Spice UUp Your Game 2

By Hikari. Art by anundeadboy.
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Introduction

Spice UUp your game main picture

In our previous segment, I talked about innovation and how to get around a Pokémon's checks and counters creatively. This time around, I am going to focus on Pokémon or sets that are either underused or underrated. Sometimes, there is an option on a moveset that is preferred or was used in an older metagame and has stuck. At other times, the metagame might have changed in favor of a certain Pokémon's viability, or a Pokémon may just be a niche option that fits on few teams but is a great option on those few teams where it does fit.

So what kind of Pokémon or movesets are underrated in the UnderUsed metagame? Have a look!

Florges

Florges

Before Sylveon dropped, Florges used to be by far the most common special wall in the UU tier thanks to its great special bulk and excellent typing, which makes it one of the few reliable Dragon-type checks and the best Hydreigon counter. Aromatherapy and Moonblast are used on every set. Synthesis allows Florges to run Calm Mind reliably and deal with offensive pressure better, but it cannot be used by Florges to heal its teammates and has really low PP. Wish increases the amount of support Florges can provide to its team, but its two-turn recovery makes it hard for Florges to deal with certain Pokémon, ruins your team's momentum, and forces Florges to have to run Protect. Sylveon is also usually a better Wish user thanks to its higher HP and better offensive presence. Running both recovery moves gives Florges the ability to help its team with Wish and Aromatherapy support whenever it has an opening, while Synthesis provides immediate recovery that will help Florges deal with offensive pressure. Also, against relatively passive teams, having 24 PP worth of recovery moves is an excellent way of stalling turns and PP.

Venomoth

Venomoth

Venomoth is rarely seen in the UU tier because it lost its strongest weapon after the Baton Pass nerf. However, Venomoth still is fairly reliable, as the metagame is filled with Fairy- and Grass-type Pokémon that let it use Quiver Dance for free, such as the aforementioned Florges and Chesnaught, and Tinted Lens Bug Buzz is only resisted by a handful of UU Pokémon. Quiver Dance and Bug Buzz are a must on every set. The other two moveslots are two of Sleep Powder, Sludge Bomb or Roost. Those three moves are usually the best options, but Substitute and Disable give Venomoth a surprise factor, allowing it to set up and play around its checks and counters. Mono-attacking Pokémon, users of Choice items, and Pokémon that lack strong coverage moves that threaten +1 / +1 Venomoth, such as Reuniclus and Forretress, quickly become setup fodder if they are slower or if Venomoth is given one free turn to set up. The combination of Substitute and Disable can force the opponent to switch around their Pokémon to try to play around Venomoth, which gives it plenty more chances to keep setting up and can quickly get out of control against certain teams.

Diancie

Diancie

Diancie is currently RU by usage, which arguably is deserved, but it's not by any means a bad Pokémon in the UU tier. Diancie's typing isn't the best, but it comes with some incredibly useful resistances, which mixes well with its good bulk. Diancie's movepool is not very large, but Stealth Rock, Heal Bell, and its two STAB attacks are the only moves it really needs. Diancie is one of the few Pokémon that reliably beat most Hydreigon sets and all Entei sets. It also checks Fire-, Dark-, and Dragon-types in general, is extremely hard to KO, can easily trade hits and beat Pokémon such as Mega Aerodactyl, Gyarados, and Heracross, and has two excellent support moves. Diancie isn't the kind of Pokémon you can use on every team, but no Pokémon can do all the things it does with only one set, which makes it great in the UU tier.

Milotic

Milotic

Last year, Milotic was considered a D-rank Pokémon in the UU viability rankings, which means most people believed it was not viable in the tier and that it only was UU because below-average players used it. Many people didn't share their views at the time, including myself, and the metagame trends and Pokémon drops of the last few months have only made Milotic better. The combination of good typing, good bulk, and access to Recover and Haze is what makes Milotic outstanding in the tier. People regularly mention running "wincons" to clutch games. Well, Milotic is the "anti-wincon" Pokémon. Setup sweepers such as Curse Snorlax, Calm Mind Reuniclus, Calm Mind Cresselia, Calm Mind Florges, and Dragon Dance Gyarados will never win a game as long as Milotic is alive, as they lack the power or the Speed to threaten Milotic and don't have enough PP to outlast Haze's 64 PP. Additionally, Milotic is a solid bulky Water-type even without using Haze, allowing it to check top threats such as Entei and Mega Aerodactyl. Lastly, no Pokémon will be able to set up on Milotic—not even Pokémon that aren't threatened by Scald or Ice Beam—as long as you don't want them to; even if you are required to sacrifice Milotic by spamming Haze against a threatening sweeper, you'll have the certainty that it will not get out of control.

Note that Milotic has gained tons of popularity in the past few weeks and isn't as uncommon as it used to be, thanks to its 100% win record in the last Smogon Premier League and top players hyping it up, but it's the biggest example of "being uncommon isn't the same as being bad or unviable."

What's next?

If you liked any of these sets, try seeing if you can implement them in your builds. They may be niche, but they fill their respective niche very well. Should you ever come across a time where the common or conventional sets or Pokémon do not help you, do not be afraid to add something to your team just because it is uncommon. Who knows? It may be just what you need. Keep trying and you will eventually find success!

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