np: SUMO UU Stage 2 - Countdown

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From UU to OU:

- Mew
- Clefable
- Keldeo
- Bisharp
- Gengar
- Smeargle (NU)

From OU to UU:

- Beedrill-Mega moved from OU to UU
- Sceptile-Mega moved from OU to UU
- Mamoswine moved from OU to UU
- Muk-Alola moved from OU to UU
- Steelix-Mega moved from OU to UU
- Buzzwole moved from OU to UU
- Pidgeot-Mega moved from OU to UU
- Houndoom-Mega moved from OU to UU
- Pelipper moved from OU to UU
- Xurkitree moved from OU to UU
- Audino-Mega moved from OU to UU
- Swampert-Mega moved from OU to UU

Raised to UU:

- Crawdaunt moved from BL2 to UU
- Nidoqueen moved from NU to UU

Massive changes are coming. The council will wait a little bit for things to settle down before restarting UU tiering.

Speaking of changes and council... dodmen has stepped down from UU Tier Leader and he picked Hogg as his replacement; his UU council slot will be given to Eyan.

The plan for now is continuing with council votes, but the discussion to decide when to start public suspects have already begun. However, this doesn't necessarily mean they are coming in the near future.
 
No, my precious Gengar has left us :(

Glad Clefable is gone though, fuck that thing. And keldeo too tbh. and holy god the drops. this will certainly be an interesting upcoming weeks of development i can say that much
 

Kink

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So, the meta has shifted a ton. Scarf Hydreigon is king again, Suicune has a much better time fitting in this meta with its utility options, defensive Swampert vs MegaPert games are as active as ever, and stuff like BandApe should make a comeback. Alola-Muk fits in perfectly in this tier (run a bit of speed w/ explosion), and Mega Beedrill in particular looks interesting now that protect is no longer a necessary moveslot.

I'm including a team I built in a few minutes, feel free to use it. It works and I think it will help new users learn the different threats of his new meta.

Pidgeot-Mega @ Pidgeotite
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- U-turn
- Roost
- Work Up

Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 24 SpD / 8 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Roar

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- U-turn

Muk-Alola @ Assault Vest
Ability: Poison Touch
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Atk / 24 SpD / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Poison Jab
- Explosion

Infernape @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Mach Punch

Scizor @ Leftovers
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Def / 184 SpD
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Roost
- Defog

I think the big problems so far are Xurkitree and Mega Pidgeot, but we'll touch base later.
 
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Adaam

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With such a meta-changing tier shift, it's time for some likebait theorymonning!

The Rises
Good riddance. The utility Clefable brought was unmatched, but T-Wave coupled with Magic Guard made it supremely annoying to deal with. It wasn't broken, but I will enjoy having Steel types be a good switch in to Fairies again.

Keldeo's departure opens up a big door for Scizor, especially since most of the drops don't really check it so well. Stall gets a slight boost since SubCM Keldeo was a massive thorn in its side. Keldeo fit really well on a lot of teams, and it was so unique that I think a lot of teams are being deleted lol.

Lol njnp webs. I guess Galv isn't total ass now, or at least webs teams aren't forced to run Bewear/Coba to avoid being steamrolled by Bisharp. HO will miss such a powerful pokemon that did pretty much everything. Great typing, priority, Knock Off, and punish Defog. On the other hand, stall gets a huge buff, I think. Previously Quagsire was a a near must, but Bisharp's departure opens up the use of more bulky waters like Alomomola or Slowbro. This is pretty big considering Mamo just dropped Quagsire cannot stomach Adamant Earthquakes.

Massive pain to switch into, but Gengar was something I'd never use due to Pursuit's prevalence. Again, another slight buff to stall, and Balance teams everywhere rejoice as they no longer need to pivot around all of Gengar's moves. It's departure is the least relevant (except Smeargle I guess).

This was really unexpected. Big, big buff for stall since there really is nothing to stop all of its sets. Mew's customization is unmatched and it could pick and choose what it breaks and what it checks. Maybe we will see it again back in UU in a few months.

The Drops
This is my favorite drop by far. M-Aero's dominance is cemented even further with these drops, so having the best offensive check to it back from ORAS opens up a lot of doors in team building for offense. The bulk is great. Typing is great. Power is great. M-Swampert really does it all, and I can't wait to use it. Prediction: I'm biased but I put M-Swampert in S. It's extremely rare to have such an offensive threat bring so much defensive utility.

If Pursuit wasn't everywhere before, then it's now going to be on 107% of teams now. Having an 4th moveslot free and not needing to waste a turn with Protect is going to make Mega Bee a huge nuisance. SD, Toxic Spikes, Tailwind (it's good!), or 4-attacks are all possibilities. More importantly, VoltTurn is a threat again. Specs Rotom-C/Raikou/XURKITREE PLEASE BAN THIS are obvious great partners with it, making Ground types mandatory once again. I don't know if Beedrill is going to be too powerful, but I am not looking forward to its presence. Prediction: A+ for now. Maybe as time goes on it goes to S.

Yet another big buff for stall, but M-Steelix is going to be a very useful mon for a lot of playstyles. It has Stealth Rock, amazing typing to counter VoltTurn, Latias (unless CM Hydro Vortex), Scizor, and Flying types. The latter of which we desperately need with M-Pidgeot's drop and a general scarcity of Flying resists. Prediction: I think it'll cement itself solidly in A- with the amount of utility it brings and lack of competition from M-Aggron.

Nice to have M-Sceptile back again. Unfortunately nothing really changed it its favor from ORAS, and in fact, the metagame has trended negatively. Bulky Waters are still good but nowhere near as prevalent as ORAS with Suicune/Swampert everywhere. Maybe they will rise, though, to check M-Swampert for balance teams. Then there's the obvious drop of Scizor that forces HP Fire, but that honestly might be a good thing because Focus Blast is a garbage move. It still looks to be a pain for offense, though, so I'm thinking A/A- for it like in ORAS.

Flying resists are still nonexistent, but we have more tools to deal with it since its ban in Raikou, Klefki, and Mamo. Strong neutral priority is everywhere too. I don't think it will be unmanageable, but no doubt is it going to be a top tier threat. Stall should have little trouble with it with Blissey + Steel type, and offense gives it no breathing room to switch in, relegating it to a revenge killer. Balance, of course, will struggle the most, but balance also sucks. Prediction: A+ rank.

It seems like all the Megas dump on Latias. M-Houndoom, though, still has the same struggles as it did in ORAS: it struggles mightily against all the other megas, and it's hard to justify using it over NP Ape + another mega. Nonetheless, its speed tier and Dark typing gives it a solid niche. Prediction: B+ rank.

Honestly, this looks kinda trash. Sure, it Pursuits Latias, but we already have a good amount of Pursuit pokemon and a lot of new Latias checks. It's hard walled by any Ground type, which are now more important than ever to run with VoltTurn's potential rise. A Poison type that doesn't resist Fairy/Fighting is also lame. Prediction: B-/C+.

Hello darkness my old friend...On a more serious note Ice Shard looks real nice, HO gets its favorite toy back, expect a lot more Z-move Slowbros. Prediction: A.

Buzzwole is the most interesting out of all the drops. It's sheer power and bulk puts it on par with M-Swampert, but what makes this mon so cool is its movepool. Roost + 3 attacks, CB, SubPunch, Phys Def, Bulk Up, and a million moves for coverage makes this unwallable. Conkeldurr is a pokemon that I think of to compare it with, but it blows it out of the water with bulk, access to recovery, and Beast Boost allows it to snowball against slower teams. I think this is too strong for UU, but only time will tell. Prediction: S.

Edit: 240 Atk Life Orb Mamoswine Icicle Crash vs. 248 HP / 184+ Def Buzzwole: 109-129 (26.1 - 30.9%) -- 3.4% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Guts Conkeldurr Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 180+ Def Buzzwole: 159-188 (38 - 44.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Buzzwole is thicc as fuck...

Ehh. Prediction: Ehhh...

Busted.

lol Prediction: Free Drizzle
 
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Moutemoute

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Oh my god, I think I've never been so hype by some drops.. Gonna talk about them a little bit

From UU to OU :

Kinda surprise by this up. I didn't know it was use that much. I guess it's because of Medicham-Mega release.
RIP Clefable and half of my team. That too bad that it leaves when we get some stuff to check / counter it (hey there Beedrill-Mega & Alolan Muk).
Welp RIP, I guess it will be better in OU than UU. We loved you MLP.
LOL don't care (positive point, I can run Bold tenta now and not 16 Timid Haze f*ck yeah).
I've not played this mon a lot so.. like Bisharp..

With all this UP.. I devinitively see Gliscor become a top threat. No more Keldeo / LO_Specs_Z-Move Gengar to revenge kill it, no more Unaware Clef or Ice Beam Clefable / Mew.

From OU to UU :

Finally, welcome back my dear wasp. It so nice to get that fast U-turn abuser and since it don't need protect anymore that's going to be a very intereresting Pokemon.
I think this one will struggle a lot in Underused. I mean with Scizor, HP Fire is kinda an obligation and with the drop of Alolan Muk.. that's not be easy for that mega.
A cool SR setter with such a great coverage + priority. It probably be as good as it was in ROSA.
Latias don't like this drop, it's a thing. To my mind this Muk will be a nice trapper for sure.
There are both really bulky SR Setter and they can block Volt-Switch abuse. I hope Swampert-Mega will not rise with all that Rain Team spam in OverUsed.
I clearly don't know if this UB will be good or not. I mean it's like a "fusion" of Heracross & Conkeldurr.. Slow and bulky as f*ck.
Jesus-Bird is finally again with us in UU, I'm cleary gonna test this one and spam Hurricane to the death.
Don't care of this two, sry.
I clearly think this thing CAN'T stay in Underused. On the paper, it's a broken Pokemon. Not a bad speed which allows him to pressure bulky and balanced team, not a bad bulk which allows him to take 1/2 hits and lol.. 173 BS of SpA. Clearly broken, I don't see something that can handle in the actual /Underused a Pokemon with Electric / Grass / Ice coverage and that much of SpA.
 
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Amane Misa

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Some predictions upon some old and new toys...

This thing will be extremely good, I will even say broken. The only reliable counters I see to it are Empoleon, Blissey and Corsola. Not only that, Work Up + Refresh sets up on Blissey and Empoleon is forced to pack Roar unless it is like offensive Ice Beam. Sorry to say; it doesn't end here. Mega Pidgeot can just U-turn on its counters, which makes it even more dangerous. I highly doubt Mega Pidgeot won't get at least suspect tested.

Looks extremely tough for slower teams to deal with. You that a special attacker is broken when it OHKOs Blissey after one turn of set-up (Z-Thunderbolt).

  • +3 252 SpA Xurkitree Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 679-801 (95 - 112.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Seriously speaking, Xurkitree will be a powerhouse. Electric + Grass + Ice is an almost perfect coverage that only misses out on Magneton, Togedemaru and Rotom-H...
  • +3 252 SpA Xurkitree Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Magneton: 305-359 (126.5 - 148.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • +3 252 SpA Xurkitree Energy Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Togedemaru: 196-231 (72.3 - 85.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
  • +3 252 SpA Xurkitree Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Rotom-Heat: 213-252 (88.3 - 104.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Smells like its best set will be Electrium Z with either Thunderbolt... Z-Electric Terrain, Z-Hypnosis and Choice Scarf also seem pretty nice but Xurkitree doesn't outspeed Mega Aerodactyl at +1. Oh, and Beast Boost is pretty broken too.

I can't lie about that I am pretty excited about it dropping, as UU urgently needs more Latias counters. Its best set is probably going to be Assault Vest + Pursuit but I can definitely see it running a weird Curse set from time to time.

Looks really good on paper. Extremely excited to use SubPunch!

When do I drop again?

Well, more than half my teams are unusable now. Gotta build new ones~

Physically defensive Ghost types smell extremely good right now, especially holding a Colbur Berry, mainly because they resist Buzzwole's two STABs and Mega Beedrill's two STABs.
 
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Buzzwhole is busted, it can set a sup behind A LOT of mons and deal massives ammount of damage to almost any switch-ins, you usually have to sack at least 2 mons to breaks its sub/try to kill it, and even then it might not be enough. Smells like quickban really
 

Freeroamer

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I think both of those posts are slight overreactions considering these pokemon have been available for use for what, 2 hours?

Swampert and Buzzwole are top tier threats, and need to be played around carefully no doubt. In Swampert's case however, to suggest that the only checks are Alomomola and Ninetales is just plain false, hell even Buzzwole itself can check Swampert alongside other solid UU mons like Celebi and Suicune (someone who I think definitely got better in this shift). There's pressuring it the turn it sets up and picking it off lategame. Lots of pokemon can live one hit and deal the final damage you need. I don't think a great deal changed from ORAS to SM to suddenly make this mon overbearing.

Buzzwole is something that's literally only been in the metagame for a few hours like i said above. This is something common in tier changes, when a pokemon drops that hasn't been in the tier before it suddenly looks like this overbearing force that'll be impossible to deal with, but in time teams and players adapt to deal with it better. It doesn't have great switchins and can abuse those with sub, but if it's running sub it's missing coverage, which if you scout might enable you to deal with it better. It's also not the fastest pokemon and has pretty terrible special bulk and defensive typing, which opens up lots of opportunities for revenge killing. Yeah it might force you to build in such a way where you limit it's opportunities, but it's far from the only mon that does this. I will concede that what it's really damn good at is taking advantage of pretty much every physical attacker in the tier, great offense with defense, but I don't think there's fair cause to say it's ridiculous yet.
 
I wouldn't say Buzzwole had terrible typing - yes it has common weaknesses, but it has some great resistances too in Fighting Ground Dark and Grass, letting it check a lot of prominent stuff like Mamoswine, Terrakion, Krookodile, Conkeldurr and Cobalion.
 
also lol @ mega aero still being one of the best megas to check all these new threats lmao

latias did get pretty shafted tho ngl
 

Pepeduce

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The Rises


Honestly, this looks kinda trash. Sure, it Pursuits Latias, but we already have a good amount of Pursuit pokemon and a lot of new Latias checks. It's hard walled by any Ground type, which are now more important than ever to run with VoltTurn's potential rise. A Poison type that doesn't resist Fairy/Fighting is also lame. Prediction: B-/C+.
I don't know if Muk-A will be good but I don't think it'll be trash either and it doesn't "hard walled" by ground type (except Gliscor ofc) because it annoys them by K Off + 30% chances to psn what is great. Poisoned, your Swampert or Hippo for example lose 12%. So anytime you switch in to a mon you'll lose ~12% + ~12% if you stay the next turn these chip damages are pretty annoying.
 
- Beedrill-Mega moved from OU to UU
  • Don't know how problematic it'll be since SM UU has a lot of good checks to it (i.e. Scizor and now M-Steelix apparently). The Mega Speed buff really helped him. The 4th moveslot makes MBee a pretty good Revenge killer. Damn good O-Pivot though.
- Sceptile-Mega moved from OU to UU
  • Nothing really special I see with this Pokemon here. It's a good check to most Raikou variants and Electrium-Z Latias (I guess). Not too domineering, especially with the other recent drops in the game.
  • I kind of anticipate that Mixed Scep with Earthquake will be kind of popular.
- Mamoswine moved from OU to UU
- Muk-Alola moved from OU to UU
  • Kind of unfortunate that Gengar left to OU. Literally the best answer to it lol
  • Can see AssVest getting a lot of playtime. Good Pursuit trapper against Latias, Celebi (non-Groundium), and Starmie.
- Steelix-Mega moved from OU to UU
  • I feel like the metagame is leaning too offensively with all the new drops for Steelix to see significant usage outside of semi-stall/dedicated stall.
  • Also, loss of extremely good teammate (Clefable) means that not many pokemon are good defensive pairs for him.
- Buzzwole moved from OU to UU
  • Not too sure what niche he'll carve out in the tier. In all honesty, he just reminds me of Conkeldurr.
  • Maybe he can snowball as a Bulk Up user with pretty good sustain?
- Pidgeot-Mega moved from OU to UU
  • This is pretty self-explanatory tbh. 100% accurate Hurricanes are kind of ass to deal with (especially with the 30% confusion rate).
  • HOWEVER, Confusion did get a nerf this generation (33.3% to hurt itself versus 50%). This effectively leads to a 10% chance of hurting oneself in confusion (down from 15%).
- Houndoom-Mega moved from OU to UU
  • Pretty irrelevant imho.
- Pelipper moved from OU to UU
  • Irrelevant
- Xurkitree moved from OU to UU
  • Very good wallbreaker with limited set-up opportunities. Tail Glow + Z-Hypnosis is going to be kind of hard to manage IMHO.
- Audino-Mega moved from OU to UU
  • Irrelevant
- Swampert-Mega moved from OU to UU
  • Good Pokemon. Great late game cleaner. Glad this shit's back.
 
- Beedrill-Mega moved from OU to UU
  • Don't know how problematic it'll be since SM UU has a lot of good checks to it (i.e. Scizor and now M-Steelix apparently). The Mega Speed buff really helped him. The 4th moveslot makes MBee a pretty good Revenge killer. Damn good O-Pivot though.
pfft what are u talking about???
0 SpA Beedrill-Mega Hidden Power Fire vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Scizor: 60-72 (17.4 - 20.9%)
??????

Beedrill-Mega @ Beedrillite
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- Drill Run

Raikou @ Electrium Z
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Primarina @ Choice Specs
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 88 HP / 252 SpA / 168 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Hydro Pump
- Psychic
- Scald

Crawdaunt @ Splash Plate
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crabhammer
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
- Swords Dance

Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Def / 240 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Volt Switch
- Gyro Ball

Infernape @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- Mach Punch
- U-turn

If anyone wants to test out beedrill/too lazy to build a team, I made a quick volt turn team to bring in the 2 strongest water mons in UU
its not super good but its kinda fun, you'll want to lead beedrill most of the time. I keep wanting to switch between grass and ice for raikou bc people either mindlessly switch in their swamperts or their gliscor and i always manage to have the wrong HP at the time D:

Also the two UB's as scarfers is annoying, both to face, and also bc they cant outspeed beedrill and up.

Buzzwole is also a really good check to conk, as it can roost stall flame orb turns until hammer arm KOs. its also just a pretty good physical wall in general, can wall bee, tank hits from craw daunt, etc
 

Hilomilo

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There are a few different things I've been noticing in the couple hours that we've been in this new metagame, so I'd like to go over the Pokemon that I think have gotten better or worse come this tier shift, since already we're seeing some interesting influences.

Things that have gotten better:

Crobat -
Good things come to those who wait, and Crobat is certainly no exception, as only a couple weeks ago this thing was seriously struggling. Right now, Crobat's most valuable asset is definitely Infiltrator Brave Bird. I've used it and had it used against me a few times already, and its ace in the hole is absolutely being able to nail Buzzwole behind a Substitute, who, if behind the sub too long, can easily just beat entire teams. Its also a really nice check to Mega Beedrill even if it has room for Knock Off now, and a decent switch-in to Mega Sceptile as it uses Leaf Storm or afterward (-0 Dragon Pulse can 2HKO). Crobat may not appreciate the arrival of stuff like Mamoswine and Mega Steelix from an offensive perspective, but to be fair, it can prevent Steelix from setting rocks with Taunt, and has been responding to pre-shift trends decently enough that I think overall it'll become a lot better in new UU (it can also outspeed and pivot on Latias with U-turn, which is nice).

Jellicent - Jellicent's already been getting a lot of deserved credit lately, but this shift has arguably given it even more viability due to the good number of new threats it checks really well. Mamoswine's Earthquake does up to 58%, which Jellicent can easily shrug off with Recover and Leftovers after burning it. You could make a case for Mamo's Knock Off, but if Jellicent burns Mamoswine the turn it uses Knock Off, it'll only take around 25% max the next turn, which keeps it from being 2HKOed with Lefties, and allows it to still recover off any damage taken. The same is said with Mega Beedrill if it's using Knock Off, while Mega Steelix, Mega Swampert, and Buzzwole lacking Thunder Punch are also really nicely checked by Jellicent. Mega Pidgeot can't 2HKO with Hurricane, which allows Jellicent to adequately soft check it (it'd potentially need to do some PP stalling) while preventing setup or recovery with Taunt. Overall, I'm really excited for Jellicent, as the few times I've used it so far have indicated that it'll thrive in this new meta.

Krookodile - Krookodile's already been a staple, but has been blessed with some of the best possible drops. It hates that it can't really do anything to Buzzwole, but at the same rate it does a really nice job partnering Buzz in that it can trap a lot of its biggest threats, like Latias, Mega Aerodactyl, Celebi, etc. It also loves the ability to easily dispose of +1 Speed Xurkitree (as long as it isn't switching in) with a Choice Scarf, and does a good job revenging or weakening stuff like Mega Bee, Mega Houndoom, Mega Steelix, and Alolan Muk. It was already solid before, but now it's able to team up with one of the only new Pokemon it doesn't do well against quite nicely, while obliterating most of the others.

Sun - I've only used sun like twice, but have seen a couple of replays in which with it was able to put in some serious work. Previously, sun was pretty mediocre, but in my opinion Mega Houndoom's entry into the tier has been a massive boon to its viability. Solar Power, good dual stabs, and great Special Attack and Speed is nothing to mess around with, while Venusaur also poses a lot bigger of a threat now given that some of its best answers (bulky steel- and psychic-types) don't do so well against Mega Doom. The two work really well together as an offensive core, and with the support of something like Infernape or Terrakion to get rid of stuff like Alolan Muk and Hydreigon, can finally allow sun to be decent in the metagame.

Sylveon - lol RIP Clef.

Things that have gotten worse:

Hippowdon -
I really want to like Hippo, but lately it just seems like it's been getting worse and worse. It already struggled before due to how passive it was, but now it's setup bait or an easy kill for a lot of the new stuff in the tier, most notably Buzzwole, but also Mamoswine, Mega Sceptile, Mega Swampert, and to an extent Mega Pidgeot. I wouldn't even argue that it enjoys Xurkitree's entry into the tier, given that unboosted Energy Ball takes a huge chunk of its HP away. Overall, Hippo's probably still solid, but definitely won't benefit from being as massive Buzzwole bait as it is.

Latias - Latias will still remain a top-tier threat, but there's no denying that it won't appreciate Alolan Muk's presence. The combination of Knock Off and Shadow Sneak will easily dispose of it, while in return a +1 Devastating Drake can't OKHO. Mega Beedrill and Mega Sceptile also can really easily exploit Latias due to the mega speed buff, which gives players a decent selection of various countermeasures to Latias. It can revenge kill Buzzwole I guess, but I've opted to run SubPunch, which requires for something to be sacked in order to allow for an adequate revenge kill. None of this is to say Latias has become mediocre at all, because hell it's still great, but overall I just think it'll struggle until the meta adapts to Alolan Muk, Bee, and Sceptile. There's also the presence of new stuff like Mega Houndoom, Mega Steelix, Mega Swampert to an extent, and Mamoswine, but I think that Bee and Sceptile are the most notable just due to how little is required for them to immediately force it out.

Terrakion - This one hurts my heart. I absolutely love Terrakion, but Buzzwole straight up counters most sets, while Mega Sceptile, Mega Swampert, and to an extent Mega Pidgeot if it's set up don't do it many favors. I don't think the shifts will hit Terrakion as hard as some of the other things I'm mentioning, but I don't think it'll appreciate being almost as unable to dent Buzzwole as Hippowdon.

Mega Absol - This is another that I doubt will get hit too hard, but it's kind of going to struggle with 4mss now. It wants all of Knock/Sucker/Pursuit/Iron Tail/Superpower/Fire Blast/Play Rough due to the need to hit a lot of the new things (most notably Buzzwole) that will be common in the tier for a good while. It also faces a lot more competition as a mega now with so many new mega evolutions having arrived, but I'm a little less sure about how this one will play out, so let's just hope for the best.


I hope you guys enjoyed reading! There were obviously some things I didn't touch on, but hey, a lot of change is happening in our current metagame, so a lot of stuff may come out from nowhere and surprise us :) I hope everyone has fun in the new UU, and that you enjoy using Xurk while we still have it lol.

Oh and PS - Use Focus Punch/Sub/Thunder Punch/Ice Punch on Buzzwole. Lack of Leech Life sucks, but it's super nice being able to hit both Jellicent and Gliscor with one mon, and Focus Punch coming off of that attack is insane (it's also easy to force switches simply due to how monstrous this thing is). Thanks for reading!
 
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I think people are overhyping most of the drops a bit... they aren't bad but it seems like there's at least one person declaring each drop to be qb worthy.

Mega pidgeot: so yall realize swellow exists, who hits harder with specs boomburst and is faster, and has never been a problem in uu. Not saying mega bird is worse then swellow, but it's not such a huge step up that it's gonna break the tier in half.

Buzzswole: yes this thing is strong, but it still has crap spdef and a bad offensive stab combo (also lacking cc). It needs ice punch to not be complete bait for gliscor which hurts it's chances vs other flying types. Beast boost is strong but it has too many weaknesses to sweep plus no way of boosting its speed. Really good but not unbeatable.

Xurkitree: oh yes, this thing is so broken because its spat is really high. Just like rampardos. And chandelure. Its strong and it's coverage isn't quite as lacking down here but its still slow and not that bulky, and other then flattening hippo with grass knot, can't do much raikou can't while being worse vs offense.

I'm sure all 3 of these will be very good, but cmon, give it a day before we declare them busted beyond belief. I don't play too much uu so if I said anything dumb let me know.
 

Kink

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I think people are overhyping most of the drops a bit... they aren't bad but it seems like there's at least one person declaring each drop to be qb worthy.

Mega pidgeot: so yall realize swellow exists, who hits harder with specs boomburst and is faster, and has never been a problem in uu. Not saying mega bird is worse then swellow, but it's not such a huge step up that it's gonna break the tier in half.

Buzzswole: yes this thing is strong, but it still has crap spdef and a bad offensive stab combo (also lacking cc). It needs ice punch to not be complete bait for gliscor which hurts it's chances vs other flying types. Beast boost is strong but it has too many weaknesses to sweep plus no way of boosting its speed. Really good but not unbeatable.

Xurkitree: oh yes, this thing is so broken because its spat is really high. Just like rampardos. And chandelure. Its strong and it's coverage isn't quite as lacking down here but its still slow and not that bulky, and other then flattening hippo with grass knot, can't do much raikou can't while being worse vs offense.

I'm sure all 3 of these will be very good, but cmon, give it a day before we declare them busted beyond belief. I don't play too much uu so if I said anything dumb let me know.
You're really underselling these mons. Mega Pidgeot outclasses in Swellow in every way. First off, having the same stat as Specs Swellow without committing to a single move is huge. With Roost and Work Up, Mega Pidgeot can turn into a very dangerous stallbreaker. With U-turn, it can employ hit-and-run strategies, something Swellow can't do nearly as well since it's always limited to one move. Mega Pidgeot also has more bulk that it can take advantage of. And with Refresh+Work Up, Stall, semi-stall, and Balance will have a hard time coping.

No one is saying Buzzwole is unbeatable, but it has incredible potential in competing with Conk, and considering Conk is one of the best mons of the tier pre-shift, this is no small matter. We have a pseudo-moxie mon with a fantastic movepool, access to Roost, and a variety of sets to take advantage of since its speed is just high enough to smash through things. For instance, Adamant Choice Band can single handedly smash through the bulkiest teams with some minor chip damage. This thing is a threat and needs to be looked at closely.

When a special mon can Tail Glow and Z-move itself past any mon in the game, including Blissey, you need to take a step back and see if there's enough counterplay available to take care of it. As of right now, the only thing that's keeping this mon in the tier for me is the fact that Mega Aero outspeeds. Aside from that, it's a super-strong powerhouse and damn near broken.

In general though, I have a big problem with your post, cause you say all of these things so matter of factly, followed by "I don't play this tier". That's dumb.
 
Well, Raikou doesn't get access to a +3 boosting move that lets it just break like, every single wall we have it it's allowed to be given this boost by forcing something out, which it shouldn't have too hard of a time doing. And also gets even more Special Attack boosts when it kills something, so it can even go beyond that. Hell, i could go to a calc, put in Xurkitree, and give you a whole bunch of calcs that shows the only things that can stomach +3 Gigavolt Havoc is ground types, and shit like fucking AV Goodra and Guzzlord. It's not similar to Raikou like really at all because it can actually break through whatever defence's UU has against special sweepers while Raikou can't.

Oh, and it can also decide to use it's Z Crystal on something like Hypnosis or even Electric Terrain, giving itself a +1 speed boost, then have fucking fun killing it without a scarf user or Mega Aerodactyl. Even though this is likely not even worth it, thought it wouldn't hurt to point it out
 
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These changes make Latias cry in a corner. It's going to a lot harder to use her now. So many mons dropping that dead on either wall it completely, kill it, or both, it just gained a ton of checks, though with things like Bisharp and Gengar leaving it's probably needed.

Meanwhile, my beloved Mamoswine is back and ready to kill people again.
 

Lycans

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well I'm not good at doing this but seeing the recent changes I'll try
I'll talk about the most interesting things i've seen

I feel like people underestimate this monster too much, it might don't have Speed enough to outspeed other megas but it can still outspeed alot of mons in the meta, mainly Cobalion and Latias and it's also inmune to Klefki's Prankster... I honestly think the Nasty Plot 3 Attacks set would be a really big threat if a team doesn't have a revenge killer strong enough to kill it in the end, we will possibily see it between B+ or B

The volturn king is back and now with the possibility of filling its 4 slots it becomes a good contender to reach a high spot in the ranking. I honestly don't see it in S rank, taking in count that things like Pursuit Aero and Scizor are very popular atm. I predict it to be in A - A+.

Like in ORAS, the Pokémon that didn't need that much predictions when it came to attack... I don't know if in this generation it will be worth suspect testing it as it did in ORAS, taking in count that there aren't many Bird resists in the tier (Raikou and Aero should be do it good against it?) but let's see anyway!

Even if it doesn't outspeed Aero at +1, I still see a good future to this monster (if it remains in the tier ofc). With access to Tail Glow, HP Ice, Grass Knot, Hypnosis, Z Moves, Choice Items and the ability to destroy physical and special walls like Hippowdon and Blissey it has potential to be A+ or Maybe S

+3 252 SpA Xurkitree Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 349-412 (48.8 - 57.7%) -- 54.3% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+3 252 SpA Xurkitree Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 679-801 (95 - 112.1%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO lol...

252 SpA Xurkitree Hidden Power Ice vs. 40 HP / 0 SpD Nidoqueen: 186-220 (56.1 - 66.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Xurkitree Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 176 SpD Hippowdon: 342-404 (81.4 - 96.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Other Mons?
Latias I don't really think that its going to be displaced now considering three of its checks are gone. On the contrary I see scarf set as a good answer for the new megas and mons in the tier and finally this would mean that Sylveon and Florges return as the best fairies in the tier?
 
ive only played about 20 games of this meta but i guess i should give my thoughts since i havent really posted in uu in a minute


mamo is really fun atm. normally id never run rocks on this thing but i dont think knock is particularly good atm with the introduction of z stones and the notion that there aren't a lot of notable targets for it, so i use it as a setter and it's actually pretty decent given that it can force a ton of mons out. like last gen its stab combo is super good and ice priority is so important in this meta given how common latias and maero are. the introduction of zor hurts it but i think this mon will be top tier as the meta develops


mega scept is cool on some teams but sometimes it can be a bit underwhelming. it gained what is basically a hard counter in togekiss and alola muk, buzzwole doesnt give a shit about it, and maero is as common as ever. the mega speed buff is really appreciated but i doubt itll make too big of a splash in the meta. running hp fire without having to lose the tie guaranteed vs bee is cool though i guess


man this thing is so fucking good. its typing is alright in some matchups and its special bulk / speed hold it back but it sponges every non se physical attack in the tier really fucking well. i mean it tanks 50 max without investment in def from ada megapert in rain which is insane. only used bu | leech life | roost | eq (idk about fighting stab since it leaves you dicked by tenta which is annoying) but it has put in work every game ive used it in and seen it in. im not sure if this thing will stay in the tier for long but it is definitely going to have a major impact


bird jesus is a weird case since on one hand the mega speed buff is really good for it, letting it outrun raikou and being able to uturn on it, but on the other hand the confusion nerf hinders it a lot as opposed to last gen. with that being said its still no guard hurricane so its probably going to be really good anyhow, i hate running work up on this thing though and would rather just use heat wave 90% of the time

havent tried out any other new things aside from specs xurk which has been pretty good but havent tried z electric terrain which sounds retarded, either way im really liking what is basically a new tier and i think itll be a lot more fun than the last meta
 

Freeroamer

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Buzzwole @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 144 HP / 176 Atk / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Poison Jab / Leech Life
- Ice Punch
- Roost

This is the Buzzwole set I've been running so far, very similar to one I found on the calc for OU, it's kind of a utility check to be used on balance against the major physical attackers in the tier, your Mamoswines, Swamperts etc. Hammer Arm is the best STAB for these sets I think, Ice Punch allows you to check SD Gliscor with absolute ease unless they start running Flying coverage which I kinda doubt, I used Poison Jab on my team because I didn't want to be forced out by Primarina because I didn't have a great deal of switchins (who does lol) and I haven't hugely missed Leech so far, Jab is also nice for the Fairies getting more popular. If your team deals better with Gliscor or Fairies then Leech can go in either of the other slots, only Roost and Hammer Arm is really mandatory for what this set is trying to do. EV spread counters Adamant Mamoswine with SR up and allows you to switch into SR on Jolly Mega Swampert as it sets up rain, eat 2 Waterfalls and 2HKO with Hammer Arm 91.8% of the time, or always after SR. The Speed outspeeds Timid Primarina which is obviously great for Poison Jab sets, if you're running Leech over it then you can adjust and add HP or Attack accordingly.
 
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