Hello it's me, the man who has posted on this forum three times (one of them being a UU RMT as well). I want feedback on a balance team i've been running arouund, and wallowing in mid 1300s to mid 1400s on. I want to know what's good, what's bad, and what can be improved on.
Altaria-Mega @ Altarianite
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Facade
Definitely the most hyped mega evolution in the moment. Mega Altaria is the dragon dancer of the group- the designated wincon that cleans when the rest of the team has chipped its checks. It's also the designated fairy type- its defensive typing and natural bulk let it get in and set up on threats like Hydreigon and Infernape. Facade was one of the more recent developments for MAlt- instead of fearing burns, MAlt will happily switch into a Suicune or Quagsire's scald in order to power up its Fairy STAB to disgusting levels. Earthquake is there for coverage, and roost is there for longevity, so it can reliably sweep at any point in the game/check the aforementioned threats.
Krookodile @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
Old reliable. Krookodile is speed control, to deal with weakened boosted threats or faster frail threats. Intimidate lets it weaken said boosted threats, ensuring that even if the opposition is faster it won't KO krook as easily as it'd want to. Krook can also pursuit trap massive pains in the ass like Chandelure and Latias, who can impede an Altaria or Cobalion sweep handily. STAB earthquake is just a great move to have on a scarfer, Stone Edge can nail un-Mega Evolved Altaria, Moltres and Rotom-H on the switch, and Knock Off can annoy pokemon like Rotom, Gligar and other passive mons who depend on their items for recovery.
Rotom-Heat @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 236 HP / 20 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Toxic
Mamoswine, Scizor, Moltres, a lot of steel types and Mega Pidgeot are in this tier, and Rotom is here to check them. It's the designated defogger on the squad- important since Altaria takes 25 percent stealth rock damage before mega evolving, and the regenerators wanna switch in and out freely without getting chipped. Volt Switch gives the team momentum, while Overheat melts steel types, and can leave a dent on ground types or Manectric that are feeling clever that day. For fatter ground types that can take an overheat, like Swampert, Hippo,Gligar, and Quagsire, none of them appreciate getting slowly whittled down by toxic.
Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sludge Bomb
Amoongus is here because Primarina and Altaria are massive problems to my team otherwise. Grass/Poison is a typing that can help me cover the two decently well, though once again switching into a Primarina's Specs Psychic is the opposite of fun. Spore is a fantastic move that can let me simply "shut down" a pokemon for 2 to 3 turns, provided it isn't a grass type. Giga Drain for Grass STAB/Secondary recovery, HP Fire nails scizor, and Sludge Bomb for better damage against MAlt and grass types who wanna spunge the Spore, like Celebi and Roserade. Rocky Helmet lets me switch into scizor liberally, on predicted U-Turns, in order to chip it. Then I heal the damage off by switching out because Regenerator is broken.
Slowbro @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Scald
- Rest
- Block
I've grown onto Slowbro in a big way. This thing just sits on some of the most dangerous attackers in UU- from Mamoswine, to unboosted Terrakion, to non-Grass Knot Infernape, to opposing Cobalion and many more. I also realized that my best answer to stall needed to be Statused in order to put the work in, so I decided to add in Block Bro to ease that afformentioned matchup. Scald is an annoying ass move that can possibly neuter physical attackers on the switch, Block traps targets like Blissey, M-Aggron, Quagsire or Alo, Rest heals off damage and status. Also dual-regenerator core with Amoongus for added fun, because that ability is broken and the two have decent defensive synergy.
Cobalion @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Close Combat
- Stealth Rock
I slap Cobalion onto every sad teambuilding attempt i take, because it is so splashable on balance. Cobalion provides so much offensive and defensive utility- it makes up for its ass offenses with boosting moves and high-powered attacks, it can set up rocks reliably throughout a match and it has the bulk + typing to set up on the face of a lot of UU threats. In a similar vein to the Scizor+Altaria combo in my previous rmt, the idea is that these two blow through each other's roadblocks. It's the Z-move user since nothing else really needs it, and it helps it nail KOs that would normally be out of its reach. Stealth Rock is stealth rock, and aids in wearing down the opposing team for an Altaria sweep- sometimes even a Cobalion sweep if the matchup allows it. Iron Head and Close Combat are the STABs. Close Combat is a wonderful high-powered fighting move and Iron Head nails those pesky fairies.
Pains in the ass that make me hate myself-
Latias: Honest to god, no matter what team I build, I always overlook the second/third most dangerous Pokemon in the whole tier. When MAlt isn't mega-evolved, Latias can just kind of...Take a pokemon with a boosted Draco Meteor. Even MAlt itself is no counter by any stretch of the imagination- boosted Psychic and especially boosted Ice Beam will do a fuckton to it. Krookodile is how I deal with it, but it cannot come into Latias ever unless I'm feeling ballsy/stupid.
Hydreigon: Similarly to MAlt, Hydreigon is a high priority threat before (and oftentimes even after) MAlt hasn't mega evolved. Before mega evolution its powerful Draco Meteors or Z-Draco Meteors are kind of free- Cobalion is literally not a resist since its special defense is so bad. Even after mega evolving, all the pressure to deal with Hydreigon is on a single Pokemon, and one that's primarily offensive to boot.
Celebi: A Stallbreaker Celebi with a free turn can rock my entire team with not much issue. Between Krook and Rotom, i can check some variants decently well but Celebi offensively can go in and take one when it has the space to do so.
Unaware Stall: same old, same old. MAlt can rock stall when it gets statused, but it has to get burned by predicted scalds which is never reliable- I once got hit by half an opposing Quagsire's scalds and didn't get burned once. With Facade trending, this strat can also be exploited and preyed upon by teams who know it/have played against my team before. BlockBro eases the matchup somewhat but isn't a perfect answer by a long shot.
Altaria-Mega @ Altarianite
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Facade
Definitely the most hyped mega evolution in the moment. Mega Altaria is the dragon dancer of the group- the designated wincon that cleans when the rest of the team has chipped its checks. It's also the designated fairy type- its defensive typing and natural bulk let it get in and set up on threats like Hydreigon and Infernape. Facade was one of the more recent developments for MAlt- instead of fearing burns, MAlt will happily switch into a Suicune or Quagsire's scald in order to power up its Fairy STAB to disgusting levels. Earthquake is there for coverage, and roost is there for longevity, so it can reliably sweep at any point in the game/check the aforementioned threats.
Krookodile @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
Old reliable. Krookodile is speed control, to deal with weakened boosted threats or faster frail threats. Intimidate lets it weaken said boosted threats, ensuring that even if the opposition is faster it won't KO krook as easily as it'd want to. Krook can also pursuit trap massive pains in the ass like Chandelure and Latias, who can impede an Altaria or Cobalion sweep handily. STAB earthquake is just a great move to have on a scarfer, Stone Edge can nail un-Mega Evolved Altaria, Moltres and Rotom-H on the switch, and Knock Off can annoy pokemon like Rotom, Gligar and other passive mons who depend on their items for recovery.
Rotom-Heat @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 236 HP / 20 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Toxic
Mamoswine, Scizor, Moltres, a lot of steel types and Mega Pidgeot are in this tier, and Rotom is here to check them. It's the designated defogger on the squad- important since Altaria takes 25 percent stealth rock damage before mega evolving, and the regenerators wanna switch in and out freely without getting chipped. Volt Switch gives the team momentum, while Overheat melts steel types, and can leave a dent on ground types or Manectric that are feeling clever that day. For fatter ground types that can take an overheat, like Swampert, Hippo,
Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sludge Bomb
Amoongus is here because Primarina and Altaria are massive problems to my team otherwise. Grass/Poison is a typing that can help me cover the two decently well, though once again switching into a Primarina's Specs Psychic is the opposite of fun. Spore is a fantastic move that can let me simply "shut down" a pokemon for 2 to 3 turns, provided it isn't a grass type. Giga Drain for Grass STAB/Secondary recovery, HP Fire nails scizor, and Sludge Bomb for better damage against MAlt and grass types who wanna spunge the Spore, like Celebi and Roserade. Rocky Helmet lets me switch into scizor liberally, on predicted U-Turns, in order to chip it. Then I heal the damage off by switching out because Regenerator is broken.
Slowbro @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Scald
- Rest
- Block
I've grown onto Slowbro in a big way. This thing just sits on some of the most dangerous attackers in UU- from Mamoswine, to unboosted Terrakion, to non-Grass Knot Infernape, to opposing Cobalion and many more. I also realized that my best answer to stall needed to be Statused in order to put the work in, so I decided to add in Block Bro to ease that afformentioned matchup. Scald is an annoying ass move that can possibly neuter physical attackers on the switch, Block traps targets like Blissey, M-Aggron, Quagsire or Alo, Rest heals off damage and status. Also dual-regenerator core with Amoongus for added fun, because that ability is broken and the two have decent defensive synergy.
Cobalion @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Close Combat
- Stealth Rock
I slap Cobalion onto every sad teambuilding attempt i take, because it is so splashable on balance. Cobalion provides so much offensive and defensive utility- it makes up for its ass offenses with boosting moves and high-powered attacks, it can set up rocks reliably throughout a match and it has the bulk + typing to set up on the face of a lot of UU threats. In a similar vein to the Scizor+Altaria combo in my previous rmt, the idea is that these two blow through each other's roadblocks. It's the Z-move user since nothing else really needs it, and it helps it nail KOs that would normally be out of its reach. Stealth Rock is stealth rock, and aids in wearing down the opposing team for an Altaria sweep- sometimes even a Cobalion sweep if the matchup allows it. Iron Head and Close Combat are the STABs. Close Combat is a wonderful high-powered fighting move and Iron Head nails those pesky fairies.
Pains in the ass that make me hate myself-
Latias: Honest to god, no matter what team I build, I always overlook the second/third most dangerous Pokemon in the whole tier. When MAlt isn't mega-evolved, Latias can just kind of...Take a pokemon with a boosted Draco Meteor. Even MAlt itself is no counter by any stretch of the imagination- boosted Psychic and especially boosted Ice Beam will do a fuckton to it. Krookodile is how I deal with it, but it cannot come into Latias ever unless I'm feeling ballsy/stupid.
Hydreigon: Similarly to MAlt, Hydreigon is a high priority threat before (and oftentimes even after) MAlt hasn't mega evolved. Before mega evolution its powerful Draco Meteors or Z-Draco Meteors are kind of free- Cobalion is literally not a resist since its special defense is so bad. Even after mega evolving, all the pressure to deal with Hydreigon is on a single Pokemon, and one that's primarily offensive to boot.
Celebi: A Stallbreaker Celebi with a free turn can rock my entire team with not much issue. Between Krook and Rotom, i can check some variants decently well but Celebi offensively can go in and take one when it has the space to do so.
Unaware Stall: same old, same old. MAlt can rock stall when it gets statused, but it has to get burned by predicted scalds which is never reliable- I once got hit by half an opposing Quagsire's scalds and didn't get burned once. With Facade trending, this strat can also be exploited and preyed upon by teams who know it/have played against my team before. BlockBro eases the matchup somewhat but isn't a perfect answer by a long shot.
