Let Slip the Houndoom - UU RMT

[Alexa888]

This is my first RMT I've upload so I hope it is ok.

My Team at a glance:

Thought Process:
I recently RNG'd a Houndoom on my Emerald Game, and discovered the destructive power of Houndoom. So I decieded to built a team around this Houndoom. As some of you may realise, I took the name of this thread from a Battle CD in Pokemon XD - Let slip the Houndoom. This CD's challenge was to clear a path so that Houndoom could sweep the opponent. This is essentially how my team functions.

The End-Game Cleaner

Houndoom* (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP/252 SpAtk/252 Spe
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Hidden Power [Ground]

The reason this team was made. Houndoom is a very late game sweeper. Often the very last Pokemon I use after the opponent has been weakened, with the aim of clean sweeping the opponent. Nasty Plot to boost its SpAtk on the switch, and I then proceed to sweep with the remaining three moves. I went for Hidden Power [Ground] over other Hidden Power because I get perfect coverage with the three moves list, and can hit the likes of Aggron for 4x Super Effective damage.

The Lead

Kabutops @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Jolly nature (+Spe, -SpAtk)
- Aqua Jet
- Stone Edge
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock

Thank you to Plus for recommending this set. Kabutops can easily beat fake out leads thanks to its Normal resistance. It can alos eep Spikes of the field, and thanks to Stone Edge I can use Kabutops again later in the battle. Auqa Jet is now my teams first reliable priority move, enabling me to finish off speedy but weakened sweeps.

The Early Game Sweeper

Toxicroak (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpAtk)
- Sword Dance
- Cross Chop
- Sucker Punch
- Stone Edge

Toxicroak has great synergy with the rest of my team. Its resistance to Rock and Fighting moves help Houndoom, and its Grass resistance is another reason why it partners so well with Milotic. Toxicroak after a Swords Dance will often take out 1 of the opponents Pokemon, and dent others. A well timed Stone Edge can remove incoming Swellow or Moltres. If I'm lucky enough, Toxicroak can go on and sweep the entire opposing team. Comes with a bonus of being able to Toxic Spikes

The Bulky Powerhouse

Milotic (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Marvel Scale
EVs: 4 HP/252 SpAtk/252 Spe
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Partners extremely well with Toxicroak, as it is able to lure out Pokemon such as Venasaur and Mismagius, who can cause Toxicroak problems. These can then be taken out by well predicted attacks. Similarly, Toxicroak can remove Slowbro, Chansey and Ludicolo, who cause Milotic problems. Milotic's Hydro Pump dents most things coming in, and can take large chunks out of even the bulkiest Pokemon. By weakening these Pokemon, it leaves a chance for Houndoom to finish them off.

The Physical Tank

Cheezing* (M) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpAtk
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt
- Will-o-Wisp
- Pain Split

Weezing is IMO the best physical wall in UU. It partners well with Houndoom, taking any Rock, Fighting or Ground Type attacks with ease. It can in fact keep almost any physical attacker at bay, and with Will-O-Wisp can completely neuter them. It partners very well with Chansey; it can take some of the powerful Fighting attacks with absolute ease. Element beams work well on this set, and can slowly take opponents down. The burn and paralysis hax that comes with them can be extremely useful, despite it being a rare occurrence. Pain Spilt is the obligatory healing move, and I sometimes get lucky with a full heal Clefable or Chansey switching in, but for most of the time it doesn't benefit Weezing too much.

The Great (Special) Wall

Chansey* (F) @ Shed Shell
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Def/252 SpDef
Calm nature (+SpDed, -Atk)
- Wish
- Protect
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic

Chansey is such a beast. It can easily fit into most teams, and stops Special Attackers dead cold. I using go for Wish as the helpless Special Attacker switches out. I can them scout with protect to heal myself, or switch to Weezing to heal it off, as Pain Split is far from reliable. It partners extremely well with Weezing, sponging any special attacks directed at him, especially powerful Psychics. Together, the two make an extremely effective defensive core, sometimes walling entire opponent teams, wearing them down, so that Houndoom can come in and sweep unscathed. Does however have problems with Mismagius. Variants carrying taunt can beat Chansey 1 on 1, unless I can inflict a status such as Burn or Toxic on the switch in. Unfortunately I have had to run Shed Shell to beat Dugtrio. This makes it much more difficult for Chansey to wall

Previous Pokemon

Uxie @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/104 Def/152 Spe
Impish nature (+Def, -SpAtk)
- Trick
- U-Turn
- Stealth Rock
- Yawn


Problems:

• Spikes - Huge Problem, especially for Houndoom. It takes 50% from 3 layers of spikes and SR, so it can only switch in once. Do you think I should use a Rapid Spinner, or use a Taunt lead to stop them being laid down in the first place. Help on this would be appreciated
• Uxie is too weak - After Uxie has done its job and maybe tricked its scarf onto a wall, it become largely redundant. After that it usually acts as transition switch, allowing maybe Milotic or Houndoom to come in without having to take a hit.

Major Threats
These are Pokemon that my team struggles to deal with. Unfortunately, they are all pretty common

• Rhyperior - Extremely Powerful. Likes to come in on Chansey, and either Sub or Rock Polish, meaning Milotic cannot take it down.. Sub means Weezing cant Will-o-Wisp it and is 2HKOd.
• Mismagius - Can beat Chansey with Taunt. I have no real strategy to take this Mother down.
• Raikou - The lack of a ground type attack means that Raikou can spam Thunderbolts from behind a substitute. Chansey can beat it 1 on 1, but if Chansey is out of the picture, then it can sweep my team
• Dugtrio - Traps and kills Chansey and Toxicroak, which is a pain. Weezing can switch in and out freely thanks to levitate, and can wreck it with Will-o-Wisp, but it is always a threat to my team if it is not dealt with.

I would appreciate suggestion for a new Lead/Rapid Spinner, along obviously with other suggestion.

Rate My Team,

Alexa888

 

[Plus]

Hello

To start off with a response to your concerns, I'd advise you run Shed Shell on your Chansey so you won't be trapped by Dugtrio. When there's Raikou, you always have to be on the lookout for Dugtrio, and you rely on Chansey quite a bit. It's a sacrifice you have to make, but without Chansey your team really falls apart to Raikou. For a lead, I would recommend Kabutops over Uxie if you wanted something with power, a Rapid Spin, priority, and rocks. It's not exactly the best response to Mismagius or Rhyperior, but it's not totally bait like Uxie. You can use Aqua jet to break subs or a rock polish sweep, for example.

Over Milotic, who does go well with Toxicroak but doesn't really help address the threats you need to address most, I would recommend CB Spiritomb which traps Ghosts and Psychics effectively, Mismagius included. This will also prove useful in clearing out the spin blockers in UU so you can get a Rapid Spin off without much trouble. This also works nicely against Stall as you can trick the band when you don't need it anymore, damaging heavy components of UU stall.

CB Spiritomb also does very well against Rain teams. While I see you are running Toxicroak and Chansey which helps it a very good amount, you can further boost your anti-rain tactics with Shadow Sneaks and Sucker Punches which will take down the major sweepers in UU rain. The same can be said for sun teams.

Against Rhyperior, who is still pretty tricky, I'd simply recommend going to Weezing and Will O Wisping it, then proceeding to beat it out via outstalling it or going to Kabutops or Toxicroak. If it should sub, then Kabutops can Aqua Jet; though fainting in the process you can bring out Weezing and Toxicroak to deal with it.

Spiritomb @ Choice Band
Adamant 252 HP 252 Atk 4 Spe
Shadow Sneak / Pursuit / Sucker Punch / Trick

Kabutops @ Focus Sash
Jolly 252 Atk 252 Spe 4 Hp
Aqua Jet / Rapid Spin / Stealth Rock / Stone Edge

Kabutops does very well against the common leads of UU, such as Ambipom and Froslass, who is very annoying to take down. It can also spin away what pokemon like Omastar lay down and hit relatively hard, and by keeping it around later on in the game you get the important Normal / Flying resist so you get an easier time with Swellow, in which case would beat your priority users with Quick Attack otherwise -- so Sucker Punch Spiritomb works well against him too.

Very nice team, wish you luck in future UU playing endeavors.

 

[Alexa888]

Thanks for all the advice Plus. I must say I have used Kabutops Lead, and it has fitted nicely into my team. I will update changes in red soon. I also ran Shed Shell on Chansey, and whilst it allows me to flee from Dugtrio, I have a much harder time walling. I suppose I just have to accept that that is the price I'll have to pay to keep Raikou from wrecking my team. I was also considering Rest Talk Weezing, with Will-o-Wisp and Thunderbolt as the other two attacks, to allow me to wall better, but this may make it difficult to dealt with incoming threats. I suppose this counts as my bump.

 

[kingken77]

I do like the combination of Flash Fire Houndoom and Dry Skin Toxicroak as sweepers (I used them myself on one of my earlier teams). I recommend Clefable over Chansey because it serves the same purpose without a being wrecked by toxic and weather wearing it down and not being so weak physically.

 

[The Cicada]

try using hasty nature nature on houndoom and give it sucker punch over hp ground, priority can help in so many ways, and also this is the ev spread you should try on houndoom 252spatk/232speed/20 atk the less speed evs on houndoom barely effects it and the 20 atk evs ad hasty nature instead of timid will make sucker punch very powerful with that life orb.

 

[IronBullet]

Hi,

You've messed up Kabutop's EVs and item. I suppose they should be 252 in Attack, with the item Leftovers?

I see any form of status really stinging you in the ass. Weeding really only needs Sludge Bomb and Will-O-Wisp to function effectively, so I recommend changing its moveset to Sludge Bomb/Will-O-Wisp/Rest/Sleep Talk. On Toxicroak, I recommend running a Jolly nature, so that you don't get fucked over by getting outsped by shit like Venusaur. It gets all the KOs it needs anyway. You depend on Weezing to check an awful lot of Physical threats, and once its weakened something like Aggron can come in, KO and proceed to destroy your whole team. So I recommend running the Standard defensive set on Milotic, mainly because you have practically no checks to opposing Arcanine or NP Houndoom. An EV spread of 252 HP/200 Def/56 Sp Def with a Calm nature should work fine.

Nice team, gl.

 

[Alexa888]

I'm really not sure why this is being rated. I wrote this 2 months ago right back in the Froslass/Raikou meta. I appreciate the advice, but I have no intention of running this team again.