First UU team

[Miikka]

Hello people! So this is my first UU team that i have created, i'm also quite new to competitive battling in general so advice would very much appreciated.

I have been doing ok with this team so far, i've gotten to 1680 rating in UU on Pokemon Showdown with this team and so i would like to think that its decent for a first timer :).

*Edit: So i have now replaced Gliscor with Flygon and changed some sets a tad bit :).
Changes will be in red.

Actually the changed won't be in red since i can't get the red font to work :D

P.S New fancy animated sprites :3

Team:

Jorge (Flygon) @ Choice Band
Ability @ Levitate
Evs: 252 Atk/252 SpE/4 SpD
Jolly nature (+SpE-SpA)
-Earthquake
-U-turn
-Outrage
-Fire Punch

So here is the newest member of the team ; Flygon. Its a choice banded set that i i use for hitting things as hard as i can with little regard for defense. The only thing that really resist Flygons stabs is Bronzong (hence the fire punch) and everything else is pretty much 2HKO'd or OHKO'd by Flygon. This spot was originally for Swampert, which was used to counter mienshao but i realised that Cofagrigus can check mienshao just fine and Swampert i felt wasn't quite strong enough on its own to get the roster spot.

Thanks for PsYch071c for this Flygon set, and also i need to thank Thetwiggy13 for the Swampert set even though i did go for the Flygon in the end :).

Oogie (Cofagrigus) @ Leftovers
Ability:Mummy
EVs: 248 HP/252 SpA/8 SpD
Quiet nature (+SpA-SpE)
-Shadow Ball
-Nasty Plot
-Trick Room
-HP Fighting

So Cofagrigus was originally a fully defensive pokemon that was there to wall offensive threats while throwing will-o-wisps at every direction and occasionally hazing a Kingdras 3 Dragon Dances away (Which btw is surprisingly rewarding :D) but i do admit that it lacked a certain edge that the rest of the team had and while i had never had any trouble with NP/TR 'grigus myself for some reason, i found it to be extremely effective and just what i needed to take care of those pesky scarf mienshaos.

Thanks for Thetwiggy13 for this set :)

Kinguin(Empoleon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Evs: 252 HP/252 SpD/4 Def
Calm nature (+SpD-Atk
-Stealth rocks
-Scald
-Ice Beam
-Roar

Empoleon is my special wall and also my only entry hazard setter-upper. It can take on almost any special attacker( though it has problems with Raikou and Zapdos) and is a good fit with Gligar as Empoleon can take any special ice move without even budging. It can also entry hazard stall using roar. Roar can also be used to get rid of pokemon trying to set up or baton pass. Empoleon is also my main counter to Chandelure as it can take anything chandelure has and counter with scald if it decides to stay in.

Zappy(Zapdos @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
Evs: 252 SpA/252 SpE/4 HP
Timid (+SpE-Atk)
-Roost
-Thunderbolt
-Heat Wave
-HP Grass

Zapdos is my only special attacker and is damn good one at that, I often lead with Zapdos as it has good coverage against most teams that i run into, this seems to sometimes trick people into thinking its a more defensive set. The main point of discussion is why HP grass over hp ice, and i chose grass because without it i would not have any decent counter to Rhyperior or Swampert. Hp grass also seems to take people by surprise since i guess ice would be the more common one to run. Hp grass takes out all but the most specially defensive swamper and rhyperior.

'Rilla (Darmanitan @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
Evs: 252 Atk/252 SpE/4 SpD
Jolly nature (+ SpE-SpA)
-Flare Blitz
-U-turn
-Earthquake
-Superpower

Darmanitan is a choice scarfer and as such is a very good revenge killer and can also pull of a sweep if the correct move is chosen. It can scare away almost anything as it out speeds scarfed Heracross and Krookodile (though it does fall to Mienshao, which is most likely the thing that my team has the most trouble with in general). Its a pretty straight-forward set for a straight-forward pokemon, just out speed and hit like a truck.

Pants up pls(Scrafty) @Lum Berry
Ability: Moxie
Evs: 252 Atk/252 SpE/4 SpD
Jolly nature (+SpE-SpA)
-Dragon Dance
-Cruch
-Drain Punch
-Ice Punch

Scrafty is my second physical attacker and my set up sweeper. It is one of the most effective pokemon in my team and has won me many games that have started poorly but ended with Scrafty punching his way to victory. The only real problem with Scrafty is that it needs 2 Dragon Dances to reliably outspeed thing that could kill it, and even with 2 Dragon dances it still gets out sped by Mienshao. which horribly mangles Scrafty. if Mienshao is dealt with or there wasnt one to begin with, Scrafty can kill almost anything that comes in its way.
I changed the nature to Jolly for now as suggested by PsYch071c. I feel that the power loss while somewhat significant (can't OHKO a heracross with ice punch from 2.5x atk) can be played around and the added speed does help alot

So that would be the team, i would like to get as much feedback as possible, one thing i would VERY much like feedback on is to give me a counter for scarf Mienshao since that basically wrecks my team pretty badly as it can also destroy Gligar with hp ice...


Old Team members

The former physical wall. Switched in favor of Flygon.

Also switched in avour of Flygon was Swampert which was banded and i explained more on swamper in the Flygon section.

 

[Thetwiggy13]

Hey, first let me tell you welcome to the UU tier :D. Your team seems balanced for the main part, there are just a few suggestions I have.

First, give TR/NP Cofagrigus a try. Yes, it is very standard, but if you look at your team, half of them have 60- speed and could use the boost. Scrafty would also love Trick Room, and if you wanted to, you can have a Bulk Up set to support it. This is just a suggestion, you may not even want to try. That's fine, though.

Moving on, I must say that Gligar mainly just adds resistances to the same types as the rest of your team. According to team builder, you already resist Fighting twice (one immunity), Poison twice (one immunity), Bug four other times, and what Gligar does grant you is one electric immunity. We can easily find another Pokemon to fit that role, and since you already have Stealth Rock up, we can find something offensive to keep your team from being setup bait. Plus, there is still one Pokemon bulky enough to take a hit, while dishing out some serious pain in return.

Hide

Swampert @ Choice Band
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 208 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Ice Punch
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Superpower

This set gives Swampert just enough bulk to survive a HJK from Mienshao (see below) while OHKOing it with Earthquake. Plus, you can have that electric immunity and be able to get Roserade on the switch. Ice Punch also gets Zapdos out if Stealth Rock is down. Superpower takes care of opposing Scrafty, and also knocks CB Snorlax out. Waterfall rounds out the coverage, and your team could use more fire resistances than just Darmanitan. To worsen things, it has terrible bulk.

252 Atk Reckless Mienshao Hi Jump Kick vs. 208 HP / 0 Def Swampert: 271-319 (68.95 - 81.17%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Swampert Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mienshao: 361-426 (133.21 - 157.19%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Swampert Ice Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Zapdos: 274-324 (85.09 - 100.62%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Choice Band Swampert Superpower vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Scrafty: 340-400 (125.46 - 147.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Also note that Swampert only gives you one extra weakness, opposed to Gligar's 2 very common weaknesses while also giving about the same coverage bar ground-immunity, which you already have. You can also have it as your lead to surprise Spikes Roserade and others immensely.

 

[Astral Spirit]

First off, I'd like to second all the options listed above me. If you're still worried about your Mienshao after that, you could actually use a sort of unconventional Bulk Up Scrafty set if you really want to get rid of any Choice Scarfed Mienshao (other sets you can simply outspeed and K.O.). The set might look weird, but hear me out, because the reasoning makes sense, and it works.

Hide

Scrafty @ Fighting Gem
Trait: Shed Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Atk / 48 Def / 136 SDef
Carfeful Nature (+SDef, - SAtk)
-Bulk Up
-Drain Punch
-Crunch
-Rest

Scrafty works as a lure for Mienshao, but this set helps to prevent that as best it can. 48 Defense EVs will allow it to live a Scarfed Reckless Hi Jump Kick at +1 from full health, and the given attack EV's and item will, in return, OHKO Mienshao at +1 from full health. It may be a bit extreme, but if Mienshao really does give your team a lot of trouble, it's worth considering, as this set is the best way to lure in and kill Scarf Mienshao. It's extreme, and understandable if you don't want to go that far. However, I am at least a big fan of Bulk Up Scrafty, and I usually find it being a bigger threat to my teams than the Dragon Dance variant.
Good luck with that team and with countering Mienshao.

 

[Miikka]

Thanks for the input guys :)
Twiggy: i've been testing the things you told me and i've come to 2 conclusions 1st is that NP/TR cofagrigus demolishes teams :D i've never had problems with these before so i didn't think it was this strong, it also perfectly counter mienshao as it can't HJK on 'grigus and with trick room up i can outspeed it. The Swampert set you sent me is also working out great, its not as bulky as gligar and with grigus turned into a more offensive mon too i don't have a dedicated physical wall, however i haven't had need for it yet since swampert can still take a hit :).

Astral: While i do see the logic and can see that your Scrafty set would work i feel that Cofagrigus and Swampert work just fine against scarf shao, also after trying out a bulk up trick room combo on scrafty i came to the conclusion that i personally preferred DD scrafty as it could pull of a good sweep after cofagrigus dies as when i was using the bulk up set, fast special attackers like zapdos and raikou could scare out my scrafty while with DD i could outspeed and kill them outright. Thanks for the reply anyway though :))).

Ill be updating my first post soon to show the changes :) Thanks for all the help guys !

 

[Psychotic]

Hi there Mikka, this is a very solid first UU team, great job!

Moveset suggestions:
I do have a few suggestions for changes you could make to improve this team and patch up some of the current problems with it. First of all, I do agree with Twiggy on the change from Defensive Cofagrigus to the Nasty Plot variant. Your team is offensive and needs to keep pressure on the opponent, and Nasty Plot Cofag fits that description perfectly. Another moveset change you should consider making is Jolly nature over Adamant on Scrafty. This will allow him to outspeed, among other things, Life Orb Mienshao after one boost, and Scarf after two boosts. I would test this out and see if the power loss is too much for you.

Teammate suggestions:
As for changes that you could make to the team itself, it feels like Gligar is holding you back. The team seems to be offensive, the goal of the team being to set up rocks, break down things that wall either Scrafty or Darmanitan, and then sweep with one of those two. Gligar does not help with any of this. Empoleon provides your team with Stealth Rock, and Gligar cannot do any damage to walls, simply wall fighting types. You have two other fighting type checks, which should be fine for taking on Pokemon such as Mienshao and Heracross, so you can definitely do something else more productive with this teamslot. I would recommend putting Banded Flygon on the team in exchange for Gligar. This would give you a Chandelure check, which your team definitely needs right now, and gives you another way to break down physical walls. It has many shared checks with Scrafty, which allows it to spam powerful attacks, wearing down their checks, so that later Scrafty can come in and sweep.

Suggested Changes:

Hide

Cofagrigus @ Leftovers
Trait: Mummy
EVs: 252 SAtk / 248 HP / 8 SDef
Quiet Nature
IVs: 30 Def / 30 SAtk / 30 SDef / 2 Spd / 2 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Trick Room
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Shadow Ball

Flygon @ Choice Band
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- U-turn

Hope this helps!

 

[Miikka]

Hi there, its been a while i posted any updates here and i'm sorry for that :)

Psycho thanks for the feedback and thank you SO much for the Flygon suggestion so far its been great and i think flygon is going to take the cake from Swampert which i also tried, i feel that Cofagrigus checks mienshao well enough already with trickroom and swampert wasnt really fast enough to be a huge threat and not bulky enough to take a lot of hits. So i think i am going with the Flygon.