UU has a Rodent Problem

[Steinhauser]

Presenting a new (and my first) UU team. It's based around the general premise of using one Pokémon to set up two frail rodents who happen to have NUTTY sweeping powers. The other three Pokémon cover the first three's asses.
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Here they are:

D'awww...aren't they just too cute? That's what I love about UU.
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The Support

Jumpluff @ Focus Sash
Chlorophyll
Jolly
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
- Sleep Powder
- Encore
- U-Turn
- Memento

A pretty fine starter and perfect for setting up either of my sweepers, perhaps even multiple times. One of the fastest sleeps in the game, and foils Scarfers with Sash. I usually Sleep off the bat and then U-turn, switching to a counter if they switch out or to Linoone or Pikachu if they stay in. Later he can come in on Ground/Grass attacks, Leech Seeds, or setup moves, and Encore them for another chance to help out one of my rodents. Alternatively he can go all Memento on some tank/utility poke with "medium" attacking strength, giving my origami-frail sweepers a final shot at glory.

Maxed out Atk instead of HP, 'cause hell, he's not taking more than two unresisted hits anyway, and the extra U-Turn power helps sometimes.

Hitmontop @ Life Orb
Technician
Adamant
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
- Bullet Punch
- Mach Punch
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat

Standard priority Top. Extremely useful for general-purpose mayhem and sweep-stopping. I might put Stone Edge over Bullet Punch for Rotom and Mantine. Actually put it over Fake Out, so I still have Frosslass coverage. May use Muscle Band or even Leftovers for easier switch-ins.

Phione @ Damp Rock
Calm
252 HP / 52 SpA / 204 SpD
- Rain Dance
- Surf
- Toxic
- Rest

He's not as bulky as Dewgong, but he has higher Special Attack and Speed, fewer weaknesses and more resistances. Even though rain doesn't really help the team, Phione doesn't care - he deserves it all to himself. Rain-boosted, STAB Surf off of 284 SpA smacks most things fairly hard, and Toxic is a real bitch when Phione is recovering 100% of its health every turn, AND can't be statused. Testing out with a Calm spread. 252/204 lets me survive 252 Timid Life Orb Manectric Thunderbolt.

Sandslash @ Leftovers
Impish
252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock

This thing's pretty bulky on the physical side. Spins, lays Rocks, and provides a much-needed powerful Earthquake.


The Rodents!

Pikachu @ Light Ball
Timid
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Substitute
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot

Most people write off Sweepachu as a ludicrous pipe dream. Surely Pikachu has better things to do with its time than Nasty Plotting, things such as attacking and then getting the fuck out of there? Of course. Yet, a Pikachu sweep is just too awesome to pass up. With Encore or Sleep support, Pikachu actually has plenty of late-game chances to get really NASTY. Pikachu is sort of the core/inspiration of my team; he's incredibly flimsy and hard to use but the payoff is delicious if I get him to work.

I am sort of torn between HP Ice and Grass Knot. I do have Steelix (and I suppose Lanturn) problems, but without HP Ice Altaria would walk (dance) all over me.

Linoone @ Salac Berry
Gluttony (or may try Pickup to keep the Salac)
Adamant
72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spd
- Belly Drum
- Extremespeed
- Shadow Claw
- Dig / Natural Gift

(Actually he's more of a weasel than a rodent) Standard Belly Drummer. He's a bit of a one-off; getting walled and forced to switch out pretty much ends his usefulness, unless Spikes/Rocks aren't around and I didn't get hit at all. Gets mad setups from Jumpluff, and since he only needs a turn to get going I can usually Drum without any problems. Extremespeed over Return is for Hitmontop; unfortunately some bulkier Pokémon can survive it. Unfortunately Rock Smash is his absolute best option against Rocks and Steels, though unless it's a x4 weak it only has 80 base power (compared to Extremespeed's 60 and unresisted Shadow Claw's 70). I might find a way to put Stealth Rock out, and then use Dig over Rock Smash, hurting fliers as they switch in to resist. Alternatively I could try Natural Gift, which is a base 80 Fighting attack if I still have my Salac. I will try Natural Gift if it ever gets implemented on Shoddy.

Speed EVs are to outspeed Modest Scarf Rotom after Salac. The HP is odd for a reason: with Extremespeed, Salac isn't completely necessary in most cases, and this way I can possibly Drum twice if I'm forced to swich out the first time. Of course, if I'm injured even the slightest I can still only drum once but at least I get the Salac boost.

Comments/criticism appreciated. This is my first foray into UU.

 

[Articanus]

This team has a bit of problems with the most popular(or powerful) pokemon in UU: Altaria.

Natural Cure and Roost stops Parasect, and Flamethrower is an OHKO anyway. Linoone and Pikachu can switch-in safely, but once set up it isn't a problem. Pikachu may find some interference with Yache berry, though.

Sandslash over Parasect isn't a bad idea. You'd still have to watch out for specs versions. In general, your team has problems with Sub + CM. Your best way to deal with them is Encore Jumpluff, which isn't that reliable considering his defenses. Perish Song Politoad would be a great decision: it could also take Water attacks, but thats done by Phione. But she's not doing much anyway, so I would put politoed over it.

 

[astrohawke]

For starters, I don't like the jumpluff. I don't like pokemon that really can't hold their own in a team. Once you switch it out, I don't see many opportunities of bringing it back in and then it's just dead weight. Try a more defensive set with sub seed. After you've slept something, it's very annoying for the opponent to be up against such a fast sub seeder. A more defensive set also lets it switch in a little better. Finally you can keep u-turn as the last move against grass types or encore if you feel it's needed.

I'd definitely opt for grass knot on pikachu too because unlike OU, grass attacks are far for useful in the UU environment. You get to be able to do some damage to lanturn for one. Then of course UU has 3 water/ground types compared to OU's single swampert. The only thing ice is hitting better is altaria but given thunderbolt is neutral and you're faster, if you subbed or nasty plotted on the switch, it should go down anyway (unless it's one of those special defensive versions).

 

[alive]

as i said before in our pm, i think that kabutops over parasect, or sandslash, would be a much better option considering you already have the rain benefit from phione. SD, water fall, stone edge, and brick break could leave a big enough dent for linoone to to set up and sweep. if you think you could take aggron then brick break could be replaced with x-scissor for meganium.
but then again, im not too good at UU.

 

[Kalec]

I agree with grass knot on Pika, only a sp def Altaria is going to survive tbolts from the rat anyway, which is far less common then Politoad, Quagsire, Gastrodon, and Lanturn.

Also, a Linoone with odd hp will not activate the salac after belly drum, as he will have over 50% hp. You need to choose between being able to drum twice, and making the first drum work.

 

[Steinhauser]

Artic: That's true. The best I could do with Altaria is switch in Pikachu (risky if he should DD), or Encore a Roost perhaps, or force him out with Toxic/Rest stalling (I'll still never kill him).

I've already gone with Sandslash and he works substantially better than that useless Parasect.

Sub CM I've never had a problem with, since Jumpluff has what is probably the fastest Encore in the game (or close to it). As long as I don't walk into an attack (and Subs/CMs are pretty easy to predict) I've effectively got the threat phased.

So far I've been sitting pretty with Phione but I'll give Politoed a try, for sure.

--

A-hawke: I've never had a problem with getting Jumpluff back in. The first two turns are usually Sleep + U-turn, which leaves him at full health 75% of the time (Sash intact). Having both Sleep and U-Turn is essential for scouting: if he switches out, I turn to a counter; if not, I set up a sweeper. Encore is also essential; not only does it let me get my sweepers in, but it also saves my ass from setups that would otherwise kill me (especially Subs). Memento rounds the set out as the perfect last-ditch move which can, again, get my sweepers in with little risk.

Good call on the Grass Knot. I'm a little worse off against Altaria now, but Pikachu isn't really a counter anyway.

--

Thanks Alive, but I spent some time considering it and Kabutops just couldn't switch in on anything useful. Electric/Grass/Ground are just the things I need resists to. I could put him over Phione with a Rain Dance set, but he just isn't bulky enough. I have two flimsy sweepers already.

--

Kelec: Aye, it's a trade-off, as I said. The only time not having that Salac activate after the first Drum was detrimental to me was against a Frosslass, which I couldn't outspeed or Extremespeed.

 

[alive]

definately keep phione. kabutops is really only good with support form someone else, maybe on a different team.

 

[Forsety]

Jumpluff-
No problems here, Jumpy is a solid starter and Memento ensures you don't allow any enemy setups.

Hitmontop-
I'd actually replace Close Combat for Stone Edge, in the end the purpose of this Hitmontop is priority kills. Also if you do need a stronger fighting attack than consider replacing Close Combat with Revenge which is often overlooked.

Even if they don't attack, Revenge gets a Technician boost and becomes a 90 base power move. When they do attack its going to be 120 power, same as CC but without the defense drops and you're slow as crap anyway. Of course it'd also mean it'd be more preferable to run Muscle Band > Life Orb if you did to reserve health.

Phione-
Personally I would've run a Calm or Bold nature to make better use of HydroRest, but thats just me.

Sandslash-
Works and is reliable.

Pikachu-
Why, for all that is dear, would you not run a Nasty Plot Raichu? Light Ball Pika hits hard enough as it is, after NP setup Pika is absolutely raped by a priority attack. Just see your own Hitmontop for proof of this. Seriously just use a normal Light Ball Pikachu or switch for a NP Raichu.

Linoone-
I'm sure Linoone will love eating Earthquakes for 2x damage in the middle of your Dig...just use Rock Smash. You're out to sweep, not give them lifelines.

 

[Steinhauser]

Jumpluff-
No problems here, Jumpy is a solid starter and Memento ensures you don't allow any enemy setups.

Hitmontop-
I'd actually replace Close Combat for Stone Edge, in the end the purpose of this Hitmontop is priority kills. Also if you do need a stronger fighting attack than consider replacing Close Combat with Revenge which is often overlooked.

Even if they don't attack, Revenge gets a Technician boost and becomes a 90 base power move. When they do attack its going to be 120 power, same as CC but without the defense drops and you're slow as crap anyway. Of course it'd also mean it'd be more preferable to run Muscle Band > Life Orb if you did to reserve health.

Revenge...that's a solid thought, now. I will chew on it. However, I can't stop thinking of the times Close Combat saved my ass with its pure power. OHKOing Steelix and Cradily is quite useful, since they give my team some problems otherwise. Hitmontop isn't THAT slow, not for UU anyway - 70 is an average speed - and Close Combat tears apart those really slow walls.

What I may do is replace Fake Out with Bullet Punch. I do have some Frosslass problems without Bullet Punch. Fake Out is great for the sweepers who are dead set on staying in, but otherwise any smart player is gonna switch to a wall that takes less damage from Fake Out as I do from Life Orb. And to be honest, I haven't seen THAT many all-out sweepers in UU.

Phione-
Personally I would've run a Calm or Bold nature to make better use of HydroRest, but thats just me.

I have given this thought. Calm would be useful for surviving Manectric, etc. But it always comes back to, "Most things can't OHKO me anyway, which in rain means they'll never KO me. Meanwhile I am kicking ass with Surf." With Modest, Surf actually does a ludicrous amount of damage to non-resists (similar to Kingdra in OU). I'll try it out though, as I currently have nothing to switch into strong special attacks.

Sandslash-
Works and is reliable.

Pikachu-
Why, for all that is dear, would you not run a Nasty Plot Raichu? Light Ball Pika hits hard enough as it is, after NP setup Pika is absolutely raped by a priority attack. Just see your own Hitmontop for proof of this. Seriously just use a normal Light Ball Pikachu or switch for a NP Raichu.

Cause I'm nuts. Actually, the only time I use NP is if I can get in on a sleeping/Encored opponent, get up a sub, AND they're still asleep or haven't switched. Then, if they were to switch to a priority user, I'd still get that one boosted attack in. It doesn't sound like anyone would be stupid enough to leave in something sleeping while Pikachu sets up, but it happens quite a lot in my battles. Believe me, if I wasn't getting NP to work in at least half of my battles I would totally ditch it.

Linoone-
I'm sure Linoone will love eating Earthquakes for 2x damage in the middle of your Dig...just use Rock Smash. You're out to sweep, not give them lifelines.

Steelix and Golem (and I suppose choice band Aggron) are the only Normal resists who would actually use Earthquake off the bat. These I would switch out of. Rock Smash is a 2HKO or 3HKO (in the case of Steelix) which means I'd be dead if I used it anyway, so I'd probably switch out if I had Rock Smash (which deals 25% more damage than Extremespeed).

As for the rest of them (without EQ), I Dig, and they switch out. They bring in a resist, hopefully a flier, who is hurt by Stealth Rock. I Extremespeed next turn. If they stay in they're boned. If they switch (to their same resist) he takes a solid 30-40% hit from Extremespeed. Now, if I think my opponent will stay in again I Dig. If I think he'll switch, predicting a Dig, I Extremespeed. As a third option I can switch out. Worst case scenario is either the flier takes another 25% as he switches in on my Dig, or the Normal resist is hit by Extremespeed and is left at 40% (Mach Punch range).

Dig is a terrible option, yes, but Rock Smash is worse. It pretty much guarantees my death without a KO. At least Dig can play with their heads and spread some SR damage.

And thanks for your comments.

 

[Forsety]

Fake Out is great for the sweepers who are dead set on staying in, but otherwise any smart player is gonna switch to a wall that takes less damage from Fake Out as I do from Life Orb. And to be honest, I haven't seen THAT many all-out sweepers in UU.

Thats actually the exact reason I wouldn't use Life Orb on a Hitmontop. Hitmontop's greatest asset is to take hits and you don't want to ruin that by having it pretend to be a Sharpedo or something.

Dig is a terrible option, yes, but Rock Smash is worse. It pretty much guarantees my death without a KO. At least Dig can play with their heads and spread some SR damage.

Heres an interesting thought then, have you considered Natural Gift?

With a Salac berry, should the need rise you can sacrifice it for a physical 80 base power Fighting attack. I'm sure with your +6 Extremespeed combined it should just about net enough damage to finish a Steelix and is most definitely a OHKO on Probopass/Aggron/Golem. It might justify the loss of Salac Berry since you're doing a ES sweep anyway. However it does mean ideally you want to do a BD setup without taking any damage at all to keep your health above 25% and forfeit Gluttony.

 

[Steinhauser]

Thats actually the exact reason I wouldn't use Life Orb on a Hitmontop. Hitmontop's greatest asset is to take hits and you don't want to ruin that by having it pretend to be a Sharpedo or something.

Maybe you're right, but I remember Close Combat's damage being only barely enough to take down Steelix. I'll try it though, maybe the added bulk is just what I need.

Heres an interesting thought then, have you considered Natural Gift?

Yep, I did. I never tried it, though. The problem is, either I use Natural Gift and Frosslass screws me, or I don't and Steelix screws me. I'll give it a shot, however. I can always revenge kill the Lass with Bullet Punch.

 

[rkatzam]

You already have Bullet Punch for Froslass, I see no reason to put Stone Edge over Fake Out..