SM UU Coming Back After Several Years Away

[EBONKA]

Hey all,

Trying to get back into competitive battling after several years away (look at my post history...) I've taken a pretty long break from the scene, so I'm looking for some feedback on my first competitive team attempt. Since Infernape is apparently UU now, thought I'd try my hand at UU too.
This team is intended to be hyper offensive. Most matches finish in under 20 turns, for better or for worse. Currently oscillating around 1300 in rank with a ~58% winrate. Biggest questions i have right now for this team:

1. do i really need rapid spin on Starmie?
2. what are some type weaknesses that i should be more considerate of?
3. should i consider moving Scizor from a CB set to something with more flexibility?

Irwin (Krookodile) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

• Stealth Rock
• Earthquake
• Knock Off
• Pursuit

80% of the time I open up with Krookodile. Always looking to set up Stealth Rocks, and if he survives the first enemy Pokemon I tend to switch him in defensively on physical attackers for a Intimidate debuff.
**
Wukong (Infernape) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 168 Atk / 88 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature

• Grass Knot
• Fire Blast
• Close Combat
• Gunk Shot

Mixed sweeper Infernape. Gunk Shot b/c team is lacking in Fairy checks. Grass Knot for Swampert and the rare Quagsire. Main answer to CB Scizors who want to BP my Aerodactyl. I'm considering switching him to a Iron Fist set so the team can have more electric attacks with thunder punch and priority options with mach punch.
**
Protozoa (Aerodactyl-Mega) (F) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

• Stone Edge
• Earthquake
• Fire Fang
• Pursuit

Aerodactyl is probably the most effective sweeper on this team. Fire Fang instead of Aqua Tail b/c I already had enough water coverage from Starmie and Primarina but not enough fire. If I can make it to the end of the game with Aerodactyl at full health, then I feel pretty confident.
**
Kabuto (Scizor) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 164 HP / 252 Atk / 92 Spe
Adamant Nature

• Bullet Punch
• Knock Off
• U-turn
• Superpower

CB Scizor. Damn near the same set as when I first got into competitive battling. These days I'm feeling very restricted by the Choice Band; with Primarina also holding a choice item I was wondering if I should consider a Swords Dance set or something else.
**
Libra (Starmie) @ Electrium Z
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

• Thunderbolt
• Ice Beam
• Hydro Pump
• Rapid Spin

Rapid Spin on Starmie to help Aerodactyl. Only electric damage on the team coming from Thunderbolt here. Pretty straightforward, although I feel as though Starmie ends up dying pretty quickly in most of my matches.
**
Madonna (Primarina) (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Liquid Voice
EVs: 92 HP / 252 SpA / 164 Spe
Modest Nature

• Sparkling Aria
• Psychic
• Moonblast
• Ice Beam

Primarina is emerging as one of my favorite Pokemon on the team, which is funny b/c when gen 7 first came out I hated her design. Unlike with Scizor, I rarely feel so trapped behind the Choice Specs move lock because even if I make a suboptimal move selection, her SpA slaps so hard it tends to work out. Primarina often gets switched in defensively with this team thanks to her good typing.
Match Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-890271413
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-890276231
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-890278017
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-892274349

 

[TheTapDancer]

(These two have provided much better advice than me so [redacted])

 

[Sickist]

First off, on the behalf of the UU community, Welcome back to competitive, and Welcome to UnderUsed! I'm sure you'll love our tier and plan to make your home here. I'll be doing a rate, and I'm sure my friend Twilight will be doing a rate as well, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask! Anyways, let's get into the rate!

Major Changes

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Tentacruel greatly improves your matchup vs Primarina and Scizor, which both plague your team in it's current state. Tentacruel still spins and checks grounds, although it cannot switch in, Tentacruel can also Haze Swords Dance variants of Scizor. Tentacruel tends to get worn down quite fast however, so be sure to scout the Scizor set before accidently switching your Tentacruel into a Choice-Banded Knock Off. Tentacruel's access to a Poison STAB also lets it threaten things like said Primarina, Mega Altaria, and Togekiss with super effective damage. Haze, as mentioned before, removes both pokemon's stat changes, as I'm sure you know, which allows it to 1v1 things like Bulky Swords Dance Scizor and Mega Altaria.

-->

This team lacked any real speed control besides Aerodactyl, as well as another way to switch into Ground Types. While it isn't always necessary to have a Scarfer w/ Mega Aero, on this team it's nice to have. That's why I've opted for Choice Scarf Latias, packing Ice Beam and Healing Wish. Ice Beam automatically threatens things like Gligar, which this team is quite annoyed by. Healing Wish gives your teammates a second chance, fully restoring one teammate's status and health. Latias' typing is nice as well, being able to come in on Psychic, Electric, Water, Grass, Fire, and Fighting Types in the tier, such as Infernape or Reuniclus, as well as it's ability Levitate, letting it come in on most Ground types, should they opt to click their respective Ground-Type attacks.

Minor Changes

- Set Change

Your Krookidile set was fine for the most part, however, I've opted for some changes that help your team overall. First off, Rocky Helmet damages physical contact users, punishing physical attackers, like Scizor, for attacking it. Taunt allows you to block hazards, status, and defog from slower pokemon, such as Hippowdon.

- Set Change

As you stated in the OP, you wanted to keep Infernape, so I changed it's set into Nasty Plot. This greatly helps the Stall Matchup, as well as threatening slower teams in general that lack a good pivot into it. Even some Choice Scarf users fail to revenge kill it due to Vacuum Wave being able to shred through things weak to it at +2, such as Hydreigon or Krookidile.

- Move Change

Fire Fang isn't really needed here. The only thing you're hitting with Fire Fang is Scizor, which you shouldn't ever stay in on anyways. Meanwhile, Aqua Tail nails fat grounds that your team doesn't quite like, such as Hippowdon. Roost is also superior here, as it allows you to stay healthy and check threats like Moltres more consistently throughout a game.

- Move Change

While Knock Off support is nice, Pursuit support is need on Scizor instead of Aerodactyl to remove problematic psychics that Scizor would come in on, such as Latias. This allows Infernape to break better, as Latias and Slowbro are generally Infernape's best answers.

Importable and Closing Thoughts

Well, there it is. The only things you have to be really careful of on this team are Hydreigon and Crawdaunt, as the team's main Dark answer is quite frail, being Infernape. However, Crawdaunt is revengable with anything faster that doesn't drop to Aqua Jet, and Hydreigon can be revenge killed by Latias, Infernape if it isn't scarfed or weakened, and Aerodactyl if it is weakened or not-scarfed. Click the sprites for the importable. Anyways, hope you enjoy the team, and good luck learning the best tier on Smogon!

 

[Twilight]

Hey there EBONKA glad to see you are getting back into competitive Pokemon and I am glad you decided to give UU a try. I hope you have been enjoying it! I really like what you have going with this team, however there are a few things that should be brought to your attention to make it as effective as possible. Your stall match-up on this team is pretty shaky as you aren't using the sets that can solve this. Your Scizor match-up is also pretty shaky as your only answer to it is Infernape. You have a few sets which could use some adjustments, but this is something I intend to cover in this rate.

Major Changes:

>

: Primarina was okay, but it wasn't adding a whole lot offensively other than Moonblast as you already had offensive Starmie. I recommend trying out Klefki instead as it still gives you a nice check to Pokemon like Hydreigon and provides a lot of utility support for your Infernape or Scizor to clean up late. Spike support makes it a lot easier to chip down your opponents team regardless of the archetype. Thunder Wave also adds a form of speed control for the team, while Magnet Rise helps it against the ground coverage Pokemon carry.

>

: Maero is a really nice partner with Infernape, but this team lacks a real way to punish bulky water types which is kind of why you had to use Electrium-Z Starmie. Mega-Manectric provides a better way to pressure them + creates a VoltTurn core with your Scizor. It also eases the Scizor match-up a bit by giving you another Pokemon capable of checking it on top of Infernape. HP [Ice] is the preferred option to break through Gligar and pressure Malt. The fire coverage is up to you, Flamethrower is more consistant while Overheat obvs gives more dmg output.

>

: Okay so I removed your ground immunity so I wanted to added another to alleviate this. Gligar is still capable of setting Stealth Rock while checking most ground types. It also gives you a better answer to Terrakion and Cobalion as Starmie lacks recovery. I suggest using Toxic in the last slot because it allows it to punish a lot of things like Moltres, especially with Maero being swapped out.

Minor Changes:

(Set Change): As I mentioned the stall match-up is extremely shaky for your team so I am going to recommend you use the Nasty Plot Ape set. This eases the stall / balance match-up greatly for you. I am shifting the Fightinium-Z onto this to break through Alo, Altaria-Mega and Moltres etc.

(Item Change): Elec-Z Starmie is a cool set to punish bulky waters and steels, but it is pretty niche for covering this. Instead I recommend just using a Colbur Berry to help lure Maero and Hydreigon and potentially chunk them. To answer your question I think Rapid Spin is still important for removing hazards like Spikes and Stealth Rock regardless of how weak your Pokemon are to them.

(Move change): This is one of your main answer to Latias and Celebi, so I suggest you use Pursuit on it to help trap and remove them. Pursuit also lets you punish more defensive Pokemon like Blissey and get necessary chip damage on them.

<Click Sprites for Importable>​

I hope you like the suggestions and give them a try. I tried my best to keep it as close to the playstyle you were originally going for so hopefully this appeals to you. As far as threats go there are some obvious ones like Specs Prima so playing aggresively to keep pressuring it is important. Opposing Mega Manectric can be a nuisance to play around due to Gligar having to fear HP [Ice], but if you play the match-up correctly it shouldn't be too problematic. Hope you continue to enjoy playing this tier and if you have any questions feel free to ask ^_^