Ubers hazard guide

A rough outline

Introduction

What can make the mighty Ho-Oh tremble; the ground-shaking Groudon uneasy to walk upon the earth; and the mighty Arceus slowly whither and die? Would you like to hazard a guess? If you guessed entry hazards, you are correct.

Entry hazards play an integral role in the Uber Metagame. In Ubers, even offensive Pokemon have sky-high defensive stats, and, therefore, entry hazards are needed by many Pokemon to secure the XHKO they need. Entry hazards also punish the switching that is needed to prevent one's team from being crushed underfoot by the many powerhouses that run rampant throughout the tier.

There are three forms of entry hazards, and all have their benefits. In addition, they are all commonly seen in Ubers; which cannot be said for all tiers. Stealth Rock is your bread-and-butter hazard, and it is utilized by almost every team to deal some damage to every single Pokemon as it switches in (unless said Pokemon has Magic Guard). Spikes is the second most common hazard. Spikes, unlike Stealth Rock, need to be set up multiple times, 3, for full effect. Still, one layer, in conjunction with Stealth Rock, is often-times sufficient to wear down the opponent. Finally, Toxic Spikes are often employed to eliminate the need for the use of Toxic on Pokemon that don't have the ability Levitate and aren't Flying-type, and annoy Pokemon with Natural Cure (namely Blissey and Chansey).

Entry hazards can be removed by Rapid Spin and abused in many ways. That and more is detailed further in this guide, so read on!


Stealth Rock

• why its useful

best users:

• Groudon
• Dialga
• Forretress

Viable users:

• Deoxys-(S/A)
• Chansey/Blissey
• Skarmory
• Tyranitar
• Jirachi
• Bronzong
• Mamoswine
• Heatran
• Ferrothorn
• Arceus (any type)

Spikes

• why its useful

Viable users:

• Ferrothorn
• Deoxys-D
• Qwilfish
• Skarmory
• Forretress
• Deoxys-S

Toxic Spikes

• why its useful

Viable Users:

• Tentacruel
• Forretress
• Qwilfish
• Roserade

Getting rid of hazards

Spinning

• Excadrill
• Tentacruel
• Forretress

Toxic Spikes Absorbtion

Magic Bounce

• Xatu

Spinblocking

• Giratina
• Giratina-O
• Ghost Arceus

Abusing entry hazards

Phazing

• Dialga
• Lugia
• Kyogre
• Arceus (all types)
• Groudon
• Heatran
• Giratina-O
• Giratina
• Skarmory

I think espeon should be listed along with xatu for magic bounce users, it may not be as good, but it is still somewhat common. Also, skymin's subseed set is pretty adept at abusing hazards, especially tspikes. Also, when you write it up, you shouldn't say "arceus (all types)," because I would never slap SR on an EK or electric-type one. Defffffinitely a nitpick, but still.

EDIT: Sub Roost Ho-Oh is a solid hazard abuser, too.

EDIT: Ok, nevermind espeon, then

WIP

Spinblocking

• Giratina
• Giratina-O
• Ghost Arceus

Click to expand...

Ok let's start

Spinblocking

Spinblocking is a crucial tactic in order to keep the entry hazards on the victim's side of the field. As Rapid Spin will fail to remove entry hazards if it does not hit, any Ghost-type Pokemon is able to spinblock. However, only a few Pokemon in the Uber metagame can spinblock effectively. These three Pokemon are Giratina, Giratina-O, and Ghost Arceus.


Giratina
Type: Ghost / Dragon
Base Stats: 150 HP / 100 Atk / 120 Def / 100 SpA / 120 SpD / 90 Spe
Ability: Pressure / Telepathy (Unreleased)

With a titanic base 150 HP and incredible base 120 Defenses, Giratina boasts the honor as not just the bulkiest spinblocker available, but also the bulkiest Pokemon in game. Giratina's very impressive bulk allow it to wall attacks from the Rapid Spinners with relative ease, ensuring that they can not get past it through sheer force (although Excadrill's Swords Danced Earthquake leaves a chunky mark). With that said, however, Giratina does sometimes struggle to do much back to them. Forretress and Tentacruel can continue setting up entry hazards on Giratina while Excadrill may dodge its Will-O-Wisp and continue its rampage. That said, however, Giratina can sacrifice a moveslot for Hidden Power Fire to surprise Forretress, but comes at the cost of one of its moves crucial to its function as a general wall.


Giratina-O
Type: Ghost / Dragon
Base Stats: 150 HP / 120 Atk / 100 Def / 120 SpA / 100 SpD / 90 Spe
Ability: Levitate

Giratina's offensive alter-ego is without a doubt just as excellent at spinblocking, if not better. Giratina-O's increased offenses and Griseous Orb grant it with sufficient firepower to overwhelm the spinblockers easily as well as maintaining offensive pressure on the victim. With access to a terrifically powerful STABed Dragon Tail and amazing bulk (despite being lower than Giratina), Giratina-O arguably abuses its spinblocking ability better than Giratina and Ghost Arceus by forcing many switches and dealing substantial damage at the same time. Furthermore, as the only common spinblocker in the Uber metagame who is invulnerable Spikes and Toxic Spikes due to Levitate, Giratina-O ability to constantly switch in on the Rapid Spinners makes up for its decreased defenses.


Ghost Arceus
Type: Ghost
Base Stats: 120 HP / 120 Atk / 120 Def / 120 SpA / 120 SpD / 120 Spe
Ability: Multitype

Ghost Arceus is easily the most versatile out of the three spinblockers. It has access to a plethora of offensive and supporting moves that make Giratina and Giratina-O jealous, such as Recover, Flamethrower, Stealth Rock, and Judgment. Ghost Arceus can easily fulfill both roles as offensive and defensive spinblockers, though it may struggle performing both at the same time. Ghost Arceus can threaten a sweep by setting up Calm Mind on Forretress and Tentacruel, though it must be wary of a stray Toxic coming from them. Ghost Arceus can also destroy Excadrill with Focus Blast, but it may require some Special Attack investment in order to do so, and is OHKOed by +2 Life Orb Earthquake. However, Ghost Arceus' lack of Levitate and Dragon Tail means that it is not superior to Giratina and Giratina-O when it comes to spinblocking, as it limits its ability to switch into the Rapid Spinners and renders it incapable of directly abusing the entry hazards it spinblocks outside of a powerless Roar, respectively.

Ghost Arceus is the only spin blocker who gets OHKOed by a +2 Excadrill in sand. Unless you are running a Bold Nature and some SpA EVs :P Giratina can still do something against Forretress with Magic Coat while Tentacruel can only set up Toxic Spikes which doesn't harm Giratina too much anyway thanks to Rest.

@giggity69: Espeon got rejected in Ubers because they agreed it suck, unless Baton Pass managed to change something.

Jellicent > Ghost Arceus. Taunt, Will-O-Wisp and walling non Thunder / Choiced Kyogre not stuck on Thunder. Jellicent beats Mixed Palkia, Dialga without Thunder too and completely owns Fighting Arceus without Dark Pulse. Jellicent can TAUNT and has Recover. I think Jellicent deserves re-testing.

WIP

Stealth Rock

Stealth Rock has proven to be useful in every single one of Smogon's sponsored single battle metagames, and in Black/White Ubers, this is certainly no exception. Stealth Rock is the bread and butter entry hazard for just about every team due to the ease of set up and the ability to damage every non Magic Guard Pokemon in the game. For some Pokemon, this move can be incredibly crippling; it cuts 50% worth of HP for any Pokemon that is 4x weak to Rock (see: Ho-Oh), and 25% for those 2x weak to Rock (examples: Rayquaza, Reshiram, and Lugia), upon switching in. But it doesn't end there - the sheer power of the attacks in the Uber metagame can force many switches, and the extra damage Stealth Rock grants can quickly add up to devastating amounts.

Best Users
In order to make best use of Stealth Rock, you must be able to set it up easily and consistently. Arguably the best users of Stealth Rock are Groudon, Dialga, and Forretress, all of whom are renowned for their bulk, their excellence in team support, and their ability to force switches (in Forretress' case, the threat of Rapid Spin can sometimes prompt a switch to a spinblocker, allowing it to set up the entry hazard).

Groudon
Type: Ground
Base Stats: 100 HP / 150 Atk / 140 Def / 100 SpA / 90 SpD / 90 Spe
Ability: Drought

Groudon boasts many traits that make it an amazing supporter, and by extension, a Stealth Rock setter. With 100 base HP and 140 base Defense and virtually no physical weaknesses, Groudon is an excellent physical tank, taking on various attackers such as Zekrom and physical Rayquaza. Its resistance to Stealth Rock also aids it in accomplishing the task more easily, as it is not worn down quickly by that entry hazard alone. Further extending Groudon's usefulness is its star ability, Drought, which turns the weather sunny and allows the player to heavily shift the momentum to his or her side by severely weakening rain abusers such as Kingdra and Kabutops. Groudon often finds itself setting up Stealth Rock with little difficulty as a result, and can take it one step further thanks to a combination of its 150 base Attack and destructive physical attacks, as well as access to the phazing moves Dragon Tail and Roar.

Dialga
Type: Steel / Dragon
Base Stats: 100 HP / 120 Atk / 120 Def / 150 SpA / 100 SpD / 90 Spe
Ability: Pressure / Telepathy (Unreleased)

There are many things to say about Dialga; its virtually unmatched versatility can be attributed to its very resistant typing, its mouthwatering movepool, and its somewhat balanced stats. In terms of setting up Stealth Rock, Dialga remains exceptional. Utilizing its 11 resistances, Poison immunity, and noteworthy bulk, Dialga can set up Stealth Rock on a vast number of attackers. Like Groudon, Dialga's offensive capabilities are top-notch, and gravely threatens a majority of the metagame, giving it time to not only set up Stealth Rock but also to abuse it further. Unlike Groudon, however, Dialga does not have a weather changing ability. However, this can be a good thing, as Dialga can set up Stealth Rock without interfering with your weather set up. As a result, Dialga is often seen on non sun teams as a means of setting up the entry hazard. It is perhaps most prevalent in rain teams, due to the fact that it can handle otherwise rain-threatening Pokemon such as Shaymin-S and Kingdra, but make no mistake-Dialga can fit in virtually any team.

Forretress
Type: Bug / Steel
Base Stats: 75 HP / 90 Atk / 140 Def / 60 SpA / 60 SpD / 40 Spe
Ability: Sturdy / Overcoat (Unreleased)

You may find it surprising that of all Pokemon, the non-Uber Forretress finds itself amongst the top-ranked Stealth Rock users. However, Forretress sports numerous qualities that justify its position. Like Dialga, Forretress sports a good number of resistances (including the vital Dragon-type resistance) and decent bulk. Its base 60 Special Defense and 75 HP may be very poor, but its special bulk is nothing that can't be fixed with EV investment. Forretress specializes in setting up entry hazards, and as a Stealth Rock user, it can fit in teams that require multiple entry hazards but are too jam-packed to afford a room for a dedicated Stealth Rock setter. Stealth Rock Forretress is most often seen in offensive teams that also welcome its Rapid Spinning service, but by no means it can't fit in on stall teams that may share a similar desire. Adding on to these qualities, Forretress' Sturdy also almost always ensures that it can set up Stealth Rock, should you need it up as soon as possible.

firecape allowed me to write a bit :D This is for the phazing part and oh yeah no one uses Giratina except a few people...

Giratina
Type: Ghost / Dragon
Base Stats: 150 HP / 100 Atk / 120 Def / 100 SpA / 120 SpD / 90 Spe
Ability: Pressure / Telepathy (Unreleased)

Being the bulkiest Pokemon in game, Giratina's unique resistances and enormous bulk allows it to withstand almost any hit and phaze the opponent out with a decently powerful (due to STAB) Dragon Tail. There are no unboosted physical moves that can instantly OHKO Giratina, this gives it ample opportunities to abuse entry hazards set up in the battlefield. Giratina also has the bonus of spinblocking while phazing at the same time, which is a huge boon compare to other phazers. However, Giratina isn't without flaws, its nasty weakness to Dragon-type attacks prevent it from staying in on the powerful Dragon-type sweepers who run rampant in the Ubers tier. Giratina can also run a moveset with double phazing moves (Roar and Dragon Tail) to abuse entry hazards even further by phazing the opponent before they even move. (Giratina might be slow, but it can bump up its Speed to beat other slow base 90s)

Lugia
Type: Psychic / Flying
Base Stats: 106 HP / 90 Atk / 130 Def / 90 SpA / 154 SpD / 110 Spe
Ability: Pressure / Multiscale (unreleased)

Lugia has been and still is one of the most reliable walls in the game. It has all the tools to become an amazing phazer: its huge bulk, access to multiple phazing moves and reliable recovery with a surprisingly fast Speed. Unlike Giratina, Lugia can phaze out even notorious stallbreakers such as Palkia, Mixed Dialga and Rayquaza without much trouble at all. When it comes to abusing Spikes through phazing, Lugia is arguably the best candidate because it has the ability to repeatedly force most physical or mixed sweepers.
A Speed shuffling set can be used to phaze out threats before they can move (thanks to Lugia's high Speed) but it removes one of Lugia's major advantages over most phazers, Roost. However, Lugia will find it hard to phaze out Rapid Spin users, because it cannot touch them with its usual moveset while the Rapid Spin users can abuse Lugia to pull off a successful spin, ruining any entry hazard abusing attempts. As such it's wise to partner Lugia with a reliable spinblocker ( Giratina-O is the best in this case thanks to its instant ability to threaten all the spinblockers with the appropriate moves, Hidden Power Fire and Earthquake)

firecape and Jibaku are free to edit my post if he wants to add or change anything :P Oh yeah isn't Ho-Oh a good phazer, just ask Jibaku imo, Whirlwind Ho-Oh screws up things like Roar Dialga and Giratina. Ho-Oh also threatens all the Spikes users even Deoxys-D.