UU Offense, fun fun fun

[GoForTheSub]

As the name suggests, UU offense. Fun, fun, fun.
This UU team basically conjured itself out from nowhere and I had some fun with it. So yeah, let's get this show on the road.
THE TEAM AT A GLANCE
ALL CAPS = SRS BUSINESS

This team basically consists of 4 things that hit really hard (Roserade, Raikou, Snorlax and Honchkrow), and one of my personal favorite defensive cores ever, Gligar and Empoleon.
TEAM BUILDING PROCESS

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Like I said, this team didn't really have a specified beginning, but if there was one, it would be Specs Raikou.
I saw E-lo using this, and it was certainly powerful. Using it on the battlefield really showed me how good this thing is.

Offensive Roserade hits like a truck, and no one sees it coming.
It is one of my personal favorite Pokemon on this team, and one of the hardest hitters.

At this point, I basically realized that this team was likely going to be pretty offensive, and I didn't have a definite revenge killer.
I also love Moxie Honchkrow, so combining the two and using a Scarf Honchkrow sounded like a good idea to me.
Unfortunately, Honchkrow hasn't been doing exactly what I need it to, so I'm looking for a replacement right now.

Yeah, this team used to have an Ambipom. Just cause I like definite leads.
Can you feel that? That's the 4th gen battler screaming inside me.
Unfortunately, after using the team with Ambipom for a while, I got smashed by Chandelure. So yeah, screw Ambipom.

HERACROSS4BL 2016
I mean, wut? I didn't say that.
I basically run Gligar on every UU team, only because of Heracross. Seriously, move that thing.

Thank you Smogon, for gracing me with such an amazing defensive core.
This is seriously an amazing core, as they can both take each other's weaknesses.
Truly wonderful.

As said before, this team with Ambipom gets demolished by Chandelure.
To replace it, I needed an offensive physical attacker that resists Fire and Ghost.
And then, offensive Snorlax fell from the heavens...

As Warb said, Honchkrow didn't really fit in this team, and it had no fighting type. When you're in need of an offensive fighting type in UU, where do you look other than Mienshao.
Scarf Mienshao in this case, as this team still was in need of a revenger.

ANALYSIS OF EACH POKEMON

No Pressure! (Raikou) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Extrasensory
Holy balls, this thing is so powerful. Timid Specs Raikou has 494 Special Attack and 361 Speed.
Volt Switch kills a lot of things as it is, and can give me switch advantage. Thunderbolt is the main attacking move though, and kills so many things.
Hidden Power Ice is obvious coverage. Extrasensory is a little out there, but it helps in certain situations.

Axl Roserade (Roserade) @ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sludge Bomb
One may not expect it, but Roserade is extremely powerful, with fantastic base 125 Special Attack and respectable base 90 Speed.
Leaf Storm KOs things like crazy, but Sleep Powder is what I normally do first just to cripple something on the opponents team, then proceed to screw things over.
Hidden Power Fire is pretty obvious coverage, and Spikes is there for situations where I can't do anything else. Hazards are always nice, but I'm considering Sludge Bomb for stuff like Zapdos.

Yume Nikki (Mienshao) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Atk / 40 SAtk / 216 Spd
Naive Nature
- Hi Jump Kick
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Yeah, Honchkrow was a little out there in this team, and Mienshao fits a lot better.
Hi Jump Kick destroys many things, and U-turn creates a nice Volt-turn combo.
Thanks to Warb for suggesting this.

Gabe Newell (Snorlax) @ Leftovers
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Pursuit
This thing is pretty cool, and this team's only real counter to Chandelure. Switch it in on a fire or ghost move, and go for the Pursuit as he switches.
Not only is this thing meant for Chandelure, but it is an all-around great and powerful attacker. Return can dent a lot of Pokemon, and Fire Punch with Earthquake gives some good coverage. Not bad, not bad at all.

Hera (Gligar) @ Eviolite
Trait: Immunity
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Roost
- Earthquake
As the name implies, this thing is a great check to Heracross, and pretty much every other UU physical attacker.
Toxic? Great. Taunt? Great. Roost? Even better. Earthquake? Eh...

Napoleon (Empoleon) @ Leftovers
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Roar
Specially Defensive Empoleon, how bulky you are. :D
It also has amazing synergy with Gligar, but I'm done with that.
This is a great Special wall, main Stealth Rocker, and a decent attacker. There are a lot of things that don't like taking Torrent boosted Scalds. It's also a great phaser.
THE TEAM IN ACTION
The perks of uploading battles on YouTube, you get material for your RMTs! :D
Here are some videos of the guys in action, some of them have Ambipom, most don't.
VS NotTheBest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s2EPCVJeLs
VS my friend Lleeron
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quSrnHMRmSs
VS hiten42
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyzgo8GnHOU
EXPORTABLE VERSION

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Raikou @ Choice Specs
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Extrasensory

Roserade @ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sludge Bomb

Mienshao @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Atk / 40 SAtk / 216 Spd
Naive Nature
- Hi Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Snorlax @ Leftovers
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Pursuit

Gligar @ Eviolite
Trait: Immunity
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Roost
- Earthquake

Empoleon @ Leftovers
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Roar

And that's my team. I'd like to see what you guys think of it.
Thanks for reading this stupid thing, and bye~​

 

[Warb]

If you're using an offensive team, you should be more focused on keeping your opponent on his toes at all time, which means that having a favorable matchup each turn is very important, not giving your opponent an opening to retaliate until they lose at least one Poke.
Therefor I'd encourage you to run Sludge Bomb over Spikes, as setting Layers of Hazards - while it being very tempting - will make you lose momentum considerably fast. Sludge Bomb will also hit all those Fire Pokemon hard that come in to take your Grass or Fire moves.
You could also consider swapping HP Fire for HP Ice. While it will make Steels this Roserade's natural enemy, you will get better Super Effective coverage against Flying types in return. This choice however is only viable if you have at least one good Steel check in your team or feel confident enough that your remaining team members can handle steel types properly.

As for Honchkrow:
While I love seeing less popular Pokes being used more often, I feel like Honchkrow is really out of place here. You should definitely consider a Fighting type Pokemon.
Seeing as how your Snorlax can effectively deal with most offensive Ghost types, it could open a path for you to set up a sweep with a Fighting Pokemon later on.

I hope my advice helps.

btw: I definitely know the songs you used in your videos, but I just can't be 100% sure from what game (maybe even anime?) those songs are. I'm pretty sure it's Sonic but I'm not 100% sure on that one :x

 

[GoForTheSub]

Thanks for the advice, all of it was very helpful.
I agree with you about Sludge Bomb, I'll add that.
I'll do some testing with HP Ice and see how it goes.
Also, thank you for your thoughts on Honchkrow, I've decided to replace it with a Scarf Mienshao, to add a Volt-turn combo with Raikou, revenge kill, and do big dommage all around.
Also, the music in my videos are guitar covers of Ricco Harbor (Super Mario Sunshine), The Dark World (LoZ: ALttP), and Gusty Garden Galaxy (Super Mario Sunshine).
Thanks again!

 

[Warb]

Oh yeah ... duh why didn't it come to me when I listened to that music ..
I guess I've been listening to too many video game soundtracks ~~ smash bros playlist + sonic playlist + insert good games here playlist ended up making me forget what song belongs to which franchise lol D:

One thing to note though: As offensive Ghost types are easily dealth with by your Snorlax, I feel that bulky Ghosts (Cofagrigus, Sableye and Dusclops) could prove to be a problem as every one of them carries Will-o-Wisp to cripple your team. It's just a gut feeling though so you can never know unless you test the team composition extensively.
But if they do end up being a problem, Scrafty can deal with defensive ghost types pretty easily, although it is kinda hard to set up a sweep with it.

On another note, try to get rid of opposing Crobats as quickly as the gamestate allows you to. Best scenario would be nailing it on the switch in with either Roserade or Mienshao, as these two are good Crobat baits that can actually kill it with the correct prediction. Most teams that use Crobat are actually very reliant on it because it can pretty much check the entire tier. (I gotta know as I tend to always use Crobat in any UU team, mostly because it's one of my favorite Pokemon though)

 

[GoForTheSub]

I totally see where you're coming from, and defensive Ghost types do require some planning.
Pokemon like Sableye and Cofagrigus can be dealt somewhat easily by Roserade; nullifying the burn with Natural Cure and firing off Leaf Storms.
Dusclops, while a bit annoying, can be chipped away from stuff like Raikou, or I can Toxic it and Taunt it to prevent it from Resting or anything.
As for Crobat, I agree, so I suppose I could lead with something like Raikou, or Roserade to put it to sleep. Thanks!

 

[pokemonisfun]

If nobody told you yet you should know running Sleep Powder+Spikes Roserade was illegal because breeding restrictions, it just wasn't enforced on PS!. But you got rid of it so whatever.

I advise you to remove the special attack EVS from Mienshao into speed since you still cannot OHKO GLigar without prior damage with your invesment and the extra speed allows you to outrun slower RD Kingdra and opposing Scarf Mienshao.

I also advise you to use Slowbro over Empoleon since that gives you a real way to deal with guys like LO Darmanitan and Cb Victini while you still are covered relatively well against special threats because you use Snorlax. Gligar can then run SR over Taunt or Toxic.

 

[Celever]

I suggest removing sleep powder from Roserade, or giving it a set up attack. Come on! Random-sleep-inducing-which-doesn't-actually-work-brilliantly-with-the-rest-of-roserade's-set-and-doesn't-benefit-it-at-all-because-it-should-OHKO-with-leaf-storm-or-sludge-bomb-anyway for the win!!! Either shadow ball, energy ball for grass STAB without lowering stats, or for a set-up set no, roserade only learns swords dance as a stat booster. I would recommend a persim berry petal dance over leaf storm though, in my opinion leaf storm is only good on my contrary arceus in hackmons! :P So, new set:

Roserade
Item: Persim berry
Petal dance
Shadow ball
Energy ball
Sludge bomb

This is a bit situational since you will need to judge whether petal dance or energy ball is better in a certain situation, but eh.

Other options:
Giga drain for recovery
Leaf storm if you don't mind the stats lowering
Synthesis for an arguably more reliable but not damage-dealing recovery
Extrasensory for some extra extra coverage
Solar beam, if you want a worse version of petal dance unless in sun

Anyway, there's an improved roserade! :D

Good luck with the team! :)

 

[Fotographic]

I suggest removing sleep powder from Roserade, or giving it a set up attack. Come on! Random-sleep-inducing-which-doesn't-actually-work-brilliantly-with-the-rest-of-roserade's-set-and-doesn't-benefit-it-at-all-because-it-should-OHKO-with-leaf-storm-or-sludge-bomb-anyway for the win!!! Either shadow ball, energy ball for grass STAB without lowering stats, or for a set-up set no, roserade only learns swords dance as a stat booster. I would recommend a persim berry petal dance over leaf storm though, in my opinion leaf storm is only good on my contrary arceus in hackmons! :P So, new set:

Roserade
Item: Persim berry
Petal dance
Shadow ball
Energy ball
Sludge bomb

This is a bit situational since you will need to judge whether petal dance or energy ball is better in a certain situation, but eh.

Other options:
Giga drain for recovery
Leaf storm if you don't mind the stats lowering
Synthesis for an arguably more reliable but not damage-dealing recovery
Extrasensory for some extra extra coverage
Solar beam, if you want a worse version of petal dance unless in sun

Anyway, there's an improved roserade! :D

Good luck with the team! :)

Petal Dance sucks, don't use it, ever. It's just extreme Fire-type bait, as you're locked into a NVE move and cannot switch.
Also, your set is completely walled by Steel-types.
His set is fine as it is. 4 damaging moves isn't always nessescary. However, perhaps you can try HP Ground over Fire to help defeat Chandelure switch-ins? Since your team seems pretty weak to him, and when Snorlax faints, he can rip through your team. I don't play UU often though, so I might be missing something, heh.

 

[psVoltage]

I have a few points that you may need to watch out for on this team that i would like to share after a good number of test games.

- Heracross is almost always guaranteed a sweep when Meinshoa and Gligar are down, so be careful.

-I don't find much use out of snorlax while testing, only as a chandelure counter (idk if i was using it right though, i don't play with offensive variants)

-Roserade dies to easily!!! It is easily one of the mvp's of the team and with sleep powder and leaf storm it normaly kos the sleeping pokemon, only to do it again later. (but that life orb catches up to you along with having to use the hit and run method of play)

-I dont feel that raikou has it time to shine too often as meinshao and roserade clean up most of the enemy team well enough, and the bolt beam is hardly missed imo. Also i Never get the chance to use that volt turn core so it sort of wastes a moveslot.

-Also i feel that you could use another special wall ( Bulky water Ex. Milotic, Blastoise ) and put stealth rocks on gligar but it's up to you. (i don't like the fighting weakness and giving hera a free moxie boost to eventually break through gligar)It can be useful to absorb outrages from flygon, but i haven't faced any yet so i have no clue.

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Now, at first glance this team really drew me in, just because of how it the pokemon on the team look together (really good) At first glance i noticed your Meinshao and looked at the spA evs but they are not needed imo. Try out just the regular 252 Attack, 252 speed as it main use against gligar, doesnt ko easily, but thats up to you. Then your gligar kills the offensive momentum, so give it U-turn instead of toxic or taunt that should help. Also if you can find room, put recovery on Roserade! rest would be perfect for the hit and run style of leaf storm, you could replace sleep powder or even hp fire as meinshao cover steels nicely.

Other than that this is an amazing team and is fun to use, i hope i have helped even a little bit. Have a nice day!

 

[CanadianWifier]

I SUGGEST CHANGING MIENASH0 TO WRECKLESS. N0+ so that it Will wreck less, but so it will reck moe!
GET UIT?

Seriously though, change that Mienshao. Reckless>Regenerator