The Wrath of Moltres

[The Yoshi]

The Wrath of Moltres

Introduction

Hello everyone, I'm here to present you one of my more successful RU teams that I've been using. Normally I haven't been playing RU due to Cofagrigus being dominant in the tier, but due to the addition of Nidoqueen and Escavalier in the tier, and due to Cofagrigus leaving for UU soon, I'm actually really excited for the future of RU, so I decided to make a team that will abuse one of RU's biggest specially offensive threats, Moltres. The reason I'm not using Nidoqueen is because I fear it will also be moving back to UU/BL2, so I want to try not to make this RMT irrelevant. Anyway, onto the team!

Spoiler: Team Building Process

I started the team off with an obvious combo, Moltres and Kabutops. With SR being a big factor in defeating an opponent's Moltres, it is obvious that a team running Moltres must have a Rapid Spinner. I chose a Rapid Spinner that can at least touch two of the bulky Ghost tyes in RU, Cofagrigus and Spiritomb. Sandslash is absolute trash who shouldn't even be RU and Hitmonchan can't touch Ghosts. I thought about Cryogonal, but the team is more offensively oriented, so I went with Kabutops.

One Pokemon I really love using in RU is Jynx. With Dry Skin, Jynx is my primary check to Rain Dance teams and can actually put on a full sweep with NP + Ice Beam. Behind a Substitute, Jynx can be very naughty, and it serves as a helpful team mate due to absorbing Water type attacks aimed at Moltres.

Rotom-C is probably the best scout B/W RU has to offer, and it can be a great revenge killer thanks to its coverage and excellent Speed when equipped with a Choice Scarf. Like I said, this team is oriented towards offense, so Speed is a necessity. That's pretty much all I have to say about Rotom-C; oh, and its typing is very helpful because it takes Fighting type attacks very well.

Absol is also really great, and I'm happy to see it moving up from NU at the end of the month. It serves as the second revenge killer on the team due to its access to Sucker Punch, which can be really helpful when a set up sweeper on the other team is running low on health. Absol is a nasty physical sweeper, especially after an SR boost, and I feel many people underestimate its power because it isn't seen much (due to it still being NU, but it's still used). Like Jynx, Absol can come back from a 4-1 match and give me a win when set up properly.

Finally, an offensive team always appreciates hazard support, and Uxie can be a great lead when I need it to be (and it's the best lead RU has to offer; some argue Smeargle, but I digress). Access to Thunder Wave and Stealth Rock are really helpful when faster Pokemon like Sceptile and Unburden Hitmonlee threaten to run over my team. In fact, it can even take a +2 Night Slash from Drapion and cripple it with Thunder Wave so another team mate can come in and finish it off. Uxie and Absol are the two slowest members on the team, but Absol has priority to make up for it, and Uxie has Thunder Wave and great bulk, so I don't regret putting Uxie on the team.

At A Glance

In Depth Description of the Team

Moltres @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Hurricane
- Roost​

Moltres functions as the special sweeper on the team, and does a really good job at it. Hurricane and Fire Blast are the two primary STABs here, and aside from the miss hax that can be frustrating, it seldom lets me down. I chose Hurricane over Air Slash because flinch hax doesn't matter much when you're 2HKOing Slowking after SR damage. In fact, Moltres pretty much 2HKOs everything after SR damage bar Munchlax and Togetic (but who uses that stuff anyway).

Roost can help if Kabutops is down and SR is on the field, but most of the time it isn't needed when Moltres is dishing out damage. The EV spread allows it to hit as hard as possible and out speed a good portion of the RU meta game (although it speed ties with +0 Lilligant and Klinklang, and is unfortunately out sped by Rotom by one point; curse 91 Speed).

Edits:

Kabutops (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Weak Armor
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Rapid Spin
- Stone Edge​

Kabutops is very important for the team because it removes Stealth Rock from the field, which allows Moltres to have a better chance at sweeping. I chose Kabutops because the team is a very fast paced and offensive team, so I needed something that could not only threaten Ghosts like Cofagrigus and Spiritomb, but also get the job done of spinning. The move set choice was easy, as Swords Dance is required to reliably KO bulky Ghosts so it can spin effectively.

I chose Adamant over Jolly precisely so I could OHKO Cofagrigus after SR damage, but I can always change it back to out speed random stuff like Medicham iirc, but that's why I have Aqua Jet. Life Orb provides a lot of extra power, but sometimes it is harmful when I just have to bring it in to spin, but most of the time, the extra power is worth it. Also, Weak Armor is a really good Trait that can really help in some matches when I need to out speed something, but most of the time Kabutops is OHKOd anyway.

Edits:

Jynx (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Nasty Plot
- Lovely Kiss
- Ice Beam​

Like I said, Jynx is just one of those Pokemon that I use on almost every team I make. Why? Because it is so good at setting up a Sub while the opponent switches out, sets up, and either get Nasty Plot boosts through stalling with Lovely Kiss, or taking a hit and then proceeding to KO with Ice Beam. The one problem with Jynx is that sometimes Lovely Kiss can miss, and it can really screw me over if I'm not behind a Sub (and even if I am, it's possible it can be KOd if the opposing Pokemon out speeds). Combine that with Jynx's awesome Speed stat and an excellent Trait, and you have yourself a Pokemon worthy of being banned from NU.

Dry Skin is great to abuse, and because of it, Jynx is a great switch in to Pokemon like Slowking and Lanturn (and it can really help when SR is in play and Jynx regains the HP with Dry Skin). Also, due to the prevalence of Rain Dance teams, Jynx is a great check to them due to Dry skin restoring her HP. Overall, Jynx is just really awesome in all aspects of the game, and definitely deserves a spot on the team.

Edits:

Rotom-C @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Trick​

Rotom-C is an awesome scout and Pokemon in general, and 445 Speed is awesome, because it provides a last resort option for clutch Speed if a set up sweeper is in play (Rotom-C can out speed a lot of +1 Speed Pokemon, believe it or not). Volt Switch helps the team gain a little momentum, and Leaf Storm is great because of all the bulky Water types in RU, like Slowking and Lanturn. Hidden Power Ice is just there if I need to hit something like Druddigon, but it is helpful when they switch to Nidoqueen expecting a Volt Switch, and you 2HKO them with HP Ice.

Trick is probably one of the cooler moves that I like on the set, because it can cripple a lot of the special walls I have a little trouble with, like Sigilyph, Munchlax, and Clefable. Trick can also be used in a combo with Uxie's Thunder Wave to nullify Choice Scarf, and sometimes Rotom-C can pick up a useful item like Leftovers or Life Orb in the process. I have no regrets putting Rotom-C on the team; it gets the job done and can often swing a match in my favor.

Edits:

Absol (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Super Luck
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Night Slash
- Superpower​

Absol is a very underrated threat in the B/W RU meta game, and I wish people would use it more (maybe things will change when it moves up to RU). Anyway, after a SD boost, Absol is extremely difficult to stop, due to Life Orb + 788 (iirc) Attack backed up by a priority Sucker Punch and extremely powerful Superpower. Absol is one of my answers to set up sweepers in KO range, and also special walls in general. Night Slash and Superpower have pretty good coverage, but I often use Sucker Punch unless I'm facing a CM user or something like that.

Finally, although Super Luck is based on luck (seems pretty obvious), it can be really helpful in certain situations, and although I feel bad when I get multiple critical hits in a game, it can't be helped. Other than that, though, Absol is really great on its own and should definitely be used more than it is being used right now.

Edits:

Uxie @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic​

Uxie is arguably the best lead in the RU meta game, and it's pretty obvious why it's #4 on the usage list. What's awesome about Uxie is that it gets access to Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave, so it can cripple Scarfed Pokemon and SR weak users like Moltres and Entei. Uxie is a great mixed wall; with the EV spread Uxie hits 369/296 Defense/SpD, which allows it to take multiple hits before it goes down. U-Turn helps to gain momentum in tandem with Rotom-C's Volt Switch, but due to Uxie's low Attack stat, it is almost never very useful. Psychic is mainly filler but it helps to get rid of Hitmonlee, which is rather threatening to the team.

One thing I would like to change about Uxie is put Light Screen/Reflect over Psychic, and Lum Berry over Leftovers. Lum Berry is helpful so Uxie isn't crippled by Thunder Wave, and Light Screen/Reflect could be a lot more helpful than Psychic, but I'm still debating it because Psychic is very helpful for Hitmonlee and Nidoqueen, so I'm still not sure. However, Uxie is still very good and will always be my primary choice for a hazard setter and team supporter.

Edits:

Threat List

Minor threats in orange
Major threats in red

Unburden Users: Unburden users like Hitmonlee and Sceptile are very dangerous, especially the former, because after a Speed boost they can out speed my entire team. Once the Fighting Gem or Petaya Berry is used, either of the users can run through the entire team. I usually rely on Uxie for Hitmonlee and Moltres for Sceptile, but without them I have nothing to do as they out speed and kill off my team. Jynx is unreliable because Hitmonlee carries Blaze Kick, not to mention Jynx is so frail.

Special Walls: Special Walls are a problem because they prevent Moltres from attempting a sweep. My most reliable options for them are Absol with Superpower or Kabutops with SD Aqua Jet / Stone Edge, but Rotom-C can also cripple any special wall with Trick. Special walls like Lanturn are easy to deal with, but Eviolite Munchlax and CM Clefable are sometimes difficult. However, I do have many ways to deal with them, so I'm usually not concerned (plus who uses Munchlax?).

Aggron: Aggron is a minor threat because of Sturdy. Often Absol is able to make the kill because of Superpower, but if Aggron is behind a Sub or is at full health, it can be quite troublesome. A good way I deal with Aggron is to break Aggron's Sub with Rotom-C's Volt Switch, and deal with it accordingly (although I usually lose someone in the process).

The team actually deals with two of the most used Pokemon in the tier, Cofagrigus and Nidoqueen. Absol, Jynx, and Kabutops are all good ways to handle these two, so they aren't too threatening, which is a good thing I like about the team. I might have missed some stuff like CB Entei, but every Pokemon has some way that it can be handled, so this is a just a short draft of what could be a much more extensive threat list.

Spoiler: Laddering Peaks

I'll try to get a screenshot of the ladder when I have a chance (and when I feel I've laddered pretty well), but at one point this team was in the top 20 on the PO Server (doesn't really mean much since PO is just a bunch of n00bs who actually use stuff like Sandslash and Munchlax, but I still am proud of myself for laddering so high up, especially against the more competitive people).

Credits and Conclusion

Pokemonelite2000.com - for letting me use sprites because PB sprites aren't working at the moment
Everyone who gives me feedback (it could be you! ;D)

So, that's it for my RMT. Feel free to use the export found at the bottom of this post to try out the team for yourself. I don't care if you give me credit or not, but if you decide to give me credit, give the Pokemon nick names that correspond to Yoshi colors (Moltres = Red Yoshi, Uxie = Yellow or Pink Yoshi, and so on). :] Thanks for reading, and please comment/criticize my team; all feedback is appreciated, because I understand my team isn't perfect.

Spoiler: Team Export

Moltres @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Hurricane
- Roost

Kabutops (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Weak Armor
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Rapid Spin
- Stone Edge

Rotom (Rotom-C) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Trick

Absol (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Super Luck
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Night Slash
- Superpower

Jynx (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Nasty Plot
- Lovely Kiss
- Ice Beam

Uxie @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic

 

[One Approved]

RE: The Wrath of Moltres (A B/W RU Team)

I'm no expert at RU so feel free to disregard anything I may think is helpful but actually isn't.

Running Choice Scarf Uxie could help against special walls. If you use Stealth Rock/U-turn/Trick/Psychic, you could potentially Trick a special wall a Choice Scarf. This has been an extremely consistant Stealth Rocker since DPP in UU and OU, so I would assume it would work fairly well in UU. The more offensive variant of Uxie would help maintain pressure too.

I would switch Rotom-C to a bulky Rotom-C with Will o Wisp. running two scarfers could make prediction rather hard, and bulky Rotom-C would most of the time be able to take a hit from either Sceptile or Hitmontop, and proceed to cripple them with Will-o-Wisp. It would also give you a more consistant threat against Aggron, as you'll be able to take anything barring a CB Head Smash, but nothing except Skarmory and Gliscor can take one anyways lol.

 

[The Yoshi]

RE: The Wrath of Moltres (A B/W RU Team)

Thanks Teapot! I appreciate the help. However, a lot of your suggestions would be better if this team was for UU IMO. Choice Scarf Uxie is okay, but relying on two support moves with a Scarf can give the opponent if I have to switch out (and sometimes using Trick is not the best option). I'd like to change around the Uxie set a little bit, but I want to keep it bulky so it can stay alive for as long as possible. I could possibly change Uxie to a Choice Scarf Mesprit, but I'm still not sure, because I appreciate Uxie's bulk. I also would like to keep Rotom-C Scarfed if possible, because its Speed is out matched for the most part. I've also been considering switching Rotom-C to Sceptile, who are both agile and specially offensive, but again, I'm still not sure. Thanks for your advice though!