np: UU Stage 1 - Changes

[Calloflochie]

Time for some CHANGES

Firstly, due to a ton of PS server downtime, there have been some concerns regarding the ongoing suspect tests. Here's how we plan to handle it:

The Scolipede test will continue into ORAS. This means Scolipede will simply remain on the ladder until the council does the first wave of votes.

Drizzle and Drought will also be voted on during ORAS, but their tests will be suspended until further notice. The council battles system did not have the effect we thought it would and we're still at the same level of information that we were before (as in we all /think/ they're broken, but with no new info).

Shadow Tag will be voted on relatively soon. Its effect has always been far more pronounced in high level battles anyway, so the council battles system actually works for this one.

Now, regarding the new releases:

Every new mega and tutor move that is given to anything that's currently legal in UU will be legal right off the bat, excluding Metagrossite. The reason Metagrossite is not being allowed is for a combination of reasons. The biggest reason being how well it's stats combine and the ridiculous power that its STAB moves have. 145 Attack with two STABs that benefit from Tough Claws means this thing has very limited switch ins. However, we will be holding 2-4 "potentially broken" votes in the course of the first month of ORAS (so expect a stable tier by the end of the year), just as we did during XY UU Beta.

For those of you who don't know how these work, it's as follows:

I initiate a PM conversation with the Council and Junior Council and ask them to nominate things to vote on, then once all the nominations are in, everything that received even a single nomination gets voted on by everyone, and those things which get a 50% or more vote to ban, get sent to BL to wait in line for their retest.

Now the fun stuff, along with the stuff ORAS will release into UU, we will also be releasing the following Pokemon from BL (which will also have to be nominated to be voted on during the "potentially broken" stage: Klefki, Staraptor, Volcarona, Salamence (Salamencite will be banned, however), and Togekiss.

So let it begin :] A new start for UU, I hope you all enjoy your stay :]

 

[rob.]

I'm really enjoying Mega-Altaria.

Mega Altaria is probably the most balanced mega-forme to come out of OR/AS and it's most likely the only mega-forme that will remain UU. Mega Altaria is really in a class of its own. Altaria already had the necessary tools to act as a decent utility, defensive, or supporting Pokemon. It lacked the typing to perform these roles at a high level and faced still competition from other Dragon-types, and as a result its regular forme was thrown into the depths of NU because of its inadequate offensive stats. Now Mega Altaria is back with an excellent Fairy typing and an incredible ability, Pixilate. It has the perfect movepool that allows it to take advantage of its new tools. I've run a few movesets so far -> DD Attacker, Bulky Special Attacker, Mixed Wall/Support and it has performed well in all of the previously mentioned roles. The DD set is pretty self explanatory, it really outclasses any of the Dragon-types in UU, there's really nothing more to it. Mega-Altaria definitely has the bulk and Speed to pull off a Bulky Attacking moveset well (basically Roost + 3 Attacks). The Bulky Attacking movset really adds another dimension to balanced teams because Altaria has a ton of resistances. The Cleric moveset will most likely be used by stall and semi-stall. It's Special Defense is a solid 339 and after a Cotton Guard boost Altaria's defense reaches 642. I don't know if there are many physical threats that can take this monsters down after that. Altaria has become a huge threat.

Potential M-Altaria Moveset(s):

Hide

Cleric:

Altaria-Mega @ Altarianite
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Roost
- Cotton Guard
- Heal Bell
- Return

Bulky Attacker:

Altaria-Mega @ Altarianite
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Def / 120 SpA
Modest Nature
- Roost
- Fire Blast / Earthquake
- Draco Meteor
- Hyper Voice

 

[Schpoonman]

Mega Metagross would be able to take down +3 Mega Altaria. Once again I find myself wishing I had Twitch emotes for general use.

We may see a rise in general Steel-type attackers, including Special Lucario and Flash Cannon Empoleon, if Mega Altaria really is that big of a threat. I'd say Magneton might also see a little usage, but I tried pairing it with Hone Claws Mega Metagross and it was nothing short of disappointing. Unfortunately, there's far fewer viable Poison-types to handle Altaria, since most of them are smoked by Return anyway or by Earthquake. Empoleon at least has some decent bulk and Lucario can run Bullet Punch.

 

[Mahmudkipz]

Idk you guys but I think Weezing has some potential in the current metagame, checking some new Megas like Beedrill/Lop/Altaria and with Haze it can stall out some bulky sweepers like Zygarde or Mega Sab. Also provides utility in Wisp/Tspikes, definitely a cool mon to check out in the ORAS meta.

 

[Sleepless]

a copy-paste of my former posts, trying to compile a list of prominent moveset changes.

Hide

Iron Head/Tail

Magic Coat

Knock Off + Play Rough

Synthesis, Heal Bell, Giga Drain

Drain Punch, Thunder Punch, Iron Head/Tail, Superpower, Zen Headbutt, Focus Punch

Iron Tail

Boomburst

Heal Bell, Earth Power

Pain Split, Foul Play, Drain Punch, all elemental punches

Drain Punch, Heal Bell

Knock Off, Drain Punch, Superpower, Gunk Shot, Focus Punch and all elemental punches

Outrage, Superpower, Iron Tail/Head, Zen Headbutt

Synthesis, Foul Play

Poison Fang

Giga Drain

Magnet Rise

Knock Off + Sticky Web

Spikey Shield

Stealth Rocks

level-up moveset additions :
( http://serebii.net/omegarubyalphasapphire/movesetchange.shtml )

Dual Chop

Dual Chop

Knock Off

Hurricane, Leaf Blade

 

[IronBullet]

Must say I'm really liking Mega Altaria too! That Fairy typing + Pixilate has given it a massive boost and apart from being a great sweeper it can now check many of the tier's top offensive threats along with several of the new Megas. Nothing much to add that Rob. hasn't already covered, but in my experience with it so far I have been using a bulky DD set with Roost. Return + EQ offers fantastic coverage in UU and even the Pokemon that resist the combination can't do much back to it, barring Bronzong (who checks a lot of the new Megas extremely well, I can see this guy definitely rising in usage). Its fantastic bulk also allows it to tank some super effective hits, for example it takes under 50% from Vaporeon Ice Beams while +1 Return easily 2HKOs back.

I agree it is one of the most balanced Megas in the new group, and with its fantastic typing, ability, and the number of roles it can perform it will definitely find itself in the top tier of UU.

 

[Pearl]

Well, I guess I'm going to ride the Mega Altaria hype train as well, although I'm not going to mention whether it's broken or not, as it's just too early to form a solid opinion (that and the fact that I've only started playing this tier seriously a couple of days ago, which means I'm probably lacking in experience)

The Dragon Dance sets, be it the bulkier variants with Heal Bell or the more offensively-oriented ones with Earthquake have an insane amount of set up opportunities on the likes of Hydreigon, some Zygarde, Knock Off-locked Krookodile, and probably some more other common Pokemon, which is pretty nice, mostly because it gives Altaria a lot of flexibility in its role, as it can simply act as a check against the opposing threats throughout instead of straight up attempting to sweep, which is something not many other Pokemon can brag about. I haven't really used the remaining sets in UU, but there's one that I would really like to give a try (and I haven't seen many people discussing it):

Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Agility
- Hyper Voice
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Pulse / Roost

The main issue is that its damage may be underwhelming without Draco Meteor or a Dragon Dance boost. However, it really screws up with people overloaded with checks to physical Mega Altaria and/or rely on Choice Scarf revenge killers to get past it (and it can tank Extreme Speed from the likes of Entei and Lucario if mildly healthy too). The last moveslot is sort of limited, because although Dragon Pulse doesn't offer that much coverage, it's not like Altaria has many other options. You can also use Tailwind > Agility if your team really benefits from it (especially if you're using Altaria with any other Dragon, be it Haxorus, Kyurem, Hydreigon, Dragalge, or the newly freed Salamence, although beefier sets will probably be better on that one).

Lastly, props for the amazing song choice (I actually suggested it for the RU NP thread LOL, but stuff)

 

[UU ALL DAY]

Of all the new BL mons back in the tier, do you think it's more manageable with more threats in the tier? Kind of insane seeing things with over base 120 speed the norm in uu,...

 

[Stef0w]

Mega metagross is life....

And with sceppy and beedrill I guess Im back to spamming Choice scarf :]

Anyways: gonn be sad to see the old XY metago, since I really liked it, but oh well....

 

[Ununhexium]

New thread :)

I haven't played much as of yet, but I'd like to say how much I'm loving Mega Gallade. Just for the sake of clarity, I'll post the set.

Gallade (M) @ Galladite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch

This thing makes such a fun sweeper to use. After a Swords Dance boost, Mega Gallade can OHKO or 2HKO almost the entire metagame. Close Combat is the obligatory STAB move with Knock Off for gerenal coverage against Ghost- and Psychic-types. I chose Ice Punch in the last slot to nail Gligar, but I may switch to Psycho Cut because it retains coverage on Nidoqueen as well as hitting fairies harder. That last slot is really nice to have with a movepool like Gallade's, because it can run a whole bunch of this. If your team has trouble with bulky Water-types, you can use Leaf Blade to nail them for super effective damage. I suppose if I find myself needing it, I could run Shadow Sneak, but I haven't really found a situation where that would be necessary.

 

[UU ALL DAY]

I can actually see Victini being healthy for the tier. The scarf set will be a pretty decent check to Mega scep, pidgeot, lopunny, and beedril. The mixed set I feel got a little bit better with mega-pert in the tier, since it will be one of the main reasons why rain teams exist in uu. Mega absol getting a buff, in addition to much faster mons (mega altaria etc) make it hard to run a dedicated wall breaking set since many of the mons have the power to keep victini from taking any more than 1 hit.

Other mon that could be good for the tier would be Volc. Bird spam is now real, it can at least speed tie scarf staraptor and scarf mence, but volc has the potential to keep mons such as beedrill from shreking teams with its typing and ability.

what are your guys thoughts?

 

[Patrick1088]

Calloflochie can I ask why Togekiss was unbanned? It was only tested like 2-3 weeks ago? I know the meta has changed with OrAs, but has the meta changed so drastically that it cant do its job still? Klefki and Volc i get (i guess raptor to an extent), but am curious about toge though.

 

[Stef0w]

The opposing Lucario used Bullet Punch!
It's super effective! Altaria lost 29.4% of its health!

EDIT: confirmed max att lucario XD

 

[Pinkin Lark]

Now the fun stuff, along with the stuff ORAS will release into UU, we will also be releasing the following Pokemon from BL (which will also have to be nominated to be voted on during the "potentially broken" stage: Klefki, Staraptor, Volcarona, Salamence (Salamencite will be banned, however), Magnezone

Yes.. yes... YES!! Time to run some Mega-Pidgeot/Staraptor birdspam.

and Togekiss

....Shit.

Anyways, I'd like to point out a Mega few people have probably even glanced at: Mega-Audino.

To be honest(and to the disagreement of a large number of people), I think Audino is a good pick in UU. While not the greatest mon in the world, 103/126/126 defenses give it incredible bulk; made even better with the addition of Fairy typing. Sure, the lack of a good ability does hurt it a bit (seriously GF, HEALER?!), it still looks to be a very reliable Cleric, able to set up Wishes on either side of the offensive spectrum pretty well. Running it with Defensive EVs allows it to even take on Wish against threats such as Mienshao, while still absorbing hits from Hydreigon. Not sure if it can take a +2 CC from Luc though(someone needs to revive the calc...).

Naturally, it does take away a more offensive Mega for your team, but UU is quite full of non-mega threats to fill that gap.

 

[Schpoonman]

I can confirm that Mega Audino is massive prick. I ran into one running a few days ago, basically right after the ladder was back up, and it switched in on a Life Orb Analytic Psyshock from Starmie and took about 40%. That's SCARY. It was also stuffing unresisted special attacks very well. This thing is a HUGE boon to stall teams and I'm not looking forward to dealing with it.

 

[Skankovich]

Not sure if it can take a +2 CC from Luc though(someone needs to revive the calc...).

Naturally, it does take away a more offensive Mega for your team, but UU is quite full of non-mega threats to fill that gap.

It definitely stomachs a +2 CC from Luc, it's physically bulkier than Hippowdon :O

It's a good mon but I see the main issue now being how good Mega Sableye is for stall. I've tried a few calm mind sets, and it hasn't done much work yet but I don't think I've been supporting it enough to work anyway.

It's dying for a move like SlackOff/Recover/Softboiled so it can free up a slot on CM for heal bell or fire blast/any of the surprisingly wide coverage it gets, or so it could fit something like thunder wave on a standard cleric set. Would also be great for it to get moonblast because it takes way to many boosts on CM for it to hit hard at all... it's a diamond in the rough, definitely. That bulk and typing alone is beautiful.

 

[dodmen]

Mega Sableye is indeed a huge benefit to Stall. A great part about it is that on the turn that you Mega, you have both Prankster and Magic Bounce so you can CM once on a forced switch, and then CM again as you mega evolve, making you at +2 with the defense boosts of its Mega form. At this point I'm fairly sure it's impossible for Florges to 2HKO. It's a great wincon for stall while also doubling as a Fighting check, status spreader, spinblocker, and discourages hazard stack from the opposing side. It's extremely threatening to balance and stall teams.

Florges definitely outclasses MAudino as a CM fairy, with Synthesis, a stronger STAB, and even access to Psychic if you want to forgo Aromatherapy. It also has the fighting resist that Audino doesn't, which is extremely important to a CM fairy. Audino is probably the better overall support mon though because of its bulk.

Confirming what IB said about Bronzong, it's simply fantastic.

Looking forward to Staraptor, I think it'll have a nice role in the metagame and I can't see it being broken at all.

Fuck Togekiss though.

 

[Pinkin Lark]

Just realized this in the UU chatroom, but Calloflochie, Magnezone is OU, not BL :P

Also, DEAR GOD CAN WE GET KISS OUT OF UU?! Played 3 games today, 2 had RachiKiss in it...

It definitely stomachs a +2 CC from Luc, it's physically bulkier than Hippowdon :O

It's a good mon but I see the main issue now being how good Mega Sableye is for stall. I've tried a few calm mind sets, and it hasn't done much work yet but I don't think I've been supporting it enough to work anyway.

It's dying for a move like SlackOff/Recover/Softboiled so it can free up a slot on CM for heal bell or fire blast/any of the surprisingly wide coverage it gets, or so it could fit something like thunder wave on a standard cleric set. Would also be great for it to get moonblast because it takes way to many boosts on CM for it to hit hard at all... it's a diamond in the rough, definitely. That bulk and typing alone is beautiful.

I haven't seen/messed with MSableye yet, so didn't know how good it was overall. I can see it good for stall, but it's a playstyle I try my best to avoid.

I do wish Audino got some form of Self-heal though. Would really make it a great CM user, especially since it has both Gleam and Hyper Voice for STAB(Y no Moonblast, GF?). I do enjoy it as my cleric choice, though. And good to know Luc can't drop it in a single hit.

 

[DiscoDucky]

Just realized this in the UU chatroom, but Calloflochie, Magnezone is OU, not BL :P

Also, DEAR GOD CAN WE GET KISS OUT OF UU?! Played 3 games today, 2 had RachiKiss in it...


I haven't seen/messed with MSableye yet, so didn't know how good it was overall. I can see it good for stall, but it's a playstyle I try my best to avoid.

I do wish Audino got some form of Self-heal though. Would really make it a great CM user, especially since it has both Gleam and Hyper Voice for STAB(Y no Moonblast, GF?). I do enjoy it as my cleric choice, though. And good to know Luc can't drop it in a single hit.

It gets wish protect.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Now the fun stuff, along with the stuff ORAS will release into UU, we will also be releasing the following Pokemon from BL (which will also have to be nominated to be voted on during the "potentially broken" stage: Klefki, Staraptor, Volcarona, Salamence (Salamencite will be banned, however), Magnezone, and Togekiss.

So let it begin :] A new start for UU, I hope you all enjoy your stay :]

Wait, you can't bring Magnezone back into UU...it is OU...

 

[Pinkin Lark]

It gets wish protect.

It does, but that takes up 2 slots, which a CM set isn't totally keen on sacraficing. Not to mention the Protect can be played around.

Also, anyone else checked out Mega Sharpedo? Total beast thanks to Strong Jaw letting it run Ice Fang over Ice Beam. Been using a typical Waterfall/Crunch/Protect set outside of that, allowing for the Speed Boost to provide some pre-mega setup.

 

[UU ALL DAY]

I can already say Bronzong is really good in the tier. It checks Sceptile, some lopunny, mega-altaria, crobat (which is being used to check beedril). It loses to bulky sweepers, but still.

I think the strongest mon in the tier is probably Mega-Altaria. It reminds me of volc, but just has amazing typing. I don't even care for fire types in the tier, because if you get mega-altaria in, it's very hard to beat it behind a sub.

Salamence isn't that great imo. It has a great movepool and stuff, but I feel its typing hinders it. It doesn't have bulk or priority like zygarde or the power like haxarous.

What do you guys use to check mega altaria?

 

[Skankovich]

Something neat about bronzong is that it synchronises really well with another up-and-coming mon in Dragalge, with Zong resisting ice, psychic, ground and dragon for dragalge while dragalge resists the fire types that zong struggles with. Pair it up with something that wishpass and deal with most dark and ghost types, like a fairy or umbreon, and you've got a solid core that can phase, set rocks and t spikes and nuke shit with dragalge.

Of course it's unfortunate that Hydreigon shits on the core, but since Dragalge is throwing out toxic spikes I find that Bronzong can fit protect into the set and make choiced dreigon switchins a liability :o

 

[Giometry]

I was just wondering if it were possible for Victini to be dropped down with this wave as well since it has some new friends to deal with (Mence, Altaria, Zyguarde) since its banning. It also checks a good number of the new Megas with its scarf set.

Can we please get the POS known as Togekiss out of here, it is so bloody powerful and bulky as fuck. Essentially a stronger bulkier Special MAltaria with access to nasty plot, tWave and hax galore, it also has insane versatility beating out even MAltaria. If MAltaria is being regarded as one of the tiers top mons, then this motherfucker is cancer.

I'm undecided on Klefki atm as I've almost always considered it to be cancer in the past, similar to Sableye in OU atm.
It is good to see Raptor and Mence rejoin the cast as I was always for Raptor Staying and on the fence for Mence (lol rhyming). It feels good to know that Mence will actually have a home outside of Ubers (because we all know that MegaCancer will get the banhammer in OU)

In terms of trends I see the rise of BirdSpam coming to the tier thanks to Pidgeot and Raptor (and as such a rise in Raikou to compensate). Dragon Spam will be a force to be reckoned with now that we have a whopping cast of: Mence, Haxorus, Altaria, Hydreigon, and ZGod (although OU will odds are take the great cloud from us)

All in all I'm excited to see how this meta evolves and look forward to playing it (as well as participating in the viability thread for once).

 

[Stef0w]

I can already say Bronzong is really good in the tier. It checks Sceptile, some lopunny, mega-altaria, crobat (which is being used to check beedril). It loses to bulky sweepers, but still.

I think the strongest mon in the tier is probably Mega-Altaria. It reminds me of volc, but just has amazing typing. I don't even care for fire types in the tier, because if you get mega-altaria in, it's very hard to beat it behind a sub.

Salamence isn't that great imo. It has a great movepool and stuff, but I feel its typing hinders it. It doesn't have bulk or priority like zygarde or the power like haxarous.

What do you guys use to check mega altaria?

Scarfrachi is still pretty awesome IMO, and ice punch mega Lupunny and gallade is also kinda cool. Scarf kiss could work too, maybe. Shoutout to durant, but nobody but me seems to use it :/

Mega Altaria is defo the best UU mon right now, versatile af, and has great stats all around, kinda reminds me of BW chomper, in that it's never useless, but isnt really broken despite it, at least IMO.