Lost Purpose

[RowDog]

Hello fellow Smogoners, welcome to my 2nd RMT!​

This is a team which I initially built around Reuniclus and was my way of celebrating Hydreigon's return to UU. Since then, Crawdaunt has come and me being bloody paranoid dropped Reunic as to avoid a mon which would be such a delicious snack for the crab, and so have opted for Toxicroak to take its place. Hence this RMT is the Lost Purpose, as it has lost what it has built around.
The team is a balanced playstyle which is aimed at checking some of the biggest and most popular threats in the tier while maintaining great synergy. All about playing the game well and with good predictions, this team can be next to unstoppable.

I decided to make this RMT as since I have been laddering with it I have only lost 1 game out of a total of 30 and have managed to climb to a rating of 1568 and landed in top 100, and still climbing so I'll be updating on that one.

So without further ado here is the team:​

Team building process

Reuniclus and Hydreigon
These were the 2 originals that the team was based around, my 2 win conditions. Reunic is a great late/mid game sweeper with CM and Magic Guard and Scarf Hydreigon is great for nuking, revenge-killing and sweeping, 2 of my fav pokes.
Entei
Another Pokemon that I was wanting to try and got I needed something to bring the physical power to the table with 2 special sweepers. Entei's utility and power along with priority won it the position
Slowbro
Needed something to reliably handle the fire SPAM, Slowbro is the boy for that one and also serves as my main physical wall.
Florges
Needed a special wall as well as a cleric and something to resist Bug and Dark which could cause me troubles. Florges is the obvious choice.
Forretress
Lastly I was missing my hazards and something to remove hazards would be nice. The added utility of soaking up most grass status gave Forretress the last spot.
Reuniclus Toxicroak
With Crawdaunt joining the metagame I felt iffy about have Reunic, so I replaced him with Toxicroak who still counter/checks a lot of the things which I had Reunic checking as well as Crawdaunt as well as providing me a setup sweeper to replace Reunic.

Changes in Red
The Team:

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Modest Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Earth Power
- U-turn​

Here he is, one of my favourites Hydreigon. Hydreigon is a great Pokemon in general, and here I am using it to revenge, nuke certain Pokemon that I need to get rid of and late-game sweep. His excellent typing nets him quite a lot of useful resistances and his bulk makes him a great edition to the team. Draco Meteor is here to destroy any Pokemon that I need gone. Dark Pulse is the strongest consistent damage that he offers and helps me to threaten Psychics. Earth Power is mainly for the Nidos as they can be rather troublesome and lastly U-turn is for momentum on predicted switch-ins *cough* Florges.

EVs are standard but I have opted for a Modest nature over Timid for the extra power, and the only thing which outspeeds Scarf Hydreigon is other Scarfers which I am not too worried about in the end, and that nature really does get some KOes that Timid doesn't.

Entei @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Stone Edge
- Protect Bulldoze
- Extreme Speed
​

Entei brings a lot of the needed instant Physical "Fire" power to the table. God knows why the hell this thing got Sacred Fire, like wtf. Sacred Fire scares off most things and is quite SPAMable. Stone Edge hits the Fire-types and other things that resist Sacred Fire for good damage. Extreme Speed is good strong priority that can finish off things that Sacred Fire doesn't and is invaluable for revenge killing a tonne of things. Protect is probably the move which I am least sure about. It can be good for scouting and getting some extra Leftover recovery, but I am open to other ideas here. Bulldoze what used to replace Protect. It has come in really handy for hitting things such as Chandelure when I don't want to Stone Miss and the Speed decrease comes in really handy at times.
Leftovers is used over AV or anything else as it really helps its longevity throughout a match as it helps more as Entei forces a lot of switches in which it can regain HP, takes Physical hits better and in the long term Special hits better too. But most importantly the residual damage from entry hazards and Sandstorm get cancelled out which killed a lot of AV sets.

EVs are to ensure lots of bulk and max damage. 16 EVs in speed are there to outspeed all unboosted base 100s such as Mew, Celebi and bulky Jirachi.

Possible changes: Protect and item up for change.

​

Slowbro @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Slack Off
- Psyshock Ice Beam
​

Slowbro's main role on the team is to eat all of the Fire SPAm coming from Darmanitan, Victini and other Enteis. It's physical bulk is great and serves as a consistent physical wall which can threaten opponents with Scald and Psyshock which don't need much explanation IceBeam was used to replace scald for Mence. Slack Off is for healing when I don't want to switch out and Toxic is a staple on all my teams to get rid of a lot of bulky Pokemon that my team can struggle with.

EVs and nature for max Phys bulk which is rather standard. I opted for Rocky Helmet to ensure that those pesky Fire-types fall much quicker, even if they predict and U-turn out so that they are still crippled, and Leftovers isn't overly necessary with both Slack Off and Regenerator.

Possible changes: Psyshock is open for debate on this one, not sure what is the best option yet.

Florges (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 224 HP / 76 SDef / 208 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
- Aromatherapy
​

Here is probably the most common set in the whole of UU. What can I say? Moonblast is for smacking stuff as hard as Florges can and has a nice SpAtk drop on the side. Wish is for healing, and Protect is for guaranteeing Wish. Aromatherapy is for getting rid of nasty statuses. Flower Veil > Symbiosis because does it really fcking matter? Though honestly Florges is opted for here in order to provide as a special wall as well as checking Heracross.

EVs to ensure maximum special bulkiness. EVs have been changed for slightly better mixed bulk but still staying mostly Specially defensive.

Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Volt Switch / Gyro Ball
​

My hazard setter and remover. Rapid Spin removes hazards. Stealth Rock and Spikes sets up hazards. BOOM! Volt Switch is in the to gain some momentum and can deal some damage to some things such as Aerodactly and Crobat and considering it tends to attract quite a few water types. Not sure whether to go for Gyro Ball though :/ Overcoat allows it to wall most grass-types such as Roserade and Amoongus as long as they don't run HP Fire.

Max physical bulk to set up on certain physical Pokemon.

Possible changes: Currently trying out Gyro Ball in place of Volt Switch to better deal with Crobat and Dactyl.

Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 68 HP / 188 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Body Slam
- Curse
- Rest
- Sleep Talk​

Curse lax was used to replace the mediocre Toxicroak as my setup sweeper, and is a great late game sweeper. It addressed a few problems that I was having with the Nidos and Roserade very well and has been a great addition to the team as a consistent late-game sweeper. The move choice is rather self explanatory. Curse to setup raising defence and attack, Rest to remove status and heal up, Sleep Talk for those turns of Rest and Body Slam as the threatening STAB of choice with a nice Paralysis chance.

The EVs and nature make it as Specially bulky as possible whilst being only 3HKOed by Scarf Victini's V-Create.

REPLACED:

Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot

AHAHAHAHAHAHHA, I just realised something really funny. I was about to bitch about this Pokemon and going to say how I wish it hit a bit harder and just realised it had 0 atk IVs hung over from Reunic. So maybe his attack power is a bit better, I'll get back to you on whether it works a bit better now cause I have changed it. Using Toxicroak to check/counter Crocune, Crawdaunt, Blastoise, Vaporeon and Milotic as they can be relative pains if not addressed. SD is to setup on the mentioned Pokemon aswell as a few others and allows me to hit hard, although I felt it wasn't that strong the IVs might make a difference now. Drain Punch is main STAB, Gunk Shot does the most damage though is unreliable and open for debate and Sucker Punch is good priority, generally to hit something before it goes down. Dry Skin is an amazing ability for it and one of the main reasons as to why I am using it.

Max HP for switchins and to abuse its resistances better and max attack for hitting stuff along with LO. Not too much to say about EVs and nature really

Threats:
This team seems to be able to play around most things and there aren't any overly glaring problems, though there are a few Pokes that can cause trouble:

Suicune: In general Suicune is manageable as Snorlax generally beats it, but there is one set which completely fucks me over. Typical Crocune with Roar > Sleep Talk. I cannot break it and I just get swept simply put.
CurseLax (funnily enough) is probably another problem though I haven't really struggled with one yet. Perhaps a good phazer or even hazer would be nice, but I'm not sure what I could do to fit it in.

Victini: Now Victini wouldn't be too much of a problem, but Bolt Strike really hurts Slowbro and Entei is also hit quite nastily by it, and that with V-Create is what causes problems. Generally able to play around it, but it is annoying, especially on CB sets T_T

Well that it's really!
Thankyou for reading and any ideas are appreciated! Please do tell me what you think.
Importable below if you wish to take it for a spin.

​

importable

Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Modest Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Earth Power
- U-turn

Florges (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
- Aromatherapy

Slowbro @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Slack Off
- Psyshock

Entei @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Stone Edge
- Protect
- Extreme Speed

Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Volt Switch

Replays

vs. HO http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-120559840
Close one, gg http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-119589234
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-119570989

Before with Reunic:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-117105805
Entei power: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-117450115

 

[Cyrus-V]

This team is well-rounded and really solid overall. My main suggestion is to replace Protect with Iron Head on Entei to allow it to comfortably break through Florges, while replacing the Leftovers with Assault Vest and shifting your HP EVs to SpDef. You mentioned that Nidos are a threat to you, and besides simply making Entei a lot bulkier, it specifically enables you to check the Nidos with it by tanking Earth Power. Meanwhile, the physical bulkiness is helpfully covered by burning with Sacred Fire.

I also recommend trying out a more physically defensive EV speed for Florges, as it's pretty capable of walling the special side without much investment, much like Blissey. You don't miss out on too much on the special side, and get a mixed wall with more staying power in return.

 

[RowDog]

Cyrus-V thanks for the rate. I'll try out Iron Head and Assault Vest on Entei but probably keep the EVs in HP to better take both sides

Def EVs are something which I have considered taking on for Florges, but honestly I generally just want it to pretty much only take special hits, and you'd be surprised how many times I have managed to get it back into the game from about 20% health because it only takes around 15% of its max health from even STAB SpAtks.

 

[Blast]

Yeah I agree with the above poster's changes, AV Entei suits you much better than Protect + Lefties (though Bulldoze is probably more useful as a filler move to lower Speed / weaken Ampharos). I'd also give some more consideration to physically defensive Florges; it allows it to serve as a much better Heracross check and the loss of special bulk isn't really ~too~ detrimental in practice. Another change I'd recommend is using Calm Mind Slowbro with Leftovers over your current set. Your team would really appreciate a bulkier win condition as currently your only member capable of cleaning up is Toxicroak, which can often have some difficulty setting up due to its frailty.

Aside from that, I agree that you are slightly weak to offensive Poison-types. You could also use a more reliable check against Heracross and such, so in order to help with that I'd consider using Crobat over Toxicroak. It keeps those things in check while being able to provide your team with Defog support, which negates the need for Forretress's Rapid Spin. This allows you to replace Forry with a bulkier Steel-type like Mega Aggron, whose superior bulk as well as mono-Steel typing provides a better check to the likes of Roserade and Honchkrow.

Suggested changes

Entei: Leftovers --> Assault Vest, Protect --> Bulldoze

Slowbro: Toxic --> Calm Mind, Rocky Helmet --> Leftovers

Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 248 HP / 112 Atk / 4 SDef / 136 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Defog
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Taunt / U-turn

Aggron @ Aggronite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Def
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Heavy Slam
- Toxic
- Roar

 

[RowDog]

Yeah I agree with the above poster's changes, AV Entei suits you much better than Protect + Lefties (though Bulldoze is probably more useful as a filler move to lower Speed / weaken Ampharos).

Yeah, I think Bulldoze would probably function better so I'll get around to changing that in the near future.

I'd also give some more consideration to physically defensive Florges; it allows it to serve as a much better Heracross check and the loss of special bulk isn't really ~too~ detrimental in practice.

Yeah I am really starting to take under consideration some Def investment for Florges, especially with the coming of Salamence into the tier. Does anyone have a good EV spread which checks certain threats while investing as much still into SpDef?

Another change I'd recommend is using Calm Mind Slowbro with Leftovers over your current set. Your team would really appreciate a bulkier win condition as currently your only member capable of cleaning up is Toxicroak, which can often have some difficulty setting up due to its frailty.

You'd be surprised at how bulky both Entei and Hydreigon can be when it comes to win condition as well as Toxi. CM Slowbro kind of defeats the sets purpose. 1) Rocky Helmet really helps in a lot of situations in wearing down Physical sweepers much faster, especially Darm and Vic on the U-Turn AND 2) CM replaces Toxic which I consider a staple for my teams and I don't really have anywhere else to put it on my team.

Aside from that, I agree that you are slightly weak to offensive Poison-types. You could also use a more reliable check against Heracross and such, so in order to help with that I'd consider using Crobat over Toxicroak. It keeps those things in check while being able to provide your team with Defog support, which negates the need for Forretress's Rapid Spin. This allows you to replace Forry with a bulkier Steel-type like Mega Aggron, whose superior bulk as well as mono-Steel typing provides a better check to the likes of Roserade and Honchkrow.

Nice suggestions, though a few problems would arise if that were to happen. 1) Crobat doesn't check the bulky waters which Toxicroak was abusing, and although I guess Slowbro can sort of fulfil that role if it is CM, it is a bit harder to preserve if it has to constantly come in against waters which often carry Toxic aswell. 2) Replacing Forry with Mega-Aggron removes Spikes from the team which comes in real handy and Aggron doesn't soak up the powder moves like Forry, so he can be crippled with sleep and just be annoying.


Oh and Toxicroak is up for change now that Crawdaunt is gone. For its position I'd really like a bulky setup sweeper who has little qualms with most of the water types in the tier.
EDIT: Might even consider bringing back Reunic now and become the Regained Purpose :D

 

[ApplepieFTW]

Yeah, I think Bulldoze would probably function better so I'll get around to changing that in the near future.

Yeah I am really starting to take under consideration some Def investment for Florges, especially with the coming of Salamence into the tier. Does anyone have a good EV spread which checks certain threats while investing as much still into SpDef?

You'd be surprised at how bulky both Entei and Hydreigon can be when it comes to win condition as well as Toxi. CM Slowbro kind of defeats the sets purpose. 1) Rocky Helmet really helps in a lot of situations in wearing down Physical sweepers much faster, especially Darm and Vic on the U-Turn AND 2) CM replaces Toxic which I consider a staple for my teams and I don't really have anywhere else to put it on my team.


Nice suggestions, though a few problems would arise if that were to happen. 1) Crobat doesn't check the bulky waters which Toxicroak was abusing, and although I guess Slowbro can sort of fulfil that role if it is CM, it is a bit harder to preserve if it has to constantly come in against waters which often carry Toxic aswell. 2) Replacing Forry with Mega-Aggron removes Spikes from the team which comes in real handy and Aggron doesn't soak up the powder moves like Forry, so he can be crippled with sleep and just be annoying.


Oh and Toxicroak is up for change now that Crawdaunt is gone. For its position I'd really like a bulky setup sweeper who has little qualms with most of the water types in the tier.
EDIT: Might even consider bringing back Reunic now and become the Regained Purpose :D

I like this set, it gives it just a little more phys def bulk, maintains great spdef bulk and hits a lefties number +1:

Florges (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Symbiosis
EVs: 224 HP / 76 Def / 208 SDef
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Moonblast
- Aromatherapy

You can move a bit more spdef to phys def if you want it bulkier on that side.

 

[RowDog]

I like this set, it gives it just a little more phys def bulk, maintains great spdef bulk and hits a lefties number +1:

Florges (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Symbiosis
EVs: 224 HP / 76 Def / 208 SDef
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Moonblast
- Aromatherapy

You can move a bit more spdef to phys def if you want it bulkier on that side.

Does that help me wall anything better in particular? Like an important 3HKO that would be a 2HKO or something like that? Nonetheless I'll give it a shot, thanks.

 

[ApplepieFTW]

Does that help me wall anything better in particular? Like an important 3HKO that would be a 2HKO or something like that? Nonetheless I'll give it a shot, thanks.

Well not that I know of but it just is a nice spread and something very similar to it always gets suggested and I like it myself too but not anything in particular. Just a balanced spread.

 

[Patrick1088]

Coo team rowdog! I have a few pointers though...
1. Hydra must be timid. Must must must. You speed tie scarf jolly hera. You lose to scarf darm with superpower as well. hydrawill still be able to get those key kos without modest.
2. iron head or even substitute would be bettet in place of protect. Most mons that use roar or d tail are physically based and would hate to be burned. Itll let you be safe from status as well. Iron heads okay too...
3. Why dont you use assvest on slowbro? Itll scare the nidos away thanks to bris great bulk. Most dont run t bolt. And the assvest will help you tank stray dark pulses from hyras as wrll...
4. Toxicroak is good, but hes at that key base 85 speed. I prefer adamant with 252 speed evs to speed tie adamant nonscarfed hera.

 

[RowDog]

I have edited a few changes in OP.
I tried AV Entei and found Bulldoze very helpful with the speed decrease mattering quite a few times and not have to rely so heavily on Stone Edge. That being said though I didn't like AV on it very much. AV really took away from its physical bulk and just overall sustainability throughout the match and fell short quite a few times where it could have lasted longer with Leftovers. And it also found troubles with Psyshock users.
I have changed the EV spread to the one suggested for Florges, and have found little difference but will keep it.
IceBeam>Psyshock on Slowbro for the mence retest and because Psychock was really having limited uses.

Coo team rowdog! I have a few pointers though...
1. Hydra must be timid. Must must must. You speed tie scarf jolly hera. You lose to scarf darm with superpower as well. hydrawill still be able to get those key kos without modest.
2. iron head or even substitute would be bettet in place of protect. Most mons that use roar or d tail are physically based and would hate to be burned. Itll let you be safe from status as well. Iron heads okay too...
3. Why dont you use assvest on slowbro? Itll scare the nidos away thanks to bris great bulk. Most dont run t bolt. And the assvest will help you tank stray dark pulses from hyras as wrll...
4. Toxicroak is good, but hes at that key base 85 speed. I prefer adamant with 252 speed evs to speed tie adamant nonscarfed hera.

1. I have run Timid Hydra in the past and honestly really missed the power. Darmanitan is countered by Slowbro and further checked by Entei anyway so it is hardly a problem. Likewise Heracross can be checked by Florges and depending on what it locks itself into I have good switch ins to it.
2. Yeah I'm pretty content on Bulldoze now at the moment, Sacred Fire hits Florges hard enough anyway :3
3. From my experience most the Nidos do run TBolt. Besides I really need Toxic somewhere on the team, it is just one of my must have staples.
4. Yeah I am finding Toxicroak rather underwhelming now :/ not enough bulk, not enough speed and even with the Atk IVs in place not too good power either. Would love to put Knock Off in there too but I lose a lot depending on what I get rid of. Been playing around with his slot though, so if you guys have any good replacements suggest them.

 

[RowDog]

Going to use my BUMP here to announce a few updates. Firstly I managed to climb to 13th and am still hovering around in that top 20! First time reaching TOP 20 :3
Anyway, I have replaced SD Toxi with CurseLax thanks to Cyrus-V and it has been working really well. It checks/counters a lot of previous threats very well, but now a couple of different weaknesses have popped up but I guess that is bound to happen really isn't it?

So YAY! Any other thoughts on the team or ways which I could sort out my new problems in particular?