ORAS UU Real Friends

[rs]

shoutout rozes for the banner :]

(click me)

Introduction:

Peak+Record

Hey Smogon, I'm Shiba and welcome to my 2nd RMT! So with the drop of one of the now best Pokemon in the tier, Gyarados, dropped in early January, the tier of UU changed drastically with it. This team was obviously built around the huge threat that is Gyarados, and also showcases the perfect partner for it and a Mega Evolution that has been getting a lot of love lately, Mega Sceptile. I did achieve rank #2 on ladder (pif wouldn't let me call myself #1 for this RMT and it would take forever to catch him on the ladder D:) and went a solid 53-5 in the process with a portion of those losses coming from haxxy games. Originally I wanted to save this team for a big UU Tournament of some sort, but I didn't get drafted for SPL and UUPL doesn't start till around March, so I decided I might as well post it now!

Teambuilding Process:

Teambuilding Process

lol I had a lot of versions of this team D:

(from v4 to final product)

So, as I said in my introduction, I wanted to build a team around Gyarados. The set was either gonna be Sub DD or DD 3 Attacks, but I did opt for Sub DD, as I found Sub lets Gyara set up A LOT easier.

Next, I wanted a Volt Switch deterrent + an electric immunity to help support Gyarados.. I usually try to come up with a nice VoltTurn deterrent core in most of my teams first, because its pretty easy to build onto the core after that.

Porygon2 came next as a kind of all around wall for Pokemon like Mega Aerodactyl, Hydreigon, Mence, etc(had mixed defenses before it was replaced) and a nice status spreader with T-Wave. Even though P2 hasn't the best lately it still put in a solid amount of work at the time it was on this team.

Next came the obligatory Stealth Rocker + Fire Resist (every team always has to have these lol). Swampert also serves as a phazer and just an extra Physical wall.

Looking at the 4 members of my team, I really had no way of beating any kind of Bulky Normal, Psychic, or Fairies. This is where Doublade comes in, effectively beating all of these types of Pokemon with ease. Doublade also serves as an extra physical wall and a Dragon Dance slayer with Gyro Ball over Iron Head.

Lastly, every balance team needs hazard control. I felt that Zapdos filled this spot perfectly, even having ways of creating momentum with Volt Switch.

After a couple games of testing, I realized that the team was susceptible to Knock Off and Fighting-types in general (common ones almost always carry Knock). I decided to put Florges over Porygon2 as an extra Fighting check and Knock Off Absorber if needed.

The Team:

rozes (Gyarados) @

Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

- Substitute

- Dragon Dance

- Waterfall

- Bounce

Gyarados is my star of the show here, the Pokemon I initially wanted to build around. I did opt for a Dragon Dance + 2 STAB move set so it could fill the role as a sweeper/cleaner if needed. I did choose 2 STAB moves over something like Earthquake or Ice Fang because the 2 STABS have really nice coverage overall. A lot of people also don't like Bounce because of the momentum loss, but I found it really nice to use as a way to gain even more passive recovery through lefties while in the air and beside a sub. Although this set can't really hit things like Spiky Shield Chesnaught or Vaporeon (there were a ton of these on ladder for some reason), it's pretty insane how many sweeping opportunities Gyarados actually gets, and with the right team support it makes it even easier to obtain these kinds of opportunities.

Always! (Sceptile-Mega) @

Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

- Leaf Storm

- Giga Drain

- Dragon Pulse

- Focus Blast

Next, I wanted something that completely destroyed a lot of Gyarados' checks, such as the Chesnaughts, RoarCunes, Vaporeons, etc.. and also covered its big 4x Electric-type weakness. This is where Mega Sceptile comes in, deterring Electric-type foes from just clicking Volt Switch against Gyarados. And if they do when Sceptile switches in, a large majority of the time Sceptile gets a kill at +1. I did choose to go for a Modest Nature over a Timid mostly because I like the power and speed-tying Jolly Mega Beedrill and outpacing Choice Scarf Chandelure (especially when running Calm Florges) wasn't all that important to this team at all.

Vapo (Swampert) @

Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 8 Spe
Relaxed Nature

- Scald

- Earthquake

- Stealth Rock

- Roar

Next up we have my obligatory Stealth Rocker and Fire-check. It also acts as my phazer if I absolutely need it, such as if Pokemon like Gyarados or Reuniclus get out of hand, Swampert might need to come in to take a hit to phaze them out. The set is pretty much the most standard of standard Defensive Swampert sets with Scald and Earthquake as its main STAB moves and Stealth Rock and Roar are usually staples for the other slots The only thing not common about this set is the fact that I do run 8 Speed investment for Dragalges that try to creep Relaxed Swampert (Creeping Dragalges has come up huge in a lot of cases).

petyer (Doublade) @

Ability: No Guard
EVs: 240 HP / 236 Atk / 32 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe

- Shadow Sneak

- Sacred Sword

- Gyro Ball

- Swords Dance

Doublade gained the next slot on the team. When testing with a couple of other Pokemon before Doublade (I tried out things like Cobalion and P2), I found that I was pretty susceptible to things like Calm Mind Florges, Reuniclus, Snorlax, etc. Although I get that Doublade does take a nice chunk of damage from switching into Moonblasts or Psyshocks so often, its a pretty nice counter to those aforementioned Pokemon, especially considering I can always Wish-Pass from Florges later in the game. For the set, I did opt for the standard Gyro Ball set, as it helps against Dragon Dancers like Haxorus, Salamence, and Gyarados.

DrReuniclus (Zapdos) @

Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 16 SpA / 244 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

- Volt Switch

- Heat Wave

- Roost

- Defog

Zapdos filled the next slot as a Defogger + momentum creator. The spread and moveset is kind of unique, it's one that was posted in the np thread when Zapdos first dropped and I haven't really changed it at all when putting Zapdos in on teams due to the effectiveness of it. Usually these kinds of defensive Zapdos sets carry Hidden Power Grass or Toxic, but I did opt for Heat Wave as I like hitting Pokemon like Doublade, Cobalion, and Lucario harder. The spread is used to outpace Jolly Heracross, while putting in a significant amount of bulk, but still maintaining a solid offensive presence with some Special Attack investment and a Modest nature.

anto (Florges) @

Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

- Wish

- Protect

- Aromatherapy

- Moonblast

Lastly, we have Florges. The main role for Florges to become the main Special Attacker check and also work as a decent Fighting-type check (although it is Calm Nature). Florges also helps the defensive backbone in Swampert, Doublade and Gyarados stay healthy by passing Wishes rather easily a large majority of the time. It also takes a lot of threats such as Chandelure or opposing Sceptiles really well, which the team was rather weak to before the slot went to Florges over Porygon2.

​

Conclusion:
Thanks for reading and I hope you give this 'snapshot of balance in the meta' (shoutout LittleRunnerXC lol) a try for yourself. As for people thinking that Gyarados is broken, it's pretty easy to handle for a lot of archetypes, just gotta have the right blend :].

Threatlist:

lol yeah these 2 are pretty annoying for any team due to the coverage. I can usually play around with the coverage moves a bit (switching around till I get the right Pokemon), so they're pretty easy to handle if I still have the right mons alive.

(HP Fire or Ground) yeah HP Fire/Ground rose is pretty annoying, and its a good thing that the set isn't common in the first place. An option would be running more Speed on Zapdos for it but I don't think Rose is that common to warrant that type of change.


Replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-320131151 vs CSB
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-321933552
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-321931604
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-321492709 vs CSB again
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-321494408 vs some form of stall
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-321489152 vs Rain

Like-Grab

On 1/15/16, at 7:36 PM, Ryan wrote: > ill buy everyone in this convo a pizza if I get Shiba on ps tbh

rozes go undefeated in SPL bud, I didn't realize how good you were at NU until I actually started watching you play lmao. Thanks for banners and stuff :]
petyer Dodgers are ass LOL
DrReuniclus glad you came back bud and seeing you in UU and tours and stuff like that :]
anto ILYSM SUPREME SMOGON OVERLORD
Vapo dont quit please, youre a cool guy to have around to test/talk to :]
Always! pass teams for OST u fuk
Snowy. look at above s/o

other ppl

NV thanks for being supportive all the time :] appreciate everything, man! You're the bomb
Hairy Toenail King Kunta
miltankmilk use Vaporeon HO instead of what I taught you in tutoring, also crawdaunt is broken btw
Feliburn is a snek
YABO offense player looking ass
LeoLancaster not a snake
King UU thanks for sticking around dude! glad the opposite didnt happen lol, you're pretty important to UU in general
Mazz come back u bitch
dingbat DING
Kreme free points
Cyndequil. Callout master tbh

Importable

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce

Sceptile-Mega @ Sceptilite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Giga Drain
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast

Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 8 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Roar

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 240 HP / 236 Atk / 32 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
- Gyro Ball
- Swords Dance

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 16 SpA / 244 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Heat Wave
- Roost
- Defog

Florges @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Aromatherapy
- Moonblast

 

[Cynde]

hi :]

• having to volt switch out of gyarados constantly means that there is room to outplay you if it dragon dances and then subs, making your life a lot more difficult so I'd run thunderbolt > volt switch on zapdos. it'd be a lot more useful compared to just gaining momentum because non defensive zapdos is taking like half from +1 waterfall. you also might wanna try hp ice zapdos. you said heatwave is to hit cobalion and lucario and stuff but dude, zapdos + doublade make them a non issue just by virtue of their typing. hp ice hits nidos on the switch and prevents shitters like mence from setting up on you which is cool.

• I don't see a reason not to run the 240 hp evs on swampert just because that minuscule loss in bulk isn't really significant considering the fact that you hit a lefties number.

all i have to say really.. cool team man!

ps: if you do ever feel like you're weak to special attackers mirror coat pert the saviour is always there to help :]

 

[Adaam]

I agree with both of Cyndequil's changes for the exact same reasons. HP Ice helps with M-Scep as well in case Florges goes down and Doublade is in Leaf Storm/HP Fire range.

You also might want to try Pursuit > Sacred Sword on Doublade to kill Beedrill. Knock Off variants can be annoying and it finds decent switch in opportunities on Sceptile and Florges. It -also gets chip damage on some Sceptile checks like Aero and Crobat. If you do make this change then you'd have to swap to the Iron Head set so you can beat Snorlax still.

Nice team, I remember when I throttled the early variant with Eball Reuniclus :)

 

[DiscoDucky]

I kind of agree with Cyndequil; however, for a team like yours, you should be running Discharge over Thunderbolt. It increases parahax, which helps your team better deal with some offensive threats that tend to switch into Zapdos. It also preserves offensive momentum through a random chance for Paralysis. Woooo~~~~

 

[YABO]

This team is actually incredibly solid and nothing in particular jumps out as an immediate threat. You stack up redundant checks against most of the balance breakers that immediately come to mind aside from the ones you listed yourself. Obviously you know how to play the team, but I'd just caution you to play Florges carefully in matchups versus strong special attackers and to prioritize keeping hazards off your side of the field. Forcing Florges to take hazards damage a few times makes you weak to a whole slew of stuff that you aren't weak to initially. A few of the dudes that I'm thinking of include Mega Sharpedo, Sceptile, PorygonZ (scary even when Florges is healthy), and a few others. Of course that doesn't detract from the team itself, just something to note for both you and anybody faced up against this team. Also, I'm curious to see how the team plays in a typical stall matchup because I watched the replay vs the stall team and you struggled a lot to actually kill anything. In addition, his team seemed outdated and his plays were pretty strange so I feel like a more competent player piloting a more up to date team would be an insane obstacle. Regardless, nice team and I'd still sweep you with Omastar.

 

[freezai]

So this is a really cool team and I remember losing to you on ladder so I can confirm its solid. One thing that might be cool is to run Power Herb on Gyarados. It lets you get through Chesnaught and other grass types. Losing lefties isn't too huge of a loss anyways.

 

[Freeroamer]

Really solid team man, I took it for a run on ladder and outside of stall and the threats you mentioned+Krook at times I didn't feel overly pressured by anything too much so gj on that. I preferred the squad with cynde's Zapdos set and a Timid dos cos I'm a stickler for Speed but the power diff is kinda noticeable so that's fair that you use Modest. I tried a few games with Taunt > Sub Gyara and while I feel Sub has better matchups overall, Taunt makes stall slightly easier, only slightly mind. Nice work.