So.....Crawdaunt is now UU legal, and this awesome monster which I've always liked is actually viable in a tier (Let's face it, OU was way to rough for the Lobster). In fact, I'd say Crawdaunt is more than just viable in UU. It is a force to be reckoned with. Another thing I like about Crawdaunt is how well it pairs with one of my favourite Megas, Mega Sceptile. That is what this team revolves around, simply put. The team has been doing fairly well in testing, however it has been struggling a little in certain areas, and against certain Pokemon, so any help that can be offered, I would greatly appreciate.
Crawdaunt (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Knock Off
Crawdaunt is a powerful monster in UU that, while some may feel like is too powerful, I can safely say I have no problem having it in UU. This set is the classic SD set, as Dragon Dance, wile flashy and nice, just doesn't provide Crawdaunt with enough speed after only one boost, which alone cane be hard to get. With, with Swords Dance boosting Crawdaunt's attack by two, plus Adaptability, Crawdaunt becomes a powerful Wallbreaker, and even late game cleaner (early-mid game if your opponent isn't prepared). Aqua Jet provides Craw with much appreciated and needed priority as its speed, as mentioned before, is quite poor.
Waterfall provides with more powerful Water STAB for slower, but bulkier targets. Knock provides Dark STAB in situations much like Waterfall, however for those Pokemon like Suicune who resist Waterfall (And who wouldn't want to get rid of those pesky leftovers?) Both moves can also be used for switches as well of course, and will hurt even unboosted thanks to the combination of Adaptability and Life Orb.
Sceptile (M) @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Giga Drain
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast
Ok, I know what you are going to say. This is only the second Pokemon on the team, and its already another Fairy weakness. But hear me out here. Sceptile contrasts Crawdaunt quite nicely. It is a fast special sweeper, resists Crawdaunt's Grass weakness, is completely immune to its electric weakness once Mega Evolved, and while Crawdaunt really shouldn't be switching into any attacks, it can at least come in on Ice Shard and threaten out the common users in the tier.
Ok, onto the set itself now. I've experimented with M-Sceptile since it was released. I've tried a purely physical set, a mixed set, and multiple Special Sets. This set seems to work well at least. Substitute provides additional protection against most attacks, and is incredibly handy when predicting a switch. Giga Drain over Leaf simply because I would rather not have my Special Attack drop like a rock, but Giga Drain allows me to get back that delicious HP after a Sub.
Dragon Pulse is the second STAB move of choice, providing Sceptile wit the strongest STAB option of this set. Focus Blast provides decent coverage against Steel types like Mega Aggron, and doing decent damage to Umbreon.
Chandelure (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Trick
Chandelure has to be my favourite Scarfer in the Tier, as it finds its way onto most of my teams. And who can blame me with that design, and awesome typing? Anyway, I digress. Chandelure is a decent option for Choice Scarf, with powerful STAB options like Fire Blast and Shadow Ball to throw at slower weakened mons. And hey, with Flash Fire, a Fire immunity is always nice to have.
Energy Ball provides nice coverage against the like of Swampert, as well as other Pokemon that may not mind the Shadow Ball or Fire Blast. For the final slot, we have Trick, which can screw up Set-up Mons and Walls alike.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Volt Switch
- Gyro Ball
Forretress is here for a few reason. Not only does it give more purpose for Chandelure to be here (You know how allergic poor Forretress is to Fire), but it also provides the Team with access Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin support. The EV spread makes Forretress a great physical wall, with just a little leftover attack to get a slight kick out of Gyro Ball, while Volt Switch provides a slow switch into other members, something that Crawdaunt really appreciates. Over all, Forretress is a decent member of team, and I honestly don't have much more to say.
Roserade (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Natural Cure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 240 HP / 252 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Synthesis
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
Roserade is a pretty cool Pokemon, though I don't have much experience with using it. However, to my surprise I found out that Roserade is actually pretty bulky on the Special side, and since I needed another Fairy check (Forretress isn't reliable in that regard) I decided to make a Specially Defensive Roserade.
A second set of Hazards is always nice to have, especially when those Hazards are Toxic Spikes. There aren't many Pokemon in the tier that appreciate the combination of Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rocks, and it s nice having the option, even if I can't get them up all the time. Synthesis provides reliable recovery for Roserade, increasing its longevity, and even allowing me to Toxic Stall if I want to (I really don't though). Giga Drain, much like for Sceptile, provides Roserade with STAB that can also recover it, and Sludge Bomb allows Roserade to hit Fairy types for some decent damage. Natural Cure is also great to keep Roserade healthy, especially with Black Sludge, and 16 EVs in Speed allow Roserade to outspeed base 60 Speed tier with neutral Speed Natures if they are running Max Speed.
Tornadus @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Acrobatics
- Rest
- Superpower
I'm gonna be honest....I was never really sold on the idea of Tornadus being on the team. It doesn't exactly do a lot, and while it can be fairly threatening, it doesn't exactly have a spot on the team. The only reason I put it on here was I was struggling for a last team member, and a friend of mine suggested this set.
The set itself is pretty nice. Get up a Bulk-up or two quickly thanks to Prankster, Rest off any damage or Status effects it is afflicted with, pop the Chesto Berry, and then use a boosted Acrobatics to sweep. Superpower provides nice coverage against types that resist Acrobatics. Honestly....there isn't much more I can say about this Pokemon at this point.
So that is the team! Like I said, it has been working fairly well, however two issues have cropped up. First off, it my Ice weakness. I have a total of three Pokemon, half my team, that is weak to Ice. Sure Chandelure and Forretress resist ice, and because of that I haven't had a big problem with it. However, a surprising problem I have come across is Zapdos. The team really struggles against Zapdos, especially with HP Ice. I can eventually win against it, but not without incurring a loss or two, so help is really appreciated on this matter.
Crawdaunt (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Knock Off
Crawdaunt is a powerful monster in UU that, while some may feel like is too powerful, I can safely say I have no problem having it in UU. This set is the classic SD set, as Dragon Dance, wile flashy and nice, just doesn't provide Crawdaunt with enough speed after only one boost, which alone cane be hard to get. With, with Swords Dance boosting Crawdaunt's attack by two, plus Adaptability, Crawdaunt becomes a powerful Wallbreaker, and even late game cleaner (early-mid game if your opponent isn't prepared). Aqua Jet provides Craw with much appreciated and needed priority as its speed, as mentioned before, is quite poor.
Waterfall provides with more powerful Water STAB for slower, but bulkier targets. Knock provides Dark STAB in situations much like Waterfall, however for those Pokemon like Suicune who resist Waterfall (And who wouldn't want to get rid of those pesky leftovers?) Both moves can also be used for switches as well of course, and will hurt even unboosted thanks to the combination of Adaptability and Life Orb.
Sceptile (M) @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Giga Drain
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast
Ok, I know what you are going to say. This is only the second Pokemon on the team, and its already another Fairy weakness. But hear me out here. Sceptile contrasts Crawdaunt quite nicely. It is a fast special sweeper, resists Crawdaunt's Grass weakness, is completely immune to its electric weakness once Mega Evolved, and while Crawdaunt really shouldn't be switching into any attacks, it can at least come in on Ice Shard and threaten out the common users in the tier.
Ok, onto the set itself now. I've experimented with M-Sceptile since it was released. I've tried a purely physical set, a mixed set, and multiple Special Sets. This set seems to work well at least. Substitute provides additional protection against most attacks, and is incredibly handy when predicting a switch. Giga Drain over Leaf simply because I would rather not have my Special Attack drop like a rock, but Giga Drain allows me to get back that delicious HP after a Sub.
Dragon Pulse is the second STAB move of choice, providing Sceptile wit the strongest STAB option of this set. Focus Blast provides decent coverage against Steel types like Mega Aggron, and doing decent damage to Umbreon.
Chandelure (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Trick
Chandelure has to be my favourite Scarfer in the Tier, as it finds its way onto most of my teams. And who can blame me with that design, and awesome typing? Anyway, I digress. Chandelure is a decent option for Choice Scarf, with powerful STAB options like Fire Blast and Shadow Ball to throw at slower weakened mons. And hey, with Flash Fire, a Fire immunity is always nice to have.
Energy Ball provides nice coverage against the like of Swampert, as well as other Pokemon that may not mind the Shadow Ball or Fire Blast. For the final slot, we have Trick, which can screw up Set-up Mons and Walls alike.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Volt Switch
- Gyro Ball
Forretress is here for a few reason. Not only does it give more purpose for Chandelure to be here (You know how allergic poor Forretress is to Fire), but it also provides the Team with access Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin support. The EV spread makes Forretress a great physical wall, with just a little leftover attack to get a slight kick out of Gyro Ball, while Volt Switch provides a slow switch into other members, something that Crawdaunt really appreciates. Over all, Forretress is a decent member of team, and I honestly don't have much more to say.
Roserade (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Natural Cure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 240 HP / 252 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Synthesis
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
Roserade is a pretty cool Pokemon, though I don't have much experience with using it. However, to my surprise I found out that Roserade is actually pretty bulky on the Special side, and since I needed another Fairy check (Forretress isn't reliable in that regard) I decided to make a Specially Defensive Roserade.
A second set of Hazards is always nice to have, especially when those Hazards are Toxic Spikes. There aren't many Pokemon in the tier that appreciate the combination of Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rocks, and it s nice having the option, even if I can't get them up all the time. Synthesis provides reliable recovery for Roserade, increasing its longevity, and even allowing me to Toxic Stall if I want to (I really don't though). Giga Drain, much like for Sceptile, provides Roserade with STAB that can also recover it, and Sludge Bomb allows Roserade to hit Fairy types for some decent damage. Natural Cure is also great to keep Roserade healthy, especially with Black Sludge, and 16 EVs in Speed allow Roserade to outspeed base 60 Speed tier with neutral Speed Natures if they are running Max Speed.
Tornadus @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Acrobatics
- Rest
- Superpower
I'm gonna be honest....I was never really sold on the idea of Tornadus being on the team. It doesn't exactly do a lot, and while it can be fairly threatening, it doesn't exactly have a spot on the team. The only reason I put it on here was I was struggling for a last team member, and a friend of mine suggested this set.
The set itself is pretty nice. Get up a Bulk-up or two quickly thanks to Prankster, Rest off any damage or Status effects it is afflicted with, pop the Chesto Berry, and then use a boosted Acrobatics to sweep. Superpower provides nice coverage against types that resist Acrobatics. Honestly....there isn't much more I can say about this Pokemon at this point.
So that is the team! Like I said, it has been working fairly well, however two issues have cropped up. First off, it my Ice weakness. I have a total of three Pokemon, half my team, that is weak to Ice. Sure Chandelure and Forretress resist ice, and because of that I haven't had a big problem with it. However, a surprising problem I have come across is Zapdos. The team really struggles against Zapdos, especially with HP Ice. I can eventually win against it, but not without incurring a loss or two, so help is really appreciated on this matter.
