Before They're Gone, a UU RMT

[Reaver12]

I've been meaning to write this RMT for some time, but never seemed to have the time/motivation. Well since you're reading this I obviously fixed this problem ;-). Anyway, this is a balanced UU team that takes advantage of two former BL Pokemon and stops the others fairly well. I wanted to get this RMT out there before the drastic changes that are about to take place (you know half of the new UUers are going back to BL) and to see if there is anything I can fix to make the team truly great before it's retirement. So without anymore talk, here is the obligatory at a glance....




"Ninja" the Anti-Lead

Sneasel @ Focus Sash
Ability: Inner Focus
Nature: Hasty
EVs: 252 Att, 216 Spe, 40 HP
-Taunt
-Counter
-Pursuit
-Ice Shard

This little NFE beats all of the major leads used in UU hands down. Basically, if you think you can set up I taunt you. If you look like you might get greedy and go for the KO I Counter you. If you get stupid and use Fake Out, I laugh then Counter you. If you try to run, Pursuit stops you cold. As cocky as all that sounds, it is pretty much how every battle starts. Since this guy isn't meant to do anything but KO the other lead, here is a brief look at what happens against the most notable leads in UU. The EVs and Nature allow Sneasel to still outspeed Froslass and to maximize damage output from Counter on things like Uxies U-turn and more defensive Ambipom Fake Out.

Uxie: Taunt the SR or screens, then Counter on the U-turn. Really awesome, but sucks if my opponent knows whats coming and goes to a ghost. If it tricks me a scarf, its not really a big deal.
Ambipom: They almost always Fake Out, which results in a OHKO with Counter. Some U-turn, which puts it in the same boat as Uxie. If they use Double Hit, then I lose. Happens very rarely though.
Froslass: The reason this lead exists TBH, and why it is better than Alakazam. I Pursuit the first turn, as one layer of spikes is less bothersome than a 100% Froslass roaming about. If they tried to switch, they're at 1%, if they stayed in, they get Taunted then Pursuited again. Sneasel always wins.



"Tank" the Tank

Donphan @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 204 HP, 252 Att, 52 Def
-Stealth Rock
-Rapid Spin
-Ice Shard
-Earthquake

Donphan has been a staple in UU since it's drop, and with good reason. Donphan provides my team with a check to the powerful physical attacks roaming around in UU and sets up the best move in the game, Stealth Rock. While my team isn't horribly bothered by SR, my next Pokemon really really hates Toxic Spikes which is why I use Rapid Spin over any other move. Ice Shard and Earthquake are obvious choices, one providing powerful STAB and other providing a check to all of the set up sweepers that one must prepare for with priority. The immunity to electric and the ability to deal with Registeel is really what puts Donphan here over any other physical tank, and he has never disapointed me.

"Midnight" the Glue

Umbreon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sychronize
Nature: Sassy
EVs: 252 HP, 92 Att, 164 SpD
-Wish
-Heal Bell
-Payback
-Curse

Wish support is absolutley essential to this team, and with all the heavy hits Donphan takes and LO recoil on my last three Pokemon Umbreon becomes the MVP almost every match. Being able to become a sweeper himself with Curse just makes Umbreon that much better. Once he gets a few Curses under his belt its GG if Registeel and Steelix are gone (thanks to Donphan, they likely will be). His main goal though is saving my other Pokemon, with sweeping thrown in as a really bad ass extra.

"Godfather" the Wall-Breaker

Honchkrow @ Life Orb
Ability: Insomnia
Nature: Naughty
EVs: 252 Att, 80 SpA, 176 Spe
-Brave Bird
-Superpower
-Sucker Punch
-Hidden Power (Grass)

A slight alteration to the common Honchkrow that gives mine the ablity to decimate Rhyperior, a common switch in on the Krow. The 80 SpA EVs also gurantee that Mismagius isn't setting up subs and getting free NP boosts, though the mindgames are still nerve racking. There really isn't much to say about the moves, as they are there to simply destroy almost everything in UU. I usually switch him in on an expected Earthquake, or better yet Sleep Powder and just attack anything that comes out. It's a freaking wrecking ball...


"Mufasa" Sweeper # 1

Arcanine @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Naughty
EVs: 252 Att, 252 Spe, 4 HP
-Flare Blitz
-Hidden Power (Grass)
-Extremespeed
-Morning Sun

Arcanine is a great sweeper and revenge killer, not to mention he provides amazing synergy with my final Pokemon Sceptile. With the Flash Fire boost that Arcanine is likely to get he can Blitz his way through almost any defense, and Hidden Power Grass is there to hopefully KO any bulky waters that get hit with a full powered Flare Blitz on the switch in. Extremespeed gives my team a grand total of four priority moves, meaning that there isn't much that can set up a sweep against me. With Morning Sun Arcanine can both heal off Blitz damage, and play mindgames with the ever common sucker punch users. Again, this guy is a verry simple concept. Switch in, kill stuff, heal up for another round.

"Blade" Sweeper #2 and The Finisher

Sceptile @ Expert Belt
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: Naive
EVs: 156 Att, 136 SpA, 216 Spe
-Leaf Storm
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
-Hidden Power (Ice)

The amazing MixTile is here to finish off my opponent and cover most of Arcanines weaknesses. The EVs allow me to cleanly outspeed all positive natured base 115s, and the rest are there to hit things as hard as possible. Even with the limited Special Attack investment Leaf Storm still OHKOs the bulky waters, and pretty much anything else that doesn't resist it. This means that my opponent doesn't know I carry physical attacks until it is too late and they lost their Moltres/ Raikou without gaining anything at all. Probably my favorite Pokemon to use on the team, simply because he has swept whole teams for me in the past and will likely do so again.



Well, there it is. Probably one of my favorite teams that I've ever built. This team is so fun to use that it got me back into UU again, so I think it will always have a special place on my hard drive ;-). Nontheless, tell me what you think. What changes can be made to make the team even better, how can I stop some dangerous threats (i.e. Sub Punch Azumarill of all things can give me trouble). As anyone who has read my other RMTs knows, if it's a good idea I'll sure as hell at least give it a test.


Fun Fact: I noticed this while sprite gathering, every one of my Pokemon has been in the ownership of a major character in the Anime....

 

[Brass]

I actually battled this team a few times on shoddy. And we ended up pretty equal. Your Sneasel really threw me for a loop. First off I love the Mixtile. Infact I am working on creating a Mixtile tile myself. I just don't know what Speed I should try to outrun. I would like to see your feed back on yours.

Nitpick: On Umbreon I think you mean 164 SpD not SpA

Okay onto the rate. The first thing I would change is Arcanine. I would first change the nature to naugthy and replace Thunder with HP Grass. This allows him to do a hefty amount to Rhyperior. While also killing off omnistars, and other x4 grass weak pokemon that switch into arcanine often as they are also x4 fire resistant. I just don't see thunderfang as effective in as it has such low base power. The main reason for it in the analysis was for Gyrados who is not in UU. This will help especailly when the suspects leave. I would also opt for intimidate as it increases bulk and wears down physical attackers but the flash fire boost makes sense. Personal preferance

I also see it possible on sceptile to run even less speed either to outrun 105s (Mismagius) or 110 (Frosslass) This would allow you to get more power on you attacks. While still outspeeding most of the metagame. The 115s are raikou who you won't be hurting much with EQ and can KO you back with his secondary attack. Ambipom can Fake Out and take out a heft amount. Both of which are handled better by your walls.

As for your SubAzumaril Weakness it is a a problem as it can come in on both of your walls and wreak havoc. With umbreon you may beable to out play him with wishing and curses but it becomes difficult. The best person for this is Slobro who can take anything Azumarill's got and keep going. The problem is that I don't who to replace. This would complete the fire water grass core provding great coverage. However I am not sure who to replace. Donphan is who I would opt to but then you lose stealth rocks and then 1/2 of your team is taking 25% coming into battle.

Hope I helped
I will check back in if I think of anything

EDIT: Only lower Sceptiles speed if and hopefully raikou and Frosslass are sent to BL

 

[Reaver12]

First off thanks for the rate, and I remember battling you several times last night actually Brass.

Ok, fixed Umbreons typo.

I'll test out the HP Grass suggestion on Arcanine, it makes sense.

Surprisingly enough Earthquake does a good deal of damage to Raikou, after two hits from SR or a broken Sub it can OHKO offensive Raikou while unboosted HP Ice/Fire doesn't OHKO Sceptile. I only ever bother risking this in the late game though, and if Raikou goes back to BL I'll invest more heavily in attack and EV to outspeed 105s most likely.

UmbreonMaster, Ice Shard is there in case the opposing lead is also brought down to their sash and has another priority move. Hitmontop is the only one I can think of at the moment, but one more Ice Shard never hurt a team. Thanks for the earlier comment as well, gotta watch out for that scarfed Haunter ;-)

 

[Platyp]

Have you considered switching out Curse for Heal Bell on Umbreon? Donphan might get rid of Toxic Spikes for your team, but he himself sure won't enjoy being poisoned.

 

[Reaver12]

Heal Bell would be the better team support option, but the walling and sweeping opportunities that Curse brings are just too sweet to pass up. Still, I might have to test it out.

 

[Xiang]

First off, I second Brass's opinion about changing Arcanine's nature to Naughty and using hp grass> thunderfang, as it really does hit almost everything that thunderfang hits just as hard or harder. I would also keep flash fire as with a Naughty nature, your team would have a hard time switching into special fire attacks when umbreon is at suboptimal health.

Counter to what Brass said, I would also keep your mixtile's speed as is. It is important to outspeed raikou in this metagame and have the utility to revenge KO it with EQ.

I see that your umbreon is perhaps EV'd in attack to always break azumarill's subs with payback, as well as to (possibly) hit gallade harder:

+0 Payback on Subpunch Azu

189 Atk vs 196 Def & 404 HP (100 Base Power): 105 - 124 (25.99% - 30.69%)

However, do note that even with a Sassy nature and 0 Speed EV's, you are still going to be outspeeding Adamant Azumarill with 16 Speed EV's without modifying IVs. So if preventing Azumarill from setting up was your goal then I would advise you to lower your Speed IV's in order to always hit its sub with a full powered payback.

 

[SMGT]

Quick suggestion: Your Sneasel is kinda outdone by Alakazam as a Counter lead. The only real upside of using Sneasel, besides the surprise factor, and forgive me if I'm missing something, is Pursuit. Personally, I'd rather sacrifice the ability to hit Pokes on the switch for a good amount of more firepower. Just a thought, but I'd encourage you to at least test this set out:

Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Spe, 252 SpA
Hasty nature (+Spe, -Def)
- Counter
- Taunt
- Psychic
- Focus Blast/Encore

Once again, only a suggestion. Good luck!

 

[Cuiv]

Quick suggestion: Your Sneasel is kinda outdone by Alakazam as a Counter lead. The only real upside of using Sneasel, besides the surprise factor, and forgive me if I'm missing something, is Pursuit. Personally, I'd rather sacrifice the ability to hit Pokes on the switch for a good amount of more firepower. Just a thought, but I'd encourage you to at least test this set out:

Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Spe, 252 SpA
Hasty nature (+Spe, -Def)
- Counter
- Taunt
- Psychic
- Focus Blast/Encore

Once again, only a suggestion. Good luck!

Alakazam loses to a Froslass who predicts properly, and also to any Spiritomb leads running around. If/when Froslass is voted BL, Alakazam will probably be better than Sneasel, but until then Sneasel is better. Also, Sneasel has priority for taking out Focus Sashers.

Btw, Lead Alakazam doesn't need to run max speed. Beating Ambipom does nothing since you'll be using Counter anyway. Run just enough speed to beat max speed Froslass. (A smart Froslass user will expect a Taunt and attack you straight away, and Alakazam can't Counter Froslass's special attacks.)

 

[Reaver12]

Cuiv explained why I use Sneasel pretty well, so I'm not gonna really touch on that. I went ahead and lowered Umbreons Speed IV to zero, not sure why I didn't do that before to be honset. I would use Aerial Ace on Sceptile, except most fighters are destroyed by Leaf Storm anyway and X-Scissor has more power against Grass types, and Umbreon.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

 

[Cuiv]

On Heal Bell on Umbreon, I've found that it often works better than Protect. Umbreon's defenses are gargantuan enough, especially with a Curse or two, that it can afford not to have the guaranteed healing. Very little can 2HKO an unboosted Umbreon, let alone one with a Curse under its belt. On the same lines, I would recommend switching around the EVs on Umbreon a bit to take advantage of Curse, moving some EVs from special defense into defense (also good because most UU threats are physical).

Also, you might consider switching Sceptile's nature to Hasty so he can better switch in on a Raikou Thunderbolt and 2HKO it with Earthquake. (I think it's a 2HKO, would have to check to be certain.) Admittedly, most threats in UU are physical, so dropping defense in favor of special defense seems odd, but Raikou can be serious trouble, and Sceptile is a great counter, being the only UU other than Dugtrio that is faster, resists its STAB and can hit back with a supereffective attack. Plus, Sceptile is too physically frail to switch in on most physical hits anyway, but it can take some special hits.

 

[Reaver12]

I'm currently testing Heal Bell Umbreon so I'll have to get back to you on whether or not I agree with you. Personally I like having the safety that protect offers, but my team does really hate status so its still up in the air. Offensive Raikou is KO'd after SR and one turn of Life Orb damage, but I think I will take that advice since Sceptile is still KO'd by Honchkrows Sucker Punch without the negative defensive natured. I haven't faced the more defensive sets with Sceptile yet, but I'm not very worried about it since Umbreon still beats it.

 

[A.P.]

Right, others have already addressed most of your problems, so a minor nitpick on my part:

Run HP Ice over X-Scissor, as it beats Altaria, and still gets you coverage on Grassers. I also suggest using Expert Belt, as your moves are mainly for type coverage to start with. In addition, bluffing Specs is very useful in luring out problem Pokemon like Moltres and whatnot.

Speaking of Moltres, your team is blatantly weak to it, and an Umbreon that's even at 3/4 health is decimated by it, leaving your only check as Sceptile, who is immediately suspect upon coming into Moltres. I dunno how you'd beat this without changing your team, so all I'm gonna say is: keep Umbreon at full health whenever possible, and don't send in weakened counters to take on a threat; sac something instead.

Overall, nice team, good luck.

 

[Reaver12]

I'll go ahead and put Expert Belt on there, but I worry about losing damage on the few types I don't hit for SE damage (Ghosts, Normals, and Fighters mostly). I agree that bluffing Specs will be more beneficial though, so thanks. That final slot for Sceptile is such a pain in the ass. I had HP Fire, then Ice, then X-Scisoor. To be honset they've all done about the same, but since Altaria is the bulkiest thing I'll be hitting with that moveslot for 4x damage I might as well throw it back on there... damn I wish Venusaur had a 4x weakness

I mostly deal with Moltres through Flash Fire boosted Flare Blitzs and SR. Often because I'm good at keeping SR on the field they keep Moltres hidden until the end of the match, when it's not an alarm to them when I send out Sceptile in "desperation" ;-)

 

[ginganinja]

Hi Rever and nice team. I also have played aginst this team and it works pretty well in UU. However i am unsure about the 3 dark types on this team. Your team can be hurt badly by Rock, Ice and Bug moves as each hit 1/2 your team supereffectivly. How do you stop RP Rhyperior which comes in on Umbreon as with Megahorn, stone edge and Earthquake all bar Donphan are hit for super effective damage.
I would like to see a water type in your team preferably over Honchkrow as it makes the rock weakness less of an issue. I feel bad suggesting Honchkrow be replaced but it is just what i think might be best