SM UU Dark Sky Paradise

[rs]

INTRODUCTION​

What's up lads? I'm Shiba and I'm posting my first RMT in SM UU. In the past couple years, I have posted a lot of my teams that I used in UUPL as well as Snake Draft in the regular UU threads but I've been wanting to post a more in-depth analysis for awhile now. The following team is one I came up with during UUPL Semifinals after falling in love with Substitute Kyurem. I did use Kyurem in Week 3 as well as Week 6 I believe, so it was a developing trend for me at the time, where Pokemon like Breloom and especially Gliscor were running rampant in UU.

As I said before, this was a team I came up with in UUPL Semifinals vs (at the time 4-0) BlackOblivion, so it was more or less a counter-style to his previous teams that I believe were built by Sage (I could be wrong on that though). I started off with the best mon in the tier at the time, Substitute Kyurem, and combined it with another great Pressure wielder in Suicune. These two complimented each other insanely well and could break down a lot of the fat cores through Substitute PP Stall. The next 3 (Blissey, Tentacruel, Krookodile) are pretty much just a really solid defensive core, with Blissey walling pretty much every special attacker in the tier and the combination of Tentacruel and Fire Fang Krookodile giving me some counterplay to the omnipresent Scizor. Lastly, Latias rounded out the team as an extra Fighting-type resist and win-con with Calm Mind. This team is probably pretty out of date now that Gliscor is gone and Terrakion has picked up steam, but it's still one of my all-time favorites. Now some more analysis on the individual Pokemon:

THE TEAM​

**WIN SOME LOSE SOME
Kyurem @

Ability: Pressure
EVs: 56 HP / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

- Ice Beam

- Hidden Power [Fire]

- Substitute

- Roost

At the time, I thought Substitute Kyurem was one of the best Pokemon in the metagame. With its ability to come in on a number of threats and beat them such as Gliscor, Togekiss, Serperior, Mega Manectric, and more, it was hard not for me to think Kyurem wasn't one of the best Pokemon. As for the actual set, it was a pretty standard Substitute Pressure build, except with Hidden Power Fire over the normal Earth Power. During testing, I lured a number of Scizors with the tech, which are actually a pretty big threat to this team (or any team really). Also with support from Knock Off Tentacruel for opposing Empoleons or Tentacruels, I thought HP Fire would be an extremely nice touch on the set.

Is this the example I'm tryna set?
Are these the people I'mma forget?
Are these the times I'mma regret?
Livin' life wishin' I could hit reset

**MY LAST
Suicune @

Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

- Calm Mind

/

- Protect / Ice Beam

- Substitute

- Scald

The second member of the team, as well as the second Pressure user, Suicune, was complimented by Kyurem insanely well, with Kyurem able to take on a number of Suicunes checks, such as Mega Manectric and Serperior. They were also great with eachother by way of= a lot of the teams built for tournaments were really weak to either one of them, so it was in my best interest to just mash them into one team, creating the ultimate (aids) PP stall core. As for the actual set, it is the standard VinCune set, with Calm Mind allowing it to act as a win condition and Protect/Sub allowing it to annoy fatter cores. I could opt for Ice Beam over Protect to help with me physical Dragons or Breloom as well. As for the spread, Amoonguss wasn't in the tier at the time due to the influx of AV Amoonguss in OU, but now it would probably be changed to the 252 HP / 40 SpD / 216 Spe to allow it to set up on said Amoonguss.

Grind hard but got a lot to show for it
Always had drive like I had to chauffeur it
My team's so true we should get a camera crew
To follow us around and make a show for us

**SAVAGE TIME
Blissey @

Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

- Stealth Rock

- Soft-Boiled

- Toxic

- Seismic Toss

Now for the best Pokemon in the current UU metagame, Blissey. Man, is this thing good. Predominately known as a stall Pokemon, I figured I would try it on a more balanced squad like this one as a catch-all to special attackers like Latias, Hydreigon, Moltres, etc.. Putting Blissey here also put an extremely reliable Stealth Rocker on the team, which was relatively hard to fit on with the team with the first two Pokemon and still needing a Scarfer as well as a hazard remover. Unfortunately with having Stealth Rock, it did force me to run no Heal Bell for either of the Substitute users in case they were Toxic'd or forced into Toxic Spikes. Definitely one of the most underrated Pokemon on balance builds in any metagame of UU.

Look, I'm taking out anyone in my way
I'm not playing with you, bitch, this not the WNBA
I'm a real-life star, so you know I need my space
Beat a white supremacist black, till that motherfucker hate his face

**ON THE COME UP
Tentacruel @

Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 204 HP / 160 Def / 8 SpA / 136 Spe
Timid Nature

- Rapid Spin

- Toxic / Toxic Spikes

- Scald

- Knock Off

With no Heal Bell on Blissey and needing a solid hazard remover (as well as a Toxic Spike Absorber), the next Pokemon was Tentacruel. Tentacruel is pretty much the definition of role compression for this team with the added bonus of spreading its own poison for with Toxic (for set-up sweepers mostly) or Toxic Spikes as well as annoying the checks of Kyurem and Suicune with Knock Off (which was actually Sludge Wave before Breloom left). It also gives me the added bonus of a Fighting-type and semi-Scizor check, which I lacked in the first 3 Pokemon, so obviously it was a much appreciated addition to the squad.

Tryna take this lil' piece of success I got and make it bigger
You can tell I'm focused in my baby pictures
Not replyin' to texts, not even naked pictures
That's how real it gets

**GUAP
Krookodile @

Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

- Earthquake

- Knock Off

- Pursuit

- Fire Fang

Krookodile is the speed control and essential Electric-type immunity of this team, as well as the most common Pursuit user in the history of SM UU. There's really not much to say about Krookodile than what people already know, it is an insanely good revenge killer for the likes of Latias, Terrakion, Mega Manectric, Celebi, etc. with the added bonus of Intimidate, giving me another blanket check to things like Mega Aerodactyl. I did go with Fire Fang over the more standard Stone Edge as to give me another solid counterplay to Scizor.

I done paid taxes, paid dues, paid bills my whole life
So I'ma throw money in the air, like I'm tryin' to pay the sky
Told myself that man if I can't live like this, I'd rather die

**DEEP
Latias @

Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

- Draco Meteor

- Psychic

- Calm Mind

- Recover

Latias is the last member of my team. Its role was key in the general success of the team. For one, it provided me with an insanely good win condition with its overall bulk, Calm Mind, and the usefulness of Z-Draco Meteor, giving it a huge nuke of a move to further compliment its sweeping potential. It also gave me another essential Fighting-resist, with my only other one being Tentacruel, so with this addition it obviously improved my matchup vs the likes of Infernape and Cobalion. At the time, there was some debate on whether to go with the Bolt-Beam set, but I figured the standard Dual-STAB combo would work really well with the other members and compliment their strengths as well.

Deeper than your sister dying and you're telling your nieces
The deeper it gets, boy, the pressure increases
But pressure make diamonds
And my name is Sean cause I shine, it's self explanatory

THREATLIST​

Terrakion/Kommo-o - I'm so glad these Pokemon were viewed as "mediocre" at the time of when Gliscor, Serp, Loom, etc were here. I don't really have any good answers to either of them so I'm glad they were rare at the time! :D

Mega Sharpedo - obviously a menace to a lot of balance teams like this one. With Intimidate it is relatively manageable though

Serperior - mild threat if I let it get a lot of boosts from Leaf Storm, but it is very manageable if I played around it well with the combination of Pressure from Suicune + Kyurem and the bulk of Blissey

Mamoswine - was OU at the time :cwl:

TOUR REPLAYS
​

vs BlackOblivion for UUPL Semifinals (W)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen7uu-380648

aim vs ayevon UU Open Quarters (W) w/ commentary
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen7uu-391399

vs FLCL for UU Open (W)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen7uu-386697

probably a lot more out there for Open since I posted the team before GS but too lazy to find them

CONCLUSION​

Thanks for reading! Overall, I really loved building and using this team. I encourage people in the current metagame to try and build around the double pressure build since they can take on a lot of teams on their own just with the annoyance of their superior bulk + PP stalling. Again, this team is pretty outdated in the current SM UU Metagame but I'm sure with some quick revamps to combat the likes of Terrakion/Kommo-o and Mega Sharpedo it could be usable in the current meta. Shoutout to Accelgor for the sick banner and all my regular homies in new tours chat, Barclay's, Smashers, and West, you know who you are. Till next time!

Also s/o Snowy when he showcases this

IMPORTABLE (PROBABLY UNUSABLE IN CURRENT META)​

Hide

Kyurem @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 56 HP / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Substitute
- Roost

Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Protect
- Substitute
- Scald

Blissey @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Soft-Boiled
- Toxic
- Seismic Toss

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 204 HP / 160 Def / 8 SpA / 136 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
- Knock Off

Krookodile @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Fire Fang

Latias @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Calm Mind
- Recover

 

[Cynde]

Through extensive searching I have discovered the real banner with the help of accelgor

 

[vivalospride]

Hey shibs, this is a dope team and ik it's a bit old by now but I don't think it's unusable at all. Obviously with rak and kommo being so big rn it's aged a bit but it's not too big of a deal. I think the team is very good as it is, as seen w/ it's track record but due to the meta changing a bit since it's creation, it could use a few changes. Blissey lets Terrak and Kommo in as it rocks or even them coming in on Toxic is worth it for them due to just how good the matchup is. Anyways let's see.

- Maggron > Blissey I think works very well here because it's a lati answer combined with krook which is sort of what Blissey was beforehand, but it's also able to not be totally useless vs physical fighters, unlike Blissey. It can beat CB rak 1v1 and doesn't take much from shark at all. Also gives Roar support + Tspikes which is always dope.

SET

Aggron-Mega @ Aggronite
Ability: Filter
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Roar

- Fight Z Togekiss > Lati works great because it pressures stall and fat in general while giving similar wallbreaking capabilities. Togekiss pressures Alo + Bliss + Quag + Guss very handily which is generally the type of shit people switch between when trying to deal with a +6 vincune. It also fixes the Hydreigon matchup which suffered when I went Magg > Blissey. Togekiss also fixes the Kommo matchup up pretty well while not really making the rak m/u any worse because rak can't really come in on fight z.

SET

Togekiss @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Air Slash
- Aura Sphere
- Roost

Set changes n shit:
- You seem to do the blassic "spam random fire moves" strategy to deal with SD Scizor but I think this isn't rlly super necessary if you just do Haze > Knock Off on Tentacruel. This would allow you to have a Kyurem that isn't walled by Tentacruel (aka something that could rlly fuck up your tspikes) by doing EP > HP Fire since I think Hp Fire isn't really necessary here, also Stone Edge > Fire Fang 100% on Krook because I just don't think Fire Fang is necessary here and stedge is pretty important for the Moltres m/u now that Blissey is gone.
- An option ig is going super speedy Tentacruel for Moltres but it's prolly unnecessary lmao.

Importable

Kyurem @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 56 HP / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Roost

Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Protect
- Substitute
- Scald

Aggron-Mega @ Aggronite
Ability: Filter
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Roar

Krookodile @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 204 HP / 160 Def / 8 SpA / 136 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Haze
- Toxic Spikes

Togekiss @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Air Slash
- Aura Sphere
- Roost

I think this makes the team a little bit better but the team was already very solid beforehand so it's not like I just fixed everything. CB Rak still has a very very good m/u but it's a little bit better for the most part. Also I Decided > Dark Sky Paradise. Gl lad.