Project SS UU Research Week - UU RESEARCH - Week 42 Roost Hydreigon and Any sets Crobat - New System !

[Aariz]

SSRW27 Ivan (XD)- using both

 

[Mygrein]

do you ever feel like a plastic bag?

 

[BigFatMantis]

PERSONAL RESEARCH FINDINGS

TEAM HISTORY: I only used one team, kept it HO, for the duration of this research week.

TEAM:

SD Scizor



SETS USED:

Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Bug Bite

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SUMMARY: SD Scizor is the same-old same-old that we've always known it to be. I opted for Superpower and Bug Bite since I figured that would give it the most offensive presence. Bug Bite proved effective immediately as I OHKO'd a Tangrowth at +2 with it, and then OHKO'd a Milotic with Burn Marvel Scale. Superpower proves to be great neutral coverage for a lot of UU mons that Scizor's other moves don't hit - I got a OHKO on Keldeo and Magnezone with it. Bullet Punch is exactly what you remember it to be - easy over 50% damage to almost everything, certain OHKO to most things unresisted at +2.

The screens support really helps Scizor set up more effortlessly. Once veil was up, I could just send Scizor in whenever I wanted as long there were no fire moves at the moment. There were plenty of times where Scizor just swept an entire team after I got to just +2. +4 would be like a definitive sweep on anything without Quagsire (only did 42% to Quagsire with Bug Bite). Scizor was also serviceable even without any boosts, as it was easy to bring in whenever I needed a strong priority punch.

There's not much else to say about it - Scizor is really good, and can win games for you by itself.

NOTABLE REPLAYS:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1263922513 - SD Scizor at +2 OHKO's Tangrowth with Bug Bite
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1263926178 - SD Scizor OHKO's Burned Milotic at +2 Bug Bite
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1264537851 - Bug Bite dos 63% to Rotom-W at +2 while Scizor is burned
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1264541074 - Bug Bite dos only 42% to Quagsire
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1265819900 - Scizor about to shred an entire team even after Life Orb was knocked
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1263923846-x31lbo614kiblnqdq42yvjriw6661cqpw - Scizor doesn't even need boosts here to win
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1264521257-ikpbjwah5nwpky68bhdsbyw9jdhyf89pw - Superpower KO's Magnezone and Keldeo
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1264523581-baqnuojvqd8yvxoovpppkpv7lbhi7espw - Bullet Punch does 50% to Bisharp at +2 to KO.

CONCLUSION: Scizor is sort of ridiculous. It doesn't run the entire tier though - so I would put it at ALMOST S rank, but right below. So we're giving it an A++

OVERALL RATING: A++

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Mega Kick Diggersby



SETS USED:

Diggersby @ Life Orb
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Mega Kick
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack

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SUMMARY: Diggersby is really funny to use with Mega Kick because it does such stupid high damage when it hits. I just re-watched all of my replays, and I actually didn't miss a single Mega Kick in all of my fights. However, I also didn't use it THAT many times either, as other moves (Quick Attack) proved to be more serviceable most times.

The most notable things with Mega Kick were that I did 80% to Conkeldurr unboosted, 64% to Skarmory at +2, and OHKO'd Primarina unboosted. I also did 48% to a Tapu Bulu that was behind screens, which means it would have OHKO'd it after chip damage. Also did 80% to Amoonguss unboosted which was outstanding.

Like I said earlier though, the best thing for Diggersby to do is boost and use Quick Attack on most things. That's what I usually ended up doing. But in an emergency, having the Mega Kick can really change a fight around if you need to use it. Overall, Diggersby is just not as great though as other sweepers (Scizor, for example, is much better at a similar job). But the most important thing was that Mega Kick was really funny.


NOTABLE REPLAYS:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1264537851 - Mega Kick unboosted does 80% to Conkeldurr, and EQ takes out Jirachi
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1265818056 - +2 Mega Kick dos 64% to defensive Skarmory, but unboosted Quick Attack only does 19% to an enemy Scizor.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1264521257-ikpbjwah5nwpky68bhdsbyw9jdhyf89pw - Mega Kick does 48% to Tapu Bulu but through screens - probably close to OHKO without screens.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1264523581-baqnuojvqd8yvxoovpppkpv7lbhi7espw - This fight kicks - Mega Kick OHKO Primarina unboosted, and almost 80% to Amoonguss unboosted.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1264862964-wxetdpcs8u0zkr1ybkpokbghwzeqjhhpw - +2 Mega Kick only does 62% to Bewear
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1263951347 - This fight has nothing to do with Diggersby but my opponent used profanity on me at the end.


CONCLUSION: Diggersby isn't the worst. But it's also not the best. I wouldn't really use it on most teams, with or without Mega Kick, when there are better things available. But if you're facing it you have to be careful since it will output major damage whenever it comes out.

OVERALL RATING: B

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Anyone else doing this week - don't forget to post today, as it's the last day. Whatever research you found is probably acceptable.

 

[Aariz]

INTRO: hello I tested both a little with a bad ho team would've made a Scizor balance but was busy this week.

Diggersby



SETS USED:

Standard LO
Diggersby @ Life Orb
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Mega Kick
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack

Goat BlunderPolicy

Diggersby @ Blunder Policy
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Mega Kick
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch

SUMMARY: So Diggs is a weird one, it hits super hard with Mega Kick and eq but it has a hard time dealing with things faster than it, requiring it to have quick attack in its standard set. This is solved (kinda) by the one and only blunder policy, enabling it to get a +2 in atk and spe and commence an incredible sweep. Tbh it's kinda bad but it came through for me a couple of games so maybe it's good idk.

NOTABLE REPLAYS:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1264516707-is8w0mu5dbwnk2infu2vli7ckc40ez0pw - Footage of BlunderPolicy Diggs kicking ass. Literally.

CONCLUSION: Overall kinda meh, hits super hard ig and blunderpolicy is pog but loses to very common mons like Latias and Zeraora.

OVERALL RATING: B-
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Scizor



SETS USED:

BFM Edition
Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Superpower
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite

Me Edition
Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Dual Wingbeat
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off


SUMMARY: Scizor is an amazing mon, however I don't think it really shines in HO as much as it does in things like BO and balance but it's still pretty good with a super powerful priority move that can shred teams if they don't have a steel resist, although steel is the best typing in the meta rn. It struggles a bit against bulky pokemon that resist steel as it can't do much to them. BFM's bug bite is surprisingly good but I don't really like superpower that much bc the drops are sad, so I prefer my edition a bit more. Dual wingbeat can dunk things like tang, amoong and keld which is very nice. Knock off is amazing coverage hitting almost everything neutral alongisde dwb and bp (I'm looking at you bisharp).

NOTABLE REPLAYS:
I forgot that I was supposed to save all notable replays and not just replays in which they kick ass but I even forgot to save replays in which Scizor kicks ass bc it's not very surprising so no replays :(.

CONCLUSION: Very nice but gets T-posed on by a lot of mons in the meta, band is better than SD imo as it can just peace out of unfavourable matchups.

OVERALL RATING: A

I hit mid 1400s so it's not my peak but w/e

 

[Crushy]

TEAM HISTORY: I used two versions of the team, the second involving a different defensive core that could provide momentum with hopes of them being able to allow Diggersby to do what it is supposed to do.

TEAM 1:

V1

Diggersby @ Leftovers
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- High Horsepower
- Smack Down
- Mega Kick
- Spikes

Weezing-Galar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Strange Steam
- Pain Split
- Taunt

Rotom-Heat @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 240 HP / 52 SpD / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Pain Split
- Toxic

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Toxic

Bisharp @ Assault Vest
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Low Sweep
- Knock Off

Lycanroc-Dusk @ Life Orb
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Psychic Fangs
- Accelerock
- Stealth Rock

TEAM:

V2

Diggersby @ Leftovers
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- High Horsepower
- Smack Down
- Mega Kick
- Spikes

Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 232 Def / 28 Spe
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Knock Off
- Synthesis

Rotom-Heat @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 240 HP / 52 SpD / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Pain Split
- Toxic

Slowking @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Teleport
- Thunder Wave

Kommo-o @ Leftovers
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Spe
Impish Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Dragon Tail
- Body Press
- Protect

Lycanroc-Dusk @ Life Orb
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Psychic Fangs
- Accelerock
- Stealth Rock

Mega Kick Diggersby



SETS USED:

Diggersby @ Leftovers
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- High Horsepower
- Smack Down
- Mega Kick
- Spikes

-


SUMMARY: I saw that Diggersby learned spikes and so I decided to research how well it could set them up successfully. The main idea behind this set was to create a situation in which Diggersby could set up Spikes while maintaining some momentum for the team. The spikes would theoretically compensate for the lack of using SD or LO by turning Diggs into a breaker with its raw power in huge power. As for the circumstance that would allow a mon like Diggs to be able to set the spikes, I decided to also include the move Smack Down with hopes of applying pressure to the tier's most common hazard removal mons- primarily defoggers barring Tentacruel such as the Rotoms, Salamence, and Skarmory since smack down removes their immunity to Diggersby's ground stab. In other words, the theoretical circumstance would be to smack down as they bring in their defogger to force a switch that allows Diggs a free spike.

V1 of the team resulted in Diggersby rarely getting an opportunity to spike, so it ended up just being a sack most of the time in using that team. I figured this had to be based on the fact that Diggs does not really offer much defensive utility because of its typing, so it cannot necessarily just switch into something to spike stack freely. Additionally, the team had only one pivot with momentum (Rotom), which meant that Diggs essentially relied on rotom to bring it onto the field safely, which is easier said than done in practice. I decided to switch up the defensive core to complement Diggs' reliance on momentum to do what it's supposed to do, and who better to include than a Slowking with teleport.

V2 of the team had slightly better results than the first to where Diggs was not just the teams dedicated sack (as often). Diggs found good synergy with Slowking in being able to create the freedom that the set needed to at least get up one spike. Though the second spike being present was rare, a single spike coming from an unsuspecting mon In Diggersby in combination with stealth rocks was able to put enough pressure on the opponents for the rest of the team to finish strong in some matches. After Diggs did what it's supposed to in getting at least one spike up, the mon would become significantly more difficult to switch into assuming it stuck around later on in the match.

Though my time in testing this set was short due to a busy schedule this week, I think I was onto figuring out the kind of teams this set would thrive on in being voltturn/BO teams since the set is able to control the field dynamic in its favor rather well off of its teammates' momentum while having just the sheer strength that these kinds of teams can value a lot. I did not get to test out U-turn or Knock Off on this set, but I'd imagine this would be the next direction to take for anyone wanting to explore the potential of the set further.


NOTABLE REPLAYS: Only 3 replays since a lot of the other matches I had resulted in Diggs being sacked or not getting the opportunity to do anything.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1265803696-bzv25lkk6sqjspw8kzlttfpnctsgcdzpw Diggs got a spike up against a Sun team that allowed Kommo-o to waste sun turns and bash the opponent around with Dragon Tail, which let Lycanroc clean up nicely in the end.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1265787556-q4l7266o7uovtducsl8yeo6lfx6s8uvpw *** This replay highlighted just a lil taste of what the set can be capable of when Diggs was able to get 2 spikes up for once! This allowed it to significantly cripple a tang/slowking/quag core for Lycanrock to clean up at the end.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1265771925-62nmyoi0d2p8h6ncf62cvthlo0se7u0pw I tested out double SR here and Diggs got lucky in avoiding a specs draco from a Salamence after getting a spike up, so it was able to get some chip damage off on it and the combination of the hazards + Lycanrock and Diggs strength were enough to overwhelm the opponent's defensive backbone.



CONCLUSION: The set is useable, but requires proper support for it to actually find the opportunities to set up spikes and is not as splashable as its SD and CB variants.

OVERALL RATING: If SD and CB are S ranked, I give this spikes set a B+

 

[BigFatMantis]

ATTENTION ALL SCIENTISTS:​

Due to the massive amount of activities currently going on, we will be postponing the next Research Week until after Sunday, January 31st. And by activities I mean:

• Official Smogon Tournament still in Round 2
• UU Masters just beginning now
• UU Community Pool Tour still in Round 2
• Latias Suspect Test ongoing, AND
• UU Snake Finals this week

That is A LOT of stuff, and we don't need to pull people's focus. Two of those things will be over next week, and the other tournaments will be in further rounds with less people, so that will work better for everyone.

If you still haven't written a report for this week, feel free to do so until the weekend. Until then, see you on Sunday!

 

[KSt3ve]

(didn't even have time to do my own report -_-)
Week 28 ! Congratulations to Aariz for winning the week27 !

This week, along with the many other UU tournaments, was an opportunity to show the power and versatility of Scizor. Between BP, Knock-Off, U-turn, Superpower, Bug Bite and Dual Wingbeat, this pokemon is able to threaten all UU pokemons.
SD scizor is a very strong HO pokemon, able to easily place an SD on a large number of UU pokemons, and has a large number of different sweep moves. Most of the sets tested do not have roost, but this is still a very strong option to keep scizor alive.

For Mega Kick Diggersby, it's pretty funny. Many different sets have been tested. The set lo + sd showed the monstrous power of Diggersby, but also its drawbacks, like its speed and its difficulty to enter the field. A set with the spikes was tested to allow Diggersby to be useful, even against a huge counter like Skarmory. Finally, a funny set with the Blunder Policy has been tested to improve Diggersby's speed and take advantage of a Mega Kick miss to try to sweep.

The Mon :

Set - Dragon Dance

Salamence
Ability: Moxie
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dragon Dance
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Set - CM

Keldeo-Resolute
Ability: Justified
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
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Our first pokemon: Salamence. This pokemon has become very powerful in the metagame at the moment, able to threaten many pokemons with the combo hurricane + flam, to pivot with intimidation and defog. But today we're going to look at the Dance Draco set, a little forgotten but still very powerful. Moxie allows Salamence to sweep a team after a kill, making it very threatening. What are the pokemons that must accompany Salamence? HO or BO ? Roost + Dance Draco ?

Keldeo is our second choice, the many keldeo sets are very powerful, but keldeo is blocked by many pokemons like Slowking and Amoonguss. Cm will allow Keldeo to pass these counter? What are the advantages of cm compared to choice specs ?

New :

We've made Research Week easier than ever to participate now! All you need to do is copy the optional template below when you make your research findings post. Just copy, plug in your findings, and you're done! WOW so easy! (You are not obligated to use this template, you can still post in your own way however you feel).

Help to do a report

INTRO: (write a little blurb here, w/e you want)

ZAPDOS-GALAR



SETS USED:

Zapdos-Galar @ z
Ability: Defiant
EVs: x
x Nature
-
-
-
-

(Any other sets used, list those too)

SUMMARY: (include good cores, good matchups, bad matchups, etc.)

NOTABLE REPLAYS:
(link) - (add commentary, such as: "See here how Zapdos shows it is the bravest bird")
(link) - (add commentary, e.g. "Here Zapdos fails to be anything more than fried chicken")
(more replays - put as many as are relevant!)

CONCLUSION: (final thoughts)

OVERALL RATING: (w/e you want, D through S is standard but you can use whatever scale you prefer)
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SETS USED:

Nidoqueen @ z
Ability: x
EVs: x
x Nature
-
-
-
-

(Any other sets used, list those too)

SUMMARY: (include good cores, good matchups, bad matchups, etc.)

NOTABLE REPLAYS:
(link) - (add commentary, such as: "See here how Nidoqueen ascends to the throne")
(link) - (add commentary, e.g. "Here Nidoqueen has truly abdicated the crown")
(more replays - put as many as are relevant!)

CONCLUSION: (final thoughts)

OVERALL RATING: (w/e you want, D through S is standard but you can use whatever scale you prefer)

In order to participate you must do the following:

Post here with a fresh RW alt (such as SSRW28 Draconic or SSRW28 Cake) and the name(s) of the Pokemon you will be using.
Use at least one of the Pokemon being researched.
Post your experiences with the Pokemon you're using, participate in the discussion!
Post logs of this Pokemon in action against other teams - don't just tell us, show us
The winner of the challenge will be the person who has the highest ladder ranking on the Pokemon Showdown UU ladder with their RW alt at the time the challenge ends. Winners will also receive a permanent spot in this thread's Hall of Fame.
This week will end on February 7 at 11:59 PM GMT+0. Have fun everyone!!

 

[Rawbi]

SSRW28 ed money

mence sounds neat

 

[Aariz]

SSRW28 Dog
I've been wanting to see how good/bad dd mence actually is for a while now since it's very common in low ladder, will try to test both.

 

[BigFatMantis]

The Research Week Weekly Week Tournament Week Tournament will be scheduled for Wednesday at 3:00 PM GMT-5.

The theme will be Baton Pass - meaning that Baton Pass will be unbanned! To participate, simply be in the PS UU Room on Wednesday at 3:00 PM GMT-5! Good luck compadres!

(art by Nastyjungle like many years ago)​

 

[The Damned]

I'm signing up as SSRW28 Test Test because I'm a self-hating masochist. I'll do at least 40 games this time, though I am not touching ladder until the Latias suspect is done one way or the other.

I was considering doing Salamence since I basically never use Dragon Dance on anything, but since everyone else so far has said they'll do Salamence, I'll guess I'll stick with CM Keldeo, which is what I originally intended anyway. Shrug. We'll see.

 

[BigFatMantis]

RESEARCH WEEK 28 TOURNAMENT - BATON PASS!

Congratulations to Kitten Milk on winning the Week 28 Research Tournament! Special shout out to Mygrein on placing second!

Here is the finals replay: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1275472940

And here is a semifinals replay with baton pass spam: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1275463980

So how was life with Baton Pass re-introduced? As you can see from that semifinals replay, it was totally chaotic! Hatterene makes Baton Passing even more hilarious, as it is bulkier than Espeon. A continuous Baton Pass chain was seen in a few battles get things up to +3 or higher in all stats. This is truly 100% entertaining, but probably best if we kept it locked up in the ban vault for now. Perhaps someday, in a new generation, we can unleash Baton Pass to the world again.

Thank you to everyone who participated!

And be sure to sign up for Research Week 28 below! We are looking at Dragon Dance Salamence and Calm Mind Keldeo! Don't be left behind - sign up today!

 

[BigFatMantis]

Signing up as SSRW28 Mantclick

Will try to use both, but may focus on Salamence.

 

[Rae]

SSRW28Magnum

Mantis sold me through excellent advertising. I'll try use both, but i'll focus on Keld

 

[KM]

ssrw28 kitten

 

[scorbunnys]

SSRW28 Sebilin1125

 

[Mystras]

SSRW28 Frenzy, I'm back 0-0
I'm focusing more on Keldeo, and maybe later mence

 

[The Damned]

INTRO: So! This...kind of sucked for me (again). Not as much as last time, where laddering was about as pleasant as I imagine sandpapering my face for hours on end would be, but gods my luck today was atrocious. I am naturally "unlucky", so I normally try not to comment on it or exaggerate about it. As such, I am being literal when I say that I missed at least two-thirds of the Overheats I attempted alone. I think I might have only inflicted Burn like six times in 60+ uses of Scald as well despite getting Burned like half of the time opposing Scalds so much as glanced in my general direction, to the point that I lost one of my very last games to a Tentacruel Burning two mons and Poisoning Keldeo all on the first try. Good times. This makes me glad that I passed on testing Salamence given how much I would doubtless have missed a bunch of critical Dual Wingbeats today and promptly died for it.

Granted, it was probably a stupid idea to force myself to get this all out of the way on one day (again), especially when I couldn't care less about the superbowl tomorrow beyond generic well wishes that people stay safe and be responsible. Still, I just wanted to not let this linger for once until the very last day (again), and Latias's fate getting decided only yesterday had nothing to do with me probably tilting more than a pinball machine in an earthquake because of the RNG hating me even more than usual today. I would hope that the end results aren't too marred by that misfortune and/or by a mediocre team besides, but that's what other testers are for even if I think my results would probably be the same as far as the research into CM Keldeo itself went in those 42 matches.

(Note to self: Do UU Survey some time tonight after you've listened to calming music enough for your replies to be actually constructive instead of just kvetching. Like, really calm. Really calm.)

KELDEO(-RESOLUTE)

SET USED:
Keldeo(-Resolute) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Substitute

SUMMARY: Much like the last ill-fated time with Thundurus-Incarnate a month ago, I basically decided to test a set that I thought other people would forego testing since the set itself was likely to have issues; like I said, self-hating masochist here. In this case, however, the set is the supposed Keldeo set for this gen's OU rather than a random RU set from Gen 7. It still definitely had issues despite this. Boy, did it have a lot of them, at least in the sense that there are a lot of mons that resist both of Keldeo's STABs at once incidentally, many of which are quite common in the UU metagame and at least two of which have Regenerator, that scourge.

Unlike Thundurus-Therian, however, given this problem was expected rather than me trying to build around using an ability that ended up basically never being relevant and dragged the mon and team because of it, type disadvantages are something you can actually build around and are the entire point of having different mons on a team in the first place (outside of Hyper Offense I guess). As such, I guess I'll introduce the team here:

https://pokepast.es/13d79d7c0611e29f
(Apparently neither regular Keldeo nor Moltres-Galar show up on Pokepaste at present despite Moltres-Galar just being "Moltres but emo" unlike the drastic visual changes to the two other birds. What.)

I started with Sleep Talk Moltres-Galar in part because it seemed the best catch-all bet to all of the Regenerator mons that give Keldeo such grief with only its STABs to rely upon for offense, Slowbro-Galar aside (though Moltres-Galar beats that too if it lacks Calm Mind. To be honest, I had mostly just wanted to try Sleep Talk Moltres-Galar for a while since I'm basically a balance player at heart, which is certainly my loss in this current meta. I couldn't find the EVs for it that were given to me one or two mons ago, so I just used the EVs I found via Search that are apparently in the recent Snake team dump thread. So thanks to KSt3ve for posting those even if I ended up changing out Nasty Plot for Air Slash in rather short order.

Having stubbornly decided on Moltres-Galar as Keldeo's partner in crime, Nidoqueen was immediately decided upon due to the obvious Zeraora problem while also getting Stealth Rock out of the way, though as I lament against Sebilin, given all the Heavy Duty Boots around, I'm not sure why I bother most of the time. After that, however, I floundered almost immediately (as always) beyond figuring that I'd probably use my crutch of Sylveon (as always), especially because I knew Keldeo would get forced out a lot. It was finally last night that I decided reluctantly on Scizor since I figured that if Latias did get banned, which it did, then I needed an answer to Kyurem, which would likely become more popular, just coming in for free against two mons. Rotom-Heat got tacked on at the end just because I needed hazard removal and another Fire resist--preferably not weak to Psychic--given Victini is unfortunately still here in UU too, but gods, I had to change the weird pivot EVs in Teambuilder to max Speed rather quickly due to Gyarados being a nightmare for this team as is; the same changes had to be made in making Sylveon maximally physically defensive since the default Teambuilder EVs for "Cleric" are half-and-half in defenses, which is...not great (for this team at least).

With that said, despite Keldeo being "walled" by literally at least a dozen different UU-usable mons, it surprisingly wasn't as dead weight as Thundurus-Incarnate was as a whole or Regieleki was/is against Ground types, even if my luck with Scald burns today was nonexistent (unless they were burning me of course) and even if there were many instances where I faced a team with two or more mons that resisted both its STABs. In fact, in one match, I faced a team that had four such mons, which was also stall and was almost as bad as running into mono-Ground with Regieleki that one time.

Still, as you will see in my replays, Sub with Calm Mind most likely doesn't do enough in this current UU meta when it comes to Keldeo, my misplays and horrible luck aside:

Notable Replays (and my even lengthier blathering)

NOTABLE REPLAYS:
01. It takes until my fifth game for Keldeo to really stand out, but it slaughters the opposing team here. Not a grand accomplishment given it's low ladder, as evidenced by Scald doing that much to Quagsire, but given I ran into Water Absorb, physical Quagsire right before that (and won since it was backed by Nasty Plot Thundurus-T with Fly and Sacred Sword Terrakion), I'll take what I can get. If nothing else, then this match allowed me to confirm that Scald against Rotom-Heat isn't a guaranteed OHKO like I suspected--who needs calcs?: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277466820-874i534ydjhpq2ncciou5l4ulq8pjq1pw

02. This is the game where I decide that Moltres-Galar really needs Air Slash on this team or else Azumarill is a huge problem, especially my lack of luck with Scald already. I only really won this or at least did so "convincingly" because my opponent misplays with both Nidoqueen and Zeraora: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277469475-uagose75uljiajuih286l0n1qeb27hvpw

03. Another indicator of my horrible luck today was running into what could only be Assault Vest Gyarados of all things. It's part of what made me not realize how much slower the default EVs for Rotom-Heat make it than actual Gyarados, which ended up biting me a couple of matches later until I actually changed its EVs and Sylveon's EVs: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277473509-5l2z4bons5yljdxdu0an956abv6ahbnpw

04. I am posting this less because of Keldeo's real use in this match and more because I've literally never seen anyone use Wonder Room before, which can be surprisingly...annoying. Sub on Keldeo at least helped it scout and run Wonder Room down though, even if Mantine of course having Air Slash of all things kept Keldeo from actually accomplishing much. It also think that between this match and last I turned Scizor Jolly expecting to run into Magnezone again, so of course I never did: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277477386-sfu6d7ad2u8c765flak1a8kq18v28b2pw

05. One of the more discouraging losses, especially since it was one of the few matches where my Scald actually burned, given it revealed that Keldeo's stick-thin subs can't remain standing against Scarf Rotom-Wash's Volt Switch even at +3. Dhelmise being part of the loss was just insult to injury: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277482544-c6fp0dbwkns0s4vpuy992r7f9hfvhkipw

06. I was surprised to learn after this match the crit against Kyurem might not have actually mattered since Sacred Sword does like 75% minimum even against SubRoost: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277489379-rapo9dprd7kyqxofc8zwh3drovro3wxpw

07. The unluckiness continues outside of my opponent throwing away their likely victory with Victini with an extremely odd, ill-timed switch. It also ended up being this match where I was made aware that Berserk only triggers on direct damage, at least on PS, which makes Sleep Talk Moltres-Galar slightly less appealing: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277493952-hrkwcz8arzjdsfdd7tl6bivswh0sbxipw

08. The sad saga of "Ugh. Keldeo's subs suck (even after Calm Mind)" continues, though thankfully it didn't actually matter in this match since Jirachi probably would have haxed me to death otherwise like it usually does when using Iron Head if I didn't finally get a Scald burn:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277506392-djf7rhbnkwe9wib8wkbj2k2m9m0cm6epw

DISCLAIMER WARNING: Stall
09. This is the aforementioned match where four of six opposing mons "wall" Keldeo's STABs, with the last two being the two (other) bulkiest mons the tier has to offer. Gross. Of course, the most annoying aspect of stall is more the two Regenerators than it is Chansey, though Chansey can of course burn. I only "won" this due to getting Knock Off on Celesteela on turn 1, a Burn on Tapu Bulu for once, and my opponent misplaying quite a lot after that, such as getting overzealous with Toxic Spikes when I obviously have a Poison type, letting Tentacruel die in general, and other numerous mistakes--not that I played "perfectly" either: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277513342-z8xkb8q2zqcnvqokbzxkew2ziv96k1spw

10. To this set's credit, Keldeo apparently wins CM Sub wars against Suicune...if it doesn't get Burned off the bat like always since my luck is horrible and was even more so today. Sigh: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277520717-0srctejvwtjqz998o6hc3hdm64m1p5spw

11. I actually ran into someone else not in Research Week having the misfortune of using Sub CM Keldeo in UU, which means only one person using Sub CM Keldeo can use. Yay!: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277531273-998kix0q5vz3sxxdd6mlptzygjjahm5pw

12. Keldeo doesn't even get to set up against Defog Salamence because of course this person was using Hurricane, though I'm legitimately not sure if that's just my luck being that bad or Flamethrower on the Defog set being on downtick despite Latias leaving: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277536063-ee64nd29ehrfb7hijbd4whi8wd5h7zrpw

DISCLAIMER WARNING: Researcher on Researcher violence (vs. Aariz)
13. And, like always, it comes down speed ties hating me where it counts, even for research week. Whee!: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277544348-05nictdqrj434mdtv5uscqnivafs971pw

DISCLAIMER WARNING: Researcher on Researcher violence (vs. Pokesabe)
14. Two Sylveons engage in a shouting war that maims and kills and heals all their friends while their trainers blithely discuss Sylveon's merit in the current UU and how underwhelming Dual Wingbeat has ultimately seemed on Salamence: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277547784-3sq0rgjs3n640702s95xe8sl78ec5gzpw

15. CM Keldeo is such a threat to Suicune that the latter ends up running away for half of the match, though the real takeaway from this match is that Heavy Duty Boots make Salazzle as well really obnoxious and dangerous: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277563272-d6ns3581u3uhv8vwpv80mn6gvqemztnpw

16. Finally, a Scarf Primarina above 1300? My luck truly knows no (negative) bounds: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277586005-tlrptj0kwega0ynatbj3souj20kmizjpw

(Not featured:
a. Getting murdered by Sub Golisopod + Roserade in my second game due to misplaying
b. losing to Shift Gear Toxtricity for my third game
c. playing extremely poorly against Ramolost and getting murdered by Terrakion for it since my mind was so laser focused on the lesser threats of Kyurem and Reuniculus
d. having my fortieth match of the night that was originally going to be my final one end up as an avoidable loss against Sun--I ran into so much Sun today--because I had a brainfart versus Agility Metagross that was obviously Weakness Policy. Said brainfart caused me to me misclick Air Slash, which of course missed anyway, instead of annihilating it with Fiery Wrath. Thus I then got reverse swept by +2 Speed, +1 Attack Metagross since everything else was either on its last legs or weak to its attacks. Fun times.)

CONCLUSION: Amoonguus. Azumarill. Gyarados. Lati--oh wait. Primarina. Salamence. Slowking. Tapu Bulu. Tentacruel. These are all the pokemon that automatically resist both of Keldeo's STABs just among the mons that are officially recognized as part of UU, which means that this list is not even counting the mons that aren't officially UU yet still usable in it (like, say, Roserade or Sylveon) that also resist both STABs. I mean, one of my above replays has me essentially losing a match because my opponent was using Dhelmise of all things.

Besides that grand annoyance, Keldeo isn't exactly OHKOing things left and right as it is. It hits decently hard, yes, but not absurdly enough that Specs's loss isn't keenly felt. Sure, one Calm Mind is equivalent to Specs, but you won't really get to set it up that often (if at all), at least on the likely poor version of Balance that this was, handicapped as it was for not just relying upon a Regenerator duo core that's unfortunately still all the rage--sigh, I'll save that for the survey. Similarly, the above list of almost a dozen mons isn't even counting the additional ones that automatically threaten non-Scarf Keldeo out automatically, such as Victini (which you basically have to assume is Scarf until you see Boots or, I guess, Life Orb) or Zeraora. As such, Keldeo lacking that stupid Flip Turn move that shouldn't exist becomes a bit of momentum drain rather easily, especially when it's stuck with two selfish set-up moves that only help itself. So, it's...not great.


OVERALL RATING: That said, I think it would be rather unfair to rate Sub CM Keldeo (and only Sub CM Keldeo) below a C in the current UU meta. It might maybe even be a +C on a team better built than my own was on this unlucky day. Despite all its weaknesses, it's still Keldeo, which means it's at least "decent", especially when both Water and Fighting are both good typings to be and to have as STABs and if Scald actually burns for you even 30% of the time like it's "supposed" to do. So despite expecting Sub CM Keldeo be underwhelming from the beginning, I ended up oddly a bit "impressed" with it not sucking as much as I thought I would. Maybe that's just the previous trainwreck of testing Defiant Thundurus-Incarnate giving me an unusually rosy picture, especially since that particular research testing was less a trainwreck and more a Hindenburg-style blimp crash, cries of "oh, the humanity!" and all.

That said, I think that Substitute Keldeo could work decently in UU. It's just that it doesn't work (well) with the last move being the mandated Calm Mind unless you really, really want a Water type that can beat Suicune without having to rely on Water Absorb. That doesn't seem worth it, however, over just using either Specs Keldeo or perhaps Sub with 3 Attacks or Toxic. Shrug. I hope other people had better luck with Calm Mind Keldeo and in general than I did.


P.S. GGs again to Aariz and Pokeseba. Stay safe everyone. [/of course]

 

[Aariz]

INTRO: hi hello used a few variations of this team . Considered using a webs team with airslash keldeo but ehh.

Keldeo-Resolute



SETS USED:

Keldeo-Resolute @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Secret Sword

SUMMARY: I've always seen keldeo as a meh mon in HO, outclassed by primarina and zeraora in sub shenanigans and with not-so-great coverage in scald and secretsword, but my research proved me otherwise. While there are a million things that resist its stabs it can actually still set up and 1v1 some of them, particularly subbing on slowking and laughing as it desperately tries to futuresight and scald to break your sub but to no avail. Secretsword is a godsend allowing it to dunk on steela, chansey etc and also provide fighting stab which is great. You could run surf or something instead of scald but the 30% burn chance is probably better than 10 bp. Sub is better than coverage imo because of Keldeo's good defensive typing which resists a ton of mons, making sub usually worthwhile. With its high spa keldeo hits hard after a couple boosts whether its resisted or not, and can easily sweep if you don't keep it in check. Latias being exiled helps it a lot too since one of it was very common and could easily check keldeo. Keldeo is also very satisfying to sweep with for some reason and I still can't figure out why.

NOTABLE REPLAYS:
Footage of Keldeo dunking:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277174724
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277190866
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277194124
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277544348-05nictdqrj434mdtv5uscqnivafs971pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277551417


CONCLUSION: Pretty good, the regen meta rn hurts it a lot though. Good for clearing specific mons in ho to allow your other sweepers to sweep more easily.

OVERALL RATING: A-
-


SETS USED:

Salamence @ Heavy-Duty Boots/Lum Berry
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Dual Wingbeat
- Earthquake

SUMMARY: Dd mence is one of those mons overlooked in mid and high ladder but surprisingly common in low ladder and can dunk you when you least expect it. It's been "overshadowed" by Gyara as a dd sweeper ever since dlc2 came out, but imo it's just as good if not better. While dualwingbeat isn't that good of a stab at 80bp and 90% accuracy it's certainly better than fly. Outrage is an awesome last-ditch effort move that deals a ton of damage even if resisted, and can effortlessly sweep a game if all the dragon resists are gone. Eq is great coverage and because of the relative lack of eq in the tier many teams are weak to it which is great for mence. However the omnipresent celesteela (and the occasional skarmory) is a very sad thing for mence, but spd steela still cares about a usually boosted outrage to the face. Lum is an option to offset the confusion by outrage but being safe from boots is better imo. Fire fang (and blast) exist to possibly dunk steela and skarm but the weakness to the rotoms and worse coverage aren't worth it. If it gets going it's one of the strongest sweepers in the tier, and honestly I don't get why everyone thinks dd mence sucks.

NOTABLE REPLAYS:
Footage of Salamence dunking:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277176119-w5migygc42f6ln6hmmc91p2fzzti9ljpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277553481
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277556364
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277713817-4mputgnfzff3bevhj4k4fc4w8ddmakxpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277750976


CONCLUSION: Great at sweeping, hits very hard after a boost or two and not much in the meta is actually prepared for it.

OVERALL RATING: A

Exclusive extra replays!!!:

Tag team dunk by Mence and Keldeo: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277191830
The Scizor dunk that was missing from my last week's post :) : https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277714753

Ladder peak:

 

[Rawbi]

So I tried Salamence this week. I'm afraid I don't have much to say due to some time restraints on laddering and general frustration, but here's my two cents.

@ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dual Wingbeat
- Earthquake
- Outrage

I...am not a big fan of this set. Its most spammable move, Dual Wingbeat, has such lousy BP that it doesn't threaten much without a boost. EQ is fine, that's just standard coverage for Steels. Outrage can be more dangerous for you than your opponent, because if your opponent has a Fairy you lose a turn and potentially your Mence. Celesteela hard walls you, and while I tried a team with Magnezone support...oof, that mon really fell from grace.

The team I used:



No replays because aforementioned time restraints.

idk, from playing this set I feel like while if it does take off it can be very hard to stop, but it doesn't have many opportunities to set up, it's susceptible to all forms of priority and status, and it's too weak without a boost.

I rate this set a B. I'm sure better teambuilders can make this work, but I'm not one of them.

 

[BigFatMantis]

PERSONAL RESEARCH FINDINGS

TEAM HISTORY:

TEAM 1:
TEAM 2:


Salamence



SETS USED:

Salamence @ Lum Berry
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Dual Wingbeat
- Earthquake

-

SUMMARY: I used it for like 5 fights and then got rid of it. It was just dying too quickly, and my team really lacked a definitive Nihilego answer somehow. I pulled off one clean sweep with it, but the enemy team has to have no Skarmory or Celesteela for you to realistically be able to do that. So I don't really want to comment much on this or rate it, since I admittedly did not give it a fair shot.

NOTABLE REPLAYS:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1276498531 - Mence popped by +2 Slowbro-G
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1276508514 - Mence popped by +1 Nihilego Sludge Wave
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1276510013 - Mence finally gets a clean sweep

CONCLUSION: It might be good, but you really need to build a team around it. It is not splashable on HO - you have to build a team focused on using DD Mence for it to gain any traction

OVERALL RATING: (not rating)

-
-
-

Calm Mind Keldeo



SETS USED:

Keldeo @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Secret Sword

-


SUMMARY: Keldeo, I thought, was actually quite nice. The combination of using it under screens, while using Calm Mind, made it consistently able to put up Substitutes that were not broken by Amoonguss Giga Drains. Celesteela was also easy set up food for Keldeo usually. And with Latias gone, there were few threats to it once it was set up. Scarf Jirachi w/ Zen Headbutt is one, but it's not common (and bad). Alakazam with Psyshock is probably the most dangerous threat, but it is not used a lot on the ladder, and Keldeo can still threaten it if it has a Substitute up. Tapu Bulu is a more common threat, and it needs to be removed from the game before Keldeo can set up, so Keldeo needs some good teammates to help do this.

Even when not boosted, Keldeo still dealt decent damage. Did 80% to Victini with Scald unboosted, meaning if I was using Hydro Pump I would probably KO. Fighting + Water coverage is also very good late game if other threats gone. The typing is good defensively too, as only Bulu threatens it from a Grass perspective since you can just set up against Amoonguss/Tangrowth.

Overall, I think a Calm Mind Keldeo on a Hyper Offense team can cause some real damage, and fits well with all the other breakers and sweepers that you use. Its unique typing can let you slot it in on almost any offensive oriented build. This may be the time, with Latias gone, that Keldeo can thrive some.


NOTABLE REPLAYS:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277538717-om19yszvpbvebqytdw1trzvrnrinzi5pw - Scald unboosted does 79% to Victini, but Keldeo still loses
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1276498531 - Keldeo comfortably sets up on Jirachi/Amoonguss.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277543474 - Keldeo sets up on what appears to be an Offensive Amoonguss w/ Energy Ball
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277741487 - Keldeo sets up easily on Celesteela
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277745770 - Keldeo cleans late game without boosts or screens
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277747729 - Keldeo's typing and presence help close out the game
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277754557 - Keldeo sets up on another Amoonguss and cleans a sun team (takes only 38% from Tbolt after several Calm Minds)


CONCLUSION: While Keldeo is great, it is not going to run over the entire tier without support. So I give it a solid A, but not A+.

OVERALL RATING: A

-
-
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Codename Magnum Mystras Leoxses Pokeseba Kitten Milk don't forget to post your findings - today is technically the last day, so get them in as soon as you can.

 

[Rae]

I was also in a bit of a rush this week as well, so when i came to laddering i really freaked out. Peaked at roughly 1300 and did about 40 more battles then I should've. Regardless, the goal of those battles (which i sadly don't have the replays of due to having to go to school and if i got caught on smogon i'd die) was to conduct research. So how did this fine horse do?

The team: https://pokepast.es/2df0f9b41a8e8453



Keldeo-Resolute @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword

Keldeo definitely isn't a one trick pony, it has a few good sets that can be used well, most notably Specs and SubCM. This Keld set is definitely a bit risky, with missing Hydro Pump costing me quite a lot of games. The accuracy issues can be fixed, replacing hydro with scald if you don't like living on the wild side.

This set is walled by a decent amount of defensive mons, with the main stops being Tangrowth and Slowking. Despite what most people found, Tentacruel was actually setup fodder for Keldeo, and in most games with Tenta that's how I won. Back to Tang and King, i wanted to build a team that could deal with both, and Zera+Tini do that quite well together. Scarf Krook is our form of speed control, which came in handy against opposing Zeraora, Victini, Nidoqueen and a fair amount of other threats. Kommo-o and Celesteela give us a defensive backbone, not too much to explain here.

In my honest opinion, SubCM Keldeo isn't as good as the Specs set. It can definitely be a good win con for teams, but I found finding something to sub up on a little hard and its not quite as "unga bunga" as the Specs set. Still a very good set, I'm rating it B+/A-

 

[scorbunnys]

So, i have tried both, Salamence and Keldeo, i'd wanna share my thoughts about both:
My team:
(click the sprites for paste)

Salamence Set

Salamence @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Dual Wingbeat
- Earthquake

This boi has a good coverage, Outrage + Dual Wingbeat + Earthquake can hit a good part of the meta that isn't Celesteela/Skarmory, that sounds good on paper but...
Overall, Salamence has been pretty mediocre, yes, DD + Outrage can be a cleaner but i find it inconsistent and easy to play around, Outrage can be hard stopped by fairy and they are pretty good, yes, Dual Wingbeat hurts those but now, Rotom-Heat / Rotom-Wash walls it, Rocky Helmet mons are also everywhere btw.
Also, boost it is kinda hard tbh, with Mamoswine and Krookodile Scarf Stone Edge running out, you need to play it with extreme caution, priority really cripples it.
Another problem that Salamence has it's that it's item slot is pretty hard to pick, i picked HDB because then you get at least better longevity, due to being able to switch with rocks on the field, however, it'd would like to have Lum Berry too, for avoid status, but then you have an even worse longevity.
Overall a really disappointing mon with a bunch of flaws, however, it can sweep if you are able to play it with caution, but i just do not like it.
Some Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277963188 (Salamence scaring out HO, tbh i had a bunch of luck in this replay, with the crit on Grimmsnarl with Hyper Voice Pixilate and Bounce failing on Salamence)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1278071338 (Salamence being hard-walled by Celesteela, however SubSeed isn't too common but even with or without it Salamence is walled)
Overall Rating: B-

Keldeo Set

Keldeo @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Substitute

Pony SubCM is other history ngl, while it can be kinda underwhelming in some MUs and kinda RNG-reliant (for Scald burns), is still better than expected, it can break stall pretty well, Substitute avoids status, so mons such as Chansey can't TWave / Toxic it, so if you can worn down the Tangrowth (it can do this job by itself if gets a burn + manages to get a sub), it can be pretty threatning.
However, little pony has one issue, it's speed tier is not bad, but slower than Zeraora and Keldeo is KOed by Plasma Fits almost always (252 Atk Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 320-380 (99 - 117.6%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO) and it's weak to Moltres Galar (tho chicken hates burns, specially in non-Rest variants), making it not too good vs Hyper Offense.
Overall, a mon with some flaws that can be patched-up in the teambuilder (Future Sight + This Keldeo is pretty powerful), but definitely pretty good and i can say that is as good as the Specs Set.
Some Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1278664673-xv1h7uxsdh6tayi9idk080l78q3yutipw (Able to get rid to 3 mons)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1278659854-zjfkzqw212bn2szqzvf8u10g6qwfaokpw (Able to clean the Late-game)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1278071338 (Same replay than the Salamence's one, in this replay Keldeo was able to pressure Chansey and get rid of it, annoys Amoonguss a bit and gets rid of Quagsire)
Overall Rating: A+

Short Reasoning about the other members of this team:

The defogger and the way to deal with Scizor of this team, the spread is the standard pivot defensive one, i just stealed it from smogon so idk about it the spread.

The cleric wisher of this team, it's also the Kyurem check of the team, 124+ SpDef is for take two Hydro Pumps from Keldeo if theres no rocks, 132 Def is for increase the bulk overall, tho if ur running Mystical Fire, it can act as a emergency-check for Scizor, 132 Def takes a Bullet Punch from Scizor Life Orb Adamant while Mystical Fire it's KOing it.

The Speed control, the rocker and the electric inmunity of the team, it has a good coverage with access to Earthquake + Knock Off to invalidate some of its checks and Intimidate is pretty good ability.

Overall a pretty good pokemon, it can keep momentum, can check a plenty of threats such as Keldeo, Nidoqueen, Jirachi and Kommo-O, FuturePort helps to keep a good offensive pressure, something that helps Keldeo / Salamence a bunch.

Thank you for read!.

GG

Also gg The Damned

 

[KM]

BigFatMantis found me on ladder and bullied me into making this post so here we go!

Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dual Wingbeat
- Earthquake
- Outrage

TEAM: https://pokepast.es/478244c883bb2b76

ran this set on an HO team -- as Mantis said, it proved super inconsistent. some games it would singlehandedly win me the game, other times it'd be dead weight. I think the beauty of most other salamence sets is that they do what they do really effectively AND are still useful even in situations where there's a negative matchup or a counter. DD Mence kind of fell short of that requirement, and I probably wouldn't run it in the future unless it fit every niche I was looking for in a team.

 

[Mystras]

INTRO: Ok so I joined in a little later than I usually would mostly, because I sure as hell was not going to start doing this as Latias was still in the tier and everyone and their mother was spamming it I already liked Keldeo CM + 3 attacks sets, but wanted to go over Sub just to see if I would run into mono- Future Sight Slowking. I did, and it was funny.



SETS USED:
Keldeo @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Substitute

SUMMARY:
Keldeo was probably the most fun thing to try out after a hiatus on here. I did not expect it to pull off as much work as it did, but granted I only landed on low ladder for this week so I shouldn't be surprised. Regardless, Keldeo's speed tier is great against many of the unboosted offensive threats right now like Thundurus and Victini. Its STAB moves got immensely more powerful now that its biggest counter Latias is now out of the tier, along with its Speed tier being more standout.

Good Cores
+
This core is pretty good at forcing out Grass-types into Pokemon Keldeo can threaten like Rotom-H, and gives Keldeo a good entry into Slowking with Victini, as well as just annoying in general to play around.

Good Matchups
(Without Psyshock)
It's kind of simple, Keldeo takes advantage of its resistances and uses them as setup fodder when behind a Sub. You have more leeway against Scarf Rachi thanks to Lefties recovery, Scizor players would be dumb to leave their mon locked into Bullet Punch to let Keldeo Scald for free, and Slowking players had better play something like Tapu Bulu alongside it if they are running mono-Future Sight because it will not end pretty having that as your only Keldeo switchin.

Bad Matchups
(with Psyshock)
Sure Tapu Bulu doesn't like burns but Horn Leech is still threatening you; Keldeo does still win out in the long term if the Scald burn takes effect and Tapu Bulu's Grassy Terrain actually helps Keldeo more than it does Bulu so this is the weakest check compared to the other Grass-types. Amoonguss can still break your sub through 2 CM boosts and Tang can break it even after 3. If you're brave enough to try to setup another CM after they broke your Sub, and not fear the potential toxic or sleep, be my guest. I never fought Prima but I'm willing to bet you need to wear it down first before Keldeo has a shot at beating the opposition. Slowking goes from a nonissue to a pain if it runs Psyshock so its best to have another teammate to threaten Slowking as backup.

NOTABLE REPLAYS:
I only won here cause I got the speed tie after I forgot to add Psyshock on my Slowking. After the same thing repeated except where my own Keld was using his Slowking as fodder, I managed to break a wide enough hole in his team for the rest of my team to put in work. Just an FYI, if you're gonna use Sludge Bomb Krookodile, use Naive over Jolly so that it can actually deal with Tangrowth.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277057180-jkpz7h1gbiipktfytb8ikx6gw26jso7pw

If you use Suicune, you are officially a beta male using a knock off brand of the real deal. After he locked me into a boosted attack I was gonna spam anyways he quickly fled the scene before I could mock him.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277074699-a8r8mdft5x29rvbn2jfie8wn2lofn1rpw

This was before the Lati ban was implemented on ladder, but it's just helpful to know in general that Keldeo can be a better threat to Hyper Offense in the late game thanks to its great speed tier.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277138064-qf0ag7benv1xhrrj8f8o9wnze2646chpw

This is sort of what I mean by Substitute Keldeo taking total advantage of players who are just complacent on mono Future Sight Slowking to deal with it, he just lets me setup for basically free. Hell, I actually misplayed here too, had I CMed again before the Future Sight instead of killing Amoonguss, I would have potentially swept his team by setting up another Sub if I won the speed tie against Terrak.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1277468607-fe42rbt20x86caobdbpcrbj35ac1osupw


https://pokepast.es/fb1604b06a821ab0
Team: You got your basic annoying offensive core, I already mentioned Scizor and Victini are a great offensive core together and they help let Keldeo in on what its supposed to threaten. Krook is there cause it's Krook. I tried Sludge Bomb because it bait and murder Tang or Bulu , and I did like it surprisingly enough, but I ran into demon Mew once and went right back to Taunt. If you want, make it Scarf so it can provide some speed control but I like switch my moves after settin Stealth Rocks. Mence is the only decent defogger we have here, I tend to run these more offensive variants because it makes them less passive in front of hazard setters like Nidoqueen. I'm using Tangrowth over Slowking cause I got swept by Gyarados once, BB Skarm recommended it to me, and I really like how it gave my team a solid backbone after.

CONCLUSION: This variant of Keldeo is solid, its STAB moves are much more vicious now that Latias is gone, with even its defensive counterplay now being potentially overwhelmed by its potential coverage.

OVERALL RATING: A+