After looking at the list of mons available for BDSP UU in the alpha stage and seeing both Mence and Cress, I knew I wanted to make a team with both of them, and even after Mence was banned, I still like using this team. I haven't been able to fully hone in on my team's weaknesses, at least not with the changes I implemented post-ban, but my team is pretty solid as of now.
Cress's defensive utility is highly important for the team, as it can pivot through tough mu's and stop dangerous special attackers. This pairs well with the dual Intimidators on the team, Arcanine and Gyarados. The limitations of this set are primarily with the last move, which I'm not sure what to use with. Cress lost Toxic, making it difficult to exert long-term pressure to opponents. Twave is the best support that Cress can use to support the rest of the teams, but certain Scarfers still outspeed Cress when paralyzed and leaves a lot to be desired. I've seen CM used on Cress but I don't think I need a special sweeper yet, since Cress's role is to soak up Special attacks to respond after.
Drapion's role is to check Psychic and Ghost types (including opposing Cress) and to spam Knock Off. I feel like the EV spread and or item could be pushed to be more bulky or hold Lum Berry, but at the end of the day, Drapion wants to spam Knock Off. The only change I'm >90% considering is changing the ability to Battle Armor so that I won't get unlucky in a tense situation.
Metagross's role is to act similarly to Cress, where it soaks up hits and provides utility to the team, in this case, SR. It also deals good damage with good prediction, and having priority is always valuable to revenge kill Choiced/Outraged/boosted threats. I think that the only potential change that I would consider on Metagross is running Protect to be able to scout CB Entei, since Metagross is really easy entry for it to dish out damage.
I wanted Arcanine to be able to compress the roles of an Intimidator and a Fire type, but now I feel like I'm being pulled in many different directions. This Arcanine is bulky so that it can handle both physical and special threats near the end of the game, particularly Steel types, but this set has FMSS that leaves me with several options to go from here, without a clear way forward. The main one is that Espeed, Roar, and Morning Sun are all great options, but I don't know which one will fit the team best. Initially, I went with Espeed and Morning Sun, but that left me vulnerable to setup mons like Snorlax and Cloyster. Espeed/Roar are great, but leaves me worried about Arcanine's longevity, especially when Tentacruel goes down and can't spin. Alternatively, I'm considering combining Arcanine and Drapion's utility into Houndoom and run another Intimidator, probably Tauros or Hitmontop, but the team I have now is fine.
I first picked Tentacruel because I forgot that Blastoise was a mon that existed, but this bulky set isn't terrible. I almost always click Knock Off and get some pressure going that way, and spinning for Arcanine and Gyara pairs well since Ghosts don't like it. Scald and SB are just the standard STAB options, and they're nice because they have a good chance of activating and getting more passive damage on the board. I do think that there are other spinners that I like, namely Blastoise, Forretress, and Hitmontop, but Tenta works pretty well for now.
Gyara is my main sweeper/cleaner and Scarf Mence replacement. If I get it in on a defensive mon and I don't get statused, I'm in an extremely advantageous position, as Taunt + DD stuffs any options to play around it except for Scald burns. I put in Aqua Tail for the higher damage but I will probably change that out for Waterfall at some point for the higher accuracy + flinch, and the final move slot just boils down to EQ for Electrics and Poisons and Crunch for Cress and Ghosts.
This team would love to run a lot of Toxic on various mons so that I can always have lingering pressure in slightly unfavorable mu's, but as it is, it's still able to do its job of soaking up hits and responding to big threats. Before changing out Arcanine's Morning Sun to Roar, it had a hard time against setup sweepers (mainly Curse RestTalk Lax), but otherwise it's able to dance around most threats pretty nicely. The most dangerous wallbreaker to this team, Specs PZ, isn't a set I've had to face (usually I only see Scarf), but I have Drapion and Metagross to revenge kill, and Cress and Metagross handle the Scarf set as well. Heracross is a concern, especially since the two best switches to it, Arcanine and Gyara, drop to Stone Edge. However, I do see some other really solid mons in UU, including Swampert, Hippo, Mew and Rotom-Mow, so there's definitely a lot of experimentation for this archetype.
Edit: Pokepaste
Cresselia (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 200 HP / 252 SpA / 56 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonlight
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Thunder Wave
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 200 HP / 252 SpA / 56 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonlight
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Thunder Wave
Cress's defensive utility is highly important for the team, as it can pivot through tough mu's and stop dangerous special attackers. This pairs well with the dual Intimidators on the team, Arcanine and Gyarados. The limitations of this set are primarily with the last move, which I'm not sure what to use with. Cress lost Toxic, making it difficult to exert long-term pressure to opponents. Twave is the best support that Cress can use to support the rest of the teams, but certain Scarfers still outspeed Cress when paralyzed and leaves a lot to be desired. I've seen CM used on Cress but I don't think I need a special sweeper yet, since Cress's role is to soak up Special attacks to respond after.
Drapion @ Black Sludge
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
Drapion's role is to check Psychic and Ghost types (including opposing Cress) and to spam Knock Off. I feel like the EV spread and or item could be pushed to be more bulky or hold Lum Berry, but at the end of the day, Drapion wants to spam Knock Off. The only change I'm >90% considering is changing the ability to Battle Armor so that I won't get unlucky in a tense situation.
Metagross @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Bullet Punch
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Bullet Punch
Metagross's role is to act similarly to Cress, where it soaks up hits and provides utility to the team, in this case, SR. It also deals good damage with good prediction, and having priority is always valuable to revenge kill Choiced/Outraged/boosted threats. I think that the only potential change that I would consider on Metagross is running Protect to be able to scout CB Entei, since Metagross is really easy entry for it to dish out damage.
Arcanine @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Gentle Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Blast
- Roar
- Will-O-Wisp
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Gentle Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Blast
- Roar
- Will-O-Wisp
I wanted Arcanine to be able to compress the roles of an Intimidator and a Fire type, but now I feel like I'm being pulled in many different directions. This Arcanine is bulky so that it can handle both physical and special threats near the end of the game, particularly Steel types, but this set has FMSS that leaves me with several options to go from here, without a clear way forward. The main one is that Espeed, Roar, and Morning Sun are all great options, but I don't know which one will fit the team best. Initially, I went with Espeed and Morning Sun, but that left me vulnerable to setup mons like Snorlax and Cloyster. Espeed/Roar are great, but leaves me worried about Arcanine's longevity, especially when Tentacruel goes down and can't spin. Alternatively, I'm considering combining Arcanine and Drapion's utility into Houndoom and run another Intimidator, probably Tauros or Hitmontop, but the team I have now is fine.
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Def / 132 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Sludge Bomb
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Def / 132 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Sludge Bomb
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
I first picked Tentacruel because I forgot that Blastoise was a mon that existed, but this bulky set isn't terrible. I almost always click Knock Off and get some pressure going that way, and spinning for Arcanine and Gyara pairs well since Ghosts don't like it. Scald and SB are just the standard STAB options, and they're nice because they have a good chance of activating and getting more passive damage on the board. I do think that there are other spinners that I like, namely Blastoise, Forretress, and Hitmontop, but Tenta works pretty well for now.
Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Aqua Tail
- Taunt
- Earthquake
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Aqua Tail
- Taunt
- Earthquake
Gyara is my main sweeper/cleaner and Scarf Mence replacement. If I get it in on a defensive mon and I don't get statused, I'm in an extremely advantageous position, as Taunt + DD stuffs any options to play around it except for Scald burns. I put in Aqua Tail for the higher damage but I will probably change that out for Waterfall at some point for the higher accuracy + flinch, and the final move slot just boils down to EQ for Electrics and Poisons and Crunch for Cress and Ghosts.
This team would love to run a lot of Toxic on various mons so that I can always have lingering pressure in slightly unfavorable mu's, but as it is, it's still able to do its job of soaking up hits and responding to big threats. Before changing out Arcanine's Morning Sun to Roar, it had a hard time against setup sweepers (mainly Curse RestTalk Lax), but otherwise it's able to dance around most threats pretty nicely. The most dangerous wallbreaker to this team, Specs PZ, isn't a set I've had to face (usually I only see Scarf), but I have Drapion and Metagross to revenge kill, and Cress and Metagross handle the Scarf set as well. Heracross is a concern, especially since the two best switches to it, Arcanine and Gyara, drop to Stone Edge. However, I do see some other really solid mons in UU, including Swampert, Hippo, Mew and Rotom-Mow, so there's definitely a lot of experimentation for this archetype.
Edit: Pokepaste
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