First UU RMT

[Dare234]

Hello Smogon. I have been lurking on this site for a long time now and I often play on simulators. I love the UU tier and have a team that I really enjoy using and has met with some success. So, here's my team.

The Team

Bronzong @ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Nature: Relaxed
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake / Gyro Ball
- Reflect
- Light Screen

Bronzong is my lead. He sets up Stealth Rock. After he sets up SR, he tries to get up Reflect and Light Screen. Generally I will try to get Reflect up first as my team has less Defense on average. He almost always gets his job done and can often come in and do it again if I need it. I'm not sure whether to use Earthquake or Gyro Ball; Earthquake allows me to hit predicted Fire Type switch ins but can't hit Flying Types or Levitate, while Gyro Ball has STAB, but it has unreliable damage.
Light Clay is used to extend the duration of Reflect and Light Screen.

Medicham @ Life Orb
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Nature: Adamant
- Hi Jump Kick
- Psycho Cut
- Ice Punch
- Bullet Punch

Medicham was the first Pokemon that I chose for my team and has been in every one of my UU teams. STAB, Fighting Gem boosted Hi Jump Kick hits like a truck and is Medicham's main move. Psycho Cut is used as secondary stab and to take out opposing Fighting Types. Ice Punch is for coverage and Bullet Punch is for priority.
EVs are so that Medicham can hit as hard as possible. I decided to use a Fighting Gem so that I can bluff a Choice Band set, which can draw out a Dark type if they think I'm stuck with Psycho Cut, something I couldn't do with a Life Orb. I have been thinking about swapping to a Life Orb as Medicham doesn't usually last long.
I am very happy with this set and it has served me well.

Lanturn @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb / Water Absorb
EVs: 60 HP / 148 Def / 152 SAtk / 148 SDef
Nature: Bold
- Heal Bell
- Discharge
- Scald
- Ice Beam

Lanturn is one of the bulkier Pokemon on this team and has saved me multiple times. Lanturn's main job is to tank hits and spread paralysis or burn depending on the target. Discharge is to spread paralysis and gets STAB along with Scald which also is used to spread burns. Ice Beam is for coverage, creating a Boltbeam combo with Discharge. Heal Bell is to cure status.
Nature, EVs and Leftovers are all to increase bulk and durability. SAtk EVs also allow Lanturn to hit hard.
I love this Lanturn but it could be better.

Sceptile @ Life Orb
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Giga Drain
- Leaf Storm
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power Rock

Sceptile is my Special Sweeper. Giga Drain is the move I use most often, reliable STAB move with recovery. Leaf Storm is something that I will use if I just want to hit something hard before I switch out. Hidden Power Rock allows me to hit Fire, Bug and Flying Types and Focus Blast provides coverage.
Life Orb and EVs to hit as hard as possible.

Entei @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- ExtremeSpeed
- Stone Edge
- Toxic

Entei is a great physical attacker. Flare Blitz is for STAB, ExtremeSpeed is for priority, and Stone Edge is to hit opposing Fire Types, especially Flash Fire Pokemon that love to switch into Flare Blitz (especially Chandelure). Toxic is a move that I will use if I know Entei is going down, or if it ends up against a bulky Water Type.
EVs, Item and Nature are all to allow Entei to hit as hard as possible.
I really like this Entei and I enjoy using it.

Weavile @ Expert Belt
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Ice Shard
- Night Slash
- Low Kick

Weavile is my late-game cleaner, unless I come up against a Flygon. I try to use Swords Dance right away, although I find that I can often do without it if that isn't possible. Ice Shard is STAB as well as priority, and also OHKOs Flygon who I would otherwise have trouble with it. Nightslash is also for STAB. Low Kick is there to take out Snorlax, Steel Types, and opposing Weavile.
EVs and Nature are (again) designed to let Weavile hit as hard as possible. Expert Belt also increases its attack power, as I only ever use Weavile when I have a type advantage.


Closing Comments

Generally I am open to all suggestions but I don't like Choice items (I have used them and they don't work for me) and I would rather not replace Medicham. Other than that, feel free to tear this team apart.

Importable

Bronzong @ Light Clay
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Reflect
- Light Screen

Medicham @ Life Orb
Trait: Pure Power
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Hi Jump Kick
- Ice Punch
- Psycho Cut
- Bullet Punch

Lanturn @ Leftovers
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 60 HP / 148 Def / 152 SAtk / 148 SDef
Bold Nature
- Heal Bell
- Discharge
- Scald
- Ice Beam

Weavile @ Expert Belt
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick
- Night Slash

Sceptile @ Life Orb
Trait: Overgrow
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Giga Drain
- Leaf Storm
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Rock]

Entei @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- ExtremeSpeed
- Stone Edge
- Flare Blitz
- Toxic

 

[Tayo]

You should replace t-wave on lanturn for heal bell as your team is weak to status and I know you don't like choice items but your team is wrecked with out one or two you should have a choice scarf Medicham with trick in stead of drain punch also life orb is better on weavile instead of shell bell

 

[Xelacalle]

Hey there Dave234! While your team seems a good one, there a few issues I have noticed with it. The lack of the power or speed of choice items is one thing but, seeing as you've said you don't like them, I will leave those out.

1. You are very susceptible to burn. Four of your Pokemon are both physical and burnable. If you come across a bulky water type (Scald) or anything with Will-O-Wisp, you are going to be in trouble. To remedy this, I suggest using Heal Bell on Lanturn (I will give possible sets for this in a minute.)

2. Both of your walls are weak to grass. While they both have coverage in the form of Ice Punch and Ice Beam, and you do have Entei and Weavile, there are times when you will not want to switch into a sweeper. For this reason, I suggest using Bronzong over Swampert for your Stealth Rocks as it has good synergy with Lanturn, being immune to Ground (Levitate). It can also carry Dual Screens, facilitating a Weavile switch-in which may be dangerous otherwise. Also, Water Absorb is arguably better for your Lanturn. It gives that surprise factor, and has good synergy with Entei. I don't think it will prevent you from using any of your main moves, but as I tend to use Lanturn for it's Volt Absorb I wouldn't know.

3. While I understand why you are using Shell Bell on Weavile, I would advise against it. If your opponent switches into a Physical Wall, even one who is weak to your STABs, Shell Bell becomes mostly useless. I would suggest Leftovers for consistent recovery, or Expert Belt for the extra power. I would understand your reasoning if you kept Shell Bell, though.

4. For Medicham I would definitely go with a Life Orb. With STAB Drain Punch, you are probably going to get most of the recoil back anyway, although I can see the appeal of a Fighting Gem High Jump Kick!

Sets

Hide

Lanturn @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb/Water Absorb
EVs: 60 HP / 148 Def / 152 SAtk / 148 SDef
-Heal Bell
-Ice Beam
-Discharge
-Scald
This Lanturn is the same as yours, except with Heal Bell over Thunderwave and Discharge to attempt to make up for it. Obviously, you could change one of the attacking abilities for Thunderwave if you felt you really need it.

Lanturn @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb/Water Absorb
EVs: 60HP / 224 Def / 224 SDef
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
-Heal Bell
-Discharge / Thunderbolt / Ice Beam / Scald
This version of Lanturn gives it that wonderful recovery from Rest. Using Sleep Talk and Heal Bell, you also have a chance to wake up early. The purpose of this set is to keep Lanturn Heal Belling for as long as possible. The final move is up to you, choose whatever you feel is best.

Lanturn @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb / Water Absorb
EVs: 60HP / 224 Def / 224 SDef
-Thunder Wave / Discharge
-Confuse Ray
-Thunderbolt / Ice Beam / Scald
-Heal Bell
This is the Lanturn I tend to use. Obviously you have Heal Bell to remove those pesky burns, but Parafusion can help it to wall threats and also facilitate a safe switch into one of your sweepers (although fairly dependant on luck if your opponent doesn't decide to switch out).

Bronzong @ Leftovers / Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252HP / 252Def / 4SDef
IVs: 0Spe and - Speed Nature (if using Gyro Ball)
-Stealth Rock
-Toxic / Reflect
-Gyro Ball / Light Screen
-Earthquake / Light Screen
This set will allow you to reliably tank physical hits, set up Rocks (and maybe screens) and go from there. Bronzong can also take unboosted Special Hits fairly well thanks to its excellent defences. Minimum Speed is to increase the power of Gyro Ball.

Besides that, you seem to have a great team to me. I would advise you take my advice with a pinch of salt, I am not as experiences as many on these forums and thus probably not as good. This is just what I would do with your team, with no advice from anyone else.
Anyway, I hope that I helped and good luck with your team :)

 

[Shovel]

I like this team, a lot, actually. It utilizes Pokemon that I've always thought were fun, being Lanturn and Medicham in the UU tier. This is really great to try, and I congratulate you on coming up with an original team. However, I have a few suggestions.

First, I would like to say that though Fighting Gem seems great with High Jump Kick on Medicham, but the extra power isn't quite needed with Adamant and Pure Power, so I would suggest putting a Life Orb in it's place. This still gives a decent boost to your attacks, and I believe it to be a better option in general; once fighting gem is gone, you no longer have the extra strong High Jump Kick/Drain Punch. Life Orb strengthens both, as well as your other moves. However, if you feel that faking a banded set is the way to go, go for it.

Second, Medicham has very low speed. To help with this, you could give it Bullet Punch. Bullet Punch should probably take the spot of Drain Punch; Medicham doesn't want to be required to recover unless you run the Bulk Up set. Even then, people usually prefer HJK for power. You did mention you dislike Choice items in general, and though I feel this would help, as stated above, adding Life Orb is the way to go (you said you were thinking about it).

All in all, a pretty great team. Very physically offensive though, which I suggest looking into. Maybe you could replace Sceptile's current set for a Special Attacking set. I think it would generally help your team, in a sense, and still has great coverage. The set will also be posted below. This helps your team take on physically defensive walls better, while most of your other Pokemon seem to fair well against most Specially defensive walls.

As stated, you should definitely ditch the current Lanturn set, and go for a supportive bulky set. The current set may seem usable (and you may play it well), but I believe you'll find a support one to benefit your team better. That being said, a special attacking Sceptile becomes more viable, while Lanturn can tank hits and Heal Bell/Scald when necessary. It's overall convenient, and I think your team would benefit. However, maybe just replacing Thunder-Wave with Heal Bell is the way to go, since this team appears to be super offensive, and Lanturn can be considered a bulky attacker. Heal Bell really does help more than Thunder-Wave in the long run, while Scald burns will probably be more useful for taking out physical threats.

Also already stated, but I agree with the notion to swap Swampert for a Dual Screening Bronzong. It would be very beneficial to the team, and allow Lanturn to help take hits even better. Also, seeing as the team lacks general bulk all around, I think Dual Screens will allow it to have better sweep potential as a whole (your team's is actually pretty cool for synergy in attacks, and with Screens it has psuedo defensive synergy (though not total or super reliable)).

Also, Mienshao looks very scary against this team, especially if it's paired with Honchkrow. Mienshao rips through the team with it's powerful Stab High Jump Kick, not being able to ohko your two wall reliably, but still dealing with them nicely. Medicham resists it's Stab, and coverage moves (but will take a lot from U-Turn anyway), while Honchkrow will be able able to come in on an attack not called Ice Punch, outspeed with Brave Bird, and can predict around Lanturn through switches to other teammates. This supports the reason to run a bulkier Lanturn and Bronzong combination, as both resist Brave Bird, and only have HP Grass and Heat Wave to be afraid of respectively. No matter which it runs, the teammate can work it's way around the filler. Night Slash can prove problematic, but Weavile with Life Orb or Focus Sash (Shell Bell should generally never be used in Standard play, and isn't as great as Leftovers anyway), or even Expert Belt may be able to find it's way around this bird. Mienshao will need to be worn down; preferably by burning it with Scald, which Lanturn can do with it's bulk, and then attempt to destroy it with Medicham.

tl;dr:

Hide

Sceptile@ Life Orb/Choice Specs
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: Timid
Evs: 60 HP / 252 SpA / 196 Spe
- Leaf Storm / Giga Drain
- Hidden Power Rock
- Focus Blast
- Synthesis / Substitute / Giga Drain

Lanturn@ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
Nature: Calm
Evs: 40 HP / 252 Def / 216 SpD
- Scald
- Ice Beam / Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Heal Bell

Bronzong@ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Relaxed
Evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD (Ivs: 0 Speed)
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake / Hypnosis
​

I hope this helped <3! Happy battling!

 

[Dare234]

Thanks for all of the advice!

I made a couple of changes to my team (as you can see in my original post).

First of all, I replaced Swampert with a Dual Screening Bronzong. I'm not completely sure on the set yet though.

Secondly, Lanturn now has Heal Bell and Discharge instead of Thunder Wave and Thunder Bolt. And I have to admit, it works a lot better now. (I'm still not sure whether to use Volt or Water Absorb. Thoughts?)

Thirdly, Medicham now has a Life Orb and Bullet Punch instead of Fighting Gem and Drain Punch.

I also swapped to a Special Sceptile, and I'm using it more than I used my Physical Sceptile.

As to Mienshao and Honchkrow, I haven't seen many Mienshaos and i can usually beat Honchkrow with Weavile.

 

[Shovel]

Thanks for all of the advice!
(I'm still not sure whether to use Volt or Water Absorb. Thoughts?)


As to Mienshao and Honchkrow, I haven't seen many Mienshaos and i can usually beat Honchkrow with Weavile.

I'm sort of surprised you haven't seen Mienshao, but that's okay. Make sure you test your team more, and that it fits your playstyle. You don't want to make all these changes and come to realize that the style changed into something you don't have fun with.

As for Volt Absorb vs Water Absorb, you have one pokemon weak to water, and two who resist. I believe only one pokemon resists electric type on your team. That being said, it's a safe gamble for both; whichever you feel you need more coverage on.

 

[Xelacalle]

In regard to Volt Absorb / Water Absorb, the reason I suggested the change in the first place was because you had Swampert. However, now that you've removed him Volt Absorb is probably the better option as Lanturn already resists Water-type attacks.

Obviously if you find you are having more trouble with Water-types than Electric-types, a Water Absorb would be beneficial but, looking at your team, you should really have huge issues with either.

Hope I helped :)