Manipulative
Camila <3
Approved by King UU, Hogg and Ark
Credits to rozes for the art
Hello, and welcome to UU's Player of the Week, where I interview
some of Smogon's most accomplished and well known players in the tier to give
some insight on who they are and their views on certain aspects of the metagame.
If there's someone you want to see interviewed, shoot me a PM!
Current Interview:
Hogg
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I'm a 33 year old Jersey native currently living in Baltimore. I'm also married with a three year old son. Currently working for the Maryland state government, though I still have dreams of writing the great American novel. I played and coached roller derby for years and still like to skate/bike/run, though I don't do any of it as much as I should these days. Love good books (favorites include Samuel Delany, Junot Diaz and Kazuo Ishiguro), good food, good music (particularly love Nina Simone, David Bowie and 90s hip hop and R&B).
Most known for?
Being old =\
Favorite Pokemon?
Reuniclus. Great design, and I absolutely love building and playing with it - it's so good at just completely turning games around. It isn't great in SM UU right now, but I actually like it a lot in SM OU, and it was one of my favorite things to build around in ORAS.
Most used Pokemon?
In SM UU, probably Latias. Since alpha days it has ended up on like a solid 70% of my SM UU teams. In old gens.... probably MAero or Coba in ORAS. Definitely Mew in BW UU and Clefable in DPP UU, both mons are just so fat and so good at threatening almost every possible team archetype in their respective gens. In ADV UU the only answer is Kanga/Oma, which are on 95% of every team, but I also use Tentacruel a lot.
What brought you to Smogon and competitive Pokemon in general?
I'd been playing a lot of Ruby/Sapphire right after it came out and hanging out a lot on the GameFAQs boards. One day a bunch of people from some other board came on to troll Gfaqs, as happened a fair bit back then, and I got flamed by a user named Celia/TheGreatNeoKefka. Decided to follow them back to see what they were talking about, ended up discovering the IRC bots and Azure Heights and a bunch of other Pokemon communities, and became pretty active on the IRC bots in the early ADV days. I took a break for a bit and came back around 2006, to find that most of my old friends had ended up on a new site called Smogon. Hung out there for a while before disappearing again. Came back a few years ago to see what was what, after missing out on pretty much all of DPP/BW, and somehow ended up getting pretty active in UU.
What made you choose your name?
I wanted something short and easy. Grabbed the name from a very bad book by a very good writer (don't Google it).
What is your favorite Generation of Pokemon and why?
Generation 3, by far. Part of this is definitely nostalgia—while I started playing in gen 2, the gen 3 games are definitely the ones I've played more than any other. I've spent more time playing Emerald than I ever have with any video game, period, and it's still my all time favorite Pokemon game. Competitively, I just really like how well balanced the metagame is without feeling stale. Adv Ubers/OU/UU are all super fun, and I still build for all three metas when I'm feeling bored with ORAS/SM.
Thoughts on the SM UU metagame so far? How much have you been playing it?
It's a bit hard to say, because this tier is still really in its early stages of development despite having been around for a few months now, but I think SM UU is a lot of fun, with a ton of options still left to explore. I'm pretty excited to see how it evolves.
What's it like being the new, esteemed UUTL?
I've been council for a while so nothing too crazy so far, although I have big shoes to fill—UU was really lucky to have dod at the helm for late ORAS/early SM. Anyhow I'm lucky enough to be TL of a tier full of a lot of really active people in the community that keep things moving, so thus far things have been pretty straightforward.
What is your favorite playstyle?
It differs a lot from gen to gen and even from metagame to metagame. In SM UU, I definitely prefer bulky offense. Teams where pretty much every member can put in work both offensively and defensively are just really flexible in a way that I think is important for a tier where it's almost impossible to reliably counter all the top threats of the metagame.
What is your favorite UU Old Gen?
ADV UU, with BW UU a close second. I think ADV UU is an incredibly well-balanced metagame with only one exception (no, not Kanga... I'm talking about Baton Pass). While there's a relatively small pool of Pokemon as compared with later metas, there's actually a lot of flexibility within those Pokemon. People harp on Kanga being a requirement on every team, but I actually don't think Kanga is broken at all, just really flexible. If it's akin to anything, it would be Mienfoo in LC or Clefable in SM UU: it provides a ton of defensive or offensive utility, so that it fits on most every team, but it's not actually independently overwhelming.
As for BW UU, it might just be the pool of players we have that still build and play the tier, but I really like how competitive it is despite being several years old at this point. Also for as much as people complain about hazards in BW UU, I kind of like how they balance the tier and both keep key offensive threats like Tini in check and also pressure fat.
You are known to be among the most solid players in the UU community! Is there any advice you would give to newer players in terms of playing and building, competing in tournaments, etc?
Ugh this ended up being longer than I meant it to be so have some hide tags:
Also, final advice: don't take this stuff too seriously. It's OK to just dick around sometimes. As a community we sometimes shit on anything but super high level tour play, but that's such a tiny part of the game really. You'll burn yourself out if you don't let yourself just have some fun.
Who are some of your favorite people in the Smogon Community?
Oh man I hate trying to play the shout-outs game. Christo, teal6 and IronBullet are probably my longest running friends on this site atm, just really good bros all around and still some of my favorite people to chat or build with. As far as players I really look up to, my two favorite players to watch right now are ABR and SoulWind. ABR is one of my favorite builders in general for pretty much any tier, and I really like the way he thinks about the game and the way he puts teams together (plus he's a stupid good player too). SW is just a fucking delight to watch play because he's so solid and methodical with everything he does. When he's in his element, I can't think of a scarier player, and it's a crime to see him without an individual trophy next to his name.
Other than that there are a lot of people that really make Smogon worth coming back to every day: people like Omfuga, Hikari, dodmen, r0ady, Tony, Kink, atomicllamas, Pearl, Star, blunder, obii, ZoroDark, meeps, ict, Sam, pif, Pak, YABO and a bunch of others I'm sure I'm forgetting. (Oh and that Manipulative guy's pretty cool too.)
Also shout out to everyone on US Metro, wish I could be playing alongside y'all but I'm super pumped about our team this year. 10 to 1, baby, this is our year.
Finally can you provide for us a team that you think reflects your current playstyle with a brief explanation of how it works?
I haven't built a ton in this metagame but here's a team I've been messing around with lately that I enjoy:
Offensive VoltTurn built around using Bee + Zap Plate Xurk to wear down opposing teams. Zap Plate Xurk has actually been my favorite set for it lately, hitting almost 10% harder than Specs Raikou with its STABs while still retaining the ability to break down fat Grounds like Hippo/Gliscor. Running Suit on Bee is a really nice way to punish some problematic threats like Lati (Z-Thunder in particular is a dick for this team otherwise) and Chandelure. Toge and Fightinium-Z Coba are my main mid-game threats and both are really good both at providing some defensive utility and in breaking down fatter teams. Scarf Lati is just fantastic versus offense in general and is probably my favorite Lati set at the moment, and acts as the primary revenge killer and also hazard removal for the team. Finally, Vincune is a huge threat in this meta and acts as the late-game wincon, going in over other defensive sweepers like Slowbro thanks to its ability to outspeed some key threats like Xurk, Toge and Buzzwole.
BONUS: have some old gen UU teams!
----------
Thank you for your time and the great interview, Hogg! If you have any questions that you would like to ask him, feel free to leave them below. I'll be back next week with another interview!
Past Interviews:
Level 56 - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-1-level-56.3600909/#post-7312154
Kushalos - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-2-kushalos.3600909/#post-7322306
Pearl - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-3-pearl.3600909/page-2#post-7330480
dodmen - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-4-dodmen.3600909/page-2#post-7337620
Sacri - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-5-sacri.3600909/page-3#post-7347490
Christo - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-6-christo.3600909/page-3#post-7357205
Shiba - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-7-shiba.3600909/page-4#post-7366860
Kink - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-8-kink.3600909/page-4#post-7375380
IronBullet - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-9-ironbullet.3600909/page-5#post-7393878
Credits to rozes for the art
Hello, and welcome to UU's Player of the Week, where I interview
some of Smogon's most accomplished and well known players in the tier to give
some insight on who they are and their views on certain aspects of the metagame.
If there's someone you want to see interviewed, shoot me a PM!
Current Interview:
Hogg
I'm a 33 year old Jersey native currently living in Baltimore. I'm also married with a three year old son. Currently working for the Maryland state government, though I still have dreams of writing the great American novel. I played and coached roller derby for years and still like to skate/bike/run, though I don't do any of it as much as I should these days. Love good books (favorites include Samuel Delany, Junot Diaz and Kazuo Ishiguro), good food, good music (particularly love Nina Simone, David Bowie and 90s hip hop and R&B).
Most known for?
Being old =\
Favorite Pokemon?
Reuniclus. Great design, and I absolutely love building and playing with it - it's so good at just completely turning games around. It isn't great in SM UU right now, but I actually like it a lot in SM OU, and it was one of my favorite things to build around in ORAS.
Most used Pokemon?
In SM UU, probably Latias. Since alpha days it has ended up on like a solid 70% of my SM UU teams. In old gens.... probably MAero or Coba in ORAS. Definitely Mew in BW UU and Clefable in DPP UU, both mons are just so fat and so good at threatening almost every possible team archetype in their respective gens. In ADV UU the only answer is Kanga/Oma, which are on 95% of every team, but I also use Tentacruel a lot.
What brought you to Smogon and competitive Pokemon in general?
I'd been playing a lot of Ruby/Sapphire right after it came out and hanging out a lot on the GameFAQs boards. One day a bunch of people from some other board came on to troll Gfaqs, as happened a fair bit back then, and I got flamed by a user named Celia/TheGreatNeoKefka. Decided to follow them back to see what they were talking about, ended up discovering the IRC bots and Azure Heights and a bunch of other Pokemon communities, and became pretty active on the IRC bots in the early ADV days. I took a break for a bit and came back around 2006, to find that most of my old friends had ended up on a new site called Smogon. Hung out there for a while before disappearing again. Came back a few years ago to see what was what, after missing out on pretty much all of DPP/BW, and somehow ended up getting pretty active in UU.
What made you choose your name?
I wanted something short and easy. Grabbed the name from a very bad book by a very good writer (don't Google it).
What is your favorite Generation of Pokemon and why?
Generation 3, by far. Part of this is definitely nostalgia—while I started playing in gen 2, the gen 3 games are definitely the ones I've played more than any other. I've spent more time playing Emerald than I ever have with any video game, period, and it's still my all time favorite Pokemon game. Competitively, I just really like how well balanced the metagame is without feeling stale. Adv Ubers/OU/UU are all super fun, and I still build for all three metas when I'm feeling bored with ORAS/SM.
Thoughts on the SM UU metagame so far? How much have you been playing it?
It's a bit hard to say, because this tier is still really in its early stages of development despite having been around for a few months now, but I think SM UU is a lot of fun, with a ton of options still left to explore. I'm pretty excited to see how it evolves.
What's it like being the new, esteemed UUTL?
I've been council for a while so nothing too crazy so far, although I have big shoes to fill—UU was really lucky to have dod at the helm for late ORAS/early SM. Anyhow I'm lucky enough to be TL of a tier full of a lot of really active people in the community that keep things moving, so thus far things have been pretty straightforward.
What is your favorite playstyle?
It differs a lot from gen to gen and even from metagame to metagame. In SM UU, I definitely prefer bulky offense. Teams where pretty much every member can put in work both offensively and defensively are just really flexible in a way that I think is important for a tier where it's almost impossible to reliably counter all the top threats of the metagame.
What is your favorite UU Old Gen?
ADV UU, with BW UU a close second. I think ADV UU is an incredibly well-balanced metagame with only one exception (no, not Kanga... I'm talking about Baton Pass). While there's a relatively small pool of Pokemon as compared with later metas, there's actually a lot of flexibility within those Pokemon. People harp on Kanga being a requirement on every team, but I actually don't think Kanga is broken at all, just really flexible. If it's akin to anything, it would be Mienfoo in LC or Clefable in SM UU: it provides a ton of defensive or offensive utility, so that it fits on most every team, but it's not actually independently overwhelming.
As for BW UU, it might just be the pool of players we have that still build and play the tier, but I really like how competitive it is despite being several years old at this point. Also for as much as people complain about hazards in BW UU, I kind of like how they balance the tier and both keep key offensive threats like Tini in check and also pressure fat.
You are known to be among the most solid players in the UU community! Is there any advice you would give to newer players in terms of playing and building, competing in tournaments, etc?
Ugh this ended up being longer than I meant it to be so have some hide tags:
Re: how to play in tour games, my biggest piece of advice is to take your time and think about what you're doing. A lot of the best ladder players rely on an instinctual understanding of the game, and that's pretty awesome if you have that ability, but chances are in a tour game you'll be up against players with just as much skill as you. That's why I think it's worth taking a step back and thinking about the game at a really fundamental level.
What do I mean by that? Well, at any given turn, there are a maximum of nine moves I can make, and probably five or six of those are garbage options that I can discard immediately as bad ideas. That means that I've probably got three moves I can realistically make, and my opponent has the same. Rather than trying to think of what my opponent is most likely to do, I like to think of what the best case and worst case scenario for each of my available moves is. If I've got a Specs Raikou in Draco range against a Latias with an unrevealed item, and my opponent has a Nidoking in the back, what do I click here? What's the absolute best case scenario for this turn for me? What's the worst? Do I go for a neutral "reset" play like hard switching to Gliscor and getting some more information about my opponent's team, or is it worth risking Raikou early to potentially turn the game in my favor by taking out Latias here and now?
When you start thinking about games in these terms, you can play anybody. Remember that the best Pokemon player in the world is faced with the same set of decisions as you. Just take it slow, consider your options, and make the plays that move you closer to winning.
What do I mean by that? Well, at any given turn, there are a maximum of nine moves I can make, and probably five or six of those are garbage options that I can discard immediately as bad ideas. That means that I've probably got three moves I can realistically make, and my opponent has the same. Rather than trying to think of what my opponent is most likely to do, I like to think of what the best case and worst case scenario for each of my available moves is. If I've got a Specs Raikou in Draco range against a Latias with an unrevealed item, and my opponent has a Nidoking in the back, what do I click here? What's the absolute best case scenario for this turn for me? What's the worst? Do I go for a neutral "reset" play like hard switching to Gliscor and getting some more information about my opponent's team, or is it worth risking Raikou early to potentially turn the game in my favor by taking out Latias here and now?
When you start thinking about games in these terms, you can play anybody. Remember that the best Pokemon player in the world is faced with the same set of decisions as you. Just take it slow, consider your options, and make the plays that move you closer to winning.
So I definitely build to suit in important games. That being said, I really don't think that full cteaming is ever that useful, because it relies too much on getting the matchup just right. Some people like talking about counterteaming versus counterstyling, and I'm not entirely convinced that you can actually draw a hard line between the two, but I guess that's closer to what I do. I like to scout my opponents and pull up their teams to get a feel for what they like and don't like, and just build with that in mind. But in the end, I'm building a team that I want to play, not a team designed to perfectly counter my opponent.
Anyhow my advice when building is to not go too crazy trying to build a perfect check to everything in the game. A lot of people get really paranoid when they're building tour teams, and they end up losing the thread and building these boring do-nothing teams as they try to check every possible threat in the game, or they get frustrated, say fuck it and build super matchup based HO and cry foul when they don't nail the matchup. Instead I'd recommend building the team you feel comfortable with, and then just making sure you have some counterplay against the things it is weak to.
Anyhow my advice when building is to not go too crazy trying to build a perfect check to everything in the game. A lot of people get really paranoid when they're building tour teams, and they end up losing the thread and building these boring do-nothing teams as they try to check every possible threat in the game, or they get frustrated, say fuck it and build super matchup based HO and cry foul when they don't nail the matchup. Instead I'd recommend building the team you feel comfortable with, and then just making sure you have some counterplay against the things it is weak to.
Also, final advice: don't take this stuff too seriously. It's OK to just dick around sometimes. As a community we sometimes shit on anything but super high level tour play, but that's such a tiny part of the game really. You'll burn yourself out if you don't let yourself just have some fun.
Who are some of your favorite people in the Smogon Community?
Oh man I hate trying to play the shout-outs game. Christo, teal6 and IronBullet are probably my longest running friends on this site atm, just really good bros all around and still some of my favorite people to chat or build with. As far as players I really look up to, my two favorite players to watch right now are ABR and SoulWind. ABR is one of my favorite builders in general for pretty much any tier, and I really like the way he thinks about the game and the way he puts teams together (plus he's a stupid good player too). SW is just a fucking delight to watch play because he's so solid and methodical with everything he does. When he's in his element, I can't think of a scarier player, and it's a crime to see him without an individual trophy next to his name.
Other than that there are a lot of people that really make Smogon worth coming back to every day: people like Omfuga, Hikari, dodmen, r0ady, Tony, Kink, atomicllamas, Pearl, Star, blunder, obii, ZoroDark, meeps, ict, Sam, pif, Pak, YABO and a bunch of others I'm sure I'm forgetting. (Oh and that Manipulative guy's pretty cool too.)
Also shout out to everyone on US Metro, wish I could be playing alongside y'all but I'm super pumped about our team this year. 10 to 1, baby, this is our year.
Finally can you provide for us a team that you think reflects your current playstyle with a brief explanation of how it works?
I haven't built a ton in this metagame but here's a team I've been messing around with lately that I enjoy:
Beedrill-Mega @ Beedrillite
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Poison Jab
- Drill Run
- Pursuit
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Substitute
- Protect
Xurkitree @ Zap Plate
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Latias @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Defog
- Trick
Cobalion @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 232 HP / 24 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Air Slash
- Fire Blast
- Roost
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Poison Jab
- Drill Run
- Pursuit
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Substitute
- Protect
Xurkitree @ Zap Plate
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Latias @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Defog
- Trick
Cobalion @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 232 HP / 24 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Air Slash
- Fire Blast
- Roost
Offensive VoltTurn built around using Bee + Zap Plate Xurk to wear down opposing teams. Zap Plate Xurk has actually been my favorite set for it lately, hitting almost 10% harder than Specs Raikou with its STABs while still retaining the ability to break down fat Grounds like Hippo/Gliscor. Running Suit on Bee is a really nice way to punish some problematic threats like Lati (Z-Thunder in particular is a dick for this team otherwise) and Chandelure. Toge and Fightinium-Z Coba are my main mid-game threats and both are really good both at providing some defensive utility and in breaking down fatter teams. Scarf Lati is just fantastic versus offense in general and is probably my favorite Lati set at the moment, and acts as the primary revenge killer and also hazard removal for the team. Finally, Vincune is a huge threat in this meta and acts as the late-game wincon, going in over other defensive sweepers like Slowbro thanks to its ability to outspeed some key threats like Xurk, Toge and Buzzwole.
BONUS: have some old gen UU teams!
Slurpuff @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Play Rough
- Drain Punch
- Return
Krookodile @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Taunt
Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Signal Beam
- Recover
Cobalion @ Lum Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Volt Switch
Blastoise-Mega @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Dark Pulse
- Roar
- Rapid Spin
Crobat
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 248 HP / 116 Def / 144 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Roost
One of my fav teams lately, built around a surprisingly fun offensive core of Puff + Reuni. Puff puts a ton of pressure on opposing teams from preview and makes people play really cautiously with typical Reuni checks like Hydra. Cobalion lures and weakens Doublade with VS for Krook to fuck with. RoarToise is a neat bit of tech to help vs Vincune and break down the omnipresent Sylveons in the tier. Stallbreaker Crobat is also super underrated.
Ability: Unburden
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Play Rough
- Drain Punch
- Return
Krookodile @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Taunt
Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Signal Beam
- Recover
Cobalion @ Lum Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Volt Switch
Blastoise-Mega @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Dark Pulse
- Roar
- Rapid Spin
Crobat
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 248 HP / 116 Def / 144 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Roost
One of my fav teams lately, built around a surprisingly fun offensive core of Puff + Reuni. Puff puts a ton of pressure on opposing teams from preview and makes people play really cautiously with typical Reuni checks like Hydra. Cobalion lures and weakens Doublade with VS for Krook to fuck with. RoarToise is a neat bit of tech to help vs Vincune and break down the omnipresent Sylveons in the tier. Stallbreaker Crobat is also super underrated.
Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Substitute
- Baton Pass
Sharpedo @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Roar
Togekiss @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tri Attack
- Air Slash
- Trick
- Fire Blast
Roserade @ Black Sludge
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 HP / 216 SpD / 52 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Spikes
Cobalion @ Chople Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Stone Edge
BP is broken af in every gen.
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Substitute
- Baton Pass
Sharpedo @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Protect
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam
Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Roar
Togekiss @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tri Attack
- Air Slash
- Trick
- Fire Blast
Roserade @ Black Sludge
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 HP / 216 SpD / 52 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Spikes
Cobalion @ Chople Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Stone Edge
BP is broken af in every gen.
Drapion @ Lum Berry
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
Hippopotas @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Atk / 92 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Yawn
- Earthquake
- Protect
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 216 SpD / 40 Spe
Calm Nature
- Knock Off
- Seismic Toss
- Encore
- Soft-Boiled
Cradily @ Leftovers
Ability: Suction Cups
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 160 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rock Slide
- Curse
- Sleep Talk
- Rest
Gligar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 200 HP / 84 Def / 224 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Earthquake
- Roost
Cloyster @ Leftovers
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Def / 244 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Surf
- Toxic Spikes
Cradily is actually a nonsense Pokemon. Also if you want to fuck with people who like to lead Scarf Molt, run Scarf Crunch/Pursuit/Rock Slide/Taunt Drapion instead. (I'm a bad person.)
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
Hippopotas @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Atk / 92 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Yawn
- Earthquake
- Protect
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 216 SpD / 40 Spe
Calm Nature
- Knock Off
- Seismic Toss
- Encore
- Soft-Boiled
Cradily @ Leftovers
Ability: Suction Cups
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 160 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rock Slide
- Curse
- Sleep Talk
- Rest
Gligar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 200 HP / 84 Def / 224 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Earthquake
- Roost
Cloyster @ Leftovers
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Def / 244 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Surf
- Toxic Spikes
Cradily is actually a nonsense Pokemon. Also if you want to fuck with people who like to lead Scarf Molt, run Scarf Crunch/Pursuit/Rock Slide/Taunt Drapion instead. (I'm a bad person.)
Lanturn (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 100 HP / 208 SpA / 128 SpD / 72 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Sleep Talk
- Rest
Omastar @ Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 240 HP / 236 Def / 32 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Surf
- Toxic
- Protect
Misdreavus @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 16 SpD / 68 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt
- Rest
Electrode @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Static
EVs: 12 HP / 140 Atk / 252 SpA / 104 Spe
Mild Nature
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Explosion
Kangaskhan @ Leftovers
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 212 HP / 216 Atk / 56 SpD / 24 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Toxic
- Return
- Substitute
- Roar
Hypno @ Leftovers
Ability: Insomnia
EVs: 228 HP / 160 Def / 120 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Taunt
- Wish
I think Lanturn's super underrated and I like how well it matches up against common leads like Scyth/Oma/Walrein/electrics. Get spikes down, keep them up, win with Kanga/Trode.
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 100 HP / 208 SpA / 128 SpD / 72 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Sleep Talk
- Rest
Omastar @ Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 240 HP / 236 Def / 32 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Surf
- Toxic
- Protect
Misdreavus @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 16 SpD / 68 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunderbolt
- Rest
Electrode @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Static
EVs: 12 HP / 140 Atk / 252 SpA / 104 Spe
Mild Nature
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Explosion
Kangaskhan @ Leftovers
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 212 HP / 216 Atk / 56 SpD / 24 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Toxic
- Return
- Substitute
- Roar
Hypno @ Leftovers
Ability: Insomnia
EVs: 228 HP / 160 Def / 120 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Taunt
- Wish
I think Lanturn's super underrated and I like how well it matches up against common leads like Scyth/Oma/Walrein/electrics. Get spikes down, keep them up, win with Kanga/Trode.
----------
Thank you for your time and the great interview, Hogg! If you have any questions that you would like to ask him, feel free to leave them below. I'll be back next week with another interview!
Past Interviews:
Level 56 - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-1-level-56.3600909/#post-7312154
Kushalos - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-2-kushalos.3600909/#post-7322306
Pearl - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-3-pearl.3600909/page-2#post-7330480
dodmen - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-4-dodmen.3600909/page-2#post-7337620
Sacri - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-5-sacri.3600909/page-3#post-7347490
Christo - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-6-christo.3600909/page-3#post-7357205
Shiba - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-7-shiba.3600909/page-4#post-7366860
Kink - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-8-kink.3600909/page-4#post-7375380
IronBullet - http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/uu-player-of-the-week-9-ironbullet.3600909/page-5#post-7393878
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