Caught in Your Failures: UU Semi-CRMT

[Eon Master]

What, again Eon? Yes, again. However, this time it's for UU, and it makes problems with Cresselia a thing of the past.

~At a Glance~

Inferno@Life Orb
Mild
Ev's:4Atk/252Sp.Atk/252Spe
~Intimidate~
-Flamethrower
-Extremespeed
-HP Grass
-Morning Sun

Credit to Bulldogs over in CRMT for this set, and I think I'll quote him since he does a damn good job of discribing it.

A more offensive variation of an Anti Lead set, as well as more specially oriented. The standard Anti Lead lacked longevity, something vital to a team of this nature. Morning Sun means Life Orb recoil is nullified, and is also a safe move to make when seeing what there counter/check is. This Arcanine may not beat most leads, however, most leads can't beat him either. I have often times missed Lum Berry, but most of the time the extra power is needed to get the KO on leads such as Uxie and Rhyperior. Nothing complex about the EVs here. HP Grass is great for hitting Blastoise and Azumarill on the switch, as well as dealing with Rhyperior leads. E-speed is the best priority in the game. Flamethrower is just good STAB. Intimidate is the preferred option here as it allows leads such as Ambipom and Spiritomb to be beaten.

Luna@Leftovers
Impish
Ev's:252Hp/148Def/108Sp.Def
~Syncronize~
-Mean Look
-Baton Pass
-Wish
-Yawn

Place in the Team: The centerpiece of the team, Trap Passing Umby.
In UU, where Taunt Skarmory is no longer a factor, Umbreon can effectively function in this capacity while having Max Defenses.

Ev's: Don't make me repeat myself :3

Moveset: The set is pretty obvious, I think, so I'll leave it at that.

Marijuana@Leftovers
Bold
Ev's:252Hp/252Def/4Sp.Atk
~Levitate~
-Flamethrower
-Thunderbolt
-Will-O-Wisp
-Pain Split

Place in the Team: I needed an effective tank for the team, and who better than Weezing?

Ev's: Maximum Defense with a little Special Attack on the side.

Moveset: Will-O-Wisp defeats almost all UU Physical threats, while Flamethrower and Thunderbolt combine for a searing duo of attacks.
Pain Split allows me to shrug off damage that he takes and pass it to my opponent, further crippling their sweeping capabilities.

Solace@Life Orb
Jolly
Ev's:252Atk/252Spe/4Hp
~Super Luck~
-Sucker Punch
-Superpower
-Psycho Cut
-Swords Dance

Place in the Team: Absol is the Cresselia smiter extrodinare.
Also makes for one hell of a sweeper when she's set up properly.

Ev's: Possibly the most complex and difficult to understand spread on this entire team. [/sarcasm]

Moveset: Sucker Punch is the most powerful Priority move in the game when Absol uses it, and it even OHKO's Max Hp Hitmontop after a +2 Boost.
Psycho Cut is for Intimidate Hitmontop, Weezing, Toxicroak, Hariyama, and basically any Non-Steel Pokemon that could otherwise stand in Absol's way.
Superpower is for Steel types and Regirock.

Barney@Leftovers
Bold
Ev's:252Hp/252Def/4Sp.Def
~Own Tempo~
-Psychic
-Flamethrower
-Calm Mind
-Slack Off

Place in the Team: Why on Earth would I use Cresselia in UU?

Ev's: Standard CM setup package.

Moveset: Psychic and Fire actually get pretty good coverage, and it makes Secptile think twice about switching into this guy.
Calm Mind is obvious, and Slack Off is for healing.

Breaker@Leftovers
Adamant
Ev's:252Hp/252Atk/4Sp.Def
~Technitian~
-Mach Punch
-Sucker Punch
-Aerial Ace
-Rapid Spin

Place in the Team: He's one of the best revenge killers in UU, with an added bonus of being able to sweep with this set.

Ev's: Max Hp, Max Attack, and some Special Defense to cushion his unboosted side.

Moveset: Mach Punch for Technitian boosted priority STAB, Sucker Punch for a priority move that gets excellent coverage with Mach Punch.
Aerial Ace to ensure that SubCM Pokemon can't set up on him.
Rapid Spin b/c this team desperately needs a Spinner, and b/c Toxic Spikes destroys me completely otherwise.

I'd like to extend my thanks to TheBlueRabbit for helping me immensely with this team.


~Last Look~

​

 

[Fossil Man]

Well, I really can't say much or rank since I really don't consider myself a guy who knows these things. But as far as I can see you really made things nicely!

Like the Mean Look/Baton Pass combo on Umby there the most

 

[AlCario]

It's hard to picture Absol as Cresselia killer. On the contrary it's probably set-up bait. Cress can easily pp stall Sucker Punch with Calm Mind until you go away, since it resists both your other attacks. Should you set up, that gives it a chance to attack you, and such a situation involves much prediction and guesswork on both sides. Alternatively, you could take the easy and reliable way out and throw Night Slash over Psycho Cut. Most of the pokemon that Psycho Cut hits aren't really a threat to you anyway, so I strongly recommend it.

I'll get back to this later.

 

[Eon Master]

It's hard to picture Absol as Cresselia killer. On the contrary it's probably set-up bait. Cress can easily pp stall Sucker Punch with Calm Mind until you go away, since it resists both your other attacks. Should you set up, that gives it a chance to attack you, and such a situation involves much prediction and guesswork on both sides. Alternatively, you could take the easy and reliable way out and throw Night Slash over Psycho Cut. Most of the pokemon that Psycho Cut hits aren't really a threat to you anyway, so I strongly recommend it.

I'll get back to this later.

On the contrary Al, Absol is the most effective Cresselia counter in UU. I'll usually have Umbreon come in to trap it and sleep it, then set up with SD. When it tries to attack, Sucker Punch kills it instantly. If not, I can use SD and get off Psycho Cut hits while it tries to set up to the full extent, and then blast it with Sucker Punch when it tries to attack. With the RestTalk variant, it's even simpler to kill it. Cresselia will usually switch when confronted with Absol anyway.
The beauty of using Umbreon and Absol on the same team to defeat Cresselia is that it prevents my opponent from switching the way they want to. This really messes them up.

 

[AlCario]

On the contrary Al, Absol is the most effective Cresselia counter in UU. I'll usually have Umbreon come in to trap it and sleep it, then set up with SD. When it tries to attack, Sucker Punch kills it instantly. If not, I can use SD and get off Psycho Cut hits while it tries to set up to the full extent, and then blast it with Sucker Punch when it tries to attack. With the RestTalk variant, it's even simpler to kill it. Cresselia will usually switch when confronted with Absol anyway.
The beauty of using Umbreon and Absol on the same team to defeat Cresselia is that it prevents my opponent from switching the way they want to. This really messes them up.

Ah, that makes sense. I do a similar thing with my Umbreon, but I usually switch to faster sweepers/revenge killers that don't require set up.

Also, how does this team deal with status? RK9 absorbs W-o-W, but that looks like about it to me.

 

[Eon Master]

Ah, that makes sense. I do a similar thing with my Umbreon, but I usually switch to faster sweepers/revenge killers that don't require set up.

The second beauty of using Mean Look Umby, being able to pass to setup users that resist what it's weak against, namely Hitmontop and Slowbro. Absol is for general setting up on things like CM Mismagius, as well as being damn near the most difficult to switch into in the metagame.

Also, how does this team deal with status? RK9 absorbs W-o-W, but that looks like about it to me.

Weezing absorbs Toxic as well, but I don't have anything for T-Wave. Suggestions?

 

[AlCario]

The second beauty of using Mean Look Umby, being able to pass to setup users that resist what it's weak against, namely Hitmontop and Slowbro. Absol is for general setting up on things like CM Mismagius, as well as being damn near the most difficult to switch into in the metagame.

Mean Look + Yawn + Baton Pass is one of the best strategies in UU. Unfortunately, Scyther messes it up completely. Speaking of which, try to save RK9 for the mid-game so you can counter him. Shouldn't be too hard.

Weezing absorbs Toxic as well, but I don't have anything for T-Wave. Suggestions?

The universal cure to a status weakness it to make one of your pokemon a ResTalker. Weezing could do it well, methinks. Just get rid of Pain Split and either Flamethrower or W-o-W and you're set.

 

[Eon Master]

Mean Look + Yawn + Baton Pass is one of the best strategies in UU. Unfortunately, Scyther messes it up completely. Speaking of which, try to save RK9 for the mid-game so you can counter him. Shouldn't be too hard.

I was planning on saving RK9 for other Absol, since nothing else on my team counters it effectively.

Weezing = OHKO'ed with Psycho Cut, especially if they SD on the switch.
Hitmontop = OHKO'ed by Sucker Punch (wtf -_-) provided they use SD on the switch.
Umbreon = Destroyed by Superpower
Slowbro = Sucker Punch, arrrgh.
Absol = I'm not about to try for a Speed Tie when Arcanine is a better solution.
Arcanine = Switch on whatever, hopefully a Sucker Punch, and activate Intimidate. Then destroy with Flamethrower, or defeat Sucker Punch with Extremespeed, seeing as Sucker Punch doesn't work if it gets prioritized.

Scyther is walled and W-o-W'ed by Weezing anyway.

The universal cure to a status weakness it to make one of your pokemon a ResTalker. Weezing could do it well, methinks. Just get rid of Pain Split and either Flamethrower or W-o-W and you're set.

Hmmm... Maybe. I'll consider it, but I'd like to see how it does first.

 

[AlCario]

I was planning on saving RK9 for other Absol, since nothing else on my team counters it effectively.

Weezing = OHKO'ed with Psycho Cut, especially if they SD on the switch.
Hitmontop = OHKO'ed by Sucker Punch (wtf -_-) provided they use SD on the switch.
Umbreon = Destroyed by Superpower
Slowbro = Sucker Punch, arrrgh.
Absol = I'm not about to try for a Speed Tie when Arcanine is a better solution.
Arcanine = Switch on whatever, hopefully a Sucker Punch, and activate Intimidate. Then destroy with Flamethrower, or defeat Sucker Punch with Extremespeed, seeing as Sucker Punch doesn't work if it gets prioritized

The only ways to counter Absol are faster priority (like you said) or Tricking him a Scarf (edit: specs is probably better) so you can actually predict what he's going to do. He's one of those annoying threats that you always need to prepare for.

Scyther is walled and W-o-W'ed by Weezing anyway.

Yeah, forgot about that.

Hmmm... Maybe. I'll consider it, but I'd like to see how it does first.

Alternatively, you could turn Slowbro into a kind of UU CroCune (CroBro) which could cause interesting results, or you could just let him take the T-Wave anyway since it won't do much to his speed and sometimes you can rely on only a 75% chance to attack.

 

[Eon Master]

The only ways to counter Absol are faster priority (like you said) or Tricking him a Scarf (edit: specs is probably better) so you can actually predict what he's going to do. He's one of those annoying threats that you always need to prepare for.

Yeah, that's part of the reason why I have her on my team ^_^
Specs generally are better, but neither of them stops that fact that even an unboosted Absol can still seriously harm several of her counters. It's a wonder more people don't use her, mediocre speed or not.

Yeah, forgot about that.

Granted. Weezing generally isn't considered as a "counter" for things because it's mostly thought of as a wall.

Alternatively, you could turn Slowbro into a kind of UU CroCune (CroBro) which could cause interesting results, or you could just let him take the T-Wave anyway since it won't do much to his speed and sometimes you can rely on only a 75% chance to attack.

Meh, I tried CroBro before, but CroTomb outclasses him in every way. I think just letting him take T-Waves is an applicable strategy, it's what I did in my first UU team and it worked out pretty well. Thanks

 

[AlCario]

Yeah, that's part of the reason why I have her on my team ^_^
Specs generally are better, but neither of them stops that fact that even an unboosted Absol can still seriously harm several of her counters. It's a wonder more people don't use her, mediocre speed or not.

Absol is Tricky to use, since it requires a lot of prediction to use effectively. Nonetheless, with the correct support he can function pretty well. Also, I'm sure something outclasses him in OU, but I can't remember what.

Granted. Weezing generally isn't considered as a "counter" for things because it's mostly thought of as a wall.

Walls can be counters. I just realised how much he beats Scizor in every way.

Meh, I tried CroBro before, but CroTomb outclasses him in every way. I think just letting him take T-Waves is an applicable strategy, it's what I did in my first UU team and it worked out pretty well. Thanks

No problem.

EDIT: Wo0o0o0T!!!!!!!!! 666 posts xD

 

[Eon Master]

Absol is Tricky to use, since it requires a lot of prediction to use effectively. Nonetheless, with the correct support he can function pretty well. Also, I'm sure something outclasses him in OU, but I can't remember what.

Ah yes, prediction. CB/CSSol takes care of that aspect, but you never see those either.
As for what outclasses her in OU, I won't tell you exactly, but there's two. One begins with S and ends in i-z-o-r. The other one is a Jedi.
Figure it out yet?

Walls can be counters. I just realised how much he beats Scizor in every way.

Yeah, true.

No problem.

^_^

 

[AlCario]

Ah yes, prediction. CB/CSSol takes care of that aspect, but you never see those either.
As for what outclasses her in OU, I won't tell you exactly, but there's two. One begins with S and ends in i-z-o-r. The other one is a Jedi.
Figure it out yet?

Anakinario is the Jedi... as for the other one... Spizor? Hmm...

 

[Eon Master]

Anakinario is the Jedi... as for the other one... Spizor? Hmm...

Lol. Wish I could sig this but I don't have room :'(

So, as an overview, what do you think?

 

[AlCario]

So, as an overview, what do you think?

Well, overall, I'd say this team is most certainly usable in the UU tier, not to mention that it actually has quite a lot of potential, knowing what Absol and Umby can do together. I can't see anything else wrong with it, apart from maybe some obscure threat, but I think we got all the top ones.

GL with the team.

 

[Eon Master]

Well, overall, I'd say this team is most certainly usable in the UU tier, not to mention that it actually has quite a lot of potential, knowing what Absol and Umby can do together. I can't see anything else wrong with it, apart from maybe some obscure threat, but I think we got all the top ones.

GL with the team.

CB Blaziken is somewhat of a serious threat, but it's walled by Weezing and Slowbro kills it. Other than that, I think I'm home free.

Thanks for all your help

 

[AlCario]

CB Blaziken is somewhat of a serious threat, but it's walled by Weezing and Slowbro kills it. Other than that, I think I'm home free.

When Choice items turn up, predictably isn't far behind. I can't see him causing too much trouble.

Thanks for all your help

No probs. It's what I do.

 

[Faster.]

You realise Cress runs Signal Beam now, just to beat Absol.

Ev's: They're designed to give him a 200 in Special Defense while still allowing him to reach 347 in Defense with ease.

And why is 200 in SpDef so necessary

 

[ungulateman]

Hey Eon, keeping my promise

Now, while there isn't really room on him for it, I reccommend Revenge for Hitmontop - being slow, he'll often hit with full power (270, the same as Close Combat). If you can catch Absol on the switch, it's dead, and it also deals with Chansey / etc. maybe put it over AA, if you have a solution for Toxicroak (read: Slowbro).

Speaking of Slowbro, he's fine.

Nice segue, isn't it?

Speaking of nice segues, Arcanine may fine it beneficial to use Dragon Pulse, but again, not much room for it.

Weezing looks okay. I like Explosion personally, but it doesn't really fit the pace of this team.

Umbreon's fine, Absol's fine.

Watch out for Fighting/Dark move users (read:Toxicroak), as they rip through most of your team bar Hitmontop (and to a lesser extent) Arcanine. So basically, keep Arcanine alive and watch out for Rain teams.

 

[namexx]

The Only TRUE Cresselia counter is tricker