(click for import)
Introduction
Since Boots are the Controversial Topic du jour but most of the conversation has been hovering around its impact on OU tiers, I thought I'd share the Boots team I've been most happy with in UU. It's nothing too groundbreaking, and with sitting out of Slam this year I don't have any spectacular replays to show off with it, but since there haven't been a ton of UU RMTs in the current meta, I figured I might as well share it.
The team itself is a pretty straightforward concept: pair a really solid defensive core with VoltTurn + Future Sight for offensive pressure. This is a team that pivots in and out a lot, so naturally boots end up making a prominent appearance. In particular, the boots duo of Teleport Blissey and Teleport Slowking are incredibly clutch over a longer term game. The team mostly built itself: LO Mienshao is an underrated threat in the current meta, and combines super well with Future Sight Slowking. From there I added on the lazy but perpetually handy SkarmBliss defensive core, then a ground type and some scarfed Speed control. Crazy, I know. I've seen a few people with variations on basically this same exact team structure, so I thought I'd go ahead and share my take.
The Team
Mienshao @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- U-turn
Man, I haven't used LO Mienshao since like XY UU and I forgot how much fun it is. This thing is so hard to punish, with SR damage and two rounds of LO recoil being completely healed off thanks to Regenerator. Close Combat was a godsend, giving Shao a high damage and perfectly accurate move that doesn't require Reckless to really bring on the offensive pressure. It also pairs perfectly with Slowking and Blissey, as it outspeeds and OHKOs most of the breakers that threaten them (in particular offensive Dark types like Goon/Panda/TTar), letting them Teleport into Mienshao to threaten them out. Honestly I rarely click anything other than CC/Knock/U-turn, but I slapped PJab on for things like Hat (except lol it only does like 60 to pdef Hat, which makes me so sad). It could probably be swapped out for something more interesting like Swords Dance (shoutouts Lilburr) or Fake Out. Either way, it won't matter much.
Slowking @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 204 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Future Sight
- Teleport
The King. This has been so ridiculously good lately, having a ton of defensive utility thanks to a great typing and natural bulk combined with Boots and Teleport, plus fantastic offensive pressure thanks to Future Sight. Modest Slowking hits surprisingly hard while still being bulky enough to serve as a near-perfect counter to things like Keldeo and reliably checking Noivern. I know Colbur is popular here, but I really love Boots on this thing, especially with Pursuit being banished to the shadow realm. Like Mienshao it's just super hard to punish, and Future Sight + Teleport pairs almost perfectly with Mienshao and Mowtom, making the team surprisingly threatening for what looks on preview to be semistall/stall. The EV spread always lives Krook's Knock Off from full while still packing enough Special Attack to keep this thing from being passive, while the nature and Speed IVs were dropped for Slowking Teleport wars.
Skarmory @ Shed Shell
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Def / 160 Spe
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Body Press
- Brave Bird
- Roost
Nascarmory, my favorite set for the big metal bird. I can't say enough about how clutch fast Skarmory has been. Originally I'd run enough Speed to beat out Adamant Crawdaunt, but CBU convinced me to up it to 216 Speed for Pangoro as well. I actually don't need Defog in most games, with no rocks weakness and double Boots, but it's still a pretty clutch tool to have in your back pocket, especially against things like Webs. I opted out of running status or Whirlwind in favor of Body Press + Brave Bird, which lets it hit most of the tier for reasonable damage and keeps it from being completely passive. I'd originally had Rocky Helmet, which is about nine million times better, but that makes the team super vulnerable to Magneton + basically any physical breaker not checked by Slowking/Palossand (Mimikyu in particular gets really tough without Skarmory). Of course, as is always the case I haven't run into a single Magneton since switching to Shed Shell, but whatever, it's nice to have.
Blissey (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 26 Spe
- Seismic Toss
- Shadow Ball
- Teleport
- Soft-Boiled
I'm just goofin', new boot goofin'. Teleport Boots Blissey is such a monster. I'm a bit sad that it'll likely leave us for the greener pastures of OU, because I think it's actually a decent presence in the tier right now. The addition of Teleport and Heavy Duty Boots allow it to fit on balance and bulky offense without being an enormous momentum sink. Shadow Ball is a bit silly but it keeps Sub Chandelure/Polteageist from just completely thumping the team - it always breaks Chandy's sub at +1 without requiring any investment. It can even do some damage to Doublade in a pinch, though not much (35-41% if Eviolite is still on, or 51-61% if it's been knocked). Lacking Toxic may seem like it would turn Blissey into setup bait for things like Celebi or NP Recover Porygon-Z, but against those two you can always just Teleport to Shao. Once again dropping a few Speed IVs to win the Teleport war, though you don't want to drop TOO low.
Palossand @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Water Compaction
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Scorching Sands
- Toxic
- Shore Up
I'll admit, I was a Palossand hater for a while. Even now I think it's.... just OK, despite fitting well on this team. Scorching Sands is a great addition to its movepool, and the typing is definitely clutch against a lot of common breakers (Terrakion in particular, though it's also very nice against Specs or Shift Gear Drain Punch Toxtricity), but I still find it just sitting around spamming Shore Up in a lot of games. Originally I'd had Gastrodon here with Rocks on Blissey, but the Terrakion matchup in particular was proving troublesome, so here I am. It's a fairly reliable rocker and lives a lot of surprisingly strong hits on the physical side, so it works well here. I'd love to replace it with something a bit less passive like Krook, but the Terrak matchup in particular is just too important, especially with so much Speed on Skarmory.
Rotom-Mow @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Leaf Storm
- Discharge
- Trick
Rotom-Mow has been largely outclassed by the washing machine lately, but I preferred it here for its ability to punch past some Water types (in particular Rotom-Wash and the Water/Grounds, but also Slowking to an extent) without requiring NP. Being able to scout Rotom-Wash for a potential trick also takes a huge amount of pressure off of Blissey. This is the main Speed control on an otherwise relatively slow team, with both Scarf and potential paralysis from Discharge. Any Volt Switch user that also threatens basically all Ground types is great in my book, and it forms a fantastic offensive core alongside Future Sight Slowking and Mienshao. A lot of reasonably bulky teams just straight up fall apart against Future Sight -> Teleport into Rotom or Mienshao -> pivot move. Trick is as always crazy good in a gen where there are almost no ways to block it, and Discharge went in over TBolt to generally discourage opponents from bringing in Electric resists or specially bulky 'mons (especially Jirachi) recklessly.
Threats
Like any semistall/balance, the team is far from perfect and has a few particular threats. None of these are insurmountable matchups, but they can all require some very careful playing.
In theory this team has basically zero answers for Doublade. I've actually considered switching to Whirlwind Skarmory just for this thing, though that would only delay the inevitable. In practice it's not actually as bad as it might seem unless paired with Wish support, though you will want to keep it low at all costs. Chip it with Rotom, Knock it with Mienshao and revenge it with Blissey in a pinch... but be prepared for it to do some damage if you're reckless.
If it's Levitate it's not a problem, but Neutralizing Gas Weezing is really obnoxious for the simple fact that it prevents healing via Regenerator and Natural Cure.
SD Lycanroc-Dusk can be really scary if you don't aggressively preserve Palossand's Colbur, as it can punch through Skarmory and +2 Accelrock has a solid chance of KOing Mowtom after rocks (although I've considered running a spread of 24 HP/60 Def/168 SpA/252 Spe in order to always live).
This thing is probably the single biggest threat. Physically defensive CM Hatterene comfortably tanks a Poison Jab and recovers most of its health back with Draining Kiss, and can set up on Blissey. Scout it out, and if it's fully physically defensive, try to trick it with Rotom. Once it's locked into a move, you should have plenty of outs.Replays
Didn't really save many replays, but here are a couple that I captured:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1155147908-jwpjx82toi9gmn3vkpnsc5f5gqdqj5rpw - Longish game showcasing exactly how the team pivots around to properly handle threats like Sub Kyurem and CB Terrakion, which normally cause havoc for SkarmBliss teams like this.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1155240966-eofl5u64gfslq8qnhiizupy8nv3utfxpw - Doublade counter Blissey?
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