[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 3 onwards
**Price Range**: 14-15 points
**Overview**: Urshifu-S is a good sweeper and wallbreaker, especially when made a Tera Captain. It leverages its high Attack stat, powerful STAB moves, good coverage, and various setup options to be difficult to check defensively. While Urshifu-S is held back by its mediocre Speed, bad special bulk, and most notably, its glaring 4x weakness to Fairy as well as inability to hit most said Fairy-types neutrally with STAB moves, it can mostly circumvent those issues using Tera, making it a very threatening Tera Captain; perfectly capable of opening up its teammates with its powerful wallbreaking capabilities, or straight up running away with the game as a win condition.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Setup Sweeper**: Urshifu-S can leverage its good matchups into most Pokemon to set up using Swords Dance, Bulk Up, or Trailblaze, further boosting its power or circumventing its mediocre Speed respectively, turning it into a potent win condition.
**Wallbreaker**: Urshifu-S utilizes its strong STAB moves and decent coverage to weaken or outright KO a large portion of the metagame. Wallbreaker Urshifu-S is usually best supported by other forms of momentum and entry hazards due to its mediocre Speed and special bulk.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB moves**: Wicked Blow, Sucker Punch, Close Combat, Drain Punch, Low Kick
**Setup moves**: Swords Dance, Bulk Up, Trailblaze
**Utility moves**: U-turn, Taunt, Substitute, Brick Break
**Coverage**: Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Iron Head, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Thunder Punch, Zen Headbutt
Niche Moves
========
**Throat Chop**: Throat Chop's sound move cancelling property allows it to shut down Pokemon that use Fairy-type sound moves to counter Urshifu-S, such as Hyper Voice Sylveon or a myriad of Alluring Voice users.
Common Items
========
**Punching Glove / Protective Pads**: Both of these items protect Urshifu-S from contact-based adverse effects, such as Static, Flame Body, and Rocky Helmet. If Urshifu-S plans on only using punching moves, Punching Glove's damage boost is very much appreciated; otherwise, Protective Pads would be preferred.
**Choice Band**: Choice Band allows Urshifu-S to maximize its damage output and wallbreak with increased ease. This is complemented by the fact that few Pokemon in the metagame want to switch into either of its STAB moves or take chip damage from a Choice Band boosted U-turn, meaning they are unable to check Urshifu-S later.
**Choice Scarf**: Choice Scarf allows Urshifu-S to circumvent its mediocre Speed immediately and become a fast yet still strong wallbreaker. This also allows it to function better as a fast pivot.
**Damage Boosting Items**: Items such as the Life Orb, Black Glasses, and the Black Belt can be used to boost the power of its attacks, allowing it to reach whatever matchup-specific benchmarks are necessary.
Niche Items
========
**Leftovers**: Leftovers may see usage on bulkier Urshifu-S sets that use Substitute and Bulk Up to increase its longevity.
**Lum Berry**: Lum Berry can be used on setup variants to shrug off opposing status, such as paralysis and burn.
**Resistance Berries**: These Berries, such as Roseli, Coba, and Chople, allow Urshifu-S to tank a super effective hit in order to revenge kill a foe or set up.
**Mental Herb**: Mental Herb can be used to prevent disruption caused by a fast Taunt or Encore when setting up.
**Clear Amulet**: Despite Urshifu-S's ability to ignore Intimidate Attack drops with Wicked Blow, Clear Amulet can be used to block Attack drops aiming to weaken its Close Combat and other coverage moves.
Tera
========
Urshifu-S is a great user of Tera, and is thus highly recommended to be drafted as a Tera Captain. Its same-type Tera sets, usually seen on wallbreaker sets who use damage boosting items, allow it to output stupefying levels of damage with Tera Dark Wicked Blow and Tera Fighting Close Combat. More commonly though, Urshifu-S will use Tera types that improve its matchup into Fairy-types, such as Tera Poison and Tera Steel. Other defensive Tera types, such as Water, Fairy, Fire, and Electric also function very well on its setup sweeper sets, allowing it more setup opportunities as well as giving it additional strong coverage; with the last two making it immune to the otherwise debilitating statuses of burn and paralysis respectively.
Draft Strategy
========
Urshifu-S is a potent setup win condition, especially with Tera, so it appreciates its teammates dishing out damage before going in for the sweep. It can also cover the wallbreaking role well, forcing large amounts of damage on opposing Pokemon, allowing one's late-game cleaners to thrive. With that being said, its aforementioned downsides of a crippling Fairy weakness and mediocre Speed should be covered for by its supporting cast.
**Reliable Fairy-type Counters / Tera Fairy dissuaders**: Urshifu-S greatly appreciates a teammate absorbing Fairy-type attacks aimed at it and either forcing damage on them or threatening them out. It also appreciates Pokemon who heavily dissuade Tera Fairy from being brought in the preparation phase. Pokemon such as Pecharunt, Gholdengo, and Scizor are fantastic partners to Urshifu-S.
**Late-game cleaners**: Urshifu-S excels at weakening opposing defensive Pokemon to allow for one's other Pokemon to clean up games with ease. Notably, Urshifu-S forces a lot of damage on Fairy-types, as they are its best answer. Pokemon usually hindered by Fairy-types such as Kyurem and Latios, as well as other late-game cleaners like Deoxys-Speed and Dragonite, greatly appreciate the wallbreaking capabilities of Urshifu-S.
**Reliable Pivots**: Bringing in Urshifu-S safely to setup or launch its powerful attacks is paramount to unlocking its full potential. Reliable pivots such as Cinderace, Pecharunt, Landorus-T, and Zapdos can force switches for Urshifu-S to come in and wallbreak.
**Entry Hazard Removal**: Urshifu-S does not like being forced to run Heavy-Duty Boots. Hazard removal from the likes of Terapagos, Iron Treads, and Glimmora allows Urshifu-S to not be chipped as much when it comes onto the field, facilitating both its Choiced and setup sets. In return, Urshifu-S heavily threatens Ghost-types, or Steel-types in Glimmora's case, who may try to spinblock the previously mentioned hazard removal Pokemon.
**Additional Wallbreaking**: While this might overlap with Urshifu-S's wallbreaking role, a second wallbreaker can capitalize on Urshifu-S's ability to force switches and pivot its partner in with U-turn. Other wallbreakers are also appreciated if one desires to use their Urshifu-S as a setup win condition. Fire-, Ghost-, and Flying-type Pokemon have great offensive synergy with Urshifu-S and can easily chip down the opposition.
Checks and Counters
========
**Fairy-types and Tera Fairy Pokemon**: Fairy-types are Urshifu-S's Achilles heel, hitting it for 4x super effective damage while resisting both its STAB moves. Opposing Tera Captains can turn into a Fairy-type, tank a hit from Urshifu-S, and deal damage to or outright KO Urshifu-S with Tera Blast. Common Fairy-types such as Iron Valiant and Enamorus, as well as common Tera Fairy users such as Raging Bolt and Zarude, can easily force out Urshifu-S or use it as setup fodder.
**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Due to Urshifu-S's mediocre Speed and middling bulk, faster offensive Pokemon are able to out-offense it and hit it hard, leaving it unable to reliably hit the field to setup or wallbreak. Those who do not fear its Sucker Punch, such as Iron Valiant, Tornadus-T, and Greninja, are especially effective.
**Bulky Physical Walls**: While not perfect answers to Urshifu-S, bulky physical walls can tank a STAB move or two while punishing Urshifu-S with chip damage from Rocky Helmet and other adverse contact effects, or forcing it to switch out. Such Pokemon include defensive Great Tusk, defensive Garchomp, and Alomomola. However, Urshifu-S can use Punching Glove or Protective Pads to counteract adverse contact effects.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ryan-ditto.601382/
Quality checked by:
Grammar checked by:
**Draft Order**: Round 3 onwards
**Price Range**: 14-15 points
**Overview**: Urshifu-S is a good sweeper and wallbreaker, especially when made a Tera Captain. It leverages its high Attack stat, powerful STAB moves, good coverage, and various setup options to be difficult to check defensively. While Urshifu-S is held back by its mediocre Speed, bad special bulk, and most notably, its glaring 4x weakness to Fairy as well as inability to hit most said Fairy-types neutrally with STAB moves, it can mostly circumvent those issues using Tera, making it a very threatening Tera Captain; perfectly capable of opening up its teammates with its powerful wallbreaking capabilities, or straight up running away with the game as a win condition.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Setup Sweeper**: Urshifu-S can leverage its good matchups into most Pokemon to set up using Swords Dance, Bulk Up, or Trailblaze, further boosting its power or circumventing its mediocre Speed respectively, turning it into a potent win condition.
**Wallbreaker**: Urshifu-S utilizes its strong STAB moves and decent coverage to weaken or outright KO a large portion of the metagame. Wallbreaker Urshifu-S is usually best supported by other forms of momentum and entry hazards due to its mediocre Speed and special bulk.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB moves**: Wicked Blow, Sucker Punch, Close Combat, Drain Punch, Low Kick
**Setup moves**: Swords Dance, Bulk Up, Trailblaze
**Utility moves**: U-turn, Taunt, Substitute, Brick Break
**Coverage**: Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Iron Head, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Thunder Punch, Zen Headbutt
Niche Moves
========
**Throat Chop**: Throat Chop's sound move cancelling property allows it to shut down Pokemon that use Fairy-type sound moves to counter Urshifu-S, such as Hyper Voice Sylveon or a myriad of Alluring Voice users.
Common Items
========
**Punching Glove / Protective Pads**: Both of these items protect Urshifu-S from contact-based adverse effects, such as Static, Flame Body, and Rocky Helmet. If Urshifu-S plans on only using punching moves, Punching Glove's damage boost is very much appreciated; otherwise, Protective Pads would be preferred.
**Choice Band**: Choice Band allows Urshifu-S to maximize its damage output and wallbreak with increased ease. This is complemented by the fact that few Pokemon in the metagame want to switch into either of its STAB moves or take chip damage from a Choice Band boosted U-turn, meaning they are unable to check Urshifu-S later.
**Choice Scarf**: Choice Scarf allows Urshifu-S to circumvent its mediocre Speed immediately and become a fast yet still strong wallbreaker. This also allows it to function better as a fast pivot.
**Damage Boosting Items**: Items such as the Life Orb, Black Glasses, and the Black Belt can be used to boost the power of its attacks, allowing it to reach whatever matchup-specific benchmarks are necessary.
Niche Items
========
**Leftovers**: Leftovers may see usage on bulkier Urshifu-S sets that use Substitute and Bulk Up to increase its longevity.
**Lum Berry**: Lum Berry can be used on setup variants to shrug off opposing status, such as paralysis and burn.
**Resistance Berries**: These Berries, such as Roseli, Coba, and Chople, allow Urshifu-S to tank a super effective hit in order to revenge kill a foe or set up.
**Mental Herb**: Mental Herb can be used to prevent disruption caused by a fast Taunt or Encore when setting up.
**Clear Amulet**: Despite Urshifu-S's ability to ignore Intimidate Attack drops with Wicked Blow, Clear Amulet can be used to block Attack drops aiming to weaken its Close Combat and other coverage moves.
Tera
========
Urshifu-S is a great user of Tera, and is thus highly recommended to be drafted as a Tera Captain. Its same-type Tera sets, usually seen on wallbreaker sets who use damage boosting items, allow it to output stupefying levels of damage with Tera Dark Wicked Blow and Tera Fighting Close Combat. More commonly though, Urshifu-S will use Tera types that improve its matchup into Fairy-types, such as Tera Poison and Tera Steel. Other defensive Tera types, such as Water, Fairy, Fire, and Electric also function very well on its setup sweeper sets, allowing it more setup opportunities as well as giving it additional strong coverage; with the last two making it immune to the otherwise debilitating statuses of burn and paralysis respectively.
Draft Strategy
========
Urshifu-S is a potent setup win condition, especially with Tera, so it appreciates its teammates dishing out damage before going in for the sweep. It can also cover the wallbreaking role well, forcing large amounts of damage on opposing Pokemon, allowing one's late-game cleaners to thrive. With that being said, its aforementioned downsides of a crippling Fairy weakness and mediocre Speed should be covered for by its supporting cast.
**Reliable Fairy-type Counters / Tera Fairy dissuaders**: Urshifu-S greatly appreciates a teammate absorbing Fairy-type attacks aimed at it and either forcing damage on them or threatening them out. It also appreciates Pokemon who heavily dissuade Tera Fairy from being brought in the preparation phase. Pokemon such as Pecharunt, Gholdengo, and Scizor are fantastic partners to Urshifu-S.
**Late-game cleaners**: Urshifu-S excels at weakening opposing defensive Pokemon to allow for one's other Pokemon to clean up games with ease. Notably, Urshifu-S forces a lot of damage on Fairy-types, as they are its best answer. Pokemon usually hindered by Fairy-types such as Kyurem and Latios, as well as other late-game cleaners like Deoxys-Speed and Dragonite, greatly appreciate the wallbreaking capabilities of Urshifu-S.
**Reliable Pivots**: Bringing in Urshifu-S safely to setup or launch its powerful attacks is paramount to unlocking its full potential. Reliable pivots such as Cinderace, Pecharunt, Landorus-T, and Zapdos can force switches for Urshifu-S to come in and wallbreak.
**Entry Hazard Removal**: Urshifu-S does not like being forced to run Heavy-Duty Boots. Hazard removal from the likes of Terapagos, Iron Treads, and Glimmora allows Urshifu-S to not be chipped as much when it comes onto the field, facilitating both its Choiced and setup sets. In return, Urshifu-S heavily threatens Ghost-types, or Steel-types in Glimmora's case, who may try to spinblock the previously mentioned hazard removal Pokemon.
**Additional Wallbreaking**: While this might overlap with Urshifu-S's wallbreaking role, a second wallbreaker can capitalize on Urshifu-S's ability to force switches and pivot its partner in with U-turn. Other wallbreakers are also appreciated if one desires to use their Urshifu-S as a setup win condition. Fire-, Ghost-, and Flying-type Pokemon have great offensive synergy with Urshifu-S and can easily chip down the opposition.
Checks and Counters
========
**Fairy-types and Tera Fairy Pokemon**: Fairy-types are Urshifu-S's Achilles heel, hitting it for 4x super effective damage while resisting both its STAB moves. Opposing Tera Captains can turn into a Fairy-type, tank a hit from Urshifu-S, and deal damage to or outright KO Urshifu-S with Tera Blast. Common Fairy-types such as Iron Valiant and Enamorus, as well as common Tera Fairy users such as Raging Bolt and Zarude, can easily force out Urshifu-S or use it as setup fodder.
**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Due to Urshifu-S's mediocre Speed and middling bulk, faster offensive Pokemon are able to out-offense it and hit it hard, leaving it unable to reliably hit the field to setup or wallbreak. Those who do not fear its Sucker Punch, such as Iron Valiant, Tornadus-T, and Greninja, are especially effective.
**Bulky Physical Walls**: While not perfect answers to Urshifu-S, bulky physical walls can tank a STAB move or two while punishing Urshifu-S with chip damage from Rocky Helmet and other adverse contact effects, or forcing it to switch out. Such Pokemon include defensive Great Tusk, defensive Garchomp, and Alomomola. However, Urshifu-S can use Punching Glove or Protective Pads to counteract adverse contact effects.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ryan-ditto.601382/
Quality checked by:
Grammar checked by:
Last edited: