"I can say without a doubt that there are
an infinite number of universes.
Some are just like our own... but for one
or two significant events, exactly the same."
an infinite number of universes.
Some are just like our own... but for one
or two significant events, exactly the same."
- Lex Luthor
INTRODUCTION
In most instances, Pokémon introduced during a tier shift make a big impact on the overall state of the tier. As new Pokémon enter or leave the tier, most of us build our teams to fit the metagame, and as it continues to shift, the teams eventually lose their luster. In this RMT article, however, I will be presenting a team that has withstood the ebbs and flows of the UnderUsed tier for over two years. Believe it or not, this team has been around for almost as long as XY UU as a whole; in fact, it was originally made when I was still playing on Pokémon Online.
Since its inception, the goal of this team has been to provide stops to the colossal pool of threats lurking in the UU metagame. Like Christo's recent RMT article paragon, this team features one interesting Pokémon that serves as one of the main "walls" of the team: Shedinja. Unlike Christo's team, however, this team has no Magic Bouncer, so my game plan has always been to clear hazards and to remove hazard setters as quickly as possible, so that Shedinja may switch in multiple times without being harmed.
Allow me to share with you how this team evolved over the years as the metagame shifted and grew.
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THE TEAM HISTORY
The Team Inception
. . . . .
Introduction to Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire; Salamence Re-introduced
It seemed that Pokémon Online has lost its luster, but, for some reason, I wanted to go back playing Pokémon competitively. Therefore, I decided to make an appearance on Smogon and Pokémon Showdown. I began by participating in the Research Week project (hosted by King UU), which I won twice: first with a team featuring Mega Audino, and second with a team featuring Granbull, which is no other than the second variation of this team. This was the team I eventually peaked to #1 on the UU Ladder during the Serperior suspect test.
What set this variation apart from the first one was the addition of Mega Sceptile since Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire was introduced. Its nice Speed made up for the team's overall sluggishness. I also overhauled Snorlax's set after some analysts saw Snorlax working better with Curse. Finally, what made me use this team fully was the introduction of Salamence to the tier; the team would never be the same again without it.
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Crash Course with Mamoswine
Mamoswine's introduction to the tier became the team's biggest struggle; with most of the team weak to Mamoswine's potent STABs, it became hard for me to pick up. I eventually had to ditch Mega Sceptile, which had an underwhelming damage output, and had to add in Rotom-Heat to successfully check it. Finally, I decided to switch Granbull's coverage move to serve as a back-up check to Mamoswine (while still maintaining decent coverage for Cobalion and Mega Aggron).
This is the variation I used the most during my stint here on Pokémon Showdown. These appearances included its debut in the UU Open of Smogon Grand Slam IV (though the team eventually lost after Eyan aced Suicune's Sleep Talk rolls in Round 2), its frequent use in Iron Chef where it was one of the scariest teams for challengers to face, and finally, its recent use during the UU Alakazam suspect.
Of course, despite some of its shortcomings, this team managed to bounce back and brought numerous accolades. Those accolades include its first win in the UUPL scene vs. Valentine (through an untimely Icicle Crash miss), its triumph vs. Adaam during Week 6 of the Best Leaderboarders Tournament, and finally, its monumental win in the first round of UU Open of Smogon Grand Slam V against Meru.
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Greetings of peace, fellow members of the Smogon community. Allow me to share to you how my team was built and how I crafted each Pokémon's sets. Allow me, Euphonos, to present to you my oldest XY/ORAS UU team in existence: Injustice: Gods Among Us!
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INTRICACIES OF THE TEAM
As I have said before, it took me numerous weeks to research for hidden gems and to devise core synergies. Among all the cores I've devised, there is one Pokémon that intrigued me the most. While most people considered it to be a colossal force to be reckoned with, they undervalued this Pokémon’s decent pool of resistances which I, on the other hand, took advantage of and started building my team from there. And that Pokémon I chose is no other than Salamence.
Nightwing (Salamence) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 216 HP / 40 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Dragon Claw / Dragon Tail
- Defog / Earthquake
People may call this Salamence set weird, but this set is the reason why the essence of this team will never be the same without it. No other Wish Passer in this tier has a unique pool of resistances that Salamence has, which grants it to absorb most attacks with ease. Along with the pool of resistances comes Intimidate which helps soften blows from Physical attacks; this creates Salamence a different monster for opponents to face aside from the standard Dragon Dance and offensive Defog sets.
This is one variation of a Defensive Defog Salamence set. Unlike Roost on most defensive sets, Wish and Protect are the heart and soul of the team (yes, Salamence learns Wish through a Generation III event); Salamence being banned in due time would be this team’s massive blow. Initially, Dragon Tail was used as its main STAB attack with an added bonus of stopping any Pokémon setting up on its face; on the other hand, with Mega Ampharos having a field day with this team, it is definitely a good alternative to run Dragon Claw to deal decent damage against it.
Having one Defogger in the team would bear a lot of burden of being Taunted or being whittled down by various amounts of damage. Salamence having Defog helps lessen the burden and helps promoting mind games on what Pokémon is using Defog, only to realize two Pokémon are actually Defoggers. However, if there is a need to provide a coverage move for Salamence, Earthquake over Defog is a possible option such that Dragon Tail is the most preferred STAB move of choice.
Its EV spread is very straightforward in maximizing its Physical defense. This is a great way of absorbing as much Fire and Fighting attacks as possible while recovering with Wish and scouting with Protect. 216 HP provides Salamence the maximum Leftovers number, while the remaining EVs are put into Attack to improve the damage output of Dragon Claw / Dragon Tail.
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Of course, with Salamence’s unique pool of resistances comes in a very noticeable set of weaknesses: Ice, Rock, Dragon, and Fairy. Conventionally speaking, this set of weaknesses calls for one thing and one thing only: Steel-type Pokémon. Virtually any Steel-type Pokémon could fit with Salamence on any team, and that has become a trend ever since. However, I have tried to fit in as many of those candidates until I realized there is one missing element in the team all along: a lack of a Bulky Water, which Empoleon became the best fit with Salamence’s defensive nature.
Aquaman (Empoleon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 248 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Defog
- Scald
- Roar
This is a very conventional Specially Defensive Empoleon set; it forms a hazard clearing core with Salamence so that no hazard would harm the "main wall". Empoleon is the primary Stealth Rock setter of the team; while Stealth Rock is a very good entry hazard to throw on the opponent’s side of the field, the primary focus of the team is to clear any hazard laid by the opponent, hence its occasional use (of course, at the right moment).
Its unique type combination allows it to absorb Water attacks with ease without having Salamence to overwork itself by switching in to those attacks only to be succumbed by an Ice attack. As a Bulky Water, it is a privilege for Empoleon to run Scald as one of the best Water-type moves. Initially, Flash Cannon was used as Empoleon’s other attack to take care of Whimsicott, but because the team has improved ever since by finding other ways of taking care of such Pokémon, Empoleon becomes one of the most reliable set-up stoppers in the team by virtue of Roar.
Its EV spread may be odd at first glance, but it happens to be straightforward. 240 HP EVs give Empoleon the highest Leftovers number for a defensive Pokémon, while 248 Special Defense EVs along with its Calm Nature give it the highest jump point. The rest of the EVs are pumped into Speed to outrun some other defensive Pokémon attempting to Roar out before it does.
. . . . .
In the past generations, Empoleon’s added Steel typing allows it to absorb any Ghost or Dark attack; this generation removed resistances to those types, making Dark-type Pokémon a big issue to this team. As such, I needed a Pokémon that can deal with them very well. Even in the earlier stages of XY UU, Florges was running rampant as one of the most popular Fairy-type Pokémon; however, with Salamence fulfilling Florges’s role as a Wish Passer, I was looking for a Fairy-type candidate that would fit in this team without compounding some weaknesses. There was one Pokémon being brought up in the Pokémon Online Forums as one of the hard checks to Mega Heracross and Terrakion (that Salamence and Empoleon would struggle to break) way back before they were eventually banned; as such, I immediately placed it on my team and brought great results. That Pokémon is no other than Granbull.
Darkseid (Granbull) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Heal Bell
- Play Rough
- Low Kick
While Play Rough serves as one of Granbull’s main attacks for the bonus brought by STAB, what sets this Granbull apart is the unconventional use of Low Kick. It was once Super Fang to wear down Steel-types nicely, and then Earthquake to deal decent, consistent damage to them. However, with Mamoswine lurking in the tier and consequently plaguing the team, Low Kick becomes one of the most useful moves as it can potentially defeat it in two hits, while potentially knocking Cobalion out in two hits as well and dealing decent damage to other Steel-types.
Its EV spread is very straightforward; maximizing defenses on the physical side will never go wrong. While it holds Leftovers, Granbull cannot afford to lower its HP to its maximum Leftovers number. However, transferring 36 (or 76) Defense EVs to Attack may be a nice alternative such that Granbull’s Defense can reach to its respective jump points, in hopes of knocking out offensive Salamence sets in one hit with Play Rough even without Stealth Rock on the field.
. . . . .
Next, I wanted a Pokémon to bolster the core in terms of covering weaknesses and resistances. Based on the three Pokémon I selected, I found Fire-type Pokémon being the most problematic at this point, most notably Chandelure (because Empoleon’s secondary Steel typing let it take neutral damage to Fire attacks, while no one enjoys taking a Shadow Ball). There were numerous candidates trying to fit themselves for the team, such as Hydreigon and Porygon2, but Snorlax ended up being the perfect fit for the team.
Solomon Grundy (Snorlax) @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 144 HP / 188 Def / 176 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Rest
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
Snorlax is one of the Pokémon notorious for forcing Chandelure to switch out thanks to its Normal typing to block Shadow Ball and its ability in Thick Fat to take less damage from Fire Blast, with or without any coverage move. These characteristics make this Pokémon complete the defensive core that can react promptly to various archetypes.
Initially, Snorlax has Whirlwind to disallow any Pokémon from setting up in its face. However, with the overall state of the team, it struggled to break other Stall archetypes with this set, hence its transformation from a fully defensive stalwart to one of the deadliest win conditions for the team thanks to Hikari’s “suggestion” with Curse. Of course, this Snorlax needs a coverage move to take care of Chandelure one-on-one; initially, it has Crunch to take down any Ghost-type Pokémon switching in from a Body Slam and to take advantage of a possible Defense drop, but it has finally turned to Earthquake to take care of most Steel-types and to end up being a “lure” to any incoming Fighting-type weak to Ground (Toxicroak, and Lucario, among others) attempting to set up against it. Of course, Sleep Talk, while an important move for a Resting Pokémon like Snorlax, is ditched, but Granbull’s Heal Bell can take care of that.
EVs for Snorlax is actually a trend from the past generation, from the optimal Leftovers number and jump points, to the optimal damage output expected to take from some of the most threatening Pokémon. Barring Fighting-types, the only Pokémon Snorlax would fear with this EV spread is Mega Blastoise, whose Mega Launcher-boosted Aura Sphere can potentially obliterate Snorlax in two hits with Stealth Rock on the field.
. . . . .
This next slot was dedicated to an offensive Pokémon, and with the ever-changing metagame, this slot happened to change over time. Initially, Mega Ampharos was placed here mainly to deal greater damage no matter what abilities opposing Pokémon have. Then, Mega Sceptile was given a good welcome in this team when Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire was introduced, as its nice Speed stat made up for the team’s overall sluggishness. Finally, with Mamoswine running rampant, it needed a Pokémon to successfully check it, as Mamoswine’s potent STAB attacks would spell doom to this team. No other Pokémon would do that except for Rotom-Heat.
Black Adam (Rotom-Heat) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 32 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 220 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Trick / Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Rotom-Heat is definitely a huge upgrade as this team lacks an outright way of taking out Steel-types, something that Mega Ampharos and Mega Sceptile wouldn’t do successfully. While the defensive core of Salamence, Empoleon, Granbull, and Snorlax controls the flow of the battle through their defensive prowess, Rotom-Heat is the offensive hero that exerts pressure to almost all of the hazard setters and other defensive Pokémon whenever their teams have switched to their defensive routes.
Of course, for an offensive Pokémon in a defensive environment like this, it needs to deal as much damage as possible, hence Choice Specs being the item of choice for Rotom-Heat. Overheat and Thunderbolt are the given STAB-boosted attacks in this affair, and that’s why this Pokémon is used much aggressively against most of the defensive Pokémon. Though momentum can be preserved by virtue of Volt Switch, staying power is much needed on most instances. With that, Hidden Power Grass becomes one of the best alternatives as a handful of players know such move exists to take out Defensive Swampert variants before pulling out a Stealth Rock.
Disrupting any defensive Pokémon doing their ordinary tasks (Wish Passing being one of those tasks) with Trick would definitely shut them down. However, Volt Switch could be another possible route over Trick, but it would need an element to take Blissey and Umbreon out, among other defensive Pokémon.
Rotom-Heat’s EV spread is somehow strange, but there is a reason for such allocation. Of course, maximizing its Special Attack paired with its Modest nature gives it all the power it needs to take out any Pokémon standing in their way. 220 Speed EVs are used to outrun Pokémon ranging from Adamant Mamoswine to Jolly Slurpuff before Belly Drum kicks in. 4 Special Defense EVs are used to avoid the Special Attack boost from Download Pokémon (Porygon2 and Porygon-Z). Finally, the rest of the EVs are pumped into HP for a minimal boost in bulk.
. . . . .
Finally, I became torn with the last Pokémon to fit in this puzzle. There were Pokémon who can manage to break this team’s defensive core since way back in Pokémon Online’s XY UU years (such as Diggersby and Mega Medicham, to name a few before they were eventually banned), and I actually thought I would give up on this team for such reason. However, with great thanks to Draciel, there is one Pokémon that would catch those attacks with ease, hence the team’s inception. That Pokémon is no other than (the Pokémon that inspired Christo to build good teams with it): Shedinja.
Doomsday (Shedinja) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 Def
- Swords Dance
- Protect
- Shadow Sneak
- X-Scissor
Shedinja, at first glance, seems to be a fragile Pokémon to use; any form of entry hazard will take it out thanks to its unique 1 HP stat. This is where Salamence’s and Empoleon’s hazard-clearing capabilities come into play; they allow Shedinja to capitalize on its unique typing and a one-of-kind ability that can catch any attack aimed at the team. Thanks to those characteristics along with a set-up move in Swords Dance, Shedinja can effectively serve as a win condition for the team while providing stops to some of the bulky Pokémon.
With Shedinja’s Ghost typing, it is very susceptible to one of the prevalent moves in the metagame today: Pursuit; therefore, vigorous scouting is needed and Protect is one of the few things Shedinja could do. While Will-O-Wisp can help threaten those Pursuit users, some of them usually come with cleric support, which renders Shedinja’s hard work futile. X-Scissor and Shadow Sneak are the staples of any Shedinja moveset to reliably damage bulky Pokémon and fast Pokémon respectively.
While the EV spread of Shedinja is very straightforward since Attack and Speed are all that matters, the IV spread somehow needs explaining. Shedinja having 0 Defense IVs will avoid any Download Pokémon (though uncommon) to boost their Special Attack, hence the remaining EVs pumped into Special Defense (well, would Shedinja improve its bulk with its only 1 HP?).
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LIST OF THREATS
+Prajpran: Wait what beats [a] [E]uphon[o]s team
+Prajpran: Looks broken
While this team is one of the best teams I have in my arsenal, of course there are still a lot of threats that would plague this team. However, some of the threats are set-specific to a point that it would be recognized as a "counter-team".
Hazard stacking along with this variant of Tornadus would spell doom to this team. An untimely Defog would ultimately screw this team up big time; Intimidates from Salamence and Granbull are futile attempts in stopping this Pokémon.
Aside from Defiant Tornadus, (multiple) Taunt users are a huge nuisance to the team, as Defog is used as the only form of hazard control. Some hazard-stacking teams in my experience pack a fast Taunt user to stop Salamence and/or Empoleon from doing their job.
While Cobalion may seem harmless thanks to Shedinja, scouting for Cobalion's appropriate coverage move is still important. Bearers of the Swords Dance + Stone Edge variant would be tough to face; the uncommon Calm Mind + Hidden Power Ghost sets (provided it also has Flash Cannon and Focus Blast to boot) are very frustrating to handle to a point that you just have to hope for a Focus Blast miss.
Among all the Mold Breaker Pokémon available in the Underused tier, Mega Ampharos is the scariest to face. Remember that Mega Ampharos and other Mold Breaker Pokémon can do work against Shedinja's Wonder Guard; the most ideal action for that is to plan ahead and think long-term (and that's why there's Dragon Claw on Salamence over Dragon Tail).
This is one of the Special Pokémon that would potentially obliterate Snorlax in two hits with Stealth Rock on the field thanks to its Mega Launcher-boosted Aura Sphere. While Rotom-Heat can deal massive damage against Mega Blastoise, switching it in on any of its moves is definitely not a good idea.
This is one Pokémon who can really annoy this team; that's why Hidden Power Grass is needed on Rotom-Heat to take it out as much as possible. However, another action possible to disrupt Swampert's capabilities is to scout for a possible Mega Evolution on team preview and plan ahead on Tricking Rotom-Heat's Choice Specs with.
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CONCLUSION
Before concluding this RMT article, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to some of my friends who are part of the Underused Community, with special mentions to the following people:
- Hogg for the newfound inspiration to build more teams and for his help in correcting some of my grammatical errors or making a certain paragraph much better-looking;
- King UU for helping me start making a name for myself when I fully commit myself to Smogon and to Pokémon Showdown;
- Christo and r0ady for sometimes giving me a slap in the face that I made some fatal errors that cost me some of the crucial games and test matches;
- teal6 for persevering in a lot of major tournaments despite unfortunate circumstances;
- LilOu for being one of the best bros I've met in Pokémon Online. Hope you'll do well in your future endeavors, be real life or Pokémon-related stuff.
- King UU for helping me start making a name for myself when I fully commit myself to Smogon and to Pokémon Showdown;
- Christo and r0ady for sometimes giving me a slap in the face that I made some fatal errors that cost me some of the crucial games and test matches;
- teal6 for persevering in a lot of major tournaments despite unfortunate circumstances;
- LilOu for being one of the best bros I've met in Pokémon Online. Hope you'll do well in your future endeavors, be real life or Pokémon-related stuff.
There are a lot of people in the UU Community that made some dull moments more fun, especially when I bring up something crazy. To Accelgor, Killintime, LittleRunnerXC, GrilledClawitzer, Malin, among others, thank you for your unwavering support. Should I forget anyone here in this RMT article, remember that the list goes on and on.
I would also like to thank Bummer for giving me advice on how to make those set images a lot better; I guess those would end up being shit if it weren't for your presence in the Art room.
Of course, everyone, myself included, must build a lot of teams to avoid being one-dimensional. With all the knowledge acquired after participating in various projects, with all the principles set in stone after engaging in sound discussions between members of the community, with all the experience acquired after putting lives on the line on official tournaments, we must never forget to look back where we came from and gain from it. This is one team I can't let go of for its sheer effectiveness among the most brutal of unfortunate circumstances, but with Salamence about to put a verdict in due time, it would be a great time to drop this team to showcase how this team can still rock the tier even with some other Pokemon introducing into the tier.
This is it, ladies and gentlemen of the Smogon community: my oldest team in existence known as "Injustice: Gods Among Us". No; this is not my farewell post, despite this being a lengthy article. Feel free to use the team, especially those people who are strapped for teams for the UU Open of Smogon Grand Slam V, while it still lasts (and hope Salamence doesn't get banned, which is highly unlikely). All comments, suggestions, and violent reactions are welcome in this article. Until we meet again.
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