Manipulative
Camila <3
Destruction
Introduction
Hey everyone! So I'm here with a team that I've had more than enough time to play around with. It was something I've build up when I first started UU months ago and have been using ever since. It features two of the scariest mons in Salamence and Mega Aerodactyl, an underrated scarfed Darmanitan, the well known Crocune, and semi wall break/hazard/support in Mamoswine and Mandibuzz. This team may not look good on paper, but it has proved to be quite effective for me. I've gotten up to Rank 1 on the UU ladder (http://i.imgur.com/uqoJ8Mh.png) and have powered my way through winning many room tournaments on Pokemon Showdown!.
Teambuilding Process
I personally like to play offensively. I wasn't interested in balance, stall, bulky offense, etc. It irks me to use a team that isn't as offensive as I would like it to be. So when I was building this team, I was thinking powerhouses and hyper offense for the most part. The first thing that came to mind was Salamence. Aside from just being my favorite mon, Salamence is one of the most destructive things in the tier.
Mega-Aerodactyl was the second thing that came to mind due to it being the fastest thing around, being able to have a great coverage set, and high power (while also being able to charge up).
The next thing I knew I needed was something that's scarfed as a revenge killer / more quick & heavy damage. Darmanitan came to mind as I was lacking fire typing as well, and it has proved to be a great asset to this team.
After that, I was thinking that I needed some sort of defensive presence. Running pure offense would be a lot more troublesome. I needed something I could commonly switch into when needed, and preferably something that sets up to maintain my offensiveness. Being a bulky water with great bulk and defensive ability, Suicune seemed to be my best option.
Every team needs a stealth rocker. I was also lacking priority and was thinking that I could use some ground type stab. Mamoswine, having great attack and offensive typing, having access to nice priority, and being able to set up rocks if/when needed, was a good addition. It also has the ability to break a wall from time to time.
Lastly, I needed some form of hazard control. I chose Mandibuzz as the defogger. After playing around with its movepool for a while, I found one that really worked for my team.
The Team
Salamence (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 4 SpD / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Iron Tail
Salamence was the focus of the team. I believe DD is its best set and can be amazing once you find the right opportunity to set up. Lum Berry to not get immediately crippled by status moves or Scald. Iron Tail to cover fairies. After noting that I have practically nothing for stall teams other than Endeavor on Mamo and sometimes Suicune, I leaned toward choosing Moxie over intimidate. Moxie has also been useful against opposing intimidate, and gathering up needed power in certain situations. You could also sometimes use not having intimidate as a mean of bluffing choice scarf. Standard EVs and Nature.
Mandibuzz @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 120 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Foul Play
- Defog
- Roost
- Knock Off
This was my choice for hazard control. Foul Play has been great against set up, and Knock Off is something the rest of my team doesn't have. It has some pretty fair bulk overall. Rocky Helmet has been great for physical attack, and has even helped against Snorlax which the rest of my team has trouble with if Mamo fails to Endeavor. Tried to have some sort of balance on the EVs.
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Suicune is capable of walling a large portion of the tier. It could destroy unprepared teams alone at times. Plenty of Special Defense from setting up, and maxed out Physical Defense. The 30% burn chance from Scald is huge. It boosts its special defense and also has great chances to halve the opponent's physical attack. Rest off any damage and status conditions it gets, followed by sleep talk for hopefully some extra damage or set up while asleep. Pretty solid defense and offense together here. Standard EVs and Nature.
Mamoswine (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Endeavor
I mostly just wanted something with priority and Stealth Rocks, but Focus Sash + Endeavor has been awesome. If I can get down to 1 HP and am against something slower, I could just about kill something for free (Usually a wall or something that troubles my team). Technically, it's just lowering it to 1% Health, but that's good enough most of the time. This is my main answer for Snorlax (though sometimes unreliable) and to cut something off on stall teams, other than Mence. Standard EVs and Nature.
Darmanitan (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- U-turn
Another powerhouse, yet pretty underrated. I needed something with a scarf on my team so I chose Darmanitan because it already had the base power to back it up. Sheer Force + Flare Blitz + Adamant Nature actually at least severely dents, if not ohko's, many things that don't resist fire. Rock Slide over Stone Edge because you'll sometimes need to not use Flare Blitz (Ex. Opposing team has Chandelure) and you'll want the coverage to be as reliable as possible for the few times that you do use it. Adamant nature for the extra attack is a lot better than it is worse. The cost of running Adamant over Jolly is not being able to outspeed 252+ Mega-Aerodactyl (Who you can't kill with Jolly Rock Slide at full health anyways), and also losing to a few scarfed mons that you would normally outspeed, such as Krookodile, Rotom, and Heracross. However, they're not all that common and it's usually well worth running Adamant.
Aerodactyl-Mega (M) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Hone Claws
- Aerial Ace
This is the fastest pokemon in the tier, and has pretty great strength on top of that. You can charge it up even more with Hone Claws, and the 3 attacks on this set provide pretty good coverage. Max speed because I wanted to outspeed most other Mega-Aerodactyl and still have a chance at the speed tie with ones that are also max.
Conclusion
There are actually a lot of weaknesses to this team that I'm already aware of. Stall teams, Scarf Mienshao, Stealth Rocks when Mandibuzz can't clear them, etc. However, I've always played around bad situations to the best of my ability and the team has ended up working out for me. It has had some pretty good success and I'm proud of it. For the most part, I would like it to be permanent. Though, I'm still open to all feedback and am willing to see if anything mentioned is attractive and suits my play-style. It's also here if people want to use it for fun and see whether it works out for them ^_^. Enjoy! And thank you for any feedback you may give =).
Introduction
Hey everyone! So I'm here with a team that I've had more than enough time to play around with. It was something I've build up when I first started UU months ago and have been using ever since. It features two of the scariest mons in Salamence and Mega Aerodactyl, an underrated scarfed Darmanitan, the well known Crocune, and semi wall break/hazard/support in Mamoswine and Mandibuzz. This team may not look good on paper, but it has proved to be quite effective for me. I've gotten up to Rank 1 on the UU ladder (http://i.imgur.com/uqoJ8Mh.png) and have powered my way through winning many room tournaments on Pokemon Showdown!.
Teambuilding Process
I personally like to play offensively. I wasn't interested in balance, stall, bulky offense, etc. It irks me to use a team that isn't as offensive as I would like it to be. So when I was building this team, I was thinking powerhouses and hyper offense for the most part. The first thing that came to mind was Salamence. Aside from just being my favorite mon, Salamence is one of the most destructive things in the tier.
Mega-Aerodactyl was the second thing that came to mind due to it being the fastest thing around, being able to have a great coverage set, and high power (while also being able to charge up).
The next thing I knew I needed was something that's scarfed as a revenge killer / more quick & heavy damage. Darmanitan came to mind as I was lacking fire typing as well, and it has proved to be a great asset to this team.
After that, I was thinking that I needed some sort of defensive presence. Running pure offense would be a lot more troublesome. I needed something I could commonly switch into when needed, and preferably something that sets up to maintain my offensiveness. Being a bulky water with great bulk and defensive ability, Suicune seemed to be my best option.
Every team needs a stealth rocker. I was also lacking priority and was thinking that I could use some ground type stab. Mamoswine, having great attack and offensive typing, having access to nice priority, and being able to set up rocks if/when needed, was a good addition. It also has the ability to break a wall from time to time.
Lastly, I needed some form of hazard control. I chose Mandibuzz as the defogger. After playing around with its movepool for a while, I found one that really worked for my team.
The Team
Salamence (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 4 SpD / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Iron Tail
Salamence was the focus of the team. I believe DD is its best set and can be amazing once you find the right opportunity to set up. Lum Berry to not get immediately crippled by status moves or Scald. Iron Tail to cover fairies. After noting that I have practically nothing for stall teams other than Endeavor on Mamo and sometimes Suicune, I leaned toward choosing Moxie over intimidate. Moxie has also been useful against opposing intimidate, and gathering up needed power in certain situations. You could also sometimes use not having intimidate as a mean of bluffing choice scarf. Standard EVs and Nature.
Mandibuzz @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 120 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Foul Play
- Defog
- Roost
- Knock Off
This was my choice for hazard control. Foul Play has been great against set up, and Knock Off is something the rest of my team doesn't have. It has some pretty fair bulk overall. Rocky Helmet has been great for physical attack, and has even helped against Snorlax which the rest of my team has trouble with if Mamo fails to Endeavor. Tried to have some sort of balance on the EVs.
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Suicune is capable of walling a large portion of the tier. It could destroy unprepared teams alone at times. Plenty of Special Defense from setting up, and maxed out Physical Defense. The 30% burn chance from Scald is huge. It boosts its special defense and also has great chances to halve the opponent's physical attack. Rest off any damage and status conditions it gets, followed by sleep talk for hopefully some extra damage or set up while asleep. Pretty solid defense and offense together here. Standard EVs and Nature.
Mamoswine (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Endeavor
I mostly just wanted something with priority and Stealth Rocks, but Focus Sash + Endeavor has been awesome. If I can get down to 1 HP and am against something slower, I could just about kill something for free (Usually a wall or something that troubles my team). Technically, it's just lowering it to 1% Health, but that's good enough most of the time. This is my main answer for Snorlax (though sometimes unreliable) and to cut something off on stall teams, other than Mence. Standard EVs and Nature.
Darmanitan (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- U-turn
Another powerhouse, yet pretty underrated. I needed something with a scarf on my team so I chose Darmanitan because it already had the base power to back it up. Sheer Force + Flare Blitz + Adamant Nature actually at least severely dents, if not ohko's, many things that don't resist fire. Rock Slide over Stone Edge because you'll sometimes need to not use Flare Blitz (Ex. Opposing team has Chandelure) and you'll want the coverage to be as reliable as possible for the few times that you do use it. Adamant nature for the extra attack is a lot better than it is worse. The cost of running Adamant over Jolly is not being able to outspeed 252+ Mega-Aerodactyl (Who you can't kill with Jolly Rock Slide at full health anyways), and also losing to a few scarfed mons that you would normally outspeed, such as Krookodile, Rotom, and Heracross. However, they're not all that common and it's usually well worth running Adamant.
Aerodactyl-Mega (M) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Hone Claws
- Aerial Ace
This is the fastest pokemon in the tier, and has pretty great strength on top of that. You can charge it up even more with Hone Claws, and the 3 attacks on this set provide pretty good coverage. Max speed because I wanted to outspeed most other Mega-Aerodactyl and still have a chance at the speed tie with ones that are also max.
Conclusion
There are actually a lot of weaknesses to this team that I'm already aware of. Stall teams, Scarf Mienshao, Stealth Rocks when Mandibuzz can't clear them, etc. However, I've always played around bad situations to the best of my ability and the team has ended up working out for me. It has had some pretty good success and I'm proud of it. For the most part, I would like it to be permanent. Though, I'm still open to all feedback and am willing to see if anything mentioned is attractive and suits my play-style. It's also here if people want to use it for fun and see whether it works out for them ^_^. Enjoy! And thank you for any feedback you may give =).
Some replays to show how the team should work. I only started keeping replays since a couple of days ago though, so I'll add more as I get them.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-256537212
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-256785432
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-256789284
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-257033791 - Against Trick Room + Mass Threats.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-257279094
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-282198476 - Powering Through
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-283124721 - Vs. Stall
Against Stall:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-256470605
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-256537212
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-256785432
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-256789284
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-257033791 - Against Trick Room + Mass Threats.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-257279094
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-282198476 - Powering Through
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-283124721 - Vs. Stall
Against Stall:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-256470605
Last edited: