OK, so why am I here? This has been, so far, my favourite (and most succesful) UU team. I'm afraid I cannot brag of ladder ratings as laddering for long periods of time bores me a little! I generally stick to ~10 - 20 battles per day, so the results I get aren't as consistant as they could (should?) be. Secondly, as I mentioned in the title, I am actually coming to the RMT forums for a little help on this team, because it's "so near but yet so far away." I shall explain why I a bit, but I will try to give you a general team to start with, as a nice little introduction:
So what is the plan of this team? It probably doesn't look obvious at first glance, but if you take a closer look at the sets that I am using it might become a little more obvious. I am using Steelix to lure out an kill bulky waters, that way it makes it a lot easier for Typhlosion to go about breaking walls, and for Azumarill / Raikou to clean up. Raikou is my insurance against Bulky Waters should this plan fail. The main problem with this team is Shaymin, who used to have a use but it is now lost in translation, and I am looking to the community to sort this out for me ^_^ Thanks a bunch! I'm pretty keen on keeping everything but Shaymin, but then again, that is just one man's opinion, if you really feel changing one of the others will really help me out, please do tell me!
The Lead -
Crobat (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 104 HP/152 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost
Crobat is my lead, and one who, if I play it right, will get me on top early in the majority of situations. Its always a bit of a toss up with other Crobat leads, I tend to Taunt as weather can be a right bitch to this team (but hopefully maybe you can help me clear that up???), sometimes I brave bird though, especially if I have seen the persons team previously and I know that Sun / Rain is not a threat. I tend to U-turn out of Froslass as they expect the Taunt and Ice Beam, I'll generally go to Azumarril in those situations, but some of them get clever and try to Spike on the first turn. That is OK as Azumarill still does well against them, but its just a bit "meh." Perhaps the best thing about Crobat is the number of Ambipom / Persian that don't know that it has Inner Focus, they hit me with a weak Fake out and get hit hard by Brave Bird, and then I outspeed the next turn as well! Scarf Roserade leads are fun to play with, and I can play them one of two ways, I can simply Brave bird right off the bat, and OHKO them as I wake up due to the Lum Berry, or I can Taunt as I awaken with the Lum and then I force the switch and I can U-turn to keep the momentum going in my direction, it's great fun! Aside from those random mumblings about how I generally play this against common leads you probably all know how this works by now! Crobat generally hangs around until later in the game too, he is useful for revenge killing a lot of threats, that Brave Bird really hits things quite hard.
The Lure -
Steelix (M) @ Passho Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 104 HP/252 Atk/16 Spd/136 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
"Bait-lix" I call it, and in no way is it clever or fancy, it is merely sheer brute force. The first thing I did was stick 252 EVs into Attack, this ensures me an OHKO on the majority of the bulky waters in UU, and even if it doesn't it leaves them <10% so that I can force the out / revenge kill with Crobat, if they do switch out, Stealth Rock takes care of them later in the game. I did calc it, but in the end 252 with a neutral nature was the easiest way to go. 16 Spe EVs to to beat other Steelix to the Earthquake, which is always a "nice to have." I used X-Acts applet to get the defensive EVs, I set it to 75% Special defensive or something along those lines, either way the SpD EVs are there to beat Raikou and to help me to survive possibly weaker hits under Rain Dance and also take a minimum from Surf in situations where it could potentially KO me, generally when I am under 40% ish, that's where the EVs make a real difference. I Generally I bring Steelix out on things that it doesn't care about, I Stealth Rock as they bring in whatever counter, and then I explode on it, Rotom can be a bit of a bitch however, I will get back to that later.
The Abusers -
-
Typhlosion (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Eruption
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Focus Blast
Specs Typhlosion is my Wall-breaker or "Threat eliminator." With those bulky Waters gone, Eruption 2HKOs the majority of Pokemon in the game. The good thing is, I can often switch it in on Crobat's U-Turn. This does little damage and, fearing the scarf, they will generally switch in a slower, bulkier Pokemon that gets hit hard by either Fire Blast or Eruption, whichever is more favourable. Hidden Power Ground hits Flash Fire Pokemon such as Arcanine and Houndoom, although generally this has to be predicted later in the game =( Focus Blast is my best answer against Chansey. This guy loves Stealth Rock really, it just brings him further down so that I can activate Blaze and dish out some real hard damage, it's quite scary. Apart from that the set is pretty generic, I use it to further batter down my opponants team hopefully seeting up a sweep for either Azumarill or Raikou.
Azumarill (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 240 HP/252 Atk/16 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Brick Break
- Return
Azumarill tends to clean up late game, I gave it a Life Orb because I dislike being stuck into attacks, needing Aqua Jet when I'm stuck in Waterfall, or Return when I'm stuck in Aqua Jet. It also makes for a nice switch in to Flash Fire Pokemon and opposing Typhlosion, I used to have Milotic for this, but that got switched to Shaymin. There was a reason for the switch to Shaymin, but I can't exactly remember. Anyway, back to Azumarill, I have considered Superpower, but I am not exactly sure about it, as I don't like the drop in either Attack for Defence and Brick Break generally serves its purpose well, overall I am very happy with the way that this has performed, it's pretty bog standard, but does it's job nicely. Removal of bulky Waters helps this Pokemon out so much that it is not even true! 16 Spe is to beat other Azumarill who may go 252 / 252 /4 or some slightly higher Speed variations of that spread.
The Back-Up -
Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Signal Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Calm Mind
Sort of offensive Calm Mind Raikou, but without the Life Orb, I selected Leftovers as the added surviverability has proved to be very important in a lot of situations. Hidden Power Ground was recently introduced over Hidden Power Fire because it allows me to hit Steelix but also annoying things like the Nidos, who otherwise wall this set quite nicely. I may actually have beaten Mind in the UU Tour if I had Hidden Power Ground on it then, that's what convinced me to change it! Signal beam surprises a lot of Shaymin / Abomasnow and other clever Grass types that think they can wall me when they see Hidden Power Ground, although now I don't have HP Fire Venusaur is not very nice, I have decent enough support throughout the rest of the team to take it out though! Doesn't find a whole load of good places to switch in, so I generally bring it in after sacrtificing something else, but it does come in quite nicely on Crobat, who tend not to Taunt as they do not want to be hit by Thunderbolt. Again this is a very solid and reliable member of the team, not one that I am looking to replace (unless you can convince me ^_^)
The ??? -
Shaymin @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Seed Bomb
- Return
- Swords Dance
- Rest
I think "the weak link" would be the best title here. I originally had Milotic here, who was another part of the "back up plan" it had Toxic to outstall other bulky waters. I then switched it to this for some reason or other, Milotic wasn't working, I was weak to Grass types I think, so the standard LO Shaymin came in, but then I kept getting beaten by teams with Blisseys in (not _that_ common, but still something to be called a threat) so I changed to this set, which in all honesty is still a little poor, it has been known to sweep teams (hi Quibing >_<) but as a general rule is a little poor, it is him if at all I am looking to replace, but what for? That is the question, I have thought this question over, but nothing really springs to mind, so that is why I have come here. This is the spot that needs real scruitiy. The prpoblem is this, this Pokemonm must not make my team any weaker to bulky Grass types, possibly be able to absorb status (most importantly sleep I think), and rovide some sort of offensive threat, although this seems to be a bit of a task, I'm sure a little compromise can be used to find something that "works" well enough here.
Conclusion
So I have given you a good overview of this team, but I will run over a few threats that have also been an issue throughout the relativly short life of this team. Bulky Grass types have been a bit of an issue, I can't do much of them and some are even good enough to hit me back with Sludge Bomb, which can really mess me up if I use Shaymin to absorb Sleep from something such as Venusaur. Rotom has been an issue, it gets a free switch in on Steelix, and can Will-o-Wisp, Shaymin deals well enough with it, but if it Will-o-Wisps I have to Rest and then switch with Shaymin anyway. I don't want to go out to Typhlosion generally as a mis-predicted Thunderbolt will really hurt me. The other main issue has been weather. If I lost the Taunt tie with other Crobat they can often run right through me with something like a Ludicolo or a Exeggutor. Clever switching can only Stall for so long =( So that's about it for this team, so please get back to me, tell me what you think, and what I need to improve!






So what is the plan of this team? It probably doesn't look obvious at first glance, but if you take a closer look at the sets that I am using it might become a little more obvious. I am using Steelix to lure out an kill bulky waters, that way it makes it a lot easier for Typhlosion to go about breaking walls, and for Azumarill / Raikou to clean up. Raikou is my insurance against Bulky Waters should this plan fail. The main problem with this team is Shaymin, who used to have a use but it is now lost in translation, and I am looking to the community to sort this out for me ^_^ Thanks a bunch! I'm pretty keen on keeping everything but Shaymin, but then again, that is just one man's opinion, if you really feel changing one of the others will really help me out, please do tell me!
The Lead -

Crobat (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 104 HP/152 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost
Crobat is my lead, and one who, if I play it right, will get me on top early in the majority of situations. Its always a bit of a toss up with other Crobat leads, I tend to Taunt as weather can be a right bitch to this team (but hopefully maybe you can help me clear that up???), sometimes I brave bird though, especially if I have seen the persons team previously and I know that Sun / Rain is not a threat. I tend to U-turn out of Froslass as they expect the Taunt and Ice Beam, I'll generally go to Azumarril in those situations, but some of them get clever and try to Spike on the first turn. That is OK as Azumarill still does well against them, but its just a bit "meh." Perhaps the best thing about Crobat is the number of Ambipom / Persian that don't know that it has Inner Focus, they hit me with a weak Fake out and get hit hard by Brave Bird, and then I outspeed the next turn as well! Scarf Roserade leads are fun to play with, and I can play them one of two ways, I can simply Brave bird right off the bat, and OHKO them as I wake up due to the Lum Berry, or I can Taunt as I awaken with the Lum and then I force the switch and I can U-turn to keep the momentum going in my direction, it's great fun! Aside from those random mumblings about how I generally play this against common leads you probably all know how this works by now! Crobat generally hangs around until later in the game too, he is useful for revenge killing a lot of threats, that Brave Bird really hits things quite hard.
The Lure -

Steelix (M) @ Passho Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 104 HP/252 Atk/16 Spd/136 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
"Bait-lix" I call it, and in no way is it clever or fancy, it is merely sheer brute force. The first thing I did was stick 252 EVs into Attack, this ensures me an OHKO on the majority of the bulky waters in UU, and even if it doesn't it leaves them <10% so that I can force the out / revenge kill with Crobat, if they do switch out, Stealth Rock takes care of them later in the game. I did calc it, but in the end 252 with a neutral nature was the easiest way to go. 16 Spe EVs to to beat other Steelix to the Earthquake, which is always a "nice to have." I used X-Acts applet to get the defensive EVs, I set it to 75% Special defensive or something along those lines, either way the SpD EVs are there to beat Raikou and to help me to survive possibly weaker hits under Rain Dance and also take a minimum from Surf in situations where it could potentially KO me, generally when I am under 40% ish, that's where the EVs make a real difference. I Generally I bring Steelix out on things that it doesn't care about, I Stealth Rock as they bring in whatever counter, and then I explode on it, Rotom can be a bit of a bitch however, I will get back to that later.
The Abusers -


Typhlosion (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Eruption
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Focus Blast
Specs Typhlosion is my Wall-breaker or "Threat eliminator." With those bulky Waters gone, Eruption 2HKOs the majority of Pokemon in the game. The good thing is, I can often switch it in on Crobat's U-Turn. This does little damage and, fearing the scarf, they will generally switch in a slower, bulkier Pokemon that gets hit hard by either Fire Blast or Eruption, whichever is more favourable. Hidden Power Ground hits Flash Fire Pokemon such as Arcanine and Houndoom, although generally this has to be predicted later in the game =( Focus Blast is my best answer against Chansey. This guy loves Stealth Rock really, it just brings him further down so that I can activate Blaze and dish out some real hard damage, it's quite scary. Apart from that the set is pretty generic, I use it to further batter down my opponants team hopefully seeting up a sweep for either Azumarill or Raikou.
Azumarill (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 240 HP/252 Atk/16 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Brick Break
- Return
Azumarill tends to clean up late game, I gave it a Life Orb because I dislike being stuck into attacks, needing Aqua Jet when I'm stuck in Waterfall, or Return when I'm stuck in Aqua Jet. It also makes for a nice switch in to Flash Fire Pokemon and opposing Typhlosion, I used to have Milotic for this, but that got switched to Shaymin. There was a reason for the switch to Shaymin, but I can't exactly remember. Anyway, back to Azumarill, I have considered Superpower, but I am not exactly sure about it, as I don't like the drop in either Attack for Defence and Brick Break generally serves its purpose well, overall I am very happy with the way that this has performed, it's pretty bog standard, but does it's job nicely. Removal of bulky Waters helps this Pokemon out so much that it is not even true! 16 Spe is to beat other Azumarill who may go 252 / 252 /4 or some slightly higher Speed variations of that spread.
The Back-Up -

Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Signal Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Calm Mind
Sort of offensive Calm Mind Raikou, but without the Life Orb, I selected Leftovers as the added surviverability has proved to be very important in a lot of situations. Hidden Power Ground was recently introduced over Hidden Power Fire because it allows me to hit Steelix but also annoying things like the Nidos, who otherwise wall this set quite nicely. I may actually have beaten Mind in the UU Tour if I had Hidden Power Ground on it then, that's what convinced me to change it! Signal beam surprises a lot of Shaymin / Abomasnow and other clever Grass types that think they can wall me when they see Hidden Power Ground, although now I don't have HP Fire Venusaur is not very nice, I have decent enough support throughout the rest of the team to take it out though! Doesn't find a whole load of good places to switch in, so I generally bring it in after sacrtificing something else, but it does come in quite nicely on Crobat, who tend not to Taunt as they do not want to be hit by Thunderbolt. Again this is a very solid and reliable member of the team, not one that I am looking to replace (unless you can convince me ^_^)
The ??? -

Shaymin @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Seed Bomb
- Return
- Swords Dance
- Rest
I think "the weak link" would be the best title here. I originally had Milotic here, who was another part of the "back up plan" it had Toxic to outstall other bulky waters. I then switched it to this for some reason or other, Milotic wasn't working, I was weak to Grass types I think, so the standard LO Shaymin came in, but then I kept getting beaten by teams with Blisseys in (not _that_ common, but still something to be called a threat) so I changed to this set, which in all honesty is still a little poor, it has been known to sweep teams (hi Quibing >_<) but as a general rule is a little poor, it is him if at all I am looking to replace, but what for? That is the question, I have thought this question over, but nothing really springs to mind, so that is why I have come here. This is the spot that needs real scruitiy. The prpoblem is this, this Pokemonm must not make my team any weaker to bulky Grass types, possibly be able to absorb status (most importantly sleep I think), and rovide some sort of offensive threat, although this seems to be a bit of a task, I'm sure a little compromise can be used to find something that "works" well enough here.
Conclusion
So I have given you a good overview of this team, but I will run over a few threats that have also been an issue throughout the relativly short life of this team. Bulky Grass types have been a bit of an issue, I can't do much of them and some are even good enough to hit me back with Sludge Bomb, which can really mess me up if I use Shaymin to absorb Sleep from something such as Venusaur. Rotom has been an issue, it gets a free switch in on Steelix, and can Will-o-Wisp, Shaymin deals well enough with it, but if it Will-o-Wisps I have to Rest and then switch with Shaymin anyway. I don't want to go out to Typhlosion generally as a mis-predicted Thunderbolt will really hurt me. The other main issue has been weather. If I lost the Taunt tie with other Crobat they can often run right through me with something like a Ludicolo or a Exeggutor. Clever switching can only Stall for so long =( So that's about it for this team, so please get back to me, tell me what you think, and what I need to improve!