USUM UU Speculation Thread

[Saria]

Tutors: https://puu.sh/yhoR3/1f5228ecc7.txt
New egg & level Up moves: https://puu.sh/yiVbo/2b628d1565.txt
Those two + new Pokemon, their stats and movepool: https://puu.sh/yiVh2/bc5174e38c.txt

Half of the tier learns Defog now. Altaria, Florges, Hydreigon, Klefki, Tornadus, Volcanion and even Whimsicott are now able to run Defog. Defensive teams have two new great Defoggers with Altaria and Hydreigon, while offensive teams have priority Defog to practically guarantee getting rid of hazards at any point of the game. Additionally, Gliscor is now able to run Defog and Poison Heal, which might be better on paper than on practice when you consider all the moves Gliscor want to move, but it could have a major impact. Getting rid of hazards is easier than ever, which means Pokemon like Talonflame will be more viable and stall becomes significantly stronger.

Kommo-o has a fair and balanced™ Z-move: Clangorous Soulblaze. It has 185 base power (special) and raises all it's stats one stage. That combined with Kommo-o now being able to learn Close Combat, Drain Punch, Ice Punch, Aqua Tail and Iron Tail, it's very likely it becomes an actual threat in UU now.

There are some minor additions like Lucarion learning Meteor Mash, Bewear learning Drain Punch, Alolan-Muk learning Fire Punch, Alolan-Persian learning Knock Off, etc. Hard to catch everything and mention it in one post.

Lycanroc Dusk form might be usable, thanks to Lycanroc in general getting a better movepool, its stats and strong ability.

75/117/65/55/65/110
Tough Claws

+2 252 Atk Life Orb Tough Claws Lycanroc Drill Run vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cobalion: 439-517 (135.9 - 160%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Tough Claws Lycanroc Accelerock vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 224-265 (68.9 - 81.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Tough Claws Lycanroc Accelerock vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Scizor: 207-243 (73.6 - 86.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

The damage calcs are nice, but the Pokemon is incredibly frail and the typing doesn't help it defensively.

Only new Pokemon I feel might drop is Stakataka, which has an absolutely terrible typing and no Speed. Defensively it's basically a better Bastiodon, which isn't a particularly good thing.

Stakataka
61/131/211/53/101/13
Rock/Steel

Don't get fooled by the defensive stats, the typing kills it and Bastiodon is actually bulkier in the special side. We have Mega Aggron and Mega Steelix as bulky Steel-types and this thing doesn't threaten their position in the tier.

However, I think it has a rather unique niche that can successfully abuse in UU. With 13 Speed it's Gyro Ball will be stronger against everything (Gyro's base power vs Relaxed Swampert is 129). It also has a fairly powerful STAB Stone Edge and Earthquake for coverage. Those things combined with Beast Boost and Stakataka learnign Trick Room might make it a massive threat vs offensive teams. The typing is ass for walling, but the bulk is massive and gives it plenty chances of setting up TR and get the ball rolling, and offensive teams definitely lack ways of playing around this thing specially if it gets a single boost.

252+ Atk Bastiodon Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 297-349 (91.3 - 107.3%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Bastiodon Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latias: 297-349 (98.3 - 115.5%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Bastiodon Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Scizor: 181-214 (64.4 - 76.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Bastiodon Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Scizor: 325-384 (115.6 - 136.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Bastiodon Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cobalion: 109-129 (33.7 - 39.9%) -- guaranteed
3HKO
252+ Atk Bastiodon Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cobalion: 194-230 (60 - 71.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

I'm not expecting it to be amazing, but it will definitely be scary under TR. Note that none of those calcs is with Life Orb, but it could run that.

That's all I have for now. Feel free to use this thread to discuss USUM related information and its effect on the UU tier.

 

[TheCtes]

Gliscor getting defog will definitely have a major impact solely becauae it likely means Gliscor will become OU by usage.

 

[mertyville]

The Defog List is hilarious, but I am more curious if Defog Defiant Empoleon might work. But who would Defog on that?

Necrozma has been blessed with some nice powerful offensive moves.

 

[Machiavelli]

List of pokemon with defog now:

Altaria,
Braviary
Comfey
Cottonee
Decidueye
Drampa
Florges
Hydreigon
Klefki
Moltres?
Pidgeot
Rotom
Tornadus
Volcanion

The hazard war is over boys, we won

 

[Bouff]

curious to see how defog hydras gonna fit in, feel like it might be somewhat like lo defog mence in oras (although not really as good but thats because mence was the shit) and run lo roost, but it could also be neat defensively with like roost / dpulse / toxic or taunt. that might be asking for too much though,

defog mega alt is a godsend

itll still probably be bad but knock persian-a means it doesnt have to rely on fucking foul play to do damage so thats cool

i thought swampert got liquidation but that was on another list so idk. if it does that'd be fuckin great assuming mega drops later on but owell

e: i had shit here about kommo-o but i realized that i calced with fucking lo and a boost lmao. its probably a bit less good than i expected then, but maybe on spikestacking or voltturn squads centered around racking up chip it can find a solid footing.

 

[Deleted User 400951]

Well, Florges could actually become better than Sylveon now. Imagine that! (lol you oras uu players see now?)

In all seriousness though, IDK if Florges has the space for it between its current moveset. If it does it genuinely could be as good or better than Sylveon.


But yeah, Machiavelli rightfully declared victory in the hazard wars. For people concerned about the Spikes HO that dictates a lot of the meta, I genuinely see it getting much worse - not towards being unviable, but I'd put Klefki at around A- once USUM comes out.

Rotom-Wash looks to be a great defogger. It's immune to all hazards sans Stealth Rock, has some way of beating a lot of the SR setters or at least crippling them, and keeps up momentum with Volt Switch. I'd definitely replace Pain Split on it for Defog as that imo is still the least useful move on it.

Altaria-Mega is also looking to be a great defogger. It's got that great defensive typing, reliable recovery and the space for it on defensive sets.

Hydregion, I could see 3 Attacks + Defog with either LO or even Z-Draco on it. It's not bad at forcing out setters between D Pulse / Draco / Flamethrower or Fire Blast.

I'm not certain about Kommo-o. It's looking to be good, yes, but how good? That I can't discern. With the amount of fairies in this tier - Iron Tail's accuracy kills it here - and faster revenge killers I just don't know. It beats the shit out of teams if it gets to set up though.

Also, RIP our lord Gliscor. As TheCtes said, OU low ladder will take it from us, and with that what would have been our best defogger. Fuck OU.

Lycanroc is shit. We have an abundance of defensive answers and priority to kill it. Don't bother using it at all.

Also, I genuinely see Neganadel falling here once the OU ladder realizes that it's too frail to set up that NP boost they acclaim as "OMG THE MOST POWERFUL THING EVER!11!!!!!!!11111!1!" Here, it'd be pretty good, though it definitely won't 100% outclass Hydrei due to dark being super nice and hydrei having more bulk. Only time will tell though.

 

[DiscoDucky]

Stakataka actually can be a pretty good sweeper. I heard talks in the OU Spec thread of the TR Stakataka set because its Gyro Ball hits really hard. People run a -Def nature with 15 IVs to get the Attack Beast Boost.

 

[sims796]

On my end, Decidueye gets Shadow Sneak, finally granting him an actual priority move (and it'll most likely be able to use Long Reach), and Laser Focus, which should be fun. Honorary mentions to Leaf Storm and Giga Drain, so it can make use of that decent special attack (I don't expect much use, but it's there), and Tailwind, which should help.

For me, personally,my man Vileplume (and that bitch Bellosum) gains Strength Sap. Like, nothing big to you guys, or the tier as a whole, but huge to me, who'll bee using it regardless of tier ranking.

 

[Nightingales]

Suddenly, all the defoggers mean that some more high-risk mons can do a bit better because they're not crippled as they switch in. Looking at you, Moltres. (Which already had Defog, Machiavelli, got it in an event last gen)

 

[hs]

Naganadel
73/73/73/127/73/121
Poison/Dragon

I don't think this shit will stay in UU, as it has access to Nasty Plot, powerfull STABs, and a good speed-tier, so you'll be able to get Speed Beast Boost everytime you get a kill(except if you're running Modest, that idt it's worth), being a big threat to most teams. Its typing is also very good, allowing it to setup in pokémon that doesn't have a great offensive power, such as Blissey, once Naganadel is immune to Toxic. Due to several factors, it can't stay in UU imo. I see it as BL/OU, or even higher lol.

Also, I think Hydreigon / Mega-Altaria getting defog will have a bigger impact in UU than the others which will learn this.

 

[Bread_Wood]

We’re definitely going to see a major shakeup in the tiers, I agree that we’ll sadly lose gliscor, but it’ll be interesting if lower tier mons gain new relevance. The tutors especially will make hazard control much easier to fit into teams.

Edit: Also, I feel like Kommo-o looks powerful as hell, I expect him to be OU or BL, raising all stats with a powerful z-move, along with some excellent new attacks? It can run pure phys, special or mixed, and still outspeed most of offence and tank hits from any scarfer not running dazzling gleam.

 

[Nuked]

I think we're going to lose Gliscor in these movepool changes. Defog Gliscor beats most rocks setters and is just generally super good, there's probably no way it's staying in UU.

Zeraora isn't staying OU so it looks like it's gonna be decent in UU, although lacking against defensive teams since it's not that strong but it's got that lightning fast Speed (still doesn't outspeed Mega Aero or Beedrill!) and good enough power against offensive teams to pose a threat. I'd say it will end up anywhere from B+ to A.

We're ending up with a shit ton of defoggers and I think this is going to cause big tier changes, because OU now has access to a lot of solid hazard removal and I think these movepool changes are going to really effect the tier. I'm pretty excited.

 

[mathiau]

I don't think Gliscor will leave UU since Landorus-T will also get defog

 

[Meliodafu7]

I don't think Gliscor will leave UU since Landorus-T will also get defog

I think gliscor will leave, landorust is very good rocker but i don't think it will be running defog instead of rocks giving up uturn or hp ice since it need those two moves specially hp ice to do its job. Gliscor reliable recovery and good bulk make it a really good choice on balanced and bulky offense teams

 

[ProfessorMasterChief]

Listen to this while reading so the experience of reading my rambling is slightly better

Alright, time to talk about some shit that may or may not happen, my thoughts on some of the things that are new, and all that fun stuff.

Starting off, Kommo-O was something that I though was genuinely bad in SM, but with all the buffs it got with and actual physical Fighting stab and that bullshit Z-move, I can see this thing being actually good. I’ll want to play around with it before I label it as broken or not, although if the Z move is too powerful we can ban probably the crystal like what we did for mew. Regardless, I’m excited to try it out.

Classic game freak to give something absurd physical defence, yet give it 4x weaknesses to two of the most common physical move types lol. I really can’t see myself using this outside or tr, which is kind of a gimmick anyways. If it had a pure steel typing it would have been better, although I doubt it would be all that amazing tbh. At least Guzzlord is no longer then only UB that sucks ass.

[Just imagine fog getting blown away or something idk I just don’t want to post all of the gifs of the things that got Defog okay]
So everything has Defog now, which is a good thing, although it does mean we will probably lose Gliscor due to the hype it is getting in ou, although if it doesn’t live up to the hype I can easily see it dropping again. Rotom-W stands out as a decent choice, since it does beat a good chunk of hazard setters. Klefki and Whimsicott both have their STAB to punish any dark types that try to block their defog, but Klefki doesn’t want to get rid of its spikes, so it can only use defog on dual screen sets, and Whimsicott isn’t exactly stellar in general. Mega Altaria is a really cool defogger, and this allows defensive sets to provide more utility to their teams. Defog Hydra is also a cool option, and can definitely be an option over roost or coverage on offensive life orb sets, and a bulky set sounds cool as well, I’ll definitely have to try it out.

Other then assembly, I really don’t see the other Ultra beasts dropping, hell Naganandel honestly looks broken in ou on paper tbh. Burst might drop, but even in OU it seems like a pretty decent choice, and I’m sure new toy syndrome would keep it for a while. Needless to say if they did drop they would be busted.

Also I’m sure some things will drop from OU. Tapu Fini will face a lot more competition as a defogger, and I think it can be a cool option in UU, being able to counter Kommo-o, being another defogger, and even being capable of running more offensive sets, especially since its speed is honestly not that bad.

Alola Tales will probably drop, since Aurora Veil has fallen off dramatically it’s about as good at getting wins as I am at making decent posts, because I’m sure we all missed the bullshit that was Aurora Veil. I’m sure facing Scizor or Suicune with buffed up bulk will be fun. Tbh I wouldn’t complain if OU kept this shit lol.

We might get shit like Gengar back, although Bisharp might stay with how much Defog gets thrown around tbh. Idk I just want new (well old, really) toys in uu.

Things that love having spikes support will not appreciate the million things that now have Defog. Mega Sharpedo was always something that was extremely dangerous with spikes support, and not having it available as often really sucks for it as it allows things like Cobalion and Primarina to be kept healthy with less effort. Talonflame, however, loves this, as it allows it a lot more opportunity to come in and start doing its thing.

Ultimately I am excited for what happens once USUM comes out, while it isn’t a change like ORAS that basically breaks everything, it does add some cool new moves, gives us more hazard control, which bulky teams will love, and might even give us a cool Pokémon if the new stuff that will actually drop ends up being better than expected.

 

[Hilomilo]

These new changes bring about a few things that I think could potentially shake up the UU meta a bit, or at least make some Pokemon a lot more worth using. Here are some of the things I'm especially excited for:

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Close Combat
- Meteor Mash

Lucario no longer has to rely on Iron Tail actually hitting foes with Meteor Mash in its arsenal, and also has the added benefit of potentially boosting its Attack in using its newfound STAB attack. Not only can Meteor Mash ease Lucario's matchup against Fairy-types like Sylveon and Mega Altaria (both can KO or weaken it if Iron Tail misses), but it also eases the matchup against Gliscor, which can be OHKOed after Stealth Rock, is a great way of damaging things like Klefki, Heracross, and Nidoking without lowering Lucario's defenses, and in general is just a really hard attack to switch into that has a dramatically greater amount of reliability over Iron Tail. Jellicent and Doublade are still problems however, so Dark-types or Ghost-type lures are always good options to pair with a Lucario set like this. Regardless, I'll be excited to try this out and see if access to a better accuracy Steel-type attack benefits Lucario.

Araquanid @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def
Adamant Nature
- Sticky Web
- Leech Life
- Liquidation
- Toxic

This probably isn't the optimal spread, but I think Araquanid might actually have some use in the tier as a webs setter with some really good special bulk and a lot of power behind its Water-type STAB attacks, which offer good neutral damage alongside STAB Leech Life in the current metagame. Its defensive typing and bulk can be useful for checking nuisances like Mamoswine, Suicune, Cobalion, Mega Blastoise, and Infernape, while its ability to force switches against these Pokemon in addition to the likes of Gliscor and Krookodile allows for easy opportunities to set Sticky Web. Leech Life easily restores health, while Toxic can be used to catch stuff like Seismitaod, Suicune, Alomomola, and Rotom-W by putting them on an undesirable timer. Overall, the addition of Sticky Web to its movepool is something that I think will allow it to carve itself a niche in the UU metagame, especially due to its already decent traits like typing, power, and good special defense.

Ribombee @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sweet Veil
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Moonblast
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power Fire / Quiver Dance

Another Sticky Web mon that I'm really excited about. Ribombee will officially be the fastest user of the move, which will guarantee a niche on hyper offensive teams as a good suicide lead. In addition to giving its teammates fast webs support, it has a decent STAB combo that can threaten a lot of top mons in the tier, including Hydreigon, Latias, Heracross, and Mega Altaria. It also chunks things like Infernape, Cobalion, Gliscor, and Scizor if it's running Hidden Power Fire. Overall, Ribombee's Speed tier is a lot more useful given its access to Sticky Web, while its better offensive presence than Smeargle will likely let it maintain a niche on offense as a reliable webs setter. Specs + Sticky Web could also end up being a thing, but the loss of momentum is definitely going to hurt and it doesn't quite make up for Ribombee's only decent power when it's being locked onto punishable moves.

Florges @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Synthesis / Wish
- Defog
- Aromatherapy / Protect
- Moonblast

Florges is definitely going to be a bit hard-pressed for moveslots, though Fairy is a really good defensive typing right now and I feel that that'll allow it to act as a fairly reliable Defogger, especially considering that it has decent matchups against a lot of prominent physical and special attackers that will allow for easy opportunities to remove hazards. In addition to Defog it can support its team with either Aromatherapy or Wish (unfortunately not both), and due to a lack of a rocks weakness unlike Togekiss and not using up a mega slot unlike Mega Altaria, could find itself a bit more of a place in UU than it currently already has (right now it has a decent niche as a CM user but more variation between potential sets is always great).

Linoone @ Figy Berry
Ability: Gluttony
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Extreme Speed
- Seed Bomb
- Stomping Tantrum

Okay, this may sound ridiculous at first, but hear me out, I legitimately think that by virtue of the berry buff and what will be newfound access to Stomping Tantrum, Linoone will be able to pose a decent threat in the tier as an extremely scary setup sweeper. Obviously its vulnerability to things like Cobalion and Terrakion will be really troublesome though at +6 almost nothing else on offense is stomaching a STAB Extreme Speed. Seed Bomb is for Quagsire, Swampert, and Seismitoad, while also hitting a surprising amount of the ghosts that Linoone would seem to be giving up coverage against, like Jellicent and Cofagrigus. Stomping Tantrum is where things get interesting, as not only does it allow Linoone to handle the other half of the tier's Ghost-types, like Chandelure and Doublade, but it also gets really respectable damage on a lot of Steel-types in the tier, which due to their lack of recovery, only requires that they're slightly weakened with either pivoting teammates or hazards in order to be broken past. Here are some examples of the calcs Stomping Tantrum can achieve:

calcs

+6 252+ Atk Linoone Stomping Tantrum vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Scizor: 238-281 (84.6 - 100%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 3 layers of Spikes
+6 252+ Atk Linoone Stomping Tantrum vs. 252 HP / 76 Def Empoleon: 486-574 (130.6 - 154.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Linoone Stomping Tantrum vs. 196 HP / 208+ Def Klefki: 380-448 (125 - 147.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Linoone Stomping Tantrum vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Steelix-Mega: 226-268 (63.8 - 75.7%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after 3 layers of Spikes
+6 252+ Atk Linoone Stomping Tantrum vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Filter Aggron-Mega: 171-202 (49.8 - 58.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after 3 layers of Spikes (Aggron can heavily dent you in return with Heavy Slam but it's never OHKOing)
+6 252+ Atk Linoone Stomping Tantrum vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Metagross: 380-448 (104.3 - 123%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Linoone Stomping Tantrum vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Doublade: 226-266 (70.8 - 83.3%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after 3 layers of Spikes

So yeah, overall, while still not amazing, I think Linoone could definitely supply itself with a new niche in the metagame come USUM, though we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading! Let me know what you all thought, and remember that it's only speculation so don't give me too hard of a time ;)

 

[Not Miyan]

Hydreigon is getting belch which is pretty cool imo. Z-Belch is 190 BP and can blow fairies. Here some fun calcs.

252 SpA Hydreigon Acid Downpour (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Sylveon: 320-378 (81.2 - 95.9%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Hydreigon Acid Downpour (190 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Primarina: 354-418 (97.5 - 115.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Tho I think scarf/specs would be better but better than nothing.
Hydre got another weapon in its arsenal as an effective fairy lure.

 

[mathiau]

but Klefki doesn’t want to get rid of its spikes, so it can only use defog on dual screen sets

Don't forget that defog also get ride of the dual screen :)

Alola Tales will probably drop, since Aurora Veil has fallen off dramatically it’s about as good at getting wins as I am at making decent posts, because I’m sure we all missed the bullshit that was Aurora Veil. I’m sure facing Scizor or Suicune with buffed up bulk will be fun. Tbh I wouldn’t complain if OU kept this shit lol.

Since defog get ride of the dual screen, it might be easier to deal with it

 

[Moutemoute]

807 - Zeraora - 807 (Stage: 3)

Base Stats: 088.112.075.102.080.143 (BST: 600)
Abilities: Volt Absorb (1) | Volt Absorb (2) | Volt Absorb (H)
Type: Electric
Move Tutors : Dual Chop, Bounce, Low Kick, Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, Superpower, Electroweb, Iron Tail, Snore, Knock Off, Drain Punch, Focus Punch, Shock Wave, Endeavor, Outrage, Snatch, Throat Chop, Laser Focus

1 - Scratch
1 - Spark
5 - Hone Claws
8 - Quick Attack
12 - Fury Swipes
15 - Volt Switch
19 - Snarl
22 - Fake Out
26 - Charge
29 - Thunder Punch
33 - Slash
36 - Wild Charge
40 - Quick Guard
43 - Plasma Fists
47 - Close Combat
50 - Discharge

This thing might be good in UU tbh. Tapu Koko is better so, after new toy syndrom it may drop in UU.

 

[DiscoDucky]

Replying to ProfessorMasterChief:

Apparently someone ran calcs for Kommo-o in OU, and after his Z-Move, he still is pretty weak damage-wise for OU, though access to Close Combat now could be a game changer.. Its Z-Crystal may need to be banned, but I think UU has a diverse enough pool of Pokemon to have a couple of checks and counters to it. Could end up being a dud like Z-Conversion PoryZ.

I'll be honest with you all DD + Close Combat + Outrage >>>>> His Dragon-type Z-move.

Stakataka is actually much better as a sweeper, despite its bad typing. Like Cofagrigus, Stakataka can set TR by itself, and its raw bulk and typing allows it to switch into a couple of relevant Pokemon in the tier (i.e. most of the Fairy-types, Latias, Scizor w/out Superpower). It's certainly not going to be metagame-defining, but to say it sucks ass is pretty harsh since you're not considering its potential as a really good TR Sweeper with base 13 Speed.

Naganadel doesn't seem like OU material TBH. It's a pretty frail Pokemon to begin with, and Poison + Dragon isn't too hot of a typing Defensively or Offensively. Furthermore, setting up with it is pretty hard since it really has no natural defenses or resistances to capitalize on. Toxapex is most definitely still going to be one of the best Defensive Pokemon in the tier, hands down, and as a wallbreaker, Naganadel will have a bit of a hard time breaking defensive cores with its NP set. I think it'll be okay in UU mostly because we have a lot of methods to check and revenge kill it (Roar Empoleon, Scizor, AloMuk, MegaBee, Blissey, M-Aero, MegaMan, M-Scep, M-Steelix, Haze Crobat). Furthermore, most variants won't be able to run Draco Meteor on the NP sets. I kind of see it most comparable to Noivern as a Pokemon.

Blacephelon is just a marginally better version of Chandelure. It can run the Specs and Scarf set more effectively than Chandy (bar Flash Fire). Furthermore, it can run the SubCM stallbreaker more effectively because he can easily double up as a sweeper give its base 107 Speed. Its no Xurk, but its still something to actually watch out for.

I don't think Tapu Fini will leave. Fini is a really good StallBreaker in OU with Taunt + Nature Madness + Misty Terrain (prevents status conditions). Defog is just icing on the cake. I think that the surge in Defoggers won't put Fini out of business, but certainly drop her lower on the OU Viability Rankings.

My opinions:
The new Sticky Web setters seem kind of interesting. Ribombee might be the best offensive Sticky Web setter because its really good Speed tier.

ExtremeSpeed Linoone is no longer event-locked for what it's worth. Don't really know what meaningful coverage he gains from it.

Shell Smash Cloyster has a real STAB now in Liquidation. Feraligatr also gets a small buff in power thanks to Sheer Force.

Defog + Magic Bounce Xatu is a really good low-key buff, especially since it's been doing much, much better in UU with the prevalence of VoltTurn

 

[Moutemoute]

 

[hs]

I see Blacephalon as a decent poke, Specs Mind Blown hits really hard everything that's not immune to this, but its high Special Attack and medium Speed means you have to run like 0 EVs/0 IVs to get a Speed Beast Boost, which is not worth. So, I assum it'll use 252 SpA/252 Spe, but this set is easily revenge killed by Pursuit Aerodactyl-Mega, Hydreigon, and much others. By the way, it has Trick, that I think could be a thing, since you can cripple Blissey, punishing a potential switch-in to take a Shadow Ball/Mind Blown/Fire Blast/idk. I also see a SubCM set being good, and probably making Chandelure irrelevant.

And well, Naganadel is quite frail, that's true, but it doesn't mean that most of the time it won't setup, once it forces a large amount of switch-ins. Also, +2 Z-Draco does an insane damage in Toxapex, and even in things that resist to its STABs, such as Heatran, Empoleon, Steelix and Scizor. It has access to Flamethrower/Fire Blast, that after a Nasty Plot boost, can harm Steel-types, meaning that Steelix/Scizor don't enter safely on Naganadel, and after a +1 Speed Beast Boost, even Mega-Manectric/Mega-Aerodactyl/Crobat/Mega-Beedrill can't outspeed this, lol. The passivity of Blissey means it'll become setup bait, and will dies after a +4 Z-Draco. So, NO, Naganadel won't drop to UU.

 

[Ryolain]

Don't forget that defog also get ride of the dual screen :)

Incorrect, Defog only removes screens from the target's side. It doesn't remove it on both sides like it does for hazards.

 

[mathiau]

, but its high Special Attack and medium Speed means you have to run like 0 EVs/0 IVs to get a Speed Beast Boost, which is not worth

Actually its 20 EVs/31 IVs, with choices specs it might be worth it

Incorrect, Defog only removes screens from the target's side. It doesn't remove it on both sides like it does for hazards.

It does? thanks for correcting me

 

[Hot N Cold]

Kommo-O with Clangorous Soulblaze will make super popular fairy mons, you'll have to use a fairy mon per team If you dont want to get swept by Kommo-O. Scarf mons such Hydreigon, Latias and Kyurem can work well to revenge kill it.

252 SpA Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs. +1 0 HP / 4 SpD Kommo-o: 266-314 (91.4 - 107.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes
252 SpA Latias Draco Meteor vs. +1 0 HP / 4 SpD Kommo-o: 242-288 (83.1 - 98.9%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes
252 SpA Kyurem Draco Meteor vs. +1 0 HP / 4 SpD Kommo-o: 270-320 (92.7 - 109.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes
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252 SpA Nihilego Dazzling Gleam vs. +1 0 HP / 4 SpD Kommo-o: 224-264 (76.9 - 90.7%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and 2 layers of Spikes​

Defensively and offensively its tough to stop (outside of fairy mons), very limited faster mons which can HKO back it after z move is used.

252+ Atk Choice Band Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Kommo-o: 90-106 (30.9 - 36.4%) -- 59.5% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Infernape Close Combat vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Kommo-o: 93-111 (31.9 - 38.1%) -- 94.3% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Mamoswine Ice Shard vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Kommo-o: 96-117 (32.9 - 40.2%) -- 99.8% chance to 3HKO

Naganandel is not dropping, looks like a solid and standard threat in USUM OU.

Blacephalon prolly drops in the long run, seems pretty good in UU. I would say best set in UU its Scarf with Shadow Ball, Fire Blast, HP Fighting and as last move Trick, Overheat or Knock Off, Scarf set takes advantage of Beast Boost and is really good against offense.
Specs set seems strong too because hits very hard while its relatively fast.

252 SpA Choice Specs Chandelure Overheat vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Hydreigon: 193-228 (59.3 - 70.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Chandelure Hidden Power Fighting vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Hydreigon: 238-282 (73.2 - 86.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Chandelure Overheat vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Empoleon: 255-300 (68.5 - 80.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Chandelure Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Suicune: 195-229 (48.2 - 56.6%) -- 34.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Chandelure Fire Blast vs. 244 HP / 116 SpD Gliscor: 331-390 (94 - 110.7%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Chandelure Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Altaria-Mega: 211-249 (72.5 - 85.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Chandelure Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Muk-Alola: 201-237 (48.5 - 57.2%) -- 92.6% chance to 2HKO
Firium is a bit stronger and helps against bulky dark types, SpD Gliscor, Blissey, Muk-A while Ghostium Z helps against bulky waters such Mantine, Suicune, Tentacruel or Swampert.

Calm Mind set looks like a powerful wallbreaker more oriented to beat defensive teams with CM-Zmove and Taunt, some calcs:

+1 252 SpA Chandelure Inferno Overdrive (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 390-459 (54.6 - 64.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 SpA Chandelure Inferno Overdrive (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Umbreon: 304-358 (77.1 - 90.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 SpA Chandelure Inferno Overdrive (185 BP) vs. 240 HP / 216+ SpD Mandibuzz: 388-457 (92.1 - 108.5%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
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+1 252 SpA Chandelure Never-Ending Nightmare (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Suicune: 388-457 (96 - 113.1%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
+1 252 SpA Chandelure Never-Ending Nightmare (160 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Tentacruel: 373-441 (102.7 - 121.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Stall and defensive teams will require to adapt the playstyle to Blacephalon meta using Hydreigon, Shadow Ball Blissey, SpD Umbreon, Snorlax or a faster pursuit user such Scarf Krook, M-Absol or M-Aerodactyl.

0 SpA Blissey Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Chandelure: 112-132 (45.3 - 53.4%) -- 32.4% chance to 2HKO
Overall, I should say Scarf > Specs > CM set.

Zeraora is probably my favourite new pkmn with chances to drop (Naganandel is too good to drop).
Its one of the faster mon in the tier, and super versatile which can run special, physical or mixed sets. All viable moves: Plasma Fists, Close Combat, Volt Switch, Thunderbolt, Taunt, Calm Mind, Hidden Power Ice, Bulk Up, Work Up, Superpower, Focus Blast, Grass Knot, Knock Off and Fire Punch.
Plasma Fists or Tbolt + Hp ice is a must because Gliscor popularity, but all their counters depends on the set that Zeraora is running, Latias and Celebi are probably 2 of the best checks (watch out: Knock Off), bulky grounds types such Swampert, Hippowdon or Seismitoad are decent checks too, outside of GK or CM LO Focus Blast set. Blissey beats any special variant but loses to physical and mixed sets. Best Zeraora counters in UU which can check all sets are bulky M-Altaria and Amoonguss.