UU Shoddy team

[Moondance]

I use this team on Smogon's ShoddyBattle server. The highest rating I've had on the ladder was 1213, which has been reduced to 966 over the last two weeks simply due to me not battling at all, the reason being that this team wasn't getting me any further and I don't want to continue battling until I've sorted this team out.

For the record, the person with the highest rating that I've beaten had 1500 points, give or take a few.

Uxie @ Light Clay
Levitate
252 HP/180 Def/76 Spe
Impish nature (+Def, -SpA)

Reflect
Light Screen
U-Turn
Stealth Rock

The Dual Screen set with Stealth Rock replacing Memento, which I originally ran but almost never used. My team benefitted more with me adding Stealth Rock to the moveset.


Gardevoir @ Leftovers
Trace
56 HP/252 SpA/200 Spe
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)

Calm Mind
Psychic
Focus Blast
Wish

I chose Focus Blast over Shadow Ball in the third moveset because too many Dark types and Registeel were being a pain in the @ss, despite the fact that I really don't like Focus Blast. I needed a Special attacker, and Gardevoir has done a very good job, having won me a game where I was originally 5-1 down.


Ambipom @ Leftovers
Technician
80 HP/252 Atk/176 Spe
Jolly nature (+Spe, -SpA)

Agility
Baton Pass
Return
Shadow Claw

The Agility + Baton Pass is a remnant from back in the day where this team was originally a Baton Pass team, which turned out to be a complete failure. I haven't changed anything because I'm not sure what I want to do with Ambipom's set. Shadow Claw is around because I've lost count of how many times things like Mismagius have switched into Ambipom thinking they can set up. They get a nasty surprise which can completely ruin the opponent.


Marowak @ Thick Club
Rock Head
252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA)

Earthquake
Rock Slide
Double Edge
Swords Dance

I rarely find the time to use Swords Dance as Marowak tends to force switches and just needs to keep firing off hits until dead. Pity it's such a slow-ass ba$tard. Even so, it outspeeds Weezing and friends with those EVs. I replaced Stone Edge with Rock Slide because Stone Edge's useless accuracy cost me a game I could have one (if it hit) on three different occasions. That, and Marowak's so damn strong that whatever would be OHKO'd by Stone Edge will probably be OHKO'd be Rock Slide.


Bibarel @ Leftovers
Simple
252 HP/48 Atk/120 Def/88 SpD
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA)

Curse
Waterfall
Return
Quick Attack

Laugh if you want, but Bibarel should not be underestimated. A hit or miss pokemon. Sometimes sweeps some of the best teams, sometimes dies nearly uselessly. It completely depends on the opposing team and whether it's prepared for it. Bibarel even gave FolgorioTheKickAss some trouble, although he won 2-0 in the end, and I certainly didn't expect to win. Water + Normal is walled only by Shedinja in UU, and that gets killed in one hit by Stealth Rock anyway, even with a Focus Sash. Still, if something's got to go, it's probably Bibarel. I've had fun using it, though.


Medicham @ Choice Scarf
Pure Power
4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA)

Hi-Jump Kick
Psycho Cut
Ice Punch
Thunder Punch

The terror of my team. You can tell me to get rid of any of the others if you like, but not this. This is far and away more dangerous than any of my other team members. Choice Scarf means it outspeeds anything in UU with the exception of other Choice Scarf users with higher base Speed. As you might have guessed, prediction is the key, and it's prediction that has made Medicham so damn useful. Many a Weezing and Mismagius have met unfortunate ends due to switching into a Psycho Cut when expecting a Hi-Jump Kick. I prefer Medicham to Hitmonlee because, despite Hitmonlee being slightly faster, Medicham has access to dual STAB and the Elemental Punches. Medicham is awesome, and I'm surprised that nobody ever uses him, rendering him NU.


Okay, one thing I've been aware of in the last few weeks is that Dugtrio, Donphan and Honchcrow have been moved down to UU and are now legible in the tier. It doesn't look like my team will be dealing with Dugtrio and Honchcrow too well. Honchcrow, it appears, will be causing problems for my team.


So, overall I'd say it's obvious that this team is never going to get much further than 1213 points. It evolved from a very poor Baton Pass team (what's odd is that as soon as I started using it back then, I was suddenly bombarded by Roar users) that I originally tried for fun, and usually it's just Medicham and Gardevoir/Ambipom (depending on the opponent's team, although Medicham will always kill something no matter the team, unless the opponent uses a priority move that gets a critical hit or something) that leave any enemy pokemon in a world of hurt (Marowak and Bibarel are both rather fragile and slow, and get killed easily, more specifically on the Special front).

Okay, ratings and suggestions for improvement please. Any ratings and suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance.

 

[Zoap]

After looking and trying out the team myself here are some of the changes I made that may really help your team:

Uxie @ Light Clay
Levitate
Jolly Nature
EV's 4 HP 100 Def 252 Spe 152 SpD
Light Screen
Reflect
Stealth Rock
Trick Room

I changed Uturn to Trick Room for 2 reasons, the first being because Uxie's set is more of setup for the whole team I felt that Trick Room complemented the changes that I'm suggesting(Azumaril) along with helping some of the selections you had made such as Marowak, and secondly Uxie's Att stat is horrible.

Gardevoir@Choice Scarf
Trace
Modest Nature
EV's 12 HP 240 Spe 252 SpA
Psychic
Focus Blast
T-Bolt
Shadow Ball/HP Ice

I changed Calm Mind and Wish to T-Bolt and Shadow Ball/HP Ice because I feel in today's UU environment Gardevoir simply isn't able to set up. This set of course can be changed to Choice Specs and Trick/Status Moves can be added, but at the current Speed EV's you outrun Swellow with positive nature and depending on what you run into more(Altaria/Ground or Ghosts/Other Psychics) depends on whether you go with Shadow Ball or HP Ice.(I personally prefer Shadow Ball as it's a nice surprise to Ghost's and other Psychics and Medicham and Azumarill have Ice pretty well covered.)

Ambipom @ Life Orb
Technician
Adamant Nature
EV's 4 HP 252 Att 252 Spe
Fake Out
Payback
Uturn
Return

I made your Ambipom an Attacking Ambipom with the set of traditional Fakeout, Payback(may also be switched to Pursuit as Technician benefits and makes base power 60 b4 switchouts) to hit the Ghosts and Uturn to switch out of Registeel/Steelix and other walls. Life Orb adds damage but if you don't like the 10% life loss then Silk Scarf is also a viable option.

Marowak @ Thick Club
Rock Head
Adamant Nature
EV's 152 HP 252 Att 104 Def
Earthquake
Thunder Punch
Fire Punch
Stone Edge

Biggest change is for Marowak. He is a great sweeper he just needed a little help and thanks to the Trick Room he now has that help in the form of being faster. I went with Stone Edge because its been proven to be the better of the two although if you really cringe at the accuracy Rock Slide is okay as well. Thunder Punch for Waters who you out speed with Trick Room, Fire Punch for Grass , EQ for STAB and Stone Edge for everything else. I took the EV's from speed and put them into Def and HP.

Azumaril @ Leftovers
Huge Power
Adamant Nature
EV's 52 HP 252 Att 100 Def 4 Spe 100 SpD
Aqua Jet
Ice Punch
Substitute
Focus Punch

Azumaril is my replacement for Bibarel. It's STAB Aqua Jet puts a lot of hurt on anything that doesn't resist it. The Sub/Focus Punch is for when you know the switch out is coming. Ice Punch for coverage. Azumaril also works wonders under Trick Rooms effects due to its low speed.

Medicham @ Choice Scarf
Pure Power
Adamant Nature
EV's 12 HP 252 Att 240 Spe
Thunder Punch
Ice Punch
Hi Jump Kick
Zen Headbutt

Changed the EV's for Speed as at 240 you out run positive nature non scarfed Swellow and Dugtrio. Dumped the extra 12 into HP. Changed Psycho Cut to Zen Headbutt as it has 10 extra power and 20% flinch rate. If the higher Crit-Rate of Psycho Cut works better for you, your more than welcome to switch it back. I tried to change as little as possible with him as I know you said it was the only one you cared about.

All the Changes are in Red and are merely suggestions. I like the Dual Screen Lead and I think with the Trick Room additive it will help with Marowak and Azumaril being lower in Speed. Gardevoir @ Choice Scarf is one of my favorite pokemon in UU and it seems to mesh well with this team. Ambipom with the standard set is a beast and goes well with every team.

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[franky]

Problems:

Synergy

How to fix:

I don't have great experience with teams like this but you have poor connections when you want to baton pass. Ambipom passing Agility to someone like Bibarel might be a bad idea due to the type coverage. I think I have a better passer that would benefit the team:

Gligar
@ Yache Berry
Jolly Nature (Spe+ / SpA-)
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe

- Taunt
- Swords Dance
- Agility
- Baton Pass

This would be great in-place of Ambipom. Having to easily shut down guys that will phaze with Taunt is good for teams like this. On the switch-out (hopefully) you can throw in either Swords Dance or Agility (usually agility to scout for the next switch in). From there on, you can pass SD or Agility or both to Bibarel which can work well with the typing. No one would use a fighting-type move on Gligar and Bibarel will attract Ice-types. Overall I dont want to change much gl.

 

[Moondance]

Thanks for the helps, guys. I really appreciate it.

Zoap -

Okay, I'll make the changes you have suggested. A Trick Room team I've thought of before. Out of curiosity, would it be better to change Marowak's Speed IV down to 0 to get full support from the Trick Room effects, or would it be better to just have 0 EVs in Speed and still be able to outspeed the likes of Steelix and friends?

I will try utilizing Stone Edge and Zen Heabutt as you've recommended. Not a fan of moves without the accuracy, but I'll try them anyway.

Azumaril is a pokemon I enjoy using and he will be a welcome addition to my team. Thank you for all of your help.

franky -

I never intended to keep using Baton Pass. Even so, I'll add your Gligar to my box so it's there if I want to use it. Thanks for the help.

 

[Zoap]

Its up to you there are a few threats that are slower than marowak.

Spiritomb-HP Grass or Water or Ice
Camerupt-HP Grass or Water or Ice
Cradily- Weak SpA so should be able to live one Grass attack excluding Grass Knot
Steelix-He's Steel he should be afraid
Quagsire-Weak SpA nothing to worry about
Slowbro-Biggest threat in Trick Room to Marowak, Has high SpA, good Def and is faster in Trick Room.
Slowking-Big threat but to a lesser extent then Slowbro, still retains high SpA and faster in Trick Room, but Def is lower.

Thats the list of things that can threaten you and are slower than you(faster in trick room). Most of this list has a base speed of 30, so if they put no points in speed they are 30 stats points lower.

Personally I don't think its worth it to lower your speed down through IV's.

 

[Moondance]

Okay, I'll leave the Speed IVs at 31. Besides, out of all those threats, Spiritomb, Slowbro and Steelix are the only ones I can ever recall seeing.

By the way, this team has been performing brilliantly since the changes were made, even going as far as to beat Thund, who is currently no. 10 on the UU leaderboard with 1612 points. So once again, thanks for all the help. You've been brilliant.

 

[Zoap]

No Problem I'm glad to see its doing so well for you!

I thought of an idea while playing some of my own UU. I was thinking instead of investing in Speed for Uxie(it ties with Moltres who isn't scarfed and most that are leads aren't) you could probably take those 252 EV's and spread them between Def/SpD and HP to almost ensure that both screens, rocks and dimesions all geth done. This will also mean once Trick Room is cast Uxie will be the faster meaning if played right you may be able to get two Trick Rooms off and have both screens and rocks still up b4 going to Marowak.

The only issue I see is that Uxie may live too long! And not having Toxic or an Attack would mean you're free setup bait. Something to consider. Let me know if you need any more ideas or help.

 

[Moondance]

I've found that Uxie only really needs to set up Trick Room at one time. After I've switched to Marowak, I've only ever seen the need to use Uxie again if I need to set up the Dual Screens again. Even so, I'll keep that in mind.

Once again, thanks for the help.