Let's Break This (UU)

Introduction: With the additions of Rhyperior, Alakazam, Gallade, Raikou, and Froslass the UU Metagame was in for a great shift. Froslass returned once again to her former glory as a "Perfect Spiker," while others such as Calm Mind Raikou and Swords Dance Gallade ran amok in the tier. I composed a new, more fresh-feeling team this time around, hoping to attract much better synergy between the team members, while maintaining an offensively-leaning team as much as possible. Without further ado:
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Team Building:
Once the new tier lists were out I immediately jumped to make a team involving one of my favorite Pokemon with solid typing and hit hard: Gallade.
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When it comes to offensive teams, the Grass-Water-Fire combo is something that should not be overlooked. To start off that cycle I decided on Venusaur, who possesses solid defenses, decent Special Attack, as well as sleep support in Sleep Powder.
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Next, I looked for a Water-type. I had tried out Feraligatr in the past, but it was simply stopped cold against the likes of Milotic and Slowbro even with Return. I needed something packing power, and didn't need to setup. Azumarill was chosen for it's healthy HP stat, Huge Power, and STAB priority in the form of Aqua Jet.
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To round off the circle, I needed a Fire-type. I considered Blaziken, Houndoom, and Arcanine. Houndoom was ruled out because it added an unnecessary Fighting-type weakness to the team, and my low Blaziken usage left me unaware of his true potential, thus I settled with Arcanine. Arcanine got Morning Sun from HG/SS, and I wanted to abuse it with Flare Blitz as much as possible.
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Since I'm still not very used to hyper-offensive teams (and need to learn) I chose Rhyperior to function on the team as support, while still sporting that massive 140 base Attack stat. As a bonus, Rhyperior and Venusaur are a good pair, while providing Gallade with a solid defensive partner.
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Finally, I needed a lead. I debated over Froslass and Ambipom. I knew Froslass was hailed (pun intended) as the best Spiker in the game, but I had used Ambipom before, and knew Life Orb Technician STAB Fake Out was going to hurt. Plus Ambipom would benefit the team more on offense than Froslass would.
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In Depth Look:

Changes made in red.
Things currently being tested are in italics.

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Ambipom **Monkey Fever** (M) @ Life Orb
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Technician
Jolly (+Spd, -Sp Atk)
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
~ Fake Out
~ Return / [Double Hit]
~ Low Kick
~ Payback
Why Ambipom?: When looking into a lead on a offensively-leaning team, one should look for either A) a lead who can utilize entry hazards or B) a versatile attacker packing considerate power for the early game. Ambipom fits the second role nicely, and has always served as a great lead for me on past UU teams.
Analysis: Technician was obviously run because Pickup does nothing, while having a Jolly Ambipom ensures I'll at least get a speed-tie against other Ambipom. Attack and Speed EV's were maxed, while the rest were added into his Defense. Life Orb was given so Ambipom hits harder, at the cost of 10% of his health.
The moveset is pretty straightforward. Fake Out ensures a strong priority to open up the game, followed by one of his remaining moves pending on the situation. Return hits like a truck thanks to STAB, Low Kick absolutely punishes Rock and Steel-type switch-ins hoping to shrug off the Return, such as Aggron, Registeel, Regirock, and Rhyperior. Payback was selected over Pursuit due to it being able to stop 'Prolass' from getting 2 layers of Spikes, while still getting a 2HKO on most Mismagius sets.

Synergy: Fighting-type moves -> Azumarill, Venusaur, Rhyperior.

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Venusaur **Aromasaur** (M) @ Black Sludge
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Overgrow
Calm (+Sp Def, -Atk) [Sassy (+Sp Def, -Spd)]
252 HP / 4 Sp Atk / 252 Sp Def [252 HP / 96 Atk / 84 Sp Atk / 52 Sp Def / 24 Spd]
~ Sleep Powder
~ Sludge Bomb / [Earthquake]
~ Synthesis / Leech Seed
~ Energy Ball / Leaf Storm
Why Venusaur?: Venusaur's general bulk is more than enough reason to put him on this team. Because I stationed Rhyperior on the team, I shifted Venusaur's motives to warding off Special moves. He provides status support, but can still hit pretty hard on his own without the need to setup. Being part Poison-type, he also absorbs Toxic Spikes should they ever show their ugly face on the field.
Analysis: A Calm nature was run because it adds to Venusaur's defenses, while HP and Special Defense were maxed for that same reason. Special Attack got the remaining few EVs. Black Sludge is the item form of recovery, and is great because it just screws over Trick users like Mismagius and Rotom.
Sleep Powder, although it has shaky accuracy, ends up leaving one membver of the opponent's team snoring away, while I either switch out to another attacker, or hit it with Venusaur's STAB moves. Although Sludge Bomb suffers from poor coverage, it is Venusaur's best option outside of Leaf Storm or Energy Ball. The selection of Energy Ball or Leaf Storm depends on the last support move I choose to run. Synthesis lets Venusaur recover from the assaults of Special attacks, but Leech Seed can provide mediocre health support, something the team really needs. If I opt for Synthesis, Energy Ball will be the Grass-type STAB move of choice. If Leech Seed is chosen, Leaf Storm will be as well, since Venusaur will hit with Leaf Storm, then switch out so another member can absorb the Leech Seed health.
Synergy: Fire-type moves -> Arcanine, Rhyperior
Flying-type moves -> Rhyperior
Ice-type moves -> Azumarill, Arcanine
Psychic moves -> Gallade

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Azumarill **Drowning** (F) @ Choice Band
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Huge Power
Adamant (+Atk, -Sp Atk)
240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Speed
~ Waterfall
~ Aqua Jet
~ Double-Edge
~ Superpower
Why Azumarill?: Azumarill occupies a certain niche for physical Water-types, thanks to Huge Power. Huge Power rockets Azumarill's attack to sky-high limits, and given her okay 100 / 80 / 80 defenses and Choice Band, she becomes a deadly threat.
Analysis: Adamant nature simply piles on the pain given from Azumarill, as with the 252 EVs in Attack. The HP EV's were given so that Azumarill can take hits relatively well, so Speed was not that much of an issue, receiving the 16 EVs remaining. Choice Band along with Huge Power wallops Azumarill's Attack.
Waterfall hurts like a truck due to STAB, Choice Band and Huge Power, and is the main destructive move of choice. Aqua Jet is a great STAB priority that can also be abused, and still hits hard thanks to Choice Band and Huge Power. Double-Edge solidifies Azumarill's coverage, allowing for 2HKO's on Slowbro and Milotic, so it was chosen over Return although the recoil damage from Double-Edge isn't too welcome. Superpower provides excess coverage, but also hits Steelix, Aggron, and Registeel harder.
Synergy: Grass-type moves -> Venusaur, Arcanine, Gallade
Electric-type moves -> Rhyperior, Venusaur

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Arcanine **SuperNova** (F) @ Leftovers
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Flash Fire
Adamant (+Atk, -Sp Atk)
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
~ Flare Blitz
~ Morning Sun
~ Extremespeed
~ Crunch / Iron Head / Toxic
Why Arcanine?: For one thing, Arcanine completes the Grass-Water-Fire combo I desired in my offensive team. Arcanine also provides power with her healthy 110 base Attack stat, and a strong STAB in Flare Blitz. Arcanine is also relatively bulky, so she can withstand some assaults too. Most importantly, with Flash Fire, Arcanine absorbs Will-o-wisps and uses it to boost his Flare Blitz' power. Since most of the team is physically-based, Arcanine's role is of utmost importance.
Analysis: Flash Fire was chosen over Intimidate for a couple reasons; the first being that the omnipresent Spiritomb can no longer switch-in and laugh as he Will-o-wisps my team away. Although Arcanine normally would absorb it, I'd rather her increase Flare Blitz and abuse it instead. Secondly, physical threats aren't that much of a problem (see threat list) so I decided to run Flash Fire. Running an Adamant nature increases the power of Arcanine's Flare Blitzes, since she won't be outrunning faster powers like Raikou and Alakazam anyways. She still has Extremespeed. As a main sweeper of the team, Attack and Speed were EV maxed, while the remainder was put into HP. Leftovers combined with Morning Sun provides a form of recovery from attacks and Flare Blitz recoil.
Flare Blitz is the abused move, with Morning Sun backing it up as a new recovery toy. Extremespeed is a great priority, and fits perfectly on the Arcanine set. Crunch and Iron Head can be used to fool Ghost and Rock-types switching in on Extremespeed respectively. Toxic can also be chosen to spread some status among the opposing team, making it easier for my team to do their job.
Synergy: Water-type moves -> Venusaur, Azumarill
Rock-type moves -> Rhyperior, Venusaur
Ground-type moves -> Azumarill, Rhyperior

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Gallade **Samurai** (M) @ Expert Belt
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Steadfast
Adamant (+Atk, -Sp Atk)
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
~ Close Combat
~ Shadow Sneak
~ Ice Punch
~ Leaf Blade
Why Gallade?: Gallade has a pretty solid typing in UU. Fighting-Psychic. Combined with Shadow Sneak, he gets perfect coverage, with STAB on Fighting. He also has respectable Special Defense, so can sponge up some hits too. Most importantly, is the surprise factor coupled inside Gallade.
Analysis: Holding a great Attack stat, an Adamant nature simply furthers it. A standard spread of Attack Speed and HP were used to give Gallade maximum sweeping potential. Expert Belt boosts Gallade's supereffective hits, and since he covers a good number of typing, lures foes into a false sense of security, which is key to this set.
Close Combat is a wonderful move, and Gallade fires those off at 180 BP, which means it hurts...a lot. Shadow Sneak cancels out Gallade's rather poor Speed, and in addition provides perfect neutral coverage. Gallade tends to abuse Close Combat or Shadow Sneak whenever in play, and opponents bring in Milotic, Spiritomb, and Slowbro to halt my attacks and force me to switch out due to Choice Band. Which I do...if I was running Choice Band. Instead, Milotic and Slowbro are met with a nasty Leaf Blade, hitting for 2x damage, while Ice Punch obliterates Grass-type switch-ins and Altaria. These predictions will only be backed up by Expert Belt. With those counters out of the way, Rhyperior has an easier time walling the opposing team.
Synergy: Flying-type moves -> Rhyperior
Ghost-type moves -> Ambipom

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Rhyperior **Dimented Dino** (M) @ Leftovers
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Solid Rock
Impish (+Def, -Sp Def)
244 HP / 80 Atk / 184 Def
~ Earthquake
~ Stone Edge
~ Stealth Rock
~ Megahorn
Why Rhyperior?: Rhyperior serves as a valuable partner for Gallade and Venusaur. Rhyperior takes the Flying-type assaults thrown at Gallade and laughs them off, while in turn Venusaur backs up Rhyperior by absorbing Grass and Water-type moves. He also provides support through Stealth Rock, and a high Attack stat is nothing to be ashamed of either. Although I originally planned on him being the team's tank, he's functioned more as the late-game sweeper now, and I'm perfectly fine with that.
Analysis: Rhyperiors best stats are Attack and Defense. Being rather new in hyper-offense, I decided to shift him towards defense rather than offense. Therefore an Impish nature was selected. HP and Defense were the sole focus of the EVs, the rest poured into his very healthy Attack stat. Leftovers lengthens his time on the field.
Earthquake and Stone Edge are his STAB moves, and coming off of a base 140 Attack stat, those moves are quite painful. Stealth Rock lays down some entry hazards for the enemy, making it a bit more difficult to switch in proper counters, while Megahorn hits Grass-types for good damage.
Synergy: Fighting-type moves -> Azumarill, Venusaur
Water-type moves -> Azumarill, Venusaur
Grass-type moves -> Venusaur, Arcanine
Ice-type moves -> Gallade, Arcanine, Azumarill
Ground-type moves -> Venusaur
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Issues:

It's a good team, but it's definitely not without it's problems.
- Lack of a spinner = This really gets irritating after a while, especially since Froslass is roaming once again in UU's lead position. Spikes wear down my sweepers, especially Arcanine, who is my safest Spiritomb counter. I can think of Blastoise and Cloyster as a possible replacement for Azumarill, but both lack the power that Azumarill has, although Cloyster can setup Spikes as well. Donphan is a more stronger spinner, but adds an unnecesary Ice-type weakness to the team.
- Physical-lenience = Except for Venusaur, every member of the team attacks on the physical side. This means Spiritomb is a major pain, as well as Cursing Pokemon, I haven't had too much trouble with them...yet. If someone could expand on this and help me out that would be great.
- Low Synergy = If you read through the team, the synergy really isn't all that great. The entire team carries only 2 immunities, and nobody is immune to Earthquake, which I think is a problem.
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If anyone could help me out on the issues, or on the team in general, please do so. Feel free to get your points across as harshly as necessary.
Thank you for reading!

-Terywj
 
Defensive Threats

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Blastoise - Azumarill and Venusaur absorb up anything he throws. Rapid Spin isn't really much of a problem, since the only hazard I use is Stealth Rock anyways.

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Chansey - 5/6th of my team is physical.

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Claydol - Venusaur and Gallade ruin this if not running Psychic and Shadow Ball respectively.

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Clefable - Gallade scares this off with Close Combat. Rhyperior walls most sets.

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Cloyster - Venusaur can handle Ice Shard, and Leaf Storms for the KO. Azumarill can also Superpower.

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Cradily - Lol.

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Lanturn - Ambipom can usually switch in and punish it. Venusaur can do the same to those without Ice Beam.

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Lapras - Meet Gallade. And Azumarill.

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Mesprit - Gallade Shadow Sneaks, Ambipom Paybacks, Rhyperior Megahorns...

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Milotic - Gallade and Leaf Blade work wonders.

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Miltank - Gallade, Rhyperior, and Ambipom even.

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Nidoqueen - Gallade and Ice Punch. Rhyperior and Earthquake.

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Quagsire - Venusaur.

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Regirock - Everything but Arcanine.

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Registeel -
Gallade, Ambipom, Azumarill, Arcanine, and Rhyperior all laugh at it..

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Rotom - Venusaur and Rhyperior wall this. Arcanine if running Crunch.

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Slowbro - See Milotic.

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Spiritomb - Arcanine gets Flare Blitz upped. Gallade can easily Leaf Blade ones without Will-o-wisp.

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Umbreon - Rhyperior. Azumarill. Gallade.

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Uxie - Gallade, Ambipom and Rhyperior. Arcanine if running Crunch.

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Weezing - Haven't seen one yet. But Arcanine can handle with Flare Blitz and Morning Sun.
.......

Offensive Threats


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Absol - Rhyperior. Gallade if necessary.

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Alakazam - Gallade can come in, and Shadow Sneak. Azumarill and Arcanine also ruin it with their priorities.

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Altaria - Gallade and Rhyperior, even.

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Ambipom - It all depends on the speed tie. And hax.

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Arcanine - Arcanine can absorb the Flare Blitz and scare it off. But Rhyperior and Azumarill work nicely.


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Azumarill - Venusaur checks this..

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Blaziken - Azumarill hurts it with Aqua Jet. More physical sets are walled by Rhyperior.

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Drapion - Rhyperior.

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Feraligatr - Venusaur can stop it, with minimal worries about Ice Punch. Gallade also has Leaf Blade.

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Froslass - Payback limites 'Prolass' to one layer of Spikes.

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]Gallade - What a surprise. I have no surefire counter for Gallade sets. Ambipom can revenge kill it easily though.

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Hariyama - Venusaur walls it.

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Hitmonlee - See above.

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Hitmontop - Rhyperior walls most sets. Venusaur does too.

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Honckrow - Rhyperior needs to watch out for Superpower. But not a major problem.

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Houndoom - Gallade scares it off. Arcanine can absorb the Will-o-wisp and other Fire-type moves.

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Kabutops - Venusaur.

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Kangaskhan
- Rhyperior laughs. Gallade punishes.


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Leafeon - Can't do squat to Rhyperior, who returns with Megahorn. Gallade and Venusaur have their supereffective moves.

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Magmortar - Azumarill and Arcanine.

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Medicham - See Gallade. I suppose it can be revenged by Ambipom.

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Mismagius - Ambipom stops it...most of the time. Azumarill checks those without Thunderbolt.

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Moltres -
Arcanine absorbs stuff, and Azumarill KOs with Aqua Jet.


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Nidoking - ...

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Omastar - Venusaur and Azumarill.

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Raikou - Ones with Hidden Power [Water] or [Grass] are painful. Considering a tankish Sassy Venusaur set.

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Rhyperior - Venusaur. Low Kicks from Ambipom also do a number.

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Scyther - Rhyperior. Arcanine to an extent.

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Swellow - Rhyperior.

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Tauros - Substitute variants ruined by Azumarill. Otherwise Rhyperior stops this.

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Torterra Gallade and Ice Punch.

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Typhlosion - Azumarill and Arcanine.

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Ursaring - Loses to Rhyperior, even Ambipom.

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Venusaur - Arcanine runs this over.



-Terywj
 
At first glance, I see you have a big weakness to HP Grass/Water Raikou, who ohko's Rhyperior after a boost. Since your Venusaur uses special attacks, it won't be able to break its sub. Azumarill is OHKO'd as is Arcanine after SR. Ambipom can only handle it if it doesn't have a sub, and even that's shaky because of a speed tie.

I suggest either giving Venusaur Roar to rid of Raikou and weaken it enough so that it won't be able to come in repeatedly, or change its nature to Careful and give it Power Whip/Earthquake over your current special STABs.

Good luck.
 
At first glance, I see you have a big weakness to HP Grass/Water Raikou, who ohko's Rhyperior after a boost. Since your Venusaur uses special attacks, it won't be able to break its sub. Azumarill is OHKO'd as is Arcanine after SR. Ambipom can only handle it if it doesn't have a sub, and even that's shaky because of a speed tie.

I suggest either giving Venusaur Roar to rid of Raikou and weaken it enough so that it won't be able to come in repeatedly, or change its nature to Careful and give it Power Whip/Earthquake over your current special STABs.

Good luck.

I second this.

Also, I'd probably use Taunt over Pursuit on Ambipom because otherwise you're going to get 2 layers of Spikes set up on you by Proslass which is rising in popularity.

Otherwise you're going to have a ton of trouble switching into anything with a remotely high attack stat.
 
If you're worried about bulky Froslass setting up 2 layers of Spikes on Ambipom, you can just run Payback instead of Pursuit to 2HKO. Pursuit is only necessary if you absolutely must get rid of their Ghost, which your team doesn't seem to need all that much. Taunt isn't recommended because they might just go for the two free hits on your team, paticularly bad if they're going offensive with Shadow Ball and possibly Thunderbolt too.

On Gallade, you should consider an Expert Belt over Muscle Band given that your set covers 12 types in all and will therefore often be hitting harder with it. All the while keeping the element of surprise better as it bluffs Choice Scarf perfectly on a non-super effective hit, whereas Muscle Band may give the game away, particularly with a Adamant nature. Also not sure why you would use Rock Slide on Spiritomb when Leaf Blade is there but whatever.
 
I suggest either giving Venusaur Roar to rid of Raikou and weaken it enough so that it won't be able to come in repeatedly, or change its nature to Careful and give it Power Whip/Earthquake over your current special STABs.

Roar is definitely the better idea, as Venusaur is currently his only attacker on the special side, making it an important counter for the variety of very physically bulky Rock/Ground/Steel types out there (Rhyperior, Aggron (well, sort of), Regirock, Steelix, etc.)

The other possibility is to try a mixed tankish Venusaur set running a Sassy nature, Sleep Powder, Leech Seed, Leaf Storm and Earthquake. Venusaur's speed is decent, but it still beats a lot of important targets with a -Spe nature (the aforementioned physical tanks, really slow things like Slowbro and Spiritomb, etc.). Or you could try Earthquake over Sludge Bomb even with a -Atk nature; it will still break Raikou's Subs, anyway.
 
Just a few nitpicks- Jolly Arcanine is easily outsped by Raikou and Alakazam. While the increased speed is nice, every Pokemon in UU that I can think of that's faster than Arcanine almost always uses max Speed EVs except Miltank, who usually invests in Defense, and may have Thick Fat as well. I'd go with Adamant- you are still faster than all of the base 80s that love trying to outspeed each other like Gallade, Honchkrow, and offensive Venusaur. Also, STAB Flare Blitz does more damage than super effective Crunch, so there's really no point to use it. Iron Head works for Regirock and Rhyperior, that's the only move that I'd suggest for your last slot. Most things you'd Toxic (think Slowbro, Milotic), you don't want to stay in on, and using Toxic (or Crunch) predicting a switch is usually a bad idea unless you're faster than the opposing Pokemon (in the case of Crunch), which would probably mean you wouldn't use Extremespeed in that case.

Muscle Band is a decent item on Gallade, but with four attacks, you have great type coverage, so Expert Belt provides more damage when you get a super effective hit (which should be most of the time) and still bluffs a Choice item. Also, I recommend Ice Punch over Rock Slide since it hits the omnipresent Venusaur super effective, while still hitting Flying-types hard (especially Altaria), and also gets Torterra for 4x damage, who would otherwise be a big obstacle for Gallade.
 
At first glance, I see you have a big weakness to HP Grass/Water Raikou, who ohko's Rhyperior after a boost. Since your Venusaur uses special attacks, it won't be able to break its sub. Azumarill is OHKO'd as is Arcanine after SR. Ambipom can only handle it if it doesn't have a sub, and even that's shaky because of a speed tie.

I suggest either giving Venusaur Roar to rid of Raikou and weaken it enough so that it won't be able to come in repeatedly, or change its nature to Careful and give it Power Whip/Earthquake over your current special STABs.

Good luck.

I second this.

Also, I'd probably use Taunt over Pursuit on Ambipom because otherwise you're going to get 2 layers of Spikes set up on you by Proslass which is rising in popularity.

Otherwise you're going to have a ton of trouble switching into anything with a remotely high attack stat.

I think I'll swap Pursuit with Payback, addressed below.

If you're worried about bulky Froslass setting up 2 layers of Spikes on Ambipom, you can just run Payback instead of Pursuit to 2HKO. Pursuit is only necessary if you absolutely must get rid of their Ghost, which your team doesn't seem to need all that much. Taunt isn't recommended because they might just go for the two free hits on your team, paticularly bad if they're going offensive with Shadow Ball and possibly Thunderbolt too.

On Gallade, you should consider an Expert Belt over Muscle Band given that your set covers 12 types in all and will therefore often be hitting harder with it. All the while keeping the element of surprise better as it bluffs Choice Scarf perfectly on a non-super effective hit, whereas Muscle Band may give the game away, particularly with a Adamant nature. Also not sure why you would use Rock Slide on Spiritomb when Leaf Blade is there but whatever.

That's actually a really good idea [Using Expert Belt]. I'll test it out. Thanks.
Yeah I don't know what I was thinking. I should replace Rockslide with Ice Punch, especially for Altaria.

Roar is definitely the better idea, as Venusaur is currently his only attacker on the special side, making it an important counter for the variety of very physically bulky Rock/Ground/Steel types out there (Rhyperior, Aggron (well, sort of), Regirock, Steelix, etc.)

The other possibility is to try a mixed tankish Venusaur set running a Sassy nature, Sleep Powder, Leech Seed, Leaf Storm and Earthquake. Venusaur's speed is decent, but it still beats a lot of important targets with a -Spe nature (the aforementioned physical tanks, really slow things like Slowbro and Spiritomb, etc.). Or you could try Earthquake over Sludge Bomb even with a -Atk nature; it will still break Raikou's Subs, anyway.

So what would it look something like...

Venusaur @ Black Sludge
Overgrow / Sassy
EV Spread help?
~ Sleep Powder
~ Leaf Storm
~ Earthquake
~ Leech Seed / Synthesis


Just a few nitpicks- Jolly Arcanine is easily outsped by Raikou and Alakazam. While the increased speed is nice, every Pokemon in UU that I can think of that's faster than Arcanine almost always uses max Speed EVs except Miltank, who usually invests in Defense, and may have Thick Fat as well. I'd go with Adamant- you are still faster than all of the base 80s that love trying to outspeed each other like Gallade, Honchkrow, and offensive Venusaur. Also, STAB Flare Blitz does more damage than super effective Crunch, so there's really no point to use it. Iron Head works for Regirock and Rhyperior, that's the only move that I'd suggest for your last slot. Most things you'd Toxic (think Slowbro, Milotic), you don't want to stay in on, and using Toxic (or Crunch) predicting a switch is usually a bad idea unless you're faster than the opposing Pokemon (in the case of Crunch), which would probably mean you wouldn't use Extremespeed in that case.

Muscle Band is a decent item on Gallade, but with four attacks, you have great type coverage, so Expert Belt provides more damage when you get a super effective hit (which should be most of the time) and still bluffs a Choice item. Also, I recommend Ice Punch over Rock Slide since it hits the omnipresent Venusaur super effective, while still hitting Flying-types hard (especially Altaria), and also gets Torterra for 4x damage, who would otherwise be a big obstacle for Gallade.

That's true. Thank you for pointing that out. Will change.
Expert Belt will be tested on Gallade. Thanks again.
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I'm considering running a Magneton, who can wall Raikou pretty easily, as well as being able to provide screen support for the team...however I would like to hear opinions on if Magneton should even be ON the team, and who it would replace if necessary.

Changes made in bold, and the threat list should be up soon! Thanks!

Edit: Threat list stolen added!

-Terywj
 
Yes, Magneton can wall Raikou but it can't do anything in return to Raikou as it sets up 6 Calm Minds and proceeds to destroy Magneton.
 
Yes, Magneton can wall Raikou but it can't do anything in return to Raikou as it sets up 6 Calm Minds and proceeds to destroy Magneton.

Does Magneton's Explosion KO Raikou? Obviously it can't deal with SubCM Raikou, though, so maybe that's not worth asking.

EVs on the Sassy Venusaur, I would go with 24 Speed EVs to outspeed Neutral-nature Base 70s with no Speed investment. You could also go with 36 Speed EVs to outspeed Neutral-nature Honchkrow with no speed investment, but Venusaur can't do anything to Honchkrow anyway, so that seems IMO pointless.

84 SpA EVs guarantee that Leaf Storm OHKOs the standard 252/4 Bold Slowbro and anything else weak to it with weaker special defenses without Stealth Rock, so it's a good target to hit. You could check up the neutral hits on Aggron and Steelix to see if they need more SpA EVs to OHKO, though. (Earthquake should blast apart Aggron anyway and may be the better choice for hitting it, but Magnet Rise blocks that.)

96 Atk EVs guarantee that Earthquake 2HKOs the SubCM Raikou described on Smogon (64/0, neutral nature, Lefties) without Stealth Rock as well as all min-HP and 4-HP versions.

After that, it varies on whether you run Leech Seed or Synthesis. With Leech Seed, you'd want to go for substantial Def and SpD investment before HP so as to maximize recovery from Leech Seed, but with Synthesis you should probably max HP and then throw the rest into SpD.

Synthesis:
252 HP / 96 Atk / 84 SpA / 52 SpD / 24 Spe

Leech Seed:
96 Atk / 152 Def / 84 SpA / 152 SpD / 24 Spe (could be tweaked to better maximize bulkiness, not doing that right now)
 
One quick niptick here -
Double Hit on Ambipom is better than Return, imo. It breaks subs, and with Technician Boost and hitting twice, its Base Power is 105 to Return's 102. Not much, but try it out.
 
Does Magneton's Explosion KO Raikou? Obviously it can't deal with SubCM Raikou, though, so maybe that's not worth asking.

EVs on the Sassy Venusaur, I would go with 24 Speed EVs to outspeed Neutral-nature Base 70s with no Speed investment. You could also go with 36 Speed EVs to outspeed Neutral-nature Honchkrow with no speed investment, but Venusaur can't do anything to Honchkrow anyway, so that seems IMO pointless.

84 SpA EVs guarantee that Leaf Storm OHKOs the standard 252/4 Bold Slowbro and anything else weak to it with weaker special defenses without Stealth Rock, so it's a good target to hit. You could check up the neutral hits on Aggron and Steelix to see if they need more SpA EVs to OHKO, though. (Earthquake should blast apart Aggron anyway and may be the better choice for hitting it, but Magnet Rise blocks that.)

96 Atk EVs guarantee that Earthquake 2HKOs the SubCM Raikou described on Smogon (64/0, neutral nature, Lefties) without Stealth Rock as well as all min-HP and 4-HP versions.

After that, it varies on whether you run Leech Seed or Synthesis. With Leech Seed, you'd want to go for substantial Def and SpD investment before HP so as to maximize recovery from Leech Seed, but with Synthesis you should probably max HP and then throw the rest into SpD.

Synthesis:
252 HP / 96 Atk / 84 SpA / 52 SpD / 24 Spe

Leech Seed:
96 Atk / 152 Def / 84 SpA / 152 SpD / 24 Spe (could be tweaked to better maximize bulkiness, not doing that right now)

Thanks! Will try out the following:

Venusaur @ Black Sludge
Overgrow / Sassy
252 HP / 96 Atk / 84 Sp Atk / 52 Sp Def / 24 Spd
~ Sleep Powder
~ Leaf Storm
~ Synthesis
~ Earthquake

One quick niptick here -
Double Hit on Ambipom is better than Return, imo. It breaks subs, and with Technician Boost and hitting twice, its Base Power is 105 to Return's 102. Not much, but try it out.

I had decided to run Return...but I guess Double Hit is worth testing.

Added some stuff in the OP.

-Terywj
 
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