With the chaotic and intimidating state of current OU, I decided the team I wanted to create today would be UU. I've enjoyed Trick Room in the past, because there are so many slow, powerful pokemon. A whim struck me to bring back one of the best abusers of it, and the team comes after that!
Building Process:
The inspiration for the team, and the main winning condition. He has great strengths and defenses, but particular weaknesses. The next member helps with that.
We all know and love Alolan-Marowak, and the things he can do. Mainly, running rampant with Stakataka under Trick Room. And helping him out by switching into Steel Moves, U-turn, and being a better check to things like Volcarona. But I wanted another abuser after that.
Hatterene is well known for her Trick Room prowess. While she doesn't switch into the Dark types that threaten A-wak, she can check them offensively with moves like Draining Kiss and Dazzling Gleam. We have a special abuser of Trick Room now, to go with the 2 physically-powerful mons. Hat is also the only hazard control my team has, and needs. While it's true that Hatterene is bulky enough to shrug off a decent amount of attacks, and use Trick Room itself, I needed a dedicated user.
One issue I foresaw was a lack of Dark type switch-ins. Enter this bulky fairy! With defenses to spare, and the moves which had served well my Trick Room teams of the past, Diancie seemed like a great fit here. Especially once I explain the moveset I chose for her. But my experience has taught me that one dedicated Trick Room setter is never enough for a good Trick Room team. So, I brought back another tried-and-true bulky mon.
This fat, bouncy blob of a pokemon has plenty of moves that serve my team well. When geared for special defense, he can take almost any special move which Diancie can't handle, as well as plenty of neutral physical moves. And Porygon2's recent access to Teleport brings in my sweepers for free. I felt pretty confident about the team at this point, but I could see a lot of holes that needed patching up.
Enter the final member, it's ya boy's pokemon, Golisopod! Now my team has a dedicated switch-in to Earthquake, water moves, and best of all: speed-control. With no choice-scarfers on the team, or otherwise fast mons, Goli has my back covered with not just one, but two priority moves. And with Emergency Exit, I can turn a curse into a blessing, and find another way to bring in my other sweepers for free. Not to mention that when you tweak Goli's stats correctly, he himself is really, really slow. With that, my team was created! And here they are, now.
The Team:
Stakataka @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Lonely Nature
IVs: 15 Def / 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Heat Crash / Trick Room / Superpower
Stakataka was the first pokemon I wanted to use in the current UU metagame due to his base 130 Attack (bolstered by the Life Orb), monstrous 211 Defense, and his iconic Beast Boost ability to steamroll into a win! This gen gifted Staky with Heat Crash, which I think is pretty big. Scizor, Celesteela, and Skarmory are all hanging around in UU. Along with a host of other mons that fear Fire more than any other move type. While I could have fit Trick Room into the last slot instead, I felt pretty safe with 2 dedicated users, plus one back-up. And the added coverage gives Stakataka every possible chance of sweeping that he can get. But to be honest, I find myself clicking Gyroball more often than not. It can do some crazy stuff against common mons like Gyrados, when you look at the calcs! (The other option was Superpower, but that kind of move defeats the purpose of sweeping, and didn't seem to be any more useful that Heat Crash, in terms of coverage.)
Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Flare Blitz
- Poltergeist / Shadowbone
- Bonemerang
- Swords Dance
What else can be said about this awesome fire spinner? Like the team title says, Alolan Marowak is here to hit like a slow truck! And so he does. I went with Rock Head over Lightning Rod because this team isn't especially susceptible to Electric moves, and the lack of recoil increases A-wak's longevity. Poltergeist is incredibly dangerous to most teams, when it manages to hit. Even resisted hits do big, big damage! I'm sure plenty of people would rather have Earthquake than Bonemerang. But the opportunity to bust substitutes from the likes of Salazzle, maintain full power under grassy terrain from Tapu Bulu, and utilize an iconic move of such a cool pokemon are too great for me to pass up! Swords Dance takes advantage of those cowardly opponents who hope to stall out Trick Room turns with Protect. Shadowbone could also work with Swords Dance, if the chance to miss worries other players. Personally, I think the power justifies the small risk.
Hatterene @ Life Orb / Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Psyshock / Psychic
- Draining Kiss / Dazzling Gleam
- Mystical Fire
- Trick Room
Here I'll be going into greater detail about what I've already said regarding Hatterene's specifications. Magic Bounce is one of the best abilities in the game. It helps this team in particular by keeping hazards off the field (which Alolan Marowak appreciates), and preventing Taunt, Destiny Bond and Whirlwind shenanigans. Hatterene can come in on the likes of Chansey, and win the 1 on 1 thanks to the power and strength of Psyshock and Draining Kiss being boosted by the Life Orb. Draining Kiss also helps to offset the Life Orb recoil. She functions well as the secondary Trick Room setter of the team because of Magic Bounce, and decent all-around bulk. Mystical Fire is mandatory coverage, and even comes in useful for some special-based mons who might switch into Hat. Alternate moves include Psychic, for even more power, Dazzling Gleam, which could provide greater strength at the cost of longevity, and Calm Mind, which would create a second set-up sweeper on the team. But I think that last move doesn't do enough here, as Swords Dance does for A-wak. Gotta remember to prioritize those turns of Trick Room, you know?
Diancie @ Mental Herb / Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Moonblast
- Trick Room
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
Now we can take a look at the moveset that makes Diancie so beneficial for a Trick Room team! But first, I want to bring up the Mental Herb. It's here to prevent Taunt from the likes of Grimmsnarl and other common users. But seeing as I've yet to experience it when using Diancie, I'm considering Leftovers instead. Maybe you guys can let me know what you think about that. Anyways, Diancei's ridiculous special defense ensures the opponent's choice specs users don't have a chance to do much, assuming they're not super-effective. We have Moonblast for a strong attack, keeping Diancie from being Taunt-fodder once the Herb is gone. Stealth Rock is great for helping the sweepers of the team secure KOs, and punishing switch-happy opponents who are trying to waste Trick Room turns. Then we come to Explosion. There was a choice here between that and the new Fairy move, Misty Explosion. Either move would function as an immediate prevention of Defog, an easy way to bring in a sweeper once Trick Room has been set up, and hurting pokemon who think they can stay in on Diancie without consequence. But after several personal calculations, I could see that Explosion was doing more damage to the opponent, neutrally speaking, even without any attack investment. There are no other alternate moves I can imagine fitting onto this set, because everything else is so important for the team.
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick Room
- Ice Beam / Tri-Attack / Thunderbolt
- Recover
- Teleport
Anyone who's used a Trick Room team before should know exactly what Porygon2 is doing here. Lord Fat Duck Supreme here sets up Trick Room better than just about anything else. The gen 7 entry on Smogon Dex informed me that Trace allows P2 to steal important abilities like Flash Fire, which I think is a better use for him and the rest of the team, rather than to try and kill things himself. Speaking of killing, without a strong, super effective, physical move, Porygon2 will not die in one hit. Not to almost...anyone. More often than not, he'll take less than 50% damage from everything, and be able to stay nice and healthy, ensuring he can set up Trick Room again, and again. Now that he has Teleport, he's been given added utility in bringing in the sweepers of the team for free, whether Trick Room is up, or not! I went with Ice Beam since it hits key threats like Salamence, and has great coverage in general. Other players might choose alternate abilities like Download and Analytic, or alternate attacks like Tri-Attack and Thunderbolt, since they all have specific instances of being useful. But this is the moveset I decided to go with.
Golisopod @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- First Impression
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
- Aqua Jet / Knock Off
Our creepy-crawly friend here serves as the glue of the team. He eats Earthquakes for breakfast, as strange as that sounds! Mamoswines will think twice before trying to sweep you, once Trick Room is down! Heavy Duty Boots ensure that hazards are no big deal for anyone besides Alolan Marowak, and keep Emergency Exit from triggering prematurely. Nobody likes a premature triggering, am I right? When the time is right, Emergency Exit helps to bring in another teammate (potentially for free, under Trick Room). Rather than choosing the Spikes that many people seem to enjoy abusing with Golisopod (since TR has absolutely no time for that), I geared this set for priority moves, so as to serve as the team's speed control. Anyone who's ever used Goli knows what First Impression is, and what it does. Liquidation and Leech Life ensure that Goli does not rely exclusively upon priority, and functions as a secondary abuser of Trick Room, itself. Aqua Jet is here as secondary priority, and discourages the likes of Bug-resistant mons like boosted Volcarona. But I could see an argument made for Knock Off, since it's incredibly useful in gen 8.
Anywho, this is the team, and it did really well for me today! I won the majority of the games that I played, which isn't something I always get to say, for my other teams. Can't wait to read future comments and suggestions!
Threatlist:
There is only so much I can learn about this team in one day, but here's what I've noticed so far.
Scizor - A well-played banded Scizor made mincemeat of my team. Under Trick Room, there is plenty of coverage to take him out. Stakataka himself will only take 30-ish % from even banded Scizor's Bullet Punch, and then Heat Crash all over him! But when Trick Room is down, Scizor runs amok. Someone told me this is where Hatterne could come in with a Focus Sash, and blow Scizor back with Mystical Fire. But how can we justify overlooking the great boost in power from Life Orb?
Zarude - He's got powerful moves in STAB Darkest Lariet and Power Whip. Only Porygon2 can afford to shrug him off. Shiftry would be a similiar threat, but I haven't seen him in who knows how long?
Keldeo - This pokemon is a real thorn in my side. His speed is a great threat outside of Trick Room. His subs punish the turns I use to set it up. And only Alolan Marowak can break them in one go, while still doing damage. But once all of that is out of the way, and Trick Room is up, Keldeo becomes pretty easy to manage, after that.
Water/Dark pokemon - I haven't run into a Crawdaunt yet. But he would surely take full advantage of my Trick Room, and have the power to wreck everything. Even Porygon2 has to be afraid of Knock Off. Having said that, I did run into Mixed Sharpedo. It took careful play in order to get a Trick Room started, and take him out with Hatterene.
Certain types of Hyper Offense - Only Porygon2 and Diancie can handle Choice Band users, and they can't be using something super-effective. Aggressive play is necessary to avoid a sweep from the likes of Polteageist and Barbarcle, which has a railroading effect upon the team. Tapu Lele's Psychic Terrain neuters Golisopod, and can become a big threat in the end game, if I've already lost one of the Trick Room setters. And I'm sure there's other examples I haven't come against, yet.
Hit like a (slow) truck! <- The team
Building Process:
The inspiration for the team, and the main winning condition. He has great strengths and defenses, but particular weaknesses. The next member helps with that.
We all know and love Alolan-Marowak, and the things he can do. Mainly, running rampant with Stakataka under Trick Room. And helping him out by switching into Steel Moves, U-turn, and being a better check to things like Volcarona. But I wanted another abuser after that.
Hatterene is well known for her Trick Room prowess. While she doesn't switch into the Dark types that threaten A-wak, she can check them offensively with moves like Draining Kiss and Dazzling Gleam. We have a special abuser of Trick Room now, to go with the 2 physically-powerful mons. Hat is also the only hazard control my team has, and needs. While it's true that Hatterene is bulky enough to shrug off a decent amount of attacks, and use Trick Room itself, I needed a dedicated user.
One issue I foresaw was a lack of Dark type switch-ins. Enter this bulky fairy! With defenses to spare, and the moves which had served well my Trick Room teams of the past, Diancie seemed like a great fit here. Especially once I explain the moveset I chose for her. But my experience has taught me that one dedicated Trick Room setter is never enough for a good Trick Room team. So, I brought back another tried-and-true bulky mon.
This fat, bouncy blob of a pokemon has plenty of moves that serve my team well. When geared for special defense, he can take almost any special move which Diancie can't handle, as well as plenty of neutral physical moves. And Porygon2's recent access to Teleport brings in my sweepers for free. I felt pretty confident about the team at this point, but I could see a lot of holes that needed patching up.
Enter the final member, it's ya boy's pokemon, Golisopod! Now my team has a dedicated switch-in to Earthquake, water moves, and best of all: speed-control. With no choice-scarfers on the team, or otherwise fast mons, Goli has my back covered with not just one, but two priority moves. And with Emergency Exit, I can turn a curse into a blessing, and find another way to bring in my other sweepers for free. Not to mention that when you tweak Goli's stats correctly, he himself is really, really slow. With that, my team was created! And here they are, now.
The Team:
Stakataka @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Lonely Nature
IVs: 15 Def / 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Heat Crash / Trick Room / Superpower
Stakataka was the first pokemon I wanted to use in the current UU metagame due to his base 130 Attack (bolstered by the Life Orb), monstrous 211 Defense, and his iconic Beast Boost ability to steamroll into a win! This gen gifted Staky with Heat Crash, which I think is pretty big. Scizor, Celesteela, and Skarmory are all hanging around in UU. Along with a host of other mons that fear Fire more than any other move type. While I could have fit Trick Room into the last slot instead, I felt pretty safe with 2 dedicated users, plus one back-up. And the added coverage gives Stakataka every possible chance of sweeping that he can get. But to be honest, I find myself clicking Gyroball more often than not. It can do some crazy stuff against common mons like Gyrados, when you look at the calcs! (The other option was Superpower, but that kind of move defeats the purpose of sweeping, and didn't seem to be any more useful that Heat Crash, in terms of coverage.)
Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Flare Blitz
- Poltergeist / Shadowbone
- Bonemerang
- Swords Dance
What else can be said about this awesome fire spinner? Like the team title says, Alolan Marowak is here to hit like a slow truck! And so he does. I went with Rock Head over Lightning Rod because this team isn't especially susceptible to Electric moves, and the lack of recoil increases A-wak's longevity. Poltergeist is incredibly dangerous to most teams, when it manages to hit. Even resisted hits do big, big damage! I'm sure plenty of people would rather have Earthquake than Bonemerang. But the opportunity to bust substitutes from the likes of Salazzle, maintain full power under grassy terrain from Tapu Bulu, and utilize an iconic move of such a cool pokemon are too great for me to pass up! Swords Dance takes advantage of those cowardly opponents who hope to stall out Trick Room turns with Protect. Shadowbone could also work with Swords Dance, if the chance to miss worries other players. Personally, I think the power justifies the small risk.
Hatterene @ Life Orb / Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Psyshock / Psychic
- Draining Kiss / Dazzling Gleam
- Mystical Fire
- Trick Room
Here I'll be going into greater detail about what I've already said regarding Hatterene's specifications. Magic Bounce is one of the best abilities in the game. It helps this team in particular by keeping hazards off the field (which Alolan Marowak appreciates), and preventing Taunt, Destiny Bond and Whirlwind shenanigans. Hatterene can come in on the likes of Chansey, and win the 1 on 1 thanks to the power and strength of Psyshock and Draining Kiss being boosted by the Life Orb. Draining Kiss also helps to offset the Life Orb recoil. She functions well as the secondary Trick Room setter of the team because of Magic Bounce, and decent all-around bulk. Mystical Fire is mandatory coverage, and even comes in useful for some special-based mons who might switch into Hat. Alternate moves include Psychic, for even more power, Dazzling Gleam, which could provide greater strength at the cost of longevity, and Calm Mind, which would create a second set-up sweeper on the team. But I think that last move doesn't do enough here, as Swords Dance does for A-wak. Gotta remember to prioritize those turns of Trick Room, you know?
Diancie @ Mental Herb / Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Moonblast
- Trick Room
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
Now we can take a look at the moveset that makes Diancie so beneficial for a Trick Room team! But first, I want to bring up the Mental Herb. It's here to prevent Taunt from the likes of Grimmsnarl and other common users. But seeing as I've yet to experience it when using Diancie, I'm considering Leftovers instead. Maybe you guys can let me know what you think about that. Anyways, Diancei's ridiculous special defense ensures the opponent's choice specs users don't have a chance to do much, assuming they're not super-effective. We have Moonblast for a strong attack, keeping Diancie from being Taunt-fodder once the Herb is gone. Stealth Rock is great for helping the sweepers of the team secure KOs, and punishing switch-happy opponents who are trying to waste Trick Room turns. Then we come to Explosion. There was a choice here between that and the new Fairy move, Misty Explosion. Either move would function as an immediate prevention of Defog, an easy way to bring in a sweeper once Trick Room has been set up, and hurting pokemon who think they can stay in on Diancie without consequence. But after several personal calculations, I could see that Explosion was doing more damage to the opponent, neutrally speaking, even without any attack investment. There are no other alternate moves I can imagine fitting onto this set, because everything else is so important for the team.
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick Room
- Ice Beam / Tri-Attack / Thunderbolt
- Recover
- Teleport
Anyone who's used a Trick Room team before should know exactly what Porygon2 is doing here. Lord Fat Duck Supreme here sets up Trick Room better than just about anything else. The gen 7 entry on Smogon Dex informed me that Trace allows P2 to steal important abilities like Flash Fire, which I think is a better use for him and the rest of the team, rather than to try and kill things himself. Speaking of killing, without a strong, super effective, physical move, Porygon2 will not die in one hit. Not to almost...anyone. More often than not, he'll take less than 50% damage from everything, and be able to stay nice and healthy, ensuring he can set up Trick Room again, and again. Now that he has Teleport, he's been given added utility in bringing in the sweepers of the team for free, whether Trick Room is up, or not! I went with Ice Beam since it hits key threats like Salamence, and has great coverage in general. Other players might choose alternate abilities like Download and Analytic, or alternate attacks like Tri-Attack and Thunderbolt, since they all have specific instances of being useful. But this is the moveset I decided to go with.
Golisopod @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- First Impression
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
- Aqua Jet / Knock Off
Our creepy-crawly friend here serves as the glue of the team. He eats Earthquakes for breakfast, as strange as that sounds! Mamoswines will think twice before trying to sweep you, once Trick Room is down! Heavy Duty Boots ensure that hazards are no big deal for anyone besides Alolan Marowak, and keep Emergency Exit from triggering prematurely. Nobody likes a premature triggering, am I right? When the time is right, Emergency Exit helps to bring in another teammate (potentially for free, under Trick Room). Rather than choosing the Spikes that many people seem to enjoy abusing with Golisopod (since TR has absolutely no time for that), I geared this set for priority moves, so as to serve as the team's speed control. Anyone who's ever used Goli knows what First Impression is, and what it does. Liquidation and Leech Life ensure that Goli does not rely exclusively upon priority, and functions as a secondary abuser of Trick Room, itself. Aqua Jet is here as secondary priority, and discourages the likes of Bug-resistant mons like boosted Volcarona. But I could see an argument made for Knock Off, since it's incredibly useful in gen 8.
Anywho, this is the team, and it did really well for me today! I won the majority of the games that I played, which isn't something I always get to say, for my other teams. Can't wait to read future comments and suggestions!
Threatlist:
There is only so much I can learn about this team in one day, but here's what I've noticed so far.
Scizor - A well-played banded Scizor made mincemeat of my team. Under Trick Room, there is plenty of coverage to take him out. Stakataka himself will only take 30-ish % from even banded Scizor's Bullet Punch, and then Heat Crash all over him! But when Trick Room is down, Scizor runs amok. Someone told me this is where Hatterne could come in with a Focus Sash, and blow Scizor back with Mystical Fire. But how can we justify overlooking the great boost in power from Life Orb?
Zarude - He's got powerful moves in STAB Darkest Lariet and Power Whip. Only Porygon2 can afford to shrug him off. Shiftry would be a similiar threat, but I haven't seen him in who knows how long?
Keldeo - This pokemon is a real thorn in my side. His speed is a great threat outside of Trick Room. His subs punish the turns I use to set it up. And only Alolan Marowak can break them in one go, while still doing damage. But once all of that is out of the way, and Trick Room is up, Keldeo becomes pretty easy to manage, after that.
Water/Dark pokemon - I haven't run into a Crawdaunt yet. But he would surely take full advantage of my Trick Room, and have the power to wreck everything. Even Porygon2 has to be afraid of Knock Off. Having said that, I did run into Mixed Sharpedo. It took careful play in order to get a Trick Room started, and take him out with Hatterene.
Certain types of Hyper Offense - Only Porygon2 and Diancie can handle Choice Band users, and they can't be using something super-effective. Aggressive play is necessary to avoid a sweep from the likes of Polteageist and Barbarcle, which has a railroading effect upon the team. Tapu Lele's Psychic Terrain neuters Golisopod, and can become a big threat in the end game, if I've already lost one of the Trick Room setters. And I'm sure there's other examples I haven't come against, yet.
Hit like a (slow) truck! <- The team
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