UnderUsed Metagame Guide

[supermarth64]

Supporting Pokemon that aren't walls/leads, such as Froslass.

 

[SilentVerse]

That outline looks good. I'll gladly do the walls part of the guide, and maybe the part on balance. As we have both Heavy Offense and Bulky Offense, should we include semi-stall as well? I think we should also have a threat list there as well.

 

[Terywj [태리]]

Yeah threatlist will go after Walls. Editing this into the OP as well.

-Terywj

 

[Wave⁂]

Dibs on

kthx

 

[Terywj [태리]]

Annoying can be the grammar Registeel. Sounds good.

Feel free to write whatever section you want. I won't be able to write for anything until later so yeah.

-Terywj

 

[SilentVerse]

Oh yeah, I say we should include this line in the Heavy Offense section:

That's why my motto has always been: "Kill or be killed"
You have to be the one killing, otherwise something that you don't have covered will be destroying you.

 

[Terywj [태리]]

Whoever is making the Heavy Offense section should keep that in mind / bookmark it.

-Terywj

 

[Bowser_Gangsta]

I'd love to try and write something for Bulky Offense, but I just can't translate it into words.

 

[Terywj [태리]]

I guess I could write about Leads when I have the free time for it.

I could also probably write something for Sun. Or something.

-Terywj

 

[SilentVerse]

So, er, bump.


Unfortunately, I ended up having less time than I anticipated to write the sections that I planned to do, so I ended up doing offensive threats. Not what I intended on doing, but I guess it's something. It'll probably need some reworking here and there, and changing the order of the threats, but here's what it looks like now (note that it's still a work in progress, and I only managed to write up the most prominent sweepers in UU right now, basically the three below. Input on what other sweepers I should include would be welcomed):




"In UU, there are many offensive threats that can easily rip apart teams if you aren't prepared for them. Something to note in UU is that there are plenty of excellent support Pokemon that can help common threats such as Raikou, Moltres, and Swellow tear through teams as if they were a wet paper bag. Such Pokemon as Froslass amd Dugtrio are important to consider when attempting to sweep with these Pokemon, as they can quickly take down troublesome walls or set up hazards to weaken walls enough to be 2KOd. Based on this, here is a list of Pokemon that makes it necessary to have a check for them, lest they rampage through your team.

1:

-Venusaur was used in over 25% of all UU teams in March and for a good reason. It can serve many different purposes, with sweeping being only one of them. However, due to Venusaur's versatility, sweeping with it can be quite unexpected if the opponent expects a specially defensive variant. Venusaur makes a decent sweeper, boasting Sleep Powder to give it a free turn to set up with Swords Dance. It also has access to a high power physical Grass STAB move in Power Whip, and Earthquake to hit Steels. It can also potentially use Synthesis for added longevity. Though not nearly as deadly as a Swords Dance Venusaur, Choice Scarf Venusaur can allow it to outpace faster threats and hit them with a powerful Leaf Storm. While it doesn't necessarily rip through the opposing team, it's unpredictability allows it do to a good job of sweeping.


2:

-Moltres is a fearsome special sweeper that can be immensely difficult to stop. With a single layer of Spikes and Stealth Rock up, it can rampage through many walls. Even Milotic risks being 2KOd by this monster if it does not invest heavily in Special Defense. Moltres can also run a fairly effective Toxic stalling set, as it hits steels and poisons who resist Toxic for a hefty amount of damage. Unfortunately, its speed is less than desired, sitting at a base 90. While this is good enough to outspeed the ever omnipresent Venusaur, it loses to faster threats such as Raikou and Ambipom (though they won't like switching in). However, the amount of damage Moltres can deal to an unprepared team is enough to consider it on any team, whether it be a sweeping variant or a stalling one. Just make sure you can afford spin support, or else it won't be lasting long.


3:

-Raikou, former BL, was sent back to UU a while ago, and it has become a very prominent sweeper in the metagame. Boosting a marvelous Special Attack and Speed stat of 115, as well as a boosting move in the form of Calm Mind, Raikou can either hit very hard immediately, or play more conservatively and set up with Calm Mind. A LO ThunderBolt really stings, as Registeel, one of Raikou's "hard counters" loses a rather significant portion of its health from it. A Calm Mind Raikou, however, can set up on the common Milotic and dish out ridiculous amounts of damage after even a single Calm Mind. Unfortunately for Raikou, it has two hard counters in the forms of Registeel and Chansey. Luckily, both of these can be dealt with by Dugtrio; Registeel is trapped and KOd by Earthquake, and Chansey gets Beat Up, by, well, Beat Up. With Dugtrio support, Raikou is capable of being a menace to many teams. Even without Dugtrio support, it can still hit hard, though Registeel and Chansey will be a nuisance.

4:

-Mismagius makes a good sweeper thanks to its ghost typing, good special attack and speed, and it's access to either Nasty Plot or Calm Mind. Mismagius can switch in on it's slew of immunities and sub before Nasty Plotting or Calm Minding. Both have distinct advantages to them; Calm Mind is more conservative, and can set up on Milotic like Raikou, while Nasty Plotting is designed to hit hard as fast as possible. When sweeping with Mismagius, you have to be wary of Pursuits and Sucker Punches/Shadow Sneaks that are bound to come your way. Due to Mismagius' frailness, it won't enjoy taking these and they will probably ruin your sweep. Fortunately, you can attempt to avoid this by making sure you have a sub up most of the time. It won't completely stop it from happening, but it will certainly reduce the chances of it.


5:

-Rhyperior is a rather bulky sweeper, that can hit hard with a powerful Earthquake and Stone Edge. With Rhyperior's massive bulk, it's quite easy to get it in on a resisted attack, and set up with Rock Polish or Substitute. Once set up, it's a monster, capable of dealing massive damage to various defensive Pokemon such as Donphan. It doesn't necessarily have to set up either, as running a Choice Band is another viable option, since it allows Rhyperior to hit extremely hard immediately. Rhyperior is rather slow without a Rock Polish though, and it is quite vulnerable to water and grass moves from the two most common Pokemon in UU, Milotic and Venusaur. Both of these don't enjoy switching into Rhyperior's hard hitting attacks as they are generally special defensive, if they are defensive variants, so you may be able to wear them down. Rhyperior also has some use on Sandstorm teams, as the special defense boost helps withstand those water and grass moves and strike back. All in all, Rhyperior is a bulky Pokemon that can greatly damage many Pokemon in the tier.


6:

-Swellow is an incredibly lethal Physical Sweeper. With a blistering 125 speed and a decent 85 attack that gets boosted by Guts, Swellow can outspeed and KO many Pokemon in UU. Sadly, it can't touch Steel types, though this can be dealt with by scouting via U-turn and sending out Dugtrio if they send in a Steel type. Another problem Swellow has to deal with is its overall longevity. With Toxic or a Burn, Brave Bird recoil, and Stealth Rock eating away at its health, it really won't last long. If you can get past these problems though, Swellow is indeed a force to be dealt with, as a boosted Facade off a Guts boosted attack stat is sure to severely damage, if not KO, any Pokemon that can't resist it.

 

[Pink Reaper]

The lack of Venusaur is surprising considering the crazy amount of usage it has.

 

[SilentVerse]

OMG, how could I forget Venusaur? I'll edit it in now.

 

[Gates]

Are these in any particular order?

 

[SilentVerse]

Not yet, I'm unsure how to place them at the moment. Right now, the priority is getting the biggest threats down on the list.

 

[Terywj [태리]]

Theoretically Venusaur should be at the top. but yeah nice job with it nonetheless.

-Terywj

 

[SilentVerse]

Hmm, I attempted to base the list on what Pokemon are the most fearsome sweepers, and I'm not sure how much of a threat it is. I guess I can move it up though.

Edit: Moved Venu to the top.

 

[Gates]

Theoretically Venusaur should be at the top. but yeah nice job with it nonetheless.

-Terywj

I was gonna say this and also that Raikou and Mismagius should be higher.

 

[SilentVerse]

How much higher do you think I should put them?

@annoying: It can also be used as a sweeper thanks to Swords Dance and Power Whip, as well as Choice Scarfed Leaf Storms.

 

[Wave⁂]

I was under the impression that Venasaur's main use was as a defensive Pokemon.

 

[kirbyraeg]

Venusaur can really do both because of the other hard-hitters of the tier having various limitations.

Raikou is the best sweeper in UU though, no question, with moltres just behind in raw sweep potential.

 

[Wave⁂]

I was under the impression that Venasaur's main use was as a defensive Pokemon.

Sorry if it was unclear, but I was trying to emphasize how I think (thought) that Venasaur was mainly used for its defensiveness.

 

[SilentVerse]

I suppose for the most part, yes. However, Swords Dance was used on about a third of the Venusaur in March, with LO being used about a quarter of the time, so despite Venusaur being mainly used for defenses, it's still used a fair amount as a sweeper.

 

[Moozle]

Where can I find a list of UU pokemon usage? I've looked for a while, but just can't seem to find one.

I'd like to help, but I tend to use more NU pokemon than UU. The UU pokemon I do use, though, I use a lot, so maybe I can do a pokemon analysis. All of the different parts can be used where they are needed. I could probably do Hariyama or Milotic next weekend.

 

[SilentVerse]

The stats are here: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69643

Edit: Oh yeah, I'll attempt to list at least 10 threats. Should I do more, or would that be enough.

 

[Gates]

How much higher do you think I should put them?

Why don't you do it in the order of how often they're used. So it would be like

1. Venusaur
2. Moltres
3. Raikou
4. Mismagius
etc.

For other offensive threats, how about Arcanine, Alakazam, Kabutops, and Dugtrio? Not all of them are 100% offense but they're close.

Also, Poliwrath is a huge threat. All glory to the hypnotoad.

 

[Wave⁂]

Need more defensive threats. Chansey, Registeel, Claydol?

 

[SilentVerse]

Hmm, that seems like a good idea Gates. I'll order them by usage then. Arcanine and Zam sound good for offensive threats, but I'm unsure on Kabu and Duggy. Kabutops is more or less used only on rain teams for offense, so while it would certainly be a very threatening sweeper in rain, I'm not sure if I should include it, due to it being only really used in one style of play. Duggy, I would say is more of a supportive threat (we should have a category for that IMO) as it traps and kills something so one of your other sweepers can sweep. Maybe Azu and Sceptile/Blaziken/Kabutops(depending if you guys think we should include it)?

 

[Gates]

Ok, I didn't know if revenge killers were classified as support or offensive here.

Azumarril and Sceptile would be good for the threat list definitely though. Can't believe I forgot about them.

You're ultimately right about Kabutops, he is best in a rain team although that's not his only use. Point is there are bigger threats.

 

[Wave⁂]

Adding Kabutops is a good way to mention how potent Rain Dance is, though.

 

[Terywj [태리]]

That's going to be covered under the Rain section of the guide.

I need more time (and writing skills) to throw in my parts of the work.

-Terywj

 

[SilentVerse]

Hmm, so I've been thinking that with all these threats that I should include, I figured I should bump up the number of threats to 15. We should definitely have a supportive threats though, so we would have a place to put things like Froslass and Duggy.

 

[SilentVerse]

I won't let this die! Especially when we haven't got anything up yet! Here's the almost completed copy of the offensive threats (need to find and write about the last three sweepers, Sceptile, Blaziken, and Toxicroak? Maybe Hitmontop?):

UU Threats-The Ten Deadly Sweepers(atm, should be thirteen)​

In UU, there are many offensive threats that can easily rip apart teams if you aren't prepared for them. Something to note in UU is that there are plenty of excellent support Pokemon that can help common threats such as Raikou, Moltres, and Swellow tear through teams as if they were a wet paper bag. Such Pokemon as Froslass amd Dugtrio are important to consider when attempting to sweep with these Pokemon, as they can quickly take down troublesome walls or set up hazards to weaken walls enough to be 2KOd. Based on this, here is a list of Pokemon that makes it necessary to have a check for them, lest they rampage through your team.

1:

-Venusaur was used in over 25% of all UU teams in March and for a good reason. It can serve many different purposes, with sweeping being only one of them. However, due to Venusaur's versatility, sweeping with it can be quite unexpected if the opponent expects a specially defensive variant. Venusaur makes a decent sweeper, boasting Sleep Powder to give it a free turn to set up with Swords Dance. It also has access to a high power physical Grass STAB move in Power Whip, and Earthquake to hit Steels. It can also potentially use Synthesis for added longevity. Though not nearly as deadly as a Swords Dance Venusaur, Choice Scarf Venusaur can allow it to outpace faster threats and hit them with a powerful Leaf Storm. While it doesn't necessarily rip through the opposing team, it's unpredictability allows it do to a good job of sweeping.


2:

-Moltres is a fearsome special sweeper that can be immensely difficult to stop. With a single layer of Spikes and Stealth Rock up, it can rampage through many walls. Even Milotic risks being 2KOd by this monster if it does not invest heavily in Special Defense. Moltres can also run a fairly effective Toxic stalling set, as it hits steels and poisons who resist Toxic for a hefty amount of damage. Unfortunately, its speed is less than desired, sitting at a base 90. While this is good enough to outspeed the ever omnipresent Venusaur, it loses to faster threats such as Raikou and Ambipom (though they won't like switching in). However, the amount of damage Moltres can deal to an unprepared team is enough to consider it on any team, whether it be a sweeping variant or a stalling one. Just make sure you can afford spin support, or else it won't be lasting long.


3:

-Raikou, former BL, was sent back to UU a while ago, and it has become a very prominent sweeper in the metagame. Boosting a marvelous Special Attack and Speed stat of 115, as well as a boosting move in the form of Calm Mind, Raikou can either hit very hard immediately, or play more conservatively and set up with Calm Mind. A LO ThunderBolt really stings, as Registeel, one of Raikou's "hard counters" loses a rather significant portion of its health from it. A Calm Mind Raikou, however, can set up on the common Milotic and dish out ridiculous amounts of damage after even a single Calm Mind. Unfortunately for Raikou, it has two hard counters in the forms of Registeel and Chansey. Luckily, both of these can be dealt with by Dugtrio; Registeel is trapped and KOd by Earthquake, and Chansey gets Beat Up, by, well, Beat Up. With Dugtrio support, Raikou is capable of being a menace to many teams. Even without Dugtrio support, it can still hit hard, though Registeel and Chansey will be a nuisance.

4:

-Mismagius makes a good sweeper thanks to its ghost typing, good special attack and speed, and it's access to either Nasty Plot or Calm Mind. Mismagius can switch in on it's slew of immunities and sub before Nasty Plotting or Calm Minding. Both have distinct advantages to them; Calm Mind is more conservative, and can set up on Milotic like Raikou, while Nasty Plotting is designed to hit hard as fast as possible. When sweeping with Mismagius, you have to be wary of Pursuits and Sucker Punches/Shadow Sneaks that are bound to come your way. Due to Mismagius' frailness, it won't enjoy taking these and they will probably ruin your sweep. Fortunately, you can attempt to avoid this by making sure you have a sub up most of the time. It won't completely stop it from happening, but it will certainly reduce the chances of it.


5:

- Arcanine is an excellent Pokemon in the UU Metagame, boasting a powerful STAB move in Flare Blitz, a strong priority move, a somewhat reliable healing move in the form of Morning Sun, and great all around stats, with a decent speed stat of 95, and an excellent attack stat of 110. Due to these things, Arcanine can be a great physical sweeper that can last quite a while when played correctly. Even though Arcanine is going to be constantly worn down from Stealth Rock, Life Orb and Flare Blitz recoil, Morning Sun allows it to keep itself in good shape, while smashing things in UU hard with a STAB Flare Blitz and an Extremespeed off the same base attack as Lucario. With all these things going for it, it's easy to see why Arcanine was the 8th most used Pokemon in UU.


6:

-Rhyperior is a rather bulky sweeper, that can hit hard with a powerful Earthquake and Stone Edge. With Rhyperior's massive bulk, it's quite easy to get it in on a resisted attack, and set up with Rock Polish or Substitute. Once set up, it's a monster, capable of dealing massive damage to various defensive Pokemon such as Donphan. It doesn't necessarily have to set up either, as running a Choice Band is another viable option, since it allows Rhyperior to hit extremely hard immediately. Rhyperior is rather slow without a Rock Polish though, and it is quite vulnerable to water and grass moves from the two most common Pokemon in UU, Milotic and Venusaur. Both of these don't enjoy switching into Rhyperior's hard hitting attacks as they are generally special defensive, if they are defensive variants, so you may be able to wear them down. Rhyperior also has some use on Sandstorm teams, as the special defense boost helps withstand those water and grass moves and strike back. All in all, Rhyperior is a bulky Pokemon that can greatly damage many Pokemon in the tier.


7:

- Alakazam, though ridiculously frail, is a dangerous special sweeper in UU. Boasting incredibly high base stats in speed and special attack, it can rip through unprepared teams, leaving only feeble remains, if anything would be left at all. Unfortunately, Alakazam is really, really frail, and many priority attacks will leave Alakzam near fainting, or fainted. To deal with this, Alakazam could run Substitute, but by using this, it loses the extreme muscle power of Choice Specs, though Life Orb can potentially make up for this. Alakazam isn't all about sweeping immediately either; it has a fast Encore which can give Alakazam some time to set up with Calm Mind, or support the team. Alakazam is a great candidate for late game special sweeping, when you know most of your opponent's team and have disposed of any priority users, such as Spiritomb. Due to this, Alakazam is a good Pokemon to use if you want something that can potentially leave huge dents in the opposing team.


8:

- Kabutops is a menacing Pokemon to look upon when playing against a rain team. After a single Swords Dance, Kabutops is going to be outspeeding and KOing most of UU with Waterfall. Under rain, it is extraordinarily hard to stop, as it even has Aqua Jet to deal with priority moves and Stone Edge for a great secondary STAB. Thanks to these things, Kabutops is rightfully the most fearsome sweeper on a rain team, and it single handedly gives a reason to use Tangrowth over Venusaur on your team. Note that without rain, it still has a decent base 80 speed, so it can still be a menace. Kabutops is something that pretty much all rain teams must have, as it is just ridiculous to deal with when in rain.


9:

-Swellow is an incredibly lethal Physical Sweeper. With a blistering 125 speed and a decent 85 attack that gets boosted by Guts, Swellow can outspeed and KO many Pokemon in UU. Sadly, it can't touch Steel types, though this can be dealt with by scouting via U-turn and sending out Dugtrio if they send in a Steel type. Another problem Swellow has to deal with is its overall longevity. With Toxic or a Burn, Brave Bird recoil, and Stealth Rock eating away at its health, it really won't last long. If you can get past these problems though, Swellow is indeed a force to be dealt with, as a boosted Facade off a Guts boosted attack stat is sure to severely damage, if not KO, any Pokemon that can't resist it.

10:

-While Azumarill may look like a mediocre Pokemon at a quick glance, with a deeper look, it is apparent that it is a ridiculously hard hitting physical water, with its ability, Huge Power boosting its attack to extreme levels. It isn't too frail either, with a nice 100 base HP and decent 80 defense stats. With a lethal Waterfall and Sub Punching ability thanks to its good HP stat, Azumarill packs a massive punch. Literally. Sadly, it does lack a good speed stat, but its access to Aqua Jet can help deal with its shortcoming. In conclusion, Azumarill is a strong Pokemon that can really dent things via its massive attack, and can easily switch in on its numerous resistances and start doing so.

11:

-Sceptile is a amazingly fast Grass Sweeper, sitting at base 120 speed. Backed by some nice attacking stats, and a decent movepool on either side of the offensive spectrum, Sceptile can be a great sweeper. A Choice Specs Leaf Storm is capable of dishing out massive damage to things like Steelix, Swellow, Regirock in Sandstorm, and Porygon2, having a high chance to KO most of those. If you want a physical attacker, Sceptile is capable of pulling off a Swords Dance set with its STAB Leaf Blade and coverage moves. All of this is packed in a highly agile, though rather frail, Pokemon. However, Sceptile can be outsped by Swellow, which also happens to counter Sceptile. Having a means to counter Swellow is advised before attempting to pull off a sweep.


12:

-description pending(should be up by next week at the latest)


13:

-description pending(should be up by next week at the latest)

 

[Terywj [태리]]

Nicely done, Silent Verse. How much / how well was Aggron used? To see if it's worth anything to list him up there.

Just wondering.

-Terywj

 

[SilentVerse]

44 | Aggron | 5773 | 4.64

That's lower than a lot of sweepers that I included on that list (from the top 25). I guess I could put him as a special mention, but 44 is pretty low.

Also, I unfortunately won't be able to get the last two Pokemon descriptions up for a bit, as I got a bunch of unexpected things to do tonight, and tomorrow.

 

[kirbyraeg]

Aggron got promoted to UU just because of stab recoil-free head smash.

I'm serious.

 

[Terywj [태리]]

I can write up stuff for the BL Pokemon, and why they were banned, etc.

I'll log who's writing who. Or in Silent Verse's case who has already wrote what.

-Terywj

 

[mood4food77]

well, they're basically banned because they over-centralized the UU meta-game

i mean, i'd like to try out all of the BL pokemon in UU again besides porygon-z, abomasnow, cresselia, and staraptor cause those 4 are just dumb in UU but i think the others would be fine

 

[Pink Reaper]

3 =/= 4 Mood4food

Also, I dont see how Staraptor, a pokemon who can 2HKO physical walls in OU could be considered to OP and centralizing to the UU metagame >.>

 

[Terywj [태리]]

Mood4Food, you're forgetting they've already tested Gallade, Froslass, and Raikou for another round. Raikou and Froslass are current nominations in this round of UU Testing.

-Terywj

 

[mood4food77]

they already tried gallade again?
i know they're testing raikou and froslass and both seem to be fine

i made a type reaper, i had 3 pokes at first then i remembered abomasnow and just added him in there without fixing the number