SM UU Gods and Monsters

[Abi_]

Introduction

I've wanted to use Mega Houndoom for so long. If I could have one mega pokémon in real life, it would be him. He's just my soulmate. Gamewise, I think Mega Houndoom is pretty underrated. He has some good stats and good movepool. I made some research on him and what pokémon he likes to be paired with. I played with this team a lot of games. Some of them Mega Houndoom just swept the whole opponent's team. Some of them won Terrakion and some of them won Scizor. So this is what I got.

Teambuilding process

As I said, I've wanted to use Mega Houndoom for such a long time, the time has finally come. Mega Houndoom has a pretty good special attack and great speed tier. I was thinking about using Flame Charge, but as I was using this team, I realized that Nasty Plot is the better option.

So when I did my research on Mega Houndoom, I found out that Rotom-Mow is one of the best partners to it. Leaf Storm hits every ground-type pokémon with which Mega Houndoom could struggle.

When learning about Mega Houndoom, I learned about Mega Houndoom's appreciation of U-Turn users such as Scizor. Mega Houndoom doesn't want to come directly to attacks.

When I build a team, I always want two Defog users in my team. As I was looking on pokémons in the UU tier, I saw one of my favorite legendary pokémons - Latias. I needed a dragon-type pokémon in my team and Latias fits that perfectly.

In these days, you need at least one Stealth Rock user in your team or you are screwed. I wanted bulkier Stealth Rock user who is Hippowdon. It's the only ''wall'' on my team. It has solid defenses on both sides and has a good recovery in Slack Off.

I wanted in my team a really heavy hitter. One of the best heavy hitters at the moment is Terrakion. The Substitute + Swords Dance combo is just amazing.

The Team

Houndoom-Mega (M)
Ability: Flash Fire
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb
- Nasty Plot

So this is a pretty standard set for Mega Houndoom. Fire Blast and Dark Pulse are obvious STABs. Sludge Bomb is there for fairy-types. Now I don't know if I should run Nasty Plot or Flame Charge. I tried both and for me, Nasty Plot is better. But Mega Houndoom can struggle with faster pokémons like M-Aerodactyl and Zeraora.

Rotom-Mow
Ability: Levitate
236 HP / 24 SpA / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog

Rotom-Mow is one of my Defog users. It also checks pokémons like Swampert that could cause some problems to Mega Houdnoom. Volt Switch for momentum, Will-O-Wisp is for crippling the opponent's physical attackers. EVs in speed is enough to outspeed pokémons with speed 295 like Kommo-o, Heracross, and Toxicroak.

Scizor (M)
Ability: Technician
252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Superpower ​

As I said, Mega Houndoom likes U-Turn users. Scizor fits that incredibly. I decided to go with the CB set because it fits me really well. Standard set, Superpower for Empoleon, Stakataka etc.

Latias
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Healing Wish

Another Defog user, Latias. I chose Latias because I needed a dragon-type in my team. I decided to go with CS so scarfed Infernape isn't that big problem. Healing Wish is for Mega Houndoom / Scizor / Terrakion if their HP is low.

Hippowdon (M)
Ability: Sand Stream
252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Slack Off

Hippowdon is my Stealth Rock user. Nothing to say here, just that he's my switch-in to many physical attacks.​

Terrakion
Ability: Justified
252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Substitute ​

Terrakion is my wall breaker. The popularity of this set is big and now I know why. Use Substitute when you expect an obvious switch, then SD and ta-da. I use mostly in the beginning / mid-game. So many players aren't prepared for that.



Thanks, everyone for reading this. I would be grateful if you would point out some of the flaws in my team. Thanks!​

 

[Foxxeyy]

Ok, I’m very new to the UU metagame, but one thing I can immediately notice is a certain weakness to nidoking.

No switchins from what I can see. Sorry for my lack of help.

 

[Taptricity]

Hello Abi_ ! Welcome to UU! Glad to see that you did your research beforehand! Mega Houndoom is often not seen that much due to it requiring more team support than other Megas and you supported yours pretty well! However, I did not think the use of double Defog was necessary on this team and Choice Scarf Latias is unfortunately a pretty bad set. I also noticed that your Hydreigon matchup is pretty lackluster as you really don't have a safe switch-in outside of Banded Scizor who is pretty shaky as it can get easily worn down by constant switch-ins or worse, lured in by Fire Blast by choiced sets. So with some help from Scizorphobic , these changes should really help you out!

Major Changes:

• So for starters, I removed Latias as your speed control and made it Hydreigon. Choice Scarf Hydreigon can still provide you that Dragon with speed control that also brings another U-turn pivot to the group. I also have Fire Blast to offensively pressure Scizor who can be a bit of a nuisance against this team.
• Next up, combining Dark-types only spells trouble against the Fighting-types of the tier so I switched out Hippowdon for Palossand who alleviates some of these issues against Cobalion, Terrakion, and more physical Infernape sets.
• Finally, this does seem to be a bit of an odd change but despite having Mowtom, your matchup against bulky Waters was also fairly mediocre. So I swapped out Terrakion and gave you Toxicroak. Toxicroak and Mega Houndoom have some really good offensive synergy against fatter builds by virtue of Toxicroak's ability Dry Skin which makes the likes of Suicune, Slowbro without Psyshock, and Tentacruel set-up fodder which bar Slowbro unless it gets enough Calm Mind boosts, are difficult for Mega Houndoom to break.

Minor Changes:

• While all of these changes helped you in some matchups, it still didn't answer your Hydreigon issue. To help this out, I removed the Choice Band on your Scizor and gave it an Assault Vest. AV Scizor is a pretty underutilized set but it preys on your opponent when they think you're locked into a move and also provides you a sturdier Scizor that can absorb some hits from Hydreigon.
• While the Assault Vest did help to an extent, you could still get removed by Fire Blast and constant switch-ins can still wear Scizor down. So if you need an emergency way to handle Hydreigon, I give you a Z-Signal Beam Rotom-C. Mowtom has received some experimentation of lure sets and Z-Signal Beam is one (Z-Dream Eater is another one which is also an awesome set but we're not talking about that one) that lures in the top Dragons and the usual Mowtom switch-ins such as Celebi and Mega Sceptile.

Outside of changing up some spreads to match the sets, that's everything! Mega Houndoom and Toxicroak overall provide a pretty strong matchup against any fatter team and you still have ways to counteract the top Pokémon of the tier! This was quite a bit of changes but after dropping Latias, a lot of changes were going to happen. This team doesn't really have anything against Gligar but it still can be beaten by aggressive plays. If you have any questions feel free to ask!

Importable

Houndoom-Mega (M) @ Houndoominite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb
- Nasty Plot

Rotom-Mow @ Buginium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Volt Switch
- Signal Beam
- Defog

Scizor (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Technician
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 24 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Superpower

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- U-turn

Palossand @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Compaction
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Shore Up

Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch

 

[Twilight]

Hey Abi_ really cool team you have built around Mega Houndoom and in general it is pretty solid. I went through the list and picked out some of the Mons that can pressure this team so I'll provide a threat list for you as well.

Threat List

- Kommo-o is probably the one of two most problematic threats for your team imo. It has an easy match-up when it comes to checking MegaDoom and Rotom-C and has the capability to break through Hippo thanks to Clanging Scales and Scizor with Flamethrower. It sets up hazards pretty reliably and you have a tough time trying to remove them in front of it. You have means to Revenge it through Latias but otherwise its pretty scary.

- Hydreigon is the second most frightening Mon to your team as your best switch-in is probably Scizor and if it is a Z-Move variant you could have a lot of issues switching into it. Again you always have Latias to Revenge or Terrakion if it is locked into D-Pulse but otherwise its a tough match-up.

- Scizor (To an extent) can be threatening depending on the set. You have Hippowdon and MegaDoom but Doom has to always fear any Superpower variants. Hippo in general is a pretty solid answer but you have to be wary of SD FIght-Z or Bug-Z sets.

- Just want to comment on BoopToOblivion post on Nidoking as while it is scary due to its coverage, I think this team handles it fairly well. Most of your mons outspeed it or have priority in the case of Sciz. So yeah it can be threatening but I think its manageable but that doesn't mean you should overlook it.

Major Changes:

- So I added Primarina over Rotom-M as this resolves your current issue with Kommo-o and Hydreigon. I opted for the Restalk set to act as a bulky wall and sponge hits from these Mons easier as well as Terrak, Mega Sharpedo etc. The Speed investment lets it outpace uninvested base 65s like Alomomola.

- So I replaced Hippo with Nidoqueen as this eases up your stall and Balance match-up a bit more with some of these changes I am making. Nidoqueen is also a more secure switch into Pokemon like Terrakion, Cobalion and Zeraora. It acts as your T-spike absorber and can set both T-spikes and SR for you.

- So because I removed Rotom-M your match-up against bulky water types becomes significantly harder which is why I suggest using Zeraora over Terrakion. This also makes breaking Pokemon like Hippo and Quag easier with the coverage of Grass Knot. I opted for Shuca Berry and yoinked this set from Moutemoute. The SpA lets you 2OHKO Gligar which otherwise can be annoying for your team to break if MegaDoom isn't +2. Shuca in general is nice for letting you handle Hippo and Krook better with Rotom-M being replaced. The speed means you outpace Mega-Mane still.

Minor Changes:

- So I changed your Scizor set to be a little bit bulkier to make your Latias Match-up easier and to not be so reliant on MegaDoom and Scarf Lati. It has enough Speed for Klefki and a lot of other bulkier Sciz sets running about 96 - 100 Spe.

Alternatively:

- You can keep your Rotom-M set over Zera but you'll lose out on more immediate power with how bulky your set is. Which is why I would just use Max SpA and Spe with Grassium or Electrium Z. Electrium-Z lets you nuke Pokemon like Mega Aggron, Scizor etc. harder for example while Grassium nukes MegaLix, Gligar and bulky waters harder without the -2 SpA drop. This set will still utilize Defog as it lets your Latias open up another slot as double hazard removal isn't necessary. Latias can run Ice Beam or T-bolt if you want or use Trick to alleviate your Stall and Balance match-up.

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<Click Sprites for the teams>
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I hope these changes help you out and alleviate the main issues vs certain dragon Pokemon like Hydra and Kommo-o. The team definitely doesn't have a much easier time vs Stall with the removal of SD Terrakion but I tried to alleviate this through the use of T-Spikes and Mixed Zera to support MegaDoom. The second variant is a lot more reliant on Trick Latias and T-Spikes to help against Blissey assuming Sciz doesn't get the oppurtunity to threaten it. If you have any questions let me know ^_^

 

[Moutemoute]

Hey there man ! That's a pretty cool team you got there. After I looked at your team, I can tell it looks solid but there is some flaws and I'm going to do my best to fix them.

Major changes :

>

• First of all, your team is really weak to Primarina and it's a problem since this Pokemon can almost claim one K.O. every time it comes on the field if it holds a Choice Specs. To increase your match-up vs this beast, I decided to opt for Empoleon over Rotom-Mow. Empoleon is a great Defogger and can check Primarina effectively. Empoleon can also check Togekiss to a lesser extent which is also a threat for your team since you don't have nothing to handle Flying types.

>

• I know that Hippowdon is a great teammate for Terrakion because it provides to it Sandstorm which increases its Special Defense by 50% but Hippowdon struggles vs Zeraora and this Pokemon can really dig some holes in your team thanks to its high Speed Tier and great coverage. With that in mind, I decided to opt for Gligar over Hippowdon because it can deal with Zeraora even without its Eviolite. It can also bring to your team some Momentum thanks to U-Turn which is huge since you don't have Rotom-Mow anymore.

Minor changes :

• I think it can be interesting to change a little bit your spread on Choice Band Scizor. I opted for a spread which allows Scizor to outspeed Gligar, 0 Speed Suicune and Adamant Crawdaunt.

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team

Houndoom-Mega @ Houndoominite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb
- Nasty Plot

Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 76 Def / 184 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Toxic
- Protect / Roar / Knock Off
- Scald

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Pursuit

Latias @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog / Healing Wish
- Healing Wish
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic

Gligar @ Eviolite
Ability: Immunity
EVs: 248 HP / 156 Def / 104 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 29 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Roost
- Earthquake
- U-turn

Terrakion @ Rockium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat

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Major changes V2 :

While I was writing this, I've been thinking about another version of your team.. here we go !

>

• The main idea is to change your Terrakion for Choice Scarf Krookodile which allows you to opt for CM Z-Thunder Latias. Indeed, even with Rotom-Mow, your team kinda struggles vs Pokemon like VinCune which can almost use Rotom-Mow as a setup fodder.

Minor changes V2 :

• Since you have Krookodile as your Pursuit Trapper, I think SD Roost Scizor would be better than Choice Band Scizor. It provides to your team another Win Con which can act as a Late Game Sweeper in the endgame.

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team

Houndoom-Mega @ Houndoominite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb
- Nasty Plot

Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 76 Def / 184 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Toxic
- Protect / Roar / Knock Off
- Scald

Scizor @ Iron Plate
Ability: Technician
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Atk / 104 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch

Latias @ Electrium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Recover / Psyshock
- Thunder / Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam

Gligar @ Eviolite
Ability: Immunity
EVs: 248 HP / 156 Def / 104 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 29 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Roost
- Earthquake
- U-turn

Krookodile @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge

 

['sei.]

What's up Abi_, I'm likin the direction you took on this one and it looks like you did your research. I feel like I got some tips for when you're in the lab on your own in the future, and then we can go from there.

Tips

• I want to briefly mention the Latias set here --- since you have a reliable defogger you don't actually need defog Lati on deck, it's an emergency means of removal for more offensive builds. While it would be convenient in some cases, the team could use the support of a Trick set or some extra coverage here.
• Another thing to note is your MU versus fairies; while you did a good job of covering other types, your team fails to properly switchin to Specs Prim and is heavily pressured by M-Altaria, specifically DD variants.
• Lastly I want to touch up on your Aerodactyl MU; in short, it's dependent on whether you can keep rocks up, which can get a little shaky and depends on the removal you're facing. Very situation dependent, and I say that because if rocks aren't up then it gets free switch-ins on Doom or Lati as long as its Mega'd thanks to the 1.5Xs Sp.Def it gains from Sand. You can pressure with Pursuit on Sciz or Toxic from Hippo, but I can see a well played Aero ravaging this team if rocks can't stay up.

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Modifications

Next up, I'm gonna address some of the changes I made to the team while attempting to retain its offensive nature. Overall, the swaps helped retain the double removal quirk that the team originally possessed as well as giving you a solid Fighting check. Earlier I failed to mention how the team struggles with NP Luke / Nape and Zera, and this edit possesses similar qualities in that regard. You have your outs, it'll just be an incredibly annoying MU.

→

I thought it best to go with one of the tier's most solid fairy checks in Emp, and it doubles as a primary means of removal which is really cool. Flash Cannon on Emp for m-Altaria, the team really benefits from that lure and can manage most variants as long as Emp is healthy and Lati is able to RKO.

→

or

Palossand is your functioning setter and Fighting type check, and by Fighting type I really mean Terrakion. The purpose of the spread is to better handle Manectric and Zera (to an extent) and Lefties because this 'mon appreciates the passive recovery when dealing with Mane. [EDIT: s/o Moute for the Gligar above, it's a really good fit on this build too if you'd like to try that out]

[Choice Band > Z Crystal]
Not much to say here, Terrakion does a lot of hard hitting with either set, but the Z-Crystal is already being occupied by Rotom-Mow so there's no better option than Band here. The last slot is really up to preference, you can go with Toxic for M-Bro, SD or RP for cases where your Band gets knocked off, or more reliable rock STAB in Rock Slide & even QA for picking off weaklings.

[Electrium Z > Iapapa Berry]
With the omission of your own Sciz and Hippowdon, the team became slightly more susceptible to opposing Sciz. In an attempt to mitigate that, Rotom is now Electrium Z for a nuke that has the potential to lure the unsuspecting ladderer. It is fair to note that it also hits Aggron, Empoleon, and Bisharp for sizeable damage as well. After rocks, the Z-Thunder set always OHKOs Max HP Sciz, but feel free to explore other options, hell maybe even Z-Volt Switch.

[Destiny Bond (or Taunt) > Sludge Bomb]
Ik how this looks, but the build necessitates Destiny Bond M-Doom to an extent. In both the original and the edited versions, Doom gives Kommo-o free reign and you can't really have that. That and the fact that you can essentially get a 1 for 1 in a disadvantageous matchup/scenario is really golden.

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I like Mega Doom, and this RMT actually inspired me to come up with my own personal Mega Doom build which is really neat. Good work dude, I like the approach you took and applaud you for hitting a lot of the stops. Happy Holidays!

[importable on deck]
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