Other Freed Ubers

[Ropeburn]

Excadrill is such a lovely addition to OU. It's a fantastic spinner that we've lacked for quite some time, and it really helps against the swarm of Rotom-W.

Thundurus-I is pretty underwhelming, but I'm only running T-Wave + 3 attacks, so I'm unsure of how well the NP set holds up. The prankster T-Wave is frustrating, but I'm not sure if it's ban-worthy.

Genesect is the same monster it was last gen. It's basically taken the place of Scizor on all of my teams. Even when my opponent knows I'm going to U-turn, they're forced to go into a bug resist, where I respond with another counter to that pokemon, and give them the choice to switch out, give me a free sub, or get KO'd. Sub+SD Garchomp and Genesect are such a brutal combination. Not a big fan of Genesect at all.

I still have to try out some of the others, but I've found a team that really meshes well together and I've been enjoying some fun games.

Btw, if you're not using Choice Specs Keldeo, you're missing out. The thing is still a monster and it stacks up well against the current OU threats.

 

[CyclicCompound]

As someone who mostly plays more defensive playstyles, Genesect is an absolute nightmare to face if rocks aren't up. If the other team lets me screw around with entry hazards, then I'll be fine, but most people are smart enough to defog before they start volt-turning me to eventual death.

Luckily, I haven't run into a Shift Gear variant, but that sounds like something I'll have to try out for myself.

As for the Deoxys pair, I think Deoxys-S is not as flexible simply because it's easier for hazards to be removed. With that said, it can do stuff other than suicide hazard stacking, and I've seen it being used with success thus far. Deoxys-D, however, I've found to be complete Mega Gengar fodder. On the teams I've used it on, it can usually manage to wall a couple things or provide limited utility but then either falls to stuff like Megagar or simply becomes rather useless as soon as its job is done.

I think Manaphy might not even be up to OU standards without permanent rain. Same goes for Tornadus-T and Thundurus. It's surprising how much one extra turn and a moveslot can completely change the dynamics of a Pokemon. However, like Super Mario Bro said above me, I think they're all viable on a dedicated rain abuse team.

And finally, my favorite visitor to OU is Excadrill. That thing is amazing in the right hands.

 

[Chaoswalker]

First thing I did when I read this thread was remake my old Rain team with some XY adjustments.

Tornadus' life orb set from last generation is still very powerful with such speed and regenerator. I've also heard something about an assault vest variant, which makes sense considering his moveset and ability. I think his biggest draw is the stab Hurricane, doing fantastic neutral damage. Of course focusblast+hidden power is great coverage too. The occasional hurricane miss is troublesome with the low defenses, and I'm thinking the loss of perma-rain makes him very OU acceptable, if not lower. (Fingers crossed for OU)

Also, he's a funny green bird. You gotta love that.

 

[lordkira]

I like the Excadrill's spin set but have not had too much success with the sweeper set as I have in Gen 5.
It's not even remotely close to how good it was back in gen 5.
In fact, if he does stay in OU, I'd not be too surprised to see him in middle of the pack.
And this is all thanks to the significant weather nerf.

 

[Ropeburn]

I've personally found shift gear to be rather underwhelming, personally. I feel like there are other pokemon that do it better, and who have a better physical movepool. +1 just isn't enough, and I have a hard time getting it in with all the Rotom, Excadrill, and Megas floating around right now. Choice Scarf is still superior, as the momentum it provides your team is crazy.

 

[Sunday]

At the risk of ruining all my "secrets", I've been running Deoxys-S as my lead for a while now and he's as awesome as ever.

I was initially running Dual Screens/Taunt/SR, which was quite effective. However my team warped into something more stall oriented that didn't actually benefit from the benefits of Dual Screens all that much (stall teams don't really do a lot in the first 6 turns, just setting up hazzards and whatnot) and I was often finding it difficult to use them in amongst other things. So I ended up switching to Taunt/SR/Ice Beam/Psycho Boost and HOLY MOLY so many Pokemon will stay in on you and just eat your attacks up it's hilarious. The surprise factor is fantastic and getting in a bit of extra damage after setting up Rocks is awesome.

 

[Typhlito]

genesect's shift gear would be much better if it had something to cover fire types with. or else it would have a hard time setting up just to be forced back out

 

[G-Von]

I wasn't into the whole simulator play back in the beginning of BW1, so pokemon like Manaphy and Deo-S I have no experience with. On paper, I don't see Manaphy being the menace I'm sure it was with Rain+Hydration+Rest as reliable recovery, but Tail Glow is still a scary option. However, with all these new fast threats like Greninja, Hawlucha, and Talonflame, along with all the fast megas will give Manaphy a lot of trouble.

Deo-S looks like it will smack a Flabébé at its christening. It has so many offensive and support options that it is fucking scary. I haven't been playing Pokebank OU at all so I don't know how its been doing when used, but I'm sure its doing a damn good job.

Hell, every single pokemon that was banned last generation that has received another chance at OU has been nerfed in some way. Thundurus, Torn-T, Manaphy, and Excadrill have all suffered nerfs from the lack of permanent weather. Exca is taking it a lot better than the other three because he is still the best spinner in the tier. Landorus had Hidden Power get nerfed and Focus Blast is now resisted by faries. Genesect's special scarfed set got hindered a little since all thunder(bolt), flamethrower, and ice beam all got reduced in power slightly. It may not be very obvious, but even the Deo formes got nerfed slightly. Due to the increased importance put into priority moves, bulk, and meg evolutions from GF, Deo-D/S will have trouble surviving many hits but should still find a way to do their jobs.

 

[Magnemite]

I've personally found shift gear to be rather underwhelming, personally. I feel like there are other pokemon that do it better, and who have a better physical movepool. +1 just isn't enough, and I have a hard time getting it in with all the Rotom, Excadrill, and Megas floating around right now. Choice Scarf is still superior, as the momentum it provides your team is crazy.

The only other Pokemon in the game that gets Shift Gear is the unstoppable... Klingklang! Genesect is by far the best user of Shift Gear in the game. The problem with sweeping variants of Genesect is that they are very dependent on getting the right Download boost to be able to sweep. I honestly think Rock Polish Genesect is still a little better than Shift Gear because it has so much better coverage. The Scarf set isn't really too hard to deal with with proper prediction, from my experience. Also, at 99 base Speed, it's outsped by most other OU Scarfers.

 

[Temporaryanonymous]

I think Genesect is the most dangerous of these by far. With a scarf, it reaches blistering speeds and with download, can hit both physically and specially. Genesect can force switches and keep momentum with U-turn, while also being a deadly special attacker with its wide movepool.

 

[Heroes and Cons]

Honestly I still consider Genesect broken, its Download ability makes it hit ridiculously hard and its movepool is amazing. Additionally, the only pokemon who can be considered counters - Volcarona, Heatran, Rotom-H, Chansey - are easy to play around, especially with two of them having a 4x weakness, two of them being weak to SR, Rotom-H being extremely rare and Chansey having no offensive presence whatsoever.

I wonder if Phione even deserves OU though, he lost everything with the weather loss, unlike the trio who can manage with their therian form in OU. So phione, I don't think will be that popular in OU. Genesect was immensely popular so again, scarf Genesect is so good.

Deoxys-S is just too good in every way possible, suicide lead with psycho boost, super power + Psycho Boost set, Hazards + HP Fire. That thing is gonna be dominant, unlike Doexys-D which has very low usage even in OU.

Well I hope you mean Manaphy... Phione is and will always be NU.

I don't know why you are saying Deo-S is too good with its offenses. The reason it was banned was because of its supporting abilities (though I've never personally considered it broken at all), not its moderate sweeping potential and mediocre bulk.

 

[Chaoswalker]

Tornadus' mixed set is probably his most fearsome, as is the case with any capable mixed attacker. I don't know why I was relying on focus miss when the reliable Super Power was available.

Tornadus-Therian (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Mild Nature
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Superpower
- Hurricane
- U-turn

 

[thedeafelectrician]

I think all the weather dependent mons will end up OU, as has already been said, the things that made them ubers just aren't as much of a factor as they used to be.

However, manaphy is still interesting, I think people really underrate its abilities. Max SpAtk neutral nature tail glow gets you to (I believe) 747 SpAtk after ONE TURN of set-up. 100/100/100 defenses are solid too, with a good defensive type in water. This thing could still end up uber.

Expert belt genesect on the other hand is still an absolute monster, if I had to guess, I think it's going to get suspect tested again. Shift gear is hit and miss for me, it depends on what type of download boost it gets. Choice scarf is as good as ever too.

-I think Excadrill is a lovely addition to OU and will be a solid part of it this generation. I see it constantly. It's so much less obnoxious without perma-weather.
-I think Manaphy will pull a Mew this generation. BL at most.
-I hate the Deoxys froms presence in OU, I really don't know/care how they are doing but I hope they go back to Ubers.
-Genesect is the most 'up in the air' mon on the list. He's still really good but the introduction of Talonflame has really effed with him.
-The Trio seem more balanced this generation so I'm sure they might make it in OU. We'll see with Landorus.

Yeeeeeep.

Pretty sure defense form is the only one left in OU, and that was OU in gen 5.

Nevermind on that

 

[Ropeburn]

People are really underrating Politoed right now. With Swift Swim + Drizzle legal this gen, Kingdra is a huge threat. Also, Choice Specs Politoed is hilariously good. People don't really prep their pokemon for rain boosted choice specs Hydro Pumps anymore.

 

[FreeButter]

I would be ticked with the fact that Deo-D/S is Ou atm, but after playing Gen 5 Ubers a while when they were at that tier, they still pose no problem to me.

 

[lalala45]

People are really underrating Politoed right now. With Swift Swim + Drizzle legal this gen, Kingdra is a huge threat. Also, Choice Specs Politoed is hilariously good. People don't really prep their pokemon for rain boosted choice specs Hydro Pumps anymore.

People really don't prepare for rain in general anymore; the most I ever see to take on rain is usually only one mon, like a goodra or something like that. And goodra gets worn down really easily.

In terms of the mons from the OP, from my personal experience some of them were really not that threatening. Genesect, for example, was at most an annoyance for me than anything else, but that really was about it. Its kind of frail, even resisted hits do a significant chunk. Now that dark and ghost became neutral to steel, genesect has been more manageable; being able to sucker punch a genesect feels good :).

I have never actually fought a manaphy before, so I can't say anything about it. Although by the stats and movepool it seems manageable, It would easily die to a strong grass or electric move, not to mention offensive pressure, so I don't see what is uber about it. :/ Tail glow I guess?

 

[Rugi]

Exacdrill is getting so much use it's crazy. The majority of teams I fight have him as their spinner.
Genesect also appears quite often although I think shift gear genesect should be banned but what are you gonna do.

The only one out of all of these I've genuinely been using way too much is manaphy. get scolipede to give it some speed tail glow and sweep. And once you've got two tail glows there is basically nothing in the metagame you can't OHKO with the right moveset. Now 2HKO's are achieved on even the mighty Blissey and Goodra.

 

[Chou Toshio]

I've been using Genesect and Landorus-I.

Honestly, Genesect is nowhere near as good as it was in the 5th gen, just because of all the powerful priority moves he doesn't resist. Losing his Sucker Punch resist (and even Shadow Sneak resist) really hurt in this meta, as Genesect carries almost no way of getting around it, and always attacks. Add Talonflame's Acrobatics and Azumarril's Aqua Jet (and Breloom's Mach Punch) and the insect isn't hitting nearly as hard. He can actually be Pursuit trapped by Scizor or Tyranitar when locked into a Special move, which is crazy. Add in Heatran's increased natural popularity due to 1) Politoed dropping like a rock 2) Talonflame 3) Aegislash, and Genesect is in a much tougher spot. Genesect has a hard time breaking through a lot of XY threats even with +1 Special, and Electric / Ice / Fire isn't the coverage is used to be. I often find myself wishing I had Iron Head, but you really can't find room for it on the scarf set.

Still, even with the metagame shifts, I'd say he's only been robbed of his "brokenness" (offensively really tame compared to everything else), and is still really useful. If anything, I'd say Genesect is a really good force in the metagame, just because it's one of a very small number of still-viable Scarf users. Sure it hates priority, but every other scarfer hates it even more. At least Genesect resists Bullet Punch (which is on a whole lot more than just Scizor now) and ExtremeSpeed (which is on a lot more than just Lucario now...). It's a balancing force that allows teams an offensive check to most sweepers (the job a Scarf user should have). With all the priority and SR damage that adds up, one really needs to watch its health bar, and Genesect can usually only stop one or these sweepers, two if lucky, and can't easily sweep through everything like BW. Still, all of these are GOOD things for Genesect.


Landorus-I is in a pickle with HP Ice having gotten so weak. Focus Blast / Earth Power / HP Ice is a shadow of its former self in terms of coverage, especially with Fairies around. Landorus pretty much NEEDS Sludge Wave because of all the Togekiss running around, and getting that bit of damage on Rotom can be crucial (especially with so many running physically defensive now!). 101 Speed is now terribly slow, but with Landorus' reasonable bulk and great attacking power, an all out attacking set with Earth Power / Focus Blast / HP Ice / Sludge Bomb is a pretty terrific wall breaker that can cause some major problems. I've had many games where Landorus, after getting passed a NP, single handedly pulled my ass out of the fire. Still a great Pokemon, but nothing like the behemoth it was in BW.


Manaphy just needs more love, straight up. Those stats on a Water-type is still fantastic, and +3 Tail Glow can wreck shit hard. There is no way this monster belongs ranked below crap like Sylveon, Klefki, and Malamar. Frankly, it's a much better Pokemon than Starmie or Breloon, which are bothed quite high in usage.

Thundurus-I definitely needs more love as well. There's like no reason Jolteon should be in the top 50 when Thundurus-I is ranked below Pyroar-- don't give me this crap.

 

[Sylphnir]

I really like using Thundurus-I for his high-speed Taunt. It seems like he's really unpopular atm, people often don't know how to deal with him quickly.

Genesect is a little bit like the Guile's Theme of Pokémon - goes with everything. (well almost)
I have a little weakness for Scizor though and I don't like using both in the same team, too much fire around.

Excadrill is a fair addition imo. A reliable spinner with quite some punching power but rarely obliterating.

Had no problems against Tornadus-T and Lando-I so far but don't use them myself.
When facing Deo-D/S I always had Thundurus-I or something with Magic Bounce which hampered their effectiveness quite a bit.
I have yet to face an offensive build though. Don't use them myself either.

 

[Aasgier]

The only other Pokemon in the game that gets Shift Gear is the unstoppable... Klingklang! Genesect is by far the best user of Shift Gear in the game. The problem with sweeping variants of Genesect is that they are very dependent on getting the right Download boost to be able to sweep. I honestly think Rock Polish Genesect is still a little better than Shift Gear because it has so much better coverage. The Scarf set isn't really too hard to deal with with proper prediction, from my experience. Also, at 99 base Speed, it's outsped by most other OU Scarfers.

You are overlooking that Shift Gear Genesect can still use its special moveset, but fakes a physical set. They both boost Speed +2, Shift Gear also boosts Attack +1 which Rock Polish does not. Unless you are deadly afraid of Foul Play, but Genesect doesn't like taking Foul Plays anyway.

Shift Gear + 3 special Attacks looks contradicting but is very well possible.

 

[Thorhammer]

You are overlooking that Shift Gear Genesect can still use its special moveset, but fakes a physical set. They both boost Speed +2, Shift Gear also boosts Attack +1 which Rock Polish does not. Unless you are deadly afraid of Foul Play, but Genesect doesn't like taking Foul Plays anyway.

Shift Gear + 3 special Attacks looks contradicting but is very well possible.

Or both? After a Shift Gear, Genesect has enormous Speed and either +2 Atk or +1 Atk and +1 SpA, depending on Download. Sounds pretty suitable for a mixed set.

 

[Exeggutive]

The hp ice nerf really sucks for thundurus and lando. Both of them are extremely good, but not uber material imo.

Manaphy is extremely underrated. It hits so hard after one boost and gets amazing coverage with surf, ice beam and energy ball. Really good and overlooked.

Exca would have been solid ou last gen with mold breaker rocks and eq.

 

[SuperMeep]

I haven't faced a genesect, but defensive dusclops can burn excadrill pretty easily. Or even curse him, if he's sweeping. And before somebody takes my apart for using dusclops, thats not the point. The point is is that excadrill can be stopped pretty easily from a neutral defender.

 

[ChaosNemesis]

I feel like there are two major threats that belong to ubers:
Deo-S
This thing is simply unpredictible. He can be suicide taut-hazard lead or he can Nasty plot and begin sweeping only fearing priority (even though more common this gen).
Genesect
Scarf +1 STAB U-turn is just too powerful for OU. And there is shift gear set that can be one hell of setup sweeper once fire-mons are gone.

I love excadrill in OU, best spinner and mold breaker allowing him to e-quake those gengars. Hope he'll stay.
Other freed uber-mon I think with weather nerf and such are pretty balanced in OU.

 

[Jaroda]

Excadrill is right where he should be. Mold Breaker STAB EQ alone is a God send let me tell you, particularly with Rotom forms. The two check each other nicely, not really wanting to switch in on each other and it really depends on how they are EVd and their item to see who comes out of that scuffle. Rapid Spin at this point just kind of seems like a bonus because I'm using it far more than I ever do Rapid Spin. Talonflame is also forced to use Flare Blitz on him which means my Scarved Excadrill gets an easy OHKO with Rock Slide. Delicious!

I am very interested in looking into the genies more. My interest was piqued in Assault Vest Regenerator Tornadus-I because it's such a natural pairing. Heat Wave/Superpower/Sludge Wave/U-Turn is actually pretty darn good mixed coverage if you don't want to rely on the shaky Hurricane accuracy.