Resource OU Underdogs - The Niche Heat Brigade

we need to bring the kitchen back.

:slither_wing: Slither Wing @ Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 11 Atk
- Close Combat
- Acrobatics
- Flare Blitz
- Bulk Up

If you miss Timid Kartana, here's a way worse but fun sweeper Slither Wing! It comes in on the Grounds, clicks Bulk Up, then clicks until it dies. Booster Speed lets it outspeed the unboosted metagame. Acro pairs nicely with CC and hits Tusk and Zama, while Flare Blitz is your strongest option into Balloon Ghold, Zapdos, and Lando. Tera Fire blocks burn attempts, flips the fairy matchup, and provides extra firepower to get through Bulky Ghold and Lando.

Slither Wing has a neat defensive typing that lets it check Tusk, Lando, Darkrai, Zama, and Gambit, as well as physical Val lacking Spirit Break. It's bulk lets it getaway with dumb stuff like living Valiant Moonblast and Moth Fiery Dance at full (it actually can't OHKO either at +1 so you'll probably need to tera anyways but it's worth something ig).

The real weakness of this set is how weak it is with no boosts and even at +1 sometimes. Moltres completely walls, Zap shrugs off Flare Blitz with no Tera, Lando takes the Flare Blitz and then Taunts, etc. Regardless, I think it's a fun option and can potentially catch opponents off guard. Worst case scenario, it's a Tusk switchin or it revenges like an Oger or something. Putting this out there so maybe someone can put it to better use.
 
Some tamer, but practical innovations for y’all:

Kingambit @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Supreme Overlord
Tera Type: Ghost / Fairy
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Kowtow Cleave
- Sucker Punch

Helmet Gambit with the standard bulky EV spread is extremely handy for circumventing its two most common checks, Great Tusk and Zamazenta.

Against Tusk lacking CC, switching into iron head or SD now spells doom for Tusk, as you’re extremely likely to live headlong rush from full even against max atk Tusk and deal 95.5-109.7% with iron head into -1 def iron head with helmet chip, at zero allies fainted. SD and +2 iron head kills of course. Max hp tusk is actually even better since headlong rush does less and you can shore up the damage lost with a sucker punch next turn, amounting to a tiny bit over 100% total for iron head, -1 def iron head, helmet 1x, and -1 def sucker. No tera needed, although of course you can always walk away with more health if you do.

Against Zama, obviously you’re going to need tera to beat it, Gambit may be very strong but it is mortal. That said, helmet prevents it from beating you by boosting up its defenses and/or roaring you (although with hazards up roar is of course threatening)—0f iron head does 25% minimum to +1 def 252/88 Zama, and crunch on tera ghost needs to hit 13.2% odds or a defense drop just to 3HKO with crunch, and both of you setting up favors you against roarless Zama. Tera fairy requires +6 zama to roll to 2HKO with body press, heavy slam does jack shit too, and you resist crunch. Even against roar Zama, which of course may far surpass your boosts with its own, you put a lot of pressure on it just by threatening helmet chip every time it wants to attack and setup every time it lets you stay in without roaring. And of course when Gambit is most threatening (last mon) is exactly when it can’t be roared anyway.

It also can catch a lot of random uturns/flip turns from pult, mola, lando-t (provided reasonable assurance they won’t use a ground move), Corv, Meowscarada (who gets comically owned for taxel), Hamurott, and Rilla.

Raging Bolt @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy / Bug / Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 20 Atk
- Dragon Pulse
- Roar / Dragon Tail
- Volt Switch
- Thunderclap

The best version of boots pivot raging bolt imo, and a natural fit on hazard stack. One of the main roadblocks to pivot bolt is its prediction reliance: clicking volt switch on the ground type switch-in or dragon pulse on the stay-in (or switch you’d prefer to pivot on) can easily lose your momentum. Additionally, while dragon pulse may be quite punishing to Tusk or Lando, there are several relevant ground types leveraging a more favorable typing or greater special bulk such as Treads, Clodsire, Gliscor, and Ting-Lu, which render pivot bolt a liability normally. Taunt is the usual 4th slot, while tera blast Ice/Fairy/Ground have all made appearances, but roar is my absolute favorite. Bolt’s natural bulk ensures there are many opportunities to click roar without immediate risk of losing your bolt, and with hazards up you can often quickly rack up chip on your checks (especially since Treads is rarely boots, Tusk fairly commonly absorbs knock, Lando is virtually never boots, Gliscor always takes rocks, and Ting Lu is either lefties or a reasonably common knock taker). Additionally by disincentivizing the direct switch-in (even from the really bulky grounds) you make it a lot more reasonable to click volt switch or tclap even against teams that have good checks. Even if they have a boots clodsire, they need boots everything-else to be comfortable coming in and getting roared out every time, which even stall does not do thanks to Gliscor, and since roar goes through protect you can prevent it from getting two turns of poison heal if you correctly read protect over toxic/pjab/knock. For all the variants of the bolt pivot set, I find this to be the most consistent one by far.

Finally, credit to NaxDuck for the original build and Pinkacross for the fixed build found here from his “fixing viewers’ teams” series, I’m only acting as a messenger on this one:

Talonflame (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dual Wingbeat
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn

Gale Wings Talonflame is actually…kinda legit. Yes, it needs hazard support really badly. Yes, its surprise value is very important to its success and I can’t see it thriving in a meta that preps for it. That said, Hatterene almost singlehandedly prevents rocks from going up since Kleavor is trash, Tinkaton generally runs pickpocket, and most other rockers struggle to threaten Hatt sufficiently. Add in a Tusk or taunt Lando-T and avoid setting rocks against Cinderace teams and you’re pretty much set (which is why Hatt + Flying Spam teams have become one of my favorite teamstyles, but I digress). Wish/healing wish support, as in the original build, can allow you to sustain damage on Talonflame and restore gale wings later as well. In exchange, you get a priority dual wingbeat that is stronger than Dragonite’s espeed with the same item and tera status, with a multihit, and a single-use priority move that is 1.5x stronger in brave bird (restorable via wish/hw). The only stronger priority that does not depend on your opponent’s move is first impression, which while quite strong, is single use and can thus drain momentum. Add in an excellent speed tier alongside fire coverage and uturn, and the thing can actually be a massive threat. Pinka was taking names in 1900+ with this thing, and I can attest to the fact that I’ve been having a lot of fun and success with the team as well.
 
A couple new sets I’ve been trying:

Kyurem @ Leftovers / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 56 HP / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive / Hasty Nature
- Freeze-Dry
- Tera Blast
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance

Water Tera Blast compresses a lot of value into one slot for Kyurem, offering unparalleled coverage alongside freeze-dry, coming with an excellent defensive typing, and *switching from special to physical when set up*. Going through the relevant OU pool of mons, this comes out in your favor more often than not, allowing you to break through Blissey, Clodsire, tera steel CM Latios (without concern for spdef boosts), and magic guard CM Clef by hitting their weaker defense, while physically defensive mainstays like Tusk, Moltres, Dondozo, Gliscor, Lando-T, and Pecharunt either get smoked by freeze-dry or can’t stand up to boosted tera blasts. Substitute wraps this set together nicely with a bow by giving you outs against the many status users in the tier and PP stalling potential, with sufficient HP to live a seismic toss as well.

Sinistcha-Masterpiece @ Custap Berry
Ability: Heatproof
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Strength Sap
- Curse
- Shadow Ball
- Endure

Who said Sinistcha was reserved for balances and BOs? This more offensively-inclined take on Sinistcha is intended to spinblock short-term and trade effectively, even in emergencies, thanks to its powerful shadow ball and the combination of endure and ghost curse or strength sap alongside its natural immunity to extreme speed (and immunity to sucker punch and thunderclap when using ghost curse or strength sap). A ghost curse sac does wonders to allow you to set up a sweeper or position a breaker directly in front of something that would normally wall it, supplying the difficult decision between switching out into something more vulnerable and accepting 25% chip every turn. That curse commonly lands on Kingambit, Corviknight, Roaring Moon, Blissey, tera fairy Garg, and Gliscor, making partners like Dragapult, offensive Glimmora, your own Roaring Moon, Latios, booster Iron Crown, and Deo-S (edit: and SD Gliscor) sensible partners.
 
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Thundurus @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Electric Terrain
- Foul Play
- Thunder Wave
- U-turn

Came back from a long hiatus and because I wanted to speedrun through low ladder, I made this dumb cheese build with unexpected success with on a Specs Valiant team. There are some games which are won simply because the opponent isn't prepared for a Specs Valiant with a Quark Drive boost. Rillaboom really likes coming in on the set, but unlike Pincurchin, you can just click Electric Terrain again, then U-turn out for ~40%. Foul Play + good speed tier is also really handy and Tera Dragon lets you deal with Wellspring in a pinch. Tera Ghost is another option that lets you solo normal Dragonite
 
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Maushold @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Population Bomb
- Beat Up
- Switcheroo
- Tidy Up

I’ve been using this set on offence with strong attackers to lure ghosts, beat up is non contact so you can hit birds and helmet users. Switcheroo can give birds, Pecha and garg a life orb. I like it on offensive teams that clean up with iron press zama. Tera ghost dodges extreme speed and sets up on Corv. You can bluff encore and set up pretty easily.
 
That's a great Maushold set - Rocky Helmet has always been its biggest downfall. Tidy Up, Population Bomb, and Switcheroo all make sense for those three moves - what makes Beat Up the best move for that last slot?
 
toshimelonhead said:
That's a great Maushold set - Rocky Helmet has always been its biggest downfall. Tidy Up, Population Bomb, and Switcheroo all make sense for those three moves - what makes Beat Up the best move for that last slot?
Click to expand...
Lure ghosts like Gholdengo, Pecha etc. for team mates. it’s boosted by technician and life orb, these are very common switch ins for maushold and it does better damage than bite if its team mates are alive. I have ohko gholdengo on switch in with strong attacking team mates. You can scout helmet mons by using it because it’s non-contact. You can get decent damage on first hit into birds without getting statused and switch in someone else on their roost.
 
Iron Crown @ Leftovers
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 172 HP / 104 SpA / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 20 Atk
- Focus Blast
- Psychic Noise
- Calm Mind
- Substitute

I think this set is really good at the moment, you can set up on slowking g, lure gambit and set up on a few other mons. It’s a good check to kyurem and you can beat stall if you bait Tera first. You can get some goldengo low. I’ve been using it on hazard stack to sub up in front of weezing g defogs. It’s good with zama.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2387790649-3pau9yl5sxkdhtdacoes9utc15edsjapw
 
Kyurem @ Loaded Dice
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 252 Atk / 24 SpA / 232 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Scale Shot
- Icicle Spear
- Freeze-Dry
- Earth Power

Use this set to auto defeat stall, if you freeze dry on Gliscor protect then follow up Tera ice icicle spear. You should win. if you Tera you can 2hko molt. Use it with g weezing to switch into slowking g as it leaves removing its Regen. It’s pretty good with zama.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2387801316
 
Rillaboom @ Life Orb / Terrain Extender
Ability: Grassy Surge
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Grassy Glide
- Wood Hammer / Knock Off
- Tera Blast

Tera rock is rarely a particularly useful tera type but Rillaboom has a variety of things going for it that enable tera rock to be uniquely beneficial for it. Grass/rock coverage is surprisingly good coverage that, despite both being resisted by the best defensive type in the game, hits all VR-ranked mons except 10—Gholdengo, Kingambit, Tinkaton, Iron Crown, Okidogi, Goodra-H, Kommo-O, Chesnaught, Bronzong, and Magnezone—at least neutrally (and be so fr, no one is running Magnezone). This list shrinks to 4—Kingambit, Okidogi, Kommo-O, and Chesnaught—with knock off, though I only recommend this for terrain extender in order to maintain the OHKO on Ghold. With SD + LO, many of these resists aren’t real, with offensive Ghold, standard Tink, and AV Iron Crown being OHKO’d (and outsped in Ghold’s case) by +2 Wood Hammer or 2HKO’d by the other two moves, offensive Kingambit taking 80-95% from Wood Hammer, and spdef Okidogi taking 75-88% from Wood Hammer (the rest actually tend to fare better but are also less meta-relevant). Compared to Cornerpon, the main competitor for its niche and an admittedly faster mon with stronger rock coverage, better spdef, and a defense boost on tera, Rilla boasts stronger grass STAB even without a boosting item, powerful priority, better physical bulk, terrain support, flexibility of tera typing, and the ability to be paired with Waterpon or some other choice of Ogerpon forme. I think of Cornerpon as a rock nuke with grass coverage while this rilla set is a grass nuke with rock coverage.

But most of the above applies to any SD LO Rilla, and rock isn’t the only way to snipe common Grass resists, so why rock? Despite being an overall terrible defensive typing, it actually has some excellent defensive properties on the turn you tera by virtue of having a nigh inverted type chart. Rock resists 3 of grass’s weaknesses in fire, flying, and poison, while being neutral to the other two in ice and bug. It also is mainly hit super effectively by types that are unwise to toss at grass types like Rilla, such as ground, water, and grass (though grass is fighting- and steel-neutral which is certainly relevant for matchups like Zama and Scizor, can’t win em all). This allows you to stay in on and make quick work of Zapdos, Moltres, Iron Moth, non-specs Kyurem, Cinderace, tera poison Darkrai, Corviknight (who is 2HKO’d by +2 TB rock), and Dragonite (who is OHKO’d through multiscale by +2 TB rock). After breaking through the chosen Rilla switch-in, stopping Rilla from cleaning up with its combination of sheer power and priority becomes quite difficult for many teams, as even those which stack grass resists may no longer have the means to take it out in one hit with one of those resists, while most grass neutrals and even some frail resists are OHKO’d by glide. It may be weak to ground after tera, but ground moves are primarily coming from grass-weaks like Tusk and Ting-Lu (and EQ damage is halved). Defensive Ghold at near full is required to land a killing MiR. Kyurem can usually revenge kill successfully, if it was not the initial switch-in, though if at that point you manage to still be at full, you do live an earth power from non-specs.

Really the only things that have to be well and truly out of the way before looking to sweep or at least break with this Rilla set are Garchomp (Wood Hammer vs full health tankchomp leads to a whopping 80% of your health lost in recoils + contact dmg while +2 glide doesn’t kill), Scizor, and Zama (really just want chip and the defense boost gone as +2 glide does 64-76% to no def boost 252/88 zama and 81-96% to no def boost 0/0 Zama); basically everything else folds with a little chip and an SD.
 
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