PMJ
Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands
Forum Head
Articles Head
Elite Member
Advanced Member
Member
Hello, my little ponies, PMJ here with another RMT for you. As it says in the title, this team reached a peak of #19 on Smogon's Pokemon Showdown! UU ladder with a rating of 1903 and a record of 77 wins and 20 losses (80% win rate), which I think is still pretty respectable, especially for me!
I have always enjoyed playing in UU, and so when I mentioned that I really needed a new UU team (not having built one since Durant was allowed), Teapot was quick to jump on the pal train and help me build something cool.
The first thing we talked about was who to build a team around. I thought Sharpedo was a good choice, so he's the Pokemon we decided to focus on. Unfortunately that's really all I can tell you about the teambuilding process since we both kinda forgot how it went, lol. Teapot bailed on me halfway through the team, so I just added some Pokemon I thought were awesome and went from there. After I'd ladder a bit, I'd report to Teapot about how I was doing, and he'd offer feedback, and I'd start climbing again. We were both meant to ladder with this team, but he never really got a chance to do much of it.
Anyway, time to get into the ins and outs of team invincible (so called because I won my first eleven games with it and not because this is anything resembling stall):
Scrafty@Lum Berry
Moxie / Jolly
252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Special Defense
- Dragon Dance
- Hi Jump Kick
- Crunch
- Ice Punch
DD up and then start kicking things. Thanks to Moxie, if the opponent doesn't have any really fast Pokemon left, he can clean things up thanks to the deliciously powerful moves he boasts, especially when bolstered by Moxie. Lum Berry lets him set up in the faces of Pokemon like Gligar, who begins crying sweet, sweet tears when I get 2 Dragon Dances which will usually seal the game (regrettably, Scarf Darmanitan outspeeds even at +2). EVs are straightforward; max Attack and Speed for maximum offensive prowess. Jolly because Scrafty needs all the speed he can get. The leftovers are placed in Special Defense to give the Downloaders an Attack boost.
Sharpedo@Life Orb
Speed Boost / Adamant
252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Special Defense
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Protect
Sharpedo's bread and butter set. If you can get this in on a weakened Pokemon that is slower than Sharpedo you can KO it, get to +1, and Protect on the subsequent scarfer come to revenge you and outspeed and KO next turn. Waterfall and Crunch are tremendously powerful coming off of Sharpedo's 372 Attack. Earthquake is a filler move, but it's necessary for getting past Empoleon and Cobalion. I always Earthquaked Bisharp just to secure the KO but honestly, Waterfall probably woulda also done the job.
His biggest problem lies in Pokemon that are neutral to (or even worse, resist) his attacks. He has no way of OHKOing bulky Pokemon like Blastoise, Milotic, Swampert, or Shaymin; Cofagrigus and Slowbro are both 2HKOed, though. Virizion is Sharpedo's worst nightmare and needs to be eliminated before trying to sweep (though usually I will try to just have Sharpedo soften up the team so Scrafty can sweep later). EVs are the same as Scrafty; maximize offensive power and give Downloaders an Attack boost.
Weavile@Life Orb
Pressure / Jolly
252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Special Defense
- Ice Punch
- Low Kick
- Night Slash
- Ice Shard
This spot used to belong to Specs Kingdra, but I changed it because I needed a bigger offensive presence on my team (it was usually lights out if Chansey was still alive and Scrafty was dead). Granted, Weavile isn't 2HKOing Chansey any time soon, but his high base speed combined with fantastic Attack definitely proved useful. Ice Shard is also kind of a crutch in case Honchkrow starts running rampant (which he did... a lot). But hey, he did his job and I'm glad I swapped. EVs again are highly simplified but Weavile doesn't need anything else. Jolly because speed is everything.
Roserade@Life Orb
Natural Cure / Timid
252 Speed, 252 Special Attack, 4 Special Defense
- Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power Psychic
My one and only hazard setter. She's good at eliminating most of the Pokemon that Sharpedo hates, and throws out Spikes on occasion. She hits surprisingly hard, too. I saw a few offensive Roserade that used Leaf Storm over Giga Drain (presumably), but I prefer the healing that Giga Drain offers. Hidden Power Psychic is exclusively for Heracross, who walls the balls off of her otherwise. It leaves me helpless against Bronzong and Cobalion, but in that case I'll just spike and run. EVs are the same as everyone else, yadda yadda yadda why do I love spdef? I honestly have no idea.
Raikou@Choice Specs
Pressure / Timid
252 Special Attack / 252 Speed
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
- Extrasensory
- Volt Switch
This guy also used to be Specs Zapdos, who I love very much. Hidden Power Flying is a completely legitimate move on Specs Zapdos; it 2HKOs Gligar cleanly and messes up a ton of Pokemon as they scramble to find out what Hidden Power it is since it's not Ice.
The problem was Zapdos's speed; more often than not I was setup fodder for SubCM Raikou, who is a huge threat to this team. So I decided to try out Specs Raikou for myself. As much as I would love Aura Sphere, running a Rash nature is a big no-no when the whole reason I switched was to get the edge on jerks like Mienshao. Raikou performed admirably here, though I was really sad to lose the coverage that stab HP Flying got me. Maximum attacking prowess for EVs. I forgot to put the 4 in another stat.
Cofagrigus@Leftovers
Mummy / Quiet
252 HP, 252 Special Attack, 4 Special Defense
- Trick Room
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power Fighting
Before I played UU seriously, I never knew just how strong this guy was. Wow, was I in for a surprise. Cofagrigus can come in a host of Pokemon and swap the dimensions, causing strife even if I don't set up Nasty Plot afterward. Sometimes I'll boost first as they switch and TR as I live their hit just so other Pokemon can have a shot at abusing TR.
Scrafty actually loves Trick Room, and Sharpedo doesn't mind it either as long as he comes out when there's one turn left. If you can get either of them out against a faster Pokemon, you can start accumulating boosts, DD as TR ends, and then really go to town.
Cofagrigus really is the no fear Pokemon. He boosts in the face of Toxic and 2hkos you and your mom from various stages of boostery. He's fairly adept at taking on Chansey, depending on how she's EVed and whether or not she has Toxic. Maximum HP to increase longevity and Special Attack to maximize the pain-bringing capabilities.
Threats at a glance
Scarf Chandelure/Darmanitan: I have no dedicated Fire-type resist on my team, so these guys are pretty hard to overcome.
Honchkrow: A threat to every team, really. He's hard to stop if you let him get a kill. A lot of times I decided to not man up and attack on turns I knew he was gonna Brave Bird but wussed out and got swept for my trouble. Be a man. If you think he's gonna Brave Bird, he's probably gonna just to avoid the mind games.
Sharpedo: Ironic but if given half a chance, Sharpedo easily rips through my team. It's mostly a matter of my Sharpedo getting the first boost and then he is OHKOed by Earthquake.
Umbreon: A lot of my Pokemon are specially based and Umbreon loves to eat special attacks. Scrafty obviously demolishes it but playing around Protect is tricky.
Snorlax: See above. Curse versions are especially problematic as I have no way to phaze on this team.
Though Chansey may be be getting banned soon and this team would therefore benefit greatly from it, I'd like to try a different type of team, so I figured I'd rmt and share about how PMJ broke 1900 on the ladder, lol. Thanks for reading. Feel free to rate/hate.
