My First RMT(NU)

[hysteria90]

Hey, since this is my first post on Smogon I may as well have do an introduction. I've been playing Pokemon ever since I first got my gameboy pocket about 12 years ago. I've always enjoyed playing against other people, and WiFi and discovering Shoddy has really gotten me into the competitive metagame. After drifting between different tiers, I found my favourite to be NU, so without further adieu here's my NU team.

Changes are in red

At a glance:

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Bibarel (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 200 HP/112 Def/100 Spd/96 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Super Fang
- Waterfall
- Stealth Rock

Bibarel is the first NU I've tried, and he rarely does his fault without fail. Taunt and Super Fang usually cause switches meaning he can fufill his job of spreading status allowing my slower Mons(especially Sandslash) to get the first hit in for the KO. His only real problem is Venomoth, who usually sleeps him before he can do anything. Now instead of spreading Paralysis, he sets up rocks, which helps the team secure more KOs.
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Pinsir (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 98 HP/252 Atk/160 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- X-Scissor
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Pinsir hits harder than Sandslash, while still having the same coverage. The gained STAB for X-Scissor means he can now hit psychics and grass types alot harder, whilst most things I'll be aiming earthquake at take a huge amount of damage from it anyway. He can also take special hits a bit better, whilst not taking all that much more damage from physical attacks. He also supplies nice fire bait for Flareon when I use him.
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Medicham (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Brick Break
- Psycho Cut
- Thunderpunch
- Ice Punch

Scarfed Medicham is the team's main revenge killer. With a scarf he outruns everything that without a speed boost or its own Scarf, and with True Power he always hits hard. Adamant nature over Jolly gives me more power, as the scarf and speed EVs give me more than enough speed. Switching in Medicham usually requires good prediction as he is the epitome of glass cannon, and he really hates priority moves.
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Luxray (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 120 Atk/136 Spd/252 SAtk
Naughty nature (+Atk, -SDef)
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Ice Fang
- Crunch

Luxray is my main wall breaker. Thunderbolt for the Stab, ice fang deals with bulky grass types and crunch takes care of any Hypnos(and now Gardevoir) I come across. HP Grass means I'm not walled by Quagsire or Wishcash, though I'm considering Fighting to hit the Steel/Rock walls in NU as well as Regice harder.
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Gardevoir (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Trace
EVs: 56 HP/200 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Wish
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fighting]

Gardevoir is the team's special wall and main special attacker. Psychic and fighting gives good coverage, although it does mean she can't do anything against Banette or Shedninja(who Gardevoir doesn't really have any business staying in against anyway) or other Psychic types. I'm considering Signal beam to hit other psychic types as well as hitting Grass type walls harder than psychic.
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Poliwrath (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Hypnosis
- Brick Break
- Ice Punch
- Waterfall

Poliwrath replaces Haunter, and while I miss the fighting and normal immunities, the dark resist is a welcome replacement. Ice Punch and Brick Break give me good coverage, while Waterfall hits Stunktank harder. The HP EVs along with Water Absorb means he often has plenty of oppertunities to switch in, especially if Flareon attracts the water attacks.
---
​

Main Worries:

• Lack of Entry Hazards:Not having any entry hazards means I miss out on some valuable OHKOs, and means my opponent can usually switch around with impunity.
• Threats: Skunktank has proven to be a major problem for this team, as once Sandslash is gone I don't really have any checks or counters.
  Hypno: Though i've not come up against one since adding luxray, its decent defenses meant it completely messed with my team.
  Entry Hazards: I currently have no way of getting rid of entry hazards. Though most of my team only takes at most neutral damage from stealth rocks, toxic spikes are an annoying hinderance

Retired:
Haunter (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Will-o-wisp
- Sludge Bomb
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Sandslash (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 80 HP/252 Atk/176 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
---

Currently Testing:
Flareon (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 192 Atk/128 Spd/188 SAtk
Lonely nature (+Atk, -Def)
- Fire Blast
- Superpower
- Return
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Physically hits harder than Luxray , though his special attack isn't as high. Also provides good synergy with Pinsir and Poliwrath, taking fire attacks for the former whilst acting as a lure for the later. Still not sure if I'm going to permanently going to replace Luxray. Considering Wish of HP Grass for some team support.
And thats my first ever RMT. As usual, any advice is more than welcome :)

 

[Khyl]

If you're worried about entry hazards, simply putting Stealth Rock over Thunder Wave on Bibarel would fix that. On your Scarf Medicham, I would highly reccommend putting Trick over Thunderpunch, as Ice Punch hits more of Medicham's counters, and Trick can be more useful to cripple a defensive threat to your team, and give you the freedom to switch attacks.

You said you were considering HP Fighting on Luxray, but Superpower hits all of those targets harder.

I don't have time to think of a good solution to this, but your team is pretty frail. If some heavy hitter like Ursaring were to set up on you, thats gg. Personally I think Haunter is your weak link on this team, but I don't know what to replace him with.

 

[Luphrous]

I agree with Khyl that Stealth Rock on Bibarel would fix your entry hazard problem. Alternatively, you could turn Sandslash into more of a wall rather than a sweeper, and run a set of EQ, Stone Edge, Rapid Spin, and SR(which would also provide you with spin support, seeing as you listed opposing entry hazards as somewhat of a problem). This would allow Bibarel to keep running T-Wave if you really want it. Also if Venemoth leads trouble you, you could try out a Lum Berry so that you can absorb the sleep and then Taunt it(also preventing T-Spikes for a few turns at least).

I would consider switching Luxray out for a Flareon/Rapidash, as I feel their STAB'ed Fire type attacks would be more useful for wall breaking. As for which to choose, that's up to you. Flareon is very powerful, even moreso than Luxray. Rapidash on the other hand sacrifices some power for speed, making it harder to revenge kill and even allowing it to sweep a weakened team. If you wish to keep Luxray, then like Khyl mentioned Superpower would hit many of the targets you mentioned.

The team looks a bit frail overall, and seeing as you said Haunter was replaceable, then I'm going to suggest you test out a Poliwrath over him. Just use a simple Adamant, 252 HP, 252 Atk spread. Poliwrath is very bulky and would provide some excellent resistances(immune to Water, resists Fire, Ice, Rock, and Dark, all common attacking types). Poliwrath could also serve as a check to Skuntank, resisting his Dark type moves(currently you have no Dark resists).

One final suggestion, if you replace Haunter with Poliwrath, then while you may have 2 fighting resists, both are rather physically frail, so you could also try out Gligar over Sandslash if Fighting attacks prove to be a problem. You'd lose Spin support, but Gligar does have Roost, which would allow it to last a lot longer than Sandslash. The moves are up to you, as it'll depends what you want Gligar to do. Gligar has the moves to be a physical wall or a bulky SD sweeper, as well as U-Turn to play around with.

Sorry that I kinda ramble, but I had a lot of suggestions and couldn't really find an order that would be best to lay them out.

 

[hysteria90]

Thanks for the replies. I've been testing out a couple of changes.

Stealth Rock over Thunder wave on Bibarel was pretty obvious actually, and I've found I've not really missed thunder wave. Haunter has been replaced by Poliwrath, and though he hasn't been switching in that much, he's definately not going down as fast, if at all. I've replaced Luxray with Flareon, and although I'm experiencing similar results, Flareon sticking around longer has been nice, and he's managed to get me out of a couple of tight spots.

Finally, I've replace Sandslash with Pinsir, who does the same thing pretty much, but is faster, hits a bit harder and can take special hits a bit better, for a little bit less HP and Defense. I'll edit my first post to show these changes just now

 

[Snorlaxe]

This looks like a pretty good first attempt at a team, but then again, I dont play NU xD. I do use a lot of NU pokes in OU, however, and they are an extremely diverse and unpredictable lot. In my opinion, Ursaring is one of the most fearsome sweepers of all time, and I love to use him in OU.

A better Special Attacker and a decent Special Wall for NU than Gardevoir is Glaceon. If you put some EVs in special defense, Glaceon is very bulky. Its defense is also very high, so you can also have a sort of physical wall. Lastly, its Special Attack is a tremendous 130! To put that in perspective, Gengar has the same special attack. Heres a good set:

Glaceon @ Leftovers
Ability: Snow Cloak
252 Hp / 118 SpA / 150 SpD
Bold nature (+Defense, -Attack)
~ Ice Beam
~ Wish
~ Protect
~ Hidden Power Fighting

This Glaceon is a phonomenal mixed wall that can function well in almost all tiers. Ice Beam is a powerful STAB option, Hidden Power Fight. takes out the many steels in NU, and Wish with Protect gives you great recovery, and a way to support the team. This set is great at taking non-super effective hits, and can do hefty damage itself. Try it out!

I agree with putting Flareon as a wall breaker over Luxray. It is much stronger, as Fire is a better attacking type anyway.

And, as a side note, I wasnt even aware that Birabel learned Steath Rock! o.O

 

[Aquamilotic]

Psychic and fighting gives good coverage, although it does mean she can't do anything against Banette or Shedninja(who Gardevoir doesn't really have any business staying in against anyway) or other Psychic types.

Psychic has effect on Banette. Psychic is neutral against Ghosts. Keep Luxray, it has much better coverage.