Tricky Team Needs Tweaking

[Frezgle]

This is a UU team I cobbled together with my own judgment that has gotten me to the top 100 in ratings in the main Pokemon Online Server - but after that point, it starts to fall short.

Gremlin @ Lagging Tail
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Trick
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Night Shade
This guy cripples the lead - either with priority Taunt, Trick, or Will-o-Wisp. At the very worst, it ends up sticking whatever kills him with a Lagging Tail, making a revenge kill nigh unavoidable. Night Shade is there in case he gets Taunted and switching isn't the better option. Most Sableye apparently have Recover, but I prefer forgoing that in order to have a wider arsenal of tricks.

Crimgan @ Choice Band
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Superpower
- Sucker Punch
- Outrage
- Earthquake
All-out Attack. That's pretty much it. He has 0 IVs in Speed, making him as slow as possible - which means as fast as possible once Trick Room is in place. Choice Banded Outrage wipes the floor with anything that doesn't resist it or have good bulk. He's meant to kamikaze and take something (or even more than one thing) out with him.

Spaceman @ Red Card
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Trick Room
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Magic Coat
For Rapid Spinning and setting up Trick Room. Magic Coat is there to mess with opponents that don't expect it and try to take the opportunity to throw out more hazards or Taunt. Since Claydol is bulky enough to survive most attacks, the Red Card is there to disrupt things, which makes setting up Trick Room easier for me.

Fabulous @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunder Wave
- Air Slash
- Aura Sphere
- Heat Wave
Mostly for flinchaxing and not much else. You know how it goes - Thunder Wave and then Air Slash spam. Aura Sphere and Heat Wave are for coverage, despite not having as much raw power as I would like. Togekiss seems to be one of the weaker members of my team, and one that I might consider swapping out for something else.

Corvus @ Focus Sash
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Seed Bomb
- Counter
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance
High-risk, high-reward. Assuming the field is clear of hazards, he either sets up with Swords Dance, or surprises a physical attacker with a powerful Counter. After that, it's either Seed Bomb or Sucker Punch, depending on what the opponent is going to use. He requires a lot of prediction, but I am decent enough at reading my opponent for him to work well for me most of the time.

Ubuntu (Porygon2) @ Eviolite
Trait: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Also benefits from Trick Room, but doesn't require it as much as Druddigon. I choose Trace over Analytic or Download because messing with Magic Bounce Xatu and Flash Fire Houndoom/Chandelure is way too much fun to sacrifice. I often end up Tracing Sheer Force anyway, which gives me a power boost. I use Hidden Power Fire instead of Toxic or Thunder Wave because for whatever reason, nobody thinks I'll have it, and I get plenty of powerful surprise hits with it.

Now, I'm not willing to sacrifice any team members themselves, except for Togekiss, and possibly Claydol if there is a better option available that can do all or most of the same things it does. As for movesets/items/EV spreads/Natures, I'm willing to take any advice, unless it goes against something I've pointed out in particular as working really well for me. Ideas?

 

[One Approved]

While your team does appear to have most common threats in UU covered, I feel it's too stressed on Porygon2. A lot of the common threats in this metagame, like Raikou, Zapdos, or Kingdra can all be switched into and walled by Porygon2, however it is also the /only/ member of your team that can switch into them. Most teams that carry these pokemon will carry a teammate that is specifically built to take down Pory2, so you should probably have some kind of backup plan. Having Togekiss as well as carrying Priority attacks (Cacturne) will help against Kingdra, but not the other two. You need something to be able to consistently take down Raikou and Zapdos. This team will also have big problems with Heracross. Guts Heracross will run through this team pretty easily, as Sableye's burn will only strengthen it, and the rest of the team is hit neutrally by Fighting/Bug coverage.

Since you seem open to dropping Claydol, I have a 2-part solution for you. First, I'd recommend dropping Hidden Power Fire on Porygon2, and changing it to Trick Room (if you want to keep that aspect on your team.) Porygon2 will get Trick Room up much more consistently than Claydol. It takes hits a lot easier, and can heal itself with Recover, unlike Claydol. In addition, there isn't as much to hit with Hidden Power Fire in UU as there is in OU. Secondly, I'd suggest switching Claydol to an offensive Nidoqueen set. Nidoqueen easily handles most variants of Zapdos and Raikou, since they generally opt for Hidden Power Grass instead of Ice. Nidoqueen will also help a lot against Heracross, as Nidoqueen resists Megahorn, Close Combat, and Stone Edge, all being very common moves on Heracross. I'd suggest a set of:

Spoiler

[animate]nidoqueen[/animate] @Life Orb
Trait: Sheer Force
Modest nature
100 Hp/252 SpAtk/156 Spe
~Stealth Rock
~Earth Power
~Ice Beam
~Focus Blast/Fire Blast

The coverage move you pick depends on what you want to cover. Focus Blast will hit Snorlax, Porygon2, and Umbreon, all of whom are common switch-ins to Nidoqueen. Fire Blast, however, will hit Bronzong.

I'd also suggest switching your ability on your Druddigon. I'd switch Rough Skin to Sheer Force. Sheer Force is better since you're using Druddigon as an offensive Pokémon, so it will allow you to hit through hindering abilities. This is important on Druddigon since it allows Earthquake to hit anything with Levitate, the most important being Bronzong.

Since you seem open to switching Togekiss, I'm also going to suggest that you do. Running a pokemon that is based off of flinching Paralyzed Pokémon to death is really counterproductive to a Trick Room team. Since Paralyzed Pokémon are slower than normal, this will mean that if you paralyze any of your opponent's pokemon, you give them the advantage once you set up Trick Room. Since you have a good physical powerhouse in Druddigon, I'm going to suggest another physical attacker to run behind it, the goal being to eventually break through your opponent's physical walls. Running either Scarf Heracross or Scarf Mienshao might work better, since they can outspeed a lot and nab the final few KO's after your opponent's team is sufficiently weakened.

Also something you might want to try out is switching Cacturne. Cacturne is /really/ not that good in UU play, especially since there are a lot of Flying and Fighting-types in this tier. I would actually suggest switching it to either Honchkrow or Bisharp. Honchkrow takes more prediction and skill, but the payout is pretty big. You trade the move Swords Dance for Moxie as an ability, and it would raise your attack after each KO it gets, which can turn just one play mistake by your opponent into your big gain. Honchkrow also gets a great movepool in Sucker Punch, Brave Bird, Pursuit, Superpower, Roost, Substitute, and Heat Wave, and you can pretty much mix and match any of them. Bisharp on the other hand does a few things for you. Like Cacturne and Honchkrow, it carries Sucker Punch, and it also has access to Swords Dance, but it also comes with a secondary Steel typing, which helps against pokemon like Kingdra and Flygon. Once they're locked into Outrage, you can freely set up a Swords Dance on them. Regardless of whether or not you switch, please note that Sand Veil is banned from competitive play on most servers, so you need to switch Cacturne's ability to Water Absorb if you choose to keep it.

 

[Frezgle]

I have noticed that Raikou and Heracross give me trouble (unless Sableye is still alive by the time they show up...)

Offensive Nidoqueen sounds good, but isn't King the better option? o_o; Unless the tradeoff of power for bulk makes up for it. I see more Nidokings than Queens. It does make more sense than Claydol at the very least.
Druddigon has Rough Skin because Sheer Force doesn't benefit any of its moves and putting pressure on physical attackers is a nice bonus - I think you might be confusing Sheer Force for Mold Breaker? Mold Breaker would help with Zapdos... I guess I'll try it out. Roosting Zapdoses have been the bane of my existence for too long.

I can't bring myself to use Heracross because too many of them have been the thorn in my team's side. Personal vendetta. Mienshao might be a good option. I'd be a bit worried about the lack of Special attackers, but... If Claydol's swapped out for Nidoqueen/king, there's not really any net loss :v

I'm gonna be hard-pressed to switch Cacturne out... Partially because I have a personal love for it, and partially because it's gotten me through so much. I did actually have Honchkrow on this team before, but I didn't win very often with it. Bisharp might be interesting, although I can't imagine it doing very well against bulky Water types.
Sand Veil is banned? Huh. Now that I consider it, I don't mind switching Sand Veil for Water Absorb, since I don't come across sandstorms very often and Scald is a pain in the butt.

Anyway, thanks for advice! c: There's a lot of good stuff here for me to try out, despite my overall stubbornness to change. Baby steps.

 

[One Approved]

Offensive Nidoqueen sounds good, but isn't King the better option? o_o; Unless the tradeoff of power for bulk makes up for it. I see more Nidokings than Queens. It does make more sense than Claydol at the very least.

That would be correct. The extra bulk means that Reckless Mienshao, Adamant Heracross, and a few other pokemon will fail to 2HKO. While Nidoking is faster, it is also more frail, and knocked out in 2 shots, which means it can't switch in consistently. The bulk is what makes Nidoqueen better in this case.

Druddigon has Rough Skin because Sheer Force doesn't benefit any of its moves and putting pressure on physical attackers is a nice bonus - I think you might be confusing Sheer Force for Mold Breaker? Mold Breaker would help with Zapdos... I guess I'll try it out. Roosting Zapdoses have been the bane of my existence for too long.

Yes. I meant Mold Breaker. Switch Rough Skin to Mold Breaker. My bad.

I'm gonna be hard-pressed to switch Cacturne out... Partially because I have a personal love for it, and partially because it's gotten me through so much. I did actually have Honchkrow on this team before, but I didn't win very often with it. Bisharp might be interesting, although I can't imagine it doing very well against bulky Water types.
Sand Veil is banned? Huh. Now that I consider it, I don't mind switching Sand Veil for Water Absorb, since I don't come across sandstorms very often and Scald is a pain in the butt.

Bisharp and Honchkrow don't have the best matchups 1-on-1 vs Bulky Waters, however the goal would be that between Druddigon, Bisharp/Cacturne/Honchkrow, and Mienshao, you would eventually break through them through the excessive pressure and damage you rack up on them. You can also try using Thunderbolt on your new Nidoqueen, since Water-types will often switch into it, although I think Ice Beam and then Focus Blast/Fire Blast provide better coverage generally.

 

[Frezgle]

I ditched Togekiss and Claydol in favor of the Nidoqueen you suggested and a Mienshao, I put Trick Room on Porygon2, and I kept Cacturne but changed its ability to Water Absorb.
So far, it's actually worked pretty well! Trick Room gets set up a lot easier and Mienshao helps keep the momentum going with U-turn. I seem to have awful luck with Hi Jump Kick for whatever reason, though.
Nidoqueen is surprisingly good. I've found several times that people don't make an obvious switch and get KO'd by it, presumably because they thought their attack would take it out.
And I've found Cacturne with Water Absorb has actually improved it; now I can switch into annoying Scalders with no problem, which even restores the HP lost from the omnipresent Stealth Rock, allowing Focus Sash to still have a purpose. I love it.

I didn't really look up any reference for Mienshao, so this is what I have:

Pinkerton @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Hi Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Fake Out
- Retaliate
This so far has worked really well as a revenge-killer like you suggested. Because of that role, I slapped Retaliate on there without much thought, but it hasn't been terribly useful and he's completely worthless against Ghosts. Is there a better option for coverage/reliability? Also, my EV spread seems to be working out fine, but I figured I'd ask if there was something that would be better just in case.

EDIT: Oh, and Druddigon has Mold Breaker now. So far the opportunity to use that hasn't really come up, aside from a couple of Bronzongs. Not quite sure how I feel about it yet d:

 

[Joeypals!!]

I'd change Retaliate to Stone Edge so that you can hit Ghosts and other annoyances such as Gliscor. Besides that, looks good!

 

[Frezgle]

I'd change Retaliate to Stone Edge so that you can hit Ghosts and other annoyances such as Gliscor. Besides that, looks good!

Wow, Stone Edge, duh! Not sure how I forgot that attack existed. Thanks!

 

[Joeypals!!]

Haha, no prob! If you want, you can try my Sableye set in my thread (too lazy to report lol) and see how they compare in use. Just a suggestion, not saying "DO THIS OR DIE!!!" lmao

 

[One Approved]

I ditched Togekiss and Claydol in favor of the Nidoqueen you suggested and a Mienshao, I put Trick Room on Porygon2, and I kept Cacturne but changed its ability to Water Absorb.
So far, it's actually worked pretty well! Trick Room gets set up a lot easier and Mienshao helps keep the momentum going with U-turn. I seem to have awful luck with Hi Jump Kick for whatever reason, though.
Nidoqueen is surprisingly good. I've found several times that people don't make an obvious switch and get KO'd by it, presumably because they thought their attack would take it out.
And I've found Cacturne with Water Absorb has actually improved it; now I can switch into annoying Scalders with no problem, which even restores the HP lost from the omnipresent Stealth Rock, allowing Focus Sash to still have a purpose. I love it.

I didn't really look up any reference for Mienshao, so this is what I have:

Pinkerton @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Hi Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Fake Out
- Retaliate
This so far has worked really well as a revenge-killer like you suggested. Because of that role, I slapped Retaliate on there without much thought, but it hasn't been terribly useful and he's completely worthless against Ghosts. Is there a better option for coverage/reliability? Also, my EV spread seems to be working out fine, but I figured I'd ask if there was something that would be better just in case.

EDIT: Oh, and Druddigon has Mold Breaker now. So far the opportunity to use that hasn't really come up, aside from a couple of Bronzongs. Not quite sure how I feel about it yet d:

A couple things. First off, Fake Out on a Choice Scarfer is...bad. I mean... On something like CB Ambipom, it would make sense, since technician, STAB, and the extra power provided by CB is great. However on a choice scarfer, there's no reason to use it. It will not have much power at all, and with Scarf, you should hypothetically outspeed most anything anyways. Fake Out on Mienshao in general isn't the best move to use. Yeah, oh, "free damage" but there's much better moves in general you should be using. Drop Fake Out for Aerial Ace. Aerial Ace on Scarf Mienshao lets you check Choice Scarf Moxie Heracross, which is /the/ most used pokemon in the UU metagame. Aerial Ace is also cool for hitting pokemon like Virizion and Roserade, but it's main use is for Heracross.

Secondly, 252 HP isn't good on a frail pokemon like mienshao. You don't have enough bulk to be worth an investment in it. You should be running 252 Speed and a Jolly nature instead. Your goal isn't to hit as hard as possible, but instead it's to outspeed and grab a revenge kill.

Lastly, I don't know whether or not you noticed, but your Claydol, your Togekiss, your Cacturne, and your Mienshao are all running only 252/252 spreads. You still have 4 EVs you can use in another stat. Which you should ALWAYS use, by the way. I would say 80% of the time, you want to put the 4 extra EVs into Special Defense. The reasoning behind this is that Porygon2 and Porygon-Z get Download as an ability, which will raise either their Special Attack or regular Attack depending on which one of your defenses is lower. You always want to have a higher Special Defense because if your physical Defense is a point lower, it will give them a regular Attack boost, which means the attacks that they use (Tri Attack, Ice Beam, etc.) will all do less damage. It's also worth noting that if your defense stats are the same, Download will ALWAYS give a Special Attack boost.