RMT Boldly Entering a New Frontier

iSharingan

Competitive VG Tutor and Gizoid
Member
Now that my other team is dead (I'm starting to think it was a bit of a lost cause any way), I would like to pose a new team for review. This team started out as upgrading a team for someone who was just starting out, but it turned out much better than I expected. The main weakness I am aware of is its lack of priority, but there may be other issues considering I haven't really battled much in UU.

80.png
407.png
609.png

I started out with a modified Stall core. Since the one I was basing it off was OU, I found UU pokemon with similar roles and ended up with a Grass/Fire/Water trio.

235.png
80.png
407.png
609.png
306.png

I then brought in the main functional pokemon on his team. Aggron brought many needed resistances and greatly helped offensive type coverage as well. I modified the original Belly Drum set on smeargle for a SmashPass set making it more helpful and easier to use

235.png
169.png
80.png
407.png
609.png
306.png

SmashPass aside, the team still had mediocre speed so I brought in a revenge killer that also carried a ground immunity, the one type left unresisted by the rest of the team. This also made it so no ones type was super effective against more than two pokemon on the team

Updates:

395.png
169.png
80.png
407.png
609.png
214.png

Heracross was substituted for Aggron and Smeargle was identified as next for a switch
- Crobat's set updated
- Considering Empoleon (among others) for Smeargle

---
(removed from consideration)
160.png
492.png
306.png




Now for the actual sets:

395.gif

Empoleon @ Leftovers
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Protect


TPO3 said:
I don't like Smeargle. With Team Preview, everybody is going to see it coming. If you want a Baton Pass lead, I would use Venomoth, but your team does not have any members that use the move Stealth Rock. Stealth Rock is the most important move you can have on a team. It weakens the Fire-types in the tier (opposing Chandelure, Darmanitan, and Victini) as well as the Flying-types (Zapdos, opposing Crobat, and Togekiss.) Your team is also a bit weak to Kingdra, so I would suggest using Empoleon. Empoleon resists both Water and Dragon-type moves, and walls Kingdra to no end, especially the Specially attacking ones.
As recomended, this set has worked very well. I have encountered a surprising number of Zapdos in PO battles where I tested it, but fortunately none of them ran fling mives, so I could wall them with Roserade.

169.gif

Crobat @ Black Sludge
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 176 HP / 192 Atk / 4 SDef / 136 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- U-turn
- Brave Bird
- Roost

(old EVs)
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd

This is my primary Revenge killer. I previously ran Cross Poison in place of protect, but that would leave me wide open to Prankster Riolu. Protect also helps net a little extra recovery from my Black Sludge when Roost is disadvantageous. I am not yet aware if there are many (if any) pokemon capable of running a viable Mach Punch set, but this will definitely help if such the need arises. Super Fang lets me severely weaken most physical and special walls that would otherwise be insurmountable to one of my other pokemon with a type advantage and Brave Bird/Roost gives an excellent stab and the recovery to pull it off multiple times.

080.gif

Slowbro @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 216 HP / 252 Def / 40 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- Slack Off

One of the biggest threats I am immediately aware of for most of this team are priority users. As far as I have found, this consists primarily of Aqua Jet users. Defensive Slowbro here can tank most of these hits no problem then hit back for decent damage with scald due to low defenses on most of these threats. Consider the following calculations:

252 Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Waterfall vs 216 HP/252 Def Slowbro (+Def) : 14.29% - 16.88%
9-12 hits to KO (with Leftovers)
252 Atk Choice Band Azumarill (+Atk) Aqua Jet vs 216 HP/252 Def Slowbro (+Def) : 5.45% - 6.23%
Cannot KO (with Leftovers)
252 Atk Life Orb Feraligatr Aqua Jet vs 216 HP/252 Def Slowbro (+Def) : 6.49% - 7.79%
72 hits to KO at best (with Leftovers)

This would also be my go-to answer to situations where a fire move is a possible answer (on the foe's side), but not guaranteed. For sure cases, I'd use Chandelure to grab some extra power.

609.gif

Chandelure @ Life Orb
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Pain Split

This is the primary special attacker on the team and the main answer to Heracross. It will mainly be used to take any and all guaranteed fire moves as well as Fighting sweepers in their tracks. In emergencies, it may be used as a revenge killer against the notorious physically defensive water type walls like Swampert and Gastrodon through use of Energy Ball, though I run the risk of losing to the rarer special wall variants. It is also my #1 answer to the ever-annoying Explosion Azelf. This would also help snuf the momentum opponents would try to build with a Fake Out/U-turn set as I could seriously wound the normal water or ground type counters they'd switch to by using Energy Ball followed by sending in the appropriate counter myself.

407.gif

Roserade @ Black Sludge
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 240 SDef / 16 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis

This may actually end up as my lead if not replaced. It's nice for setting up and resists moves by many leads I've seen. With Natural Cure it can absorb Spore and other status from opposing leads, like Smeargle, possibly giving me the chance to switch in a proper counter while the foe gets mildly complacent and tries to set up. It's also here to nerf Leech Seed, as well as take grass and electric attacks for the team. It's also the main response to Quagsire who would try to ruin Heracross' Moxie sweep.

214.gif

Heracross (F) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge


This will be the new second physical sweeper to the team. With Moxie, I can often pull a decent sweep although it's typing does create a triple fire weakness on the team, a tough predicament should Chandelure should fall. As TPO3 pointed ot further down, this set outspeeds practically everything as long as the foe doesn't have a choice scarf as well. Megahorn will most likely be the most used move since it is the most accurate move without that can't be nerfed by an immunity.

---

For reference only
The alternates or removed form team: These were from an alternate core I came up with in light if the lack pf Priority moves on the normal team or were initially listed on the team. I am simply leaving them here for reference.

160.gif

Feraligatr (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 160 HP / 240 Atk / 108 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Return
- Waterfall

Using a modified GATRTIME set, I hoped to make a hard-hitting water type with decent physical defense in place of Slowbro. I chose Aqua Jet to deal with Riolu and while it only deals 21-25% damage on 252 HP/252 Def Eviolite Riolu, it will still break the Copycat/Roar combo long enough that I could weaken (and possibly flinch) it with Waterfall (which does around 50% damage, allowing me to KO the next round Feraligatr was dragged out). This set would also become the fire type counter in lieu of Flash Fire, as you will see later.

492.gif

Shaymin @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Seed Flare
- Leech Seed
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect

This was in place of Roserade. I lose the ability to absorb Toxic Spikes and nerf Toxic, but I gain a much more powerful special attacker with a chance of lowering the foe's SDef. I can also better deal with the dragons that hang around UU thanks to HP Ice and Protect/Leech Seed allows me some stalling ability (as well as some recovery for allies that can better wall the foe).

306.gif

Aggron @ Choice Band
Trait: Rock Head
EVs: 116 HP / 252 Atk / 140 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Head Smash
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail

The main physical sweeper of the team. when passed a shell smash (and possibly a substitute) it becoms nigh unstopable. Headsmash can 2-hit most foes that don't resist it and as one of the heaviest mons in UU, Heavy Slam does respectable damage to a good deal of the metagame. This gave me serious trouble when it was used against some of my better designed OU teams (before I agreed to help round out this team). Even unboosted this thing hits like a train. Head Smash does 61-72% on defensive Slowbro plus, with the speed advantage, it guarantees the 2HKO if on a switch in. it's vast resistances also help it keep going in spite of heavy opposition. Mach Punch would be it's mortal weakness if it is used at all in UU, but again I am not aware that it is.

 

One Approved

;
Advanced Member
Member
>looks good
>9 pokemon

Definitely keep the core you have now. The Feraligatr/Heracross/Shaymin one is cool, but Chandelure and Slowbro are just TOO good to pass up. On a core together, they can be extremely hard to break. The only thing that can are Dark-types.

I would consider using Heracross instead of Aggron. Aggron is definitely a cool pokemon, but it just can't sweep teams. It has weaknesses that are X4, in ground and fighting, which are 2 of the most common attacking types in the tier. Heracross itself is the single most common Pokémon. In addition, Aggron isn't very fast. Even at +2, there are some Pokémon that can outspeed it, especially stuff with Choice Scarf. Aggron is also vulnerable to Mach Punch and Aqua Jet, which disregard any speed you might pass off to it with Smeargle. I would use The same exact heracross you have in your "alternate" section. It takes care of your dark weakness, the speed and the ability of Moxie allows it to sweep through teams, and it has much better typing.

The EVs on Crobat are inefficient. Try this EV Spread instead
Crobat @Black Sludge
Jolly nature
Inner Focus
176 HP/192 Atk/4 SpDef/136 Spe
~Brave Bird
~Roost
~Taunt
~U-turn

Crobat has high enough speed where it will outrun everything in the tier without much EVs. 136 allows it to beat everything base 115 speed and lower (so Azelf, Ambipom, and everything slower.) You lose to Weavile, but it has Ice Shard which has Priority, so you wouldn't beat it anyways. Instead, Crobat gets some extra bulk, which allows it to take some attacks easier. 4 SpDef is so Download Porygon2 boosts its Attack instead of its Special Attack, and the rest goes into HP.

I don't like Smeargle. With Team Preview, everybody is going to see it coming. If you want a Baton Pass lead, I would use Venomoth, but your team does not have any members that use the move Stealth Rock. Stealth Rock is the most important move you can have on a team. It weakens the Fire-types in the tier (opposing Chandelure, Darmanitan, and Victini) as well as the Flying-types (Zapdos, opposing Crobat, and Togekiss.) Your team is also a bit weak to Kingdra, so I would suggest using Empoleon. Empoleon resists both Water and Dragon-type moves, and walls Kingdra to no end, especially the Specially attacking ones. I would suggest:
Empoleon @Leftovers
Calm nature
Torrent
252 HP/4 SpAtk/252 SpDef
~Stealth Rock
~Scald
~Ice Beam
~Protect/Roar

either move works. Roar helps a lot against Dragon Dance Kingdra, but Protect allows you to keep a turn to recover yourself. You can also use Protect against stuff like Heracross and Flygon that are holding Choiced Items. If they use the wrong move, you can have a free turn to stay in.
 

iSharingan

Competitive VG Tutor and Gizoid
Member
Hmm... The Venomoth suggetion sounds interesting, though I have been considering using a BP Ninjask set for Smeargle as well. I know it's defenses are a little sub-standard, but would it be worth it to pass a SD with the speed increase? I see it as a common lead on Baton pass teams, but I believe that's only because it can pass a substitute as well and other boosts are added later (I have never had any success with Baton Pass teams I have made).

Regarding all suggested replacements, Aggron and Smeargle were carry-overs from as requested by the intended recipient, so I have no problem replacing them for a better pokemon.

I also tend to favor Mamoswine, so I'm wondering if it would be a viable Smeargle replacement if I forgo boosting altogether. Don't get me wrong, Empoleon's good and I'll still consider it, but Mamoswine is faster, can still set up SR, and has access to both Roar and Protect. Dragon would go unresisted and it would create a triple fire weakness if Chandelure should fall, but it would provide an electric immunity (preventing a triple weakness there) and provide a decent Dragon counter with it's STAB Icicle Crash and Ice Shard.

I like the idea of subbing Heracross for Aggron, although the fire/flying weakness seems iffy even with Mamoswine to help out. I'll have to crunch some numbers, too, on the speed matchups with Heracross, too, since I didn't do too much planning on its currently listed set.

I'll definitely use something very similar to your Crobat set (U-turn would definitely help against the triple Psychic weakness Heracross brings), but I'm just wondering the reasoning behind the somewhat lower ATK EVs. I have had little to no trouble with the 4 HP / 252 Atk EV spread even with max recoil from a Brave Bird OHKO (Crobat already has respectable natural bulk and can usually recover before the next hit with Roost, which removes it's weaknesses as a flying type and does little harm other than a temporary ground weaknes) so I'm wondering why ATK wasn't maximized. I suspect it may because you feel the extra damage isn't missed too much.

Please pardon all the questions. I appreciate suggestions, but I like to fully understand each change so I can adjust my strategy accordingly. Just changing pokemon/moves/spreads becuase someone told you to doesn't mean you will know how to effectively use the new set.
 

One Approved

;
Advanced Member
Member
I also tend to favor Mamoswine, so I'm wondering if it would be a viable Smeargle replacement if I forgo boosting altogether. Don't get me wrong, Empoleon's good and I'll still consider it, but Mamoswine is faster, can still set up SR, and has access to both Roar and Protect. Dragon would go unresisted and it would create a triple fire weakness if Chandelure should fall, but it would provide an electric immunity (preventing a triple weakness there) and provide a decent Dragon counter with it's STAB Icicle Crash and Ice Shard.

This would work, except for the fact that Mamoswine is OU. :p

The attack on Crobat isn't maximized because the extra damage doesn't grab any extra KOs. The attack EVs right now are set so that Crobat will always OHKO 0 HP/0 Def Scrafty, aka the Dragon Dancing set. The rest is put into bulk, so Crobat can survive longer. Since it's one of the best Fighting-type checks in the tier, it's important that it can survive long.

If you do want an alternate and more offensive spread, though, you could use 136 HP/232 Atk/4 SpDef/136 Spe. 232 Attack makes sure you always 2HKO +1 Bulk Up Scrafty, which can be very useful. (They obviously don't get past +1 because of Taunt.) 4 SpDef makes sure Download Porygon2 and Porygon-Z get an Attack boost instead of Special Attack. 136 Speed with a Jolly nature gets past base 115 speed Pokémon (so everything important.) The rest is dumped into HP for some bulk. 252 Attack on Crobat really doesn't do much, I would only suggest running it on Choice Band Crobat, which is very rare, and very hard to pull off.

I like the idea of subbing Heracross for Aggron, although the fire/flying weakness seems iffy even with Mamoswine to help out. I'll have to crunch some numbers, too, on the speed matchups with Heracross, too, since I didn't do too much planning on its currently listed set.

The speed on Heracross is great. You outspeed regular Crobat and Weavile, so anything in the tier without a Choice Scarf. You also outspeed all Scarf Chandelure, Modest Scarf Rotom, Adamant +1 Sharpedo, Modest +1 Darmanitan, and Adamant Scarf Darmanitan if you use a Jolly nature, which is recommended. The only common scarfers you need to watch out for are Mienshao, Victini, Flygon, Raikou, and Rotom. Everything else in the tier gets outsped, and (theoretically) moxie will boost your attack.

Please pardon all the questions. I appreciate suggestions, but I like to fully understand each change so I can adjust my strategy accordingly. Just changing pokemon/moves/spreads becuase someone told you to doesn't mean you will know how to effectively use the new set.

Oh yeah. I'm the same way. I need to completely understand something before I can do good with it.
 

iSharingan

Competitive VG Tutor and Gizoid
Member
Alright. First post updated. I added some extra pokemon into consideration for replacing smeargle. I wanted a steel type, but I am still wary about using Empoleon as it will give me a triple weakness there with no immunity. For additional reference ,here are the sets I am considering in order of perceived utility. I can explain anything that seems unusual (for example, Aron is at level 3 so it's SDef can pass it's Def preventing a Download SAtk boost.)

Spoiler tags to save room
Empoleon @ Leftovers
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Protect

(with Toxic Spikes on Roserade)
Aron @ Shell Bell
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 SDef
Gentle Nature (+SDef, -Def)
- Endeavor
- Toxic/Rest/Protect
- Sleep Talk
- Protect

Bronzong @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Toxic
 

One Approved

;
Advanced Member
Member
^If you must not use Empoleon, I would use Bronzong, although you will be much weaker to Kingdra, especially the Rain Dance variants. I understand the triple electric weakness, but there are actually only 2 Electric-type Pokémon in the tier. (Zapdos and Raikou.) Roserade checks both of them, Heracross can't switch in but it will beat them after you sacrifice something else. SpDef Empoleon will actually live one Thunderbolt from Life Orb Zapdos and from SubCM or Scarf Raikou, so it can Ice Beam the Zapdos, or Roar the Caikou to prevent Calm Minding. If you would like another check, Nidoqueen and Nidoking can both use Stealth Rock and are immune to Electric, although they will also make you weaker to Kingdra.

Another option you might want to consider is switching Slowbro to Slowking. Slowking has lower physical defense, but higher Special Defense, access to Dragon Tail, and still retains Regenerator. Slowking with a Defensive ev spread (248 HP/12 Atk/248 Def, Relaxed nature) can actually switch into all versions of Kingdra. It will always live a +1 Outrage (unless they get a crit,) and can use Dragon Tail to phaze them out. Slowking's higher special defense means it will always live Draco Meteor as well. It can use Thunder Wave to cripple Kingdra, or Dragon Tail to phaze it back out. In case you're wondering about the Attack EVs, they make sure you always break 4 HP/0 Def Kingdra's substitutes.

Don't use Aron. it needs permanent sand up, which is banned in UU. If you use Sandstorm, your opponent is just going to KO Aron.
 

iSharingan

Competitive VG Tutor and Gizoid
Member
I didn't realize there were so few electric types. In that case I will use Empoleon after all. In all truth, I already considered the lack of permanent SS. I originally intended SS to be used on a guaranteed switch, though Sleep Talk would be better in retrospect. I planned to run Toxic Spikes on Roserade to make up for the lack of another form of reliable end-of-turn damage (in which case I could add Rest or Protect in place of Toxic. Sure it wouldn't have universal utility, but what pokemon would (and in UU no less)? I'll update the first post again as soon as I can (done).
 
Top