Anna Molly [Peaked #1]

kokoloko

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Anna Molly


Overview


Introduction


Hello again Smogon. I realize I've been posting a few too many of these lately but I really can't help it. UU has basically reached an optimal state to the point that its become really fucking enjoyable to play it, and hence build teams. Interesting ones, at that. The team I'm presenting today is a pseudo-Rain offense team that aims to get a late-game Kingdra sweep and uses the under-appreciated Tornadus. I took the team to the #1 spot on the ladder under the alt Anna Molly pretty easily while only losing once (to massive bullshit, I might add) in its current state. The other two losses were with a previous version of the team that ran Scrafty.

This team is pure offense in the sense that everything hits like nuke, but half my Pokemon are also half-defensive. This leads to a bunch of nice little ofensive and defensive duos/trios that can create multiple win conditions. Snorlax, Slowbro, and Nidoqueen create a nice little defensive core that covers most of the metagame but doesn't give up momentum easily because I'm using offensive sets on all of them. Choice Specs Slowbro and Kingdra work nicely together offensively because the former weakens the latter's counters easily. Tornadus and Kingdra basically wreck everything because Tornadus ensures Kingdra's set up via Prankster Rain Dance. Then there's Choice Band Snorlax and Mienshao which provide me with a nice backup plan in case sweeping with Kingdra becomes sub-optimal. Anyway, here's the team.

In Detail


Nidoqueen

  • Item: Life Orb
  • Ability: Sheer Force
  • EVs: 204 HP / 252 SpA / 52 Spe
  • Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)

    • Earth Power
    • Ice Beam
    • Stealth Rock
    • Focus Blast

  • Why this Pokemon?

    Nidoqueen gets a spot on this team due to how well it complements the Slowbro / Snorlax core by taking hits from Heracross and serving as backup against Electric- and other Fighting-types. It's also my designated Stealth Rock setter and my go-to Pokemon when I'm not sure what my opponent is going to do, as Nidoqueen is usually bulky and strong enough to beat anything one on one. It's also my Thunder Wave and Volt Switch absorber, two very important things to have on such an offensive team. As weird as it may sound, Nidoqueen is the least important member of the team, so once it has set up Stealth Rock, I usually have no problems sacrificing it to get one of my other heavy hitters in for free.

    The moveset should be pretty self-explanatory; Earth Power for STAB, Ice Beam for coverage and to scare away Xatu, and Focus Blast to put a big dent on Umbreon, Snorlax, and Porygon2. The EV spread is designed to outrun the standard Milotic by one point, and by extension, most Togekiss and all Blastoise. Useful stuff when you're trying to set up a Kingdra sweep.


Tornadus

  • Item: Life Orb
  • Ability: Prankster
  • EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
  • Nature: Naive (+Spe, -SpD)

    • Hurricane
    • Superpower
    • Rain Dance
    • Grass Knot / Taunt

  • Why this Pokemon?

    This is the Pokemon I wanted to build the team around, actually. Tornadus is a Pokemon I thought was being severely underrated solely due to the sheer prominence of Raikou and Zapdos in the tier, which--in a sense--make it a bit of a liability to carry. However, when played correctly, Tornadus will absolutely wreck shit. Most of the time, Tornadus's job is to come in and break down defensive Pokemon with a combination of its ridiculously strong Hurricane and Superpower, then right before its about to die, use Prankster to put up Rain Dance so that Kingdra can clean up the mess. You can also set up Rain Dance to get its Hurricane up to 100% accuracy before you start attacking, but most of the time you won't actually have time to do that. The accuracy on its STAB move is a huge downer at times, but to be honest, if you play well enough, you should be at a large enough advantage that you can afford to miss one or two.

    EV spread and moveset are standard. Grass Knot sometimes gets surprise kills on Rhyperior, which is nice, while Taunt can be used to prevent set-up in some funky situations like when I'm up against Baton Pass based teams. I use them interchangeably.


Slowbro

  • Item: Choice Specs
  • Ability: Regenerator
  • EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
  • Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)

    • Surf
    • Psyshock
    • Trick
    • Fire Blast

  • Why this Pokemon?

    Slowbro does a few different things on this team. For one, it takes on the plethora of dangerous physical Fire-types in the tier and forms a great defensive core with Snorlax and Nidoqueen, but because they all run offensive sets, the core doesn't slow the tempo of the team at all. It also forms a nice little offensive duo with Kingdra, setting it up for a late-game sweep by softening up its checks. It also helps break stall via Trick and gives my team a very nice pivot to use against most Choice Scarf users, which is really important to have on offense.

    These EVs are standard on Specs Slowbro; although I usually run a bit more Speed, just to creep on opposing Slowbro and Snorlax. The ability to use Trick with Regenerator was a nice little gift that Slowbro received in BW2, which helps this team a ton by crippling things like Porygon2, Umbreon, and CurseLax. Aside from that, moveset is standard too.


Snorlax

  • Item: Choice Band
  • Trait: Thick Fat
  • EVs: 252 Atk / 52 Def / 200 SpD / 4 Spe
  • Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)

    • Return
    • Crunch
    • Pursuit
    • Earthquake

  • Why this Pokemon?

    Part three of this team's "defensive" core. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that I'm once again relying on Choice Band Snorlax to do work on my teams, since its easily one of the most reliable Pokemon in the tier. It checks pretty much every special attacker in the tier and is just a really strong tank in general. It also comes with the cool bonus of being able to eliminate Ghost-types for a Mienshao sweep in case my opponent's team happens to be weak to it or I fail to execute Plan A properly (a Kingdra sweep, if that wasn't obvious enough at this point).

    The Defense EVs let Snorlax survive a +1 Outrage from Kingdra after Stealth Rock 100% of the time; and just like on Slowbro, I usually run a bit more Speed so I can creep on opposing base 30s. Moveset is standard.


Kingdra

  • Item: Life Orb
  • Ability: Swift Swim
  • EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
  • Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)

    • Hydro Pump
    • Dragon Pulse
    • Rain Dance
    • Surf

  • Why this Pokemon?

    The star of the show. Given the fact that I wanted to use Tornadus, from the beginning, Kingdra was basically a shoe-in for the team due to being one of the best--if not the best--offensive partners for it. You've seen this set on my previous RMT, and there's a good reason for that. Rain Dance Kingdra is absolutely devastating to any and all teams once it has set up. Even special walls will be hard pressed to tank STAB Rain-boosted Hydro Pumps once they have been weakened a bit. The beauty of it on this team is that Kingdra doesn't even need to take a hit as it sets up like it usually does, since Tornadus literally sets up for it. Kingdra is the Pokemon that wins most of my games and easily the MVP of the team.

    EVs are bog standard. Two water moves because Kingdra doesn't really need coverage and its nice not to rely on Hydro Pump unless you absolutely have to. Have a damage calculator handy when using this team, by the way. You don't want to throw away wins due to misses when you didn't even need to risk it in the first place.


Mienshao

  • Item: Choice Scarf
  • Trait: Reckless
  • EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
  • Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)

    • Hi Jump Kick
    • Aerial Ace
    • U-turn
    • Stone Edge

  • Why this Pokemon?

    Plan B. Both defensively and offensively. Choice Scarf Mienshao has been on the rise lately, and its really easy to see why. Not only is it the fastest viable Choice Scarf user in the tier, it also hits the hardest. Offense versus offense matches are often decided by who carries the fastest Choice Scarf user, so Mienshao's Speed is obviously very important. Mienshao's job is two-fold. The first thing it does is make sure I never get swept by things like Choice Scarf Flygon / Heracross and Weavile (unless is sets up Swords Dance, but it won't). The second is provide me with a backup plan in case Kingdra is unable to sweep late-game. Scarf Mienshao with Pursuit support is actually a really easy way of creating win conditions. EVs and moveset are standard.


Final Look


Conclusion

As with any offensive team in BW, your long-term thinking skills need to be in tip-top shape in order for it to perform consistently. Use the team preview to your advantage; try to find the path of least resistance when picking a win condition before you even send out your lead. Adapt every turn if necessary and take your time making your moves. Kingdra's great STAB combination will more often than not set up an easy win condition with the help of Slowbro and Tornadus, but sometimes your opponents will be packing multiple bulky Water-type resistant Pokemon, which makes things a bit harder. I've found that there aren't any un-winnable matchups with this team, though, which is cool. Thanks for reading!​

Importable
is giant rat (Nidoqueen) (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 204 HP / 252 SAtk / 52 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Focus Blast

is genie (Tornadus) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Hurricane
- Grass Knot
- Rain Dance
- Superpower

is hermit (Slowbro) (F) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Trick
- Fire Blast

is bear (Snorlax) (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 52 Def / 200 SDef / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Earthquake

is seahorse (Kingdra) (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Dragon Pulse
- Rain Dance
- Surf

is cat (Mienshao) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Hi Jump Kick
- Aerial Ace
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
 
Hey, this is a good looking team! Very nice selection of offensive cores; it's like a mix between bulky-offensive and hyper-offense all in one.

The only suggestion I have is for Slowbro, who's moveset I would change by trading Trick with Grass Knot or Focus Blast. I know this Slowbro is not meant to be taking super-powerful Fire/Fighting attacks, but the moment you give up those Choice Specs, he basically becomes a physical tank with no defense EV's. A Trick coming off of a pokemon with only 30 base speed also fails to give you that cushion of knowing which move your opponent becomes choice-locked into the moment you do give him those Choice Specs(this assumes you aren't using Trick on something that just switched in). Grass Knot gives you a better match-up against the water types within the tier without having to rely on Psyshock, especially opposing Specs Slowbro, while Focus Blast can provide you with a better match-up against Umbreon or Snorlax.

I also enjoy running no less than 8 speed EV's on my own Specs Slowbro to gaurantee a 2HKO on incoming CB Snorlax without having to risk the speedtie on the second Psyshock, but as you said you tend to tweak Slowbro's speed EV's anyways to fit whichever flavor.

Overall, a very nice team. I expect to see this constantly on the Ladder! =p
 
Hey kokoloko,

Cool team, no surprise its been really successful. I also have a team using Tornadus + Kingdra (otherwise no similarities), and I got really frustrated by having to set up Rain Dance to have reliable Hurricanes which missed all the time when I didn't have Rain up. I ended up using Acrobatics / Superpower / Grass Knot / Rain Dance with a Flight Gem. More physical offense helped break special walls for Kingdra that Tornadus tends to lure in, and Grass Knot still packs enough power to fuck up Swampert and Rhyperior. Although Tornadus itself does not make use of Rain, having the insurance of priority sacrifice Rain to sweep with Kingdra still saved my ass more times than I could count. If you haven't been annoyed by Hurricane then don't worry about it.

Cool team, good luck with it!
 
I've seen the overview and said "Oh Milotic seems to be annoying for this team, especially paired with some defensive stuff like Bronzong", but when I saw this mighty Slowbro... x)

But. Isn't Abomasnow with Ice Shard too hard to contain for your team? Ofc yes Nidoqueen can take one hit and strike it with Focus Blast, but as you said Nidoqueen has to be sacced early game sometimes. And even if it's always in game, it won't be full health I guess.
I think you maintain some pressure against it with Mienshao-Snorlax-Kingdra and the SR damages, but the residual damages should deal with your team I guess.

Also, (I know, it's easy to say it, especially in bw metagames...) Agility Zapdos can deal with your whole team with one layer of Spikes I think. It can set-up on Tornadus (which with you won't Taunt against Zapdos), Snorlax locked on EQ/Pursuit, or Mienshao.
So, when you see Zapdos in the team preview, do you play like it's the Agility one (keeping Snorlax and/or Nidoqueen full health or never let it set-up playing around Nidoqueen, Slowbro and Kingdra) until you see its real set, or do you say "idgaf, I will wreck this shit" ? x)
(btw I don't really know how popular is Agilidos in UU, but I often think about it when I build a team because this thing can wreck too much offenses without Raikou)


Finally, this is a very good team based on rainsweep Kingdra (I guess you really enjoy playing this poke since your last RMT, Kaleidoscope - or even before maybe), you did a nice job as usual. This shows again how to sweep effectively and cleanly in UU.
Congrats for the ranking too.

PS: I'm reassured to see that you have the same problem than me when building, aka including a Scrafty very good in theory, but pretty bad in practice. x)
 
Hey, this is a good looking team! Very nice selection of offensive cores; it's like a mix between bulky-offensive and hyper-offense all in one.

The only suggestion I have is for Slowbro, who's moveset I would change by trading Trick with Grass Knot or Focus Blast.
Not a good idea unfortunately, as that would leave Kokoloko to be severely maimed by, if not 6-0 swept by Crocune. Without any STAB electric attacks and only the odd non-STAB grass knot, crocune isn't going anywhere soon while everything but slowbro absolutely hating that scald burn (either due to attack nerf, too much passive damage from LO+burn or SE damage).

I can't think of a way for Kokoloko to deal with suicune outside many major changes to this team though. Regardless of set, suicune just seems so hard to take down without a great deal of pain being taken in return.

Additionally, Offensive Shaymin is an issue, with only one safe switch in tornadus, which can only be done once. I'm going to guess you haven't found that to be a problem so far because specs fire blast is a good way to lure the hedgehog out, but as it stands, its a very big issue for your team to come in against seed flare (even snorlax is 2HKO'd on the switch if the sp. def drop is achieved).

Just my thoughts. Nice team otherwise.
 

Pocket

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Another excellent RMT, kokoloko - thanks for sharing the love!

Scarf Mienshao is seriously underrated. Reckless-boosted HJK can literally sweep games with ghosts removed. Major props for coming up with Scarf Mienshao + CBLax and Slowbro + Tornadus + Kingdra dual offensive cores! It's amazing how you were able to come with two strong offensive gameplan, while covering threats with Scarf Mienshao, Prankster Tornadus, and bulky tanks.

My only question is why not Thunderbolt > Ice Beam on Nidoqueen? The most common spinner is Blastoise, so arguably it would seem most beneficial for an offensive SR user to pack a super effective move? TBolt also seems a lot more conducive in weakening Kingdra's checks so the dragon can sweep unhindered late game. What exactly does Ice Beam hit that Thunderbolt doesn't? I can only think of Flygon and I guess Shaymin.
 
To be honest, what can anyone say? Its clear this team is excellent just based off the fact that you peaked at #1 with it (congrats by the way). The only thing, why Reckless on Mienshao? I really think Regenerator is more generally useful, especially if you're using Mienshao a lot as a pivot/scout with U-Turn.
 
To be honest, what can anyone say? Its clear this team is excellent just based off the fact that you peaked at #1 with it (congrats by the way). The only thing, why Reckless on Mienshao? I really think Regenerator is more generally useful, especially if you're using Mienshao a lot as a pivot/scout with U-Turn.
Mienshao has piss defenses; he isn't meant to take a hit so regenerator isn't really necessary. Only time regenerator is more useful imo is with lo mienshao. Reckless boosts his HJK 20% which will make it easier to sweep scarfed and just overall dent things more.

Great team koko, though I do agree with pocket in that thunderbolt seems like a better fit on nidoqueen to nail incoming water types and still hit pretty much everything that you want ice beam to hit. You don't really have anything to hit water types super effectively except grass knot which probably doesn't see much use anyway. just nitpicking though, great team.
 

KM

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Hey Koko <3

I've seen this team a couple of times while trying out my new UU team (RMT coming soon ;)), so people are obviously using it ;). That being said, not everyone is as good as you, and I'm actually able to win against it the majority of the time. The main reason for this is Shaymin. You really don't have a good counter for LO shaymin on your team, as far as I can tell only Snorlax can take more than one seed flare without crumpling, and that's assuming the 40% SpDef drop doesn't happen. IIRC even Tornadus can't safely switch in to Shaymin without getting 2HKoed. Mienshao can't be considered as a viable counter as Aerial Ace is hardly a 3HKO.

Another threat that this team seems to have (that my team also happens to have :D) is trick room Cofagrigus. Sure, Snorlax has plenty enough bulk to take a few hits, but HP Fighting is still a possible 2HKO (after a NP), and pursuit isn't even a guaranteed 4HKO. Crunch is risky at best to lock into, and still isn't a guaranteed 2HKO.

I might just be completely overreacting to how big these threats are to your team, but I'm really interested in how you deal with them when you encounter them. Other than that though, this team is really awesome :P

~~Kitten Milk
 
My only question is why not Thunderbolt > Ice Beam on Nidoqueen? The most common spinner is Blastoise, so arguably it would seem most beneficial for an offensive SR user to pack a super effective move? TBolt also seems a lot more conducive in weakening Kingdra's checks so the dragon can sweep unhindered late game. What exactly does Ice Beam hit that Thunderbolt doesn't? I can only think of Flygon and I guess Shaymin.
Other than the two you mentioned, which is pretty relevant on its own right, also hits Zapdos so at times it does make a convenient check to Zapdos if you play it safe when you see it at Team Preview. Its also great for removing those pesky Gligar trying to set up SR while still punishing any potential Xatu switch in trying to stop you from setting SR. While Blastoise I find is just as effectively handled by Earth Power if you predict the switch in, well you'd still be doing the same thing with Thunderbolt since its not an OHKO.
 
Solid team is solid. Electric and the odd flying happy (hell yes CB crobat) teams could be a bit of an issue but scarfed mienshao fixes everything. Can't really think of anything to say really, except yeah, t-bolt>ice beam on queen. Also, I'd suggest slotting in sleep talk on snorlax somewhere. Sleep (and status in general) looks like it messes with the team pretty badly. While this only really will come from offensive roserade, I think it's a bigger threat than something like cofagrigus or bronzong (which is all I guess you hit with crunch).

Respect for song choice by the way.
 

pokemonisfun

Banned deucer.
cool team brah!!!!!!!! but you get mushed on by sd bisharp which has a couple chances to set up idk if anyone mentioned this yet and an easy way to fix this is put back regenerator on mienshao so mienshao will always be at 94% health if your opponent only gets sr and you will never ever ever eveeeer die to sucker punch (unless it crits). I GUESS you could rely on nidoqueen but idk i definitely wouldn't!!!

so yeah unless reckless gets a specific kill (i think it might actually on kingdra?!) then i strongly advise you to use regen on mienshao.
 

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