SM UU UU Starlure

I would like to get feedback on this team I created based around Starmie and Chandelure hence the name Starlure. The reason I am building a team around Starmie and Chandelure is that Starmie is the 1st shiny that I found in a random encounter and Chandelure is one of my favorite pokemon. Ideally I was trying to build a bulky offense as i wanted somethign a bit different from the stall team I play in OU.

Starmie is one of the faster pokemon on this team as I found that this team can be beat by fast pokemon. I like the combination of Expert Belt and the 3 coverage moves that it has. I am using 2 grass moves on this team due to the fact I was running into trouble with Seismitoad and Swampert. I primarily use Starmie for its coverage in order to get opponents to swap out as Starmie's move pool is very diverse so it threatens a lot of pokemon with super effective damage. Only when necessary do i use rapid spin and thats usually on a free turn where the opponent is switching out.

starmie.gif


Starmie @ Expert Belt
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Grass Knot
- Psychic
- Scald

Another faster pokemon on my team I normally use this guy as a set up sweeper after the faster fairy pokemon are taken out or the opponent switches in a slower fairy thinking to take advantage of it's dragon typing. I have been experimenting with rivalry as I feel that opponents can forget about the attack bonus if we are the same nature and not factor that into damage calculations. The dragonium-z lets me do a surprising amount of damage to pokemon that are otherwise very bulky such as Gliscor and Blissey.

haxorus.gif


Haxorus (M) @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Rivalry
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab

I decided on Mega Steelix to deal with Mega Manectric and to switch into volt switch before mega evolved to stop the switch. Usually after swapping in on a volt switch I will mega evolve and set up rocks. I have the Special defense ev's / nature as a way to deal with Mega Manectric which is a huge threat to my team and have found Steelix to be a great swap into a toxic and into pokemon such as Blissey if i need to save the z move on Haxorus. This guy is my primary switch into physical attackers as most of my team cant afford to take a lot of damage and I felt it necessary to not only have a rock setter but also a pokemon that can at least weaken a dangerous pokemon of my opponents so that I can get the KO with one of my more offensive pokemon.
Steelix-Mega @ Steelixite

steelix-mega.gif

Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Heavy Slam
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic

Muk serves as my primary fairy check and also beats Scizor and Mega Beedrill straight up although it can't swap into those pokemon. Having access to knock off helps me get rid of recovery/choice items from the opponent and pursuit does a lot of damage when the opponent swaps out. Running assault vest so that it can take a hit from a fairy type pokemon and usually KO in return and having a psychic imunity can result in free swap ins to knock off the opponents item is always nice. In a somewhat unrelated note Muk looks awesome.

muk-alola.gif


Muk-Alola @ Assault Vest
Ability: Poison Touch
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- Fire Punch

Klefki is my normal lead and with the sash I am guarenteed to get off a status and at least 1 layer of spikes. I put play rough on it to scare off dragons that I swap into such as Latias and Hydregion as both can run through my team otherwise. Normally I use thunder wave on fast pokemon that could sweep my team so that i can either out speed or get the para hax with the pokemon that I bring in to deal with the pokemon. If i'm not in danger of being swept by the pokemon I will use toxic to either chip away at them or force them to bring in a natural cure pokemon to cure the team which allows me to swap in a more offensive pokemon.
Klefki @ Focus Sash

klefki.gif


Ability: Prankster
EVs: 196 HP / 208 Def / 96 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Spikes
- Play Rough
- Toxic

I am using choice scarf Chandelure as I feel that assault vest is better suited on Muk. I primarly swap in on a fire move or fake out and out speed then use a move that will either kill the current pokemon or hit the majority of their team for at least neutral damage. Clear smog is great for getting rid of set up such as swords dance and also acts as another fairy check. I put the 8 speed evs to break 296 speed with the scarf . Between Chandelure and Starmie almost every pokemon gets hit for super effective damage - flying types that don't have a secondary typing i cover such as Pidgeot.

chandelure.gif

Chandelure @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Clear Smog
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball

The overall Strategy for this team is a bulky offensive team with a good amount of immunitys to abuse for free switch ins and some unexpected item choices that let you catch your opponent off guard. I wanted to get away from running a stall team while using some of my favorite pokemon.

In general this team is weak to status such as paralysis and sleep as well as being worn down if my switch ins aren't healthy enough. I am open to suggestions as to what I should change and a few areas i am not that confident about is the 2 grass moves instead of ice beam or t bolt on Starmie and the ev spreads in general. Ive played about 100 or so games with this team so far and it feels decent a lot of my losses are due to my own errors such as dark being immune to prankster.
 
This team mostly feels solid, and seems to answer most of the formats key threats, I have just a few comments.

Firstly, that Starmie should be analytic, and it should probably have Ice Beam. Otherwise it just lets in Altaria and Hydreigon. I don't see Natural Cure being all that useful on this team.

Earthquake is a lot weaker on Haxorus if its not running Mold Breaker, as EQ allows it to hit levitating threats like Rotom. (Is Rotom-Wash still UU? I dont even know.) Still, I'm strongly unconvinced that the nuke potential of SD is better than the speed granted by DD, especially on a Z-move set.

I wouldn't run Toxic on Klefki. This team is very offensive, despite its walls, and it's better to be spreading paralysis while not losing to webs, so I'd run Defog as the last move.

Lastly, Chandelure wants Trick. It's just a great move that lets it cripple its checks like Blissey, while losing its choice-lock when its no longer needed in the lategame, making things like Swampert impossible to switch in on it.
 
I haven't tried analytic on Starmie but the fact that Starmie is really fast makes me feel like it wont get to much use mind you I don't have much experience playing with analytic.

As for Klefki I do like the idea of defog as sometimes bringing in Starmie to clear webs and such is a pain.

On Haxorus I still am not sure about running rivalry and when i put SD on it I wasn't thinking that with 1 or 2 DD's it could outspeed scarfers although if I keep rivalry would you replace EQ with another move.

As for Chandelure i'm still undecided about the HP ev's and if modest is better then timid. I kind of threw Clear Smog on there as a filler move and for the possibility of negating setup though I will give Trick a shot.
 
The point of analytic isn't to punish faster mons, its to punish switches. The analytic boost happens whenever his action is the second effect, so its useful both when an opponent switches, and against things like Klefki.

I did forget Starmie can spin when I wrote that klefki para, it might be worth using some kind of coverage as Steelix reliably gets toxic off on walls in the late game.

I wouldn't advise Rivalry. I think you're missing what it does, the boost is against same genders, not natures. Most people don't gender their mons, and the only one who does is Latias, so you're on 50-50 most of the time (although Female Haxorus to hit lati harder is something i might have to try.) Mold Breaker lets you hit levitaters such as Azelf without taking risks of fairy switchins, and it lets you break through Sturdy when that's relevant without taking a hit. Also, breaking through Aggron-Mega's Filter is pretty nice.

SD looks like a valid option on paper, but without the speed boost your team is incredibly weak to good speed control such as Scarf Latias, Scarf Hydreigon and Mega-Manectric.

... I didn't see Chandy's EVs. Definitely run 252 SpA 252 Spe Timid, else you'll go under the bus against opposing scarfers. Krook and Hydreigon can still be a pain but you can outspeed greedy scarf Krooks. It also means the mon isn't just useless after Tricking.
 

Sage

From the River To the Sea
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Hi! Neat team, I think I might be able to help you out with a couple things though. Some of your sets are sub par compared to more standard builds, I'm gonna try and keep the core of your concept together while also revamping a mon or two, as well as sets and EVs across the board. So let's get into it! Changes will be marked in bold.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

No Changes

muk-alola.gifsteelix-mega.gif

I like your choices for glue mons, especially Steelix Mega over the comparable Aggron, which provides you an Electric Immunity to stop things from Pivoting all over you. Muk does a good job of preventing Latias from running over you.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Set Changes

Starmie.gif

Starmie is definitely an underrated threat so props to forming a team around it, but your set fails to effectively take advantage of Starmie's strengths. The set I'm proposing should help you utilize Starmie's power better.

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin

The difference in damage between an Analytic Life Orb Starmie and a Natural Cure Expert Belt one is staggering. Hydro Pump is chosen over Scald for the power. Ice Beam and Thunderbolt are opted for over your previous coverage options, as they hit traditional Starmie switch ins harder, things like Empoleon and Celebi. Calcs below show the power difference on something that resists Starmie's STABs.

252 SpA Expert Belt Starmie Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 148 SpD Celebi: 170-202 (42 - 50%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Analytic Starmie Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 148 SpD Celebi: 239-283 (59.1 - 70%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Expert Belt Starmie Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Empoleon: 142-168 (38.1 - 45.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Analytic Starmie Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Empoleon: 198-234 (53.2 - 62.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery



chandelure.gif

Chandelure is a solid threat in the meta right now, but your set doesn't really play to its strengths. Choice Scarf certainly is an option but it fails to effectively check faster Pokemon like Mega Aerodactyl, Scarf Hydreigon, and Scarf Latias due to its low base 80 speed for a Scarfer.

Chandelure @ Leftovers
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
- Substitute
- Calm Mind

Sub Calm Mind Chandy is in my opinion Chandelure's strongest set right now, being very deadly towards stall, and gaining set up on a number of common Pokemon in the meta such as Choice Scarf Infernape, Blissey, Amoonguss and Cobalion. This change also improves your matchup against Trick Room and Serperior. Chandelure can bypass a Sub Seed Serperior thanks to Infiltrator, a set that Alolan Muk struggles to effectively check. You can set up Substitutes on Trick Room teams while their setters are out and stall turns or proceed to setup. Flamethrower is chosen as Stall teams can PP stall Fire Blast, leaving you unable to complete your sweep.

Klefki.gif

Your Klefki set is mostly fine, but as it is your main form of speed control, you don't want to play it hyper aggressively with a Focus Sash and sacrifice it early. The Prankster Thunder Wave is very important to your team so you can't get endgamed by fast sweepers or cleaners. This is why i'm opting to give you Leftovers over a Sash. I'm choosing Magnet Rise over Toxic as your final move because your team can struggle with offensive Ground types such as Mamoswine and Krookodile. Magnet Rise Klefki is a very solid check to those Pokemon, letting you Spike up or chip them down with Play Rough.

Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 196 HP / 208 Def / 96 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Spikes
- Play Rough
- Magnet Rise

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Replacements

With your Stall Matchup improved, I don't see as much need for Haxorus as a wallbreaker. Your set was not fully taking advantage of Haxorus' raw power with Mold Breaker anyway. That being said, you still do need a strong attacker, but right now your matchup with Water types can be a pain. For this reason, I'll be changing Haxorus to Serperior.

haxorus.gif-> serperior.gif

Serperior @ Normalium Z
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Hyper Beam
- Glare

This gives you a three major assets to your team. First of all, a Water switch-in with decent bulk. Secondly, a strong attacker that can bust through walls while simultaneously acting as a win con. Finally, it offers speed control sitting a decent 113 speed tier, as well as being able to Glare common checks on the switch such as Crobat and Mega Beedrill. Z-Hyper Beam becomes a 200 BP Breakneck Blitz, which at +2 can break through Serp checks like Mega Altaria and Amoonguss, or the aforementioned fast threats if they have been paralyzed.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I hope these changes help you, good luck in your future UU endeavors and feel free to find me in the PS! Underused room at Sage of the 6! Importable with the full changed team below.

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin

Chandelure @ Leftovers
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
- Substitute
- Calm Mind

Steelix-Mega @ Steelixite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic

Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 196 HP / 208 Def / 96 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Play Rough
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Magnet Rise

Muk-Alola @ Assault Vest
Ability: Poison Touch
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- Pursuit
- Fire Punch

Serperior @ Normalium Z
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Hyper Beam
- Glare
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top