Immunities

[speed ghilliesniper]

At a glance

I'v always been fascinated with stopping threats cold by rendering it's best moves not effective, and that's what this team set's out to do. Also, with Cresselia gone I'v seen a recent resurgence in the fire water grass offensive cores of before. So, going off of that somewhat gimmicky idea with a few anti meta/ unusual pokemon I set out to build a team completely able to stop these cores, and more, while generating more free plays for myself and forcing more switches for the opposition to rack up hazard damage. I'v done pretty well with this team, peaking #9 on the ru suspect test ladder at 1835, and also hitting 26th, still provisional, on the RU ladder at 1900, and number 4 at 1764 all under my alt speedg. This team has done very well for me and my style of play, but I'd still like to get feedback and improvements on certain issues that this team has.
Ladder proof
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In depth​

The Lead

Uxie @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spd
Bold Nature
- Psychic
- Magic Coat
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
Immune to: Ground
Resistant to: Fighting, Psychic
Weak to: Bug, Dark, Ghost
With Cresselia officially gone from RU Uxie now takes it's place back as the premeir bulky psychic in RU. The idea is to lead off with it, and depending on the opposing lead either Magic Coat to reflect any Hazards or status coming towards the pixe, or Stealth rock against an offensive lead. Uturn is for dealing some damage while keeping momentum on my side, while Psychic is the obligatory STAB that is needed to check opposing Nidoqueen.

Hazards are very important to this team to rack up residual damage, but keeping them off is just as important due to the lack of a spinner which is why I run Magic Coat. All in all I use Uxie as a bulky catch all for most fighting attackers or just physical attackers in general. The moves it's weak to are usually physical, so Poliwrath is the ideal switch if something threatens it out, being resistant to Bug and Dark from the likes of Drapion, Spiritomb, and Escavalier. Ghost attacks, while more rare, can be stopped by Bouffalant if coming from something like Rotom, however ghost attacks are usually coverage or are coming from something that can beat the bull and are best left to something else.

The Wallbreaker

Nidoqueen (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
Immune to: Electric
Resistant to: Bug, Fighting, Poison, Rock
Weak to: Water, Ground, Psychic, Ice
Ah Nidoqueen, the undisputed Queen of RU. Ruling with an iron fist, this is the typical wall breaker set used by many. Sludge wave is used over Ice Beam due to the redundant coverage by the latter, while the former is a very powerful STAB. Flamethrower is used over Fire Blast for the accuracy issues and because with sheer force, life orb, and a modest nature the power drop isn't severe.

Often this is my stop to choiced or slow threats that love to Volt Switch on Poliwrath such as Rotom Mow, Lanturn, and Manectric. Of course prediction is key, but if Nidoqueen can get in for free her unresisted coverage and power means something will be taking a serious shot.

Poliwrath and Uxie are her main partners in crime, with Uxie taking Ground moves mainly from opposing Nidoqueen and countering back; while Poliwrath takes the water moves from the likes of Feraligatr while also luring in electric moves for Nidoqueen to capitalize on. Her wall breaking abilities are second to none, and it's no surprise she finds her way onto almost all of my teams. 0 attack IV's are so random things like prankster Lieperd that confuse the queen can't score as much damage.

The Anti FWG Core

Lampent @ Eviolite
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spd
- Energy Ball
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Trick Room
Immune to: Fire, Fighting, Normal
Resistant to: Bug, Poison, Grass, Ice, Steel
Weak to: Water, Ghost, Ground, Dark, Rock
This is one of the original Pokemon I wanted to test out and is the inspiration for this team. Lampent's ability, Flash Fire, absorbs fire moves and powers up it's own fire type moves in the process. It's a bulky trick room set that, ideally, comes in on a fire move, set up trick room, and goes to town. While that rarely happens, even if it does nothing but set up trick room it's done a favor for the team. Trick room of course is the crux of the set, allowing Lampent to out speed many threats it previously couldn't, along with helping many of the other members such as Bouffalant be quicker as well. Fire Blast is used here because power is at a premium and because with STAB and a flash fire boost it can seriously dent many things in the tier. Shadow ball gives it another stab to abuse, while energy ball rounds off the coverage on bulky waters.

Under trick room it can threaten many things, however I'v found the power to be somewhat lacking as it lacks to power to OHKO many things, while being susceptible to being KO'd in return due to the Stealth Rock weakness and need to take a shot to set up Trick Room. When this happens and it goes down shortly after getting up Trick Room, which is more often then I'd like, I bring in Bouffalant to out speed and smash whatever care to stay in.

Speaking of which, this guy and Bouffalant go together like maceroni and cheese. With lament absorbing Fighting moves aimed at Bouffalant, while the afro bull can take priority ghost moves aimed at Lampent under Trick Room and go to town. Poliwrath is also a good partner, absorbing Water moves and eating rock and dark moves aimed at the little lamp.

Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature
- Circle Throw
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Scald
Immune to: Water
Resistant to: Dark, Bug, Dark, Fire, Ice, Steel
Weak to: Electric, Grass, Flying, Psychic
Poliwrath, formerly Cresselia's perfect partner, now finds itself a home here as a fantastic bulky water and physical wall, absorbing the water part of the FWG core while regaining health in the process. Rest talk is used to keep it healthy and free from status. Scald is used as a STAB, and while it's not very powerful it has excellent neutral coverage in RU and has the handy 30% burn chance to cripple any physical attackers brave enough to stay in. Circle throw is used as another STAB and to shuffle the opposing team, racking up hazard damage while disrupting the opponents strategy.

This is one of the greatest team players, taking Dark and Bug moves aimed at Uxie while also taking Water moves aimed at Nidoqueen or Lampent. In return, it tends to bait Electric and grass moves, of which Nidoqueen can come in the former and threaten the opponent immediately with her power while Bouffalant can come in on the second, grab a Sap Sipper boost and smash almost anything coming in.

Bouffalant @ Choice Band
Trait: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Head Charge
- Megahorn
- Stone Edge
Immune to: Ghost, grass
Resistant to: Nothing
Weak to: Fighting
Oh Afro Bull, you'll always be one of my favorite pokemon in the tier. From the stylish hair and horn jewelry, to it's very cool ability, good bulk, and monstrous attack, it's one of the most under rated mons in the tier and is a dangerous sweeper either with a Sap Sipper boost or under Trick Room. Head Charge is his signature move, and will smack anything that doesn't resist it for heavy damage. Earthquake and Stone Edge form the famous EdgeQuake coverage, hitting nearly everything that Head Charge doesn't for at least neutral damage. Megahorn, apart from being so fitting on something with such magnificent horns, offers coverage on Grass types that have given him a Sap Sipper boost or to hit Psychics.

The Glue
Spiritomb @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Dark Pulse
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Immune to: Psychic, Normal, Fighting
Reistant to: Poison
Weak to: Nothing
The infamous CroTomb set, once known as the only true Cresselia counter, finds it's way onto this team as more a throw away of that era. Still, it acts as a fantastic bulky sweeper for late game after most physical attackers are gone. It also acts as a better check to many of the fighting types in the tier than Lament thanks to it's typing, as well as many dangerous Psychic types such as Sigilyph and Musharna. Rest Talk allows it to stay healthy longer, using it's bulk to slowly boost up to a reasonable level before attempting a sweep. Calm mind is the boosting move of choice, while Dark pulse is the mono attacking move of choice due to STAB and the better neutral coverage over Shadow Ball.

This set acts as a stop to Psychics trying to hit Poliwrath or Nidoqueen, along with fighting types trying to get after Bouffalant. He doesn't require as much support from his team mates as most of the others, however many physical attackers can overwhelm him, which means Poliwrath is a good partner with him.


Threats:
Gallade is very threatening to this team, I usually use Lampent to get up trick room then try to take it down with that or get it so that Bouffalant can revenge kill. The sub bu set is the most dangerous, as behind a sub it can get to +1, ko Lampent under trick room and possibly survive a head charge. Spiritomb is an emergency check but I have to be careful to boost enough to kill it and not to give it a justified boost which can be diffucult.
Nidoqueen can be a threat if Uxie is hurt and my Nidoqueen loses the speed tie.
Braviary is an, albeit rare, threat that can devastate this team but I'v chalked that incident up to me not being prepared as I'v only seen that 1 and I still managed to come out on top thanks to Bouffalant's bulk.

The number 1 threat to this team is hazards, as with no spinner I have no way to remove them and my play style calls for a lot of switching. Usually smart playing with uxie can limit it but there's just so much you can do.

Prediction is key to this teams success, and the wide range of talent on the ladder means that can sometimes be difficult, if not impossible early on. Not much I can do here except inspect the opposing team for the general strength and cohesiveness, along with searching the ladder for their name to check.

conclusion
I'm honestly not sure how to end this except with a huge thank you for looking over this team for me. I'v tried to color code the resistances/ immunities to show who it helps, along with the weakness' to show who takes care of them for simplicity sake. Spiritomb is probably the most liable to be changed, although pretty much anything on this team is open to change for a superior option I'v over looked. Any feedback on the format or anything like that is also always appreciated.​

 

[Yonko7]

Hiya speed ghilliesniper:

congrats on the ladder peak n.n your team is well made and the achievement showcases that. The suggestions I'm going to make are going to make your team more efficient and better!

First off, (I'll try go in order) Uxie could be much more efficient. The EVs at the moment caps Uxie's Speed at 250 and one of the most dominating Pokemon, Nidoqueen sits at 251 with maximum investment with Modest. Uxie is a great Pokemon at beating Nidoqueen. Now you do have a part-Trick Room team, but the threat of Nidoqueen outside of Trick Room is very dangerous. To help with this, I suggest 252 HP / 152 Def / 104 Spe, which puts Uxie at 252 outspeeding Nidoqueen. Also, your team could use more than one Trick Room user, in case Lampent goes down unexpectedly due to a critical hit or coverage attack. Uxie is a great user of Trick Room and can also be counted on to set it up, and can set it up early-game if you want! I suggest Trick Room to replace Stealth Rock. You do lose Stealth Rock on a lead Pokemon, but you get another Trick Room user which helps you all around!

Now, almost every competitively viable team needs Stealth Rock. Nidoqueen is a great Pokemon to set up the hazard, because the threat of her awesome coverage will make many Pokemon switch out, so she can use that turn to set up Stealth Rock. Replacing Sludge Wave does hurt Nidoqueen raw power a bit in that she loses a strong neutral coverage attack, but the sheer utility of Stealth Rock outweighs that; so, Stealth Rock over Sludge Wave. Now this is just an observation, not a suggestion. With Trick Room on your team, Nidoqueen could focus all her EVs on bulk and power so she doesn't need to worry about Speed, but the limited timer of Trick Room makes this look unlikely, and the attacks your setters (Uxie and Lampent) will be hit by are most likely going to be Dark- or Water-type, which Nidoqueen doesn't really want to switch into.

Next, Choice Band Bouffalant is an excellent wallbreaker, but on your team its assists are much better utilized a different way. My reasoning is this: you have Trick Room to make Bouffalant "faster", but with Choice Band attached its offensive capabilities are severally hindered. I suggest the Substitute set rather than the Choice Band. The item, Leftovers, is a great choice on Boufflant, because he is your main check to Grass-types Tangrowth and Lilligant (both have HP Rock for Lampent) and it increases its longevity. Second, Substitute gives Bouffalant a buffer when Trick Room ends, giving it another turn to attack the opponent. Now you do lose a great wallbreaker, but it simply doesn't work with the team due to its item.

Bouffalant

Bouffalant @ Leftovers
Adamant | Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
- Substitute
- Head Smash
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

Lastly, I think Spiritomb should stay on your team, otherwise Gallade will be able to pound right through your team, but I think the CroTomb set takes too long to be utilized, and can be setup bait for something that resists Dark-type attacks. I suggest the All-out attacker set. Changing it does mean that you lose a sleep absorber but you already have Poliwrath, so that isn't too big of a loss. The all-out attacker set with BlackGlasses is great for being really flexible and still hitting hard when needed. For example, Shadow Sneak 2KOes Gallade. Spiritomb gives you the ability to revenge kill set-up sweepers through priority, which would otherwise roll over your team if they set up on Poliwrath or Uxie. Will-O-Wisp on the last slot makes Spiritomb a team player and softens up physical attackers. Also, changing the ability to Infiltrator is more beneficial thanks to being able to hit through, namely, screens.

Spiritomb

Spiritomb @ BlackGlasses
Adamant | Infiltrator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
- Sucker Punch
- Shadow Sneak
- Pursuit
- Will-O-Wisp

Hope I helped n.n

Good Luck~

 

[ss234]

Hi.

This is a pretty solid team, however there are some weaknesses. Yonko7 covered some minor changes, so I'm not going to do that as well, and you should definitely take his advice.

The first major weakness I can see is Moltres. Everything on your team is 2HKO'd by Moltres's STAB's alone, and the fact that it is often paired with Kabutops, which beats your spin-blocker one-on-one, will mean that rocks will most likely be off the field. From there, Moltres shreds everything with Hurricane, since you have no resist what-so-ever. In fact, flying types in general give you a big headache, Swellow and Braviary for example, although they can't come in, 1 or 2HKO everything on your team. You also lack an answer to Nidoqueen, who is capable of 2HKOing everything on your team with it's incredible coverage.

Therefore, I recommend that you use Kabutops. Kabutops is an excellent addition to your team, as it can check all of the aforementioned with ease and adds a valuable flying resist. Kabutops can also check Nidoqueen thanks to it's water STAB.

However, because of the fact that replacing one of your team members creates more weaknesses, I recommend using Camerupt over Nidoqueen, and then using Kabutops over Lampent. Camerupt still counters electric and bug types very well, much like Lampent did. However, Camerupt is not weak to Stealth Rock and can set-up its own rocks. Although you do create an extra fighting weakness and lose one, Spiritomb and Uxie can beat the majority of fighters in the metagame, if not all. Camerupt does much the same as Nidoqueen, only it has a better time against the likes of Magmortar thanks to it's fire typing.

Here are the sets:

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Camerupt @ Leftovers
Trait: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Def
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
- Roar

Kabutops @ Life Orb
Trait: Weak Armor
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Jet
- Rapid Spin

GL and I hope I helped.

 

[speed ghilliesniper]

All right, I took time off of this team to experiment with some weather teams but I'v played with it quite a bit testing it out.
Yonko: not really liking Trick Room on Uxie to be honest, and I honestly dislike support Nidoqueen outside of hail, so those changes unfortunately I'm not using right now. Crotomb and the all out attacker I'm torn by, as with the all out attacker set I'm better off against pretty much everything else, especially Gallade, but Crotomb gives me the utility of hard countering Cosmic Power Sigilyph and of being the bane of every stall team I'v met as a last mon stand after it can't be phazed and just boosting and killing the whole team. Seriously, I'v met a few stall teams and just let everything die one after another until Crotomb then just boosted, Rested, and tore apart the whole team. I use both, but for over all versatility I prefer the all out attacking set so it's what i use the most. The sub set on Bouffalant I loved though, Leftovers and the sub make even better use of it's good bulk while capitalizing on the switches it causes among the grass type switching out by grabbing a sub. Megahorn wasn't missed due to it only being good for hurting someone hitting roost over and over again to burn stall the bull at +1 with a Sigilyph.

Silvershadow: You are 100% right with Kabutops being needed on this team. I don't like it removes my Fire immunity but the 4x resist is just as well, while the Flying resist is needed badly. Plus the utility of Rapid Spin was just what this team needed against stall when I'm not running Crotomb, and it drew in Grass moves like a moth to a flame that Bouffalant could capitalize on even better with it's new set. I ran Swords Dance over Waterfall as my lone change for late game sweeping potential but that's just a personal preference on all my Kabutops.
I honestly didn't like Camerupt as much though. Under trick room it functioned better than Nidoqueen, but after losing Lampent and not using Trick Room on Uxie it really stopped pulling it's weight in a lot of matches. Solid rock is cool but anything super effective against either Nidoqueen or Camerupt is covered by the rest of the team, plus it had lower bulk and was much slower meaning I rarely found it helping when it took twice the shots to begin with. Magmortar is somewhat of an issue with Lampent gone for Kabutops but I'v found Kabutops can revenge it easily or Crotomb can go toe to toe with it if that's the set I'm using.

Thanks for the feedback guys, always appreciated.