Hey there! After joining Pokemon Online near the end of 4th gen and playing for a while, I took a long break (mainly because I could not play it on my old mac at the time, and so had to steal my brothers laptop, which is easier said than done!).
I came back around mid July, when I realised that there was now a version of Pokemon Online which worked on my mac :D. Of course, as most n00bs do, I jumped head first into playing OU without a proper understanding of the metagame. After a while, I realised that I was kind of failing, and so I decided turned my hand to UU. Originally, the team was based around a SD Lucario sweep (who was DW UU at the time, PO tiers are crazy), but then he got banned, and I made quite a lot of change of changes to the team. Eventually, I ended up with only 2 of the original Pokemon left standing. Now I consider it to have two cores (hence the name), a defensive core made up of Roserade, Donphan, Spiritomb, and Suicune, and an offensive/scouting core comprised of Scyther and Rotom-H. It has worked well for me so far, but I am open to any suggestions you may have. I have grown quite fond of this team, even beating the #1 plater on the PO ladder!
Team at a glance:
Teambuilding Process:
This was based around stalling the opponent with Roserade’s spikes and Roarcune, then cleaning up with either Swellow or Luke (mainly Luke). Dusclops and Clefable were more afterthoughts that I had put onto the team as generic walls to form a strong defensive backbone.
As I stated earlier, Lucario got moved up from DW UU, and so I hastily replaced him with agiligross, another deadly Steel-type set up sweeper. Dusclops never really did anything for me, and at the time I had read some articles about how Xatu was very good, so I deceided to give him a twirl.
For whatever reason, Metagross wasn’t working very well for me and after I heard about how Scyther had the same BST total as his big stong brother Scizor, I decided to him in. I chose to give him a Choice Band as Choiced Scyther is the only way to go in my opinion and Scarf Scyther is too weak for my liking; Scyther has a decent amount of Speed without Choice Scarf anyway. Scyther also matched up well with Xatu, who kept the Stealth Rock that Scyther loathes so much off the field.
Xatu wasn't really cutting it and also gave me a huge weakness to Electric-type attacks, so I decided that a Ground-type spinner would be the best fit, preferrably one that could lay down Stealth Rock of my own. It was then a toss-up between Donphan, Claydol, and Sandslash. Donphan arguably outclasses both of them due to his fantastic physical bulk and lovely Attack, so he was the one to step up for the job.
Clefable never really did much for me at all, and I must confess I am surprised it took me that long to replace him. I had heard the hype about how bulky Porygon2 was with eviolite, so I decided to give him a go. He worked somewhat, but I soon realised that he was just too much off a sitting duck (or whatever the hell he is) for my liking.
I already had both a Water-type and a Grass-type, and I had no Fire moves, so adding in a Fire-type to create the fabled FWGcore seemed like a good move. I wanted someone defensive, so I went for bulky Arcanine.
And here we are. Arcanine didn’t work for me, and I noticed that
A. I had no electric moves and
B. I lacked a scarfed revenge-killer (although Swellow worked as a makeshift revenge-killer, as long as his Flame Orb had previously been activated). I wanted to keep my FWG core, so My options were Scarf Victini with Fusion Bolt, or Scarf Rotom-h, and the toasters Electric STAB and access to Trick to annoy enemy walls worn me over.
After posting this very thread, a very helpful user named badabing suggested that i try out Spiritomb over Swellow. This provided me with a spin blocker, as well as an amazing Alakazam counter as they are cropping up everywhere with the release of Magic Guard.
Roserade (M) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SDef / 4 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Rest
- Sludge Bomb
I admit that this set was pinched wholesale from the analysis, but it is working very well for me. I originally ran Aromatherapy over rest, but I missed the recovery as I need Rade to be at full health often, as he is one of my only answers to bulky waters, and so needs to switch in a lot to them, and eating ice beams on the switch can be disastrous. Giga Drain helps with recovery, and tbh Roserade doesn’t really have any better options for grass STAB apart from leaf storm, which lacks the useful recovery and doesn’t really fit on a defensive roserade. Sludge bomb is for reliable STAB to do reasonable damage to the pokes that don’t resist it, as well as having a nice chance to poison. Banded Mamoswines ice shard does not 1hko with the given evs, while giga drain does and regains most of the hp back, a trick that I particularly like to see being carried out, as many do stay in to shard me, under the illusion that it will kill, especially with it being on Rades weaker defence.
Changes I’m considering:
I could possibly try to fit Toxic Spikes on there as well for added annoyance and ease of wearing down, but I don't think this is needed.
Type Synergy:
Fire-> Suicune, Rotom-H
Ice-> Ditto
Flying-> Rotom-H
Psychic-> Spiritomb
Spiritomb (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 140 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Shadow Ball
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sucker Punch
Spiritomb is the latest addition to my team, taking the place of Swellow. He is an important part of my team, blocking spins, and makes it somewhat more defensive. The EV spread allows him to be an efficient mixed wall, as well as giving me a crucial Alakazam counter. Sucker Punch gives me decently strong priority to take out frail threats, whilst Shadow Ball gives me a reliable STAB move when I don't think the opponent will attack.
Changes I'm considering:
I have also tested Shedinja over him, which worked ok, but it is far too unreliable.
Type synergy:
Lol.
Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Atk / 96 Def / 16 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Head Smash
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
Donphan is in my opinion the best spinner in the UU tier, which explains why he is currently residing at the top of the usage statistics. The EVs allow him to take most hits like a Don (geddit? DONphan?), while the Attack EVs guarantee an OHKO on 4/0 Mismagius. The Speed EVs are speed creep on other base 50s, as well as Pokemon such as Rhyperior who aim to outspeed low speed Donphan by 1 point. Stealth Rock is practically required on any team to combat threats such as Rotom-H and Yanmegaand. Rapid Spin is required for my team with both of my scouters being weak to Stealth Rock, and is Donphan's main selling point. Quite frankly, running Donphan without Rapid Spin is just plain silly. Earthquake is for reliable STAB, while Head Smash lets me hit Flying-types, as well as Pokemon with the ability Levitate such as Mismagius and Rotom-H
Changes I’m Considering:
Fitting Ice Shard on the set to gain coverage on Flygon, probably over Head Smash.
Type Synergy:
Water-> Suicune
Grass-> Roserade, Scyther, Rotom-H
Ice-> Suicune, Roserade
Suicune @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Rest
- Scald
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
Ah… Roarcune how I love thee. I don’t care what people say about Milotic being better than you, I still love you! In all seriousness, one of the main reasons I am using Suicune is his much higher Defense stat, as well as not relying on Marvel Scale. He can also phaze away subs, which is immensely useful, as well as being able to bluff a CM set. Scald>Surf for that lovely 30% burn chance, letting him potentially cripple physical attackers, and he does not miss the power much. Rest and Sleep Talk are his only means of recovery, and Sleep Talk works well with the other two moves, each letting him cripple someone (either through hazards or through burn). So far he has served me brilliantly, and has remained in this team all the way from the start!
Changes I’m Considering:
Sadly, I am considering Milotic in its place.
Type Synergy:
Grass-> Roserade, Scyther, Rotom-H
Electric-> Donphan, Rotom-H, Roserade
Scyther (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 4 Def /252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Aerial Ace
- Brick Break
- Quick Attack
This is THE beast. He has won me many a match, and can strike fear into most Pokemon with his super high Attack with Choice band equipped , in addition to his very ample Speed. Scyther's main roles are to scout and tear holes in the early game, and then demolish the opponent’s team once they have been weakened sufficiently late game. Originally I had Bug Bite over Brick Break, but it was fairly redundant as I had U-turn if I absolutely needed to hit Dark/Psychics for super effective damage, and Brick Break prevents Scyther from being walled by Rock- and Steel-Types. Jolly is needed unfortunately to speed tie with Mismagius.
Changes I'm considering:
none.
Type Synergy:
Fire-> Rotom-H, Suicune
Electric-> Donphan, Rotom-H, Roserade
Ice-> Suicune, Rotom-H
Flying-> Rotom-H
Rock-> Donphan
And finally:
Rotom-H @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd/4 SpD
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Trick
- Thunderbolt
I needed some sort of a scarfer, to allow me to revenge threats. I also lacked both Fire- and Electric-type moves, so as Rotom-H got STAB on both of them, I decided to give him the nod. Rotom-H is in my opinion the best scarfer in UU, with access to scouting via Volt Switch, as well as Trick to (hopefully) cripple a pokemon by giving them a Choice Scarf that they do not want. I particularly like giving Eviolite abusers such as Porygon 2 and Chansey Scarfs, and then taking away the switch in’s (or doing it later in the battle) item and giving them a worthless Eviolite in exchange. Timid is to outrun as much as possible, and also to retain some Speed after Tricking away my Choice Scarf. Overheat is a very powerful move on him, 210 BP off of 309 Sp Atk brings the hurt on many things, as well as scaring those weak to it away, allowing me to keep momentum by Volt Switching. It also does heavy damage to Donphan on the switch, doing 77.3% - 91.4% to the standard 252 Atk 252 HP Donphan. Volt Switch allows Rotom to be part of my elite scouting core, normally allowing me to keep hold of the momentum throughout the early game. I originally ran Hidden Power Ice over Thunderbolt, but I have now changed it as I never used it; Pokemon 4x weak to it are few and far between in UU, while Thunderbolt allows me to deal much more damage to Pokemon such as Milotic and Slowbro, as well as being a great move to clean up with late game. As with Scyther, the remaining 4 EVs are placed in Spd instead of HP to allow him to switch into SR one more time. He is the last component of my FWG core, and is quite often used as an offensive pivot, coming in on one of his numerous resistances, and then using the appropriate move.
Changes I’m considering:
None.
Type Synergy:
Rock-> Donphan
Water-> Roserade, Suicune
Well that’s it, please give me suggestions for how I can improve this, thanks for reading, and I hope you decide to rate this team!
I came back around mid July, when I realised that there was now a version of Pokemon Online which worked on my mac :D. Of course, as most n00bs do, I jumped head first into playing OU without a proper understanding of the metagame. After a while, I realised that I was kind of failing, and so I decided turned my hand to UU. Originally, the team was based around a SD Lucario sweep (who was DW UU at the time, PO tiers are crazy), but then he got banned, and I made quite a lot of change of changes to the team. Eventually, I ended up with only 2 of the original Pokemon left standing. Now I consider it to have two cores (hence the name), a defensive core made up of Roserade, Donphan, Spiritomb, and Suicune, and an offensive/scouting core comprised of Scyther and Rotom-H. It has worked well for me so far, but I am open to any suggestions you may have. I have grown quite fond of this team, even beating the #1 plater on the PO ladder!
Team at a glance:
Teambuilding Process:
This was based around stalling the opponent with Roserade’s spikes and Roarcune, then cleaning up with either Swellow or Luke (mainly Luke). Dusclops and Clefable were more afterthoughts that I had put onto the team as generic walls to form a strong defensive backbone.
As I stated earlier, Lucario got moved up from DW UU, and so I hastily replaced him with agiligross, another deadly Steel-type set up sweeper. Dusclops never really did anything for me, and at the time I had read some articles about how Xatu was very good, so I deceided to give him a twirl.
For whatever reason, Metagross wasn’t working very well for me and after I heard about how Scyther had the same BST total as his big stong brother Scizor, I decided to him in. I chose to give him a Choice Band as Choiced Scyther is the only way to go in my opinion and Scarf Scyther is too weak for my liking; Scyther has a decent amount of Speed without Choice Scarf anyway. Scyther also matched up well with Xatu, who kept the Stealth Rock that Scyther loathes so much off the field.
Xatu wasn't really cutting it and also gave me a huge weakness to Electric-type attacks, so I decided that a Ground-type spinner would be the best fit, preferrably one that could lay down Stealth Rock of my own. It was then a toss-up between Donphan, Claydol, and Sandslash. Donphan arguably outclasses both of them due to his fantastic physical bulk and lovely Attack, so he was the one to step up for the job.
Clefable never really did much for me at all, and I must confess I am surprised it took me that long to replace him. I had heard the hype about how bulky Porygon2 was with eviolite, so I decided to give him a go. He worked somewhat, but I soon realised that he was just too much off a sitting duck (or whatever the hell he is) for my liking.
I already had both a Water-type and a Grass-type, and I had no Fire moves, so adding in a Fire-type to create the fabled FWGcore seemed like a good move. I wanted someone defensive, so I went for bulky Arcanine.
And here we are. Arcanine didn’t work for me, and I noticed that
A. I had no electric moves and
B. I lacked a scarfed revenge-killer (although Swellow worked as a makeshift revenge-killer, as long as his Flame Orb had previously been activated). I wanted to keep my FWG core, so My options were Scarf Victini with Fusion Bolt, or Scarf Rotom-h, and the toasters Electric STAB and access to Trick to annoy enemy walls worn me over.
After posting this very thread, a very helpful user named badabing suggested that i try out Spiritomb over Swellow. This provided me with a spin blocker, as well as an amazing Alakazam counter as they are cropping up everywhere with the release of Magic Guard.
Roserade (M) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SDef / 4 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Rest
- Sludge Bomb
I admit that this set was pinched wholesale from the analysis, but it is working very well for me. I originally ran Aromatherapy over rest, but I missed the recovery as I need Rade to be at full health often, as he is one of my only answers to bulky waters, and so needs to switch in a lot to them, and eating ice beams on the switch can be disastrous. Giga Drain helps with recovery, and tbh Roserade doesn’t really have any better options for grass STAB apart from leaf storm, which lacks the useful recovery and doesn’t really fit on a defensive roserade. Sludge bomb is for reliable STAB to do reasonable damage to the pokes that don’t resist it, as well as having a nice chance to poison. Banded Mamoswines ice shard does not 1hko with the given evs, while giga drain does and regains most of the hp back, a trick that I particularly like to see being carried out, as many do stay in to shard me, under the illusion that it will kill, especially with it being on Rades weaker defence.
Changes I’m considering:
I could possibly try to fit Toxic Spikes on there as well for added annoyance and ease of wearing down, but I don't think this is needed.
Type Synergy:
Fire-> Suicune, Rotom-H
Ice-> Ditto
Flying-> Rotom-H
Psychic-> Spiritomb
Spiritomb (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 140 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Shadow Ball
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sucker Punch
Spiritomb is the latest addition to my team, taking the place of Swellow. He is an important part of my team, blocking spins, and makes it somewhat more defensive. The EV spread allows him to be an efficient mixed wall, as well as giving me a crucial Alakazam counter. Sucker Punch gives me decently strong priority to take out frail threats, whilst Shadow Ball gives me a reliable STAB move when I don't think the opponent will attack.
Changes I'm considering:
I have also tested Shedinja over him, which worked ok, but it is far too unreliable.
Type synergy:
Lol.
Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Atk / 96 Def / 16 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Head Smash
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
Donphan is in my opinion the best spinner in the UU tier, which explains why he is currently residing at the top of the usage statistics. The EVs allow him to take most hits like a Don (geddit? DONphan?), while the Attack EVs guarantee an OHKO on 4/0 Mismagius. The Speed EVs are speed creep on other base 50s, as well as Pokemon such as Rhyperior who aim to outspeed low speed Donphan by 1 point. Stealth Rock is practically required on any team to combat threats such as Rotom-H and Yanmegaand. Rapid Spin is required for my team with both of my scouters being weak to Stealth Rock, and is Donphan's main selling point. Quite frankly, running Donphan without Rapid Spin is just plain silly. Earthquake is for reliable STAB, while Head Smash lets me hit Flying-types, as well as Pokemon with the ability Levitate such as Mismagius and Rotom-H
Changes I’m Considering:
Fitting Ice Shard on the set to gain coverage on Flygon, probably over Head Smash.
Type Synergy:
Water-> Suicune
Grass-> Roserade, Scyther, Rotom-H
Ice-> Suicune, Roserade
Suicune @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Rest
- Scald
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
Ah… Roarcune how I love thee. I don’t care what people say about Milotic being better than you, I still love you! In all seriousness, one of the main reasons I am using Suicune is his much higher Defense stat, as well as not relying on Marvel Scale. He can also phaze away subs, which is immensely useful, as well as being able to bluff a CM set. Scald>Surf for that lovely 30% burn chance, letting him potentially cripple physical attackers, and he does not miss the power much. Rest and Sleep Talk are his only means of recovery, and Sleep Talk works well with the other two moves, each letting him cripple someone (either through hazards or through burn). So far he has served me brilliantly, and has remained in this team all the way from the start!
Changes I’m Considering:
Sadly, I am considering Milotic in its place.
Type Synergy:
Grass-> Roserade, Scyther, Rotom-H
Electric-> Donphan, Rotom-H, Roserade
Scyther (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 4 Def /252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Aerial Ace
- Brick Break
- Quick Attack
This is THE beast. He has won me many a match, and can strike fear into most Pokemon with his super high Attack with Choice band equipped , in addition to his very ample Speed. Scyther's main roles are to scout and tear holes in the early game, and then demolish the opponent’s team once they have been weakened sufficiently late game. Originally I had Bug Bite over Brick Break, but it was fairly redundant as I had U-turn if I absolutely needed to hit Dark/Psychics for super effective damage, and Brick Break prevents Scyther from being walled by Rock- and Steel-Types. Jolly is needed unfortunately to speed tie with Mismagius.
Changes I'm considering:
none.
Type Synergy:
Fire-> Rotom-H, Suicune
Electric-> Donphan, Rotom-H, Roserade
Ice-> Suicune, Rotom-H
Flying-> Rotom-H
Rock-> Donphan
And finally:
Rotom-H @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd/4 SpD
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Trick
- Thunderbolt
I needed some sort of a scarfer, to allow me to revenge threats. I also lacked both Fire- and Electric-type moves, so as Rotom-H got STAB on both of them, I decided to give him the nod. Rotom-H is in my opinion the best scarfer in UU, with access to scouting via Volt Switch, as well as Trick to (hopefully) cripple a pokemon by giving them a Choice Scarf that they do not want. I particularly like giving Eviolite abusers such as Porygon 2 and Chansey Scarfs, and then taking away the switch in’s (or doing it later in the battle) item and giving them a worthless Eviolite in exchange. Timid is to outrun as much as possible, and also to retain some Speed after Tricking away my Choice Scarf. Overheat is a very powerful move on him, 210 BP off of 309 Sp Atk brings the hurt on many things, as well as scaring those weak to it away, allowing me to keep momentum by Volt Switching. It also does heavy damage to Donphan on the switch, doing 77.3% - 91.4% to the standard 252 Atk 252 HP Donphan. Volt Switch allows Rotom to be part of my elite scouting core, normally allowing me to keep hold of the momentum throughout the early game. I originally ran Hidden Power Ice over Thunderbolt, but I have now changed it as I never used it; Pokemon 4x weak to it are few and far between in UU, while Thunderbolt allows me to deal much more damage to Pokemon such as Milotic and Slowbro, as well as being a great move to clean up with late game. As with Scyther, the remaining 4 EVs are placed in Spd instead of HP to allow him to switch into SR one more time. He is the last component of my FWG core, and is quite often used as an offensive pivot, coming in on one of his numerous resistances, and then using the appropriate move.
Changes I’m considering:
None.
Type Synergy:
Rock-> Donphan
Water-> Roserade, Suicune
Roserade (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 132 SDef / 4 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Rest
- Sludge Bomb
Spiritomb (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 140 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Shadow Ball
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sucker Punch
Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Atk / 96 Def / 16 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Head Smash
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
Suicune @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Rest
- Scald
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
Scyther (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Aerial Ace
- Brick Break
- Quick Attack
Rotom-H @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Trick
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 132 SDef / 4 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Rest
- Sludge Bomb
Spiritomb (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 140 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Shadow Ball
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sucker Punch
Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Atk / 96 Def / 16 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Head Smash
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
Suicune @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Rest
- Scald
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
Scyther (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Aerial Ace
- Brick Break
- Quick Attack
Rotom-H @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Trick
Well that’s it, please give me suggestions for how I can improve this, thanks for reading, and I hope you decide to rate this team!
