My first Gen V team, UU tier

[Ursaring89]

After a couple months of breeding (I started all but Cofagrigus and Musharna before black and white came out) my Gen 5 team is finally finished.

Lead:
Miltank@leftovers
Nature: jolly
Ability: Thick Fat
EV's: 240 hp / 84 def / 184 speed
- Stealth Rock
- Body Slam
- Milk Drink
- Heal Bell
31 hp / 28 att / 30 Def / 11 SpecAtt / 30 SpecDef / 31 speed

This Miltank's job is to set up Stealth Rock and provide Heal Bell support. Body Slam is there to provide a reliable STAB and to provide paralysis support. It'll stay in long enough to set up stealth rock and paralyze one to two pokemon but switch in and out afterwards to maintain Heal Bell support.

SpecSweeper:
Houndoom@focus sash
Nature:
Ability: Flash Fire
EV's: 4 hp / 252 SpecAtt / 252 Speed
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Hidden Power Grass
- Flamethrower
28 hp / 13 att / 22 def / 31 SpecAtt / 25 SpecDef / 31 speed

Houndoom creates the first part of my fire/grass/water core. Come in on something he'll spooky away, nasty plot on the switch, and dish out damage with STAB flamethrower and dark pulse. Hidden power grass Is there to hit water, rock, and ground types to provide more coverage. He's also the only UU pokemon on my team, without him I could battle in the RU tier so I may be at a disadvantage due to having him and only being allowed in UU.

PhysWall:
Cofagrigus@Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Ability: Mummy
EV's: 252 hp / 252 def / 4 SpecAtt
- Will-o-wisp
- Shadow Ball
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power Fighting
31 hp / 4 att / 31 def / 30 SpecAtt / 28 SpecDef / 12 speed

Cofagrigus is there because he's immune to fighting (good synergy with Lapras and Miltank) and blocks rapid spin to keep my stealth rock into play. Will-o-wisp to cut a sweeper's attack, and after a couple calm minds he can deal some good damage with STAB shadow ball, and become hard to take down. Hidden Power fighting covers normal, ice, rock, and steel types.

SpecWall:
Musharna@leftovers
Nature: Calm
Ability: Synchronize
EV's: 252 hp / 4 def / 252 SpecDef
- Calm Mind
- Psycic
- Moonlight
- hypnosis
31 hp / 6 att / 29 def / 30 SpecAtt / 31 SpecDef / 17 speed

Musharna becomes a spectacular special wall after a calm mind boost. Hypnosis to put my opponent to sleep so I can calm mind a second time on the switch and deal some big damage from STAB Psycic. Moonlight Is in there to provide healing when I need it.

PhySweeper:
Sceptile@life orb
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Overgrow
EV's: 4 hp / 252 att / 252 speed
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
30 hp / 31 att / 23 Def / 11 SpecAtt / 26 SpecDef / 31 speed

Sceptile is the second part of my fire/grass/water core. After a swords dance his attack goes over 600 and STAB leaf blade will punch holes in anything that doesn't resist it. Rock slide and earthquake round out the coverage and, with such a high speed stat, there aren't many poke's that are going to out speed it unless they're scarfed.

Late Game Sweeper:
Lapras@leftovers
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Water Absorb
EV's: 32 HP / 252 Att / 224 speed
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Beam
- Zen Headbutt
IV's: 30 hp / 31 att / 29 def / 29 SpecAtt / 28 SpecDef / 31 speed 28 SpecDef / 31 speed

Lapras has always been one of my favorites and the last time I used her was in red version so I've decided to bring her back on board. Dragon dance boosts her attack and speed to decent numbers and after a second she's a monster. STAB waterfall hits extremely hard and Zen headbutt hits remaining fighting types had as well. Ice beam is there because it deals more damage then ice Shard even after a x2 attack boost.

So there's my first Gen V competitive team. I'm stuck in the UU tier because of Houndoom but I think my team could do well in this tier.

 

[Fairy]

I'm glad you decided to post your team here. :D

I wouldn't know what to do with Miltank anyway. It looks like a solid set though, from everything I understand about Miltank as it is. I've never seen one with Stealth Rock though, but I can't come up with a reason why it shouldn't work as a lead. I'll follow up with this if I find the time.

SpecSweeper:
Houndoom@focus sash
Nature:
Ability: Flash Fire
EV's: 4 hp / 252 SpecAtt / 252 Speed
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Hidden Power Grass
- Flamethrower
28 hp / 13 att / 22 def / 31 SpecAtt / 25 SpecDef / 31 speed

Decent Nasty Plot set. I encourage you to try out Taunt over HP [Grass]. It will allow Houndoom to chew through walls and counter common Baton Passers. Also, a Passho Berry will help Houndoom absorb Water attacks from powerful Water types like Milotic, Empoleon, and Suicune.. However, the combination of HP [Grass] and the Passho Berry may be a more situational, but potent pairing, considering you would be 2HKOing the aforementioned Pokemon (save Empoleon).

PhysWall:
Cofagrigus@Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Ability: Mummy
EV's: 252 hp / 252 def / 4 SpecAtt
- Will-o-wisp
- Shadow Ball
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power Fighting
31 hp / 4 att / 31 def / 30 SpecAtt / 28 SpecDef / 12 speed

Considering how the rest of your team works, I think you may get more out of Cofagrigus' standard bulky Ghost set.

Cofagrigus @ Leftovers
Mummy
252 HP / 136 Defense / 120 Special Defense
Bold [+Defense; -Attack]
- Haze
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rest
- Shadow Ball / Hex

Instead of countering like your previous Cofagrigus set was made for, this one focuses more on being a defensive pivot in battle. The set is more or less self explanatory. Haze will shut down any defensive stat boosting Pokemon. Will-O-Wisp will lock up any heavy physical sweepers and work them down while you absorb their attacks. Rest is, sad to say, your only credible form of Recovery. And Shadow Ball is the best STAB move you could ask for. Alternatively, Hex can be used due to its useful 100 Base Power when the opponent is afflicted with a status condition. So, that should also be considered. However, at the end of the day, Cofagrigus has more competition in terms of usage against Eviolite Dusclops than anything else.

SpecWall:
Musharna@leftovers
Nature: Calm
Ability: Synchronize
EV's: 252 hp / 4 def / 252 SpecDef
- Calm Mind
- Psycic
- Moonlight
- hypnosis
31 hp / 6 att / 29 def / 30 SpecAtt / 31 SpecDef / 17 speed

I don't know much about Musharna, sorry to say. But, I do think there are better Psychic types / Special Walls at your disposal to choose from. I mean, isn't Cresselia in UU?

Cresselia @ Leftovers
Levitate
252 HP / 252 Defense / 4 Special Attack
Bold [+Defense; -Attack]
- Reflect
- Thunder Wave / Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Moonlight / Rest

Okay, so, because of Cresselia's amazing bulk and supportive movepool, it can really be an asset in battle. Reflect is going to half the damage taken from Physical Attacks, something that Cresselia is going to love you for. Thunder Wave punishes anything that tries to set up against it, while Psychic can be used as a solid STAB attack to hit the Fighting types you will encounter. Both have excellent results, but the usage depends on the situation. Ice Beam hits Dragons for super effective damage and will discourage them from switching in on Cresselia. Finally, it's really a toss up between Moonlight and Rest. So, whichever you prefer is optimal. Moonlight gets the boost in the Sun and the hit in Sand, while Rest puts you to Sleep. Both have advantages and shortcomings.

PhySweeper:
Sceptile@life orb
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Overgrow
EV's: 4 hp / 252 att / 252 speed
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
30 hp / 31 att / 23 Def / 11 SpecAtt / 26 SpecDef / 31 speed

In my opinion, the way your running Sceptile is a fierce understatement of what it can really accomplish. Sceptile holds the bar as the fastest innate Sub+Seeder in the game regardless of Whimsicott). And unlike Whimsicott, Sceptile actually have some offensive prowess to speak of. So, here's what I recommend.

Sceptile @ Leftovers
Overgrow
252 Special Attack / 28 Special Defense / 228 Speed
Timid [+Speed; -Attack]
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]

The essence of this set lies in the Subsitute + Leech Seed combination. Where, ideally, you set of Leech Seed on the opponent and hide behind multiple Substitutes to stall out for Giga Drain and Leftover recovery. HP [Fire] will hit most that are immune to Leech Seed and grant you general 2HKOs on common Steel types. However, I do understand you wanting to take advantage of Sceptile's natural Speed with an offensive set. If so, I recommend Leaf Storm / Focus Blast / Hidden Power [Ice / Fire] / Dark Pulse with a Timid [+Speed; -Attack] or Hasty [+Speed; -Defense] nature and 4 HP / 252 Special Attack / 252 Speed with a Life Orb.

Late Game Sweeper:
Lapras@leftovers
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Water Absorb
EV's: 32 HP / 252 Att / 224 speed
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Beam
- Zen Headbutt
IV's: 30 hp / 31 att / 29 def / 29 SpecAtt / 28 SpecDef / 31 speed 28 SpecDef / 31 speed

I already went over Lapras in your previous thread. But for the sake of consistency, I will just c+p it in here too.

Lapras @ Leftovers / Life Orb
Hydration
252 HP / 4 Defense / 252 Special Defense
Careful
- Curse
- Rest
- Waterfall
- Toxic / Ice Shard

If you're not going to use Dragon Dance than I highly suggest giving Lapras Ice Shard to make up for the hit in Speed. After a few Curse boosts, Lapras becomes very difficult to take out, and has such reigned as a bulky sweeper in the lower tiers. Dragon Dance is extremely viable, especially with the ever devastating BoltBeam combo. However, I prefer the Curse set simply because it has more utility and there are better sweepers out there. Since Lapras doesn't exactly have the best physical move pool out there, Return can be used to hit Gyarados and Rotom-W, both of whom resists Waterfall. Bulldoze can be used to hit Empoleon, but has little usage beyond that. So STAB Waterfall and STAB Ice Shard are your best offensive tactics. EVs maximize Lapras' special bulk giving it a healthy defensive core.

Finally, there are some few problems your team faces as a whole. I don't know how prevalent they are in UU nowadays, but I see Hitmontop, Rhyperior, and basically anything with a strong Fighting core giving this team a hard time. Luckily, you do have the immunity in Cofagrigus and the resistance in Musharna. But, they can easily give a good hit to Houndoom, Miltank, and Lapras. Also, Flygon (still UU?) and Altaria might cause problems with you considering that every Pokemon on your team takes neutral damage from Dragon Type attacks. Beyond that, I would say Charizard is a threat only because it's capable of running both Dragon Pulse and Focus Blast but, I don't think anyone does that. lol Anyway, I hope my rate helped a bit. I wish I had more to say about UU teams but unfortunately I'm not fluent in that tier. I'll try to do some follow up work on Miltank and offer you something better than what I said.

Good luck!

 

[Ursaring89]

Hey Alexial357, do you think it would be better for me to replace houndoom with a slecial sweeper from the RU tier? The only reason Im in the UU tier is because of Houndoom.

 

[PlatinumDude]

RU Pokemon are viable in UU. Also, you're screwed over by Chansey, since you have a lot of Special attackers. I'd use Arcanine over Houndoom:
-Flare Blitz
-Wild Charge
-Close Combat
-Morning Sun/ExtremeSpeed
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire/Intimidate

Oh and Magic Guard Alakazam has been released if you want to use it:
-Substitute/Calm Mind
-Psyshock/Psychic
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP/252 SAtk/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard

I'd follow Alexial's suggestions too, if I were you.

 

[Fairy]

I have to agree with PlatinumDude. Arcanine will be a better choice than Houndoom in your case. Besides dealing a great deal more damage to Chansey, the overage provided by Arcanine is superior. Plus, you get the priority of Extreme Speed, and if you felt so inclined, you could run Crunch to help counter the mess of Psychic types in UU.

All that considered, I think Lapras is highly out of place on this team. Lapras is pretty much lost on any team that doesn't run Rain. I want to run Suicune by you for a moment. Yes, it is a Special Sweeper, but it has twice the use usefulness as Lapras and would only benefit your team accordingly. I'm going to suggest an offensive Calm Mind set.

Suicune @ Leftovers / Life Orb
Pressure
252 Special Attack / 4 Special Defense / 252 Speed
Timid [+Speed; -Attack]
- Calm Mind
- Surf / Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Electric / Fire]

Lastly, I'm having second thoughts about Miltank and Sceptile. You just have some better options out there to choose from. I'm going to suggest Aerodactyl as a new Lead, and Heracross as a new Physical Sweeper.

Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Rock Head
248 HP / 136 Defense / 124 Speed
Jolly [+Speed; -Special Attack]
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Slide / Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Taunt / Roost

Well, you're not going to be healing your team of any statuses, but you will be outspeeding most of anything you'll encounter in UU. Aerodactyl's Speed rivals that of Weavile, Jolteon, Crobat, and Azelf, so it's safe to say that it already outclasses Miltank in that facet. Despite what Aerodactyl was originally known for, this generation allows it to play a little more defensive role having typing gives you some useful resistances. Stealth Rock is just Stealth Rock, lay those with ease. The first move is more of less a toss up. You have the choice of Rock Slide (more PP and accuracy) or Stone Edge (less PP, less accurate but more powerful with a high critical rate). Personally, I like Rock Slide. But Stone Edge can be useful if you don't really plan on using Aerodactyl for long. Earthquake is to hit Poison and Steel types, but I have heard of people running Toxic > Earthquake in Stall teams. Finally, and this is the hard part, you have the choice of Taunt and Roost. Let me give you the pros and cons so you can make an educated decision. Taunt is crucial to Aerodactyl, saving it from the slew of status attacks and set-ups. Roost will give you reliable recovery. And since Aerodactly has the Speed to pull it off well, you'll be able to heal off those Ice, Electric, and Rock type moves with relative ease.

Now, to replace Sceptile, I was thinking something like Heracross who actually breaks through RU and sits comfortably in UU. This is completely up to you. You mentioned that most of your Pokemon are RU so I'm trying to give you some more UU options. Houndoom isn't the Pokemonto justify an entire tier shift, but high profile Pokemon (some who were very recently bumped down from OU) is very much worth it, in my opinion. Heracross will also be another strong Physical attacker, so you'll have more security against Chansey and the likes. I'm going to suggest a Choice Scarf set. If you don't know what a Choice Scarf is or what it does, please look here.

Heracross @ Choice Scarf
Guts
4 HP / 252 Attack / 252 Speed
Adamant [+Attack; -Special Attack]
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit

Yes another self explanatory set. This is all out offense. With a base Attack stat of 125 and two very powerful STAB attacks, Heracross makes a prime client for a Choice Scarf. Best of all, with Heracross' ability Guts, it performs outstandingly as a Status absorber. While Miltank would be healing your team of statuses, Heracross can switch in on them (with a bit of prediction) and punish your opponent for even considering inflicting your Pokemon, boosting Heracross' attack stat. This is only made sweeter by the Choice Scarf, making the two a lethal combination. With Close Combat and Megahorn, which have surprisingly good synergy, you'll be able to hit a fair majority of the UU tier with crippling STABs. When adding Stone Edge to the mix, you're literally able to hit everything for at least neutral damage. The last move slot is reserved for Pursuit (or Night Slash, but I like Pursuit more) so you're able to pseudo-trap opponents and hit them for super effective damage. I feel obligated to say though, if you go with Night Slash, you'll be 2HKOing even the bulkiest of Jellicent. Which is quite an achievement that not all Pokemon can claim. Simply put, it's a coverage move, but worthwhile on any Choice Heracross set.

I'd also like to mention quickly, you have a lot of options with your Pokemon here. But, with the chances made (Aerodactyl > Miltank; Arcanine > Houndoom; Cresselia/Alakazam > Musharna; Heracross > Sceptile; and Suicune > Lapras) you're actually fixing a lot of the typing weaknesses I mentioned in my last post. The only thing I'm still worried about are the Dragons, but your Fighting Type weakness is all but dissolved. These choices are all up to you though. I'd like to see more powerful UU Pokemon on your team so you fair a better chance in that tier's environment. Hence, the changes I've recommended. However, you have many, many other Pokemon to choose from. I suggest you read up a bit more on solid UU Pokemon and weigh the pros and cons. You have the ingredients for a good team here. I look forward to you posting a tested and proven team here. :)

If you have any other questions / ideas please let the raters know and we will be happy to help!

 

[Ursaring89]

I'd like to battle in the RU tier but Houndoom is the reason I can't. What do you guys think about me replacing Houndoom with Rapidash?

Rapidash@Wide Lens
Flash Fire
252 att / 4 def / 252 speed
Jolly (+ Speed, -SpecAtt)
- Flare Blitz
- Megahorn
- Hypnosis
- Morning Sun / Will-o-Wisp

Rapidash outspeeds a lot of the RU tier and wide lens boosts the accuracy of hypnosis and megahorn. I'd lean towards Morning sun to heal buy will-o-wisp could be benificial to cripple physical sweepers, but that's what Cofagrigus Is there for.

 

[Fairy]

Well, from what I know, there are only a few Fire types in RU. Camerupt, Combuskin, Emboar, Entei, Flareon, Macargo, Magmortar, Moltres, Monferno, Rapidash, Simisear, Torkoal, and Typhlosion. That's all I could find. ;( And I have no idea how these guys do competitively. The only Pokemon within these boundaries I can recommend sets for are Emboar, Entei, and Magmortar..

I guess I'll give you sets for those. Beyond that however, I'm not going to be much help without some extensive R&D on my end. I just don't have the competitive battling knowledge of RU to be able to make an educated and informed assessment on what would be best for your team. So, with that in mind, the RU Fire Pokemon (I'm assuming Physical or Special oriented attacks make no never mind at this point), that I can give you sets for is limited at best. If you need sets for any of the aforementioned Pokemon (or any others that I haven't listed. If I remember correctly there are actually 17 Fire type Pokemon in RU.. but don't quote me on that) the raters will do the best they can. I have to say though, all these Pokemon have poor defensive typing and are all Stealth Rock weak, so use of the Life Orb, Substitute, or Weather is going to whittle away at them much faster than you would expect. Investing something to perform Wish support might be worthwhile on your team. Isn't Alomomola RU now?

Emboar @ Life Orb
Blaze / Reckless
212 HP / 252 Attack / 44 Speed
Adamant [+Attack; -Special Attack]
- Bulk Up
- Flare Blitz
- Wild Charge
- Stone Edge / Assurance

It's a shame Emboar doesn't have access to Swords Dance (at least, as far as I can tell .___.). But, it's not like Bulk Up hurts. This set is more built around Reckless than anything else. Flare Blitz is your best STAB option, when factoring in the STAB and Reckless boost, you're looking at a Flare Blitz with a base power of 180. Not counting the 20% Life Orb boost. Wild Charge is just as dangerous because of the recoil+Reckless, but does little in terms of coverage. Stone Edge is there for most anything that resists Flare Blitz, or Assurance for some added coverage. 44 EVs are invested in Speed so you can outrun anything else with a base 70 Speed stat. The rest go into Attack for offense, obviously, and HP for general bulk. I guess you could also run Earthquake, Superpower, Hammer Arm, or even Flame Charge (to boost Speed) instead of Bulk Up if you're not too partial on this set.


Entei may be the star of the trifecta here. It has well distributed stats in all the right places, but, ehh..

Entei @ Leftovers
Pressure
136 HP / 156 Special Attack / 216 Speed
Timid [+Speed; -Attack]
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Flamethrower / Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass / Electric]

Well, this is probably the best you're ever going to get out of Entei, sorry to say. Luckily, during battle, you'll be able to pull off 101 HP Substitutes and very effectively execute Calm Minds. While it's true that Entei's Attack stat is greater than its Special Attack, the only real difference it has from any other physically inclined Fire type is the use of Extreme Speed (Something that Arcanine already does better). So, the Sub+CM set is probably your best shot at squeezing all the competitive merit you can from this guy. Your best STAB option is either Flamethrower or Fire Blast, it's your call really. And finally, you have a choice between HP [Grass] or HP [Electric]. Basically, they're both used to take out the bulky waters that give Entei a hard time. So again, your call. Be that as it may, sets for a physical Entei do exist, so let us know if you prefer that.

And finally, Magmortar, who has a little more diversity this gen, surprisingly.

Magmortar @ Life Orb / Expert Belt
Flame Body
64 HP / 164 Attack / 252 Special Attack / 28 Speed
Naughty [+Attack; -Special Defense]
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass / Ice]
- Cross Chop

This way, you'll at least be able to bypass any Special Walls with Cross Chop, allowing Marmortar to 2HKO Eviolite Chansey with Stealth Rock damage. Beyond anything else, this set is mainly used for coverage. Thunderbolt has decent coverage with Flamethrower, HP [Grass] is useful against the bulky waters, and HP [Ice] will help with Altaria. Unfortunately, Magmortar's Speed is below average so you might find yourself being revenged killed more often than not. I also just want to mention, a Choice Specs set can be used if you forgo Cross Chop in favor of Focus Blast and 252 Special Attack and Speed (remainder in Defense) with a Modest Nature. But, I figured this would make Magmortar a bit more dynamic.

Well, that's all I got. D: If anyone else has any suggestions, please mention them. I know almost nothing about RU, let alone the specific Fire Types or any other prerequisites. I don't even know if I mentioned the better ones in this post. Sorry I couldn't do more for you, Ursaring89.

 

[Ursaring89]

Rapidash is In the RU tier, but I'll look Into entei. I typically stay away from legendaries due to it taking me a month or two just to breed my pokemon to get the right iv's and I can't breed legendaries so its all random and it would most likely take a lot longer to get It, but Ill look into it none the less.

 

[lionrt60]

Will do a full rate later but just chiming in to say that the above set is not Entei's best. There was an event that gave away Flare Blitz Entei, thus I believe the following to be the best set.

Entei @ Choice Band / Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
Evs: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
- Flare Blitz
- Stone Miss Edge
- Iron Head
- ExtremeSpeed

Perfect coverage and insane power. However it can be hard to find one, let alone one with good Ivs. If this was a Pokemon Online team it wouldn't be a problem though. I'd highly recommend you get PO as you can test your team before working so hard on it in-game and then having to replace half of the members D:

 

[Ursaring89]

I was thinking about using PO but I've done decently well without it so I didn't. With the introduction of a new tier and deciding to enter it though I probably should have. I think I most likely will be swapping houndoom out and competing in RU though because the pokemon in this team were chosen because they're my favorites and they're all in the RU tier. I'm really looking into some of the changes you have all mentioned though.