Guerrilla Warfare

Turtwig

Retired retired Mod. Jovimohnaeliackvid.
Member
Guerrilla Warfare: "the use of hit-and run tactics by small, mobile groups of irregular forces operating in territory controlled by a hostile, regular force."​
. . .
Hi, this is my first RMT post on Pokebeach forums. I've posted this team on Smogon, but there aren't as many users there as I was hoping for. This is the most offensive team I've ever successfully ran, and I've had minimal problems in sweeping. This is my most successful team as well; right now I'm at about 22-1 with this team (although I already have some failed teams' losses on my account) on the ladder. Anyways, let me get onto the team:

Mienshao_BW.gif

Mienshao @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Reckless
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Hi Jump Kick
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Aerial Ace

This is the standard Lead Scout and one of the two members of my "Guerrilla Warfare." Mienshao is a monster behind Reckless and a Scarf, 2HKOing most opponents. Stone Edge hits Fire, Flying, and Bugs that think they can come in and beat Mienshao. U-turn is to scout, of course, and it allows me to either send in a hard counter to a Pokemon or to rack up on damage against those pesky Slowbro. Aerial Ace is for Heracross (although I'm hardly seeing any of those on the ladder anymore?). Mienshao is usually a late-game cleaner after doing its first-turn job, and always gets a sweep done. I must say that as long as any Ghost is off the field, Mienshao never lets me down. Don't worry, you'll top Heracross eventually!

Rhyperior_BW_front.gif

Rhyperior @ Leftovers
Trait: Solid Rock
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Atk / 244 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail

Rhyperior is another possible lead that sets up rocks, stops setup sweepers, and can help stop Raikou from sweeping (although it fears any Hidden Power). Rock Blast breaks substitutes, sturdy, and has a cooler animation than Stone Edge. Earthquake hits Raikou hard, along with anything else weak to it. Dragon Tail is to stop Rhyperior from being setup bait and to have a move that hits Flygon for decent damage. Rhyperior may be a wall, but its uninvested attack stat should not be underestimated. It also is able to stop Stallbreaker Crobat in its tracks, as it always uses Taunt while I predict that and slam it with Rock Blast. Rhyperior is just one of those Pokemon that just doesn't faint that easily thanks to Solid Rock.

animated_victini_sprite_by_zigazav-d3eb5if.gif

Victini @ Life Orb
Trait: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Naive Nature
- Blue Flare
- Focus Blast
- U-turn / Psyshock

- Grass Knot

With this being my first team with Victini, I started out with a Banded set until a very nice TPO3 suggested a fully special attacking set. This has actually proven a surprise factor among my friends. Blue Flare hits really hard and actually has a 20% chance of burn. Plus it has no drawbacks, unlike V-create. Focus Blast gets a higher accuracy thanks to Victory Star, so it doesn't always miss. In fact, it can 2HKO Umbreon, Porygon2, and the rare Clefable. Grass Knot handles Swampert and Rhyperior, while making the opponent think twice in sending in another water-type s/he may have. I'm torn between two moves. This Victini suffers 4 moveslot syndrome. U-turn gives me momentum and keeps the name of "Guerrilla Warfare." Psyshock, however, hits Chandelure harder than anything else, gets Heracross and Mienshao, and especially hits the incoming Snorlax really hard, doing almost as much as Focus Blast. Victini is a massive surprise fact threat and it has already become an invaluable member of my team.

zapdos_animated_bw_sprite_by_albinorose-d3cs2zt.gif

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Roost

Zapdos is the newest member of my team, and is my reinforcement to cover threats. Thunderbolt is the strongest STAB to hit anything for decent damage. Heat Wave hits the unsuspecting Scarf Heracross, steel-types, and Roserade. HP Grass hits Swampert and Rhyperior nicely. Roost is going to replace Volt Switch since Stealth Rock is going to wear Zapdos down the most. Zapdos is on my team because it is immune to fighting- and ground-type attacks, spikes variations, and is able to force Flygon out, who suspects that I have HP Ice. Although Zapdos has gotten me out of situations before, it is the most replaceable member of my team. Leftovers gives Zapdos some recovery from those terrible rocks, and specifically those resisted attacks that will still hurt--such as Mienshao's HJK or Heracross' CC. Still--it has made a niche on my team that Raikou couldn't do. Now that I have Victini with Grass Knot, should I go with HP Ice again?

roserade.gif

Roserade @ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Sleep Powder
- Sludge Bomb
- Rest

Somehow I always end up with Roserade on my team, I guess it's my favorite Pokemon in UU. With Sleep Powder, Roserade can become a decent lead to stop Stealth Rock and aid in letting my setup sweeper, down below, to take control of the match. Leaf Storm packs a major punch--it really does. Most bulky waters switch out in a heartbeat, and even the likes of Umbreon can be hit really hard. Sludge Bomb hits Shaymin and fire-type switch-ins. Rest heals Life Orb damage and sleep fades with Natural Cure. With its grass/poison typing, it resists Raikou's STAB Thunderbolt and Aura Sphere (although not very common). Roserade also absorbs status and Toxic Spikes upon entry, which aids this team greatly. Absorbing status really benefits here because none of my Pokemon want to be burned or paralyzed.

252 SpA Life Orb Roserade Leaf Storm vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Umbreon: 175-207 (44.41 - 52.53%) -- guaranteed 3HKO --Not too shabby

kingdra.gif

Kingdra @ Lum Berry
Trait: Sniper
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Waterfall

Kingdra is my setup sweeper, and a great one at that. With a 4x resistance to fire and water and decent natural bulk, it's easy to switch into Kingdra, Sub on the opponent's switch-out, and Dragon Dance until I'm capable of sweeping. I at least get one boost at some point during the match. Outrage is a strong Dragon-type attack that decimates, and Waterfall is a secondary STAB that hits anything resisting Outrage hard. Lum Berry is used to prevent confusion, burn, sleep, or anything else that could hinder Kingdra. Although Swift Swim sounds nice, I like using Sniper to guarantee the KO on crits.

Now that you've seen my team, I'll tell you the weaknesses. The only real problem I have is Stealth Rock, although I can play around it if I can cripple the user the first turn with Roserade, or set up a Substitute with Kingdra and begin sweeping early-game. Flygon can cause damage to this team, but Zapdos and Mienshao can stop it hopefully. I haven't come across a single Chandelure, but that could or could not be a problem. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you'll be able to help!

Smogon helped me with the mixed Victini set, which works nicely. However, with three Life Orb users, two of them weak to Stealth Rock, I'm not sure how to fix this. Smogon also worked with my Zapdos as well, and I'm not too sure it's perfect. Zapdos has the most unsure set--should I run another item than Life Orb? Also, should I run HP Ice? I need help because while this team is awesome, it's not perfect and I'd really appreciate whatever can be done! Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you'll be able to help!
 

One Approved

;
Advanced Member
Member
Hey, pretty solid UU team you have here! It has very few weaknesses, and the ones it does have can be played around pretty well. I have just a couple of comments for it.

First of all I'm not sure how I feel about this team against a Chandelure. Kingdra's got a nifty 4x Resistance to Fire Blast which helps this a little bit, but Shadow Ball is going to score a clean 2HKO. However, I do like that your team doesn't really give Chandelure a lot of opportunities to switch in. 5 of your 6 members are going to outspeed it, and everything except for MAYBE Roserade can at least 2HKO it.

My biggest concern would be Fighting-types like Heracross, Mienshao, and Scrafty. Zapdos and Victini are really the 2 pokemon you have that can consistently switch into Fighting-type STAB attacks, but both are weak to Stealth Rock as well as Stone Edge. Overall though, like with Chandelure, you do a great job of keeping the Fighting-types under pressure, and they don't really have a chance to get in for free. It's just when the opponent gets a chance to U-turn out or sacrifice a pokemon to get a Fighting-type in for free. Those will be the biggest issues I feel.

Flygon also seems like it can be a pain, although it has to use a lot of prediction to do a lot of damage on this team. Scarf Flygon does outrun everything except for Mienshao, but it will be hard for it to just recklessly lock into Outrage/Earthquake, since you have a few pokemon that can take those hits and safely KO in return.

I have a couple of suggestions and it all boils down to what you want to make your team do. If you want a more bulky team, I would suggest trying out Snorlax over Kingdra (since it switches into opposing Chandelure with absolute impunity.) and then something that will consistently eat Fighting-type attacks over Victini. Something like Cofagrigus or maybe Qwilfish. This would give your team a couple of hard counters to the pokemon that threaten your team the most, although it would also slow it down considerably.

If you want a more offensive approach, I would consider trying Rain Dance Kingdra instead of Dragon Dance Kingdra, since Rain Dance allows you to outspeed a lot of pokemon this team seems to be weak to, like Flygon or Heracross. I would also then try to make Victini a more Specially-based set. Something like Blue Flare/Focus Blast/Thunderbolt/Grass Knot. Maybe put U-turn on there instead of one of the coverage moves. Once the opponent figures out Victini is a specially-based attacker, they'll be more tempted to switch in things like Snorlax and Umbreon to try and stop you, while Focus Blast will knock them out and pave the way for a Kingdra sweep.

I also prefer Synthesis over Rest on Roserade, but that's really more of a preference thing since Synthesis is almost useless if you play anybody that's using a Hail team.
 

Turtwig

Retired retired Mod. Jovimohnaeliackvid.
Member
Hey, thanks for the advice! Yeah, I think I'll have problems with Chandelure. What's weird is that out of the 23ish games that I've played, not a single one has been against this team. Flygon only has advantages if I'm not already planning how to counter it. I've thought about Kingdra, and may go for rain dance anyways. So maybe a special set, or stay physical? Either way it benefits my team nicely. I originally had Snorlax, but with such a fast-paced metagame and a counter just waiting to come in (I'm looking at you, defensive Cofagrigus), I decided that I'd just rely on Roserade to take most special hits. It does this well, too.

I could replace Victini, although I will miss the sheer power it brings. A special set sounds great, though. I'll have to test it since it has all that coverage. Zapdos isn't really holding the team up well with Life Orb and its Stealth Rock weakness. Even with Roost, it has a hard time finding the perfect opportunity since if it's against a wall it will get poisoned, or if it's against a sweeper it may get KO'd. I could use a decent replacement for it, maybe Qwilfish, but then my ground-type weakness is up again. Even so, Thunder Wave will benefit my team immensely. It's a 50/50.

On Roserade, I use Rest mainly because I'm switching Roserade in and out anyways, and Natural Cure helps give me a Full Restore on the switch back in. Synthesis does work nicely, though. Hail, even though it isn't too common, does kind of mess it up. I may just stay with Rest due to its reliability.

But thanks for the rate, I'll definitely take up yours offers!

Edit: Never mind, with Leftovers Zapdos is able to become a bulky attacker of sorts, but I may make the EV spread more supportive to that bulk.
 
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