Hey Smogon, it's Night. I've been hanging around, testing some teams in secret in preparation for the drop of Sun and Moon, and I finally came up with something I feel is worth showing off. Mostly because I've always used this forum as a place to get some help as well as showcase my teams that I feel are somewhat acceptable. So why else would I post something if not to do exactly that?
I started out with the idea of Mega Aerodactyl and Infernape, as Nasty Plot Infernape breaks through a metric ton of Aerodactyl's checks, including virtually all bulky waters, fat steel types, Krookodile, and Crawdaunt.
However, I noticed a little bit of a problem breaking through faeries and taking hits from them in the first place. But since this is supposed to be offensive, I didn't go with the standard like Bronzong or Registeel. I wanted something that packed a hell of a punch, and still tank hits, and I found my answer in Band Metagross. Though Adamant, it still usually outruns the two bulkiest Fae in the tier, and OHKOs them both. It also has the added benefit of being able to 2HKO Specially Defensive Cresselia and Physical Blissey, which are two major pains in my ass.
From there, I wanted a reliable way to break teams not packing enough of a dragon answer, or whose dragon answer was just Sylveon or Florges. Hydreigon has long since been one of the best mons in the tier, so I elected to use it both to snag momentum off predicted switches and to hammer away at things. It also serves as a psychic spam check, even if a lot of them bring Fairy coverage for that very reason. Also, ground immunity.
Tentacruel often manages to find a way onto my teams, and today is no different. The ability to beat a chunk of the hazard setters is invaluable, and spin on a majority of them is also a blessing. I went with the one, the only, the core shredder, as that gives me the best matchup against a lot of offense and balance that likes to use the Krook/Celebi/Sylveon core. And the last mon is Mamoswine. It's not quite as good as it used to be, but having a way to do a big chunk of damage to Mega Aerodactyl and having some more priority is a good thing. I'm not complaining. It also pairs well with Tentacruel, in that it tends to bring in opposing cruels.
So that's the overview of the whole team, but each of the members themselves deserve some explanation and in-depth-ness of it all. So here goes into the individuals themselves.
Infernape @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Nasty Plot Infernape is easily one of the top ten scariest threats in UU, though not because of strength or typing. It's because of the insane amount of unpredictability it brings to the table; there are very few dedicated counters to every set, and if you mispredict which set it is, you can easily lose in a single turn of setup. Here, I opted for Nasty Plot because I already wanted to blast holes in Bulky Waters to let Mega Aerodactyl sweep, and Grass Knot is the gold standard for doing that on NP Ape. But in addition to that myriad of unpredictability, Infernape still has Fire Blast which even unboosted can wreck shop, absolutely demolishing literally every Steel-Type mon in UU. Even Heatproof Bronzong needs to watch out. The last move, normally, is a toss-up between Fighting Stabs. If I know I'm fighting offense, I'll pack Vacuum Wave, simply to neuter a lot of fast offensive threats that don't resist it. If I'm expecting AloBliss stall, I'll switch natures to Hasty (because Download is still out there) and just plow through that core, while if I'm expecting balance I'll run Focus Blast.
Aerodacty @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Mega Aerodactyl can single-handedly be my answer to offense. Sitting in an absolutely amazing speed tier, as well as having stab moves that most Pokémon on offense do not resist, it already can ruin some very dangerous threats. It also does a good job of harassing Balance teams with the combination of Hone Claws + STABs and Crunch, leaving things like Cress, Sylveon, and Chesnaught unable to keep taking hits for long. Most importantly, however, it remains the fastest Mega and naturally fastest mon in UU as it is, meaning that against offense, it already rips holes, giving the rest of the team an easier time to fill the gap and wreck shop.
Metagross @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
An absolutely insane beast in UU, Metagross sees a sadly low amount of usage. It packs a lot of power behind it, and with an Adamant Nature, it becomes capable of 2HKOing non-physical Cresselia. And considering only things like Krookodile and Mega Absol can reliably do that, I am more than happy to run with this one. Being a dedicated Fairy counter, this beast can OHKO just about every Fairy that isn't Arceus. But the good thing is that while a lot of people bring in things like Hydreigon to try and stop it, it does a metric ton to them too. Snorlax gets 2HKO'd, Cress takes a ton, and not even things like Aggron are 100% safe, being 3HKO'd and unable to OHKO in return. But there, of course, is always a last resort - Explosion absolutely nukes a ton of things, and in a perverse way it brings out something safely after / if it kos something.
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
Hydreigon isn't broken per say, but it's certainly a hell of a force, nuking absolutely everything and providing some nice defensive qualities to boot. A ground resist that isn't weak to rock can be hard to come by offensively, and with that idea comes Hydreigon. Dragon / Dark is great offensively, hitting hard and hitting fast. Who can ask for anything else, right? Well, I can, and psycho dragon delivers. I decided to go for Earth Power to catch those Cobalions switching in, which they do a lot, while not going for Fire Blast because I have other ways to hit Bulky Steels that aren't Hydreigon. The last slot is the obligatory U-Turn, meant to snag some momentum on a predicted switch. All easy.
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
The core shredder itself finds a way onto my teams scarily often. Not because I have a desire for repeating myself, but because it just works. Maybe not the most effective in terms of wallbreaking, but that's alright because it catches offensive threats like Mamoswine and Krookodile off-guard and just wastes them, Hydro Pump making up for Tentacruel's naturally low base Special Attack. The other moves are pretty interchangeable, but Sludge Wave / Ice Beam is generally my go-to. I've done things like Dazzling Gleam / Acid Spray, and this is just my general go-to set for now.
Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Yes, Krookodile exists. Yes, it probably is a better rocks setter. Yes, I probably have some better synergy with that thing. But fact of the matter is, I needed more priority and things like opposing Hydreigon were scary. Mamoswine packs some terrifying power and has priority that does a ton to a lot of damage to a massive chunk of the tier's offensive mons, opening up some chances for me to hammer through threats with more priority of my own. But this is my mandatory rocks setter, and it just can do that and so much more with incredibly powerful Earthquakes that outdamage a longtime rival in Krookodile.
So that's most of the team. I know I've been gone for a while, but I'm actually going to give it a good run at things this time around and not be an absolute shithead. That's the best I can do, really, and if I do a good enough job of not screwing up, then who knows, I might actually get active in the UU community again.
Mandatory CoolStoryBrobat tag because I told him I was doing this.
Importable is as follows.
Infernape @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Grass Knot
- Vacuum Wave
Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hone Claws
- Stone Edge
- Aerial Ace
- Crunch
Metagross @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Zen Headbutt
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Explosion
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- U-turn
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Hydro Pump
- Sludge Wave
- Ice Beam
Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Grass Knot
- Vacuum Wave
Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hone Claws
- Stone Edge
- Aerial Ace
- Crunch
Metagross @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Zen Headbutt
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Explosion
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- U-turn
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Hydro Pump
- Sludge Wave
- Ice Beam
Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash