So, it's been a while since I've really hunkered down and played Pokemon, but I want to get back on the competitive scene and UU has always been my favorite place to run a muck, since NU has gotten way too stall-a-licious for my taste, and I've just never enjoyed the RU game, and Standard OU is well... Just flat out boring for me. The rub is my team has some drawbacks, and I know a few, but some fresh eyes may be able to point out other things. I'll post my team I'm using, go over my decisions on each Poke, then go over some changes that I'm thinking about making for the greater good, and any and all input is much appreciated, as team building is fun, but it's not exactly my strong suit. Typically, I do what NBZ does, pick six random dudes and throw them on a team and see what happens. Here's my team as it stands:
One of the best cleaners in the tier, Scarf'd Moxiecross, who has won me more games than I care to count, and another Pokemon that has earned its place on my team. Though I know a lot of the metagame has been altered to accommodate counters for Moxiecross, one of the main ones being E-Lo's famous physically defensive Arcanine and the other being Gligar, if I play smart, Moxiecross has the tendency to be virtually unstoppable in the late game. It is just a very solid and reliable offensive powerhouse.
Right off the bat, there is one massive issue with my team that anyone can see, even if you're bad at Pokemon; a severe issue with deflecting Electric attacks. There's nothing that can absorb them, or resist them, which is not really a smart decision in my case, because of the prominance of Raikou and Zapdos, and things only get worse when Rain teams with Thunder come barreling into the show. This has got to be my most severe weakness.
Another bad point is a not so good match-up against Ground attacks. My only Pokemon that can dodge them completely is 4x weak to Rocks, and usually doesn't see it through to the late game to be a switch-in on predicted EQ's or the such. This isn't exactly a selling point on this team either.
Next, and I don't find this one quite as severe, as I tend to do just fine without one, I don't have a Rapid Spinner on my team, as most of the common Spinners I don't really like, but I'll elaborate on this in a moment.
Next, I discovered that I don't always really have an answer to some of the better tanks in the tier, like Cress, or bulky Zapdos, and I can struggle with Arcanine as well, considering my Physical Tank can't really touch defensive Arcanine, or take hits from it very well. Usually, if I play my cards right, I can deal with this problem pretty early as people have a tendency to underestimate Yanmega and Moxiecross, or if I get a few DD's up on Kingdra, I'm good to go, even when threatened by status due to Rest, and tanks being generally unable of 2-hit KOing Kingdra.
So, a few thoughts I've had, albeit they may not be very good ones, are these:
To resolve two of my biggest weaknesses, I can switch to one single Poke that is a massive defensive threat: Gligar. It is immune to Electric and Ground attacks, resistant to Rocks, and Fighting-types, and has an availible immunity to Toxic. Now that everything can carry Rest/Sleep Talk, it can also get pretty viable recovery and the ability to shake off status without having to rely on Roost, which isn't really beneficial to Gligar in the first place because of Gligar's not so good speed stat. For the last two slots, I would probably run Toxic/Taunt and Earthquake and run it with Evolite to skyrocket its defenses. It works because I have quite a few Pokes that can shake off HP Ice, but nothing to deal with Hydro Pumps if Spec'd Kingdra is prevalent.
Rapid Spinner: Claydoll, Blastoise, Sandslash and Hitmontop would be my four go-to moves. Hitmontop, while being useful, may not be the best choice, though it would be an interesting answer to Umbreon if needed be, and it does carry Mach Punch which is always useful. Blastoise would be my most obvious choice, as it would compensate for my Water weakness, complementing Gligar if I were to add it to my line up. Claydoll can work due to its defensive prowess, impressive movepool, immunity to Ground-type attacks due to Levitate, and utility in Stealth Rock. However, I'm just not a fan of Claydoll as a Pokemon in general, though it has been useful to me in the past. And Sandslash wouldn't really help me with my Water-type issue, but I have run the interesting Rapid Spin/Swords Dance set and it has worked on and off before. It's a little hit-and-miss, and not the best set. All in all, advantage Blastoise.
Another tank would help; something that could shake off status, and go toe-to-toe with other stall Pokes. The first two that come to mind are Milotic and Suicune, both being defensive powerhouses. Another viable option is Cresselia, but I admit I like Mew better, but that's preference. Milotic would be another extremely dangerous sleep-talker, as is Croacune, and both serve the same purpose in the long run, but do nothing for my Lightning-weakness. Both would compliment Gligar, as well.
Lastly, I think I rely too much on "Glass Cannon" types, with 3 of my 4 offensive Pokemon falling into that category. Maybe I need more bulky attackers, rather than a set of hyper-offensive Pokemon. But what works well? I haven't found anything I've been inclined to lock into as being dead-set on. Maybe a bit more defensive-based Guts Heracross would work better for the team.
Any input anyone has is much appreciated. As we speak I am constantly reshaping and reforming my team. Tips below, plox!
-TheMadUzuki-
SLOT ONE:
Yanmega @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 SpA/ 252 Spd/ 4 HP
Bug Buzz
Air Slash
Giga Drain
HP Rock/Protect
Yanmega @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 SpA/ 252 Spd/ 4 HP
Bug Buzz
Air Slash
Giga Drain
HP Rock/Protect
WHY THIS POKEMON/SET?
Personally, I rather enjoy this set, as it lends to a lot of power, and I like the glass-cannon type offense Yanmega lends for punching big holes early game. Normally, I don't expect Yanmega to last through the game due to my lack of a rapid spinner, but I like having it to punch holes in opponents teams off the bat. I run Speed Boost over Tinted Lens as it is useful against enemy CS Pokes, since after one or two speed boosts, Yanmega is virtually impossible to outpace, barring priority, allowing it to be more threatening, in my opinion, than a Tinted Lens set, as it is harder to revenge kill. Basically, the idea is to start off strong, punch a hole in my opponents defenses, then let the rest of my team to their thing.SLOT 2:
Kingdra @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Swift Swin
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Waterfall
Outrage
Dragon Dance
Rest
Kingdra @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Swift Swin
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Waterfall
Outrage
Dragon Dance
Rest
WHY?
I've been told that Choice Kingdra is better, but it's never worked out for me. Resto-Chesto Kingdra has won me more games than any other poke on my team, and it has rightfully earned its place as a staple on my UU teams. Almost every UU team I run carries it as, perhaps, the signature sweeper. It's pretty standard play, switch it in to force something out, start setting up, and shake off damage and status with Rest before unloading, being capable of smashing through a team at only +2 DD's up. I run Swift Swim now because of the fact that more people are running Rain in UU due to Tornadus being available, so I can use their own weapon against them. I only need 1 DD in the rain to outpace the entire metagame, and this set has enough bulk that standard Priority isn't really a threat to it. It works wonders for me.SLOT 3:
Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
Nature: Calm
EVs: 252 HP/ 121 Def/ 121 SpD/ 16 SpA
Will O Wisp/Toxic
Roar
Heal Bell
Psychic
Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
Nature: Calm
EVs: 252 HP/ 121 Def/ 121 SpD/ 16 SpA
Will O Wisp/Toxic
Roar
Heal Bell
Psychic
WHY?
This is kind of a strange set, I know, but it works wonders. I generally run Will O Wisp to synergyze with the fact that I play more more on the Special Defensive side, though its EV spread is dead even, plus max HP making it a very, very bulky pokemon to take out. I find Will O Wisp helps more in UU than Toxic, as most of the walls you would stall against carry Rest or heal Bell, making it null and void. Roar I carry so it's not turned into set-up fodder, and Roost so it can continuously tank hits. Its typing is pretty useful as well, with all the Fighting-Types in the tier.SLOT 4:
Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
Nature: careful
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 Def/ 252 SpD
Stealth Rock
Thunder Wave/Toxic
Earthquake
Seismic Toss
Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
Nature: careful
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 Def/ 252 SpD
Stealth Rock
Thunder Wave/Toxic
Earthquake
Seismic Toss
WHY?
The physical wall of my team, who I'm looking to replace, as it fails to serve its main purpose of staying in for long and tanking out hits, considering the wide array of Fighting-Type Pokes and moves in the tier. It can only take so many hits from Super Effective hits, but it still serves its purpose as an excellent check to a decent amount of the metagame, still posing as enough utility with Stealth Rocks and Thunder Wave to hinder an opponents offense.SLOT 5:
Houndoom @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Lonely
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 SpA/ 252 Spd
Dark Pulse
Flamethrower
Sucker Punch
HP Ice
Houndoom @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Lonely
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 SpA/ 252 Spd
Dark Pulse
Flamethrower
Sucker Punch
HP Ice
WHY?
Kind of a new twist on an old trick, I carry Houndoom as a hard counter to Chandalure, mainly, as well an apt revenge killer with Sucker Punch, which is why I don't run a Timid or Modest nature on my Houndoom. Generally, it works out quite well, though, I've noticed Houndoom isn't extremely useful outside of its "stop Chandalure-in-its-tracks" niche. I have yet to fight a Chandalure that was able to beat my Houndoom between resisting it's dual-STAB and common Energy Ball, while Sucker Punch usually puts to shame all the Scarf'd or Spec'd sets. It can be useful as a mid-game damage dealing machine, but Life Orb makes it unreliable for extensive play, and it doesn't exactly have the world's best coverage. As of now, the last move slot goes to HP Ice, though I'm considering Nasty Plot, or HP Electric or Grass. Any tips on deciding would be greatly appreciated. SLOT 6:
Heracross @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spd
Close Combat
Megahorn
Stone Edge
Earthquake
WHY?
Heracross @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spd
Close Combat
Megahorn
Stone Edge
Earthquake
WHY?
One of the best cleaners in the tier, Scarf'd Moxiecross, who has won me more games than I care to count, and another Pokemon that has earned its place on my team. Though I know a lot of the metagame has been altered to accommodate counters for Moxiecross, one of the main ones being E-Lo's famous physically defensive Arcanine and the other being Gligar, if I play smart, Moxiecross has the tendency to be virtually unstoppable in the late game. It is just a very solid and reliable offensive powerhouse.
DRAWBACKS
Right off the bat, there is one massive issue with my team that anyone can see, even if you're bad at Pokemon; a severe issue with deflecting Electric attacks. There's nothing that can absorb them, or resist them, which is not really a smart decision in my case, because of the prominance of Raikou and Zapdos, and things only get worse when Rain teams with Thunder come barreling into the show. This has got to be my most severe weakness.
Another bad point is a not so good match-up against Ground attacks. My only Pokemon that can dodge them completely is 4x weak to Rocks, and usually doesn't see it through to the late game to be a switch-in on predicted EQ's or the such. This isn't exactly a selling point on this team either.
Next, and I don't find this one quite as severe, as I tend to do just fine without one, I don't have a Rapid Spinner on my team, as most of the common Spinners I don't really like, but I'll elaborate on this in a moment.
Next, I discovered that I don't always really have an answer to some of the better tanks in the tier, like Cress, or bulky Zapdos, and I can struggle with Arcanine as well, considering my Physical Tank can't really touch defensive Arcanine, or take hits from it very well. Usually, if I play my cards right, I can deal with this problem pretty early as people have a tendency to underestimate Yanmega and Moxiecross, or if I get a few DD's up on Kingdra, I'm good to go, even when threatened by status due to Rest, and tanks being generally unable of 2-hit KOing Kingdra.
SOME THOUGHTS
So, a few thoughts I've had, albeit they may not be very good ones, are these:
To resolve two of my biggest weaknesses, I can switch to one single Poke that is a massive defensive threat: Gligar. It is immune to Electric and Ground attacks, resistant to Rocks, and Fighting-types, and has an availible immunity to Toxic. Now that everything can carry Rest/Sleep Talk, it can also get pretty viable recovery and the ability to shake off status without having to rely on Roost, which isn't really beneficial to Gligar in the first place because of Gligar's not so good speed stat. For the last two slots, I would probably run Toxic/Taunt and Earthquake and run it with Evolite to skyrocket its defenses. It works because I have quite a few Pokes that can shake off HP Ice, but nothing to deal with Hydro Pumps if Spec'd Kingdra is prevalent.
Rapid Spinner: Claydoll, Blastoise, Sandslash and Hitmontop would be my four go-to moves. Hitmontop, while being useful, may not be the best choice, though it would be an interesting answer to Umbreon if needed be, and it does carry Mach Punch which is always useful. Blastoise would be my most obvious choice, as it would compensate for my Water weakness, complementing Gligar if I were to add it to my line up. Claydoll can work due to its defensive prowess, impressive movepool, immunity to Ground-type attacks due to Levitate, and utility in Stealth Rock. However, I'm just not a fan of Claydoll as a Pokemon in general, though it has been useful to me in the past. And Sandslash wouldn't really help me with my Water-type issue, but I have run the interesting Rapid Spin/Swords Dance set and it has worked on and off before. It's a little hit-and-miss, and not the best set. All in all, advantage Blastoise.
Another tank would help; something that could shake off status, and go toe-to-toe with other stall Pokes. The first two that come to mind are Milotic and Suicune, both being defensive powerhouses. Another viable option is Cresselia, but I admit I like Mew better, but that's preference. Milotic would be another extremely dangerous sleep-talker, as is Croacune, and both serve the same purpose in the long run, but do nothing for my Lightning-weakness. Both would compliment Gligar, as well.
Lastly, I think I rely too much on "Glass Cannon" types, with 3 of my 4 offensive Pokemon falling into that category. Maybe I need more bulky attackers, rather than a set of hyper-offensive Pokemon. But what works well? I haven't found anything I've been inclined to lock into as being dead-set on. Maybe a bit more defensive-based Guts Heracross would work better for the team.
Any input anyone has is much appreciated. As we speak I am constantly reshaping and reforming my team. Tips below, plox!
-TheMadUzuki-
