My 1st UU Team

[BradyK]

Changes in Bold

Hey all,

This is my first attempt at a UU team. I haven't played much since B/W came out last year, and I thought that I would bring it to y'all.

So, my thoughts in building this team:

I wanted to base the team around my all-time favorite pokemon since I was 5, Arcanine. He got even more buffs since HGSS with the addition of Close Combat and Wild Charge, offering a lot more coverage than before. Needless to say, I was quite excited. I planned on using the physical attacking Arcanine and not the bulky one that runs Morning Sun.

I realized quickly that Arcanine would need as much HP as possible in order to effectively use Flare Blitz and Wild Charge. Bad thing about that, Arcanine loses 25% HP to SR. My first order of business was to get rid of entry hazards so Arcanine would be safe coming in and out of battle. I tried a lot of different pokemon here, but I fell in love with Blastoise quickly. I like having Rapid Spin but I love Roar. Blastoise is a huge Scrafty check for me too.

Next order of business was that I would need to keep Arcanines HP up from all of the Recoil from both LO and Flare Blitz or Wild Charge. I wanted to keep Arcanine's coverage, so I elected to use a wish passer. Wish passers are hard to find in UU, but I have been using an Umbreon and absolutely love it. Heal Bell also helps me get out of jams and not have to worry too much about status. Umbreon can also switch in on just about everything with his high defenses.

I decided I would then need to set up some rocks of my own. Being that I had a wish passer, said pokemon would not need a lot of reliable recovery. I had used Bronzong multiple times in Gen 4, and now that it is UU, I couldn't resist such a reliable stealth rocker.

I then decided that I would need an answer to fighting types that would tear my team apart. I didn't have a real answer for them besides Blastoise, and with all of these powerful fighting types running around I decided I would need a real answer. I decided that another Gen 4 mainstay, physically bulky Zapdos, would do the trick to help shore up that weakness.

Finally, I would need a clean-up man. I had a hard time choosing between either Yanmega or Togekiss for this one. I had used both in the past and loved both of them. I decided to settle on Togekiss, as the access to Roost won me over. With that, the team was finished.

The Team:

Bronzong @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 152 SDef / 104 Def
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Earthquake
- Gyro Ball
- Stealth Rock
- Hypnosis

A very reliable lead. Used to set up rocks. His bulkiness allows me to scout the enemy team a bit. After the enemy spinner is dead, Bronzong can be used to come in an put a troublesome opponent to sleep. Gyro Ball does great damage, and EQ is there for coverage.

Blastoise @ Leftovers
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SAtk
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Roar
- Rapid Spin

Another one of my favorites on the team. I am loving Scald so far. Water/Ice give great coverage, and help rid me of any pesky dragons around. Roar pseudo hazes anyone who tries to set up, and Rapid Spin is there for my team that is sadly 3/6 SR weak. This guy cannot die. If he does, I am pretty much screwed. Rapid Spin is a very important part of this team, and huge thing to make it work.

Arcanine @ Life Orb
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- ExtremeSpeed
- Close Combat
- Wild Charge

The star of the show. Flare Blitz can hurt most of the tier by itself, and the rest of the moves give coverage. I would not be opposed to a Choice Item, but I feel as if my opponents predict that I am running choice, giving me a small advantage. I am open to suggestions to help Arcanine, and I am open to running the bulky set. Arcanine will always be in this team, however, so that will not change.

Umbreon @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Heal Bell
- Toxic
- Wish
- Payback

Wow. That is all I can say. Umbreon does not die, which is awesome considering that he is a main part of my team. Wish passing is a huge component for Arcanine to stay in the fight. Heal Bell is just the icing on the cake. Toxic is always helpful in a pinch, and payback is standard.

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spd / 4 SAtk
Timid Nature
- Air Slash
- Nasty Plot
- Aura Sphere
- Roost

The Special Sweeper. I absolutely love this set, and Nasty Plot is just amazing. The two attacks are standard, and Roost is there in order to keep Togekiss in the game longer. The main reason for using Togekiss is to shut down Scrafty hard, who gives the rest of this team a lot of trouble.

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 56 SAtk / 200 Def
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Thunder Wave
- Roost

Just awesome. I love this guy. He checks so many things for me. The only thing I could hope for is that he would get his Dream World ability already.. Lightning Rod will be amazing. Zapdos simply absorbs physical attacks and roosts them off. He spreads status with Thunder Wave. HP Grass is to help hurt any ground pokemon who think that they can switch in on a T-Wave or T-Bolt. I might replace Grass with Ice though, in order to hit Flygon a little harder. Zapdos maybe awesome, but I am the most in flux with this guy at the moment.

Looking at the team, I do realize that I am VERY Rhyperior weak. Again, any suggestions you may have, I am open to them.

 

[Pocket]

I can quickly say this - lose Life Orb on Togekiss. Life Orb forces Togekiss to Roost more frequently, which are opportunities for the opponent to cripple Togekiss - it just doesn't match with the battling strategy you're trying to employ with your Togekiss. Leftovers is the way to go.

I also suggest trying Hypnosis on Bronzong. It will at least give Bronzong an additional utility before it's relegated to your team's "punching bag."

Although I don't think you're necessarily weak to Rhyperior, since you do have Bronzong and Blastoise, I believe that you may face some problems against Special threats, namely Raikou, Kingdra, and Azelf. For this reason, I'd like your Umbreon to be a dedicated special wall with 252 HP / 252 SpD spread. This will let you check these threats much more comfortably.

 

[chimpact]

I would suggest making your Zapdos Bold nature with 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spatk, if you want to go the bulky route, otherwise make it Modest. If you make it Modest, you lose out on 12 Defense but your special attack goes from 300 to 315.

Additionally with Zapdos, Bronzong, Blastoise, and even intimidate from Arcanine, you have answers for many physical attacking pokemon, so you should really aim to make your Umbreon specially defensive like Pocket said.

Lastly I would add in more defense to blastoise and take away from the special attack, because your team really relies on it, and without those extra defensive EVs, it's going down a lot quicker. And with Toxic, stealth rock, and scald burns, you won't really need all that offensive power. The only dragon that is common in UU is Flygon and if you put more Defensive EVs in Blastoise, it won't be a problem at all. More defense will allow you to rapid spin more efficiently, especially if Umbreon needs to pass a wish to Blastoise.

 

[BradyK]

Alright, I like what y'all suggested about making Umbreon a dedicated Special Wall. I feel like that would then allow me to get rid of Light Screen on Bronzong and use Hypnosis instead. Also, seeing as how most physical sweepers carry a fighting move, I wouldn't want Umbreon in on them anyways.

I think I am going to make my Zapdos modest. He does very good damage already and 12 Defense will not be a huge loss to him.

I'll test leftovers over life orb on Togekiss.

I think that I am going to make Blastoise a 252 HP/200 Def/56 SP Atk spread and try that out.

A little more background: I originally had Swampert, Mismaigus, and Snorlax on the team in place of Bronzong, Blastoise, and Togekiss. I then got swept by a bulk up Scrafty, leading to the replacements. I think right now it covers all of the main threats in UU pretty nicely and I always seem to have an answer for whatever comes in.

Thank you for your suggestions. I am going to try them all out today. I will also post a threat list today too, giving myself and you all an idea of what i need help with.