So I finally made it to freaking 1500, after ridiculous struggles against hax, terrible niche and unexpected movesets (#StuffBrobatLosesTo, Scarf Emboar, AKA FAST BACON), occasional choke plays, and terrible matchups at times because of what I was using. But nonetheless I did it. I'll probably try to ladder higher to at least make sure I don't decay, but I need to seriously be more careful when that comes about. For now, though. C-Rank:
I also tweaked my team, which is in the original post I made and edited twice. I stuck with both my primary Dark Horses, Slowking, and Avalugg. I guess now since I'm here, I'll explain a bit about them and my experiences in using them, cause what good is this kind of a project without at least a little bit of discussion, right? The idea to use Avalugg and Slowking actually came from some goofing around I did in RU Beta. I was surprised at Avalugg's ability to sponge physical hits surprisingly well, even ones it was weak to at times. Same deal with Slowking, as Assault Vest Slowking, did the same with special attacks. I figured the two paired together decently since one covered the other's weaknesses, so long as you could just get another mon to back Avalugg up and take the Rock/Fighting/Fire physical hits aimed at it, while Slowking took whatever was in between.
From what I've found, Avalugg is stupidly good at sponging physical hits even in UU, and it has actually clutched me a few games. Of course, using a Spinner who sometimes relies on the ability Sturdy while having an SR weakness and susceptibility to all hazards is no bueno. But even then, it still managed to chew hits up and spin. Literally, any physical attacker who didn't carry a move it was weak to, was checked by Avalugg. I'm looking at you, Honchkrow, Crawdaunt, Snorlax, non-mixed Mega Absol, Hippowdon, Donphan, Krookodile, etc. I could go on. I actually decided to save some choice replays on my alt, most of them mainly demonstrating Avalugg's power. Nonetheless. AV Slowking did cameo and pull through a few times I'm sure, but focus on Avalugg for now.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-117003123
Battle I had against Kitten Milk on his alt for this past Research Week, Avalugg actually checked his entire team. Sadly I pulled a CoolStoryChokebat at the end and overestimated the bulk it had. But take a look at how long it lasted through the match, and how much weight it pulled. Also this was before the recent changes I made to my team, so Doublade and Rotom-H made cameos too.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-118040602
Battle I had against some guy on the ladder. I didn't really talk about it cause I wasn't sure if I wanted it to be a concrete change, but I put in Porygon2 over Rotom-H for a while just to see how it went, since I felt I needed a backup special tank to assist Slowking. Anyway, Slowking does show it can take some hits it's weak to and still get the job done, but the real part you should focus on is turn 22. It's beautiful I swear.
There were more replays I could have saved overall, but mainly that Avalugg is surprisingly underestimated and underrated in the Underused environment. AV Slowking, Dragon Tail comes heavily in handy for shuffling stuff, especially when Rocks are up. It's kind of annoying that Florges blocks the move completely, but still. Also you may have noticed my AV Slowking is Specially Defensive, and that seems redundant. My team's a little Hydreigon weak and I need a little more closure against it. Slowking can eat Draco Meteors like they were chicken wings, but not too many Dark Pulses. The extra bulk helped it take 'em a bit better overall, allowing it to hit back with Ice Beam (which I specifically put on Slowking over Fire Blast down the line just to deal with Hydreigon). If I do ladder any further I might post some more about the rest of my team, but the main two dark horses I used and wanted to focus on were Avalugg and Slowking.
Gardevoir's pretty cool too, Modest Scarf Gardevoir goes in. All that needs to be said can be summed up in 2 more replays for your viewing pleasure cause I know you're sick of reading by now:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-118360515
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-118364791
May as well lump both these replays together because in the end, and spoiler, Scarf Gardevoir basically cleans up against the threats that were otherwise putting in a ton of work on my team. Not only that but I needed another Fighting check if I was gonna go in with Snorlax (used to be AV Snorlax for some wack reason, but now I run CurseLax, which functions as a surprisingly dope win condition), and Scarf Gardevoir fit perfectly. I actually wanted to use Whimsicott, but it wasn't doing too nicely for me, so I eventually caved to Gardevoir, and I'm liking it so far. :]
I also tweaked my team, which is in the original post I made and edited twice. I stuck with both my primary Dark Horses, Slowking, and Avalugg. I guess now since I'm here, I'll explain a bit about them and my experiences in using them, cause what good is this kind of a project without at least a little bit of discussion, right? The idea to use Avalugg and Slowking actually came from some goofing around I did in RU Beta. I was surprised at Avalugg's ability to sponge physical hits surprisingly well, even ones it was weak to at times. Same deal with Slowking, as Assault Vest Slowking, did the same with special attacks. I figured the two paired together decently since one covered the other's weaknesses, so long as you could just get another mon to back Avalugg up and take the Rock/Fighting/Fire physical hits aimed at it, while Slowking took whatever was in between.
From what I've found, Avalugg is stupidly good at sponging physical hits even in UU, and it has actually clutched me a few games. Of course, using a Spinner who sometimes relies on the ability Sturdy while having an SR weakness and susceptibility to all hazards is no bueno. But even then, it still managed to chew hits up and spin. Literally, any physical attacker who didn't carry a move it was weak to, was checked by Avalugg. I'm looking at you, Honchkrow, Crawdaunt, Snorlax, non-mixed Mega Absol, Hippowdon, Donphan, Krookodile, etc. I could go on. I actually decided to save some choice replays on my alt, most of them mainly demonstrating Avalugg's power. Nonetheless. AV Slowking did cameo and pull through a few times I'm sure, but focus on Avalugg for now.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-117003123
Battle I had against Kitten Milk on his alt for this past Research Week, Avalugg actually checked his entire team. Sadly I pulled a CoolStoryChokebat at the end and overestimated the bulk it had. But take a look at how long it lasted through the match, and how much weight it pulled. Also this was before the recent changes I made to my team, so Doublade and Rotom-H made cameos too.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-118040602
Battle I had against some guy on the ladder. I didn't really talk about it cause I wasn't sure if I wanted it to be a concrete change, but I put in Porygon2 over Rotom-H for a while just to see how it went, since I felt I needed a backup special tank to assist Slowking. Anyway, Slowking does show it can take some hits it's weak to and still get the job done, but the real part you should focus on is turn 22. It's beautiful I swear.
There were more replays I could have saved overall, but mainly that Avalugg is surprisingly underestimated and underrated in the Underused environment. AV Slowking, Dragon Tail comes heavily in handy for shuffling stuff, especially when Rocks are up. It's kind of annoying that Florges blocks the move completely, but still. Also you may have noticed my AV Slowking is Specially Defensive, and that seems redundant. My team's a little Hydreigon weak and I need a little more closure against it. Slowking can eat Draco Meteors like they were chicken wings, but not too many Dark Pulses. The extra bulk helped it take 'em a bit better overall, allowing it to hit back with Ice Beam (which I specifically put on Slowking over Fire Blast down the line just to deal with Hydreigon). If I do ladder any further I might post some more about the rest of my team, but the main two dark horses I used and wanted to focus on were Avalugg and Slowking.
Gardevoir's pretty cool too, Modest Scarf Gardevoir goes in. All that needs to be said can be summed up in 2 more replays for your viewing pleasure cause I know you're sick of reading by now:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-118360515
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-118364791
May as well lump both these replays together because in the end, and spoiler, Scarf Gardevoir basically cleans up against the threats that were otherwise putting in a ton of work on my team. Not only that but I needed another Fighting check if I was gonna go in with Snorlax (used to be AV Snorlax for some wack reason, but now I run CurseLax, which functions as a surprisingly dope win condition), and Scarf Gardevoir fit perfectly. I actually wanted to use Whimsicott, but it wasn't doing too nicely for me, so I eventually caved to Gardevoir, and I'm liking it so far. :]
