Hi everyone! I just started getting back into Pokemon rather recently, and I'd like a little advice on the UU team I made. I hope you enjoy!
Serperior
Jolly
Leftovers
Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Spd, 4 Atk
Taunt, Glare, Leech Seed, Dragon Tail.
When I was thinking about what Pokemon I wanted to lead with, I wanted to run something that most people wouldn't expect. This element of surprise makes Serperior a superior lead, for lack of a better term. He has access to Taunt, Glare (A paralyze attack that can hit ANY Pokemon in the game. Yes, it hits ghost types), Leech Seed, and even a good phasing move in the form of Dragon Tail. The idea is to prevent the starting Pokemon from setting up, whether that be by taunting it or phasing it, and then assist my other Pokemon, whether that be helping out the walls with leech seed, helping the sweepers set up with paralysis, or both. Serperior doesn't die very quickly either, with max EV investment in HP, it's pretty damn bulky. It's not gonna survive a STAB fire blast or anything, but it can hold its on. Although I like this lead a lot, there's essentially a big problem with it, and that's leads that are faster. 357 is Serperior's max speed, and while that's commendable, Choice Scarf Mienshao can outspeed it, and there's no way I can stop Prankster Sableye if he taunts me, besides phasing it.
Kingdra
Adamant
Lum Berry
Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 HP
Outrage, Waterfall, Subsitute, Dragon Dance.
... You've all seen it. It's DD Kingdra and all of its glory. Persuading the opponent to switch is quite the easy task for Kingdra, as it has 2 4x resistances and only one weakness. Along with a little extra persuasion from Serperior, a switch can become almost inevitable. You guys know where it goes from there, set up the sub, charge up as much as possible, and then destroy as much as possible. It's simple, but extremely effective. Kingdra isn't exactly frail either, with defenses that manage to creep over 200 uninvested. However, with this much power comes a price. Outrage is Kingdra's only reliable physical dragon STAB option, and although it is a very useful and powerful move, the confusion it causes can be devastating. Lum Berry helps, but even then, Kingdra can only dish out 4-6 outrage hits until he finally gives in to the effects. This pretty much cuts the dream of sweeping an entire team short. Oh well, it's a great Pokemon.
Houndoom
Timid
Life Orb
Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk, 252 Spd, 4 HP
Fire Blast, Nasty Plot, Dark Pulse, Substitute.
... You've all seen it. It's NP Houndoom and all of his.... Okay, I realize that this seems incredibly redundant because Kingdra literally does this exact same thing. But bare with me on this, because it actually kind of works.
Obviously the strategy is very similar if not the same. However, ironically, this often catches a lot of people off guard. Because of Kingdra's presence, many people expect Houndoom to be a direct attacker. Another thing that makes Houndoom great is that it works really well with Serperior thanks to Houndoom's ability, Flash Fire. Serperior, as the lead, tends to draw in a lot of fire attacks. With a little predicting, I can immediately take advantage of this by switching to Houndoom. I've been able to pull this off many, many times, and unlike Kingdra, Houndoom can continue to sweep until it's finally overcome. What overcomes it? Well, priority Mach Punch for one. Heck, anything that's faster than Houndoom completely destroys it, and Houndoom only sits at 316. Lacking, but the positives outway the negatives.
Cofagrigus
Bold
Leftovers
Mummy
EVs: 252 Def, 252 HP, 4 Sp. Def.
Will-o-Wisp, Shadow Ball, Haze, Pain Split.
Need to stop a physical sweeper? Cofagrigus is your man. He might start off my inflicting the ever so useful burn status. Then, he might cut your sweeping dreams even shorter by eliminating your stat boosts with haze. What's that, No Guard Machamp? You don't want your ability Mummied? Too bad, Dynamicpunch doesn't work anymore. And as if he wasn't frustrating enough, Cofagrigus can heal itself with Pain Split, increasing it's lifespan, and also do some pretty darn decent damage with Shadow Ball. One of the best physical walls I have ever used, or even seen.
Noctowl
Calm
Leftovers
Insomnia
EVs: 252 Sp. Def, 252 HP, 4 Sp. Atk.
Air Slash, Roost, Toxic, Magic Coat.
Yeah, I'm using Noctowl in UU. Why? Well for one, because I want to, and two, it's actually a useful Pokemon if you play it right. Walling special attackers is not quite as straightforward as walling physical ones, but Noctowl can do a pretty good job. 404 HP and 320 Sp. Def can still take a lot of hits. Plus it has Roost, which is a lot more reliable than Pain Split. And of course, a reliable recovery pairs great with a toxic stall, and that's basically the idea here. Just wait for the Pokemon to slowly die. Since Serperior can already phase, Whirlwind is unneeded, so I decided to replace that spot with Magic Guard, which stops Noctowl from being used as an opportunity to set up leech seed, entry hazards, and it can even bounce statuses back. Nice.
Mew
Timid
Leftovers
Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Spd, 4 Sp. Atk
Psychic, Iron Defense, Amnesia, Baton Pass.
So why am I choosing to pass defenses with Mew? Well, it's because I think, overall, it can benefit the entire team a lot better. Passing offenses kind of seems pointless on this team, as both of the main sweepers have a reliable stat boosting move, so giving the defensive Pokemon some good support seems like a good idea. Still, Mew isn't completely unhelpful towards the offensive Pokemon, as the passed Iron Defenses and Amnesias can help strengthen their substitutes, which in turn provides more boosting opportunities for them. Defense boosted sweepers tend to make great late game cleaner-uppers too, which is nice. Mew can also get pretty bulky itself after a boost or two, which makes it a pretty decent wall. Unfortunately though, Mew suffers from 4 move syndrome when I use this set. I really, REALLY want to fit Roost or Softboiled in there somewhere, that would make Mew absolutely deadly. Regardless, Mew is really good at holding the team together, and even a few STAB psychics can do some decent damage.
Let me know what you think! I'm pretty open to ideas.
Serperior
Jolly
Leftovers
Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Spd, 4 Atk
Taunt, Glare, Leech Seed, Dragon Tail.
When I was thinking about what Pokemon I wanted to lead with, I wanted to run something that most people wouldn't expect. This element of surprise makes Serperior a superior lead, for lack of a better term. He has access to Taunt, Glare (A paralyze attack that can hit ANY Pokemon in the game. Yes, it hits ghost types), Leech Seed, and even a good phasing move in the form of Dragon Tail. The idea is to prevent the starting Pokemon from setting up, whether that be by taunting it or phasing it, and then assist my other Pokemon, whether that be helping out the walls with leech seed, helping the sweepers set up with paralysis, or both. Serperior doesn't die very quickly either, with max EV investment in HP, it's pretty damn bulky. It's not gonna survive a STAB fire blast or anything, but it can hold its on. Although I like this lead a lot, there's essentially a big problem with it, and that's leads that are faster. 357 is Serperior's max speed, and while that's commendable, Choice Scarf Mienshao can outspeed it, and there's no way I can stop Prankster Sableye if he taunts me, besides phasing it.
Kingdra
Adamant
Lum Berry
Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spd, 4 HP
Outrage, Waterfall, Subsitute, Dragon Dance.
... You've all seen it. It's DD Kingdra and all of its glory. Persuading the opponent to switch is quite the easy task for Kingdra, as it has 2 4x resistances and only one weakness. Along with a little extra persuasion from Serperior, a switch can become almost inevitable. You guys know where it goes from there, set up the sub, charge up as much as possible, and then destroy as much as possible. It's simple, but extremely effective. Kingdra isn't exactly frail either, with defenses that manage to creep over 200 uninvested. However, with this much power comes a price. Outrage is Kingdra's only reliable physical dragon STAB option, and although it is a very useful and powerful move, the confusion it causes can be devastating. Lum Berry helps, but even then, Kingdra can only dish out 4-6 outrage hits until he finally gives in to the effects. This pretty much cuts the dream of sweeping an entire team short. Oh well, it's a great Pokemon.
Houndoom
Timid
Life Orb
Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk, 252 Spd, 4 HP
Fire Blast, Nasty Plot, Dark Pulse, Substitute.
... You've all seen it. It's NP Houndoom and all of his.... Okay, I realize that this seems incredibly redundant because Kingdra literally does this exact same thing. But bare with me on this, because it actually kind of works.
Obviously the strategy is very similar if not the same. However, ironically, this often catches a lot of people off guard. Because of Kingdra's presence, many people expect Houndoom to be a direct attacker. Another thing that makes Houndoom great is that it works really well with Serperior thanks to Houndoom's ability, Flash Fire. Serperior, as the lead, tends to draw in a lot of fire attacks. With a little predicting, I can immediately take advantage of this by switching to Houndoom. I've been able to pull this off many, many times, and unlike Kingdra, Houndoom can continue to sweep until it's finally overcome. What overcomes it? Well, priority Mach Punch for one. Heck, anything that's faster than Houndoom completely destroys it, and Houndoom only sits at 316. Lacking, but the positives outway the negatives.
Cofagrigus
Bold
Leftovers
Mummy
EVs: 252 Def, 252 HP, 4 Sp. Def.
Will-o-Wisp, Shadow Ball, Haze, Pain Split.
Need to stop a physical sweeper? Cofagrigus is your man. He might start off my inflicting the ever so useful burn status. Then, he might cut your sweeping dreams even shorter by eliminating your stat boosts with haze. What's that, No Guard Machamp? You don't want your ability Mummied? Too bad, Dynamicpunch doesn't work anymore. And as if he wasn't frustrating enough, Cofagrigus can heal itself with Pain Split, increasing it's lifespan, and also do some pretty darn decent damage with Shadow Ball. One of the best physical walls I have ever used, or even seen.
Noctowl
Calm
Leftovers
Insomnia
EVs: 252 Sp. Def, 252 HP, 4 Sp. Atk.
Air Slash, Roost, Toxic, Magic Coat.
Yeah, I'm using Noctowl in UU. Why? Well for one, because I want to, and two, it's actually a useful Pokemon if you play it right. Walling special attackers is not quite as straightforward as walling physical ones, but Noctowl can do a pretty good job. 404 HP and 320 Sp. Def can still take a lot of hits. Plus it has Roost, which is a lot more reliable than Pain Split. And of course, a reliable recovery pairs great with a toxic stall, and that's basically the idea here. Just wait for the Pokemon to slowly die. Since Serperior can already phase, Whirlwind is unneeded, so I decided to replace that spot with Magic Guard, which stops Noctowl from being used as an opportunity to set up leech seed, entry hazards, and it can even bounce statuses back. Nice.
Mew
Timid
Leftovers
Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Spd, 4 Sp. Atk
Psychic, Iron Defense, Amnesia, Baton Pass.
So why am I choosing to pass defenses with Mew? Well, it's because I think, overall, it can benefit the entire team a lot better. Passing offenses kind of seems pointless on this team, as both of the main sweepers have a reliable stat boosting move, so giving the defensive Pokemon some good support seems like a good idea. Still, Mew isn't completely unhelpful towards the offensive Pokemon, as the passed Iron Defenses and Amnesias can help strengthen their substitutes, which in turn provides more boosting opportunities for them. Defense boosted sweepers tend to make great late game cleaner-uppers too, which is nice. Mew can also get pretty bulky itself after a boost or two, which makes it a pretty decent wall. Unfortunately though, Mew suffers from 4 move syndrome when I use this set. I really, REALLY want to fit Roost or Softboiled in there somewhere, that would make Mew absolutely deadly. Regardless, Mew is really good at holding the team together, and even a few STAB psychics can do some decent damage.
Let me know what you think! I'm pretty open to ideas.
