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UU team - too much support?

N

Noppy

Active Member
Hey, I've been coming up with a UU team for a while now. My main objective was to get my 2 favourite pokemon; Toxicroak and Altaria in there, which I've done, so the rest is pretty interchangable, although I am a real fan of drifbloom too.

Is there a lack of offensive power in my team? Advice from pros is thanks :D

Clefable@Flame Orb, Bold, 44 HP/212 Def/252 Sp. Def
Trick
Protect
Stealth Rock
Wish

a multi-purpose lead/wall that can scout with protect and detirmine enemy items. a solid wall with good wish passing capabilities, but is taunt too much of a threat?
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toxicroak@expert belt, Adamant, 252 speed, 252 attack, 4 HP
swords dance
poison jab
earthquake
sucker punch

Get in there and sweep my son. A direct copy of Will-O-Wisps moveset, but it looks practical, and I really do love the look of this boy. He aint going nowhere
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Slowbro@leftovers, Bold nature, 252 defence, 212 hp, 44 SpAtk
Surf
Ice beam
Thunderwave
Slack off

I've always been a fan of his kingly brother, but this time I've opted fro the bro because of this teams requirement for a physical wall.
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Claydol@Light clay, Careful, 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Lightscreen
Reflect
Rapid spin
Explosion

a SR suicide bomber, but also great support. Not much to be said, except maybe I'm opening my team up to too much ice weakness across the board?
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Altaria@Life orb, Modest, 252 Speed, 252 SpAtk, 4hp
Draco Meter
Fireblast/Flamethrower
Rest
Roar/Haze/Feather Dance/Ice beam

I just had to get him in here. Draco mete and rest + natural cure makes him a natural hit and runner, but is there room in that role for haizing/roaring (or is it whirlwind?) I'm not sure as to the final move, but it'spretty much filler anyway. Any help?
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Drifblim -
Substitute
Batonpass
Will-O-Wisp
Shadowball / Explosion?

I would totally love to squeeze this boy into my team, but I just can't decide how to use him. Do I take advantage of his massive HP and low defences with aftermath? Or give my poor sweepers the boost they probably need by subbing down to a berry boost. And in practice, how possible is it to actually pull of the sub-pass?


This is my 1st team, but the only 2 I've raised so far are Clef and Froggy (toxicoak). I'm totally open to criticism and flaming, so go nuts

(Y) THUMBS UP
 
D

DeathEatsCurry

[Wizzerd]
First off: It's generally unwise to focus on building team around more than one favorite. But it's your decision.
Second off: While you're raising, get onto ShoddyBattle to try the team out. It's annoying to raise a pokemon, 31 IVs Hp/Def, huge move chains etc. only to find out he's a weak link.

On with the fla-- I mean rating.
Taunt on Clefable is a pretty big threat, seeing as it's one of the more popular lead strategies. Also, the healing is not useful on a lead, since as a lead you barely need to stall. It seems like you've taking a stall build, and a lead build, and mixed them together, granting something mediocre.

Altaria: You're probably gonna get mixed opinion on Blast vs. Thrower. Just think (Do I want a bigger range of Poke's I can OHKO, or do I want more accuracy, to DEFINETELY get a smaller range of OHKO's?).
Claydol: I'm a bit weirded out at the RS + Explosion. If you're this close to a lead build, you might finish it, taking out RS for SR, and using him as lead. Then possibly kick out Drifblim for Hitmontop, to do your Spinning, and some sweeping.
Toxicroak: Life Orb might be the better option over Expert Belt. Cross Jab over Poison Jab, since Poison has horrible coverage, whereas Fighting + Dark hits pretty much everything neutral+. Or Brick Break if you dislike 80% Acc. Also drop EQ for Stone Edge, or possibly taunt. Finally, make sure the ability of the KungFu Toad is DRY SKIN. AFinally it might be advisable to run Jolly, rather than Adamant.
Slowbro: Make sure it's Own Tempo, the few people who run attract are usually people you can shred, like Joe Satriani does his guitar. Experiment a bit wether Thunder Wave, or Toxic suits your team better. The first is if you find you're constantly outsped, the second is for stalling fun. EV: 252 HP, 252 Def, 4 SDef. The SpAtk you have is wasted. It has no purpose, other than lessen his walling potential. Possibly Psychic is preferably over Ice Beam, considering the myriad of Fighting types in UU, AND It's STAB.
All I can rate right now, due to lack of time, hope it helps.
 
N

Noppy

Active Member
Curry

Thanks for the input, I've been on Shoddy battle pretty much since you posted. Damn you for being right, crosschop on toxicroak seems a must. Stone edge seems more easy for a newb battler like myself to utilize rather than taunt. Having trouble with Hitmontop; Technical with mach punch seems the way forward though

Hitmontop: rapid spin - adamant or jolly? life orb?
mach punch
brick break / close combat / aerial ace/pursuit?

Really havent put much thought into this guy yet. Technician seems worth it for the mach punch and pursuits, but I've heard theres lots of good things to be said about intimidate in UU league.

Claydol has had spin replaced by SR like you suggested, but I seem to be having trouble getting a reflect/light screen and SR down before he's taken down... need practice I suppose.

Clefary has become more of a supporter now

Clefairy@Leftovers-Calm nature, 252 HP 252 SpD, 4 SpA? (I seem to pump two stats to the max too often, perhaps put some of the HP of SpD into SpA or Def?)
Toxic
Psychic
Wish
Protect

Basically, all of your advice has been taken on and incorporated, and my team feels all the more solid for it. There's still probably a fair few changes to go before it's good enough, but you've definately helped me out a lot, thanks :D

PS: do you think 2 fighting types may be a baaaad pokemon choice?
 
D

DeathEatsCurry

[Wizzerd]
Okay a bit more time now. Well it depends on the secondary types. In UU fighting types galore, and most teams will pack anti Fighting measures (Which explains why Psychic is more popular in UU than it is in OU). Oh and I hope you mean CLEFABLE. Not Clefairy. :p. Try to list all the abilities in there, where there are two options (Dry skin on Croak, Magic Guard on Fable.). The EV spread for 'Fable, as given from Smogon for that moveset is 252 HP / 40 SpA / 216 SpD. I quote: "The EVs are relatively simple, max HP for overall defensiveness, and then 216 go to Special Defense, allowing for two more stat points than 212. The rest of the EVs go to Special Attack, allowing Clefable to have slightly more firepower."

And yes. Technician Hitmontop is lethal, but for your spin support, Intimidate might be the better option. You want him to able to switch out. Go for CC for your STAB, and obviously Rapid spin, and then pick between Aerial Ace, Stone Edge, Toxic and Sucker Punch. Don't bother with Pursuit (As a recent long debate on pursuit has shown). Pursuit is for Darks, or Scizor. However if you're scared about having two fighting's on the team, consider another spinner. I'm not sure which UU make good spinners, but maybe Blastoise? Claydol's set has been proven to be an efficient support, so yeah you probably need practice :p

That leaves Altaria, first time I've seen a full special Altaria without Specs. EV spread seems okay, however with Rest in your wings, perhaps 252 HP/252 SAtk, to maximize the health and benefit from Rest even more. After consideration, Altaria NEEDS the BP that Fire Blast gives, so opt that over Thrower. As for the last slot, Featherdance is more or less out. With SR up Pseuhazing (Thus Roar/Whirlwind) is a good option. However for a non-Specs Special Sweeper, Altaria lacks bite. His base SAtk is just too low. You could go with Specs, add Dragon Pulse or Ice Beam on the last slot, leaving Rest in or swapping it for HP Ground, and going for your current EV spread. All I have to say about it.
 
N

Noppy

Active Member
sorry, I just assumed dry skin and magic guard are a given, and yeah, oops, fairy = fable :p

so, for altaria you're suggesting:

Altaria@choice specs - modest
Draco Meter
Fireblast
Rest/HP Ground (note: I have no idea how to influence HP, I thought they were dependant on IVs? If so I'm not will to breed MILLIONS of swablu :p)
Roar/Ice beam

Now, to opt for roar/ice beam? I'm pretty sure I want to be keeping Draco meter, it just seems so right to me, and packs altaria the punch he needs to make dents. And I'm still unsure as to his EVs, I suppose his defences are good enough to sacrafice speed and take a hit or 2, considering he's designed to heal up.

At this rate it seems I'm just keeping cloudbird in just for the sake of it... I dare not say it, but do you think he deserves a heave ho? he's been doing ok on shoddy.

as ever, thanks a lot for this. If you ever need some items ask me and I'll see if they're in my bag. (Y) THUMBS UP!

P.P.S, If he has to be gotten rid of, I've been battling against an awesome unburdening, calm minding Driftblim sweeper.
 
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