I've been playing in OU for quite a while now, and recently I've gotten quite bored of the OU environment. So I said to myself, "Let's bump it down a level" and started thinking about a UU team. Here's the team at a glance.
I've fought at least 15 battles with this UU team, against both OU and UU opponents (primarily OU though). It's pulled off quite a couple nice victories against OU teams, something I'm quite proud of. However, I'm still quite new and have little experience fighting UU matches, so I would appreciate any help you guys can give me. I've noticed a lot of redundancy in terms of movesets in my team; both Lanturn and Mesprit have Thunderbolt and both Blastoise and Lanturn have Surf and Ice Beam. I don't know if thats a good thing, as all three of these pokémon have these specific attacks for different reasons.
Let's not delay any longer. I present to you my first attempt at making a UU team.
Scyther @ Choice Scarf / Scouter Lead & Physical Sweeper
Jolly / Technician
112 HP / 252 Atk / 144 Spd
Aerial Ace
U-Turn
Pursuit
Quick Attack
Sure, Scyther does have a quadruple weakness to Stealth Rock, which limits its ability to switch in. It may not be as powerful as its evolved form, Scizor, but in the UU environment, Scyther may as well take the title of the most fearsome Bug pokémon around. With its blinding speed, decent defenses, and respectable attack power, it makes a great lead. Hitting 465 speed with a choice scarf and 144 speed EVs, it can outrun just about anything (even Ninjask, but only on the first turn) that isn’t scarfed. STABed U-Turn can definitely hurt a ton, especially with so many Dark and Psychic types around. I’ve noticed that U-Turn is Scyther’s primary source of offense, as it permits Scyther to inflict massive damage without even taking a hit. Before evolving into Scizor, Scyther had Flying-type characteristics, so it would make sense to have a flying-type move on the set. With Scyther’s ability Technician, and the STAB boost, Aerial Ace’s base power reaches 135 (that’s pretty powerful for an attack that never misses). Brick Break is there fore coverage reasons, as it hits Rock, Steel, Normal, and Ice. However, it is unlikely that Scyther will even be staying in when up against Rock, Steel, and Ice-type opponents, because it fears a Stone Edge or Ice Beam/Ice Punch. I was thinking of replacing it with Quick Attack, which has a base power of 60 with Scyther’s Technician boost. It may not be Scizor’s Bullet Punch, and it may not have the coverage, but it is Scyther’s only priority move, and can be used to finish off weakened opponents. Pursuit is used in the circumstance where a Psychic type fears an X-Scissor or U-Turn and switches out.
Gallade @ Life Orb / Physical Sweeper
Adamant / Steadfast
64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spd
Close Combat
Night Slash
Ice Punch
Swords Dance / Shadow Sneak
Okay, so it’s in the Limbo Tier. At least it’s not OU. It may not have the speed of the majority of OU physical sweepers, but its awesome movepool and coverage, along with its ability to take special hits makes up for this. It has access to Fighting, Dark, Bug, Rock, Ice and Grass-type moves; it can even learn Earthquake (not that anyone actually uses it). Add that to its beastly attack stat and you get one dangerous and unpredictable foe to face. While it has a weakness on the physical side as its defense stat is only 65, it will have plenty of opportunities to set up at least one Swords Dance because of its bulky base 115 special defense. It can pretty much switch into any special attack that isn't Shadow Ball or Air Slash. Being part Fighting, Gallade also gains a very important neutrality to Dark-type attacks. Plus, many pokémon fear it in the first place because of its versatility. Close Combat's power and STAB boost obviously earns its spot on Gallade's moveset; not a lot of things will enjoy taking a Close Combat from something as beast as Gallade. I was debating between X-Scissor and Night Slash; X-Scissor hits Dark and Psychic types, while Night Slash hits Psychic and Ghost types. Psycho Cut is also an option on Gallade, as it provides a secondary STAB move. However, it doesn't have very good coverage, and Night Slash also OHKOs Gengar and can hit other would-be Ghost-type counters. Ice Punch gives Gallade even better coverage, as it hits Ground, Grass, Flying, and Dragon-types. It completely owns Gliscor as well, which is a common switch-in to Gallade. Wheras Swords Dance Gallade is extremely fearsome, giving it so much power is kind of excessive. Gallade is without a doubt slow for a sweeper, so it may need a priority move to surmount this weakness. Shadow Sneak, although not STABed, is enough to finish off any damaged Gengars, Mismaigiuses, and Alakazams who think they'll get the first strike.
Blastoise @ Leftovers / Rapid Spinner & Physical Wall
Bold / Torrent
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Surf
Ice Beam
Rapid Spin
Toxic
Let's all admit it; Blastoise is a tank. I mean, come on. What other pokémon have cannons on their back? Well, there is Magmortar of course, who has cannons as arms. Anyways, Blastoise serves as a Rapid Spinner because of its high defenses, and overall bulkiness. It's my answer to all of the fearsome Dragon-types out there, like Salamence, Flygon, Dragonite, and Garchomp. Lanturn packs Ice Beam as well, but unlike Blastoise, it's not designed to take physical hits. With Earthquake being such a popular choice on Dragon-types, Lanturn really can't stay in to unleash an Ice Beam. Surf serves as a STAB move that can be used to handle Infernape, Tyranitar, Hippowdon, and can wear down Metagross pretty fast. My Lanturn carries Surf as well, but fears Physical attacks, especially the ubiquitous Earthquake. Toxic has 85% accuracy, which isn't that bad for a status-inducing move that takes away your opponent's life. Although it doesn't have the anti-sweeping capabilities as Thunder Wave does, the damage from poison can really start to accumulate if the other team doesn't have an Aromatherapist. Finally, being a Water type, Blastoise is weak to Electric and Grass-type attacks. It serves as perfect bait to allow Lanturn to restore HP from Electric attacks. Grass Knot is probably the most common Grass-type attack; it seems like all special sweepers carry it, and it really doesn't do too much damage to Lanturn anyways.
Lanturn @ Leftovers / Special Sponge & Tank
Calm / Volt Absorb
120 HP / 136 SAtk / 252 SDef
Surf
Ice Beam
Thunderbolt / Discharge
Thunder Wave
At first glance, Lanturn looks like a horrible choice for a wall, as it only has a special defense stat in the high 70s and an HP stat of 120. However, it is one of the only pokémon that resist the ubiquitous Bolt-Beam combination, and it resists Flamethrower and Surf as well. In other words, this little fishie walls the HELL out of Starmie and its it back hard with STABed Thunderbolts or Discharges. Starmie may pack Grass Knot, but Lanturn barely takes any damage from it because the thing weighs literally nothing. Although less common on Starmie, Psychic, although STABed, will not do much to Lantrun as well. Lanturn actually likes the move Trick; if Starmie Tricks a Choice Specs onto Lanturn, it becomes even more of a tank because its Special Attacks skyrockets to over 300. A Choice Scarf speed boost may even come in handy as well. However, I don't think anybody would be senseless enough to Trick a Choice Specs onto a Lantrun. Althogh known for its ability to sponge special attacks, Lanturn can even take physical hits fairly well, because of its high HP. However, if it takes too many hits or if the physical attack is called Earthquake, Lanturn won't be around for very long. Some special attacks EVs were invested into Lanturn's spread to maximize the effectiveness of Lanturn's STABed special attacks. I love it when Dragon-types like Salamence and Dragonite go up against Lanturn; they think they can freely set up a Dragon Dance on it, but then Lanturn ends up oblieterating them with its Ice Beam. Thunder Wave is an obvious choice on Lanturn, as it cripples fast sweepers that would otherwise outspeed my team. It's also so obvious that people will be switching into ground types like Gliscor, Rhyperior, and Donphan just to dodge the Thunder Wave. This gives me the opportunity to outpredict them and give them a nice Surf or Ice Beam as switch-in gift.
Mesprit @ Leftovers / Stealth Rock Set-up & Physical Wall
Bold / Levitate
252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SAtk
Thunderbolt
Psychic
Stealth Rock
Calm Mind
Some people say that having a pokémon that is too balanced is a bad thing, but in Mesprit's case, it gives it an advantage over its counterparts Azelf and Uxie. With its base 105 defenses, it's a lot bulkier than Azelf, and it can take a lot more hits, and at the same time it can hit a lot harder than Uxie with its base 105 offensive stats. Mesprit is my answer to Gyarados and Infernape. Wheras Lanturn packs Thunderbolt as well, it won't be staying in because of the Earthquake that will without a doubt OHKO it. Plus, it will be quite obvious that Lanturn packs Thunderbolt in the first place. Mesprit dodges the EQ completely. and can surely do serious damage to Gyarados with Thunderbolt. Psychic is there for fighters like Infernape and Machamp, but especially Infernape (Machamp can learn Payback, which can hurt Mesprit). Close Combat is easily walled by Mesprit anyways. Calm Mind does seem a little out of place on this set, as most people would predict Calm Mind Mesprits to be a hell of a lot faster than this one is. However, Calm Mind gives Mesprit a nice boost in its Special Defense to better wall sweepers of all kinds (as its physical defense is already quite decent), and at the same time, boosts its own Special Attack to make an even more powerful Psychic and Thunderbolt. I replaced Thunder Wave with Calm Mind as my Lanturn already had Thunder Wave. Mesprit does have a problem with handling special attacks, but with Bug-type being primarily physical, and Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball being the only two common Dark and Ghost-type special-based moves, Azelf will find a way to stay around.
Shaymin @ Choice Specs / Special Sweeper
Timid / Natural Cure
4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Seed Flare
Earth Power
Air Slash
Hidden Power (Fire)
I mean, come on. This little green hedgehog is cute AND awesome. This Shaymin-L here tries to pull a Shaymin-S because Shaymin-S is banned to Ubers -sad face-. Anyways, Shaymin-L is bulkier, so it's all good. Seed Flare is IMO the ownagest Grass type attack ever, and it is after all, Shaymin's signature move. Earth Power and Air Slash are awesome coverage options. Earth Power nails Heatran (which I will obviously paralyze beforehand, in case it's Scarfed), and Air Slash kills Apes that wan to switch in. HP Fire is a Scizor killer. muahahahaha.
--or--
Shaymin @ Life Orb / Special Sweeper & Aromatherapist
Timid / Natural Cure
36 HP / 252 SAtk / 220 Spd
Seed Flare
Hidden Power (Fire)
Aromatherapy
Rest
Natural Cure ftw. This version of Shaymin may not have the coverage of the last one, but relies on the awesome attack Seed Flare lowering the opponent's special defense. HP Fire is primarily for Skarmory but can also work on Forty and Scizor and other Steels / Bugs. Aromatherapy is there in case my sweepers have been paralysed or burned (if Scyther gets paralysed it's pretty much screwed), but this could also be exchanged for Leech Seed for annoyance. Rest is obviously the best recovery option because of Shaymin's ability, Natural Cure. It heals status problems as well, which is beyond awesome.
The second set is used when I'm playing on NetBattle and Platinum sets are not yet updated (boo).
EDIT: Wow. Just my luck. Right after posting this thread, I went to check up something for Gallade's moveset. Then I stared for 5 minutes in disbelief at the "BL" beside Gallade's typing. Fortunately, I do have a back-up for him: Blaziken.
Blaziken @ Choice Scarf / Physical Sweeper
Adamant / Blaze
36 HP / 252 Atk / 220 Spd
Superpower
Flare Blitz
ThunderPunch
Stone Edge / Earthquake
Blaziken's awesome attack and special attack are somewhat hindered by its mediocre speed stat. What better way to fix this than equiping this Firebird with a Choice Scarf? With this EV spread, Blaziken reaches around 370 speed, which is decent enough to outrun most threats and revenge kill them. I felt the need for power over speed on this Blaziken, so I used Adamant nature as opposed to Jolly. Superpower is a decent secondary STAB move for Blaziken, and hits a lot harder than Sky Uppercut, with better accuracy. However, it does have drawbacks, in that it lowers Blaziken's attack and defense. However, it is likely that my opponent will switch to a Blaziken counter after I use Superpower, so I will probably switch to another pokémon, cancelling out the stat drops. Flare Blitz is an awesome STAB move with 180 base power, but Blaziken suffers heavily in the process. However, it really is Blaziken's only choice for a primary STAB physical move, so it cannot be ignored. ThunderPunch is an obvious option for hitting Water-types, which will often switch in to Blaziken. It also nails Gyarados where it hurts, which is a bonus. Stone Edge is super-effective against Salamence, but I really question its usefulness in this set. Chances are, Salamence will not be OHKO'ed (unless I get a critical hit), and will most likely respond with an Earthquake (if physical) or Hydro Pump (if special). Blaziken's defenses are so weak that it won't be able to withstand a hit from something with base 135 attack and 110 special attack. This is why I am consider using Earthquake on this set to nail Blaziken's biggest rival, the mighty Infernape (who better not be Sashed).
I've fought at least 15 battles with this UU team, against both OU and UU opponents (primarily OU though). It's pulled off quite a couple nice victories against OU teams, something I'm quite proud of. However, I'm still quite new and have little experience fighting UU matches, so I would appreciate any help you guys can give me. I've noticed a lot of redundancy in terms of movesets in my team; both Lanturn and Mesprit have Thunderbolt and both Blastoise and Lanturn have Surf and Ice Beam. I don't know if thats a good thing, as all three of these pokémon have these specific attacks for different reasons.
Let's not delay any longer. I present to you my first attempt at making a UU team.
Scyther @ Choice Scarf / Scouter Lead & Physical Sweeper
Jolly / Technician
112 HP / 252 Atk / 144 Spd
Aerial Ace
U-Turn
Pursuit
Quick Attack
Sure, Scyther does have a quadruple weakness to Stealth Rock, which limits its ability to switch in. It may not be as powerful as its evolved form, Scizor, but in the UU environment, Scyther may as well take the title of the most fearsome Bug pokémon around. With its blinding speed, decent defenses, and respectable attack power, it makes a great lead. Hitting 465 speed with a choice scarf and 144 speed EVs, it can outrun just about anything (even Ninjask, but only on the first turn) that isn’t scarfed. STABed U-Turn can definitely hurt a ton, especially with so many Dark and Psychic types around. I’ve noticed that U-Turn is Scyther’s primary source of offense, as it permits Scyther to inflict massive damage without even taking a hit. Before evolving into Scizor, Scyther had Flying-type characteristics, so it would make sense to have a flying-type move on the set. With Scyther’s ability Technician, and the STAB boost, Aerial Ace’s base power reaches 135 (that’s pretty powerful for an attack that never misses). Brick Break is there fore coverage reasons, as it hits Rock, Steel, Normal, and Ice. However, it is unlikely that Scyther will even be staying in when up against Rock, Steel, and Ice-type opponents, because it fears a Stone Edge or Ice Beam/Ice Punch. I was thinking of replacing it with Quick Attack, which has a base power of 60 with Scyther’s Technician boost. It may not be Scizor’s Bullet Punch, and it may not have the coverage, but it is Scyther’s only priority move, and can be used to finish off weakened opponents. Pursuit is used in the circumstance where a Psychic type fears an X-Scissor or U-Turn and switches out.
Gallade @ Life Orb / Physical Sweeper
Adamant / Steadfast
64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spd
Close Combat
Night Slash
Ice Punch
Swords Dance / Shadow Sneak
Okay, so it’s in the Limbo Tier. At least it’s not OU. It may not have the speed of the majority of OU physical sweepers, but its awesome movepool and coverage, along with its ability to take special hits makes up for this. It has access to Fighting, Dark, Bug, Rock, Ice and Grass-type moves; it can even learn Earthquake (not that anyone actually uses it). Add that to its beastly attack stat and you get one dangerous and unpredictable foe to face. While it has a weakness on the physical side as its defense stat is only 65, it will have plenty of opportunities to set up at least one Swords Dance because of its bulky base 115 special defense. It can pretty much switch into any special attack that isn't Shadow Ball or Air Slash. Being part Fighting, Gallade also gains a very important neutrality to Dark-type attacks. Plus, many pokémon fear it in the first place because of its versatility. Close Combat's power and STAB boost obviously earns its spot on Gallade's moveset; not a lot of things will enjoy taking a Close Combat from something as beast as Gallade. I was debating between X-Scissor and Night Slash; X-Scissor hits Dark and Psychic types, while Night Slash hits Psychic and Ghost types. Psycho Cut is also an option on Gallade, as it provides a secondary STAB move. However, it doesn't have very good coverage, and Night Slash also OHKOs Gengar and can hit other would-be Ghost-type counters. Ice Punch gives Gallade even better coverage, as it hits Ground, Grass, Flying, and Dragon-types. It completely owns Gliscor as well, which is a common switch-in to Gallade. Wheras Swords Dance Gallade is extremely fearsome, giving it so much power is kind of excessive. Gallade is without a doubt slow for a sweeper, so it may need a priority move to surmount this weakness. Shadow Sneak, although not STABed, is enough to finish off any damaged Gengars, Mismaigiuses, and Alakazams who think they'll get the first strike.
Blastoise @ Leftovers / Rapid Spinner & Physical Wall
Bold / Torrent
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Surf
Ice Beam
Rapid Spin
Toxic
Let's all admit it; Blastoise is a tank. I mean, come on. What other pokémon have cannons on their back? Well, there is Magmortar of course, who has cannons as arms. Anyways, Blastoise serves as a Rapid Spinner because of its high defenses, and overall bulkiness. It's my answer to all of the fearsome Dragon-types out there, like Salamence, Flygon, Dragonite, and Garchomp. Lanturn packs Ice Beam as well, but unlike Blastoise, it's not designed to take physical hits. With Earthquake being such a popular choice on Dragon-types, Lanturn really can't stay in to unleash an Ice Beam. Surf serves as a STAB move that can be used to handle Infernape, Tyranitar, Hippowdon, and can wear down Metagross pretty fast. My Lanturn carries Surf as well, but fears Physical attacks, especially the ubiquitous Earthquake. Toxic has 85% accuracy, which isn't that bad for a status-inducing move that takes away your opponent's life. Although it doesn't have the anti-sweeping capabilities as Thunder Wave does, the damage from poison can really start to accumulate if the other team doesn't have an Aromatherapist. Finally, being a Water type, Blastoise is weak to Electric and Grass-type attacks. It serves as perfect bait to allow Lanturn to restore HP from Electric attacks. Grass Knot is probably the most common Grass-type attack; it seems like all special sweepers carry it, and it really doesn't do too much damage to Lanturn anyways.
Lanturn @ Leftovers / Special Sponge & Tank
Calm / Volt Absorb
120 HP / 136 SAtk / 252 SDef
Surf
Ice Beam
Thunderbolt / Discharge
Thunder Wave
At first glance, Lanturn looks like a horrible choice for a wall, as it only has a special defense stat in the high 70s and an HP stat of 120. However, it is one of the only pokémon that resist the ubiquitous Bolt-Beam combination, and it resists Flamethrower and Surf as well. In other words, this little fishie walls the HELL out of Starmie and its it back hard with STABed Thunderbolts or Discharges. Starmie may pack Grass Knot, but Lanturn barely takes any damage from it because the thing weighs literally nothing. Although less common on Starmie, Psychic, although STABed, will not do much to Lantrun as well. Lanturn actually likes the move Trick; if Starmie Tricks a Choice Specs onto Lanturn, it becomes even more of a tank because its Special Attacks skyrockets to over 300. A Choice Scarf speed boost may even come in handy as well. However, I don't think anybody would be senseless enough to Trick a Choice Specs onto a Lantrun. Althogh known for its ability to sponge special attacks, Lanturn can even take physical hits fairly well, because of its high HP. However, if it takes too many hits or if the physical attack is called Earthquake, Lanturn won't be around for very long. Some special attacks EVs were invested into Lanturn's spread to maximize the effectiveness of Lanturn's STABed special attacks. I love it when Dragon-types like Salamence and Dragonite go up against Lanturn; they think they can freely set up a Dragon Dance on it, but then Lanturn ends up oblieterating them with its Ice Beam. Thunder Wave is an obvious choice on Lanturn, as it cripples fast sweepers that would otherwise outspeed my team. It's also so obvious that people will be switching into ground types like Gliscor, Rhyperior, and Donphan just to dodge the Thunder Wave. This gives me the opportunity to outpredict them and give them a nice Surf or Ice Beam as switch-in gift.
Mesprit @ Leftovers / Stealth Rock Set-up & Physical Wall
Bold / Levitate
252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SAtk
Thunderbolt
Psychic
Stealth Rock
Calm Mind
Some people say that having a pokémon that is too balanced is a bad thing, but in Mesprit's case, it gives it an advantage over its counterparts Azelf and Uxie. With its base 105 defenses, it's a lot bulkier than Azelf, and it can take a lot more hits, and at the same time it can hit a lot harder than Uxie with its base 105 offensive stats. Mesprit is my answer to Gyarados and Infernape. Wheras Lanturn packs Thunderbolt as well, it won't be staying in because of the Earthquake that will without a doubt OHKO it. Plus, it will be quite obvious that Lanturn packs Thunderbolt in the first place. Mesprit dodges the EQ completely. and can surely do serious damage to Gyarados with Thunderbolt. Psychic is there for fighters like Infernape and Machamp, but especially Infernape (Machamp can learn Payback, which can hurt Mesprit). Close Combat is easily walled by Mesprit anyways. Calm Mind does seem a little out of place on this set, as most people would predict Calm Mind Mesprits to be a hell of a lot faster than this one is. However, Calm Mind gives Mesprit a nice boost in its Special Defense to better wall sweepers of all kinds (as its physical defense is already quite decent), and at the same time, boosts its own Special Attack to make an even more powerful Psychic and Thunderbolt. I replaced Thunder Wave with Calm Mind as my Lanturn already had Thunder Wave. Mesprit does have a problem with handling special attacks, but with Bug-type being primarily physical, and Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball being the only two common Dark and Ghost-type special-based moves, Azelf will find a way to stay around.
Shaymin @ Choice Specs / Special Sweeper
Timid / Natural Cure
4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Seed Flare
Earth Power
Air Slash
Hidden Power (Fire)
I mean, come on. This little green hedgehog is cute AND awesome. This Shaymin-L here tries to pull a Shaymin-S because Shaymin-S is banned to Ubers -sad face-. Anyways, Shaymin-L is bulkier, so it's all good. Seed Flare is IMO the ownagest Grass type attack ever, and it is after all, Shaymin's signature move. Earth Power and Air Slash are awesome coverage options. Earth Power nails Heatran (which I will obviously paralyze beforehand, in case it's Scarfed), and Air Slash kills Apes that wan to switch in. HP Fire is a Scizor killer. muahahahaha.
--or--
Shaymin @ Life Orb / Special Sweeper & Aromatherapist
Timid / Natural Cure
36 HP / 252 SAtk / 220 Spd
Seed Flare
Hidden Power (Fire)
Aromatherapy
Rest
Natural Cure ftw. This version of Shaymin may not have the coverage of the last one, but relies on the awesome attack Seed Flare lowering the opponent's special defense. HP Fire is primarily for Skarmory but can also work on Forty and Scizor and other Steels / Bugs. Aromatherapy is there in case my sweepers have been paralysed or burned (if Scyther gets paralysed it's pretty much screwed), but this could also be exchanged for Leech Seed for annoyance. Rest is obviously the best recovery option because of Shaymin's ability, Natural Cure. It heals status problems as well, which is beyond awesome.
The second set is used when I'm playing on NetBattle and Platinum sets are not yet updated (boo).
EDIT: Wow. Just my luck. Right after posting this thread, I went to check up something for Gallade's moveset. Then I stared for 5 minutes in disbelief at the "BL" beside Gallade's typing. Fortunately, I do have a back-up for him: Blaziken.
Blaziken @ Choice Scarf / Physical Sweeper
Adamant / Blaze
36 HP / 252 Atk / 220 Spd
Superpower
Flare Blitz
ThunderPunch
Stone Edge / Earthquake
Blaziken's awesome attack and special attack are somewhat hindered by its mediocre speed stat. What better way to fix this than equiping this Firebird with a Choice Scarf? With this EV spread, Blaziken reaches around 370 speed, which is decent enough to outrun most threats and revenge kill them. I felt the need for power over speed on this Blaziken, so I used Adamant nature as opposed to Jolly. Superpower is a decent secondary STAB move for Blaziken, and hits a lot harder than Sky Uppercut, with better accuracy. However, it does have drawbacks, in that it lowers Blaziken's attack and defense. However, it is likely that my opponent will switch to a Blaziken counter after I use Superpower, so I will probably switch to another pokémon, cancelling out the stat drops. Flare Blitz is an awesome STAB move with 180 base power, but Blaziken suffers heavily in the process. However, it really is Blaziken's only choice for a primary STAB physical move, so it cannot be ignored. ThunderPunch is an obvious option for hitting Water-types, which will often switch in to Blaziken. It also nails Gyarados where it hurts, which is a bonus. Stone Edge is super-effective against Salamence, but I really question its usefulness in this set. Chances are, Salamence will not be OHKO'ed (unless I get a critical hit), and will most likely respond with an Earthquake (if physical) or Hydro Pump (if special). Blaziken's defenses are so weak that it won't be able to withstand a hit from something with base 135 attack and 110 special attack. This is why I am consider using Earthquake on this set to nail Blaziken's biggest rival, the mighty Infernape (who better not be Sashed).
