(UU) - Team that is "not quite there"

[Imran]

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!

 

[Salem1]

(and most succesful) UU team

I certainly hope so as you've basically put together stuff in the top-notch area of UU. Not being succesful would make my eyes bleed. Anyway, as I'd be an asshole to tell you this without rating, I'll go on with rating the team.

The lead is standard. I'd reverse the attack and speed EVs if I were you, but I prefer bulk and hittiness to speed, so that may just be me.

Steelix seems pretty decent.

Typhlosion makes me twitch in horror. I hate that ret"#%!ed Pokemon. The move set includes some form of choice item and Eruption, that and going ''durrr I can click the attack button!'' is in my experience all that my enemies need to go right with it, so I don't have much to comment on. I'd invest in DEF or SPD instead of HP on Azumarill, as it already has quite a share of HP. If you want to be really cheap, you could put Staraptor along with the other powerhouses in this team, up to you.

As for Raikou, not much to say on it either.

Your Shaymin problem is easy to solve - do what every other braindead Shaymin user does and have the move set Seed Flare/Earth Power/Air Slash/Rest. There won't be much that isn't 2KO'ed and can fight back as well. If you get low on HP, use Rest and switch out as usual.

Seems like a strong team to me. Your ''threat list'' confirms this, as it's basically some nitpicks about situations you find annoying. Gl hf.

 

[Evil Hamster]

I do like this team, a lot. Your Steelix set in particular is very interesting, and I really like the synergy your team has that allow it to beat most defensive threats. I don't really have time for a full rate, as I'm meant to be doing homework, but I'll have a quick look.

At first glance, Shaymin does seem to be pretty weak here tbh; I don't know how often it works for you, but when I've seen it in play it tends to struggle and has few advantages over the special set bar beating Chansey. Spikes/Toxic Spikes Roserade could work; whilst it doesn't threaten Chansey directly it makes it a lot easier for the rest of your team to break it down if it's being poisoned or taking 37% from Spikes and SR every time it comes in. Natural Cure again is helpful, and it beats most Grass-types one on one, and still does really well against bulky waters and also absorbs Toxic Spikes for you, which would otherwise annoy your bulky attackers. DD Altaria is also a possibility which helps against Chansey lots, beats bulky Grass-types and also gives you something else to switch into Fire Blasts and Flare Blitzes. Natural Cure is obviously helpful too. It would leave you with a 3x SR weak though, and Grass-types with Hidden Power Ice would still be difficult.

Sorry about the weak rate; I'll try and do a more helpful one tomorrow when I haven't got anything else to do.

 

[ToF]

Most of your weather issues can actually be stopped by adding Venusaur over Shaymin in the last slot as a sort of "insurance policy" against Rain Dance in particular. With the offense you currently have invested into the team, I'd say that the last slot would benefit with a support Pokemon, such as Venasaur, to both status the opponent (Sleep Powder / Toxic / etc) as well as counter the common weather teams (Crobat should deal with hail, and Venasaur with rain).

If you want Venusaur to be an offensive threat, the Scarf varient used by someone in the past (forget who) was pretty effective, almost acting as a Roserade with more bulk. I'd consider that for the last slot for more firepower, though I agree with my first inclination that the defensive varient will prove much better for you as of now.

In terms of the rest of the team, it works nicely, and I can't really critique it at all. The only suggestion I would make is to change HP Ground on Typhlosion to HP Ice or HP Grass. Ice is really for Altaria, so Grass may be the better option, hitting bulky waters hard in case your Steelix plan fails. HP Ground only hits those Ground/Fire types, whom Azumarill has a field day with, so in my opinion, I'd rather go for variety with HP as opposed to utilizing something you already have covered with the team.

Good luck dude.

 

[Imran]

The lead is standard. I'd reverse the attack and speed EVs if I were you, but I prefer bulk and hittiness to speed, so that may just be me.

If I do this, I am guarenteed to lose Speed ties to other Crobat in the early game, leaving me open to onslaughts from weather teams. This is not something that I am prepared to do, Crobat is already reasonably bulky. I might consider moving some of the Atk EVs into HP as a little more surviverability might be useful, but I lose some of the power from Brave Bird =( I will look into it.

I'd invest in DEF or SPD instead of HP on Azumarill, as it already has quite a share of HP.

I would rather further this large amount of HP, a nice bulky sweeper is something that actually really benefits this team, allowing me to switch in on strong Fire attacks and threaten with Aqua Jet (which doesn't require the Speed EVs) As for putting them into Def, I would lose the ability to absorb Special Attacks well, and if I was to put them into SpD then I would lose the ability to absorb Physical attacks. X-Acts applet seems to think that the best way to improve overall defences is to invest them all in HP, so with that I will stick, but thanks for your concern.

Your Shaymin problem is easy to solve - have the move set Seed Flare/Earth Power/Air Slash/Rest. There won't be much that isn't 2KO'ed and can fight back as well. If you get low on HP, use Rest and switch out as usual.

I have outlined my reasoning for not using this set in the OP, I have used it before and found it unfavourable.

Other random moans about the common use of the Pokemon that I am currently employing

May I remind you that Smogon is a site that promotes competitive Pokemon battling, i.e. one should use the best possible Pokemon for the job in order to secure the win. It is in the RMT forum rules not to moan about your distain of commonly used Pokemon, so please leave that out of my thread, thanks =)

I do like this team, a lot. Your Steelix set in particular is very interesting, and I really like the synergy your team has that allow it to beat most defensive threats. I don't really have time for a full rate, as I'm meant to be doing homework, but I'll have a quick look.

Haha, I can so relate to that, I have a mechanics exam tomorrow, yet I spent a good 90 mins of the day writing this RMT, albeit I only have one paper left to do, but still... =/ And thanks for the compliment, I don't play stall that often, and getting past defensive threats with brute force is a very common theme in my teams, I guess I'm not very patient.

At Spikes/Toxic Spikes Roserade could work; whilst it doesn't threaten Chansey directly it makes it a lot easier for the rest of your team to break it down if it's being poisoned or taking 37% from Spikes and SR every time it comes in. Natural Cure again is helpful, and it beats most Grass-types one on one, and still does really well against bulky waters and also absorbs Toxic Spikes for you, which would otherwise annoy your bulky attackers.

I like this idea, I really can put the pressure on incoming Chansey if they are taking 25 / 37.5 % damage on the way in, especially with Typhlosion firing off High Powered Fire Blasts, I will be sure to test it out, nice find!

DD Altaria is also a possibility which helps against Chansey lots, beats bulky Grass-types and also gives you something else to switch into Fire Blasts and Flare Blitzes. Natural Cure is obviously helpful too. It would leave you with a 3x SR weak though, and Grass-types with Hidden Power Ice would still be difficult.

I will also give this a go, Natural cure is very useful and it is something that will really allow me to keep Chansey out, a nice Offensive presence, but still a bulky one, again nice find and I will test it out.

Most of your weather issues can actually be stopped by adding Venusaur over Shaymin in the last slot as a sort of "insurance policy" against Rain Dance in particular. With the offense you currently have invested into the team, I'd say that the last slot would benefit with a support Pokemon, such as Venasaur, to both status the opponent (Sleep Powder / Toxic / etc) as well as counter the common weather teams (Crobat should deal with hail, and Venasaur with rain).

Will test this out too, It would be nice to have the insurance of Venusaur against Rain Team, although Absorbing Status might be a bit more of an issue, on the other hand it, will absorb Toxic Spikes for me and allow me to carry off offensive plans nicely. Again I will test out all of these ideas and see how it all goes.

In terms of the rest of the team, it works nicely, and I can't really critique it at all. The only suggestion I would make is to change HP Ground on Typhlosion to HP Ice or HP Grass. Ice is really for Altaria, so Grass may be the better option, hitting bulky waters hard in case your Steelix plan fails. HP Ground only hits those Ground/Fire types, whom Azumarill has a field day with, so in my opinion, I'd rather go for variety with HP as opposed to utilizing something you already have covered with the team.

I will consider this, I like to be able to hit them on the switch ^_^ but that's probably me and my hyper-offensive, must lure out and kill everything attitude. My lack of patience as I indicated towards earlier! I think this would be a good idea, although with Venusaur / Roserade, Steelix and Raikou I feel I do have adequate protection against the majority of bulky Waters.

Thanks for all the help so far everybody, it has been good food for thought and I will spend a time testing your ideas and seeing how they work. In the meantime, I would very much welcome more rates and more opinions on the ideas users have already been giving me!

 

[Heysup]

Gawd, why did i post my RMT with my Roserade lead, everyone has a way to counter it now >_<.


Overall, its a great team with some originality to it, so i like it. The CroLix combo is excellent for Synergy, and you have Azumarill and Shaymin to help otherwise. One glaring weakness however, is Toxic Spikes, that stops your Raikou and Azumarill from effectively Sweeping.

For Crobat, if you seriously feel its necessary to use Lum Berry for the Odd Roserade, than go ahead. Leftovers makes you able to Outstall ALOT of pokemon though, and since you have a bad fighting weakness, i'd reccomend it since Crobat can only take so many CCs/Superpowers, barring the Odd Mispredict and you die :P.Edit: Forgot the most important part, KEEP MAX SPEED!

Steelix is good, but i seriously think Rain Dance teams should be the least of your Worries with Crobat Taunting, and your Azumaril/Shaymins. If you wanted to stay origional, imo use a CB. CBeelix is very fun, i used to use it with alot of success in old UU, as Blastoise would take a ton of Damage from Earthquakes if they switched in, and i had Crunch for Rotoms/Ghosts. This would allow you to EV more defensively as well, or even improve your Attack and hit things even harder on the switch.

/

Typhlosion and Azumaril look fine, but i would still suggest Superpower on Azumaril even though you are going for a "clean-up" set, but its personal preference.

I have a serious issue with Raikou's who dont have Sub, you will either a) get crit, or b) get status'd. As well, the power of Raikou, is that its not just a one-turn set up. The true strength of Raikou is in the SubCM set, and SpecsKou is decent as well, HP Ice is the best coverage for SubCM. It makes you seriously able to Kill those Bulky Waters, as opposed to hoping you dont get crit/status'd by a Slowbro/Milotic. The SubCM set also allows you to set up against other pokemon such as Scarf Houndoom.

Now for the "problem" Shaymin. It is ironic that one of the best UU pokemon is the "weakest link" on your team, but i see your point. I would suggest you use the Specs set, or the LO Leech seed set if you decide to keep Shaymin, Specs Seed Flare 2HKO's Chansey 30% of the time(SDef drop). But, i have four more suggestions, so bare with me here. If you wanted a sleep/status absorber, i suggest you go with Torterra, which is an incredibly under-rated pokemon. You can go with the Sleep Talker set here(LO/Leftovers, Your Call, with EQ/Wood Hammer as attacks). Or, you could also use CB or SD Ursaring, who can either absorb sleep, or you can attempt to activate its Poison/Burn early in the game to avoid that. You could try Cro-Shaymin....no one has ever done that(Seed Flare/Growth/Restalk)

The best options though, will solve your Toxic Spikes problem. Firstly, Venusaur is good, it can sleep switch ins, and Run Earthquake to hit Chanseys too. However, Drapion is a very awesome Poison type. With Swords Dance, its attacks hit very hard, and it has good attack and speed as well as good defenses.


Well i hope some of this helped......

 

[MapleSandwich]

Why d'you keep saying Blissey? Last time I checked the problem was Chansey. Anyway....

Crobat's a right bitch lead that'll really counter all the standard leads. I always hate seeing that thing come up on the draw. You seem to have a well-balanced moveset and EVs. I'd keep it that way.

Steelix is amusing, it reminds of the set I used to use to beat stupid Ninetails not too long ago. Depending on how integral SR is to your team's success, I might consider throwing CBeelix on there as HeYsUp suggested, but SR IS rather useful...

Typhlosion is alright, can't do jack to Lanturn but give a free T-Wave, but that's about the worst you have to fear. Not much else can eat Specsruption, even Chansey fears it a bit. Azuzu looks almost exactly like my Blue Bomber, but I'd replace Return with Ice Punch since you lack a single Ice attack otherwise.

CM Raikou looks alright, I'd REALLY give it Substitute to make setups a bit easier (since most problem Pokémon are special-oriented), but if you like Signal Beam, stick with it.

As for Shaymin, I'd do what Salem suggested and use that set with whatever bulky EVs you'd like. The set you have right now, while unconventional, really isn't what I'd call superbly effective.

I hope my Comments helped.

 

[iKitsune]

I think you could try a mix life orb altaria over shaymin. Forget mixmence this is infinitely cooler and way more unpredictable.

112Atk/252 SpA / 144 Spe
Draco Meteor
Outrage
Fire Blast
Roost/Earthquake

I think this could really help with your bulky water probem and it can still beat the like of chansey. Once chansey goes down to the likes of this (probably have to change evs) typhlosion and raikou will be threatening to say the least. Altaria also has natural cure so can absorb the odd status.

Interesting team and i <3 typhlosion so well done for using him.
Good luck.

Alternatively you could just use dd Altaria and oppose greater but less immediate threat.

 

[Lemmiwinks MkII]

What's with Gyro Ball on Steelix? It's not like you're going to be hitting anything particularly hard with your spread. If you want Steel STAB, Iron Head would probably be better, if only for the PP and reliable damage output. It would allow Steelix the chance to beat Shuckle 1-on-1 too for what it's worth. Not that you're Shuckle weak with Crobat around, but it's a nice insurance given that it will annoy most of your team with Knock Off and Encore, particularly if backed by Sandstorm. It's not as if Steelix has a better use for that slot on this team.

EDIT: Oh, one more thing. Change Steelix's EVs / Nature to 172 Attack + 216 Special Defense + Adamant. Same special defense, 4 more Attack points.

 

[Crafty Veteran]

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

Why not predict a switch in and replace Explosion with Roar? I think you'll need to keep Steelix instead on exploding on its counter. You'll need it in case Raikou comes late game which could still be scary. Steelix is one of Raikou's counters, phaze it with roar or earthquake it. Passho berry is not needed, replace it for leftovers. I admire originallity though. Leftover gives it more surviverability since it lacks a healing move.

Anyways I think on your last slot, you are better off with Staraptor, scarfed. It comes in on some of the grass attacks your weak too, and it is basically a clean up late game. It also scares off some threats like Roserade that could be a threat to your team. I think status isn't really a problem as long as you keep some of your pokemon's alive. Play around with switch ins, Will-O-Wisp directs to Typhlosion, Thunder Waves to Steelix and Toxic directed at Steelix. Also if your really scared off status try a standard Miltank with Heal Bell.

It's a good team by the way, a lot of originality to it.

 

[chenman333]

This might sound a bit on the crazy side, but I have used a Mixed Shaymin with some success, since it does beat Chansey.
Shaymin @ LO
Natural Cure
208 Atk/120 SpA/180 Spd
Hasty
-Seed Flare
-Seed Bomb
-Earth Power
-Air Slash

With SR up, you can 2hko Chansey by Seed Bombing as she switches in. One more time, and she is dead. Tada. Sorta like Brick Break Mixmence in OU, in that you need to hit her on the switch otherwise she can protect wish/softboiled/twave etc. you. After that, you can have fun rampaging with Shaymin. Even if Blissey switches out, she will no longer be able to switch into much except Raikou and definitely won't be able to handle Typhlosion's Eruption.

Also, why was your SD Shaymin Timid? Shouldn't it be Jolly?

 

[yokie]

I recommend HP Rock over Ground for Typhlosion. HP Rock hits Flash Fire Pokemon, and most importantly Flying-types. HP Ground is always a potential liability for Staraptor. Plus, HP Rock hits Mantine and Altaria, who resist your other moves.

 

[Imran]

I did consider Hidden Power Rock, but I lost a vital speed point if I do that, and I don't get the chance to outspeed Shaymin, Staraptor etc... That's not something I'm willing to pass up. Crobat, Steelix and Raikou can generally Handle Starqaptor working together, and I already have decent coverage against Mantine, and also Altaria.

Why do I use Steelix to explode on it's counter? Because it's the whole point of the team, to use Steelix to take out bulky water and then proceed to sweep with my other mons from there, although Roar would be useful in certain situations, I don't wan tto be scouting for and dealing with Steelix's counters that way, I want to lure them in and take them out then and there (as a general rule)

Changing to Iron Head, thanks Lemmiwinks, you also reminded me that I stil have a 0 Spe IV on Steelix, so I'm going to go fix that up now too.

As for all of the rest of you who have made suggestiongs, thank you very much. I shall find the time to test all of your ideas out and I will get back as to how it is going on later. Thankyou everyone for your input =)

 

[rkatzam]

First I'll just say this Raikou set is really good. I've been using "LO Raikou" just with Leftovers instead and it is extremely crutial for its survival. Only that I didn't know Raikou could learn Signal Beam, so thanks for that! HP Ground is the superior option (for HP) on Raikou in the current UU.

Weird that Ludicolo wasn't mentioned... it's practically a very big threat to your team, when you can't really revenge it in Rain Dance. My suggestion for that would be using a defensive Shaymin, or a hard priority hitter like Ambipom to also waste Rain Dance turns with Fake Out. Or you could just use Ludicolo yourself =)
Toxicroak is a pretty good counter too, but you're already very weak to ground.

 

[Heysup]

This might sound a bit on the crazy side, but I have used a Mixed Shaymin with some success, since it does beat Chansey.
Shaymin @ LO
Natural Cure
208 Atk/120 SpA/180 Spd
Hasty
-Seed Flare
-Seed Bomb
-Earth Power
-Air Slash

With SR up, you can 2hko Chansey by Seed Bombing as she switches in. One more time, and she is dead. Tada.

NO! Stop with this! It really doesnt fit this team especially.

As for all of the rest of you who have made suggestiongs, thank you very much. I shall find the time to test all of your ideas out and I will get back as to how it is going on later. Thankyou everyone for your input =)

I put so much effort into that rate!

First I'll just say this Raikou set is really good. I've been using "LO Raikou" just with Leftovers instead and it is extremely crutial for its survival. Only that I didn't know Raikou could learn Signal Beam, so thanks for that! HP Ground is the superior option (for HP) on Raikou in the current UU.

LO Raikou is one of those sets that are just, well, not as good as the regular set. The leftovers on the non-sub set doesnt do much of anything, as its needed to either Stall PP, or block status. (Raikou can set up on non-Roar Steelix if it has 10 PP left on EQ or less). Sub also buys you extra turns, if you want a One-Turn set up special sweeper go with Houndoom or Ninetails, those function alot better under one nasty plot. As well as HP ice is the best for SubCM Raikou always, its the best coverage, and you dont get walled by everything grass, and dont do enough damage to grounds.

 

[Imran]

I do see what you are saying about the neutral coverage that I get with the Sub-CM set, and also the added ability to set up multiple Calm Minds. I would like to, however, point out to you with the super-effective coverage that those 3 moves give me, 90% of the time one or two Calm Minds is more than enough to proceed to sweep. It is not hard to get at least one Calm Mind in a common battle conditions, and with 3 moves rather than two, this plays a lot more offensivly and is less prone to these "critical hits" as it won't be around long to suffer from those anyway. I appreciate your concern, but this Raikou has really been doing great for me and I really don't think it needs changing. (Relying on Hidden Power Ice to be the only move I can use when I can't thunderbolt really doesn't make me feel happy =() As for why I choose it over Ninetales or Houndoom, "Speed and Azumarill." I can absorb status around the rest of the team.

As for your other suggestions I am putting SuperPower on Azumarill, at least just to test it. As I have pointed out, Passho Berry is not only for Rain Dance teams, in fact it is a poor answer to Rain Dance teams as many of the powerful Rain sweepers can go right through the berry. It is purely there to lure of Bulky waters and explode on them, so the Passho stays, the team kinda falls apart without it =/

I have noted your suggestions for the last spot, I am especially interested in Torterra and will try that out. I am, however, currently testing out an interesting Scarf / Spikes Roserade that works as a temporary counter to RD teams and also sets up my Spikes for me, I shall of course give at least Torterra a go. Sorry if it seemed I did not appreciate your input, I appreciate all of the rates, but there were so many it was hard to reply to each individual one =)