Online Competition Ultra Kalos Classic



April brings the Ultra Kalos Classic, coming up for the final weekend of the month.

  • Single battles (show 6, pick 3)
  • 10 minutes of Your Time per player, per battle
  • Only Pokemon that appear in one of the three Kalos Pokedexes are allowed
  • Mewtwo, Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde, Diancie, Hoopa, Volcanion, Ash-Greninja, and all Alola forms are banned
  • No origin mark restrictions (so you can trade up your Pokemon from XY to use as-is, in the spirit of the challenge)
  • Mega stones that came out in XY are allowed, ones that were only introduced in ORAS are not. (Sorry, Sableye/Beedrill/Salamence.)
  • Z-moves are disallowed
 

cant say

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This is gonna be sick! This is essentially pre-PokeBank XY BSS, which only lasted one season (2 months). Our best resource for that time is the old usage stats site courtesy of hetoord ( rip ;_;7 )

http://battlespotstats.com/?game=XY&season=1&format=Single
(just note that some pokemon listed in the usage aren't allowed because they were in the Friend Safari or an event but not in the Kalos dex. eg: Volcarona and Blaziken respectively)

I'm really excited for things like Garchomp, Aegislash, and Azumarill to be at the top again. I don't think we gain a whole lot from transfers being legal except Seismic Toss Mega Kang. I'll definitely have this purely for anti-stall crap. Static Zapdos could be nice as well.

To start off though i'll probably just slap together something like HippoNiteLuc with maybe Sylveon, Kang, and something to beat Aegislash... It's been so long that I really don't remember what the meta was like. I think I got almost 1800 the first season with special Sharpedo and Scarf Togekiss lol.
 
No Mega Altaria? Oh well. Maybe this is a good time to try Mega Houndoom. Now that Torkoal exists as a drought user, its a Lot more viable thsn evermore. Now to build an anti-Tyranitar plan.
 

ethan06

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is a Community Contributor Alumnus
bringing back the god set

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak

with stoss mega khan looking spooky asf in this format, it's gunna be nice to have watertight ghost type checks to it to keep it under control (also shoutouts gourgeist). this set is even better at its job after the damage nerf, allowing it to take pathetic damage from kang's earthquake and OHKO back with +2 sacred sword with enough health to comfortably take on whatever's lurking in the back. this set also means that you can 1v1 most ground types (cb chomp also lookin spooky) and it's not uncommon to go 2 for 1 with this mon before it goes down. real nice tech, got me through the whole of gen 6, can recommend the ethan special (y)
 
So I've been checking and I can practically pick a team I made a few months ago that is based on the team I used to beat Alpha Sapphire. I'd just have to change Mega Sceptile for something else.

Of course, I have to tweak it a bit, but I want to use things like Specs Swellow and Extreme Speed Linoone...
 
Alright boys and girls, what are we thinking?

I am considering dusting off Hydreigon and giving it a go.
Mega Venusaur is always worth consideration.
Maybe a Rain core with Pelipper and Kingdra?
And how about a throwback to Cheek Pouch Dedenne just to mess with people? So many options.

Also thinking it would be a good time to finally try out Extreme Speed Belly Brum Linoone....
 
I loved Kalos! This looks really fun! I like Samurott so it's good that past gens are allowed. Unova was just as memorable of a game.
 
I loved Kalos! This looks really fun! I like Samurott so it's good that past gens are allowed. Unova was just as memorable of a game.
Samurott is not allowed as it's not in the Kalos Dex.

You misunderstood the rule that says Pokemon don't need to have either the clover or the pentagon to take part.
 
I've been looking over the dex to see what options are about for stall in particular. No Chansey really does change things quite a bit on the building side, however there are very few tremendously strong special attackers. Feels like there are a lot of directions it can be built in this meta, I'm interested in seeing what other people can come up with.
For anyone interested in building it I hastily put this together
High tier
: SpDef and fast sub-tox look to both be good here. Gliscor also a practical requirement as Aegi's no1 counter with how strong that looks.
: Premier PhysDef option. With Garchomp looking to be back on top Skarm will no doubt see use. Pinsir-Mega will also not like seeing this at preview.
: The very high HP may allow it to take on Seismic Toss Kang. Wish support, with Regen, is also a particulalry nice option.
: Spore, Clear Smog, Foul Play and all of its usual nice stuff. Another strong regen option. Though its powder immunity isn't too strong here with no Breloom and Vivillon being one of the scarier sleep users.
/
: Sadly the mega isn't available. However, they both remain strong options thanks to Regen and decent bulk. CM and Iron Defence and even AV could all be useful.
: Thick Fat. Always the mon everyone forgets about when building, then procedes to panic about when they see it in preview. Very few pokemon have super effective STAB here. Generally gonna do what it always does. 3-attacks Synth, Leech Seed, Amnesia, all sorts of stuff for it to work with.
: The only good Unaware option.
-
: Shadow Tag user which can quickly take advantage of all the Toxic being thrown about by picking off mons with Hex. Can also spread burns with Will-o-Wisp or eliminate threats with some Perish Song trapping.
: Anti-Gengar and Charizard. Strong special bulk, and equipped with a Lum Berry, it's able to trap Gengar with Pursuit and deal with Charizard Y thanks to Sand Stream. With Lum, it may also find itself as an anti-vivillon option.

Mid tier
: Strong SpDef based bulk. Recycle-Gluttony provides an interesting form of recovery. Though the lack of Toxic immunity may hinder it, I don't think Immunity will find too much use.
: SR weakness is a big problem, but it's still a bulky mon, and one which can pressure stall.
: Sand damage adds up and can progress the game even if only by a little. It's strong phys bulk and access to Whirlwind, Slack Off and Stealth Rock are all valuable. Semi stall teams could opt for a hybrid set which utilises the Yawn shuffling lead.
: Very good bulk with solid typing. Has a variety of options ranging from using bulky SD, to Iron Defence or even Curse (GSC VC transfer). Would likely find itself a strong fit on semi-stall more than full, but an option to consider regardless.
: Unique and interesting typing, and a relatively fast Wisp user. Decent bulk and recovery make this usable, though the SR weakness hurts.
-
: Faster than Gengar-Mega Pursuit user. Also threatens Charizard X/Y and Pinsir.

Niche stuff, but has some general viability
: Bulky Hydreigon with something like Taunt, Roost, Twave/Toxic and Dark Pulse. It has interesting tpying and surprisingly decent bulk when invested.
: Either Trick with Choice Specs/Scarf or lengthy ppstall/CMsetup. It's another Shadow Tag user.
: Sub-Toxic could work on some stall teams. Will require the Lefties and would appreciate Wish support.
: Sap Sipper and generally huge Spdef. Coverage lets it pick and choose what it can directly beat.
&
: Largely playing off their typing. Gourgeist can spread Will-o and wall certain Kang and Garchomp. Trevenant is more looking to Sub-Curse with it Harvest giving it back 50% berries. Leech Seed added in to the mix and they can wear down opposing teams.
(if you have Wish): Seismic Toss quickly breaks down pokemon. Having reliable recovery with its solid bulk could make it an effective option.

The rest have serious flaws, but remain usable as checks to specific mons.
,
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/
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/
,
,
,
I probably missed something, but these are my general thoughts looking over the list of mons for an hour or so.

Outside of stall stuff it looks like balance/offense also have a tonne of options. Especially for small modular cores, such as Poli-Kingdra, which can blend themselves into teams and make preview very interesting.
 
I've just thrown something together quickly using some viable mons sitting on my cart, just looking for suggestions to round out the remaining slots on the team. Here's what I have so far:

Brute Root (Venusaur-Mega) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Leech Seed
- Synthesis

Joyeuse (Aegislash) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Sacred Sword
- King's Shield

Cephadrome (Garchomp) @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge

Bubbles (Azumarill) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
 
I've just thrown something together quickly using some viable mons sitting on my cart, just looking for suggestions to round out the remaining slots on the team. Here's what I have so far:

Brute Root (Venusaur-Mega) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Leech Seed
- Synthesis

Joyeuse (Aegislash) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Sacred Sword
- King's Shield

Cephadrome (Garchomp) @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge

Bubbles (Azumarill) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Play Rough
I'd probably add a Choice Scarf user, or maybe some other fast Pokemon. Your team has kind of a poor matchup with stall. I was testing a OHKO duo with Articuno and Gliscor which was qy=uite effective stall-breaking. You also lack Fire-type switch ins. Also, I'd run Focus Sash over LO on Swords Dance Garchomp. Its much easier to set up and it doesn't provide Garchomp with any other notable benchmarks for Koes.
 

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Take the XY BSS viability list.

Remove Talonflame.

There, you have your viability list.
.....and Blaziken, and Volcarona, and Landorus, and any other Friend Safari / Pokebank-exclusive Pokemon. The XY viability rankings really aren't the best reference for this meta at all, but here they are anyway https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/battle-spot-singles-viability-rankings.3514689/

the best resource we have is the season 1 statistics which I linked in my post above, but even that includes Blaziken and Friend Safari mons, and features stats from a largely unevolved metagame. Honestly, just get the current USUM BSS viability rankings and take out everything that's illegal in this, and i think would be pretty close. Only thing off the top of my head is that Vivillon is way better here than in current BSS...
 
Can somebody explain the Vivillon thing? Is it just because it's the only decent Quiver Dance user?? (Though Masquerain I would argue can be better with Intimidate)
 

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Can somebody explain the Vivillon thing? Is it just because it's the only decent Quiver Dance user?? (Though Masquerain I would argue can be better with Intimidate)
It basically just lacks checks in this format. There's no electric / misty terrain, and Talonflame's Gale Wings is nerfed, which was one of the best answers to it back in XY BSS. The only things that reliably stop it are Sap Sipper Goodra, random Lum Berries (I've legit seen Toxic Spikes used to pop those but I digress), waking up to use Roar/Whirlwind before dying, and random Safety Goggles Pokemon. Its speed tier holds it back, as a lot of stuff can outspeed the initial Sleep Powder and KO, but some speed control on the team easily remedies this.

I've just been using lead Sash + Rock Tomb + Stealth Rock Garchomp with a bunch of random mons that beat Viv checks and it's been pretty effective on PS so far...
 
It basically just lacks checks in this format. There's no electric / misty terrain, and Talonflame's Gale Wings is nerfed, which was one of the best answers to it back in XY BSS. The only things that reliably stop it are Sap Sipper Goodra, random Lum Berries (I've legit seen Toxic Spikes used to pop those but I digress), waking up to use Roar/Whirlwind before dying, and random Safety Goggles Pokemon. Its speed tier holds it back, as a lot of stuff can outspeed the initial Sleep Powder and KO, but some speed control on the team easily remedies this.

I've just been using lead Sash + Rock Tomb + Stealth Rock Garchomp with a bunch of random mons that beat Viv checks and it's been pretty effective on PS so far...
Couldn't you put the Focus Sash on Vivillon for the things that outspeed it?
 

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Couldn't you put the Focus Sash on Vivillon for the things that outspeed it?
why do that and only get one Quiver Dance in when you can use teammates to ensure the Sleep Powder vs faster threats and get 6 Quiver Dances in...?
 

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