A Not so Standard UU Team

TalkingLion · Sep 12, 2011

Hey Smogon. I've been playing UU for the past few months now, and managed to build one that can win sometimes. However, I find my self constantly losing to the same stuff over and over again, so I thought posting an RMT could help it. Without further ado, here is my team.

At a Glance:

In Depth:

Ambipom (M) @ Silk Scarf
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Fake Out
- Return
- Taunt
- U-turn

This guy is such a BAMF. Seriously, he is such a great scouting lead. Fake Out for some damage, Taunt to prevent hazards, and other opponents from setting up. U-turn can help scout and keep the momentum going in my favor. Return is a strong and powerful STAB, and can KO a lot of sweepers after a Fake Out. Not much else to say really. This guy is generally a great way to start battles, and usually gets his job done. The main thing I am considering changing is it's nature from Adamant to Jolly to help it Taunt/Return more enemies before they set up a sub or attack.

Tangrowth (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 208 HP / 204 Def / 96 SAtk
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Knock Off

One of my physical walls. This guy functions as a SubSeeder, I like to switch in on something it walls, and then Substitute on the switch. Depending on what they bring in, I either Leech Seed or Knock Off. Leech Seed is my main first move, while Knock Off is useful for getting rid of Eviolites and other items. Regenerator is useful for restoring the HP I lose from Substitute, and Giga Drain can also restore the HP while also doing damage. Other than that, this thing can tank physical hits like a boss, and only lets me down when I play stupidly with it.

Slowbro (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Slack Off
- Surf
- Toxic
- Psychic

My other physical wall. Slowbro is great, and can tank many physical hits extremely well. It can Toxic stall with Slack Off and Regenerator, and also hit hard with Surf and Psychic. Regenrator is also useful to combine with Tangrowth, as they cover a lot of each others weaknesses pretty well, and can restore HP while switching while the foe gets weakened by Leech Seed/Toxic. Great typing allows it to have a useful Fighting resistance, as well as Ice and Water.

Flygon (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Fire Punch
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- U-turn

Ah, Flygon. This thing is so awesome. What makes it more unique than other Flygon is that it runs Life Orb, as opposed to a Scarf or even a Band. This can help me when my opponent switches in a Ground immune Pokemon and expect me to switch after an Earthquake, while I instead attack with Dragon Claw or Fire Punch. U-Turn functions the same here as it does with Ambipom, to scout and allow me to keep the momentum. Another great thing about using Life Orb as opposed to a Choice Item is the ability to allow me to switch my moves, which has proved helpful on numerous occasions.

Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Toxic
- Wish
- Protect
- Seismic Toss

Good old Chansey. Its rare to see a UU team without Chansey these days, and for good reason. Chansey is just so bulky and can take everything you throw at it. I run a pretty standard set, as Toxic/Wish/Protect is the best way to get damage with Chansey. Seismic Toss is there because of Chansey's horrid special attack, so 100 damage is the most it can do with it's attacks. Not really useful against Hail teams, but it can still stall against them. Yeah. Chansey is the stall master, that's all you need to know.

Rotom-H @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Trick

And finally, we have the revenge killer. TrickScarf Roton is awesome in UU, with all the stall and Eviolites flying around. Volt Switch is great after they switch due to being Scarfed, Thunderbolt is what I use if I want to stay in and kill them, and has nice coverage with Overheat. Just a standard Rotom-H set really.

So thanks for taking the time to read my RMT, and please comment with your suggestions on how to improve this team. I'm willing to change almost anything, just don't be too harsh and say stuff like get an entirely new team. So rate away!

(Back sprite unavailable for Rotom-H)

2sly4u · Sep 13, 2011

Hi TalkingLion. Nice team.

The biggest issue I see is that you're running a scouting/defensive team with no hazards, which means you aren't benefiting at all from the switches you force. You need Stealth Rocks at the very least, and Spikes wouldn't hurt either. For these reasons, I recommend a Ferroseed over your Tangrowth:

Ferroseed@Eviolite
Sassy Nature, 252HP/4Def/252SpD
Stealth Rock
Leech Seed
Spikes
Gyro Ball/Thunder Wave

Ferroseed, despite being a 1st stage pokemon, has ridiculous bulk thanks to Eviolite; it even rivals Ferrothorn's. Stealth Rock gives you some hazards, while Leech Seed helps with healing. For your team, I'd try to get Spikes in the third or fourth slots, though both Thunder Wave and Gyro Ball have uses if you'd rather use both of those (Though Gyro Ball has pathetic damage coming off of his uninvested base 50 attack). Ferroseed pairs superbly with Slowbro, happily taking Grass attacks while Slowbro laughs at Fighting and Fire moves aimed at Ferroseed. Chansey is a great partner as well, since she forces plenty of switches (capitalizing on the hazards he can set up), while in return she can heal 100% of Ferroseed's health with Wish.

Run Jolly on Ambipomb. Making sure you outspeed Base 110s is more important than the added power. While we're on the subject of natures, run Calm over Bold on Chansey. Even with full investment, a positive nature barely helps her pathetic defense, while her special bulk gets a considerable boost from Calm.

Change Flygon's item to an Expert Belt/Dragon Fang. No one will fall for your bluff if you take LO damage; an EB or DF lets you boost your power, but maintains the illusion of a Choice set should one of your attacks land.

I hope that helps. Good luck!

TalkingLion · Sep 13, 2011

Thanks for the advice. I'll try using Ferroseed and see how well it goes. I'll also use your other suggestions as well.

pokefan123456 · Sep 13, 2011

2sly4u said:
Hi TalkingLion. Nice team.

The biggest issue I see is that you're running a scouting/defensive team with no hazards, which means you aren't benefiting at all from the switches you force. You need Stealth Rocks at the very least, and Spikes wouldn't hurt either. For these reasons, I recommend a Ferroseed over your Tangrowth:

Ferroseed@Eviolite
Sassy Nature, 252HP/4Def/252SpD
Stealth Rock
Leech Seed
Spikes
Gyro Ball/Thunder Wave

Ferroseed, despite being a 1st stage pokemon, has ridiculous bulk thanks to Eviolite; it even rivals Ferrothorn's. Stealth Rock gives you some hazards, while Leech Seed helps with healing. For your team, I'd try to get Spikes in the third or fourth slots, though both Thunder Wave and Gyro Ball have uses if you'd rather use both of those (Though Gyro Ball has pathetic damage coming off of his uninvested base 50 attack). Ferroseed pairs superbly with Slowbro, happily taking Grass attacks while Slowbro laughs at Fighting and Fire moves aimed at Ferroseed. Chansey is a great partner as well, since she forces plenty of switches (capitalizing on the hazards he can set up), while in return she can heal 100% of Ferroseed's health with Wish.

Run Jolly on Ambipomb. Making sure you outspeed Base 110s is more important than the added power. While we're on the subject of natures, run Calm over Bold on Chansey. Even with full investment, a positive nature barely helps her pathetic defense, while her special bulk gets a considerable boost from Calm.

Change Flygon's item to an Expert Belt/Dragon Fang. No one will fall for your bluff if you take LO damage; an EB or DF lets you boost your power, but maintains the illusion of a Choice set should one of your attacks land.

I hope that helps. Good luck!

Why not invest some in defense? He already has a special wall. Something like 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SDef with sassy nature. That way, ferroseed can wall both sides pretty efficiently. Or put all EVs in defense and make it a physical wall. Also, replacing either spikes or stealth rock with protect can be pretty useful. It works well with leech seed, and it can also be used for checking potentially damaging moves so it can switch out if needed.

HR. · Sep 13, 2011

I think its important to know what exactly you're constantly losing too so we can help try and fix those weaknesses.

2sly4u · Sep 14, 2011

pokefan123456 said:
Why not invest some in defense? He already has a special wall. Something like 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SDef with sassy nature. That way, ferroseed can wall both sides pretty efficiently. Or put all EVs in defense and make it a physical wall. Also, replacing either spikes or stealth rock with protect can be pretty useful. It works well with leech seed, and it can also be used for checking potentially damaging moves so it can switch out if needed.

I just grabbed the standard EV spread, and he also already has another physical wall. I deemed the extra hazards better than Protect for a team that causes switches like his does, especially since Chansey has Wish; he doesn't need the extra Leech Seed healing.

pokefan123456 · Sep 14, 2011

2sly4u said:
I just grabbed the standard EV spread, and he also already has another physical wall. I deemed the extra hazards better than Protect for a team that causes switches like his does, especially since Chansey has Wish; he doesn't need the extra Leech Seed healing.

Ferroseed is really slow and will mostly, if not always go second. And with a lot of pokemon having access to fire moves(for coverage or whatever reasons), and ferro's 4x weakness, protect could be more useful than you think IMO.

2sly4u · Sep 14, 2011

pokefan123456 said:
Ferroseed is really slow and will mostly, if not always go second. And with a lot of pokemon having access to fire moves(for coverage or whatever reasons), and ferro's 4x weakness, protect could be more useful than you think IMO.

So what if it goes second? He doesn't really care about Speed, and its usually pretty easy to tell when an opponent has a Fire move, so he can just switch to Slowbro. Normally Protect is a solid choice (and it does have niche uses here), but for a defensive team with no other hazard user, both Spikes and SR are much more important. You need to think about the whole team, not just Ferroseed; Protect may extend Ferro's lifespan (though not as much as you think), but Spikes and SR help every single one of his pokemon. I'm done talking about it.

the dead mans oddysey · Sep 19, 2011

you could run a spinner as toxic spikes and stealth rock ruin your team. is forretress uu? if so, use him over ferro as it can spin, set up spikes/rock, and use moves like gravity which would ruin pokemon like sub-punch breloom if it doesnt have poison heal. and grab something with will-o-wisp like dusclops. it walls both sides, has a semi-decent attack stat, and has acess to pain split, which would render any blissey/chansey useless!