Goodbye & Thanks
Thrown in a fire?
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Dark Pulse
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Trick / Thunderbolt
item: Choice Specs
tera type: Dark
ability: Magician
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Specs Hoopa-U is an incredibly threatening special wallbreaker, especially to slower and more defensive teams, that is able to OHKO the majority of the tier and 2HKO essentially every other relevant Pokemon. This is thanks to Hoopa-U's astronomically high Special Attack stat and potent dual STAB combination. Focus Blast rounds out its coverage, allowing Hoopa-U to hit Dark-types like Ting-Lu, Kingambit, and Hisuian Samurott; Focus Blast also OHKOes specially defensive Heatran after entry hazard chip. Trick can be run in the fourth slot to cripple the few special walls that Hoopa-U is unable to reliably blast through, like Blissey, Scream Tail, and Alolan Muk, while also affording Hoopa-U the ability to switch moves, alleviating the need for prediction in exchange for less immediate power. Alternatively, Thunderbolt can be used instead as Hoopa-U's best option to hit Corviknight and Galarian Moltres while also providing a more reliable option than Focus Blast to OHKO Hisuian Samurott and Greninja. A Timid nature makes Hoopa-U faster than Pokemon like Timid Heatran, Modest Gholdengo, and Timid Volcanion, while a Modest nature gives Hoopa-U even more breaking power so that it is able to potentially 2HKO Blissey and Alolan Muk with Focus Blast after entry hazard damage. Tera Dark increases the power of Dark Pulse, giving it an opportunity to 2HKO Scream Tail and specially defensive Heatran while also threatening to OHKO Baxcalibur, bulky Cinderace, and defensive Landorus-T. Tera Dark also makes Hoopa-U resist Dark-type attacks, which can prevent Kingambit from answering it with Sucker Punch. Quick special attackers like Choice Specs Dragapult, Iron Valiant, and Enamorus make good teammates, as they appreciate Hoopa-U's ability to break through even the bulkiest of specially defensive walls. One of Hoopa-U's biggest flaws is that its physical frailty and crippling 4x weakness to U-turn can make it difficult for it to safely be brought onto the field. As a result, Hoopa-U greatly benefits from being paired alongside pivots that can facilitate its entry, like Galarian Slowking with Chilly Reception, Landorus-T, Dragapult, and Sneasler with U-turn, and Rotom-W and Zapdos with Volt Switch. Paralysis support from Thunder Wave users like Rotom-W, Substitute Dragapult, and defensive Gholdengo can help alleviate Hoopa-U's lackluster Speed and make previously faster threats easy targets. Static Zapdos synergizes particularly well with Hoopa-U in this regard, since Zapdos can be switched in on U-turns directed at Hoopa-U from faster Pokemon like Cinderace, Sneasler, and Meowscarada and offers the chance to paralyze those targets, making them slower than Hoopa-U. Hoopa-U also appreciates the inclusion of hazard setters like Hisuian Samurott, Ting-Lu, Landorus-T, and Heatran, allowing it to punch holes in defensive backbones more easily and damage the opposing team thanks to the switches it forces. Some of the most difficult Pokemon for Hoopa-U to handle are opposing Dark-types like Kingambit, Roaring Moon, Ting-Lu, and Hisuian Samurott because they can force Hoopa-U to rely on Focus Blast and good prediction to break through. To help mitigate this issue, Pokemon that can reliably switch into Dark-types like Great Tusk, Zamazenta, and Azumarill also make good partners for Hoopa-U, and in return they appreciate Choice Specs Hoopa-U's ability to threaten physical walls as well. Bulk Up Great Tusk and Belly Drum Azumarill can also clean up late-game after Hoopa-U wears down the opposing team.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/goodbye-thanks.506997/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/mellow.423226/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/dkm.402001/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/milak.262594/
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