At A Glance;
Hi Everyone
So, I am fairly new to competitive battling, and this is actually only my second team, so I don't expect much from it. However, considering that it is an early team, it has had a decent amount of success. It mostly consists of common sets, but with twists that have caught my opponents out many times. However, I think that it is far more than just slightly modified copypasta Smogon. The general idea of the team is to hinder the opposing Pokémon in order to give my two Sweepers and my sort of half-sweeper time to do some damage. So, here it is;
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Froslass @ Focus Sash
Nature; Timid
Ability; Snow Cloak
EVs; 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Moveset; Spikes, Taunt, Ice Beam, Destiny Bond
The setup begins. With its Focus Sash and Taunt to prevent opponents from setting up, this Froslass can hope to get up at least 2 layers of Spikes and make a safer switch-in for another team member. Despite being frail, the number of times that it has managed to get down 3 layers of Spikes and Taunt, Ice Beam, or Bond its opponents has been pretty surprising as Froslass often causes switches. The high speed is there for the obvious reason; to outspeed other leads and setup before them. The 252 SpA EVs and Ice Beam are there to actually do damage to something, should I need to. People seem to often assume that I am running 252 HP, so they think neutral switch-ins are fairly safe, but Ice Beam normally takes away a good amount of health.
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Lanturn @ Leftovers
Nature; Calm
Ability; Volt Absorb
EVs; 80 HP / 204 SpA / 166 SpD / 60 Spe
Moveset; Thunder Wave / Surf / Ice Beam / Thunderbolt
This thing never ceases to amaze me. It is not the first team I have had it on, but it will definitely not be my last. Lanturn is not something that I see too often in UU, but when I use it, it generally causes mayhem. I switch it in on something that cannot hurt it badly, I Thunder Wave, then i deal great amounts of damage with my set of moves that is completely unresisted, except by other Lanturn. With the 204 SpA EVs, it packs quite a punch too. In a battle, it will often be responsible for two or three KOs, and damage to maybe three of my opponent's Pokémon. Although it only has 80 HP EVs, it can take a fair beating from both Physical and Special moves. I know the EVs are a bit messy, so I would appreciate some help with them.
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Claydol @ Leftovers
Nature; Relaxed
Ability; Levitate
EVs; 252 HP / 144 Def / 114 SpD.
Moveset; Stealth Rock, Rapid Spin, Earthquake, Ice Beam
Claydol, an awesome Rapid Spinner/Stealth Rocker that is often forgotten about due to the presence of Donphan. The idea of this set is simple; Come in, Usually after Abipom's U-Turn, and set up Stealth Rock. It is almost always my answer to Donphan, which often appears as a lead. It takes Ambipom's Fake out, stays in while it U-Turns to Earthquake the switch-in, but is met by a large flying mound of earth otherwise known as Claydol. this is where my weird move, Ice Beam comes in. Donphan stays in because it thinks that it can take a hit from Earth Power, only to be surprised (and KO'd) by an Ice Beam in the face. Although that is the primary reason that Ice Beam is there, it also hits Claydol's Grass-Type counters that think they are safe from Earthquake, the Ground-Types that Claydol is not threatened by, but can hurt Manectric, and the increasingly annoying Toxic/Flame Orb Swellow that could Sweep half of my team. If it can find time, Claydol will also set up a layer of Stealth Rocks with Donphan out of the way. Claydol is crucial to Scyther's survival, so it has adequate defences to switch in several times.
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Manectric @ Choice Specs
Nature; Timid
Ability; Static
EVs; 252 Spe / 252 SpA / 4 Def.
Moveset; Switcheroo, Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, Hidden Power [GRASS].
My half-sweeper. While it is certainly very capable of doing reasonable damage, its main purpose is to paralyse an opponent, which will either force a switch or allow for large amounts of damage to be caused to Manectric's victim. Timid nature is used compensate for Choice Specs over Scarf, and Switcheroo can catch out an opponent trying to set up. Thunderbolt is there for the obvious STAB, Flamethrower hits the Grass-type Switch-ins that resist my main attack, and HP Grass is for the Ground-type switch-ins. Overall, the general idea here is to Paralyze at least one opponent, then cause all the damage possible before dying.
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Scyther @ Life Orb
Nature; Jolly
Ability; Technician
EVs; 252 Spe / 252 Atk / 4 Def.
Moveset; Bug Bite, Aerial Ace, Swords Dance, Brick Break
And so the massacre begins. This is where all the Paralysis and Claydol's efforts to remove Stealth Rock really show up. It can come in, hopefully unharmed by entry hazards, set up Swords, and begin to sweep. An odd HP is used in order to take 3 hits from Stealth Rock, should Claydol be unable to remove it, and Jolly is used because Swords Dance will provide a much better Attack boost than Adamant nature would. As for the moveset, Bug Bite and Aerial Ace are my core moves, as they both use STAB and Technician to boost power to great levels. Night Slash is to hit fast Ghosts, namely Mismagicus. Although it no longer uses Brick Break, Scyther actually does a pretty good job of scaring away Registeel and other high-defense Steels, which gives me a free turn to set up is I can predict the switch.
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Mismagius @ Leftovers
Nature; Timid
Ability; Levitate
EVs; 48 HP / 252 Spe / 208 SpA
Moveset; Shadow Ball, Substitute, Nasty Plot, Hidden Power [FIGHTING]
So, this wraps it up. My (sort of) Special Sweeper. The idea here is to come in on a paralysed opponent, hide behind a Substitute, and wait for a safe moment to Nasty Plot. After this, I will simply repeat if needed then unleash hell. Shadow Ball is expected on this set, but HP Fighting gives me the surprise factor; Several times, Steelix have switched in, expecting a Thunderbolt, only to be OHKO'd by a +4 Hidden Power. So far, I have not faced an opponent that predicted HP Fighting, as far as I can tell. HP Fighting also hits the Normal-Type switch-ins, like Linoone, which hope to outspeed and OHKO/2HKO with Shadow Claw. It is a great Pokémon which has helped me many times.
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So, there you have it. Constructive Criticism is greatly appreciated, but please do not say its bad without trying to improve it. I would like advice on anything and everything, including the Pokémon that I am uncertain about. No one laugh, I do know it kinda sucks and needs improvement but thats why i asked for help. Thank you.
EDIT: Team edited after BurtonEarny's post. I will put in other changes afterwards.
