First Pokemon Team - Intro To Online Battles

[Mystletainn]

Hello, everyone! I just joined Smogon today, because I'm finally going to start trying WiFi battles. I did a bit of research and took a look at the tiers and the metagames, as well as watching some YouTube videos, and decided I liked UU best so far. Anyway, I finished EV training my Pokes, so here goes nothing.

MY TEAM

Froslass @ Focus Sash
Snow Cloak (no Dream World for me)
Timid
-Spikes
-Ice Beam
-Taunt
-Destiny Bond
252 HP/252 SPD/4 SpA

Froslass is one of my favorite Pokemon, and was an influence on me deciding to start in UU to begin with. She functions well as a lead, and that's how I set her up. Spikes are always handy to have on every team, with some of my later teammates forcing a lot of switches and whatnot. Taunt is very useful, as Froslass is quite fast, and will usually Taunt the other team's lead before they do anything. Even as a rather suicidal lead, as Froslass is not bulky at all, I had originally went with a Leftovers/Pain Split set with Spikes/Ice Beam/Taunt. Due to discussions here, I switched her to a Focus Sash/Destiny Bond over the Leftovers/Pain Split. This would work better, but Froslass can't really take too may hits, so Pain Split's recovery would end up not being enough at some point. Destiny Bond would guarantee a KO, as long as the opponent doesn't outpredict me with the switch and set-up and a random attack or something. Setting up Spikes and dragging down one enemy Pokemon definitely earns Froslass a spot on the team.

Virizion @ Life Orb
Justified
Jolly
-Leaf Blade
-Close Combat
-Stone Edge
-Swords Dance
252 ATK/252 SPD/4 HP

Before I even thought of tiers, I wanted Virizion on my team. I have enough of a history with Pokemon to soft-reset legendaries I like, and I got a Jolly Virizion that carried me through the game, alongside Zoroark. That said, I put him on my team as the physical sweeper using a Swords Dance set. Pretty standard, admittedly, but it works. He has high special defense too, and it'll do a lot of work to many, many Pokemon in the tier.

Raikou @ Leftovers
Pressure (traded)
Timid
-Thunderbolt
-Calm Mind
-Substitute
-Extrasensory
252 SpA/252 SPD/4 HP

Now, I can't simply run one sweeper, as that's not my style. I prefer having more than one, to ensure that if the only sweeper dies, that I still have a good chance at cleaning house. So, I have a physical sweeper in Virizion, and I browsed the possible special sweepers. Raikou came to mind, and even though mine lacks Hidden Power Ice, I still chose it. With Volt Switch in Gen 5, I would prefer to use Volt Switch on a Specs Raikou with Tbolt/HP Ice/Extrasensory alongside my U-Turners, but that's unfortunately not the case. Regardless, Sub/CM is still very effective.

Bronzong @ Leftovers
Levitate
Relaxed
-Gyro Ball
-Stealth Rock
-Toxic
-Earthquake
252 HP/252 DEF/4 SPD

Gotta love the bell. Here's my wall of the team. He's quite popular, but it's not hard to tell why. The set is rather standard, but I've also been debating Screens. The issue with that is the lack of attacking moves, and at which case I'd be switching out for other Pokemon under screens rather than just simply Toxic-stalling. I also have Stealth Rock, a great asset to every team. With Froslass, I have both Spikes and Stealth Rock, which will hurt the opponent a lot with some later Pokemon.

Zoroark @ Choice Specs
Illusion
Hasty
-Dark Pulse
-Flamethrower
-Trick
-U-Turn
252 SpA/252 SPD/4 HP

It's hard to just send out sweepers. Sometimes you just can't set up, and have to just beat on the enemy's team. This is where my last two Pokemon come in. Zoroark is the special one of the two. Now, many might question this moveset. Choice Specs lets Dark Pulse and Flamethrower do a huge chunk of damage without needing Nasty Plot. Trick is an opportunistic move, and when I find the right time to cripple and opponent, I'll do so. Sure, I'll lose the boost, but I can always U-Turn back out. Speaking of U-Turn, you might question why I have it on a Specs set. It generally belongs on a Scarf set, but it's here nonetheless. Zoroark is using a Choice item, so I'd prefer having the scout move, especially to keep the momentum going, usually in tandem with my last Pokemon, or sometimes someone else.

Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Levitate
Jolly
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-U-Turn
-Stone Edge
252 ATK/252 SPD/4 HP

Flygon is the other bruiser on my team. He covers the physical end while Zoroark is mainly special, and this one, unlike Zoroark, is Scarfed. I have him last, as I can send out Zoroark, expecting a counter such as Bronzong. Now, I'm not running Fire Punch on Flygon, but rather, Stone Edge. Zoroark can cover the Bronzong just fine. If they send out the bell, it'd get roasted by a Specs Flamethrower. Also, both Flygon and Zoroark run U-Turn, which can be quite annoying indeed. Flygon and Zoroark force a lot of switches early on, but there's only one problem: they have different reactions to entry hazards. I believe I have that covered, as Froslass can likely prevent the opposing lead from setting up an entry hazard, so I've gone without a Spinner on this team. By the time they do manage to set up hazards, I should be able to have accomplished quite a bit, and by that point, it'll matter less, when someone has been crippled by Choice Trick, they're covered in hazards, and by then a sweep is imminent.

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If someone could point out counters to my team as a whole, that would be very handy. I have not had a chance to test this out online yet, so I have not discovered them.

 

[PTJon7]

Welcome to UU! By far the best tier in my opinion, here's some thoughts I have on your team:

1. Destiny Bond should definitely replace Pain Split on Froslass, as it will more often than not guarantee you a kill.

2. Replace Froslass' Leftovers with a Focus Sash, Froslass is just too frail to survive a hit from an average UU lead. It also works well with Destiny Bond.

3. I honestly don't think there's much reason for your Bronzong to have both Gyro Ball and EQ, they really won't be doing to much unless you give Bronzong some Atk EVs. I think a Dual Screens Bronzong would contribute more to your team, as it helps everyone else especially your Raikou and Virizion when they're trying to set up.

4. I'd say the rest of your team looks good, but really the best advice I can give you is to just play! Getting to know the metagame is the best way to learn how to build a team. Be aware of the highly used pokemon of the tier and make sure you have ways to handle them.

Alright I hope this is helpful to you. Good luck!

 

[Mystletainn]

1-2. Understandable.

3. So what else should I get rid of for the dual screens besides Earthquake? Or should I just run Reflect as both Raikou and Virizion have high Special Defense?

Thanks!

 

[Cesterp]

Suggestion for your Bronzong would be Light Screen/Reflect/Stealth Rock/Toxic. Totally gets shut down by Taunt, but I don't see why packing a not-so-powerful EQ so Taunt doesn't 100% ruin you would be worth it. And don't skip on Light Screen because your sweepers have high SpDef- it's still a very valuable support move, and can lead to some serious survivability when you'd otherwise not be doing so well. Just remember that Reflect is more important when battling.

As already suggested for your Froslass, definitely replace Pain Split with DBond and give it a Focus Sash, lefties+unreliable recovery do pretty much nothing for Froslass.

Beyond that, something about the Zoroark doesn't quite seem right to me. I think Substitute is just how to use Zoroark more effectively in my opinion, as you get the sub up on the switch with the illusion shenanigans, and can then either Nasty Plot or smack them with a hard hit. You'll probably want to leave Raikou at the back of your party for it- they both react to hazards the same way, and Sub+CM Raikou shouldn't be on the field until it's a win condition if they don't do a specific thing, so the HP won't give anything away.
Your decision on the exact set, it's a matter of preference to be perfectly honest.

 

[PTJon7]

I think Cesterp is completely right about Bronzong. You should try out that set for sure.

To be honest I'm not sure about Zoroark, it is so frail that any decently powerful neutral hit will OHKO it.

I've found that Nidoqueen is actually a great special attackers in the tier, its basically a bulkier version of Nidoking. It is a lot slower than Zoroark but has much better move coverage and sheer force. It also is a great counter to Fighting types, especially Heracross.

 

[Mystletainn]

Well, I meant get rid of EQ not keep it, but preferably I'd like to be able to simply attack with the STAB Gyro Ball at times. I can definitely try it, though.

Completely forgot about entry hazards when putting Flygon last. My original thoughts were to draw in the counters, likely Bronzong, then destroy with Specs Flamethrower. They also share U-Turn. I've used NP Zoroark as well against my friends, and they both work well.

Although now that you point it out, I may reconfigure a few things. Too bad Raikou isn't HP Ice or else I could experiment with Specs, but ah well. Hmm.

 

[LionKingMax]

Keep your Bronzong Set. Gyro ball and EQ together have great coverage, and you won't be a complete set-up bait to most of the threats of UU (Sub/CM Raikou for example). Bronzong got a respectable 89 base atk, and hitting fire pokes on the switch will hurt them a lot.

I would also recommend that you change your Flygon for a Heracross. Hera+Zoroark is a great core, baiting each others resists quite well and hitting the usual walls for a big chunk of damage.

Heracross @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Guts (Since you don't have access to dream world. Guts is great anyway)
EVs: 252atk/ 4sdef/ 252spd
-Close Combat
-Megahorn
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake/ Sleep Talk

By the way, get rid of U-turn of your Zoroark and get Focus Blast. Even though I hate the move, it's far too important with walls like Snorlax and Umbreon reigning over UU. I'd also keep the choice specs since Zoro doesn,t hit hard enough without it, and setting up a Nasty plot is hard with his terrible defenses.

edit: Scarf Hera is there for late game sweep and revenge kills. Flygon is ok though if you want to keep it, though he's a bit weak dmg-wise.

3 fighting users? With hera you go up to 2.

 

[Mystletainn]

Again, I can likely solve the Bronzing set by testing it. We'll see how it goes.

But isn't Heracross rather redundant with Virizion? I understand its pairing with Zoroark, but aside from that I see no other reason to use it. Perhaps I could use something other than Zoroark? I'm not sure about running 3 Fighting users. I like Virizion as it checks the Water-types handily.

 

[Mystletainn]

Swapped around the team placement of Raikou and Zoroark, just in case Flygon falls earlier.

Is Heatproof viable on Bronzong? Like, as a surprise measure, since everyone runs Levitate?

 

[LionKingMax]

No it's not. Being immune to ground and spikes is far more effective than resisting Fire. Ofc you could get a surprise KO on some Fire pokes expecting to get a kill, but it's not worth it over the far more effective ability Levitate. Ground is also more common in UU than Fire.

EDIT: I forgot to add; You have no rapid spinner, and if Zoroark is disguised as Flygon, it will immediately reveal himself as Zoroark because of Spike damage, Stealth Rock damage, and etc.