ORAS UU ORAS UU Team Featuring Mega Absol and Roserade

[LordGamerGod]

Hello again everyone!!! This is my second RMT and this time it's a UU team. I built this team around two of my favorite Pokemon, Absol and Roserade. Not only do they look really cool, but I think they can be great competitively if used right. I've tested this team on Showdown and it did really well, so I figured it was ready to ask the Smogon community. As I am still new to the UU tier, please forgive any blatantly noobish mistakes. Again thank you for your help and have fun!!

On to the team:

Aversa (Absol-Mega) @ Absolite
Ability: Magic Bounce
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Flamethrower
- Dark Pulse
- Sucker Punch
- Thunderbolt

Usually when you see a Mega Absol you immediately switch into a defensive wall to counter it. This is why I decided to run a special Absol to catch people off guard. Dark Pulse for STAB and Flamethrower and Thunderbolt for coverage. I decided to throw Sucker Punch on just in case I was faced with a Choice Scarfed Pokemon as my team does not have a lot of priority. Absol is not one of my primary sweepers as most of the time it will just miss an OHKO. However it does allow for massive damage for my sweepers to come in late game.

Guns'n'Roses (Roserade) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Extrasensory
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]

This Roserade set is probably my favorite Pokemon on this team and the most fun to use. Roserade sports a very high Special Defense so I saw no need to go the typical 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 SpA. Roserade can dish out tremendous amounts of damage so I threw an Assault Vest on her to make her a Bulky sweeper. Giga Drain and Sludge Bomb are nice STAB and recovery options, while Extrasensory and Hidden Power Fire are wonderful coverage moves. When I was first building this team, Roserade was designed to be a wall. But as the team developed more and more Roserade is sweeping teams late game.

Kodak (Blastoise) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Roar
- Toxic

Blastiose acts as the Defensive wall for the team. He also is the designated Rapid Spinner/ Hazard Removal. Blastoise usually comes in on the 3rd to 4th turn to Rapid Spin after I have KO'd the opponents lead. Blastoise also carries Toxic as my team had no other status move otherwise. Roar is the move I click the most on Blastoise because people seem to set up on it a lot. And it is a nice option to keep opponents on their toes. Scald is mandatory STAB and for a nice 30% chance of burn.

Pinpoint (Heracross) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Rock Slide

Heracross is my late game sweeper and revenge killer. Timid Choice Scarf allows Heracross to outspeed and OHKO things like Mega Beedrill. Its moveset is pretty standard, Close Combat and Megahorn are for huge damage and STAB. Knock Off is for item removal. And Rock Slide is nice coverage. Not much else to be said about Heracross, other than he has saved this team time in and time out.

Redbull (Salamence) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Roost
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Zen Headbutt

Salamence plays a pretty interesting role as a Bulky Physical Attacker/Semi Wall. I wanted an Intimidate Pokemon that could also put out a lot of damage. Without any defensive investment, this thing can actually wall pretty well and attack for huge amounts of damage. Roost is to keep Salamence around long term and coupled with Leftovers, usually results in Salamance always surviving the battle. Dragon Claw is for STAB, with Earthquake and Zen Headbutt rounding out the set for coverage. Salamance has come though in battles for me, more than I had initially intended and is always a key member of the team.

Double Dipper (Mamoswine) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 Atk / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Endeavor
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash

Mamoswine was just recently added onto the team over Infernape as my lead. This is a pretty typical lead Mamoswine set, but I felt Stealth Rocks were necessary for all the threatening Fire types like Arcanine and Darmanitan and also for things like Mega Beedrill. Also I felt like i needed a good Ice type to to check Dragon types like Mega Sceptile and Haxorus. Mamoswine also gives me a nice Electric immunity to keep any Volt Switching at bay.

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Overall this team, I feel is pretty solid, but still needs some work. Some issues I have with this team are Fairy Types, especially Florges. I have 3 Pokemon that are weak to a Moonblast and my only reliable answer is Roserade. However Florges can tank a Sludge Bomb from Roserade fairly well. Bulky Psychic types such as Reuniclus can take a toll on my team, as Absol cannot OHKO it with a Dark Pulse and Heracross has to risk a Megahorn miss to OHKO. In general my team is not very specially bulky, so if my Roserade goes down I usually have trouble winning.

Thank you for reading and I hope that you like my team. Again I know it is not the best UU team. But I really enjoy using it, as it did fairly well on Pokemon Showdown. My goal for this team is to make it even better as so I need the Smogon community's help. Again thank you so much for reading this, and leave some helpful tips so that I can become a better battler and teambuilder. Have fun!!!

 

[Vapo]

Hey LordGamerGod, and welcome to Smogon! I'm glad you're checking out UU, but there are quite a few issues with this team that really prevent it from being effective in the current metagame. I think your best option now is to check out UU teams in the Team Showcase, as these have all been proven to be effective and will help give you a better understanding of what works. However, I'll give this team a rough rate to fix the major issues and hopefully give you something better to work with:

• Your team looks like an attempt at balance, but it ended up closer to offense as you lack switch-ins to many prominent threats such as Hydreigon and Salamence. I think adding Florges to the team would really strengthen your team's defensive core and give you a safe switch-in to almost all special attackers in the tier. I would suggest changing Mega Absol -> Florges, as Mega Absol is not the most effective mega to use on balance, and I would like to utilize the mega slot somewhere else on the team. As for Florges, I think a cleric set with an EV spread of 252 HP / 244 Def / 12 Spe with a Bold Nature and a moveset of Moonblast / Wish / Synthesis / Aromatherapy is your best bet. The spread allows you to wall the likes of Hydreigon (lacking Iron Tail), Mega Blastoise, and many others while being able to better check banded Heracross.
• Roserade is a cool pokemon but really benefits from maximum speed investment, as it allows it to outspeed pokemon such as Heracross, Feraligatr, Nidoqueen, and all variants of Suicune and either put them to sleep or KO them. Roserade's Utility Sleep Powder/Spikes set works great on offensively based teams, as it provides status and hazard support while checking bulky waters like Suicune. I think an EV change to 252 Spa / 4 SpDef / 252 Spe with a Timid Nature and a moveset of Spikes / Giga Drain / Sludge Bomb / Sleep Powder and a Life Orb would work well. You don't really need coverage outside of dual STAB if you run Sleep Powder, as you can cripple anything your attacks cannot hit. Spikes are extremely beneficial for balance teams, as they allow you to whittle your opponent's team over the course of the match and allow something to clean late game.
• Since we saved the mega slot by removing Mega Absol, I think using it for Mega Blastoise would benefit your team immensely. I would change Leftovers -> Blastoisinite. Mega Blastoise is arguably the best offensive spinner in the tier, with plenty of bulk to take on the likes of Doublade and Entei with the firepower to beat things like CM Reuniclus 1v1. I would recommend an EV spread of 60 HP / 252 Spa / 196 Spe with a Modest Nature and a moveset of Scald / Aura Sphere / Dark Pulse / Rapid Spin. The spread creeps opposing Mega Blastoise, Nidoqueen, and Tentacruel, while allowing you to outspeed things like max speed Modest Hoopa. The moveset is pretty standard; Scald is chosen over Hydro Pump for its reliability and 30% burn rate. Aura Sphere hits Empoleon, Snorlax, and Porygon2 for super effective damage. Dark Pulse allows you to smack Doublade, Reuniclus, and Cresselia, which all cause trouble for your current core of Florges and Roserade.
• Scarf Heracross fits fine on this sort of team. However, I'd suggest changing Rock Slide -> Stone Edge, as the power difference is noticeable and will score you more kills overall.
• For Salamence, I think a Dragon Dance set would be best, considering you lack a true win condition at this point. Since we have Florges in the back to pass wishes and heal status, I don't think bulky Salamence is necessary. I would go with an EV spread of 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe with a Jolly Nature and a moveset of Dragon Dance / Outrage / Iron Tail / Earthquake with a Yache Berry and Intimidate. EVs are fairly self explanatory, moveset allows you to hit common Dragon switch-ins like Florges and Doublade for super effective damage, and item allows you to take an Ice Shard from Mamoswine without having your sweep cut short. I think Intimidate is more helpful in this case than Moxie because it allows you to set up on a lot more and check pokemon like Scarf Mienshao and Entei in a pinch.
• Lastly, I'd like to suggest a few changes for your Mamoswine set. I think on a balance team such as this, you should not play it as a suicide lead. I think the Life Orb offensive Mamoswine set would fit better on this kind of team. I recommend running 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe with a Jolly Nature and a moveset of Stealth Rock / Earthquake / Ice Shard / Superpower. While it may seem weird to run Superpower and not Icicle Crash, I don't really feel like the latter is necessary. Most of the pokemon you would want to hit with an Ice type attack naturally outspeed and KO you, so you most likely won't find yourself clicking Icicle Crash often. Your team is also quite vulnerable to Rotom-Heat and Mega Abomasnow, which both get smacked (and potentially OHKO'd after Rocks) by Superpower, which is why I believe it is the superior choice in this instance.

Once again, I'm glad you're leaving your comfort zone and trying out a tier you're not that familiar with. I hope you check out the teams in the Team Showcase to further improve your understanding of the tier, as well as the suggestions I have provided to you for your current team. Good luck with everything!

Suggestions

Florges (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Symbiosis
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Synthesis
- Aromatherapy

Roserade @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Spikes

Blastoise-Mega @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 60 HP / 252 SpA / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Aura Sphere
- Dark Pulse
- Rapid Spin

Heracross @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge

Salamence @ Yache Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Iron Tail

Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Superpower