Tournament Smogon Snake Draft IV: PU Discussion

[TJ]

Hello and welcome to the fourth edition of the Smogon Snake Draft - and with it, the PU Discussion thread. Use this thread to discuss interesting matchups, the metagame's evolution throughout the weeks, and any other trends or observations about PU as seen in SSD. This thread will be updated throughout the tour with each player's record, as well as replays from each week.

Potential PUers:
Rumble Hall Rattlers: bugzinator, Roseybear, lax
Ambrette Astrotias: keppy
Shinto Ruin Serpents: obii, Star
Lake of Rage Leviathans: Skipkan, Kushalos
Black City Mambas: Ktutverde
Lanakila Nagas: False
Celadon City Cobras: Xiri, Specs
Sky Tower Lindworms: TJ
Terminus Taipans: tlenit1
Berry Forest Bushmasters: soulgazer​

Weekly Match Ups

Week 1:
SS PU: Roseybear vs soulgazer
SS PU: keppy vs tlenit1
SS PU: obii vs TJ
SS PU: Hamhamhamhamham vs Xiri
SS PU: Ktütverde vs Kink

Replays

none yet

Power Rankings

none

Player Standings

none yet

 

[bugzinator]

I think players like MZ, termi & asa who I played with on the Meowstics were unlucky not to get drafted - all quality players who could've held their own I feel. The rest of the pool looks strong though, and I think most ppl who got chosen deserved it so gl to everyone.

 

[SOMALIA]

Just to add some life to this thread, personal power rankings:

1) Ktutverde
2) soulgazer
3) TJ
4) Tlenit1
5) Xiri
6) Bugz
7/8/9 False, Skipkan and keppy in any order

Good luck all! Should be a very nice compilation of pu games this year.

 

[EviGaro]

Bored and I just fixed an headache so might as well speak positive things about everyone here, I do think this draft on paper is pretty good for PU, better than last year, so why not go over:

Rattlers: bugzinator is actually great, yes, and Tony is like the one person that believes he's top 5 on the site or something so this was natural from the start. Tony is also the one person that can always hook up his players with goat support from somewhere, although his task will be made harder by having to stop TDK from convincing bugzi to use Counter Mudbray

Astrotias: keppy = goat. Also heard they apparently work well with the managers, although their task will be similarly hampered by having to not let keppy be convinced by renowned tryhards Finchinator and Bouff that these two know anything about the tier

Serpents: obii starting is interesting, and while I have nothing but respect for the manager, might be ambitious over the course of the tour. That being said, it's not as if the team has no pu knowledge at all, and with some twists they can prolly do well if a change has to happen. Star has had another great run in pu open and pupl, wouldn't be surprised if this is one of the teams trying to siphon one of the vroom vroom builders to help them.

Leviathans: Haven't had the faintest clue. Skipkan performed way above expected in pupl, being clutch for the team winning the tour... but that was in SM. No real indication that they can shoulder the workload of prepping in officials, even less playing, although expecting them to be completely ignorant is foolish. Still, interesting situation since there isn't really the one big time player that you can just pass a team and have them go in the game really, so will see how that works.

Mambas: let ktut be ktut for the most part, but nod at the right times when he proposes something and ask u sure about that also at the right times. Basically what I'm saying is that the managers need to pull up here with that strat.

Nagas: Assuming help is coming from somewhere else because while llamas can build in pu, not sure this is really his main strength. Hard to say without knowing and their relationship will false will be key to this slot working.

Cobras: Xiri went way, way, way, way, way, way (...) way too late and it's absolutely stupid. Idk if people thought he had to be bought with another PU but like LOL cmon guys. Ktut r3 was fine when it happened but when you consider that Xiri went r6...? idk. Still Xiri is great at this tier, and I expect him to be completely solid again. Mainly questioning his support though, while Specs is a great user, he also kinda hates gen 8 publicly, but I assume that the team did their research with him and he's gonna be Specs and do everything possible for the team, so could work, but*.

Lindworms: TJ is a fine pu slot, but man consider that Xiri went RIGHT after him and it looks kinda wild. However, TJ has been an adopted French, and I see two other French players on the squad with their own connections, so the overall thing makes sense. If TJ flames out, the Pepe is always a lurking threat too, though I have him doing very well in RU (spoiler I put him real high in my RU rankings check those out when they are free)

Taipans: Obligated to say tlenit is great, as the last time we talked he called me really awesome and that he saw me, so heck yeah dude. It's a great chance for him too, as he's now in control of the slot and already has that trophy, so funnily enough it's a first opportunity in actually less pressure than you would expect...? Will see! Little support (Expulso will try though), but Analytic will try hard to help, although tlenit a tip: there will be a time where Analytic suggests Shell Smash Wartortle, possibly with Veil support. When that happens, quit discord, come back in a few hours. Trust me.

Bushmasters: sg = good and he'll get teams because sg = good at getting teams. His real life is the only possible issue I can see and that's it.

Some people were possibly hard done by in this draft by not being picked. but overall the PU pool actually looks quite interesting. obii is the only one kinda sticking out but he works on the team overall, and if it's not working out and they absolutely need a PU win they can slot star or watashi there for a week or so and use one of their OU subs, so it's not like they are lacking options on the short term. It's a massive step up for a few of the players, like tj, keppy, or skipkan, but they're all coming into this tour with a lot of confidence and for the most part a pretty good group around them to make them feel more at ease, and I'm honestly pleased that this time PU mains got more of a chance rather than the names known by the tour community only, that's also a step up for the PU community and an important one.

 

[MZ]

Finch PRs should be out soon but someone's gotta do the big mainer rankings for PU players as well and sure I'll take that on. Will probably rehash some of this stuff in Untier Talk coming out tomorrow or Thursday but w/e. Oh but real briefly...

On the draft- I'm pretty happy with how this went and think the snub mentions have been mildly overblown. I made zero effort to reach out or get drafted, LST doesn't like current gen, etc. I think Termi probably edges the "huh why wasn't she picked up" line but it sorta always happens to someone, especially with how PU is seen in tours overall. And, on the flipside, there were a few more pickups that I didn't really expect. We get to see players like Keppy and Skipkan making their debut which is pretty cool. In general, quite happy with the draft, I don't think PU really got left behind or clearly treated like a complete junior tier like last year sorta had.

10. Roseybear, Rattlers
So I kinda have to throw pure open results out the window because open this year was just completely dominated by luck. Oh well, what can you do. Aside from the open semis/potentially finals or victory performance, there's not much going for Rosey. The only games I could find from them were the open quarters vs Confide which were more just him kinda throwing than anything else. Obviously this is still the PU field and Rosey has some past results in other tiers to where this isn't a guaranteed flop. We've got completely new players like Skipkan, and even our more proven players are like, TJ who's never played in an official team tour before. But while I don't expect a complete GaryTheGengar-esque flop, Rosey still has to pick up a brand new tier that afaik they've only slightly dabbled in and lacks the clout to make that seem like it's going to go amazing. Oh and if Bugzi does end up starting then Rattlers can move up like 6 slots.

9. Skipkan, Leviathans
Someone has to be low. Skipkan constantly puts up solid results in our circuits and stuff but this is a very field that will (hopefully and probably) end up much stronger. Their PUPL was a fine enough 3-2 but entirely in SM and nothing earth shattering. There's just very little to suggest a big breakout is coming and I've not received any flashes of insight to contradict that. They may push off starting to pass teams to Hamhamhamhamham, but that would not significantly change my estimation here. If Kushalos does start maybe that'll be different but seems like that isn't gonna be happening. So we've sorta got a 9th by default situation here, nothing to push this slot up in my estimation.

8. Obii, Serpents
I have more faith in Obii's ability to suddenly pick up a new tier than Roseybear despite him not having the open chops. This is also a jerk team that didn't pick up a mainer to start in slots other than PU, so I think they've got this relatively more planned out maybe? Or maybe they just went "fuck it we'll win in other tiers and hope to get a couple random victories in the PU slot that we mostly ignore". I don't know. Obii's not bad but my understanding is they haven't had much in the way of recent big performances and I don't have any major expectation that they'll wipe the floor with less experienced mainers week in week out.

7. tlenit1, Taipans
Tlenit is great! Again, someone has to be low! This is mostly due to how the Drakloaks' SS turned out this PUPL. tlenit had an unremarkable 2-2 and overall the team was 9-12 with luck pushing more than pulling them. In particular, their 3rd slot after tlenit and confide went 1-5 between Baoba, 49, and Xiri. A lack of big obvious support also matters here, there's Expulso and possibly Osh and I'm sure tlenit has plenty of people off his snake team to test with, but I don't rate that as highly as having a teammate/manager more focused on the tour like what Keppy or Xiri are going in with. tlenit is great but we'll see what happens here.

6. Keppy, Astrotias
Really went back and forth on 6th or 5th here. After obsessively going through all the PUPL replays each week for Untier Talk, I definitely rate Keppy. Didn't have a great SM but showed up quite well SS and it really helps to be coming back with the same manager. However I settled on a safer #6 because there's still definitely some newness here. Keppy put up a good record, but did not exactly have the hardest lineup of opponents this PUPL either. I'm not really expecting a negative record despite putting them in the bottom half, but I'm also not certain they're going to blow this out of the park either although I'd like to see our newer mainer faces do well.

5. False, Nagas
Despite not much recently, with open being a wash and barely playing for the worst team this PUPL, False gets a top 5 slot because last snake he went 6-3 and open was positive enough to where I don't see why he can't do it again. We've got a stronger lineup now and I'm not quite expecting the 2nd best record again, but I am expecting strong performance here.

4. TJ, Lindworms
PUPL winner coming out with a 7-2 record is enough for a quick 4th place. But I don't entirely know how this'll go. Like Keppy, TJ had a relatively easy lineup of opponents, and I'm not exactly going to forget the finals game vs Feliburn that quickly. But more importantly, TJ drafted a lot of good mainer building support for the Claydols that I just don't see him achieving here. Even if the Lindworms grab a few undrafted players to help out, former Claydols like Skip and Ktut are prepping against him not with him. This is going to be a bit of a deeper dive than PUPL, an excellent chance to prove himself in an official setting but also not a cakewalk.

3. Ktütverde, Mambas
Went back and forth for a solid bit on whether Ktüt or Xiri should get ranked higher and I think this will come off a bit controversial (and possibly age very poorly). The big thing is for me, like TJ, Ktüt had a lot of support for his PUPL record that just won't be there anymore. And also like TJ, there's not really much in the way of teammate support here. While I did poke a bit at him being lucky to get a 4-4 record last snake though, Ktüt's still done the snake stuff before and obviously has some of the best PU performances of anyone. This PUPL was also legit impressive, unlike the last few times I've brought up opponents Ktüt actually had a very hard run with comparatively stronger foes. But I don't know how likely he is to pull a repeat of his PUPL performance as opposed to last year's snake. That being said, I sound mostly negative here because I'm trying to justify ranking him 3rd instead of 2nd. Which, y'know, still a good ranking. I'm expecting a lot here.

2. Xiri, Cobras
Xiri and Specs have not been doing much in current gen PU but they've both got the PU chops to dive in fairly well imo. And the 8-3 record last snake is a much bigger deal to me than their mediocre SM this PUPL. In fact that's really where I draw the #2 ranking from, Xiri killed it last year with tlenit support and he's back again with another good mainer builder. So yeah this is pretty much just "he went 8-3 last year" the ranking. Also, like Evi said, holy fuck this is late. I know he hasn't done much SS but he's also been doing well in other stuff and had the best record last year. R6 and after TJ is very confusing.

1. soulgazer, Bushmasters
sg is very good at this game. He didn't have as good of a record as Xiri last year, but he got to play fewer games than Xiri and still put up a dominant 5-2. Only playing SM in PUPL means there's not much to draw from current gen, but the 6-2 at least shows he's not gonna be complete crust. But I mostly rank soulgazer #1 because I really don't see flop potential here. I think soulgazer is probably only going to have a top 3 record rather than a top 1 record, but he's got the least crash and burn potential of anyone here imo (well, except rosey ig bc there's not really expectations to fall short of). PU is still a tier with a very unproven player base and even last year good record haver Xiri might end up 3-6, but I just don't see sg not going positive.

 

[termi]

week 1 predix to keep the thread going:

Roseybear (15) vs soulgazer (85) - no offense to rosey but theyre still pretty unproven in my eyes despite their pu open run, whereas soulgazer is imo easily the #1 in the pool as far as playing abilities go so it'd take a particularly bad matchup or bad luck for him to lose this one

keppy (55) vs tlenit1 (45) - pretty close one, giving keppy an edge since i think theyre a bit more consistent wrt teambuilding, whereas tlenit's penchant for unorthodox builds could either put him on the back foot or give him a surprising edge, we'll see which way it goes

obii (30) vs TJ (70) - i honestly have no idea how to rate obii atm since i havent seen him play pu at all this gen and generally am not up to date with how well he's been playing. tj meanwhile has been on a roll lately, ive been liking his builds and hes been playing well too so giving him a solid edge

hamx5 (30) vs Xiri (70) - another one where idk how to rate one of the players due to lack of recent exposure. i like ham's building support better than xiri's (love specs but he hasnt shown too much enthusiasm abt gen 8 thus far) but xiri's fairly self-sufficient and i generally trust him more as a player

Ktütverde (1) vs Kink (99) - i will have you know that i have not associated myself with the latter player's team, this prediction is entirely unbiased, i just think kink's better i promise

 

[Raahel]

here my week 1 unbiased predicts

Roseybear (35) vs soulgazer (65) - I have nothing against rosey and I think he is having a very good projection in PU this gen and he looks perfectly in his run in the PU Open currently he is in the finals but I think soulgazer is a more experienced player and I don't think I have trouble taking victory .

keppy (50) vs tlenit1 (50) - In my opinion this is the most even battle of the 5 PU games, tlenit1 is a great builder and player just like keppy I think it will be decided in one of his creative sets or in a matchup war.

obii (30) vs TJ (70) - TJ comes from winning the PUPL and that gives him a very big emotional boost for this snake in addition to being a great player and builder, of obii I haven't seen anything in PU this gen so I can't say much about him so I think TJ has a wide advantage here

Hamhamhamhamham (45) vs Xiri (55) - Xiri without Tlenit is very sad , But Xiri is a very good overall player and he showed it last year by setting a very good record in the snake won by the Leviathans so I trust that he will win anyway, ham has many opportunities since he is a very good player this battle will be very tight


Ktütverde (70) vs Kink (30) - Ktut has quite an advantage here since I have not seen much of kink this gen in PU outside of the pu open and ktut has a lot of knowledge of how to get good results in these tours as well as kink even so ktut has more advantage when handling the tier more.

 

[TJ]

Week 2
PU: tlenit1 vs Roseybear
PU: soulgazer vs TJ
PU: keppy vs Xiri
PU: obii vs Kink
PU: Hamhamhamhamham vs Ktütverde

 

[rien]

Smogon Snake Draft IV - SS PU Usage Stats - Week 1

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Klinklang          |    8 |  80.00% |  50.00% |
| 2    | Unfezant           |    6 |  60.00% |  50.00% |
| 3    | Stunfisk           |    4 |  40.00% |  75.00% |
| 3    | Rapidash-Galar     |    4 |  40.00% |  75.00% |
| 3    | Sandslash          |    4 |  40.00% |  50.00% |
| 6    | Appletun           |    3 |  30.00% |  66.67% |
| 6    | Tangela            |    3 |  30.00% |  33.33% |
| 6    | Golduck            |    3 |  30.00% |  33.33% |
| 6    | Mr. Mime-Galar     |    3 |  30.00% |  33.33% |
| 10   | Heatmor            |    2 |  20.00% | 100.00% |
| 10   | Hitmonchan         |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 10   | Drednaw            |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 10   | Morpeko            |    2 |  20.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Lapras             |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Flareon            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Leafeon            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Mr. Mime           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Lilligant          |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Roselia            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| -    | Gourgeist-*        |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Gourgeist          |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Dugtrio-Alola      |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Type: Null         |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Throh              |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Drifblim           |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Manectric          |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Crustle            |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Dusknoir           |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |

 

[MZ]

Week 3
Roseybear vs TJ
tlenit vs Xiri
soulgazer vs false
keppy vs Ktütverde
obii vs Hamhamhamhamham

All the same except false has been brought in over kink after the latter's rough 0-2 start. We'll see if ktut gets to play this time

 

[Specs]

Roseybear vs TJ - I think rosey has played better but if TJ makes a solid team I do think he'll have the edge
soulgazer vs false - If false grabs a good team this could be rlly good, slight edge to SG
keppy vs Ktütverde - I obviously have faith in ktut. I just havent seen him play new meta, so slight edge to keppy
obii vs Hamhamhamhamham 50/50 on this one

 

[zS]

Week 3 predicts:
Roseybear vs TJ: I have faith in TJ he is good and I expect him to bounce back after this rough start. 45-55
tlenit vs Xiri: Highlight game of the week by far, tlenit has teambuilding advantage whereas I think Xiri is the better player. 50-50
soulgazer vs false: lower tier legend Soulgazer should take this over false fairly handily. I don’t expect any sort of upset here since I was never told false actually builds in SS, and when I look at the team kink brought during the past 2 weeks, I’m fairly confident with this call. 70-30
Keppy vs Ktutverde: I love both players and I do rate them really high but Ktut is the more established player here. Keppy can definitely upset with a great prep as he often does but I’m going wit King Ktut for this one. 40-60
Lgi Ham4 and I’m looking forward those games. Have fun!

 

[soulgazer]

tj xiri eifo obii

 

[rien]

Smogon Snake Draft IV - SS PU Usage Stats - Week 2

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Liepard            |    5 |  50.00% |  60.00% |
| 1    | Drednaw            |    5 |  50.00% |  40.00% |
| 3    | Throh              |    4 |  40.00% |  75.00% |
| -    | Gourgeist-*        |    3 |  30.00% | 100.00% |
| 4    | Klinklang          |    3 |  30.00% |  66.67% |
| 4    | Sandslash          |    3 |  30.00% |  66.67% |
| 4    | Bouffalant         |    3 |  30.00% |  33.33% |
| 4    | Rapidash-Galar     |    3 |  30.00% |   0.00% |
| 8    | Drifblim           |    2 |  20.00% | 100.00% |
| 8    | Gourgeist-Small    |    2 |  20.00% | 100.00% |
| 8    | Hitmonchan         |    2 |  20.00% | 100.00% |
| 8    | Dugtrio-Alola      |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 8    | Type: Null         |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 8    | Unfezant           |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 8    | Silvally           |    2 |  20.00% |   0.00% |
| 8    | Lurantis           |    2 |  20.00% |   0.00% |
| 16   | Gourgeist          |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 16   | Roselia            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 16   | Heatmor            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 16   | Politoed           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 16   | Beheeyem           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 16   | Tangela            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 16   | Stonjourner        |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 16   | Mareanie           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 16   | Crustle            |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 16   | Lilligant          |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 16   | Mr. Rime           |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 16   | Stunfisk           |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 16   | Ludicolo           |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 16   | Raichu             |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 16   | Hattrem            |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 16   | Mawile             |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 16   | Appletun           |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 16   | Mr. Mime-Galar     |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |

also some very unbiased predicts:

Roseybear (55) vs TJ (45)
tlenit (45) vs Xiri (55)
soulgazer (99) vs false (1)
keppy (70) vs substitute (30)
obii (60) vs Hamhamhamhamham (40)

 

[termi]

Roseybear (55) vs TJ (45) - i still dont like rosey's teams very much but it seems that hasnt stopped them from winning (this meta sux lol). i like tj's teams better but idt he has the edge he had during pupl, he's just not on top of the ball as much as he should be so im giving rosey an edge
tlenit (40) vs Xiri (60) - tlenit's sorta enjoying this variance meta but i still favor the xiri + specs combo overall
soulgazer (1) vs false (99) - pu icon
keppy vs Ktütverde? - cant commit to a prediction here bc im not even sure who keppy's opponent will be
obii (55) vs Hamhamhamhamham (45) - solid players, liked obii's teams a bit better past couple of weeks

 

[MZ]

Hey, just a bit of a side thing- other low tiers have had some pretty detailed and awesome breakdowns of snake usage stats and trends. Here's RU's and UU's. It's the kind of thing I definitely don't have time to do and can't make anyone put in the time, but if someone was interested in this kind of thing and willing to put in some work it would be very cool and earn big points towards ladybug/community contributor.

And while I'm here, HJAD and I keep doing snake recaps and predictions for next week on Untier Talk so check that out if you want.

 

[avarice]

Week 3

SS PU

Leads | Combos | Moves and Teammates

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Throh              |    7 |  70.00% |  42.86% |
| 2    | Klinklang          |    6 |  60.00% |  50.00% |
| 3    | Drifblim           |    5 |  50.00% |  20.00% |
| 4    | Sandslash          |    4 |  40.00% |  75.00% |
| 4    | Liepard            |    4 |  40.00% |  50.00% |
| 6    | Golduck            |    3 |  30.00% |  66.67% |
| 6    | Mawile             |    3 |  30.00% |  33.33% |
| 8    | Roselia            |    2 |  20.00% | 100.00% |
| 8    | Appletun           |    2 |  20.00% | 100.00% |
| 8    | Bouffalant         |    2 |  20.00% | 100.00% |
| 8    | Politoed           |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 8    | Drednaw            |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 8    | Dugtrio-Alola      |    2 |  20.00% |   0.00% |
| -    | Gourgeist-*        |    2 |  20.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Boltund            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Mr. Mime-Galar     |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Luxray             |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Unfezant           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Dusknoir           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Lurantis           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Kadabra            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Mareanie           |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Hitmonchan         |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Manectric          |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Gourgeist          |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Shiinotic          |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Gourgeist-Small    |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Hattrem            |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Silvally           |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Leafeon            |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |

Replays

Roseybear vs TJ
tlenit vs Xiri
Kink vs soulgazer
Ktut vs keppy
Ham vs Obii

Highlights

pop smoke the most used is not surprising at all. There are has been a lack of Bulk Up and Flame Orb sets but the RestTalk set is just such a great glue. Being able to either be specially or physically defensive is great. Last week it had one of its more impressive games (soulgazer vs TJ) in which it just phased and Swords Dance Rapidash could not get an easy opportunity to break it. Though, it still did its job nicely. Ham vs Obii , Kink vs soulgazer, as well as Ktutverde vs keppy all featured teams where both sides were relying on the red goon to sponge hits and chip the enemy team for their respective sweepers. I hope we are able to see Throh's other sets more in the upcoming weeks but it will still be showing up for sure. Perhaps the bans will make it easier to prep for.


These two escaped the ban hammer last vote but were able to put in a lot of work this week before finally getting the boot for the upcoming week. Klinklang was able to show off its offensive set in Roseybear vs TJ. ToxicTect Shift Gear Gear Grind became the standard Klinklang whether running attack or not recently, likely leading Roseybear to assume they were fine with Mareanie-- only to get lured by Wild Charge. The potency of the standard Klinklang set is shown in soulgazer vs kink where both have the gears. Once soulgazer's Throh is weakened Kink's klink does not sturggle to clean up. Swords Dance Bouffalant in keppy vs ktut was able to break rather easily due to no Foul Play Gourgeist from keppy (relying on getting a Trick turn right to neutralize it). Toxic Bouffalant in tlenit vs Xiri prevented Foul Play Swill Swap Gourgeist from threatening it. Both of these are solid examples of why Boufflalant was too much for the tier.


Liepard has already been established as a top tier mon ever since it dropped. It naturally outspeeds most of the tier and amazing versatility. It has the potential to run Nasty Plot, Heavy Duty Boots Support, Choice Band, or even Choice Scarf and these sets can be tweaked as well. It is seen as the fastest on the field with Ham vs Obii and reveals Sucker Punch despite not being Limber. Liepard is also used as the fastest mon for Ktut. Limber normally puts in a lot of work for more free U-turns against Stunfisk teams but Prankster Copy Cat is an amazing revenge killing tool. It was rather potent last week as well and I don't see it stopping anytime soon. There is also something to be said about teams being slow, the most obvious consequence being Roseybear vs TJ where Boltund went in.


Even with the bans in effect, I think Kadabra will do well and may see an increase in usage. Its power was shown in Ham vs Obii. Barely underspeeding Liepard is unfortunate, but the speed tier is still nice. Though, it still has a good amount of tools. Focus Sash + Magic Guard is always great at revenge killing and it can even run Life Orb for more power and bluff sash. Less explored options like Choice Locked sets definitely have potential imo as well. Losing the best steel Klinklang should help it significantly as well, though Type: Null and Specially Defensive Mawile are rather sturdy switch ins even if they can be bothered by Knock Off.

 

[MZ]

Week 4
TJ vs false
Xiri vs Vulpix03 (in over Roseybear)
keppy vs obii
Hamhamhamham vs soulgazerr
Ktütverde vs tlenit

 

[Raahel]

here my week 4 predicts

TJ (55) vs false (45): A great match in my way of seeing because they are both very good players, I have not seen much of false in ss pu but he has been having good results in several tournaments, going on to talk about TJ I see him very well since the previous week, it will be a close match anyway.

Xiri (80) vs Vulpix03 (20): I don't have much to say Xiri goes 3-0 with implacable matches almost without making any mistakes and I don't know anything about Vulpix in PU clear advantage here.

keppy (40) vs obii (60): obii is coming 3-0 with a good run so far and keppy is not at his best so I think obii should take it although keppy can surprise too.

Hamhamhamham (40) vs soulgazer (60): I think this match is taken by soulgazer despite losing the previous week I think he has more advantage than ham in this case even so I think that ham can surprise like kink did last week, good luck to both.

Ktütverde (55) vs tlenit (45): the HL MATCH of the week in pu, The best player vs The best builder to my liking, Ktut vs tlenit respectively the truth is that I think this match will be defined in small details such as MU or some creative set, it will be fun to watch.

 

[MZ]

Week 5
Vulpix03 vs false
Xiri vs Ktütverde
TJ vs Hamhamhamhamham
tlenit vs obii
pokemonisfun vs keppy

 

[Raahel]

here my week 5 predicts:

Vulpix03 (55) vs false (45): I was very surprised by the win of Vulpix vs Xiri having entered from sub and I think it comes a little better than false from what I have seen, I also think this match will be very even.

Xiri (49) vs Ktütverde (51): This game is my favorite to watch this week. I think both of them are at a great level and the game will be decided by small details, although I have the feeling that Ktut is going to win. I also wish both luck.

TJ (51) vs Hamhamhamhamham (49): They both come at a great time and it will be a close match but I think that since TJ has been on a roll it will be very difficult to be able to beat Ham as well as he has played I liked it a lot and it may also surprise .

tlenit (40) vs obii (60): If we were at another time here I would support tlenit but it is not at its best and obii is on fire 4-0 giving very good games I think it will be closed but I see a good advantage to obii in this match,

pokemonisfun (60) vs keppy (40): I am a keppy fan but he is not in the best moment rn, I don't see pif from the PUPL but if he continues playing as he has done before it can be a very interesting match I give pif the advantage although if keppy recovers he can win very easy too.

Thanks for reading and good luck to everyone this week .

 

[pokemonisfun]

pokemonisfun (60) vs keppy (40): I am a keppy fan but he is not at his best, I don't see pif from the PUPL but if he continues playing as he has done before it can be a very interesting match I give pif the advantage although if keppy recovers he can win very easy too.

Thanks for reading and good luck to everyone this week .

keppy is goat give him more respect, support your fellow pu main

 

[gum]

Week 4

SS PU

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Unfezant           |    7 |  70.00% |  57.14% |
| 2    | Mawile             |    4 |  40.00% |   0.00% |
| 3    | Stunfisk           |    3 |  30.00% | 100.00% |
| 3    | Type: Null         |    3 |  30.00% | 100.00% |
| 3    | Lurantis           |    3 |  30.00% |  66.67% |
| -    | Gourgeist-*        |    3 |  30.00% |  66.67% |
| 3    | Mr. Rime           |    3 |  30.00% |  33.33% |
| 3    | Silvally           |    3 |  30.00% |  33.33% |
| 3    | Drifblim           |    3 |  30.00% |   0.00% |
| 9    | Beheeyem           |    2 |  20.00% | 100.00% |
| 9    | Dusknoir           |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 9    | Sandslash          |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 9    | Boltund            |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 9    | Gourgeist-Small    |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 9    | Falinks            |    2 |  20.00% |   0.00% |
| 9    | Manectric          |    2 |  20.00% |   0.00% |
| 9    | Appletun           |    2 |  20.00% |   0.00% |
| 17   | Pawniard           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Maractus           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Heatmor            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Tangela            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Marowak            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Glaceon            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Mr. Mime-Galar     |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Throh              |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Dugtrio-Alola      |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Gourgeist-Super    |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Grookey            |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 17   | Lilligant          |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 17   | Musharna           |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 17   | Crustle            |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 17   | Drednaw            |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |

replays

TJ vs False
Xiri vs Vulpix03
keppy vs obii
Hamhamhamhamham vs soulgazer
Ktütverde vs tlenit

highlights and meta trends


klinklang getting banned has impacted building quite a lot; people aren't forced to use stunfisk or throh on every team, with instead mawile gaining popularity and becoming the most used stealth rock setter, flying, and psychic resist. klinklang's ban has also led to people relying on frailer flying and steel resists like boltund, manectric, and drednaw.

what has this led to?


these trends have greatly benefited unfezant; it now has an easier time spamming brave bird, pivoting in and out thanks to u-turn, and getting rid of entry hazards. this can be seen from vulpix03 vs xiri, where vulpix's unfezant constantly pivoted in and out, supporting beheyeem, and even got rid of the entry hazards xiri needed to get past vulpix's walls. in tj vs false, tj's unfezant had an easy time cleaning once false's mawile was weakened. 5/7 unfezants this week were choice scarf, most likely because klinklang and bouffalant getting banned has left the tier with not enough sturdy lilligant switchins.


with one of their best switchins gone, ice-, psychic-, and grass-types (2 of their switchins in their case) have proven to be excellent metagame picks during last week. in vulpix03 vs xiri, vulpix's choice specs beheeyem had absolutely no switchins and successfully took two pretty important members of xiri's team down before getting revenge killed by xiri's falinks. in this game, hamx5's weakness policy smallgeist got a surprise kill on soulgazer's falinks, while lurantis cleaned without much issues. soulgazer's nasty plot smallgeist probably could've done more if it wasn't toxic'd by hamx5's stunfisk, too. lastly, as we can see from ktütverde vs tlenit, choice specs mr. rime is extremely threatening without klinklang around. while other switchins do exist, they are much easier to switch into and take advantage of, while with klinklang, it was the opposite; it was the one taking advantage of a choice locked mr. rime.


the opportunity cost of not using a specially defensive pivot that isn't klinklang no longer exists, meaning other ones, that notably gave it setup opportunities, are much better. this week, a lot of teams relied on mawile due to its ability to set stealth rock and act as an ice, grass, and psychic resist all at once. however, it ended up being quite underwhelming this week despite still doing its job fine most of the time. similarly to mawile, mr. rime is a potent specially defensive wall and has seen a decent amount of usage thanks to its ability to switch into ice- and psychic-types. however, unlike the former, it has access to reliably recovery and isn't as passive. despite this, teams using it had to rely on something else to check grass-types like lilligant, which is something that can be seen in ktütverde vs tlenit and vulpix03 vs xiri. lastly, type: null continues to rein as the tier's best specially defensive wall, although this meta is even kinder to it due to what was mentioned earlier and throh being used considerably less than in previous weeks.

the fl0p section


despite being deemed as potentially broken by many, and almost getting banned along with klinklang and bouffalant, lilligant was only brought once and had a shocking winrate of 0%, and the set that was brought was not even quiver dance. nevertheless, it still had a huge impact on teambuilding as can be shown by common cores, like mawile + unfezant, or mr. rime + unfezant. lilli fl0p? hopefully it does more next week!!

ty for reading!!

 

[zS]

Vulpix03 vs false : Vulpix’s coming off a strong win vs Xiri and I think his streak won’t end here. 60-40
Xiri vs Ktutverde : A big big highlight game, both player started off this tournament with a really strong showing. Definitely the game of the week. 50-50
tlenit vs obii : I know, tlenit is 1-3 and doesn’t seem to be at his best and obii is making waves currently. But I really think tlenit will be obii’s toughest opponent, given how good he is in the builder he might end up having the matchup. On the other hand, I wasn’t convinced by obii’s team choice last week but played well enough to get his 4th win. Definitely a game to watch too but my gut says tlenit. 51-49
pif vs keppy: pif being in over sg doesn’t surprise me much after the rough start sg had and I’m glad he gets a chance to play after letting his friend Ramo (who’s making waves btw) in UU but kekky’s good and we’re on kellymengyfacekafka’s field so I’ll got with him. 40-60

 

[termi]

Vulpix03 vs false - not committing to a serious prediction since im helping the fire resist-hating loser on the right, i liked vulpix's team last week and they played it well altho the matchup was also heavily in their favor, hard to say which way this game's gonna swing

Xiri (40) vs Ktütverde (60) - after 2 weeks of absence i had my doubts, but i think it's safe to say that both in the building and playing department ktut is meeting expectations. normally i would say this is about 50/50, especially since xiri's first 3 weeks were very solid, but in last week's game he was rather helpless and im afraid xiri and specs are not taking the post-klinklang meta as well as some other players. let's hope it's a fluke and they will be able to pull up with a real flying resist this week, this game has great potential if nothing strange happens in the building phase

TJ (45) vs Hamhamhamhamham (55) - both players are hard to gauge for me at this point, their wins so far have been greatly aided by fortunate matchups. i have typically enjoyed tj's builds a bit better, however i think ham's been more consistent as a player during snake. tj occasionally gets cold feet and pulls out of a winning situation (seen in week 2 and 3), which makes me feel like he still (understandably) struggles to make the right calls when under pressure. i therefore favor ham slightly in an equal matchup

tlenit (55) vs obii (45) - can anyone stop 4-0bii? he certainly has been playing well, however i do not always rate his teams; theyre never bad, but so far theyve consistently shown exploitable flaws that a smart builder should be able to catch on to. tlenit just might be that smart builder, always having a couple of his tricks up his sleeve that i feel can give him an advantage in the building stage. i therefore slightly favor him despite being the underdog in terms of w-l record

pokemonisfun (55) vs keppy (45) - dont rly know where pif is at rn with his playing and building, from pupl i mostly remember his crazy stall builds which in all fairness did not impress me too much, but luckily he is not the one-trick pony that he used to be known as back in the old days. keppy meanwhile has been playing for 4 weeks but hasnt made much of a lasting impression, often making awkward mistakes that no doubt come with one's first major team tour experience. difficult to predict this one but keppy's anti-momentum makes me want to give pif a slight edge, although if he plays confidently i can see keppy taking this just as easily