Perfect Duo
Hello Smogon Community! You probably don't know me, but I am Santuga, if you can't see that from my username, and I go for a lot of names on PO such as SantugaFTW and MurderZ. UU has always been my favourite tier and that did not change this generation. Now that Hippowdon is gone, weatherless teams are gaining more power if they have a proper Hail team check, since the latter will increase in popularity as a consequence of Hippowdon's departure. This time I wanted to try two Pokemon I haven't used before: Kingdra and Porygon2. I have been wanting to use these two as a pair for a long time and I finally stopped being lazy and actually built a team. It's fairly recent and it reached #13 in the ladder. Even though I find my team solid, I think there are some tweaks left to do to improve it even further.
Team Glance
Teambuilding Process
Since I was using Kingdra as my main sweeper, I needed something to remove Steel-types. Since I was sick of using Rotom-H and Darmanitan, I opted for Moltres. It is a very underrated yet powerful Pokemon that has a very useful immunity to Ground-type moves. Roserade was my choice to complete the infamous Fire-Water-Grass core. It's job is to absorb and set up Toxic Spikes, as well as absorb status inducing moves and check Bulky Water-types like Milotic and Suicune, both able to phaze away Kingdra and taking its moves as well, therefore ruining the sweep.
Having Moltres on my team, Rapid Spin support was mandatory. Donphan is perfect for the job. It can take physical hits very well and set up Stealth Rock which will aid both Kingdra and Moltres, and at the same time, having nice coverage with the Fire-Water-Grass core
Heracross was added for extra power and also to threaten Hail teams in combination with Moltres. Putting Slowbro in a tough spot also helps Kingdra a lot to succeed.
Taking out Heracross from the team was a very tough decision to make since it gave me a lot of wins, but it was necessary because my team was very weak to Alakazam once my Moltres was gone. Escavalier can still perform as a check to Slowbro and Hail teams, while being able to take hits from the Special side of the spectrum.
I decided to replace Moltres with Zapdos because they had overall the same potential and Zapdos is less weak to Stealth Rock, higher speed, and has the same immunities that Moltres had with the exception of absorbing Will-O-Wisp.
Perfect Duo
Roserade (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Rest
- Toxic Spikes
Roserade is one of the most important members of the team. With it's great Special Bulk, movepool and typing, Roserade sets up Toxic Spikes helping Porygon2 to successfully stall out the opponent when needed and Kingdra by putting pressure on the opponent while Kingdra sets up as many Dragon Dances as possible. It also functions as the status absorber of the team, being able to heal itself by using Rest and its ability Natural Cure, and also as a Toxic Spikes absorber, which can really hurt my team. Giga Drain is a STAB move that provides recovery in conjunction with Leftovers and Sludge Bomb is to check Grass-types like Shaymin.
Synergy
Kingdra (M) @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 184 HP / 160 Atk / 164 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Waterfall
- Outrage
- Dragon Dance
- Rest
Fierce spirit and massive destruction define Kingdra. Having the bulk and the typing to take several hits is the cherry on top of the cake for Kingdra. After being put aside of the OU tier by banning Swift Swin + Drizzle combination, Kingdra found a new place to shine. Dragon Dance is without a doubt Kingdra's most useful move and this set takes maximum advantage of that. Setting up until you get to a point where you can't take another hit and then restore all your health and status by using Rest makes Kingdra all set to sweep with full HP and with its Attack and Speed boosted to incredible values. Waterfall and Outrage have an outstanding coverage together, only resisted by Empoleon and Ferroseed, both handled by the remaining Pokemon of the team.
Synergy
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Trait: Download
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Tri Attack
- Ice Beam
- Discharge
- Recover
The second member of the duo, the technology duck. Porygon2 got a huge bonus from the previous generation called Eviolite. Boosting its Defenses by 50%, adding to Porygon2's already very respectable bulk, makes it a very annoying Pokemon to deal with. After maximizing its HP to gain some bulk, Porygon2 can take advantage of its decent Special Attack stat and ability to make a force to be reckoned with. Max Special Attack with a Download boost makes Porygon2 one of the most threatening sweepers out there simply because it hits like a truck while being able to Recover its HP after taking a few hits. Tri Attack is Porygon2's most reliable STAB move and Ice Beam + Discharge to create the infamous BoltBeam combo. Discharge is used over Thunderbolt for the extra 20% chance of getting the Paralysis.
Synergy
Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Rapid Spin
This small elephant has never let me down. Stealth Rock + Rapid Spin combination is very unique in the UU tier and when combined with Donphan's very high Defense stat, it can make a perfect use of those two moves and support Zapdos and Kingdra on their sweeps by dealing residual damage to the opponent's Pokemon and by adding survivability to the rest of the team. Earthquake is Donphan's strongest moves and it's a very effective way to deal with Fire- and Steel-types as well as the very common Spinblocker Chandelure. Ice Shard is the only form of priority on this team and it's very useful against Flygon and Roserade.
Synergy
Zapdos @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Water]
- Volt Switch
After being mentioned by kd24, I decided to test Zapdos in Moltres's place due to being able to hit Bulky Water-types more effectively and also having the ability to outspeed Adamant Scarf Darmanitan, giving me a huge edge with Stealth Rock on the field in combination with Volt Switch. Zapdos still guarantees the KO against most things Moltres did as well such as Escavalier and Cobalion, with the addition of taking on Water- and Flying-types like Milotic, Slowbro and Crobat, which Moltres was unable to do. Thunderbolt is Zapdos's overall best STAB move and hits like a truck. Heat Wave takes care of Steel- and Grass-types, opening holes for Kingdra. Hidden Power Water is used to hit Bulky Ground-types like Donphan and Rhyperior, while hitting Fire-types for super effective damage such as Rotom-H. Volt Switch is a way of dealing a considerable amount of damage to the opponent while giving the team switch advantage at the same time.
Synergy
Escavalier (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Shell Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Pursuit
- Toxic
As a replacement for Heracross, this warrior didn't let me down. Escavalier tears Hail teams apart with its typing, offensively and defensively. Most common Hail team abusers get completely destroyed by this guy. Froslass, Glaceon and Cryogonal get OHKO'd by Iron Head, Megahorn annihilates Abomasnow and Pursuit takes care of scared Froslass that are planning on switching out. It also acts as a check for Alazakam, resisting its STAB move and not taking too much damage form Focus Blast, and retaliating with Megahorn or Pursuit. Toxic cripples Flying-types and Levitaters like Zapdos, Gligar and Rotom-H, making Porygon2's funciton a lot easier to perform.
Synergy
Conclusion
Thank you all for taking a bit of your time watching this RMT, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. I am always open for suggestions and repairs, as long as they're constructive.
Changes in bold. (Still testing Moltres/Zapdos/Rotom-H))
Comments
After replacing Moltres with Zapdos, I climbed again on the ladder, peaking #13 now.
Roserade (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Rest
- Toxic Spikes
Kingdra (M) @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 184 HP / 160 Atk / 164 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Waterfall
- Outrage
- Dragon Dance
- Rest
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Trait: Download
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Tri Attack
- Ice Beam
- Discharge
- Recover
Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Rapid Spin
Zapdos @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Water]
- Volt Switch
Escavalier (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Shell Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Pursuit
- Toxic
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Rest
- Toxic Spikes
Kingdra (M) @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 184 HP / 160 Atk / 164 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Waterfall
- Outrage
- Dragon Dance
- Rest
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Trait: Download
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Tri Attack
- Ice Beam
- Discharge
- Recover
Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Rapid Spin
Zapdos @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Water]
- Volt Switch
Escavalier (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Shell Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Pursuit
- Toxic
