UU Beta Recap

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Introduction

The UnderUsed tier has been an official usage-based tier since the days of DPP. Over the course of the generations, many Pokémon have come and gone. Only a few Pokémon, like Arcanine and Nidoking, remained in the tier consistently. Between DPP, BW, and ORAS UU, you will not find many similarities. Each and every iteration of the tier offers its own unique appeal, and SM UU appears to be no exception. With new Pokémon, new mechanics, and new moves, there is a whole lot to explore and discover, and it makes for a refreshing experience. In this article, we are going to take a look at the beginning of a new tier and delve into a world of instability and absurdity.

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UU Alpha

Rather than being a serious meta, UU alpha was just a fun format with a ladder. Based on OU beta's first month of usage stats, an initial banlist was formed, and a ladder was set up; however, no tiering decisions would be made during this time. Thus, threats such as Z-Happy Hour Jirachi dominated the metagame. Luckily, Jirachi rose back to OU as the beta started, but the tier was still largely imbalanced. Mega Charizard Y and Kyurem-B stood out in particular, as they were both hideously strong wallbreakers that sat at a good Speed tier. While both were weak to Stealth Rock, the tier possessed many new hazard control options such as Scizor, Starmie, and Latias. Removing Mega Charizard Y and Kyurem-B largely depended on prediction and acting accordingly a lot of the time, but as their STAB moves already covered most of the tier, they were extremely limiting in both teambuilding and playing. Their reign of terror would not last for long, though.

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UU Beta Part 1: A Whole New World

UU beta soon arrived, and a select few threats did not last long, as the alpha had already shown several elements to be far too much for the metagame to handle. Mega Charizard Y and Kyurem-B were banned by the Tier Leaders immediately due to their inherent qualities, and Baton Pass also received the boot, as it had left significant impressions once again. It was ousted from the tier for largely the same reasons it was banned towards the end of ORAS: it created games solely won on match-up and was never inconsistent as a playstyle despite such a characteristic.

After this first round of bans, the meta really started to get rolling. Dragon-type spam was quite common, as Dragonite and Salamence were the biggest powerhouses in the metagame. Both could make use of Z-Fly to defeat most of their usual checks, and Dragonite especially was not reliant on it at all. Between its Choice Band set and its several Dragon Dance sets, people were playing guessing games as to how to take it on.

Another Pokémon that emerged as a threat was Weavile. Between the many popular Psychic-types, such as Starmie and Latias, and the many Flying-types, such as Thundurus and Tornadus-T, there were many targets for its Pursuit. Knock Off was, as always, spammable, and Ice Shard was a great revenge killing tool. All of these characteristics made it stand out despite its limited opportunities to switch in and its frailty, and they allowed it to dominate the meta. It was banned alongside Dragonite and Salamence.

As a result of this ban, Pokémon like Mega Absol and Zygarde-10% were seeing more usage. However, they were far inferior to their old counterparts, giving another spike in usage to Psychic-types, Mega Slowbro in particular. The typical Mega Slowbro check was Toxic, as its physical bulk allowed it to beat even Krookodile with ease. Slowbro also did not need its Mega Evolution to be effective in the early-game, so its access to Regenerator let it outlive most of its threats. Coupled with Shell Armor, the ability that replaced Regenerator upon Mega Evolution, Mega Slowbro was easy to set up safely late-game and served as an incredibly effective wincon in many games.

Even though Mega Slowbro was rather defensive in nature, most of the threats in the metagame were still offensive. Diggersby was not just hideously strong from the get-go, it also boasted a way to boost its power if it decided not to run a choice item, and possessed powerful STAB priority. Unlike other similarly strong Pokémon, it also sat at a a far better Speed tier, making it even harder to handle.

The most dominant force in the metagame was, without a doubt, Tornadus-T. The genie could run a multitude of sets, sporting an Assault Vest, a Life Orb, or no item to boost Acrobatics's Base Power. Between its coverage options, it could not be taken on safely, and had ample opportunities to switch into Pokémon such as Keldeo and Serperior. The latter also could be taken advantage of by Volcarona, which could could easily set up with Quiver Dance on large portions of the meta, and Z-Hurricane could take out the usual Bug-type checks. A Pokémon that could take advantage of standard Bug-type checks being gone, but was not reliant on it, was Scolipede. Even though Baton Pass was banned, it was still extremely strong, as its Swords Dance sets could easily clean teams.

Of course, Diggersby, Mega Slowbro, Scolipede, Tornadus-T, and Volcarona were part of the next banwave, and the meta changed drastically as a result. Gyarados now emerged as an overwhelming threat, and its Z-Bounce set was reminiscent of Dragonite's and Salamence's Z-Fly one. Serperior lost several viable checks in the past two waves of bans, as most of the bans were the Flying-types and Bug-types that could take it on. On top of that, with Mega Slowbro gone, Terrakion could freely punch holes in the tier, as there were very little Pokémon that could switch into its Close Combat, and the ones that could never appreciated Stone Edge. While these threats shaped the meta in the coming week, another threat that had been lurking in the back since the beginning of the beta showed its face.

Porygon-Z was initially in OU, as it had received some hype around its Z-Conversion set. As people realized it was not as good as they had initially theorized, the hype died down and it dropped to UU. Here, the Z-Conversion BoltBeam set received a similar hype at first and was far better than it had ever been. This hype died down a bit as people started preparing for it by using Pokémon such as Scarf Krookodile and Swampert, but it was still very effective. Additionally, other sets such as Z-Conversion with Shadow Ball, Z-Conversion with Dark Pulse, and Z-Conversion with Psychic and Psyshock were discovered, and they possessed completely different checks. As the tiering policy is to ban everything that is potentially broken and retest the Pokémon at a later time isolated from other potentially broken threats, the already strong BoltBeam set alongside its untapped potential pushed it over the edge. It was banned alongside Gyarados, Serperior, and Terrakion.

With Gyarados, another offensive Grass-type check had left the tier, which empowered Breloom and gave it a large boost in viability. With Spore, it could always put something to sleep, and its Swords Dance sets could break through any kind of defensive build. Additionally, its strong priority in Mach Punch allowed it to act as a revenge killer or clean weakened teams late-game. Another Pokémon that could also break stall and balance while having the ability to clean late-game was Thundurus-T, and it was far better at all of these roles than Breloom. Its Z-Thunderbolt boasted absurd strength, as it was even able to KO Blissey at +2 with very little chip damage, a feat that was easily achieved. With Stealth Rock on the field, this could also OHKO Electric-resistant Pokémon such as Amoonguss, allowing it to run Grass Knot in its last moveslot as opposed to Hidden Power Ice, which in turn let it deal with Ground-types such as Hippowdon more easily. While its Speed tier was only good, not great, Agility easily patched that up and let it run through offensive teams due to its absurd natural strength. Both Breloom and Thundurus-T were banned from UnderUsed due to their qualities.

The beta was nearing its end, yet there were still two threats deemed to be too much. Staraptor had been plaguing the tier, as its Reckless-boosted Brave Bird usually required prediction to deal with; between its Choice Scarf and Choice Band set, the way of handling the bird varied, and the only safe way of taking it on was Doublade. A Pokémon that required similar prediction to be taken care of was Victini. As its Choice Scarf, Choice Band, and mixed sets required different responses for the most part, the best way of taking it out involved resorting to Pursuit. Gigalith was commonly used as a check, but not only could it be worn down quickly, Grass Knot also heavily dented it.

During the latter half of January, Mewnium Z was released via an event. As Mew was residing in UU at the time, the Z-Crystal was legal for use. It boosted its offensive sets to new levels, as Genesis Supernova was not just a very strong move but also set Psychic Terrain. In Psychic Terrain, the power of Mew's Psychic was boosted to incredible levels, and with its coverage, it could tear many teams apart. It did not even need to use all of its slots on coverage thanks to Psychic's absurd strength, and moves like Rock Polish and Taunt still had merit, as they allowed Mew to take on offense or stall teams better. With such a deep impression left upon the tier, Mewnium Z was part of the last banwave, alongside Staraptor and Victini.

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UU Beta Part 2: OU's Dropouts

Not every Pokémon that was good was broken, of course. There are many more differences from ORAS UU, as Z-Moves now exist, allowing Pokémon such as Cobalion to shine with Z-Close Combat. Togekiss is now a part of the tier again after having spent most of Generation 6 in BL. It still does largely the same as what it did the previous generation by utilizing its stallbreaking capabilities and support options to shine. Just like Togekiss, Alakazam had also been banned from UU in ORAS, but is now back in the tier. Its Focus Sash set still allows it to blanket check many offensive threats and can stop many potential sweeps from occuring. A nifty new option for this set in Counter is now available, letting it KO many physical attackers such as Mega Aerodactyl. Alakazam's Life Orb set is also still very viable, as it turns it into a very strong wallbreaker.

Pokémon such as Scizor, Bisharp, Gliscor, Volcanion, Raikou, Gengar, and Latias, which were formerly in OU, dropped down. Scizor's natural bulk, typing, and access to Swords Dance and Bullet Punch, combined with its ability in Technician, let it excel at many different roles. With its sets ranging from a bulky Swords Dance sweeper to a strong Choice Band wallbreaker and a supportive Defog user, it is extremely versatile. Bisharp, on the other hand, shaped the meta with its Swords Dance and Pursuit sets. Its Swords Dance set can either wallbreak really well with Knock Off and Iron Head or clean up teams with Sucker Punch. Meanwhile, its Pursuit set can get rid of key threats such as Latias and allow other Pokémon to put in work.

Gliscor, like Togekiss, is oftentimes used as a stallbreaker, as Poison Heal not only allows it to stay healthy against weak foes but also makes it immune to other status. It can also run a Swords Dance set, which does not deal well with Unaware Pokémon like Quagsire but does let it perform better against offense. Lastly, it can serve as a utility Pokémon to set up Stealth Rock and pivot with U-turn. A Pokémon that profits from being brought in like that, and partners well with Gliscor, is Volcanion. Between its powerful STAB moves and its coverage, it is able to hit a large portion of the tier incredibly hard and can tear down many walls. Not only can it do that, it can act as a decent check to some incredibly threatening Pokémon such as Primarina. Usually, Primarina is checked more offensively, though, and Pokémon like Raikou do that well. Raikou's great Speed means it can gain momentum on a large portion of the tier via Volt Switch and, in conjunction with a partner using U-turn, quickly wear down opposing teams. It can also serve as a great wincon if it is running a Subsitute + Calm Mind set.

Only few Pokémon have stayed in OU for as long as they have existed, and one of the few that did was Gengar. It had finished every generation in OU, but in Generation 7, it lost one of its greatest tools. With the dawn of Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire, abilities were introduced, and Levitate blessed Gengar with an immunity to Ground-type attacks. However, this immunity was now removed, as Levitate had been replaced by Cursed Body. This was a devastating blow and led to Gengar's fall into UU. Here in this tier, it still performs largely the same role as it did in OU, as a special attacker with access to utility moves such as Taunt and Will-O-Wisp.

Not quite unlike, Gengar, Latias also offers a lot in terms of utility. Its typing equips it with several useful resistances, such as to Fighting- and Fire-type moves, and its resourceful movepool offers it many different options, including Defog, Roost, Calm Mind, Tailwind, and Healing Wish. Despite having so many support options, Latias is geared towards offense, and its combination of STAB moves allow it to threaten a significant portion of the tier. Sadly, all of this comes with one rather large weakness to Pursuit, and if Latias is the sole Fighting- or Fire-type check on a team, this weakness can be exploited rather easily.

With Bisharp and Scizor, Pursuit became a lot more commonplace, and one of the Pokémon that benefits from this the most is Keldeo. Once at the apex of ORAS OU, it now sits comfortably within UU. Many of its checks, such as Amoonguss, Celebi, and Latias, are part of the tier, and it has fit in nicely. Of course, its Choice Specs set is strong, but there are answers, and strong wallbreakers like Primarina can take advantage of it frequently. Water-types, in general, have been ubiquitous and are surely a metagame-defining force. Mega Sharpedo is a very good wallbreaker and arguably the best cleaner in the tier, while Mega Blastoise is as menacing as ever to balance teams. Starmie can be a bulky support Pokémon, or it can be an offensive spinner that defeats spinblockers like Gengar with ease. Swampert is still a great support Pokémon with its access to Stealth Rock and Roar, and its Ground typing allows it, as a Water-type, to block Volt Switch and deal with non-Hidden Power Grass variants of Raikou.

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Post UU Beta

Even after the beta stage, UU keeps taking shape. With the drop of Kingdra, rain became a problem. As no element on its own was broken and rain itself was not, Drizzle was identified to be the problem and banned. Thundurus was good on those kind of teams to spam Thunder and beat some of the standard rain checks, but its potential beyond that with Z-Moves and Nasty Plot was deemed too great. Lastly, Azumarill, which had been defining the metagame with its wallbreaking and cleaning prowess, was voted on again by the council and received the boot.

Going into the future, many of the banned Pokémon are going to be retested and potentially reintroduced into the tier. New innovations will keep popping up and carve their niche in the metagame. Of course, tier shifts are still going to occur, and some Pokémon may rise to OU while others drop to UU. The time ahead is going to be a lively one, and I believe it is one we can all look forward to. There are still many things we don't know, and many facets we have yet to uncover. Please look forward to the future, and if you are even a bit interested, try out the tier! Have fun and good luck!

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Puzzle Page

Welcome to the tenth edition of the Flying Press's Puzzle Page! Thanks to all of those who sent in their answers. Congratulations to Bartimaeus, who earned the most points last time for the previous set of puzzles! As usual, anyone who submitted correct answers has earned points on the brand-new leaderboard at the bottom of the page.

Thanks to all of the members of the puzzle team who helped out with the puzzles in this edition, including Conni and Level 51!

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Parameters

By using the /dexsearch command on Pokémon Showdown, find out which parameters match only the Pokémon listed. For example, say you are given these Pokémon: Bibarel, Bidoof, Pachirisu, Patrat, Raticate, Rattata, Smeargle, and Watchog. Even though all of them learn both Protect and Substitute, there are many other Pokémon that can as well, so the trick is to try to narrow down your options as much as possible. Parameters may include moves, abilities, tiers, generations, colors, and so on.

1. Crabominable, Crabrawler, Delibird, Mew, Smeargle (2 Parameters)
2. Meowth, Mime Jr., Mr. Mime, Persian, Roserade, Smeargle (2 Parameters)
3. Alomomola, Audino, Corsola, Gorebyss, Lickilicky, Lickitung, Milotic (3 Parameters)

Pokémon Countdown

Making again another return, Pokémon Countdown has a similar concept to anagrams in that letters in a term have to be unscrambled to make a Pokémon-related term, with each letter only being used as it appears in the original term. However, there are no definitive answers (there will likely be multiple), and not all of the letters are used. Your goal is to try to find the longest term possible with the given letters. For example, "Ban Tomb Gem" may contain the letters needed to form "Metang," but "Magnet Bomb" is a longer term and would therefore be a better answer. Categories may include Pokémon, moves, items, abilities, locations, and so on.

1. Aerodynamic Structure
2. Shadowy Adventures
3. Malasada Chomper

Cryptogram

In a cryptogram, every letter used in a message is replaced with a different letter. In order to solve it, you must determine what the original message is. The following phrase is a quote from a character in the main series Pokémon games. For example, a cryptogram of "VDWXQFR REBU AFRSUBKYTCA!" would unscramble to "Pikachu used Thunderbolt!", as each U in the original sentence is swapped for R, each E is swapped for B, and so on.

1. R'U TQZOYEBCYL HCMVCNB! R TU HCMVCNBROF! R TU BXC HCMVCNB MEYCM OV T HCMVCNB FCG GOMYJ!

What's that sprite? (NEW)

These images have been zoomed in from the sprites of several Pokémon-related images. Your aim here is to find out what the original picture is. For example, this:

is a cropped-out version of:

Sprites may include items, Trainer classes, and Pokémon and their formes.

1	2	3

Pokémon Link

In this puzzle, you must create a path from one Pokémon to the other identical Pokémon by drawing a continuous line. Each line must be either horizontal or vertical but can change directions wherever applicable. Every square in the grid must be filled, and lines cannot pass through other filled boxes or boxes with icons in them. Keep in mind that lines may not be created diagonally nor can boxes be filled without being part of the continuous line.

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Conclusion

The answers to the previous issue's puzzles will be posted here, and answers for this issue will be posted with the next issue. As usual, once you've completed one, some, or even all of the puzzles that this page has to offer, send your answers via a private message to Smogon's Flying Press on the forums (a Smogon account is required), with its title as "Puzzle Page: Volume 10". Good luck to all who dare to participate, and we'll see you again in a few weeks!

Leaderboard

1. Yellow Paint: 26 points
2. 6Infernapes: 23 points
3. Someoneelse: 23 points
4. Calm: 22 points
5. Axel Rouche: 21 points
6. Bartimaeus: 20 points
7. MaximumOptimizer: 16 points
8. Mowtom: 13 points
9. Saywhaat: 13 points
10. HikozaruYes: 12 points
11. EnemyJurist: 7 points
12. baconbagon: 6 points
13. {Pokémon_Vigilante}: 4 points
14. Aragorn the King: 3 points
15. Martin: 3 points

Answers

Answers to the previous puzzles:

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