Dragon Dancing in the Wind
Hello everyone.
The original team was thought up in 15 minutes, literally. After extensive testing and laddering, I found that this team could actually work.
Team Focus:
Hit hard with powerful sweepers that can inflict damage either through set up or through sheer power. When the enemy comes to retaliate, sponge their attacks with defensive pivots that complement the sweepers with their sets, which are geared for support and survivability.
Boring Team Creation Story that no one looks at
So, I saw scrafty, and I was sold, so I decided to add him to my lineup.
I wanted to go with a pokemon that I didn't see used anymore, but was still a good option. That fateful minute, I stumbled across registeel. He sponges special hits, can set up stealth rock, and can thunder wave to support a scrafty sweep against choice scarf pokemon. Thus, registeel was added.
While scrolling through options, I saw durant. After remembering that he got superpower from the BW2 move tutors, he was an insta-add. The sheer power and coverage this thing carries could demolish entire teams at the snap of a finger. What could be better?
I figured I'd need a good combo that can stand alongside registeel and sponge the physical hits he can't take. I remembered slowbro from OU, looked him up, saw he was UU, and added him to my team before you could say "Add slowbro to your team." This one was a very easy choice. It beats nearly everything registeel can't, and regenerator is icing on the cake!
At this point, I found that my team was lacking a revenge killer. I remembered a brief escapade with flygon in UU from a few months before, and after a bit of testing, flygon was added to the team for revenge killing purposes. When I looked at it, the fact that it was immune to slowbro's only weakness not resisted by registeel as well as regi's only weakness not resisted by slowbro was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.
Zapdos is kind of a weird one, but I have no grass type and I needed something to go toe to toe with the bulky waters. A grass type was out of the option because of registeel's and durant's weakness to fire. Thus, zapdos was chosen. I chose a bulkier set in order to take next to nothing from those bulky waters.
And that's how the team was built. Here's a cool motivational poster to cheer you up because you chose to suffer through eating all this fried okra before getting to the steak.
And without further adieu, the lineup for Dragon Dancing in the Wind!
Copyright 2011-2012 by Velavter of deviantart.
Scrafty @Lum Berry
Adamant | 252 Atk, 252 Speed, 252 HP | Moxie
~Dragon Dance
~Hi Jump Kick
~Ice Punch
~Crunch
Ah, Scrafty, how I love you so... As soon as I saw Scrafty drop to UU, I thought he'd be BL for sure. Turns out, he fits quite snugly in UU. After finally getting around to making a UU team, I decided Scrafty would be on it. Most of you probably recognize it as the standard dragon dance set from OU that has now become standard in UU. Hi Jump Kick gives a crapton of power, especially when backed up by a DD or moxie boost. I find it 2hkoing a lot of stuff even before any boosts, which is pretty cool. Ice Punch achieves coverage on gligar, nidoking, Zapdos and nidoqueen. Crunch gives him a more reliable STAB and ensures he is not walled by psychic types. There really isn't much to say about Scrafty except that he slaughters everything except maybe Zapdos and Crobat after a boost or two.
Type Synergy
Flying: Zapdos, Registeel
SE moves: Zapdos, Scrafty, Durant
Fighting: Zapdos, Slowbro
SE moves: Slowbro
Possible changes
Hi Jump Kick >>> Drain Punch
Lum Berry >>> Leftovers
Lum Berry >>> Life Orb
Registeel @Leftovers
Careful | 252 HP, 252 Sp. Def, 4 Atk | Clear Body
~Iron Head
~Seismic Toss
~Thunder Wave
~Stealth Rock
Registeel is one of the defensive glues and walls for my team. I always wondered why no one ever used him, considering how good he has been for my team. The lack of recovery is troublesome, and is probably what discourages his use so much. The good thing is, he does his job, and he does it well. The particular set I use is a throwback specially defensive set that hearkens back to the days of gen IV. Iron Head and Seismic toss ensure he will always have a move to deal a decent amount of damage with. Iron Head hits a key weakness to my team, and is good for paraflinch. Seismic toss is good for hitting for a set amount of damage and making sure the opposing team gets weakened directly. Thunder Wave paralyzes key sweepers such as sceptile and heracross either on the switch or in revenge. stealth Rock needs no explanation, as it murders everything and wears down other key sweepers such as tornadus. All in all, registeel still annoys the enemy team and sponges special hits without needing recovery to succeed. He is a pivotal part of my defense and is something my team could not do without.
Type Synergy
Fire: Slowbro, Flygon
SE moves: Slowbro, Flygon
Fighting: Zapdos, Slowbro
SE moves: Slowbro
Ground: Zapdos, Flygon
SE moves: Slowbro, Scrafty
Durant @Choice Band
Jolly | 252 Atk, 252 Speed, 4 HP | Hustle
~X-Scissor
~Iron Head
~Superpower
~Rock Slide
Oh wow, I cannot begin to describe the sheer power and scariness this thing packs. Durant fills the gap of an attacker who is very powerful and poses a threat right when he enters the battlefield without needing setup. This particular set is the basic choice band set. X-Scissor is my preferred STAB, and it hits everything hard. It provides amazing coverage against psychic types, demolishing even the mighty cresselia in two hits. Iron Head destroys stuff that resists X-Scissor and gets coverage on ice types, the aforementioned key weakness that my other glue pokemon have. It's also good for flinch lulz, especially with TW support from Slowbro and Registeel. Superpower hits all steels and basically 2hkos every steel type in the tier except maybe steelix. Rock Slide hits Zapdos and other flying types super effectively. Other than zapdos, it has no real point, but it is his best option. Durant strikes terror into the hearts of every team it meets, and is nigh unstoppable after the other team has been sufficiently weakened.
Type Synergy
Fire: Slowbro, Flygon
SE moves: Slowbro, Flygon
Slowbro @Leftovers
Bold | 252 Def, 252 HP, 4 Sp. Atk | Regenerator
~Scald
~Psychic
~Slack Off
~Thunder Wave
If you thought slowbro was evil in OU, he's even more evil in UU. Slowbro serves as the anti-physical glue for my team, taking everything physical like a baws. He absolutely destroys gligar that don't run toxic, a real threat to my sweepers. He just sits there and sponges physical hits all day while healing and burning with scald. Scald gives him STAB and a chance to burn key physical sweepers. Psychic gets super effectiveness on fighting types, one problem for my team. Slack Off allows him to heal and keep tanking. Thunder Wave slows down people so they become slow bros too and then they all get swept by Scrafty because he doesn't even need the speed boost after all that paralysis. Slowbro is just one big ball of cuddly sponging goodness, and he acts as a reliable wall to many physical threats to my team.
Type Synergy
Electric: Flygon
SE moves: Flygon
Grass: Registeel, Durant, Zapdos
SE moves: Durant, Zapdos, Scrafty, Flygon
Ghost: Registeel, Durant, Scrafty
SE moves: Scrafty
Dark: Registeel, Durant, Scrafty
SE moves: Scrafty, Durant
Bug: Registeel, Durant, Zapdos
SE moves: Flygon, Zapdos, Durant
Possible changes
Psychic >>> Psyshock
Credit goes to Prof. Shinx from Pokebeach.com for this drawing.
Flygon @Choice Scarf
Adamant | 252 Atk, 252 Speed, 4 HP | Levitate
~Dragon Claw
~Earthquake
~Fire Punch
~U-Turn
Flygon is a wonderful pokemon that fills a hole in my defensive part as the electric resist. His main role is to serve as a revenge killer to dangerous sweepers such as choice scarf heracross. Given his dragon + ground STAB and fire coverage, you can't really get much better neutral coverage. U-Turn grabs momentum and gives me an opportunity for a risk-free switch when I predict the opponent's switch. Dragon Claw is basic STAB, and I prefer it over outrage. Earthquake hits electric types super effectively and is his strongest stab. Fire Punch destroys steel types with lower defense and durant. It also gives him a good attack against scarf heracross, a big threat to my team. Without Flygon, most choice scarf pokemon as well as speed boosting set up pokemon would run straight through my team. Flygon plays a dual role, being both glue and revenge sweeper, two important roles on my team that I am glad he's around for.
Type Synergy
Dragon: Registeel (gets owned by other flygon), Durant
SE moves: Scrafty, Flygon
Ice: Registeel, Slowbro, Durant
SE moves: Registeel, Durant, Flygon, Scrafty, Zapdos
Zapdos @Leftovers
Modest | 112HP, 252 Sp. Atk, 144 Speed | Pressure
~Thunderbolt
~Heat Wave
~Roost
~Substitute
This zapdos is designed to sponge attacks and set up substitutes on the enemy, and proceed to fire off powerful moves while healing with roost. Thunderbolt hits like a truck, and can ko many annoying walls and sponges who are unable to harm zapdos through his sub. Heat Wave is used over hidden power ice to get the hit on bug types, specifically Heracross, that threaten slowbro as well as a stronger attack against grass and steel. Substitute renders him nearly untouchable by stall teams, and roost allows him to heal off damage incurred from substitute. Zapdos easily mops up bulky waters such as slowbro and blastoise as well as the flying types that make my sweepers' lives so miserable.
Type Synergy
Ice: Registeel, Durant, Slowbro
SE moves: Registeel, Scrafty, Durant, Zapdos, Flygon
Rock: Registeel, Scrafty, Flygon
SE moves: Registeel, Scrafty, Durant, Flygon
So, that's the team, hope you enjoyed. If you agree with any of the changes I am considering, don't hesitate to say so.
A Final Look from the back
I am also looking into a special sweeper as a suitable replacement for someone on my team, as I am finding dedicated physical walls tough to break. If any of you have any ideas of what attacker to use and what pokemon to replace, that would be helpful.
