So I've hardly done any competitive battling, but I was recently interested in a UU tourney being run by one of my friends. I was hoping to get some feedback so I could potentially tweak it or just to help me in making teams later.
I started off with one pokemon in mind;
POLIWRATH
There were two things I wanted to do in this team. The first was to get my SubPunch on. This is probably the only case in my entire team where I was picking favorites. I just love Poliwrath. I love his typing (and having STAB Fighting and Water), and I've always wanted to try it.
Set: Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Nature: Adamant, Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Moves: Substitute, Focus Punch, Waterfall, Encore
In terms of actual stats, I went with the standard SubPunching set, nothing too special there. I'm also trying to get better at prediction, so encore really appealed to me.
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From there, I the second thing I knew I wanted to do was to make a mostly bulky stall team. And what better to help out a stall than...
CLAYDOL
I've fallen in love with how bulky this guy is. He's taken so many big hits so far, and his hazard resistance is amazing. He also has near perfect synergy with Poliwrath, in that Poliwrath can absorb the waters coming his way along with taking the brunt of some dark, bug, and ice moves that Claydol wouldn't be as happy about shouldering. Claydol in return can eat up electric and take a good number of psychic moves with ease.
Set: Claydol @ Leftovers
Nature: Bold, Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 114 SpA
Moves: Stealth Rock, Rapid Spin, Shadow Ball, Earth Power
This guy has been a piece of cake to play so far. He can usually get in without much of a dent when I can predict well, and sets up or tears down hazards pretty easily. I opted for the shadow ball and the earth power more because I felt like psychic was too predictable. Looking back, earth power is almost even more predictable, but it's been extremely useful to me so far.
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You've probably noticed that I have a pretty big hole so far; grass type. That's why I've decided on...
DRAPION
There's one reason I love using Drapion so far, and it's how easy it is to predict a ground move coming his way. Between Drapion munching up grass moves and Claydol jumping over ground, I've liked what they've done.
Set: Drapion @ Leftovers
Nature: Impish, Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Moves: Toxic Spikes, Whirlwind, Crunch, Taunt
In the few battles I've seen there have been far too many Absols running around trying to spit crits at me left and right. Having a physical tank that can take a night slash and even negate a psycho cut is pretty nice. What I'm not so sure about is whether crunch and taunt are the right fit, partially because most of what I'm tossing Drapion out into either resists Crunch, switches out into something that does resist, or just flat out attack anyway with a move I was expecting that still knocks me through a loop. I haven't given up yet though because I usually end up with a defense drop after a crunch with my luck. The toxic spikes and whirlwind just seemed like a no-brainer to me. He's also extremely handy for bumping those T-Spikes off of my side.
(A side note, I considered using the SleepTalk Whirlwind combo but it just seemed too unreliable)
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If I'm running hazards, I figured why not bring them all out? So I've invested in...
OMASTAR
Now I know what you're saying. "Great job Stanko, another grass weakness". Well, yeah. It's a hole. But I've gone through two spikers already and they just didn't fit. First I was thinking about the "Oh not this again" Froslass set, get some spikes in before it gets fried kind of deal. Well I bred up a Froslass, EV'd her wrong, and kinda said "Eff This". I also considered Cacturne because the Encore/Suckerpunch/Spikes/Seedbomb (or protect) set sounded like way too much fun, but then I found out I couldn't get encore on him without having the event version so I "Eff This'd" again. I looked at Cloyster and shuddered at his SR weakness, and came to Omastar.
Set: Omastar @ Leftovers
Nature: Bold, Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD
Moves: Spikes, Protect, Ice Beam, Surf
With his amazing defense and substantial Sp At, Omastar has been slowly gaining my respect. Combined with managing to get toxic spikes down and get a couple of guys Toxic'd, the Protect is almost a given. Ice beam is in the event I can throw him in on a physical move that will bounce off of him and predict the grass switch (you know, the big hole in my team), surf is the STAB (I'd been considering a rock move, but look at that, there are soooo many special type rock moves worth using), and spikes when I can pull them off. He also totes the Battle Armor, a new favorite of mine, just in case I run into any more critwagons.
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Next, I needed a cleric, and I was pretty pumped when I was looking at...
CLEFABLE
You may have noticed the defense-heavy team I've made so far, and I realized I needed a bit more beef on the SpDef side. So I've shot for a fun Facade/Cleric combo.
Set: Clefable @ Toxic Orb
Nature: Calm, Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 152 Def / 100 SpD / 4 Spe
Moves: Facade, Wish, Protect, Heal Bell
HOLY DICKS MAGIC GUARD AAAAAA
I love magic guard. Too much. Popping an orb on Clef means I can avoid other statuses that would actually crippler her, and it pumps Facade to a Very Nice Number (Despite her attack stat). I considered leftovers, but I've just as easily been able to Wish/Protect. Heal Bell does what Heal Bell does. Not much to say there. I had originally been running encore over protect, but ever since I protected an explosion I've never looked back. I also opted for facade over S-Toss because you need to herp derp move tutor in Emerald and I'm not breedan up from Emerald when I can have the option to so finely tune breeding in the newer generations. Just doesn't seem like a practical idea.
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My last thought was that I really needed someone to absorb all that fighting tomfoolery, and to toss some status around when T-Spikes weren't jumping high enough, so I opted for...
MISMAGIUS
(oh, and another outlet to jump over ground moves and hazards)
Set: Mismaguis @ Leftovers
Nature: Calm, Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 196 SpD / 60 Spe
Moves: Will-o-wisp, Pain Split, Taunt, Shadow Ball
Well, it's the basic Bulky Ghost, whoa man. I've had extremely good luck tossing burns on people, especially if I didn't have the opportunity to T-Spike them. Pain split is amazingly helpful, especially late game when she's already taken some flak and they've got someone with Way Too Much HP. Shadow ball is STAB of choice, nothing special about that, and taunt is taunt. You know taunt. She's also the fastest member of my team, and can get me out of a pinch when I'm getting out-sped by some moderately fast hitter.
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So there's my team. I've so far noticed how amazingly slow everyone is, though their bulk can usually deal. I also run into a bit of a grass problem on occasion. Besides that, what else should I keep in mind? What could use improvement? What would you suggest as replacements?
I started off with one pokemon in mind;
POLIWRATH
There were two things I wanted to do in this team. The first was to get my SubPunch on. This is probably the only case in my entire team where I was picking favorites. I just love Poliwrath. I love his typing (and having STAB Fighting and Water), and I've always wanted to try it.
Set: Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Nature: Adamant, Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Moves: Substitute, Focus Punch, Waterfall, Encore
In terms of actual stats, I went with the standard SubPunching set, nothing too special there. I'm also trying to get better at prediction, so encore really appealed to me.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From there, I the second thing I knew I wanted to do was to make a mostly bulky stall team. And what better to help out a stall than...
CLAYDOL
I've fallen in love with how bulky this guy is. He's taken so many big hits so far, and his hazard resistance is amazing. He also has near perfect synergy with Poliwrath, in that Poliwrath can absorb the waters coming his way along with taking the brunt of some dark, bug, and ice moves that Claydol wouldn't be as happy about shouldering. Claydol in return can eat up electric and take a good number of psychic moves with ease.
Set: Claydol @ Leftovers
Nature: Bold, Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 114 SpA
Moves: Stealth Rock, Rapid Spin, Shadow Ball, Earth Power
This guy has been a piece of cake to play so far. He can usually get in without much of a dent when I can predict well, and sets up or tears down hazards pretty easily. I opted for the shadow ball and the earth power more because I felt like psychic was too predictable. Looking back, earth power is almost even more predictable, but it's been extremely useful to me so far.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
You've probably noticed that I have a pretty big hole so far; grass type. That's why I've decided on...
DRAPION
There's one reason I love using Drapion so far, and it's how easy it is to predict a ground move coming his way. Between Drapion munching up grass moves and Claydol jumping over ground, I've liked what they've done.
Set: Drapion @ Leftovers
Nature: Impish, Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Moves: Toxic Spikes, Whirlwind, Crunch, Taunt
In the few battles I've seen there have been far too many Absols running around trying to spit crits at me left and right. Having a physical tank that can take a night slash and even negate a psycho cut is pretty nice. What I'm not so sure about is whether crunch and taunt are the right fit, partially because most of what I'm tossing Drapion out into either resists Crunch, switches out into something that does resist, or just flat out attack anyway with a move I was expecting that still knocks me through a loop. I haven't given up yet though because I usually end up with a defense drop after a crunch with my luck. The toxic spikes and whirlwind just seemed like a no-brainer to me. He's also extremely handy for bumping those T-Spikes off of my side.
(A side note, I considered using the SleepTalk Whirlwind combo but it just seemed too unreliable)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
If I'm running hazards, I figured why not bring them all out? So I've invested in...
OMASTAR
Now I know what you're saying. "Great job Stanko, another grass weakness". Well, yeah. It's a hole. But I've gone through two spikers already and they just didn't fit. First I was thinking about the "Oh not this again" Froslass set, get some spikes in before it gets fried kind of deal. Well I bred up a Froslass, EV'd her wrong, and kinda said "Eff This". I also considered Cacturne because the Encore/Suckerpunch/Spikes/Seedbomb (or protect) set sounded like way too much fun, but then I found out I couldn't get encore on him without having the event version so I "Eff This'd" again. I looked at Cloyster and shuddered at his SR weakness, and came to Omastar.
Set: Omastar @ Leftovers
Nature: Bold, Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD
Moves: Spikes, Protect, Ice Beam, Surf
With his amazing defense and substantial Sp At, Omastar has been slowly gaining my respect. Combined with managing to get toxic spikes down and get a couple of guys Toxic'd, the Protect is almost a given. Ice beam is in the event I can throw him in on a physical move that will bounce off of him and predict the grass switch (you know, the big hole in my team), surf is the STAB (I'd been considering a rock move, but look at that, there are soooo many special type rock moves worth using), and spikes when I can pull them off. He also totes the Battle Armor, a new favorite of mine, just in case I run into any more critwagons.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next, I needed a cleric, and I was pretty pumped when I was looking at...
CLEFABLE
You may have noticed the defense-heavy team I've made so far, and I realized I needed a bit more beef on the SpDef side. So I've shot for a fun Facade/Cleric combo.
Set: Clefable @ Toxic Orb
Nature: Calm, Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 152 Def / 100 SpD / 4 Spe
Moves: Facade, Wish, Protect, Heal Bell
HOLY DICKS MAGIC GUARD AAAAAA
I love magic guard. Too much. Popping an orb on Clef means I can avoid other statuses that would actually crippler her, and it pumps Facade to a Very Nice Number (Despite her attack stat). I considered leftovers, but I've just as easily been able to Wish/Protect. Heal Bell does what Heal Bell does. Not much to say there. I had originally been running encore over protect, but ever since I protected an explosion I've never looked back. I also opted for facade over S-Toss because you need to herp derp move tutor in Emerald and I'm not breedan up from Emerald when I can have the option to so finely tune breeding in the newer generations. Just doesn't seem like a practical idea.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
My last thought was that I really needed someone to absorb all that fighting tomfoolery, and to toss some status around when T-Spikes weren't jumping high enough, so I opted for...
MISMAGIUS
(oh, and another outlet to jump over ground moves and hazards)
Set: Mismaguis @ Leftovers
Nature: Calm, Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 196 SpD / 60 Spe
Moves: Will-o-wisp, Pain Split, Taunt, Shadow Ball
Well, it's the basic Bulky Ghost, whoa man. I've had extremely good luck tossing burns on people, especially if I didn't have the opportunity to T-Spike them. Pain split is amazingly helpful, especially late game when she's already taken some flak and they've got someone with Way Too Much HP. Shadow ball is STAB of choice, nothing special about that, and taunt is taunt. You know taunt. She's also the fastest member of my team, and can get me out of a pinch when I'm getting out-sped by some moderately fast hitter.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
So there's my team. I've so far noticed how amazingly slow everyone is, though their bulk can usually deal. I also run into a bit of a grass problem on occasion. Besides that, what else should I keep in mind? What could use improvement? What would you suggest as replacements?
