ORAS UU Swimming Pools

[Pak]

shoutout to Accelgor for the banner

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Introduction
Hello and welcome to my third ever RMT! The team I'll be sharing with the rest of you is one I built for my BLT game against a friend of mine, Adaam. The day before our game I had seen him use a semistallish type build so I figured I might as well prep for something along those lines. I elected to build around Toxic Spikes Tentacruel, Sub Calm Mind Chandelure, and Taunt Hydreigon, a devastating core for many bulkier teams to handle. I managed to win the game fairly easily and the core put in a lot of work. The following week, my UUPL team advanced to the finals where we would meet the Pewter Porygon2s. I couldn't build a good team for the life of me the entire week, asking many of my teammates for good teams to use, but I never truly felt comfortable with any of them. At the very last second I decided to go with this team and managed to come out on top again. I figured with Hydreigon potentially leaving the tier in the near future, I might as well share the team in which I had good tournament success with it.

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Teambuilding Process

As I mentioned before, I started out with the core of Tentacruel, Chandelure, and Hydreigon as the three have great type synergy and compliment each other well. The combination of Tentacruel's Toxic Spikes and the pressure exerted by both Calm Mind Chandelure and Taunt Hydreigon eats many bulky builds these days alive.

I was extremely weak to dragons, specifically opposing Hydreigon, and Tentacruel appreciates wish support so I opted to go with Wish Sylveon. It also added a sturdier check to Fighting-types than Tentacruel and Chandelure could offer.

The team lacked Stealth Rock and an electric immunity, as well as a Mega Evolution. Physically defensive Mega Swampert seemed to be a perfect fit, as it also had good synergy with the rest of the team, specifically bulky Sylveon, adding a great check to Toxicroak, Entei, Doublade, and Aerodactyl.

The team overall was extremely slow and lacked a good win condition against more offensive teams. Swords Dance Rock Polish Cobalion fit well as it also added a nice offensive check to Mamoswine and Beedrill.

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The Team

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 248 HP / 232 Def / 28 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

- Scald

- Acid Spray

- Toxic Spikes

- Rapid Spin

Tentacruel is such a great glue pokemon for balanced teams, offering so much utility in one slot. It is one of the most reliable spinners in the tier while also being a decent blanket check to a handful of offensive threats. However, the crucial role it plays on this team is setting Toxic Spikes for the other members to go to work. I opted to go with Acid Spray over the usual Haze in order to lower the special defense of Calm Mind users such as Suicune and Florges to the point where Hydreigon and Chandelure could handle them respectively. It also serves as the team's primary check to offensive threats such as Cobalion, Lucario, Infernape, and Sylveon.

Chandelure @ Leftovers
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

- Flamethrower

- Shadow Ball

- Substitute

- Calm Mind

Chandelure hasn't seen a whole lot of love recently with its number one counter, Hydreigon, being everywhere but it remains one of the best stall breakers in the tier. Especially when paired with Toxic Spikes, Sub Calm Mind Chandelure can really threaten bulkier teams as it can set up on more passive members and exert pressure from there. I chose to go with Flame Body as the ability over Flash Fire as the team already had solid answers to Fire-types, and also allows Chandelure to use Porygon2 as setup fodder as opposed to being straight up countered if it were to trace Flash Fire. With it's Ghost typing, Chandelure also serves as a decent spin blocker to keep Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes on the field.

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

- Draco Meteor

- Dark Pulse

- Taunt

- Roost

To round out the core I built around, Hydreigon finds itself in the next slot. Being one of the most threatening Pokemon in the tier with its dual STAB moves alone, I decided to add even more pressure onto bulkier teams choosing Taunt and Roost in the final two moveslots. Toxic Spikes in combination with Hydreigon's natural bulk and access to Taunt, allow it to beat common walls such as Umbreon, Milotic, Snorlax, Porygon2, and Suicune preventing them from recovering HP while also dealing huge amounts of damage. Due to its natural bulk and typing, Hydreigon also acts as the team's main check to huge threats such as Chandelure, Crawdaunt, and Mega Houndoom.

Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

- Hyper Voice

- Wish

- Protect

- Heal Bell

Sylveon has quickly risen to prominence shortly after its recent drop, whether it is the always threatening Choice Specs set or the simple Wish Protect that is aimed more towards supporting the rest of the team. I chose the Wish set as I needed a better defensive back bone and a solid answer to Dragon-types. Tentacruel also appreciates the support from Wish as it lacks any reliable recovery moves. Heal Bell is necessary for healing off any status conditions that may annoy the team whether Mega Swampert is burned or sleeping or if Cobalion happens to be paralyzed. Not only does it provide a good answer to Dragon-types such as Hydreigon, Sceptile, and special Salamence, but it also checks some of the Fighting-types that threaten Tentacruel including Heracross and Conkeldurr.

Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpD
Relaxed Nature

- Earthquake

- Scald

- Stealth Rock

- Rest

Sporting monstrous base stats and being one of the best Mega Evolution choices in the tier, Mega Swampert made its way onto the team. It provided some necessities the team lacked such as a sturdy check to Entei, Doublade, Toxicroak, and Aerodactyl as well as access to Stealth Rock, which is crucial for any competitive team to be successful. I elected to go with Rest in the last slot over a move like Roar or Ice Punch as it allowed Swampert to heal a significantly larger amount of HP than if it were to receive a Wish from Sylveon. Of course this relies on Sylveon being able to get off a Heal Bell at one point or another but I feel it is necessary for it to do its job more efficiently.

Cobalion @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

- Close Combat

- Iron Head

- Swords Dance

- Rock Polish

I chose Cobalion in the final slot as the team up to this point was insanely slow and I was overall weak to more offensive builds. It added some nice speed and utility but I had trouble deciding on which move fit the fourth slot the best. Against Adaam in BLT I used Volt Switch in the last slot, pretty much not knowing what else would fit. Against North in UUPL, I chose to use X-Scissor, as the Porygon2s were generally known for using Celebi on the vast majority of their teams. This decision worked out well but it seemed too niche to keep. When earlier today LeoLancaster jokingly pointed out the team had literally no speed control, I realized Rock Polish was the best fit in the last slot. Double dance Cobalion, a set teal6 used to great success in UU Open last year, offers a unique win condition against more offensive teams, outspeeding just about everything after one Rock Polish. Cobalion made for a nice addition to the team as it provides a decent win condition against more offensive teams and checks some big threats in Mamoswine and Beedrill holding a Shuca Berry.

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Conclusion
The intended purpose of the team was to break down bulkier teams with the Tentacruel, Chandelure, Hydreigon core and I'd say it does that quite well. The team may not be with the best against more offensive teams but I have definitely enjoyed using it. Thanks for reading! Kendrick is the best in the rap game idc what any of you say.

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Threatlist

Offensive Water-types such as Rain Dance Mega Swampert, Dragon Dance Feraligatr, and Sub Dragon Dance Gyarados are all huge threats without a great answer. However, Hydreigon can tank an Ice Punch from Swampert and get off a heavy hit, and luckily Feraligatr has fallen out of popularity for the most part. Gyarados remains a huge threat with Hydreigon at full being the best counter measure against it.

Nasty Plot Celebi is somewhat manageable but you have to scout around its coverage with Chandelure and Hydreigon. Cobalion can revenge if it is weakened.

Offensive Flying-types are big problems as there is no flying resist. The team does have solid enough natural bulk to stomach most hits though.

Dragon Dance Salamence doesn't have a great answer but they have to be hesitant of locking into Outrage with Sylveon and Cobalion in the back.

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Replays
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-390826340 BLT against Adaam
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-uu-171823 UUPL finals against North

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Shoutouts

I know I'm going to forget a lot of people but w/e
UU friends- Shiba, Thisbemyalt, Donny P, Wanka, Eyan, Kreme, r0ady, GrilledClawitzer, DrReuniclus, sniperr, nv, Accelgor, Killintime, Vapo, Cyndequil., Hairy Toenail, Amaroq, TSR, GULLY, Adaam, Malin, dingbat, YABO, LeoLancaster, Mahmudkipz
Miscellaneous other friends- miltankmilk, Natalie., Dundies, petyer, MaroGod, Shadestep

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edited Importable

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 248 HP / 232 Def / 28 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Acid Spray
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin

Chandelure @ Leftovers
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
- Calm Mind

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Taunt
- Roost

Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell

Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Scald
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Beam

Cobalion @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- X-Scissor

 

[Cynde]

creep mamoswine with tentacruel please. that thing is so fucking stupid whenever it gets a chance to attack first unless you're carrying alomomola or cresselia which is why i always run a minimum of 96 speed on it. a timid nature allows you to outspeed the jolly version however there is justification behind staying with bold as removing that would make cobalion a lot more hard to handle. along the same vein of cobalion, the sd 3 atks sets are pretty scary for you to face and since tentacruel is your primary way of handling it you'd want tenta to be able to reliably get rid of the boosts it gains (i.e not being a lucky player) so i'd give haze consideration once more just for this reason. also helps with gyara, and emergency checking dd feral. florg / cune can be handled a lot more easily than these mons can.

i hate rest on mega pert outside of stall teams because it's such a massive momentum drain and momentum drains in a tier where you're basically scrambling to find answers to everything is not good especially for balance. you mentioned mence being a threat so run ice beam. and as for them being forced to lock themselves into outrage, that's only the case against hydreigon, since your swampert cannot touch it. i'd stick with healing up with wish as the method for keeping it healthy because 2 free turns is not a luxury that balance teams can typically afford. oh yeah, you also have 4 checks to entei.

psychic / gleam / grass stab celebi 6-0s unless the following conditions are met. it hasn't hit +2 yet (this is not hard to get) or it's low enough for +2 iron head to kill. niche pick or not x-scissor is the way to go imo. it's worth losing out on speed to not just drop to one of the best and most common pokemon in the tier. and to get it to iron head range basically requires you sacking sylveon which heavily compromises your defensive backbone, x scissor at least gives u more room to handle this.

oh yeah if ur rly worried about speed control you could try scarf hydreigon because sub cm chandelure pretty much dicks stall single handedly it also gives u an offensive answer to celebi, +1 gatr etc so that's nice.

also thanks for putting me before hairy toenail.

haven't given you much to consider but good job with this and I hope my suggestions help.

 

[leremyju]

(Drank)

I'm just wondering, is using focus blast over Draco meteor good in any situation? Considering u don't find urself in -2 and dark fighting is pretty good coverage