Tournament UULT Laddering Teams

[Hogg]

UULT Laddering Teams
(UULT Week 1 Thread)​

Introduction

With the first week of the UnderUsed Ladder Tour (UULT) underway, many players will be hitting the ladder in hopes of securing one of the four weekly playoff slots. This thread is meant to serve both as a team dump for those who need one, and as a way to help you prepare for what you can expect to face as you ladder.

The thread will be broken into two tiers for the ladder, 1000 - 1500 and 1500+. While you can certainly use a 1500+ team in the early ladder and vice versa, teams in the first category will be geared toward getting out of the low ladder as quickly as possibly, while tiers in the upper level will tend to favor consistency and flexibility.

This thread is a work in progress and will likely change as the tour goes on, so please feel free to discuss or post your own experiences as well.


LOW LADDER BLUES: 1000 - 1500

While it is not an exact science, at the bottom end of the ladder you should expect to see anything, even full Eevee teams or Red’s team. The UU ladder starts to stabilize a bit once you enter the 1400s, and by the 1500s becomes far more indicative of the meta overall.

Laddering quickly is ideal here, so in general games that can be played on autopilot so that you can ladder multiple games at a time or teams that tend to finish games quickly are ideal. Remember that UULT is solely based on ELO, not GXE. The reason this is relevant is that ELO growth is not directly tied to your overall win rate the way GXE is, so your overall record does not matter for anything outside of bragging rights. Don’t feel like you have to restart just because you lose a game, even in these lower levels.

Noivern Drought by Adaam

Import

Ninetales @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Toxic
- Sunny Day

Venusaur @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Growth
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Weather Ball

Noivern @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Defog / Air Slash

Rhyperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Atk / 196 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Metal Burst

Gardevoir @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Mystical Fire
- Healing Wish

Darmanitan @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Rock Slide
- Superpower / Bulk Up

Explanation

Adaam presents his take on Drought, featuring some fun threats such as Boots Darmanitan, Solar Beam Noivern and of course the queen of sun herself, Venusaur. The original version of this team uses four attacks Darm and Noivern, but if you are struggling against Webs in the low ladder, Defog can certainly come in handy. Bulk Up is also an option over Superpower on Darmanitan, which is especially scary against teams that attempt to use Protect to stall out sun turns.

VARIANT:

Import

Ninetales @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Sunny Day
- Will-O-Wisp

Gigalith @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
- Toxic

Venusaur @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Growth
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Weather Ball

Darmanitan @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Flare Blitz
- Rock Slide
- Trick

Noivern @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Defog
- Roost

Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 248 HP / 68 Def / 16 SpA / 176 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Mystical Fire
- Protect
- Wish

Explanation

A slightly bulkier take on Sun, this uses Mystical Fire Sylveon and Roost Noivern to give the team some defensive utility while still keeping the pressure on, and opts for Scarf Darmanitan over Boots.

---

Screens HO by Lilburr

Import

Linoone @ Figy Berry
Ability: Gluttony
EVs: 60 HP / 252 Atk / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Extreme Speed
- Throat Chop
- Stomping Tantrum

Espeon @ Light Clay
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Toxic
- Light Screen
- Reflect

Haxorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab

Incineroar @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Flame Charge
- Knock Off
- Close Combat

Cobalion @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave

Flygon @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Throat Chop

Explanation

The team that LilBurr used to rocket through the lower ladder and claim the top spot in the first half of week 1, this is an aggressive Screens-based hyper-offense that can quickly rack up ladder points against many opponents. Throat Chop Flygon makes an appearance as a way to surprise and take down Sylveon, while Belly Drum Linoone is great at taking advantage of Drought teams if it gets a turn to set up.

VARIANT:

Import

Xatu @ Light Clay
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 40 SpD / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Teleport
- Psychic

Barbaracle @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Liquidation
- Stone Edge
- Shell Smash
- Protect

Haxorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab / Protect
- Dragon Dance

Cobalion @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- Close Combat
- Thunder Wave

Incineroar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Close Combat
- Flame Charge
- Swords Dance

Toxtricity @ Throat Spray
Ability: Punk Rock
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Sludge Wave
- Shift Gear

Explanation

danger zone's take on Screens HO uses Xatu over Espeon as its screen setter, which trades in Speed for a better defensive typing and the much-coveted Teleport. It also uses a different array of sweepers, including Toxtricity and Barbaracle, both of whom are excellent at turning games around given the opportunity. If you are struggling against First Impression users, consider adding Protect to Haxorus and instead rely on Toxtricity and Barbaracle to break Sylveon.

---

CB Haxorus BO

Import

Haxorus @ Choice Band
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- First Impression

Golisopod @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spikes
- First Impression
- Liquidation
- Dual Chop

Tsareena (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Queenly Majesty
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Power Whip
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Rapid Spin

Passimian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Rock Slide

Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- Toxic
- Protect

Weezing-Galar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 216 SpA / 44 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Strange Steam
- Fire Blast
- Toxic Spikes

Explanation

Nothing fancy: get hazards up, get Haxorus in as much as possible and click the move that kills things. The team relies heavily on dual First Impression to keep sun and hyper offense on the back foot, but watch out for things like DD + Protect Haxorus. Dual Chop Golisopod is great for catching incoming Noivern, doing roughly 75% and keeping them from Defogging away your hazards.

CLIMBING TO THE TOP: 1500+

Most of the teams in the 1000-1500 range will continue to work well beyond that point, but they all tend to sacrifice some degree of consistency for quicker wins or more straightforward gameplay. Beyond that range, many UULT participants switch to bulkier teams that give them more consistent counterplay to most of what they might encounter.

LO Celebi Balance

Import

Celebi @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Psychic
- Earth Power
- Recover

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Toxic

Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Mystical Fire
- Protect
- Wish

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Gyro Ball
- Close Combat
- Shadow Sneak

Noivern @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Defog
- Roost

Gigalith @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Heavy Slam

Explanation

With LO Celebi as a general breaker, status absorber and pivot and cleric Sylveon to keep the team going, this team relies heavily on defensive pivots that can also put offensive pressure on the opposing team. Gigalith is mainly to improve your sun matchup, as otherwise Rhyperior's superior offenses and ability to discourage Volt Switch is a superior option, but if you're feeling confident against sun teams consider swapping them out. Heavy Slam makes a Gigalith appearance to threaten Sylveon and Galarian Weezing, the latter of whom can prove quite threatening to the team with an offensive set.

---

Gastrodon Esca Balance Lilburr and Expulso

Import

Gigalith @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Toxic

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Recover

Escavalier @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 116 Def / 80 SpD / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Knock Off
- Close Combat

Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell

Noivern @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Defog
- Roost

Pangoro @ Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Bullet Punch

Explanation

Another take on Sylveon balance, this uses a Gastrodon/Gigalith/Escavalier core to deal with most metagame threats right now, backed by cleric Sylveon to keep them going and provide a solid answer to CB Haxorus. The team's breaking power comes from Pangoro, one of the hardest Pokemon to switch into in UU, who also serves as a de facto DD Necrozma check.

VARIANT:

Import

Weezing-Galar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Strange Steam
- Toxic
- Toxic Spikes
- Defog

Umbreon @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell

Gigalith @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SpD / 20 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic

Escavalier @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 116 Def / 108 SpD / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance

Gastrodon @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Sticky Hold
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Ice Beam
- Earthquake
- Recover
- Toxic

Noivern @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 248 HP / 104 Def / 156 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Taunt
- Defog
- Roost

Explanation

This variant by Juuno uses the same Esca/Gastro/Giga balance core, but goes for a bulkier take, using Umbreon and Galarian Weezing over Sylveon and Toxic Spikes to provide pressure to opposing teams.

---

VoltTurn BO

Import

Toxtricity @ Choice Specs
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Snarl
- Volt Switch

Incineroar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 28 SpA / 228 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Knock Off
- Overheat
- Toxic
- U-turn

Noivern @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Defog
- Roost

Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- Toxic
- Protect

Necrozma @ Lum Berry
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 152 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Photon Geyser
- Earthquake
- Moonlight

Passimian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Iron Head

Explanation

A straightforward VoltTurn team. Choice Specs Toxtricity serves as a powerful breaker, able to freely click Boomburst against any team lacking a ghost, Gigalith or Bronzong. Those teams that do have one of the above instead get Volt Switched on, bringing in Incineroar or Passimian to threaten them out. Passimian also serves to discourage opposing Incineroar, who can otherwise become problematic. This team also features the always-deadly DD Necrozma as a late-game wincon.

---

UU Stall, by pokeisfun

Import

funion onion (Celebi) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 16 SpA / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Dazzling Gleam
- Stealth Rock
- Recover

umby wumby (Umbreon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell
- Foul Play

batzy watzy (Noivern) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 244 HP / 4 Def / 104 SpA / 4 SpD / 152 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Defog
- Air Slash
- Flamethrower

woofy woof (Arcanine) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 232 HP / 252 Def / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Morning Sun
- Will-O-Wisp
- Toxic

muddy buddy (Quagsire) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Recover
- Haze

jelly belly (Reuniclus) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
- Knock Off
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball

Explanation

pif once again proves that stall is not dead in Gen 8 UU with an excellent stall team featuring some anti-meta picks such as AV Reuniclus and physically defensive Arcanine. These additions make it one of the few stall teams able to reliably deal with Sun, which otherwise threatens to break through most walls with the power of a +2 Venusaur or sun-boosted Darmanitan, while also providing support against other powerful threats such as Machamp, Haxorus and Toxtricity.

Will include more teams in the near future, and update things as the metagame changes. Please feel free to use anything in this thread, and I'd love to see some discussion what teams have and have not been working for you, what other common teams you've been encountering, what you've been doing to counter prominent threats and any other thoughts on this year's UULT. Happy laddering!

Thanks to Accelgor for the banner, and to all that have contributed teams to this thread!

 

[ZoroDark]

Hey! I always like reading these threads during OLT and this is pretty barren for now so I guess I'll kickstart it! These ladder tournaments are a fantastic opportunity for newer faces to get some recognition. Similarly, it is a nice chance for more established players to test their capabilities and metagame awareness versus a wide range of skilled opponents. Qualifying is always a bit of a crapshoot and it definitely involves a fair bit of luck, but you absolutely require a certain persistence and a cool head too (i.e. not getting tilted). Ideally, this tour also promotes some metagame development and in the rest of this post I'm going to talk a bit about my takes on that specific aspect.

/

/

Just like everyone else I used screens to get to the 1500s pretty quickly. I tried all kinds of variants: Espeon vs Xatu (even Vanilluxe is probably pretty good, s/o pif), dedicated SR leads vs no hazards at all and different filler mons to support Big Bad Broken Haxorus (Blastoise, Linoone, Polteageist and so on). In the end I personally didn't think any variant was consistent enough to go all the way with them. However, one of the more successful versions was carried by LO Grass Knot Barbaracle, which allows it to one shot physically defensive Gastrodon and Quagsire. Always OHKOing Sylveon is also absolutely huge and as result, this set makes a bunch of hard matchups a ton easier. I guess it remains to be seen how the effectiveness of this playstyle will be hampered by the drop of Ditto, but I definitely predict that it'll affect the remaining UULT cycles.

/

After getting frustrated by the wildly varying success of screens, I mostly used balance up to the ~1600 mark. Again, a bunch of different variants. I used a Pangoro + Salazzle + SR Copperajah build that I also used in UUPL, but it required a bit too much maneuvering versus threats such as Escavalier and SD Incineroar. Juuno passed me a AV Copperajah + Umbreon + Weezing team, which was pretty solid but prone to getting overwhelmed by Pangoro and more offensive balanced squads. Finally, the Gastrodon + Esca balance from the OP was probably the most reliable of all these teams. I basically just copied the team from the OP, but I made one small change and that was changing Pangoro's 4th move to Brick Break. You basically always want to click the stupidly strong STABs anyway and it can greatly help your screens matchup, especially if the opponent is unaware.

look how happy this stupid fuck looks
I still couldn't quite reach the required highs with any of the balance teams. A recurring problem was that some of UU's breakers such as Haxorus and Pangoro are just too powerful, so I decided on another strategy. I cooked up a janky stall based on the idea that it would at least destroy screens thanks to the combination of Umbreon + Quag basically beating everything except Haxorus, which Avalugg can cover. By slapping on TSpikes Weezing-Galar and CM WP Policy Necrozma, I wanted to ensure that I could break opposing stall in a relatively straightforward way without ending up in 300 turn games. This team has some really obvious holes (basically every Fire type is a nightmare), but thankfully I did not encounter a single Darmanitan or Chandelure high up the ladder. The team mostly did what it was supposed to do, except it still lost to Pangoro from time to time (fuck you CBU for rolling up w Mold Breaker with LO and SD / Knock / Drain Punch / EQ). It got me to 1700s, at which point I needed a final bump. I need to thank SOMALIA for that, as he provided a demonic Ditto Screens team, but I'll let him post that when he qualifies next cycle.

Thanks for listening to my TED talk and I'll take the liberty to tag everyone else who has already qualified so they can also share their experiences if they feel like it.

Hide

pokeisfun Slowpoke92i Shoot solonor24 Panther-T Amane Misa Accelgor

 

[solonor24]

Very interesting stuff. I feel like my run to qualifying was much different than the traditional way. Typically, on the ladder, you usually experiment with a wide variety of teams that you feel may actually be decent. This can range from all the different ways to build a team (hyper offense, bulky offense, balance, stall). As Zoro said, tournaments like these are supposed to encourage fast metagame development. I strayed away from experimenting too much and used exclusively one team throughout all games.

Before I get into the thought process behind the team and how it works, I will mention that I didn't even touch the ladder until Tuesday of week 1. I'm personally not a fan of switching teams during anytime where I know I'll will be laddering for a while, whether that be reqs for a certain tier or a ladder tournament. As a result, I took the first 2 days to test a new team I created with a bunch of my good friends and uupl teammates. I made the requisite changes I thought I needed to make, got some advice from others, and then I felt I was ready to go.

The Team:

/ / / / /
Team Import: https://pokepast.es/79a2cc8625e765ce

I wanted to create a team I felt worked against all styles, and have a tiny twist to where I still have a bit of that unexpected factor. Escavalier was a pokemon that looked very anti-meta to me and something I wanted to try out. It totally sits on Roserade (something that was seeing insane amounts of usage), beats celebi, and knocks off all of its switchins which will help in the later stages of the game. This spread allows you to 1v1 SD Coballion, a major threat to this team (252 Atk Cobalion Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 128+ Def Escavalier: 118-141 (34.3 - 40.9%) -- 59.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery), eat up banded Haxorus earthquakes and being able to knock off in retaliation (252 Atk Choice Band Mold Breaker Haxorus Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 128+ Def Escavalier: 139-164 (40.4 - 47.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery), and be able to eat up whatever hit Lucario throws at it whilst ohkoing in return (0 Atk Escavalier Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Lucario: 298-352 (106 - 125.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO).

Now, a lot of people will be asking, what in the world is that roserade? Well, I theorized a spread that allows you to take on opposing roserade (252 SpA Life Orb Roserade Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 136+ SpD Roserade: 142-169 (43.8 - 52.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Black Sludge recovery) and give me extra insurance vs any type of sylveon. With that amount of speed, you still outrun the things you need to such as bulky incineroars, the increasingly popular pangoro, etc. Spikes and sleep support is exactly what this team needs, and is a great partner for the 2 breakers on this team (Hax and Esca.)

The rocker of choice for this team was Rhyperior. Pretty self-explanatory, its great against those gigalith noivern teams that are common, gets up rocks reliably, and is an immediate toxtricity answer. The speed on this set was to outrun Golisopod, Copperajah, and opposing Rhyperior. A lot of people who use Goli were trying to get away with running little to no speed, so you're able to stay in and punish that if need be.

The rest of the team just provides a solid foundation. Rotom-W as the hazard removal provides a nice Barbaracle check along with the physdef Escavalier, and is a nice mon to have to gain momentum with volt. Sylveon for the wishpassing and being able to check a lot of mons in the meta, and good old banded haxorus which provides nice priority and insane damage output from all its moves.

Threats to the team:


The counterplay to this mon was explained above.

/
Keep esca/rhyp healthy, wisp with rotom if you can, keep your hazards up, and prioritize damaging them as much as you can before it's too late. At least croak is super rare, so that's good news.


All teams are weak to Haxorus in one form or another, there's very little you can do with any combination of mons you choose. With this team, esca and sylveon are your immediate answers, and your own Haxorus with first impression will be able to finish it off once its weakened.


Scarf really isnt a problem, It's specs that you have to watch out for. No ghost resist means shadow ball is likely going to give you nightmares especially from specs. Prioritize hazards and keep its checks healthy.

Thanks for reading. If you choose to use this team, let me know what you think of it and if you are having success. Have fun laddering!

 

[ramolost]

ayy ima post the team that i laddered with but its really a weird ass team :


click on the mons for the import
i first made that team for a tour and then i used first another team with snorlax but it didnt worked well because of all the dual screen cheese on the ladd so i tried this. It's basically a BO with hazard stack and 3 priorities to handle offense and 2 breakers for fat stuff. Team kinda works against every archetype and especially against cheese since u have all these FI users and blade so i like it on ladd but its hard to use
i'll write more stuff later but i just drop the team if someone want to use it.

dont read this its the teambuilding process its awful

i dont really remember how i built this i know it was for a team tour and i had to build something that is different from my comfort zone (it worked btw).
The first mon was drapion helmet, iirc Carmin was using that set and i liked it so i was like why not i kinda like the idea. Since i have tspikes i said fuck it lets go for hazard spam.
So i added a goli which is a cool partner for drapion since drapion can take the knock off and goli can take the eq for drap.
Then i added zong coz i needed rock dont ask me why a zong coz i dont remember i think it was for weezing and for fairies to an extension but ??? unsure ??? anyway zong is a cool mon so zong was def the pick.
Ok here comes haxorus. I added him coz its broken and my oppo was weak to it and having a dragon is always cool nothing much to say about this ? i also wanted a cool breaker.
Then i realized that i was hella weak to cobalion and to lucario and the team looks ugly but doublade looks cool so i was like ok doublade is it. It also works well with the team offering a cool late game sweeper with all the hazards.
Ok so first on this sylveon was : mixed agility lucario (dont ask me it did nothing its garbage) and then DD necrozma but i went for sylv coz i was so weak to umbreon and to noivern. 4th slot is wish coz im flexing on the ladder and its cool if u get knocked it carried few games. Sylv was also great against all the stall that ppl were spamming on high ladder (i still dk why fuck stall lame ass archetype but i stil love you pokeisfun).

threats

ok so the team is kinda darma weak. It can only in easily against zong but nothing switchs on it. U usually sac drapion so it loses all his HP ty to helmet + recoil or u just do good plays idk rocks also help against scarf / band variant and the team pressures it well.
idk i guess fire mons are a problem for this team but who use these ? i dont remember how to deal with chandy just kill it and it should do the trick.
wow another fire mon how original. ok this one is really easier to deal with but knock off is just annoying for the team. drap and hax can switch on it with good predicts and doublade can heavily chip it with cc ?? i guess that how i dealt with this.
ok this one is bitchy u really have to play the doublade mu well coz if you let your whole team getting chipped it can easily just SD and win. U can hard drapion on it and then keeping the checks like sylv healthy but just dont let it set up.

ok totally forgot this one ??? cool thing is that it barely in against the team and you have SpDef zong but with a bit of chip on zong it can just spam overdrive and it puts a lot of pressure on the team since the team is kinda slow. Just lure it with sylv if the fairy resist is a toxtri or just play around it well its not a giantic threat just be aware that its dangerous.

Thanks for reading(if u did if u didnt ty for nothing). If you choose to use this team, let me know what you think of it and if you are having success. Have fun laddering! (yes i copy pasted what solonor24 wrote but hes a genius what do u guys want me to say)

 

[Morsel]

Hi guys!

Thanks for the tag ZoroDark. Figure I may as well share both my approach to laddering and a team that I used for a lot of the cycle. Unlike others, I pretty much started laddering as soon as the new cycle started, and would play about 10-15 games a day up until Friday. I wanted to pace myself and get up to around 1600 before getting into the home stretch. I basically wanted to make sure I was entirely out of low ladder before the weekend since slugging through it can be tiresome and draining. Like Solonor, I opted to not use screens HO at all throughout my time laddering, because it's way too matchup dependent and inconsistent. With screens, overpredicting (which can happen a lot in low ladder) or getting a play wrong hurts much more compared to other team archetypes. I mostly altered between a few different BO and types of balance since those are the team styles I enjoy playing the most (I personally don't enjoy playing stall).


Here is a team I made which I used frequently:

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The main goal of this team is to use my pivots (Incineroar, Celebi, and Golisopod) to bring in my breakers as many times as possible during a game. I really like Taunt Cobalion since it shuts down stuff like Barbaracle and Necrozma on screens and is great to shut down Roserade, Gigalith, and other hazard setters (can also be useful against Rotom-W and Weezing to keep rocks up). It also helps against the endless Araquanid webs teams in low ladder. You can also consider Thunder Wave to cripple Noivern over Taunt. I run 248 speed which might seem weird on Cobalion, but it's to ensure that I always lose the speed tie against opposing Cobalion, tank their CC, and OHKO them back with CC after a drop.

I'm using scarf Celebi with Healing Wish since it can sponge hits from and pivot out against bulky waters and Cobalion, as well as heal a low Incineroar or Sylveon. I just ran enough speed for +1 Haxorus since I really don't care about speed tying with scarf Flygon (which Golisopod handles). Golisopod is nice since it can sponge close combats from Pangoro (which I ran into a ton) and force it out, while also doing great against screens. I like aqua jet to revenge kill Darmanitan as well as a weakened protect Barbaracle. It also helps against a weakened Toxtricity that may try and come in after you revenge kill something. I wanted to run at least some HP with Sylveon (I just have enough speed for Milotic) since this team really struggles with Hurricane Noivern, and I figured that Golisopod was a decent enough check to Pangoro (as most will click CC). I've always preferred dual dragon STAB on Haxorus since it punishes you less for clicking Dragon STAB (I.e., you aren't screwed against Escavalier or Bronzong). Plus, Sylveon is easy to knock off with Incineroar to get it in range of CB EQ, while Cobalion is easily checked by Celebi and Golisopod.

Threats:

+

This core is difficult to deal with for this team since Hurricane Noivern with rocks up and some chip can 2HKO or OHKO most of my guys. You need to keep Incineroar healthy and not let it get poisoned to check Bronzong, and use it to Knock Off Noivern's Boots and poison it. You will probably have to make a Shadow Ball play with Sylveon to whittle Bronzong properly as well. Keep Celebi alive since Healing Wish support into Sylveon is also important to help check Noivern.

If you let LO SD Toxicroak get to +2, you might lose since most of this team falls to Gunk Shot+Drain Punch+Sucker Punch. You need to keep Haxorus at full to take a +2 Sucker Punch and get some 50/50s right (I.e., do they SD on your Sylveon?) to beat this if they play well.

This thing can freely volt switch a lot of the time, and finds ways to come in through Cobalion, Golisopod, and Sylveon locked into Hyper Voice. Both specs and shift gear are extremely threatening. Keep Incineroar healthy enough to take a hit and whittle it down into First Impression/Aqua Jet range. Playing aggressively with Sylveon and psyshocking it is also a way to deal with this. I've gotten some janky kills against people running scarf Toxtricity (don't run that btw) with Celebi in low ladder, but this obviously isn't consistent.

Replays

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1106840536
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1107214496

Shoutouts to Anish in particular for being there to bounce ideas off of and for your suggestions (changing Haxorus to CB in particular). Thank you all for reading and have fun laddering!

 

[Amane Misa]

As the host of last year's UULT Discussion Thread, I am very delighted to see that the thread is active so a big like to everybody who had posted!

I will probably make a post dedicated to this topic in the NP thread but screens is pretty crazy right now. What proved it wasn't broken in the last generation is its inconsistency and incompetence to be used successfully in the high ladder but in this generation, it is pretty damn good in the high ladder, and I've taken advantage of that in my run.

importable

Dugtrio @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb
- Stealth Rock
- Memento

Xatu @ Light Clay
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Teleport
- Thunder Wave

Haxorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Poison Jab

Barbaracle @ Life Orb
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Shell Smash
- Stone Edge
- Liquidation
- Grass Knot

Toxtricity @ Throat Spray
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overdrive
- Boomburst
- Taunt
- Shift Gear

Linoone @ Figy Berry
Ability: Gluttony
EVs: 220 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 32 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Extreme Speed
- Seed Bomb
- Throat Chop

Before I begin, this is a version of the team Odd Della Robia used in UUPL I edited so I do not take credit for making the team or anything (I do take credit for innovating Xatu last generation, though ) . This self-explanatory combination of 4 Pokemon under screens is the most consistent I've seen so far. Even though the team is generally self-explanatory, I will explain some of the changes I did to the team:

• Regular Dugtrio over Alolan Dugtrio because it is faster and it'll do better on mirror matchups if the opponent has Alolan Dugtrio as their Stealth Rock setter.
• Adamant Haxorus misses out on Roserade and Lucario which is really annoying but it nearly guarantees the OHKO on Sylveon with Poison Jab at +1. While Jolly Haxorus does 89% min after Stealth Rock to Sylveon, Sylveon can attempt to do Protect shenanigans and makes the whole process just annoying.

+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Haxorus Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sylveon: 385-455 (97.7 - 115.4%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery

• Protect is very good on Barbaracle to block First Impression, but Grass Knot Barbaracle helps a lot with dealing with Gastrodon and Quagsire (especially important for dealing with Gastrodon to help Toxtricity have an easier time cleaning).
• Taunt on Toxtricity helps it break Sylveon and Umbreon more easily and prevent slower Pokemon from clicking Defog.
• Near max-HP investment on Linoone (only enough Speed for Adamant Tsareena) makes it easier to set up against Golisopod and Celebi which is game-deciding at oftentimes.

A few Replays:

• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1107936884-n918gvml664u6jmvzm9spoj733js723pw - A 1700s game; HP investment; Adamant nature on Haxorus made it so it OHKOed the opposing Gigalith after Stealth Rock damage after the Life Orb was knocked off and the HP investment with Linoone made it so it sets up on Celebi and seals the game.
• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1107936218 - Another important game that sealed my spot in Week 2's qualifiers. Grass Knot Barbaracle won the game and showed that the Gastrodon matchup can be quite shaky otherwise.

importable

Pangoro @ Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Gunk Shot
- Bullet Punch

Arcanine @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Spe
- Flamethrower
- Morning Sun
- Toxic
- Teleport

Rotom-Wash @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Defog
- Pain Split

Noivern @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Flamethrower
- Roost
- Draco Meteor

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Shadow Sneak
- Close Combat

Rhyperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance

One of my favorite teams to use. The idea is pretty simple: pivots + Choice Band Pangoro do a massive damage to the opponent's team and Doublade cleans. Because the team is self-explanatory in my opinion I will only explain the core of Pangoro + SpD Arcanine because I really like it. SpD Arcanine will switch into Choice Specs Gardevoir and Chandelure, which check Pangoro. If they lock themselves into the Shadow- or the Fairy-type move, Arcanine eats with relative ease (not counting hax), and if they lock themselves into anything else Pangoro gets a free turn.

importable

Avalugg @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Body Press
- Recover

Umbreon @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell

Weezing-Galar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Strange Steam
- Toxic
- Toxic Spikes
- Protect

Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Heavy Slam
- Protect

Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 24 Def / 232 SpD
Careful Nature
- Facade
- Curse
- Rest
- Block

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Recover

This relatively old team is also self-explanatory so I will explain it with very few words. Neutralizing Gas Weezing helps to deal with Machamp and Toxic Spikes and Block CurseLax helps against opposing stall matchups and helps to speed up games in general.

Have fun :^]

 

[Accel]

Hey everyone! There have been some fantastic posts from those who have qualified and I figured I'd try and shoot for the same standard. Do keep in mind that everyone's approach is dependent on what styles and trends they're personally comfortable with exploring and that the same approach may not work for others. My advice to those hoping to qualify would be to analyze each of the above posts to potentially figure out similarities between themselves and those who have already qualified. The common mindsets and trends can then be easily applied to your own approach and hopefully you too can take part in what's probably the most hectic yet satisfying tour of the year. Of course, your own ceiling will be higher the more you experiment with newer strategies so always be on the lookout to introduce the next hottest trend and share the resulting satisfaction with those who you would end up influencing.

On to the purpose of this post.

In general I've found that while it's possible to get high on the ladder with a singular team, most people tend to get bored or frustrated with the limitations of just one build. UULT requires you to play around 50 games minimum to get near the top, and that's considering an incredibly efficient run with losses in the single digits. My point is, playing 50 games with one team can get pretty stale for most people so variety is your best friend here.

The Early Climb (1000 - 1400)

Early on in a run, you're bound to run into teams that may cause you to question whether you're on the right ladder or not. Most people prefer to breeze through this section of the ladder with a hyper offense of some sort to get to the 1300s/1400s as soon as possible. I myself used this approach for the sake of time and most others find this to be efficient for both your ELO advancement and time. The major caveat with these hyper offenses is that your matchups will be generally hit or miss, with a higher possibility of getting one favorable to you on the lower ladder. Furthermore, these sorts of teams have no margin for error and one minor error in your sequence can spell your eventual doom. This very precision is why I think most screens/hyper offensive styles are unreliable the higher you go, for the risk of facing a worse matchup increases drastically and better players are capable of limiting the formulaic approach of these sorts of teams. If you're confident in your skill, you can still make it work the higher up you go but these risks are undeniable. However, as far as the lower ladder is concerned, this is a proven approach that can most probably net you a good start to your run.

If you feel as if these traditional up-tempo offensive teams aren't for you, typical bulky offense teams are a fine alternative. It's perfectly fine to deviate from the 'use HO early on to farm wins' mindset and use something with more general flexibility and reliability at this stage. As stated earlier, I used screens to save myself as much time as possible because that's what I prioritized and was most comfortable with. Prioritize your own comfort and feel free to use what you've had success with at this stage.

Qualifying for UULT (1400 - 1700)

At this stage, I think it's universally understood that a bulky offense is the best way to advance up to the highest parts of the ladder. By doing so, you have the tools to take on most matchups and such a style can bring out your full playing potential. It makes up for most of the usage on this part of the ladder and it's no surprise that the most successful ladderers have a rotation of reliable bulky offenses that they continually shuffle. Do note that you're not limited to a typical meta defining bulky offense. In fact, the best bulky offenses at the moment revolve around underrated breakers that tend to take advantage of the tier's popular team structures.

Pangoro's fantastic for ladder use at the moment. Even if the opponent has a hard stop to it like a Galarian Weezing or a defensive Sylveon, you can prevent them from operating at full freedom and usually force them into some predictable sequences. It's a great pick to use against opposing bulky offenses and hyper offenses alike and it definitely hasn't disappointed me when I used it for the bulk of cycles 1 and 2. Seeing as some others have posted their own Pangoro takes in this thread, its impact on games is well documented already and requires no further explanation. The team I used makes use of Noivern and Rotom-Wash to pivot around and put the rest into positions to succeed. It's a solid team with defensive answers to most of the tier's top threats and I'd encourage you all to try it out if you ever need a new team to mess with.

Copperajah is another threat that will net you some success due to the tier's reliance of structures involving mons like Roserade and Sylveon. This concept took advantage of Copperajah in tandem with Toxic Spikes to pile the pressure on to your opponent and methodically take over the game. Nearly every pivot in UU pairs well with it, so I implore you all to try it out for yourselves and reap the benefits it offers so very well at this point in time. It's a pretty basic yet effective team and I'd imagine others have similar builds in their own arsenals. Again, you have answers to most of the prominent UU mons as well as the flexibility to outplay a number of matchups.

I hope this post was able to help those who are trying to qualify for the remaining cycles, or at least broaden your perspective on what can be used to get you results in this tournament. Good luck!

 

[pokemonisfun]

Yeah one of the stall teams I used to qualify with is already posted in the OP - frankly I don't think it's great given the exploding usage of Pangoro - 10.6% of teams in April compared to 1.7% of teams in March 1760 stats - we are seeing a 620% increase in Pangoro usage. The whole Colbur Dazzling Celebi worked a few times but now it's not going to catch any seasoned UULT player by surprise anymore.

I just wanted to say this one sentence: I don't think it's true at all you have to switch modes or use BO at the top of the ladder compared to the early part of the ladder, as long as your team can deal with the meta it will always be fine imo.

 

[SOMALIA]

As I cannot continue in this tournament, it is fitting for me to share this team at this point in time.

A bit of context, I went on a whim and decided to learn SS UU after enjoying BW UU so much but not finding many chances to play it.

Cycle 1 was me learning the metagame and making teams, I ALWAYS suggest to people to make teams and ladder yourself rather than using other people's teams. It worked for me big time at the end of Cycle 1, with me being just a few points of top 4 and losing the last 2 games due to some insane luck.

This team has been tested over 3 cycles and it works pretty much at any part of the ladder.

You set up with Espeon, you set up with Haxorus on Gigalith/Rhyperior/Bronzong/Fire-types etc.

Toxtricity is a weird one, he generally contrinutes the least to the team but allows me to sponge one or two moonblasts from choiced Gardevoir in addition to sometimes getting of a sweep once the Rhy/Gig is gone from balanced teams.

Once DRAGON SHOT gets beaten by the opposing Golio plus Doublade, Doublade is pretty much death fodder allowing Lucario to clinch victory. Adamant nature gives me a shot at OHKOin Noivern with +2 e-speed and flygon.

Reuniclus probably has over 50% of the clean ups done by the team. It is insanely good and those 2 games I mentioned that cost me cycle 1 sadly were when this thing was sweeping but got cut short by crits. It's bound to happen so you have to ensure to sweep in as little turns as possible.

This team excels at beating opposing dual screens offense in addition to mauling typical esca/incin/giga balance teams.

Chandelure is annoying as it forces me to lead with Haxorus, it can come in while Reuni sets up and trick or do alot of damage with Shadow Ball, thus rendering the sweep void.

This has been the team to get me from 1450-1710 in a matter of 2 hours or so during cycle 1 beating everyone in top 5 along the way.

https://pokepast.es/8383d648652bf31e

The natures on some of these Pokemon can be changed to +speed but I've always found the +atk/sp.att nature saving my ass.​