First UU Team

[Cannon_Sam]

At a glance:

Somewhat of a mix between the expected and unexpected, the team has synergy and each does a good job at what they do.

In-Depth:

* = Sets that need the most help.
Red = changes made.

Oswald
Kecleon @

Color Change
Careful
252 HP/ 208 SpDef/ 50 Atk
- Fake Out
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Knock Off

Now, using Kecleon may seem a little unorthodox. I kid you not, however, this little guy does his job every time. Come in, use the Fake Out, then set up Stealth Rock. If he survives after that (which most of the time, he does), status it up then either predict a hit (if he has 1 HP left), or switch out, having done the job. Surprisingly, Ambipom doesn't give this set too much trouble, even though its Fake Out is much faster than mine. Ambipom generally never has any moves that can take Oswald down, which means I set up SR and can even TWave the devil monkey. Some of the only trouble I've seen is the uncommon Kabutops who can spin away the Rocks. Oswald works really well as a "surprise factor" lead, and most people have no idea how it will work when they see it.
I changed Sucker Punch to Knock Off because Sucker Punch was beginning to seem like a wasted slot, not getting much done, and not many leads will enjoy losing their precious items. KO give me much better support.

Claira
Xatu @

Synchronize
Jolly
248 HP/ 216 Spe/ 44 Def
- Wish
- Reflect
- Zen Headbut
- U-Turn

My Wish supporter and status taker, who almost always is able to do her job. Wish, U-Turn, wash, rinse, and repeat. If the chance arises, Reflect, and possibly even Zen Headbutt if I can risk it. The problem with Claira is that she fears SR, so that's why I had to choose her best friend, Donphan.

Clayton
Donphan @

Sturdy
Adamant
252 Atk/ 204 Def/ 52 HP
- Earthquake
- Assurance
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin

Clayton is probably the most valuable asset on my team. With the power behind Earthquake, he packs quite a punch, but his real value comes in being able to destroy Ghosts who would otherwise block his Rapid Spin. All it takes is a little prediction.

Bruce*
Hariyama @

<--From Choice Band
Guts
Adamant
252 Atk/ 124 Def/ 124 SpDef/ 8 HP
- Close Combat
- Bullet Punch
- Ice Punch
- Payback

A great physical attacker. He carries Fire and Ice Punches for type coverage, Close Combat for STAB and Payback for extra power when I go last, as I most surely will. I'm having trouble deciding on this set, though. Sets with Whirlwind can rack up some SR damage quite nicely if the opponent's spinner is taken out. And if I decide to keep the set I have now, I'm having trouble picking an ability. Guts can work well switching into status, but Thick Fat gives me even more resistances to switch into.
Someone suggested Guts and Flame Orb, and thought it was an excellent idea. It gives Hairyama scary attack without limitation of Choice Band, and Wish support from Xatu only helps his cause. I'm still having trouble deciding between Fire and Ice Punch, however.

Lenore
Mismagius @

Levitate
Timid
252 SpAtk/ 252 Spe/ 6 HP
- Nasty Plot
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball

My trusty Special Sweeper. Lenore ignores Spikes, and after Rocks are out of the picture, can easily setup Subs and Nasty Plots. Thunderbolt for coverage and taking care of Milotic, and Shadow Ball for more coverage and STAB. Not many problems with her so far.

Wallace*
Milotic @

Marvel Scale
Calm
252 HP/ 200 Def/ 56 SpDef
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

This is the set I'm having the most trouble with. Wallace really is the only one who doesn't pull his weight too well. It think it's probably the set, but the Rest + Sleep Talk combo is too risky, and it's always completely shut down by Chansey. I'm thinking of changing to a mixed wall (I've heard Walrein works well). This is the main reason I'm getting help with this team.
No definite changes to this set yet, though many have been suggested (thank you to everyone who did). I'll definitely be going for a more reliable set, however, if I decide to keep him. Slowking looks like a viable replacement as a Special Wall with access to Grass Knot (insurance against Feraligatr) and, mainly, Thunder Wave, supporting the entire team.

So, here's my team, and I really like them, for the most part. However, I know they can get better. Comments and (constructive) criticisms greatly appreciated.

 

[Ethanftw]

Ok, I don't have time for a full on awesome rate, but I'll pitch in my two-cents on your sets that "need the most help."

About Hariyama, I like that you opted for ice punch over thunderpunch. Ice and Fire work well for hariyama in my opinion, and you already have mismagius to help you take out things that are weak to electricity. However, your biggest concern seems to be your ability. If you opt to go with guts, hariyama has incredible potential. His atk can reach ridiculous levels and can make taking pokemon down so easy, even after hes weakened from a few close combats. On the other hand, thick fat helps switching in. Really its a matter of risk. Guts can be awesome, but you have to do two things right. First of all, you have to predict a status move and have hariyama take the blow. This could be fairly easy, but it could also be fairly hard. You also have to think about if its something like toxic. Damage + toxic damage = short life for hariyama. His atk might be incredible, but with terrible speed (thus the ability to attack first) and toxic damage, he is surely not going to live long. With thick fat, you cover a dangerous type in the UU metagame, which is fire. Ice is still used but isn't as much of a problem. My personal opinion would be to go with thick fat. You can switch in on things a hell of a lot easier, and hes going to live a lot longer. Guts might make Hariyama strong, but with his lousy speed, he's not going to live very long.

As far as Milotic goes....
I do believe Miltotic is a very underestimated pokemon. The ability to be powerful, have over 80 base speed, and a healing move is awesome. I've seen some LO Milotics give other teams a rough time. By far my favorite moveset for Milotic is one that takes advantage of his healing move, recovery. The set looks like this...

Milotic @ Life Orb
Modest Nature
Marvel Scale Ability
252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power [Grass]
-Recover

This moveset is fairly simple. You have enough speed to outspeed other base 80 speed pokemon, and enough SpA to take down a lot of shit. This combined with 30% boost from LO makes Milotic awfully dangerous. The best thing about it is, if you're smart you can recover at a key time, and heal off any LO damage and keep the destruction going.

Good luck, hope this helped a bit.

 

[GREEN00]

I'm glad to see a Kecleon and a Xatu, both are unique and deserving of appreciation.

Kecleon-Ambipom's LO or Silk Scarf boosted Fake Out+Return KOs this build. Fake Out serves little purpose against common leads (Uxie, Moltres, Omastar, Ambipom, etc.). What purpose is Sucker Punch serving? I feel you should re-evaluate what role this Kecleon serves, and maximise it's effectiveness at that role.
Kecleon has a variety of other support moves to consider. Such as,
Trick
Knock Off
Snatch (which for example steals Reflect/Light Screen)
Counter

Xatu-If it works for you it seems fine to me.

Donphan-More bulk and less atk may be desirable.

Hariyama-I suggest Thick Fat for more switch in opportunities. Fire Punch isn't worth the slot. Bullet Punch seems a decent choice in it's place.

Mismagius-Two problems.
1.Predictability. I deal with NP Mismagius by abusing it's predictable choices. A sweepers capacity to sweep is dramatically reduced if it's a known quantity.
2.No HP fighting is asking for trouble.

Continued,

 

[GREEN00]

I suggest the Mismagius have something to set it apart. Colbur berry (dark), Kasib berry (ghost), Lum berry, Petaya berry, Destiny bond, Will-o-Wisp, Thunder Wave, etc.

Milotic-If it isn't fitting your team then Walrein sounds like an interested pokemon to try. I suggest testing out Encore and/or Super Fang.

 

[Cannon_Sam]

Thanks, all advice helps.

I'll be going with Thick Fat for Hariyama, and I'll try that set out, thanks, Etahnftw.

I understand what you're saying, GREEN, about Mismagius... Hm. I like the Will-o-Wisp idea. Maybe replace Substitute?

As for Kecleon (my favorite in the team), I love the Knock Off and Counter idea, but I don't see anywhere where Kecleon can learn Counter...

Any more advice/crits/comments?

 

[Flashrider57]

Kecleon can learn Counter from 3rd Generation Move Tutors. Anyway, great team, especially since Kecleon and Xatu are on there. Personally, I like it when people use sets that are both original and can still work. However, I do see a couple problems with your team. First, if Xatu is your status absorber, then you might want to give it Psycho Shift, so it can give the status to an enemy. If you do put it on there, I would suggest putting it over Zen Headbutt, but it's up to you. Also, I find that Spiritomb could cause problems with your team, as Xatu and Mismagius do not like him at all, because Xatu's low defense and Psychic-typing is bait for Pursuit-Trapping, and Missy can be defeated by a Sub-Breaking Shadow Ball and then a Shadow Sneak. I have personally experienced the latter with the exact same kind of Mismagius. Still, this is a great team, and I hope that you get more wins with it!

 

[Alexa888]

Keckleon is a very funky and original Pokemon, and can be a great lead. However, it has options that you aren't taking advantage of. Magic Coat can be used to bounce back Jumpluff's Sleep Powder and Uxie T-waves. You coul also run a counter sash set.

Here it is, but it is purely Theorymon, and I have never tested it so I don't know how effectvive it would be.

Keckleon @ Focus Sash
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe- Lonely (0 Def IVs)
-Counter
-Sucker Punch/Shadow Sneak
-Stealth Rock
-Magic Coat

A very nice team. It isn't stall, but isn't very offensive at the same time. It's certainly unique and very original, which is always a good think.

 

[Shnoogle]

Despite Mismagius almost always preforming the role of Sub-Nasty Plot sweeper, it does its job very well and does not need to have Will-O-Wisp or anything... Substitute is what makes Missy dangerous because it can avoid sucker punches and status. If you want to be a bit more original, Taunt basically does the same exact thing and it also prevents Stall Teams from giving you a hard time... plus it prevents pesky Hitmontops to foresight you and then Spin Rapidly to get rid of SR.

 

[IronBullet]

Hi,

Offensive Water types really run through your team. Azumarill and Feraligatr easily setup on your Pokemon, and proceed you KO your whole team. So, I'd suggest running the Standard Bulky Water set on Milotic, which easily takes on many Physical attackers and walls a huge portion of the metagame, while also helping out against stat uppers with Haze. The set is Surf/HP Grass/Haze/Recover. Ice Beam isn't really needed to hit Venu as your Xatu is probably one of the best counters out there.

On Hariyama, run Guts and Flame Orb with a moveset of Close Combat/Bullet Punch/Payback/Ice Punch. This set hits incredibly hard, and almost nothing can switch into it. It also gives you some much needed priority.

That Kecleon set is somewhat outclassed by Ambipom, so if you're not going to use a more unique set, I'd recommend swapping it with Ambipom.

On Xatu, I'd recommend running Psychic over Zen Headbutt, as it comes off its rather impressive 95 Special Attack. U-Turn is a bit iffy on a defensive set, how about Toxic or Protect to help out with its defensive capabilities?

This is a nice team, well done and gl.

 

[Cannon_Sam]

Awesome. Thanks for all the replies, you guys are really helping me out.

@ Flashrider57: Thanks for the info. Sadly, I don't have access to those games anymore. :/ To be honest, though, after looking into it, I doubt I'd be using a Counter set anyhow, since Kecleon is mainly there to set up some Rocks.
As for Xatu, that's why Synchronize is there. ;) Unless you meant pass it on to other opponents, in which case I could try that out. But yes, I've come to hate Spiritomb.

@Alexa888: I like the set idea, but I'm thinking it may not work so well on Oswald. Mainly because if I run the Counter set, it can make the SR useless, which is the point of his position as a lead. I adore that Knock Off idea stated earlier, and Magic Coat may be worth a try, so maybe this (theoretically):

Kecleon @ Focus Sash
Careful 252 HP/ 208 SpDef/ 50 Atk (I agree with what this site says: Speed EVs are generally a lost cause on Kecleon. He's extremely slow.)
-Knock Off
-Stealth Rock
-Sucker Punch/Shadow Sneak/ Fake Out
-Magic Coat/ ThunderWave

I kept Fake Out as an option because it actually helps more than it looks, but I'll probably go with Shadow Sneak. Magic Coat requires a bit of prediction, but could be useful, where TWave is a surefire form of status, unless against the uncommon Steelix (who doesn't normally carry a status move anyway). The main change here is Knock Off, which could help incredibly if I use it at the opportune times.

@Shnoogle: Thanks, I'll try Taunt out, see how it works.

@IronBullet93: I like that set. I'll test it out, but it seems like that will surely work better for Milotic.

... I love that set. Never thought about that. That would give some insane attack, and not limit me with the Choice Band. I'll definitely try that out.

Kecleon is staying. ;) I like the Knock Off idea though, opinions?

That doesn't seem like too bad an idea. U-Turn and Zen Headbutt are there because Attack complements U-Turn, but I could maybe replace ZH with Psychic and U-Turn with Protect. I'll playtest it on Shoddy. Thanks for the advice.

Thanks again everyone for the advice. Keep it comin'. :)

 

[Cannon_Sam]

Shameless bump. About to start EV Training, any more advice?

 

[Scoopapa]

Before you start EV training anything, you should be warned that Donphan's EV's while they are the on-site ones, are not ideal. The maximum physical defense is only slightly different than yours (60 HP, 196 Def according to X-Act's applet), but note that the spread 128 HP, 130 Def gives nearly the same physical defense (difference between 55.1% and 55.2% on the calc I ran) as your spread, but has 19 more HP, meaning you get slightly better special defensive ability. It's minor, but it's worth knowing.

Another set you might like is Milotic's Life Orb Tank set. It mixes aspects of defensive and offensive Milotics, and I think it might fit the offense / defense balance that you're looking for. It's not setup fodder, but it's bulkier than the all-out offensive set - enough so that it can still take crucial attacks it needs to.

I would shy away from Walrein, as Ice really hinders the bulky part of bulky waters. You don't want your bulky water taking Super Effective attacks from the Grounds it's trying to counter. If you're looking for a Special Defensive role, you might consider Lanturn. You have Wish support, so his lack of Recovery isn't as much of an issue as it would otherwise be (still an issue, to be sure). Speaking of Lanturn, you could use it's Thunder Wave support to help Hariyama a great deal. Since you're looking to replace U-turn on Xatu, you could even throw T-wave there, and have a team that really sets up for Hariyama; Protect is probably a better option though, since it works so well with Wish. If the set ends up being Psychic / Wish / Protect / Reflect you might also consider running Espeon, who has higher stats across the board, although if you prefer Xatu's Flying type it's understandable.

That lead troubles me since it gets completely wrecked by Substitute. Not many leads carry Substitute, but when they do, you're probably facing a Baton Pass team, which means the beginning is very crucial. I would replace Thunder Wave or Sucker Punch with some kind of attack - Return or Seismic Toss or something. It doesn't matter that you can't hit Ghosts, at least not compared to your current set, since they all carry Substitute to bypass Sucker Punch anyway.

Finally, the thought of a Flame Orb, Guts Hariyama with Wish support sounds pretty freakin awesome to me.

 

[Cannon_Sam]

Thank you, Scoopapa, very useful advice.

That 19 extra does sound helpful. What do you suggest as the EV Spread?

That sounds interesting. I'll definitely look into that before I start to train Feebas (if I decide to keep Milotic). As for replacing it, yeah, you're completely right, Walrein wouldn't help my case much at all. I don't really like Lanturn, but the Thunderwave is what really makes it attractive. I was looking at Slowking, and it seems like it could replace Milotic well with it's great defenses and access to ThunderWave and Grass Knot (my team lacks a decent grass move, and GK helps against other bulky waters, which is needed on my team). What do you think?

I like the idea of Return over Sucker Punch, since that wasn't getting much done. However, I'm not too worried about his set too much, because really, Kec's only job that I demand he do is get up Stealth Rocks, and if he can, TWave. So maybe a moveset of
-Return
-Knock Off
-Stealth Rock
-Thunder Wave?
Or maybe Shadow Claw over Return? It seems to have more coverage, but, there again, I'm not too concerned about him hitting things too incredibly hard.

And yeah, I'm definitely excited about using that combo. :D

Awesome advice, again, thank you.