Introduction
So after finally getting over that Raikou and Froslass are staying for at least another round, I start building a team with the new Pokemon in mind. I start by looking at my past most successful teams, and then see if that is the absolute best way to go. I try out some "purely offensive" teams, but Cresselia really stops those teams quite easily. I didn't know where to start after this, so I browsed the forums for a bit and came across the Froslass thread. It hit me like a kick in the nuts, "Oh I'll just make a team with Froslass and my two examples in it. DERP."
So that's what I did. I made sure to have enough resistances to cover my lack of resistances from Swellow, as well as a Pokemon to manhandle the new UUs that people will undoubtedly be obsessed with. I came up with this:
So after finally getting over that Raikou and Froslass are staying for at least another round, I start building a team with the new Pokemon in mind. I start by looking at my past most successful teams, and then see if that is the absolute best way to go. I try out some "purely offensive" teams, but Cresselia really stops those teams quite easily. I didn't know where to start after this, so I browsed the forums for a bit and came across the Froslass thread. It hit me like a kick in the nuts, "Oh I'll just make a team with Froslass and my two examples in it. DERP."
So that's what I did. I made sure to have enough resistances to cover my lack of resistances from Swellow, as well as a Pokemon to manhandle the new UUs that people will undoubtedly be obsessed with. I came up with this:
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Team Free Bird
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Team Free Bird
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The team is named after a song by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and it clearly is referencing Swellow and Moltres on my team.
This is a Final Fantasy Tactics Advance themed RMT; it is one of the best games I've played...ever.
The title and FFTA are completely unrelated.
_______________________________________________The title and FFTA are completely unrelated.
Venusaur (Elementalist) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Spd/252 SAtk/4 SDef
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder
- Leaf Storm
- Earthquake
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Role Summary: When I finally got myself to look at the metagame and "accept" that Froslass was here for this round, I decided "fine, I'll use Scarf Sleep". Scarf Sleep Powder is the only, yes, only way to stop all set up early game. This is especially important versus Omastar and other Stealth Rock leads since I need Moltres, Swellow, and Froslass to function properly at least until late game. Scarf Venusaur was the perfect candidate, as it provides me with excellent resists that are hard to come by when I am using so many "defensively-useless" Pokemon. It makes an unbelievable revenge killer for RPerior, Aggron, Swellow, DD Gatr, etc.
Against other leads, I just Sleep. Against Arcanine, I switch to Moltres. Against Ambipom, I switch to Froslass.
Moveset: Nothing out of the ordinary here except for Earthquake, which is for Raikou and "denting" Registeel. Leaf Storm hits pretty hard, Sludge Bomb hits other Grass-types and is a great late-game sweeping move. Sleep Powder is Sleep Powder.
EVs, Nature, and Item: I felt I needed to run Timid, since otherwise I would have a huge ass problem with RP mons, specifically Rhyperior. I didn't want to lower my defenses for Earthquake either, as it still 2HKOes Raikou after Substitute.
Elementalists use their nature-based moves to inflict many statuses on the foe, namely sleep.
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Froslass (Black Mage) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Snow Cloak
EVs: 248 HP/228 Def/32 Spd
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Pain Split
- Spikes
- Taunt
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Role Summary: Surprise (not), I'm using pro..er...bulky Froslass. How about Broslass? Just kidding (sort of). Anyway, Froslass is the absolute best Spiker in the game, bar none. It is part of the, in my opinion, broken trio of Pokemon that I'm using. Froslass makes it so that I can easily set up Spikes, especially in this metagame where I can use Tri Attack from Porygonz, and basically any Cresselia as set up bait. Not only does it set up Spikes easily, it also helps keep them on the field. Froslass beats, or at least severely weakens every Rapid Spinner in the tier. This means that Spikes and Stealth Rock will usually be up, and Moltres + Swellow are almost impossible to stop with those battle conditions.
Moveset: Taunt is very useful for a lot of things, but the main reason I use it is to stop Foresight users. Spikes are Spikes, they are awesome. Pain Split is the real "kicker" on this set. It allows Froslass to heal up and weaken almost every Pokemon. This is very useful when you need to keep the opponent's Spinner weakened so they can't switch in again and Spin. Ice Beam is for hitting Donphan and the like. Fun Fact: Froslass beats Ambipom if I switch into Fake Out and use Spikes, Pain Split, and Ice Beam in that order. Donphan shares a similar fate, but I don't use Spikes first since I'll switch into Earthquake most likely.
EVs, Nature, and Item: Bulky Froslass's EVs are explained somewhere in the UU new movesets thread and everywhere in the superthread. In short, Froslass is EV'd to outspeed max Speed base 95s, while retaining enough bulk to avoid being 2HKOed by Ambipom or CB Spiritomb.
Black Mages use their mana to shoot Blizzards at their enemies. They also use other moves to stop the foe from using any magic of their own.
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Donphan (Paladin) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
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Role Summary: Donphan is in this slot because it is essentially the only Pokemon who is bulky, hits hard, and can Spin + Stealth Rock effectively. It helps check Rhyperior as well. Stealth Rock is crucial, as it allows Moltres to have an easy time destroying the opponent. Spinning is crucial as well, as Moltres, Swellow, and Froslass absolutely hate Stealth Rock. There really isn't much to say about Donphan except that it is the "glue" that holds this team together.
Moveset: Standard SR + Rapid Spin set, but with Stone Edge in the final slot. Stone Edge reliably OHKOes Froslass, and it also gives me a way to hit Moltres.
EVs, Nature, and Item: Max Atk EVs and an Adamant nature give Donphan one of the most threatening STAB Earthquakes in the game. With max HP Donphan gets a leftovers number and has excellent physical bulk.
Paladins hit extremely hard, but they also have decent support moves.
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Moltres (Red Mage) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 40 HP/216 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Air Slash
- Fire Blast
- Roost
- Hidden Power [Grass]
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Role Summary: Moltres is hot (yes it was a pun get over it). If I had a nickel for every time someone said "Wow I'm Moltres weak" after I send in Moltres and 2HKO their "counter"....I would probably have a lot of nickels. The reason for this, is that with Spikes and Stealth Rock, Moltres essentially goes from 11-15 safe switch-ins to.....0. 3 Pokemon (Azumarill, Chansey, and Altaria) can switch into Air Slash / Fire Blast and beat Moltres. However, Chansey has a very high probability of losing, and if it survives it's by the skin of its teeth. Altaria can't do shit to Moltres. And Azumarill is OHKOed by HP Grass. This is why I think Spikes are broken :). tl;dr: Moltres is a damn near unstoppable wall breaker / sweeper.
Moveset: Standard Sweeper Moltres. Nothing much to say here. Fire Blast hurts. Air Slash hurts other stuff and flinches. HP grass covers Water-types and Rhyperior.
EVs, Nature, and Item: 252 SpA EVs and a Modest nature ensure many KOes. For starters, it 2HKOes most Cresselia, Chansey (with Spikes + SR), and others, while also OHKOing Azumarill with HP Grass after Spikes + SR. 216 Spe EVs allows it to outpace neutral Magmortar and max Speed Cresselia, while the 40 HP EVs help Moltres take random attacks, specifically Ice Beam + Psychic from Cresselia and Fire-type attacks from Arcanine and Blaziken.
Red Mages are fairly quick, but their true strength comes from their damage-dealing capabilities. Double Cast allows them to hit the foe with two spells at the same time.
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Absol (Ninja) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Super Luck
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower
- Swords Dance
- Night Slash
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Role Summary: Absol is definitely the anti-metagame Pokemon. Being able to check Cresselia, Porygonz, and the like make it a great Pokemon to have on your team. On top of this, it absolutely DESTROYs stall. If I send it in and get a Swords Dance on something like Cresselia or a Taunted Spiritomb, the opponent is absolutely forked. Absol is good against every team time except for those annoying pos Cleffa hail teams....
Moveset: Swords Dance > Stall. Sucker Punch > Offense. Superpower > Everything else. Night Slash is Absol's main STAB attack, and the awesome crit rate is...awesome.
EVs, Nature, and Item: Max / Max. Purely offensive, I was thinking about lowering Speed a bit since "everything" is going to be outpacing Absol, but I doubt it would help.
Ninja's are pretty fast, but slower than Assasins, however they possess much deadlier melee strikes due to their "dual wield" ability. Dual wield allows Ninjas to hold two weapons, and attack twice as many times. This increases their chance to get a critical hit as well.
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Swellow (Assassin)(M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Facade
- U-turn
- Quick Attack
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Role Summary: I rarely have ever ran a team without Swellow since Crobat has been banned because of its ability to do what Crobat does best: check everything. However, Swellow doesn't live as long as Crobat, but instead it is one of the best, if not the best late game sweepers in UU. With Spikes and one use of U-turn, Swellows counters go from 24 to four. That is quite ridiculous if you ask me. Swellow picks teams apart late game after Absol and Moltres destroy their walls or core.[Cocky] That is, if I need to[/Cocky].
Moveset: Standard Guts Swellow. Brave Bird hits hard and Ghosts. Facade hits harder (OHKOes Porygonz enough said). U-turn is to abuse Spikes with and reduce Toxic damage. Quick Attack is a must to deal with opposing Absol (who ALWAYS seem to Sucker Punch first).
EVs, Nature, and Item: Max / Max with Jolly to outspeed everything minus Electrode who is...Electrode...as well as tying with other Swellow.
Assassins are ridiculously fast, and hit incredibly hard. They OHKO almost everything with one of their moves. Assassins only have one major setback; they are very frail. They overcome this by avoiding damage with their high dodge rate and ability to move in and out of combat quickly.
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Team Building
As a pointed out in the intro, I figured that I would take my experiences with Froslass and apply them to this current metagame plagued with Cresselia and Porygonz everywhere. This includes 3 main Pokemon: Swellow, Moltres, and Froslass. Swellow has 4 counters after Spikes and U-turn, while Moltres has essentially 0 safe switch-ins after Spikes are in play.
Literally as soon as I took a step back to look at the team, I thought "Donphan". Donphan and Hitmontop were both viable options due to Rapid Spin and resisting Rock, however Donphan can actually pose a threat to Spinners without using Foresight. On top of this, Donphan also set up Stealth Rock.
Alright, so I have 2 Water weak Pokemon, and no resists. This means I have to pick a water or Grass type. Azumarill was my first thought, but I didn't like how it still didn't beat bulky waters when it switches in. My second and third thoughts were Sceptile and Venusaur. Sceptile was fast, but Venusaur was slightly bulkier and has Sleep Powder. I thought about it for a bit, and decided to lead with Scarf Venusaur. Scarf Sleep has only been great for me in the past, and while Dugtrio is annoying, no Dugtrio in their right mind would switch into Venusaur, especially when I'm going to be using Leaf Storm almost every attack. Sleep Powder Venusaur shuts down EVERY support lead, and also aids me against Rain.
Alright, so I have essentially every threat covered....except for one: Cresselia. I thought to myself "Which Pokemon benefits the most from Cresselia being in the metagame", similarly to the thinking I often use when I make teams (e.g. I used Cloyster in the Crobat metagame). I thought of 3 major ones: Drapion, Houndoom, and Absol. Absol was my choice of the 3 for many reasons. Absol has higher Attack than either of the other Pokemon (higher than Doom's SpA as well), while it also carries the fearsome move Sucker Punch, which is exceptional in a metagame with Porygonz. So Absol was my final Pokemon.
Final Product: