ORAS UU this year

Hogg

grubbing in the ashes
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I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me...

This Year

I wasn't planning on making any more RMTs this year, but fuck it, I want to close things out with ORAS UU on a good note. I originally made this team when I was messing around with teams for Key to use in LTPL, based around using Healing Wish Mola on an offensive VoltTurn team. It has ended up as one of my favorite teams from ORAS, and I think it's a nice way to close out the meta as we start looking toward SuMo UU.

As for peaks, when I was testing this team I peaked at #2 under the alt little sebastian, and while writing this RMT I pulled the team out again and played with it a bit more, and put myself back into the top 5 pretty easily (I'm there now! Look!). It's really consistent against a lot of the common teams in UU right now, able to break common offensive teams thanks to things like Tailwind or ScarfApe backed by a solid defensive core, while still pressuring the hell out of those fat Sylveon semistall teams that people always try to use when they don't feel like playing full stall.

Anyhow, here's the team. It's not perfect, but I think it's pretty fun.

THE TEAM


Hydreigon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Flash Cannon
- Focus Blast / Dragon Pulse

The uncontested champion of UU, and the MVP of this team. If you're looking around on your team for switch-ins to this monster, keep looking. Specs Hydreigon didn't really get much play in UU, which is a shame, because this is easily my favorite set. Pick a STAB and click it, and watch things die. Of course, good defensive typing/ability, stats and Speed means that this also checks a huge portion of the tier as well, so it's not like it's a one trick pony. Oh yeah, and it's a monster under Tailwind too, so there's that. Last move is a toss-up, and I switch between both fairly regularly. Focus Blast takes out Blissey if hazards are down and straight up beats P2 and Snorlax, while Dragon Pulse is a nice option for cleaning under TW.


Alomomola @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Def / 200 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Healing Wish
- Protect
- Wish

Fatfish is fat. What else is there to say? This pivots into basically everything and gives me security against most of the big offense killers in the tier, while also keeping the rest of the team fairly healthy. Scald being Scald, this isn't as passive as it could be, especially since it doesn't have to just sit around clicking recovery moves in a lot of matchups thanks to Regen. Healing Wish is a neat little tech that I don't see much but that works really well here, letting me play a bit recklessly with Hydra or Pert or Infernape early game only to bring it back in the end.


Whimsicott @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 68 Def / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
- Encore
- Moonblast
- Tailwind
- U-turn

One downside to using Specs Hydreigon over Taunt LO is that it gives me a way worse matchup versus CM Suicune, and a downside to Mola over Sylveon is that it gives me a way worse matchup versus Hydreigon. Encore Whimsicott patches up both weaknesses, and between it and general offensive pressure from my other teammates, I can usually play around them fairly well. I actually switch between this and offensive Pixie Plate sometimes, but this version is more common. EVs outspeed base 108s with the rest in bulk. Encore screws with things that want to set up or heal their team, Moonblast for STAB. Tailwind was suggested by Tony and I really like it here. It doesn't get clicked much, but is great against offense and is a really nice lategame win button in general.


Infernape @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- Thunder Punch
- U-turn

I really like ScarfApe in this meta, and it's just an all-around great cleaner and revenge killer, checking a ton of threats even after they've set up. It also has great synergy with Specs Hydra, with the former breaking down walls and the latter cleaning (and giving Hydra free switches thanks to U-turn). Nothing complicated here: dual STABs, U-turn for pivoting, and Thunder Punch for revenging +1 Gyara (it also hits Tentacruel I guess, but not very hard =\). A lot of times the game is just about playing it safe, getting hazards down and wearing down walls with Pert/Hydra, just to clean with Ape.


Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Def / 244 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 1 Spe
- Spikes
- Heavy Slam
- Volt Switch
- Rapid Spin

Mixed defense Forry gives me Spikes and lets me pivot into things like Celebi and Sylveon and Volt out to the appropriate counter. Combined with Whimsi and Infernape, this is actually kind of a neat bulky VoltTurn core in general, and Forry provides the Spikes necessary to wear down bulkier teams and allow my sweepers to clean up. The team is actually not very hazard weak at all, but Rapid Spin is still a nice emergency button against T-Spikes or hazard stack in general. Heavy Slam went over Gyro Ball as a more consistent way to hit things like Sylveon. I still went with minimum Speed for the slow Volt Switch, although I kept myself one point above opposing Forretress so that I can spin before they Volt out to a ghost type. Probably will never ever matter but whatever.


Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch

Second best mega in UU. Love this thing. Adamant MegaPert is fat and hits like a truck and is just a general pain in the ass for tons of teams. This gives me rocks and breaks down teams in general. Speed EVs mean I outspeed M-Aero under TW and Modest Sylveon with no Tailwind, with the rest going into bulk. A bulkier spread isn't crazy, just because Mega-Pert is really fantastically fat, but I find that this is sufficient for most matchups, and the speed definitely comes in handy.

IMPORTABLE

Hydreigon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Flash Cannon
- Focus Blast

Alomomola @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Def / 200 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Healing Wish
- Protect
- Wish

Whimsicott @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 68 Def / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
- Encore
- Moonblast
- Tailwind
- U-turn

Infernape @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- Thunder Punch
- U-turn

Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Def / 244 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 1 Spe
- Spikes
- Heavy Slam
- Volt Switch
- Rapid Spin

Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch


FINAL THOUGHTS

Smell ya later, ORAS UU. I had a lot of fun in this tier, though I do think building was a bit too constrained for my liking by the end. I won't miss seeing slight variations on the same two or three bulky offense and semistall teams that comprise 90% of ORAS UU at the moment, but I will miss this tier in general. I do think that there is more room for building interesting and unique teams than people give the tier credit for, so I'm just going to straight up list a bunch of things that I think largely went unexplored but that I've had a lot of success with in the current meta:

  • Healing Wish Mola (this isn't the only team that it works on I swear)
  • CB Cobalion (man seriously take a look at your teams and tell me that this doesn't do a fucking number on most of them)
  • Bulky rain offense with Klefki
  • Gastrodon semi-stall
  • Bulky Celebi sets in general (including bulky NP sets such as SubNP, which are seriously underrated, and also support Celebi in general)
  • Stallbreaker Crobat (Taunt/Toxic/Roost with BB or Acro, great alongside something like Forry - again nothing new, just something that has fallen out of favor despite the fact that it eats the common semistall teams in this meta for breakfast)
  • Expert Belt Tentacruel
  • HP Fire Mega-Abomasnow (not exactly a new tech but just really good in this meta)
  • Scarf Crobat (King UU was right all along)
  • Defensive Gyarados (it's around sometimes but not as much as it should be)
  • Sylveon with spreads other than straight defensive or offensive - man come on guys, spend more than twenty second coming up with interesting EV spreads and think about what you want your Pokemon to do in a game, I've won a ton of games by surprising people with things like Modest Wish Sylveon or by going with a more specially bulky spread when I have other Fighting checks on a team
  • Rock Polish Tyrantrum
  • Resist berries in general (they're good on more than just Empoleon and Cobalion, people)
  • Timid CM Roar Suicune (actually Timid Suicune in general, although Vincune has brought this one back a bit)
  • Colbur Jellicent in general, but especially on offensive teams
  • CM Reuniclus + bulky Rocky Helmet 'mons to wear down Krookodile
  • Destiny Bond Mega-Shark + BU Conkeldurr, because fuck a Sylveon
  • Pursuit Escavalier + Water spam (both on offensive teams with stuff like Gatr/Gyara/MegaPert/Daunt, and on balanced or BO teams with things like Suicune/Milotic)
  • Toxic on random offensive choiced 'mons that get checked by fat crap like Mienshao and Crobat (come on, let's be real, you never click Stone Edge or Cross Poison anyhow)
  • Fat VoltTurn BO teams in general (think fat VoltTurners like Mandibuzz/Gligar/Forry/Mega-Amph/fat Celebi, plus really strong breakers like Mamo or Specs Hydreigon)


These are just a few random things I've used in the current meta and had some success with. These are mostly just single 'mons, rather than entire teams, but the point is that there's still a bunch of room for originality in the tier and you don't have to run your same boring-ass Cele/Krook/Sylveon teams all day long.

So yeah, ORAS UU has its bumps, but it has been a pretty fun ride regardless, and I still think there's a lot more room for innovation than people like to think. 2016 overall has been a shit year, but Pokemon and UU in particular has made it a little bit more tolerable.

So anyhow, TL;DR version: Specs Hydreigon is bae, UU is cool, 2016 can go fuck itself. Here's to 2017!

 
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