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Tournament UUPL XIII Team and Set Dump
- Thread starter Lily
- Start date
Hello, I've been playing oras uu for about 10 years now and it's one of my favorite tiers. I think despite it being so old and somewhat "solved" and exhausted (by pak), there's still room for creativity as metagames incur trends and shifts. Particularly, I think the setting of bo1 is the perfect place since you're less pressed to make a team that's good in general and more so a team that will give you the best odds at winning 1 game vs a specific opponent. With this in mind, I mostly did the prep and teambuilding alongside pdt with some input (minimal and mostly useless) from the strap. Here's what we used each week:
Week 1:
I had the idea to use a set-up water type, either DD Gyarados or CM Tox Cune (paired with Florges for wish and aroma support). Funnily enough, I had 0 time to actually build a team and picked what I used from a team dump that pdt posted early on. I just picked it because it looked cool and hadn't seen an Entei in a very long time. Unfortunately Alomomola walled my entire team and the game was only looked somewhat close because I got a crit.
Week 2:
Orb Hydrei looked pretty good this week so that's what I wanted to build around. The main issues with Orb Hydrei is its longevity and increased susceptibility to scald burns so I wanted to pair it with Florges. MPert / Empo / Bat were natural adds; the latter 2 alongside check most of the meta pretty efficiently while MPert provided some offensive options against stuff like MAggron / MLix. For the last slot we needed some extra speed so scarf Hera fit the bill perfectly since it not only is a nice cleaner with moxie, but also synergizes well with Hydrei since they tend to overload on fairies together. There was a good degree of moveset flexibility since we could put SR on either Pert or Empo, defog on Empo or Bat, etc. We decided on SR Pert, fog Empo, and taunt Bat since we wanted to limit the amount of turns Bat has to click defog instead of just uturning out on stuff. Plus, Pert is a way better SR setter than Empo. Anyway, the reason Pert clicks stone edge in the actual game is cus... we forgot to put waterfall on it.
Some alternative options I made that week are:
I quite like this 6 since Nido / Escav with wish support is pretty strong and escav is pretty damn hard to switch into. Fairly similar to hera in that regard except you're even less worried about fairies (but the tradeoff is the speed and being worse into scald).
I also like how this looks quite a bit. The job of wishing and and curing any status ailments diverge from the singular Florges to Mola and Cress, whereas Escav guarantees removing Celebi for Pert. This one was way too weak to waters for my taste though (a single suicune would be troublesome, for example) so we shelved the idea but I kinda fell in love with Cresselia as a random 6th on most teams.
Week 3:
We noticed that our opponent tends to use pretty "cheesy" / unconventional stuff and is also very soft into a basic specs Sylv. My go-to thought when facing opponents like this is to use something very proactive so they have less breathing room for their surprises to take effect. Enter: Specs Sylveon HO. The structure is pretty straightforward - Lass sets up spikes which helps Shark immensely; Krook / Doublade / Bat pressure physical tanks while the latter 2 offset the fighting weakness. Sylveon is mainly a trade machine here, since it's naturally bulky enough to actually eat hits while destroying most of the tier. In the actual game, we didn't even face a steel or a pokemon that can outspeed and reliably 2hko Sylv without getting ohko'd in return so the pick worked out very nicely.
Some alternatives we looked into this week were:
No removal and Bliss / Florg are somewhat redundant (especially on this 6) but I liked the idea of some sort of Ditto balance. Couldn't find a 6 we liked with it though.
Week 4:
I quite liked this team so it's a shame that it was so weak to sub 3a Empo (that set wasn't at all on my radar). The idea here was just to use a fairly reliable balance breaker / trade machine kinda mon so we started with the idea of Nido + TWave Hydrei (to lure av Mienshao). Mola / Aggron / Bat were natural fits and we preferred Mola as the water type here since Aggron and Nido appreciate the wish support (it is hard to pass a wish to Nido but easier in games vs. bulky teams). AV Shao provided a special sponge without using something as passive as Florges / Empo and is pretty nice vs. Celebi and also just helps to bring Nido in.
Some alternatives for this week were:
The idea here was just to use strong dudes like Ape / Rose while Klefki can spike, allowing Rose an extra slot for an attack and/or synthesis (I find synthesis to be really strong on it). Ultimately, I felt this 6 doesn't support nor appreciate Klefki enough and Empo has way too much of an easy time removing.
We wanted to abuse the potency of bulky SD Hera and its ability to remove Florges so partners that came to mind were dragons like MScep and Hydrei. Also put this together:
which is a fairly normal Aboma team with a random Cresselia (I became pretty addicted). Another idea we looked into is SD Coba since I figured it doesn't really have the same checks as other fighters - it has an easier time getting past crobat and naturally pressures fairies. Some 6s I put together were
where Mamo was chosen as a partner to pressure stuff like Doublade and bulky waters that Coba has traditionally struggled with.
Week 5:
We wanted to use Aboma + Pursuit this week since the opponent was pretty weak to it and this is a pretty straightforward Aboma structure (just a revamp of the idea from last week but more standard aka dropping Cress for Sylv and swapping Hydrei for Krook). Pursuit alleviated stuff like Metagross (who I forgot was in the tier until this week) and allowed Aboma to more freely click against teams w bulky steel types.
Week 6:
I became kind of obsessed with that sub 3a Empo so I wanted to try building with it. I liked the idea of CB Ape + sub 3a Empo since Ape can weaken or uturn on waters like Mola / Slowking / Cune which allows Empo a free sub. The 6 we came up with didn't have removal and we figured there's enough offensive options between Hydrei / NP Celebi so we just went with a standard fog Empo. One choice I'd like to highlight here is that the last on Celebi was U-Turn, instead of a 3rd attack or Recover. The reasoning for U-Turn was that Celebi struggles to break past Empo without EP but NP -> EP allows for some very easy midgrounds, so it tends to be hard to make progress anyway despite actually being able to hit it. Celebi also just isn't that strong even at +2. U-Turn prevents all that midground nonsense and just maintains the momentum which was preferrable for this team. In retrospect, I don't think this 6 was great though and definitely my least fav thing we brought.
Some alternative 6's we looked at were:
which... was built on the premise that Hydrei learns defog
Week 7:
After getting throttled by Hera / Gatr last week, we wanted to switch up our structures since there's been some repetition in the bulky fairy + steel archetype from us. Pert / Doublade / Bat was a good way to be strong into fighters without reusing fairies like Florg or even Sylv so we had that core in mind, especially since Doublade is a pretty strong pick in general and we also hadn't used it yet. Strap suggested an off-meta pick in Specs Coba which turned out to be a nice pick to lure physical tanks for Doublade and Pert. Hydrei here was taunt + roost (with lum) so we have an out vs bulky waters and scarf Garde provided a second out with trick (and also HWish support). This is prob my favorite of the season since it finally felt like I stumbled upon a unique flavor not only in surprise sets but also in composition and structure.
Some alternatives we looked at were:
Specs Coba paired with CB Krook to suit ghost types but this 6 was deemed to be too weak into opposing fighters. The import has scarf Hera but it could also be lefties.
I don't really have general metagame commentary since the way I think about mons tends to be "everything has a purpose on the right team / vs. the right opponent" especially in a BO1 setting like this. I do think that, in my limited knowledge, Cresselia offenses are a bit underexplored and there's also tons of room for exploration on different Cress sets in terms of last moves and items.
Thanks to pdt and strap for talking ORAS with me (despite me yapping more than playing) and thanks to Pak as well for the help and feedback! Our team chat was fun despite there being no sheist uu players of the northeastern region. Will hopefully see you guys in the next one
Week 1:
I had the idea to use a set-up water type, either DD Gyarados or CM Tox Cune (paired with Florges for wish and aroma support). Funnily enough, I had 0 time to actually build a team and picked what I used from a team dump that pdt posted early on. I just picked it because it looked cool and hadn't seen an Entei in a very long time. Unfortunately Alomomola walled my entire team and the game was only looked somewhat close because I got a crit.
Week 2:
Orb Hydrei looked pretty good this week so that's what I wanted to build around. The main issues with Orb Hydrei is its longevity and increased susceptibility to scald burns so I wanted to pair it with Florges. MPert / Empo / Bat were natural adds; the latter 2 alongside check most of the meta pretty efficiently while MPert provided some offensive options against stuff like MAggron / MLix. For the last slot we needed some extra speed so scarf Hera fit the bill perfectly since it not only is a nice cleaner with moxie, but also synergizes well with Hydrei since they tend to overload on fairies together. There was a good degree of moveset flexibility since we could put SR on either Pert or Empo, defog on Empo or Bat, etc. We decided on SR Pert, fog Empo, and taunt Bat since we wanted to limit the amount of turns Bat has to click defog instead of just uturning out on stuff. Plus, Pert is a way better SR setter than Empo. Anyway, the reason Pert clicks stone edge in the actual game is cus... we forgot to put waterfall on it.
Some alternative options I made that week are:
I quite like this 6 since Nido / Escav with wish support is pretty strong and escav is pretty damn hard to switch into. Fairly similar to hera in that regard except you're even less worried about fairies (but the tradeoff is the speed and being worse into scald).
I also like how this looks quite a bit. The job of wishing and and curing any status ailments diverge from the singular Florges to Mola and Cress, whereas Escav guarantees removing Celebi for Pert. This one was way too weak to waters for my taste though (a single suicune would be troublesome, for example) so we shelved the idea but I kinda fell in love with Cresselia as a random 6th on most teams.
Week 3:
We noticed that our opponent tends to use pretty "cheesy" / unconventional stuff and is also very soft into a basic specs Sylv. My go-to thought when facing opponents like this is to use something very proactive so they have less breathing room for their surprises to take effect. Enter: Specs Sylveon HO. The structure is pretty straightforward - Lass sets up spikes which helps Shark immensely; Krook / Doublade / Bat pressure physical tanks while the latter 2 offset the fighting weakness. Sylveon is mainly a trade machine here, since it's naturally bulky enough to actually eat hits while destroying most of the tier. In the actual game, we didn't even face a steel or a pokemon that can outspeed and reliably 2hko Sylv without getting ohko'd in return so the pick worked out very nicely.
Some alternatives we looked into this week were:
No removal and Bliss / Florg are somewhat redundant (especially on this 6) but I liked the idea of some sort of Ditto balance. Couldn't find a 6 we liked with it though.
Week 4:
I quite liked this team so it's a shame that it was so weak to sub 3a Empo (that set wasn't at all on my radar). The idea here was just to use a fairly reliable balance breaker / trade machine kinda mon so we started with the idea of Nido + TWave Hydrei (to lure av Mienshao). Mola / Aggron / Bat were natural fits and we preferred Mola as the water type here since Aggron and Nido appreciate the wish support (it is hard to pass a wish to Nido but easier in games vs. bulky teams). AV Shao provided a special sponge without using something as passive as Florges / Empo and is pretty nice vs. Celebi and also just helps to bring Nido in.
Some alternatives for this week were:
The idea here was just to use strong dudes like Ape / Rose while Klefki can spike, allowing Rose an extra slot for an attack and/or synthesis (I find synthesis to be really strong on it). Ultimately, I felt this 6 doesn't support nor appreciate Klefki enough and Empo has way too much of an easy time removing.
We wanted to abuse the potency of bulky SD Hera and its ability to remove Florges so partners that came to mind were dragons like MScep and Hydrei. Also put this together:
which is a fairly normal Aboma team with a random Cresselia (I became pretty addicted). Another idea we looked into is SD Coba since I figured it doesn't really have the same checks as other fighters - it has an easier time getting past crobat and naturally pressures fairies. Some 6s I put together were
where Mamo was chosen as a partner to pressure stuff like Doublade and bulky waters that Coba has traditionally struggled with.
Week 5:
We wanted to use Aboma + Pursuit this week since the opponent was pretty weak to it and this is a pretty straightforward Aboma structure (just a revamp of the idea from last week but more standard aka dropping Cress for Sylv and swapping Hydrei for Krook). Pursuit alleviated stuff like Metagross (who I forgot was in the tier until this week) and allowed Aboma to more freely click against teams w bulky steel types.
Week 6:
I became kind of obsessed with that sub 3a Empo so I wanted to try building with it. I liked the idea of CB Ape + sub 3a Empo since Ape can weaken or uturn on waters like Mola / Slowking / Cune which allows Empo a free sub. The 6 we came up with didn't have removal and we figured there's enough offensive options between Hydrei / NP Celebi so we just went with a standard fog Empo. One choice I'd like to highlight here is that the last on Celebi was U-Turn, instead of a 3rd attack or Recover. The reasoning for U-Turn was that Celebi struggles to break past Empo without EP but NP -> EP allows for some very easy midgrounds, so it tends to be hard to make progress anyway despite actually being able to hit it. Celebi also just isn't that strong even at +2. U-Turn prevents all that midground nonsense and just maintains the momentum which was preferrable for this team. In retrospect, I don't think this 6 was great though and definitely my least fav thing we brought.
Some alternative 6's we looked at were:
which... was built on the premise that Hydrei learns defog
Week 7:
After getting throttled by Hera / Gatr last week, we wanted to switch up our structures since there's been some repetition in the bulky fairy + steel archetype from us. Pert / Doublade / Bat was a good way to be strong into fighters without reusing fairies like Florg or even Sylv so we had that core in mind, especially since Doublade is a pretty strong pick in general and we also hadn't used it yet. Strap suggested an off-meta pick in Specs Coba which turned out to be a nice pick to lure physical tanks for Doublade and Pert. Hydrei here was taunt + roost (with lum) so we have an out vs bulky waters and scarf Garde provided a second out with trick (and also HWish support). This is prob my favorite of the season since it finally felt like I stumbled upon a unique flavor not only in surprise sets but also in composition and structure.
Some alternatives we looked at were:
Specs Coba paired with CB Krook to suit ghost types but this 6 was deemed to be too weak into opposing fighters. The import has scarf Hera but it could also be lefties.
I don't really have general metagame commentary since the way I think about mons tends to be "everything has a purpose on the right team / vs. the right opponent" especially in a BO1 setting like this. I do think that, in my limited knowledge, Cresselia offenses are a bit underexplored and there's also tons of room for exploration on different Cress sets in terms of last moves and items.
Thanks to pdt and strap for talking ORAS with me (despite me yapping more than playing) and thanks to Pak as well for the help and feedback! Our team chat was fun despite there being no sheist uu players of the northeastern region. Will hopefully see you guys in the next one
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SS UU
metang double (Metagross) @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Atk / 56 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Toxic
Credit to Lily for suggesting this over what was originally a Jirachi. Metagross is a cool mon that can maintain rocks against Excadrill, even if it deicides to hard switch in on the rocks (you live EQ and KO back). Metagross is also a pinch Cobalion check since it lives +2 CC. Obviously it thumps into Scizor, but for teams that wanna maintain rocks and offensive pressure I found it to be a very good mon and hard to take out.
Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Acid Armor
- Stored Power
- Recover
Slowbro-Galar @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Sludge Bomb
- Scald
- Slack Off
A double CM Psychic core with the intent of punishing users who forego Dark-types a lot. The idea is even if you face a Hydreigon or Zarude, Slowbro-G is the best mon at luring them in and forcing them to click Dark-type STAB. You bust through them, then win with Reuniclus. I ended up facing HO with this team, which typically lacks Dark-types, and the result was what you'd expect.
deino triple (Hydreigon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 144 SpD / 112 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Flamethrower
- Roost
NP Drei is not used much but can be brutal to face if you're lacking Primarina/Azumarill/Chansey. Pretty good mons, to be fair, but the SpDef on this mon makes it much harder to take out. Thundy Focus Blast bounces, you wall Autotomize Celesteela, and even stuff like Togekiss can't really check you without TWave. You can run Chople Berry too to lure Cobalions
Azumarill @ Leftovers
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Liquidation
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
I really like Azumarill with the decrease in Amoonguss usage. Even then, knocking it is nice. Being able to switch moves means you aren't forced out by things you're supposed to counter like Hydreigon/Salamence too. Skarmory isn't that good a counter either since it needs to spend a turn clicking Iron Defense and finds itself Roost spamming when it comes into Azu. The main reason I like Azu is a Drei check that punishes Chansey/Slowking teams since most people slap them on and think they are okay into the other Water/Fairy type.
I brought Azu into a team with no Water-type resist and lost though. Sad yoshi
SM UU
Cobalion @ Steelium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
A very underused threat in current SM. A mon that can set up against even a boosted Scizor (barring Superpower) is invaluable, and the Z-move turns teams that rely on a Lati to check Cobalion into mush. Doublade is rare nowadays, so the only common-ish mon this thumps into is Slowbro. Cobalion also dominates the HO matchup, though we didn't see much of that archtype this tournament.
Infernape @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fire Punch
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Gunk Shot
Another not-new set but I don't really like Terrakion since it can't check Bullet Punch. I just wanted to emphasize how much of a menance Infernape is now that people stopped using NP sets. Nothing switches into this set besides Gligar, and though I think Gligar is horrific, it's usage is picking up this tournament. CB U-Turn is such a threat that you are way more free to click CC than you were if using CB Terrakion since Lati coming into take a U-Turn ends it right then and there and most players know that.
metang double (Metagross) @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Atk / 56 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Toxic
Credit to Lily for suggesting this over what was originally a Jirachi. Metagross is a cool mon that can maintain rocks against Excadrill, even if it deicides to hard switch in on the rocks (you live EQ and KO back). Metagross is also a pinch Cobalion check since it lives +2 CC. Obviously it thumps into Scizor, but for teams that wanna maintain rocks and offensive pressure I found it to be a very good mon and hard to take out.
Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Acid Armor
- Stored Power
- Recover
Slowbro-Galar @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Sludge Bomb
- Scald
- Slack Off
A double CM Psychic core with the intent of punishing users who forego Dark-types a lot. The idea is even if you face a Hydreigon or Zarude, Slowbro-G is the best mon at luring them in and forcing them to click Dark-type STAB. You bust through them, then win with Reuniclus. I ended up facing HO with this team, which typically lacks Dark-types, and the result was what you'd expect.
deino triple (Hydreigon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 144 SpD / 112 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Dark Pulse
- Flamethrower
- Roost
NP Drei is not used much but can be brutal to face if you're lacking Primarina/Azumarill/Chansey. Pretty good mons, to be fair, but the SpDef on this mon makes it much harder to take out. Thundy Focus Blast bounces, you wall Autotomize Celesteela, and even stuff like Togekiss can't really check you without TWave. You can run Chople Berry too to lure Cobalions
Azumarill @ Leftovers
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Liquidation
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
I really like Azumarill with the decrease in Amoonguss usage. Even then, knocking it is nice. Being able to switch moves means you aren't forced out by things you're supposed to counter like Hydreigon/Salamence too. Skarmory isn't that good a counter either since it needs to spend a turn clicking Iron Defense and finds itself Roost spamming when it comes into Azu. The main reason I like Azu is a Drei check that punishes Chansey/Slowking teams since most people slap them on and think they are okay into the other Water/Fairy type.
I brought Azu into a team with no Water-type resist and lost though. Sad yoshi
SM UU
Cobalion @ Steelium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
A very underused threat in current SM. A mon that can set up against even a boosted Scizor (barring Superpower) is invaluable, and the Z-move turns teams that rely on a Lati to check Cobalion into mush. Doublade is rare nowadays, so the only common-ish mon this thumps into is Slowbro. Cobalion also dominates the HO matchup, though we didn't see much of that archtype this tournament.
Infernape @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fire Punch
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Gunk Shot
Another not-new set but I don't really like Terrakion since it can't check Bullet Punch. I just wanted to emphasize how much of a menance Infernape is now that people stopped using NP sets. Nothing switches into this set besides Gligar, and though I think Gligar is horrific, it's usage is picking up this tournament. CB U-Turn is such a threat that you are way more free to click CC than you were if using CB Terrakion since Lati coming into take a U-Turn ends it right then and there and most players know that.
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Going into this tour I really didn't want or expect to start ADV again. I signed up with a preference for SS looking to play something new, but after a few teams talked to me it seemed like I'd be playing SM/ORAS which was chill. Unexpectedly the Idols still wanted to retain me for non-ADV and I somewhat reluctantly accepted. I didn't really think I was worth 16k for non-ADV and part of me did want to experience a different franchise, but Lily & Pak are great and it guaranteed I'd have good support so I figured it was safer than trying my luck in auction. We planned with me in ORAS but the draft wasn't going quite as expected so at some point I said I'd suck it up and ADV. To keep myself interested I decided I'd try to build for myself as much as I could this tour after relying on tweaking other people's teams for the vast majority of UUSD IV/UUPL XII. Here are the results:
Week 1 vs Charmriah (W) https://pokepast.es/2db2aaa5400d3c7c
Charm used lots of weird shit in UUBD with pretty noticeable defensive holes so I wanted to bring something aggressive that targets those weaknesses. Strong EQ and fast TBolt stood out to me as strong picks so I started with Gligar/EBuzz/Kang. I chose SBall Kang because of his high Misdreavus usage and to limit CB Solrock. Oma was a natural add as the spiker since I didn't want to go full HO here, Rain Dance so that it can still be a threat itself in specific scenarios and to pressure Kang a little better. Offensive Slowking was another idea I had after seeing it had a pretty good matchup spread into his own leads and it felt like a solid fit here to help check waters/fighters/Arc/EQ while still exerting pressure. I needed priority and was still a bit soft into Arcanine, so my own Flash Fire Arc rounded out the team pretty nicely. No spin or cleric is problematic in long games but it's meant to be an offensive team that wails into spinners until I can maintain spikes, at which point one of Arc/Glig/Buzz should be able to win.
Week 2 vs Amukamara (W) https://pokepast.es/4347400d0712fce7
Liam had insanely high water usage across the board which is fairly normal for this tier but it wasn't rare at all for him to have 3 per team. Early ideas to abuse that included Quagsire and... Poliwrath? But after a talk with Bouff I decided to build with Leech Plume. Kang/Oma/Toise are all simple adds to form a boring balance core. CB Scyther because he's broken and I needed something that blows back CMers. I think I originally ended the team with Flash Fire Arcanine again for offensive pressure and help against opposing Arc, but I kinda liked psychics into him so I went with Thief Grumpig which could still fill Arc's main rolls here.
Week 3 vs Heysup (L) https://pokepast.es/garayoakbuiltitsoiwontsharesorry
I was playing Heysup so I had less time than usual to figure out a team and ended up loading an old Garay team I had sitting in my builder. I wanted to use CB Fearow because it blows up some of his less defensively sound structures and psychics once again looked good so the team having Lunatone was a nice bonus.
Week 4 vs Parpar (W) https://pokepast.es/33ea2da999ccf659
Parpar spammed ground weak leads so I wanted to try to target that and offensive Quag is a cool trendy set that I hadn't gotten to use before. Rose is the best spiker with it and Aroma support is always highly appreciated in this tier. Scyther isnt necessarily the greatest fit as I know its going to make the team awkard defensively, but it shreds nonsense builds that Parpar oftentimes ends up using. Kang/Arc/Toise are natural adds from there, and I want to note Toise is especially necessary here as the spinner here to help check rocks/grounds/Arc while also being able to pressure Kang. A somewhat bulky Intim Arc is meant to help limit Scyther/normals and should honestly have been even bulkier. Normal types can be very spooky but I figured Intim Arc + triple Focus Punch would be enough as long as I played well.
Week 5 vs shiloh (W) https://pokepast.es/50a859bcc84ef320
Shiloh was mostly just loading up fatty teams so my prep was tailored towards him. SD Gatr is a massive threat for the more traditional balance teams that fatty tends to lean towards and also matched up nicely against his most common leads Arcanine/Solrock. SBall Kang makes a return here due to crazy Solrock usage. Roselia was my spiker of choice once again to be better into Toise/Tenta and help against electrics. I didn't want to be as weak to physical attackers as I was last week so I added a super bulky Granbull which also took cleric duties from Roselia. Team was looking a little slow but Tenta fit pretty nicely as the spinner here, I have Gatr to help with the Arc variants Tenta doesn't want to see and solid ways to punish Kang. CB Scyther last as my priority user because he is broken (and I needed more pressure against CMers).
Week 6 vs mielke (W) https://pokepast.es/93a840211cb560c9
Wasn't feeling super inspired this week, I wanted to use Slowking but wasn't in love with what I came up with so defaulted to my "old reliable". I didn't really build this one but I've edited it enough each time I've used it over the past couple years that I can't even remember what the original sets were when I first yoinked it. The team has its weaknesses but its a very solid 6 that can win against pretty much anything and has solid set flexibility. Oma was solid into most of his leads so I decided to make it Thief and throw it at lead, best case scenario catching a water so Charcoal Arcanine can pop off later.
Week 7 vs BlackKnight_Gawain (W) https://pokepast.es/31bc2602456d86e0
I posted a poll in general chat asking if I should stall and it was like 10 yes to 1 no. Stall has a long list of potential issues in this tier but I kinda wanted to try my hand at building it and against someone unfamiliar with the tier I just figured it'd work. I built several variants of Kang + Altaria + Spikes + Spin + Ghost + Wincon before landing on this. Altaria is like 80% of the reason to use stall to me because its lowkey broken in some matchups just spamming Roar and is by far the most consistent answer to Arcanine. I despise Hitmontop but wanted to try it here because having a real way of switching into CB Solrock is massive for stall and Intim can be randomly nice against guys like Granbull or even Gatr. Not being great into Omastar blows though. And speaking of Omastar it is simply the best spiker on stall although I did try to make others work. Misdreavus was my ghost of choice over Sableye because its better at spinblocking Tenta/Toise and Perish Song can be pretty massive. 3atk Kang can be an issue without Sab but I have Top which really helps with that. SD Plume occupies the wincon slot here, not being as deadly as other options (CM King/Curse Quag/Curse Muk/Curse Lap) but is less committal than the others due to not relying on Rest and has some nice defensive utility checking electrics/waters.
Semis vs Charmriah (W) https://pokepast.es/b7ed111f4e2c2fab
By this point Charm's scout was pretty clearly defined by two things: HO and Misdreavus. Despite that I didn't really think I'd be seeing either and just expected him to load some insanely weird shit like he did against me W1. CM TWave Slowking is pretty good at stomping out nonsense by spreading para and forcing awkward trades even if its not winning outright, and his low Scyther usage made it even more appealing. I also knew I would be using my own Scyther, because he is still broken and good at beating nonsense. I started looking at the hazard game next and with King already being a sturdy water I felt good running Tenta here for the extra speed. Spikes felt too awkward to fit so I decided to drop them here, which just means my lasts need to be able to effectively pressure Kang on their own. I also still need a cleric for my Rest King which resulted in Granbull's inclusion, serving as my initial check to most physicals. I thought Golem fit nicely in the last slot as a strong guy that benefits from TWave/BSlam spam while providing some nice defensive utility as a backup check to normals/electrics/Scyther. Plus Explosion is a great tool to have against someone that can bring Anything.
Semis TB vs Attribute (L) https://pokepast.es/f626122b8d0e03cd
I was pretty out of ideas this week. I had been building and deleting teams for 2 months non-stop by this point and I was up against somebody with zero history in the tier. You'd think the knowledge gap is pretty huge here but Attribute is a talented player and this is a pretty simple tier so it was bound to be one of my harder ADV UU games ever. After not being able to build anything I was happy with I ended up using a team I had built the week prior. CB Solrock is a fantastic progress maker I somehow didn't load all season with the rest of the team beinv built to try to maintain pressure and just win fast. Kang special check & Bull physical check. Tenta checks Arc & spins, my own Arc gives me a special breaker, and those two plus Solrock break down waters for each other. Scyther to clean up, probably should've been SD here. Not too happy with this one which is shitty in tiebreak but I don't hate myself for loading it.
Feels bad to lose another tiebreak for my team, especially with it being in my own tier this time, but life goes on. At least I can cope by telling myself I basically won 7 tiebreaks prior to keep us alive...! I think my tiebreak game could've been really interesting without Granbull getting crit on turn 3, but that's the risk you take loading up teams that walk on a tightrope. The game gave me some good RNG afterwards to keep me in it at least, I just failed to make the most of those extra opportunities. While it's a disappointing end to my time with the tier I can at least look back at my track record and be happy with 7-2 -> 5-3 -> 7-2. Thank you to Lily for being the main one who tried to exist in my channel and for sticking with me over the past 3 years on the Idols (sounds kinda fucking insane its been 3 years now that im typing it out??) and Bouff for giving me a bit of help whenever I needed it. Finchinator hellom maybe one day I'll be able to win a goddamn tiebreak with one of you, sorry it wasn't today.
hopefully be back next year, hopefully in a different tier. I actually really do like ADV UU and wish more people would give it a try in the future but I need a change of scenery. cya!
Week 1 vs Charmriah (W) https://pokepast.es/2db2aaa5400d3c7c
Charm used lots of weird shit in UUBD with pretty noticeable defensive holes so I wanted to bring something aggressive that targets those weaknesses. Strong EQ and fast TBolt stood out to me as strong picks so I started with Gligar/EBuzz/Kang. I chose SBall Kang because of his high Misdreavus usage and to limit CB Solrock. Oma was a natural add as the spiker since I didn't want to go full HO here, Rain Dance so that it can still be a threat itself in specific scenarios and to pressure Kang a little better. Offensive Slowking was another idea I had after seeing it had a pretty good matchup spread into his own leads and it felt like a solid fit here to help check waters/fighters/Arc/EQ while still exerting pressure. I needed priority and was still a bit soft into Arcanine, so my own Flash Fire Arc rounded out the team pretty nicely. No spin or cleric is problematic in long games but it's meant to be an offensive team that wails into spinners until I can maintain spikes, at which point one of Arc/Glig/Buzz should be able to win.
Week 2 vs Amukamara (W) https://pokepast.es/4347400d0712fce7
Liam had insanely high water usage across the board which is fairly normal for this tier but it wasn't rare at all for him to have 3 per team. Early ideas to abuse that included Quagsire and... Poliwrath? But after a talk with Bouff I decided to build with Leech Plume. Kang/Oma/Toise are all simple adds to form a boring balance core. CB Scyther because he's broken and I needed something that blows back CMers. I think I originally ended the team with Flash Fire Arcanine again for offensive pressure and help against opposing Arc, but I kinda liked psychics into him so I went with Thief Grumpig which could still fill Arc's main rolls here.
Week 3 vs Heysup (L) https://pokepast.es/garayoakbuiltitsoiwontsharesorry
I was playing Heysup so I had less time than usual to figure out a team and ended up loading an old Garay team I had sitting in my builder. I wanted to use CB Fearow because it blows up some of his less defensively sound structures and psychics once again looked good so the team having Lunatone was a nice bonus.
Week 4 vs Parpar (W) https://pokepast.es/33ea2da999ccf659
Parpar spammed ground weak leads so I wanted to try to target that and offensive Quag is a cool trendy set that I hadn't gotten to use before. Rose is the best spiker with it and Aroma support is always highly appreciated in this tier. Scyther isnt necessarily the greatest fit as I know its going to make the team awkard defensively, but it shreds nonsense builds that Parpar oftentimes ends up using. Kang/Arc/Toise are natural adds from there, and I want to note Toise is especially necessary here as the spinner here to help check rocks/grounds/Arc while also being able to pressure Kang. A somewhat bulky Intim Arc is meant to help limit Scyther/normals and should honestly have been even bulkier. Normal types can be very spooky but I figured Intim Arc + triple Focus Punch would be enough as long as I played well.
Week 5 vs shiloh (W) https://pokepast.es/50a859bcc84ef320
Shiloh was mostly just loading up fatty teams so my prep was tailored towards him. SD Gatr is a massive threat for the more traditional balance teams that fatty tends to lean towards and also matched up nicely against his most common leads Arcanine/Solrock. SBall Kang makes a return here due to crazy Solrock usage. Roselia was my spiker of choice once again to be better into Toise/Tenta and help against electrics. I didn't want to be as weak to physical attackers as I was last week so I added a super bulky Granbull which also took cleric duties from Roselia. Team was looking a little slow but Tenta fit pretty nicely as the spinner here, I have Gatr to help with the Arc variants Tenta doesn't want to see and solid ways to punish Kang. CB Scyther last as my priority user because he is broken (and I needed more pressure against CMers).
Week 6 vs mielke (W) https://pokepast.es/93a840211cb560c9
Wasn't feeling super inspired this week, I wanted to use Slowking but wasn't in love with what I came up with so defaulted to my "old reliable". I didn't really build this one but I've edited it enough each time I've used it over the past couple years that I can't even remember what the original sets were when I first yoinked it. The team has its weaknesses but its a very solid 6 that can win against pretty much anything and has solid set flexibility. Oma was solid into most of his leads so I decided to make it Thief and throw it at lead, best case scenario catching a water so Charcoal Arcanine can pop off later.
Week 7 vs BlackKnight_Gawain (W) https://pokepast.es/31bc2602456d86e0
I posted a poll in general chat asking if I should stall and it was like 10 yes to 1 no. Stall has a long list of potential issues in this tier but I kinda wanted to try my hand at building it and against someone unfamiliar with the tier I just figured it'd work. I built several variants of Kang + Altaria + Spikes + Spin + Ghost + Wincon before landing on this. Altaria is like 80% of the reason to use stall to me because its lowkey broken in some matchups just spamming Roar and is by far the most consistent answer to Arcanine. I despise Hitmontop but wanted to try it here because having a real way of switching into CB Solrock is massive for stall and Intim can be randomly nice against guys like Granbull or even Gatr. Not being great into Omastar blows though. And speaking of Omastar it is simply the best spiker on stall although I did try to make others work. Misdreavus was my ghost of choice over Sableye because its better at spinblocking Tenta/Toise and Perish Song can be pretty massive. 3atk Kang can be an issue without Sab but I have Top which really helps with that. SD Plume occupies the wincon slot here, not being as deadly as other options (CM King/Curse Quag/Curse Muk/Curse Lap) but is less committal than the others due to not relying on Rest and has some nice defensive utility checking electrics/waters.
Semis vs Charmriah (W) https://pokepast.es/b7ed111f4e2c2fab
By this point Charm's scout was pretty clearly defined by two things: HO and Misdreavus. Despite that I didn't really think I'd be seeing either and just expected him to load some insanely weird shit like he did against me W1. CM TWave Slowking is pretty good at stomping out nonsense by spreading para and forcing awkward trades even if its not winning outright, and his low Scyther usage made it even more appealing. I also knew I would be using my own Scyther, because he is still broken and good at beating nonsense. I started looking at the hazard game next and with King already being a sturdy water I felt good running Tenta here for the extra speed. Spikes felt too awkward to fit so I decided to drop them here, which just means my lasts need to be able to effectively pressure Kang on their own. I also still need a cleric for my Rest King which resulted in Granbull's inclusion, serving as my initial check to most physicals. I thought Golem fit nicely in the last slot as a strong guy that benefits from TWave/BSlam spam while providing some nice defensive utility as a backup check to normals/electrics/Scyther. Plus Explosion is a great tool to have against someone that can bring Anything.
Semis TB vs Attribute (L) https://pokepast.es/f626122b8d0e03cd
I was pretty out of ideas this week. I had been building and deleting teams for 2 months non-stop by this point and I was up against somebody with zero history in the tier. You'd think the knowledge gap is pretty huge here but Attribute is a talented player and this is a pretty simple tier so it was bound to be one of my harder ADV UU games ever. After not being able to build anything I was happy with I ended up using a team I had built the week prior. CB Solrock is a fantastic progress maker I somehow didn't load all season with the rest of the team beinv built to try to maintain pressure and just win fast. Kang special check & Bull physical check. Tenta checks Arc & spins, my own Arc gives me a special breaker, and those two plus Solrock break down waters for each other. Scyther to clean up, probably should've been SD here. Not too happy with this one which is shitty in tiebreak but I don't hate myself for loading it.
Feels bad to lose another tiebreak for my team, especially with it being in my own tier this time, but life goes on. At least I can cope by telling myself I basically won 7 tiebreaks prior to keep us alive...! I think my tiebreak game could've been really interesting without Granbull getting crit on turn 3, but that's the risk you take loading up teams that walk on a tightrope. The game gave me some good RNG afterwards to keep me in it at least, I just failed to make the most of those extra opportunities. While it's a disappointing end to my time with the tier I can at least look back at my track record and be happy with 7-2 -> 5-3 -> 7-2. Thank you to Lily for being the main one who tried to exist in my channel and for sticking with me over the past 3 years on the Idols (sounds kinda fucking insane its been 3 years now that im typing it out??) and Bouff for giving me a bit of help whenever I needed it. Finchinator hellom maybe one day I'll be able to win a goddamn tiebreak with one of you, sorry it wasn't today.
hopefully be back next year, hopefully in a different tier. I actually really do like ADV UU and wish more people would give it a try in the future but I need a change of scenery. cya!