OU BW OU Hub

[BLJ mario]

Hello, I have decided to show off one of my favorite sets in bw at the time.



Terrakion @ Shuca Berry/ Lum Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
Terrakion is usually used as a wall breaker that can enable offense plus also having the perfect moves to hit most of the metagame with its stab combo of rock plus fighting, but this set turns terrak into something very different. In the past, double dance rak was used in tandem with air balloon to offer a one time ground immunity while also letting it avoid spikes chip. However, I decided to put shuca berry, as with air balloon you instantly reveal your set, and terrak is very powerful with that suprise factor. You can also use Lum berry to set up in front of amoong and rotom wash, who both get obliterated by stone edge and close combat. Rock polish lets you outspeed scarf Keldeo and choice scarf latios while also outrunning +2 volc and +2 nite. In sand, it can use the special defense boost to set up a swords dance and then set up rock polish. Shuca berry lets you act as a wall breaker in the early game, and a set up sweeper in the endgame. You get to bluff choice band too. After both a sd and rock polish, nothing besides mid mons like claydol can take 2 attacks from this beast, as well as outrunning the whole unboosted metagame.

 

[Lumi_Nati 31]

Specs Starmie appreciation post



Starmie has always been a defining BW OU pokemon, but recently it has been in what's probably been it's best place in the tier. now it's even preferred on rain over Tentacruel which would've been crazy like 2-3 years ago, and it sees usage on more teams than ever due to the rise of HO, and even on sand it sees use as a spinner occasionally, either as the standard offensive set on more fast paced teams with mons like Thundy and Dnite, or as a more bulky spinner on bulkier teams, spamming scalds while spinning in front of a lot of passive pokemon that don't really threaten it due to it's access to recover to take repeated weaker hits as well as natural cure to handle status (also it gets bonus points in my book because reflect type rocky helmet starime is so funny if you somehow manage to fit it).

the most popular set though, on both rain and HO, is air balloon, which is probably the most consistent set it could run due to it giving you potential free switches on the plethora of ground types in the tier, and threaten to either KO them with hydro pump or ice beam, or to spin away hazards for pokemon like Volc Thundy and Dnite.

that being said, while not as splashable, specs starmie is downright terrifying. It's not as good at spinning (and sometimes it doesn't even run spin at all!), but in my opinion it's power more than makes up for it

The set:

Starmie @ Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam / Thunder
- Flex Slot 1
- Flex Slot 2

while standard starmie is pretty scary to switch into, switching into this starmie is basically impossible if you carry all 3 of hydro ice beam and thunder, but really, the real reason why this set works is that you can just click hydro pump in rain and hit every mon that is not a water immunity on the switch

Some funny hydro calcs (note that these are all only on the switch):

252 SpA Choice Specs Analytic Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Latios in Rain: 220-259 (73 - 86%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Analytic Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latias in Rain: 189-223 (62.7 - 74%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Analytic Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Keldeo in Rain: 259-306 (80.1 - 94.7%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Choice Specs Analytic Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 208+ SpD Ferrothorn in Rain: 160-189 (45.4 - 53.6%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Choice Specs Analytic Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dragonite in Rain: 237-279 (73.3 - 86.3%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Choice Specs Analytic Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Politoed in Rain: 237-279 (61.7 - 72.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Choice Specs Analytic Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 172 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 360-426 (89.3 - 105.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Choice Specs Analytic Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Blissey in Rain: 366-432 (51.3 - 60.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Choice Specs Analytic Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tentacruel in Rain: 204-240 (56 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Rain Dish recovery and Black Sludge recovery

252 SpA Choice Specs Analytic Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Celebi in Rain: 171-202 (42.4 - 50.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Besides water immunities, nothing likes eating a rain boosted hydro on the switch. Even ferrothorn takes about half with a lot of spdef investment, which is really backbreaking for a pokemon that already needs to handle so many threats in the metagame. Putting so much pressure on what might normally be the #1 starmie switch in the game without really having to predict anything is insane. Oh and blissey can just die to hydro into hydro if rocks are up in rain so there's also that.

That being said, this set isn't all about just taking advantage of how hard hydros in rain hit on the switch, you have a lot of room for freedom in the last 3 slots, although I do think you need at least one of either ice beam to hit celebi and to also just straight up OHKO latios and dnite on the switch from full, and thunder for tentacruel and jellicent, but even then the last 2 slots remain open for quite a lot of options. Besides the usual coverage options, you can really punish the few mons that can switch into hydro in a few ways: the most consistent option by far is trick, because the sturdier mons/water immunities get extremely crippled by being choice locked. Hp grass can be used for seismitoad and gastrodon specifically, surf can be used for a safer water stab that still hits very hard, and of course, rapid spin can be used to get rid of hazards.

I feel like you should never use this set if your primary goal for it to remove hazards. It can do it, better than what you might expect actually, but standard starmie as well as tentacruel and excadrill are more consistent on rain. Having 2 spinners is never a bad thing though, especially if you use a pokemon that really hates hazards like volcarona, dragonite, or the rare moltres.

Instead, you should use it as an attacker that can really pile up the pressure on usual water move switch ins, and then punish safer plays by tricking, taking a free turn to spin, using a coverage move or simply double switching. Either that or make it so the opponent has to sacrifice something. While it's not as strong as something like a specs keldeo on paper, it actually does more damage on the switch and has access to unique tools like rapid spin and trick which set it apart. It's also extremely fast so teams that rely on pokemon like the latis or keldeo for speed control can really get punished by it once the main hydro/surf switch in got chipped as long as you make sure rain stays up.

So all in all, I feel like this set is really under-appreciated. While it is harder to fit than standard starmie, it doesn't really like being locked into rapid spin when forced to remove hazards and hydro pump accuracy means that it might not always be as consistent as I might like it to be, it's still a very fun and unique option that should see more use on rain.

 

[Nalorium]

Far from wanting to share sets or teams in particular. I just want to make an appreciation post that I've been wanting to do for some time about the incredible talent that is emerging in BW. As someone who while I haven't been in the competitive scene for long, I have been keeping a close eye on everything related to BW OU. For the last 5 years I've been pretty much super hooked on this tier and as a complete tier enthusiast myself I've seen many new faces in this tier come and go. And that's why it fills my heart to know the kind of community I currently see brewing on the official BW server and god knows how many friendly servers they will have among them. I especially want to mention a specific tour which I really didn't know much about and I really only joined because fakee asked me to, and that is the Unova Champions League, a tour with a fascinating idea in my opinion to give the opportunity to as many players as possible and see as many new faces as possible. Added to that, knowing that it is created by the BW players themselves and whose managers are themselves, it makes me very happy to know that the tier really is with genuine enthusiasts.

Seeing the BW discord and finding such experienced players with a great knowledge of the tier like Dice, Raiza, Finchinator, Monai or Fakes, among others helping such young players is one of those situations that really fills my heart and reminds me when Caetano was just helping me in 2019/2020 when I started playing the tier. While I know great communities like ADV or RBY, I feel that BW has nothing to envy to the others. I feel, from the bottom of my heart, that the tier is in the perfect balance between very experienced players, relatively young players but with a great knowledge of the tier and new players excited to improve all helping each other for the tier to grow and improve. Really beyond complaining and fighting about things that anyone can dislike or like about the tier, I feel that this is the perfect way to really make the tier reach a balance where at least the majority of players are happy with it. A friendly community, full of enthusiasm where it is very friendly to new players who want to come and learn from it. Where there is a constant flow of ideas that really come to a conclusion and not just “for me BW is currently garbage”.
Taking advantage of the fact that SPL is approaching, I feel that it never hurts to give a small mention to all those new names that are really giving something to talk about and that in my opinion I feel that due to their knowledge and how quickly they have improved, they deserve at least a position as assistants on any team and even a position as sub and who knows even as a starter.

Meesm: I have to admit that for these BWPL finals I tryharded like I have rarely done and after studying him and his teams. I feel that he is one of the best short-term promises. He already has a lot of experience in the tier and has won tours like the RoaPL. He is a very versatile player capable of using almost any team at a very good level.

marsandback: On a similar note we got this guy, another player with already a great deal of experience in the tier who in my opinion already has enough knowledge to be a very good sub or support in this edition of SPL.

Cow: I think I knew this guy when he was just starting and his future is absolutely brilliant. In the short time that I have known him I feel that he has improved a lot and already has a very good knowledge about the tier, without a doubt I would consider him as a very good support for any player.

W2S: I find it very unfair to have to mention him on this list because I feel like he already belongs on a different list. He is already a player who in my opinion absolutely deserves a spot as a sub in this SPL.

48: Another player who has already made a name for himself in the tier and has improved a lot over time

dawn to the dusk: Another enthusiastic BW. He has been in the tier for a long time and like other names on this list I feel that he already deserves a spot

Chomp29: A player who has already made a name for himself in the tier in a very short time, I feel like he's a very good prospect for the future who just needs more experience in the tier.

Alice: Even though she's not knew to the pokemon scene and she is already a great GSC and RBY player, the level she has shown in BW is absolutelty incredible and i think she def deserves a mention.

Jaajgko: Idk if he will signup for spl, but the level he showed in BW CUP and BWPL was absolutelty amazing. Def a player with a brilliant future and that i would love to see in the future.

Cryolite: I dont know this guy much but the level he has shown in BW CUP was really incredible. Wanted to see more of him in BWPL

and since i wanna sleep, on a similar category there are also some great bw enthusiasts with a very good long-term future such as BLJ Mario, someone with who i teammup in BWPL and all he needs is practice to keep improving in the tier, Magiaalice someone i faced a couple of times in ladder and shows some really good plays, OmBrAch winner of the bw tour they created and leoperi.

Im sorry if i didnt mention u, prolly i just forgot.

Please excuse my english

Draft fucking feaniix and fakee

 

[BLJ mario]

Ty nalo, I hope things go well for you, we never will really know what’s in the future but I hope that me and all the other upcoming bwers will be able to teach the new generation of bwers after we have accomplished great results, I hope things go well for you in the future. As for everyone else, I would also like to take a moment to thank the bw community as a whole for being one of the nicest communities ever. The bw discord was one of the places where I could learn from top players and improve my gameplay. I feel like now, my level of knowledge is way higher than I ever expected it to be, and I’m happy for that. Winning bwpl made me very happy, as it might catapult me into the spotlight for many other tours in the future, I hope to team with all of you in the community sometime.
Would like to shoutout my tutor Monai for helping me learn a lot more about bw, he helped kickstart my career
Feaniix for drafting me in bwpl and helping me with t building teams and testing out stuff, this guy is a great friend.
Dababy2 for being the goat, he helped me with my mental for bw
And thank you to this whole community, I don’t know what’s in store in the future but I hope things will shine on this place, Gn.

 

[Tack]

I'm gonna hella +1 the reccomendation of meessm here he is genuinely one of the most dedicated players i have worked with in years and has an incredible amount of skill. this dude's like genuinely amazing and will be popping off hardcore if he sticks around.