Stall and sweep (UU rmt)

[Smarties-chan]

Quite some time back, a discussion on the new additions to UU caught my attention as I was lurking on Smogon and especially the additions of Articuno and Aerodactyl really made me think what the hell they were thinking so I decided to make a team that abuses these absolute beasts. Although UU was about the only thing I played back in the 3rd generation, the 4th gen UU environment was completely unfamiliar to me when I started making this team. Through trial and error, the team slowly started shaping up into what it is now. This team has earned me quite a good ranking on the ladder (I'm currently 17th), but I know it's not perfect as Rain Dance teams in particular have given me quite a lot of trouble. The strategy of the team is to lay down entry hazard and bring out spinners, which give a free switch to my sweepers. This team is capable of both stalling my opponent out as well as ripping through the opponent's team with sheer power. Each member of the team is an important part of the synergy, but they all function well individually as well and thus, losing one Pokémon to misprediction or hax will rarely cost me the match. So, without further adieu:

*pokemonelite2000 image removed* @ Leftovers
Ability: Forewarn
EVs: 252 HP/216 Spd/40 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psychic
- Lovely Kiss
- Wish
- Light Screen
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Ah, my old Jynx set from Advance makes a triumphant return in the 4th generation. Jynx makes for a great lead with a fast sleep and Forewarn, which can give valuable information about the opposing Pokémon's moveset. This set may look like an inferior Hypno, but I've found that Jynx's higher Speed and offensive capabilities make it very viable. The Speed EVs allow me to always outspeed base 90s, the HP gives it some bulkiness and allows it to shrug off any special hits after setting up Light Screen. Wish Wish, this girl will stick around for a long time and it gives some really great support for the rest of the team. I chose Psychic over Ice Beam to hit Fighting types harder.

*pokemonelite2000 image removed* @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/6 Spd
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Surf
- Rapid Spin
- Roar
- Toxic
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Blastoise, one of my favorite Pokémon from the first generation. This guy has got some serious bulk and works excellently as both a spinner and a phazer. Toxic might seem redundant with Nidoqueen laying down Toxic Spikes, but it allows me to poison fliers, which is always nice. Blastoise helps fix my rather bad Stealth Rock weakness and really enjoys Wish and Light Screen support from Jynx. Although Blastoise is rarely the one to actually KO things, it's great at weakening opponents with Roar once Stealth Rock is up.

*pokemonelite2000 image removed* @ Choice Specs
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 236 HP/20 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Talk
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Venusaur, another one of my old favorites. I never really saw the appeal of the staller set seeing as I've never seen it actually do something useful so when I saw this in the Smogon analysis, I instantly wanted to try it out and it has since then become perhaps the most useful Pokémon on my team. A Specsed Leaf Storm is nothing to sneeze at as it deals nice damage to even things that are 4x resistant to it and OHKOs a large amount of Pokémon in UU. After I replaced Weezing with this guy, I've never had trouble with Clefable (as some of them are OHKoed and the bulkier ones get 2-hit KOed) as this guy is just ridiculously powerful. I absolutely love this Pokémon.

*pokemonelite2000 image removed* @ Leftovers
Ability: Poison Point
EVs: 252 HP/6 Atk/252 Def
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Toxic Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Charm
---

I was looking for something to lay down entry hazard as well as to deal with the Fighting types in UU and Nidoqueen came to mind. This gal has no problem taking hits and lays down entry hazard so that Blastoise and Articuno can start shuffling. Charm allows Nidoqueen to stay in against physical attackers and often forces switches. Charm also softens up blows for other team members. Along with Articuno and Blastoise, Nidoqueen forms a very solid defensive core as even super effective moves seldom take it out in one hit.

*pokemonelite2000 image removed* @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Pursuit
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I have an excellent special sweeper so naturally I need to be able to deal damage from the other side of the spectrum as well. Aerodactyl is an amazing physical sweeper as it has amazing Speed, good Attack and excellent STAB along with enough defenses to take a hit or two. Ice Fang does very nice damage to Claydol and is a more reliable way to deal with fliers than Stone Edge is due to its higher accuracy. Pursuit can net this guy some easy KOs when I know my opponent is going to switch.

*pokemonelite2000 image removed* @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP/96 Def/64 SAtk/96 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Roost
- Roar
- Heal Bell
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How this thing made it to UU is beyond me, but if it's allowed, why wouldn't I abused it? Articuno has always been my favorite legendary Pokémon and I've always loved using it. I've had some success with it in OU, but UU is where this guy really shines. Few things are able to even 2-hit KO this without a Rock move and it can survive some weaker Stone Edges from the likes of Steelix and Roost of the damage. Even with Stealth Rock up, this guy is bulky enough to tank some of the weaker Pokémon in UU. Articuno provides some much needed Heal Bell support and is my secondary phazer. It's ridiculous how much of a beating Articuno can take and still have enough HP to Roost of the damage later.

So, what do you people think?

 

[ABYAY]

It's actually not Scyther weak! (Blastoise is only 3HKO'd by CB Aerial Ace). It's also not really Specs Glaceon weak either, which is another extreme threat. However, you have no way to absorb burns on this team, meaning Will-O-Wisp is going to be problematic. Be wary of Rock/Ground move users though, as that combination slams a lot of your team.

Why people are ignoring this team is beyond me. Rate it people!

 

[Sora_8920]

It's actually not Scyther weak! (Blastoise is only 3HKO'd by CB Aerial Ace). It's also not really Specs Glaceon weak either, which is another extreme threat. However, you have no way to absorb burns on this team, meaning Will-O-Wisp is going to be problematic. Be wary of Rock/Ground move users though, as that combination slams a lot of your team.

Why people are ignoring this team is beyond me. Rate it people!

K, ABY. :D Congrats on that Articuno usage, btw, Smarties.

Only thing I've spotted so far is maybe Crunch on Aero? Otherwise, great job on the team.

 

[Alter Ego]

Crunch? You, good sir, have clearly not seen the kind of pain that unfortunate match-ups suffer from Aero's pursuit. Jynx and a number of others (particularly weakened ones) are totally hosed if they end up face-to-face with Pursuiting Aero.

Also, burns aren't such a big problem here. If you look at his lineup, only two of those pokémon use physical moves to begin with, and only Aero faces serious hindrance from it since Nidoqueen is primarily a spiker.

Bulky Cleafable puts some serious hurt on this team if Aero and Venusaur get compromised, though (or if you get unlucky with Stone Edge/Leaf Storm). But seriously, judging by the battles I've seen, the biggest weak of this team is hax. :x