Introduction
When you earn yourself a free turn, you can perform one of 3 main actions. You can consume your momentum there, and cash it in for a kill, a big hit, or entry hazards, even heal up. Alternatively, you could waste it. Finally, you can exploit it, further your advantage and push your opponent into a corner. There is one move that is perfectly suited for the latter, U-Turn, and its the core move of this team.
Team at a Glance
Team Building Process
I knew I wanted to make a team revolving around U-turn, so obviously, we would need some Pokemon that could learn U-turn. Among the best are Scizor and Flygon, the former for its sheer power, while the other compensates for its relative weakness through ridiculous speed and impeccable type coverage. Our team currently looks something like this
Alright, we've got some U-Turn abusers. Since we're forcing a lot of switches, we'll probably need Stealth Rock to rack up additional damage, and if we can, another U-Turner would be great. Also, Wish Passing would be good in the event we can't stop SR, since we'll be taking a fair bit of residual damage as well. Jirachi seems to fit the bill well. Lets make our first amendment
We still want a good lead, who can prevent SR if possible, being able to U-Turn would also be quite useful as well. Something fast seems appropriate as it can generate a lot of threat. We also have a purely physical team at this point, so a Will-O-Wisp absorber and a mixed Sweeper would fit nicely. Que Infernape
Obviously, if we fail to prevent Rocks, we'll probably want a way to get rid of them. Starmie works nicely, and gives us the ability to check many threats simultaneously.
The F/W/G core is currently the most popular core in the metagame, and suprisingly, its highly effective as well. Starmie has an issue with getting pursuited, so we should add something that can bait pursuiters and kill them. Celebi can do this, and what's this? It learns U-Turn as well
After a little bit of testing, the team is performing well, winning 5 out of 5 battles. However, Celebi isn't really pulling its weight, and Starmie is proving to be a little underwhelming, despite doing its job well. This might call for a more offensive Starmie, while we'll have to find a different grasser to compose the core. Breloom works well, being able to exploit a slow switch we scout with U-Turn, then proceed to demolish the other team. It also resists SR, giving us a reduced need for SR as half our team resists it, and one who doesn't can effectively use reliable recovery, while another is our lead. The final version of the team looks something like this;
An In-Depth Look
Infernape @ Choice Scarf
Naive (Blaze)
252 Atk/64 Spa/ 192 Spe
- Close Combat
- U-Turn
- Stone Edge
- Overheat
Infernape is my lead and revenge killer. The EVs are fairly simple, 192 Speed outruns Choice Scarf Flygon, Max attack and the rest in Special Attack to boost Overheat. U-Turn is useful for breaking sashes and switching to a counter for anything that can't be handled. Close Combat is a powerful STAB that threatens Heatran and deals decent damage to anything that doesn't resist it. In a metagame where Choice Scarf Flygon is the fastest revenge killer commonly seen that doesn't die to Pursuit, having a revenge killer faster than that is very useful. Infernape is also capable of revenging +1 Gyarados, +1 Dragonite and +2 Empoleon, threats that can easily sweep an unprepared team. Overheat is Infernape's secondary STAB and a Special attack to use those mixed attack stats. Once Infernape hits Blaze range, it certainly becomes a very powerful attack, even with only slight investment and no Life Orb. Infernape does miss the kick from Life Orb quite a bit, but with it, it would be worn down too fast and it would miss the ability to revenge kill fast threats, leaving the duty to Flygon, who in my opinion, is a fairly weak scarfer.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Adamant (Technician)
248 HP/252 Atk/8 Spe
- Bullet Punch
- U-Turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
The standard CB Scizor. Not really much to say here, except what I specifically use it for. Basically, Scizor murders those fast frail sweepers, such as Gengar and Azelf that threaten my team before they can U-Turn out. Pursuit is also nice if I can catch something locked into the wrong move.
Flygon @ Expert Belt
Adamant (Levitate)
252 Atk/4 SpD/252 Spe
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- U-Turn
- Thunderpunch
When people see a Flygon, they tend to assume its Scarfed. Why not? Most Flygon are Scarfed. Not this one though. He only bluffs Choice Scarf. The moveset is the same, but Thunderpunch was chosen since it hits most Flying foes hard and Infernape already has Stone Edge. The beauty of Expert Belt is it allows you to fire of Earthquake as your opponent switches in something like Gyarados and then Thunderpunch it while they attempt to Dragon Dance. I'm toying with dropping the Speed EVs to 176, since Adamant really helps do more damage, and theres not really much important to speed tie with with Mence gone, except the rare Shaymin, Offensive Celebi or other Flygon without a scarf. The extra EVs could then be moved to HP to allow Flygon more bulk with which it can take T-Tar's Stone Edge and Heatran's Fire Blast.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Timid (Natural Cure)
252 SpA/4 SpD/252 Spe
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover
Starmie is an awesome revenge killer and threatens a lot of the top of OU. I originally had a Rapid Spinner version instead, but it was rather unimpressive. This Starmie is far more offensive, but still keeps problems such as Heatran, Infernape and Gyarados in check. Starmie is also a great status scout, since while I have WoW, Toxic and T-Wave absorbers in the aforementioned team members, Starmie can take any status, heal it off and I'll know what I have to worry about later.
Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Adamant (Poison Heal)
12 HP/248 Atk/248 Spe
- Spore
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Seed Bomb
If one of my U-turners scouts something slow like Swampert or Metagross switching in, then Breloom will be well poised to take advantage of the situation. The set is fairly easy to understand, but the EVs have been altered to outspeed other Breloom, while still retaining a Toxic Orb number. The extra attack point really doesn't make much of a difference. Breloom also functions as a little bit of a Stall breaker on this team, eating the Toxics and proceeding to sleep something important and then punch its way through something else.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Impish (Serene Grace)
240 HP/160 Def/72 SpD/36 Spe
- Wish
- U-Turn
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
Jirachi is the glue of the team I suppose. Wish Support is good on almost any team, and Wishes are fairly easily passed to anything that can take one of Jirachi's weaknesses, which is everyone except Scizor, who is generally bulky enough to live through an attack then heal up. I wanted Stealth Rock somewhere, and Jirachi seemed like the logical choice. Iron Head is the only attack for Flinch Hax. Its been doing well, with the 36 Spe EVs outrunning bulky Base 100 walls, such as Celebi and Zapdos, allowing me to U-Turn out before getting hit with HP Fire or Heatwave respectively.
And thats the team. Any comments or fixes would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
When you earn yourself a free turn, you can perform one of 3 main actions. You can consume your momentum there, and cash it in for a kill, a big hit, or entry hazards, even heal up. Alternatively, you could waste it. Finally, you can exploit it, further your advantage and push your opponent into a corner. There is one move that is perfectly suited for the latter, U-Turn, and its the core move of this team.
Team at a Glance
Team Building Process
I knew I wanted to make a team revolving around U-turn, so obviously, we would need some Pokemon that could learn U-turn. Among the best are Scizor and Flygon, the former for its sheer power, while the other compensates for its relative weakness through ridiculous speed and impeccable type coverage. Our team currently looks something like this
Alright, we've got some U-Turn abusers. Since we're forcing a lot of switches, we'll probably need Stealth Rock to rack up additional damage, and if we can, another U-Turner would be great. Also, Wish Passing would be good in the event we can't stop SR, since we'll be taking a fair bit of residual damage as well. Jirachi seems to fit the bill well. Lets make our first amendment
We still want a good lead, who can prevent SR if possible, being able to U-Turn would also be quite useful as well. Something fast seems appropriate as it can generate a lot of threat. We also have a purely physical team at this point, so a Will-O-Wisp absorber and a mixed Sweeper would fit nicely. Que Infernape
Obviously, if we fail to prevent Rocks, we'll probably want a way to get rid of them. Starmie works nicely, and gives us the ability to check many threats simultaneously.
The F/W/G core is currently the most popular core in the metagame, and suprisingly, its highly effective as well. Starmie has an issue with getting pursuited, so we should add something that can bait pursuiters and kill them. Celebi can do this, and what's this? It learns U-Turn as well
After a little bit of testing, the team is performing well, winning 5 out of 5 battles. However, Celebi isn't really pulling its weight, and Starmie is proving to be a little underwhelming, despite doing its job well. This might call for a more offensive Starmie, while we'll have to find a different grasser to compose the core. Breloom works well, being able to exploit a slow switch we scout with U-Turn, then proceed to demolish the other team. It also resists SR, giving us a reduced need for SR as half our team resists it, and one who doesn't can effectively use reliable recovery, while another is our lead. The final version of the team looks something like this;
An In-Depth Look
Infernape @ Choice Scarf
Naive (Blaze)
252 Atk/64 Spa/ 192 Spe
- Close Combat
- U-Turn
- Stone Edge
- Overheat
Infernape is my lead and revenge killer. The EVs are fairly simple, 192 Speed outruns Choice Scarf Flygon, Max attack and the rest in Special Attack to boost Overheat. U-Turn is useful for breaking sashes and switching to a counter for anything that can't be handled. Close Combat is a powerful STAB that threatens Heatran and deals decent damage to anything that doesn't resist it. In a metagame where Choice Scarf Flygon is the fastest revenge killer commonly seen that doesn't die to Pursuit, having a revenge killer faster than that is very useful. Infernape is also capable of revenging +1 Gyarados, +1 Dragonite and +2 Empoleon, threats that can easily sweep an unprepared team. Overheat is Infernape's secondary STAB and a Special attack to use those mixed attack stats. Once Infernape hits Blaze range, it certainly becomes a very powerful attack, even with only slight investment and no Life Orb. Infernape does miss the kick from Life Orb quite a bit, but with it, it would be worn down too fast and it would miss the ability to revenge kill fast threats, leaving the duty to Flygon, who in my opinion, is a fairly weak scarfer.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Adamant (Technician)
248 HP/252 Atk/8 Spe
- Bullet Punch
- U-Turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
The standard CB Scizor. Not really much to say here, except what I specifically use it for. Basically, Scizor murders those fast frail sweepers, such as Gengar and Azelf that threaten my team before they can U-Turn out. Pursuit is also nice if I can catch something locked into the wrong move.
Flygon @ Expert Belt
Adamant (Levitate)
252 Atk/4 SpD/252 Spe
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- U-Turn
- Thunderpunch
When people see a Flygon, they tend to assume its Scarfed. Why not? Most Flygon are Scarfed. Not this one though. He only bluffs Choice Scarf. The moveset is the same, but Thunderpunch was chosen since it hits most Flying foes hard and Infernape already has Stone Edge. The beauty of Expert Belt is it allows you to fire of Earthquake as your opponent switches in something like Gyarados and then Thunderpunch it while they attempt to Dragon Dance. I'm toying with dropping the Speed EVs to 176, since Adamant really helps do more damage, and theres not really much important to speed tie with with Mence gone, except the rare Shaymin, Offensive Celebi or other Flygon without a scarf. The extra EVs could then be moved to HP to allow Flygon more bulk with which it can take T-Tar's Stone Edge and Heatran's Fire Blast.
Starmie @ Life Orb
Timid (Natural Cure)
252 SpA/4 SpD/252 Spe
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover
Starmie is an awesome revenge killer and threatens a lot of the top of OU. I originally had a Rapid Spinner version instead, but it was rather unimpressive. This Starmie is far more offensive, but still keeps problems such as Heatran, Infernape and Gyarados in check. Starmie is also a great status scout, since while I have WoW, Toxic and T-Wave absorbers in the aforementioned team members, Starmie can take any status, heal it off and I'll know what I have to worry about later.
Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Adamant (Poison Heal)
12 HP/248 Atk/248 Spe
- Spore
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Seed Bomb
If one of my U-turners scouts something slow like Swampert or Metagross switching in, then Breloom will be well poised to take advantage of the situation. The set is fairly easy to understand, but the EVs have been altered to outspeed other Breloom, while still retaining a Toxic Orb number. The extra attack point really doesn't make much of a difference. Breloom also functions as a little bit of a Stall breaker on this team, eating the Toxics and proceeding to sleep something important and then punch its way through something else.
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Impish (Serene Grace)
240 HP/160 Def/72 SpD/36 Spe
- Wish
- U-Turn
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
Jirachi is the glue of the team I suppose. Wish Support is good on almost any team, and Wishes are fairly easily passed to anything that can take one of Jirachi's weaknesses, which is everyone except Scizor, who is generally bulky enough to live through an attack then heal up. I wanted Stealth Rock somewhere, and Jirachi seemed like the logical choice. Iron Head is the only attack for Flinch Hax. Its been doing well, with the 36 Spe EVs outrunning bulky Base 100 walls, such as Celebi and Zapdos, allowing me to U-Turn out before getting hit with HP Fire or Heatwave respectively.
And thats the team. Any comments or fixes would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
