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Now that UUPL is over, I want to invite everyone who participated to share any interesting sets and teams they used and discuss how they prepared for and/or played specific matches. I think this will help the community gain some more insight into how to prepare for tournament play instead of ladder play, especially with UU Open coming up.
Fun set that gives an amazing coverage to Celebi. Z Earth Power allows it to lure and kill stuff like Volcanion, Scizor, Cobalion, Raikou while still beating threatening Balenced/Bulky offenses team pretty well. I actually didn't use this for counterstyle purposes, I brought it week 2 vs TDK not really knowing what he would bring so I just went with a standard team with some slight innovations such as this set.
Raikou @ Psychium Z
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Extrasensory
This set is to be paired with Toxic Spikes. Z extrasensory allows Raikou to break through Nidos and Amoonguss which usually check it pretty well. Not too much to say, this still works like any Raikou set expect for the fact that it can actually help the team out by luring the things that usually remove T-spikes.
This set has definitely flaws, it doesn't do anything vs things that don't care about eq nor about toxic such as Clef, Guss and oposing Gliscor. With a decent match up, this can put a nasty amount of work, being able to solo an incredible amount of threats in the tier. It can weaken many different things which can potentially help an effective late game cleaner such as Sharpedo.
Hydreigon @ Steelium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Flash Cannon
BOUFF came up with this a few months ago but I had yet to try it before week 4. This set lures Scarf perfectly and is amazing at luring fairy types that constantly come in versus it. Being able to switch moves is overall amazing to abuse the wide coverage it has.
Chandelure @ Psychium Z
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Trick
Z Trick gives +2 speed to Chandelure thus allowing it to outspeed the whole metagame. This can definitely put work in the right circumstances even though it ends up not doing much most games. I used it regardless, maybe someone will find a better way to make it work than I did.
Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- X-Scissor/Rock Slide
- Earthquake
This wasn't used much but I definitely think it has potential, especially vs offensive teams. Spamming Stone Edge is usually effective vs those, Terrakion's speed tier paired with a Scarf makes it faster than anything thus making it an above average revenge killer right now.
Fun set that I stole from Pearl. This allows Scizor to heavily damage stuff like Entei and Keldeo which are usually some of the best answers to offensive Scizor in this metagame. Straightfoward and effective, this is definitely one of my favorites Scizor variant.
Reuniclus @ Poisonium Z
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Toxic
- Recover
This set has seen little to no usage since Alpha ended. I brought it alongside Eject Button Clef + Magneton to trap Scizor which you absolutely need to remove if you want this to put work. I think this has some potential as people simply don't prepare for it at all, clearly an anti metagame threat right now.
Another set that I had some fun using. Togekiss actually hits decently hard which is why I went ahead and used Flynium to make it even stronger than it naturally is. Flying nukes aren't that common right now which leads most flying resists to be pretty frail. Thunder Wave is annoying to any offense and powerful air slashes usually mean you don't need to flinch nearly as much to break down certain things.
Deadpool (Bisharp) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Low Kick
Playing for week2 i saw in my opponents replays that he really liked cores of clefable+coba+krook will hazard control being latias if any at all.
252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cobalion: 294-346 (91 - 107.1%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Low Kick (80 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Krookodile: 291-343 (87.9 - 103.6%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (w/o intim)
Now obviously in order to kill both of these mons i'd either have to stay in against them or catch them on the switch, given bisharp's mediocre speed. So i decided to pair this set with webs support and ended up bringing the following team:https://pastebin.com/zhg7UDGj
This is probably the worst set I've ever used on a serious team, but I was building around Snorlax when I noticed that between my two ordinarily sturdy fighting checks, defensive Gyarados and Sp Def Gligar, neither one could effectively win one-on-one against the incredibly balanced Pokemon: Bulk Up Conkeldurr. I started out with Roar in the last moveslot as that's pretty much always the better option on defensive Gyara but after some testing, I noticed I had no real way of KO'ing it even if I phase it out a bunch. I tried out Toxic since I really liked the six Pokemon I had and didn't want to rework the whole team. But, I soon figured out it still loses if Conk uses Bulk Up on the switch and again as it gets the Guts boost from Toxic because the initial Knock Off does roughly 6000% factoring in the Knock Off boost when a foe is holding an item, and you're forced to rest immediately. Much to Meru's dismay, I ended up going with no item defensive Gyarados as my sole check to Bulk Up Conkeldurr since it could get some Waterfall chip and maybe some flinches before being forced to Rest, allowing it to beat BU Conk one-on-one at full health in theory. Funnily enough it did in turn become the one of the only CB Krook counters in the tier as well. Unfortunately, I didn't end up facing either Conk or Krook when I used my team with this beauty weeks 2 and 6 but I did win both weeks so w/e. So yeah ban ORAS Conkeldurr etc.
it's started to be used a good amount but i think it should still be used more also i created the set, so i'm going to make sure all proper credit goes to me
another set i made that i wasn't able to execute with how i would like to but i still think it has potential
Slowbro @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Bold Nature
- Slack Off
- Scald
- Fire Blast
- Counter
with a large number of physically attacking dark types colbur slowbro with counter can be kinda cool since it can take any unboosted knock off and retailiate with counter. also it's good against u-turning pokemon notably scizor, it can take a u-turn and do a lot of damage to whatever switches in unless it's a ghost. slowbro offers nice defensive utility in general and is pretty underrated, as it's very solid against aero also it can wall scarf krook lol.
i might post some teams later if i can be bothered to find them
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe (note: probably not the optimal spread for this set, but I never bothered trying to figure this one out)
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hex
- Focus Blast
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Full HP Protect Gengar shits on Choice Scarf Krookodile, which is usually the main answer to this Pokemon on cookie cutter UU teams. Unreasonably hard to build with, but the payoff is probably huge.
Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 124 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Spore
- Stun Spore
- Seed Bomb
- Clear Smog
Not really that innovative in general, but I think I was the first person to bring this to a UUPL match. Stun Spore helps it catching incoming Latias switch ins after the opponent has foddered something to sleep. Really good support to Pokemon like as Togekiss!
Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Def / 244 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Foul Play
- Swagger
Tony nearly begged on his knees for me not to bring it, but alas! The team I was using this on had a pretty shitty Scizor match up, so I knew either Foul Play or Hidden Power Fire was a necessity. However, I also needed to pressure Tentacruel and Empoleon a lot, so the thought of minimizing the amount of turns they get to perform their role was too tempting in the end...
Escavalier @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Atk / 68 SpD / 100 Spe
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Drill Run / Protect / Pursuit
Not even going to pretend this is a good Pokemon, but the team I was using needed a solid way of pressuring Amoonguss, so I decided to unleash him. Also soft checks Latias (sort of...)
Not really new, but I seriously urge you all to give this Pokemon a shot :[
Cobalion @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 32 HP / 224 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
Punishes foolish Latias users trying to nab boosts on him. Also soft checks Mega Aerodactyl nicely for bulky offense, but it's not something I'd consider often. Paired it with Togekiss and Decidueye and it was incredible.
Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 28 Atk / 40 Def / 192 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Shadow Sneak
- Rest
The stall goons... don't really recommend using them anymore now that the metagame has shifted towards Latias and Conkeldurr, but they were tons of fun to use back then. Mareanie checks pretty much the same things as Tentacruel with the added bonus of Regenerator, while Doublade is among the sturdiest Steel-types in the tier, with the added bonus of being a Ghost-type, which allowed it to check all of the common Fighting-type Pokemon back then (it gets 2HKOd by Flame Orb Conkeldurr now ;_;)
Roar Blastoise isn't unheard of at all, but after brainstorming a little with it, I came to the conclusion that Dragon Pulse is the optimal 4th move on this set. It achieves the best neutral coverage, only missing out on Empoleon, nukes Hydreigon and Kyurem and chips most things you'd like to damage with Dark Pulse. It also hits neutral targets ridiculously hard (Toxicroak, which is supposed to be one of bulky offense's main answers to Mega Blastoise, takes over 70% from it, so yeah)
Klefki @ Choice Band
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 28 Def / 228 SpD
Careful Nature
- Play Rough
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Switcheroo
The goon... it originally had Flame Orb, but as per dodmen's suggestion, I ended up changing its item to Choice Band. The premise is that pretty much every single common answer to Klefki gets massively crippled when given a choice item, a fact that many of its teammates can capitalize on. For example, the Blastoise set posted above loves knowing that the opposing Empoleon is locked onto a single move if it tries to do anything. People should use this one more IMHO.
Please do keep in mind that I got a lot of inspiration from other people's ideas, and even though I'm not referring all of them in this post (and probably will end up missing some in my upcoming shout out post), I'm grateful to everyone who's helped me come up with the stuff I've used throughout this tournament. There's some other stuff I wouldn't mind sharing, but it isn't necessarily innovative, so it's probably better this way (or else this post would drag out for even longer). Just remember that Calm Mind Florges is still good in ORAS UU!
Does your sand team sport a modest weakness to Swellow? Do you think stealth rock wasn’t really a necessity in Gen 4? Are you ok with being one-shot by +2 Houndoom? If so, have i got the set for you!
Hippopotas @ Jaboca Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake / Protect
- Roar
This is a standard sand-setting hippopotamus but with a twist: the incomparable Jaboca Berry. Swellow will never again touch your Cradily in all the wrong places. Simply switch this hippo in on Brave Bird and watch as Swellow’s health bar drops faster than my team’s morale did after week 2. But HSA, you may ask, isn’t Focus Sash just as efficient in this regard? Between protect, sand damage, toxic damage, and recoil, isn’t Swellow dying anyway? You’re probably right but you’re missing the point - what I consider to be the “hidden tech” behind Jaboca Berry:
This set plays to one of Hippopotas’s greatest qualities - being one of the worst stealth rock setters in DPP UU - and accentuates it perfectly. With a focus sash, Hippo might be able to get em up on accident on one the many moves that OHKOs it. This set has absolutely none of that, dying an honorable death in the face of any special attack.
Of course, I would be remiss in not accrediting my co-creators. While I may be the face of this set (and an incredibly handsome one at that), I couldn’t have done it without Icy Tea and Kushalos, my benefactors and friends. I know I didn't make a long shoutout post but I actually can't voice just how thankful I am for your set advice, teams, and support throughout this UUPL. I really had a blast and wish we could have gone farther, but that's just how it goes sometimes.
u already know i was at it like mcm in a room of finchinators this, and every year. only got to span three metas (sm / bw / dpp) given tricking and pak are idea machines that i saw no reason to get in the way of, and frankly my sm contributions were little more than personal musings for similar reasons. however, i'd like to offer my input all the same.
sm
as mentioned, i didn't do a heck of a lot here. i pushed accelgor to use cm blissey v.sparrow early on (and it would've won too, but i digress), and tinkered w/a few concepts that i don't feel like giving visibility too yet. all i'll offer here are a team and a set that i feel are worth a quick share.
Talonflame @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 88 HP / 224 Atk / 28 SpD / 168 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Flare Blitz
Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
this was a team i built for snowwy in his game v.cynde, who frankly i did no research into but i felt confident in the concept to the point of skimping on the details (no disrespect my guy, pinky promise). being about midseason, i felt talonflame was frightfully underutilized and sought to capitalize in as aggressive a manner as possible. the offensive battery of talon / m-toise / sciz is one that i think puts acute pressure on the standard balance cores of the moment (especially if you run pump to disallow leniency to clef, water pulse is terrible), particularly striving to lay in on bulky waters. on the whole i felt choiced scizor were being under appreciated, given the significant utility value of scarf and the end-game of a heavy-handed cb zor offense, and i was stoked to see more of them as weeks advanced! sash terrak isn't something i'd advocate for on the whole, but contextually i felt the general breaker / sucker resist utility of him was maintained nicely, while also offering a mon capable of forcing damage onto the opposing keld, cobal, lati, etc, which played to the strengths of the team.
this is one i hyped to a moderate extent, and a set i feel is demonstrably potent at this time. inspired in some small way by the charti gyara + lo zam core of the latters short-lived oras run, charti kiss seeks to capitalize on the common balance tendency to utilize m-aero as a lynchpin to problematic boosters. technically, togekiss can invest to live an edge from full, but the situational nature of that makes me uncomfortable to roll w/it as it was, and the ability to assuredly cripple aero can lend itself not only to a sweep of its own, but also one of a cleaner like cm latias. 28 spa evs ensure that +2 air slash 3hkos aero, with the 96 spe being both for para'ed aero and modest primarina.
bw
my abandoned baby. did a bunch of tinkering before, after, and a bit during my play here, so i figured i would drop a few sets i feel are worth noting.
empoleon has always been an odd pokemon to work with for me, given its defensive incorporations into teams always display clearly its impurities both as a bulky water and steel. that said, i feel a custap set does exactly what it wants in a metagame stocked w/dudes looking to try to strong-arm through it. notable examples of what this can commonly spring itself on include togekiss, cofagrigus, kingdra, and snorlax (who will get the slam para more oft than not). the bulk allows it to eat, specifically, 2 cbgon outrages (technically 99.6% of the time, but i needed to hit a lot of benchmarks and couldn't spare evs) and a +2 cofag hp fight after sr.
Heracross @ Ground Gem
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge / Knock Off
this one draws some inspiration from somalia's old sd salac variation of the moxie bluff set, though personally i've felt there the bluff itself became less impactful w/o the coverage options to trvly put for the damage on hera's traditional checks. ground gem eq is potent for threatening the notable poisons that seek to check it (nidos and qwilfish mostly), with the ability to pop off a [very] weakened cofag and keeping moxie being a cute plus. i find this set best applied on offenses looking to bait the 'mons addressed prior, as well as occasionally slowbro & co. typically i've found mons like scarf darm, hp grass electrics, and so forth to be prime examples of these. knock is a bit unconventional, but being able to really put on the fear for gligar to come into any zapper move or raikou volt is sick for the proper team, plus restricting lefties recovery on cofag can force pacing to favor you a lot more than you'd expect.
this one's a bit of an oldy, being theorized a couple years back for keeping the usual spikes rose playstyle while looking to avoid some of the potholes of it as a defensive pivot, notably becoming set-up bait for mono-cunes, subcm raikou, and the like. i find recovery on rose to be fairly mediocre in all situations bar stall, so the shift came fairly naturally to me, and the ability of it to instigate pressure is very much welcome in the average game. it's also defensive roses' best bet at pushing through a xatu, which is a neat plus in spite of its lesser usage of late.
Slowking @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Atk / 244 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Slack Off
- Scald
- Dragon Tail
- Calm Mind
this was a member of a team i passed kushalos during his classics run, and while nothing too outlandish, i felt it to be worth highlighting all the same. being able to phaze while boosting not only better maintains slowking's major niche as a kingdra counter, but grants it slightly better footing in cm wars against all but the vincune (which contextually was mitigated by a speedier tox zap and viriz, though it's certainly an issue of note). it also improves spikes synergy, which can allow it to more effectively punish a shaymin for some easy example.
a concept i feel i did not properly expand upon in my game v.finchinator, but a worthwhile one nonetheless. the scarf hera balance is an archetype i feel has been getting more and more prominent each uupl (which is a shame, because they're fundamentally mediocre and subjectively uninteresting), which i feel tanga mew does exceptionally well to exploit. i didn't bother slashing up attacks cuz i think you could defend almost any set of attacking options on this w/the right context.
i feel like, on the whole, tangrowth was not explored nearly enough in any iteration of this, with most people defaulting to shaymin for their sustainable grass before giving due consideration to all options. this set, as well as the vanilla defensive one (knock off continues to be really good) are very much solid options when you come to terms w/tang not being impervious to waters nor electrics. this set in particular is neat for being, or otherwise applying consistent pressure to most conservative boosters of the tier, aiming particularly at cune and snorlax. being able to loose-check raikou and at worst force out a shaymin is a nice plus as well, though as a whole this set does almost mandate cleric support due to the nature of scald.
dpp
while i don't feel i quite got into the raw w/these, there were certainly some minor bits i thought were worth noting.
Registeel @ Lum Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Atk / 16 Def / 116 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Shadow Claw
- Explosion
i was loving the experimentation going on w/registeel this year, honestly. more explosion variants than i've seen in a long time, and the variance across the board was impressive as well, from fafus' shuca counter to kush's occa adamant variant. more than any other year it felt as though most people came to the same conclusion that this was the rocker best suited to fast spike-stacks, given just how versatile it remained while offering what feels like a mandatory defensive fallback to teams such as this. i'd say this variant in particular is unique to me, though i also ended up running a 164(+) spe occa variant in my first game v.eo. the application on this one in particular is targeting wisp ghosts and overzealous venusaur, pressuring them directly and looking to set up a sweep from sd feraligatr. the atk evs look specifically to 2hko mismagius and ohko max hp venu, though forcing enough damage unto standard calm milotic such that it will drop to sr + spikes on its next switch is an added benefit.
Dugtrio @ Choice Band
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 32 HP / 248 Atk / 172 Def / 56 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Pursuit / Aerial Ace
- Rock Slide
- Beat Up
very minor, to the point of barely being worth the mention, but a tech i feel is totally undertouched for how across-the-board its application is. in the grand scheme of trapping, dugtrio's intended targets rarely pass the 95 base speed mark, yet a variety of them (houndoom, arcanine, toxicroak, certain registeel) are able to circumvent it to some extent via priority or other means of playing to its abysmal bulk. by specializing in this manner, dugtrio increases its consistency v.these targets by a huge margin, which is pretty stellar in supporting psychics, ghosts, and grasses in particular.
Torterra @ Choice Band
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 80 HP / 208 Atk / 220 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Return / Rock Slide
- Seed Bomb
again, not the most inventive material sadly (i'll have some more wild material sorted by next year), but this is absolutely a phenomenal set now. for all the free turns this mon is afforded, most opponents are working around it via prediction above anything, trying to sneak their regi / arc / venu in on the grass stab or their levitator in on the earthquake. pretty phenomenal beater for setting up something like a cm uxie or absol, though i admit to [partially] squandering it on a choice team in semis.
Week 1 team for Arifeen vs Ernes. I had wanted to build around Toxic Spikes + CM Raikou because I remember that having a pretty good match up against his teams. The one tech this team has is Fire Fang Aerodactyl and it worked out in the game against him which gave Clef an easier time. Celebi set might seem a bit funky but it's supposed to be able to pivot out of Lati so Ada Aero can pursuit it (and I'm pretty sure that's how it played out in the game too).
Cobalion @ Buginium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- X-Scissor
- Iron Head
- Close Combat
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Flamethrower
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpD / 96 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Scald
- Toxic
- Knock Off
Slowbro @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Def / 44 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Slack Off
- Psyshock
- Scald
Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail
- Stone Edge
- Wing Attack
Nidoqueen @ Black Sludge
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 240 HP / 92 Def / 176 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Flamethrower
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
week 3? team for arifeen vs christo. explanation here. decided to use because sd bugzium cobalion would have a good match up. Empoleon has Knock Off to pressure Tentacruel. The Nidoqueen set has been one of my favourite finds ever since Bouff introduced the idea of it. Handles Raikou decently well and is a solid Clef check (non ice beam variants ofc).
this was based off something j0ris was already building so i just made changes to it. wasn't really built for anything in particular so just tried to be as well rounded as possible. has one of my favourite sets in psychium latias which allows it to shit on bold clef and worked out well in the game since star did not have a steel type. stored power clef is trash. doesn't even beat clef. i've since changed it to encore. empo is nascar to creep fatter jellicents.
yes this is almost entirely dodmen's team. and yes, it was coincidence that the teams ended up being near identical. Bouff said to use Cofag vs Hogg so I built this around Cofag + Papalax (yes it should run Iapapa Berry and should be called Papalax). there isn't anything very interesting about this other than the snorlax which takes less than half from primarina attacks, pivots into latias and raikou with ease and even has a decent chance of taking less than half from jolly sharpedo attacks. in any case this snorlax set proved to be the mvp in that game.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Soft-Boiled
- Moonblast
- Thunder Wave
i thought i'd be building for shiba or amaroq. certainly not 49, so i stacked this team with pokemon that shit on balance i.e nidoking and conkeldurr. spdef clef is here to make my life easier against a potential mega blastoise, which did end up being used against me. there isn't anything too complex that requires an explanation.
Krookodile @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
Wanted to use Salazzle bc I thought it would have a good match up against Shiba's typical balance builds, had hp grass to nail the swampert too. fat bewear is a cool option that hikari mentioned which takes less than half from +2 Life Orb Bish Iron Head. Clef has a lot more spdef because it needs to be able to take on keldeo better. Empoleon has chople to lure fighting types like cobalion which Shiba likes.
Talonflame @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Taunt
- Brave Bird
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Beam
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
Arifeen vs Aquadext. I wanted him to use Talonflame because that would typically have a good match up against an Aquadext team which proved to be true. The Talonflame set in question is probably my favourite one. Hippo has no sr because having both toxic + whirlwind is cool. stole the idea from tsr who stole it from pearl. clef is again ev'd to take on mega blastoise.
Krookodile @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
built around a core of slowking + scizor because i love their synergy and how well those two work as pivots. again didn't really have much to go off preparation wise and i didn't really go to great lengths in order to find out so i just tried bringing something solid. waterium allows slowking to nail gliscor. again, pretty straight forward. sorry for not using the best, most amazing, slampert version gc.
i absolutely hate the rest of my teams that i used or gave to others to use.
Really wanted to use Yanmega in BW since its really underrated, and this is easily its best set in the tier. Obviously not too wild but toxic shuts down Porygon2, non rest lax and spdef Zapdos, which amounts to most teams answers to this mon. You'll never click Air Slash once so you could probably just run Giga Drain or U-Turn there i guess, and the only time you'll ever click Psychic is versus a healthy nido i guess. 99% of games should be click toxic turn one on switch to special wall then click bug buzz and get kills the rest of the games, which ended up working beautifully versus New Breed, when all he brought for this was a P2 which got turned into fodder by toxic.
Fuga set i stole from what i thought was ORAS but turns out he used it in BW too so bleh. I ended up really liking rose as a scarfer since leaf storm still hits super hard and fast sleep, especially in BW is fantastic. I kept switching the 3rd attack around, HP Flying lets you surprise the fuck out of scarf hera and wipe it off the map, Fire means you arent walled by steels and Extrasensory lets you hit Crobat. It worked ok in my game with PDC, forcing him to sack umby to sleep meaning raikou was a bigger threat, and also surprising his missy trying to sub.
Cobalion @ Psychic Gem
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Zen Headbutt
- Swords Dance
Cute set id thought id try with fighting spam. Coba is horrid weak trash so you need chip on qwilfish and nidoqueen to actually kill them, even at plus 2 with a gem, but the set worked ok in tests and i further paired it with scarf HP Ice shao to work as a double lure core so either or could clean a team. For the most part this isnt that good but i thought id share anyway. As for how it did Finch brought literally nothing either Shao or this Coba could lure so :cry:
+1 252 Atk Psychic Gem Cobalion Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 204+ Def Qwilfish: 278-328 (83.2 - 98.2%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 Atk Psychic Gem Cobalion Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 232+ Def Nidoqueen: 328-386 (85.4 - 100.5%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
I train wrecked the ending weeks and we got crushed in finals but all in all i had fun this UUPL, cant wait to play BW UU more in Classics.
excuse the short descriptions on these, theyre not particularly in depth but theyre cool nonetheless
sm
Clefable @ Psychium Z
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 60 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Stored Power
this thing was a tech i had been considering since before the season started, and it can be kind of eh in some matchups but its pretty good vs fat squads. stored power clef is good vs most stall builds and with psychium z, it can ohko amoonguss after sr damage. it does a hefty chunk to tentacruel as well without a boost so even with haze it isnt a great stop to it
neat mon for common celebi answers, metagross in particular. both maero and fat zor cant switch into nen after a boost so its not solely for big metal gross either.
a set me and col49 theorized on during jajapl, while its not very splashable its meant to go on balance as a means of checking prima, nidos, raikou, etc etc. tox and a covg move like fthrower or ice beam are cool options, with the former being able to serve as a big fuck you to latias and the latter being able to lure in fat zor and gliscor respectively.
Metagross @ Steelium Z
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Agility
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Zen Headbutt
another set me and 49 were thinking of. i think someone posted a similar set in the creative sets thread and wrecked me with it but meh. metagross has a pretty good defensive typing which lets it set up on a decent amount of things in the metagame, and a zmash off this thing is strong as fuck. you can adjust the coverage as you like. not the best application of metas capabilities but its cool anyhow
SPOKEN TRUTH #10 .. (Blastoise-Mega) @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Aura Sphere
- Mirror Coat
used on teams where either u have another means of hazard control or if its not necessary. basically poops primarina, not much to say other than that.
Chandelure @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Memento
- Energy Ball
pair this up with a crawdaunt, zor, terrakion, whatever. unlike the other z memento users this thing has actual offensive presence and its a good spinblocker as well.
scarf garde is pretty underrated and is actually a decent revenge killer due to its good stab covg, but the main perk of this set for me is energy ball. with that and trace u have a pretty good mega pert check. not too much else to say about it
Donphan @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock / Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Head Smash
donphan obviously is not very good but head smash is kinda cute to fuck over mega aero and crobat
bw
Machamp @ Leftovers
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Protect
- Dynamic Punch
- Stone Edge
a tech 49 suggested to me when building for r0ady, bu champ isnt common but most people expect sub on it, but that isnt really good since it cuts into champers good bulk. tect on the other hand is good for scouting choice mons like hera and flygon while also netting leftovers recovery on it which is really valuable for a wincon like it.
NIGHTS (Sceptile) @ Rock Gem
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Leaf Blade
- Rock Slide
i think this mightve been mentioned in the bw analysis for this thing, but no one really reads those let alone prep for sd scept so i think its fine to post this. most people will use acro on sd sets but rock slide is actually really neat to lure in zapdos and togekiss, and acro targets usually are covered by it anyway. neat anti offense mon
neat tech on stall to pressure things like cune and zonger. obviously they can just switch out but this set works best with spikes and wish support anyhow (so qwil and umbreon)
why does this set work? i honestly dont know but specs blizzard is a bitch and bping into duggy to remove registeel means it has a field day vs most balances
unfortunately i didnt really innovate in adv other than fucking magmar which is cool to lure in altaria but does nothing else
apparently im the only one who wanted to dump teams so before doing this i started making descriptions for the teams i made used here. in spoilers in order to not flood. you can tell i slowly got tired of being descriptive
week 1:
MIYAZAKI (Mienshao) @ Choice Band
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (don't)
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
I figured Shake would use some boring balance so i tried to come up with some good breakers - originally thought of using Togekiss + Bewear or CB Conk (FO wasn't a thing yet obviously) but I thought CB Mienshao would be a cool idea. However, I was convinced from some testing and watching other testing that Adamant on a Choice Band Mienshao was a good thing to run.
It was not a good idea. In fact it was probably the worst decision I've made in teambuilding in my entire life..but that's besides the point. After that, I paired it with SR Gliscor to form a U-turn core to get Mien / Prima in for free. Lefties on Scizor is nice to bluff a more defensive set, but in all honesty Iron Plate is probably better. Tailwind is used on Latias to somewhat remedy the genius nature on Mienshao but honestly, just use Recover or Z-move + CM or literally anything else.
Sub Toxic Walrein is annoying as fuck to face if you're not prepared, given how it blanket checks a lot of stuff in the meta and has a good STAB combo, so I figured it would be a good lead given how common Omastar leads are right now. Not much else to say about the team that isn't obvious I guess. CB Solrock is kind of cool and a strong Boom is always appreciated, but honestly it can be replaced. Soft Sand is on Nidoking to bluff CB. Wish Kanga keeps Hitmontop and Walrein healthy, Hitmontop spins and is bad otherwise, Scyther cleans, etc etc etc.
Week 2 -
Cobalion @ Steelium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Rock Polish
Absol-Mega @ Absolite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Iron Tail
- Fire Blast
Was debating on what would work well vs dodmen since he's obv one of the most varied builders, but I noticed that his Flying resists were usually something like Bisharp or Mega Aero - sometimes he'd run fat physical walls that could cover Mega Aero but they weren't too solid otherwise. Given that and how his teams are usually pretty fast paced, I thought CB Crobat would be a cool idea to work with. After that I went with Coba and Swampert given that they're pretty solid checks to most of Crobat's answers. Steelium Cobal isn't necessary here, you can run FightZ if you'd like. Mirror Coat on Swampert is just to dick stuff like Mega Blastoise, Hydreigon, etc etc. Celebi without Psychic STAB seems pretty odd but having both coverage slots is pretty nice to lure in its checks, and it can deal with a lot of Crobat checks as well. Prima is prima, I needed another Dragon answer and Clef was kind of a momentum suck here. Gives me yet another wallbreaker. Pursuit Absol's here cause Latias is a pain.
Kangaskhan @ Leftovers
Ability: Early Bird
Happiness: 0
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Def / 216 SpD
Careful Nature
- Frustration
- Toxic
- Protect
- Wish
Was a little stuck on building for this one, but after some testing Hogg gave me the idea of CM Ice Punch Grumpig, since it breaks down a lot of his builds given that he runs Altaria and Hypno a lot. Started off with good old Kanga lead, have Toxic Wish here because it's a pain for a lot of fat builds to deal with and Wish Kanga is such a good thing to have in general, if I'm not running that I'm probably running Sub Punch because that set is probably the only one that's better. Vileplume and Omastar compliment the rest of the team in terms of fat, with Plume offering cleric support and Oma giving me a solid normal check and Spikes. SD Gligar really appreciates the removal of Altaria, and gives me a ground immune which is always nice. Granbull just breaks shit down, not much to say about that.
Week 3 -
Hippowdon @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Toxic
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 60 SpD
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Knock Off
- Calm Mind
Sparrow always runs some stuff that deviates from the norm, but I noticed that he never really had great answers to sand teams, and no one had brought that yet so I thought why not. It's a sand team so there really is not much to say, Magneton traps the steels so Stout can wreck, Aero is pretty much the mega of choice always with sand and lets me trap stuff thats troublesome for Hippo and Stout, Tentacruel has the Kushalos tech of Eject Button which lets me get Magneton in for free on Scizors unless they have Knock Off which they usually don't as well as giving me a Toxic spikes setter and absorber, and Clefable is Clefable, can deal with like 80% of the meta. Knock Off is here because sand + tspikes is pretty cool, but Ice Beam is an option as well if you feel worried about Gliscor.
LAURA .. (Kangaskhan) @ Leftovers
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 212 HP / 116 Atk / 100 Def / 52 SpD / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Toxic
WALNUT GROVE .. (Gligar) @ Choice Band
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Iron Tail
- Quick Attack
Benny Revival Squad #1. First time playing ADV in UUPL so I figured I'd go with something consistent, and well, Spikes + Sub Punch Kanga is pretty much the definition of consistent, so I figured why not. The rest of the team is pretty much just your standard fare that compliments the two. Toxic is on Kanga here because I figured that Shadow Ball wasn't that necessary, and it made it easier to pressure Hitmontop. Also beats Sableye which normally poops on Sub Punch Kanga but that's never used so eh. You can run Salac instead of Liechi on Scyther if you want, but I figure that most teams rely on priority to poop Endure Scyther late game and the mons it ties with are fricked by Omastar or Hypno.
Week 4 -
WITHIN .. (Terrakion) @ Choice Band
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
BIND .. (Hippowdon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
SPOKEN TRUTH #10 .. (Blastoise-Mega) @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Aura Sphere
- Mirror Coat
JUDGEMENT HOUSE .. (Hydreigon) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn
- Fire Blast
ROYALTY .. (Klefki) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Play Rough
- Toxic
- Magnet Rise
Benny Revival Team #2. Noticed that ABR had pretty meh Celebi answers, and Ghostium Z is a neat way to lure in common switchins. This was back when Terrakion was new so I figured the prep would be kind of low although that's usually not the case with unbanned mons *shrug*, but CB Terrak is a fuckin menace anyhow so I put that here as well, and paired it with Hippo cause the sand boost is always nice and its hippo so yeah. Mirror Coat stoise is here as somewhat of a Prima lure since that thing can take it on handily otherwise. Hydra gives me speed control and a solid ground immune, and spikes seem to work well with Terrakion and Celebi given how a lot of their switchins are worn down by it, and I also needed a solid way to deal with Latias so I put Klefki here. Magnet Rise is probably unnecessary but it's nice to get a free set up on Hippo.
This was the other team I had considered using vs ABR because his flying resists were kinda poop. Tornadus is a pretty unexplored mon atm and is a fast nuke which is really really valuable rn. The none Hurricane / Tailwind moves are pretty adjustable tho. You can probably go with what ABR used on his torn, I honestly don't remember what it was lol. After that, I just decided to pair it up with nukes that appreciated TW, so LO Terrak and Primarina were fairly obvious choices. Krookodile set can probably be adjusted, maybe to something like Chople + Pursuit..but its SR Krook, not much to say about it. SD Zor serves as the fairy resist of the team, but offers a bit more offensive pressure as opposed to fat zor. same deal with the other zor team applies here, iron plate + ada is fine over current item.
Week 5 -
Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Roost
- Defog
noticed eyan usually brought some balance with bulky waters susceptible to tox, and afaik the only other person to use mantine at that point was lord meeps so i thought it would be good vs him. paired it with pdef poison jab nidoqueen to make a nasty ass defensive core, as well as the actually good offensive sd zor since a lot of his teams were weak to that as well. at that point in the tour cm z-latias was the new wave so obviously i had to hop on that, covered most of the things I was weak to. then scarf rak was added cus i needed a rker, and clef is again, clef. fthrower was the covg move of choice since steels are still a pain even with mantine and nido.
KEITH (Primeape) @ Leftovers
Ability: Vital Spirit
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Cross Chop
- Hidden Power [Ghost]
DOMO (Golem) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Atk / 80 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Rock Blast
- Toxic
STEEZY (Slowking) @ Leftovers
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Psychic
- Calm Mind
- Rest
noticed that tricking had a pretty big weakness to elec spam and yet he brought electrode like every week so u know i had to bring my own pokeball. this was an edited version of the elec spam team gc made during classic, adapted a bit more to trickings style. sub tox boom electrode wears down a lot of common electric checks, and i figured if i can wear down hypno and trade electrodes then manec can go in. sub tox ape was an unorthodox but cool suggestion Floppy made so shoutouts to him. not too much else to say about the team otherwise, really just your standard defensive core. slowking is underrated af rn and is like the perfect answer to rain which was kind of annoying to this team otherwise.
Druddigon @ Choice Band
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 196 HP / 252 Atk / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Sleep Talk
this was actually a team i made back during classics, dunk just used it cause we didnt rly know wat else to think of, i think. meloetta is pretty cool and underprepped for even though it was used like 4 or 5 times that week. the rest of the team is focused around qwil + zong covering most offensive threats with zap + mien + drudd providing a fuck ton of offensive pressure. really just a team to fuck with standard builds.
Week 6 -
WHITE FERRARI (Mew) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Aura Sphere
- Dark Pulse
NIGHTS (Sceptile) @ Rock Gem
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Leaf Blade
- Rock Slide
FACEBOOK STORY (Porygon2) @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Discharge
- Toxic
- Recover
GOOD GUY (Victini) @ Choice Band
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- Bolt Strike
- U-turn
- Zen Headbutt
SOLO (Gligar) @ Eviolite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Roost
- U-turn
originally tried to think of some wild ass counterstyles to r0ady but i kinda gave up and decided on bringing something creative instead. sd scept is a boss and i knew he wouldnt prep for that so i settled on that (it did nothing that game because he had like one of two hard counters). np mew breaks down a lot of scept answers and is overall just a big fuck you to balance. dark pulse is here because tini is an asshole, i use it over sball because u hit meloetta. zap + p2 + glig blanket checks most things in the meta while tini appreciates mew and sceptile breaking down fat waters and the like.
Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Seed Bomb
- Spore
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Clear Smog
jellicent to me was a big fuck you to king uu's usual schtick so i decided to build around that. cobalion and clefable compliment its weaknesses pretty nicely and appreciate fat waters and fires being pooped on. latias set is kinda odd and was a last minute change but the squad was really gliscor weak, and it paid off during the game. scarf krook is scarf krook. amoong served as the teams raikou answer and clef kind of answer.
Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Tail
- Stone Edge
- Wing Attack
- Earthquake
Krookodile @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
Slowbro @ Psychium Z
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 24 SpD / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Scald
- Slack Off
conk + hw clef seemed like a cool concept despite hw getting rid of clowners burn, so i decided to go with that for this one. sd zor is here to take care of conks usual checks barring jelli. not too much else to say about this one really im tryinh to get done with this -___- also psychium slowbro honestly sucks dont use it, lefties is much more useful even if zstone reduces knock dmg
noticed that finchs teams get wrecked by both lo rose and sub cm cress since he relies on fat water + glig on a lot of his teams, and his balance cores are kind of set up fodder for cress given that he runs nidoqueen like half the fucking time...yeah thats pretty much it. honestly you can get rid of outrage on kingdra and use smth like surf since it didnt do me any good in my game. golurk was also a nice pick vs him due to his scarf hera obsession
Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 36 Atk / 224 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 Spe
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- Roost
A Scizor set used in old gens, used here to trap stuff like Latias, Gengar, Metagross, and Starmie while not being too passive. It's a great partner for Scarf Keldeo, Conk, and the usual partners that need trapping support. And at the end of the day, it still does the usual Scizor things like checking Haxorus and stuff. Credits to SmashBrosBrawl for making the team I used in semifinals with this set.
Absol @ Absolite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Fire Blast
- Iron Tail
Another excellent trapper. I usually see SD or just 4 physical attacks being used on Absol. Fire Blast and Iron Tail take care of the most common checks to Absol that most teams use (Cobalion, Scizor, Clefable, Togekiss). Sucker Punch isn't really useful, especially without SD (where it's still not as useful as 2 coverage moves), because the things that outspeed you are Scarfers which mostly resist Sucker Punch, and Mega Aerodactyl which only takes about 50%.
So this set takes away the prediction problem that Bewear can kind of have at times and lets it get a near guaranteed kill on a forced switchout, basically. +2 Z Double Edge OHKOes Slowbro, Alomomola, etc. Every non-Steel except for Unaware Clefable, which it does ~70 to. Steel types are obviously smashed by +2 Superpower. This can also pivot really well into Bisharp and Krookodile without worrying about losing its Band. It usually finds a setup opportunity once a game and refuses to die to any one hit so yeah it's usually good for a kill.
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 24 SpD / 8 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Counter
An ORAS set. Since many Beedrill teams just lead with Beedrill, you can punish the shit out of it by nailing the incoming Hydreigon, Rotom-C, or bulky Water for an OHKO. You can also safely OHKO +2 Cobalion without worrying about Shuca Berry, bring Bulk Up Conkeldurr that expects a Roar to ~25%, and OHKO +1 Gyarados. Just don't let it fall below ~50 if you're relying on it to do any of that.
Not gonna post much because my season was incredibly disappointing and I didn't actually get the chance to test a bunch of cool stuff since most of my prep time was spent freaking out because my teams kept breaking in half during test games and/or failing in the real games.
Bisharp @ Steelium Z
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
Set I theorized a while ago and ended up bringing week 6. Didn't do the work I was hoping for and I ended up throwing in a spectacular fashion. Regardless, this set loses out on a bit of overall damage output without LO but Corkscrew Crash can do some cool stuff like rip through Bewear, and OHKO Primarina unboosted. Also was nice to avoid taking a ton of LO recoil damage and I didn't exactly miss the power when it clicked Knock Off against Latias.
252 Atk Bisharp Corkscrew Crash (160 BP) vs. 40 HP / 0 Def Nidoqueen: 286-337 (86.4 - 101.8%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Bisharp Corkscrew Crash (160 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Bewear: 306-360 (80.3 - 94.4%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (imagined I'd be at +2 which I think is an unnecessary calc to show here)
252 Atk Bisharp Corkscrew Crash (160 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Primarina: 324-382 (107.6 - 126.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
I'd highly recommend everyone reading this give Mowtom a try. With most teams in the meta slapping on a Scarf Krookodile or Hippowdon and calling it a day vs Raikou and Magneton, a lot of teams shit their pants when the extra Grass STAB is thrown into the mix. Your opponent is highly likely to not throw in their Electric immune mon against this thing, meaning it'll grab you some really easy momentum via Volt Switch a whole lot if you play it well. Feel free to put Trick in the last slot, I simply used HP Fire as I simply wanted some insurance vs Scizor, as a fast Steel-resistant mon with means of OHKOing it is always welcome on a team.
Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 76 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Haze
- Roost
- Defog
When I first saw Mantine hit UU, I was sure it was just another shitmon OU overhyped and would eventually fall to the depths of lower tiers (I can still only dream of Nihilego joining the tier). Glad to say I built up the courage to use it and it turned out to be super clutch, countered MixApe from 70 with rocks up. Not the most conventional spread I have here, but I was fairly weak to Primarina and this spread eats 2 Moonblasts with relative ease while still easily checking Scizor, Keldeo, Cobalion, and the like. Another mon I'd definitely recommend you give a shot before writing it off, its a neat one.
Overall this certainly wasn't my best showing. Definitely hope to be more impressive come next year and be able to share more successful stuff.
Posted about Turbo Slowking before. The set is designed to outspeed bulky Scizor and OHKO the standard spread with Fire Blast, which I appreciated on the team I used this on. Obviously, you'd have to scout for the exact Scizor set before foolishly staying in on a Scizor, but it works as a "check" to bulky Scizor when you need it. The Speed comes in handy, in general, as well, outspeeding stuff like Clefable. It's still bulky enough to take on stuff like Keldeo.
Really weird-looking Clefable set, but it does well to really screw classic fat Clefable checks like Amoonguss and Gliscor, especially when paired with a wallbreaker like Choice Band Entei. You essentially turn Pokemon like SD Gliscor into setup fodder for CM, and if that's their only check, they're done for. Even if they do carry multiple checks, crippling one of them really opens up the door for other sweepers. The Speed is enough to outspeed Bisharp when it's still holding its Choice Scarf, just in case that comes in handy, and it doesn't take that much away from bulk anyway.
With all the Recycle + Curse Snorlax going around, I wanted to bring back Choice Band Snorlax, one of my favourite sets that I used back in ORAS. Not much to explain here; it takes hits, and hits like a truck back. Last move depends on whether you want to take status, OHKO Gliscor, or OHKO Scizor.
Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wing Attack
- Aqua Tail
- Iron Tail
- Crunch
Everyone loves Mega Aerodactyl. It's an odd set, but it's nice to fuck around with standard builds that revolve around Clefable, Latias, a Ground-type like Nidoqueen / Krookodile / Gliscor, etc. Missing out on Stone Edge is iffy, but I paired it with Scarf Terrakion to mitigate this somewhat.
LeoLancaster had a team on his project recently featuring this, so nice coincidence. Anyway, I was basically building a team around offensive SD Scizor, but at the end of the day, I found myself weak to opposing offensive SD Scizor as well, so I modified my set to be able to lure them in a sense. Occa Berry as a whole is a pretty cool tech for random Fire-type coverage or just to take Hidden Power Fire from like Latias. Natural Gift Fire has the drawback of only being a one-time use and not being as strong as Superpower, but pays it back by hitting the aforementioned Scizor, and both Cobalion and Doublade (you can't cover both with either Superpower or Knock Off). It's also nice to OHKO Amoonguss at +2 after Stealth Rock, something Bug Bite can't do, so you don't have to take a Spore or Hidden Power Fire. You could run Jolly to always outspeed opposing Scizor, but the extra power from Adamant helps.
Celebi @ Bluk Berry
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Seed Bomb
- Zen Headbutt
- Natural Gift
Weird lure sets seems to be the theme of the day. Watmel Berry isn't released, so I'm forced to go for the next most powerful alternative for Natural Gift Fire. I could go for Occa Berry but the whole taking half damage from a Fire-type attack isn't as important as the extra power imo. SD Celebi isn't really something that's used right now, and for good reason, since stuff like Latias, Metagross, Scizor just come in and exploit it. Natural Gift Fire lures Scizor, although a lot of people will scout for HP Fire if you haven't revealed any moves yet. It also does quite a good chunk to Metagross at +1, more than Sucker Punch anyway. Sucker Punch OHKOes Latias after Stealth Rock at +2. Not running Zen Headbutt kinda hurts against stuff like Amoonguss, but I run dual Psychic-types to make up for it.
The team I was using was weak to Scizor and a bit iffy against Primarina. Sludge Wave Volcanion was a decent way to check both, but the issue was that Volcanion gets worn down way too easily between repeatedly switching into attacks and the weakness to Stealth Rock. Z-Haze just brings Volcanion back to full when necessary if you nothing else on your team really needs to run a Z-Move. Haze, in general, is pretty cool to get rid of Calm Mind boosts from Clefable anyway. 28 Def ensures Volcanion always survives a Scarf Krook Earthquake.
Hydreigon @ Steelium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Draco Meteor
- Flash Cannon
- Dark Pulse
Pretty much similar concept to what Sacri' posted. The only difference is that I really like having U-turn to further the Choice Scarf bluff. My team didn't really need Fire Blast anyway. This set best works alongside Mega Sharpedo from my experience, and it appreciates Choice Scarf users that aren't very common as partners, so it's easier to bluff. I paired it with Scarf Celebi in my case; I clicked U-turn 1 to 2 times to scout someone's initial switch-in, and then when they're comfortable bringing in their Fairy-type (mainly Clefable), it gets put down.
week 2:
Infernape @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Mach Punch
Raikou @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Calm Mind
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Krookodile @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Stealth Rock
Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 240 HP / 84 SpA / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Defog
- Roost
- Fire Blast
My week 2 team that I used against John. I really didn't have much to go off then, so I just looked through the teams that hogg's players have been using, and they tend to fold to Ghostium Z Raikou, so I went from there. Banded Infernape + AV Future Sight Slowking work pretty nicely together. The whole team ended up functioning well with tons of VoltTurn + pivoting with Infernape. It's Turbo Slowking, which I explained above. Togekiss is also carrying Fire Blast to catch Scizor and Bisharp (has a 98% chance to OHKO with that SpA, and it has enough Speed to outspeed base 70s). Any Defog Togekiss that can't touch Bisharp is ass.
week 3:
Krookodile @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aerial Ace
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail
- Hone Claws
Cobalion @ Steelium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
Built this for week 3 for Snowy who was playing meeps. His teams seemed really weak to Primarina + Krook so that's what I built around. Originally, it was Specs Primarina + Band Krook to really take advantage of stuff like Bronzong and Mantine, but I passed Snowy this version if he wanted to be on the safe side. Defog Scizor isn't that needed here, so bulky SD is fine too. Steelium Z Cobalion is so that Clefable isn't as big of an issue.
Week 4 team that I used against Pearl. Trick Clefable that was explained above is there. I noticed that Pearl tends to be extremely well prepared for Clefable in the sense of having a fat Poison-type and backup hard hitters, so I wanted to cripple the fat immediate switch-in as fast as possible. I paired it with Entei because those immediate switch-ins don't deal well with it at all. Amoonguss, Bronzong, and other Steel-types get nuked, while stuff like Tentacruel can take a hit or two but it gets worn down extremely quickly. Curse Gastrodon is also something that seemed to do exceedingly well against most of his builds, especially if Amoonguss gets crippled.
week 6:
Slowking @ Waterium Z
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Calm Mind
- Slack Off
Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wing Attack
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail
Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wing Attack
- Aqua Tail
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
Snorlax @ Choice Band
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 228 SpD / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Fire Punch
- Pursuit
- Ice Punch
Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 232 HP / 252 SpD / 24 Spe
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Defog
- Knock Off
- Toxic
Latias @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Draco Meteor
- Roost
Nidoqueen @ Black Sludge
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 248 HP / 116 Atk / 124 Def / 20 SpA
Relaxed Nature
- Poison Jab
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
Two different teams that I was planning on bringing against Moet week 6, both of which follow a similar concept. One had Rocky Helmet RestTalk Keldeo, while the other had fat Infernape. Both were designed to take advantage of his love of Choice Band Scizor, and more so for the former, his love for SD Crawdaunt. He also was the type to not carry Pokemon that resist Dragon-type or Water-type attacks, so Keldeo and Dragonium Z Latias felt like a good choice. Obviously, I ended up going with that team and it worked. The teams could definitely be improved overall as a whole, but the choices there like the lack of Earthquake on Snorlax was catered more so to what I scouted about Moet.
Flygon @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
Bisharp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Pursuit
- Low Kick
Yet another team that I considered for Moet. Like I said earlier, he didn't really bring things to deal with Dragon-types effectively, usually bringing like 2 Steel-types without any Fairy-types. Hence, I tried building around Dragonium Z Dragon Dance Flygon, a Pokemon that I'd been looking to experiment with. The Occa Berry Scizor that I mentioned is there. Scarf Bisharp isn't really that great of a choice, but I wanted something to Pursuit trap Latias, and Krookodile really didn't seem to fit at that point. Bisharp just did what I wanted it to, so there you go. I wanted to bring this team on multiple occasions but never did, unfortunately.
week 7:
Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wing Attack
- Aqua Tail
- Iron Tail
- Crunch
Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- X-Scissor
This started out as a team I wanted to use for welli0u in week 5, but because I couldn't play then, I modified it for Sacri in week 7. Weird Aerodactyl set that's explained above, Z-Haze Volcanion to patch up the lack of recovery, fat Celebi because Sacri really liked his Water-types, so a Water-type check that has reliable recovery felt like a good option, and Thunder Wave dicked him quite a bit. Defog Scizor is usually not that great, but it fit for this team considering Volcanion and Mega Aerodactyl.
Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 228 SpD / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Defog
- Knock Off
- Toxic
Another team built for Sacri centered around lure SD Celebi. Pretty straightforward; Waterium Z Slowbro for the secondary Psychic-type, since Celebi isn't running Zen Headbutt. Iron Plate Cobalion to actually do some damage with Iron Head, such as 2HKOing Clefable for sure, having a good chance to OHKO Mega Aerodactyl, and I'm sure there are others that I can't remember atm. Scarf Nidoking because I wanted a Choice Scarf user, and something that could check Raikou and Clefable outside of Cobalion. It helps that it catches quite a few things off guard as well, since a lot of people assume its rocks when looking at the team. You could run some physical moves on it to make CM variants off Clefable and Raikou less annoying. Pursuit on Mega Aerodactyl for Gengar is an option too, but there you go.
Nidoking @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Beam
Cobalion @ Iron Plate
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
Hydreigon @ Steelium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Draco Meteor
- Flash Cannon
- Dark Pulse
Final team that I built for Sacri (for week 7 anyway). This was centered around the Mega Sharpedo + U-turn Steelium Z Hydreigon core that I was mentioning earlier. I partnered those with an uncommon scarfer in this meta in Celebi, which is cool for a VoltTurn core if you successfully bluff; Celebi U-turns on an incoming Latias and goes back into Hydreigon if they believe you're Scarf Hydreigon, for example. I'm running max SpA Togekiss because that hits hard as hell in a tier with few good Flying-resistant Pokemon, and for some reason, people never seem to expect Dazzling Gleam. I was originally running Barbiri Berry with Fire Blast/Flamethrower, but I went for this instead for more consistency. Having one lure in Steelium Z Hydreigon is more than enough for me.
Mandibuzz @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Knock Off
- Foul Play
Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 112 Def / 148 SpD
Calm Nature
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Clear Smog
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Stall team that I used against Sacri' in the semifinals. It features the cool Cresselia set that pif posted so that the team doesn't auto lose to Conkeldurr. Obviously, Cresselia is always going to have its issue of being forced to heal often and draining its PP, but it did what it needed to, and during the actual game, it helped against Toxic CM Reuniclus that Sacri brought. I lost the game due to a choke and unfamiliarity of the playstyle, but remembering the whole Skill Link-Toxic damage turn count mechanic would have probably been nice (look it up if you don't know).
Scizor @ Iron Plate
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
Cofagrigus @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Mummy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Trick Room
- Nasty Plot
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
Finally, this is the last team. I noticed Sacri's teams were usually weak to SD Scizor with Knock Off, so I immediately started building again. His main Scizor answer was Keldeo usually, so Amoonguss was the most logical next choice. I can't exactly remember what went through my head then, but what resulted was a team that has to take full advantage of speed control in order to win. By that, I mean dual powder Amoonguss + Choice Band Krookodile, but it also has support in terms of Trick Room Cofagrigus and priority in Bullet Punch. Honestly, this is probably the most difficult or awkward team that I built for this tournament. I guess you could run Hidden Power Fire over Stun Spore on Amoonguss and Choice Scarf over Band on Krookodile to make it more normal, but where's the fun in that. Thankfully I didn't bring this team, though, since I'd have gotten screwed by Magneton + Eject Button Clefable.
Lead Rose isn't anything new but is especially effective atm. Typical hazard removal is Blastoise/Empoleon mostly which both lose. Self explanatory set, missing out on Psn coverage is lame but necessary to punish removal/scizor. This also works in ORAS but it's not as effective in my opinion.
Brought this vs dext in finals. Didn't get to do anything because he brought a doublade but it was really good vs a lot of the Krook/Clef/Lati stuff he was bringing previously. It's really good vs that type of team because if Krook kills anything you get a free ass set up. The damage is also insane on this guy.
+6 252 Atk Overgrow Chesnaught Seed Bomb vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Latias: 373-439 (123.9 - 145.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252 Atk Overgrow Chesnaught Seed Bomb vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 600-706 (152.2 - 179.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252 Atk Overgrow Chesnaught Seed Bomb vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Togekiss: 357-420 (95.4 - 112.2%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
Meanwhile, one Drain Punch puts you out of range of stuff like Scizor pretty easily. Krook being the common scarfer just makes this set even better because nothing can revenge it.
Gengar @ Focus Sash
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Dazzling Gleam
- Counter
Also brought this vs dext in finals. This was initially thought of by TDK and I played around with it a lot since then. Again didn't get to do anything just based on how the game panned out. After the first couple of turns I wanted to spin which wouldve let this guy handle anything lategame but he did a good job of keeping hazards which helped more than he knew probably. Basic idea being Sash HP Fire pretty much checkmates Scizor, Gleam nails scarf Hydreigon since Focus Blast is a roll and counter hits Krook or Talon or anything random. Missing out on Sludge bomb is again lame but I partnered this with Metagross and Talon so I wasn't too concerned about Clef. Moves are highly flexible to support though.
coulda/woulda/shoulda brought this v rozes. evs outspeed max addy scizor while giving most bulk/firepower as possible. really punishes teams reliant on something other than latias as their sole water resist and can kill cripple lati to the point where rocks + poison can actual overwhelm it from checking other stuff. tect gives extra health and scouting abilities vs things like keldeo and primarina
Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 220 SpD / 36 Spe
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Giga Drain
- U-turn
- Recover
neat keldeo counter, pivot, rocker. allows you to slow uturn out of latias into a pursuit trapper.
Amoonguss (M) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Def / 80 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Seed Bomb
- Clear Smog
- Spore
- Foul Play
the best raikou counter in the game except if u face sacri . seed bomb always breaks sub and u clear smog the boosts and spore it as necessary.
everyone knows this guy, the menace. i just feel he is way underrated atm and crushes teams that rely on lati as their role ground resist. evs if you don't know allow you to taunt bulky sd scizor and proceed to roost stall it while chunking it with eq and not allowing it to roost
teams will be will be posted later or in a special rmt :O!!
Brought Darmanitan because of the lack of physical fire resists in the tier + Manipulative's teams never actually looked prepared for Scarf Darm in replays before UUPL. But then he brought 4 fire resists + Intimidate Krook so it's whatever ._. it still worked though, somehow!
ok alright (Cobalion) @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
pick up the phone (Swampert) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Roar
Didn't really know what I was expecting since I was assuming Hogg would build his team so I brought a couple good stallbreakers in SD Toxic Glisc and NP Celebi + some other stuff I was comfortable with. Ice Beam LO Latias is a really good set btw, s/o Gliscor.
Bounce Back (Aerodactyl-Mega) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Wing Attack
- Aqua Tail
- Pursuit
Was expecting stall again so brought 2 stallbreakers ft PhysDef Taunt Mew. I think I had a better chance to actually win the game if the Latias wasn't Life Orb since the Hippo is EV'd to live +1 Soul Dew Draco (roll w/ Life Orb) but I thought I prepped well regardless of the result.
By Any Means (Nidoqueen) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Ice Beam
JoHn Muir (Tentacruel) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic Spikes
- Acid Spray
- Scald
THat Part (Aerodactyl-Mega) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Aerial Ace
- Pursuit
Didn't really know what to expect again as Rare isn't a UU main so I just brought some standard Bulky Offense featuring Adamant Life Orb 4 Attack Bisharp, which actually came in handy when the Coba switched in :^)
Change (Terrakion) @ Rockium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
Deja Vu (Absol-Mega) @ Absolite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Sucker Punch
- Ice Beam
Love Yourz (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
No Role Modelz (Latias) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Recover
Neighbors (Cobalion) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
G.O.M.D. (Nidoking) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Taunt
Was definitely expecting Cynde to build Arifeen's team for the week and I know Cynde knows me well so I tried to build something different more towards the offensive side of things. Looking at Cynde's replays his fighting resists were pretty slim overall and the fighting resists he did bring just drop to Z-Edge Terrak so I decided to bring Fighting Spam w/ Terrak and Coba + support, which worked out pretty well I'd say.
Lights Out (Cobalion) @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
$lay (Hippowdon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Toxic
Pray For Em (Empoleon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Defog
- Knock Off
- Roar
Brought Celebi because its Aquadext but he had the tech with Z-Ghost Latias LOL. idk how I pulled through after that but Coba somehow won after I tricked the Metagross
This was my set of choice for week 2 when I brought Talonflame. This Celebi aims to lure and remove M-Aerodactyl from play for Talonflame by setting up a Nasty Plot early on and afterwards KOing with Leaf Storm. Coba Berry lets Celebi survive Wing Attack from anything higher than 50% HP, even from Adamant M-Aerodactyl, and is so uncommon that the opponent will most likely assume that it is either Colbur Berry or Z-Move Celebi.
Nidoqueen @ Black Sludge
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 96 SpD / 128 Spe
Careful Nature
- Poison Jab
- Earthquake
- Flamethrower
- Stealth Rock
Hands down my favourite set that I came up with. Created to handle both CM Clefable and Raikou, the EV Spread avoids the 2HKO from +1 Raikou (and +1 Clefable Ice Beam), while being faster than Modest Primarina (which saved my ass vs. TSR). Teams that handle Primarina better (i.e. having Empoleon + Wish or Blissey) can afford to dumb the EVs from Speed in Attack instead, giving Queen better odds to 2HKO max defense Bold Clefable and to OHKO Raikou after Rocks. The defense EVs have a purpose too, avoiding the 2HKO from +2 defensive Scizor's BP and the 2HKO from CB Scizor's BP.
I think a similar set was posted before so I won't lose too much time on this. I paired this with a Pursuit trapper to remove Latias, even those that carry HP Fire (which a lot of them do now), while still keeping the defensive merit of Scizor's great bulk. The idea is to come in on a Defog, Psychic, Recover or a double switch (for example from Keldeo), tanking the HP Fire and U-turn out into the Pursuit trapper, in this case Absol. The team was centered around SubCM Keldeo, which desperately wants any Latias variant removed.
Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Reflect
- Calm Mind
The only real 'funky' set that I used. Raikou draws in Ground types like Hippowdon and Swampert. Now, Reflect doesn't actually allow CM Raikou to beat these 1v1, because EQ still does too much, but what it does do is avoid being revenge killed from Scarf Krookodile and, more importantly, Mega Aerodactyl. Additionally, this set is best paired with something that can take advantage of bulky Ground types. I chose Cloyster, which appreciates the additional defensive utility, that it gives up when using Shell Smash. Unfortunately, Reflect couldn't save me vs. Turtlegod though.
Talonflame
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 24 SpD / 208 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Will-O-Wisp
- Swords Dance
- Roost
Commonly Talonflame carries Flynium-Z to avoid recoil damage from Brave Bird once, while also providing it with a nuke option. Acrobatics, however, is not an alternative on that set because the Z-Stone actually counts as a held item, therefore weakening Acrobatics and invalidating the move's purpose. I wanted to make Acrobatics work, to give Talonflame some of its former glory back: Powerful priority without having to worry about the restriction of recoil throughout the course of the match. You could call this set a compromise between the all-out-offensive Z-Move variant and the bulky WoW variant from ORAS. Still, losing priority on Roost is this sets biggest flaw that, unfortunately, can not be accounted for. Ultimately, I didn't actually use this set, because I felt I hadn't tested enough with it, but it is something that I feel has potential.
Right, so this also was on the SubCM Keldeo team in order to take care of Amoonguss. I opted for this over Life Orb Fire Blast, because it kills most SpDef variants (up to 96 SpDef Calm/Sassy, which is plenty) at +1 SpA after Rocks + Black Sludge Recovery (with the same spread, +1 LO Fire Blast does a lot less), and because I don't like inaccurate moves. Similarly to the Scizor set I wanted this to still be able to check most of the stuff bulky Clefable usually checks, hence the defense investment. Enough speed in order to creep bulky Scizor variants that want to be smart and U-turn out.
To be honest, team building is what keeps me playing this game, nothing better than crafting a team from scratch, making adjustments after adjustments and in the end being content with the outcome, even if that isn't all that easy to achieve. I only wish I could have done better for the sake of my team, both at building and playing, but overall, this tour was a great experience. I loved building, testing and playing with and for the Burglars.