What's A "Competitive"? -- UU RMT

[Underload]

Yeah, this is my first competitive team in a long time. About 2 years ago, I was a huge competitive battling nut. I'd spend hours upon hours reading warstories and discussing strategies on Smogon. But, at some point, I simply lost interest and moved on in life. About 2 weeks ago, however, I've started to get some of that interest going again. Mind you, I'm pretty much back to a level of complete scrub-ness, but everyone has to start somewhere. I used to be an OU type of guy, but this time around, I've found a lot more appeal in the UU metagame.

But now to the actual team. Because of my limited knowledge in good EV spreads and correct moveset building, a lot of these sets are standard, with minimal changes to suit its role. Originally, this team was a lot more centered on its one goal, but it was one of those teams that if one column broke, the rest of the building would come crashing down.

The "theme" of this team is to:

1. eliminate potential counters to Swellow,
and
2. provide various buffs and advantages to Swellow in order to set up for a quick sweep.

Uxie @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Yawn
- Knock Off
- U-turn

I love having Uxie as a starter. When a match starts, I'm presented with two options. The first is a simple Rocks into switch / U-turn. I usually go with this option if I'm presented with a bad matchup (Froslass, mainly). My second option, however, is put into action when I think I have enough defenses to survive two hits from my adversary. Yawn + U-turn. With Yawn in effect, my opponent has two options. 1, either switch to get rid of the effect, or 2, stay in and deal with a sleep effect. With U-turn, I'm covering both bases. If my opponent decides to switch, he'll send out his Pokemon first because of how U-turn works. With this advantage, I can go into a hard counter (usually Mismagius, but there are times where I'll go to Swellow early). If I see that he doesn't decide to switch, then I can go into something that counters what's currently in play. Knock Off does help at rare times, usually later in the game, but I don't seem to get much use out of it.

Mismagius (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power Fighting
- Taunt
- Nasty Plot

Mismagius is my backup to Swellow. Its counterpart, of sorts. This set is VERY standard. Nasty Plot does wonders if I can read a switch, Taunt is great utility if my opponent tends to lead to stat-boosting moves or various other effects, Shadow Ball is my bread and butter attack if I have nothing better to hit with, and HP Fighting was recommended so I don't get completely walled by Steels and Rocks. One of my "counter-killers" for Swellow. Immune to EQ and can annoy various Steel- and Rock- types.

Swellow (F) @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 HP
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Protect
- Facade
- U-turn

Heart and soul. No one ever thinks to see one of these in a match, every time I get a successful sweep off, everyone's jaw drops. Figuratively speaking. If you don't know how Swellow works, you get huge damage off of a STAB Facade + Guts combo, with great speed backing it up. I've OHKO'd most everything I've come up against that isn't resistant. That's the one problem with Swellow, is that Brave Bird (which at times is better than Facade) + Facade is completely ineffective, and I'm pressured into making an obvious switch (examples are Froslass, Rotom, and other Ghost- types). With the rest of my team, however, I can usually get past this obstacle. Oh, and one hilarious utility I've found with Swellow involves Flame Orb. Once I'm burned, I'll switch in when I'm anticipating a status move. The status move will be ineffective, and I'll get a free switch-in.

Chansey (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Def/252 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Wish
- Seismic Toss
- Protect
- Thunder Wave

Chansey is textbook, really. I'll throw out random Protects at times to see what my opponent likes to do. He might throw out a physical move, go head-to-head with a special move, or get scared and switch. By scouting him like that, I can see what his tendencies are when Chansey is out and prepare accordingly. Wish is EXTREMELY important in this set, because Swellow takes chip damage from both Flame Orb and Brave Bird. With a good read, and a bit of luck, I can get some free recovery for Swellow. Seismic Toss is my best option for offense, and works quite well against more brittle sweepers. Thunder Wave is usually to try and force a switch, or give me an opportunity to switch myself.

Blastoise (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SAtk
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Surf
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic
- Rest

Simple, clean-cut utility. Toxic + Rest stalling works wonders late-game, and Surf does a decent amount of damage and provides much-needed water coverage (only water move on the team). Rapid Spin is very important for getting a Swellow sweep, because I can't just switch-in with Rocks in effect and take 25% like it's nothing. Send in bulky ol' Blastoise, spin those away, and manipulate until you can get a clear opening for Mismagius / Swellow.

Tangrowth (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 HP/228 Def/28 SDef
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Sleep Powder
- Leech Seed
- Energy Ball
- Earthquake

Rounding out the team is Tangrowth. I originally had Venusaur in this slot, but various problems with type coverage lead me to going with Tangrowth. Tangrowth is your classic bulky annoyer. I run a wonky mixed set on him because some problems I face are physical (Rhyperiors, other Rock- and Ground- types), while others are more fragile, and get completely WRECKED by EQ (Froslass, anyone?). Sleep Powder and Leech Seed together seem to force tons of switches, which I literally live off of, so Tangrowth is indispensable at times. Leech Seed especially.

Any changes made will be in bold. I'm looking forward to some constructive criticism. If I suck, don't hesitate, let it out. I need some teachin's.

Synergy List

Uxie
Bug:

Ghost:

_________________

Mismagius
Ghost:

_________________

Swellow
Electric:

Ice:

_________________

Chansey
Fighting:

_________________

Blastoise
Electric:

Grass:

_________________

Tangrowth
Fire:

Ice:

Poison:

Bug:

Types I have no resistance answer to are omitted. They are flying, dark, and rock.

 

[xLeafybug =D]

Good RMT, I like it.

I see a bit of an Absol weakness though.

Excellent job Undies.

 

[kirbyraeg]

One small thing: since you're using mismagius as a way to remove swellow's counters, wouldn't it be better to run hp fighting over thunderbolt to hit steels better?

Other than that I like it a lot.

EDIT: If you use hp fighting, you should also consider using the evs 36 hp/252 spatk/220 spe to still outspeed base 100s (since you'll lose speed ties to other 105s like scyther anyway due to hp fighting).

 

[SilentVerse]

Looks good. Just one small thing though. Do you really need Protect on Swellow? Since you could easily switch it into an Earthquake, get burned, and U-turn out. This way, you can have another moveslot for Quick Attack or Pursuit, which both have plenty of uses.

 

[Wave⁂]

What do you do against Registeel? HP Fighting on Mismagius gives perfect coverage.

 

[Terywj [태리]]

You've done a good job, UnderLoad. Just give Mismagius Hidden Power [Fighting] so Registeel doesn't sit in front of you.

Also, Houndoom and Absol give you some trouble.

-Terywj

 

[Underload]

Oh, right, I totally forgot to write about why I use Protect.

It's standard in Swellow sets, because Swellow doesn't get burned the turn it's sent out. You have to wait one turn, so I usually stall with a free Protect. Then the **** begins.

And I love the HP Fighting suggestion, it's just the sort of fix I'm looking to get. I'll try it out.

edit: I have my own concerns about this team, but I don't know if they're justified. I've found Flame Orb to be a reliable item, I never seem to get killed by it. But, there's always that little bit of your conscience that tries to doubt your actions. What I'm getting at is, is Flame Orb the better option, or should I try Toxic Orb?

Same sort of question applies to the oodles of Leftovers on this team. Is there a pressing need for variety, or should I just stick to what I have?

 

[kirbyraeg]

since you're using swellow as a late-game sweeper, it's likely to stay in for a few turns at a time, so I'd say flame orb is the better choice.

Also...this is just a suggestion, but to help vs. absol/houndoom you could run sub over taunt. This not only blocks status but also lets you stat up while they try to outpredict you by using sucker punch.

in addition to everything else, your team could use an earthquake lure. To that end I'd suggest something that can both take hits (that aren't ground/fighting) and can dish them out. I think replacing tangrowth with regirock would do this team wonders.

Regirock @ Leftovers
Clear Body
252 HP/36 Atk/220 SpDef
Careful
EQ
Stone Edge
Toxic
Explosion

It'll sponge most physical hits mismagius isn't immune to, can hit a lot of threats you're covering with tangrowth with EQ/stone edge. The main reason to include a pokemon like this is to bait out attacks that mismagius and swellow can switch in on for free (and could give you reason to run u-turn over protect on swellow so that he can get his status up earlier in the game while also scouting the other team).