ORAS UU Assault Vest Empoleon

[Eeyore]

Hello friends. While I myself am not the strongest battler, I frequent this thread chain a lot, to try and learn the most I can from what makes certain teams, and certain combinations good. So, unlike some of you who are already recognized and renowned battlers, I'm using this more as a testing ground. Please be harsh, and make as many critiques as possible
I'll try and replicate the teambuilding process by the order in which I added the mons. This doesn't change how late I changed the set, but the actual order in which the mon itself was added to the team

Preview

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Haxorus @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
- Low Kick​

Strangely enough, Choice Scarf Haxorus was the first mon I made to the team. I wanted a team with a mon that worked similarly to Mega-Pinsir in OU, decent coverage, great speed and nearly unstoppable power, but didn't want the same Stealth Rock weakness that would have come with using Mence. What appealed to me most was Low Kick. The clean stop to Mega Aggron was so tantalizing, especially with my own personal problems with Mega Aggron in my previous UU team attempts. Poison Jab also looked great on paper to deal with Outrage resists like Florges, Mega Abomasnow, and Chesnaught, though I find myself not using it as much. I typically send Haxorus out near the end of a match, where it can do its janitorial duties with Earthquake or Outrage, and I don't have to worry about it. However, having the last two moves acts as a safety blanket, and can be switched with anything. 240 speed outspeeds Mega Aerodactyl, and Scarf Porygon-Z, as well as any other Base 95 Scarf user or lower, like Arcanine, Darmanitan, Sharpedo (at +1, not Scarf), Kyurem or Yanmega (same as Sharpedo) and keeps some Evs left for HP. It's deceptively fast, and with the Band set so prevalent, it's easily mistaken for such, acting as a wonderful end game sweeper.

Mienshao @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- U-turn​

I adore Mienshao. It's an amazing pivot, and a great U-turn. Regenerator is by far the better ability for a lead, and Drain Punch increases survivability, which I find more useful than High Jump Kick's power. Knock Off is also a phenomenal move, crippling more and more mons as Specs and Scarf become more used. Mienshao is a beautiful lead, and a great quick pivot. I often times find myself using this set, which has less power than the straight offensive Mienshao of such fame, in the same revenge killer role because of its great natural speed and power, supplemented by its new bulk. Life Orb is used over anything else because of the addition to power, which Regenerator then sweeps away. Focus Sash can be used, and just requires a different mindset.

Empoleon @ Assault Vest
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Flash Cannon
- Ice Beam
- Grass Knot
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At first, Empoleon was the standard Specially Defensive, with Defog and Stealth Rock, ect. But as the team evolved, Crobat was added, and the Defog need was already covered. What I needed was to deal with Donphan and Hippowdon better. Mega Ampharos, and Empoleon that couldn't hit hard left this team very very weak to the two Rocky Hippos. At first I considered the Specs set, but I found I missed the special bulk, so I did what any compromiser would do and I added Assault Vest to the Specs set. Not very creative, but SO worth it. Empoleon is actually bulkier now than with straight Calm/Full SpDef investment, only losing the ability to defog, which is graciously given to Crobat, who arguably does the job better. The moves themselves make sense, Scald being the default option with the happy added chance to burn, while Flash Cannon covers fairies and adds additional STAB. Ice Beam threatens flying types like Yanmega and Hydreigon, who now do pitifully little damage to Empoleon, (Choice Specs Modest Dark Pulse does a Max of 43.9%, while Specs Bug Buzz with Tinted Lens only does marginally more at Max 46.9%). The only adjustment that could be made is to defense. Close Combat from Arcanine, Earthquake from Donphan (which 8 Speed outspeeds at the typical 84 Speed Donphan), and Specially Defensive Hippowdon are all still problematic. Adjustments can be made depending on how often you face those monsters, and your own typical playstyle.

Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Dazzling Gleam
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Alakazam functions mostly to stop certain mons from sweeping-- Most notably the Nidos, Heracross, Mienshao, or Mega Beedrill, as well as halting Tentacruel, Chestnaught or Roserade from doing their jobs correctly. The set is designed to have perfect coverage, hitting any mon, though Focus Blast is always a disappointment. Focus Sash was chosen over Life Orb because of Alakazam's role-- not as a sweeper, but as a "support sweeper." Alakazam needs to be able to take a hit, and its frailty prevented it from performing correctly. With Focus Sash, it guarantees a hit (with the exception of Cloyster and Heracross), which allows it to have Modest and hit with as much unboosted power as possible.

Slurpuff @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Drain Punch
- Play Rough
- Facade
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Slurpuff completes the Dragon/Steel/Fairy core nicely, and adds another offensive and set-up presence to the team. Despite being in RU, Slurpuff still threatens a majority of the tier, and shouldn't be taken lightly. While it retains its RU set, there are differences. Adamant nature is chosen over Jolly to maximize damage, which allows it to absorb more HP with Drain Punch. Facade is also chosen to deal with the many mons who will rightfully try and Paralyze or Burn it in an attempt to cripple either Unburden or Belly Drum respectively. After setting up, only incredibly bulky mons like Mega Aggron, Forretress and a set-up Snorlax can take a hit and OHKO back. These mons need to be taken care of previously before a set-up is attempted in most cases. However, against certain leads, Slurpuff can set up and cause a major threat, forcing the opponent to take damage in some of his/her most powerful mons in an attempt to stop a clean sweep. Galvantula (not Focus Sash), Azelf, and Mienshao are common ones.

Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 248 HP / 72 Def / 184 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Defog
- Roost
- U-turn
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Initially, this spot was for Mega Ampharos, as it completed the VoltTurn core with Mienshao, but I found the Donphan/Hippowdon problem arising again. The addition of Crobat, who also serves as a really strong Fighting resist as well, allowed for Volt-turn completion, another Defog user, and extremely quick speed for a second lead, making Mienshao not always the first one up. Infiltrator also helps a lot against Mence Set-up, as often times Sub is chosen to allow for a safe Dragon Dance, especially against teams with Fairy on them. Crobat is EV'd to outspeed Mega Pidgeot while still retaining enough bulk to check threats such as Mega Beedrill and Heracross, who otherwise can wreak some havoc. The movelist is obvious, so it needs no explanation.

THREAT LIST
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There are no perfect teams, so I still do find problems with certain Pokes. These mons can still be defeated with proper strategy, but make the team incredibly difficult to win with.

This mon is a wonderful cleric. Unfortunately, I'm not the one it's clericing for. Wish passing and astounding natural bulk as well as special attack power makes this mon incredibly annoying to deal with, and leaves you always one step behind. It takes a lot of strategy to beat a well played Florges, and though not nearly as devastating as some of the other mons on the threat list, can be the reason you lost to a team you otherwise could have beaten
CroCune is as bulky as it is versatile. With astounding Defense and Calm Mind opportunity, it can often take a chunk out of the team before it goes down, ruining a strategy and allowing the opponent to end ahead. It's bulk prevents clean Revenge Kills and its recovery is too damn good.
Donphan, no matter how hard I try and deal with him, just has a way with teams I build. It's really the Ice Shard. Having a strong Earthquake, the ability to spin (though irrelevant on the team) and a priority move alongside of Sturdy makes this monster far too strong to be haphazardly dealt with. Haxorus is the only mon that can really deal with Donphan face to face.

Rain Teams can be particularly annoying. With excellent team synergy, and often a lot of type coverage between mons, it can set up quickly and devastatingly. Empoleon is always a good stop to a Rain Team, but beyond the Emperor Penguin, it takes only a little to push you back into a defensive position.




Let me know what you think!

 

[MeatBone]

I like this team. Slurpuff is really fun to use in UU I think. I'm pretty new to RMT but I have a couple suggestions that may make things easier for you.

First of all, you can run Energy Ball over Shadow Ball on Zam to help with Donphan and Suicune. Shadow Ball doesn't hit anything too important, and given your current issues the added coverage should help.

Also, you may want to consider running Poison Jab over U-Turn or Knock Off on Mienshao or Cros Poison over U-Turn on the bat. It's up to you though I can definitely see why you opt to runn two turners, as it is very helpful in setting up a Slurpuff sweep

You may want to consider not running assault vest on Emp. Roar and Stealth Rock can help you wear down walls like Donphan and Florges and Roar helps phase out Suicune and wear down teams for your sweepers. I know it takes away some momentum from an otherwise very offensive team, but at the very least rocks increase offensiveness by punishing the opponents switches. Of course I noticed it was the title of the thread so you may not want t alter it

And might I also suggest Return over Facade. It's much more powerful than Facade most of the time, and its better than you don't let Slurpuff get burned at all as some broken down walls like Aggron may still live a Facade and end your sweep. This is of course completely optional, as are all of these suggestions.

Still looks like a good team either way, I'm thinking I might sit down and play a few games with it :]

 

[dodmen]

Hey cool concept for the team, but there's quite a few things I'd like to suggest to help it perform more effectively.

First and most important thing is that every competitive team needs Stealth Rock, and the most obvious choice is to put Stealth Rock on Empoleon which actually fits nicely on the team, giving you an early-game check to Hydreigon, Mega Aerodactyl, and others. I'll give you a couple options here: you can change Empoleon back to the standard SpDef variant with Stealth Rock / Scald / Roar / filler if you want to retain its special bulk, or you can change Empoleon to an offensive variant with Stealth Rock / Hydro Pump or Scald / Ice Beam / Grass Knot if you prefer the power and offensive presence that Empoleon can bring to your team. Another option is to change Empoleon altogether to offensive SR Mega Swampert, which somewhat alleviates you weakness to Ground (can help with Donphan which is in your threatlist) and has great synergy with Crobat, but makes you slightly weaker to special attackers like Hydreigon. The option that I prefer is to use offensive Empoleon with SR + 3 attacks. Assault Vest Empoleon is not viable as you use the utility that Empoleon can bring to your team, and you're much better off using Leftovers because passive recovery is amazing.

Next suggestion I've got is for you to change the roles of Haxorus and Mienshao. Mienshao is much better equipped to clean up late-game with powerful Reckless-boosted High Jump Kicks (which actually hits harder than Choice Scarf Haxorus's Outrage) and a much better speed tier, allowing it to outspeed most other Scarfers like Hydreigon, unlike Haxorus. On the other hand, Haxorus is much better used as a powerful wallbreaker that can bust through physical walls to make it easier for Mienshao, Slurpuff, and Crobat to clean up. Below are both sets for Haxorus and Mienshao that I recommend for this team.

Haxorus

Haxorus @ Life Orb / Lum Berry
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab / Dragon Dance

Mienshao

Mienshao @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge

The next changes I suggest are relatively small. First, change Alakazam's nature to Timid as this will allow it to outspeed threats like Infernape, Azelf, Whimsicott, and all the other Pokemon hovering around that speed. Alakazam's role should focus on revenge killing offense, not wallbreaking, so the power drop from Modest shouldn't affect you too much. Also, Alakazam has access to a wide variety of utility moves such as Encore, Taunt, Calm Mind, and even Thunder Wave and I suggest that you replace Dazzling Gleam with one of these moves as you already have coverage on Dark-types with Focus Blast.

Crobat should be running 212 Speed EVs, which allow it to outspeed +1 Adamant Feraligatr and Noivern, which both outspeed and beat your current set.

Slurpuff should be using a Jolly nature, which lets it outspeed Scarfers such as Mienshao, Salamence, and Hydreigon which can revenge kill you even after Unburden. Also, it should run Return over Facade, since it lets you OHKO Crobat and Nidoqueen at +6. Hope this helped and that everything was clear!