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Band On The Run - A SSUU RMT
Hello! My name is Sickist, but usually people just end up shortening it to Sick or bad, but either works! I'm a Voiced user in the UnderUsed room on Pokemon Showdown and have been part of the community for a while as a forums contributor. I've been playing UnderUsed since the very tip end of ORAS, but mainly got involved in early SM. Well I'm obviously nowhere close to a good player, I try to at least make ends meet. If I'm being honest with everyone, I get really discouraged sometimes due to what I think seems to be a lack of social contact on smogon. But looking back, there have been several users who have made my time on here worthwhile. While I'm not the crown tournament player, or the knowledge crown of CC analyses, I can say I have the best friends on Smogon, hands down. This RMT is dedicated to all of them, active or not.
The Song is the title track of Paul McCartney & Wings best album in my opinion, their 1973 studio album Band On The Run, which made it to #1 of the US billboard charts in 1974. The Song and Album were praised by fellow ex-beatle John Lennon as "a great song and a great album". The Song follows a theme of escape, which is part of why it spoke to me so much. I've spent most of my time on smogon trying to be everyone else and fall in line, and have felt trapped in a vortex of being terrible AND unrespected and not known. Well, I'm done with it. Now, thanks to the support of my friends on here, I'm aiming to be the best UU player I can be. I may not win trophies, I may not even make it to driver in UU, heh. But none of that matters, because I'll do the best I can, and have a good time doing it.
Getting into the team, I wanted to try the core of Choice Band Terrakion alongside Swords Dance Scyther. Terrakion is one of the most controversial pokemon in Sword/Shield UnderUsed at the moment, and it's not hard to see why. Fantastic offensive capabilities, backed by a great STAB combination as well as almost unresisted coverage. It's decently bulky as well, able to live even some super effective priority from full health. While in my opinion, it's not as dangerous as Lycanroc-Dusk, it's still a threat UU Players should be prepping for in their builds. Scyther, on the other hand, is your standard UU offensive threats. Decent offensive typing, good stats, and a decent movepool that varies from U-Turn to Swords Dance allow Scyther to be an offensive threat that can make the opponent's life hell if not prepped for. Scyther's main switch-ins just happen to get mauled by Terrakion, and Terrakion appreciates the U-Turn support. So I went to work.
Teambuilding Process
Like I mentioned before, these two form a very dangerous offensive core. Terrakion offers itself as a fantastic wallbreaker, smashing through almost everything that Scyther could dream of losing to, namely OHKOing Rotom Wash after rocks and 2HKOing Skarmory with Close Combat, as well as punishing most of any would be fighting resist with a painful Stone Edge. Scyther greatly appreciates the havoc Terrakion can reek on the opponent, and can Abuse most if not all of Terrakion's defensive checks, being Palossand, Doublade, and Golurk with a Knock Off. Scyther can also allow Terrakion free turns, as most of what defensively checks Scyther (fire, rock, flying, steels) get ran over by Terrakion. However, the core still had a few issues.
Hazard Control was the thing that first popped into my head. When it first dropped, I thought Hatterene was going to be a meh pokemon. Man I was wrong. Hatterene offers amazing Hazard Control through Magic Bounce, while also being able to provide a special tank, capable of switching into threats like both Rotoms, Reuniclus, Keldeo, as well as provide speed control through Nuzzle, and help chip the opponent with 3 attacks. The only real downsides to Hatterene are how slow it is and it being not to physically bulky. Being a fairy that doesn't resists Dark also kinda sucks. Other than that, Hatterene is a pretty solid pokemon on its own, and supports Scyther and Terrakion pretty well.
Speaking of hazards, I didn't have any of my own to set. Lycanroc-Dusk also looked stupid good vs what I had, so I went with the classic Sandcastle. While it can be a momentum kill sometimes, It's a necessary evil in this current metagame. Palossand offers Stealth Rocks, a Toxtricity/Terrakion/Lycanroc Dusk check all in one slot. I can also help check other fighting types, as well as spread burns with Scorching Sands. Not much else to really say about Palossand, it's pretty one-dimensional and does it's job. It could be noted that it helps vs some Jirachi sets, such as Expert Belt, but must watch out for Trick from Scarf Variants and will lose long-term to Calm Mind sets.
The next thing I looked for was a ground immunity and a water resist. I also had issues with faster threats and fat water types. Scarf Rotom-Mow helped majorly with these issues, providing a pokemon that could outrun and threaten the likes of Talonflame, Slowking, Rotom-Wash, and most importantly, Skarmory. Grass/Electric is hard to wall, and having Volt Switch to pivot out on the few pokemon that can check it makes Rotom-Mow a very potent option of Speed Control for the team. It also carries Trick to help vs Stall builds where it doesn't really need it's Choice Scarf and would rather cripple a defensive wall for the rest of the team to ease by it easier. It also acts as an emergency check to Iron Head + Thunder Jirachi.
To round off the team, I need a little bit more hazard control, more Jirachi insurance, as well as a pokemon that could help check Physical breakers like Pangoro and Mimikyu. Essentially, the last slot screamed Skarmory. Skarmory is one of my favorite pokemon, so I'm very glad to see it at the top of the tier in my favorite tier of the generation. Due to Magneton being hot trash, I'm running Rocky Helmet to further punish physical attackers and U-turn pivots, providing sometimes key chip for Terrakion, Scyther, or Rotom-Mow. Overall, it's a very solid pokemon on the team, and carries it's weight and sometimes more during each and every game.
In-Depth Look
Terrakion @ Choice Band
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Terrakion is one of the most powerful breakers in the tier. Sporting godly attack and speed stats for the tier, Terrakion only misses out on a few pokemon in the tier with it's STABs alone, barring Choice Scarf users. A Choice Band allows Terrakion to lock itself into a move, while boosting it's attack by 1.5x. Combined with Terrakion's great coverage and stats, Terrakion is one of the most fearsome breakers in the UU tier. Close Combat is Terrakion's main punishment vs Pokemon that are Neutral to Terrakion's STABs. Stone Edge hits Fire, Flying, Ice, and Bug types for massive Damage, and is Terrakion's best offensive option vs Ghost and Psychic types that would otherwise stomach Close Combat. Earthquake rounds off the almost perfect coverage by hitting Doublade for Super Effective damage, and hitting Palossand and Golurk for neutral damage. Finally, Toxic allows Terrakion to put Palossand and Golurk on a timer, making them less effective at doing their job over extended periods of time.
Scyther @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Scyther offers an interesting Win-Condition that abuses Terrakion's wallbreaking potential very well. While Terrakion struggles vs the likes of Doublade, Palossand, and Golurk, Scyther on the other hand can abuse all three with Knock Off. Heavy Duty Boots allow Scyther to evade Stealth Rocks, which have been it's enemy for the last 7 generations due to its quad-weakness to them. Boots allow Scyther to be a lot more consistent during a game as well. U-Turn is Scyther's Bug STAB that hits Psychics, Darks, and Grasses in the tier, such as Tyranitar, Celebi, and Necrozma, while also allowing it to pivot out vs pokemon such as Incineroar that threaten it. Dual Wingbeat is Scyther's other STAB, allowing it to break sashes, not switch out, as well as have a Strong attack to hit Fighting, Grass, and Bug types without switching out. Knock Off allows Scyther to smack Ghost types as well as Steel types such as Skarmory, crippling them without their item. Finally, Swords Dance lets Scyther boost its attack to pack more of a punch.
Hatterene (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Def / 172 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
Hatterene is one weird pokemon. However, it does it's job very well, keeping hazards off the field vs Levitate Weezing-Galar, Skarmory, Celebi, and even Necrozma (watch out for Knock). It can switch into most other rockers, but you don't beat those 1v1. An Assault Vest, 252 HP evs, 172 SpDef evs, and a Calm Nature allow Hatterene to not be 2HKO'd by Choice Specs Kyurem's Ice Beam after Stealth Rock damage. Psyshock allows you to better handle Calm Mind pokemon by hitting their defense stat instead. This allows Hatterene to function as one of the team's Keldeo answers. Dazzling Gleam is usually inferior to Draining Kiss, but I prefer the raw base power to better deal with Krookidile in a shorter amount of turns. Mystical Fire hits Jirachi, Skarmory, and other steels that would like to come in on Hatterene. Finally, Nuzzle functions as a form of speed control, paralyzing any pokemon hit with it.
Palossand @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Water Compaction
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
Palossand is key member to the team due to it's ability to check dangerous threats such as Lycanroc-Dusk and Terrakion, as well as set up Stealth Rock. Colbur berry allows Palossand to take a Crunch from Lycanroc, as well as having the benefit of eating knock offs from the likes of pokemon like Scyther. Max HP and Defense allow Palossand to better check physical threats its supposed to. Scorching Sands was a blessing to Palossand, giving it a ground type scald to make it far less passive, having a 30% chance to dish out burns. Stealth Rock allows Terrakion and Scyther to have an easier time breaking the opponent's team down. Finally, Shadow Ball is in the last slot to make checking things like Scyther and Skarmory a lot easier. Shadow Ball also doesn't let defoggers that float in for free. It should also be noted that you should really watch out for Toxic from things like Terrakion, as they severely hinder Palossand's ability to check what it's supposed to long term.
Rotom-Mow @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
Rotom-Mow functions as the team's Water resist, as well as it's main Speed Control. A Choice Scarf allows Rotom-Mow to outrun common metagame threats such as Talonflame, Noivern, and Starmie, letting it hit them with a powerful STAB attack, or pivot out with Volt Switch. Max Special Attack and Speed allow Rotom-Mow to hit as fast and hard as possible, notably outspeeding things like Incineroar and Necrozma, and speed tying with Nasty Plot Rotom-Wash. Leaf Storm is Rotom-Mow's nuke vs ground, rock, and water types, such as Rhyperior, Krookidile, and Starmie. However, Leaf Storm comes with the drawback of dropping Rotom-Mow's Special Attack by 2 Stages per use, so it's forced to switch out usually after 1 or 2 uses. Volt Switch allows Rotom-Mow to pivot out vs bad matchups to gain momentum. Trick allows Rotom-Mow to cripple defensive or Setup pokemon like Incineroar, Celebi, or Necrozma. Finally, Thunderbolt gives Rotom-Mow a somewhat spammable attack to clean with.
Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
The final member of the team, thank goodness. I don't know how much longer I can write these long descriptions. Skarmory rounds off the team by offering another check to Jirachi, and blanket checks most physical attackers in the tier. A Rocky Helmet punishes U-turn users, as well as Close Combat spammers, among other physical contact move users, for around 16-17% chip. Max HP and max defense alongside an Impish nature allow Skarmory to be as physically bulky as possible. Body Press was a Godsend for Skarmory, allowing it to use it's massive Defense stat to pressure wallbreakers and other pokemon that would come in on it for almost free. Spikes allow Terrakion, Scyther, and Rotom-Mow to have an easier time breaking the opponent's defensive backbone. Skarmory is a great Spiker due the switches it can force. Whirlwind allows Skarmory to phase out setup sweepers that would beat it 1v1, such as Reuniclus and Necrozma. Roost allows Skarmory to heal itself, as keeping it healthy during a game can be vital in some scenarios.
Threatlist
This mon is kinda stupid vs this team. It's manageable via offensive pressure but god is it hard to switch into. Calm Mind sets in particular are kinda a bitch, but AV Nuzzle also is a pain in the ass.
No matter how much you prep for it, it has a set to 6-0 with. Fuck this mon, I hope we ban it soon.
AV Hat checks it well enough + Mowtom, but man is it annoying with NP. Also impossible to prevent it from volting, which is really annoying in the long run.
Other shit like Smack Krook or Metronome Kyurem can be a pain too, but usually you can play around those.
Replays
A quick forewarning - I'm not a great player, so all of these replays are Low-Mid ladder games. The team is played in basically the same way on higher ladder as well as 1 on 1 matches.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1164697455-jnjtifdmbxm72e32prbzvkabngnk3ojpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1164695988-sirhutq0z2ky4hvzohen8txf0fgch2tpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1163513426-rwf6b15fui2uk4bt9dyxw2s15ntgr97pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1163511649-u65choawm8al1kzt5ds8c7d3ghc6c5spw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1163510500-1g53ztbovdnnflkbfgao7xc9xzeu1etpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1163508802-k3bbt4bq33v8k5di9jpcuwbefxat15upw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1163504456-xl3mb5g69iqlx2bpyp7p00fgxrn06o0pw
Shoutouts
Finding True Love
avarice
jeronipuff
Confide
Loki
Expulso
52Gambit
atomicllamas
SPACE FORCE meeps
Wigglytuff
Mannat
TaxiCab
starmie i'll update this when you tell me your smog name >:I
You guys are the best! I'm honored to be able chat and build with you guys, and watch you CRUSH the competition. No matter the outcome of WCOP, you guys are always the best in my mind. That being said if you ever bring eterrain to a match again avarice there will be consequences. Regardless of outcome though, GO MIDWEST!
avarice
jeronipuff
Confide
Loki
Expulso
52Gambit
atomicllamas
SPACE FORCE meeps
Wigglytuff
Mannat
TaxiCab
starmie i'll update this when you tell me your smog name >:I
You guys are the best! I'm honored to be able chat and build with you guys, and watch you CRUSH the competition. No matter the outcome of WCOP, you guys are always the best in my mind. That being said if you ever bring eterrain to a match again avarice there will be consequences. Regardless of outcome though, GO MIDWEST!
UU Disco Duck
DeltaRott
Can'tFight
Thanks for giving me the final push to finish this RMT. Writing these descriptions was about as painful as being nailed in the shins with an enchanted razor scooter.
DeltaRott
Can'tFight
Thanks for giving me the final push to finish this RMT. Writing these descriptions was about as painful as being nailed in the shins with an enchanted razor scooter.
A Cake Wearing A Hat you're the main reason I keep going. No matter what you offer amazing advice, are a great friend, and overall one of my favorite users on here. Free Golurk S rank.
SEI LA VIE wish you would come back, you were the greatest, hope you're livin your best life
Estarossa fuck mega venu, fat broken shitmon
Twilight I don't get to really talk to you that often, but you offer great advice and overall are an awesome person, and it was nice to contribute to forums with you before you ascended to a UU god lol
TaxiCab thanks for being me but actually good at the game
TPP lock it bitch i dare you it follows the rules you power abuser
Stoward sorry im like the worst crew user of them all. mb
Moutemoute no matter what country you live in or what language you speak different from me, you're still awesome! I enjoy being on PS and being around you in general. You're such a great influence on me and I honestly wish you the best!
Ophion im on discord hmu bro! wish we could chat more
lyd you're such a good artist if only you were good at UU :pensive:
vivalospride you're like one of the best people on here! thanks for all the great words of advice and I hope you can find the peace you're looking for!
Lilburr I seriously enjoy working with you. You're really kind and knowledgeable, and I hope we can work together more in the future!
If I forgot anyone, it's nothing personal. If you know me, you know i'm very forgetful and not very smart.
SEI LA VIE wish you would come back, you were the greatest, hope you're livin your best life
Estarossa fuck mega venu, fat broken shitmon
Twilight I don't get to really talk to you that often, but you offer great advice and overall are an awesome person, and it was nice to contribute to forums with you before you ascended to a UU god lol
TaxiCab thanks for being me but actually good at the game
TPP lock it bitch i dare you it follows the rules you power abuser
Stoward sorry im like the worst crew user of them all. mb
Moutemoute no matter what country you live in or what language you speak different from me, you're still awesome! I enjoy being on PS and being around you in general. You're such a great influence on me and I honestly wish you the best!
Ophion im on discord hmu bro! wish we could chat more
lyd you're such a good artist if only you were good at UU :pensive:
vivalospride you're like one of the best people on here! thanks for all the great words of advice and I hope you can find the peace you're looking for!
Lilburr I seriously enjoy working with you. You're really kind and knowledgeable, and I hope we can work together more in the future!
If I forgot anyone, it's nothing personal. If you know me, you know i'm very forgetful and not very smart.
Importable: https://pokepast.es/f2d7ceb1cde64e15