UUnder the Sea: Exploring UU's Water-types

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Introduction

Water-types have historically been amazing in the competitive scene, including the current UU tier. A resistance to common attacking types like Steel, Ice, Fire, and opposing Water, the ability to pressure common Ground-types, and having a lack of weaknesses outside of Electric and Grass, the latter of which doesn't have many Pokémon in the higher tiers, have made Water-types one of the most influential types on teambuilding due to their offensive potency alongside their defensive utility. Furthermore, access to impactful moves like Scald and coming in a plethora of dual typings to add additional utility makes Water one of the best types in competitive Pokémon. UU is home to common threats like Scizor, Hippowdon, Skarmory, Nihilego, Moltres, and Diggersby, so putting a Water-type on your team can't go wrong. UU is home to plenty of Water-types that wash away the competition and flood the higher tiers of the viability rankings. Check this article out to learn more about these wonderful Water-types!

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The Pokémon

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Throughout the entire Crown Tundra metagame, Primarina has stood at the top as one of the best Pokémon in the tier, being a huge threat offensively and an integral glue defensively. Water + Fairy is a STAB combination resisted by very few Pokémon, with coverage moves like Psychic and Ice Beam taking care of threats like Tentacruel, Amoonguss, and Assault Vest Tangrowth that would normally switch into Primarina. Primarina's Choice Specs set, while lacking the defensive utility valued from it, has no switch-ins apart from Chansey, as even Assault Vest Tangrowth gets overwhelmed by Moonblast, while Steel-types like Celesteela get drowned by Hydro Pump. Primarina doesn't just swim with Choice Specs, though; other offensive sets like Substitute + 3 attacks, Substitute + Calm Mind, and Calm Mind + Rest are all potent, taking typical answers like Amoonguss by surprise. They are all still notable for retaining integral defensive utility against Keldeo and Salamence while being offensive in nature. Primarina is also key at turning the tides against many offensive threats like Hydreigon, Keldeo, and Salamence with its RestTalk set, acting as a defensive wall that can absorb status and utilize its potent offensive typing even when operating defensively. It distinguishes itself from fellow defensive Water-type Slowking with a U-turn resistance, Dark-type resistance, and ability to heal itself of status. One of the timeless Pokémon of the generation, influencing trends like Assault Vest Tangrowth running Power Whip to beat Calm Mind variants, this singing siren has cemented itself as a huge threat and remained at the top since.

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Good teammates:

Skarmory is a great teammate for both offensive and defensive variations of Primarina; offensive sets like the Spikes support provided to wear down Amoonguss and Assault Vest Tangrowth, while defensive sets appreciate it being an amazing switch-in for Zarude, Tangrowth, and powerful physical wallbreakers Primarina can get overwhelmed by like Conkeldurr and Mamoswine. Zygarde-10% offensively threatens Nihilego, Thundurus-T, and Chansey. Nidoqueen pressures Celesteela and Assault Vest Tangrowth while also providing Stealth Rock support.

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As alluded to earlier, Slowking is another significant defensive Water-type in UU, returning to dominance after a 6 month sabbatical in OU. The buff Teleport received this generation has turned Slowking into a Pokémon viable in the highest of tiers, as the move's negative priority allows Slowking to safely bring in frail wallbreakers to enter the metagame. This, coupled with Regenerator for longevity and support options like Future Sight for amplified wallbreaking and Thunder Wave to cripple switch-ins like Hydreigon, makes Slowking one of the best Pokémon in the metagame. This dapper king not only walls integral Pokémon like Moltres, Salamence, and Keldeo like Primarina but also takes on common physical attackers like Conkeldurr, Mamoswine, and Zygarde-10% without being forced into Rest. Its resistance to Steel also lets it better threaten the likes of Scizor, Cobalion, and Excadrill with a Scald burn. Slowking fits on a wide range of archetypes from VoltTurn to balance to stall. On stall teams in particular, Slowking utilizes a Calm Mind set to act as a late-game sweeper while still keeping defensive utility, checking annoying threats like Calm Mind + Rest Primarina and Calm Mind Galarian Slowbro without needing to fit Haze or Unaware users. Its ability to always put in work has made Slowking a staple in UU that continues to see dominant use.

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Good teammates:

Skarmory fully counters Grass-types like Zarude and Tangrowth. Meanwhile, Hippowdon can keep Slowking from being overwhelmed by Salamence and Moltres and check Thundurus-T, Raikou, and Choice Scarf Hydreigon. For the Calm Mind set, Chansey is a great partner on stall teams to take on Thundurus-T and Hydreigon while also acting as a cleric.

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This water horse has been on a roller coaster of viability this generation. The prominence of Keldeo has led to Pokémon that resists Water like Slowking, Primarina, Amoonguss, and Assault Vest Tangrowth becoming common, with at least one on every team, limiting its wallbreaking presence and lowering its viability. Keldeo has "suffered from success" so to speak. It has taken off a few times this generation, once when Zeraora rose to OU and another when Pelipper dropped, being seen as broken in the eyes of many, only to fall back into the same cycle. However, Keldeo has once again broken out recently to great success, even with the aforementioned Water-type answers being great. Keldeo's Speed tier is excellent in the slower metagame, beating out staples like Zarude, Nihilego, and Thundurus-T. It also resists Scizor's Bullet Punch, letting it fit on even more teams easily as a check to one of the best Pokémon in the metagame. Keldeo's ability to shred more offensive teams as one of the deadliest wallbreakers out there with Choice Specs has solidified it as a top threat in the current metagame. Furthermore, Calm Mind sets have popped up recently as fast cleaners on hyper offense teams that maintain solid defensive utility against threats like Scizor and pressure typical threats to hyper offense like Zarude and Thundurus-T. It's still prediction reliant and isn't the fastest out there, so only time will tell where Keldeo can finally break its cycle and have a long-lasting place in the metagame.

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Good teammates:

Scizor is an amazing partner for Keldeo, luring in Steel- and Fire-types like Skarmory, Rotom-H, and Moltres for Keldeo to blast with Hydro Pump while also handling Grass-types like Tangrowth with ease. Zarude is another pivot that completely blanks Slowking and pressures Primarina. Hippowdon provides Stealth Rock support and sand chip to put switch-ins like Amoonguss and Salamence in range of two Hydro Pumps. It also handles revenge killers to Keldeo like Raikou, Noivern, and Zygarde-10%.

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It's washin' time! Fun fact: Rotom-W has been UU by usage the longest out of every UU Pokémon, dropping in April 2020 and never leaving since. This clearly attests to how good Rotom-W has been in UU throughout the various metagames, washing away the competition with its great typing and utility. Hydro Pump blasts Ground-types like Hippowdon and Excadrill hoping to deter Volt Switch. Pain Split lets Rotom-W retain longevity while taking on top threats like Mamoswine, Celesteela, Skarmory, Moltres, and Scizor, with Will-O-Wisp being integral in crippling the latter as well as Cobalion and Amoonguss. This allows Rotom-W to be a great pivot in UU, forming potent VoltTurn cores with the likes of Zarude, Scizor, and Moltres and supporting the team with great defensive utility. Even threats it would typically give free entry to like Hydreigon and Zarude just get hit with Volt Switch, bringing in a teammate to handle them. Rotom-W has the option to use a Choice Scarf set as well, crippling switch-ins like Swampert and Chansey while still acting as a pivot. However, Rotom-W isn't perfect like the way it cleans clothes; being a Water-type that loses to Zygarde-10% and Excadrill isn't ideal, and its low base HP means it doesn't take too many neutral hits. Despite crippling Scizor with Will-O-Wisp, it cannot handle bulky Swords Dance variants and needs a teammate to handle them. Pain Split isn't the most reliable recovery either. Despite all this, there's a reason Rotom-W hasn't left UU, and its valued traits in the current meta means it will still have a place for the rest of the generation.

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Good teammates:

Cobalion pressures threats that typically take advantage of Rotom-W like Zarude and Hydreigon while also providing an answer to bulky Scizor by boosting past it with Swords Dance. Scizor forms a dangerous VoltTurn core with Rotom-W, luring in Skarmory and Celesteela for it while also being a switch-in to Zarude. Amoonguss shuts down counters to Rotom-W like Swampert and Zarude and assists in checking Scizor.

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Axolotl Flip! Swampert has a defined niche as a Stealth Rock setter in UU that can keep momentum, a trait only seen elsewhere in Cobalion, which would much rather run Swords Dance for Scizor now that Aegislash has been banned, and Jirachi, which just mediocre in this role. As such, Swampert has shown to be a solid support Pokémon in its time in UU, enabling dangerous threats like Hydreigon and Azelf with its entry hazard setting and momentum grabbing capabilities. It pressures entry hazard removers like Excadrill, Tentacruel, Mandibuzz, and Salamence with Earthquake or Toxic. Swampert is also flexible with its moves as of late; Ice Beam lures Salamence and Grass-types for nice damage, while Scald is being run over Flip Turn on bulkier teams to cripple Scizor with a burn. Swampert's biggest issue is its lack of reliable recovery, causing Hippowdon to be the preferred Ground-type on teams, as Hippowdon's better bulk in conjunction with Slack Off lets it handle threats like Thundurus-T, Nihilego, Zygarde-10%, and Hydreigon far better. Still, Swampert's ability to better answer Rotom-W as well as consistently grab momentum with Flip Turn gives it a decent place in the metagame.

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Good teammates:

Amoonguss blanks pesky Grass-types like Zarude and Tangrowth. Jirachi provides Wish support to boost Swampert's longevity. Slow wallbreakers like Mamoswine appreciate Flip Turn giving them safe entry onto the field and pressure threats to Swampert like Amoonguss, Hydreigon, and Togekiss.

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When talking about offensive Water-types in UU, you can't forget this dragon dancing sea serpent! Despite being restricted to hyper offense teams for the most part compared to other Water-types like Keldeo and Primarina, Gyarados still is one of the scariest sweepers in the metagame you do not want to be on the wrong side of. Gyarados's solid bulk and typing let it set up on common threats like Keldeo, Scizor, and Excadrill; one opportunity is all it needs to sweep. With Ice Fang for Amoonguss, Zarude, and Tangrowth as well as Power Whip for Swampert, Slowking, and Rotom-W, there is only a small set of Pokémon that can handle it once boosted. Even Skarmory and Mandibuzz can be broken past if they switch in on a +1 Mystic Water-boosted Waterfall. Gyarados can also mix it up by running a Substitute + Dragon Dance set, taking advantage of defensive Pokémon that could ruin it with status like Hippowdon and Slowking and easing prediction with Bounce at the cost of super effective damage against Water-types. Unfortunately, Gyarados suffers from a Stealth Rock weakness, limiting its setup opportunities if hazards are on the field, not to mention faster threats like Thundurus-T and Zarude keep Gyarados from boosting safely. Skarmory and Mandibuzz are still amazing checks to it, while Amoonguss and physically defensive Tangrowth can take a boosted Ice Fang. While it may not live up to the dangerous hype the anime provides, Gyarados is still a UU Pokémon that has the destructive power of a tsunami to unprepared teams.

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Good teammates:

Since Gyarados best fits on hyper offense teams, Excadrill makes a great partner that can set and remove entry hazards to better facilitate a sweep. It also can remove Rotom-W for the Subsititute variants. Thundurus-T helps pressure the likes of Skarmory, Mandibuzz, and Amoonguss for Gyarados. Scizor can handle fast revenge killers to Gyarados like Nihilego and Zarude while also removing Tangrowth and Amoonguss with its Life Orb Dual Wingbeat set.

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Meet the shredder aka Toxapex: UU edition. Tentacruel is infamous for being nearly impossible to switch into in UU; every Pokémon hates at least one of Knock Off, Scald, or Sludge Bomb. Amoonguss? Get burned with Scald and become a weaker check to Scizor. Chansey? Get hit with Knock Off. Slowking? Have fun being poisoned by Sludge Bomb. Tentacruel is also one of the few Rapid Spin users in UU, and a pretty solid one at that, keeping entry hazards off against Cobalion and Skarmory. Tentacruel also does great against threats like Celesteela because of Liquid Ooze as well as being one of the few switch-ins to Primarina's STAB combination. However, Tentacruel's dome can be shattered quite easily; its abysmal physical bulk keeps it from checking Mamoswine, Scizor, and Zygarde-10%. Even Choice Specs boosted Secret sword from Keldeo, a Pokémon Tentacruel should wall, starts to add up over time and wear it down. Its lack of reliable recovery keeps it from checking Nihilego, Salamence, and Moltres, making Tentacruel known for being a soft check rather than a hard check for too many Pokémon. Common Stealth Rock setters like Hippowdon and Swampert beat Tentacruel in the long run. Tentacruel can still be very potent in the right circumstances, but its roles are very specific and should be noticed when using it compared to other Water-types.

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Good teammates:

Zarude can pressure Electric-, Ground-, and Psychic-types like Thundurus-T, Hippowdon, and Slowking that Tentacruel struggles with. Hippowdon appreciates Tentacruel handling Skarmory and Primarina and takes on Thundurus-T and Excadrill in return while keeping Tentacruel from being overwhelmed by Moltres and Salamence. Salamence pressures Zarude, acts as a secondary check to Keldeo, and takes on Scizor and Excadrill for Tentacruel.

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Like the powerful Primarina, Azumarill is another Water / Fairy type in UU that is relatively solid in UU. Azumarill is nothing but raw power; this bad bunny typically uses a Choice Band set to smash defensive staples like Hippowdon, Celesteela, and Mandibuzz while having strong priority in Aqua Jet to revenge kill fast threats like Nihilego and Thundurus-T. Coverage like Ice Punch for Amoonguss and Tangrowth and Knock Off for Tentacruel means Azumarill can get past nearly every Pokémon in the metagame. On hyper offense teams, Belly Drum is a dangerous set that can clean late-game with its massive Attack boost and UU's lack of faster Pokémon that resist Water. Azumarill also has passable defensive utility to handle Hydreigon, Salamence, and Keldeo, though this is where its positive traits end. Unlike Primarina, Azumarill has mediocre bulk, leaving it with much more limited defensive utility. It's super slow, with even common defensive Pokémon like Skarmory and Rotom-W outspeeding it, not to mention the presence of checks like Zarude and Thundurus-T. Azumarill is super prediction reliant and has poor longevity, with Skarmory, Amoonguss, and Tangrowth all being able to switch into it and scout its movepool as well as chip it with Rocky Helmet. Even though these threats fall to Belly Drum, Azumarill fails to get many meaningful setup chances, with Zarude and Rotom-W revenge killing it anyway. It's too slow compared to Keldeo and too frail compared to Primarina to really stand out in the metagame. It just comes to show that power isn't much without other traits to back it up.

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Good teammates:

Moltres handles Skarmory and the Grass-types for Azumarill while also luring in Hippowdon and Nihilego with U-turn. Stealth Rock support from Cobalion helps soften up switch-ins like Skarmory and Assault Vest Tangrowth for Azumarill to break past easier. On hyper offense teams, Celesteela can take advantage of Azumarill's answers like Tapu Bulu, Zarude, and Iron Defense Skarmory by using them as free setup, paving the way for Azumarill to clean late-game.

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Despite Crawdaunt's nuclear offensive power with its devastating Choice band-boosted Crabhammer and Knock Off, it suffers from the same issues as Azumarill to an even greater degree. While Azumarill's defensive typing gives it some form of utility against Hydreigon and Keldeo; the same cannot be said for Crawdaunt with its poor Defense, Speed, and typing on the defensive end. Thus, it is overly reliant on pivots to get it in safely, which causes it to get worn down by entry hazards entering in multiple times. With the right predicition it can go in, but the presences of Hydreigon, Primarina, Zarude, Keldeo, Amoonguss, and Skarmory are just too much for the poor crustacean to handle.

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Good teammates:

Not only is Slowking one of Crawdaunt's favorite targets, it also is a great teammate, providing it many entry chances with Teleport to get onto the field safely while answering Keldeo. It also amplifies its wallbreaking power by providing Future Sight support; common switch-ins like Amoonguss and Tangrowth don't stand a chance with this combo. Moltres can bring Crawdaunt in against Nihilego and Hippowdon with U-turn and wipe out Skarmory and Zarude for it in return. Noivern provides another pivot as well as a revenge killer to the likes of Keldeo, Zarude, and Choice Specs Hydreigon.

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Lower Tier Water-types

While these Pokémon are not UU by usage, they all have well-defined niches in UU that make them worth talking about.

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This shining star is a dangerous wallbreaker in UU despite residing all the way down in NU! Starmie's excellent BoltBeam combo complementing its STAB, powerful ability in Analytic, and ability to offset Life Orb recoil with Recovery make it already capable to hang with UU's best, but its high Speed beating out Keldeo, Nihilego, Thundurus-T, and Zarude further bolsters its usefulness. It has no switch-ins apart from Chansey, though it is quite weak in a 1v1. Base 100 Special Attack just doesn't cut it too well, especially since Starmie is quite frail. Starmie also gets worn down between entry hazards and Life Orb recoil, forcing it to use Recover more often than it would like. Keldeo generally is stronger, doesn't require a Life Orb, and has a Stealth Rock resistance, but Starmie's greater Speed will always give it a place on teams that need it and its power.

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While not replicating the success it had in OU as a sweeper during OLT, Cloyster still has potency on hyper offense teams in UU as a setup sweeper. Closyter's high natural Defense lets it take physical attacks from threats like Zygarde-10% and Mamoswine and use them as setup bait, letting it sweep with its Skill Link-boosted attacks. Pin Missile is important to keep Slowking from walling Cloyster, though Poison Jab nails Primarina and does fair damage to Keldeo. Hydro Pump is needed to OHKO Cobalion and Skarmory after a boost. However, Cloyster still isn't the fastest after a boost; Choice Scarf Hydreigon revenge kills it, and its awful Special Defense denies it many setup chances. Furthermore, it just cannot get past Rotom-W and Keldeo. Still, Cloyster has a fair niche on hyper offense teams that can take unprepared teams by surprise.

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Suicune still does what it did in past generations: be an absurdly bulky sweeper with Calm Mind that can stall attacks with Pressure and spread burns on the enemy. It sets up on common staples like Slowking and Amoonguss and can stall out specially defensive walls like Chansey. Its quite matchup dependent, though, as it will be dead weight in games with its natural enemy Zarude, who can heal Scald burns with Jungle Healing and exploit Suicune's unboosted Special Defense, as well as against offensive teams that deny it setup chances and force it into Rest. As a result, Primarina is much more suited for this niche as a Calm Mind sweeper, though Suicune will always still have a niche in UU.

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A neat alternative to both Swampert and Hippowdon, Seismitoad trades the better bulk the two have as well as Hippowdon's reliable recovery for access to Knock Off and Water Absorb, useful tools in the current metagame. Knock Off is great to punish common Defoggers like Salamence by removing their Heavy-Duty Boots, while Water Absorb lets it fully counter Rotom-W, though it hates a burn from Will-O-Wisp, and deters Keldeo from clicking its nuclear Hydro Pump. It's rather specific for the most part, but there are teams that certainly appreciate Seismitoad's capabilities.

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Jellicent is a relatively recent innovation, fitting well on Spikes teams featuring the rising Skarmory as a deterrent to Rapid Spin from Excadrill and as a check to Scizor through burning it. It also walls rising threats in Keldeo, Skarmory, and Swords Dance Cobalion while blocking Celesteela, Hippowdon, and Slowking with Taunt, being a solid defensive stallbreaker. It best fits on defensive teams that check Grass- and Electric-types. It isn't the perfect Pokémon, and the heavy Speed investment for Skarmory means it doesn't have much bulk investment, keeping it from properly handling Salamence, Moltres, and Nihilego. It is also 2HKOed by Excadrill, a Pokémon it should deter from using Rapid Spin. Regardless, this ghostly jellyfish has found a solid niche in the current UU metagame.

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The currently ongoing UU invitational has shown the potency of Rain in the current metagame. While Politoed itself lacks significant utility options and is a momentum sink, its ability to enable dangerous Pokémon like Keldeo, Crawdaunt, and Mantine in the rain makes it worthwhile using. Mantine has become a staple of this archetype, threatening bulky Grass-types like Amoonguss and Tangrowth as well as enemy Keldeo, which is a huge threat to rain, as its Water-type attacks become even more difficult to switch into and can use the boost against the team. Rain isn't perfect, but it's certainly a viable pick used by top players.

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Final Thoughts

UU has a plethora of valuable Water-types that perform well in the current metagame, having various traits ranging from potent offensive potential to great defensive utility and support. The ocean is huge, dive UUnder the sea and explore the depths of UU by trying out these Water-types today!

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