I'm posting this at request of LonelyNess. I might make comments on LN's stuff later but this what he has:
Sep - Oct UU Metagame Analysis
The Underused enviornment has sure taken a crazy turn since the last batch of statistics.. from being more centralized than OU, to being vastly decentralized in comparison, UU is a cornucopia of variety and should wet anyone's appetite who's bored of the daily gruel of OU play.
First, some broad overarching themes of the Underused environment.
Now here's where things get fun, here are the top 20 Pokemon, what to expect from them... and then, what you can do to beat the metagame!
- There's a lot of variety, however it comes mainly in the form of sweepers... you can expect to see the same walls / tanks on the majority of teams. This makes it difficult to wall everything. Teams that are packing a little more offense have definitely made it back on top.
- Teams are using less specialized walls, and more mixed walls.
- Because of this, EV spreads are more well rounded on walls such as Claydol / Weezing / Clefable (to make up for the mixed sweeping craze). Weaker mixed attackers can't prey on the lesser defense stats as well anymore, but strong attackers can take advantage of the now weaker defenses.
- Oh... and one last thing. Platinum has changed a bunch of things... but we'll get to that later.
1. Steelix
It's no surprise that this is the number one used Pokemon in the underused environment. No other Pokemon stops so many physical threats and prevents a team from being swept as this. This is probably THE reason why UU is as decentralized as it is. (along with the second Pokemon) without it, Physical attackers would surely dominate even more than they already do. The most popular set is Earthquake / Gyro Ball / Roar / Stealth Rock. As a lead, it does incredibly well seeing as how it can only hope to be OHKO'd by something from the special side of the spectrum. It all but guarantees rocks for you during the game, don't expect Steelix to be going anywhere anytime soon.
2. Claydol
Claydol's typing is just plain fantastic for UU. Nowhere else are Fighting type attacks and Quakeslide so prevalent. This combined with its wonderful defensive stats have made Claydol a premier partner with Steelix. The most popular set is Ice Beam / Earth Power / Stealth Rock / (Rapid Spin or Psychic) and it's easy to see why. It gets amazing coverage, which in tandem with its bulk causes plenty of switches in a match which allows it to easily set up Stealth Rock... even multiple times if necessary. A new breed of Claydol has also been born, the Trick Claydol. With a Scarf in hand, Claydol easily nerfs the Special Attackers that come in and try to hit it from its weak side. This means that even if you know your opponent has a Claydol, switching in can be a dangerous endeavor. As long as the most dangerous Physical attackers in UU are of the Fighting type, expect Claydol usage to stay high.
3. Rotom
With the top two Pokemon being tough walls from the physical side, it's no wonder a tough Special attacker takes up the number three spot in UU. With Modest and Choice Specs, this thing tears UU up with its STAB Thunderbolts and Shadow Balls (which happen to do amazing damage to the number two threat). It can even nerf those who can take its attacks through the use of Trick, or its various status moves. Its ability to completely turn the game around in just a few moves is revealed in its usage. Not only that, but it's versitile. It can also be EVd defensively and take on the majority of the Physical threats in UU.
4. Ninetales
It's amazing that with only three usable moves in its Special movepool and Nasty Plot Ninetales can be such a threat to many teams. But it is. Its Fire immunity lets it come in on those Rotom and Weezing's Will-O-Wisps that they like to throw around at the physical attackers, and then from there it is set to kill. Nasty Plot / Fire Blast / Energy Ball / Hidden Power (Rock or Ground) makes up the usual set and only things with a ridiculous amount of Special Defense can withstand a +2 Life Orb attack from this beast. Ninetales earns its spot on UU teams for its sheer power, speed, and ability to burst through most teams with ease.
5. Hitmontop
I wonder why people use this thing so much as it's incredibly weak... but it does make a very potent end game sweeper with its TechTop set (the most popular). It also has the ability to stop a lot of inevitable sweeps through priority moves that are very sparce through UU. Priority moves alone make this a popular choice among players. However, early game it's easily walled by a lot of Pokemon, and in general lacks the power needed to give a player momentum. Long story short, good at end, bad at beginning.
6. Clefable
Nothing says "mixed walling" quite like Clefable. Even with its fighting weakness, it makes an incredible mixed wall and counter to a lot of the mixed attackers of UU (like Sharpedo). Not only that, but nothing gets a safe switch on this puppy. It can fire off status, powerfull attacks, you name it, Clefable can do it. Its Calm Mind set is the most popular, but only by a few points over its other sets (like Facade / Toxic Orb abuse, and Cosmic Power). Platinum also gave Clefable Trick, which goes greatly with Burn / Toxic Orb, granting status immunity and the ability to nerf one of the opponent's sweepers. This guy is THE reason people pack Fighting types on their team, if they don't... well then good luck.
7. Hitmonlee
With a base 120 Attack stat, and a STAB move to match, it's no wonder Claydol is in such high usage. Simply put, the Life Orb and Band sets rip faces off in teams unprepared for them. Newly acquired Sucker Punch allows him to take advantage of Claydol's now split EV spreads as an Adamant Life Orb Close Combat, followed by a Sucker Punch is a clean 2HKO on any Claydol not running Bold Max HP / 128 Def. Sucker Punch could possibly be the single greatest thing to ever happen to Hitmonlee and it's easy to see why as it stops faster Pokemon from ending its sweep endgame. Scarf Lee is still popular as well, being one of the best revenge killers in the metagame. If you don't have a Hitmonlee counter, you'll wish you did.
8. Venusaur
Venusaur finds its way onto teams because it carries 3 things. Reasonable bulk, a ridiculously amazing STAB move in Leaf Storm, and a relatively accurate Sleep inducing move. These three things are great assets to the modern UU team as quite a few of the most commonly used Pokemon are weak to Grass (or atleast have a weak Special Defense). Sleep has always been good, but moreso in today's UU that relies on momentum. Having one of your sweepers puts an immediate halt on your momentum and puts it in the hands of your opponent. You'll most likely see these Scarfed, but don't be too comfortable and bring in a weak specially defensive Pokemon because it's scarfed. Many of them carry Specs, and with Leaf Storm it can be ridiculously deadly.
9. Absol
Meet the newest addition to the top 10 that the majority of users aren't prepared for. With the addition of Super Power to its arsenal this is THE endgame Swords Dancer to look out for. With Swords Dance / Night Slash / Super Power / Sucker Punch, very few things stand in its way. And yes, Psycho Cut has been axed from the moveset of choice because the only things that avoid the OHKO from a +2 LO Super Power / Night Slash / Sucker Punch are Weezing, Hitmontop, and Drapion. The second two of which are going to beat Absol anyway with either high defenses or priority moves. Simply put, Superpower is the single greatest thing that could have ever happened to Absol... save a boost in Speed.
10. Weezing
Meet Weezing, another one of the many checks placed upon the Fighting types of UU. And what a check it is. The most common form of Weezing is Flamethrower / Thunderbolt / Will-O-Wisp / Pain Split, and for good reason. Even with Pain Split as its only form of recovery, this thing is ridiculously hard to take down. And forget about breaking through it like you can Claydol, its lack of weaknesses except for Psychic type (a type not seen in the Physical attackers of UU) make it almost impervious to Physical attacks.
11. Lanturn
This is a niche Pokemon for the metagame at large. It makes itself useful by countering the 3rd and 4th most popular Pokemon with a moveset of Surf / Ice Beam / Thundberbolt / Thunder Wave. Its ability to spread paralysis among an opponent's team is also useful as it gives your own sweepers a chance to set up. With its STAB Water attacks it also puts dents into the omnipresent Claydol and Steelix, although it can't really switch in to either of them for fear of Ground attacks.
12. Drifblim
With its amazing set of resistances, Drifblim finds itself on UU teams looking for something to fix holes in the team. Its most common form is a teched Baton Passer for a Special sweeper, however Sub / Calm Mind as well as Trick Specs sets have begun to pop up. With Shadow Ball and HP Fighting, its attacks are unresisted which allows it to use only two attacks... a great asset that makes it possible to use other supportive moves to either benefit the team, or make a sweep more possible.
13. Glaceon
If people had forgotten about this beast before this month, they sure as hell have it on their minds now. Simply put, Glaceon rapes you. If you don't have a dedicated counter set up for this little puppy, then you will be very accustumed to making sacrifices. With a limited movepool yielding only one really viable set of Ice Beam / Shadow Ball / Hidden Power / Filler with a Choice Specs slapped on it... it's a testament to how one ridiculous attack stat can bring a Pokemon to greatness. Glaceon's usage has nowhere to go but up, and you'd be wise to pack something for it.
14. Toxicroak
What he lacks in immediate power, he makes up for with Swords Dance, Cross Chop, and Sucker Punch. With Poison Jab to round out coverage Toxicroak makes an amazing late game Swords Dancer. It also has the added ability of having a great defensive typing with plenty of resists to come in on and force a switch to earn that Swords Dance. Toxicroak is probably the least worried about of the fighters, but that's really unwarrented because it's probably one of the best sweepers.
15. Swellow
Even with Steelix on the majority of teams, Swellow still finds spots in player's arsenals. With a fantastic Dual STAB combination it's no wonder though. That and amazing speed / ability / status immunity make Swellow a potent endgame sweeper after an opponent's Steel / Rock type are down. One thing of note, people have begun to eschew Brave Bird in lieu of Quick Attack, which allows Swellow to stop some threats from a speed boosted sweep. Plus, Brave Bird's coverage with Facade is largely redundant.
16. Sharpedo
Here we have the premere of Mixed attacking. The Life Orb set is by far the most popular and for good reason. It has amazing coverage and hits the majority of the pokemon ahead of it in usage for SE damage or enough damage to OHKO (as reference, it takes out 11/15 of the threats listed above without even breaking a sweat). Unfortunately, the other 4 Pokemon stop it pretty much cold... Unless of course you use its other viable sets like Choice Specs or Band.
17. Froslass
And here we have the spiker of choice. With Thunderbolt and Ice Beam giving it coverage other Pokemon would kill for, and speed coming out the wazuu, Froslass can easily spare a moveslot to set up our favorite passive damage move, Spikes. It also gets quite a few free switches to do so thanks to its Fighting and Normal type immunities. Unfortunately, lackluster attacking stats keep the Speed from allowing a sweep, and sometimes keeps Froslass from stopping an opponent's sweep if they're using a bulkier Pokemon. If you see one, don't be so much afraid of its attack... but of spikes.
18. Electrode
Its speed and utility moves are what make Electrode a prime choice for a lead on the majority of UU teams. If you see one leading, either expect a Screen or Rain Dance. The latter is all but guaranteed because of its amazing base speed, and the former is a problem as it allows Pokemon to set up in situations where they couldn't before. It's like the Deoxys-E of the Underused enviornment... not amazing in itself, but can make a mediocre team great through support moves.
19. Hypno
Ah, Hypno, the forgotten special wall of UU. This is because a lot of the new Special Sweepers come with a Super Effective Dark or Ghost move to hit him with. But don't think that he's down and out. With Wish / Reflect / Seismic Toss / Thunder Wave, he can live for an incredibly long time as well as support his own team and cripple yours along the way. Many a team have fallen because they forgot about this guy... don't let it happen to you!
20. Drapion
One of the forgotten sweepers of UU. People often forget how potent base 90 Attack is when it's boosted by a Swords Dance and a Life Orb. Not to mention that it holds the coveted Dark typing which is very nice in the UU environment that has a ton of Ghosts and Psychic types. It also makes a fantastic counter to a lot of the top special threats due to its high attack and decent special defense. Drapion's usage should also be expected to rise in tandem with Absol's as Drapion makes an excellent counter.
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So there you have it, the top 20 Pokemon of UU with detail of what to expect of each of them. But what good is that analysis without a way to adapt to the metagame? So now I present to you:
Holy shit, I broke the metagame.
1.
Camerupt @ Life Orb
Rash Nature (+SpA , -Def)
8 HP / 252 SpA / 248 Spe
Rock Polish
Fire Blast
Earth Power
Explosion
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This thing absolutely destroys the current metagame. Not only can it get free switches on pokemon like Ninetales / Rotom / Weezing, but it 2HKOs damn near everything in the top 20. The only thing it CAN'T kill with ease are Drapion, Claydol, and Hypno. And all of these can be dealt handidly with an Explosion. I guarantee, you WILL be coming away from battle with a KO, or my name isn't LonelyNess.
2.
Lopunny @ Lum Berry
Jolly Nature (+Spe , -SpA)
252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Baton Pass
Encore
Substitute
Agility
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So many things can benefit from an Agility or a Substitute being passed to them, and this set is ridiculously easy to pull off. With the amount of stat-upping moves in the sweepers of UU, Lopunny can easily come in and Encore their attack, set up a Sub, agility and then pass out to the sweeper of your chosing. Many pokemon become incredibly broken with an Agility under their belt... like the next Pokemon.
3.
Octillery @ Lum Berry
Modest (+SpA , -Atk)
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Surf
Energy Ball
Ice Beam
Charge Beam
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With a Charge Beam boost and an Agility passed to it, say good night because you'll be hard pressed to find a Pokemon that can stop this beast. It can easily destroy the entire top 20 and the Lum Berry keeps it from being statused by the walls that could have stopped a sweep like Hypno, Clefable, and Lanturn. A priority move is your opponent's only hope.
4.
Armaldo @ Life Orb
Adamant (+Atk , -SpA)
40 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spe
Stone Edge
X-Scizzor
Earthquake
Rock Polish
Bug and Rock are an amazing attack combination right now, and with Earthquake to round off coverage, not a lot of Pokemon can come in to this and make much of a difference. With its impressive Defense as well, Armaldo can even beat Steelix one on one (if it lacks a Steel typed move). As a late game sweeper, this is amazingly powerful.
Granbull @ Choice Band
Adamant (+Atk , -SpA)
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Double-Edge
Close Combat
Crunch
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That's it... you don't even need a fourth slot. Feel free to not even put one on. If you really want one, put Earthquake on for Drapion, but it's really not necessary. With Max Atk and a Band, this literally 2HKOs everything in the metagame... without exception. There is NOTHING that can withstand this behemoth. Unfortunately there is very little that Granbull can outspeed, but as a wall breaker that attacks from only one side of the spectrum, Granbull is premere.
So there you have it, the Underused environment in a nutshell. I hope it has been informative.
Have at it! Discuss!
