ORAS UU First RMT - Destruction (Peaked at #1 with 90 GXE)

[Manipulative]

Destruction

Introduction

Hey everyone! So I'm here with a team that I've had more than enough time to play around with. It was something I've build up when I first started UU months ago and have been using ever since. It features two of the scariest mons in Salamence and Mega Aerodactyl, an underrated scarfed Darmanitan, the well known Crocune, and semi wall break/hazard/support in Mamoswine and Mandibuzz. This team may not look good on paper, but it has proved to be quite effective for me. I've gotten up to Rank 1 on the UU ladder (http://i.imgur.com/uqoJ8Mh.png) and have powered my way through winning many room tournaments on Pokemon Showdown!.

Teambuilding Process

I personally like to play offensively. I wasn't interested in balance, stall, bulky offense, etc. It irks me to use a team that isn't as offensive as I would like it to be. So when I was building this team, I was thinking powerhouses and hyper offense for the most part. The first thing that came to mind was Salamence. Aside from just being my favorite mon, Salamence is one of the most destructive things in the tier.

Mega-Aerodactyl was the second thing that came to mind due to it being the fastest thing around, being able to have a great coverage set, and high power (while also being able to charge up).

The next thing I knew I needed was something that's scarfed as a revenge killer / more quick & heavy damage. Darmanitan came to mind as I was lacking fire typing as well, and it has proved to be a great asset to this team.

After that, I was thinking that I needed some sort of defensive presence. Running pure offense would be a lot more troublesome. I needed something I could commonly switch into when needed, and preferably something that sets up to maintain my offensiveness. Being a bulky water with great bulk and defensive ability, Suicune seemed to be my best option.

Every team needs a stealth rocker. I was also lacking priority and was thinking that I could use some ground type stab. Mamoswine, having great attack and offensive typing, having access to nice priority, and being able to set up rocks if/when needed, was a good addition. It also has the ability to break a wall from time to time.

Lastly, I needed some form of hazard control. I chose Mandibuzz as the defogger. After playing around with its movepool for a while, I found one that really worked for my team.


The Team

Salamence (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 4 SpD / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Iron Tail

Salamence was the focus of the team. I believe DD is its best set and can be amazing once you find the right opportunity to set up. Lum Berry to not get immediately crippled by status moves or Scald. Iron Tail to cover fairies. After noting that I have practically nothing for stall teams other than Endeavor on Mamo and sometimes Suicune, I leaned toward choosing Moxie over intimidate. Moxie has also been useful against opposing intimidate, and gathering up needed power in certain situations. You could also sometimes use not having intimidate as a mean of bluffing choice scarf. Standard EVs and Nature.

Mandibuzz @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 120 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Foul Play
- Defog
- Roost
- Knock Off

This was my choice for hazard control. Foul Play has been great against set up, and Knock Off is something the rest of my team doesn't have. It has some pretty fair bulk overall. Rocky Helmet has been great for physical attack, and has even helped against Snorlax which the rest of my team has trouble with if Mamo fails to Endeavor. Tried to have some sort of balance on the EVs.

Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Sleep Talk


Suicune is capable of walling a large portion of the tier. It could destroy unprepared teams alone at times. Plenty of Special Defense from setting up, and maxed out Physical Defense. The 30% burn chance from Scald is huge. It boosts its special defense and also has great chances to halve the opponent's physical attack. Rest off any damage and status conditions it gets, followed by sleep talk for hopefully some extra damage or set up while asleep. Pretty solid defense and offense together here. Standard EVs and Nature.

Mamoswine (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Endeavor


I mostly just wanted something with priority and Stealth Rocks, but Focus Sash + Endeavor has been awesome. If I can get down to 1 HP and am against something slower, I could just about kill something for free (Usually a wall or something that troubles my team). Technically, it's just lowering it to 1% Health, but that's good enough most of the time. This is my main answer for Snorlax (though sometimes unreliable) and to cut something off on stall teams, other than Mence. Standard EVs and Nature.

Darmanitan (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- U-turn

Another powerhouse, yet pretty underrated. I needed something with a scarf on my team so I chose Darmanitan because it already had the base power to back it up. Sheer Force + Flare Blitz + Adamant Nature actually at least severely dents, if not ohko's, many things that don't resist fire. Rock Slide over Stone Edge because you'll sometimes need to not use Flare Blitz (Ex. Opposing team has Chandelure) and you'll want the coverage to be as reliable as possible for the few times that you do use it. Adamant nature for the extra attack is a lot better than it is worse. The cost of running Adamant over Jolly is not being able to outspeed 252+ Mega-Aerodactyl (Who you can't kill with Jolly Rock Slide at full health anyways), and also losing to a few scarfed mons that you would normally outspeed, such as Krookodile, Rotom, and Heracross. However, they're not all that common and it's usually well worth running Adamant.

Aerodactyl-Mega (M) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Hone Claws
- Aerial Ace

This is the fastest pokemon in the tier, and has pretty great strength on top of that. You can charge it up even more with Hone Claws, and the 3 attacks on this set provide pretty good coverage. Max speed because I wanted to outspeed most other Mega-Aerodactyl and still have a chance at the speed tie with ones that are also max.




Conclusion

There are actually a lot of weaknesses to this team that I'm already aware of. Stall teams, Scarf Mienshao, Stealth Rocks when Mandibuzz can't clear them, etc. However, I've always played around bad situations to the best of my ability and the team has ended up working out for me. It has had some pretty good success and I'm proud of it. For the most part, I would like it to be permanent. Though, I'm still open to all feedback and am willing to see if anything mentioned is attractive and suits my play-style. It's also here if people want to use it for fun and see whether it works out for them ^_^. Enjoy! And thank you for any feedback you may give =).​

Importable

Salamence (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 4 SpD / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Iron Tail

Mandibuzz @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 120 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Foul Play
- Defog
- Roost
- Knock Off

Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Mamoswine (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Endeavor

Darmanitan (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- U-turn

Aerodactyl-Mega (M) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Hone Claws
- Aerial Ace

Replays

Some replays to show how the team should work. I only started keeping replays since a couple of days ago though, so I'll add more as I get them.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-256537212
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-256785432
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-256789284
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-257033791 - Against Trick Room + Mass Threats.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-257279094
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-282198476 - Powering Through
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-283124721 - Vs. Stall



Against Stall:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-256470605

 

[Waiv]

Slick team man, covers most of UUs basis. Overall i don't really enjoy the amount of rock weakness, but mandi does an OK job at defogging in this tier in most cases.

Changes i would make, without making drastic team structure changes:

Salamence (M) Life Orb
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 4 SpD / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Fire Blast

Covers some extra bases, if you get chip damage on florges (only relevant fairy type) you can easily KO at +1 and Fire blast lets you KO forretress and hit bronzong as well.

 

[Kreme]

OK so no really drastic changes but here are a few I'm going to suggest. Firstly, put 4 Special Defense EVs on Aerodactyl over HP, as this helps minimize Stealth Rock damage. I also suggest having Taunt over Knock Off on Mandibuzz, as the team can really struggle with CurseSnorlax and Cresselia among others without it. Taunt also provides a slightly easier time against stall. Taunt just overall provides more utility than Knock Off in my opinion. Next change I suggest having is Life Orb Stealth Rock Mamoswine over Lead Mamoswine, as I feel it would benefit your team much more considering Mamoswine's Lead set tends to be better on offense most of the time and Life Orb Mamoswine gives you a powerful wallbreaker as well. While Moxie might be good in some situations, I believe Intimidate over Moxie on Salamence might be a huge boon to help ease pressure against Choice Scarf Mienshao and a few setup sweepers such as Lucario, as well as physical attackers in general. Moxie might be able to do a good bluff but honestly I feel the utility provided by Intimidate might be more useful for this team.

 

[Manipulative]

Waiv
I rather keep Lum Berry on Mence for status/scald help, and because I wouldn't want Life Orb slowing me down on top of having to set up. Besides, EQ doesn't seem enough for Florges and the Aromatisse I've been seeing a lot lately. Thanks for the suggestion though!

Kreme
Ah, thanks a lot! I've edited Aerodactyl's EVs now. I'll definitely consider Taunt over Knock Off, and give a second thought to Intimidate over Moxie. But there's a lot of krookodile and opposing mence with intimidate there to ruin the DD, which is why I always leaned more towards Moxie. Well, that, and so I have some possible hope of just powering my way through stall at times, which I couldn't do without Moxie. Also unsure of not running lead Mamo because it has been pretty nice often crippling something with Endeavor. Will give it some thought though, thank you.

 

[Vapo]

Hey xVarsity, nice looking team you have here. You seem to have most of your bases covered with your current squad, but I see a few weaknesses (mainly to bulky set up sweepers like Reuniclus and Snorlax) so I'd like to make a few suggestions that will improve your team's effectiveness overall:

• I agree with Kreme's suggestion to change Knock Off -> Taunt on Mandibuzz. This is your first step towards managing CurseLax and CM Reuniclus, which can both blow holes through your team without you being able to retaliate back. Taunt prevents set up or recovery, which shuts down most set up sweepers (as long as you Taunt them before they set up too much) as well as most defensive pokemon in general, which is really nice to have on an offensive team such as this.
• Standard CroCune is a great mon, but it loses 1v1 to numerous other set up sweepers, including the ones I mentioned earlier. I think running CM Roar Suicune would help your team a lot, as it beats other set up sweepers and is a more versatile set overall in the current meta. I would also add some speed creep to outspeed opposing RoarCunes and phase them out first. The actually number is up to you, but I would run at least 40 EVs, as the slight loss in bulk is worth not getting phased out.
• You mentioned it in your conclusion, but your team is rather weak to Scarf Mienshao. If rocks are up, the only thing you can really switch into an HJK is Suicune, and you don't have a fantastic way of revenge killing it. The way I see it, you have to keep Mamoswine's sash intact or get two DD's up with Salamence to handle it. To mitigate this weakness, you either have to change your defensive core around (which isn't preferable) or adding more offensive checks, which is probably the easiest way of going about it. I think changing Darmanitan -> Infernape helps your team out quite a bit. Scarf Infernape is really solid currently, as it can check most common scarfers, including Hydreigon and Mienshao. It also has a great dual STAB that allows it to deter certain fire switchins like Snorlax. I'd run a moveset of Flare Blitz / Close Combat / Stone Edge / U-turn as it provides solid coverage while being able to maintain momentum with U-turn, which is an excellent trait for a scarfer to have. While Infernape does hit considerably less hard that Darmanitan, it provides offensive checks to big threats to your team, and that is a worthwhile tradeoff in my opinion.

Other than that, you have a really solid team that has obviously proven its effectiveness on the ladder. Hopefully with these suggestions in mind you can peak at #1 :] Good luck with everything.

Sets

Mandibuzz:
Mandibuzz @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 120 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Foul Play
- Defog
- Roost
- Taunt

Suicune:
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Roar

Infernape:
Infernape @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- U-turn

 

[teal6]

Hey xVarsity, cool team. I can see you understand the goal of the team quite well and have created a pretty strong offensive squad.

The biggest weakness I see is with teams that potentially slower setup sweepers. For example something like NP Slowking can really give you a run for your money, without much to immediately threaten it. I also see Mega Abomasnow as a threat, particularly with EQ coverage and how Darmanitan is like the poster boy for being worn down over a match. Regenerator mons like Slowking are a bit harder to deal with, so for suggestions against MSnow I think the most I can say is ensure Darm stays alive and play very carefully with it over the course of a match until you find out if it is SD or special. If its the latter, of course, Mandibuzz can no longer handle it, but if it is SD they typically only carry Ice Shard coverage so you can take a hit and KO back with Foul Play. A potential idea on Mandi is to run 248 HP / 152 SpD, which does not get OHKOd by typical Blizzards. You can Roost stall them in this case or until Hail finishes and roost until you dodge one, etc.

For something like Slowking I think you have a little harder time. Taunt is definitely an option here as it helps Mandi better deal with it, but you're going to be playing a game to dodge burns and take it out. An option I am considering for your team is Pursuit on MAero over Hone Claws. While Pursuit has, in general, a lot of utility it can alter the way you play against Slowking in general. After whittling it with something else you can bring in MAero at a point where Edge/Ace will kill and Pursuit on the Regenerator switch. This gives you added ways to deal with Chandy as well, which of course can be a pain in the ass for Darm when you just want to spam Flare Blitz.

 

[Bouff]

ok, ill give this one a go

this team is really weird but it works, you can cover a fair amount of threats ideally, although at a closer look the main thing that just feels weird to me is that you have a suicide lead mamo and then a defog mandi lol, which is somewhat redundant.

one thing that i noticed that offensive dragons like lo variants of hydrei and mence just blow you back lol. you have no dragon resists and nothing on your team in particular likes taking a draco meteor from hydrei or mence, and while you do have mamoswine to revenge kill them if needed, they can just nuke something every time they come in. i feel like even with lo mamo you have little insurance against them, so i'm gonna suggest using sr cobalion over mamo, while this isn't foolproof seeing as cobalion is susceptible to superpower / fire blast, it gives you a solid dragon resist and helps check other mons that can be annoying, like bulky normals, fairies, sd luke, etc.

Hide

Cobalion @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Close Combat
- Volt Switch
- Iron Head

with this im gonna second the notion of pursuit maero being used, especially with this set, as you're able to bring aero in on stuff that loves to switch into cobal, like chand, and vswitching into a predicted switch and then trapping it makes it a sweet addition for your team, but i think you really should replace eq on aero for roost. without it you get worn down much faster and since this is your main answer to stuff like beedrill, you're generally gonna want aero to be as fast as possible.

Hide

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge / Earthquake
- Roost
- Aerial Ace

also seconding taunt > knock and cm roar, this gives you more leverage vs fat set ups like cress and lax who kinda pound you otherwise.

this change is more optional than the last two since your team is built around dd mence, but i think it'd still be beneficial considering that dd mence doesn't get much opportunities to set up + doesn't really fit well on your team aside from taking fighting-hits fairly well. i think your team gets plowed by stuff like the nidos as well, so you could probably try using cress over it, although this takes away a lot of offensive pressure on your team it helps patch up most of your weaknesses

Hide

Cresselia @ Leftovers
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Moonlight
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic
- Moonblast

ice beam is also an option if you wanna hit mence for more damage and if you feel like grass-types are kind of a pain

not much to say other than that. nice team man, hope i helped

 

[Manipulative]

To everyone who suggested Taunt > Knock Off, I'll definitely be giving it a try and see what works. As for roar cune, I've definitely given it a few tries before but overall just found Crocune to be better for me. I usually try saving Mamo's sash and take opposing cunes out right away, because opposing roarcune could be deadly against my team if not dealt with right. In case of a burn on Mamo, I have Mence to set up with. I have also considered pursuit on MAero before, but it just wasn't worth getting rid of anything. I want Hone Claws so that I could boost my attacks as well as make Stone Edge tons more reliable. There have been too many times where Aero wouldn't have been able to get the job done without those boosts and with a bigger chance of a potential Stone Edge miss. I know that my Aero set is far from common, but I actually find it ideal for me with its coverage + power/reliability boost haha.

Vapo
Scarf Infernape may have been nice for Mienshao, but it doesn't sound like it would be worth all the setbacks. There's a huge power gap between Infernape and Darm, and I would like to keep that in my favor since power is the most important thing on my team. Darm is better for almost every situation except Scarfed Mienshao, who I rather just try playing around like I always have. But yeah, I've never really had anything reliable for it. It would usually be something like scouting what it locks itself into and act accordingly. If it's HJK, that usually means sacking something and going to Mence.

teal6
Yeah, Slowking (though I've never seen the NP set) and Abomasnow have always been problems for me, but I've tried my best to play around them. It could be a hassle, but not too difficult with Darm, Mandi, and Aero for the most part. Though I do sometimes find myself in really tough situations. And even Cune and sometimes Mamo can contribute. Mence as well if it's against Slowking.

Yeah, Chandy really is frustrating when I just want to Flare Blitz everything haha. So for times like that, I do wish I had pursuit on MAero, but I don't regret not having it too much. I usually get the right predictions or don't have too much trouble playing around it in general.

Bouffalant
Yeah, I've actually heard that same remark on the mamo+mandibuzz thing many times haha. Well, to be fair, Mamo isn't exactly a suicide lead here. In fact, I don't think I lead with Mamo even a third of the time. I pretty much just look at what opposes me at the start and use what works. Usually it'll be Darm or Mandi that lead. Another thing is that I only use rocks based on the situation. There are games where I don't bother using them because by the time I get into Mamo, the remaining mons on the opposing team (Coballion for example) aren't worth using rocks for. Mamo is mostly there for crippling or destroying at least something, and as a resort for a mon that could wall my team otherwise. It almost always does something useful for me in the game. It could help a lot against slower things, with rocks if I find necessary, and the lack of priority issue which is what first made me address Mamo. Also, Mandibuzz has been working pretty decently for me as a dragon counter surprisingly enough. I could switch into a Choice Scarf Draco from Hydreigon and take only half, roosting the rest off. Of course, I try my best to have an idea of what item the opposing Hydreigon has by this point, because Specs or Life Orb may nuke Mandibuzz right there. Though those items aren't too difficult to deal with for the rest of the team. For Mence, Mandibuzz has also been a counter. Choice Scarf is really easy to deal with if I have enough health, where I could just switch in with the Rocky Helmet and roost. For DD, I have Foul Play. The special/mixed sets have sometimes been a problem though. And as for replacing Suicune with Cress, I'm not so sure about that. Pretty reluctant to do so, but I appreciate the suggestion.



Thank you to everyone who has replied and given their input! I try to consider everything that people have to say, but it's true that this team is pretty weird all out. There's a lot of changes which I guess would make sense to make, but just seem to not work out for this team in the long run. It's actually really difficult to make adjustments that don't harm this team more often than it helps, simply because of how unusual the team is. This team actually just tries to play around many of the weaknesses discussed in this thread rather than patching them up and finding weaknesses elsewhere haha. It always has been that "It just works" sort of thing. With that said, I appreciate every bit of feedback and suggestions I get from people even if I don't make changes. Thanks again!

 

[jjoshcja]

So, Slurpuff is a guy... and you have no way to play around slurp, unless your opponent just blindly runs it into death randomly and badly.

Darms scarf isn't super needed so with banded entie/Adamant dual prio luke (its very much an either or here), taunt on mandi, and roar on 88 speed suicune you could have a pretty effective defense against puff without losing too much utility.

 

[Manipulative]

Yeah, as for slurpuff, I just rely on not being in a bad situation. It can't set up against Mandibuzz, Darmanitan, Mence (unless a miss iron tail), and Mamo could counter it if it has its sash still, or can chip in with its Ice Shard. Suicune sometimes helps against it as well, usually being able to dish out a scald or two.

Foul Play handles the BD, but I'll be attempting Taunt on Mandibuzz anyways. Scarfed Darm isn't something I'm willing to replace.

 

[DoesntKnowHowToPlay]

Memento or Reflect turn nearly all of those into Slurpuff set-up fodder. While Mamoswine can try to check it, this is not very reliable as SR exists, Mamo wants to be used in the lead, and Slurpuff has a habit of punching its HP back up off of Fighting-neutral targets (read: nearly your entire team).

 

[Manipulative]

I'm just going to bump this thread up, as the team has found itself at a new peak. I started using this team again a couple of weeks ago and have wiggled my way up to Rank 1 of the ladder with a 71-10 record. 80 out of those 81 games were with this team. http://i.imgur.com/uqoJ8Mh.png

As for the Slurpuff issue mentioned above, I've tried finding battles with people who use Slurpuff to show that it's not as much of an issue as it seems. Depending on the match up and how well I could play through it, I probably won't lose to puff. Actually, it's pretty rare that I do. After all, every mon on the team other than cune (aside from scald burn) pressures it.

Replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-282905325 - Vs. Slurpuff
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-282905339 - Vs. Slurpuff
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-282916642 - Vs. Slurpuff
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-282925318 - Vs. Slurpuff
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-282947298 - Vs. Slurpuff
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-282953943 - Vs. Slurpuff + Memento + Screens


Keep in mind that this isn't a standard or well thought out team. It clearly has its weaknesses. I simply put it together, and it just so happens to work out most of the time because a lot of teams are found unprepared. It could be pretty fun to use as well, so it has that going for it in case anyone feels like playing around with the team.