XY NU Uprising

[Lord Alphose]

Uprising

ORAS is coming around the corner, meaning I'll probably go back to LC for a while. Because of that, I figure it's time to give up my favorite NU team. I built it while listening to the song Uprising, by Muse. And it's was built as a modulation of the team Omfuga used to beat me in NUPL, with my own happy twists on it. I like this team, so don't be too hard on it...

The Team at a Glance

Teambuilding
​

Full-on defensive Uxie. It is honestly, like, the ultimate support, so I figured any team could easily use something like this.

While Uxie provided support for the team in the form of Thunder Wave and easy switch-ins, Ferroseed gives brilliant hazard support. Ferroseed and Uxie and the incredible support that they provide lead me to my next Pokemon, which is...

Chatot! Honestly, Chatot takes great advantage of both entry hazards, Thunder Wave, and any support that it can be given. Specs Boomburst can take out a lot. But God, it can take out so much more with Stealth Rock and a Spike or two up.

So, I have literally no problem with Grass-types at this point. I lose nothing from adding Seismitoad. Well, as far as I know. I have yet to have problems with him.

Vileplume and Seismitoad just go together so well. It also helps provide another safety from Fighting-types, cause Uxie can only do so much.

Lastly, Gurdurr went on this team. First, I had nothing that could take advantage of setup opportunities. So Bulk Up Gurdurr. Also, I just really like it. Don't judge me.

This is a change that I wasn't too sure about. I had trouble with Fire spam. Seismitoad has the potential to take it, but it's a special offensive Seismitoad, so it can't take them too well. As such, Typhlosion just presented a huge issue. So, I switched Uxie for Flareon, because it takes Eruption, Fire Blast, Focus Blast, and pretty much anything Typhlosion's got. Plus it's super freaking cute.

More In-depth look

Flareon @ Charcoal
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Superpower
- Quick Attack
- Baton Pass

This is a pretty standard offensive attacking Flareon. Flare Blitz for STAB, which tears through a lot of things, especially if it can get a Flash Fire boost by switching into Typhlosion or Pyroar. Superpower is mostly for coverage. It doesn't hit much of anything super effectively that Flare Blitz doesn't, but it does hit a lot of Pokemon neutrally that Flare Blitz won't hit. Quick Attack is a nice priority attack. Sadly, it can be terribly weak, but it can help out a lot in many situations. Baton Pass is used when Flareon goes into a faster special attacker. For example, it switches into a Pyroar, Baton Passes into Gurdurr after the Pyroar has attacked, and then Gurdurr can Mach Punch or something. It also gets the advantage of giving you the matchup advantage after you've forced out a Typhlosion. To be honest, Baton Pass is just a really useful move to be running.

Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball

Honestly, there are so many Pokemon that perform a similar function to Ferroseed that are just inferior to it. I don't care what you say, this thing is the greatest. Great defenses boosted with Eviolite and max investment in Health and Defense, and there's no hit the Ferroseed can't just swallow. Stealth Rock and Spikes make it so much easier for Chatot, Gurdurr, and Seismitoad to tear apart opposing teams. Leech Seed is used because it puts surprising amounts of pressure on opposing setup sweepers. Nothing likes to set up when its health is being sucked away, at the damage that they take makes it much easier for Gurdurr or Chatot to revenge kill. Gyro Ball is pretty much there so that Ferroseed isn't Taunt/Encore bait. I'd love to run Thunder Wave instead of Gyro Ball, but then I would just be too much of a sitting duck to be any real threat to anything.

Chatot @ Choice Specs
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Chatter
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Boomburst
- U-turn

Choice Specs maximum investment STAB Boomburst. Honestly, people are constantly surprised at how much damage Chatot can do. But this PU Pokemon sure pulls its weight on this team. Boomburst and Chatter are it's main STAB moves. Chatter is surprisingly useful. It's a STAB attack that confuses 100% of the time, and it hits through Substitute, similar to Boomburst. It's useful for dealing with Lilligant, Sceptile, or Uxie that are trying to hide from Chatot's wrath. Hidden Power Grass is to hit Seismitoad, Kabutops, and Rhydon on the switch. However, I've considered forgoing this move, as Vileplume deals with all of those Pokemon handily enough. U-turn isn't really intended to deal damage, even though it can be quite a hit to opposing Exeggutor and Malamar's. No, U-turn is used so that Chatot can switch out as the opponent switches out, that way I can have the advantage in the next matchup.

Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Knock Off

This is not really your standard Seismitoad, but it certainly does it's job on this team. Scald and Knock Off deal nice damage, although they are more for the support that they provide. Earth Power hits Steel-types better than Scald and gets STAB as well. Sludge Wave is used so that I can hit the Grass-types that just love switching in on Seismitoad. Seismitoad has max investment in HP and Special Attack with a Modest nature, really giving it the feel of a bulky sweeper. Water Absorb is really nice when I have Flareon on this team, because it hates to deal with Feraligatr and other dangerous Water-types.

Vileplume @ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Vileplume is a great addition to this team that helps to deal with so many miscellaneous Pokemon that I come across. Sleep Powder helps it deal with anything that it can't take out quickly, like Hariyama, for example. Giga Drain is great for taking out so many common threats that Chatot can't deal with all too effectively. Sludge Bomb is a great STAB attack that is mostly for Grass-types that Seismitoad doesn't snag with Sludge Wave. And Hidden Power Fire is for when Ferroseeds think that it can safely switch into Vileplume without any consequences. Despite an incomplete defensive investment, I find that Vileplume doesn't have all too much trouble surviving hits, even those that are super effective. Occasionally, I find that I miss having Synthesis, but I quite honestly like this set quite a bit.

Gurdurr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Knock Off
- Bulk Up

Gurdurr is probably my favorite NU Pokemon, at the moment, and It's been quite some time since I built an NU team that didn't have one on it. It's just so fantastically versatile, because it's hardly cares what Pokemon is in front of it. You just punch it.This is a totally standard set that gives Gurdurr the bulk and offensive presence to just totally screw with anything and everything. With Guts, it switches into status moves that nothing else wants to deal with, and a +1 Guts Drain Punch really just does so much work nowadays. I find that there are few teams that I can't just stick Gurdurr on and it fits in fine. Also, Bulk Up allows me to win over Hariyama more often than not, which is really nice for this team that doesn't really like it.

Importable​

They will not control us

Flareon @ Charcoal
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Superpower
- Quick Attack
- Baton Pass

Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball

Chatot @ Choice Specs
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Chatter
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Boomburst
- U-turn

Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Knock Off

Vileplume @ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Gurdurr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Knock Off
- Bulk Up

Threatlist
Offensive Fire-types - Honestly, this team just doesn't deal with offensive Fire-types all that well, especially if they happen to get Flareon out of the way. Typhlosion, Magmortar, and sometimes Pyroar just have a field day against this team if they can get some of the Pokemon weak enough.

Defensive Poison-types - Dragalge and Weezing aren't really afraid of anything that this team has to put out. I can often wear them down to the point where Chatot can beat them anyways, but they aren't that fun to deal with.

Fighting-types - Well, once Vileplume is out of the way, many Fighting-types can make a nasty dent in this team. Flareon can hardly take a hit, Ferroseed and Chatot are like straw, and Seismitoad and Gurdurr are honestly the only chances of surviving against them.

Changes that I've thought about

--->

I've been thinking about changing Flareon back to Uxie. If someone has something that can take on Fire Spam really well and is a little bit more viable, that'd be great.

--->

I've thought about changing Gurdurr to Sawk so that I can have more of a wallbreaker, making it easier for Chatot to sweep. However, I tend to just like Gurdurr more on this team.

--->

On Flareon, I've thought about running Choice Band instead of Charcoal, so as to increase the damage output of all of my moves, as opposed to just Flare Blitz.

--->

While the additional power is cool, I sometimes miss some really important Speed races because I'm missing the Scarf. Sometimes, I think it would be great to have Scarf Chatot instead of Specs.

--->

On Chatot, I've considered changing Hidden Power Grass to Hidden Power Fire in order to better deal with opposing Ferroseed switch-ins. However, Chatot is more of a late-game Pokemon and Ferroseed should hopefully be gone by then, whereas Kabutops or offensive Rhydon might still be around.

--->

On Seismitoad, sometimes I think that I want Life Orb to increase my damage output. On the other hand, I've considered changing Seismitoad to the standard defensive Toad. Like, put Stealth Rock on Seismitoad so that Ferroseed can run another attacking move. That'd be chill. I dunno. What do you think?

Short shout-out list
Darnell, Xylen, and unfixable for all being cute users that I really like.
Champion Fizz just cause you're a nerd and you are my top nig
Hula and FlameKitty for being some of my favorite people to talk to on here.
All the NU people that let me take part in your fantastic tier, but mostly Brawlfest, Soulgazer, and Raseri for just being really awesome people. Also scorpe and xzern for just being altogether great NU people.
Red-Poo for just always being there to help me out when I start to have anxiety attacks and shit. You're a real bro.
Lucina09 for being the new, up-and-coming Smogon powerhouse. You're gonna do great, kid.


Alright, Team Raters. You may now tear this to pieces.
​

~~LA

 

[stormaggedon]

Hey Lord Alphose nice team man!!

Alright first things first I'm the realest. Also HP Ground > HP Grass on Chatot, as there is no need to use that to KO Seismitoad; Boomburst 2HKOs all variants and it can never safely switch in. Also, HP Ground still hits Kabutops and Rhydon super effectively although it is a bit weaker. But why would you really need grass if you have an offensive Vileplume sitting in the back?

In regard to beating fire spam, you might want to go Hariyama > Gurdurr, since Thick Fat + Bulk Up allows it to basically do the exact same thing as Gurdurr minus a bit of bulk and lack of recovery. But it's definitely worth trying out in order to avoid being destroyed by Typhlosion every game. (Specs Eruption never 2HKOs :]) Then you can just scrap Flareon and bring Uxie back to remedy your fighting spam weakness.

PS: You might want to run 4 Def > 4 HP on Chatot to give yourself an odd HP number to survive rocks one more time :]

Hope I helped!!

_________________________

Hariyama @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Force Palm
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch

 

[Ares]

Hi Lord Alphose and you've got a pretty sweet team here.

Looking at the team it is obvious that it is more of a balance orientated team and the thing that stands out most to me is that your team does not have a way to remove entry hazards, which in a meta that is filled with Spike Stacking means you have to play at 110% to stand a chance against well built spike stacking teams. The change I'm going to propose to rectify the situation is to have Offensive Defog Swanna > Chatot this will help you to be able to remove hazards while still maintaing an offensive presence with another powerful underrated PU threat. The next thing I notice when looking at your team is that with Vileplume out of the way Fighting-types are guaranteed a KO, now originally I thought plume can take care of the job of being able to counter Fighting-types by having access to reliable recovery in Moonlight but when I looked you where running an offensive plume with Sleep Powder. I am going to say Moonlight > Sleep Powder is required to be able to continuosly check Fighting-types, without it plume can easily be walled and as a result taken out rather quickly getting little to no recovery from Giga Drain. My last suggestion is Protect > Stealth Rock on Ferroseed and then Stealth Rock > Knock Off / Sludge Wave this would allow Ferroseed to be able to better wall things and regain a lot more HP with Leech Seed while being able to scout choice locked Pokemon that might wanna Trick or Volt Switch on you.

Swanna @ Life Orb
Ability: Big Pecks
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Scald
- Roost
- Defog

Overall solid team and I hope I helped ^.^

 

[g]

This is a really cool balanced team and I really like Montsegur's suggestion as I think that Swanna over Chatot could improve your team quite a bit in matchups against hazards offense but if you wouldn't want to get rid of chatot I'd suggest you to run Substitute or Nasty Plot + 3 Attacks. U-turn isn't really a move you use often in my experience with Chatot as Boomburst already OHKOs/2HKOs most targets and resistances hate hidden power anyways or are simply obliterated after a Nasty Plot.

Another suggestion that would really improve your team without changing much in my opinion is Nasty Plot Ninetales over Flareon. Ninetales beats Fire-types as well as Flareon does and thanks to Nasty Plot and useful Psychic+Grass coverage as well as its high speed and it being Specially oriented gives you a way of beating bulky Poison-types and slower strong Fighting-types who check Flareon.

Other two very obvious suggestions are Moonlight over Sleep Powder on Vileplume as it really improves its survivability greatly and Stealth Rock over Knock Off on Seismitoad which frees up a moveslot on Ferroseed for Seed Bomb for Feraligatr or Thunder Wave for faster switch ins (or even Protect). Another move you might want to run on Seismitoad is Hidden Power Fire as it hits Grass-types outside of Tangela and Exeggutor harder and can help if you want to weaken Ferroseed.

Finally this is more of a preference but 24 Sdef on Gurdurr let's it always avoid the OHKO from Choice Specs Dragalge and I don't think 6 more attack makes a difference anyway.

 

[Blast]

CM Psychic-types give this team a lot of trouble because you rely pretty heavily on slow Pokemon and your only Psychic resist can't really deal with them; in particular, SubCM Uxie with Giga Drain can clean sweep you if Seismitoad is slightly weakened and it gets up one or two Calm Minds. In general, things that are decently fast and have good coverage like Ninetales or Sceptile give you a lot of trouble. I think the team would benefit from some kind of fast physical attacker that can keep those threats in check, but I'm not really sure what suggest since the team is pretty heavily defensively oriented. But if you decide to go with galbia's suggestion of Ninetales, then I'd try Swellow over Chatot, since it retains the majority of Chatot's coverage and can better check Psychic-types and Ninetales.

Swellow @ Toxic Orb | Guts
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe | Jolly
Facade | Brave Bird | U-turn | Quick Attack

I'd also definitely recommend the set changes suggested above. Running Stealth Rock on Seismitoad leaves you room to run Protect on Ferroseed, which can scout out Typhlosion and make it easier to deal with. Moonlight or Synthesis on Vileplume is also really good, especially with your weakness to Fighting-types, and I'd consider a physically defensive spread on it too to make it more resilient against the stuff it's supposed to check.