Ubermoth - A 5th Gen OU RMT

Coldarr0w

Hey Smogon! Quick introduction: I'm Coldarr0w. I started playing Pokemon copetitively towards the end of 4th Gen, so naturally, I was a bit overwhelmed experiencing my first generational switch just a short time after constructing my first legitimate team. So I took a bit of a break, and after a while, I came back and built the predecessor to this team. I've since made a lot of modifications here and there, and it's done me quite a bit of good. I still feel like it needs improvement, though. The team has a couple of weak links and synergy issues, but I really can't come up with any brilliant solutions, due mostly to my sheer lack of experience in the area of teambuilding. That's where your suggestions come in. Be sure to drop some words of constructive criticism along with suggested improvements. I really appreciate it :].

So, without further ado, team Ubermoth:
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Team Breakdown:

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Santiago (Dragonite) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SAtk / 4 Spd
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- ExtremeSpeed
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
One of my first 4th gen teams used an anti-lead Dragonite much like this one. To put it simply, this thing is a beast. Sure, it doesn't set up rocks or entry hazards, but it hits like a truck, and can dispose of just about anything (Plus, it can come back in later and revenge kill with Extremespeed or hit hard with Draco Meteor). By starting out with Santiago, I get my offensive momentum moving in the right direction, hopefully jeopardizing my opponent's plans as quickly as possible. The generational shift also happened to gift Dragonite with Multi scale, which really suits this lead set well (although it can't take fake-out leads by surprise anymore, which is a shame).

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Kabutops (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 224 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Rapid Spin
This is one of the Pokes that I'm seriously considering replacing if I can find something that does his job better. Still, that's not to say he doesn't serve the team well. Kabutops does a great job of rapid spinning, putting dents in spinblockers, and revenge killing.
Now, since I have a Volcarona on this team, rapid spin support is an absolute must. I chose Kabutops for a myriad of reasons, at first. For one, he's a great offensive rapid spinner, and people often don't see it coming. Even if they do, most spinblockers don't enjoy a STAB, LO Stone Edge to the face. Second reason: Aqua Jet. Between D-nite's Extremespeed and Kabutops' Aqua Jet, I have priority moves with extremely broad coverage, meaning I can pick off just about anything that's at low enough health. Plus, Aqua Jet disposes of Sand Rush Excadrill pretty easily. Kabutops occasionally baits grass type moves, which are great opportunities for Volcarona to switch in. As an added bonus, Swift Swim allows Kabutops to wreak havoc on rain teams, outspeeding their frailer sweepers and hitting them hard with Waterfall or Stone Edge.
All that said, Kabutops still feels like a weak link in the team. He's super frail, and doesn't contribute too much to the team synergy. If anyone's got a good suggestion for a spinner that has better synergy with the team, go ahead and post it.

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Bronzong @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Atk / 80 Def / 92 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock
- Sandstorm
Steel dragons reccomended that I use a Bronzong in place of wish Jirachi. I switched this Bronzong into my team, and even though I'm still testing it here and there, the results from my first couple matches were promising. The ability of this thing to shut down weather teams is absolutely unparalleled (He can singlehandedly shut down any perpetual weather other than SS, which isn't a huge issue, since Bronzong handles SS teams REALLY well), and his broad range of resistances have made my team more durable overall. Having an extra ground immunity in particular has proven to be beneficial. Plus, 4 out of 5 of my team members boast a resistance to fire-type moves, making it so that anything that comes in with the intent of roasting the bell just acts as an opportunity for a teammate like D-nite, Kabutops, or Terrakion to switch in and wreak havoc. It's really a shame that this thing can't heal itself outside lefties, but then again, I really can't do without any of the listed moves.

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Terrakion @ Choice Band
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
- Earthquake
Terrakion + Choice Band. What a beastly combination. When I was first building this team, I felt it needed a bit more oomph on the physical side of things, so I chose to try out Terrakion. And guess what? It's never disappointed me. The 108 base speed is really a gift, as with it, Terrakion outspeeds a boatload of potential threats and hits them with hugely powerful STAB moves. Close Combat is the move of choice, and it makes Chansey and Blissey crap their pants in fear. Stone Edge is great, especially with a little prediction. There is little that is more satisfying than seeing my opponent switch in his Jellicent or Chandelure anticipating the CC, only to have it OHKO'd by a Stone Edge. X-scissor is there so that I can rip through my opponent's unsuspecting Reuniclus as it switches in, and quick attack is just additional priority to help out if D-nite and/or Kabutops are down. That said, Quick Attack is pretty pitiful, generally speaking, and I really don't like locking myself into it unless I'm in a really dire situation. Still, I prefer it over EQ, which would only enable me to hit Metagross and Jirachi harder, and this team really doesn't have issues with either of them.
(Amusing story: I switched my Terrakion in on a guy who tried to use the move 'Beat Up' on it. It hit six times, and instantly boosted my Terrakion's attack to +6 due to Justified, while only taking about 1/3 of my HP. Needless to say, he got destroyed)

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Gengar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Gengar's a new addition to the team, switched in for Scarf Starmie. Admittedly, I miss out on having the nice neutral coverage that Hydro Pump used to provide, but that's not to say that Gengar doesn't do a good job. Gengar's bigger Sp.A stat is particularly beneficial, though it's a shame this thing doesn't get Ice Beam. The pseudo-boltbeam combo here still gets the job done, though, as Gengar can slam water types harder than Scarf Starmie ever could, which REALLY helps my team out. Focus Blast has also managed to pull through for me on occasion (though the occasional miss makes it noting to rely on for game-winning). I'm pretty happy with this guy, honestly. Starmie functioned well, but Gengar's extra synergy with this team, plus the more powerful attacks make it a great functioning revenge killer and a counter to a lot of threats to my team (Plus, a third ground immunity allows me to troll opponents who lock themselves into Earthquake expecting to destroy Terrakion or Kabutops. Problem?).

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Ubermoth (Volcarona) (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Rock]
THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is Ubermoth. The moment I saw this thing, I knew I wanted to build a team around it. Quiver Dance is a really, really cool boosting move, and after a single boost, Ubermoth is set to sweep. Fiery Dance sacrifices some of the power one could get from Fire Blast or Flamethrower, but has the added bonus of raising Sp. Attack on occasion. This is incredibly helpful on this set in particular, as without a Life Orb, Ubermoth loses some of it's sheer power. Still, the ability to set up on status inducers while simultaneously not having to worry about recoil is absolutely great, and if I net even a single boost from Fiery Dance, I'm back to being nigh unstoppable. HP Rock affords me some more coverage, particularly over Gyarados, Dragonite, Salamence, etc. who would otherwise wall the set.

That's the team. Be sure to post suggestions and critiques, because, like I said before, I'm far from being experienced with regards to team fixing. The team definitely has weaknesses, but I'm really not aware of what changes need to happen to make it better overall.
Thanks in advance, guys :]
 
Ok, for my suggestions. Sure, I might not post here often, but I know a decent amount about this game. Anyway:

Option One:
This team doesn't have entry hazards, and you say that Kabutops is very frail. You could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, and replace Kabutops with a Forretress, obviously knowing rapid spin and the entry hazard move of your choice. On a team that I looked at recently, the person used a Forretress with Rapid Spin, Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Volt Change to switch out of threats. I'm not saying that you have to do this, its just an idea.

With the addition of Forretress over Kabutops, your team becomes even more Excadrill weak. Also, you said yourself that Jirachi seems to be a weaker link. I might suggest replacing Jirachi with something like Gliscor to deal with Excadrill easier. Gliscor would leave you with a major weakness to water moves though.

Option two:
You could leave Kabutops on your team, as it helps against Excadrill, and replace Jirachi with Bronzong, which Excadrill can't really touch. Instead of forretress, you would have bronzong setting up Stealth Rock, and Bronzong would do better against Excadrill than Bronzong would. The common set seems to be max defense (252 HP/252 Def relaxed) Bronzong with the moves Earthquake, Hidden Power Ice, Stealth rock, and toxic. I would actually prefer this option over option one.

Other suggestions:
With Volcarona/Ubermoth, i think that you should change the Hidden Power to Hidden Power Rock. HP Rock gets coverage on threats like Salamence and Gyarados, threats that your Volcarona can't touch right now. Sure, with having HP rock Heatran becomes a threat, but honestly Heatran isn't a big problem for this team.

If you choose to keep jirachi, I might change sunny day to sandstorm, because sandstorm hurts your team less than Sunny day does. Sunny Day makes Starmie and Kabutops less powerful, and sandstorm only hurts around half your team. Sure, it helps Excadrill, but it does hurt your team less. You could also put Sandstorm on Bronzong if you are concerned about Rain teams.

For Terakion, you could always have it hold a Air Balloon if you are concerned about Excadrill. In that case, a boosting set would be ideal.

For Dragonite, it should hold the life orb pretty much no matter what. Without the Life Orb, it loses power against some important targets.


Overall, this is a solid team, though it could use some changes. I hope that these suggestions helped.
 
I'd thought about entry hazards a little, and for that exact reason, I actually considered replacing Jirachi with Bronzong. With your added suggestion, I'll probably do just that. The wish support will be missed, but it's never saved me a game, from my experience. The added ground immunity from switching to Bronzong is also appreciated.
Yeah, I think I'll try that. Thanks. :]
Also, after a bit of thought, I'm definitely switching HP Gorund for HP Rock on Volcarona. If Heatran's the only thing I need HP Ground for, it doesn't really make sense, since Heatran probably won't be able to KO a +1 SpD Volcarona, while I can probably win out with neutral-hitting HP Rock, especially if Fiery Dance nets me a boost or two (plus, I can always switch Terrakion in to slap Heatran with a Close Combat).
Also, the reason I ran Sunny Day over Sandstorm was that I wanted to be able to shut down perpetual SS. I suppose that if I'm using Bronzong, I don't really have too much to be afraid of in sand, Excadrill included.
Thanks agan for the suggestions, Steel dragons, I appreciate it a lot. I'll make the changes later today, when I have some free time.
 
To replace Kabutops, I'd suggest Donphan. Both of its abilities help, either having a built in focus sash, or the potential for a miss in sandstorms. Also, with rapid spin, and decent defenses as well as a great attack stat, it can still put dents in things with Earthquake, plus Ice Shard as a priority move. Downsides, though, are its fail speed, but that's sort of overshadowed by its bulk and Ice Shard.
 
Kemmi said:
To replace Kabutops, I'd suggest Donphan. Both of its abilities help, either having a built in focus sash, or the potential for a miss in sandstorms. Also, with rapid spin, and decent defenses as well as a great attack stat, it can still put dents in things with Earthquake, plus Ice Shard as a priority move. Downsides, though, are its fail speed, but that's sort of overshadowed by its bulk and Ice Shard.
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I considered using Donphan a while back, but vetoed it in the end because it left me with a huge water weakness. Maybe if I switched in something with Water Absorb, like Vaporeon, it wouldn't be as much of a problem. The only issue is tham most water absorb users are more defensively geared, and this team can't really afford to lose too much offensive power. Any suggestions in that regard?
On the other hand, I do happen to have a gaping weakness to grass, especially with Kabutops in. That's partially intentional though, since grass moves are some of the best opportunities to switch a Volcarona in.
 
Coldarr0w said:
I considered using Donphan a while back, but vetoed it in the end because it left me with a huge water weakness. Maybe if I switched in something with Water Absorb, like Vaporeon, it wouldn't be as much of a problem. The only issue is tham most water absorb users are more defensively geared, and this team can't really afford to lose too much offensive power. Any suggestions in that regard?
On the other hand, I do happen to have a gaping weakness to grass, especially with Kabutops in. That's partially intentional though, since grass moves are some of the best opportunities to switch a Volcarona in.
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Vaporeon actually has decent SpA, as well as Wish and other great moves, except Vappy would just be a bulky counterpart to Starmie, with the addition of Wish. (boo more grass issues)
But since whether you have a rapid spinner or not basically makes or breaks this team, the only thing that might be good is giving Starmie rapid spin. IMO, it's somewhat difficult to build a team with Volcarona, but having Kabutops as a Rapid spinner is great synergy, so...

I don't want to ruin your team by saying stuff, and I'm not even slightly great at competitive playing, but maybe it would be worth it looking at what would be a good alternative for Starmie, since Terrakion is really good... if this is a bad suggestion well, somebody else try coming up with something to do Kabutop's job better, as I have no idea. (but for Starmie -> Gengar, immune to Ground and resistant to Grass, with still high speed and better SpA)
 
I would replace Kabutops with Forretress, because of the Spikes or Stealth Rock it can place on the field; along with it's Rapid Spin availability. If you decide to keep Kabutops, then you opened up two weaknesses to Electric type attacks. To be honest though, if you do put Forretress inside your party, think about replacing Bronzong, though I think Bronzong is better.

I also how you just randomly add Sandstorm to Bronzong when you can use it on a more viable Pokemon like Tyranitar. Remove Sandstorm from Bronzong and replace it with something better like a screen or something. Just note that Tyranitar is pretty strong as it has the important Pursuit, useful Choice Scarf strategy, and it can help cover Terrakion and Kabutops's Special Defenses.
 
Have you tried using a Hitmontop? It knows rapin spin. Has Fake out and Mach Punch to revenge kill. And also learns pursuit and sucker punch for spin blockers.
 
Kemmi said:
Vaporeon actually has decent SpA, as well as Wish and other great moves, except Vappy would just be a bulky counterpart to Starmie, with the addition of Wish. (boo more grass issues)
But since whether you have a rapid spinner or not basically makes or breaks this team, the only thing that might be good is giving Starmie rapid spin. IMO, it's somewhat difficult to build a team with Volcarona, but having Kabutops as a Rapid spinner is great synergy, so...

I don't want to ruin your team by saying stuff, and I'm not even slightly great at competitive playing, but maybe it would be worth it looking at what would be a good alternative for Starmie, since Terrakion is really good... if this is a bad suggestion well, somebody else try coming up with something to do Kabutop's job better, as I have no idea. (but for Starmie -> Gengar, immune to Ground and resistant to Grass, with still high speed and better SpA)
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I saw someone mention an offensive Vaporeon set on another RMT, and I'm considering testing it. I'm just worried that the loss of my fastest Poke will leave the team with a bit of a gap (though it's worth noting that one of the main Pokes Scarf Starmie was intended to counter was Scarfchomp, and he's not too much of an issue as long as Bronzong's around). I like the idea of trying out Gengar, though. The slight loss in base speed is negligible, for the most part, and Gengar's higher Sp.A is definitely appreciated, since Starmie's base 100 Sp.A can be a bit underwhelming at times, since it's not LO or Specs boosted. I'll try it out.

Kasparov said:
I also how you just randomly add Sandstorm to Bronzong when you can use it on a more viable Pokemon like Tyranitar. Remove Sandstorm from Bronzong and replace it with something better like a screen or something. Just note that Tyranitar is pretty strong as it has the important Pursuit, useful Choice Scarf strategy, and it can help cover Terrakion and Kabutops's Special Defenses.
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I carry Sandstorm on Bronzong as opposed to running with a Tyranitar for a couple of resons. For one, this isn't intended to be a sandstorm team in any way, shape, or form. For two, perpetual SS can really start to wear on some of my Pokes (and while it can definitely benefit Terrakion, Kabutops is still just too frail to be depended on to tank a hit). Finally, I really don't have an opening for Ttar, as replacing D-nite or Starmie (or Gengar, if I'm rolling with that) with him just leaves my team with a huge fighting type weakness. In this metagame, that's pretty undesirable.
 
TheGreatBuffalo said:
Have you tried using a Hitmontop? It knows rapin spin. Has Fake out and Mach Punch to revenge kill. And also learns pursuit and sucker punch for spin blockers.
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I tried out Hitmontop earlier in this team's history, but I've revamped the team a lot since those days, so I might give him a second shot. We'll see.
 
i think lif orb is kind of counter productive on dragonite since you have to be at full hp for the effect to happen. Because of this, something like a choice item would benefit him a bit more in tandem with that ability imo. If you dont want to go the choice route Roost alongside leftovers becomes a good idea to be able to keep him at max for a considerable portion of time. Also, paralysis support with dragonite is highly encouraged.

Also, volcarona really shines with support from drought ninetails. It can chesto rest set up on any bulky water in the sun except for ones packing eq especially since you aren't running a bulkier set (unaware quagsire and swampert are mostly the only ones to worry about). I know it would mean a massive change to your team, and Im not really suggesting you do it... I just wanted to mention it.
 
Coldarr, if you want more rates, then PM people. I doubt all of the good team raters sit around on the RMT forum waiting for people to make new threads. My Suggestion is that you change the nature and EVs on the Dragonite. Yes you want it to hit hard. but the lead metagame is much less useful to start momentum now than it was. You've got to remember that in 5th gen there is the WiFi Clause. and you mentioned using Dragonite later on in the match. He's got base 80 speed which isn't particularly impressive. especially in the later game. Think I'd reduce your Atk EVs and increase speed EVs. and Have a Rash nature maybe (+SpA, -SpD) You could give him a Choice scarf and make him into a late game sweeper or a Revenge Killer. It would limit the use as a Lead. But as a lead. If you kill the first Poke, then they're just going to bring in a Dragonite Counter if they don't straight away and Dragonite isn't going to be outspeeding much that they might bring in. That's my $0.02
 
BurtonEarny said:
i think lif orb is kind of counter productive on dragonite since you have to be at full hp for the effect to happen. Because of this, something like a choice item would benefit him a bit more in tandem with that ability imo. If you dont want to go the choice route Roost alongside leftovers becomes a good idea to be able to keep him at max for a considerable portion of time. Also, paralysis support with dragonite is highly encouraged.
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GlassAbsol said:
Coldarr, if you want more rates, then PM people. I doubt all of the good team raters sit around on the RMT forum waiting for people to make new threads. My Suggestion is that you change the nature and EVs on the Dragonite. Yes you want it to hit hard. but the lead metagame is much less useful to start momentum now than it was. You've got to remember that in 5th gen there is the WiFi Clause. and you mentioned using Dragonite later on in the match. He's got base 80 speed which isn't particularly impressive. especially in the later game. Think I'd reduce your Atk EVs and increase speed EVs. and Have a Rash nature maybe (+SpA, -SpD) You could give him a Choice scarf and make him into a late game sweeper or a Revenge Killer. It would limit the use as a Lead. But as a lead. If you kill the first Poke, then they're just going to bring in a Dragonite Counter if they don't straight away and Dragonite isn't going to be outspeeding much that they might bring in. That's my $0.02
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Admittedly, at this point, I'm just trying to get input from a multitude of different people. Get some outside opinions, and hopefully work some of the bugs out. Plus, I'm pretty new to the community here, so I really don't know who I'd PM to ask for a rate.
Anyways, I actually thought about replacing Dragonite earlier (or at least revamping it, like Bert and GlassAbsol suggested). I'm thinking of throwing in a different mixed attacker, just to see how the team fares without D-nite. I'd give D-nite a Choice Scarf, but I honestly don't think I need more than two choiced attackers running around. Plus, even though I'm running a VERY slow set on him, I really only use him after the start of the game to hit super-slow targets hard or to pick off weakened opponents with Extremespeed. I'm not completely against replacing him, if there's something that can do a similar job, and do it better. I'll have to look into it.
 
On D-nite, I really suggest replacing the Quiet nature with Rash. You'll still take hits decently, but you also beat 0 Spe Dragonites and... other stuff.
As for Kabutops, perhaps a Tentacruel instead? Liquid Ooze Tentacruel laughs at Leech Seeding Ferrothorns, sets up Toxic Spikes, and can Rapid Spin away hazards while also providing another Fighting, Water, and Ice resistance. You can also run Giga Drain to surprise Jellicents trying to spinblock you.
 
Ohmygod fail, I was going to suggest Tentacruel, since I just discovered his greatness... And actually, this a pretty good set that works really well (for me at least):

Tentacruel (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin

People expect the usual Toxic Spikes Tentacruel, and use taunt, while there's a free turn to destroy their own pokemon (or get rid of SR)! But since this isn't as bulky as the norm, it's good to keep it away from Earthquakes and Psychics (since they 2HKO at most, usually)
 
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