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The UU Dark Horse Project

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I'm hovering around 1330 right now (finally getting the swing of things on my team). Zangoose is ZanBOSS. No seriously though, Zangoose is pretty strong, especially after a Shell Smash boost. This replay shows how he can turn a game around very quickly.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-123740564

A +2 Toxic Boosted STAB Facade is going to hurt. It 2HKO just about everything.

+2 252 Atk Toxic Boost Zangoose Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Aggron: 150-177 (43.6 - 51.4%) -- 7.4% chance to 2HKO (I run close combat as well).

+2 252 Atk Toxic Boost Zangoose Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 394-464 (100 - 117.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252 Atk Toxic Boost Zangoose Quick Attack vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Honchkrow: 303-357 (88.5 - 104.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252 Atk Toxic Boost Zangoose Quick Attack vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Absol: 271-321 (100 - 118.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252 Atk Toxic Boost Zangoose Quick Attack vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mienshao: 271-321 (100 - 118.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

These are the bulkiest of mons and the fastest mons and revenge killers. Facade and Quick Attack OKHO most of them easily.
 
Alt: DaenerysWing
Dark Horses: Cinccino, Moltres, Gardevoir & Tentacruel. 8,56%
Above 4% Usage: Hippowdon, Mienshao. 20,14%
Final usage stats: 28,7%

Edit: Not even going to fuckin bother to do this, 3 hax losses at 1100+ rank is enough, fuck dat.
 
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I'm up to over 50 battles now, peaking at 1560 so far. Getting 1600 shouldn't be a problem with these Dark Horses.

Follow-up on Kyurem: I've taken more and more to using it as a hyper-aggressive lead. It has the power to break through almost anything with proper prediction and the only leads it really fears are Hydreigon and Salamence, and the only walls it has trouble with even with proper prediction are Umbreon and Snorlax. Provided I'm not dealing with one of these four (admittedly common) Pokemon, I can usually secure a KO at the beginning of the game, albeit often taking a bunch of damage in the process to leave Kyurem to be foddered when most convenient. Against Florges players I can typically gain massive momentum if they switch straight away into a predicted Iron Head, without even losing Kyurem. Furthermore, as a lead it doesn't have to worry about hazards being cleared, which is a huge boon. I'm fairly happy with it in this role.
 
Alt: Housing DH
Dark Horses: Emboar (0.64428%), Zoroark (1.06293%)
Above 4% Usage: Cloyster (5.95678%), Mienshao (14.61483%), Ampharos (7.61294%), Azelf (4.72509%)
Usage Total: 34.61685%
 
Remember to bring those screenshots once you guys hit your peaks to be added to the Hall of Fame
 
I'm not sure if I'm going to get much higher than 1330. But, here's another Zangoose Sweep!

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-123966522

Here's the breakdown of the team:

Goal of team:
ShellSmash to Success or MoxieSnowballEffect

Team (Dark Horses in bold): Smeargle, Zangoose, Gorebyss, Nidoqueen, Honchkrow, Krookodile.

Set Up Pokes: Smeargle and Gorebyss
Wall Breakers/Sweepers: Zangoose and Nidoqueen
Moxie Cleaners: Honchkrow and Krookodile

Thoughts on Dark Horses:

Smeargle:
Obviously very versatile. I run Magic Coat to shut down taunters as you can see in the above replay. ShellSmash and Dark Void > Spore because Gen 6 was stupid like that. Bulk is terrible and Fake Out leads ruin everything (looking at you LO Shao...). Smeargle is very good and can be a great poke on HO teams.

Gorebyss:
I like Gorebyss a lot. That 114 Sp. Atk is nothing to scoff at. But, that base 55 speed and no magic coat give it less setup opportunities. I suppose one could run a Shell Smash/ Hydro Pump/ Ice Beam/ HP Grass set, but even base 55 speed is slow.

Zangoose:
I'm bias on the Goose, not going to lie. As you saw from the calcs before, it can wall break very easily, especially if it nabs that shellsmash boost. QA/Facade/Close Combat/Knock Off give perfect coverage and priority. SmashPass or Sticky Web go great with Zangoose. Base 90 speed and Jolly Nature allow it outspeed every single poke, including Scarf Jolteon lol.

Non-Dark Horses:

Nidoqueen:
Great Wallbreaker, Great Bulk. Poison/Fighting/Ice/Ground give perfect coverage. Definitely not inferior to Nidoking. Absolutely destroys most cores, including the Mega Aggron/Florges/Sp Def Mew (once it gets the +2 boost).

+2 252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoqueen Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mew: 289-341 (71.5 - 84.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Krookodile:
Another personal favorite of mine. Knock Off is just a great spammable move. Now that Daunt is gone, Krook is one of the best users. He can sweep pretty easily being SR resistant and access to EdgeQuake. Choice Scarf is the set of choice IMO.

Honchkrow:
I may get a beating for this one, but Honch was the weakest poke on this team. Sucker Punch makes up for the akward base 71 speed, but it can be played around so easily. Mega Aggron doesn't care about too much from Honch, even at +2.

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Honchkrow Superpower vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Filter Mega Aggron: 259-306 (75.2 - 88.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Toxic Boost Zangoose Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Filter Mega Aggron: 256-303 (74.4 - 88%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Keep in mind that Honchkrow loses any accumulated boost, thus losing momentum, while that is not the case with Zangoose.

Zangoose__Normal_Coloration_by_Xous54.png
 
Unfortunately, I will no longer be participating, as hax has pretty much killed my interest in continuing to play competitive Pokemon. This is not the competitive game for me.

I'll write up a quick bit about Tentacruel now. Standard defensive Tentacruel is completely terrible in my experience with it. In theory it should be fairly sturdy, but against offensive Pokemon it completely lacks any ability to take hits it doesn't resist, which is a problem exacerbated by the fact that it doesn't have reliable recovery. Likewise, that latter issue is a problem it suffers against defensive teams - it can be worn down through the match until you no longer have a spinner. I can't see much of a niche it could fill, because even among rapid spinners there are two significantly better bulky Water-types, and as a spinner that can set up Toxic Spikes, Forretress is simply better.

However, I did try something different - an Assault Vest set. This went pretty okay, and unlike the standard set which just dies to both ends of the attacking spectrum regardless of what you do with it, the AV set is capable of taking special hits fairly well. Overall, Tentacruel is still a fairly mediocre Pokemon, but it felt at least usable as an AV Rapid Spin user.
 
I'm a bit late on the draw but Sign-ups for May are closed! If there's...well, anybody who's still interested in finishing up on this month's challenge, get your ratings and screenshots posted ASAP! Remember, the deadline is Saturday, May 31st, 11:59 PM EST. Gonna edit the Hall of Fame, since Cyrus-V did make it up there, even if he is retiring from competitive Pokemon for the time being.
 
CoolStoryBrobat said:
I'm a bit late on the draw but Sign-ups for May are closed! If there's...well, anybody who's still interested in finishing up on this month's challenge, get your ratings and screenshots posted ASAP! Remember, the deadline is Saturday, May 31st, 11:59 PM EST. Gonna edit the Hall of Fame, since Cyrus-V did make it up there, even if he is retiring from competitive Pokemon for the time being.
Click to expand...

Well, it's... uh... June 1st. So I'm gonna assume the deadline passed?
 
Can I still sign up for june or too late? Are the current usage stats for last month or last last month?
 
ra02 said:
Can I still sign up for june or too late? Are the current usage stats for last month or last last month?
Click to expand...

As President Shinra said, sign-ups for June haven't started yet, because May's stats aren't released yet. And the usage stats that will be used for this project will always be for the previous month. April's are still there cause May's aren't out yet.

President Shinra said:
Also, CSB, what are we going to do about drops?
Click to expand...

They didn't have any usage in last month's statistics, so they are forbidden from being used on Dark Horse teams this month.


CoolTrainerGary said:
Do I have to reset myself on the ladder somehow or just go from where I am now?
(When I participate in the June Dakr Horse)
Click to expand...

You would sign up with a new alt for this month, which pretty much means starting over. Can't exactly say it's fair if you were at like 1499 at the end of last month on your alt and you decide to continue off it this month :P
 
Bumping because MAY'S USAGE STATS ARE FINALLY UP!

Start posting your alts and the Dark Horses you plan to use! Remember a few things, though...Drops from OU are excluded from this project and cannot be on your teams. You are not allowed to quit and sign up with another alt during the same month. If you make any changes to your team, send me a PM either with the contents of what you've changed your team to, or edit your original post with your team and notify me that you edited it. Only peaks are recorded as your Hall of Fame scores, so don't lose hope because you fell back below 1500. Remember to post a screenshot of your clean alt and of your score once you qualify for Hall of Fame. Last but not least, discuss your Dark Horses and teams a bit. This project hinges on creativity and innovation, at least cover some basic stuff like "What made you choose these as your dark horses? What do they do? What goes well with them?" Or, if you didn't like your team, "What made these Pokemon seem ineffective? What outclasses them?" That kind of stuff. Hit us with some of those good replays and such.

Have fun everyone!
 
Awright we gonna beat CSB this month.

Alt: Employee Shinra
Dark Horses: Dugtrio and Froslass
Team:
Dugtrio @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Reversal
- Sucker Punch

Froslass (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Timid Nature
- Icy Wind
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Destiny Bond

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 112 Spd / 252 Atk / 144 HP
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Aerial Ace
- Hone Claws

Shaymin @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Synthesis
- Seed Flare
- Earth Power
- Air Slash

Nidoqueen (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SAtk / 200 HP / 56 Spd
Modest Nature
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock

Rotom-Heat @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Trick

Clean alt: View attachment 14529
 
Fresh alt: View attachment 14572 Ignore the Battle Spot, I forgot to change back after making this one.

Team (dark horses bold)

Escavalier (2.03)
Reuniclus (1.67)
Ampharos (6.02)
Arcanine (9.99) - Already considering replacing with Victini.
Cresselia (1.47)
Jirachi (7.59)
Total usage = 28.77. If I replace Arc with Victini, total usage will be 34.45. I'll let you know if I do, CSB.
 
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Gonna have to enter this challenge.

Fresh Alt: sweepin the floor

Team: (dark horses in bold)
Kingdra (3.59)
Escavalier (2.03)
Aromatisse (.55)
Absol (7.8)
Cofagrigus (1.4) Changed this, now Hippowdon @ 5.74% Again changed, now Gligar @ 1.38
Darmanitan (14.36)
Total usage: 29.73. 34.07 29.71
 
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Nice Clean Alt "Oshony UU Based" http://imgur.com/C3EUiw8
The Team (percentages are rounced to the nearest thousandth):
The Great Doublade (.917%)
Weezing (.597%)
Umbreon (7.593%)
Swampert (8.296%) (replaced with tentacruel, 3.896) rereplaced with alomomomola (1.39)
Flygon (8.131%), Replaced With Azelf (7.723)
And Last but not least Raikou (4.815%)
Total Combined Usage = 30.349 (less than before)
 
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