Christmas isn’t only about trees, flashy decorations, and gifts. There is always something more.
In a land of warmth and sun, there are dreams of snow. There is a Great Mystery we long to understand.
And, amidst dunes of sand, we are looking for a star.
Tier shifts have come by numerous times, yet this team never loses all the luster to remain successful even in the test of time. Even the release of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon that offered numerous options for the Underused tier by virtue of new move tutors and new Pokemon did not shake the team’s overall solidity. The team has embodied adaptability and resiliency as it replicated the feat as one of my longest-standing teams in history since the team “Injustice: Gods Among Us” in the ORAS UU metagame.
I have featured this team in TSR’s Team Building Competition featuring Mega Beedrill, and within that period, Updated Kanto used this team in the second iteration of UU Majors and defeated several other opponents which pushed the team into the Hall of Fame. A year after the team’s inception, it has been given more exposure, more notably in the seventh iteration of UU Open and the third iteration of UU Majors, and this is where the team shined the most. In the UU Open, I have used the team in the first three rounds of the said tournament where I won three of those games, and I received news there is one player that “stole” the team and won that deciding match. In the third iteration of UU Majors, I won five out of six games in the qualifying round, and in the first playoff round, I used the team against LLH in a match-deciding loss. Despite that loss, I felt the satisfaction the team has brought to me over the years due to its lasting solidity, so I find today being the right time to showcase this team.
Before showcasing the whole team in-depth, allow me to show you how this team withstood the metagame's ebbs and flows over time.
1. SM UU Beta: The Team Inception
I started playing this generation around late November, when SM UU is in its beta stages. I instantly got interested in seeing Kommo-o in action since that Pokemon isn't getting much traction in OU because of its lackluster offensive presence -- esentially how Hogg described it as an equivalent to Scrafty due to its somehow shallow movepool. However, there's one player whom I forget that runs a different Kommo-o set that became the inspiration into building a new team; through battling on my own and watching other people battle, this team is born.However, over a month had elapsed, and Gyarados had departed into the scene because it proved too much for the council to handle at that time, and Gengar eventually rose to OU due to its impact in that metagame. With my upcoming work at that time piling up, I had to take a leave which lasted until July. That was incidentally the time I resigned from work and UU Open VI was about to happen, though it's rather sad that I did not manage to use that team because I haven't put any trust in that team yet. It's sad that I actually advanced to Round 4 of UU Open with only five games -- the last two coming from brutal losses.
2. Introduction to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
While the team was made before the release of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (and was made visible through Updated Kanto in the second iteration of UU Majors), there were new features of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon that made competitive battling all the more appealing, and all of the Mega Stones have already been released at that time, and this team has become an embodiment of its long-standing journey.
In that stage, Serperior and Azumarill were also introduced in the tier (Scolipede was part of the introduction, but was then banned later on), and things get a lot interesting from here, especially that I made a realization that Belly Drum Azumarill variants can potentially destroy this team with the proper set-up to a point that it can only bank on specific factors to avert such crisis. Despite such setbacks, this team flourished well enough that I posted this team on TSR's project and Updated Kanto managed to pull through in the second iteration of UU Majors.
3. 2018 First Quarter Metagame Changes (January / February / March)
Starting January 2018, a lot of Pokemon are making their way home in this tier, and this included the return of Gengar to the metagame. Among the six Pokemon being introduced in the tier, Alolan Ninetales got the boot to BL for its immediate Hail and its single set-up of Aurora Veil. With Stakataka and Gengar being the most notable drops, the team can definitely adapt to this change as Kommo-o is capable of blocking Stakataka's Gyro Balls thanks to Bulletproof, and there were lots of countermeasures in dealing with Gengar such as Krookodile, Kommo-o, and Mega Beedrill.
February came, and the UU Council decided to ban Drought and unban Mega Houndoom since there are more ways of abusing Drought while Mega Houndoom can still flourish even without Drought. Also, this was the time when Breloom gets unbanned in the metagame due to various countermeasures in dealing with that Pokemon. As for those two Pokemon, Kommo-o became the star as it is capable of sponging hits from Mega Houndoom and trolling Breloom by virtue of Sleep Talk.
The most notable change that happened during March is the rise of Mamoswine to OU thanks to aim and his Pokemon To The Top series (aim used Ambipom to great effect that got to UU earlier). It is notable that Mamoswine is one of the threats worth treading as there aren't any safe switch-ins in this team against this Pokemon.
4. 2018 Second Quarter Metagame Changes (April / May / June)
With Amoonguss rising in OU due to its demand for checks, Azumarill, Breloom, and Serperior got suspected -- the former gets the boot for how immensely powerful it had gotten, even without Amoonguss in the field. Breloom eventually got the boot as well due to the rise of Amoonguss, who happened to be one of the greatest stop against Breloom so far. With Azumarill out of the picture, the team gets more breathing room and this team flourished more, and this became one of my standard-bearing teams to date.
5. 2018 Third Quarter Metagame Changes (July / August / September)
Come July, and a lot of things have shaken up a bit. First, Mamoswine and Amoonguss have lost traction in OU and made their way home again to UU, coupled with newest toys in Mega Diancie and Mega Venusaur. Mega Diancie get the boot before the start of the metagame as it proved too much for the tier to handle, while Mega Venusaur were split on the decision just like with the issue on Mega Latias, but it eventually got the boot for its stellar bulk that no Pokemon would singlehandedly defeat it (although Moltres is capable enough to beat Mega Venusaur for that matter). Second, Gastrodon, a PU Pokemon to begin with, alongside two of the staple UU Pokemon in Gliscor and Serperior rose to OU thanks to more people appreciating Gastrodon's abilities as a bulky Water, Gliscor's capabilities (now that Defog and Poison Heal are now compatible), and Serperior's Contrary magic.
This is where the team has gotten more official tournament exposure by virtue of UU Open VII, where it won three games in the first three rounds of the tournament, and UU Majors III, where it won five out of six games in the qualifying rounds prior to the metagame changes in October.
6. 2018 Fourth Quarter Metagame Changes (October / November / December)
Come October, and new Pokemon were added in the metagame, especially with the new addition of Zeraora in the games. Latios (and its Mega) and Bisharp got introduced in the tier as well, but the former proved too much for the tier to handle, and the latter got its way after a suspect test. However, this was the time where I took another hiatus due to a problem on my end that rooted to a match-deciding loss against LLH in the playoff round of UU Majors III (which also stalled the Iron Chef project for quite a long time already), which then piles up with caroling gigs of two of the choirs that I've been part of.
Good day, everyone! This is Iron Chef Chairman Euphonos writing, and allow me to present to you my very first USUM UU RMT article inspired after a Christmas album made by a Filipino all-male choir (which incidentally I am a part of this year!), entitled “Dakilang Hiwaga”!
The first Pokemon that I am featuring in this team is this Pokemon that caught my attention. Hogg would say that this new Pokemon is an equivalent of Scrafty due to the lack of firepower in the earlier Sun/Moon metagame, and then I stumbled on a match which featured that Pokemon that makes use of the Choice Specs set, an attribute so promising I wanted to build a team featuring that set. And this Pokemon I was referring to is no other than Kommo-o.
Gesu Bambino (Kommo-o) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Clanging Scales
- Focus Blast
- Flash Cannon
- Sleep Talk
While Kommo-o’s overall versatility improved as it was graced with multiple features in the Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon versions, most notably its exclusive Z-Move in Clangorous Soulblaze that pushed the Pokemon in question over the edge, I still elected to run the Choice Specs set as a way of defeating unsuspecting Pokemon. To my surprise, this Pokemon made this team adaptable to the current metagame trends; it has all the right tools to dismantle even those so-called “unbreakable” Pokemon.
Clanging Scales and Focus Blast are the most used moves in Choice Specs Kommo-o’s arsenal. Kommo-o’s signature move in Clanging Scales is the sole reason for the team’s inception. As most Dragons run Draco Meteor as their STAB move of choice, they have the huge tendency to switch out (and some of them being prone to Pursuit afterward), Kommo-o’s Clanging Scales deliver consistent damage despite its Defense drop without having to fear Pursuit thanks to its resistance to such a move. Focus Blast, on the other hand, breaks down even the most capable of defensive cores, even Blissey is not a safe switch-in to this boosted move, scoring an average of roughly 60% of damage against it. Flash Cannon serves as the filler move for this Pokemon; it can deal decent damage against select Fairy-types. Finally, Sleep Talk is the last move chosen here; since I forgo Overcoat that could have been a way to block Spore from the likes of Amoonguss (and Breloom in the earlier stages), Bulletproof is a better ability to block unwanted Sludge Bombs and Shadow Balls (and Gyro Balls from Stakataka), and Sleep Talk is a way of absorbing Sleep for that matter.
As long as maximum investment on Special Attack with a Modest nature is needed to optimize Kommo-o’s damage output with Choice Specs-boosted moves, the rest of its EVs can be adjusted to suit which Pokemon needs to outrun. However, this is the most updated EV spread geared to outrun Adamant Mamoswine.
- - -
While I was battling on the ladder early in the Sun/Moon metagame, I have seen an influx of teams featuring Xurkitree, an Electric-type Pokemon capable of zapping literally entire teams thanks to Beast Boost, a monstrous 173 Base Special Attack, and decent ways of boosting its Speed by virtue of either Z-Hypnosis or Z-Electric Terrain. With its downfall being its Base 83 Speed, I needed a Pokemon that would at least score a revenge kill against one of the most feared threats in that metagame even with its boosted Speed, and this is where Choice Scarf Krookodile came in.
Ullalim (Krookodile) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
Despite Xurkitree being long gone in the metagame, there were more Electric-type Pokemon worth watching out for in the metagame, such as Mega Manectric, Raikou, and the most recent addition in Zeraora. With that, Choice Scarf Krookodile has become one of the staple proactive answers against those Pokemon. However, Krookodile’s effectiveness doesn’t stop there, as it has been attested by many as one of the sought-after revenge killers due to its unique typing granting it key immunities and resistances no other Pokemon in the Underused metagame would offer.
Speaking of its unique dual typing, this gives Earthquake, Knock Off, and Pursuit a formidable STAB combination that the opposition has to watch out for. These three moves are capable of trapping and taking out any potentially threatening Ghost-, Psychic-, and Electric-type Pokemon the rest of the team would not like taking. With that, there’s one more move left in Krookodile’s arsenal, and I elect to use Stone Edge to deal with most Flying types well (such as Mega Aerodactyl and Mega Pidgeot). Iron Tail gets a special mention worth replacing over Stone Edge such that while it remains super-effective against the likes of Togekiss and Mega Aerodactyl, it gains another move to deal with Fairy-types on the switch, most notably Togekiss.
The reason why I made Krookodile marginally slower than all other opposing (Choice Scarf) Krookodile is because with Krookodile’s set of resistances and immunities and the team’s overall synergy, it is bound to switch out against opposing Krookodile anyway and opposing Krookodile can be dealt with by the rest of the team. Even with its Choice Scarf being taken away, its Speed EVs are more than enough to take on Pokemon with Base 90 Speed. Otherwise, its Attack EVs are maximized to ensure an optimum damage output.
- - -
Next, I firmly believe that a Steel-type would be a welcome addition to this balanced team thanks to that type’s attributes, most notably its key resistances. Also, with a Flying-type being a win condition in this team makes me delegate that Steel-type Pokemon as a Defogger. One of the Pokemon qualified for the role was Scizor due to its natural bulk and its propensity to gain momentum by virtue of U-turn; however, with the win condition being part Water-type departed to the scene, this role has been delegated to a more trusted Pokemon: Empoleon.
King of Orient (Empoleon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 248 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Defog
- Scald
- Roar
For a metagame that demands a Pokemon that compresses roles easily, Empoleon fits the bill as one-half of the Pokemon comprising the team’s defensive backbone. Its one-of-a-kind typing and unparalleled utility make this Bulky Water a fantastic addition to the team, and it is capable of taking resisted hits extremely well, most notably Special attacks.
Speaking of Empoleon’s overall utility, this is one of the most trusted defensive sets to date, and it is proficient at what it really does, whether that is setting up Stealth Rock or clearing hazards off the field. Roar gives Empoleon a way to disrupt most boosting attackers, most notably Calm Mind users such as Suicune and (Mega) Slowbro. These moves would finally lead to Scald being its attack of choice; despite the halved after-effect damage this generation, the burns caused by the move is still potent and worth using, especially when dealing against Physical attackers.
While most players geared their Empoleon in such a way that it can significantly outrun other Empoleon, this rather conservative EV spread is the sole reason for the Pokemon’s stellar performance. 240 HP and 248 Special Defense EVs coupled with a Calm Nature provide the maximum numbers for Empoleon’s overall efficiency in taking hits by virtue of its Leftovers number and its jump point respectively.
- - -
Pokemon possessing a Fairy-type have been a huge blessing since the last generation; they provided another line of defense against one of the most feared types in the entire world: Dragon. With most of the Fairy-types being defensive in nature, there is no surprise that such Pokemon can gel well with the rest of the team, and this team is no exception. As such, the Pokemon that completed the other half of the team’s defensive backbone is no other than Sylveon.
Gift for the Child (Sylveon) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Cute Charm
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell
- Moonblast
Before Sylveon sprung into mind, this spot was once filled by Necrozma, one of the new toys I used in the past for its defensive capabilities backed up by Prism Armor, its recovery through Moonlight, and its unexpected addition of Stealth Rock. Despite Necrozma doing some work in the earlier part of the metagame, sadly, its viability in all aspects is waning, and the team lacked some form of staying power especially when being inflicted with status conditions; no Pokemon would ever take a risk being hit by such.
With that, Sylveon fits the bill extremely well notably for two reasons. First, it serves as a buffer against Dragon attacks; Scizor in the earlier days would struggle taking those, and by delegating Empoleon to take such moves would be burdensome for the whole team. Second, the staying power of the Pokemon has significantly increased by virtue of the following moves: Heal Bell, that makes literally all Pokemon in the team healed from any status conditions inflicted by opposing Pokemon, and Wish, that gives more health to damaged Pokemon including itself, in which Protect is most likely used to ensure regeneration of health through it. Moonblast is finally included in its arsenal since Belly Drum Kommo-o with Soundproof is becoming more rampant nowadays, hence the addition of Cute Charm (which is sometimes helpful by sheer luck) since it doesn’t have a Normal-type move to boost from Pixilate anyway.
Maximizing its HP EVs, while not a Leftovers number, is the most ideal for Sylveon to pass Wishes to the rest of the team. The same principle on jump points from Empoleon applies here as well; as such, 216 Defense EVs coupled with a Bold Nature are placed to provide maximum defensive potential in taking Physical attacks despite its base stat being lower than Special Defense, which will be bolstered by placing its remaining EVs there anyway.
- - -
The departure of Gengar in this team made me choose another Pokemon worthy of filling such void. I delegated Gengar as an annoyer to Blissey by virtue of Substitute + Pain Split, and with a different win condition that happened to be a Special Attacker, this slot happened to be more important than ever. Among all other possible Pokemon that I could think of in this slot that could pair with that win condition, I ended up using Mega Beedrill thanks to the eventual release of Beedrillite in the earlier Sun and Moon games.
Nomad's Carol (Beedrill) @ Beedrillite
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Poison Jab
- Knock Off
- Drill Run
Mega Beedrill, after selecting the win condition which will be explained later on, gave the team a snug fit due to several attributes the team wishes to maintain. Since its inception, the Mega Pokemon were sort of scarce and they release the Mega Stones one by one within the Sun and Moon games. As all Mega Stones got released, the Mega slot was definitely open for options, in which literally all Pokemon with their corresponding Mega Stones are qualified in this slot.
What made Mega Beedrill, among all other possible Mega Pokemon, the perfect fit for this team, is its ability to gain some form of momentum by virtue of U-turn: something that Scizor had done in its inception, but a lot better thanks to its more aggressive nature. This primary move made this Pokemon became an integral part in dealing with Stall, and is definitely one of the unsung heroes in that aspect. Poison Jab serves as a go-to STAB attack that scares most Fairy-types away that could potentially pose a threat to the team due to the lack of moves to deal with such super-effectively. Drill Run serves as a coverage move to deal with Steel-type Pokemon, although it was used sparingly in my experience due to the abundance of countermeasures against such Pokemon. Finally, as Mega Beedrill gets blessed with the new Mega mechanics this generation, Protect is rarely seen on this Pokemon nowadays; as such, Knock Off became one of the staple moves as it can take away any beneficial item from opposing Pokemon.
While the EV spread screams straightforward, the nature chosen is rather unconventional. The reason for running Adamant nature over the most typical Jolly nature is because Mega Beedrill needed to maximize its damage output as an integral part in dealing with Stall archetypes. This means, this Mega Beedrill set doesn't get bothered on being outrun by Mega Sceptile, Mega Manectric, and opposing Mega Beedrill since Sylveon can deal with the former while Choice Scarf Krookodile can deal with the latter two.
- - -
As for almost every Pokemon I build with, the last Pokemon in the team is delegated to a set-up attacker that usually brings the exclamation point in winning matches. Apparently, Flying-types were underrated at first due to the weakness Stealth Rock brings, but packing STAB from that type boosted with its corresponding Z-Crystal made those fearsome Pokemon into colossal threats that need to leave in the UnderUsed metagame for good, most notably Gyarados who was once part of this team. With Gyarados’s departure, I have to search for a different Pokemon that could at least maintain the set of resistances Gyarados brought for the team, and this is where Moltres finally set its place.
O Dakilang Hiwaga (Moltres) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Roost
- Hurricane
- Fire Blast
In the earlier Sun and Moon metagames, Moltres saw itself as a Pokemon with stellar potential, but cannot fit itself due to the massive Stealth Rock weakness compounded by lack of Defog support. The stellar potential Moltres has is its ability to render one of the most popular UU Pokemon, Scizor, useless for the remainder of the match by virtue of Flame Body, unless it packs a cleric. If it weren’t for this Pokemon today, only Choice Specs Kommo-o would be the one to deal with most Steel-type Pokemon, and that would be burdensome given Focus Blast can miss at any point of the match.
Today, with a myriad of Defog support options, more and more players have significantly appreciated Moltres as a gem worth using and a threat worth treading. Despite its massive weakness to Stealth Rock, Fire and Flying are two of the most potent offensive combinations in the tier, offering near perfect neutral coverage except from Rock-type Pokemon, among other type combinations. With that, Fire Blast and Hurricane are the strongest options available for this Pokemon, as it is able to put an exclamation point against most teams -- provided all moves hit (at least the Z-Crystal-boosted Hurricane can spare that from missing). While it lacks a move that can significantly increase its power to serve as a win condition, its Speed boost from Agility is more than enough to rack up wins for the team since the offensive type combination and the high octane attacks brought by Fire Blast and Hurricane can suffice. In the earlier days, I planned on using a different attack on Moltres, but I opted for Roost instead for staying power, especially when its health gets chipped from Scizor’s U-turns, among other physical moves opposing Pokemon can throw at.
Maximizing its Special Attack and Speed is straightforward; like Mega Beedrill, it runs a nature with a positive Special Attack stat and not Speed -- for a different reason. As stated earlier, Moltres has Agility as its most useful stat-boosting move, and it needs a Modest nature in order to maximize the damage output of Fire Blast and Hurricane. While somehow slow and being outrun by Pokemon with Base 75 and above with a positive Speed nature, Moltres can outrun Mega Aerodactyl already with one use of Agility.
The team has been long solid for over a year and it has given a lot of tournament exposure over time; despite such accolades, there were numerous threats worth addressing along the way even until today and here's my experience in how to deal with those things.
1. Terrakion
Among all Fighting type Pokemon this team can throw at, Terrakion deems the most threatening among them all. More players attest to this as this Pokemon can terrorize almost any team and this team is no exception, which then I realized Terrakion becomes more centralizing as the metagame changed over time; as such, it needs some key Pokemon to be alive before facing it. Sylveon, albeit taking a lot of damage from Stone Edge, is the safest bet in this matter as it is one of those Pokemon who can hit it with a super-effective Moonblast. If for any extreme circumstance it has to be sacrificed, Krookodile, or Mega Beedrill to an extent, would be able to revenge kill it, provided it doesn't have a Rock Polish up.
2. Mamoswine
As said in the team history section of this article, literally no Pokemon in this team would be safe in dealing with Mamoswine, and it's actually sad that none of Mamoswine's primary STABs make contact that Moltres or Sylveon wouldn't trigger their respective abilities. Speaking of those Pokemon, they are actually the safest bets as Sylveon can keep on recovering in rough situations, while Moltres can outright kill it, though it could take some damage due to it being slow due to its Modest nature.
3. Magneton
While Magneton in itself isn't that threatening, once it switches in on an Empoleon, it could open up to a lot of doors for its proper teammates to wreak havoc. Such teammates include most Flying-types, since Empoleon is the sole Flying resist to the team, and Togekiss would deem the most threatening here as it can potentially flinch most Pokemon with Serene Grace-boosted Air Slashes. If that's the case, I need to find a contingency plan in dealing such Pokemon to avert such crisis -- Mega Beedrill and Krookodile deem the most valuable in this affair, while Sylveon can still manage to tank any Flying type move well.
4. Suicune
Some Calm Mind users could be annoying for this team to face, and Suicune would be the most threatening among all possible users of that move. One may think that Roar on Empoleon would be the best way in dealing with Suicune, which is actually a good option, but it doesn't work anymore if it becomes the last Pokemon to do so. If that's the case, Mega Beedrill is one of the best options to put brute force against Suicune by virtue of Poison Jabs (and a Knock Off can be beneficial to lose all the Leftovers recovery in the long run), and this is where Mega Beedrill's Adamant nature comes into play, as it is capable of taking it down in three hits.
1. Against Stall Archetypes
I actually thought that my team would struggle against Stall; yes, to some degree, if some of the Stall archetypes have brought something that could put my team to a precarious situation, but I found out that the unsung heroes of the team were actually Mega Beedrill and Choice Specs Kommo-o. The two replays below will show how the team fares well against some of the most solid of Stall archetypes -- both of which are incidentally part of the official tournament exposure (UU Open VII).
In this match, you could see how I aggressively used Kommo-o and Mega Beedrill at the beginning of the match, gaining some momentum in the process, and then standing ground with Empoleon, putting in some mind games against Tentacruel. This match eventually ended when Kommo-o racked up kills to Aggron, Crobat, and Quagsire by virtue of Clanging Scales (the former with the help of Mega Beedrill's chip damage via Knock Off and U-turn), and Mega Beedrill using Poison Jabs to defeat both Blissey and Alomomola.
In this match, it started off with Mega Beedrill doing some form of scouting via Knock Off, and then heading to a conservative route while carcy is looking for that one opening to strike. Midway through the match (Turn 23), Kommo-o has struck with Focus Blast severely damaging Blissey and Gliscor while sealing the kill against Registeel. Two more Focus Blasts later, and it severely damaged Suicune and cannot promptly move with Sleep Talk, and that sealed in the deciding victory for carcy to advance in the third round of UU Open.
2. Other Notable Replays
There are numerous notable replays to be showcased here, since they have some form of tournament exposure: this time, with some of the more reputable players. Most of the teams shown are mostly fellow balanced teams and more offensive teams. These replays will highlight some of the threats that were addressed from the threat list as mentioned above.
I just realized that this match against LLH was full of the threats that I have mentioned in the threat list: Terrakion, Mamoswine, and Magneton (paired with Mega Altaria). While he could potentially run Scizor that could be detrimental to Mega Beedrill early in the match (since I needed that Pokemon to deal with Mega Altaria), I had second thoughts of leading with Mega Beedrill. Midway through the match, Mamoswine and Terrakion are attempting to plow through my team with their STABs; fortunately, I averted such crises thanks to Krookodile hanging on for dear life. The game eventually ended when Magneton actually stayed in on my Mega Beedrill's U-turn (which I have anticipated a switch-in), that ended up in Scizor cleaning house against the whole team (which ultimately got me to me hoping Scizor gets burned from Moltres's Flame Body as my last resort, then failed). While it's sort of sad that I got eliminated early on in this stage, I felt the pride for the team's lasting solidity over the years, which led me to showcasing this team in a full-blown RMT article.
Euphonos vs. Eyan
Qualifying Round, UU Majors III
Euphonos vs. itsjustdrew
Qualifying Round, UU Majors III
While I have lost once in the qualifying stage of UU Majors through a surprise factor, I found these two players (one reputable, and one upstart) giving me the match of my life in this stage. Both of them run heavy offense featuring a Mamoswine, one of the threats worth addressing in this team. As for the one against Eyan, Mamoswine managed to switch in as both Azelf and Moltres fainted a turn prior, and with Sylveon being the safest bet, I just have to hit back with Moonblast such that revenge killing gets easy afterward. As for the one against itsjustdrew, Mamoswine didn't manage to come in safely due to my aggressive double switching against Moltres, and what he did is to set up Stealth Rock when my Empoleon fainted from his Chandelure's Z-Crystal-boosted Shadow Ball a turn prior, only to be succumbed, again, by Sylveon's Moonblasts. From there, the team took advantage of their synergistic typing and abilities to deal with most of the threats well, thus racking up wins against those two of my opponents.
Updated Kanto vs. robjr
Week 3, Round-Robin Final, UU Majors II
Updated Kanto vs. Villa
Week 3, Round-Robin Final, UU Majors II
Updated Kanto grabbed this team after I posted the team in TSR's Team Building Competition, which he ended up winning Week 3 of UU Majors II and I ended up winning that week of the competition. These two replays from Updated Kanto are actually coming from the Round Robin Final of that week. The replay against robjr showcased Kommo-o's power with all these Clanging Scales and Focus Blasts dealing as much damage to the opposing Pokemon with Choice Specs equipped; the replay against Villa on the other hand takes advantage of the team's synergistic typing that keeps on hanging on despite two of the offensive powerhouses in Kommo-o and Moltres being taken down early in the game.
3. Trivial Replays
This is the grassroots team that started it all -- way back from its SM UU beta days. In this crazy ladder match against Yifeng, you may notice that some of my Pokemon managed to survive lots of hits that may potentially take them down, such as a Fire Punch from Flygon against my Scizor, among others. However, the fundamentals of how the team works (such as Krookodile Intimidating the likes of Mega Sharpedo, using Kommo-o to wreck any Pokemon with its Special Attacks, among others) became the basis of the team's lasting success today.
While I have enjoyed some of the UU teams I have built in this generation featuring crazy sets such as Sticky Web Swirlix, Power Swap Mega Altaria, and Metal Burst Sableye, I will never forget this team as the standard-bearer of all, and actually, I find this team being my most successful one among all the teams I have built and I still managed to use it without any problems due to its lasting solidity. Unlike the ORAS UU team that featured Wish Salamence, none of my Pokemon would be bound to get the boot any time soon, so feel free to use this team (but make sure you support our choir and give this album a listen!) and let me know how the team helped you in one way or another.
Ladies and gentlemen, this now concludes my RMT article entitled "Dakilang Hiwaga". I would like to thank you for reading a whole chunk of text (please bear with me, lol!) and I would like to wish you all the happiest of holidays. I would now apologize for not pulling off some shout-outs today since it's actually a long overdue process of writing an RMT of mine all by myself, but I am grateful to the people whom I know and remember well who have been part of this journey. With that, see you all soon!
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