RMT UU (Needs a fair amount of halp)

[Mjolnir]

Team at a minor glance:

So I was playing Dragon Age and my screen minimized as I opened up shoddy. I have not been on in awhile, and figured hey maybe I still have it. I I laddered OU for a bit with my old team, and garnered a good level of success. I then went onto this forum, and browsed at UU teams, and loved the variety and creativity most threads exhibited, and thought maybe I should try UU longer than 45 mins for once.

I went into shoddy, and tried to ladder, and my god it was so fun! I had never had this much fun in OU, and I instantly fell in love with UU. I originally used to run nothing but bulky-Offense. I tried my hand at an offensive team that forces a lot of switches. I went on with a great (in my mind) winning streak like 22+ and 5 losses in a row came at the end of :

2 rain teams (re-matched after I won the first and got promptly destroyed thereafter)

2 stall (Ugh)

1 balanced team (Damn hax)


So I am not a great team builder by any means, I often over think, and try to prepare for every possibility. In this case I wanted to have fun, and that served me very well I think. I wanted to force switches to let entry hazards help procure some sketchy KO's that other wise would not be possible.

I think I had a great thought pattern, but fell short in the execution of the concept. This is where you come in smogonites.

Changes in BOLD


Go Go Team.............!

(Froslass) @ Leftovers (Yes I totally ganked this from "UU Hardass Stall*)
Ability:snow cloak
EVs: 248 HP/224 Def/36 Spe
Timid nature (+SpAtk, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Pain Split
- Taunt
- Spikes

I noticed another twist of froslass I was interested in trying as a lead. So far the bulky spirit has not let me down. Able to survive a LO nightslash from Krow, and still outpaces positive natures base 80's. Pain split for some longevity to act as a spin blocker. great lead in my practice, and my main issue is I have never used a lead like this in relation to entry hazards + survival, and tend to sacrifice it too quickly.

(Sceptile) @ Leftovers
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 220 HP/252 Spd/36 SpAtk
Timid nature (+SpAtk, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Energy Ball
- HP Ice

My initial thought was trying to force switches, and determining the pace, and I tend to do my best thinking while it is slowed down. So in an ironic twist I have one of the fastest subseed users in the game. The ev's offer maximum lefties recovery 336 hp, and maximum speed, while giving reasonable bulk. Not quite doing much for me at the moment however. Not sure but if one can suggest another pokemon, or an alternate move (Was running HP rock *Don't fucking ask*) Halp please.

(Steelix) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 SpDef
Careful nature (+SpDef, -SpAtk)
- Roar
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rocks

Such a great pokemon. However not sure about it. Primarily was meant to be an electric resist who could manage to lay rocks and the like. Usually comes in if for some shuffling, often relying on it to take on raikou and roar it out. Since most lack that nice super effective hit, and I can take a Hidden power grass and KO with an EQ. Was considering replacing explosion with stone edge, buuuuuutttt the situation has never came up where the coverage would have been beneficial. Ev wise I noticed the increased survival in situations where the lack of spdef to be a godsend. I also love hitting the cocky special attackers with a decently powered EQ. Leaving no doubt.

(Swellow) @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Facade
- Quick Attack
- U-turn

I owe this bird a lot considering it often is the clean up sweeper endgame, however my team lacks staying power, and this never sees the midgame. It can often come in after I take out the obligatory steel/rock type. Sadly however I find it revenge killing things like raikou, or missy (non sub variants). Which I know for a productive team can NOT continue to happen. I do enjoy the power. A 140 base power move (if I can get the burn) with STAB + Guts is INSANE. The true definition of a glass cannon. Really want to keep around.

(Arcanine) @ Life Orb/Lefties (?)
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 120 HP/152 Atk/236 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpAtk)
- WoW
- Morning Sun
- Flare Blitz
- Extreme Speed

I see now why Arcanine is number 2. Morning sun coupled with a great ability makes this dog more reliable than old yeller. Often comes on the resisted attack. I try to impose my decent bulk by hampering other pokemon with WoW, after scouting has been done. Often forcing their fire resist out into the fray to become set up fodder for azu. I originally had Houndoom in this spot, but arcanine is doing so much more in this spot it was the right choice. EV wise I want a decent amount of bulk with a hefty 351 HP, with respectable 80 base defense and intimidate I can't go wrong. Speed hits 285 outspeeding positive base 80's *Hi venusaur*, and the attack resting at 323 offers a good amount of power. Great pokemon.

(Azumarill) @ Leftovers
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 236 HP/252 Atk/ 20 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpAtk)
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Aqua Jet
- WaterFall


So the final piece in the water/fire/grass combo that seems to get my competitive dick wet (oh-ho water pun). Anyways Azu is pretty fun to use. Come in on often to revenge kill the killer of froslass (assuming I let her go down). To feign a choice user, then I set a sub and go nuts. However without a great supporting cast I find myself getting stuck, and being forced to swich out. Doing a great injustice to the powerful aqua rabbit. I have been leaning towards blastoise for utility, and more shuffling, but I do enjoy the offensive edge Azu brings. Also priority is just far to important to pass up.




So there is my team. It initially started as a team of favorites and then after putting a competitive edge on it garnered a decent level of success due to my glorified guess work, and note taking. However it needs a considerable amount of work, and tweaking. I rely on you to help me fulfill the level of potential my team should exhibit.

Hate/Hate/Re-create?










Removed:

 

[SevveN]

Got your pm, heres my rate :)


Froslass

Love it. Haven't used it personally, but it's a bitch to verse.

Sceptile

Spikes + SubSeed is actually a concept I used to moderate success in Ubers. Great with the team imo, and i'd use HP Ice to hit Venusaurs trying to absorb your seeds.

Steelix

Not quite doing it for me tbh.. Great mon and all but I think a Donphan would work better here, having 3 poke's weak to Rocks isn't a good thing. A simple set of Earthquake / Ice Shard / Stealth Rocks / Rapid Spin would help the team a lot more imo. For the EV's, I use 252 HP/132 Atk/124 Def, as this allows a lot of bulk while still packing a punch.

Swellow

Swellow is just pure awesome. You could try Honchkrow here, if you want something that can punch holes midgame and still sweep up later if you want, but it's just personal preference.

Houndoom

Good once it's set up, but if it's not set up, basically just dead weight I'm seeing. You could try a Blaziken here, but, I feel Arcanine fits this team really well. Flare Blitz / Extremespeed / Moonlight / Filler with LO and 252 attack and speed with jolly/adamant could work well, or naive/naughty with some less attack if you opt for something special.

Azumarill

Probably my favourite uu pokemon, it's amazing :3 nothing to change here.


Overall, great team, with a few changes it can only get better. Good luck.

 

[Bluewind]

Ok, I got your PM, so I'll try to help a bit

As stated before by Seven, you'll want to change Steelix for either Donphan or Claydol, as you need a spinner desperately and a SR user as well. Due to a mix of personal preference, priority and stronger base attack I recommend you use Donphan though, but diferently from Seven I think you should go with a more defensive spread, because you are losing a Flying resistance by replacing Steelix and thus are much more succetible to the likes of Swellow and Arcanine (if you take my suggestion of Arcanine explained below you might want to forego this).

Regarding Houndoom, you could use Arcanine on its place, because it helps checking strong physical threats, mainly the flying ones, something Donphan will never do as well as Steelix. Arcanine is also a great pokémon to cause switches, consequently hacking extra damage from hazards and obtaining free turns to use Morning Sun and spread status. A moveset of Morning Sun/ WoW/ Flare Blitz/ Extremespeed, with a spread of 120 HP/ 252 Atk/ 136 Spe and Jolly Nature (credits go to Burton for the spread, as I believe he was the one to create it). Wheter to use Life Orb or Leftovers is your call. I'm a bit reluctant on recommending this though, as you lose yet one more special attacker and have to stick with four physical ones and two special ones, being those last two not so powerful.

On Swellow use Quick Attack. Protect on non lead Swellow isn't really useful, because you'll be finding lots of oppotunities to activate its orb throughout the game anyway.

Run HP Ice on Sceptile. You need to cover grass types for your SubSeeding strategy to work. You might wanna consider Leaf Storn over Energy Ball as well, as even though it sounds odd, there'll be times you'll want to hit as hard as possible.

Finally, on Azumarill, I don't know why so many Speed EVs. The spread you should use here is 236 HP/ 252 Atk/ 20 Spe. These EVs allow you to achieve maximum leftovers recovery, hit as hard as possible and outspeed great part of the base 50 pokés.

Good luck with the team =)

 

[IronBullet]

I second bluewinds idea to replace houndoom for arcanine, allowing you to defend yourself decently against physical attackers while still hurting stuff with a 120 BP stab move. You gain more priority as well, which is what you want.

Again, quick attack over protect on swellow. The priority really helps it defeat sucker punchers mid-late game.

Since you're now quite loaded on physical attackers, an LO milotic over azumarill gives you a hard-hitting special attacker, and it really likes the spike support. It also gives you a decent poke for taking special hits. I don't know whether you would want to replace azu, but you really don't have a decent special attacker on your team, and milo hits incredibly hard with a stab hydro pump. Here's the set:
Milotic@Life Orb
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power Grass
- Recover

Great team, really love the Sceptile set. Btw go with HP Ice as Bluewind said.

 

[Mjolnir]

I second bluewinds idea to replace houndoom for arcanine, allowing you to defend yourself decently against physical attackers while still hurting stuff with a 120 BP stab move. You gain more priority as well, which is what you want.

Again, quick attack over protect on swellow. The priority really helps it defeat sucker punchers mid-late game.

Since you're now quite loaded on physical attackers, an LO milotic over azumarill gives you a hard-hitting special attacker, and it really likes the spike support. It also gives you a decent poke for taking special hits. I don't know whether you would want to replace azu, but you really don't have a decent special attacker on your team, and milo hits incredibly hard with a stab hydro pump. Here's the set:
Milotic@Life Orb
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power Grass
- Recover

Great team, really love the Sceptile set. Btw go with HP Ice as Bluewind said.

Any suggestions for the spread on milo? I am off work for a bit, and have 5 hours to test.

Arcanine was my initial switch in relation to Doom. Yet it does maintain my SR weakness, but recovery is an added bonus. I will make the change.

My main decision now is donphan over steelix. I did enjoy sponging Mismagius attacks (Odd how I only ran into sub + calm mind) with the invaluable steel typing. Yet donphan offers a greater utility role with more punch to it.

I will make changes for testing, any more input? Also any ideas on how to properly fix my rain team issue although it is minor in relation to my encountering them.

 

[Heysup]

I actually support that Milotic set, it works really well. I personally use a spread of 80 HP / 176 Spe / 252 SpA with a Modest nature, but I'm sure Max/Max works too.

This spread allows you to survive two Modest Air Slashes from Moltres, and still outspeed Honchkrow. With 252 SpA and modest, you 2HKO Blastoise as well, which is extremely helpful when it is paired with Froslass.

 

[DarkCyberElf]

Lol, I see that you ripped the Froslass off of the suggestion on my RMT. Yay, I am payed homage! Whooo!

Azumarill provides welcome priority, and interestingly enough, a team does not always need equal special and physical attackers, especially a UU one. However, I might have to agree as the only reason you might need Milotic over Azumarill is that the removal of Houndoom will also remove all Pokemon that can set up on your team. So on that note, I'm not sure what to recommend. Keep Azumarill if you never have issues with physically bulky Pokemon, otherwise try Milotic. If you are feeling really angsty, use Swords Dance Venusaur over Sceptile (although Sceptile's speed is undeniable).

Edit: Just noticing your Steelix - Donphan dispute, Steelix is necessary if you don't want your team raped by Raikou. \
Another Edit: Oh yeah, definitely have a LO Honchkrow over Swellow. Here's why:

Honchkrow has Insomnia first of all, which means you have an immediate answer to Venusaur (well, Double Edgeless ones) who use Sleep Powder. Also, his powerful priority Sucker Punch is necessary to get yourself out of tough spots, as Azumarill can't take down Rain Dance teams running Ludicolo, who btw rapes your whole team. Finally, he provides immediate power, and can stick around longer provided he gets a chance to Roost. Here's the set:

Honchkrow @ Life Orb - Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk / 6 Def / 252 Spe
Ability: Insomnia
Moves:
- Sucker Punch
- Brave Bird
- SuperPower
- Roost


Good luck with the team.

 

[Mjolnir]

So today after trying arcanine I have made the switch, and it is working beautifully. I seem to see even more chances to get my team to force passive damage to rack up. I have also been enjoying the singular fire typing over the dual typing. Easing my prediction.

I have yet to run Donphan, I also am about to try milo over azu for a tenure. See if milotic can dent teams as well as azu does. I will try donphan in place of steelix later tomorrow and let you guys know how it works.



Soooooo

Houndoom - Out
Arcanine - In!

Pending:
Azu ==> Milo
Steelix ==> Donphan (sketchy, barring some reason outside of utility. anyone?)

 

[Lemmiwinks MkII]

Change your Arcanine spread to 120 HP / 152 Atk / 236 Spd with an Adamant nature. You reach the same speed tier but now have 323 Attack as opposed to 319, which is obviously better. The Jolly nature is only for the bulkier spread (sorry Bluewind but you got this one wrong).

I also have some reservations about running so much HP on a SubSeed Sceptile as opposed to the defenses, but whatever floats your boat.

 

[IronBullet]

Go with Heysups spread for Milotic, the ability to take on Moltres is too good to pass up, and no poke outside Swellow can deal with it, added to the fact that Swellow cant switch in to its attacks.

 

[thunderman9999]

Use standard venasaur over sceptile.
Venusaur@ leftovers
252hp 252spdef 4def calm
sleep powder
leech seed
Energy ball
Sludge bomb

Sleep powder will cause switches while u leech seed to cause even more.
Energy ball + sludge bomb for goood typing.

 

[Bluewind]

Change your Arcanine spread to 120 HP / 152 Atk / 236 Spd with an Adamant nature. You reach the same speed tier but now have 323 Attack as opposed to 319, which is obviously better. The Jolly nature is only for the bulkier spread (sorry Bluewind but you got this one wrong).

I also have some reservations about running so much HP on a SubSeed Sceptile as opposed to the defenses, but whatever floats your boat.

Damn, my noobness caught up yet again ._. Thanks for pointing that out Lemmi.
Well on another note, I just noticed Steelix can't hit the things he's meant to wall at all, as Explosion/Earthquake won't achieve a thing against floating ghosts, notably Mismagius; and won't be able to hit Swellow as well unless you decide do go boom, something very unsafe considering he'll just be U-turning out. Because of that you might want to change either Roar or Explosion (it's your call here, wheter you want to abuse hazards more or go out of scene with a stilish boom) for either Gyro Ball or Iron Head (if you decide for Gyro Ball don't forget to lower Lix's speed).

Good Luck =)

 

[Mjolnir]

Change your Arcanine spread to 120 HP / 152 Atk / 236 Spd with an Adamant nature. You reach the same speed tier but now have 323 Attack as opposed to 319, which is obviously better. The Jolly nature is only for the bulkier spread (sorry Bluewind but you got this one wrong).

I also have some reservations about running so much HP on a SubSeed Sceptile as opposed to the defenses, but whatever floats your boat.

Noted on arc.


I am trying other spreads on sceptile every other 2 matches (when able). I currently have lacked the time to see if they are making a difference (Sometimes I rarely use sceptile in some games). Any suggestions?

Noted on steelix as well. Iron head in replacement of explosion.

 

[Erazor]

I honestly think that you need a spinner - you'd be surprised at how much easier it is for Swellow to sweep without Stealth Rock eating at it.

Donphan is probably the best choice, as it can take pysical hits nicely. As noted, Steelix can't touch Mismagius, while Donphan can take it out if it's at decent health.

I'd give Arcanine Leftovers - he's not sweeping, he's more of a supporter and Lefties helps prolong his longevity.

With this change, you might have some Raikou problems though - So I suggest making Sceptile a Swords Dancer instead of SubSeed. Or if you want Subseed, use a Venusaur over Sceptile. Venusaur has the bulk to take on Raikou, and makes a lovely subseeder.

 

[Mjolnir]

Tried the swords dancer sceptile. Did a lot more than my subseeder has in matches however it didn't force the switches as much.

Milo has done very well. Considering the switch

Donphan has been underwhelming. Steelix provided me with more chances to come in.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Zoap]

You could run a Special Blastoise with Rapid Spin + 3 attacks over Milotic and keep Steelix over Donphan effectively giving you a Rapid Spinner and a Special Water who is semi bulky