SM UU Beta (Mewnium Z, Staraptor, Victini banned)

[Sacri']

Hey there, with today's bans I've decided to make a new team and ladder up a bit. Ended up with a pretty decent 34-4 record so I thought I would share some of the interesting toys I've used.

Victini @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- U-turn
- Bolt Strike
- Trick/Zen Headbutt

I haven't used Scarf Victini since 7G has started and I honestly didn't expect it to be so effective. It outspeeds basically everything but Scarf Terrakion and it revenge kills both Gyarados & PZ (after a bit of prior damages) which is really important right now. It checks Scizor quite well which is also really important. Some other fun things I've noticed when using it: Sucker Punch's nerf means that Bisharp can't OHKO which is always fun, Victini's overall great bulk allows it to live hits even at -1 including stuff like Scarf Thundurus-T's Tbolt. V-create is overall really spammable right now considering that most waters type are offensive, Aero can be a bit annoying if it's at full but other than that it's just a 50/50 which means Aero could lose by clicking Pursuit unless it's already really low.

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 164 SpD / 96 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Defog
- Air Slash
- Thunder Wave

Relatively straightforward Defog Togekiss, needed a hazard remover that wouldn't drop to dark types so it immediatly came to mind. It's just as obnoxious as I expected it to be, T-Wave supports the team and paired with Air Slash & Togekiss's great bulk it is extremely annoying to deal with for many offensive teams. I chose to run SpeDef because dealing better with Starmie & Keldeo was more important for the team but I'm sure a physical def variant to beat Sharpedo and Zydog could work well too. Speed is to outspeed Modest Primarina.

Also tested CM Latias & DD Taunt Gyara, both worked really well but both sets have already been mentioned here enough so I won't develop on those. Overall rather happy with the bans that have just happened, the tier feels less stacked with threats already which is greatly appreciated in the sense that I don't feel forced to run straight offense on every teams anymore.

 

[Gorechomp]

Agree with most of the bans except Torn. Would really like a replay showing just how broken it is but whatever. Now that Torn and Volcarona are gone, I can't help but feel Serperior is next. Its contrary Leaf Storm is great at late game sweeping and wearing done its checks. Its only real counter is Crobat but for some reason people have stopped using it as much, so Serp is even more dangerous than it was in ORAS imo. The set I've had the most success with is:

Serperior @ Miracle Seed/ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Giga Drain
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Leaf Storm is self explanatory, HP Fire takes out steel types, Giga Drain allows for health recovery and has more PP than LS, and DP takes out Dragons, namely Latias. Pretty scary at the moment.

 

[UU ALL DAY]

Really surprised Torn was banned. Never had any trouble with it personally, but I have seen people use it to great effect, especially since it has a set to be a real pain for any type of team. Mega Bro definitely had to go. A lot of people were running CM + Slack off, but I was using it kind of like CroCune, RestTalk to be a status absorb-er and to prevent toxic from beating a sweep. The fact that it has insane physical bulk, good defensive typing, and scald really made it a go to water type. Volc and Diggersby were also two heavy hitters, tho I feel like Volc was definitely more of an issue to most teams. One free set up and it's over. Diggersby was also a big problem, but I feel like the slow-ish speed stat, weakness to some common priority (aqua jet, mach, vacuum), made it rather manageable. Not complaining at all that these were banned.

Really surprised Serp and Terrak weren't banned. Terrak is just retardedly good with any of its set. It has a good choice scarf set, amazing CB set, SD or RP, sash, or Rock-Z, even double dance is great because of its dual stab. Serp is something that will probably be even better now, since Torn and Volc are gone. Its ability just makes it really great. Glare is also OP.

Not gonna comment on the other bans, everyone saw it coming. Thinking the next round of bans might include Terrak and Azu, but who knows! What do you guys think will be banned? What got better after these bans>?

 

[HotFuzzBall]

Serperior also got even better with the bans. More checks being gone (Volc, Scolipede and Tornadus-T) and also the early bans of Weavile, Zard-Y, Kyurem-B and Dragonite are just going to boost Serperior's viability even further. I was surprised that UU still retained Serperior since it was pretty hard to deal with even when Volcarona and Tornadus-T were still in the tier. Hopefully, Serperior will move back to OU/BL during round 4 of the bans.

Also as previously mentioned, with Diggersby gone, Staraptor will definitely be a lot stronger considering we have some powerful Grass-types such as Celebi, Serperior and Breloom running around.

 

[Rcheez]

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankuubeta-517444321 hence it should be OU. How they even considered it for UU I have no idea tbh... defiant = broken, base 125 Attack with access to SD and STAB Sucker Punch so game breaking. Look at the last few turns, my point exactly. Also Porygon Z? It literally has a Z in its name. How could you not see this was a bad decision from the start. Eh, at least the rest were acceptable...

 

[Gorechomp]

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankuubeta-517444321 hence it should be OU. How they even considered it for UU I have no idea tbh... defiant = broken, base 125 Attack with access to SD and STAB Sucker Punch so game breaking. Look at the last few turns, my point exactly. Also Porygon Z? It literally has a Z in its name. How could you not see this was a bad decision from the start. Eh, at least the rest were acceptable...

Sorry but this proves nothing. Beating a extremely dark weak team with a dark type is a poor example of it being broken. There are plenty of things in the tier (Hippowdon, Conk, Chesnaught, etc) who can more than handle Bisharp.

PZ, while much more threatening than Bisharp, is also quite managable by common walls (Swampert being a prime example) and should be given more time in the meta before deciding whether it should be banned or not.

 

[dhelmise]

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankuubeta-517444321 hence it should be OU. How they even considered it for UU I have no idea tbh... defiant = broken, base 125 Attack with access to SD and STAB Sucker Punch so game breaking. Look at the last few turns, my point exactly. Also Porygon Z? It literally has a Z in its name. How could you not see this was a bad decision from the start. Eh, at least the rest were acceptable...

wow that's really great reasoning "this pokemon uses a z-move and has z in its name and should therefore be banned" or "wow this pokemon has base 125 attack lets ban this as well"

You really cannot believe that Porygon-Z and Bisharp are banworthy. For Bisharp, there's a plethora of Pokemon to easily take care of it, such as Bewear. With Fluffy, Bewear isn't even 3HKOed by any of Bisharp's attacks, and at +2, it isn't even 2HKOed. Bewear can also force out Bisharp easily, and even if it isn't forced out, it is KOed by Fighting-type STAB.

I'm not going into Porygon-Z purely because Gorechomp covered it above, but don't forget that on top of your team being really weak to Dark-types, you also use some pretty bad Pokemon in Dhelmise, Zoroark, and Dusclops.

 

[Yuelia]

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankuubeta-517444321 hence it should be OU. How they even considered it for UU I have no idea tbh... defiant = broken, base 125 Attack with access to SD and STAB Sucker Punch so game breaking. Look at the last few turns, my point exactly. Also Porygon Z? It literally has a Z in its name. How could you not see this was a bad decision from the start. Eh, at least the rest were acceptable...

Well, first off, tiers aren't decided by viability. They're decided by usage, hence the names (OverUsed, UnderUsed, et cetera). The fact that Bisharp is UU doesn't mean some arbitrary tiering council decided to put it here, it means people weren't using it in OU enough to be there by usage. And that's all it means.

That aside, your replay was just...not very good. Neither you nor your opponent played particularly well. Here's a quick list of all the things I noticed that were wrong with that replay:

L - Not switching Alolan Ninetales into Hydreigon on turn one and leaving your Silvally to get nuked.
L - ...And why are you using Silvally-Flying in the first place, anyway? There are so many better pivots and Flying-types. True, it's rare to find a mon that's both, but it doesn't do either of those roles well. If you want a Parting Shot pivot, try Persian-A, it's faster and (with Fur Coat) bulkier.
R - Dusclops. In literally any context, this is a terrible mon. Massive set-up bait to anything worth anything, no recovery, one Knock Off and it's useless, oh and it's weak to Knock Off. It doesn't even spinblock effectively, since everything that spins has ways to keep up momentum even with it sitting there.
L - Using Ninetales to try and beat down said Dusclops. Its role isn't to sweep, it's to set up Aurora Veil and get the hell out.
L - Lum Berry on said Ninetales when it has so many better items it could be running. Light Clay to make its niche much stronger, or Focus Sash if you're terrified of Scizor, are just two quick examples. Ninetales doesn't care much about status outside of paralysis, and you already have a bulky Ground-type for that.
R - RidiculouslyObviousZoroark.png
R - Switching Hydreigon into a +6 Bisharp, when it was the only mon capable of stopping said Bisharp had they switched it in after a kill.
R - Not using Destiny Bond with their Mismagius when you had no reason to set up any further.

And that's just from a quick glance. I could break this down even further, but you get the idea.

There's a reason we don't generally allow low-ladder replays to be used as arguments on the viability rankings threads (and considering you both started the game at 1000, that replay definitely qualifies as low-ladder). 99 times out of 100, when newer players think something is "broken", it's just that they haven't yet learned how to deal with said thing. That's true for basically any competitive game under the sun, and Pokemon is no exception.

All of that aside, I encourage you to keep playing the game and learning how to deal with the good mons in the tier. Everyone starts somewhere, and it's okay to not know how to deal with things or what's good in the tier. Battling 101 is a thing, there are plenty of good people here who will teach you how to play the game much better. Best of luck in your endeavors :)

 

[JoarAddamNessosin]

Do you think gengar is any good? If it is, what is the best set? Fightinium Z could work, patches up the bad accuracy of focus blast. Ghostium Z could also work, as could life orb and black sludge sets.

Maybe not the best set but my favorite is
Sub/disable/shadowball/sludgewave+ blacksludge 252/252 spA/spe+

 

[Eyan]

Alright, so now that we're hopefully done beating down on a bad replay and post, something Gorechomp posted caught my eye.

PZ, while much more threatening than Bisharp, is also quite managable by common walls (Swampert being a prime example) and should be given more time in the meta before deciding whether it should be banned or not.

I'll just say that yes Porygon-Z will get more time in this meta before the chances of it getting banned are revisited, whether we like it or not. That said, I do think that the potential of Porygon-Z really has not been explored all that much yet this gen.

The most common set right now is the Thunderbolt / Ice Beam / Recover / Conversion. That set on its own is pretty monstrous, easily wrecking and wiping the floor with unprepared teams. Contrary to what a lot of people have been saying, especially on Showdown, it's not that hard to find chances to set up in practice, even against offense. 80 / 75 / 70 bulk isn't great but it's good enough for an offensive pokemon, and between the change in typing (which works for stuff like Bullet Punch from Scizor), use of Recover, and the boosts in its defenses, it's quite a force to be reckoned with that's not easy to take down. People have started to adapt to this set right now though, running stuff like Swampert, Gastrodon, Blissey or Quagsire if you're running a fatter team, which do fit to beat other threats too, among other softer checks.

That's pretty much where the unexplored potential stems from. A lot of players right now are either mainly preparing for or have only used the Z-Conversion Electric-type Porygon-Z, which does seem to make things manageable. This isn't a jab at the playerbase being bad or w/e btw. Z-Conversion Ghost-type is also really good, and it pretty much destroys the main checks to the Electric-type variant. Being weak to Sucker Punch kinda sucks but being immune to both Extreme Speed and Mach Punch is cool. There are also more interesting Z-Conversion sets that I've seen people use:

Porygon-Z @ Normalium Z
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 68 HP / 252 SpA / 188 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Conversion

AFAIK, Hikari came up with this moveset and GrilledClawitzer tweaked the EVs for this. This set is basically designed to decimate stall in the current meta. STAB Adaptability Psychic-type moves that can hit both from the physical and special side is insane, and HP Fire is there for things like Forretress. Disclaimer that this set is not actually some new god set, it's actually kinda bad overall but it does what you want it to do (ct-ing stall:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankuubeta-517584730 shoutouts Killintime for making this) if you're really bent on it. All in all, it's just an example of the unexplored stuff that Porygon-Z can run, which is a large part of why it's so good, nothing more.

Z-Conversion aside, I've been trying out old stuff, mainly specs, on Porygon-Z just to see how it'd work out. This basically capitalises on what people tend to expect from it at this point (Electric type set) and nukes the incoming switchin with Tri Attack. Logically speaking, you'd try to scout before hard a switching into your Swampert or w/e, but Z-Conversion is such a threat that people don't seem to think that through, which is the biggest reason why it's been working. Personally, I do think Porygon-Z is busted and it probably will be more obvious whether that is the case given time, but while it's around, it's undeniable that there's a bunch of aspects that have been neglected and as such opinions don't really line up too well. Interesting to see how this shapes up though.

I've gone on about PZ long enough, so now back to other stuff.

Krookodile @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

This set isn't anything new. Scarf Krookodile has been a thing since BW, so this isn't an innovation or anything. I've just had a ton of fun and managed to make good use of this in my time playing the beta. I do miss the utility with Rocks / Taunt Krook but Scarf Krook is nice considering it checks some annoying Electric-types in the tier like Raikou and Thundurus (not really for Thundurus-Therian since those tend to run Scarf themselves, unless it's already locked into an Electric-type move). Raikou, of course, flat out goes down to Earthquake, whereas Thundurus takes about 90% min from Stone Edge. Stone Edge OHKOs Gyarados after rocks as well which is nice in a pinch. Scarf Krook also helps to check and/or Pursuit trap the numerous Psychic-types in the tier right now thanks to the speed tier it hits with scarf, such as Victini, Starmie, Latias, Gengar, and Alakazam (i know this is RU alpha right now but still). It's also worth mentioning that it just needs a tiny bit of chip to secure the guarantee OHKO with Earthquake against +1 Def Electric PZ, which isn't hard at all considering the nature of PZ setting up. Ghost PZ is definitely more annoying since Knock Off does jackshit against it when it essentially has no item in the calcs. I guess you could run Crunch over Stone Edge to do 70% min to that but it's probably not worth it over Stone Edge. The biggest issue I've had with this is how easy it is to exploit as setup fodder, especially if you're locked into Pursuit. At that point, you're basically a free Belly Drum for Azumarill. Scarf Keldeo and Terrakion being used so much doesn't help it either, so make sure to keep those in mind.

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 Spa / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Knock Off
- Grass Knot
- Superpower / Hidden Power [Ice]

I've been really loving Thundurus right now. I alternate between Raikou and this a lot to be honest. With a solid speed tier and a bunch of coverage options, picking a switchin for this isn't the easiest. Knock Off is good overall utility and is nice for crippling random scarf users like the aforementioned Scarf Krook. It also OHKOs Latias without bulk investment if it switches into a Thunderbolt, and I suppose does well against Celebi too. I find Grass Knot a definite staple on this now considering it hits Hippowdon and Swampert, two pretty prominent Stealth Rock users atm, amongst other things. Superpower can be nice to hit Blissey and hits Raikou harder than any other move on this set (unless you run Focus Blast on mixed Thundurus for some reason). That said, I barely ever needed it so I just ran HP Ice on it instead which is good for nailing Gliscor and offers something solid to hit Breloom. Overall, it's pretty difficult to find an actual solid counter, especially when you consider the possibility of a Nasty Plot set that's also good, and that your opponent won't know right off the top of bat which you are.

 

[Moutemoute]

Volcanion @ Grassium Z
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Steam Eruption
- Solar Beam
- Sludge Bomb

Idk if someone talk about that one but Grassium Z Volcanion is a very interresting Pokémon in SM UU. The Grassium Z allows him to just nuke Water type with whom he struggles (that include CM Suicune, Blastoise-Mega, Tentacruel, Alomomola and guarentee the OHKO on Primarina.. that was very usefull when Slowbro-Mega was in UU, RIP HIM). It's like Heatran in OU (with Magma Storm and Grassium Z Solar Beam).
You can run Timid nature too, it's viable.

 

[PShine]

Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Icy Wind

Pony is arguably one of the best revenge killers in the meta. Most Scarfers or Pokémon with ways to boost speed (such as Porygon-z and Sharpedo) are slower than Keldeo at +1 speed, meaning he can revenge kill then even if they're boosted. Other than STABs, Keldeos moves are a bit on the weak side, but not only do the STABs hit a lot of stuff hard, the other moves are still just strong enough to do their job, and Icy Wind is great for speed control. Also, Keldeo gets to be surprisingly bulky at times, so you don't have to worry as much about sacrificing other Pokémon to bring Keldeo in.

 

[Kink]

Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Icy Wind

Pony is arguably one of the best revenge killers in the meta. Most Scarfers or Pokémon with ways to boost speed (such as Porygon-z and Sharpedo) are slower than Keldeo at +1 speed, meaning he can revenge kill then even if they're boosted. Other than STABs, Keldeos moves are a bit on the weak side, but not only do the STABs hit a lot of stuff hard, the other moves are still just strong enough to do their job, and Icy Wind is great for speed control. Also, Keldeo gets to be surprisingly bulky at times, so you don't have to worry as much about sacrificing other Pokémon to bring Keldeo in.

I find Hydro Pump is superior to Icy Wind on the scarf set. More 2HKOs, no real need for speed drops when you're scarf, and Icy Wind doesn't do that much without Specs. The point of Icy Wind is to catch stuff like Latias and take it down, which you cannot do as Scarf. HP Electric is amazing, as Starmie loves to switch in on Keldeo. It also gives Keldeo some important coverage over Gyarados, making it a great revenge killer.

You mentioned Porygon Z. Well, that's actually a problem for the set you mentioned. Only Hydro Pump can take out Porygon Z in a scenario where clicking Secret Sword isn't an option. Two Scalds won't KO and it'll simply recover the damage.

But yeah, Scarf Keldeo is cool. Over the next week I'll post a lot of sets that I've been experimenting with.

 

[Korago]

Volcanion @ Grassium Z
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Steam Eruption
- Solar Beam
- Sludge Bomb

Idk if someone talk about that one but Grassium Z Volcanion is a very interresting Pokémon in SM UU. The Grassium Z allows him to just nuke Water type with whom he struggles (that include CM Suicune, Blastoise-Mega, Tentacruel, Alomomola and guarentee the OHKO on Primarina.. that was very usefull when Slowbro-Mega was in UU, RIP HIM). It's like Heatran in OU (with Magma Storm and Grassium Z Solar Beam).
You can run Timid nature too, it's viable.

While not currently very popular Volcanion can also run expert belt Superpower as it does around 60% to Blissey, alternatively if you want to absolutely obliterate Blissey it can even run fightnium z superpower which lets you kill Blissey with Superpower the turn after or just plain out kill it when it tries to softboiled after switching in on a Steam Eruption

4 Atk Expert Belt Volcanion Superpower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 408-482 (57.1 - 67.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 Atk Volcanion All-Out Pummeling vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 538-634 (75.3 - 88.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Volcanion @ Fightinium Z / Expert Belt
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty / Naive / Rash / Mild Nature
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower
- Steam Eruption
- Superpower
- Sludge Bomb

 

[Alan]

lol how are yall gonna ban those mons but not pz or terrakion? u havven a giggle m8?

 

[ProfessorMasterChief]

lol how are yall gonna ban those mons but not pz or terrakion? u havven a giggle m8?

The set up mons that were banned can set up multiple times in a match, so even phasing only delays the inevitable, while pz has to make sure any phasers are weakened or dead, otherwise it can't set up again. Volcarona had better special bulk, which allowed it to set up more often, since any special attacker that could not kill it would be set up bait. It also had much better speed. Mega Bro was almost impossible to 2hko from the physical side, and after a couple of boosts, it was also extremely bulky on the special side, allowing it to provide so much pressure, and basically forcing you to keep your powerful electric or grass alive often. Scolipede had speed booost, a pretty good defensive typing, good move pool, and sd, making it an incredible late game cleaner. Again, these sweepers pressured opponents more than pz, as they could afford to set up mid game and pick up a ko, and wait in the back to do it again. If you don't set up pz at the perfect moment, you lost you sweeper, and it will now be mediocre at best since it can't boost its power or speed. Terrakion is more than likely getting banned later, it definitely at least fits the potentially broken criteria imo, but unlike Tornadus, it didn't have like 20 viable coverage options, and Diggersby hit harder and had stab priority, something Terrakion does wish it had. Also, normal is an incredibly underrated stab, as it doesn't have many resists, and most resists are torn apart by quake. Again, I would not be surprised if they got banned and reintroduced later, although Terrakion might go to ou, same with Tornadus. Again, these two will probably be banned at some point, but they were not as broken as the latest bans, at least in my experience.

 

[Alan]

The set up mons that were banned can set up multiple times in a match, so even phasing only delays the inevitable, while pz has to make sure any phasers are weakened or dead, otherwise it can't set up again. Volcarona had better special bulk, which allowed it to set up more often, since any special attacker that could not kill it would be set up bait. It also had much better speed. Mega Bro was almost impossible to 2hko from the physical side, and after a couple of boosts, it was also extremely bulky on the special side, allowing it to provide so much pressure, and basically forcing you to keep your powerful electric or grass alive often. Scolipede had speed booost, a pretty good defensive typing, good move pool, and sd, making it an incredible late game cleaner. Again, these sweepers pressured opponents more than pz, as they could afford to set up mid game and pick up a ko, and wait in the back to do it again. If you don't set up pz at the perfect moment, you lost you sweeper, and it will now be mediocre at best since it can't boost its power or speed. Terrakion is more than likely getting banned later, it definitely at least fits the potentially broken criteria imo, but unlike Tornadus, it didn't have like 20 viable coverage options, and Diggersby hit harder and had stab priority, something Terrakion does wish it had. Also, normal is an incredibly underrated stab, as it doesn't have many resists, and most resists are torn apart by quake. Again, I would not be surprised if they got banned and reintroduced later, although Terrakion might go to ou, same with Tornadus. Again, these two will probably be banned at some point, but they were not as broken as the latest bans, at least in my experience.

fair enough I'll buy that explanation.

 

[guan123]

What are the best replacement for the broken mons? (Specifically Kyurem-Black and Volcarona)

 

[PShine]

What are the best replacement for the broken mons? (Specifically Kyurem-Black and Volcarona)

I can think of Hydreygon for Kyu-B Special Attacker/Scarf sets and maybe Kommo-O for the Mixed Attacker/Substitute Wallbreaker sets of Kyu-b. As for Volcarona... well not a lot learns Quiver Dance, but Ribombee looks like it could work as a Faster, but more fragile, Volcarona.

 

[zappytyke2000]

TENTACRUEL: Not the best choice on straight offense, but on BO or balanced teams, Tentacruel is great. Fatter teams always need a solid Keldeo answer, especially one that doesn't get completely boned by Pursuit, and this gives you one that also gets utility out the wazoo: T-Spikes (which have been pretty deadly this meta), Haze and Spin. It's a bit passive, but it has a decent Speed and with Haze or the high poison chance on Sludge Bomb, it's surprisingly hard to take advantage of its passivity. I haven't messed around with a more offensive set, but that honestly doesn't sound bad this meta either.

Aside from the obvious Fire- and Electric-types, I've also found Tentacruel to be a pretty effective check to any Celesteela without EQ. Scald does a decent chunk, as well as having a burn chance that helps whittle it down and significantly lowers the damage taken from EQ. Liquid Ooze is also a nice bonus, neutralizing the very common Leech Seed and the far less common Giga Drain (side note: this is also a fun way to cripple Tapu Bulu with if it tries to Horn Leech you). Add the fact that respectable special bulk allows it to take Air Slash pretty well, as well as the fact that Heavy Slam and Flamethrower do jack shit even without a burn, and you've got a respectable check right here.

It also gets more bonus points for being both a hazard setter and a hazard remover, and Acid Spray helps it to beat any and all common variants of Tapu Fini, even the CM set.

 

[Alan]

Bro, this is the UU thread. All those mons are OU...

 

[Venoxio]

<-- basically bewear with a choice band

Bewear @ Choice Band/Assault Vest
Ability: Fluffy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Superpower
- Ice Punch
- Shadow Claw

This thing punches holes in almost anything. From what i've seen, Bewear got better with the bans. Torn, Volcarona, AND mega bro leaving took away three mons that can shred this thing to pieces. Fluffy allows it to stand up to most physical attackers in the tier with ease. Looking at the ORAS OU mons that were dropped, it's one of the best checks to Bisharp out there, and Scizor can't really do much to it outside of Superpower. Return and Superpower are very spammable (Ghosts are a problem tho), and Shadow Claw and Ice Punch are good coverage options all around. CB and Assault Vest are both viable options on it because of well, more power, and somewhat patching up poor special bulk respectively.

(Also, for anyone wondering: Bewear has a minimum of 392 defense with Fluffy. Combined with 444 HP at max, you have an incredibly bulky mon for physical moves on your hands.)

 

[guan123]

I can think of Hydreygon for Kyu-B Special Attacker/Scarf sets and maybe Kommo-O for the Mixed Attacker/Substitute Wallbreaker sets of Kyu-b. As for Volcarona... well not a lot learns Quiver Dance, but Ribombee looks like it could work as a Faster, but more fragile, Volcarona.

Scarf kyurem regular could work as a replacement (scarf haxorus/Tyrantrum?). Venomoth could work as a volcarona replacement, crawdaunt and staraptor could replace diggersby (banded). I wonder what will be banned next...

 

[theDSC]

With some of the recent bans I have to say I've been expecting a few of them; Volcarona being able to completely sweep after just one QD brings to mind.

But I'm quite surprised that Diggersby got the boot to BL, while fellow Huge Power user Azumarill with a better typing did not? What's the deal here?

 

[Mylo Xyloto]

Celebi @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Earth Power

I've been using a ton of Celebi as of lately really cool and versatile mon. Laddered a bit with this set which lures and kills off Dark types for Necrozma, or just sweeps teams. Now that Bisharp dropped and the dragons left, I prefer EP > DGleam to cleanly KO the former. EP also weakens these random assvest Metagross sets for Necrozma, Gleam still helps vs Hydreigon I guess. I've also used a similar rocks set to the one Hogg mentioned, paired it with SD Scizor gg ez. Celebi justs puts in a ton of work vs most teams, really needs more love.

Necrozma @ Leftovers
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonlight
- Iron Defense
- Stored Power

Another Psychic in the tier that plows through teams without proper checks. As I mentioned before, I paired it with Colbur Celebi, lategame it just sets up and sweeps. EV's can probably be adjusted, just to the OU version which outspeeds max neutral speed Azumarill iirc. Just watch out for random toxics and you'll be set. Although no Shell Armor, Mega-Slowbro style (rip), Prism Armor has proven to be quite good neutering super effective attacks and preventing most mons from breaking it.