Huehuehue Mega Diancie is about to crush souls. Nice 160 SpAtk combined with 110 Spe and good Stabs/Coverage this thing will be broken as hell
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np: UU Stage 1 - Changes
- Thread starter Calloflochie
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Mega-Beedrill has been a lot of fun for me. It outspeeds Mega-Alt even after a DD (as well as Scarf Chandy), and the chip damage off of its U-turn is insane. Plus, Adaptability Poison Jab off of 399 Attack is just insanely good, OHKOing things like, yeah, Mega-Altaria.
I can definitely see Victini being healthy for the tier. With Altaria, Mence, Zygarde, and diance (among other things) punishing fire spam, victini isn't nearly as effective as it used to be. The mixed set is alright at best because it loses out on the power of CB
Raikou has been retardedly good this tier. The specs set allows it to get big damage off on anything, even things like max hp chestnaught. It checks/beats most, if not all, flying types. The SubCm set is pretty decent because it can do damage to mega altaria with +1.
I really want to try out volc and salamence, but I just feel like mega-diance would be a better late game sweeper. It boasts better powre right off the bat, and it can run CM to beat stall, or RP to beat offensive teams
Raikou has been retardedly good this tier. The specs set allows it to get big damage off on anything, even things like max hp chestnaught. It checks/beats most, if not all, flying types. The SubCm set is pretty decent because it can do damage to mega altaria with +1.
I really want to try out volc and salamence, but I just feel like mega-diance would be a better late game sweeper. It boasts better powre right off the bat, and it can run CM to beat stall, or RP to beat offensive teams
Except neither are deathly allergic to steel attacks, which is becoming fairly common, and can actually utilize the rising popularity of Bronzong as a good switch in opportunity. That said... given that neither take up a mega slot it wouldn't be odd to fit them in alongside Diancie. At the very least they have the tools to bone the ever popular Rachi, which gives MDiancie a head ache (even in OU where SpD variants are popular), and roast Zong. That said all three still need to watch out for MAero so just be wary about that.
More importantly it gives you options. Since one can focus on beating stall and the other offense, Diancie can't play both roles.
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Azelf is a really good option because of its access to stealth rock, really high speed, etc. I saw pokeaim use it on a UU rain team a whole ago. Tornadus-I is probably a really good rain dance setter as well bc of prankster.
I chose Klefki for its notorious Prankster Twave and Spikes to slow things down. I was very close to using Azelf for just the reason you said (big fan of aim, yes I'm feeding the ego), but I figured I would get some use out of Boobookeys while it's here.
Yeah, like volc being 4x weak to rocks and mence is 4x weak to ice lol
They both have 4x weaknesses, and steel is definitely the least common.
Cept Steel has a fairly common priority with Bullet punch, which can be a rather nasty surprise, or Iron Tail MAbsol. As well as MAggron, who is definitely going to have his chance to shine more now. Whereas ice shard is pretty rare in UU and rock doesn't have a priority, sure you have bulky waters but they'd be an issue with MDiancie too. Adding to that Diancie doesn't have the recovery that the other two mon have. That said they do work well enough together, mence can easily become part of a Fairy/Dragon/Steel core. While Volcarona can roast steels, and Diancie helps to keep hazards away.
aren't sr supposed to be a common factor in most calcs? There are great defoggers, but there are really good hazard settings too. "fairly common" is limited to lucario and sometimes machamp. if lucario runs bp, it loses to things like gligar and chandelure.
HP ice is a common coverage move, and stone edge is basically on any fighting type that can get it (ie cobalion, mieshao).
I was saying I feel mega-diance can come in and sweep. It has the bulk, speed, and raw power (and coverage) to beat a lot of teams late game. Volc and mence can sweep teams, but the meta is less friendly to them.
if you dont agree you can just not agree and not try to start an argument n_n
ps, diance can destroy stall with cm, and it can beat offensive teams with rp, that was the point i was making.
if raikou is going up, i guess mega-amp would be the next best option to check flying types.
HP ice is a common coverage move, and stone edge is basically on any fighting type that can get it (ie cobalion, mieshao).
I was saying I feel mega-diance can come in and sweep. It has the bulk, speed, and raw power (and coverage) to beat a lot of teams late game. Volc and mence can sweep teams, but the meta is less friendly to them.
if you dont agree you can just not agree and not try to start an argument n_n
ps, diance can destroy stall with cm, and it can beat offensive teams with rp, that was the point i was making.
if raikou is going up, i guess mega-amp would be the next best option to check flying types.
Can someone tell me how the meta changed so as to permit volcarona to return? From what I remember, the vote against it was pretty clear cut, and beyond M-Altaria/M-Diancie, there doesn't seem to be any new checks to it either. It really doesn't add any benefit to the tier and unless the position on hazard control has changed, it still pretty much does the same thing it got booted for the first time round.
Salamence is the other I'm rather iffy about, but only because the damage calc is down and I'm rather interested to know what a +1 Iron Tail does to togekiss/mega altaria/florges or +1 outrage vs bulky waters w/ ice beam. I get its possible to wall, but it takes a good 2/3 mons to do so unless you can trick the mence user into getting outrage locked against a fairy.
Klefki, togekiss and staraptor are the 3 I see the most value in returning, despite the obvious ban arguments against them. Klefki I'd rather not see return if only due to prankster T-wave being a cop-out to have broke mons stay in the tier. The fact that there's about 4 mons at best that can stop it spike stacking without serious risk of punishment (either from play rough or prankster T-wave) is less nice, much less with the huge power creep making spike stacking even nastier than before.
Toge and Raptor I think have the best chance of staying, despite the paralysis hatred against kiss. Raptor's benefit to the tier is a scarf set due to being a great revenge killer to a large number of mega's, and at least being able to hit M-Altaria neutrally with a STAB move, something scarfers that are not named jirachi have serious trouble with. The downside being with the increased mega slot competition, impish rhyperior being crap, and the risk of losing both rachi and raikou to OU, the banded set is extremely hard, if not near impossible to properly stop getting kills each time.
Despite the para-hatred, that is both the benefit and curse Togekiss brings, as the massive speed creep means bulky walls that can tank hits and stop sweepers in their tracks are highly prized. Repeatedly flinching things to death with a good STAB is a downside, and like Raptor, is very dependant on what exactly we lose/gain to/from OU.
Just some thought on the returning mons.
Salamence is the other I'm rather iffy about, but only because the damage calc is down and I'm rather interested to know what a +1 Iron Tail does to togekiss/mega altaria/florges or +1 outrage vs bulky waters w/ ice beam. I get its possible to wall, but it takes a good 2/3 mons to do so unless you can trick the mence user into getting outrage locked against a fairy.
Klefki, togekiss and staraptor are the 3 I see the most value in returning, despite the obvious ban arguments against them. Klefki I'd rather not see return if only due to prankster T-wave being a cop-out to have broke mons stay in the tier. The fact that there's about 4 mons at best that can stop it spike stacking without serious risk of punishment (either from play rough or prankster T-wave) is less nice, much less with the huge power creep making spike stacking even nastier than before.
Toge and Raptor I think have the best chance of staying, despite the paralysis hatred against kiss. Raptor's benefit to the tier is a scarf set due to being a great revenge killer to a large number of mega's, and at least being able to hit M-Altaria neutrally with a STAB move, something scarfers that are not named jirachi have serious trouble with. The downside being with the increased mega slot competition, impish rhyperior being crap, and the risk of losing both rachi and raikou to OU, the banded set is extremely hard, if not near impossible to properly stop getting kills each time.
Despite the para-hatred, that is both the benefit and curse Togekiss brings, as the massive speed creep means bulky walls that can tank hits and stop sweepers in their tracks are highly prized. Repeatedly flinching things to death with a good STAB is a downside, and like Raptor, is very dependant on what exactly we lose/gain to/from OU.
Just some thought on the returning mons.
Agreeing with the sentiment about Volcarona. At +1 nothing barring Blissey, Snorlax, Goodra, M-Altaria(has potential to leave tier), Tentacruel(though this could also be setup fodder) or a faster physical scarfer can really stop it and it still has a lot of the set up oppurtunities that it did before.
Volcarona @ Life Orb
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: null Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Water]
- Quiver Dance
This seemed to be the best performing set last time it was in UU and after rocks it can pretty much OHKO most of the offensive part of the tier at +1. Giga Drain is a viable option as well to crush bulky waters but because of the special defense boost Volcarona will win most of the time anyway.
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Volcarona Hidden Power Water vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Aerodactyl: 276-325 (91.6 - 107.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Volcarona Hidden Power Water vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Diancie: 242-286 (79.6 - 94%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Volcarona Hidden Power Water vs. 112 HP / 0 SpD Chandelure: 289-341 (100 - 117.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Volcarona Hidden Power Water vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Arcanine: 317-374 (82.7 - 97.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Its bulky set also has a lot of potential and can beat some of its offensive sets few checks.
Why use hidden power water to hit rock types when it has access to giga drain? Sure, it hits aerodactyl but that's it.
HP Water hits Fire types, too, which is pretty important.
I played around with a Mega-Sableye/Tentacruel/Volcarona core. Sable and Cruel are pretty great at keeping rocks off the field for Volcarona, Sableye can beat threats like Blissey and break stall, and Volc and Tentacruel can take fairy hits for Sableye.
It looked good on paper, but the team was meh, and the weak link was Sableye. He's just too easy to 2HKO even with those improved defenses (especially with strong Fire types like Darm/Entei/Arcanine so common). I might fiddle with the core some more...
I played around with a Mega-Sableye/Tentacruel/Volcarona core. Sable and Cruel are pretty great at keeping rocks off the field for Volcarona, Sableye can beat threats like Blissey and break stall, and Volc and Tentacruel can take fairy hits for Sableye.
It looked good on paper, but the team was meh, and the weak link was Sableye. He's just too easy to 2HKO even with those improved defenses (especially with strong Fire types like Darm/Entei/Arcanine so common). I might fiddle with the core some more...
How does Slurpuff fit into UU with the fantastic addition of drain punch? Seems a legit late game threat.
Still horribly weak to priority and scarfers, and you can only set up once. Drain Punch is nice for steels, but it still seems like way too much effort for not enough gain. With Bronzong and M-Aggron getting even better in the meta, not to mention the addition of M-Metagross, being weak to Bullet Punch and not having priority of its own, I just can't see any reason to use it even with now being able to get through Steels.
Slurpuff is pretty iffy in all honesty, with the meta being as offensive as it is right now Slurpuff doesn't really get too many setup opportunities even late in the game, that combined with the fact that it only gets one chance to set up due to the nature of Unburden means Slurpuff is a high risk high reward kind of poke. Basically that means you have to take out your opponent's scarfers, priority users, and get yourself in on a defensive mon that doesn't have any sort of phazing move if you want to set up, which constitutes a level of support that a lot of other late game cleaners don't need. That's fine if you're into that kind of thing and really want to use Slurpuff, but when there's other setup sweepers like Salamence and most notably Altaria who can do the same job more reliably there's really no point in using Slurpuff.
If I had to put Slurpuff on the Viability Rankings right now I'd call it a C-Rank, it can do its job under the right circumstances, albeit a bit shakily at times, but there are better mons that can do the same job with less support. Maybe some stuff will get put on the BL in the next few weeks and Slurpuff will find himself more useful, but right now I wouldn't count on it.
OK so im honestly extremely surprised nobody has dropped this little gem of a core onto this thread.
Krookodile @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
Happiness: 0
EVs: 124 HP / 80 Atk / 96 Def / 208 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Frustration
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Substitute
Disgusting is the first word that comes to mind whenever i think about this core. As most know, DD Altaria-Mega is a ridiculous threat as of right now, and people have been doing everything they can to stop it, from Bronzong to Aggron to Jirachi to [insert steel-type here], and it's been pretty successful. However, if you pair up Altaria with Krook, then krook can make mince-meat of these steel types, pursuit trapping Bronzong and Jirachi, while EQ'ing the others. its a simple core to use, but nevertheless wildly powerful. Enjoy!
Krookodile @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
Happiness: 0
EVs: 124 HP / 80 Atk / 96 Def / 208 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Frustration
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Substitute
Disgusting is the first word that comes to mind whenever i think about this core. As most know, DD Altaria-Mega is a ridiculous threat as of right now, and people have been doing everything they can to stop it, from Bronzong to Aggron to Jirachi to [insert steel-type here], and it's been pretty successful. However, if you pair up Altaria with Krook, then krook can make mince-meat of these steel types, pursuit trapping Bronzong and Jirachi, while EQ'ing the others. its a simple core to use, but nevertheless wildly powerful. Enjoy!
I haven't used Slurpuff in ORAS OU yet, but using Cotton Guard over Return will likely do a good job of getting Slurpuff some setup opportunities in the metagame and of defending against priority.
Slurpuff @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Cotton Guard
- Drain Punch
- Play Rough
This set has enough speed to outspeed Choice Scarf Infernape, while 180 Speed EVs outspeeds Scarf Rachi and Flygon. Not much can really survive from this other than bulky Poison types. Even Mega Aggron has a good chance of losing when Drain Punch does 49.1% - 57.8% and Heavy Slam does 66% - 78.8% to a +3 Defense Slurpuff. Of course, if switches in on Slurpuff as it Belly Drums and has at least 58% health, it will probably win. Point stands, however that Slurpuff could be very effective with Drain Punch in UU now. I'll go use it now.
I'm really liking Mega Beedrill in this current metagame, seeing as how it has insane Attack and Speed, which when coupled with the strongest U-turn in the entire tier, is a pain for any offensive teams to face. While the low speed pre-mega sucks and it doesn't do much to defensive teams, especially considering Mega Aggron is rising in popularity and Mega Steelix isn't bad as well, I can see it becoming one of the best mons in the metagame provided OU doesn't steal it.
I also think Mega Sharpedo is really underrated at the moment, as like its pre mega evo in XY UU, it can really tear teams apart when paired up with Spikes support. I've been using it with Scolipede for spikes support, and WP Pass Celebi (who is also good) to pass boosts to it in case hazards get cleared and to tank Electric, Grass-, and Fighting-type attacks. The speed boost that it gets from Mega Evolution is a blessing for it, as it ties with Scarf Mienshao when using a Jolly nature, and also outspeeds base 100s, which is useful in checking threats like Volcarona, Staraptor, and Salamence. Strong Jaw is also a pretty good ability, as the power boost that Crunch recieves is fairly noticeable, and Ice Fang also helps it out in taking out Grass- and Dragon-types. This thing should be used more imo, especially with Scoli in the tier.
I also think Mega Sharpedo is really underrated at the moment, as like its pre mega evo in XY UU, it can really tear teams apart when paired up with Spikes support. I've been using it with Scolipede for spikes support, and WP Pass Celebi (who is also good) to pass boosts to it in case hazards get cleared and to tank Electric, Grass-, and Fighting-type attacks. The speed boost that it gets from Mega Evolution is a blessing for it, as it ties with Scarf Mienshao when using a Jolly nature, and also outspeeds base 100s, which is useful in checking threats like Volcarona, Staraptor, and Salamence. Strong Jaw is also a pretty good ability, as the power boost that Crunch recieves is fairly noticeable, and Ice Fang also helps it out in taking out Grass- and Dragon-types. This thing should be used more imo, especially with Scoli in the tier.
Wait a second so Metagrossite is banned right off the bat but Diancite isn't? I'm calling shenanigans on that; this thing is way too powerful for UU. 700 BST makes it easily the highest in the tier, counting every other Mega. It's got a crazy good ability, if it's not the best Calm Mind Sweeper in the tier it's only because of CroCune, and its mixed movepool is outstanding. Just between Moonblast and Diamond Storm this thing is pretty much set against almost anything in the tier slap an HP fire on it for the steel types and you're ready to go.
Diancie @ Diancite
252 SpAtt/252Spe/4Att
Ability: Clear Body --> Magic Bounce
Rash/Mild Nature
- Rock Polish
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power Fire
Actually, you know what? CroMegaDiancie is probably a thing too.
Diancie @ Diancite
252 HP/252Def/4SpDef
Ability: Clear Body --> Magic Bounce
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Moonblast
Once you wipe out the steel types, this thing is ready to sweep.
Diancie @ Diancite
252 SpAtt/252Spe/4Att
Ability: Clear Body --> Magic Bounce
Rash/Mild Nature
- Rock Polish
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power Fire
Actually, you know what? CroMegaDiancie is probably a thing too.
Diancie @ Diancite
252 HP/252Def/4SpDef
Ability: Clear Body --> Magic Bounce
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Moonblast
Once you wipe out the steel types, this thing is ready to sweep.
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While I do think that this set is a pretty interesting idea and I'll give it an honest shot, I'm not totally sold. The problem that I see with this set is that you're now taking two turns to set up instead of one and losing your ability to hit poison types like the Nidos, Amoongus, Roserade, Tentacruel, and most notably Crobat for neutral damage. Personally I feel that you'd be better off running the standard set and maybe supporting it with Dual Screens or just trying to keep it out until it can sweep regularly because Slurpuff can already do its job with the proper support and I don't think there's any real call to change its set.
Yeah, I've been using it and it only performs its job about 20-25% of the time because of the amount of Poison types and Mega Aggron on the ladder. Slurpuff's not that good here, at least the Cotton Guard set that is.
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