approved by kokoloko
NFEs are well known for being pokemon too weak for competitive viability whilst also being too old to compete in LC. This makes them perhaps the weakest group of pokemon in existence, but every generation a few NFEs manage to rise up past their low BSTs and make an impact in competitive play. While no NFE pokemon will ever reach the heights of Chansey, many can find a home in UU while their evolutions are tucked away in the top tiers of OU. In this thread I'm hoping to challenge people to find new pokemon who have gained viability this gen as well as new gen 6 additions to the eviolite pool, share sets and ideas and just discuss the viability of these pokemon in general. Its unlikely that many of these pokemon will be top tier UU but several hold a very unique niche and there are many buried treasures for people to take advantage of, especially in the gen 6 metagame (as well as old pokemon gaining new strength!)
I just want to let everyone know again that I know that many of these pokemon do not sit at the top of the viability ranking, and some suggestions will be completely outclassed and unviable (although lets steer away from the latter). The aim here is mainly to look at playstyles and techniques that exist in OU and try and see if we can replicate them and find success in them in UU, through use of prevolutions. Not only are many of these pokemon unique in their UU niche, but they are fun to find and use! I remember being really impressed when I first saw the idea of fletchinder being used in UU for the same role as talonflame in OU. I want to encourage ppl to continue to be innovative in their pokemon usage and I think this is a good way to find new pokemon, even if said pokemon are only Cs on the viability chart. Some of the suggestions Im sure will be Bs and above, and just finding 1 or 2 great NFEs will make this project a success for me!
I'll start by talking about a few:
Fletchinder
Fletchinder is good in UU for the sole reason of Gale Wings, giving this tiny bird a priority attack that deals the same damage as a Mega Scizor bullet punch. However, Fletchinder also has a fairly synergetic movepool to work around this single attack- sword's dance allows it to hit surprisingly hard and sweep with Acrobatics, and will-o-wisp paired with priority roost really make the most out of its pathetic defenses. Fire/flying typing is quite benefecial to it in UU provided you can keep away stealth rock, as fletchinder can use it along with will-o-wisp to set up on many support pokemon in the tier such as Florges, Forretress and Donphan, as well as others such as Hippowdon variants if using subroost. Fletchinder can really suffer from the lack of an item which is its main issue, paired with truly bad stats (as with almost all NFEs we will see in this thread) that mean it can only really do one thing well, but it does its job fairly admirably.
Fletchinder
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- Roost
- Swords Dance
- Will-O-Wisp
The standard "bulky" fletchinder set. acrobatics makes you a great revenge killer and sweeper, whilst priority roost + will-o-wisp allows you a double role as a poor man's sableye. no item is preferred over something like sitrus berry as it means you reliably hit for respectable damage immediately, as many powerful attacks will still ohko fletchling easily.
_________________________________
Gothorita
Gothitelle was banned from UU for her ability to consistently remove key supports from the game by tricking them choice scarves. Gothorita is a similar offender, and can use the TrickRest set to the same effect as her older sister. What makes Gothorita even more usable in UU is her ability to trap and revenge kill many fighting types such as Mienshao, who is killed by an uninvested psychic with only a small amount of residual damage on him (SR + life orb damage), and with a tier which has many relevant psychic-weak pokemon, gothorita is fully capable of switching in to finish many of them off. Also, Gothorita thrives in a tier which revolves around clerics, being able to deal with them (including umbreon when using 0 atk IVs, avoiding a 2hko from foul play fairly easily) as well as another annoying support pokemon such as regenerator slowbro. The main problem with Gothorita is that she can be very single-use. Don't except to be able to use Gothorita offensively apart from for the easiest of revenge kills as uninvested 75 base special attack psychic STAB isn't going to be hurting much. Also, gothorita is pretty pathetically slow even with choice scarf, failing to outpace faster pokemon such as crobat that you might wish to catch. But if you put it on the right team and task it with the sole responsibility of trapping and killing support pokemon, you may find gothorita highly successful.
Gothorita @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Spd / 12 SDef
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Rest
- Psychic
- Magic Coat / Thunder Wave / Shadow Ball / (Filler)
The premise is pretty simple. Switch into the pokemon that can't kill you, and trick it your choice scarf. If they chose an offensive move such as Florges' moonblast, simply use rest in order to stay alive until they run out of pp. The last attack is really up to you- if they choose a support move such as stealth rock or spikes, you can use magic coat in order to get hazards up yourself. Alternatively, you can run thunder wave in order to paralyze faster pokemon as a sacrifice (something which can be useful in matches where gothorita is otherwise useless or has already done its job), or you could use shadow ball for something which hits for more coverage. Calm mind can help you boost to a shaky win condition but is not advised due to mono-attacking psychic with 55 speed and relatively bad special defense is not very good.
244 speed + timid is enough to outspeed jolly LO mienshao by 1 point with choice scarf, allowing you to revenge it successfully. Remaining points are put into special def in order to withstand clerics better. An alternative spread which will allow you to deal with most clerics (if you want to focus mainly on that) would be fully specially defensive as this means florges cannot 3hko you without a critical hit.
0 SpA Gothorita Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mienshao: 230-272 (84.8 - 100.3%) (add 10% from 1 life orb recoil, and gothorita hits for 95%-110%, add in SR also and this is an ohko)
0- Atk Umbreon Foul Play vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Gothorita: 102-120 (31.4 - 37%)
4 SpA Florges Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 12 SpD Gothorita: 127-151 (39.1 - 46.6%)
4 SpA Florges Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gothorita: 91-108 (28 - 33.3%)
Another issue that gothorita can have is switching into attacks- having to withstand 3 attacks before resting can potentially kill her before she heals (1 attack on the switch, 1 while using trick, then the third will outspeed you before rest). This means gothorita must be used intelligently vs these pokemon if you need it to survive (sometimes just tricking the scarf is good enough), and needs to intelligently abuse the lost turns that clerics use on wish and protect. switching into toxic is also an option.
There is another version of gothorita which is perhaps its best set and is incredibly good in uu, the eviolite set with rest + cm, toxic and an attacking move. Its very likely gothorita will be banned soon.
_______________________________
Clefairy
Just to get it out of the way, Clefairy is the most physically defensive fairy in UU with reliable recovery.
252 Atk Life Orb Mienshao High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Clefairy: 99-117 (28.7 - 34%)
252 Atk Life Orb Mienshao High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Aromatisse: 118-140 (29 - 34.4%)
252 Atk Life Orb Mienshao High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Florges: 122-144 (33.8 - 40%)
What's more, it takes special hits almost as well as Aromatisse.
252 SpA Chandelure Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Clefairy: 135-159 (39.2 - 46.2%)
252 SpA Chandelure Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Aromatisse: 157-186 (38.6 - 45.8%)
Clefable got catapulted from RU into OU by its typing change, and I think Clefairy has managed to crawl upwards out of obscurity with its change too. While not sharing access to the fantastic Unaware ability (goddamnit friend guard..), Clefairy DOES share access to a phenomenal support movepool, which gives it far more tools than the other two prominent fairies that currently see play, with the following highly useful utility moves:
aromatherapy
calm mind
encore
gravity
soft-boiled
healing wish
knock off
magic coat
encore
light screen
reflect
stealth rock
wish
thunder wave
trick
counter
cosmic power/stored power
As the only fairy in the tier who can use stealth rock, I believe Clefairy could probably find a use based solely on that, but it offers much more. Having access to encore to avoid being set up on, immunity to poison and residual damage as well as not having to use 2 turns to heal itself due to soft-boiled, Clefairy is truly unique as a UU fairy. What's more, it also has access to the stored power/cosmic power set that Clefable was somewhat notorious for.
Obviously the main thing that makes Clefairy feel slightly weak is its weakness to knock off and its reliance on eviolite, as well as diabolical speed and special attack (although still faster than aromatisse, not that it matters). However I think if played to its strengths instead of throwing it into a cleric role, Clefairy can find itself not outclassed in the UU environment.
Clefairy @ Eviolite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Counter
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
This set makes use of Clefairy's unique talents while trying to make the most of its shortcomings. The main aim of this set is to switch in multiple times in a match and put up stealth rock (being able to do so due to bulk and hazard immunity), whilst also being an effective physical (but also multi-purpose) wall. Moonblast is effective as an attack as it will hurt the fighting types that might try to use knock-off to break through you, while also having a 30% chance to make special attackers cry. Counter is an important move on the list as some pokemon will be able to break through you such as darmanitan, who will deal up to 96% with life orb + adamant flare blitz, but very few attacks will actually ohko you. In the situation that you are going to not be able to wall whatever is in front of you, counter will be able to net a surprise kill before you go down (and clefairy can even be used as fodder later due to immunity to entry hazards). Also in situations where a heracross (or w/e) knocks off your eviolite, you can counter the next attack and bag a ko even though your clefairy is crippled. I feel this helps turn one of clefairy's weaknesses into a potential weapon which helps it be a good team asset.
I think it is important to always ask if Mew would be a better pokemon for the task when choosing a supportive clefairy set though, but mainly this revolves around making the most of its rare typing and amazing ability, as well as use of moves that Mew cannot, such as Healing Wish.
I'll stop there, although I can think of a few other NFEs that might be useful this gen. Please contribute your ideas to the thread! Discussion regarding already well-known pokemon such as ferroseed and gligar are welcome too, just any pokemon that fits the bill is welcome! Remember this is a discussion so you are fully welcome to disagree with anyone else's ideas and question the viability of the pokemon mentioned. I will try and put the best suggestions in this thread.
Non-Fully Evolved Pokemon in UU!
NFEs are well known for being pokemon too weak for competitive viability whilst also being too old to compete in LC. This makes them perhaps the weakest group of pokemon in existence, but every generation a few NFEs manage to rise up past their low BSTs and make an impact in competitive play. While no NFE pokemon will ever reach the heights of Chansey, many can find a home in UU while their evolutions are tucked away in the top tiers of OU. In this thread I'm hoping to challenge people to find new pokemon who have gained viability this gen as well as new gen 6 additions to the eviolite pool, share sets and ideas and just discuss the viability of these pokemon in general. Its unlikely that many of these pokemon will be top tier UU but several hold a very unique niche and there are many buried treasures for people to take advantage of, especially in the gen 6 metagame (as well as old pokemon gaining new strength!)
I just want to let everyone know again that I know that many of these pokemon do not sit at the top of the viability ranking, and some suggestions will be completely outclassed and unviable (although lets steer away from the latter). The aim here is mainly to look at playstyles and techniques that exist in OU and try and see if we can replicate them and find success in them in UU, through use of prevolutions. Not only are many of these pokemon unique in their UU niche, but they are fun to find and use! I remember being really impressed when I first saw the idea of fletchinder being used in UU for the same role as talonflame in OU. I want to encourage ppl to continue to be innovative in their pokemon usage and I think this is a good way to find new pokemon, even if said pokemon are only Cs on the viability chart. Some of the suggestions Im sure will be Bs and above, and just finding 1 or 2 great NFEs will make this project a success for me!
I'll start by talking about a few:
Fletchinder
Fletchinder is good in UU for the sole reason of Gale Wings, giving this tiny bird a priority attack that deals the same damage as a Mega Scizor bullet punch. However, Fletchinder also has a fairly synergetic movepool to work around this single attack- sword's dance allows it to hit surprisingly hard and sweep with Acrobatics, and will-o-wisp paired with priority roost really make the most out of its pathetic defenses. Fire/flying typing is quite benefecial to it in UU provided you can keep away stealth rock, as fletchinder can use it along with will-o-wisp to set up on many support pokemon in the tier such as Florges, Forretress and Donphan, as well as others such as Hippowdon variants if using subroost. Fletchinder can really suffer from the lack of an item which is its main issue, paired with truly bad stats (as with almost all NFEs we will see in this thread) that mean it can only really do one thing well, but it does its job fairly admirably.
Fletchinder
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- Roost
- Swords Dance
- Will-O-Wisp
The standard "bulky" fletchinder set. acrobatics makes you a great revenge killer and sweeper, whilst priority roost + will-o-wisp allows you a double role as a poor man's sableye. no item is preferred over something like sitrus berry as it means you reliably hit for respectable damage immediately, as many powerful attacks will still ohko fletchling easily.
_________________________________
Gothorita
Gothitelle was banned from UU for her ability to consistently remove key supports from the game by tricking them choice scarves. Gothorita is a similar offender, and can use the TrickRest set to the same effect as her older sister. What makes Gothorita even more usable in UU is her ability to trap and revenge kill many fighting types such as Mienshao, who is killed by an uninvested psychic with only a small amount of residual damage on him (SR + life orb damage), and with a tier which has many relevant psychic-weak pokemon, gothorita is fully capable of switching in to finish many of them off. Also, Gothorita thrives in a tier which revolves around clerics, being able to deal with them (including umbreon when using 0 atk IVs, avoiding a 2hko from foul play fairly easily) as well as another annoying support pokemon such as regenerator slowbro. The main problem with Gothorita is that she can be very single-use. Don't except to be able to use Gothorita offensively apart from for the easiest of revenge kills as uninvested 75 base special attack psychic STAB isn't going to be hurting much. Also, gothorita is pretty pathetically slow even with choice scarf, failing to outpace faster pokemon such as crobat that you might wish to catch. But if you put it on the right team and task it with the sole responsibility of trapping and killing support pokemon, you may find gothorita highly successful.
Gothorita @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Spd / 12 SDef
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Rest
- Psychic
- Magic Coat / Thunder Wave / Shadow Ball / (Filler)
The premise is pretty simple. Switch into the pokemon that can't kill you, and trick it your choice scarf. If they chose an offensive move such as Florges' moonblast, simply use rest in order to stay alive until they run out of pp. The last attack is really up to you- if they choose a support move such as stealth rock or spikes, you can use magic coat in order to get hazards up yourself. Alternatively, you can run thunder wave in order to paralyze faster pokemon as a sacrifice (something which can be useful in matches where gothorita is otherwise useless or has already done its job), or you could use shadow ball for something which hits for more coverage. Calm mind can help you boost to a shaky win condition but is not advised due to mono-attacking psychic with 55 speed and relatively bad special defense is not very good.
244 speed + timid is enough to outspeed jolly LO mienshao by 1 point with choice scarf, allowing you to revenge it successfully. Remaining points are put into special def in order to withstand clerics better. An alternative spread which will allow you to deal with most clerics (if you want to focus mainly on that) would be fully specially defensive as this means florges cannot 3hko you without a critical hit.
0 SpA Gothorita Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mienshao: 230-272 (84.8 - 100.3%) (add 10% from 1 life orb recoil, and gothorita hits for 95%-110%, add in SR also and this is an ohko)
0- Atk Umbreon Foul Play vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Gothorita: 102-120 (31.4 - 37%)
4 SpA Florges Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 12 SpD Gothorita: 127-151 (39.1 - 46.6%)
4 SpA Florges Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gothorita: 91-108 (28 - 33.3%)
Another issue that gothorita can have is switching into attacks- having to withstand 3 attacks before resting can potentially kill her before she heals (1 attack on the switch, 1 while using trick, then the third will outspeed you before rest). This means gothorita must be used intelligently vs these pokemon if you need it to survive (sometimes just tricking the scarf is good enough), and needs to intelligently abuse the lost turns that clerics use on wish and protect. switching into toxic is also an option.
There is another version of gothorita which is perhaps its best set and is incredibly good in uu, the eviolite set with rest + cm, toxic and an attacking move. Its very likely gothorita will be banned soon.
_______________________________
Clefairy
Just to get it out of the way, Clefairy is the most physically defensive fairy in UU with reliable recovery.
252 Atk Life Orb Mienshao High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Clefairy: 99-117 (28.7 - 34%)
252 Atk Life Orb Mienshao High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Aromatisse: 118-140 (29 - 34.4%)
252 Atk Life Orb Mienshao High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Florges: 122-144 (33.8 - 40%)
What's more, it takes special hits almost as well as Aromatisse.
252 SpA Chandelure Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Clefairy: 135-159 (39.2 - 46.2%)
252 SpA Chandelure Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Aromatisse: 157-186 (38.6 - 45.8%)
Clefable got catapulted from RU into OU by its typing change, and I think Clefairy has managed to crawl upwards out of obscurity with its change too. While not sharing access to the fantastic Unaware ability (goddamnit friend guard..), Clefairy DOES share access to a phenomenal support movepool, which gives it far more tools than the other two prominent fairies that currently see play, with the following highly useful utility moves:
aromatherapy
calm mind
encore
gravity
soft-boiled
healing wish
knock off
magic coat
encore
light screen
reflect
stealth rock
wish
thunder wave
trick
counter
cosmic power/stored power
As the only fairy in the tier who can use stealth rock, I believe Clefairy could probably find a use based solely on that, but it offers much more. Having access to encore to avoid being set up on, immunity to poison and residual damage as well as not having to use 2 turns to heal itself due to soft-boiled, Clefairy is truly unique as a UU fairy. What's more, it also has access to the stored power/cosmic power set that Clefable was somewhat notorious for.
Obviously the main thing that makes Clefairy feel slightly weak is its weakness to knock off and its reliance on eviolite, as well as diabolical speed and special attack (although still faster than aromatisse, not that it matters). However I think if played to its strengths instead of throwing it into a cleric role, Clefairy can find itself not outclassed in the UU environment.
Clefairy @ Eviolite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Counter
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
This set makes use of Clefairy's unique talents while trying to make the most of its shortcomings. The main aim of this set is to switch in multiple times in a match and put up stealth rock (being able to do so due to bulk and hazard immunity), whilst also being an effective physical (but also multi-purpose) wall. Moonblast is effective as an attack as it will hurt the fighting types that might try to use knock-off to break through you, while also having a 30% chance to make special attackers cry. Counter is an important move on the list as some pokemon will be able to break through you such as darmanitan, who will deal up to 96% with life orb + adamant flare blitz, but very few attacks will actually ohko you. In the situation that you are going to not be able to wall whatever is in front of you, counter will be able to net a surprise kill before you go down (and clefairy can even be used as fodder later due to immunity to entry hazards). Also in situations where a heracross (or w/e) knocks off your eviolite, you can counter the next attack and bag a ko even though your clefairy is crippled. I feel this helps turn one of clefairy's weaknesses into a potential weapon which helps it be a good team asset.
I think it is important to always ask if Mew would be a better pokemon for the task when choosing a supportive clefairy set though, but mainly this revolves around making the most of its rare typing and amazing ability, as well as use of moves that Mew cannot, such as Healing Wish.
I'll stop there, although I can think of a few other NFEs that might be useful this gen. Please contribute your ideas to the thread! Discussion regarding already well-known pokemon such as ferroseed and gligar are welcome too, just any pokemon that fits the bill is welcome! Remember this is a discussion so you are fully welcome to disagree with anyone else's ideas and question the viability of the pokemon mentioned. I will try and put the best suggestions in this thread.
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