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Going back to the drawing board

So I've been battling with this for a while on Shoddy now... its been working ok, but I think it could use another look over from another perspective. Get a second opinion, you know. I'd like to get it working well on Shoddy before actually going about making this for wifi use.

Solrock @ Choice Scarf
Levitate
6 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

I lead with Solrock, just because it usually works out well. Stealth Rock and get the hell out of there, or use a move I feel would work before getting the hell out of there again :p

Hitmontop @ Life Orb
Technician
252 HP/252 Atk/6 Def
Adamant nature
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Punch

I wanted to use one of the Hitmon's, as it were, and this seemed the best choice at the time. It does surprising damage with its priority moves so I've kept it how it is. Bullet Punch works well for the Mismagius/Spiritomb switch ins that I always seem to get.

Cacturne @ Brightpowder
Sand Veil
252 Atk/6 Def/252 Spd
Adamant nature
- Leech Seed
- Focus Punch
- Substitute
- Sucker Punch

This set just works wonders when given the chance (but then I suppose most do...). Sucker Punch from Cacturne HURTS, as does Focus Punch. Its fun to play the prediction game with this, especially with the Sandstorm from Bastiodon.

Bastiodon @ Smooth Rock
Sturdy
6 HP/252 Def/252 SDef
Relaxed nature
- Iron Defense
- Sandstorm
- Toxic
- Metal Burst

Just a set I've developed myself over time, really. I've tried out Metal Burst over Iron Head thanks to a suggestion from KoL a while back and it works much better, but I still feel it could be improved by ditching Iron Defense for something.

Houndoom @ Leftovers
Flash Fire
6 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- HP Ground
- Nasty Plot

The final two slots of my team are the special attacking ones, so I've tried to cover a lot of ground with them. Houndoom is a Nasty Plot-er, who usually switches in on a Fire-type to get a Nasty Plot off before sweeping. Usually :p Hidden Power Ground works well against opposing fire types who might want to Flash Fire on my own Flash Fire'd Fire Blast.

Ludicolo @ Damp Rock
Swift Swim
60 HP/198 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature
- Energy Ball
- Ice Beam
- Rain Dance
- Surf

Ludicolo is the last special attacker of my team, and I've swept entire teams with him before. Switch in on something that doesn't like Ludicolo before using Rain Dance. From there, I -usually- manage to KO one or two at least, although Venusaur usually gives me trouble.



So thats my team... any critique would be most helpful.

Most of the opposing teams I've mentioned here are of the UU variety, purely because thats what this team is. Though I've gone in the more OU environments with this as well and I've won, its just I've faced more UU tier.
 

KoL

Expert FPS Player
Staff member
Moderator
Heh, back to business...

- One note with Solrock is he doesn't need to lead just because he has Stealth Rock, and Stealth Rock + Scarf is not that great since it absolutely forces you to switch. Unfortunately, Solrock doesn't get Trick either, so the Scarf really won't be doing you much good here. Muscle Band or a second Leftovers will be the most optimal choices for hold items, otherwise you're A-OK.

- Hitmontop on the other hand would make for quite an interesting lead thanks to Fake Out. Triple Kick will probably be a better alternative to Close Combat since Hitmontop likes to preserve its bulk, and Triple Kick gets a Technician boost on top of hitting multiple times, which will easily shatter Substitutes and get through to the opponent as well. Sucker Punch and Rapid Spin are possible options as well. I'd also drop his Life Orb for a Muscle Band or something, again to preserve Hitmontop's impressive defensive abilities.

- Cacturne's fairly standard, not much to say really - your set's A-OK, but be careful not to get caught out of the sandstorm too often or Cacturne may end up being KO'd before he can abuse his abilities to their fullest extent.

- If I had to ditch Iron Defense for anything, I'd probably put Protect there instead. Bastiodon's crippling weaknesses to both Fighting and Ground are his worst nightmares, and having Protect to scout those moves out will help you survive. Protect also works well with Toxic, allowing you to stall the opponent out and make them suffer from the ever-increasing poison damage.

- Houndoom's pretty standard, works well - if Fire Blast ends up dicking you over with its accuracy and/or PP, then Flamethrower is just as useful an option thanks to Nasty Plot boosting its damage to pretty nasty levels very quickly. Leftovers is a very odd choice for his item though - Wise Glasses would probably be the better option for this set.

- Your Ludicolo is very standard, and for good reason - that set is one of the most dangerous in the entire game.

Overall, nice and solid.
 
One thing that you might also test out with bastiodon is Curse.
Curse and Metal Sound go hand in hand in my opinion.
It raises your defense and also makes it hurt a bit more, but the major problem with bastiodon is, that it has no way to recover HP in any way, and I think that this hurts it most.
Using it as a toxic staller can work in UU though, as Steel types arent so common in it (most prominent steel type is steelix), and when you go for that Protect really can help.

You should also watch out for those Weather conditions.
Rain hurts your houndoom , sandstorm might buff some fun pokemon like rhyperior.

You should generally watch out for venusaurs, the most used pokemon in UU. It has potential to hurt your whole team when Houndoom is out cold, so watch out.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for these suggestions guys, they're working out well. :)

The only thing that I think might need some work is Triple Kick, I can't decide if its an improvement on Close Combat yet or not.
 
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