ORAS UU "Absolution" - Coming off a ~2 year break

[koda_]

Hey everyone! Thanks for checking in, and triple thanks to those who leave a response. I tend to get super invested in Pokemon battling for small blocks of time and then completely abandon it for years until I come back again. I haven't played in quite awhile, so I'm very rusty at this stuff and just starting the process of re-learning.

My "bad habit" is a penchant for trying to use favorites. So this team may not be top-tier in terms of being competitively viable, but I like to take favorites and try to make them as competitive as possible. So right off the bat I'm at a bit of a disadvantage because I'm not starting with a solid type core, but instead I'm trying to build on a "favorite core" of Absol + Reuniclus.

So I am 100% open to suggestions for swapping Pokemon on the other four slots, but these two Pokemon are locked. They're the point of this team. I know it's a bit odd, and not having a solid core has probably led to most of the weaknesses that this team currently has. During my teambuilding process, I was mostly just hap-hazardly chucking Pokemon in that I felt would shore up weaknesses, though I did go through a fair amount of testing before reaching the spot I'm at now.

Anyways, onto the team.

Absol-Mega @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch

Probably my all-time favorite Pokemon, and one I knew I wanted on this team. He's a solid physical threat with great coverage between Knock Off/Sucker Punch + Play Rough. He's very frail however, so though I will occasionally use him as a lead, I usually save him for late-game sweeping and general cleanup. He can be a good revenge killer if I've found an opportunity to Mega Evolve him already, but due to how fragile he is this isn't a very common scenario. I'll usually lead with him vs. Sableye or Espeon leads, as he tends to destroy them cleanly.

Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Trick Room
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball

Reuniclus is another one of my favorites, and he's sort of my Special Attack version of Absol. He has great coverage and I typically try to save him to clean up late game, which he does a great job at. He's a good bit bulkier than Absol, though his speed is terrible. Because of this I am running a Trick Room set on him. He's not that tanky, but just enough to typically allow him to take a single hit and still get Trick Room off, which he can then sweep off of.

Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Cross Poison
- U-turn
- Defog

Once I had Absol and Reuniclus established, I began to look for counters to their weaknesses. Crobat seemed like an amazing defensive synergy to Absol, given that he resists all three of Absol's weaknesses in Fighting, Bug, and Fairy. Unfortunately, he's not a blanket check to every Fairy type, but he does tend to do a good job at sponging a hit and then either pivoting out or attacking as necessary. As an added benefit, Crobat can Defog, which is important because there are no other ways to clear hazards on my team. I'd love to have Roost in his set as well, but I couldn't quite justify giving up my team's only Poison type attack or U-Turn.

Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability: Marvel Scale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Haze
- Recover

Milotic is probably my favorite bulky Water type in the tier. I tried a few and have had the most consistent success with Milotic. The combination of Scald and Ice Beam threatens a ton of Pokemon, and her general bulk along with Recover generally make her able to last quite awhile. Her third move slot was a toss-up between Haze and Dragon Tail as a means to counter set-ups... overall I still prefer Dragon Tail, but not being able to use it against Fairy types, which are pretty common in UU, is a huge draw back.

Cobalion @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- Close Combat
- Volt Switch

Cobalion does a better job at threatening some of the Fairy types that might give Crobat trouble, and also provides Stealth Rock and another offensive pivot, which my team appreciates. Looking at his typing, Milotic can check fire types and Crobat roughly covers his Fighting and Ground weaknesses. All in all this is a pretty versatile Pokemon that seemed like a great fit for my team, and even though I have it listed fifth here, it was my last addition to the team's lineup (and the most contested).

Chandelure @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Electric] (???)

Finally, we have Chandelure. Chandelure was a good fit for my team as far as being able to absorb Fighting and Fire type moves while also spin-blocking for Cobalion. I've found that it's speed tier just doesn't work for me unless it's scarfed, however. It has pretty decent coverage in its attacks, and I appreciate having STAB Fire / Ghost moves. Energy Ball, also, is the only grass-type move on my team. Generally it's not enough to truly threaten many popular water or ground types in the tier, however, as they can eat a non-STAB Energy Ball and OHKO back due to Chandelure's Water and Ground weaknesses. I'm really not sure on this Pokemon, in some ways it seems like a beautiful fit, but in other ways I feel like it might be wasting a slot. This guy, along with Cobalion, was one of my last two slots to lock down. I'm really not sure about the fourth move slot, either. I started with Trick, originally, but just wasn't finding opportunities to use it. HP Electric never really gets any use either though, so I'm not sure.

---

If you read all of that, thanks!

I'm sure there are some huge, glaring weaknesses that I haven't encountered yet, but as far as the ones I *am* aware of, these guys are huge problems:

Mega Aerodactyl and Mega Beedrill both outspeed and destroy any purely type counters I might have on my team. Mega Swampert is so bulky with only a Grass weakness, and I have no STAB Grass attacks on my team. These three common Pokemon run trains on me... but every time I've tried to change my team to bring in a counter, I feel like I'm losing too much in giving up someone like Cobalion or Chandelure. Milotic can beat Aerodactyl and Beedrill, but I often have to use her up early to mid-match, so trying to stop these two often comes down to counting on Trick Room Reuniclus or Sucker Punch from Absol.

Any suggestions for these three threats? Or just suggestions in general?

Any huge threats I haven't noticed?

Any comments whatsoever are definitely appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sun]

hello, nice team we have here, I like your idea of building a team around mega Absol + Reuni, this core has a very good potential and a very good synergy, reuni helps mega Absol to deal with fighting typing in return mega absol helps against Sableye, Blissey, but your team needs some adjustment of spreads, I also noticed that it has problems after a more careful look at the team: Scarf Krook, Krook can become a problem if it has already killed a member of your team thanks to Mooxie boost, also is more dangerous if accompanied by hazard stack, Milotic has the role to counter you from the bulky waters, then comes difficult for you to manage Scarf Krook, because Milotic must make so many roles in the team; Another notable weakness is the lack of a draco switch ins, one switch ins for Draco meteor of Hydreigon and Salamence is very important, these dragons are top tier threats, Cobalion (your only draco switch ins) not very well hold this hit for its low SpD also Salamence and Hydreigon learning Fire Blast, that knocks Cobalion without too many problems in the switch in; My rate will try to lighten these threats making them less hazardous, and will try to make this team more competitive than before.

>

Given the lack of a Draco switch ins, and the lack of a heal Beller, I suggest using CM Florges over Chandelure, florges is a very good Hydreigon switches, also is a good check of mence, is a great win-con which manages to put pressure to many teams, also provides a good fighting check, with the possibility of being able to recover health without waiting for a turn (as wish) makes it much more durable; another option is to run more speed on it, to outrun Crawdaunt if you have problems with him.

After that, seen your Ground weakness, especially Earthquake spam, I would recommend using Shuca berry over Leftovers, schuca berry really helps your team against Krook, especially if it is in 1v1 with Cobalion, you can eliminate it later with Close Combat, this berry can be useful even against Kyurem, if it does not run focus blast, definitely runs earth power, same thing happens with Krook, you can beat him in a 1v1 situation.

finally, I suggest using Bulky Crobat, bulky Crobat helps to deal better with fairy types, also it needs to run Roost over Cross poison, This makes it more Crobat more long-lived, despite this set replacement, it remains a great revenge killer; I suggest the use of this spread: 248 HP / 48 Def / 212 Speed, this spread allows Crobat to take more physical hits, and to have enough bulk to hold special shots mega Sceptile, Sylveon.

Sets

Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 248 HP / 48 Def / 212 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost

Florges @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Synthesis
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Aromatherapy

Hope i've help, and GL with your team

 

[koda_]

Thank you for the suggestions! I want to try implementing your advice, but I'd like to get your opinion regarding this one:

>

Given the lack of a Draco switch ins, and the lack of a heal Beller, I suggest using CM Florges over Chandelure, florges is a very good Hydreigon switches, also is a good check of mence, is a great win-con which manages to put pressure to many teams, also provides a good fighting check, with the possibility of being able to recover health without waiting for a turn (as wish) makes it much more durable; another option is to run more speed on it, to outrun Crawdaunt if you have problems with him.

In order to swap out Chandelure for the reasons you cited, how do you feel about Sylveon in this spot instead of Florges? I realize she's not quite as tanky as Florges is, but she's still got a pretty good special bulk and can run a similar set with access to Calm Mind, Wish, and Heal Bell while allowing me to do a bit more damage with Hyper Voice + Pixelate... plus her access to Baton Pass and screens is interesting.

What do you think?

Thanks again!

 

[Adaam]

Ah Reuni + Absol is a great offensive core since Absol shuts down Reuniclus' biggest checks in Mandibuzz and Sableye. I agree with most of Eutychios' changes. Shuca on Cobalion helps with the teams currently large Mamoswine weakness, and Roost + Bulky bat is essential since you rely on to check Sylveon, Mega Beedrill, Heracross etc. However, I'd personally opt for Max Speed since you don't have a Flying resist, so you'd at least want to force a speed tie with opposing Crobats if necessary. It also has the benefit of creeping Adamant and Modest M-Bee and M-Scep, respectively, so it isn't just for one mon.

Nidos appear to be a threat, as they are for any balance team without a bulky Normal or Bronzong. They can come in on Florges, Cobalion, and Crobat somewhat with impunity and proceed to claim a kill unless you make excellent predictions. To help, I suggest a spread of 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 SpDef and Calm nature on Milotic. This dodges a 2HKO from Modest Nidoqueen's Sludge Wave after Rocks, so you have to keep Milotic healthy to check it in the early stages of a battle. It also avoids a 2HKO from Zam's LO Psychic, so that's also nice.

This change makes you even weaker to M-Aero and M-Swamp, so I suggest changing Reuni's set to max HP and Def with a moveset of CM / Recover / Psyshock / Energy Ball. With Max investment, Reuni becomes very bulky and can check M-Aero and even M-Swampert (if it avoids a flinch). Also, you don't really need TR Reuni since its niche is to counter sweep offense, but you have a good amount of anti-offense mons in M-Absol, Crobat, and Haze Milo.

Energy Ball is a cool move to hit not just Swampert, but Krookodile, Mamo, Sharpedo, Crawdaunt, Feraligatr, and RoarCune without relying on Focus Blast's low accuracy. Of course, you can't take a hit from a STAB Dark type move usually, but if you want you can opt
for Colbur Berry > Life Orb so that you don't have to worry about any of these mons stopping a CM Sweep.

To answer your question, CM Florges is better as a pure CMer since it gets one turn recovery so it doesn't have to rely on WishTect. However, Sylv does have a niche as a CM + Baton Passer, although there isn't much you'd want to baton pass to since Reuni has CM and Milo is a wall more so than sweeper. Plus, Cm + Baton pass would mean you forego recovery which makes you more vulnerable to Dragons like Sceptile/Hydrei.

Lastly, Superpower > Play Rough since Calm Milo + Florges over Chandy makes you much weaker to Cobalion, and it hits almost everything Play Rough does for more damage except Chesnaught, Heracross, and Dragons not names Hydrei which are all either handled by your teammates (Reuni sets up on Chesnaught, Bat/Florges wall Hera), or they die to +2 Sucker Punch

Hope I helped

 

[koda_]

Thank you both, a whole ton. It really does help, it gives me a lot to consider that I wouldn't have otherwise thought of and I'll definitely be experimenting with these suggestions over the weekend.

I've played probably 30-40 games with various iterations of this team over the last week or two, and in my experience so far it has been Reuniclus doing the most work offensively and Milotic doing the most defensively. It might be tough for me to drop my Trick Room set, because it's been a really common occurrence that I'll bring him in, sponge a hit to use Trick Room, and then he gets to just rampage through 3-5 Pokemon... and I'm not quite as confident in my ability to effectively set up a CM sweep, even if it is the more optimized set, I'm just not sure if I will have the foresight / tactical knowledge to pull it off as well.

I feel like my Milotic is a bit overworked. She does absolute wonders for my team, but it seems like a large number of the opposing Pokemon I run into are best answered by Milotic. She's pretty resilient, but inevitably, eventually she's going to die and then I spend the latter half of many matches going, "Damn, I wish I still had my Milotic." I'm not sure if maybe I need some other kind of bulky water or grass, I may just be misplaying and using her as a crutch.

Conversely, I haven't been finding many opportunities to really make good use of Cobalion. Again, this may be due to my inexperience, but a lot of times I'm staring at him thinking something like, "He's doing nothing for me here, I wish I had a STAB grass/electric/ground/rock attack," etc. Aiming for super effective hits may be a symptom of me not being very good at battling yet, and he might be a better fit for my team than my skill level is able to realize, but I haven't had a chance for him to shine yet, and at the same time sometimes I feel like my team's overall coverage is really lacking, especially after one or two of my Pokemon are dead.

Should I look at replacing Cobalion, or do I just need to learn to play better?

Anyways, thanks once again for all of the help and suggestions so far, it's greatly appreciated.

 

[Adaam]

Your current Cobalion set should be used as a pivot to switch into something it walls, force a switch, and gain momentum with Volt Switch (or kill something with its STABs). For example, Cobalion can switch into Krookodile's Knock Off easily (or EQ once with Shuca Berry). Your opponent will likely switch, say to something like Doublade. Obviously CC is the safer play, but you can be risky and click Volt Switch if they switch to a Cobalion counter and bring out Reuniclus/Absol since they beat most of them. If you find it too underwhelming, though, you can try Swords Dance > Volt Switch to give it more power and let it act as a win condition.

 

[Sacri']

Absol/Reuniclus/Crobat/Cobalion/Milotic/Chandelure

Hey man, nice team you have got there. I'm a huge fan of Absol + Reuniclus and I think you did a pretty good job to make it work. However I can see some issues that I'll try to adress.

• I don't see OTR Reuniclus fitting there so I agree with Adaam that you should use Calm Mind Reuniclus over the set you're currently running. It would bring to the team a great win condition in general as well as another good fighting check. It also beats Mega Aerodactly as well as Crobat that are both pretty annoying as you stated yourself.

• Your team is really weak to Electrick type and to Volt switch in general. Using Physically defensive Swampert over Milotic would fix this weakness as well as giving you a better answer to Toxicroak which was pretty annoying to deal with. HP Electric allows you to deal pretty well with Gyarados so you don't miss Milotics ability to couter that threat too much.

• Using Swampert means that Cobalion doesnt have to run Stealth rocks anymore, you are now free to use Swords Dance Cobalion which is just the best set overall, allowing you to threaten a lot of teams. Swords Dance + Stone edge also allows you to deal better with Salamence and Crobat which is always nice considering you don't have any flying resist.

• Dragons type are threatening and you also lack a water resist which is always problematic considering how redondant that type is in the tier. Offensive Whimsicott over Chandelure would help you to fix both of these weaknesses. It also gives you an excellent pivot which is always great considering you have three potential win conditions. You're no longer annoyed by Roar Suicune and Swampert Mega is much less of a threat. Priority Encore is always great, it prevents things like Slurpuff from setting up which is greatly appreciated.

• Lastly, I agree that you should run Superpower over Play Rough for reasons stated above. Being able to Mega Evolve to OHKO Empoleon is another good point since this thing is always pretty annoying knowing that your water resist loses to it.

sets

Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Psyshock
- Energy Ball/Focus Blast

Cobalion @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Stone Edge

Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Electric]

Whimsicott @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- Encore
- U-turn
- Energy Ball

Hope I helped!

 

[koda_]

Thank you! Yes, every bit of input absolutely helps!

I've been experimenting with various changes, and I'm having a hard time really settling on what I feel is the best combination of suggestions to use. My head is sort of swimming with a million different possibilities, but I suppose that's the fun of creating a team.

Right now I'm trying the Calm Mind / Recover / Psyshock / Energy Ball Reuniclus set that was suggested, along with the Play Rough -> Superpower change on Absol, a Sylveon in for Chandelure (I'm having a hard time bringing myself to use Florges. I understand why it's superior, but something about the design of Florges really bothers me. I dislike looking at it.), and I had originally made the suggested Crobat changes as well.

I'm still kind of having a tough time using Cobalion effectively though, whether I try the offensive pivot route or the Swords Dance set, I just haven't been finding good opportunities to utilize him fully. Right now I'm experimenting with swapping out Cobalion for Forretress with a Stealth Rock / Rapid Spin / Gyro Ball / Volt Switch set... and then switching Defog back to Cross Poison on Crobat (Brave Bird / Cross Poison / U-Turn / Roost) since Forry can spin, and that lets me retain a bit of pressure for Fairies.

For those with a bit more knowledge of the metagame than myself, does this seem like a viable adjustment?

I still feel like I'm hurting for coverage in some cases, but I suppose that's going to be the case no matter what, unless I set out to build a HO team or something. Though I do feel like my team was squarely in the 'Offensive' camp when I started out and it's starting to feel a lot more like Balance to me now.