First and Weird

Espyboss

Hey Smogon! I'm kinda new to competitive pokemon but I've watched a lot of battles and looked at lots of these RMTs, so I kinda know how things roll. This is my first team, and it has worked pretty well so far. I know that it is really weird, and only two of these pokes are actually UU, but it surprises a lot of people. I have just been battling here on the wifi-battle finder and it has been fun. But anyways, here they are.

Changes in BOLD.

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@Leftovers (Levitate)
Modest: 196HP / 252SpAtk / 60 Speed
Overheat
Discharge
Substitute
Will-o-wisp

This guy is really useful in almost every battle. I need him to counter Shaymin and get some will-o-wisps off on some threats. Because of all of the bulk he has, I often bring him in on a resisted move, set up a sub on the switch, and proceed to do whatever is necessary. Overheat is to hit the grass types and steel types, Discharge over thunderbolt for the extra paralysis chance, substitute for easing predictions up for me and making them harder for the opponent, and will-o-wisp to burn things. He is part of a FWG core which also includes Lanturn and Tangrowth, and he works quite well. It is also cool because a lot of people always think scarfed, but he is not. I'm not sure if I want lefties or life orb on him so some help with that would be nice.
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@Eviolite (Trace)
Calm: 252HP / 4Def / 252 SpDef
Recover
Thunderbolt
Ice Beam
Thunder Wave

This is the replacement special wall/bulky thing for lanturn suggested by indian. He is really bulky and does a much better job. I switched out toxic for thunder wave because the claydol that he suggested also had toxic. Pory switches into special attacks of all kinds, and does a great job at walling them. Boltbeam is for coverage, thunder wave is for faster threats, and recover is for longevity.

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@Choice Band (Levitate)
Adamant: 4HP / 252Atk / 252Speed
Zen Headbutt
Fire Punch
Ice Punch
U-turn

I love this thing. Nobody expects the choice band and it is so funny to watch me go up 6-5 first turn because this thing OHKOs their lead. I almost always lead with him, and he always takes down at least one pokemon throughout the battle. Zen Headbutt for STAB, Fire Punch for Steels and Grasses, Ice Punch for Flygons, and U-turn for scouting. A pretty straightforward set and I like it. I'm considering Jolly over Adamant, but otherwise i like him the way he is.
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@Leftovers (Levitate)
Bold: 252HP / 252Def / 4SpDef
Stealth Rocks
Rapid Spin
Ice Beam
Toxic

This is the other pokemon that indian kindly suggested. He replaces sandslash as stealth rocker/spinner/toxicer. The only problem that I have is how now only two of my pokemon have physical moves, but I don't want to give Claydol EQ because it is nice to have ice beam for predicted flygon switch ins or stuff like that, but I will change it if no one has any other suggestions. Moveset is pretty explanatory, stealth rocks (duh) rapid spin to help keep Rotom-h especially and other members alive, toxic for walls, and ice beam for a damaging move. He works well with Porygon2 as well.

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@Leftovers (Regenerator)
Impish: 252HP / 100Atk / 156Def
Power Whip
Knock Off
Leech Seed
Sleep Powder

SO BAULKY!! No joking, this thing is a monster. I don't even need max defense to tank hits like nothing else. I like having some attack EVs so my power whips do more damage, but I don't know if you guys think I need more bulk or not. He is the last part of my FWG core, and stays alive for most of the battle. And when he is about to die, I switch him out, back in and he is at about half health! I don't really use sleep powder that much, and I am willing to change other parts of the moveset to make him work even better. Power Whip to do damage, Knock Off for general annoyance, Leech Seed for damage on them and recovery for me. I also use it when I predict them to switch but don't remember their team or don't know what they will switch to. Sleep Powder for status. Don't really need help with him except for the moveset, but everything is welcome.

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@Choice Specs (Magnet Pull)
Modest: 252HP / 4Def / 252SpAtk
Power Gem
Earth Power
Discharge
Flash Cannon

HAHA! I bet you just loled. Choice Specs Probopass?!? Who does that? Well, I was scanning serebii and saw him. He has awesome defenses, and a not bad special attack (it's pretty bad). But I thought, "this could be really bulky with choice specs and still do some damage" and it does. It doesn't work as well as I had hoped that it would, but it works pretty well for tanking hits and the like as well. I kinda just needed a steel type to resist dragon and the likes, but also a special attacker. Anyways, Power Gem is STAB, Earth Power is to have rock-ground coverage, discharge for random times, and flash cannon for another STAB. I rarely use Flash Cannon and really wouldn't mind a new suggestion for a moveset, but I kinda like it.

Well, thats my team. Bring on the criticism and helpful suggestions!!
 
ok bro, so pretty good team, one change that I suggest...
I too, love probopass, but you're using him wrong. He is, in my opinion, the best steel trapper, so use him that way

give him HP fire and magnet pull as his ability and he becomes a monster.

Just a suggestion
 
Your team is very weak to chandelure. Replace lanturn with porygon2. It handles chandelure and houndoom another threat to your team. It also helps to add some firepower to your team.
Porygon2@evoilite (trace) calm
~252hp, 252spdef, 4spA
~recover, toxic, discharge, ice beam
You can also run a more offensive set.

Onto your problem with sandslash.
I recommend claydol in this slot. It forms a good defensive core with pory.

Claydol @ leftovers
~bold
~252hp/252def/4spdf
~stealth rock,rapid spin,toxic, icebeam

Now you are free to use your tangrowth & rotom-h more offensively.
Hope i helped and good luck with the team:)
 
N1nj4S4m said:
ok bro, so pretty good team, one change that I suggest...
I too, love probopass, but you're using him wrong. He is, in my opinion, the best steel trapper, so use him that way

give him HP fire and magnet pull as his ability and he becomes a monster.

Just a suggestion
Click to expand...

Thanks man, I'll try out that magnet pull idea. I don't know why I wasn't using that. :P

indian said:
Your team is very weak to chandelure. Replace lanturn with porygon2. It handles chandelure and houndoom another threat to your team. It also helps to add some firepower to your team.
Porygon2@evoilite (trace) calm
~252hp, 252spdef, 4spA
~recover, toxic, discharge, ice beam
You can also run a more offensive set.

Onto your problem with sandslash.
I recommend claydol in this slot. It forms a good defensive core with pory.

Claydol @ leftovers
~bold
~252hp/252def/4spdf
~stealth rock,rapid spin,toxic, icebeam

Now you are free to use your tangrowth & rotom-h more offensively.
Hope i helped and good luck with the team:)
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Thanks for the help! Those are great ideas and I'll try them out soon! I did find that I was relying a bit too much on rotom-h for tanking some weaker resisted moves, so this should help.
 
I made some changes to the team. Anybody else have any ideas to help me? I still feel like it could be a lot better than it is, but I don't know what to do. Please Help!
 
Try volt switch over discharge on probopass, as it allows him to easily get out in a pinch and have a voltturn core along with azelf.
 
Scarf heracross is a major threat for this team as it can hit every team member for super effeative damage. So, i suggest to use scarf rotom h. It is also very good as you have a spinner so the switching is not very troubling. But this gives your team three choiced pokes.
 
indian said:
Scarf heracross is a major threat for this team as it can hit every team member for super effeative damage. So, i suggest to use scarf rotom h. It is also very good as you have a spinner so the switching is not very troubling. But this gives your team three choiced pokes.
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Ya, that is true, although I haven't seen many. I know they are pretty common though. About the 3 choiced pokemon, I was thinking of just taking probopass out of the mix, because now that I have had even more time to try out the team, he hasn't been doing much at all. That would leave room for another special attacker and let rotom-h do his new job as scarfer. And I'm assuming that the moveset would be something like:

Modest 4HP / 252Spatk / 252Speed
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Shadow Ball
- Trick

Thanks for all of the help guys. It has really made this team more successful! :)
Besides that, any ideas for a replacement for probopass?
 
What does your team try to achieve? Do you try to stall away with your Tangrowth and Porygon2 core? Do you attempt some type of sweep after with Azelf after clearing away the opposing Steels with Probobass? Or a mesh of both ideas? Successful teams should have a pretty clear objective and I don't see one here. Your team looks likes its leaning very defensively already so you might as well try to capitalize on that.

First, what are your EVs for Tangrowth? I assume you aren't using over 600 EVs so you probably have less investment in attack or something, which is fine. A big problem of Tangrowth is that it's a physical defender but it can't beat common physical attackers because of its Grass typing, including Darmantian, Victini, Heracross and Weavile. Considering there are only a few attackers it cannot beat you might as well try to compliment it with a special defender who can beat those attackers (Porygon2 cannot) that has the typing to beat those attackers so you can cover many special attackers and beat the rest of those physical attackers - killing lots and lots of birds with one stone.

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Suicune@Leftovers
Calm: 252 HP, 96 Def, 160 SpD
~Scald
~Roar
~Rest
~Sleep Talk

The massive investment in special defense allows you to beat any unboosting special attacker in UU except ones with super effective STAB while the ones that do boost can still be phazed out. The extra defense is a pretty arbitrary number but it allows ou not be 2HKOd by things like CB Weavile. With just two Pokemon you can counter the vast majority of UU's attackers - that's not even considering the fact you have four more slots still.

Of course that Suicune set does not mesh very well with your team currently (I would use it over Rotom-H) typing wise, you lose an important grass resist. You also need to abuse more hazards if you want to make the most out of Roar which leads into my next recommendation, axing out Probopass in exchange for Accelgor. Accelgor can quickly get your hazards up while still having good power, meaning its not set up fodder. It also is a decent check/counter for Shaymin.
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Accelgor@Focus Sash/Life Orb
Timid: 252 SpA, 4 SpD, 252 Spe
~Bug Buzz
~Spikes
~Giga Drain
~Yawn

The importance of Spikes cannot really be overstated because it helps you stall out your opponent and will be a big source of power from your team. It weakens the opponent nicely enough for Azelf to sweep more cleanly. Giga Drain is fun to hit Swampert leads with but it shouldn't be used too much as it is really weak. Generally you rather set up on bulky waters rather than kill them, although healing off Life Orb damage or even going back to 100% for Focus Sash is really nice. Yawn is a bit filler but your best shot unless you want to rely on Focus Blast's accuracy. If your Focus Sash is intact midgame it can act as a revenge killer of sorts, putting a rampaging sweeper to sleep, although you may want to just attack with Bug Buzz.

If you are using so many hazards, especially if your Spiker is a suicide lead, you probably want to protect them with a spinblocker. If you choose to use one I would use a standard Sableye set over Duclops or Mismagius because Dusclops is just really bad (trust me) and Mismagius has no priority burn. Sableye is also deceptively bulky because it needs only like 8 or 12 speed EVs for speed creep. I think spinners are not terribly common in UU though, with the only commonish ones being Hitmontop and sort of Blastoise. You might not even need a blocker although I highly recommend you to use one over Azelf if need be.

Good luck with your team.
 
hilarious said:
What does your team try to achieve? Do you try to stall away with your Tangrowth and Porygon2 core? Do you attempt some type of sweep after with Azelf after clearing away the opposing Steels with Probobass? Or a mesh of both ideas? Successful teams should have a pretty clear objective and I don't see one here. Your team looks likes its leaning very defensively already so you might as well try to capitalize on that.

First, what are your EVs for Tangrowth? I assume you aren't using over 600 EVs so you probably have less investment in attack or something, which is fine. A big problem of Tangrowth is that it's a physical defender but it can't beat common physical attackers because of its Grass typing, including Darmantian, Victini, Heracross and Weavile. Considering there are only a few attackers it cannot beat you might as well try to compliment it with a special defender who can beat those attackers (Porygon2 cannot) that has the typing to beat those attackers so you can cover many special attackers and beat the rest of those physical attackers - killing lots and lots of birds with one stone.

245.png

Suicune@Leftovers
Calm: 252 HP, 96 Def, 160 SpD
~Scald
~Roar
~Rest
~Sleep Talk

The massive investment in special defense allows you to beat any unboosting special attacker in UU except ones with super effective STAB while the ones that do boost can still be phazed out. The extra defense is a pretty arbitrary number but it allows ou not be 2HKOd by things like CB Weavile. With just two Pokemon you can counter the vast majority of UU's attackers - that's not even considering the fact you have four more slots still.

Of course that Suicune set does not mesh very well with your team currently (I would use it over Rotom-H) typing wise, you lose an important grass resist. You also need to abuse more hazards if you want to make the most out of Roar which leads into my next recommendation, axing out Probopass in exchange for Accelgor. Accelgor can quickly get your hazards up while still having good power, meaning its not set up fodder. It also is a decent check/counter for Shaymin.
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Accelgor@Focus Sash/Life Orb
Timid: 252 SpA, 4 SpD, 252 Spe
~Bug Buzz
~Spikes
~Giga Drain
~Yawn

The importance of Spikes cannot really be overstated because it helps you stall out your opponent and will be a big source of power from your team. It weakens the opponent nicely enough for Azelf to sweep more cleanly. Giga Drain is fun to hit Swampert leads with but it shouldn't be used too much as it is really weak. Generally you rather set up on bulky waters rather than kill them, although healing off Life Orb damage or even going back to 100% for Focus Sash is really nice. Yawn is a bit filler but your best shot unless you want to rely on Focus Blast's accuracy. If your Focus Sash is intact midgame it can act as a revenge killer of sorts, putting a rampaging sweeper to sleep, although you may want to just attack with Bug Buzz.

If you are using so many hazards, especially if your Spiker is a suicide lead, you probably want to protect them with a spinblocker. If you choose to use one I would use a standard Sableye set over Duclops or Mismagius because Dusclops is just really bad (trust me) and Mismagius has no priority burn. Sableye is also deceptively bulky because it needs only like 8 or 12 speed EVs for speed creep. I think spinners are not terribly common in UU though, with the only commonish ones being Hitmontop and sort of Blastoise. You might not even need a blocker although I highly recommend you to use one over Azelf if need be.

Good luck with your team.
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Thanks for the rate! Generally I do try to stall the enemy's team and go for some sort of sweep at the end with rotom-h or azelf, but it is pretty inconsistent in working like I want it to. I will definitely try out the suicune and the accelgor. They seem like what I need, although I am hesitant to get rid of azelf for a spin blocker. Oh, and I'll fix my tangrowth evs. Thanks for all of the suggestions!
 
I love your idea of Choice Specs Probopass, and I can deal with two of your problems from your initial team at once.

You say that Probopass is your Dragon resist, so I suggest that you swap out Flash Cannon for HP Ice so you can counter Dragons (and Grass-types) better, kind of like Raikou and Landorus in OU, but bulkier.

If you do that, then you can have a third Pokemon with a physical attack by swapping Ice Beam for Earthquake on Claydol.
 
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