SS UU Neon Genesis Evangelion

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: THE BEGINNING OF A SMOGON JOURNEY


:Scizor: | :Thundurus-Therian: | :Moltres: | :Nihilego: | :Zarude: | :Rotom-Wash:

Table of Contents
1.
Introduction
2. Team Building Process
3. The Team
4. Team Usage Tips
5. Threat List
6. Conclusion
7. Importable

Introduction

Hi everyone, I'm here with my first ever RMT. While I didn't initially plan on making a RMT, I thought this was an appropriate way to take the next step in my Smogon journey. I first started playing on Pokemon Showdown! a little under two years ago, and while I knew basically nothing about competitive pokemon I was enthralled with the maths and game theory at work in competitive battling. For a long time I was pretty bad at the game but the amount of joy it gave me led me to spending countless hours playing the game and eventually becoming a competent player. That brings us to today where, despite being an active player on ladder, I’ve never actually posted in the forums. Because of this, this RMT is not only the first competitively viable team I have made, but it is also the first contribution I’ve made to the Smogon community, and an ode to one of my favourite anime of all time, Neon Genesis Evangelion. This team has a few initial sources of inspiration which led to its creation. One was the desire to build with Scizor as I hadn’t had the chance to use it since it had dropped down to UU and it seemed to fit in well to the UU metagame, while another was that whenever I looked at Scizor I saw a mini Evangelion Unit-02. On top of this I also wanted to build a team that I could use to ladder effectively and that was most importantly of all, fun to play. I'm currently sitting at 1473 and still climbing on the UU ladder, but I'm sure a more skilled player than me could reach higher.

Team Building Process

:Scizor: | :luxury ball: | :luxury ball: | :luxury ball: | :luxury ball: | :luxury ball:
While I didn't initially know what style of team I wanted to build, I knew that I wanted to use :Scizor:. The variety of sets that it can use left me with a lot of different options, but it ultimately felt like it would fit in best as the glue guy for this team by holding it together and compressing some needed role, so I decided to pick some other potential team members before coming back to its moveset and IVs.

:Scizor: | :Thundurus-Therian: | :luxury ball: | :luxury ball: | :luxury ball: | :luxury ball:
:Thundurus-Therian: was the next member of the team. It benefits from being brought in safely by Scizors slow U-Turn, especially against walls like :Hippowdon: and :Skarmory:, as well as creating a solid framework for a VoltTurn core which can constantly pressure opposing teams and create opportunities to land crucial KOs. Thundurus is also one of the best wall breakers in UU with the coverage needed to pick and choose its checks to best suit the needs of its team.

:Scizor: | :Thundurus-Therian: | :Nihilego: | :luxury ball: | :luxury ball: | :luxury ball:
With the VoltTurn core in place and the team beginning to place emphasis on gaining momentum, I wanted something that could set up stealth rocks without being too passive. Nihilego fulfils this role by boasting a massive special attack stat which combined with power gem lets it threaten all the common defoggers in the tier such as :Mandibuzz:, :Moltres:, :Scizor:, and :Rotom-heat:. Furthermore, :Nihilego: also has excellent natural bulk which lets it switch into resisted attacks and creates a solid defensive backbone for the team as :Scizor:, :Thundurus-Therian: and :Nihilego: share no type weaknesses.

:Scizor: | :Thundurus-Therian: | :Nihilego: | :Moltres: | :luxury ball: | :luxury ball:
:Scizor:, :Aegislash:(before it was banned), and some other steel types gave this core some trouble so :Moltres: came in as the obvious answer offering STAB fire moves and defensive utility in Flame Body which is useful for spreading burns which helps the team to better deal with miscellaneous physical attackers and further pressure with chip damage.

:Scizor: | :Thundurus-Therian: | :Nihilego: | :Moltres: | :Zarude: | :luxury ball:
:Zarude: was added with the intent of acting as speed control as well as a secondary :Aegislash: check (once again before it was banned), and a :Zygarde-10%: and :Keldeo: check as I felt the team was quite weak to them. :choice-Scarf: :Zarude: is able to act as a revenge killer, being able to switch in and claim a KO or alternatively U-Turn on the switch to bring in another offensive threat. :Zarude: also synergizes well with :scizor: and :Thundurus-therian: as a part of a VoltTurn core. It was at this point that I knew I wanted to run a defensive set on Scizor in order to act as a bulky pivot to sponge hits and create opportunities for breakers to deal massive damage.

:Scizor: | :Thundurus-Therian: | :Nihilego: | :Moltres: | :Zarude: | :Excadrill:
Initially I had :Excadrill: as the final member of the team however I found it was often deadweight and a momentum drain, doing nothing for the majority of the game except spinning away rocks once or twice. There were also some threats which were difficult to deal with and I felt that :Excadrill: was the most replaceable pokemon as the team slot could be used for some better utility.

:Scizor: | :Thundurus-Therian: | :Nihilego: | :Moltres: | :Zarude: | :Rotom-Wash:
The notable weaknesses that needed to be addressed included :Darmanitan: which was extremely difficult to switch into as :Nihilego: feared Earthquake and :moltres: crumbled to Rock Slide. :Keldeo: was also difficult to deal with as :Zarude: had to be careful not to switch in on Secret Sword. I also wanted to maintain hazard removal in the last team slot as U-Turn on :moltres: was proving to be very valuable in slowing wearing down its checks and not giving free switch ins to opposing rock types such as :Nihilego: which would be difficult to switch into without :excadrill:. Because of this :Excadrill: was changed to :Rotom-Wash: which provided more defensive utility and momentum while still providing hazard removal. :Rotom-Wash: also completes a Fire-Water-Grass core with :Zarude: and :Moltres:, letting them cover each other's weaknesses.

The Team


eva02.jpg

“Evangelion Unit-02, Asuka Langley Sohryu”

EVA-02 (Scizor) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Atk / 104 Def / 140 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost

I saw this set on the UU viability ranking thread so I can't take credit for it. The special defence EVs gives you :Nihilego: only a 9% chance to 2HKO with Power Gems after rocks which is needed for :scizor: to act as a check because nothing else on the team likes switching in on :Nihilego:. The defence EVs also ensure you live 2 Darkest Lariats from :zarude: after rocks, and lastly the attack EVs with an Adamant nature hit a jump point. Bullet Punch gives the team some priority to revenge kill weakened setup sweepers like :Gyarados: and KO fast rock types like :Nihilego: and :Lycanroc-dusk: that would otherwise give the team trouble. Knock off is a valuable utility as removing :Heavy Duty Boots: and :Leftovers: makes it easier to chip opposing teams down. Lastly U-Turn and Roost are used to let :Scizor: act as a defensive sponge, switching into resisted attacks, recovering the damage, and giving a teammate an easy opportunity to get onto the field without taking damage. :Rocky Helmet: is the item of choice. :Heavy Duty Boots: or :leftovers: are also solid options for greater longevity, but the additional chip from :Rocky HelmetL leads to more opportunities for :Nihilego: and :Thundurus-therian: to claim KOs which IMO is more important for an offensive team.

Relevant Calcs:
252 SpA Nihilego Power Gem vs. 248 HP / 140 SpD Scizor: 132-156 (38.4 - 45.4%) -- 9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 Atk Zarude Darkest Lariat vs. 248 HP / 104 Def Scizor: 118-141 (34.4 - 41.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

16+ Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Nihilego: 326-386 (90.8 - 107.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

16+ Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Lycanroc-Dusk: 258-306 (88.6 - 105.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock



gaghiel.jpg

“The 6th Angel, Roaring Beast of God”

Gaghiel (Thundurus-Therian) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Psychic
- Grass Knot
- Focus Blast

:Thundurus-Therian: is the main wallbreaker on this team with a stellar special attack and speed stat combined with amazing coverage. 252 special attack is needed to maximise damage, while 252 speed and a timid nature is needed to not get beaten by max speed :Jirachi:, :Krookodile:, :Excadrill:, :Tentacruel:, and a few other mons' around the same speed tier, as well as tying with other :Thundurus-Therian:. Volt Switch is mandatory to maintain momentum as well as a source of damage as it is boosted by STAB. I’ve found psychic to be the most useful coverage move as it 2HKOs :Keldeo:, mixed :Amoonguss:, :Tentacruel: and can OHKO :Conkeldurr:. Psychic is also the most effective way for this set to hit opposing :Thundurus-therian:. Grass Knot is also quite impactful hitting :Swampert:, :Hippowdon:, and :Krookodile:. Focus Miss is the last move I've been running to hit :Scizor:, :Chansey:, :Zarude:, and some less common pokemon, although it has a tendency to miss when you need it most. :Thundurus-therian: also has other options in Sludge Bomb, Thunderbolt, or Knock Off, but at the moment I've found Grass Knot and Focus Blast to be the most useful. Finally, :Heavy Duty Boots: mean :Thundurus-therian: doesn't need to care about Stealth Rocks and can freely come in and spam Volt Switch without placing pressure on :Rotom-Wash: to defog more often.

Relevant Calcs:
252 SpA Thundurus-Therian Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Keldeo: 232-274 (71.8 - 84.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Thundurus-Therian Psychic vs. 252 HP / 88 SpD Amoonguss: 230-272 (53.2 - 62.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

252 SpA Thundurus-Therian Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Conkeldurr: 302-356 (86 - 101.4%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Thundurus-Therian Grass Knot (80 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Krookodile: 252-298 (76.1 - 90%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Thundurus-Therian Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 248+ SpD Hippowdon: 252-298 (60 - 70.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Thundurus-Therian Grass Knot (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Swampert: 292-348 (72.2 - 86.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery



shamshel.jpg

“The 4th Angel, Lonely Conqueror of God”

Shamshel (Nihilego) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Power Gem
- Sludge Bomb
- Stealth Rock
- Grass Knot / Knock Off

:Nihilego: acts as the rock setter for the team as well as a valuable defensive piece and potential sweeper. 252 speed with a Timid Nature lets :Nihilego: revenge kill :Thundurus-Therian: which would otherwise be difficult to check. 252 special attack combined with Power Gem threatens out all relevant defoggers and force rocks up which is important for accruing chip damage throughout the game. Sludge Bomb lets :Nihilego: hit grass types that may try to switch in on Power Gem like :Tangrowth:, as well as threatening fairy types. Sludge Bomb is chosen over Sludge Wave as the slight damage increase doesn't turn any 3HKOs into 2HKOs or 2HKOs into 1HKOs, so the greater chance to poison is much more impactful. Grass Knot was chosen as the final move to deal significant damage to ground types who resist its STAB combination, such as :Hippowdon:, :Swampert:, and :Krookodile:. Knock Off could be used instead of Grass Knot to improve the :chansey: matchup, however this leaves :Nihilego: unable to hit a few common ground types in the metagame and :chansey: teams aren’t very common. :Black Sludge: was the chosen item to give :Nihilego: some additional longevity and let it better switch into resisted attacks, especially fire type moves targeted at :Scizor:.

Relevant Calcs:
252 SpA Nihilego Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Tangrowth: 210-248 (51.9 - 61.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Nihilego Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 248+ SpD Hippowdon: 228-270 (54.2 - 64.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Nihilego Grass Knot (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Swampert: 268-316 (66.3 - 78.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Nihilego Grass Knot (80 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Krookodile: 230-272 (69.4 - 82.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO



sahaquiel.jpg

“The 8th Angel, Ingenuity of God”

Sahaquiel (Moltres) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 88 HP / 156 SpA / 28 SpD / 236 Spe
Modest Nature
- Flamethrower
- Hurricane
- U-turn
- Roost

:Moltres: acts as both an offensive pivot and defensive check on this team. 88 HP EVs let :Moltres: always be able to switch in and survive 2 Darkest Lariats from :zarude:, while the Special Defence EVs let it always live a Scald from Calm Mind :Keldeo: so it can OHKO with Hurricane. 236 Speed EVs hit 275 so :moltres: can out run 252+ speed :Tapu Bulu:, 252 speed :salamence:, and 252 speed :venusaur: outside of sun. The rest of the EVs are dumped into Special Attack with a Modest nature so that :moltres: can dish out massive amounts of damage off of 357 Special Attack. :Heavy Duty Boots: are the mandatory item as without them it's essentially dead on the switch in. Flamethrower and Hurricane are STAB moves of choice that for :moltres: to smash through steel, grass, and fighting types which removes common switch ins to :Nihilego: and :Thundurus-Therian:. Hurricane is chosen despite its low accuracy as Air Slash has pitiful damage. U-Turn is helpful for maintaining momentum against common switch ins to like :Nihilego:. Roost is the final move which helps :Moltres: to act as a defensive pivot without being worn down too much over the course of the game.

Relevant Calcs:
252 Atk Zarude Darkest Lariat vs. 88 HP / 0 Def Moltres: 144-171 (41.9 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Keldeo Scald vs. 88 HP / 28 SpD Moltres: 288-342 (83.9 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

156+ SpA Moltres Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Keldeo: 390-462 (120.7 - 143%) -- guaranteed OHKO

156+ SpA Moltres Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Tangrowth: 212-252 (52.4 - 62.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO



eva01.jpg

“Evangelion Unit-01, Shinji Ikari”

EVA-01 (Zarude) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Leaf Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Power Whip
- Darkest Lariat
- Jungle Healing
- U-turn

While the team is relatively fast with :Nihilego: and :Thundurus-Therian:, additional speed was needed to improve the match up against other scarfers as well as faster wall breakers and sweepers like :Azelf:, :Keldeo:, and :Lycanroc-Dusk:. 252 Speed EVs with a jolly nature and :choice scarf: let :Zarude: hit 508 speed which puts it ahead of pretty much all common scarfers in the tier and provides great speed control. The rest of the EVs are dumped into Attack for the highest possible damage output. This can let :Zarude: revenge kill DD :Gyarados:, DD :Salamence:, and :choice specs: :Keldeo:. Power Whip and Darkest Lariat are both STAB moves for damage, while U-Turn lets :Zarude: act as a speedy pivot to slowly wear down its checks over the course of the game. As :Zarude: is susceptible to Stealth Rocks and :Rocky Helmet: chip as well as Flame Body burns from :Moltres:, Jungle Healing is chosen as the last move so that it can come in and recover health as well as remove status conditions which allows it to continue acting as a pivot with less concern about gradual chip damage.

Relevant Calcs:
252 Atk Zarude Darkest Lariat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gyarados: 160-189 (48.3 - 57%) -- 91.4% chance to 2HKO

252 Atk Zarude Power Whip vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gyarados: 226-267 (68.2 - 80.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Zarude Darkest Lariat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Salamence: 159-187 (48 - 56.4%) -- 87.5% chance to 2HKO

252 Atk Zarude Power Whip vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 408-480 (126.3 - 148.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Zarude Darkest Lariat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Darmanitan: 211-250 (60.1 - 71.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO



ramiel.png

“The 5th Angel, Thunder of God”

Ramiel (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Defog
- Thunder Wave

:Rotom-Wash: gives the team another form of speed control in Thunder Wave and hazard removal in Defog. :Rotom-Wash: is the only form of hazard removal on this team, however the constant momentum that the VoltTurn core provides means that Stealth Rocks can generally be prevented from going up by pivoting into wall breakers that can force opposing stealth rockers out. This places less pressure on :Rotom-Wash: to defog, and lets it focus on acting as a defensive check. The 52 speed EVs are to outspeed 252 speed :Primarina:, 252+ speed :Azumarill:, and 96 speed :Mandibuzz:. The rest of the EVs are put into HP and then Defence for the most overall and physical bulk. This lets :Rotom-wash: switch into :Darmanitan: semi-reliably. Volt Switch is to easily bring in a wall breaker and maintain momentum after defogging, while Hydro Pump is STAB which gives :Rotom-wash: a way to deal damage and prevents it from being too passive. Thunder Wave is the last move and is a way to slow down faster offensive teams. Paralyzed :Darmanitan: and :Keldeo: are significantly easier to revenge kill which is useful in addressing the bad match up against these mons'. :Leftovers: are chosen over :heavy duty boots: because the passive recovery is needed without Pain Split.

Relevant Calcs:
252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 204+ Def Rotom-Wash: 96-114 (31.5 - 37.5%) -- 86.7% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 252 HP / 204+ Def Rotom-Wash: 100-118 (32.8 - 38.8%) -- 5.5% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Keldeo Scald vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-Wash: 61-72 (20 - 23.6%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery

Team Usage Tips

1.
Always try to make use of Volt Switch and U-Turn to gradually chip your opponent down over the course of the game as this team focuses on momentum to find a way to win.

2. You will need to make reads and hard switches occasionally to stop wall breakers like :Conkeldurr: and :keldeo: getting free switch ins on mons’ that don't threaten them back out.

3. Teams with both :nihilego: and :moltres: are difficult for scizor to deal with as it needs to click Bullet Punch to KO :Nihilego: but that leaves it open to Flame Body burns on a switch to :moltres:. To deal with this, try to Knock Off on the switch and get Stealth Rocks to prevent :moltres: from freely switching in.

4. :Nihilego: can take a Guts boosted Mach Punch from :Conkeldurr: so it may be necessary in some scenarios to sacrifice :nihilego: to get Sludge Bomb chip

5. Against stall aim to always pivot :scizor: in on :chansey:. Knock Off threatens to remove :eviolite: which makes :chansey: easier to wear down with :thundurus-therian:. This forces :chansey: to make a hard switch, getting Stealth Rock chip damage and preventing it from using Soft-Boiled

Threat List

:flame orb::Conkeldurr:
:Moltres: and :Thundurus-Therian: both threaten a OHKO, while :Rotom-Wash: and :Nihilego: can both deal significant damage, however nothing really switches into :Conkeldurr:. The best way to handle it is to try and prevent it getting into the game freely, although this is easier said than done. If it does get in then using :Scizor: to chip it down with :Rocky Helmet: and Bullet Punch before revenge killing it is probably your best option.

:choice specs::Keldeo:
:Choice Specs: :Keldeo: can deal a massive amount of damage and has enough speed to avoid being revenge killed. :Zarude: and :Rotom-Wash: can both switch in on Hydro Pump but get 1HKOed and 2HKOed by Secret Sword respectively. Because of this you can be forced to make a prediction or to sac something and try and revenge kill with :Zarude: or :thundurus-therian: depending if they lock into Hydro Pump or Secret Sword. Alternatively, if you can get a paralysis off on it with :Rotom-wash: it becomes much easier to handle.

:power herb::Celesteela:
This thing is so bulky and so strong at +1 that it can be difficult to avoid being swept. Neither :Moltres: nor :Thundurus: can take a Meteor Beam, and they both fall just short of OHKOing :Celesteela:. :Nihilego: can also deal significant damage with Power Gem but loses to Heavy Slam or Earthquake sets, while :Rotom-Wash: can chip it down with Volt Switch but can’t beat Giga Drain sets.

SD :Cobalion:
Sets without Stone Edge are walled by :moltres:, but if they do have Stone Edge they’re able to set up and become near impossible to switch into. :Zarude: also fails to revenge kill with both its STABs being resisted. Your best option is to use :Rotom-wash: to paralyse it so that it can be revenge killed by :moltres: or :Thundurus-therian:.

Conclusion

Thanks to anyone who read this and made it all the way to the end as a lot of time and effort went into making this RMT. I hope you try out the team and enjoy it as much as I have and are able to successfully make use of it on ladder. As with any RMT, any suggestions for improvements are more than welcome, and I hope you all have a great day :)

Importable

With nicknames: Neon Genesis Evangelion (pokepast.es)

Without nicknames: Neon Genesis Evangelion (pokepast.es)


 

justdrew

is an official Team Rateris a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a defending SCL Champion
PUPL Champion
Heyo Tal0! Incredibly thorough and well written RMT. This is fantastic for your first ever one. This is a great team so I don't really have too many big changes but I think I made a few things better. Let's get started!

Major changes:

:zarude: --> :amoonguss:/:tangrowth:
Honestly, Regenerator is too good to pass up in this tier. This is the most important change I have for your team because it solves a lot of your issues. For one it provides you a switch in to Specs Keldeo. It can only click one move at a time and Amoonguss is the perfect switch in to that. It's not a hard counter but it gives you the ability to not auto lose. Rocky Helmet gives you more leeway vs Conkeldurr allowing you to potentially trade as well as giving you a much better answer to Scizor than Moltres is. Furthermore, Amoonguss allows you to switch in to anything Cobalion can click and put it to sleep. Otherwise, Cobalion absolutely wipes your team because nothing outspeeds it except for Zarude--which does literally nothing to it. Also adding in a note that Zygarde is good vs this team and so it might be better to use Tangrowth as opposed to Amoonguss for a pure Grass-type and Ground resist.

:rotom-wash: --> :zygarde-10%:
As much as I love Rotom-wash, it doesn't do anything for this time. It has Defog, which I will slot onto Moltres as you'll see later, and it doesn't eat anything from Specs Keldeo and doesn't even have Pain Split to sustain itself. Zygarde replaces Zarude as speed control, gives you the ability to kill Cobalion, and its Choice Band gives you initial breaking power (which means you can do damage without any set-up moves). Zygarde also gives you a Ground-type which makes your Thundurus-T matchup significantly better.


Minor changes:

:moltres:
Moltres now has Defog > U-Turn. 2 pivots + Amoonguss is fine, no worries. Moltres easily fits defog on here.

:thundurus-therian: & :nihilego:
With having a grass type, you really don't need double Grass Knot. So I left Grass Knot on Nihilego, and I'll leave what you change Grass Knot on Thundurus-T to, but I suggest either Knock Off or Nasty Plot. Nasty Plot + Volt Switch Thundurus-T isn't a set but I find it quite cool. It gives your team an unexpected set up Pokemon that is still able to pivot. You are able to Nasty Plot and shock any incoming Pokemon that just expects Volt Switch such as an Amoonguss or Tangrowth. It's quite fun!

:amoonguss:
Amoonguss has Seed Bomb and a Relaxed nature, as opposed to Giga Drain, so you are better vs CM variants of Primarina and Keldeo.

:scizor:
I love this Scizor set if it was Swords Dance, but it isn't. If you don't have Swords Dance, you have no need for Attack so I gave you a new defensive spread that works great for me. This is able to eat Foul Play, Earthquakes, and most attacks it didn't before because it exists to tank, not sweep when it is Roost + 3 attacks. I hope this works for you. If you are to go with Tangrowth go ahead and put 224 Defense on Scizor.

Final team:


:scizor::thundurus-therian::moltres::nihilego::amoonguss::zygarde-10%:

I hope this was helpful to you and you enjoy the team. Your team was great, but it had some key flaws that needed to be fixed. This version has worked great on ladder when I tested winning every game I played. It has speed, it has power, it has decent bulk from Scizor, Amoonguss, Moltres, and Nihilego, plays pretty quickly and works well. Enjoy and contact me with any questions!
 
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Heyo Tal0! Incredibly thorough and well written RMT. This is fantastic for your first ever one. This is a great team so I don't really have too many big changes but I think I made a few things better. Let's get started!

Major changes:

:zarude: --> :amoonguss:/:tangrowth:
Honestly, Regenerator is too good to pass up in this tier. This is the most important change I have for your team because it solves a lot of your issues. For one it provides you a switch in to Specs Keldeo. It can only click one move at a time and Amoonguss is the perfect switch in to that. It's not a hard counter but it gives you the ability to not auto lose. Rocky Helmet gives you more leeway vs Conkeldurr allowing you to potentially trade as well as giving you a much better answer to Scizor than Moltres is. Furthermore, Amoonguss allows you to switch in to anything Cobalion can click and put it to sleep. Otherwise, Cobalion absolutely wipes your team because nothing outspeeds it except for Zarude--which does literally nothing to it. Also adding in a note that Zygarde is good vs this team and so it might be better to use Tangrowth as opposed to Amoonguss for a pure Grass-type and Ground resist.

:rotom-wash: --> :zygarde-10%:
As much as I love Rotom-wash, it doesn't do anything for this time. It has Defog, which I will slot onto Moltres as you'll see later, and it doesn't eat anything from Specs Keldeo and doesn't even have Pain Split to sustain itself. Zygarde replaces Zarude as speed control, gives you the ability to kill Cobalion, and its Choice Band gives you initial breaking power (which means you can do damage without any set-up moves). Zygarde also gives you a Ground-type which makes your Thundurus-T matchup significantly better.


Minor changes:

:moltres:
Moltres now has Defog > U-Turn. 2 pivots + Amoonguss is fine, no worries. Moltres easily fits defog on here.

:thundurus-therian: & :nihilego:
With having a grass type, you really don't need double Grass Knot. So I left Grass Knot on Nihilego, and I'll leave what you change Grass Knot on Thundurus-T to, but I suggest either Knock Off or Nasty Plot. Nasty Plot + Volt Switch Thundurus-T isn't a set but I find it quite cool. It gives your team an unexpected set up Pokemon that is still able to pivot. You are able to Nasty Plot and shock any incoming Pokemon that just expects Volt Switch such as an Amoonguss or Tangrowth. It's quite fun!

:amoonguss:
Amoonguss has Seed Bomb and a Relaxed nature, as opposed to Giga Drain, so you are better vs CM variants of Primarina and Keldeo.

:scizor:
I love this Scizor set if it was Swords Dance, but it isn't. If you don't have Swords Dance, you have no need for Attack so I gave you a new defensive spread that works great for me. This is able to eat Foul Play, Earthquakes, and most attacks it didn't before because it exists to tank, not sweep when it is Roost + 3 attacks. I hope this works for you. If you are to go with Tangrowth go ahead and put 224 Defense on Scizor.

Final team:


:scizor::thundurus-therian::moltres::nihilego::amoonguss::zygarde-10%:

I hope this was helpful to you and you enjoy the team. Your team was great, but it had some key flaws that needed to be fixed. This version has worked great on ladder when I tested winning every game I played. It has speed, it has power, it has decent bulk from Scizor, Amoonguss, Moltres, and Nihilego, plays pretty quickly and works well. Enjoy and contact me with any questions!
Thanks so much for the detailed response! Not sure how I didn't even think about using Tangrowth or Amoonguss as a Keldeo and Cobalion check, they both look like they really help those match ups. Seed Bomb is such a cool idea that I never would've thought of, I'll have to try them both out next time I have the chance to get some ladder games in. As much as it sucks to lose U-Turn on Moltres, you're right that its needed for better role compression on the team and to free up the last team slot. Speaking of which, Zygarde is always really fun to spam Thousand Arrows with so its good to see it make its way onto this team. Extreme speed should also help give some useful insurance against DD mence and gyarados which can be difficult to deal with if they get to +2 speed. Nasty Plot Thundy also looks like a lot of fun and should make the stall match up a bit easier with the potential to muscle through Chansey without needing a lot of gradual chip. Really a lot of great looking changes. Is it potentially worthwhile to put more SpD on Scizor or a careful nature to give it a better chance of living 2 Power Gems after rocks in the case boots get knocked off? Thanks again :)
 

justdrew

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Thanks so much for the detailed response! Not sure how I didn't even think about using Tangrowth or Amoonguss as a Keldeo and Cobalion check, they both look like they really help those match ups. Seed Bomb is such a cool idea that I never would've thought of, I'll have to try them both out next time I have the chance to get some ladder games in. As much as it sucks to lose U-Turn on Moltres, you're right that its needed for better role compression on the team and to free up the last team slot. Speaking of which, Zygarde is always really fun to spam Thousand Arrows with so its good to see it make its way onto this team. Extreme speed should also help give some useful insurance against DD mence and gyarados which can be difficult to deal with if they get to +2 speed. Nasty Plot Thundy also looks like a lot of fun and should make the stall match up a bit easier with the potential to muscle through Chansey without needing a lot of gradual chip. Really a lot of great looking changes. Is it potentially worthwhile to put more SpD on Scizor or a careful nature to give it a better chance of living 2 Power Gems after rocks in the case boots get knocked off? Thanks again :)
No problem! Yes you can absolutely experiment and add a little more spdef because Nihilego is an issue. Be careful though because with spdef Tang, Scizor is your only defensive wall so you don’t want to strip it of too much defensive bulk. And it’s really only AV Tang that fits because otherwise it can’t handle stuff like Specs Prima and Keldeo.

I will say that SS UU is a hard tier to build in because there are many threats and you can’t beat them all. That being said, this team seems to have counterplay to most things and has won me like 12 games on ladder (above 1500) and lost me 0! I hope you enjoy and respond with any other questions!
 

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