The Team:
Dugtrio.
Drapion.
Cloyster.
Blaziken.
Uxie.
Linoone.
Three Suicide leads, a suicide wall, and 2 extreme-sweepers.
In-Depth:
Dugtrio (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Toxic
- Earth Power
This is one of my favorite leads. With it's base 120 speed stat + a Jolly Nature, and 252 IV's, it outspeeds every common lead of the UU metagame. This allows it to immiediately get up SR, and if it survives the turn with it's frailty, it can spam toxic on whatever the poke.
---
Drapion (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP/4 Atk/252 Def
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Toxic Spikes
- Crunch
- Whirlwind
Though it's my second pokemon, it is another suicide lead.
Drapion has pretty sturdy defenses and is immune to critical hits with Battle Armor, making it quite a decent wall in UU. Taunt stops opponents from phazing, statusing, or even recovering, which is always handy on a wall with Drapion's Speed. Toxic Spikes is a neat move against the right teams, but there are many grounded Poison-types present in UU, so it's unlikely to be as effective in comparison to OU, where most of the Poison-types there are either part Flying or have Levitate. Crunch is used in the next slot over Night Slash due to its higher Base Power and the lack of Sniper on the set. You can switch to Poison Jab for your STAB move, but it has inferior coverage compared to Crunch. The only real benefit is the ability to poison Flying-types, as they are immune to Toxic Spikes.
The last slot is entirely up to preference. Ridding an opponent of their item with Knock Off is always useful, Earthquake provides type coverage (and wears down Poison-types trying to absorb Toxic Spikes). Whirlwind is useful for phazing, and works well with Stealth Rock support.
---
Cloyster (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs: 252 HP/4 SAtk/252 SDef
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Spikes
- Surf
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Beam
My third suicide lead.
Come in on other defensive Pokémon and physical attackers that are not going to use Rock, Fighting, Electric, or Grass moves and attempt to set up Spikes or Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes are harder to use in UU, as there are many Poison-types that absorb them, so Spikes is often the more productive choice. Both forms of spikes can also be used together on the set with the secondary form of spikes taking the place of Cloyster’s secondary attack. Rapid Spin is needed to clear Spikes / Stealth Rock from your side of the field, while Surf provides a secondary STAB attack and decent type coverage. Explosion can be used over Surf in your final slot to take out a particular Pokémon that might be posing a threat to your team once Cloyster has done its job.
---
Uxie @ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Memento
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Yawn
Uxie is an efficient dual screen user thanks to its colossal Defenses and respectable Speed. This set works well both as a lead or as a transition Pokémon, and with its impressive defenses, Uxie can take quite a beating both physically and specially. Behind dual screens, Uxie is notoriously difficult to take down - even Choice Band Tyranitar's Crunch can only manage a maximum of 47% to it. This means that Uxie can stay in on Tyranitar and proceed to set up both screens as well as Stealth Rock, if need be.
Memento is really what sets Uxie apart from other dual screeners, as it drops the foe's Attack and Special Attack by a further two stages, while causing Uxie to faint. This is particularly useful for setting up a sweep with a frail Pokémon such as Belly Drum Charizard or Belly Drum Linoone, or for Baton Pass teams in need of a little extra insurance. It also means that the incoming Pokémon gets in without taking a hit and is once again very helpful in setting up frail Pokémon. U-turn can be used in the third slot, granting Uxie another way to leave the field without having to sacrifice itself later in the match. If you select U-turn for the third slot, Stealth Rock or Yawn can be used in the final slot to support the entire team.
The last slot relies on what gaps your team needs to fill in. Stealth Rock is beneficial for pretty much any team, and Uxie's bulk allows it to set it up reliably. Yawn is another option to force your opponent to switch out or stay in and allow your next sweeper to set up with ease.
Light Clay is the item of choice as it extends the duration of Light Screen and Reflect by a further three turns, allowing the team to make the most effective use of the screens Uxie sets up. An alternate EV spread can be used, which is a simple 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe and a Jolly nature. This allows you to outspeed base 90s and Speed tie with Houndoom and Drapion so that you can set up your screens before taking any damage.
Countering this set is very difficult because of dual screens. Uxie survives a +2 Night Slash from an Adamant Absol, taking only around 57.63% - 68.36% with Reflect up. Mismagius can freely switch in and set up Substitute and proceed to use Calm Mind, so trapping it is crucial so it doesn't come and ruin your setup. The perfect partner to work with this set is Spiritomb. Light Screen can aid Spiritomb by cushioning Shadow Balls from Mismagius if it decides to stay in, and Spiritomb can retaliate with Dark Pulse or Pursuit.
---
Blaziken (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Thunderpunch
- Superpower
- Flare Blitz
Ahh. This set provides total Linnone-counter killing in preperation for a sweep. I either send this in 4th, to eliminate as many poke's as possible before the sweep, or in last, to get rid of poke's Linoone didn't kill. This is the ultimate wall breaker of UU, and after one SD, nothing, barring Altaria, can switch into this set with 100% confidence. This eliminates walls like Chansey, Sloyster, the Regi's, and others, along with possessing seeping capabilities.
---
Linoone (M) @ Salac Berry
Ability: Gluttony
EVs: 88 HP/252 Atk/85 Def/85 SDef
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Belly Drum
- Extremespeed
- Seed Bomb
- Shadow Claw
Linoone possesses a holy trinity of sweeping power: Belly Drum, ExtremeSpeed, and Gluttony. These three elements combine to form the ultimate one-turn setup. After a Belly Drum, Linoone's shabby Attack score of 262 skyrockets to an amazing 1048, ready for immediate sweepage. At the same time, Gluttony activates its Salac Berry, sending its Speed score from 270 (136 EVs) to 405, outspeeding base 85 Speed Pokemon that are holding a Choice Scarf. Linoone can then proceed to sweep with ExtremeSpeed, a STAB, 80 Base Power priority move, ensuring that the flipped-out polecat will almost never be struck before it can hit, and likely KO, its opponent.
Seed Bomb is the second attack in Linoone's sweeping arsenal. It KOes many Rock-types that resist ExtremeSpeed, and also does a hefty number on bulky Water- and Ground-types. Max Defense Slowbro, Milotic, Claydol, Omastar, Quagsire, Cloyster, Solrock, Lunatone, Rhydon, Sandslash, Relicanth, and Gastrodon will all survive a +6 ExtremeSpeed, but will all fall to +6 Seed Bomb after accounting for Stealth Rock.
Despite its large movepool, Linoone has very few useable offensive options. After ExtremeSpeed and Seed Bomb, those options boil down to the two in the last moveslot. Shadow Claw is for Ghost-types, and will OHKO any Ghost-type in UU, besides Spiritomb and +Defense nature Sableye, without fail (Stealth Rock is needed for an OHKO on Dusclops). Return, however, may prove more useful in the long run. Return may seem like redundant coverage with ExtremeSpeed, allowing you to be walled by many more opponents, but consider the following:
There are four Ghost-types in UU that +6 Shadow Claw can OHKO but +6 Seed Bomb cannot. These are Drifblim, Dusclops, max Defense Rotom, and Shedinja. Drifblim and Dusclops, while not unseen, are rare. Drifblim is often a lead in UU and will probably have Substituted down to 25% of its health (easily KO range) by the time Linoone is on the scene. Bold Rotom is also a rare sight - offensive variations are much more common and are all KOed by Seed Bomb. Shedinja is the rarest of all, and though lacking Shadow Claw will leave you completely walled by Shedinja, even with Shadow Claw most will either kill you after Focus Sash activates, or with a Banded Sucker Punch. This is, of course, assuming there is no Stealth Rock on the field, which renders Shedinja useless anyway.
Return, meanwhile, rivaling in power practically any Explosion found in UU, will ensure a few KOs that ExtremeSpeed cannot. Max Defense Weezing, Nidoqueen, Torterra, Torkoal, Uxie, and Drapion are all OHKOed by +6 Return after Stealth Rock damage, while ExtremeSpeed (or Shadow Claw vs. Uxie) will fail to KO in each case by a small margin. Return also has a 65% chance of 2HKOing a 252 HP / 4 Def neutral-natured Registeel holding Leftovers and taking Stealth Rock damage. Finally, after possibly taking an Intimidate or two, the added power of Return will be welcome.
Steel-type Pokemon are one thing Linoone absolutely cannot sweep through, as they resist Linoone's STAB attacks as well as Seed Bomb. Two attack options, Dig and Rock Smash, were available in the past as Linoone's only super effective attacks against the Steels, but neither is recommended over the listed attacks. Dig is nearly useless; not only is it easy to avoid and fails to OHKO Steelix, but the common Steels (Steelix and Registeel) usually carry Earthquake, which will hit you while underground. Rock Smash is generally a waste of a moveslot, considering a 2x super effective Rock Smash has only 80 Base Power, and a resisted STAB Return has 76.5 Base Power. Seed Bomb hits Steelix with 80 Base Power as well. The only Steels that Rock Smash is able to hit for decent damage are the three Rock- and Steel-types (Bastiodon, Probopass, and Aggron), which are rarely seen.
It therefore falls upon Linoone's teammates to remove its counters if Linoone hopes to sweep. Before firing off a Belly Drum, scouting for opposing Steelix, Registeel, and Spiritomb is wise. Shuckle, Cradily, and Armaldo are not as common nor as perfect of counters, but can all pose problems for Linoone as well. These sweep-stopping Pokémon should be eliminated, or else brought within kill range, before Linoone Belly Drums. Assuming Stealth Rock is in play, Linoone will always KO these counters if they are taken down to a certain hit point percentage first:
---
I'm debating running a BDzard over Linoone, but I'm afraid of losing the 1-turn set up to a 2-turn. HELP PLOXXX.
The only real threats to this team include Altaria, which can eliminate my whole team after a DD, or after Cloyster is dead. Rapid Spinners severly hinder my sweeping chances, as they eliminate a lot of damage needed for OHKO's. Poison-types also eliminate T-Spikes, but luckily, I can easily kill 'em off with a Linoone/Blaziken.
RATERATERATE PLZ.
This team peaked at # 18 on the UU leaderboards. 042910.
Dugtrio.
Drapion.
Cloyster.
Blaziken.
Uxie.
Linoone.
Three Suicide leads, a suicide wall, and 2 extreme-sweepers.
In-Depth:
Dugtrio (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Toxic
- Earth Power
This is one of my favorite leads. With it's base 120 speed stat + a Jolly Nature, and 252 IV's, it outspeeds every common lead of the UU metagame. This allows it to immiediately get up SR, and if it survives the turn with it's frailty, it can spam toxic on whatever the poke.
---
Drapion (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP/4 Atk/252 Def
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Toxic Spikes
- Crunch
- Whirlwind
Though it's my second pokemon, it is another suicide lead.
Drapion has pretty sturdy defenses and is immune to critical hits with Battle Armor, making it quite a decent wall in UU. Taunt stops opponents from phazing, statusing, or even recovering, which is always handy on a wall with Drapion's Speed. Toxic Spikes is a neat move against the right teams, but there are many grounded Poison-types present in UU, so it's unlikely to be as effective in comparison to OU, where most of the Poison-types there are either part Flying or have Levitate. Crunch is used in the next slot over Night Slash due to its higher Base Power and the lack of Sniper on the set. You can switch to Poison Jab for your STAB move, but it has inferior coverage compared to Crunch. The only real benefit is the ability to poison Flying-types, as they are immune to Toxic Spikes.
The last slot is entirely up to preference. Ridding an opponent of their item with Knock Off is always useful, Earthquake provides type coverage (and wears down Poison-types trying to absorb Toxic Spikes). Whirlwind is useful for phazing, and works well with Stealth Rock support.
---
Cloyster (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs: 252 HP/4 SAtk/252 SDef
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Spikes
- Surf
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Beam
My third suicide lead.
Come in on other defensive Pokémon and physical attackers that are not going to use Rock, Fighting, Electric, or Grass moves and attempt to set up Spikes or Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes are harder to use in UU, as there are many Poison-types that absorb them, so Spikes is often the more productive choice. Both forms of spikes can also be used together on the set with the secondary form of spikes taking the place of Cloyster’s secondary attack. Rapid Spin is needed to clear Spikes / Stealth Rock from your side of the field, while Surf provides a secondary STAB attack and decent type coverage. Explosion can be used over Surf in your final slot to take out a particular Pokémon that might be posing a threat to your team once Cloyster has done its job.
---
Uxie @ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Memento
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Yawn
Uxie is an efficient dual screen user thanks to its colossal Defenses and respectable Speed. This set works well both as a lead or as a transition Pokémon, and with its impressive defenses, Uxie can take quite a beating both physically and specially. Behind dual screens, Uxie is notoriously difficult to take down - even Choice Band Tyranitar's Crunch can only manage a maximum of 47% to it. This means that Uxie can stay in on Tyranitar and proceed to set up both screens as well as Stealth Rock, if need be.
Memento is really what sets Uxie apart from other dual screeners, as it drops the foe's Attack and Special Attack by a further two stages, while causing Uxie to faint. This is particularly useful for setting up a sweep with a frail Pokémon such as Belly Drum Charizard or Belly Drum Linoone, or for Baton Pass teams in need of a little extra insurance. It also means that the incoming Pokémon gets in without taking a hit and is once again very helpful in setting up frail Pokémon. U-turn can be used in the third slot, granting Uxie another way to leave the field without having to sacrifice itself later in the match. If you select U-turn for the third slot, Stealth Rock or Yawn can be used in the final slot to support the entire team.
The last slot relies on what gaps your team needs to fill in. Stealth Rock is beneficial for pretty much any team, and Uxie's bulk allows it to set it up reliably. Yawn is another option to force your opponent to switch out or stay in and allow your next sweeper to set up with ease.
Light Clay is the item of choice as it extends the duration of Light Screen and Reflect by a further three turns, allowing the team to make the most effective use of the screens Uxie sets up. An alternate EV spread can be used, which is a simple 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe and a Jolly nature. This allows you to outspeed base 90s and Speed tie with Houndoom and Drapion so that you can set up your screens before taking any damage.
Countering this set is very difficult because of dual screens. Uxie survives a +2 Night Slash from an Adamant Absol, taking only around 57.63% - 68.36% with Reflect up. Mismagius can freely switch in and set up Substitute and proceed to use Calm Mind, so trapping it is crucial so it doesn't come and ruin your setup. The perfect partner to work with this set is Spiritomb. Light Screen can aid Spiritomb by cushioning Shadow Balls from Mismagius if it decides to stay in, and Spiritomb can retaliate with Dark Pulse or Pursuit.
---
Blaziken (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Thunderpunch
- Superpower
- Flare Blitz
Ahh. This set provides total Linnone-counter killing in preperation for a sweep. I either send this in 4th, to eliminate as many poke's as possible before the sweep, or in last, to get rid of poke's Linoone didn't kill. This is the ultimate wall breaker of UU, and after one SD, nothing, barring Altaria, can switch into this set with 100% confidence. This eliminates walls like Chansey, Sloyster, the Regi's, and others, along with possessing seeping capabilities.
---
Linoone (M) @ Salac Berry
Ability: Gluttony
EVs: 88 HP/252 Atk/85 Def/85 SDef
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Belly Drum
- Extremespeed
- Seed Bomb
- Shadow Claw
Linoone possesses a holy trinity of sweeping power: Belly Drum, ExtremeSpeed, and Gluttony. These three elements combine to form the ultimate one-turn setup. After a Belly Drum, Linoone's shabby Attack score of 262 skyrockets to an amazing 1048, ready for immediate sweepage. At the same time, Gluttony activates its Salac Berry, sending its Speed score from 270 (136 EVs) to 405, outspeeding base 85 Speed Pokemon that are holding a Choice Scarf. Linoone can then proceed to sweep with ExtremeSpeed, a STAB, 80 Base Power priority move, ensuring that the flipped-out polecat will almost never be struck before it can hit, and likely KO, its opponent.
Seed Bomb is the second attack in Linoone's sweeping arsenal. It KOes many Rock-types that resist ExtremeSpeed, and also does a hefty number on bulky Water- and Ground-types. Max Defense Slowbro, Milotic, Claydol, Omastar, Quagsire, Cloyster, Solrock, Lunatone, Rhydon, Sandslash, Relicanth, and Gastrodon will all survive a +6 ExtremeSpeed, but will all fall to +6 Seed Bomb after accounting for Stealth Rock.
Despite its large movepool, Linoone has very few useable offensive options. After ExtremeSpeed and Seed Bomb, those options boil down to the two in the last moveslot. Shadow Claw is for Ghost-types, and will OHKO any Ghost-type in UU, besides Spiritomb and +Defense nature Sableye, without fail (Stealth Rock is needed for an OHKO on Dusclops). Return, however, may prove more useful in the long run. Return may seem like redundant coverage with ExtremeSpeed, allowing you to be walled by many more opponents, but consider the following:
There are four Ghost-types in UU that +6 Shadow Claw can OHKO but +6 Seed Bomb cannot. These are Drifblim, Dusclops, max Defense Rotom, and Shedinja. Drifblim and Dusclops, while not unseen, are rare. Drifblim is often a lead in UU and will probably have Substituted down to 25% of its health (easily KO range) by the time Linoone is on the scene. Bold Rotom is also a rare sight - offensive variations are much more common and are all KOed by Seed Bomb. Shedinja is the rarest of all, and though lacking Shadow Claw will leave you completely walled by Shedinja, even with Shadow Claw most will either kill you after Focus Sash activates, or with a Banded Sucker Punch. This is, of course, assuming there is no Stealth Rock on the field, which renders Shedinja useless anyway.
Return, meanwhile, rivaling in power practically any Explosion found in UU, will ensure a few KOs that ExtremeSpeed cannot. Max Defense Weezing, Nidoqueen, Torterra, Torkoal, Uxie, and Drapion are all OHKOed by +6 Return after Stealth Rock damage, while ExtremeSpeed (or Shadow Claw vs. Uxie) will fail to KO in each case by a small margin. Return also has a 65% chance of 2HKOing a 252 HP / 4 Def neutral-natured Registeel holding Leftovers and taking Stealth Rock damage. Finally, after possibly taking an Intimidate or two, the added power of Return will be welcome.
Steel-type Pokemon are one thing Linoone absolutely cannot sweep through, as they resist Linoone's STAB attacks as well as Seed Bomb. Two attack options, Dig and Rock Smash, were available in the past as Linoone's only super effective attacks against the Steels, but neither is recommended over the listed attacks. Dig is nearly useless; not only is it easy to avoid and fails to OHKO Steelix, but the common Steels (Steelix and Registeel) usually carry Earthquake, which will hit you while underground. Rock Smash is generally a waste of a moveslot, considering a 2x super effective Rock Smash has only 80 Base Power, and a resisted STAB Return has 76.5 Base Power. Seed Bomb hits Steelix with 80 Base Power as well. The only Steels that Rock Smash is able to hit for decent damage are the three Rock- and Steel-types (Bastiodon, Probopass, and Aggron), which are rarely seen.
It therefore falls upon Linoone's teammates to remove its counters if Linoone hopes to sweep. Before firing off a Belly Drum, scouting for opposing Steelix, Registeel, and Spiritomb is wise. Shuckle, Cradily, and Armaldo are not as common nor as perfect of counters, but can all pose problems for Linoone as well. These sweep-stopping Pokémon should be eliminated, or else brought within kill range, before Linoone Belly Drums. Assuming Stealth Rock is in play, Linoone will always KO these counters if they are taken down to a certain hit point percentage first:
- 252 HP / 0 Def Impish Steelix, with Seed Bomb: 38.76% or less HP remaining
- 252 HP / 252 Def Impish Registeel, with Return: 42.24% or less HP remaining
- 252 HP / 0 Def Careful Registeel, with Return: 53.23% or less HP remaining
- 252 HP / 252 Def Bold Spiritomb, with Seed Bomb: 69.74% or less HP remaining (but beware of Sucker Punch)
- 252 HP / 208 Def Impish Shuckle, with Seed Bomb: 65.98% or less HP remaining
- 252 HP / 240 Def Careful Cradily, with Seed Bomb: 67.55% or less HP remaining
- 244 HP / 252 Def Impish Armaldo, with Seed Bomb: 76.99% or less HP remaining
---
I'm debating running a BDzard over Linoone, but I'm afraid of losing the 1-turn set up to a 2-turn. HELP PLOXXX.
The only real threats to this team include Altaria, which can eliminate my whole team after a DD, or after Cloyster is dead. Rapid Spinners severly hinder my sweeping chances, as they eliminate a lot of damage needed for OHKO's. Poison-types also eliminate T-Spikes, but luckily, I can easily kill 'em off with a Linoone/Blaziken.
RATERATERATE PLZ.
This team peaked at # 18 on the UU leaderboards. 042910.
