ORAS UU ORAS UU Balanced Team

[Ash Star]

Hey guys check out this balanced UU team I made: Be sure to tell me what my team is weak to and whether it's good or not. Thanks!

Very small teeth (Granbull) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Earthquake
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave

My physically defensive offensive cleric: STAB Play Rough allows Granbull to hit a large portion of the tier in Fighting, Dark and Dragon types. Notable examples include Scrafty, Mienshao, Hydreigon, Noivern, Honchkrow, Krookodile, Absol, Flygon and Machamp. Earthquake provides great coverage with Play Rough, hitting Fire, Steel, Rock and Electric types for Super-effective damage. Notable pokemon hit by Earthquake include Infernape, Lucario, Houndoom, Chandelure, Empoleon and Raikou, among others. Thunder Wave allows granbull to cripple pokemon trying to switch in, as well as crippling speedy threats like Mega Aerodactyl.

Granbull and Umbreon go together like bread and butter. Granbull appreciates the Wish support immensely, and covers Umbreon's weakness to Fighting well. Both it and Umbreon help the team immensely with Heal Bell and Wish support. It's ability Intimidate, along with the 252 EVs in HP bolster its defensive presence. It's special defense is weak, but that is another reason for why it and Umbreon work together so well, as Umbreon can soak up Special hits for days. 252 Attack EVs is self-explanatory, allowing it to OHKO anything weak to it's STAB moves. Adamant nature raises it's attack even more, and decreases the unneeded special attack. Leftovers is used to give it steady recovery.

Gollum(Umbreon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Moonlight
- Baton Pass
- Foul Play

My specially-defensive wish passer: Most of my team lacks reliable recovery options, so the Wish support is greatly appreciated. Moonlight eases the prediction of Wish, and provides Umbreon with reliable recovery. Baton Pass allows safe Wish passing. Foul Play is Umbreon's one offensive move, and it causes a lot of damage to the many physical attackers in UU.

A calm nature along with the EV Spread maximizes Umbreon's Special Bulk. Synchronize is a very useful ability, as Granbull can heal Umbreon easily, but the opponent might not be able to do so. Leftovers provide passive recovery and more longevity.

DEATH ORB (Nidoking) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Fire Blast
My wall-breaker, Sludge Wave is Nidoking's strongest STAB move, enabling it to 2HKO Florges, something not many other Special Attackers can do. Earth power is Nidoking's secondary STAB move, which hits pokemon like Aggron and Entei harder than any other move it has. Ice Beam hits nearly everything immune or resistan to earth power for super effective damage, easily OHKOing Honchkrow, Noivern and Flygon. It also hits Goodra and Hydreigon harder than any of its other moves. Galvantula is an excellent partner to Nidoking: Setting up the much appreciated Sticky Web which alleviates Nidoking's speed, and being able to take out unboosted Suicne with STAB Compound Eyes Thunder. Mega Houndoom appreciates Nidoking's ability to wallbreak, and provides an immunity to psychic type moves.

Cerebrus (Houndoom) @ Houndoominite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Flamethrower
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Destiny Bond

Lategame cleaner: Nasty plot boosts Houndoom's Special Attack to scary levels, and it can be used as it forces a lot of switches thanks to its ability. I use flamethrower over fire blast cause the hax gods don't love me. Dark Pulse is a strong Dark type STAB move that has the awesome secondary effect chance of flinching the opponent. Destiny bond is a nice last-ditch move that is useful in some situations like when Houndoom is weakened and can't do much to the opponent. The Timid nature and EVs in Speed help Houndoom outspeed threats such as Galvantula, Froslass, Cobalion, and non-scarfed Infernape and Mienshao after Mega Evolving. Houndoom is a great switch in on Scarfed Rotom-Heat stuck on Overheat(or any other Fire type moves too, actually) as it gets its Flash Fire activated and an easy Nasty Plot. Houndoom too is helped greatly by Sticky Web. Galvantula helps take down problematic bulky water types. Granbull is great for switching in against Hydreigon, which resists both of Houndoom's STAB moves, and for switching in against scarfed fighting types like Mienshao and Infernape.

Get STICKY (Galvantula) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunder
- Bug Buzz
- Sticky Web
- Thunder Wave

The setter of the Web: The main reason i'm using Galvantula is for Sticky Web, which, by slowing down opponents is greatly appreciated by Honchkrow, Nidoking and Mega Houndoom. STAB Compound Eyes Thunder has 91% accuracy and has a great paralysis chance, which Galvantula needs with its Mediocre Special Attack. Bug Buzz is the secondary STAB attack, hitting Grass and Ground types which resist Thunder. Thunder Wave cripples setup sweepers trying to set up on it and has the a added benefit of slowing down faster opposing leads. Focus Sash is to ensure Sticky Web gets set. It also aids in taking down Suicune.

Murderkrow (Honchkrow) @ Life Orb
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Roost

The Murderer: STAB Brave Bird is the main move being spammed for sheer power and the coverage that Flying STAB has. STAB Sucker Punch is used for priority, dealing massive damage to faster pokemon who come in to revenge-kill Honchkrow. Roost is used to mitigate damage taken from recoil and Stealth Rock. The threat of Sucker Punch often forces opponents to use non-attacking moves, allowing it to easily roost. Pursuit works well with Moxie, allowing Honchkrow to get an Attack boost from Pokemon trying to switch out. It too, is immensely helped by Galvantula's Sticky Web.

Here are some replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-212846180
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-212848039
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-212877165

Importable:

Very small teeth (Granbull) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Earthquake
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave

Gollum (Umbreon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Moonlight
- Baton Pass
- Foul Play

DEATH ORB (Nidoking) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Fire Blast

Cerebrus (Houndoom) @ Houndoominite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Flamethrower
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Destiny Bond

Get STICKY (Galvantula) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunder
- Bug Buzz
- Sticky Web
- Volt Switch

Murderkrow (Honchkrow) @ Life Orb
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Roost

 

[Serperior for Uber]

Hi this is a very good team but I have a few suggestions,

1. Protect > Moonlight on Umbreon is better as the one turn recovery is surpassed by wish+protect as it allows for scouting and also gets you leftover boosts.

2. Nidoqueen > Nidoking Nidoqueen is far better than nidoking as it has more bulk. Although, Nidoking has more power, the power is irrelevant as Nidoqueen OHKOS and 2HKOS the same threats that nidoking does. You really don't miss much the power with nidoqueen. Also Nidoqueen and Nidoking run the same movesets too. However, I would recommend Stealth Rock > Fire Blast as hazards are very necessary to inflict residual damage.

Nidoqueen set

Nidoqueen (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam

3. Sticky webs is garbage in this tier because of many factors like Crobat. As a result, Galvantuala is outclassed by many other prevalent electric types. For this reason, I recommend Heliolisk > Galvantula. Heliolisk is a very versatile mon that hits a great speed tier. Furthermore it has coverage moves to hit the ground types which would traditionally wall it.

Heliolisk Set

Heliolisk @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Hyper Voice

4. Another minor thing is to put 0 atk ivs on pokemon who special attack like Houndoum or Nidoqueen. This makes your pokemon take less damage from foul play and confusion. This is a very small fix that probably saves u 2% or so of damage but every small thing counts
All in all, it was a very good effort and I hope these tips help you improve.

 

[Ash Star]

Hi this is a very good team but I have a few suggestions,

1. Protect > Moonlight on Umbreon is better as the one turn recovery is surpassed by wish+protect as it allows for scouting and also gets you leftover boosts.

2. Nidoqueen > Nidoking Nidoqueen is far better than nidoking as it has more bulk. Although, Nidoking has more power, the power is irrelevant as Nidoqueen OHKOS and 2HKOS the same threats that nidoking does. You really don't miss much the power with nidoqueen. Also Nidoqueen and Nidoking run the same movesets too. However, I would recommend Stealth Rock > Fire Blast as hazards are very necessary to inflict residual damage.

Nidoqueen set

Nidoqueen (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam

3. Sticky webs is garbage in this tier because of many factors like Crobat. As a result, Galvantuala is outclassed by many other prevalent electric types. For this reason, I recommend Heliolisk > Galvantula. Heliolisk is a very versatile mon that hits a great speed tier. Furthermore it has coverage moves to hit the ground types which would traditionally wall it.

Heliolisk Set

Heliolisk @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Hyper Voice

All in all, it was a very good effort and I hope these tips help you improve

Thanks a lot! I'll try and incorporate your suggestions in my team. However, don't you think Nidoking(Even Nidoqueen if I make the change), Honchkrow and Mega Houndoom need the web to outspeed a lot of common threats? Also, nidoqueen, though more bulky as you said, has less than 80 speed(76) which unlike nidoking's 85 is not mediocre, it's bad. So should I run 252 HP on nidoqueen instead of speed EVs, because without sticky web, it won't be able to outspeed anything.

 

[Serperior for Uber]

That is a very good point. But the problem with sticky web is not with that its bad, but that it gets removed very easily by the ever popular crobat running around. Crobat WILL get a good matchup eventually and defog your sticky web sooner rather than later. Also there are several other high-quality hazard removers in UU which limit the effectiveness of sticky web. And because Galvantula is a suicide lead you would've already put yourself in a 6 vs 5 hole once sticky web is removed. Its not that sticky web is a bad move and it is true that your mons will appreciate it, but frankly sticky webs is easy to get rid of.

For your next point, take a look at what threatens the nidos. The mons that threaten both of them outspeed either way. The mons that outspeed nidoqueen but not nidoking can't do anything to either of them anyway and they will likely switch making your speed irrelevant. But the bulk from nidoqueen allows to take hits from pokemon faster than both of them that would normally ko king but not queen. The evs for queen vary depending on what you need to outspeed. For example, I've seen King UU say to run 40Hp, 252 SpA, 216speed as it hits the appropriate speed benchmarks while retaining a teeny bit of extra bulk to avoid the Scarf Hydreigon Draco KO. This is something nidoking could not do for example.

 

[Ash Star]

That is a very good point. But the problem with sticky web is not with that its bad, but that it gets removed very easily by the ever popular crobat running around. Crobat WILL get a good matchup eventually and defog your sticky web sooner rather than later. Also there are several other high-quality hazard removers in UU which limit the effectiveness of sticky web. And because Galvantula is a suicide lead you would've already put yourself in a 6 vs 5 hole once sticky web is removed. Its not that sticky web is a bad move and it is true that your mons will appreciate it, but frankly sticky webs is easy to get rid of.

For your next point, take a look at what threatens the nidos. The mons that threaten both of them outspeed either way. The mons that outspeed nidoqueen but not nidoking can't do anything to either of them anyway and they will likely switch making your speed irrelevant. But the bulk from nidoqueen allows to take hits from pokemon faster than both of them that would normally ko king but not queen. The evs for queen vary depending on what you need to outspeed. For example, I've seen King UU say to run 40Hp, 252 SpA, 216speed as it hits the appropriate speed benchmarks while retaining a teeny bit of extra bulk to avoid the Scarf Hydreigon Draco KO. This is something nidoking could not do for example.

All right, so i'll make the changes, but should I switch Galvantula for Heliolisk, like you suggested, or Scarf/Dragon Dance w Stealth Rocks Rock Head+Head Smash Tyrantrum?

Here's a battle with the changes you suggested: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-212889823

 

[Kink]

You're using three Dark-type Pokemon which will be heavily exploited by your opponents. I recommend changing Umbreon to Vaporeon to have a Crocune check as well as counter for bulky water-types which your team currently does not have. Make sure you lower Vaporeon's speed IVs by 2 in order to be slower than opposing Baton Pass Vaporeon.

Replace Fire Blast with Stealth Rock on Nidoking, as you absolutely need Stealth Rock in order for your Houndoom to have staying power late-game.

Consider replacing Roost with Superpower on Honchkrow. Your team currently has check for Snorlax as well as other Pokemon such as Umbreon, so I can see it coming in handy.

 

[Ash Star]

You're using three Dark-type Pokemon which will be heavily exploited by your opponents. I recommend changing Umbreon to Vaporeon to have a Crocune check as well as counter for bulky water-types which your team currently does not have. Make sure you lower Vaporeon's speed IVs by 2 in order to be slower than opposing Baton Pass Vaporeon.

Replace Fire Blast with Stealth Rock on Nidoking, as you absolutely need Stealth Rock in order for your Houndoom to have staying power late-game.

Consider replacing Roost with Superpower on Honchkrow. Your team currently has check for Snorlax as well as other Pokemon such as Umbreon, so I can see it coming in handy.

All right thank you your Majesty.