ORAS UU Keep calm and Snorlax

[TheWall]

Keep calm and Snorlax​

Hey there, My name is TheWall22 and this is my second rmt. Im a guy who prefers to play with balanced out teams. As of right now in most parts of the world vacation is a thing, (or is almost over) meaning people start to relax and visit different/exotic places. I wanted to do the same thing on showdown and take a small break from my main tier RU and visit the UU tier. With Sylveon dropped to UU sometime ago I finally got the incentive to head back into the tier after a hiatus of 4-5 months.

So without further delay I present to you the team:​

Teambuilding process:​

As I mentioned earlier I wanted to use standard wish Sylveon as the keystone of this team.

Sylveon has 2 major weaknesses, Poison and Steel. As I was searching for a Steel type in the UU tier that provided some defensive presence I came across Doublade. Doublade and Sylveon work surprisingly well with each other as Sylveon provides wish-, cleric-support and a dark resist, while Doublade takes care of Steel and some Poison types. Most notably are Cobalion, Lucario, SpDef-Roserade (lacking Hidden Power Ground/Fire) and Mega Beedril (if necessary). With Swords Dance it also proves to be a solid win-condition.

Right now the team was weak to Fire, Ghost and Ground types and I still lacked a Dragon type. For this reason Hydreigon was added to the team. All its weaknesses (bar Ice type, yes doublade resists it but it doesn’t really want to switch in on most special users of it or Mamoswine, the only notable physical Ice type attacker) are checked by either Sylveon or Doublade or both. I chose for a Life Orb wall-breaker set with Flash Cannon to lure in and punish the incoming Fairy types as Doublade can deal with most of them but doesn’t like to switch on them too often.

As of now the defensive backbone of the team was built but still somewhat vulnerable against Ice type attacks as Doublade doesn’t like to switch in those most of the time or he isn’t capable of beating the Pokémon who uses the attack. Therefore Mega Blastoise was chosen. This gave the team an Ice type switch in, another wall-breaker and not to be forgotten a way to remove hazards!

The thing I missed the most right now were Stealth Rocks. This is where offensive Nidoqueen came in. As my defensive backbone was already forged I wanted my rocker to be able to force some switches due to its sheer force (not the ability) to put up rocks on the forced switches. This formed also a nice hazard control core with Mega Blastoise.

For the last slot I had a pretty large list of requirements the Pokémon had to fulfil which included, check Suicune, check Entei, be a win condition and be able to break stall. This spot came down to Snorlax and Snorlax only surprisingly! After a few games I found out this team had some trouble with breaking some bulky waters with recover or rest, therefore I changed Hydreigon’s Flash Cannon to Taunt and Nidoqueen’s Icebeam to Thunderbolt to punish an incoming Gyarados and other bulky waters who like to click recovery moves when they are low on health.

In depth analysis:

Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell
- Hyper Voice​

In this team Sylveon is what you could call the supporter/ glue of the team. With the 252 HP and 248 Defense EV investment it makes sure Sylveon can live a lot of resisted hits which is necessary as she needs to pivot into a lot of attacks. To increase the longevity Wish Protect was chosen as a form of reliable recovery alongside Leftovers as the item. With the EV investment Sylveon can produce wishes that carry an amount of 197HP which is very helpful to switch one of the wall-breaker-trio like Mega Blastoise, Hydreigon and Nidoqueen in and put it at full health at the end of the turn. Heal Bell is a very useful cleric move to give a burned Doublade a second change and undo any status ailments on all other team members which may hinder their capabilities of wall-breaking. Heal Bell also gives the possibility to awaken Snorlax after it used Rest and was forced to switch. In combination with the ability Pixilate, Hyper Voice actually becomes a decently strong Special Attack despite having no EV investment. The 8 Speed investment puts Sylveon in a position to outspeed other Wish Sylveons, some Mega-Ampharos sets and speed creep base 60 mons.
​

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak​

Doublade fulfils a variety of roles on the team. It is my go to mon to deal with Steel types and Poison types and it’s also my answer for some problematic Fighting types who Sylveon can’t win the 1v1 with like Cobalion and Lucario.
I choose the standard Swords Dance set for Doublade as I like to have a defensive Pokémon who can act like a win-condition when my main win-condition is “neutralised”. With the 240 HP EV’s and base 150 Def boosted with Eviolite Doublade is capable to set up on a large amount of physical attackers. Iron Head is the main stab attack. Shadow Sneak is a solid priority attack which can ohko Chandelure at +2. Sacred Sword is the choice of coverage move to beat notably Steel type and Normal Type Pokémon.
Doublade hard walls or counters some threatening set up mons or hard to break walls like Curselax, Slurpuff, Reuniclus (lacking Shadow Ball), Cresselia, Porygon2 and Blissey.
The mere presence of Doublade also makes sure some Fighting types would think twice before using High Jump Kick against Snorlax or other team members.
​

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 SpD / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Taunt
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse​

Hydreigon is the fastest Pokémon on the team who provides the team with the best speed-control it can give with a decent base 98 speed.
As earlier mentioned Hydreigon ended up being a stall-breaker set mainly to be able to beat/ force out weakened bulky Water types like Vaporeon and Milotic. Roost extends the longevity of Hydreigon to wall/stall break a little longer than usual. The usage of Life Orb as the item boosts the damage output of the two stab moves, Dark pulse and Draco Meteor. Outside of being a stall-breaker for the team it’s my main pivot into ghost-, ground- and the elemental-types. For example Chandelure who is a huge threat for the team is countered by Hydreigon.​

Blastoise-Mega @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 140 HP / 252 SpA / 116 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Aura Sphere
- Dark Pulse​

Mega Blastoise is the team’s wall-breaker who pivots into the Ice-type attacks which Doublade can’t handle. 116 Speed EV’s means Blastoise is capable of out speeding certain walls like Cresselia and Gligar. It also makes sure Blastoise out speeds some threatening Pokémons like defensive Rotom-Heat, Nidoqueen. 252 SpA EV’s and a Modest nature with the default ability Mega Launcher maximises the damage it deals while wall breaking. The rest of the EV’s are put in HP to add some bulk to it enough for it to live 2 Giga Drains from Celebi and 2hko it back with Dark Pulse. It also makes Energy Ball from Choice Scarf Chandelure do max 67% and Choice Specs Chandelure miss the ohko with a chance of 96.7%. The combination of Scald, Aura Sphere and Dark Pulse provides the best coverage against all possible Stealth Rockers and the current meta (ban of salamence) and what the team needs. Dark Pulse is mostly used to pave the way for both win conditions of the team as they despise Ghost types. It also can force some para-flinch situation in combination with the Body Slam from Snorlax. Aura Sphere is mostly used against Dark types like Hydreigon, Mega Sharpedo and Crawdaunt and some Steel types like Empoleon and Mega Aggron. And Scald… is Scald. That move doesn’t really need an explanation.​

Nidoqueen @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Thunderbolt
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave​

Nidoqueen is the Stealth Rocker of the team who puts them on the field by forcing switches. It forms a great hazard-control core with Mega Blastoise. 252 SpA EV’s, Modest nature, and the combination of Sheer Force and Life Orb makes it very hard to switch in safely unless the opponent predicts correctly. Thunderbolt was chosen over Ice Beam to lure in Water-types like Suicune, Milotic and Vaporeon and do respectively 60% , 55% and 47% on average. This puts them in range of a Draco Meteor from Hydreigon to finish of the job. Small note on Vaporeon’s case rocks are mandatory or 12.1% prior damage has to be dealt first for Draco to KO Vaporeon after a Thunderbolt. The 92 Speed EV’s on Nidoqueen makes sure she out speeds key threats like all the bulky waters mentioned and Modest max speed Sylveon. The rest of the EV’s is poured in HP to add on some bulk. Nidoqueen is also my second option against Toxicroak if Doublade loses out in the mindgames.
​

Master Zhen (Snorlax) @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 144 HP / 188 Def / 176 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Curse
- Body Slam​

Snorlax fulfils multiple rolls on the team as stated earlier. With Curse it’s a great win-condition and wins very easy versus unprepared teams. The SpD EV investment makes Snorlax an excellent pivot into special attackers and set up on them. For example, Sludge Wave from Nidoqueen is only a 4hko.
The Def EV investment in combination with the ability Thick Fat makes sure after 1 Curse Choice Banded Entei does only maximal 32% with Sacred Fire. The Def investment also makes sure Snorlax wins the boosting war against Reuniclus with Shadow Ball and Suicune
The reason for Sleep Talk over a dark move is, because outside of Chandelure and Sableye, ghost-types aren’t that common in UU and this team is already prepared for those Pokémon’s or other Ghost types. With Sleep Talk I can boost up or attack while being asleep and don’t need to wait 2 turns. Body Slam was chosen over Return as the primary attack primarily for the 30% chance of paralyzing the opponent. The team is not that fast and does appreciates opponents being slowed down. This also makes a good combination with the attack Dark Pulse on Mega Blastoise and Hydreigon to pull of some paraflinch shenanigans (tho don’t count on it)​

Conclusion:

As I have already stated bulky waters are very difficult to deal with, but there are some other threats to the team:​

• Nasty Plot Celebi: this can turn out to be an issue but if you pressure it enough with some heavy offence you could work your way around it.

• Taunt rocky helmet mandibuzz: Mandibuzz alone isn’t that big of a problem but in combination of external cleric/wish support it will be very hard to take it down. if you keep the rocks up and pressure the wish supporter enough in a way that it’s not capable of passing the wishes you are set.

• Choice specs Sylveon: this monster hits too damn hard… Snorlax is the only one who can switch into it safely and still take maximal 47% damage.

• Sub leech seed Whimsicot: This is just a really big annoyance. It takes a bit of effort and smart doubling to deal with it efficiently.

• Roar/Dragon tail Milotic/Vaporeon/Suicune: this is a real big game changer for the team. As Snorlax can’t set up on them and Mega Blastoise doesn’t enough to put them in a critical position. The only way to take them down is with Hydreigon’s taunt and force them out in a more weakened position where either Draco Meteor or a surprise thunderbolt takes out the Pokémon.

Anyways, thank you for taking your time to read the rmt i wrote. I hoped you liked the team and/or have any suggestions on how to improve the team.
below i have included a few replays and the pastebin of the team

Replays

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uususpecttest-399271248
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uususpecttest-398376716
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uususpecttest-400221858
This one shows how annoying vaporeon can be.

Pastebin

Charlotte (Sylveon) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell
- Hyper Voice

Excalibur (Doublade) (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak

Hail Hydra (Hydreigon) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Taunt
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse

Leonardo (Blastoise-Mega) (M) @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 140 HP / 252 SpA / 116 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Aura Sphere
- Dark Pulse

Nina (Nidoqueen) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Thunderbolt
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave

Master Zhen (Snorlax) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 144 HP / 188 Def / 176 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Curse
- Body Slam

​

 

[Highways]

Hmm, interesting team you have here! However, I'll try to fix some things that I find that may be cool for you.

• First of all, your team is very weak to Ghost-Type Pokémon and Celebi and this is so bad actually since they are very common. That's why I'll run Choice Band Snorlax over CurseLax. Curse Snorlax is a setup fodder to NP + Dazz Celebi, and bar Doublade you have 0 answers to it, but with Choice Band, you can do stupid things, like 3HKOing Suicune after Stealth Rock, Pursuit trap Celebi if your opponent know that you are banded, among check big threats to this team like Specs/Sub CM Chandelure. You can run Fire Punch over Facade too, but with this change, your team is weaker to Entei, so Facade is a must. Common switches to CurseLax are punished by Earthquake, like Cobalion and Doublade.

Snorlax @ Choice Band
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Facade / Fire Punch
- Earthquake
- Pursuit

Minor Changes

• Run 248 HP / 252 Def instead of 252 HP / 248 Def, since you can take less damage from Physical Attackers.
• Run Max Speed Blastoise over your Spread. The "Bulk" add isn't all that useful and with this spread you can outspeed Pokémon Nidoqueen, what is very useful since your team is still weak to it.

Other Opitions

• You can run WishSynth Florges instead of Sylveon, the team is already good in questions of physical bulk, but when your switch to Hydro Pump Blastoise-Mega is the wind. However, Sylveon is better as a WishTect Cleric if you really want to use it.

Florges @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 24 SpD
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Synthesis
- Moonblast
- Aromatherapy


Hope I helped! ^_^

 

[Vague]

To help with the NP Celebi problem you could run Mega Aerodactyl > Mega Blastoise. At this point it's pretty redundant with Hydreigon, Nidoqueen, and Sylveon to an extent and just kinda sits there as yet another special wall breaker when you already wall break relatively well + you have good Entei switch-ins with Snorlax and Roost Hydreigon. Mega Aerodactyl gives you a nice amount of insurance against things like Celebi, Gyarados, and a few other threats that it can suffice as a check towards and the extra speed is phenomenal. The Stealth Rock weakness it brings isn't too big off an issue since hazards doesn't bother this team /that/ much at all. The last slot is pretty flexible, you could run Pursuit to trap things like Scarf Chandelure and Mega Beedrill, Taunt to disrupt opposing defensive backbones, or Aqua Tail to weaken incoming Ground-types.

Aero

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wing Attack
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit / Taunt / Aqua Tail

Since Snorlax is part of your teams' focal point, I won't suggest a different Pokemon, but you should run Earthquake > Sleep Talk so your not walled by things like Doublade and Chandelure. Not having Sleep Talk is a little annoying, but Sylveon's Heal Bell support should be enough to make up for that. The CB Snorlax suggestion works too.