Project UU Victim of the Week (Round Twenty Four: Rhyperior)

[Sickist]

reserving doublade
sorry rose

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance

Doublade is a DDance MAlt Counter because Doublade hardwalls DDance without EQ and Alt only has a 43.8% chance to OHKO after rocks at +4. Meanwhile, Gyro OHKO's when Alt is unboosted.

Calcs

252+ Atk Doublade Gyro Ball (105 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Altaria-Mega: 308-366 (105.8 - 125.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Altaria-Mega Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Doublade: 92-110 (28.8 - 34.4%) -- 63.4% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock
+4 252 Atk Altaria-Mega Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Doublade: 272-322 (85.2 - 100.9%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

 

[Smallsmallrose]

Sickist sniped a Doublade reserve JUST as I was typing out a Doublade post (I'm not happy about this) so I guess I'll have to find ANOTHER check. Oh well.

Beedrill @ Beedrillite
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Poison Jab
- Drill Run
- Knock Off/Pursuit/Toxic spikes/Whatever I don't care
Bee is a solid Alt check. It outspeeds +1 Alt 100% of the time and bodies it with poison jab, and if ABSOLUTELY NEEDED you can switch in and take any ONE unboosted hit if rocks aren't up, as not even Adamant DD Alt's EQ will kill it from 100%. But most of the time this is going to serve as a Revenge killer/something to pivot into when Alt is DDing so try not to worry about it's switching capabilities too much. It has a luster over other checks since it's one of the few that actually outspeeds +1 Alt.

 

[Gyro Ba11]

This Aggron set literally bodies Mega Altaria, and can set up Stealth Rock on its teammates when forced out, making it a solid counter.

anti-fluff bird

Aggron-Mega (M) @ Aggronite
Ability: Filter
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic

calcs

M-Altaria attacking
+1 252 Atk Altaria-Mega Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Filter Aggron-Mega: 103-123 (29.9 - 35.7%) -- 31.5% chance to 3HKO
+1 252 Atk Pixilate Altaria-Mega Return vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Aggron-Mega: 63-75 (18.3 - 21.8%) -- possible 5HKO
M-Aggron attacking
0 Atk Aggron-Mega Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Altaria-Mega: 318-374 (109.2 - 128.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[Taptricity]

Ok I deadass forgot that it was discussion day today

I’ll have voting be a little later Thursday probably around 2PM EST to compensate for my laziness. Reminder that you can still submit checks and counters to Victim. There is one Pokémon that I’ve yet seen submitted for Victim and I’d be really bummed if no one gets it.

 

[Sickist]

good job bayb. A+ contributor

Anyways, Aggron was posted twice...?

And Bronzong I'm a little conflicted on. Can we really call it viable? Yes it does counter DDance Alt completely, but does it even see enough usage to even call viable? Like legit I have never seen this thing in my life, and no hate towards you Estarossa, I'm just wondering why the bell is on here.

 

[dingbat]

zong is b- in the vr iirc. ye, it's on the uncommon side, but it's a very serviceable check/counter to not only mega alt, but also latias, celebi (shadow ball is underrated, but uncommon), and togekiss among a unique collection of threats as levitate + higher spdef gives it a niche over most other steel-types.

also, the two mega aggron posts were made by the same person

 

[Smallsmallrose]

Usage =/= viability. Magneton is used more than Slowbro in UU despite Slowbro clearly being the more viable pokemon. Bronzong is more than a sufficient answer to Mega Altaria and its from our own viability rankings.

 

[Taptricity]

Sickist we don’t have two Mega Aggrons it’s just that the user who reserved it, Gyro Ba11 didn’t delete his reservation post.

 

[Taptricity]

Alright I'm one bad boy, voting has begun with no one submitting Roserade

No one else submitted checks outside of Smallsmallrose so congrats you win by default in the checks section! Also Gyro Ba11 your set has 4 EVs in SpA which I assume is just a mistake!

Here's what you can vote for:

Counters:

Amoonguss by Twilight

Bronzong by Estarossa

Offensive Swords Dance Scizor by Scizorphobic

Doublade by Sickist

Mega Aggron by Gyro Ba11

Alright vote for 2 counters! The new round begins Sunday (along with a Pokémon that doesn't get hard walled by Steel-types ).

 

[Sickist]

the mushroom and aggron

 

[Smallsmallrose]

Beedrill winning something even if it's by default? We take those.
Also I'm voting Estarossa because people sleeping hard on Zong

 

[Twilight]

I'm voting Scizor cos broken and Zong as it hard walls any DD Malt set, unless you are running that Fire Blast tech.

 

[dingbat]

zong and fungus

fire blast does 0 anyways amirite

 

[Estarossa]

Moong because it's only one who won't get screwed by fire blast if predicting wrong set (other than zong who will eat it easily).

 

[avarice]

AMOONGUSS

 

[Nightingales]

donger

 

[Taptricity]

Amoonguss and Bronzong are tied so I'll be giving my vote to Bronzong cause its an underrated blanket check in the metagame.
The Winners are:

Smallsmallrose and Estarossa
Congratulations to Estarossa for giving us big bad Broznong and Smallsmallrose won by default with Mega Beedrill! Great job to everyone this week!

Voting Count

Counters:
Bronzong=5
Amoonguss=4
Mega Aggron=1
Scizor=1
Doublade=0

Honorable Mentions:

Round 12's Victim is:
Stealth Rock Krookodile

Krookodile @ Rocky Helmet / Groundium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Taunt / Pursuit

I need to stop having Victims that autolose to most Steel-types. So surprise! It's not Choice Scarf Krookodile but actually Stealth Rock! This set has seen some use as an offensive Rocker if the team can afford to use a different form of speed control. It can also prevent Defoggers from removing hazards with Taunt or can bust through any Steel-type with Groundium. Voting starts Thursday!
​

 

[Sickist]

Chesnaught @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Def / 12 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Wood Hammer
- Drain Punch
- Synthesis

Chesnaught is a Krook Hard Counter because it resists both STABs, can drain punch/synthesis to recover any lost health, and can spike in it's face. Krook's attacks are pitiful vs Chesnaught, even Groundium only does about 22% to 27%. Even if Chesnaught is weakened to 50% Krook cannot 2HKO it from that range. Chesnaught doesn't even really care about it's item half the time vs krook anyways.

 

[Twilight]

Sceptile-Mega @ Sceptilite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast​

Mega Sceptile as a Hard check to Krookodile. It doesn't run reliable recovery outside of Giga Drain, unless you use Synthesis but it doesn't really want to give up coverage for it that is why I labelled it as this. Mega-Sceptile OHKOs this Krook always with Giga Drain, it only has a chance to live if you were some random max HP variant. In which case Leaf Storm OHKOs any variant of Krook. Mega-Sceptile isn't affected by a boosted Knock Off as it doesn't have an item to remove and it obvs resists EQ. It can't OHKO Mega-Sceptile with anything, not even Ground-Z.

Mega-Sceptile Calcs

252 SpA Sceptile-Mega Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Krookodile: 356-422 (107.5 - 127.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Krookodile Knock Off vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Sceptile-Mega: 126-148 (44.8 - 52.6%) -- 25.8% chance to 2HKO

252 Atk Krookodile Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Sceptile-Mega: 96-114 (34.1 - 40.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 Atk Krookodile Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Sceptile-Mega: 173-204 (61.5 - 72.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

 

[xapx]

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Bold Nature
- Air Slash
- Heal Bell / Thunder Wave
- Roost
- Defog

A less popular set but can safely switch in no matter what. It's immune to EQ and takes less than 20% from Knock. If it decides to taunt togekiss, it can use Air Slash, doing 38% minimum. Defog ensures togekiss can remove the Stealth Rock from Krook. Thunder Wave is an alternative to Heal Bell to paralyze krook's teammates as they come in and try to threaten Togekiss, like maero, nihilego, or scizor.

 

[dingbat]

dibs on ice dragon as a check.

kyurem @ leftovers
ability: pressure
evs: 56 hp / 200 spA / 252 spe
timid nature
-substitute
-roost
-ice beam
-earth power

nice ol subroost kyurem. ice beam always ohkos krook while krook will never ohko back, even with z-quake. wouldn't rely on this as a krook hard switch since not having lefties kinda hurts its capability of pp stalling later in the game, but if you can keep this above ~50%, it can capably switch in if needed.

 

[avarice]

CRUSH CULTURE. (Hydreigon) @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Roost
- Taunt

Krook can only touch it with the rare Superpower on the scarf set. With Z, Hydreigon doesn't even care about Knock Off. Hydreigon is also able to Taunt Krookodile first and prevent Rocks.

 

[Estarossa]

Scizor @ Buginium-Z
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 124 Def / 136 SpD
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Swords Dance
- Roost

More standard EV spread here since it tanks hits a bit better. Thanks to Buginium-Z, scizor takes very little damage from knock off. Even a z-earthquake from krookodile doesn't do too much to scizor,

252 Atk Krookodile Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 248 HP / 124+ Def Scizor: 220-259 (64.1 - 75.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Unlike other counters mentioned so far, this scizor can simply retain momentum if it wants by just clicking u-turn, since it'll cripple krook if it stays in anyway, but it can also still decide to set up / heal since taunting scizor would be pretty risky for the krook if it goes wrong.

 

[mashonem]

Cobalion as a Hard Check

Cobalion @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Rock Polish/Stealth Rock

Groundium-Z fails to KO through Shuca without a crit, 3 layers of Spikes + a generous roll, or the Coba user clicking raw CC while intimidated. Iron Head into CC does 99.0% min while intimidated, so Coba still comes out on top in most scenarios, and always does with hazards up.

Offensive Calcs

252 Atk Cobalion Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Krookodile: 366-432 (110.5 - 130.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
-1 252 Atk Cobalion Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Krookodile: 82-97 (24.7 - 29.3%) -- 99.9% chance to 4HKO
-1 252 Atk Cobalion Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Krookodile: 246-290 (74.3 - 87.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Defensive Calcs

252 Atk Krookodile Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. -1 0 HP / 0 Def Shuca Berry Cobalion: 328-387 (101.5 - 119.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Krookodile Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Shuca Berry Cobalion: 123-145 (38 - 44.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

 

[Smallsmallrose]

Crobat @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- Roost
- Super Fang
Crobat can easily beat Krook in a lead matchup, KOing it in two hits from Super Fang or Brave Bird into fly-Z while Krook struggles to even 3hko it in return
252 Atk Krookodile Knock Off vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Crobat: 118-141 (37.9 - 45.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
-1 252 Atk Crobat Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Krookodile: 123-145 (37.1 - 43.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
-1 252 Atk Crobat Supersonic Skystrike (190 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Krookodile: 193-228 (58.3 - 68.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
It should also be noted that with fly-Z, Crobat has a good shot of OHKOing Kook when unhindered by intimidate, and the fact that it can convincingly switch in on Knock Off (Assuming no rocks up, since Krook itself is the rocker) it can also act as an offensive check if needed.
252 Atk Crobat Supersonic Skystrike (190 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Krookodile: 289-342 (87.3 - 103.3%) -- 25% chance to OHKO

Bat CAN be a switchin if needed, but I'd much more recommend leading with it vs rocker Krook, as you can taunt it out of rocks and stop it from getting anything up, which is nice.