Abusement Park (Peaked No.1)

Abusement Park

Overview



Proof of Ladder Peak​
The screenshot was taken right after I took the No.1 spot.



Introduction

Hello smogon! This is my second RMT on the forums, and my first UU RMT. I haven't been really involved in the forums, but I hope from this post, I can become a part of the community. The team that I am presenting today has an unorthodox playstyle, which I term as semi-offense. Most of the hard hitters on the team possess reasonable bulk, and there are a few defensive pokemon for support. The team functions by grabbing offensive momentum and getting hard hitters in for free, and then proceeding to nuke the opposing team. Status moves that the team uses can cripple offensive and defensive pokemon alike, and hence give me an upperhand. This team performed extremely well on the ladder, clocking up 42 wins and only 1 loss (to massive hax) so far under the account Not even serious. Some of you may have noticed that the team is extremely similar to a team made by youtuber Dangerous36M, and that is because I took some sets from his team. The team name stems from the team playstyle; multiple hard hitters abuse the opponent's team and at the same time it is a great deal of fun playing with this team. Without further ado, I present to you Abusement Park.

Teambuilding Process

I started with a Mienshao/Rotom-Heat core. I wanted to try out scarf Mienshao as a cleaner and Rotom-Heat provided good support for Mienshao. It also made a nice Volt-Turn core to grab momentum.



I then added in Blastoise for Rapid Spin support.



Seeing how the team was destroyed by strong fighting types, I added in Crobat.



I wanted a pokemon that could provide Stealth Rock and also support the team in other ways. Since the team had a lack of electric resistances, I figured that the next pokemon should be able to cover up for the weakness. After watching Dangerous36M's team in action, I got Rhyperior.



I was puzzling over the last slot. I tested a variety of pokemon, but eventually I took Dangerous36M's team idea of Amoonguss.




The Team in Detail


Rotom-Heat @ Choice Specs

Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Trick

Role on the Team

Rotom-Heat is the team's biggest special nuke. It is so underrated in the UU metagame, since most players prefer to choose Chandelure over Rotom-Heat for a specially based fire type. However, Rotom-Heat is not outclassed at all. It has good bulk for an offensive pokemon. It possesses great dual-STABs and in conjunction with HP Grass, it can hit the entire UU metagame for at least neutral damage (I think). Specs Overheat hits like a truck, and decimates even non-bulky resists. Volt switch provides me with super effective coverage against water types, and also grabs momentum for the team. HP Grass rounds off its coverage by hitting Swampert, Rhyperior and the rare Quagsire hard. Trick is extremely useful for crippling walls and even some bulky setup sweepers like Sigilyph. To get an idea of how powerful Specs Rotom-H is, here are some damage calculations.

252 SpA Choice Specs Rotom-H Overheat vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Cofagrigus: 285-336 (89.34 - 105.32%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Choice Specs Rotom-H Overheat vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Flygon: 177-208 (58.8 - 69.1%)

Standard EV spread is used to maximize its nuking abilities. Besides hitting like a truck and grabbing momentum, Rotom-Heat also has resistances to common attacks and a valuable immunity to Ground, allowing it to switch in often on weak STAB resisted attacks and proceed from there. It also decimates steel types like Bronzong that Crobat and Amoonguss hate. Overall, Rotom-Heat is a very consistent pokemon that should be considered over Chandelure.



Blastoise @ Leftovers

Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic
- Roar

Role on the Team

Blastoise is, in my opinion, the best defensive rapid spinner in UU. It is very reliable, and often gets the job done. Since my team is weak to hazards, especially Stealth Rock, Blastoise is here to ensure that they are wiped off the field. Mono-water typing provides it with some nifty resistances, especially Fire and Water. Since fire types and Kingdra run rampant in the tier, Blastoise serves as a counter for most variants of the aforementioned pokemon. Scald is a staple on bulky waters; the 30% chance of burn is extremely appreciated. Rapid spin gets rid of the hazards that this team despises. Toxic cripples defensive pokemon and ghost types looking to switch in to block the spin. Roar allows Blastoise to phaze, rack up stealth rock damage and avert the threat of a boosting sweeper. Standard physically defensive EV spread is used to take on physical threats and 0 IVs are placed in Attack to minimize confusion and foul play damage.



Crobat @ Choice Band

Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Cross Poison
- Sleep Talk

Role on the Team

Banded Crobat is AWESOME. It hits like a truck, has blazing speed, grabs momentum with U-Turn and absorbs sleep for the team. Crobat works extremely well with Rotom-Heat, as it can U-Turn out on the switch to a steel and then I can send in Rotom-Heat to put the pressure on the opposing team. Its high speed tier allows it to outspeed all common pokemon (barring scarfers) in UU. Crobat flourishes against offensive teams, as they normally have nothing that wants to take a hit. Here are some damage calculations against pokemon frequently seen on offensive teams.

252 Atk Choice Band Crobat Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Nidoking: 283-334 (93.39 - 110.23%) -- 93.75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Crobat Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kingdra: 238-282 (81.78 - 96.9%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Crobat Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Flygon: 274-324 (91.02 - 107.64%) -- 81.25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Crobat Brave Bird vs. 68 HP / 0 Def Chandelure: 250-295 (89.92 - 106.11%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Not only does Crobat destroy offensive teams, it also works well against some common defensive pokemon like Roserade and Hitmontop. Its unique typing grants it 4x resistance to Fighting, Bug and Grass moves, allowing it to check Shaymin and the common Heracross (watch out for Stone Edge). Crobat and Mienshao are typically the cleaners at endgame, which is a testament to its power. Standard offensive EV spread is used to maximize offensive potential. I chose Inner Focus over Infiltrator for abilities to bypass Fake Out, but it's really up to the user on which ability to choose. Recoil damage and possible stealth rock damage can whittle Crobat down quickly, so play Crobat wisely and it will put in a lot of work.



Mienshao @ Choice Scarf

Trait: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Hi Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Aerial Ace

Role on the Team

Mienshao was the pokemon that the team was originally based around, and I have not been disappointed. It is one of the best scarf users in UU, if not the best. It boasts an impressive 125 base Attack and 105 base Speed, which can be further boosted by a choice item. Mienshao acts as the team's revenge killer, hole puncher and endgame cleaner all in one. Reckless boosted Hi Jump Kick is one of the most powerful attacks in UU, capable of knocking out a considerable portion of the metagame. Without an attack-boosting item like a Life Orb, you might believe that Mienshao is not strong. However, here are some damage calculations of common scenarios in UU.

252 Atk Reckless Mienshao Hi Jump Kick vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Flygon: 298-352 (99 - 116.94%) -- 93.75% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Reckless Mienshao Hi Jump Kick vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Raikou: 313-369 (97.5 - 114.95%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Reckless Mienshao Hi Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Bronzong: 160-190 (47.33 - 56.21%) -- 86.72% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

Mienshao possesses so much raw power that it's almost ridiculous. It often ends up sweeping endgame when the opposing team is weakened to the point where Hi Jump Kick OHKOes everything. U-Turn provides momentum and can finish off a weakened pokemon. Stone Edge provides great super effective coverage on flying types. Aerial Ace rounds off the set, giving me an insurance against Heracross. Standard offensive EV spread is used for maximum offensive potential. This weasel pokemon outspeeds all unboosted pokemon, and even slower scarfers like Heracross are outsped and destroyed. Not many pokemon above the 105 base speed tier run choice scarf, which is even better news for Mienshao. Mienshao works in tandem with Crobat to punch holes in the opposition physically. Definitely one of the best pokemon in UU right now.



Rhyperior @ Leftovers

Trait: Solid Rock
EVs: 244 SDef / 16 Atk / 248 HP
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
- Protect

Role on the Team

Rhyperior is my primary check to Electric types like Zapdos and Raikou. Without Rhyperior, I could get swept by SubCM Raikou. Rhyperior is my answer to physical fire types like Darmanitan, Victini and Arcanine. It takes some load of Blastoise in taking fire hits. Its great natural physical bulk allows it to take numerous neutral hits and even some non-STAB super effective ones. Rhyperior also serves as my team's counter to Tornadus-I and Honchkrow, as it can take a Focus Blast and Superpower respectively, resist their Flying STAB and OHKO them with Rock Blast. Stealth Rock is a given on most teams to wear down the opposing team and put them into KO range. choose Rock Blast over Stone Edge for greater accuracy and breaking substitutes. Earthquake gives it great Rock-Ground coverage and is a safe move to use. The last move is an unorthodox move that people really do not see on Rhyperior, and most would not even consider the move for Rhyperior. I beg to differ. Protect is actually quite an awesome move on Rhyperior. It allows me to scout what choiced locked pokemon go for, give me a free turn of leftovers recovery and troll Hi Jump Kick users like Mienshao and Medicham. Players usually run a phazing move on the last slot, but I find that Protect is more useful for the team. I have not missed Dragon Tail a lot so I would stick to Protect. Besides, I get a good laugh from seeing Mienshao lose 50% of its health. [: Protect also minimizes prediction mindgames. In one match, Protect allowed me to scout what move a Heracross went for, and it turned out to be Stone Edge, which would have KOed my Crobat on the switch if not for Protect. Standard tank EV spread is used to combat Electric types. Rhyperior deals with quite a number of offensive pokemon in the metagame and dishes out relatively hard hits at the same time, thus enforcing its importance on the team.



Amoonguss @ Life Orb

Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 12 Spd / 252 SAtk / 120 HP / 124 Def
Modest Nature
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Role on the Team

Offensive Amoonguss is very underrated in the current metagame. It has an overlooked base 85 Special Attack, that can be harnessed through a Life Orb set. Spore is what sets Amoonguss apart from other specially based attackers, allowing it to incapacitate a pokemon on the opposing team, pretty much making it a 6 vs 5 battle. Amoonguss is my primary switch-in to most bulky water types like Milotic, and can then proceed to threaten them out. Amoonguss' good defensive typing grants it switch-in opportunities. Its natural bulk and longevity due to Regenerator allows it to stick around for the whole duration of the match. Amoonguss is also my backup Mienshao switch-in since I do not want Crobat to be taking a possible Stone Edge on the switch. Giga Drain and Sludge Bomb are its reliable STAB options. HP Fire allows it to hit most steel types for super effective damage and surprises Ferroseed that loves to set up hazards on defensive Amoonguss' face. Amoonguss hits surprisingly hard, and the following damage calculations illustrate my point.

252+ SpA Life Orb Amoonguss Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Victini: 157-187 (46.04 - 54.83%) -- 62.11% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Amoonguss Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Darmanitan: 253-298 (72.07 - 84.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Amoonguss Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Shaymin: 315-374 (92.37 - 109.67%) -- 56.25% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Amoonguss Giga Drain vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Slowbro: 315-374 (80.15 - 95.16%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Amoonguss Hidden Power Fire vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Roserade: 159-187 (60.68 - 71.37%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Most players expect Amoonguss to be uninvested in Special Attack and only carry Giga Drain and a weak Clear Smog, thus an offensive set can catch them off guard. 252 EVs with a Modest nature maximize damage output. 120 HP EVs gives Amoonguss a life orb number. 12 EVs are placed in Speed to speed creep base 30s with 4 Speed EVs such as Slowbro and Snorlax. The rest are placed in Defense to take some hits from pokemon like Mienshao. Offensive Amoonguss is extremely underrated in UU and can provide offensive and defensive support.

Conclusion and Credits

This team has worked really well for me and I hope that this team can display the power of several underrated threats. When using the team, momentum is very important. Do not try to rapid spin with Blastoise too frequently, as it loses momentum for the team. Prediction skills go a long way when using this team so do remember to put your prediction pants on during battles, so to speak. I would like to credit Dangerous36M for coming up with the team that I used for reference as well as my buddy Jeremy for encouraging me after I wanted to ragequit from laddering after my first loss. Without the aforementioned people, I would not be able to go this far. The importable text is available below so you can try it out for yourselves. Leave a luvdisc and rate the team, it would make my day. [: Thanks for reading!

Importable

Sc-Rotom Heat (Rotom-Heat) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Trick

Turtle Recall (Blastoise) @ Leftovers
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic
- Roar

Dark Knight (Crobat) @ Choice Band
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Cross Poison
- Sleep Talk

Chao Mien (Mienshao) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Hi Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Aerial Ace

Grunt (Rhyperior) @ Leftovers
Trait: Solid Rock
EVs: 244 SDef / 16 Atk / 248 HP
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
- Protect

Weed Circulation (Amoonguss) @ Life Orb
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 12 Spd / 252 SAtk / 120 HP / 124 Def
Modest Nature
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]


Final Look

 
I've actually seen a lot of replays of this team, its just something I do for top ladderers. Congrats on getting to #1, this is a very solid looking balanced team.

Its clear you're doing something right by getting that high so I don't really think a lot suggestions are necessary, but how often do you actually use Cross Poison on Crobat? Poison only hits Grass types super-effectively, so you'd obviously want to use Brave Bird instead. Super Fang however, would enable Crobat to do good damage to things that resist Brave Bird, notably Steel types. I guess you might just want to U-Turn out instead of use Super Fang in most situations however, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
 

KM

slayification
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
I think you may want to consider Megahorn > Protect on your Rhyperior. It'll help you deal with things like Mew and Umbreon better. Other than that, this team looks pretty solid, and congrats on the peak :)
 
Cool team, I've seen replays of it/seen you use it before.

I think you could go with PTJon's suggestion of Super Fang over Cross Poison as it really is a poor attacking type, or you can just go with 2 attack Band Crobat. So if you do happen to be put to sleep by something, you will have a 50/50 chance of either damaging something hard with Brave Bird or getting the hell out of there with U-Turn.

I do like protect on Rhyperior, but another potential move would be Toxic. It catches many common switch-ins on Rhyperior (namely Bulky Waters) and allows you to wittle them down. Very effective against Slowbro which I thing poses a bit of a threat to you. It would give you two ways to toss Toxic around to help your offensive.

What's your gameplan against Ghost types that keep Mienshao from spamming HJK?

Congrats on the peak.
 
Your team looks very solid and well built imo

The only thing that I am going to suggest might sound super weird, but it has its logic. If you think Cross Poison isn't that useful and you don't like to be locked into Super Fang, run only 3 moves on Crobat. By doing that you will always get a win-win situation with Sleep Talk: you either get a super powerful Brave Bird or you switch out with U-Turn.

Congrats on your peak :)
 
I personally like Dragon Tail on Rhyperior since it prevents stuff like Bronzong from being able to switch into you and get rocks up and it also allows you to actually damage Flygon.

Anyways I really like this team; I think of all the main threats and I see not only one, but two or three checks to said threats which I really think is the hallmark of a good team.

The only threat I can think of is Kingdra since it gets a free set up any time you kill something with Overheat. Blastoise can take a hit and RoarToxic but it's also notoriously easy to wear down and it's often hard to tell what set Kingdra will be. In generally I'm not a big fan of Overheat, especially on choiced sets. You could consider Zapdos instead as you gain all around better stats, a secondary check to fighters, and more survivability if you opt for LO Roost. You do lose the ability to wall opposing electric types and Trick though. I'm sure you're abundantly aware of Zapdos and what it can do but just thought I'd put that out there.
 
I like this team a lot, especially that amoongus.
My main question is how do you handle cofafgrigus/ snorlax cores? Cofagrigus ahuts down mienshao and can burn rhyperior. Snorlax can tank a cb brave bird and hit very hard with body slam.

Im not really sure what inputs would help since you did peak high so as ptjon said youre doing something right. Good team overall!
 
There has been controversy regarding this thread so I'm going to clarify things in this post. The Mienshao/Rotom-Heat/Blastoise core was made by me, without referencing. I then saw Dangerous36M's team and thus chose Banded Crobat over stallbreaker Crobat, Protect Rhyperior and offensive Amoonguss. Yes, this team is almost identical to his, and that is because I took 3 of his pokémon to use for my team. I hope this post clears things up. Thank you!
 
If you plan on using crobat as sleep fodder, I think you should just get rid of cross poison and not replace it with anything. A 50-50 chance to roll either brave bird or u-turn is pretty much all you neeed, as you don't really want to roll anything else. At least I wouldn't, I think offensive crobat really only needs those 2 moves, and I think it would work
 
This is a solid team but doesn't it have problems switching into common fast fighting types like Mienshao and Herracross. Blastoise gets worn down quickly, Crobat is a very risky switch-in and your Amoonguss isn't even that bulky.

I doubt offensive Amoonguss even works that well since it's so darn slow and Life Orb is generally bad on such slow pokemon that are primarily supposed to tank hits, not dish out damage. I would personally use a defensive variant because there are better options out there if you want an offensive grass type (Shaymin, Roserade or even Specs Tangrowth if you want a slow tankish hard hitter). I would at least run Synthesis if you really want to keep your current set since just Regenerator is not going to be enough.

Everything else is pretty standard, keep Protect on Rhyperior, it's by far the best option for the 4th slot (if you are defensive), you gain so much against stuff Mienshao, Rotom-H, Scarf Herracross and other choiced users and extra lefties recovery is always nice. Just 3 moves on Crobat is a decent idea but Cross Poison is still very useful for Electric types so I don't think it's worth getting rid of it just for a slightly more reliable Sleep Talk.
 
The thing that i see that could be a problem is specs chandelure which could 2hko everything on your team with the right stab move. You have rhypherior to deal with fire types such as chandelure, or other fire types, however rhypherior wont like taking repeated specs shadow balls or even a specs fire blast. Although you have blastoise it isnt the best bulky water out there so after a while it can be worn down to the point where even a strong special fire move could take it out. Also, you dont have alot for UU's biggest threat aka heracross besides crobat which still could be taken out very quickly with a couple of stone edges depending on what heracross set your opponent may have.

I'd also prefer a defensive set for the amoongus you have. Offensive amoongus isnt bad but there are numerous resists in the UU tier which make offensive amoongus pointless and maybe even dead weight. Defensive amoongus can take water type atacks better due to its invested bulk and can still retaliate back with a strong STAB giga drain regardless of EV investment

Other than that your team looks very standard, balanced and has a good volt-turn core of rotom H, crobat and mienshao. Your team has a decent FWG core, which in my opinion every team should have, and has great synergy aswell.
 

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