XY UU Beta Research Week #1

[Garchomp for president]

Alt: Garchomp for Ubers
Pokemon: Magnezone

Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Signal Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Ok so I did Specs Magnezone, and while being almighty powerful and all, it does have its drawbacks. It not very easy to Sweep with so its more of a Wallbreaker at best. With Analytic as its ability, you get a boost to Moves if you move last or the opponent switches. With that being said, it's going to take some hits if its going to do damage so Max Hp is optimal. You need to support Magnezone as best as you can if you want it to funtion properly. On a Side note, Magnezone is one of the best counters to Florges. Hidden Power Grass is for Taking care of Swampert, Quagsire, and Gastrodon, but also to further lower Magnezone's speed stat. Signal Beam is for Celebi, Latias, Various grass types. Gligar is a decent counterpart, but most Flying types are decent.

 

[YABO]

Ah damn, I didn't realize that this was a thing even though I was using a fresh alt yesterday.
Hopefully I can still participate on honor code? :)
Anyways alt if allowed is "Meeowiekins"
The poke I've been using on my team is Magnezone

The set I've been using is this

Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpAtk / 4 Spe
Nature: Modest
-Thunderbolt
-Volt Switch
-Flash Cannon
-HP Grass

Magnezone doesn't always do very much in my experience but when he does he is fantastic. I couple him with AV Tornadus-T who compliments him quite well. Zone provides a very strong Special Attacker with a great amount of bulk. Switching in on choice locked moves that you resist or just on weak unboosted moves allows for a massive hit on the switch to whatever. If they have a wall that checks Zone then Volt Switch provides a great way to maintain offensive momentum. Predicting ground type switches is pretty obvious most times so HP Grass destroys Quag, Gastro, and Pert. Max HP and Max SpAtk grant Magnezone the best chance to fire off his immensely powerful attacks and compliments analytic quite well. I run 4 Speed evs to be able to outrun Pert and kill with HP Grass. In my opinion, Zone works best as a bulky pivot switch with extremely powerful hits on switches alongside a method of maintaining great momentum. He can fit easily on Volt-Turn teams in need of some extra power as mine was.

Again, sorry for not posting earlier but regardless of if I can "win" or not, Magnezone is cool enough that I am glad to have used it.

 

[Magolor]

alt: Crappy Joke

Pokes: Exploud, Magnezone

Because Sticky Web I guess I'll have to go for Magnet Pull for Magnezone ugh. Never done Sticky Web in UU before though so this'll be interesting.

 

[jamashawalker]

40 Games logged so far with Milotic and Mega-Banette, with a rating of 1447 as of this post.

Basically just confirming my original thoughts on the matter; Mega-Banette is amazing once it gets going, providing a ridiculously versatile tool in (I'd assume) any team's Arsenal. Taunt / Will-o-Wisp / Destiny Bond / Knock Off is the best moveset that I've used so far; other, more gimmicky sets that I experimented with were a Toxic Staller with Protect / Substitute / Destiny Bond / Taunt that used Substitute to lower its own HP so that it would ensure that the next attacker would KO it, and drag it down with Destiny Bond, and a RestTalk set with Will-o-Wisp and Knock Off.

M-Banette has the potential to be amazing at any stage of the game, and fully invested in HP and SpDef has a surprising amount of bulk. Some replays that M-Banette was instrumental in;

http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/uubeta-90690926 (ignore the chat)
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/uubeta-90709710
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/uubeta-90714739

Milotic has far exceeded my expectations; Competitive is very, very good, and its bulk makes it more than able to utilise it. Milotic's inherent Special Defenses allow it to survive even powerful super-effective hits, meaning that Milotic can come in on even Zapdos's Defog, survive the Thunderbolt and fire off a devastating Ice Beam. She's able to switch into Darmanitan or Victini for days, and even without leftovers her recovery is no joke.

She does have immense difficulty bypassing Chansey and Empoleon, however, and Dragon Tail seems like her best option against both if there are still Pokemon that she can clean up with her +2 Ice Beams and Scalds, so pairing her with Pokemon that can deal with those Special walls seems essential.

Some replays wherein Milotic did some good work.

http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/uubeta-90652375
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/uubeta-90657428

Ignore my occasionally terrible play, I'm pretty bad at this game :P

I LoLed at the first game with the guy's rage. But these videos are some great gameplay of milotic. What's the EVs and nature of that milotic?

 

[Mazz]

I'd like to point out that due to this being a per-week project, that the sign-up period is now over, and that the current research week closes on Thursday at 10:30pm MST (Friday 12:30am EST), but the thread shall remain open for extra discussion until the following Saturday.

Good luck to anyone still laddering, and I hope to see an increased spike in discussion too!

 

[1withthebutterfly]

I LoLed at the first game with the guy's rage. But these videos are some great gameplay of milotic. What's the EVs and nature of that milotic?

Aww, thanks man.

And the set is super simple. Like, so simple that I got Showdown to do it for me.

Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Scald
- Dragon Tail

Milotic's bulk has proven to be super real, and Competitive allows her to beat Mega-Manectric one on one if conditions are right. If M-Manectric is looking to Mega Evolve and use Flamethrower/Overheat, Milotic can switch in and grab that tasty +2 SpAtk. If M-Manectric uses Volt Switch on the Mega-Evolution turn, Milotic is not only going to survive it and get +2, but she's also going to get another +2 when it switches back in. With Recover and Lefties, Milotic can keep herself from falling into OHKO range, and that definitely leaves the damage calcs in her favour;

252 SpA Mega Manectric Volt Switch vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Milotic: 194-230 (49.2 - 58.3%) -- 64.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Mega Manectric Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Milotic: 252-296 (63.9 - 75.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 0 SpA Milotic Scald vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mega Manectric: 207-244 (73.6 - 86.8%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes

Furthermore, a large chunk of the S/A Rank Threats can't beat Milotic one on one, or if they can they're taking severe damage for their trouble. All the Defoggers in the tier, even Zapdos, get beaten by Milotic if it switches into their Defog.

Hide

252 Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Milotic: 153-181 (38.8 - 45.9%) -- 87.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock, 1 layer of Spikes, and Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Victini Bolt Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Milotic: 296-350 (75.1 - 88.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Milotic Scald vs. -1 0 HP / 4 SpD Victini: 258-306 (75.6 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Milotic: 113-133 (28.6 - 33.7%) -- 98.2% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Milotic Scald vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Darmanitan: 276-326 (78.6 - 92.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

252+ Atk Choice Band Entei Sacred Fire vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Milotic: 103-122 (26.1 - 30.9%) -- 8% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Entei Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Milotic: 138-163 (35 - 41.3%) -- 75.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Milotic Scald vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Entei: 218-260 (58.6 - 69.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Hawlucha High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Milotic: 154-183 (39 - 46.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Hawlucha Sky Attack vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Milotic: 166-196 (42.1 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Milotic Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Hawlucha: 190-224 (63.7 - 75.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252 SpA Mega Houndoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Milotic: 229-270 (58.1 - 68.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Milotic Scald vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Houndoom: 188-224 (64.3 - 76.7%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Chandelure Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Milotic: 80-95 (20.3 - 24.1%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
252 SpA Chandelure Energy Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Milotic: 176-208 (44.6 - 52.7%) -- 22.3% chance to 2HKO
0 SpA Milotic Scald vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Chandelure: 188-224 (72 - 85.8%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Zapdos Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Milotic: 236-282 (59.8 - 71.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 0 SpA Milotic Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 282-334 (87.5 - 103.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Latias Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Milotic: 99-117 (25.1 - 29.6%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 SpA Latias Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Milotic: 156-184 (39.5 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+2 0 SpA Milotic Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Latias: 206-244 (68.2 - 80.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

4 Atk Crobat Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Milotic: 100-118 (25.3 - 29.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
+2 0 SpA Milotic Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Crobat: 312-368 (83.4 - 98.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 0 SpA Milotic Scald vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD (Roost) Crobat: 207-244 (55.3 - 65.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery

0 SpA Mew Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Milotic: 81-96 (20.5 - 24.3%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
+2 0 SpA Milotic Scald vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mew: 124-147 (30.6 - 36.3%) -- 59.3% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Life Orb Tornadus-T Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Milotic: 173-204 (43.9 - 51.7%) -- 9.8% chance to 2HKO
0 SpA Milotic Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tornadus-T: 142-168 (47.4 - 56.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252+ Atk Zygarde Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Milotic: 151-178 (38.3 - 45.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Milotic Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 272-320 (75.9 - 89.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

M-Banette is still awesome when it gets to safely Mega-Evolve, nearly worthless when it doesn't. My assessment of it hasn't changed much, I still think its a worthwhile Pokemon, but probably isn't good enough to break into A-Rank.

NOTE: Haven't been on the ladder much recently, my little brother got me super sick. Bit too feverish to be playing Pokemon properly high on the ladder.

 

[jamashawalker]

I know im not a part of this research week. but this is still a great replay of how good Analytic Magnezone is

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uubeta-91930712

The sheeer power

 

[DopestDope]

So here's my progress right now with Exploud.

My first impression is that the fucker hits like a truck with a 59.8% chance to 2hko Florges after rocks (and has a guarenteed 2hko on the defensive variant after rocks). Here's some other calcs:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Exploud Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 175-207 (52.3 - 61.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Exploud Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Swampert: 250-295 (61.8 - 73%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Exploud Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Slowbro: 355-418 (90.1 - 106%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Exploud Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Suicune: 262-309 (64.8 - 76.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Exploud Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Blastoise: 261-307 (72 - 84.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Exploud Boomburst vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Latias: 235-277 (77.8 - 91.7%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Choice Specs Exploud Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Reuniclus: 339-399 (79.9 - 94.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Exploud Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Umbreon: 204-240 (51.7 - 60.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

etc.

The only problem I'm having with it, though, is that it's pretty slow. It's outpaced by most of the tier and in addition is not very capable of taking a hit. If anything, I'd say it's a wallbreaker that can catch special walls off guard by 2hko'ing them on a switch in. I haven't tried a choice scarf set because it would just cut it's power nearly in half and I like being able to hit things super hard that don't expect it.

 

[Arkian]

Alright so I have finished laddering (played 35 battles) and ended up with an Elo of 1442 with a w/l of 27-7-1 (not the best, I know ;-;). Here is the proof and the sets I used for my two research week Pokemon (Gardevoir and Milotic).

proof

sets

Gardevoir @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- Psyshock
- Trick
- Focus Blast

Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Relaxed Nature
- Recover
- Scald
- Dragon Tail
- Ice Beam

And now for my thoughts on each of the research Pokemon:

Gardevoir turned out to be a pretty good Scarfer. A nice base 125 Special Attack stat meant that it could more often than not revenge kill quite a lot of offensive Pokemon with just a little bit of prior damage. It also had an excellent typing that let it switch in on common Dragon- and Fighting-type attacks. What I found myself doing a lot of the time was luring in a special wall like Chansey or Florges and crippling them with Trick. This was definitely the main draw of using Gardevoir over some of the other Scarfers in the tier, since an Eviolite-less Chansey or a Choice Scarf Florges was much easier for my team to deal with. This unfortunately meant that I could no longer keep using Gardevoir as a revenge killer, which kinda sucked since I Tricked my Scarf onto the opposing wall fairly early in the game. Even without a Choice Scarf, Gardevoir performed well, since its great Special Defense and typing gave it switch-in opportunities and let it deal a nice chunk of damage to a lot of Pokemon. The only problem I had with Gardevoir was its incapability of taking physical hits and below average Speed tier. The latter was the main issue, as a Scarfer needs to be something that can revenge kill even boosted threats, which I found to be a hard task to do since it had no chance of taking on +1 Haxorus, a common and extremely dangerous threat in the current metagame. Lastly, I found that Gardevoir was actually pretty vulnerable to Life Orb Hydreigon, since Dark Pulse actually 2HKOes it, which really sucked since Fairies are supposed to completely counter Hydreigon in every way. Overall, I found Gardevoir to be a nice Scarfer, but not one without its flaws (Trick is really nice to have though!).

Much to my surprise, Milotic was an excellent Pokemon in the current metagame. While it is commonly overshadowed by the likes of Slowbro, Suicune, and Vaporeon as a bulky water, it is the only one packing the combination of phazing, great mixed bulk, reliable recovery, and an excellent ability in Competitive to compliment its good Special Attack stat. Milotic could easily come in on common Defoggers like Latias (and even Zapdos) and do a huge chunk of damage to them. Against, Latias, Milotic would always win unless it was a Calm Mind variant, which Milotic would just Dragon Tail out, and against Zapdos, Milotic would switch in on a Defog, take a Thunderbolt, and proceed to hit back very hard with a +2 Ice Beam. More often than not, Milotic would be forced out afterwards, but it would still have done a shitton to Zapdos. Unfortunately, Competitive is the only real advantage it has over the very similar Vaporeon, who has almost the same mixed bulk, phazing in Roar, a nice Special Attack stat (although lack of space for Ice Beam sucks) and reliable recovery in Wish. It is also worth noting that Vaporeon is a better team supporter since it can Wish pass and spread Toxic, something that Milotic can't do (it can spread Toxic, but it really needs all of Recover / Scald / Ice Beam / Dragon Tail). Overall, I found Milotic fairly similar to the other bulky Waters, but Competitive gave it enough to differentiate itself and establish a useful niche.

Those were my thoughts for the two research Pokemon I chose. I might also post about Mega Banette and Magnezone, since I had used them extensively even before this research week began. But until then, this is it :)

 

[termi]

Been laddering to decent success.
View attachment 9893

Magnezone set I have been using:

Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 92 Spd / 252 SAtk / 160 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Grass]

EVs allow him to hit as hard as possible, outspeed AV Metagross by a few points in order to ensure that Magnezone KOs before it can return fire and to still be bulky (4 SpD EVs went in there so that Magnezone can switch into SR once more I guess? idk it's unrealistic but why the hell not). Slapped this on a VoltTurn team (with AV Tornadus-T, they truly do perform well together) and time and time again I've been stunned by the damage output of this thing. Generally I found that once it comes in on something, it forces shit out so easily that making the correct prediction isn't hard at all, and it can switch in on plenty of things so that's no problem. Unlike what most people tend to say, it rarely let me down, as it could get a kill or two every match and usually dent shit heavily in the process. What's more, it's one of the few special attackers that can break through Florges (as well as switch in on it), and considering my team struggled with that annoying shit it really did a good job in that regard as well. Great fuckin Pokemon.

 

[Mazz]

Just another friendly reminder to all taking part in this week's challenge; the research week itself ends in seven and a half hours. Once 1030 MST rolls around you will no longer be able to submit your ladder rankings and have them count to the standings. Please post your rankings within that time span.

Discussion within this thread however will remain open until Saturday afternoon.

 

[Grimey]

I basically took the same approach as Robert Alfons with Magnezone, as it doesn't have many options to begin with and as a result, I pretty much repeat everything said and displayed in this topic.

Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 132 Spd / 252 SAtk / 124 HP
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Grass]

EV'd to creep Metagross that run enough speed to outrun Florges AND the few Metagross that run enough speed to outrun Metagross that outruns Florges (say that ten times fast, haha) capping said Metagross at 188 Speed and my Magnezone at 189.

I played this in a Volt-Turn core (alongside Scarf Darmanitan to threaten opposing Grass Types) aimed to abuse Crocune and SD Toxicroak, and it was absolutely phenomenal. 252+ Choice Specs Volt Switch severely dents every Pokemon that isn't completely immune or resists it. Choice Specs Flash Cannon reliably 2HKO's Florges which is absolutely phenomenal as Magnezone becomes both a check and counter to Florges if your team is Florges weak. Hidden Power Grass is phenomenal as it hits Hippowdown hard, OHKOs most Swampert, Gastrodon etc while still providing a safe play/way to answer [INSERT WATER POKEMON] if your opponent has [INSERT VOLT ABSORB POKEMON/GROUND TYPE] that they COULD switch to.

Overall, I had trouble fulfilling sufficient roles with Magnezone that weren't this set, labeling it close to the best set imo. The only things that can completely shut down this set are Lightning Rod Manectric (one time switch-in assuming they Mega after switching in), and Chansey which can be Volt-turned on. Even Manectric takes some serious damage from an Analytic 252+ Flash Cannon and as a result becomes almost entirely crippled..

252+ SpA Choice Specs Analytic Magnezone Flash Cannon vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Manectric: 211-249 (74.8 - 88.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Magnezone's number one asset to me was evidently to threaten out slower mons and as a result, completely bulldoze whatever comes in to take the hit or KO the mon its supposed to be scaring out. Conclusion; slow but scary!

[I was quite busy and forgot to ladder on the account I specified in this topic so I hope this account can be used instead - and I know it has a pretty awful record but it has like 10 losses from disconnects and myself testing gimmicks respectively so yeah]

 

[Mazz]

Alright, got to this late, but the submission portion of this research week is now closed. I'll sort through the rankings prior to Saturday and determine our winner then. That said, discussion remains open until Saturday afternoon.

Alright, this week is officially over! Check here for the next installment!