Hello, everybody!
A couple days before (something like a week ago) I built this team. It's been a while, so I don't remember the exact process for building it.
I've been in 40 battles with it, sporting a win rate of around 60% (23 Wins 17 Losses). The team has been through numerous tweaks (I can't remember them all, though), but right now, I'm kind of stumped.
But first, the current team:
Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Volt Switch
- Toxic Spikes
My lead. I usually open up with SR, unless the enemy team has many rock-resistant 'mons, in which case I'll open with tspikes. The reason I picked them over regular spikes is mostly chandelure's hex. Since forretress is a common fire-type move magnet, it opens me for quite a few free switches on Chandelure, and the immediate status from tspikes boosts hex to 130BP, making Chandelure even more of a threat. I'm getting ahead of myself.
Chandelure (F) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Fire Blast
- Hex
- Will-O-Wisp
Chandelure. Will-o-Wisp gives me a backup plan against steel and poison mons - who are naturally immune to poison - all the while being VERY threatening. Taunt is there to protect me from the occasional swaplayer. The raw power Fire blast and boosted Hex offer me make me feel confident enough to not run any coverage moves. Balloon nets me a couple free switches on predicted Chandelure switches - as EQ is a very common coverage move.
Florges (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 4 SAtk / 176 SDef
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aromatherapy
- Moonblast
- Protect
- Wish
Mostly used for tanking special moves and wish passing. This EV spread had a reasoning behind it, although I can't quite remember why exactly I put those exact values. It has saved me from a couple physical moves, though, which she otherwise wouldn't have lived.
Chesnaught (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Impish Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Leech Seed
- Spiky Shield
- Wood Hammer
I have a love-hate relationship with this fella. Most of the time, he doesn't help me, either due to the enemy having good coverage or me using him poorly, however he has proven himself a couple of times.
I usually alternate between him and Toxicroak, for reasons I'll explain later on the "perceived shortcomings" part of the post. :)
Zygarde @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge
- Outrage
Rather bulky, good offensive stats, acceptable coverage. The Scarf allows me to grab SO many unexpected kills, because really, nobody expects him to run this moveset. Time and time again, he managed to drop two pokémon on his own.
Absol-Mega @ Absolite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Play Rough
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
A setup-sweeper I use on the lategame. I switch on someone he threatens greatly, using my foe's switch to mega evolve and swords dance. I then proceed to the sweeping. Rather straightforward, really. :)
Through playing, I have noticed two VERY OBVIOUS shortcomings on my team.
First and foremost, water types. Water-type moves hurt everyone on my team at least neutrally (except for chesnaught), and they're usually rather bulky. I also lack coverage moves to take them down.
Second, fairies. Fairy-types give me the most trouble of all, really. The only 'mon that effectively resists their strikes can't fight back at all, leaving me open for setups and sweeps.
Due to this, the best solution I had come up with was Toxicroak with Dry Skin. Healed by water and being able to threaten fairy types, with access to good fighting moves and useful ice and steel for coverage, he seemed like an excellent addition to the team on paper. However, in practice, I could almost never get him to work. Only one battle (of the ten he participated) I felt he made a difference. He often died to a single Earthquake.
Am I playing him wrong? Is he a bad pick on my team? I honestly couldn't see any better 'mon for the role I gave him.
So this is it, I guess. I'm seriously stumped. I don't know how to solve my water/fairy weakness (thankfully there's no azumarrill in UU, else I'd be toast :P)
A couple days before (something like a week ago) I built this team. It's been a while, so I don't remember the exact process for building it.
I've been in 40 battles with it, sporting a win rate of around 60% (23 Wins 17 Losses). The team has been through numerous tweaks (I can't remember them all, though), but right now, I'm kind of stumped.
But first, the current team:
Forretress (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Volt Switch
- Toxic Spikes
My lead. I usually open up with SR, unless the enemy team has many rock-resistant 'mons, in which case I'll open with tspikes. The reason I picked them over regular spikes is mostly chandelure's hex. Since forretress is a common fire-type move magnet, it opens me for quite a few free switches on Chandelure, and the immediate status from tspikes boosts hex to 130BP, making Chandelure even more of a threat. I'm getting ahead of myself.
Chandelure (F) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Fire Blast
- Hex
- Will-O-Wisp
Chandelure. Will-o-Wisp gives me a backup plan against steel and poison mons - who are naturally immune to poison - all the while being VERY threatening. Taunt is there to protect me from the occasional swaplayer. The raw power Fire blast and boosted Hex offer me make me feel confident enough to not run any coverage moves. Balloon nets me a couple free switches on predicted Chandelure switches - as EQ is a very common coverage move.
Florges (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 4 SAtk / 176 SDef
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aromatherapy
- Moonblast
- Protect
- Wish
Mostly used for tanking special moves and wish passing. This EV spread had a reasoning behind it, although I can't quite remember why exactly I put those exact values. It has saved me from a couple physical moves, though, which she otherwise wouldn't have lived.
Chesnaught (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Impish Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Leech Seed
- Spiky Shield
- Wood Hammer
I have a love-hate relationship with this fella. Most of the time, he doesn't help me, either due to the enemy having good coverage or me using him poorly, however he has proven himself a couple of times.
I usually alternate between him and Toxicroak, for reasons I'll explain later on the "perceived shortcomings" part of the post. :)
Zygarde @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge
- Outrage
Rather bulky, good offensive stats, acceptable coverage. The Scarf allows me to grab SO many unexpected kills, because really, nobody expects him to run this moveset. Time and time again, he managed to drop two pokémon on his own.
Absol-Mega @ Absolite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Play Rough
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
A setup-sweeper I use on the lategame. I switch on someone he threatens greatly, using my foe's switch to mega evolve and swords dance. I then proceed to the sweeping. Rather straightforward, really. :)
Through playing, I have noticed two VERY OBVIOUS shortcomings on my team.
First and foremost, water types. Water-type moves hurt everyone on my team at least neutrally (except for chesnaught), and they're usually rather bulky. I also lack coverage moves to take them down.
Second, fairies. Fairy-types give me the most trouble of all, really. The only 'mon that effectively resists their strikes can't fight back at all, leaving me open for setups and sweeps.
Due to this, the best solution I had come up with was Toxicroak with Dry Skin. Healed by water and being able to threaten fairy types, with access to good fighting moves and useful ice and steel for coverage, he seemed like an excellent addition to the team on paper. However, in practice, I could almost never get him to work. Only one battle (of the ten he participated) I felt he made a difference. He often died to a single Earthquake.
Am I playing him wrong? Is he a bad pick on my team? I honestly couldn't see any better 'mon for the role I gave him.
So this is it, I guess. I'm seriously stumped. I don't know how to solve my water/fairy weakness (thankfully there's no azumarrill in UU, else I'd be toast :P)
Last edited: