I'll skip the usual "Team Building Phase" preface here, but I'll just give a brief explanation over how this team got build. Basically, I was reading all the threads in UU about how hard Porygon-Z and Cress are to counter(Moltres too, but I didn't include Moltres here, and you'll see why below). So, I got to thinking that these things are on every team, so a little pokemon that could counter them would surely hurt. At first, I was going with Torterra to counter Cresselia, but I found it could not. Immedietely after, I stumbled upon Regice, who counters both Cresselia and Porygon-Z well. Therefor, my team began.
Right now, I can see my team has a kind of large Moltres weakness, although I've yet to face one to see if this weakness is as big as I thought. So...uh...have fun with it!
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Cirno (Sneasel) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 42 HP/252 Atk/216 Spd
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Fake Out
- Counter
- Pursuit
- Taunt
The STRONGEST AND SMARTEST ANTI-LEAD IN ALL GENSOKYO! ...Yeah, Sneasel is actually a cool anti-lead. The moveset is taken from the NFEs in UU thread and works well. Fake Out breaks Sashes and such, while Taunt is of course the option for stopping SR Leads. Counter is for Ambipom and Pursuit is for Froslass.
This set always wins against the average Leadlass, I believe. Taunt it's Spikes or taunt, and Pursuit should on average 2HKO(OHKO on the switch), while Ice Beam 3/4HKOs. Most defensive versions can survive three Pursuit, but only take Sneasel out in five ice beams, so I still win.
Against Ambipom, simply Counter. Wether they use U-Turn or Fake-Out, they lose, and the majority of Ambipom seem to do this.
Zam leads are the number one counter to this, being immune to Fake Out, not using anything to Counter and outspeeding. All other leads can at least be Faked Out. The main reason I chose this girl is for her ability to stop Froslass from setting up Spikes. Stealth Rock hurts, since I'm using Regice as a wall, but Spikes kills me.
---
Reimu (Torterra) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 50 HP/252 Atk/208 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Wood Hammer
- Stone Edge
CB Torterra is a beast. It's very slow, but it comes equipped with a 120 base attack STAB move which will 2HKO even Cress(Unfortunately, Cress is faster, so this is pointless...). Earthquake provides type coverage and Stone Edge hits flyers who would love to switch in. Crunch hurts Cress a little less than Wood Hammer, but lacks recoil and allows me to beat non-Ice Beam Cress. I was thinking of possibly replacing Crunch with Superpower or Body Slam, though. Any thoughts?
This, along with Sneasel, was the only member of the team pre-planned. Originally, I planned for her to beat Cress with Crunch, but it turns out it can't 2HKO and force Cress to constantly Moonlight until I get a DEF drop. However, she still hits hard against a lot of walls, so I kept her in. She also has useful resistances to Earthquake.
The only notable thing max speed Torterra outruns is Omastar, who will probably be behind rain when I face it anyway. Therefor, I EV'd it to go 1 point above all base 50s, like Chansey and more importantly Aggron, Registeel and Regirock, and put the rest into HP for more overall bulkiness.
---
Sanae (Regice) @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/6 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Toxic
- Sleep Talk
- Ice Beam
- Rest
Regice is a good girl. Er, wall. Even with only a Calm nature and 6 Special Defense EVs, she hits a massive 480 Sp. DEF, while maintaining a respectable 299 Defense and 364 HP. Cresselia cannot kill this thing without Rest, as it can sponge any hit from it and Toxic it. This thing can sponge hits from almost any special sweeper, Moltres the lone exception off the top of my head, and Rest/Sleep Talk stall it to death. Ice Beam is good STAB. Toxic allows this to beat any wall and is jolly good fun. It can even be selected for Sleep Talk to further help Cress from Rest PP Stalling me.
She was chosen because she was my favorite Special Wall in ADV, even over Blissey, and I was betting she could take on Cress with Toxic. It can also take on Porygon-Z, I believe, making it a rare check to both the new UU threats. Unlike Chansey, Regice has a respectable defense, as well. In return, Regice gets a Stealth Rock weakness, but I think the trade-off is worth it.
For reference, Specs Adaptability Tri-Attack Modest Porygon-Z does a max of 47% to this, and +6 Cress does about 70% with Psychic.
---
Marisa (Porygon2) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP/216 Def/40 SAtk
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Discharge
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Trick
This Porygon2 is probably going to steal your precious thing. I prefer Discharge over Thunderbolt almost always, allowing for parahax with Recover and losing little base power. Discharge/Ice Beam provides the solid Boltbeam combo, while Recover is always good on a semi-wall. Trick is what makes this set work even better, allowing me to cripple a Chansey or such switch-in once they realize I'm running Specs or just trick it on to unsuspecting fighting switch-ins. Porygon2 then usually gets Leftovers, letting it work as a mostly standard Porygon2.
This was chosen due to her big sister Porygon-Z coming in and taking up all the spotlight(Can you believe Porygon2 is NU?). Porygon2 is also just an overall underrated Pokemon, with nice 85/90/95 defenses and a decent 105 Special Attack score. Although I'm using the Trick Specs set, I'm running the standard Porygon2 EV spread, mostly because I want Porygon2 more to function as a Wall that can cripple a select mon on the other side then just pure support. Is there any way for me to also optimize my Special Defense on this set to anything notable, or am I better off with the current spread? Or should I make it more offensive?
---
Sakuya Izayoi (Gardevoir) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP/82 Def/176 SDef
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Wish
- Will-o-wisp
- Heal Bell
- Psychic
There's no pads making this set any bigger. For this slot, I want somebody who could heal status, as CB Torterra and Porygon2 both begged to be statused and made so much more worthless. I originally ran Meganium here, but then I realized I had a massive four times Fighting weakness(Although Sneasel usually dies anyway, so it's more like three times) and got to thinking on how Torterra's Wood Hammer was going to cause massive recoil. After all noticing Wood Hammer gave me an uncomfortable fire weakness, I went searching for a Heal Beller since no Armomatherapists would work. While going down the long list, I noticed Gardevoir there, and remembered she got Wish. Thus, I chose her, modifying her normal thread to Psychic/Will-o-Wisp/Wish/Heal Bell.
This set tries to deal with more physical sweepers and fighters with Will-o-Wisp, dampening their hard-hitting ability and stunting them for the game. Heal Bell heals Porygon2 of nasty Toxic and Torterra of nasty burns or Body Slam induced paralysis, in addition to being able to instantly wake Regice. Wish can pass to Torterra to recover from Wood Hammer damage and takes things like strong physical dark or ground moves or electrics for Gardevoir, while Gardevoir provides support for Torterra. Finally, Psychic is the obligatory attack move, grabbing STAB and hitting fighting type pokemon Super Effective. Since I lack anything to outspeed I can think of or a second attacking move, the remaining 82 EVs on the Smogon provided Set went to her defense.
I already told you much of why I chose her, but another admitted reason is that, much like Refice, I used Gardevoir a lot in ADV. I find her Wishpassing very useful, and she also happened to work as a Cleric I had wanted. This, along with the powerful support Will-o-Wisp, made Gardevoir a rock solid choice.
---
Shou (Raikou) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 76 HP/182 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
---
Curvy lasers are not difficult. To use, I mean. Raikou is a very powerful pokemon, although not as much as in ADV, and can sweep teams of given unfortunate time to set up. I prefer this set over Subkou, as I find Subkou too easily walled if you chose an unlucky Hidden Power and overall just too much slower. Max Speed Modest Raikou outruns little of note, so I bumped it down to outrunning Modest Mismagius and Adament Scyther. However, those are almost always Timid or Jolly. Should I just EV Raikou to beat Neutral Speed Base 95s? Or should I pump about 24 more EVs in to speed to outrun Plus Speed 95s?
You should all know how Raikou works. Switch in, find something to CM on, and then sweep with your powerful moves. I chose Hidden Power Ice to hit grass types, which otherwise stop me cold. The rest of the moves should be obvious.
I chose this tiger-patterned girl for a few reasons. First off, much fitting the theme of Gardevoir and Regice, Raikou was a very powerful pokemon in ADV who has been forgotten in OU and left behind(Rotom-A and Electivire helped, as did Magnezone). In addition, I noticed that while I have Choice Band Torterra, I have little special presence, as Porygon2 doesn't exactly hit hard and sweep. In addition, Torterra gets locked into moves, so I figured I needed a bosting, special sweeper, with a lot of speed. Raikou has an amazing Base 115 Speed, which puts it in the Top 6 UU Pokemon(Teid with Ambipom) for such, which also comes with 115 Special Attack and bulk! After this, I liked the Offensive CM Booster much more than Subkou, who I found somewhat impotent for my general sweeping purposes. After that, I toyed around with his speed, since speed tying with neutral Ambipom seemed useless(It's just going to Fake Out anyway), as did Froslass(I don't see Froslass much outside of a lead, it can't switch in and I don't think it can KO back). Most Mismagius and Scyther run speed boosting natures anyway, while I run Modest, so I don't outspeed anyway. Thus the current spread.
---
I also have a fighting weakness, wih 3(4 if you count my basically suicide anti-lead Sneasel) of my pokemon weak to it. So far, Sneasel, Regice and Raikou have all been working wonderfully. Torterra has been more mixed, but generally works, while Porygon2 and Gardevoir haven't had any chances to shine(Although, P2 won me a game).
Some changes I was considering:
Dropping Gardevoir and Porygon2 for Hitmontop and Moltres(On one hand, Hitmontop lets me spin away all the nasties, and gives me Mach Punch for priority revenge killing. Moltres is very powerful for a pokemon, and would give me either a strong Specs presence or a Scarf revenger(Or something else?). However, this does nothing to andress my Moltres weakness, and now both my main special wall and a key member of my team are hurt by Stealth Rock. I also now miss my Wish and Heal Bell support.)
Dropping Gardevoir for Claydol(On one hand, I gain either a Spinner + Rocker, Spinner + Double Screener or Rocker + Double Screener. On the other, I lose Wish and Heal Bell, in addition to being able to burn foes. Is it worth it?)
Your Suggestions Here(Or maybe I'm missing something, I almost certainly am, and you can show me the error of my ways! Please, suggest whatever you think makes my team better!)
Also, sorry if images like that aren't allowed. I see images before pokemon often, but I couldn't find any rules on it, so I chose what I did.
Right now, I can see my team has a kind of large Moltres weakness, although I've yet to face one to see if this weakness is as big as I thought. So...uh...have fun with it!
---
Cirno (Sneasel) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 42 HP/252 Atk/216 Spd
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Fake Out
- Counter
- Pursuit
- Taunt
The STRONGEST AND SMARTEST ANTI-LEAD IN ALL GENSOKYO! ...Yeah, Sneasel is actually a cool anti-lead. The moveset is taken from the NFEs in UU thread and works well. Fake Out breaks Sashes and such, while Taunt is of course the option for stopping SR Leads. Counter is for Ambipom and Pursuit is for Froslass.
This set always wins against the average Leadlass, I believe. Taunt it's Spikes or taunt, and Pursuit should on average 2HKO(OHKO on the switch), while Ice Beam 3/4HKOs. Most defensive versions can survive three Pursuit, but only take Sneasel out in five ice beams, so I still win.
Against Ambipom, simply Counter. Wether they use U-Turn or Fake-Out, they lose, and the majority of Ambipom seem to do this.
Zam leads are the number one counter to this, being immune to Fake Out, not using anything to Counter and outspeeding. All other leads can at least be Faked Out. The main reason I chose this girl is for her ability to stop Froslass from setting up Spikes. Stealth Rock hurts, since I'm using Regice as a wall, but Spikes kills me.
---
Reimu (Torterra) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 50 HP/252 Atk/208 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Wood Hammer
- Stone Edge
CB Torterra is a beast. It's very slow, but it comes equipped with a 120 base attack STAB move which will 2HKO even Cress(Unfortunately, Cress is faster, so this is pointless...). Earthquake provides type coverage and Stone Edge hits flyers who would love to switch in. Crunch hurts Cress a little less than Wood Hammer, but lacks recoil and allows me to beat non-Ice Beam Cress. I was thinking of possibly replacing Crunch with Superpower or Body Slam, though. Any thoughts?
This, along with Sneasel, was the only member of the team pre-planned. Originally, I planned for her to beat Cress with Crunch, but it turns out it can't 2HKO and force Cress to constantly Moonlight until I get a DEF drop. However, she still hits hard against a lot of walls, so I kept her in. She also has useful resistances to Earthquake.
The only notable thing max speed Torterra outruns is Omastar, who will probably be behind rain when I face it anyway. Therefor, I EV'd it to go 1 point above all base 50s, like Chansey and more importantly Aggron, Registeel and Regirock, and put the rest into HP for more overall bulkiness.
---
Sanae (Regice) @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/6 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Toxic
- Sleep Talk
- Ice Beam
- Rest
Regice is a good girl. Er, wall. Even with only a Calm nature and 6 Special Defense EVs, she hits a massive 480 Sp. DEF, while maintaining a respectable 299 Defense and 364 HP. Cresselia cannot kill this thing without Rest, as it can sponge any hit from it and Toxic it. This thing can sponge hits from almost any special sweeper, Moltres the lone exception off the top of my head, and Rest/Sleep Talk stall it to death. Ice Beam is good STAB. Toxic allows this to beat any wall and is jolly good fun. It can even be selected for Sleep Talk to further help Cress from Rest PP Stalling me.
She was chosen because she was my favorite Special Wall in ADV, even over Blissey, and I was betting she could take on Cress with Toxic. It can also take on Porygon-Z, I believe, making it a rare check to both the new UU threats. Unlike Chansey, Regice has a respectable defense, as well. In return, Regice gets a Stealth Rock weakness, but I think the trade-off is worth it.
For reference, Specs Adaptability Tri-Attack Modest Porygon-Z does a max of 47% to this, and +6 Cress does about 70% with Psychic.
---
Marisa (Porygon2) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP/216 Def/40 SAtk
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Discharge
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Trick
This Porygon2 is probably going to steal your precious thing. I prefer Discharge over Thunderbolt almost always, allowing for parahax with Recover and losing little base power. Discharge/Ice Beam provides the solid Boltbeam combo, while Recover is always good on a semi-wall. Trick is what makes this set work even better, allowing me to cripple a Chansey or such switch-in once they realize I'm running Specs or just trick it on to unsuspecting fighting switch-ins. Porygon2 then usually gets Leftovers, letting it work as a mostly standard Porygon2.
This was chosen due to her big sister Porygon-Z coming in and taking up all the spotlight(Can you believe Porygon2 is NU?). Porygon2 is also just an overall underrated Pokemon, with nice 85/90/95 defenses and a decent 105 Special Attack score. Although I'm using the Trick Specs set, I'm running the standard Porygon2 EV spread, mostly because I want Porygon2 more to function as a Wall that can cripple a select mon on the other side then just pure support. Is there any way for me to also optimize my Special Defense on this set to anything notable, or am I better off with the current spread? Or should I make it more offensive?
---
Sakuya Izayoi (Gardevoir) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP/82 Def/176 SDef
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Wish
- Will-o-wisp
- Heal Bell
- Psychic
There's no pads making this set any bigger. For this slot, I want somebody who could heal status, as CB Torterra and Porygon2 both begged to be statused and made so much more worthless. I originally ran Meganium here, but then I realized I had a massive four times Fighting weakness(Although Sneasel usually dies anyway, so it's more like three times) and got to thinking on how Torterra's Wood Hammer was going to cause massive recoil. After all noticing Wood Hammer gave me an uncomfortable fire weakness, I went searching for a Heal Beller since no Armomatherapists would work. While going down the long list, I noticed Gardevoir there, and remembered she got Wish. Thus, I chose her, modifying her normal thread to Psychic/Will-o-Wisp/Wish/Heal Bell.
This set tries to deal with more physical sweepers and fighters with Will-o-Wisp, dampening their hard-hitting ability and stunting them for the game. Heal Bell heals Porygon2 of nasty Toxic and Torterra of nasty burns or Body Slam induced paralysis, in addition to being able to instantly wake Regice. Wish can pass to Torterra to recover from Wood Hammer damage and takes things like strong physical dark or ground moves or electrics for Gardevoir, while Gardevoir provides support for Torterra. Finally, Psychic is the obligatory attack move, grabbing STAB and hitting fighting type pokemon Super Effective. Since I lack anything to outspeed I can think of or a second attacking move, the remaining 82 EVs on the Smogon provided Set went to her defense.
I already told you much of why I chose her, but another admitted reason is that, much like Refice, I used Gardevoir a lot in ADV. I find her Wishpassing very useful, and she also happened to work as a Cleric I had wanted. This, along with the powerful support Will-o-Wisp, made Gardevoir a rock solid choice.
---
Shou (Raikou) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 76 HP/182 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
---
Curvy lasers are not difficult. To use, I mean. Raikou is a very powerful pokemon, although not as much as in ADV, and can sweep teams of given unfortunate time to set up. I prefer this set over Subkou, as I find Subkou too easily walled if you chose an unlucky Hidden Power and overall just too much slower. Max Speed Modest Raikou outruns little of note, so I bumped it down to outrunning Modest Mismagius and Adament Scyther. However, those are almost always Timid or Jolly. Should I just EV Raikou to beat Neutral Speed Base 95s? Or should I pump about 24 more EVs in to speed to outrun Plus Speed 95s?
You should all know how Raikou works. Switch in, find something to CM on, and then sweep with your powerful moves. I chose Hidden Power Ice to hit grass types, which otherwise stop me cold. The rest of the moves should be obvious.
I chose this tiger-patterned girl for a few reasons. First off, much fitting the theme of Gardevoir and Regice, Raikou was a very powerful pokemon in ADV who has been forgotten in OU and left behind(Rotom-A and Electivire helped, as did Magnezone). In addition, I noticed that while I have Choice Band Torterra, I have little special presence, as Porygon2 doesn't exactly hit hard and sweep. In addition, Torterra gets locked into moves, so I figured I needed a bosting, special sweeper, with a lot of speed. Raikou has an amazing Base 115 Speed, which puts it in the Top 6 UU Pokemon(Teid with Ambipom) for such, which also comes with 115 Special Attack and bulk! After this, I liked the Offensive CM Booster much more than Subkou, who I found somewhat impotent for my general sweeping purposes. After that, I toyed around with his speed, since speed tying with neutral Ambipom seemed useless(It's just going to Fake Out anyway), as did Froslass(I don't see Froslass much outside of a lead, it can't switch in and I don't think it can KO back). Most Mismagius and Scyther run speed boosting natures anyway, while I run Modest, so I don't outspeed anyway. Thus the current spread.
---
I also have a fighting weakness, wih 3(4 if you count my basically suicide anti-lead Sneasel) of my pokemon weak to it. So far, Sneasel, Regice and Raikou have all been working wonderfully. Torterra has been more mixed, but generally works, while Porygon2 and Gardevoir haven't had any chances to shine(Although, P2 won me a game).
Some changes I was considering:
Dropping Gardevoir and Porygon2 for Hitmontop and Moltres(On one hand, Hitmontop lets me spin away all the nasties, and gives me Mach Punch for priority revenge killing. Moltres is very powerful for a pokemon, and would give me either a strong Specs presence or a Scarf revenger(Or something else?). However, this does nothing to andress my Moltres weakness, and now both my main special wall and a key member of my team are hurt by Stealth Rock. I also now miss my Wish and Heal Bell support.)
Dropping Gardevoir for Claydol(On one hand, I gain either a Spinner + Rocker, Spinner + Double Screener or Rocker + Double Screener. On the other, I lose Wish and Heal Bell, in addition to being able to burn foes. Is it worth it?)
Your Suggestions Here(Or maybe I'm missing something, I almost certainly am, and you can show me the error of my ways! Please, suggest whatever you think makes my team better!)
Also, sorry if images like that aren't allowed. I see images before pokemon often, but I couldn't find any rules on it, so I chose what I did.
