So I'm relatively new to competitive battling and I've lurked on Smogon for quite some times. I've noticed that many balanced teams have a theme of some sort, so I thought I'd try a hand at making a sort of themed team. I have not tested the majority of these members out yet, but in theory, they should work quite well.
I wanted to start off with a strategy that would both annoy and surprise my opponents. I thought of a few things, such as Rain Dance teams, Sandstorm teams, and anti-meta teams. I then analyzed some of the key players in today's meta, such as Scizor, LeadElf, and ScarfTar. Finally, I thought of what I thought would be a fun way to play. Then I remembered a move that I never really used, U-Turn, and I started to look into it. The more I read, the more I watched. In fact, I watched a Battle Video on SoulSilver the other day with a U-Turning lead that came back to sweep for a bit, and I realized that using a U-turn based team would be a ton of fun.
Now, I had my concept. I just needed a team to go along with it.
So I analyzed the OU and UU pokémon that can learn U-Turn, and a few seemed to pop out at me:
Now I had my choices for team members, I needed to figure out some roles. I settled on 3 main U-Turn Sweepers, a U-Turn Lead, a Wall, and a Revenge Killer. Here is what I came up with:
Lead-
Azelf - Naive @ Focus Sash
4 Atk/252 Sp Atk/252 Speed
Taunt
Stealth Rock
U-Turn
Flamethrower/Psychic
First off, the standard Lead Azelf with U-Turn. I got rid of Explosion because I never liked the idea of suiciding my own Pokémon, plus U-Turn definitely fits my team well. My last move needs some help though. This Azelf is meant to survive and return later in game for some revenging. What would offer better coverage? Flamethrower definitely takes care of Scizor, MetaGross, and other bulky Steel types, but Psychic takes out Infernape, Breloom, Machamp, Lucario, and other troublesome fighting types... Suggestions?
I'm aware that there could be better U-Turn'ing leads, but I went with Azelf simply because it's one of the faster ones. Most likely, I will open up with Taunt+SR, then proceed to either U-Turn out or get a quick KO. However, I am always open to suggestions!
Now there's the bread and butter of my team, the three U-turnity sweepers:
The Scout-
Scizor - Adamant @Choice Band
8 HP/252 Atk/248 Speed
U-Turn
Bullet Punch
Pursuit
Brick Break
As much as I hate overused sets, this Scizor just..works. I'd love suggestions for other builds, but with 591 attack, STAB U-turn, and Priority Bullet Punch, I can understand why this thing is so feared and revered in the meta today.
Scizor is my main scout and what I will probably use as a revenge killer for the other 2 members of my U-Turnity strike force. I'm contemplating using a Choice Scarf here instead because abusing U-Turn requires speed more than anything else, and the scarf would give scizor at least some form of Speed boost.
The Last Mohecan -
Infernape - Naive @Life Orb
252 Atk/64 Sp. Atk/192 Speed
Close Combat
Grass Knot
Flamethrower
U-Turn
My primary sweeper and U-Turner. Infernape is rather weak defensively, but has never failed to net me at least 1 important KO (except for a match where I was flinch haxed...I'd rather not talk about it...). I really like Infernape as a sweeper, and there is a lot of potential here, I feel. I just need to clean up when he switches in and when he should switch out. With Infernape, prediction must be key
Come in on a resisted Fire Attack aimed at Scizor and start sweeping like crazy. Close Combat + Flamethrower for similar deadly dual STAB to Scizor, and U-Turn for when the going gets tough. But whenever the going gets tough.....
The Tough Get Going -
Flygon - Naive @Choice Scarf
4 HP/252 Atk/252 Speed
Outrage
Earthquake
Flamethrower
U-Turn
Flygon is here to hit anything Infernape has trouble switching into. It resists most things that Infernape is weak to, plus Levitate helps out vs. Metagross. Choice Scarf allow it some much-needed speed boost.
Although there are better options for a last U-Turn sweeper, I went with Flygon for several reasons. First, no one really expects a Flygon, and when they do, they immediately underestimates it because many think of it as an inferior version of Salamence/Dragonite. However, it works perfectly with a U-turn team because of it's access to U-Turn in the first place, and it's insane resistances, plus getting STAB on the best neutral attacking type in the game. All those reasons, plus the fact that I love Flygon, really clinched his niche on my team.
Herein concludes the three main sweepers of the U-Turnity team. The final two members where decided based on rather gaping holes on my team.
The Ahhnold -
Machamp - Adamant @Leftovers
252 HP/252 Atk/4 Speed
Rest
Sleep Talk
Dynamic Punch
Stone Edge
Ah, Machamp. This slot, as my main surprise attacker, is currently occupied by the run-of-the-mill bulky RestTalking Machamp. I would love to give this niche to someone else, but Machamp is rather reliable, covering a few type weaknesses. The main issue is that Machamp also gives me another Pokémon weak to Flying and Psychic. Although Psychic is not really seen as an attacking type, Flying is easily abused by Togekiss (remember that Flinch hax battle I spoke of earlier? Yeah...).
I may not like the idea of Machamp, but it's almost my only proper answer to a lot of Dragon types, Gyarados, and SporePunch Breloom haxxors. I run into a few issues with this, but it usually lasts a couple of turns, almost never getting OHKO'd by anything, and being able to rest away damage is always a plus.
My final slot goes to a utility and defensive Pokémon, which is otherwise completely missing on this team:
The Not-so-Great Wall -
Vaporeon - Bold @Leftovers
188 HP/252 Defense/68 Speed
Wish
Surf
Hidden Power (Electric)
Ice Beam
Vaporeon is my only true answer to Salamence and, basically, any dragon type as well as Gyarados. Now, don't get me wrong, that is, by no means, a bad thing. The only thing wrong with that is that Vappy is also used to support my team with Wish, which, outside of Machamp, is the only way I can heal any sort of damage. It's got an excellent ability to withstand OHKO's and 2HKO's by many metagame members, but it's still rather flimsy, and I feel as if I should focus on either support or offense. If I choose support, I'm gonna need some other form of hitting Dragon types...suggestions?
Well, there you have it! My first actually semi-creative and semi-tested team. There are quite a few kinks to work out, but so far I've had a lot of fun building and testing this team, and even netted a few wins in the process. I need primary suggestions for:
-A better U-Turning Lead
-A nice wall (maybe the newly OU Umbreon?)
-An answer to DDMence and other vicious dragon types
-An answer to common anti-leads, such as Dragonite and Weavile
-Anything else really.
Thanks for reading!
***EDITS WILL BE MADE IN BOLD RED***
I wanted to start off with a strategy that would both annoy and surprise my opponents. I thought of a few things, such as Rain Dance teams, Sandstorm teams, and anti-meta teams. I then analyzed some of the key players in today's meta, such as Scizor, LeadElf, and ScarfTar. Finally, I thought of what I thought would be a fun way to play. Then I remembered a move that I never really used, U-Turn, and I started to look into it. The more I read, the more I watched. In fact, I watched a Battle Video on SoulSilver the other day with a U-Turning lead that came back to sweep for a bit, and I realized that using a U-turn based team would be a ton of fun.
Now, I had my concept. I just needed a team to go along with it.
So I analyzed the OU and UU pokémon that can learn U-Turn, and a few seemed to pop out at me:
Now I had my choices for team members, I needed to figure out some roles. I settled on 3 main U-Turn Sweepers, a U-Turn Lead, a Wall, and a Revenge Killer. Here is what I came up with:
Lead-
Azelf - Naive @ Focus Sash
4 Atk/252 Sp Atk/252 Speed
Taunt
Stealth Rock
U-Turn
Flamethrower/Psychic
First off, the standard Lead Azelf with U-Turn. I got rid of Explosion because I never liked the idea of suiciding my own Pokémon, plus U-Turn definitely fits my team well. My last move needs some help though. This Azelf is meant to survive and return later in game for some revenging. What would offer better coverage? Flamethrower definitely takes care of Scizor, MetaGross, and other bulky Steel types, but Psychic takes out Infernape, Breloom, Machamp, Lucario, and other troublesome fighting types... Suggestions?
I'm aware that there could be better U-Turn'ing leads, but I went with Azelf simply because it's one of the faster ones. Most likely, I will open up with Taunt+SR, then proceed to either U-Turn out or get a quick KO. However, I am always open to suggestions!
Now there's the bread and butter of my team, the three U-turnity sweepers:
The Scout-
Scizor - Adamant @Choice Band
8 HP/252 Atk/248 Speed
U-Turn
Bullet Punch
Pursuit
Brick Break
As much as I hate overused sets, this Scizor just..works. I'd love suggestions for other builds, but with 591 attack, STAB U-turn, and Priority Bullet Punch, I can understand why this thing is so feared and revered in the meta today.
Scizor is my main scout and what I will probably use as a revenge killer for the other 2 members of my U-Turnity strike force. I'm contemplating using a Choice Scarf here instead because abusing U-Turn requires speed more than anything else, and the scarf would give scizor at least some form of Speed boost.
The Last Mohecan -
Infernape - Naive @Life Orb
252 Atk/64 Sp. Atk/192 Speed
Close Combat
Grass Knot
Flamethrower
U-Turn
My primary sweeper and U-Turner. Infernape is rather weak defensively, but has never failed to net me at least 1 important KO (except for a match where I was flinch haxed...I'd rather not talk about it...). I really like Infernape as a sweeper, and there is a lot of potential here, I feel. I just need to clean up when he switches in and when he should switch out. With Infernape, prediction must be key
Come in on a resisted Fire Attack aimed at Scizor and start sweeping like crazy. Close Combat + Flamethrower for similar deadly dual STAB to Scizor, and U-Turn for when the going gets tough. But whenever the going gets tough.....
The Tough Get Going -
Flygon - Naive @Choice Scarf
4 HP/252 Atk/252 Speed
Outrage
Earthquake
Flamethrower
U-Turn
Flygon is here to hit anything Infernape has trouble switching into. It resists most things that Infernape is weak to, plus Levitate helps out vs. Metagross. Choice Scarf allow it some much-needed speed boost.
Although there are better options for a last U-Turn sweeper, I went with Flygon for several reasons. First, no one really expects a Flygon, and when they do, they immediately underestimates it because many think of it as an inferior version of Salamence/Dragonite. However, it works perfectly with a U-turn team because of it's access to U-Turn in the first place, and it's insane resistances, plus getting STAB on the best neutral attacking type in the game. All those reasons, plus the fact that I love Flygon, really clinched his niche on my team.
Herein concludes the three main sweepers of the U-Turnity team. The final two members where decided based on rather gaping holes on my team.
The Ahhnold -
Machamp - Adamant @Leftovers
252 HP/252 Atk/4 Speed
Rest
Sleep Talk
Dynamic Punch
Stone Edge
Ah, Machamp. This slot, as my main surprise attacker, is currently occupied by the run-of-the-mill bulky RestTalking Machamp. I would love to give this niche to someone else, but Machamp is rather reliable, covering a few type weaknesses. The main issue is that Machamp also gives me another Pokémon weak to Flying and Psychic. Although Psychic is not really seen as an attacking type, Flying is easily abused by Togekiss (remember that Flinch hax battle I spoke of earlier? Yeah...).
I may not like the idea of Machamp, but it's almost my only proper answer to a lot of Dragon types, Gyarados, and SporePunch Breloom haxxors. I run into a few issues with this, but it usually lasts a couple of turns, almost never getting OHKO'd by anything, and being able to rest away damage is always a plus.
My final slot goes to a utility and defensive Pokémon, which is otherwise completely missing on this team:
The Not-so-Great Wall -
Vaporeon - Bold @Leftovers
188 HP/252 Defense/68 Speed
Wish
Surf
Hidden Power (Electric)
Ice Beam
Vaporeon is my only true answer to Salamence and, basically, any dragon type as well as Gyarados. Now, don't get me wrong, that is, by no means, a bad thing. The only thing wrong with that is that Vappy is also used to support my team with Wish, which, outside of Machamp, is the only way I can heal any sort of damage. It's got an excellent ability to withstand OHKO's and 2HKO's by many metagame members, but it's still rather flimsy, and I feel as if I should focus on either support or offense. If I choose support, I'm gonna need some other form of hitting Dragon types...suggestions?
Well, there you have it! My first actually semi-creative and semi-tested team. There are quite a few kinks to work out, but so far I've had a lot of fun building and testing this team, and even netted a few wins in the process. I need primary suggestions for:
-A better U-Turning Lead
-A nice wall (maybe the newly OU Umbreon?)
-An answer to DDMence and other vicious dragon types
-An answer to common anti-leads, such as Dragonite and Weavile
-Anything else really.
Thanks for reading!
***EDITS WILL BE MADE IN BOLD RED***
