Hey guys, This is my first crack at an RU Team, and I honestly think it looks promising, but since I'm not all that familiar with the RU tier, I'd love the opinions in those who are more familiar with it. So here it are, my first RU Team!
Braviary @ Choice Band
Ability: Defiant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Rock Slide
Braviary is a Pokemon I never really looked at to much. Sure, it is 'Murica in a Pokemon, but since I'm Canadian, I never really cared (Now, if you give me a Maple Leaf Pokemon ;) ). However, when I was looking at the Poketubers I love, one of them was using, in an RU match, Choice Band Braviary. And this thing destroyed. It was very powerful, and made me take another look at Braviary. I like it. A lot. While Talonflame and its Priority Brave Bird may rule OU, Braviary destroys with its Choice Band in the lower Tiers. It is meant to be a Sweeper and a Wall Breaker all in one, with, as I already Mentioned, STAB Brave Bird. The other moves are for coverage, making Braviary very dangerous indeed. Superpower hits Steel and Rock types hard, U-Turn hits Psychic types, and allows Braviary to switch out, while Rock Slide Allows Braviary to hit Electric Types that would wall it hard, as well as other Flying Types. The EV Spread is to make Braviary hit as fast and hard as possible, even using a Jolly Nature to make sure it gets that extra speed boost, especially against opposing Braviary that may run Adamant. I'm caught between the ability though. Defiant, I'm not sure serves Braviary to well in this tier, as it is immune to Sticky Web. On the other hand, Sheer Power amps up its destructive power even more. So I'd love to hear opinions on that as well.
Banette (F) @ Banettite
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Brave Nature
- Taunt
- Destiny Bond
- Confuse Ray
- Shadow Sneak
I feel like Mega Banette really shines in RU. Priority Taunt really shuts down walls and set-up sweepers, and Destiny Bond is a terrifying thing indeed. I like Confuse Ray because, once I Taunt a Pokemon, I can follow up with a nice confusion, which can really screw up a lot of plays. Not wanting to fall to other M-Banette's however, I also have Shadow Sneak so a Taunt can't shut me down, and I can hit hard for STAB Super Effective Damage. While Banette gets out shined by every other Mega in the higher Tiers, in RU Banette only has Abomasnow and Medicham to contend with, all serving very different roles. This allows Banette to shine as a huge threat that can severely cripple my opponent's plays. Not only that, but if worse comes to worse, it can also serve as an instant answer to a dangerous sweeper.
Slowking (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 196 SAtk / 64 SDef
Quiet Nature
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Flamethrower
- Grass Knot
Slowking. When I first saw Pokemon 2000 as a kid, I wondered why the Slowbrow's Shellder was on its head instead of its tail. Ah Youthful Bliss. Years later, Slowking was another one of those Pokemon that I didn't really pay much attention too. However, while doing some research, I found about Slowking and Assault Vest, and thought to myself that Slowking could make a great Special Wall. Coupled with Regenerator, Slowking is really tough to take down. The EV spread shows that it is meant to wall Special Attacks, while delivering its own brand of pain nicely. Scald is the best move Slowking has at its disposal, giving it the ability to cripple physical threats. Psyhock is secondary STAB that allows it to hit opposing special walls hard. Flamethrower is for coverage, allows it to hit Grass and Steel Types, while the last slot, Grass Knot, is to allow it to not be completely walled by the likes of Gastrodon and Jellicent.
Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
The Great Steel Golem, Registeel, is also a great mixed wall. Mostly used as a Physical Wall, Registeel is great for setting up Rocks and messing up walls with Toxic. Iron Head is a nice STAB move that hits Fairy-types like Slurpuff and Aromatisse. It also allows it to hit Tyrantrum for Super Effective Damage as well. Earthquake is a simple coverage move, allowing it to hit Electric and Fire Types nicely. Leftovers allows Registeel to recover some HP nicely, since it has no recovery moves.
Exploud (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 Def
Modest Nature
- Boomburst
- Fire Blast
- Surf
- Ice Beam
The first time I played through Emerald, I had an Exploud on my Team. Half-way through the game, I took it out, because, in my opinion, it was sucking. Hard. Now that I take another look at it, and what it gained this gen, I actually really like Exploud, and using it on this team as my Special Sweeper. BoomBurst is a devastating STAB move for Exploud to have, and with the new Sound Mechanics, Substatuters really don't stand a chance against Exploud. Fire Blast is a great Coverage move, allowing Exploud to hit Steel and Grass types. Surf, on the other hand, Allows Exploud to hit Fire and Rock Types. With Ice Beam, Exploud gains an amazing array of coverage, hitting flying and Ground types hard. Combined with Exploud's already high Special Attack, Choice Specs can really, really ruin someones day. And with the Ability Scrappy, Exploud can hit Jellicent hard with the aforementioned Boomburst.
Dugtrio (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Reversal
Dugtrio is an interesting Pokemon, all jokes about what is underneath it aside. I feel that, while it is mostly used as a trapper, thanks to Arena Trap, its ability can also be used to help it be a great Revenge Killer. It has the speed necessary for such a role, and Arena Trap allows the pokemon I plan on Revenge Killing to not be able to escape. Stone Edge and Earthquake allows Dugtrio to hit a variety of Pokemon hard. Sucker Punch allows Dugtrio to finish off the weakened Pokemon without getting damage onto it. combined with Focus Sash, Reversal is an extremely dangerous move, coupled with Dugtrio's high Attack and Speed.
Braviary @ Choice Band
Ability: Defiant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Rock Slide
Braviary is a Pokemon I never really looked at to much. Sure, it is 'Murica in a Pokemon, but since I'm Canadian, I never really cared (Now, if you give me a Maple Leaf Pokemon ;) ). However, when I was looking at the Poketubers I love, one of them was using, in an RU match, Choice Band Braviary. And this thing destroyed. It was very powerful, and made me take another look at Braviary. I like it. A lot. While Talonflame and its Priority Brave Bird may rule OU, Braviary destroys with its Choice Band in the lower Tiers. It is meant to be a Sweeper and a Wall Breaker all in one, with, as I already Mentioned, STAB Brave Bird. The other moves are for coverage, making Braviary very dangerous indeed. Superpower hits Steel and Rock types hard, U-Turn hits Psychic types, and allows Braviary to switch out, while Rock Slide Allows Braviary to hit Electric Types that would wall it hard, as well as other Flying Types. The EV Spread is to make Braviary hit as fast and hard as possible, even using a Jolly Nature to make sure it gets that extra speed boost, especially against opposing Braviary that may run Adamant. I'm caught between the ability though. Defiant, I'm not sure serves Braviary to well in this tier, as it is immune to Sticky Web. On the other hand, Sheer Power amps up its destructive power even more. So I'd love to hear opinions on that as well.
Banette (F) @ Banettite
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Brave Nature
- Taunt
- Destiny Bond
- Confuse Ray
- Shadow Sneak
I feel like Mega Banette really shines in RU. Priority Taunt really shuts down walls and set-up sweepers, and Destiny Bond is a terrifying thing indeed. I like Confuse Ray because, once I Taunt a Pokemon, I can follow up with a nice confusion, which can really screw up a lot of plays. Not wanting to fall to other M-Banette's however, I also have Shadow Sneak so a Taunt can't shut me down, and I can hit hard for STAB Super Effective Damage. While Banette gets out shined by every other Mega in the higher Tiers, in RU Banette only has Abomasnow and Medicham to contend with, all serving very different roles. This allows Banette to shine as a huge threat that can severely cripple my opponent's plays. Not only that, but if worse comes to worse, it can also serve as an instant answer to a dangerous sweeper.
Slowking (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 196 SAtk / 64 SDef
Quiet Nature
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Flamethrower
- Grass Knot
Slowking. When I first saw Pokemon 2000 as a kid, I wondered why the Slowbrow's Shellder was on its head instead of its tail. Ah Youthful Bliss. Years later, Slowking was another one of those Pokemon that I didn't really pay much attention too. However, while doing some research, I found about Slowking and Assault Vest, and thought to myself that Slowking could make a great Special Wall. Coupled with Regenerator, Slowking is really tough to take down. The EV spread shows that it is meant to wall Special Attacks, while delivering its own brand of pain nicely. Scald is the best move Slowking has at its disposal, giving it the ability to cripple physical threats. Psyhock is secondary STAB that allows it to hit opposing special walls hard. Flamethrower is for coverage, allows it to hit Grass and Steel Types, while the last slot, Grass Knot, is to allow it to not be completely walled by the likes of Gastrodon and Jellicent.
Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
The Great Steel Golem, Registeel, is also a great mixed wall. Mostly used as a Physical Wall, Registeel is great for setting up Rocks and messing up walls with Toxic. Iron Head is a nice STAB move that hits Fairy-types like Slurpuff and Aromatisse. It also allows it to hit Tyrantrum for Super Effective Damage as well. Earthquake is a simple coverage move, allowing it to hit Electric and Fire Types nicely. Leftovers allows Registeel to recover some HP nicely, since it has no recovery moves.
Exploud (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 Def
Modest Nature
- Boomburst
- Fire Blast
- Surf
- Ice Beam
The first time I played through Emerald, I had an Exploud on my Team. Half-way through the game, I took it out, because, in my opinion, it was sucking. Hard. Now that I take another look at it, and what it gained this gen, I actually really like Exploud, and using it on this team as my Special Sweeper. BoomBurst is a devastating STAB move for Exploud to have, and with the new Sound Mechanics, Substatuters really don't stand a chance against Exploud. Fire Blast is a great Coverage move, allowing Exploud to hit Steel and Grass types. Surf, on the other hand, Allows Exploud to hit Fire and Rock Types. With Ice Beam, Exploud gains an amazing array of coverage, hitting flying and Ground types hard. Combined with Exploud's already high Special Attack, Choice Specs can really, really ruin someones day. And with the Ability Scrappy, Exploud can hit Jellicent hard with the aforementioned Boomburst.
Dugtrio (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Reversal
Dugtrio is an interesting Pokemon, all jokes about what is underneath it aside. I feel that, while it is mostly used as a trapper, thanks to Arena Trap, its ability can also be used to help it be a great Revenge Killer. It has the speed necessary for such a role, and Arena Trap allows the pokemon I plan on Revenge Killing to not be able to escape. Stone Edge and Earthquake allows Dugtrio to hit a variety of Pokemon hard. Sucker Punch allows Dugtrio to finish off the weakened Pokemon without getting damage onto it. combined with Focus Sash, Reversal is an extremely dangerous move, coupled with Dugtrio's high Attack and Speed.
