In Your Head (UU Team)

[Xelltrix]

After much testing, I think I've finally put together a fairly balanced and effective team for the UU tier. Basically it revolves around getting in your opponent's head (as the title depicts) and messing with your opponent's predictions until they make a mistake and pay dearly for it. The general strategy is to force out all my opponents Pokemon, identify the prime threats, and eliminate (or cripple) them, ultimately ending by sweeping with one of my Pokemon (generally Shedinja).

Here's my my UU prediction Team:
Drifblim Nidoking Camerupt Hitmontop Shedinja Lanturn

Name: OMFG A BALLOON (Drifblim-Male)
Type: ( Ghost/Flying )
Item: Salac Berry
Nature: Timid
Abilities: Unburden
EVs: HP: 220 / DEF: 36 / SPD: 252

Move List:

• Move1: Baton Pass
• Move2: Substitute
• Move3: Hypnosis
• Move4: Hidden Power (Flying)
  

How Drifblim is used:
Drifblim is a pretty useful lead, he stops people from attempting to get a free fake out turn at the beginning, and can sleep or substitute the general Stealth Rock leaders. Generally, I go for substitute on Pokemon that are not immediately threatening or will most likely use a status effect, then either Hypnosis or swap to Nidoking or Ninetales, depending on what move was used against me in round one.


Additional Notes:
Overall, I'm satisfied with Drifblim, he replaced Persian as my lead Pokemon and has helped me sweep with my other Pokemon more effectively. I have decided to stick to an offensive move, right now HP Flying and HP Fighting are my two prime contenders.

Name: Admantoise (Nidoking - Male)
Type: ( Poison / Ground )
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Timid
Abilities: Poison Point
EVs: sATK: 252 / SPD: 252 / sDEF: 4

Move List:

• Move1: Earth Power
• Move2: Shadow Ball
• Move3: Ice Beam
• Move4: Thunderbolt

How Nidoking is used:
Nidoking is now my special sweeper, he has excellent coverage and retains some bulkiness while also having good speed and strength. He is usually my first candidate to pass Substitute to early game, and general knocks out one or two pokemon before dying/switching out if he gets said substitute.


Additional Notes:
After altering Nidoking and turning him into a special sweeper, I have been more than satisfied with the results. The lack of a physical sweeper (other than Shedinja) is somewhat detrimental though. I am debating slapping on Super Power to allow him to threaten Clefable. If I do this, I am unsure which move I should remove.

Name: Eruption (Camerupt - Female)
Type: ( Fire / Ground )
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Modest
Abilities: Solid Rock
EVs: HP: 156 / DEF: 76 / sATK: 216 / sDEF: 60

Move List:

• Move1: Earth Power
  
• Move2: Flame Thrower
  
• Move3: Stealth Rock
  
• Move4: Roar
  

How Camerupt is used:
Camerupt serves as my fire resist man as well as my counter to the ever annoying Rotom. Whenever he is able to get in I try to set up Stealth Rocks if I force a switch or Roar to phaze a monster's buffs. Additionally, fire and earth coverage STAB'd do some significant damage with Camerupt's impressive Special Attack.


Additional Notes:
Swapped out Ninetales for this beast, still a powerhouse but the lack of speed in exchange for resilience has been iffy. Overall, however, I feel he has been the better choice.

Name: Sir Own-a-Lot (Hitmontop - Male)
Type: ( Fighting / None )
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Impish
Abilities: Intimidate
EVs: HP: 252 / ATK: 16 / DEF: 116 / SPD: 68 / sDEF: 56

Move List:

• Move1: Rapid Spin
  
• Move2: Fake Out
  
• Move3: Bullet Punch
  
• Move4: Mach Punch
  

How Hitmontop is used:
Hitmontop comes in on other fighting Pokemon and effectively walls off their Rock/ Ground/ Fighting combo that previously caused me so much trouble. The inclusion of Hitmontop has significantly increased my success rate but the lack of healing is quite aggravating. Overall, however, I am content with my new addition. As of now, I am choosing between a priority attack or earthquake as my last move.


Additional Notes:
Hitmontop replaced Blastoise as my spinner and physical wall. He has done a good job of covering my weaknesses and taking down stealth rock, but now I am left without a phazer.

Name: Untouchable (Shedinja - Genderless)
Type: ( Bug / Ghost )
Item: Focus Sash
Nature: Jolly
Abilities: Wonder Guard
EVs: ATK: 252 / DEF: 4 / SPD: 252

Move List:

• Move1: Shadow Sneak
• Move2: X-Scissor
• Move3: Dig
• Move4: Swords Dance

How Shedinja is used:
Shedinja is a prime example of how a tier shift can turn a Pokemon from useless to excellent. I try to keep him hidden for as long as possible and make sure spikes and rocks are gone as soon as possible just so I can pull him out whenever I need to. He is my prime candidate for late game Substitute + Salac Berry passing from my Drifblim, and with the boost and a Swords Dance under his belt, Shedinja can be a powerful potential sweep. Substitute walls him from DoT kills and gives me at least two free hits before I am at risk of a KO. Usually, if I get Shedinja out with a substitute and Salac berry on, it's game over for my opponent.


Additional Notes:
Not sure whether or not I want to ruin my coverage by taking off Aerial Ace for Protect or Will-o-Wisp, but it seems like a potentially useful swap. Overall, I am fine with the move set and my Shedinja and I don't feel he needs any editing.

Name: Glow-mosexual (Lanturn - Male)
Type: ( Water / Electric )
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Calm
Abilities: Magnet Pull
EVs: HP: 228 / DEF: 192 / sATK: 4 / sDEF: 84

Move List:

• Move1: Surf
• Move2: Discharge
  
• Move3: Rest
  
• Move4: Sleep Talk
  

How Lanturn is used:
Lanturn serves as my primary wall, he can take any status effect and rest it away, but additional takes thunder waves for free. I opted for Discharge for the chance to paralyze and he also serves as a check to Swellow, Jumpluff, and other Water types. Though his defenses are less than impressive, he magnificent HP total and Rest allow Lanturn to take serious punishment, and then deal some back.


Additional Notes:
Perhaps the hardest change for me to accept was giving up Probopass's staggering defenses. He had served as a stelalr counter to Steelix and other Probopass, not to mention completely shutting down most special attackers (and swellow). However, in the end, I decided to give up that wonderous Wall for Lanturn to cover my lack of water resistance and shut down other notable UU threats / annoyers (Lapras, Rotom, Weezing, Jumpluff). Additionally, finally having a wall that can heal is extremely useful and I think I made the right call going with LonelyNess's advice.


Final Notes:


Threats & Problems:

List of Threats:
Stealth Rock weakness is somewhat hampering if Hitmontop is still on my team, and crippling if he is gone.

Not really certain about any other counters at this time.

Conclusion:
This is my "final" group. Any comments are welcome.

 

[Xenon]

Hitmonlee threatens to destroy your entire team, OHKOs everyone in your team (Drifblim has 59% chance of survivng a stone edge w/o SR) except Blastoise, which it 2HKOs and blastoise can't do much back with surf due to Hitmonlee's good 110 SpDef. To solve this problem, you can add a Weezing or Defensive Hypno, who can also provide the wish support your blastoise needs.

But if you feel removing Probopass makes you vulnerable to swellow, you can keep Probopass and add a Intimidate Spin top or a Technitop (Fake Out does 50%+ and Mach Punch will finish Lee off) with Rapid Spin over Blasoise to get rid of Hitmonlee and also keep the rocks away.

 

[Xelltrix]

Giving Hitmontop a go, so far he seems to be extremely useful, the lack of a phazer might come back to bite me though, so I decided to put Haze on Drifblim (leaving it no attacking options). Not sure if that will be smart idea or not, but overall, I haven't seen anything that poses a serious threat if I predict accurately, though I only have Shedinja to sponge water based attacks now.

 

[Komodo]

Will-o-wisp is best for shedinja - burn stuff that will kill you
poison jab on nidoking - decent stab attack
shadow ball on drifblim - you dont want to be taunted do you ?

 

[JTG43]

for dribflim i would slide in shadow ball, STAB is a major benefactor.

if your trying to pull out an electric type i would go with roar, if you wanna get rid of a psychic type treatening you i would go with megahorn. if i were you i would use megahorn as my last slot.

on blastoise i would go with haze b/c you already have dribflim with hypnosis and roar wouldn't seem useful much. i would prefer ice beam over rest since blastoise has high defence.

for shedinja i would stick with will-o-wisp so if shedinja goes down you left something with them to deal with.

for probopass i think your using too many steel typeoves but then again STAB comes in handy tghere

 

[diinbong]

Hey Xelltrix! I remember playing this team, and I have to say your prediction was impeccable on the most part-- it made me consider using shedinja!

Remember on Shedinja that that game would have been match without Shadow Ball.

If looking for wish support, a possible candidate is always Kangaskan, who might squeeze in to replace Nidoking. An idea, since you're looking:

Kangaskhan @ Life Orb/ Leftovers
Adamant - Scrappy
6 HP/252 Atk/ 252 Spe
>Wish
>Return
>Hammer Arm/Brick Break/Focus Punch
>Sucker Punch

Very similar coverage while keeping a priority move and adding wish. The EVs can be rearanged for a bulkier version (likewise with Life Orb/Lefties)

I like Ninetails, but it's more useful to have a non-choice pokemon to pass speed to, so you might consider removing for that reason alone. Even with NP you can still get great coverage:

>Nasty Plot
>Heat Wave
>Energy Ball
>Hidden Power [Rock]

The only things your hitting less hard are Grumpig and Hypno.

I'd go with Roar, as then you can do something about passing subs aswell.

Your Probopass confuses me, as you are not fast enough to abuse Magnet Rise (Aggron and Steelix outrun you). Either run 88 Spe EVs or substitute Magnet Rise for Explosion/Protect/Toxic. I guess if Magnet Rise is working you can use it, but Thunder Wave on the switch will be more effective 80% of the time. Rest is also an option. :/

Gooooood.

 

[Xelltrix]

Will-o-wisp is best for shedinja - burn stuff that will kill you
poison jab on nidoking - decent stab attack
shadow ball on drifblim - you dont want to be taunted do you ?

Still not completely convinced on Will-o-wisp, I'm going to try it for a bit and see how it unfolds, but usually I end up running away before wisping anyhow. However, Will-o-Wisping say... a fighting type would give me the ability to keep Blastoise in my team instead of Hitmontop, not sure though.

As for Poison Jab, I tried it for a bit, and I think Megahorn seems alot more useful, though I swear it misses at the worst times.

for dribflim i would slide in shadow ball, STAB is a major benefactor.

if your trying to pull out an electric type i would go with roar, if you wanna get rid of a psychic type treatening you i would go with megahorn. if i were you i would use megahorn as my last slot.

on blastoise i would go with haze b/c you already have dribflim with hypnosis and roar wouldn't seem useful much. i would prefer ice beam over rest since blastoise has high defence.

for shedinja i would stick with will-o-wisp so if shedinja goes down you left something with them to deal with.

for probopass i think your using too many steel typeoves but then again STAB comes in handy there

I think I will swap back to Blastoise for Haze+Rapid Spin, and stick Will-o-wisp on my move list in place of Aerial Ace since that seems to be what everyone is agreeing upon. I'll try it out for a bit and see which group does better overall.

Hey Xelltrix! I remember playing this team, and I have to say your prediction was impeccable on the most part-- it made me consider using shedinja!

Remember on Shedinja that that game would have been match without Shadow Ball.

If looking for wish support, a possible candidate is always Kangaskan, who might squeeze in to replace Nidoking. An idea, since you're looking:

Kangaskhan @ Life Orb/ Leftovers
Adamant - Scrappy
6 HP/252 Atk/ 252 Spe
>Wish
>Return
>Hammer Arm/Brick Break/Focus Punch
>Sucker Punch

Very similar coverage while keeping a priority move and adding wish. The EVs can be rearanged for a bulkier version (likewise with Life Orb/Lefties)

I like Ninetails, but it's more useful to have a non-choice pokemon to pass speed to, so you might consider removing for that reason alone. Even with NP you can still get great coverage:

>Nasty Plot
>Heat Wave
>Energy Ball
>Hidden Power [Rock]

The only things your hitting less hard are Grumpig and Hypno.

I'd go with Roar, as then you can do something about passing subs aswell.

Your Probopass confuses me, as you are not fast enough to abuse Magnet Rise (Aggron and Steelix outrun you). Either run 88 Spe EVs or substitute Magnet Rise for Explosion/Protect/Toxic. I guess if Magnet Rise is working you can use it, but Thunder Wave on the switch will be more effective 80% of the time. Rest is also an option. :/

Gooooood.

That's very true about the Drifblim thing, which, ultimately, lead me to not using Haze at all, since I really think not having an attack move would be foolish.

The thing about Nidoking that attracted me was his resistance to poison, fighting, rock, and thunder which really allowed him to swap in at a moment's notice, so I really don't know what to do there.

As for Ninetales, I have decided to go for the lower coverage over the useful move changing abilities.

Lastly, the 8 EVs helped me out speed other Steelix, and the other sneaky Probopass that throw in 4 EVs to get the jump on others. With Thunder Wave+ Magnet Rise, I ensure that I always beat other Probopass and can Magnet Rise when I predict a swap in to counter me. So far, it has proven quite effective.

(By the way, I'll send you an e-mail of my version of our warstory once I'm done reading over it for spelling errors, ok?)

 

[Sephiroth32194]

Just a quick note - If you're playing on Shoddy Battle, or you have a Platinum cartridge, consider giving Shedinja Sucker Punch. This could turn it into a pretty good sweeper with that high powered move. It also lets you know when your opponent has a super effective move. Other than that, it looks good. I'm not too familiar with UU, but as long as you have good prediction, it seems like it would succeed. 9.5/10

 

[Xelltrix]

Well, it seems both variations of my team are extremely vulnerable to Jumpluff + Linoone as Mr.X continues to show me... over... and over... and over... and over again. Not sure how I can go about countering it, Jumpluff's speed makes it almost impossible for me to hit it before it runs away, and once Linoone gets a chance to get on the field and belly drum, I'm pretty much screwed at that point.

 

[LonelyNess]

Alright, here's my rundown of your team.

I have played UU so much that I feel that it is my solemn duty to prevent people from using the monstrosity that is purely physical Nidoking. He is far too weak, and lacks the type coverage that his mixed, or fully special counterpart gains. If you are hesitant to split EVs on Nidoking, then consider going fully special. Not only does this retain the ability to use a +Spe nature, but it takes care of your Rotom problem as now Nidoking has nothing to fear from Rotom's attacks. Not even Will-O-Wisp can threaten it anymore.

Nidoking (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Poison Point
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Ice Beam

That set has near perfect coverage and is far more valuable than the solely physical set. If you want, you can take out Shadow Ball and put in Focus Blast. You lose the coverage against Hypno and Grumpig, but you can now have a perfect switch in to Clefable as Nidoking is immune to both Thunder Wave and Toxic.

-------------------------

Ninetales hates using Choice Specs. If you're going to use it as a Choice Specs Pokemon, then you might as well use another Pokemon. If you really want to use Ninetales, make it the Nasty Plot sweeper with Life Orb. The loss of coverage when taking out Dark Pulse is negligable, and the added ability to sweep is substantial.

Ninetales (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Energy Ball
- Nasty Plot

Pretty straight forward set really. You know what this can do.

-----------------------

I question why you have Salac Berry on your Drifblim. Neither of your sweepers need the extra speed in order to make a sweep. Ninetales is already far fast enough, and Nidoking is too weak to make a sweep even with the extra speed. For this reason, if you're going to pass something, make it Petaya Berry. Ninetales would love the opportunity to be +3 after a single Nasty Plot boost. And a +1 Life Orb Nidoking is a real force to be reckoned with considering its immense type coverage. All in all, go Petaya Berry.

------------------------

If you're looking for something that can spread a little bit of Thunder Wave around, as well as counter Rotom, then you could consider replacing Probopass with Lanturn. I don't really see the need for the Steel trapping qualities of Probopass, and Lanturn helps with three of your noted problems on the team, Lapras / Weezing / Rotom.

Unfortunately, Lanturn really hates its lack of recovery, so if you want it to last for any extended period of time, you should really go Restalk. The following set is probably the best.

Lanturn (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP/156 Def/100 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Surf
- Discharge
- Sleep Talk
- Rest

The EVs here are very specific. That Defense allows you to take ONE Life Orb boosted Earthquake factoring in Stealth Rock and Leftovers. With Life Orb recoil, Lanturn delivers the OHKO in return with Surf. Granted, it is a sacrifice of your Lanturn, but it's a small price to pay for the opportunity of killing Hitmonlee. It also just so happens that 156 EVs grants a bonus point in Defense.

Discharge allows you to spread paralysis around the opponent's team, while still maintaining an attacking nature. This is important because a single attack Lanturn is not exactly the best thing around.

-----------------------

My two cents on Blastoise is to go with Roar. The benifits of Roar greatly outweigh the fact that Blastoise will be hit with an attack. It's always better to force the Pokemon out than it is to Haze the boosts away.

-----------------------

Other than those things, the team looks very good. Well done.

 

[Xelltrix]

Alright, here's my rundown of your team.

I have played UU so much that I feel that it is my solemn duty to prevent people from using the monstrosity that is purely physical Nidoking. He is far too weak, and lacks the type coverage that his mixed, or fully special counterpart gains. If you are hesitant to split EVs on Nidoking, then consider going fully special. Not only does this retain the ability to use a +Spe nature, but it takes care of your Rotom problem as now Nidoking has nothing to fear from Rotom's attacks. Not even Will-O-Wisp can threaten it anymore.

Nidoking (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Poison Point
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Earth Power
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Ice Beam

That set has near perfect coverage and is far more valuable than the solely physical set. If you want, you can take out Shadow Ball and put in Focus Blast. You lose the coverage against Hypno and Grumpig, but you can now have a perfect switch in to Clefable as Nidoking is immune to both Thunder Wave and Toxic.

-------------------------

Ninetales hates using Choice Specs. If you're going to use it as a Choice Specs Pokemon, then you might as well use another Pokemon. If you really want to use Ninetales, make it the Nasty Plot sweeper with Life Orb. The loss of coverage when taking out Dark Pulse is negligable, and the added ability to sweep is substantial.

Ninetales (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Energy Ball
- Nasty Plot

Pretty straight forward set really. You know what this can do.

-----------------------

I question why you have Salac Berry on your Drifblim. Neither of your sweepers need the extra speed in order to make a sweep. Ninetales is already far fast enough, and Nidoking is too weak to make a sweep even with the extra speed. For this reason, if you're going to pass something, make it Petaya Berry. Ninetales would love the opportunity to be +3 after a single Nasty Plot boost. And a +1 Life Orb Nidoking is a real force to be reckoned with considering its immense type coverage. All in all, go Petaya Berry.

------------------------

If you're looking for something that can spread a little bit of Thunder Wave around, as well as counter Rotom, then you could consider replacing Probopass with Lanturn. I don't really see the need for the Steel trapping qualities of Probopass, and Lanturn helps with three of your noted problems on the team, Lapras / Weezing / Rotom.

Unfortunately, Lanturn really hates its lack of recovery, so if you want it to last for any extended period of time, you should really go Restalk. The following set is probably the best.

Lanturn (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP/156 Def/100 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Surf
- Discharge
- Sleep Talk
- Rest

The EVs here are very specific. That Defense allows you to take ONE Life Orb boosted Earthquake factoring in Stealth Rock and Leftovers. With Life Orb recoil, Lanturn delivers the OHKO in return with Surf. Granted, it is a sacrifice of your Lanturn, but it's a small price to pay for the opportunity of killing Hitmonlee. It also just so happens that 156 EVs grants a bonus point in Defense.

Discharge allows you to spread paralysis around the opponent's team, while still maintaining an attacking nature. This is important because a single attack Lanturn is not exactly the best thing around.

-----------------------

My two cents on Blastoise is to go with Roar. The benifits of Roar greatly outweigh the fact that Blastoise will be hit with an attack. It's always better to force the Pokemon out than it is to Haze the boosts away.

-----------------------

Other than those things, the team looks very good. Well done.

Right now, I'm giving Nidoking a spin as a special attacker as you suggested, it seems to be doing fine. However, because I now have him for a special attacker, I was wonder what you thought about replacing Ninetales with Rapidash as a physical threat? I don't want to only have Shedinja to fall back on when faced with a special wall, as I cannot really do much against them with him.

As for the berry usage, I chose that one so that it would work for all three of my sweepers, since Shedinja was slow, Nidoking was physical, and with a berry, Ninetales could out speed some of my choice opponents or energy ball swift swim exploiters.


I am also about to try using Lanturn to see how it fairs with my team that uses Hitmontop in place of Blastoise. Right now, I cannot say if it is an improvement as I have not used enough, but it did bring up the fact that now this group now lacks a phazer. Would having Blastoise and Lanturn on the same team be detrimental since both of them would be weak to grass attacks and share similar resistances?

 

[Xelltrix]

Updated my team, replaced Blastoise with Hitmontop and Probopass with Lanturn.

 

[Muntz]

What are you talking about, Lanturn takes Frosslass easily.

You have a huge QuakeSlide weakness. Maybe change Top to a Physical Wall Claydol since he takes the Grounds, Steels and Fighters better Top thanks to his STAB and Ice Beam.

Overall it is pretty solid. I hope I have helped you and good luck with the team

 

[TeaBag]

Heat Wave is retarded when Ninetales has Flamethrower.

Heat Wave: 100 * .9 nets 90 average damage
Flamethrower: 95 * 1 nets 95 average damage

 

[Kalec]

For IntimidateTop, I recommend running mach punch/fake out/rapid spin/stone edge or cc or quake. Dual priority helps him a ton when tackling opposing LO users, rapid spin is a given, and the fourth move for some real power. AA, even SE, isn't much better against most things Top can stay in on then quake is. Stone Edge I like because it takes one crit to change the game, and most people won't be expecting that crit from a tanky hitmontop. CC is an option, as always, due to high power and STAB, but denies top any way to deal damage while staying in.