I have spent most of my time playing pokemon in 3 tiers; UU, Ubers and Monotype. Recently I got bored of them and decided to have a go in the RU tier. I started doing what I always do and created a stall team.
This lasted until I realised two things. First I had no idea what the dominate pokemon in the tier were, so I had no idea what pokemon I needed to stall. I also found that I was bored of using stall teams, since apart from my monotype teams I ALWAYS use stall. Once I decided that I didn’t want to create a stall team I started trying to create a balanced team, but my natural instincts kept getting in the way and every team I created without fail relied on hazards, status and wish.
This was getting ridiculous. I am far too defensivly minded for my own good. I had to find a way out of this negative team building.
I soon stumbled on a way to stop this, although it went against all of my instincts. I looked at all the pokemon in the tier, chose five of the most attacking pokemon, all without a hint of team support among them and stuck them on a team with a pokemon with Stealth rock and U-turn. I was going to just Spam powerful attacks at my opponents until either they were swept aside or I was beaten back effortlessly by my opponent’s superior strategy and team building. While there was some strategic thinking when building my team I was sure it wasn’t going to succeed. After all the tactic is a well known noob tactic that nearly always fails.
Except it didn’t fail. I fought battle after battle, winning game after game and it was awhile until anyone actually beat me. After one day battling in the tier I found myself peaking at number 20 in the tier, and have hovered around there ever since. For someone so unused to trying to outpower my opponents it was a massive surprise.
It turns out that in the RU tier there are many powerful pokemon who can cause massive damage, but not many pokemon who can wall their attacks. The Yawn/ U-turn combo used by my lead was incredibly useful for my set up sweepers and often allowed them a great opportunity to set up and sweep. By having two unburden pokemon in the team I wasn’t relying on only one of them, and as such they could simply attack with abandon, which is when they are at their most dangerous. Quite often I can win 5/6-0 if I set up properly.
While this team is quite good, I have found that I have a weakness to Trick room teams. Most of my pokemon rely on outspeeding my opponent, so Trick room totally ruins that strategy and leaves me vulnerable. If anyone has any ideas on how to reduce this weakness then I would appreciate it.
And now, after that rather long intro, here is my team.
Uxie @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Yawn
- U-turn
- Heal Bell
Uxie is my MVP, despite the fact that it doesn’t actually kill anything. Uxie’s role is mainly as a pivot, using the Yawn/ U-turn combo to scout for my sweepers and allowing me to switch the correct pokemon in, hopefully allowing them the chance to set up. If the opposing pokemon stays in, then I will nearly always switch in Omastar since he finds it harder to set up than the other pokemon. Otherwise it depends on the situation.
Stealth rock helps my sweepers to KO key threats, and helps wear down the walls that cause me trouble. Heal bell is rarely used, but helps get rid of annoying toxic/burn and paralysis that can leave my pokemon worse than useless.
Sceptile (M) @ Flight Gem
Trait: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- Leaf Blade
- Brick Break
Sceptile is the first of my set up sweepers, and very few pokemon can stop him when he’s set up. Very simply he can use Swords dance to raise his respectable Attack stat to intimidating levels. Leaf blade is a strong stab attack, and Brick break is good coverage for steel types that wall its other moves. It also kills common users of Sap Sipper, both of which are normal types. Acrobatics however is the crux of this set. Not only is it incredibly powerful on its first go with its flight gem turning it into a 165 power move, but by using up its flight gem and activating Unburden it doubles Sceptile’s already huge speed. This makes Sceptile the fastest thing in the tier without repeated boosts, which allows it to sweep nearly everything with a Swords Dance sweep.
Some things do get in the way though. Choice scarfers can destroy him if he hasn’t set up, as can opposing Unburden pokemon if they have set up. Burn weakens it and paralysis reduces its speed, both status’ making it useless. Configorus will give Sceptile the ability Mummy if hit, effectively removing Sceptiles godly speed. And some especially bulky normal/steel pokemon are not KO’s by a +2 Brick break, and can quite often use Thunder wave to paralyse him. As with most of my sweepers team preview is incredibly important. If I can weaken the specific threats of my pokemon then I can often guarantee the win.
The problem with unburden is that Sceptile needs to stay in and sweep. If it switches out and then comes back in then there is no way to activate Unburden again, so it is relying on its normally high speed. While this may be too good for most foes, it makes Sceptile much more mortal.
Hitmonlee (M) @ Normal Gem
Trait: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Return
Hitmonlee is my second Unburden pokemon. The idea of having two such pokemon is very simple, if my team just about manages to kill one of them then I have another Unburden sweeper in reserve. They also have slightly different counters, so it can be quite difficult to counter both of them in one team.
Hitmonlee’s method of activating Unburden is his normal gem, which actives upon the use of Fake out. This can become a devastating attack in its own right, sometimes doing as much as 80% to some weaker opponents. Close combat is the STAB move of choice due to its power and not being afraid of ghost types, unlike High jump kick. Stone edge destroys flying types that resist Close combat. Return is another method of activating Normal gem, and has decent neutral coverage.
Unlike Sceptile, Hitmonlee can not raise its attack. Therefore it has to rely on its own unboosted attack, which while very good isn’t world beating. Still it is amazingly fast once set up, and very few things can outspeed it.
Configorus is the biggest counter to this set. Stone edge does nothing to it, and it can burn it in return. Other bulky physical walls such as Uxie and Quagsire also cause problems.
Omastar (M) @ White Herb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Shell Smash
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Omastar is the last of my set up pokemon. However, instead of using Unburden it uses possibly the best set up move in the game Shell Smash. Increasing its Special attack and speed by +2 makes it an almost unstoppable juggernaut, KOing the vast majority of the tier. Its White Herb restores its defences to normal after setting up, allowing it to weather powerful priority moves such as Mach punch and Suckerpunch reasonable well.
While massively powerful Omastar is not unbeatable. Slowking receives only 80% from a +2 Hidden power grass and either KO’s Omastar back, paralises it or uses trick room, negating the speed boost. Scarf Typhlosian outspeeds and KO’s it easily, as does other scarfed pokemon. Unburden Hitmonlee comes in, activates Fake out, and then sweeps. Sturdy users such as Golem can revenge it with earthquake if they haven’t taken any damage from stealth rock.
Rotom @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Trick
Rotom isn’t a sweeper, but it is still devastating. A choice scarf makes it incredibly fast and allows it either KO opposing ghosts that can cause my other sweepers problems, or scout using Volt Switch. Trick is a useful move to stop walls that cause me problems, most commonly Ferroseed and Trick roomers.
Drapion (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Sniper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Aqua Tail
- Earthquake
Origionally I had a Banded Braviary in this slot, which used a VoltTurn combo to scout and weaken walls for a sweep. However I found myself weak to Trick room teams and Toxic spikes. Drapion is my answer to both problems, KO’ing most Trick room set up pokemon with either Crunch or Pursuit, and absorbing Toxic spikes when switching in. While it is not quite as powerful as Braviary, equipped with a Choice band it can still pack a punch.
Other than killing Ghosts and removing toxic spikes, Drapion’s main task is to create holes in the opposition team with its Choice band and the occasional X3 powered critical hit. With the opponent weakened my sweepers can come in and wreak havoc. He also doesn't mind Trick room as much as his teammates, so thats good.
This lasted until I realised two things. First I had no idea what the dominate pokemon in the tier were, so I had no idea what pokemon I needed to stall. I also found that I was bored of using stall teams, since apart from my monotype teams I ALWAYS use stall. Once I decided that I didn’t want to create a stall team I started trying to create a balanced team, but my natural instincts kept getting in the way and every team I created without fail relied on hazards, status and wish.
This was getting ridiculous. I am far too defensivly minded for my own good. I had to find a way out of this negative team building.
I soon stumbled on a way to stop this, although it went against all of my instincts. I looked at all the pokemon in the tier, chose five of the most attacking pokemon, all without a hint of team support among them and stuck them on a team with a pokemon with Stealth rock and U-turn. I was going to just Spam powerful attacks at my opponents until either they were swept aside or I was beaten back effortlessly by my opponent’s superior strategy and team building. While there was some strategic thinking when building my team I was sure it wasn’t going to succeed. After all the tactic is a well known noob tactic that nearly always fails.
Except it didn’t fail. I fought battle after battle, winning game after game and it was awhile until anyone actually beat me. After one day battling in the tier I found myself peaking at number 20 in the tier, and have hovered around there ever since. For someone so unused to trying to outpower my opponents it was a massive surprise.
It turns out that in the RU tier there are many powerful pokemon who can cause massive damage, but not many pokemon who can wall their attacks. The Yawn/ U-turn combo used by my lead was incredibly useful for my set up sweepers and often allowed them a great opportunity to set up and sweep. By having two unburden pokemon in the team I wasn’t relying on only one of them, and as such they could simply attack with abandon, which is when they are at their most dangerous. Quite often I can win 5/6-0 if I set up properly.
While this team is quite good, I have found that I have a weakness to Trick room teams. Most of my pokemon rely on outspeeding my opponent, so Trick room totally ruins that strategy and leaves me vulnerable. If anyone has any ideas on how to reduce this weakness then I would appreciate it.
And now, after that rather long intro, here is my team.
Uxie @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Yawn
- U-turn
- Heal Bell
Uxie is my MVP, despite the fact that it doesn’t actually kill anything. Uxie’s role is mainly as a pivot, using the Yawn/ U-turn combo to scout for my sweepers and allowing me to switch the correct pokemon in, hopefully allowing them the chance to set up. If the opposing pokemon stays in, then I will nearly always switch in Omastar since he finds it harder to set up than the other pokemon. Otherwise it depends on the situation.
Stealth rock helps my sweepers to KO key threats, and helps wear down the walls that cause me trouble. Heal bell is rarely used, but helps get rid of annoying toxic/burn and paralysis that can leave my pokemon worse than useless.
Sceptile (M) @ Flight Gem
Trait: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- Leaf Blade
- Brick Break
Sceptile is the first of my set up sweepers, and very few pokemon can stop him when he’s set up. Very simply he can use Swords dance to raise his respectable Attack stat to intimidating levels. Leaf blade is a strong stab attack, and Brick break is good coverage for steel types that wall its other moves. It also kills common users of Sap Sipper, both of which are normal types. Acrobatics however is the crux of this set. Not only is it incredibly powerful on its first go with its flight gem turning it into a 165 power move, but by using up its flight gem and activating Unburden it doubles Sceptile’s already huge speed. This makes Sceptile the fastest thing in the tier without repeated boosts, which allows it to sweep nearly everything with a Swords Dance sweep.
Some things do get in the way though. Choice scarfers can destroy him if he hasn’t set up, as can opposing Unburden pokemon if they have set up. Burn weakens it and paralysis reduces its speed, both status’ making it useless. Configorus will give Sceptile the ability Mummy if hit, effectively removing Sceptiles godly speed. And some especially bulky normal/steel pokemon are not KO’s by a +2 Brick break, and can quite often use Thunder wave to paralyse him. As with most of my sweepers team preview is incredibly important. If I can weaken the specific threats of my pokemon then I can often guarantee the win.
The problem with unburden is that Sceptile needs to stay in and sweep. If it switches out and then comes back in then there is no way to activate Unburden again, so it is relying on its normally high speed. While this may be too good for most foes, it makes Sceptile much more mortal.
Hitmonlee (M) @ Normal Gem
Trait: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Return
Hitmonlee is my second Unburden pokemon. The idea of having two such pokemon is very simple, if my team just about manages to kill one of them then I have another Unburden sweeper in reserve. They also have slightly different counters, so it can be quite difficult to counter both of them in one team.
Hitmonlee’s method of activating Unburden is his normal gem, which actives upon the use of Fake out. This can become a devastating attack in its own right, sometimes doing as much as 80% to some weaker opponents. Close combat is the STAB move of choice due to its power and not being afraid of ghost types, unlike High jump kick. Stone edge destroys flying types that resist Close combat. Return is another method of activating Normal gem, and has decent neutral coverage.
Unlike Sceptile, Hitmonlee can not raise its attack. Therefore it has to rely on its own unboosted attack, which while very good isn’t world beating. Still it is amazingly fast once set up, and very few things can outspeed it.
Configorus is the biggest counter to this set. Stone edge does nothing to it, and it can burn it in return. Other bulky physical walls such as Uxie and Quagsire also cause problems.
Omastar (M) @ White Herb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Shell Smash
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Omastar is the last of my set up pokemon. However, instead of using Unburden it uses possibly the best set up move in the game Shell Smash. Increasing its Special attack and speed by +2 makes it an almost unstoppable juggernaut, KOing the vast majority of the tier. Its White Herb restores its defences to normal after setting up, allowing it to weather powerful priority moves such as Mach punch and Suckerpunch reasonable well.
While massively powerful Omastar is not unbeatable. Slowking receives only 80% from a +2 Hidden power grass and either KO’s Omastar back, paralises it or uses trick room, negating the speed boost. Scarf Typhlosian outspeeds and KO’s it easily, as does other scarfed pokemon. Unburden Hitmonlee comes in, activates Fake out, and then sweeps. Sturdy users such as Golem can revenge it with earthquake if they haven’t taken any damage from stealth rock.
Rotom @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Trick
Rotom isn’t a sweeper, but it is still devastating. A choice scarf makes it incredibly fast and allows it either KO opposing ghosts that can cause my other sweepers problems, or scout using Volt Switch. Trick is a useful move to stop walls that cause me problems, most commonly Ferroseed and Trick roomers.
Drapion (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Sniper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Aqua Tail
- Earthquake
Origionally I had a Banded Braviary in this slot, which used a VoltTurn combo to scout and weaken walls for a sweep. However I found myself weak to Trick room teams and Toxic spikes. Drapion is my answer to both problems, KO’ing most Trick room set up pokemon with either Crunch or Pursuit, and absorbing Toxic spikes when switching in. While it is not quite as powerful as Braviary, equipped with a Choice band it can still pack a punch.
Other than killing Ghosts and removing toxic spikes, Drapion’s main task is to create holes in the opposition team with its Choice band and the occasional X3 powered critical hit. With the opponent weakened my sweepers can come in and wreak havoc. He also doesn't mind Trick room as much as his teammates, so thats good.