(UU) Finish Hard!

[DesignOfAges]

Hello! This team has endured many changes. Many Pokemon have changed around. The original concept was to cripple as many pokemon as I could with Status and then sweep away at the end. Of course, things needed changing. The original idea faded and this team evolved from it, even though I still "Finish Hard" with my two sweepers. So rate away!

*Changes in Red

Team At A Glance

Arcanine @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 192 HP/252 Atk/64 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Flare Blitz
- Extremespeed
- Toxic
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Arcanine as a lead has proven useful, so far. He fits my team very well, starting off with a strong offense. Flare Blitz hits very hard on opposing leads and Extremespeed finishes them off. I've yet to use toxic, but I'm sure it has its uses. Hidden Power Grass is for those tricky waters that will wall me, but it really hasn't seen much use either cause I switch out if something like that comes in. Arcanine also proves useful beyond his lead position. Often I can revenge kill with Extremespeed, or sometimes I might even try a Flare Blitz.

Hariyama @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 80 HP/172 Atk/252 Def/4 Spd
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Brick Break
- Ice Punch
- Whirlwind
- Knock Off

Hariyama is mainly a phazer as I desperately needed one, but also works well as a physical wall. Brick Break is for STAB. Ice Punch is used for anything with a resistance to fighting. Whirlwind is very very much needed as I had much problems with pokemon who set up. Knock Off works nicely as well, crippling some pokemon's strength. He definately sees lots of use.

Claydol @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/144 Def/114 SAtk
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Shadow Ball

Claydol has to be one of my favoritest on the team! I tried replacing him, but none of the replacements worked as well as him. His function on my team is spin away all of my opponents hazards and then set up his own rocks. Earth Power is basic STAB and Shadow Ball is used on any spin blockers that try to stop me.

Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability: Marvel Scale
EVs: 252 HP/56 Def/200 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Surf

A Sleep Talk Milotic with an emphasis on Special Attack. This set works wonders. I can usually stay in a long time and just sweep away. Milotic can also act as a status asorber. I've been wondering if I should switch Ice Beam to HP Electric so I can hit other Milotics, but so far Ice Beam has been working.

Swellow @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SDef
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Facade
- Pursuit
- Protect

Swellow is amazing! I either protect on the first turn or start attacking. Brave Bird supplys a strong STAB, but I can't use it too much or else I'll die quickly. Facade is the strongest attack I could ask for, most pokemon fall quickly. Pursuit is for those switching out. I've only had to use it a couple of times really. Swellow provides me with a strong power in End Game. He doesn't last too long though, but he still has amazing power. I switched to Flame Orb, It works very well.

Espeon @ Life Orb
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Signal Beam
- Shadow Ball

My second Late Game sweeper. Espeon is usually the last pokemon out. Psychic provides STAB, and is one of her most powerful attacks. HP Ground hits steels that could wall her. Signal Beam hits Psychics and Grass types. Shadow Ball also destroys Psychic types but gives me benefit of hitting Ghosts. One question I have though is if I should replace Signal Beam with Calm Mind. Even without Calm Mind, Espeon works wonders in Late Game.


This team has been working succesfully, but there is always room for improvement! Please share all comments, critisism, and anything else! I would love to hear it all.

 

[Nerdling]

I don't see any glaring holes in your team.

On the espeon, I would definitely replace signal beam with calm mind. Signal beam only hits Dark/Psychic/Grass for SE, and you already have SE coverage against almost every one of the more common poke's of those types. You laready have coverage against Venusaur, Roserade, Claydol, Espeon, Mespirit, Uxie, Sceptile, and Slowbro, so the only thing you are losing coverage against is tangrowth, which really won't take a STAB psychic very well.

 

[Fantasy/Nightmare]

I'd switch out Toxic for WoW on Arcanine. You could easily cripple physical attackers with it. Also, why not change Arcanine's nature to Naughty/Lonely to give Hidden Power [Grass] a boost in power.

 

[kiryu3000]

I have a few suggestions:

-Give Swellow Flame Orb instead of Toxic Orb. Guts negates Flame Orb's attack drop while Toxic Orb makes you die faster (as it is Toxic poison) and lowers defence like all other poisons.

-There are two things you can do with your Arcanine:

1. Instead of Toxic, give it Will-O-Wisp, and give it either a Hasty nature (+Spd, - Def) or Mild nature (+Sp. Atk, - Def). Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp's burn should take care of the lowered defence, the speed boost is always welcome, and the special attack boost is to beef up HP. You can also go for lonely nature if you want Arcanine to be more physical-oriented.
2. You can make Arcanine a mixed sweeper. In that case, give it mild nature and replace Toxic with, let's say Flamethrower and replace Flare Blitz with Crunch. Either that or replace Toxic with Dragon Pulse to take care of dragons who resist Flare Blitz and HP Grass.

 

[BurtonEarny]

I have a few suggestions:

-Give Swellow Flame Orb instead of Toxic Orb. Guts negates Flame Orb's attack drop while Toxic Orb makes you die faster (as it is Toxic poison) and lowers defence like all other poisons.

Um... poison doesn't lower defenses.

 

[kiryu3000]

Um... poison doesn't lower defenses.

Really? I could've sworn I've read that somewhere (or maybe it applies to older generations?). Anyways, I still think Flame Orb is the way to go because the damage doesn't intensify.

 

[BulletPunch]

Really? I could've sworn I've read that somewhere (or maybe it applies to older generations?). Anyways, I still think Flame Orb is the way to go because the damage doesn't intensify.

Swellow isn't taking any hits anyways. With a lackluster 85 base attack Swellow also needs all the power he can get. With Flame Orb only Facade can dent things. While if you use toxic orb Brave Bird will 2HKO rotom and dent many other pokemon.

On the espeon, I would definitely replace signal beam with calm mind. Signal beam only hits Dark/Psychic/Grass for SE, and you already have SE coverage against almost every one of the more common poke's of those types. You laready have coverage against Venusaur, Roserade, Claydol, Espeon, Mespirit, Uxie, Sceptile, and Slowbro, so the only thing you are losing coverage against is tangrowth, which really won't take a STAB psychic very well.

Without Signal Beam Espeon is death fodder against pokemon like Spiritomb and Absol.

 

[kiryu3000]

Swellow isn't taking any hits anyways. With a lackluster 85 base attack Swellow also needs all the power he can get. With Flame Orb only Facade can dent things. While if you use toxic orb Brave Bird will 2HKO rotom and dent many other pokemon.

Yes, but Guts negates burn's attack drop, so it doesn't really make a difference offensively...

 

[-Zer0-]

Toxic orb and flame orb both double facades power and both activate guts.

 

[DesignOfAges]

Thanks everyone! I'm going to switch out Toxic Orb with Flame Orb since it doesn't give an attack drop with guts. I might try Calm Mind on Espeon just to see how it works. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Aquamilotic]

If you use CM Espeon, how about this set? Its coverage is unresisted.

Espeon@Life Orb>Synchronize
Timid, 4 HP, 252 SAtk, 252 Spe
Psychic
Calm Mind
Hidden Power Fighting
Shadow Ball

 

[reachzero]

Probably a typo (I bet you mean "Def"), but your Claydol has 144 Attack EVs when it's only physical attack is Rapid Spin.

More importantly, the fact that only one of your Pokemon has recovery, three damage themselves, you have no Poison type and no true wallbreaker means that you are very vulnerable to stall. You may want to consider changing Arcanine with Blaziken to give you more stallbreaking ability, and moving Claydol into the lead slot.

 

[DesignOfAges]

Yeah, I think it is a mistake on the Attack EVs. What would be a good set for a Blaziken if I decided to use it?

 

[august]

If you were to run Blaziken I'd advise you run the standard mixed set to give stall a run for it's money, something you cannot currently do.

Blaziken can also give offense some trouble since if you play right you can get easy switch ins and proceed to cause painful switches with a 4 attack arsenal as well as priority. Vaccum Wave is a great last ditch move for fast mons you are having trouble with. I would honestly replace Espeon as all it is doing is giving you another Absol weak mon and it is desperately walled by most of the pokemon carried on stall.

Blaziken (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 72 Atk/184 Spd/252 SAtk
Rash nature (+SAtk, -SDef)
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Superpower
- Vacuum Wave

Having used this set i can really attest to how effective it is at picking apart stall. From the exact opposite view, being someone who uses stall in UU I can say my heart skips a beat each time Blaziken comes out because it is so difficult to counter, especially if you can get SR out to hamper Altaria early game.

This was my first uu rate so please bear with me! Good luck!

 

[DesignOfAges]

Thanks for the set! I will try it out next time I get on Shoddy! Also, I would have 3 pokemon weak to water. I'm thinking replacing Arcanine, but any suggestions on what to put in his place?

 

[smokinquincy]

Ive played that Swellow once before and I had always died because of a priority attack like Quick Attack and the such. Protect will allow you a free turn to activate Flame Orb but if you're going to Protect later in the game, you might as well switch or let Swellow die as it will still take some damage from the burn. Your choice. Also, because of it's weakness to priority moves, why not use Quick Attack yourself (you'll be vulnerable to ghosts but hopefully Brave Bird will deal with that). Swellow can also learn how to use Endeavor so incase you want to suicide against something wall-ish then I suppose you could dent them with your low HP (from the burns).