can be very succesful against most of the UU metagame, but there are some pokemon that cause it problems. Any suggestions for different pokemon or movesets are welcome, as well as any comments positive or negative (as long as they are constructive).
