[RU] Volt-Turn Just Isn't the Same

[EyeDentist]

Hello! I am EyeDentist, you may have seen me on Showdown!. I don't have a ton of problems with OU, except being stuck within two close numbers of ELO. However, when I try in RU, I crash and burn. I've always appreciated RU because of my obsession with OU and my inability to play UU. I think that maybe if I learn RU, I'll have an easier time learning UU and NU. Right? Well, anyway, I've gone on long enough.

Team Building Process

Volt-Turn is a reliable and easy-to-use type of team, yes? Might as well start with a Pokemon that's incredibly powerful in RU, but also fun to use. It isn't incredibly broken, you know? That would be Ambipom. It has U-Turn, and Fake Out, too. It's a great lead to start the momentum.

Now, I need a Volt Switcher. I thought that it would be to my advantage to have a slow, bulky switcher, that way I could allow Ambipom to switch in freely. A bulky electric type would be Eelektross.

Now, something to take hits for me would be the wall that I think deserves to be banned. Cresselia! It has Moonlight and Thunder Wave, giving it the ability to stop sweeps, and cripple whatever was doing the sweep. I decided to try physical defense so that I could form a core with...

Regice. Why Regice? It just has an incredible special defense. It also has Thunder Wave to stop those Azelfs and what not. I checked, and it can just barely survive an Excavalier's Iron Head, so I threw on counter, just to see if it was a gimmick worth using.

A couple additional revenge killers could be cool. How about Mienshou and Honchkrow?

First change to the team: Those revenge killers were both banned. Whoops. Instead, how about Dugtrio and Sharpedo?

After some testing, the defensive core wasn't doing it for me. Neither seemed to do much except survive, and Regice had no recovery and was burdened with SR weakness. I replaced Regice with Hitmontop for spinning, and then I replaced Cresselia with Magmortar, after realizing Excavalier could rampage through my team without any problems.

Eelektross dies too much. I use it to switch into things, but it doesn't have anything to really switch into. Rotom-W will take its place, to complete a FWG core.

Full team:

Rotom-Mow @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 136 Spd / 252 SAtk / 120 SDef
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Leaf Storm
- Trick
- Will-O-Wisp

My volt-switcher. I gave it enough speed to outspeed Azelf, and the rest was put into bulk and power. It may look odd for something to have Will-O-Wisp with a scarf, but trick is there for a reason. Set up sweepers can be tricked, but sadly, they usually know it carries that, so trick is mainly there for any walls. Leaf Storm packs a punch, and Will-O-Wisp halts physical sweepers. I also really like the typing of Rotom-C!

Ambipom @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Double Hit
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Ambipom is my favorite Pokemon in RU right now. Double Hit does a ton of damage, especially combined with Fake Out. I switch this in all the time. I do have a complaint, though, that it doesn't do a ton of damage without the Life Orb, and with it, it loses too much health. I am up for suggestions on an item for it, but know that I use it as a lead often. Knock Off has great utility and can do serious damage to all the psychics around.

Hitmontop (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Close Combat

Hitmontop is the tank of the team. Intimidate can stop those physical attackers, which allows it to easily spin away hazards. Toxic Spikes are a real pain, so I'm happy to have this guy around. Fake Out and Sucker Punch do nice damage, but I don't think both are necessary. I am up for suggestions on this one, too. Close Combat is way too strong to drop, though, obviously.

Magmortar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Mild Nature
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Mach Punch

Magmortar is here because of Escavalier, but it is a common switch-in for me. Magmortar has ridiculous coverage and a bit of useful priority, while also being decently bulky. I love the power of this Pokemon, as nothing seems to be able to safely switch in to it. However, if there's something out there that can stop Escavalier better, that would be great, too.

Dugtrio @ Choice Band
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Sucker Punch
- Reversal Pursuit

I love this thing. After something is killed, this always seems to be the answer. It's one of the fastest Pokemon in the tier, and it gets to 1v1 whatever is out there. Earthquake does great damage, coupled with the Choice Band, allowing massive damage on a lot of Pokemon. Stone Edge hits whatever else, and Sucker Punch is for fast Pokemon or Azelf. Reversal can be switched for anything, I've yet to use it, actually. I just don't see anything else to use there. Pursuit can finish off ghosts that waddle away with their new ability to escape being trapped, and this can really help me out later.

Sharpedo @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 64 Spd / 252 Atk / 192 HP
Adamant Nature
- Protect
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Earthquake

Sharpedo works well in the tier. It gets a ton of speed right away, and has enough power to OHKO a lot of the less bulky Pokemon. With water, dark, and ground, not much can safely switch in. Protect is also useful, not only for getting a speed boost, but for scouting out what moves the opponent has. Nothing is better than finding a surprise fighting move and then finding the appropriate counter. If only it had something to increase its power.


This team hasn't been doing so well. I just cannot understand tiers other than OU. This is one of those situations where I can't piece together what I'm doing wrong by myself, so all suggestions will be considered! Any RU pros out there, seriously, help me out, I need it.

 

[EyeDentist]

I'm going to bump this.

I really need input to get better at RU.

 

[NotBruceWayne]

Hello there. I honestly haven't been playing RU a lot (tier is still "unstable" but still pretty fun), but you're better off replacing Reversal on Dugtrio. Dugtrio's paper-thin defenses won't even allow you to use Reversal fully. According to Serebii, Dugtrio does learn Pursuit as an egg move so it could be used in place of Reversal. I'd also suggest running Adamant instead of Jolly to give you a high chance to OHKO Azelf with Sucker Punch. You do get outsped by Coballion though, so the choice is up to you.

Hope I helped and good luck with your team!

 

[EyeDentist]

Thanks, bud! I do not want to be outsped by Cobalion, because that thing is a monster and Duggy's job is to squish it, but all the other changes will be applied, no question.

 

[ryan]

Scarf Rotom-C / LO Ambipom / random Hitmontop / AV Magmortar / CB Dugtrio / Physical Sharpedo

One of the key problems with the team started in the teambuilding process. I read through it, and it looked to me like you pretty much just said, "this sounds cool, I'll use it." This is a fine way to approach teambuilding, but rarely will it bring you the results you seem to be looking for. The Pokemon you choose for your team should have some purpose aside from creating a FWG core or being bulky or whatever. You should always have some kind of win condition in mind, whether that be overwhelming the opponent offensively, always having momentum to keep up pressure, outlasting the opponent with a bulky team with defensive synergy, etc. Your team in particular should be focused on keeping up momentum and wearing down your offensive core's checks and counters through trapping/luring/passively damaging with hazards. You've got part of that with Dugtrio, but aside from that, you really have no good way of taking out problem Pokemon. This is an issue because Dugtrio is really weak, even with a Choice Band, so it can usually at best wear down or take out one Pokemon. If the opponent is rocking a great defensive core, you have no real way to win.

One way to help out with this is to utilize entry hazards. Hazards and VoltTurn go hand-in-hand because the pressure you put on the opponent will usually cause a lot of switches. Right now, you don't even have Stealth Rock, let alone Spikes or Toxic Spikes. I recommend testing out just adding Stealth Rock at first, and then if you're unsatisfied, adding in Spikes. For a Stealth Rock setter, you should remove either the Hitmontop or Magmortar. Neither is particularly strong, so the opponent can capitalize on you switching into them and take back any momentum you've gotten early on. Uxie instead of Hitmontop would be the first option that comes to mind for me. Without sacrificing bulk, you get both a Stealth Rock user and another U-turn user. You also get a Fighting-resist by using Uxie, which your team currently lacks.

With Uxie over one of the two bulky team members, you can cover most physical attackers really easily. However, if you cut Magmortar (which I'm currently recommending), you won't have anything to switch into Fire-types. Moltres and Delphox in particular look very annoying to face. One option is to use Lanturn over Magmortar, which synergizes really well with the rest of your team (Rotom covers Grass, Uxie and Rotom cover Ground, and Lanturn handles Flying and Fire, which nothing else on your team does). It also helps handle Will-O-Wisp, which your team doesn't like at all, thanks to Heal Bell. And just like Uxie, it's another defensive pivot, keeping your team from losing the momentum it will have gathered without making you too vulnerable to opposing offensive teams.

The only other real suggestion I have for your team is to use Cinccino instead of Ambipom. You don't have to make this one, and if you like Ambipom more, feel free to keep using it. But I've tried out both, and I've just found that Cinccino is just so much stronger.

Oh, you should also just be using 252 Atk / 252 Spe on Sharpedo. Its defenses are terrible, so that extra HP isn't going to make any difference. But the extra Speed can help out a lot, as it lessens the need to use Protect the turn that Sharpedo comes out, which in turn prevents the opponent from being able to set up on you as you use it.

Without a Fire-type on your team, you might be concerned about Escavalier. But you should be alright against it. You can spam Scald against it with Lanturn, and if you burn it, it's no longer an issue. Dugtrio can get off a lot of damage against it with Earthquake. It won't enjoy a Waterfall from Sharpedo, though you'll want to make sure to weaken it before you use Sharpedo to take it on. And Rotom-Cut can handle it fairly well by either burning it or Tricking it your Choice Scarf. Don't be afraid to sacrifice Rotom to get off a burn on it. You don't have an immediate answer to Escavalier anymore, but your team should still be well-suited to taking it on by keeping up the pressure.

Suggested changes:
Hitmontop -> Uxie
Magmortar -> Lanturn
Ambipom -> Cinccino
Sharpedo EVs -> 252 Atk / 252 Spe, Adamant nature

Sets:

Hide

@ Leftovers | Ability: Levitate
248 HP / 130 Def / 136 Spe | Bold Nature
Stealth Rock | Psychic | Yawn | U-turn

@ Leftovers | Ability: Volt Absorb
40 HP / 252 Def / 216 SpD | Calm Nature
Volt Switch | Scald | Heal Bell | Thunderbolt / Thunder Wave

@ Life Orb | Ability: Skill Link
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe | Jolly Nature
Tail Slap | Bullet Seed | U-turn | Rock Blast / Knock Off

Hope I helped out, and if you have any questions about anything, feel free to VM me.

 

[EyeDentist]

Well, gosh, Treecko. At first, I was under the impression that I'd be ignoring RU for a while. I think your post is my cue to try harder.

I'm just going to do all of what you said, including Cinccino, even though I hate the thing. I understand your reasoning for each suggestion, and it's solid. I haven't looked as in-depth into Pokemon ever as you have just now, rating my team, so let's see if I can do that in battle!

Once again, thank you very much for that rate! Before I edit my post, I'll test it out some to get a first-hand idea of what does what.

[EDIT]: Just realized Cinccino does not get U-Turn or Knock Off. I'll work past that, though, because I still will have two switchers and a turner.