ORAS UU My First RMT

[PunchyRock]

Hi everyone!

I am new to the Smogon community as of last week (long time listener but first time caller).

Some of my favourite pokes kick around in the UU Tier so I thought that would be a good place to start. Warning in advance that this team is not too adventurous, I am just trying to get my head around synergy!

The first pokemon I selected was Mega Aerodactyl. After reading quite a few of the threads I decided that this would be the base to build my team on. M-Aero offers a very powerful and customisable option with devastating speed! The set I have gone with is:

Aerodactyl-Mega (M) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Wing Attack
- Earthquake
- Roost

This is a very straight forward set (both moves and spread). Obviously Stone Edge is my STAB move allowing Aerodactyl to hit common Flying, Ice, Fire and Bug-types. I have opted for Wing Attack(Tough Claws boost) to deal with Fighting-types, as well as Grass-types that tank Stone Edge (Shaymin and Chesnaught). Again nothing too adventurous here, I have opted for Earthquake to hit Steel-types (Lucario, Doublade etc.) which resist both of M-Aerodactyl's STAB moves. Roost gives Mega Aerodactyl a recovery option keeping it in the game and threatening the opposing team.

My next poke is Entei:

Entei @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Flare Blitz
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge

The main idea behind this set is to spam Sacred Fire. With an amazing 50% burn rate and STAB boost, this move will punch holes in anything that does not resist this move. Flare Blitz is my back up move (offering more PP and a bit extra power). Extremespeed is my priority move to pick off weakened pokes who outspeed Entei (here's looking at you M-Beedrill). Stone Edge gives Entei a change to hit threats such as M-Aero on the switch as well as taking care of pesky Flash Fire users.

My third Pokemon is Empoleon:

Empoleon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Roar
- Stealth Rock
- Defog

I have gone with the Specially Defensive Support Empoleon. The main purpose of Empoleon is to force out Rock-types and clear entry hazards with Defog. Scald is my only offensive move and in this case my defensive style Empoleon's best STAB move granting decent power but also having a chance to cripple most of its switch-ins with its secondary burn. Roar allows me to temporarily prevent sweeps (Calm Mind Suicune and Curse Snorlax) and also has the added benefit of wearing down the opposing team when hazards are in play. With an amazing for typing for the UU metagame, Empoleon can use its bulk to reliably set up Stealth Rock.

Next up is:

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVS: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Superpower
- Roost

Draco Meteor is a great opening move for this set allowing Hydregion to punch through anything that does not resist. I have also found bulky steel types such as Bronzong difficult to deal with so I have gone with Dark Pulse. Superpower allows Hydreigon to deal will physical walls such as Blissey and Snorlax. Roost is the last move giving Hydreigon greater staying power and helps mitigate the damage from Life Orb recoil.

Now for the Pokemon I have found myself leading with on most occasions (offensive hazard setter)

Roserade @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVS: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spikes
- Sludge Bomb
- Leaf Storm
- Sleep Powder

I have chosen Spikes as my entry harzard which is greatly appreciated by Entei and Hydregion. Sludge Bomb is my go to offensive move as it is both powerful and has a high chance of poisoning the foe. As mentioned, I generally lead with Roserade and Sleep Powder is the move I start with. It allows Roserade to cripple opposing Pokemon and has the added bonus of allowing Roserade to set up more entry hazards. Lastly I have gone with Leaf Storm due to its potent damage to Pokemon that aren't specially defensive or resistant to it.

The last slot on the team had me looking for any noticeable holes in the team. My team seems to revolve around Entei so I wanted to make sure I had a back up to Roserade for bulky water types so I decided on:

Heliolisk Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hyper Voice
- Grass Knot
- Thunder Bolt

Volt Switch is used to gain some early momentum for the team. Hyper Voice is a decent STAB move hitting all Ground-types but the main reason behind selecting this move it to counteract the pesky Substitute and recover abusers that I have regularly run into. Grass Knot is for bulky Ground-types, (Swampert and the odd Rhyperior) that may attempt to switch into Heliolisk's STAB moves. Thunderbolt is a reliable STAB move and secures the 2HKO on Suicune.

So that is my team in a nutshell. I am only new to this so I will add a threat list to this once you guys come back to me but from what I have noticed don't think I cover Dragon threats such as Salamence and Haxorous so I was thinking of changing my Empoleon to a more offensive set with ice beam.

More than happy to listen to and take on any feedback.

Cheers

 

[Amaroq]

Man, it's been a while since I've done one of these...

Anyway, this isn't bad for a first effort, but I see a few big issues here. Your only Hydreigon answer is easily worn down (and loses to Superpower sets outright) since you'll have to pivot in fairly often to remove hazards; fast, powerful threats like Mega Aerodactyl and Mega Sceptile cause you problems; powerful wallbreakers like Mamoswine and Entei can put in work (although they struggle to switch in); you have some difficulty breaking bulkier builds; and you have no reliable check to Fighting-type threats since Mega Aerodactyl struggles to switch in and Roserade's lackluster physical bulk and lack of reliable recovery prevent it from serving as an effective check to physical Fighting-types.

My first suggestion is to change Roserade to Whimsicott. This gives you a better answer to threatening Dragon- and Dark-types and a solid offensive pivot while retaining your Grass-type. Either the standard offensive Pixie Plate set or a set with a bulkier spread and Leftovers works. The Leftovers set is provided below. The HP EVs give Whimsicott some extra bulk and hit a Leftovers number. The Pixie Plate set simply uses full Special Attack investment instead.

Whimsicott

Whimsicott @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 112 HP / 144 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Encore
- Moonblast
- Giga Drain
- U-turn

Second, I would like to recommend replacing Heliolisk with Calm Mind Suicune. This lowers the tempo of your team a bit, but it gives you a win condition and a much more solid answer to major threats like Mega Aerodactyl, Mamoswine, Entei, and more. It allows you to play around bulky setup sweepers by PP stalling them and/or forcing them out with Empoleon if you can't maintain the offensive pressure needed to keep them from setting up.

Calm Mind Suicune

Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Other suggestions to consider are Pursuit on Mega Aerodactyl to trap troublesome Pokemon and Taunt on Hydreigon if you're worried about your ability to break stall. Hope this helped, and good luck with the team!

 

[PunchyRock]

Hello,

Thank you so much for the rate. I will most definitely give those changes a try.

I was tossing up between Roserade and Whimsicott but the Roserade won out due to its ability to set hazards. Is there any way to add another hazard setter to the team or tinker with some other moves as from experience it has won me quite a few battles unless you think that I am better off without? Smogon battles are a lot more fun than the other types I have tried, the rules add a real edge to them!

Cheers again for the rate

 

[PunchyRock]

So far so good, 3 for 3 with the new team! Suicune has especially come in handy

 

[rs]

Hey man cool looking team! I just have a couple of quick recommendations for your team

• First off, I definitely think you should Amaroq's suggestions as they'd benefit your team greatly. Adding onto his rate, I think you should consider Choice Band Krookodile over Entei. The reason being is that both of your physical attackers are walled by pretty much the same things, or the plethora of bulky Water-types in the tier (CB Krook hits these like a truck I promise). Krookodile also provides a fantastic electric immunity (especially with 3 weaknesses in Suicune, Empoleon, and Aero), which deters Electric types from clicking Volt Switch everytime they come in. Also intimidate is a pretty nice ability . Here's the set for it, it's pmuch basic CB Krook
  
  
  
  Krookodile @ Choice Band
  Ability: Intimidate
  EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
  Jolly Nature
  - Knock Off
  - Pursuit
  - Earthquake
  - Superpower
  
  
• After adding Krook, I think it would also be worth it add Pursuit over Earthquake and change the EV spread to 216 Atk / 40 Def / 252 Spe. Pursuit allows you to limit threats like Celebi and Beedrill and the EV spread allows you to 100% survive a LO Mamoswine Ice Shard after rocks. Also if you want even more options to beat Stall you can run Taunt > Superpower on Hydreigon, as it stops things like Snorlax and Suicune from recovering on a -2 Hydreigon, but its purely preference.

But yeah, hope you consider these recommendations and good luck with your team!

 

[PunchyRock]

Hi there, thanks a lot for the rate. I have already adopted the changes recommended by Amaroq and have had great success. That set is very interesting as fast electric Pokemon have caused me issues in a few games and as you pointed out 3 of my pokemon are weak to electric moves. I will give it a whirl and get back to you