Hazards in UU

pokemonisfun

Banned deucer.
I think this thread can be a valuable resource for anyone who plays UU or who wishes to begin to play UU because hazards have always played a prominent part in UU (at least since the fourth generation which is when I started).

In case you didn't know there are four entry hazards:

  • Spikes: Damages grounded Pokemon. Can stack up to three layers for a max of 25% damage per entry.
  • Stealth Rock: Damages all Pokemon. Cannot stack. Takes type effectiveness into account up to x4 for a max of 50%
  • Toxic Spikes: Poisons grounded Pokemon. Can stack up to two layers for bad poison. Does not affect Steels. Grounded Poisons absorb (and are immune) upon entry.
  • Sticky Web: Lowers speed of grounded Pokemon.

There are two main ways of removing entry hazards. Rapid Spin removes all entry hazards on your side of the field (as in if your opponent used Stealth Rock they will disappear) if it is successful. That essentially means if will always work unless used on a Ghost Pokemon. Defog removes all entry hazards on both sides of the field so it is somewhat of a double edged sword. It cannot be blocked except by Taunt however.

This thread is not to discuss whether any of these moves are broken and should or should not be banned. That discussion belongs somewhere else (or nowhere at all depending on your opinion)

This thread is just to discuss whatever you think the impact of hazards are going on in UU. That is of course a bit vague so to help you get started if you want to post in this thread you can look (but need not to) at these discussion points to spark your interest:

  • What are users of the entry hazards?
  • What are users of entry hazard removals?
  • Can a team be successful without Stealth Rock?
  • Which Pokemon need anti hazard support in to be successful?
  • What are some examples of teams successfully using one or more entry hazards?
  • What are some examples of teams successfully using entry hazard removal?
There are probably hundreds of ways to focus on this subject so please try and keep your responses nice to the point. If someone is talking about how Chesnaught is a great Spikes user I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't randomly barge in and make a long post about how Toxic Spikes is the best hazard in UU.

I will edit this post with anything someone says if it sounds smart in the thread.
 
Haven't seen any real use of Sticky Web yet, what even are the legal users of it? Shuckle, Ariados, and Leavanny? If so then it'll be quite tough to develop practical uses for Sticky Web in the tier.

Mega-Blastoise is an amazing rapid spinner, and I think it really influences the metagame thanks to it actually being able to beat Ghost types. A rapid spinner with real offensive presence is a very new and welcome thing in UU compared to last gen.
 
From my experience, Stealth Rock is still the most used hazard, and that's because it just needs 1 turn to set-up and not every user that learns it is shit (whoo sticky web!). Spikes come for a good second, having reliable users like Roserade and Chesnaught.

Toxic Spikes is fairly uncommon this gen, probably because you need 2 layers, especially on teams with 'mons that have recovery. Sticky web is a really interesting hazards but it's layers suck, aside from maybe Shuckle as he can do something with Toxic/SW/Encore/Rest or Infestation. Leavanny has some decent offensive presence too, but eh.

But yea the Defog buff causes teams to use less hazards, simply because if you run both Defog and Spikes on the same team, it isn't gonna work. Defog and SR is a common technique, however.

And this gen introduced one of the best Rapid Spinners ever in the form of Mega Blastoise.
 

EonX

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On the topic of Spikes, I want to bring up a Spikes setter that is really good imo:

Roserade @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
- Spikes
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder

Roserade got a great buff in the new breeding mechanics as she can now run Spikes and Sleep Powder together, perhaps her biggest issue (aside from abysmal physical Defense which also got buffed slightly) last generation. Leaf Storm just bashes heads in. It's a clean OHKO on M-Blastoise while it also does significant damage to Empoleon and Mew. Sludge Bomb is a good secondary STAB to catch Zapdos and Latias on the switch for heavy damage while also crushing Florges if Roserade doesn't need to use it for Spikes fodder. Sleep Powder allows Roserade to disable a switch-in for at least a few turns, possibly turning it into Spikes fodder for Roserade or setup fodder for a teammate. EV spread maximizes Roserade's offensive potential as this set aims to use Spikes while asserting significant offensive pressure. If you hate Steel-types, HP Fire can be used, possibly with Technician, to get through them, but most Steel-types can beat Roserade anyway. If Sleep Powder isn't wanted (for some reason) Rest and Synthesis are recovery moves Roserade has access to. Rest is a bit more consistent considering Hippowdon and Abomasnow can nerf Synthesis's recovery rate just by switching in.
 
The above is a good set, but personally I prefer Lefties with Giga Drain. It doesn't really need the recovery and the coverage provided by Sludge Bomb is sweet.

Onto the topic of Sticky Web, it isn't that great imho. Shuckle really sucks and is bait for literally everything. Defog is quite common, making Shuckle a wasted slot most of the time. Sure, Crawdaunt can wreck stuff under Sticky Web it's a bit too strong for the tier imo but this is irrelevant but I think that it just isn't that great of a playstyle in UU.
 
Sticky Web isn't very good because its setters aren't very good, but it is influencing the way I build teams. It's a non-issue most of the time, but if you don't prepare for it, there'll always be that one time where it screws you over. This has kinda mentally taken over and I always have one of either a spinner, defogger, or a taunter that outspeeds Leavanny. For example, my bulky taunt Mews aren't quite as bulky as I'd like because I'm running so many speed EVs (I believe 192)

It's taken a mental hold over me. With SR, I'm able to just live with it and accept its effects. If a defogger works well on my team, sure it's nice, but I won't bend over backwards just to get rid of SR. With Sticky Web though, I'm more willing to make sacrifices to keep it off my field.
 
Stealth Rock is pretty much a staple in UU. It is very important mainly for managing the fire-type threats in the tier, like Darmanitan and Victini, because they are generally both choiced and will need to switch and hence SR damage makes dealing with them much easier. Also helps with things like Arcanine and the occasional Rotom-H, and then of course the damage it does to everything else can help in many situations. It is also good with dealing with a few bug-type pokemon that run around (ninjask, Venomoth etc.)

Spikes is another prominent hazard in the tier with 2 great users in Roserade and Chesnaught who can stay in throughout the game and can continue to add layers. For this reason I find hazard removal almost necessary unless you got like at least 2 Pokemon that aren't grounded and spike vulnerable, or if you are running hyper offence. Spikes can really win a lot of games, and it also doesn't help that these 2 setters threaten pretty much the only good Rapid Spinner in the tier: M-Blastoise. Spikes honestly hasn't lost as much thunder as what people may think and are still relatively easy to keep up a bit in UU. Definitely something that I always consider.

The last 2 hazards are rather flawed though and aren't as much of a problem. Sticky Web, thanks to its horrible distribution, forces you to use setters that only really fulfil the role of setting up Sticky Web effectively and then are outclassed in pretty much every other respect. The only 2 decent ones are Shuckle and Leavanny, neither of which have much longevity and struggle to set up the hazard a 2nd time if it is removed. Toxic Spikes has only a slightly better distribution of setters. Its problem is though is that it doesn't effect grounded units, steel pokemon and Poison types remove the hazards simply on switch in, and there are some cases where you will only be able to effect 2 of your opponents Pokemon on their entire team. This, and also that you really want 2 layers for it to be properly effective.
Nonetheless, both of these hazards can be very useful if your opponent isn't ready for them and you can utilise them well, and I have been running Toxic Spikes recently, and now and then it really has its chance to shine.

All in all I'd say that Stealth Rock is pretty much staple on every team, with very few exceptions. Hazard removal is also rather important, but isn't 100% necessary if your team isn't effected much by hazards. Spikes tends to always be a nice option, but is by no means a staple. Toxic Spikes and Sticky Web should only be used by teams who can really effectively utilise the hazards, and cannot just be smacked on any team like the other 2 hazards and hazard removal, but can have its moments where it becomes very game changing.

Hazards is definitely and important part of UU that should always be considered to some extent.
 
Spikes are good if you like the setter like Roserade but can be hard to reset taking 3 uses. At bear minimum you should have Stealth Rocks to keep ice, bug and flying types down or someone to clear hazards on your own side especially if you want someone with x4 weakness. With defog, teams could settle for not using them at all but rapid spin is better if you're using hazards yourself but more so if you have spikes which, again, take longer to set and will screw you if you have to set 3 layers again. Sticky web is awful to deal with if you have speed based pokemon but the users aren't great and OU is hoarding Galvantula. Toxic spikes are probably the worst but not useless, take 2 turns to set, toxicing everyone can be lethal (assuming you don't care about burn/paralyze/sleep) however leaving at 1 layer isn't going to be as helpful. And the more poison types there are in circulation to set up toxic spikes the more there are to clear them real easy so it will counter itself.
 
New to competitive battling, and was wondering what Pokemon would be recommended for Underused entry hazards. I plan on training a Roserade, but I also want something to teach stealth rock. I'm new to the forum, so I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to ask!
 
New to competitive battling, and was wondering what Pokemon would be recommended for Underused entry hazards. I plan on training a Roserade, but I also want something to teach stealth rock. I'm new to the forum, so I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to ask!
Empoleon gets stealth rocks and defog. It's fine to remove your rocks since it only takes 1 turn to set them up again. He also has a very defensive typing and can't be toxiced.
 
New to competitive battling, and was wondering what Pokemon would be recommended for Underused entry hazards. I plan on training a Roserade, but I also want something to teach stealth rock. I'm new to the forum, so I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to ask!
No, this is a great place to ask. Welcome to Smogon!

There's quite a few users of Stealth Rock that can work in UU. Hippowdon, Jirachi, Nidoqueen, Mega Aggron, Empoleon, and Krookodile are a few common, reliable ones to get you started. There are also more unconventional but still effective users like Chansey, Mew, or Celebi.
 
Thank you guys! It looks like I have a lot of options, so I guess I'll try out a bunch to see which one I like best. Is Registeel still a viable user as well?
 
Registeel's fairly mediocre from what I've seen, mainly because it doesn't have much offensive presence and often has to depend on Seismic Toss for damage, and it has no recovery so it can be worn down. Mega Aggron also generally outclasses it, although Registeel has better special bulk.
 

EonX

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New to competitive battling, and was wondering what Pokemon would be recommended for Underused entry hazards. I plan on training a Roserade, but I also want something to teach stealth rock. I'm new to the forum, so I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to ask!
Mega Aggron is one of the best Stealth Rock users in the tier, but you will either have to bring one from Gen IV via TM, Gen V BW2 Move Tutor, or Gen VI breeding.
Chesnaught is a decent physically defensive user of Spikes while Mew, Celebi, and Jirachi are all alternative options for Stealth Rock.
 
I'm raising a Carbink right now, just cause it's one of the few options available and I kind of wanted to try it out anyway (though I haven't heard great things about it). I'm trying to collect green shards for the move tutor right now, and I think once I get them all I'm going to teach Stealth Rock to Jirachi or Mudkip. I'm also thinking of using Roserade for Spikes/Toxic Spikes, and I want to try out Chesnaught as well.
 
I mentioned a while back in the UU speculation thread about the possible sticky webbers of the tier. Since Galvantula's stayed in OU, pretty much everything I said is still valid so I thought I'd rewrite it here. (I'm not even going to try and argue a case for Ariados and Kriketune)

Leavanny is arguably the top webber. Despite the lack of offensive moves, Leavanny is a surprising offensive threat, STAB leaf blade and X-scissor deal hefty damage to several top used threats (Latias, Crawdaunt, Blastoise, Hydreigon, Slowbro and Absol to name a few). While an extensive support movepool make for a wide variety of possible sets (dual screens, baton pass with many boosting options, grass whistle and of course Magic coat, heal bell, knock off, synthesis, worry seed and iron defense which are all illegal with sticky web). From what I can tell, showdown is still allowing sticky web with tutor moves though. Leavanny's biggest problem I feel is it has too much bulk, taking only 50~% from neutral hits, rendering it unable to trigger swarm reliably, even with a sash. However, sash, scarf and band seem to all be viable.

Shuckle is super bulky and unthreatening, inviting your opponent to set up and get caught by the game's slowest encore. With rocks and web Shuckle can set up your team's hazards fairly reliably, you've just got to be wary of the painful crack back. Problem is, there's not much for Shuckle to do after laying its traps.

Masquerain carries several unique traits that don't amount to much, but they can let it fill a strange niche. Intimidate can help force switches to actually set up the web, its water movepool gives it scald to further threaten physical sweepers and if it somehow lives long enough it can pass quiver dances, a feat shared only with Venomoth if I remember correctly. Alas, it suffers a rubbish base 60 speed, which makes it not so great at its job.

It's not like we're going to have our own Galvantula, but if a team needs sticky web, they have some passable candidates.

EDIT: It's exactly like we're going to have our own Galvantula. Typical.
 
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EonX

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To the above, we now have Galvantula. Anyway, some new things to consider for entry hazards here in UU.

Offensive Spikes Roserade got loads better with Zapdos and Latias receiving the boot. Klefki is now in the tier, so that's bound to be a common Spikes user in spite of the Fire-type weakness. Donphan and Tentacruel are new defensive hazard users with Donphan providing Stealth Rock and Tentacruel becoming a reliable Toxic Spikes user that stall teams have really been longing for (Roserade is crippled with 4MSS on defensive sets) Forretress is also around for all 3 entry hazards, but it will probably be limited to only using 1-2 at a time. What do you guys think of these new hazard users we have access to now?
 
Wow, hazards just got turned on its head. 1 more Sticky Web users, 5 new Rapid Spinners, 3 new Toxic Spikers, 3 new spike setters (including Smeargle for everything as well so +1 to all those) and 2 new spin blockers to go with the new spinners.

UU is now king of the rapid spinners now, lots of choices, and I am going to want to test out Tentacruel as a Rapid Spinner and Toxic Spikes setter.

Hazards will change a lot in recent times, be interesting to see what happens to the tier.
 
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I'm working on building a team around Sticky Web now, using sashed Leavanny as one of the best setters IMO, simply because of Magic Coat access. I love Magic Coat on leads. AV Malamar with jolly and 236 in speed to outrun anything not scarfed or immune seems pretty scary, but getting wrecked by U-turn and in a tier containing a ridiculously good and popular U-turner *cough Tornadus-T cough*, it's a challenge. Could run Shuckle as it can survive a second switch in to reset sticky after I've taken out any spinners/defoggers, as well as a rock setter, but it's dead weight and easy taunt bait outside of that, or gimmicky as fuck running a Contrary/Shell Smashing/Power Share set. Could run Galvantula, but using something obviously meant to be a special sweeper/specs user as a sashed hazard setter just strikes me as a waste.

Even if limited to bug types, I wish the distribution was better. If Forretress got it, it'd be even more of a swiss army knife of hazards, but I really wish Crustle could get, could run dual hazards with rocks, be a physical wall, get guaranteed set up of one hazard with Sturdy, and still run dual stab or toxic. If only, if only.

Damn it, I guess I'll have to run Leavanny and shuckle on a dedicated Sticky team in UU. At least Bisharp isn't a problem there, thank god.
 
Could run Galvantula, but using something obviously meant to be a special sweeper/specs user as a sashed hazard setter just strikes me as a waste.
Running hazards on offensive Pokemon isn't a waste at all. In fact, it's recommended since offensive pressure makes the opponents switch; therefore you get a free turn to set up a hazard. See Garchomp and Terrakion as SR setters in OU. Haven't tried using Galvantula at all (I play OU so it always seems like a waste to run Sticky Web since it pretty much requires you to build a team around it), but 97% accurate STAB Thunder isn't something to laugh at, even if you're running Sash over LO.

Besides, what else can you run on Galvantula? Back in Gen V its set was Thunder/Bug Buzz + 2 coverage moves. It definitely has the space to run Sticky Web.
 
pretty sure web and magic coat on leavanny is illegal for the same reasons as knock off and web. besides smeargle does the web coat thing better anyway
 
Thinking of using Mew as both a Stealth Rock setter and a Defogger. Would it be smarter to just decide on one or the other rather than both at once?
 

EonX

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Suppletangerine , probably a better thing to ask in SQSA, but Mew usually has to choose which move to use. It can easily fit SR or Defog onto a set, but should you run both, Mew either has to give up Will-O-Wisp or Soft-Boiled (or whatever healing move you use on it) neither of which is too desirable unless you're really strapped for teamslots. Otherwise, it's probably best to just use Empoleon if you need something to set Rocks and use Defog.
 
^ Or it can run SR, Defog, WoW and Soft-Boiled/Roost all on the same set if you want to. Taunt isn't all too common and it can be done quite viably, but if you really desire an attacking move or don't like being set-up bait then it might not be the best set.
 
This is the one I'm running here, fast Hazard Setting is also pretty important in a match:

JUSTICE (Cobalion) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 Atk or 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Iron Head
- Roar / Sacred Sword

Cobalion simply has great speed in order to set hazards quickly in a match, also Taunt for forcing the opponent lead to back off (IE Smeargle, Mew, etc) Iron Head for STAB and the nifty flinch chance can come in handy, the last slot is for what you think is better, Roar can help you shuffle things or Sacred Sword for a reliable fighting STAB to punch a hole or two.

This set HATES Scarf Darmanitan though so bring a Gastrodon or Quagsire to handle it and they work great together as a defensive core too.
 

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