ORAS UU TheTeamOfNoName: Semi-Balanced team w/a Bulky Offense Flare

[ManilaTomb]

How's it going people of Smogon? I'm ManilaTomb, relatively new to Showdown although i'm an experienced meta-gamer. This is my first RMT however so excuse my lack of flashy presentation/explanation, I know why I do things certain ways but am not good at verbalizing these reasons. This is a team I had been using on PO but carried over with me to PS, and it's been working fairly well, though I don't have any impressive peaks to note of to date. As you'll see, this team has a bulky-offensive edge, which is the play style I tend to favor, but has some HO elements as well. Any opinions on this team/idea's for it's betterment are greatly encouraged :) (note: this is the revised version of the team, and the title suddenly makes much less sense as there is much, much less of my typical Bulky Offense play-style here, but it's still a fun team none-the-less and you should check it out/ rate it regardless!)
Onward going, here's the team.

Cobagoat (Cobalion) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Volt Switch
- Iron Head
- Close Combat
To get the party started, we have the tank known as Aggron Cobalion. Less commonly utilized in the UU tier, Cobalion came as a suggestion from Darkerones as a replacement to sub-punch lead non-mega Aggron, and it's a Pokemon I've come to enjoy using. The primary lead of the team(depending on the layout of the opponent's team,of course), this thing can keep things interesting. Typically, if I use this as a lead, Stealth Rock is the first thing I try to do, obviously, as it's the only entry hazard this team utilizes. After this point, I have two options. The first thing I can do is that I can utilize the fact that this thing has Volt Switch and get out of there, whilst doing damage(however little, we all know little bits add up. The second option is stay in and attack the opponents 'mon or predict a change and attack accordingly. To do so, Cobalion has 2 interesting typings to utilize. The first being Steel, Iron Head is the clear cut first choice as it does the most damage, and even comes with the added bonus of possibly inflicting a flinch, which can be absolutely clutch. The second is fighting, and the best choice here is clearly Close Combat. Even though it lowers defensive stats, it does massive damage, and considering this thing's speed, there's a good chance you'll out-speed your opponent and get to use Volt Switch before they get a chance to take advantage of the stat drain.

Eggo (Rotom-Heat) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Bold Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Pain Split
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Overheat
Next up, we have the not-so friendly neighborhood possessed appliance we all know very well, Rotom-Heat. Unlike the first member of the team, this thing is pretty standard and commonly sighted. Rotom is another representation of the type of Pokemon I like to run, bulk investment with the dual capability of hitting things hard. At the suggestion of raters here on Smogon, I switched Rotom-H from a Physical wall to a Special wall, as the special version seems to be more relevant/useful in the current UU metagame. Will-O-Wisp is a fun status-spreading headache that also helps wear down the opponent in case of a stall-off. Pain Split is one of my favorite moves in the game, making it rather hard for Sp.Atking opponents to wear this thing down without dealing massive damage at a faster pace. Overheat is the Fire STAB-move of choice as it's the most powerful option, and the loss of Sp.Atk doesn't mean much due to the final move in the set, Volt Switch, which both acts as an Electric-STAB and and a chance to do damage and get out of Dodge simultaneously.

Trippy (Amoonguss) (M) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb/Clear Smog
- Foul Play
Amoonguss is the next Pokemon in the lineup, and may be the most important piece to this team, as under-rated of a 'mon this guy is. This thing is the last of the bulky element, and fills a few very nice roles for this team. Being able to put an opponent's mon to sleep with Spore is a wonderful luxary in that it gives me flexibility for at least a turn as to what to do, effectively letting me freely attack or use the turn to pivot elsewhere on the team. Should I chose to switch out, Regenerator kindly replenishes a chunk of HP assuming some had been lost. Foul Play deters mons like ScarfMoxieMence from freely abusing the rest my team, which can be profoundly important due to the frail nature of the second half of this team. Giga Drain represents a recovery options, allowing it to fully take advantage of its bulky tendencies, and also represents a Grass-STAB. Sludge Bomb is the final move of the set, and may be the most debatable choice. Although I was recommended to replace one of the moves in this set with Clear Smog, it became quickly evident that ridding myself of Sludge Bomb made this thing much more vulnerable, and considering the main reasoning behind the proposed change was to counter Suicune, I felt as if the addition of Alakazam on top of what I already had in the team made the change un-necessary, at least for the time being.

Abyss (Absol) (M) @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Jolly Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
- Iron Tail>Swords Dance
Absol happens to be the next member of the team, and represents the first step away from the bulky-offensive theme. Mega Absol is one of the most underated Mega-Evolutions in my sincere opinion and is a heck of a wall-breaker, and can also be a blast when opponents forget Magic Bounce is a thing. Max Speed and Attack investment maximizes this thing's ability to mow down teams/clean the game up late. Sucker Punch, lets face it, is probably the most obnoxious move available to us as players, but it incredibly effective at poking holes in weak Def. mons like Mega Beedrill/ taking advantage of getting in a hit on Pokemon without priority moves should you need to sac it to pivot elsewhere. Knock Off is a great multi-tool in that it takes care of eviolite threats and hits pretty hard as a STAB move. The last two moves tend to vary with Absol, but I chose Play Rough and Iron Tail Swords Dance. Play Rough can be a bit of a surprise for the unprepared player who thinks switching in Scrafty or Weavile is a good plan of attack. Iron Tail can also be a bit of a wake up call on those of you who may think sending in a Fairy to foil the sweep is a good plan, rounding off a pretty fun set. Swords Dance adds is the final addition to this 'mon, and it turns this thing from more than decent to just plain nasty. Albeit you need to chose the right time to set things up, getting even one Swords Dance makes this thing a top-of the tier level sweeper.(note: I still find myself switching between Swords Dance and Iron Tail because IT functions nicely to dissuade Florges/Slurpuff from switching in and ruining the sweep, and I haven't noticed any MAJOR differences in damage, but would love outside input to give some examples of 'mons where it makes a difference.)

L8rG8rH8r (Feraligatr) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Ice Punch
- Waterfall
- Earthquake/Crunch

Yes, you're seeing correctly, Sheer Force LO Gatr is here, shocking, right?(heavy sarcasm intended). Okay, so maybe this isn't the most creative choice, but it's a safe choice and an effective one at that. We all know the role of this thing:setup and let loose. D-Dancing just one time can make this thing awfully dreadful to deal with, and choosing the right time to send this out to set-up such a scenario is key. Waterfall hits so hard being a Water-STAB on top of the effects of Sheer Force, you'd be silly not to run it. Ice Punch is the second attack, and is pretty much common sense, making it capable of handling Chesnaught and hitting 'mons not so phased by water moves. The final move is an optional choice, and each comes with its own perks, EQ hits mons like Mega-Aggron exceptionally hard, while Crunch makes dealing with obnoxious Cresselias possible, however I myself wound up using EQ.

2Spoonz (Alakazam) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Energy Ball
- Shadow Ball/Dazzling Gleam

Last, but certainly not the least, we have Espeon Alakazam. Another suggestion from Darkerones, this thing is an absolutely POTENT special sweeper. Given it's access to Magic Guard, Life Orb becomes a wonderful tool, boosting my attacks without the worry of recoil every attack(ontop of making this thing un-phased by hazards, Leech Seed, and damage doing status ailments). The other wonderful part about Alakazam is that it's been gifted a great movepool, making it's capabilities to sweep that much better. Psyshock is not only a STAB move, but it hits Defensively lacking mons(or special walls) particularly hard, which makes like on PS that much better. The rest of the moves really come down to what type of coverage you're in need of. Focus Blast was my first choice, as it becomes useful in predicted switch ins of vexing mons such as Absol and Sharpedo, among others. The second move I chose was Energy Ball. This was purely coming from a coverage standpoint, as adding this move hits bulky waters that otherwise bother this team(I.E Suicune, Mega-Swampert) exceptionally hard, and made it possible to skip using Clear Smog on Amoonguss. The final move I chose was Shadow Ball, which is the most debatable choice, but makes the most sense from an overall coverage standpoint for this team.​

Concluding Statement
Well, that's my team in a nutshell. I don't have any fancy ways of ending this presentation, so essentially I just want to thank you for taking the time to take a gander at this collection of Pokemon, and I would greatly appreciate any helpful words/ opinions of this team, as I'd love to have a chance to maximize the effectiveness of this core. So yeah, thank you!​

 

[Wanka]

Sup man pretty interesting team you have here although since you are moving over form PO I think I help update some of your sets to help adapt to the PS uu metagame. First off with the aggron, I dont think you will be getting that far with the aggron set as sub punch can be walled by the likes of common walls like cress and slowking. With the added rock type aggron's defensive capabilities are also very hindered without filter and the mono steel type its mega has. So a mon that I can see fitting here that can play the role as a bulky steel that doesn't require a mega and can spread toxic and get up rocks is bronzong. Bronzong is a really cool bulky mon in this meta and I can see it working here. The only other thing is with the absol set. I strongly recommend you put on Swords dance over iron tail or play rough as It can be a little weak with no way to boost its attack and can be walled much easier. Also the absol should be running jolly over adamant as it outspeeds a lot of fast threats with jolly and it's really important so it can beat out those mons so it cannot be killed as easy. Ill post some options for bronzong and absol if you choose to make the changes. Really cool team though and I hope you consider the changes.

bronzong

Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake

absol #1

Absol @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough

absol #2

Absol @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Tail

 

[ManilaTomb]

Sup man pretty interesting team you have here although since you are moving over form PO I think I help update some of your sets to help adapt to the PS uu metagame. First off with the aggron, I dont think you will be getting that far with the aggron set as sub punch can be walled by the likes of common walls like cress and slowking. With the added rock type aggron's defensive capabilities are also very hindered without filter and the mono steel type its mega has. So a mon that I can see fitting here that can play the role as a bulky steel that doesn't require a mega and can spread toxic and get up rocks is bronzong. Bronzong is a really cool bulky mon in this meta and I can see it working here. The only other thing is with the absol set. I strongly recommend you put on Swords dance over iron tail or play rough as It can be a little weak with no way to boost its attack and can be walled much easier. Also the absol should be running jolly over adamant as it outspeeds a lot of fast threats with jolly and it's really important so it can beat out those mons so it cannot be killed as easy. Ill post some options for bronzong and absol if you choose to make the changes. Really cool team though and I hope you consider the changes.

bronzong

Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake

absol #1

Absol @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough

absol #2

Absol @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Tail

Thanks for taking the time to check this out man, glad your response didn't lead me to think this team was a total fail. I'll jump right into what you said, I actually really like the idea of Bronzong, it never even crossed my mind to try that, I'll be giving that a test run for sure. I was using that Aggron set because its fairly un-common and can catch people off guard, and had actually been working fairly well, but with Zong I won't have to play the tedious guess-and-setup game, certainly worth of at least testing. Now, as far as Absol, are there any particular 'mons that require a SD from to go through? Because Absol is pretty frail by nature and I do wonder if hoping for a chance to set it up could become a liability as opposed to running coverage moves. I will, however, switch it's nature as that extra speed probably would do great things for it. I really appreciate the advice on this

 

[HT]

Hey Manila, nice team you have here. OGWanka left you some good advice already so I'm just gonna add some stuff to what he said. At first glance I noticed a very big Suicune weakness as it can set up on nearly every mon bar Trick Espeon. To fix this try out Clear Smog Amoongus over Sludge Bomb or Foul Play so that you can reset boosts and not become set up fodder. Another change that will benefit your team is to change Rotom to SpDef. While defensive Rotom-H is good, one of the main reasons to use it right now is because it's one of the only viable Mega Pidgeot counters(confusion lol) in the tier, however a physically defensive spread gets worn down way too easily on switch ins. With two defensively oriented walls on your team I think that you can afford to run a specially defensive variant to have a better match up against Mega Pidgeots. Also, just a small thing, but you should be running 248 HP EVs on Rotom-H to minimize Rocks damage on switch in.

Cool team, hope I helped! Good luck using this team in the future!

 

[Lord Wallace]

tl:dw

Hide

Cobalion > Aggron

SDef Rotom-H

SD Jolly Absol

LO Psyshock Alakazam > Espeon

A couple things I forgot to mention in the video: Forretress is another solid option over Aggron for a Steel type, hazards, and for hazard control, but you miss out on the offensive capabilities of Cobalion, you may also run Taunt somewhere on Cobalion to prevent opposing hazards if you really want to.

Hope I helped!

 

[ManilaTomb]

Hey Manila, nice team you have here. OGWanka left you some good advice already so I'm just gonna add some stuff to what he said. At first glance I noticed a very big Suicune weakness as it can set up on nearly every mon bar Trick Espeon. To fix this try out Clear Smog Amoongus over Sludge Bomb or Foul Play so that you can reset boosts and not become set up fodder. Another change that will benefit your team is to change Rotom to SpDef. While defensive Rotom-H is good, one of the main reasons to use it right now is because it's one of the only viable Mega Pidgeot counters(confusion lol) in the tier, however a physically defensive spread gets worn down way too easily on switch ins. With two defensively oriented walls on your team I think that you can afford to run a specially defensive variant to have a better match up against Mega Pidgeots. Also, just a small thing, but you should be running 248 HP EVs on Rotom-H to minimize Rocks damage on switch in.

Cool team, hope I helped! Good luck using this team in the future!

Thanks for checking it out, glad you like the base of the team. First things first, you're absolutely right about Suicune, it walls me extremely hard if i don't time things right with Trick Espeon. I was actually considering Clear Smog when I went into building the team, but I couldn't decide whether to get rid of Foul Play or Sludge Bomb to do so, as they both serve a role. Revisiting it now, and getting the outside opinion, I'm probably going to experiment with Clear Smog over Sludge Bomb because, like I said in the make of the RMT, the second half of my team is particularly frail, and Foul Play has been a savior time and time again against D-Dancers/Swords Dancers/Moxie 'mons that other wise, I need to hope they have low enough def to sac my current 'mon to get Absol out and Sucker Punch. As far as Sp.Def Rotom-H, I was pretty split when I reached Rotom-H in the team building process. Both Sp.Def and Def options have their uses, and I was trying to figure out how I could get the most out of each spot. When talking in terms of Mega Pidg. vs Rotom-H, the Sp.def option really isn't much more effective that a defensive option. I just ran calcs, and well, I'll just post it.
252+ SpA Mega Pidgeot Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-H: 96-113 (31.6 - 37.2%) -- 0% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
As you can see, 0% to 3HKO with no Sp.Def investment in Rotom as opposed to a max Sp.Atk invested Mega Pidg. Now, it's fair you can take confusion into consideration from Hurricane spam, but at the same time, that's a situational occurance, and from past experience, I usually get burned when I over prepare for situational things. On top of that, Defensive Rotom-H seems to hold more use in the UU meta right now than Sp.Def, albeit neither is terrible. The EV spread is a pretty common sense thing that I probably should have thought of, lol, so thank you and I will do that, however I think as things sit, I'm comfortable with the defensive Rotom-H.

Anyways, thanks for the tips, and i'll address/test the things I said in the response going forward!

 

[ManilaTomb]

tl:dw

Hide

Cobalion > Aggron

SDef Rotom-H

SD Jolly Absol

LO Psyshock Alakazam > Espeon

A couple things I forgot to mention in the video: Forretress is another solid option over Aggron for a Steel type, hazards, and for hazard control, but you miss out on the offensive capabilities of Cobalion, you may also run Taunt somewhere on Cobalion to prevent opposing hazards if you really want to.

Hope I helped!

Well, first off, I want to thank you for not only taking the time to address my team, but also making a video behind it, that was a very cool surprise. I responded to other comments before looking at your suggestions, so my tone may change a bit from my responses to those. Alright, I'll jump in.

Cobalion is an absolutely excellent suggestion, it's not a 'mon that I run into very often either on PS or PO, which probably explains the reasoning for not having even considered it in that spot, but it fits the role I was looking almost seamlessly, and that's something I'm certainly going to play with and will likely change on the RMT in the next few days(barring I don't like Bronzong more). Forretress is a mon that i'm currently running on my UU team on PO, and it's an incredibly fun one to use. It's nice to be able to set-up hazards and remove them with the same team mate. I happen to think, however, that Cobalion is the more natural fit as the team stands, because I'd have a gap in the offense w/Forretress in the mix (even though Gyro Ball can be fun), and I don't have a crying need to remove hazards as they don't cripple the team. Now, Mega Pidg to me isn't really a big threat to Rotom-H, even with no Sp.Def investment, as 3HKO'ing with Hurricane really isn't terribly threatening(barring confusion), particularly with Pain Split in the arsenal. BUT, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, and Nasty Plot Luc can vex my team tremendously, and I hadn't taken those into consideration while setting the spread of this 'mon, so despite previous comments, I will experiment with that change. As far as Absol, I agree that it should be Jolly, it should have been from the start. I was skeptical about using SD on Absol because it's so frail, I was worried setting up would become too much of a liability, and i'm still on the fence about it particularly because I don't particularly know which 'mons it needs the boost to get through cleanly, so some input on that would be fantastic(if/when I do run it, I would replace Iron Tail with Swords Dance). Finally, your suggestion of LO Alakazam has peaked my interest. I wasn't using Specs Espeon only for Magic Bounce, I was hoping to find a way to trap walls like Suicune and Curselax that otherwise represent issues for the team, which explains the Trick set. That being said, with the other changes that I will likely be making to this team, LO Alakazam is a GREAT suggestion to fill the role because, as you said, it doesn't lock into Choice just to attack and has a very nice move pool. So, as with the Cobalion change, expect the RMT to list LO Alakazam in the next day or so.

Once again, thank you very much on your rating of the team, I was open for major changes to the core as long as they were beneficial to the synergy of the team and you brought what I was looking for. If there's anything else you or anyone else have to suggest, I'm all ears, and I'll be making some edits to this RMT in the very near future!

 

[Mega NO Body]

Hi, I'm not gonna say much but don't rely on alakazam as a crocune counter because

252 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Energy Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Suicune: 234-276 (57.9 - 68.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
after calm mind
252 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Energy Ball vs. +1 252 HP / 0 SpD Suicune: 156-185 (38.6 - 45.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
and then another and another
Its most likely going to come up on fera and and set up before kazam can get a chance.
So Clear smog is a must.
Or u could use a Gourgeist or Trevenant with worry seed since it gets will-o-wisp to help check stuff.

And about the lucario problem well i'm having the same problem first of all predicting whether its nasty plot or swords dance is impossible. Well against physical Luc Doublade is great so maybe you could have that over Cobalion and against special Luc well I'm not sure Cresselia maybe.
Alternatively you could change your Rotom set to 248 HP/ 216 Def / 44 spe with a choice scarf and trick that way you can outspeed Lucario and also stay defensive. I've seen that set a lot, you can cripple stall with it and gain a leftovers but it won't be like the way you planned it. I wouldn't worry too much about the Nidos since Alakazam can get them. I would also suggest Calm Mind on kazam because without it its potential is rather limited.

 

[ManilaTomb]

Hi, I'm not gonna say much but don't rely on alakazam as a crocune counter because

252 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Energy Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Suicune: 234-276 (57.9 - 68.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
after calm mind
252 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Energy Ball vs. +1 252 HP / 0 SpD Suicune: 156-185 (38.6 - 45.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
and then another and another
Its most likely going to come up on fera and and set up before kazam can get a chance.
So Clear smog is a must.
Or u could use a Gourgeist or Trevenant with worry seed since it gets will-o-wisp to help check stuff.

And about the lucario problem well i'm having the same problem first of all predicting whether its nasty plot or swords dance is impossible. Well against physical Luc Doublade is great so maybe you could have that over Cobalion and against special Luc well I'm not sure Cresselia maybe.
Alternatively you could change your Rotom set to 248 HP/ 216 Def / 44 spe with a choice scarf and trick that way you can outspeed Lucario and also stay defensive. I've seen that set a lot, you can cripple stall with it and gain a leftovers but it won't be like the way you planned it. I wouldn't worry too much about the Nidos since Alakazam can get them. I would also suggest Calm Mind on kazam because without it its potential is rather limited.

Thanks for taking a look at the team. As far as Alakazam, you're correct that it isn't the most reliable Crocune counter. The problem is, when I tried Amoonguss with Clear Smog in place of Sludge Bomb, it opened other holes in it's capabilities, so I suppose I could TRY running it over Foul Play, but that could also create some issues for me. I like Trev and Gourgeist, but I think Amoon makes more sense as things sit because being able to put an opposing 'mon to sleep can be relatively helpful in setting up the dual-dance core. Doublade is a fun idea that I could play with, I just hate pokemon that are susceptible to Knock Off generally, but I suppose it's worth testing out because it seems it could conceivably fill a similar role to Cobalion. I originally had a Defensive Rotom set, but I was given the advice to change it to special to handle Nasty Plot Luc and the Nidos with more success,though you do make a good point that Alakazam handles the Nidos pretty nicely, and I am considering switching back because generally, I like using Rotom-H to switch in on physical attacks, and proceed to Pain Split,so I prefer the set i'm using right now as opposed to the trickscarf set because it's more practical and is effect at wearing 'mons down when you play it right. As far as Alakazam goes, I don't know how necessary CM is due to LO's added prowess ontop of the lack of recoil from it, if you had particular calcs to back that, I would consider it, but I think I will leave that set as is. Once again, thanks for the rate.