Introduction:
Hello! I'm justdrew, formally itsjustdrew, and this is another RMT. I've done a few of these--though not as many as notable players--when I have a team I like, and feel that I have a strong grasp of the metagame. Currently, SS UU is a pretty fun tier to play but, it tends to be very matchup based. There is a lot of current discussion surrounding Pokemon like Scizor, Primarina, Celesteela, and past discussion about Zygarde and Thundurus-T in terms of their strength and potential centralization and brokenness within the meta. For the most part, I think the meta is pretty secure, and the tier is both fun and playable. Over the past few months that I have been playing a lot of SS UU, I have established certain preferences in the builder: Pokemon I like, sets I like, and team structures that I feel abuse the current standing of team building within the tier. So, I created versions of this team and used them to achieve reqs in the Scizor suspect twice, just for fun. I finally settled on this version which I quite like, so I will be writing a very detailed RMT about it, and naming it after one of the greatest albums of music ever created: Hot Fuss by The Killers. I'd like to thank everyone who's helped me progress as a player, the community as a whole, and all those that read this RMT and hopefully learn something new or at least appreciate the work. Enjoy!
Team construction from a structural standpoint (checkbox perspective):
When building any team, you need to start with one Pokemon. It's important to choose a Pokemon you like, one that you think is strong, and then base the team around this Pokemon. Keldeo is easily a top offensive threat in the tier. It serves a sweeper/breaker with Calm Mind, acts as a Scald resist, a minor form of speed control, and a Bullet Punch resist.
Now, with Keldeo, I need to choose a Pokemon that pairs well offensively by pressuring the fat Grasses and Waters that wall Keldeo defensively. I decided to go with a slightly out of the box Scizor set that my UUSD team thought up. Scizor provides Knock-Off support to Keldeo, provides speed control in the form of priority, provides initial breaking power, and is a Steel-type which is objectively the best typing in Pokemon.
With my offensive core now constructed, there are more boxes to be checked off. On a bulky offense team like this, it is generally nice to make your defensive core out of one Pokemon that sets Stealth Rocks, and one Pokemon that removes hazards via Defog/Rapid Spin. I chose Hippowdon because Ground is a necessary typing by, on paper, preventing Volt-Switch and other Electric-type attacks. Hippowdown provides a necessary Thundurus-T check, but furthermore it is able to quite easily defeat Sun teams which plague ladder and parts of competitive play, cripple threats with Toxic and eat an enumerable amount of special attacks.
To complete my defensive core, I chose Mandibuzz. Mandibuzz is an excellent choice for any team, whether you are laddering or playing in a tournament. Flying is an essential typing on all teams and Dark isn't bad at all; being able to defeat ladder cheese such as Polteageist. More formally, Mandibuzz is an Earthquake immunity, check to Zygarde, Defogger, pivot via U-Turn, is able to defeat such threats as Dragon Dance Gyarados and Salamence with Foul Play, and has a decent speed tier.
Now with both the offensive core and defensive core established, this is the key 'where the hell do I go from here?' moment. I chose to go with Amoonguss. Amoonguss is inarguably a top 5 UU Pokemon. For this kind of team, Regenerator is almost an essential ability. Amoonguss does so much for any team: it's able to throw off Sludge Bomb poisons, defeat Calm Mind Keldeo and Primarina with Seed Bomb, hit Pokemon, that normally wall it like Nihilego and Cobalion with Stomping Tantrum, and Foul Play the deadly Scizor. This Amoonguss is Assault Vest, and I will discuss all relevant calcs later on.
The last thing this team needs, is additional speed and offensive pressure. The base cap for speed control in this tier is 115 which includes Starmie, Raikou, Zygarde, Noivern, and Crobat (which are the are the viable choices). Everything else would need to be using a Choice Scarf to outspeed these Pokemon. Azelf is arguably the most threatening of these Pokemon being a fantastic wall breaker and pivot.
Individual breakdown of Pokemon and analysis:
So just to explain my thought process here: I want to go into detail not just more about these Pokemon and what they do, but show relevant sequences you will face in game, and relevant calculations to go along with them. For newer players, I also show the usage these Pokemon get in highly competitive SS UU tournaments, as well as the viability of each Pokemon as decided by the community. This will become more clear are you read on.
A Rank on UU Viability Rankings
10.29% usage in UUSD (weeks 1-3)
18.48% usage in UU Inv (rounds 1-4)
Mr. Brightside (Keldeo) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind
- Scald
Here is Calm Mind 3 attacks Keldeo, which is an immense threat in this tier currently. Just take a moment to consider what Keldeo does, and the few Pokemon able to come in on it or force it out.
Keldeo has a fantastic speed tier of 108. This means that it ties with Cobalion and outspeeds Zarude, Nihilego, Thundurus-T, Salamence, Tentacruel, and Hydreigon to name a few viable Pokemon. Keldeo is outsped by--few but nonetheless good--Pokemon such as Crobat, Noivern, Azelf, Salazzle, Zygarde-10%, and Raikou. Of these, Noivern rarely runs a Flying-type move, Salazzle loses 1v1, and Zygarde doesn't OHKO Keldeo from 100% (doing approxiately 97.8% with Outrage on a max roll). Notable Choice Scarf users are Hydreigon, Diggersby, Jirachi, and Rotom-Wash. Scarf Diggersby does a maximum of 77% with Earthquake, assuming Keldeo has clicked Calm Mind then Hydreigon and Rotom-Wash are both unable to break Keldeo, and Jirachi's only option is to Trick Keldeo. This is a lot of information, but for someone new to UU I think it is quite useful to know.
Now, let's take a look at what is able to switch into Keldeo defensively. The Pokemon that switch into Keldeo are Amoonguss, Salamence, Primarina, Slowking, Tangrowth, Tentacruel, Azumarill, Gyarados, and Tapu-Bulu to name the most common.
252 SpA Keldeo Icy Wind vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Salamence: 292-344 (74.3 - 87.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
If Salamence is below 94%, and has no special defense investment, it is guaranteed to die from Scald into Icy Wind and therefore is not a switch in to Keldeo.
Keldeo is doing no more than 17-20% to Amoonguss, Tangrowth, and Slowking respectively. These are walls that Keldeo simply can't break on its own. BUT, if you have Stealth Rocks up, and burn these threats (which you have many opportunities to do), you are doing around 17% with scald, 12% with Stealth Rock, and 6% with burn which negates Regenerator recovery completely. By doing this, these walls are considerably less prepared to deal with the other Pokemon they normally easily switch in on. Keldeo is simply the catalyst of their destruction; the sword that slowly wears them down.
When it comes to facing stall and hyper offense, Keldeo is an excellent tool to break through these. It's sort of like a stall breaker that isn't actually designated as such. Keldeo has the ability to burn Quagsire, and does considerable damage with Scald. Even if it's specially defensive Quagsire, a burn with Secret Sword breaks it down.
252 SpA Keldeo Scald vs. 252 HP / 36 SpD Quagsire: 177-208 (44.9 - 52.7%) -- 48.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Quagsire: 159-187 (40.3 - 47.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
On the front of hyper offense, I have a ladder replay that shows the pathing you need to defeat hyper offense. This just accounts for one version of the many hyper offense teams that exist, but the team nonetheless is able to win some of these matchups.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1620927710-a0svovks8jvs304ao03mspn31aydkyspw
Frankly, the only issue when it comes to facing hyper offense is preventing the Celesteela sweep. This replay shows Keldeo's ability to live an unboosted Air Slash, then Icy Wind to make Celesteela +1 and slower than both Keldeo and Azelf. Keldeo is then able to get off a Scald and then Amoonguss is able to live and Foul Play while if Celesteela is lower, Scizor is able to come in and revenge kill (doing 15.8-18.8% with Bullet Punch). If you want to use Air Slash or Substitute over Icy Wind, you're welcome to do so. It'll play similarly and certainly won't be bad!
10.29% usage in UUSD (weeks 1-3)
18.48% usage in UU Inv (rounds 1-4)
Mr. Brightside (Keldeo) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind
- Scald
Here is Calm Mind 3 attacks Keldeo, which is an immense threat in this tier currently. Just take a moment to consider what Keldeo does, and the few Pokemon able to come in on it or force it out.
Keldeo has a fantastic speed tier of 108. This means that it ties with Cobalion and outspeeds Zarude, Nihilego, Thundurus-T, Salamence, Tentacruel, and Hydreigon to name a few viable Pokemon. Keldeo is outsped by--few but nonetheless good--Pokemon such as Crobat, Noivern, Azelf, Salazzle, Zygarde-10%, and Raikou. Of these, Noivern rarely runs a Flying-type move, Salazzle loses 1v1, and Zygarde doesn't OHKO Keldeo from 100% (doing approxiately 97.8% with Outrage on a max roll). Notable Choice Scarf users are Hydreigon, Diggersby, Jirachi, and Rotom-Wash. Scarf Diggersby does a maximum of 77% with Earthquake, assuming Keldeo has clicked Calm Mind then Hydreigon and Rotom-Wash are both unable to break Keldeo, and Jirachi's only option is to Trick Keldeo. This is a lot of information, but for someone new to UU I think it is quite useful to know.
Now, let's take a look at what is able to switch into Keldeo defensively. The Pokemon that switch into Keldeo are Amoonguss, Salamence, Primarina, Slowking, Tangrowth, Tentacruel, Azumarill, Gyarados, and Tapu-Bulu to name the most common.
252 SpA Keldeo Icy Wind vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Salamence: 292-344 (74.3 - 87.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
If Salamence is below 94%, and has no special defense investment, it is guaranteed to die from Scald into Icy Wind and therefore is not a switch in to Keldeo.
Keldeo is doing no more than 17-20% to Amoonguss, Tangrowth, and Slowking respectively. These are walls that Keldeo simply can't break on its own. BUT, if you have Stealth Rocks up, and burn these threats (which you have many opportunities to do), you are doing around 17% with scald, 12% with Stealth Rock, and 6% with burn which negates Regenerator recovery completely. By doing this, these walls are considerably less prepared to deal with the other Pokemon they normally easily switch in on. Keldeo is simply the catalyst of their destruction; the sword that slowly wears them down.
When it comes to facing stall and hyper offense, Keldeo is an excellent tool to break through these. It's sort of like a stall breaker that isn't actually designated as such. Keldeo has the ability to burn Quagsire, and does considerable damage with Scald. Even if it's specially defensive Quagsire, a burn with Secret Sword breaks it down.
252 SpA Keldeo Scald vs. 252 HP / 36 SpD Quagsire: 177-208 (44.9 - 52.7%) -- 48.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Quagsire: 159-187 (40.3 - 47.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
On the front of hyper offense, I have a ladder replay that shows the pathing you need to defeat hyper offense. This just accounts for one version of the many hyper offense teams that exist, but the team nonetheless is able to win some of these matchups.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1620927710-a0svovks8jvs304ao03mspn31aydkyspw
Frankly, the only issue when it comes to facing hyper offense is preventing the Celesteela sweep. This replay shows Keldeo's ability to live an unboosted Air Slash, then Icy Wind to make Celesteela +1 and slower than both Keldeo and Azelf. Keldeo is then able to get off a Scald and then Amoonguss is able to live and Foul Play while if Celesteela is lower, Scizor is able to come in and revenge kill (doing 15.8-18.8% with Bullet Punch). If you want to use Air Slash or Substitute over Icy Wind, you're welcome to do so. It'll play similarly and certainly won't be bad!
S Rank on UU Viability Rankings
36.76% usage in UUSD (weeks 1-3)
30.43% usage in UU Inv (rounds 1-4)
On Top (Scizor) @ Protective Pads
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Dual Wingbeat
- Knock Off
- Roost
Dual Wingbeat Scizor is something I have been messing around with for some time now. During UUSD, we experimented it for a week and this is what one of my players cooked up. Now, this Scizor forfeits U-Turn for Knock Off simply because every single UU team should have something with Knock Off. It's a really easy way to make progress throughout a game. This Scizor could opt to be a little bulkier, but let me show you some of the calcs that make this thing so strong.
252+ Atk Technician Scizor Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Amoonguss: 272-320 (62.9 - 74%) -- approx. 2HKO
252+ Atk Technician Scizor Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cobalion: 116-138 (35.9 - 42.7%) -- approx. 3HKO
252+ Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Hatterene: 164-194 (51.5 - 61%) -- 98.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
These are the only calcs I feel are worth showing. Scizor is Protective Pads so it takes no Rocky Helmet damage and therefore isn't punished by Cobalion or Amoonguss, and in return really does damage to them. Also, the Hatterene calc may feel weird to include but the Pokemon is just really good and has a lot of sweeping potential so it's important to know where Scizor kills it from. I'll cover Hatt more when I get to Hippowdon.
Scizor is really able to catch teams off guard with Dual Wingbeat. Many Pokemon like Keldeo and Conkeldurr think that they wall you or can eat your attacks, but then you just KO them unexpectedly. The shock factor is great and the power on this team is amazing. Scizor synergizes very well with Keldeo and helps chip the walls that give it a hard time sweeping. Scizor is also an essential revenge killer because of its ability to prevent Nihilego and Mamoswine from doing too much damage. Scizors Protective Pads give the Pokemon so much room to beat its usual checks. It can't get burned by Moltres' Flame Body so it really freely clicks Knock Off to make essential progress. By being max attack, it forfeits a lot of its defensive utility. However, the power it provides this team is very important.
The great thing about Scizor is that there is no true switch in. Sure there are great checks and this set does have some counters, but, regardless it is able to Knock Off with no repercussions and it just fits nicely with Keldeo.
36.76% usage in UUSD (weeks 1-3)
30.43% usage in UU Inv (rounds 1-4)
On Top (Scizor) @ Protective Pads
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Dual Wingbeat
- Knock Off
- Roost
Dual Wingbeat Scizor is something I have been messing around with for some time now. During UUSD, we experimented it for a week and this is what one of my players cooked up. Now, this Scizor forfeits U-Turn for Knock Off simply because every single UU team should have something with Knock Off. It's a really easy way to make progress throughout a game. This Scizor could opt to be a little bulkier, but let me show you some of the calcs that make this thing so strong.
252+ Atk Technician Scizor Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Amoonguss: 272-320 (62.9 - 74%) -- approx. 2HKO
252+ Atk Technician Scizor Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cobalion: 116-138 (35.9 - 42.7%) -- approx. 3HKO
252+ Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Hatterene: 164-194 (51.5 - 61%) -- 98.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
These are the only calcs I feel are worth showing. Scizor is Protective Pads so it takes no Rocky Helmet damage and therefore isn't punished by Cobalion or Amoonguss, and in return really does damage to them. Also, the Hatterene calc may feel weird to include but the Pokemon is just really good and has a lot of sweeping potential so it's important to know where Scizor kills it from. I'll cover Hatt more when I get to Hippowdon.
Scizor is really able to catch teams off guard with Dual Wingbeat. Many Pokemon like Keldeo and Conkeldurr think that they wall you or can eat your attacks, but then you just KO them unexpectedly. The shock factor is great and the power on this team is amazing. Scizor synergizes very well with Keldeo and helps chip the walls that give it a hard time sweeping. Scizor is also an essential revenge killer because of its ability to prevent Nihilego and Mamoswine from doing too much damage. Scizors Protective Pads give the Pokemon so much room to beat its usual checks. It can't get burned by Moltres' Flame Body so it really freely clicks Knock Off to make essential progress. By being max attack, it forfeits a lot of its defensive utility. However, the power it provides this team is very important.
The great thing about Scizor is that there is no true switch in. Sure there are great checks and this set does have some counters, but, regardless it is able to Knock Off with no repercussions and it just fits nicely with Keldeo.
S- Rank on UU Viability Rankings
35.29% usage in UUSD (weeks 1-3)
16.3% usage in UU Inv (rounds 1-4)
All These Things (Hippowdon) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 212 SpD / 44 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Slack Off
I like them big, and I definitely like them chunky. Talking about my Ground-types of course! Hippowdon is quite frankly the second best Pokemon in this tier. It's ability to stomach attacks and easily survive the whole game, if it evades status, is unmatched. With Rocky Helmet, Hippowdon is able to 1v1 Hatterene which I mentioned earlier. Hatt is incredibly threatening to all teams as it comes in so easily on a lot. Fortunately nothing on this team lets in Hatt, but if it gets in on a free switch and starts setting up, you have Hippowdon and Scizor in the back.
Hippo tends to get into tons of Slowking wars in which it is totally fine to trade a burn on Hippo for a Toxic on Slowking. Slowking is this teams #1 defensive threat and should be crippled at pretty much any cost. Sand Storm works well on this team because really the only thing bothered by Sand is Azelf. Literally everything else doesn't care and appreciates the opposing team being chipped and items like Leftovers revealed. Hippo's evs are really quite simple: max hp because the Pokemon really needs that health, max spdef because there is Mandibuzz which is the defensive wall, and spdef just fits Hippo when it comes to tanking hits from Azelf, Thundurus-T, the Rotom variants, Hydreigon, Salamence, Moltres, Noivern, etc. And 44 Speed is just to outspeed Chansey as well as creep the other Hippos that are outspeeding Chansey as well.
Hippos biggest deficit to this team is that it is hard walled by a fair few Pokemon like Skarmory and Crobat. Skarmory is fortunately handled easily by Keldeo and Azelf. Mandibuzz can come in on Skarmory and just U-Turn into Keldeo as it is ev'd to be slower than Skarmory's analysis spread. I will cover Crobat more in the teams weaknesses later on.
Hippowdon is the rock of this team. It's unmoving, hard to kill, and really easily gets Stealth Rocks up which is appreciated since opposing Stealth Rocks don't bother this team and Mandibuzz easily clears Spikes.
0 SpA Rotom-Wash Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 212+ SpD Hippowdon: 228-270 (54.2 - 64.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after
252 SpA Choice Specs Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 212+ SpD Hippowdon: 286-337 (68 - 80.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Thundurus-Therian Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 212+ SpD Hippowdon: 262-310 (62.3 - 73.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I feel weird posting Hippo calcs, but for those who are new to UU it'll be nice to see how fat the Pokemon is. Statistically Rotom-Wash is going to miss a Hydro Pump and you can stall it out and then wall it. Hippo is able to scout Specs Hydreigon's Draco Meteor as well as Thundurus-T's Grass Knot which is just really nice.
35.29% usage in UUSD (weeks 1-3)
16.3% usage in UU Inv (rounds 1-4)
All These Things (Hippowdon) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 212 SpD / 44 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Slack Off
I like them big, and I definitely like them chunky. Talking about my Ground-types of course! Hippowdon is quite frankly the second best Pokemon in this tier. It's ability to stomach attacks and easily survive the whole game, if it evades status, is unmatched. With Rocky Helmet, Hippowdon is able to 1v1 Hatterene which I mentioned earlier. Hatt is incredibly threatening to all teams as it comes in so easily on a lot. Fortunately nothing on this team lets in Hatt, but if it gets in on a free switch and starts setting up, you have Hippowdon and Scizor in the back.
Hippo tends to get into tons of Slowking wars in which it is totally fine to trade a burn on Hippo for a Toxic on Slowking. Slowking is this teams #1 defensive threat and should be crippled at pretty much any cost. Sand Storm works well on this team because really the only thing bothered by Sand is Azelf. Literally everything else doesn't care and appreciates the opposing team being chipped and items like Leftovers revealed. Hippo's evs are really quite simple: max hp because the Pokemon really needs that health, max spdef because there is Mandibuzz which is the defensive wall, and spdef just fits Hippo when it comes to tanking hits from Azelf, Thundurus-T, the Rotom variants, Hydreigon, Salamence, Moltres, Noivern, etc. And 44 Speed is just to outspeed Chansey as well as creep the other Hippos that are outspeeding Chansey as well.
Hippos biggest deficit to this team is that it is hard walled by a fair few Pokemon like Skarmory and Crobat. Skarmory is fortunately handled easily by Keldeo and Azelf. Mandibuzz can come in on Skarmory and just U-Turn into Keldeo as it is ev'd to be slower than Skarmory's analysis spread. I will cover Crobat more in the teams weaknesses later on.
Hippowdon is the rock of this team. It's unmoving, hard to kill, and really easily gets Stealth Rocks up which is appreciated since opposing Stealth Rocks don't bother this team and Mandibuzz easily clears Spikes.
0 SpA Rotom-Wash Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 212+ SpD Hippowdon: 228-270 (54.2 - 64.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after
252 SpA Choice Specs Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 212+ SpD Hippowdon: 286-337 (68 - 80.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Thundurus-Therian Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 212+ SpD Hippowdon: 262-310 (62.3 - 73.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I feel weird posting Hippo calcs, but for those who are new to UU it'll be nice to see how fat the Pokemon is. Statistically Rotom-Wash is going to miss a Hydro Pump and you can stall it out and then wall it. Hippo is able to scout Specs Hydreigon's Draco Meteor as well as Thundurus-T's Grass Knot which is just really nice.
A- Rank on UU Viability Rankings
>7.35% usage in UUSD (weeks 1-3)
6.52% usage in UU Inv (rounds 1-4)
Midnight Show (Mandibuzz) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Def / 40 SpD / 12 Spe
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Defog
- U-turn
- Roost
Mandibuzz has seen incredibly low usage recently which is a little shocking to me because of how good it is. As I mentioned above, this Mandibuzz has 12 speed to be just slower than Skarmory. Skarmory walls this entire team except for Keldeo and Azelf. And while Keldeo and Azelf force it out, they can't switch in directly without taking a good chunk of damage from Body Press. By being slower, Mandibuzz is able to U-Turn safely into Keldeo and Azelf giving them a free switch and no damage to then threaten the opposing team.
One major thing Mandibuzz does for this team is be a defensive wall to Zygarde, Excadrill, Azelf's without Dazzling Gleam (and even if it's Dazzling Gleam you eat one), Zarude, Dragon Dance Gyarados and Salamence. Unlike it's other Flying friends like Salamence and Skarmory, Mandibuzz has U-Turn which means it's able to pivot and provide this team necessary momentum.
+2 252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 248 HP / 208+ Def Mandibuzz: 195-229 (46 - 54.1%) -- 83.6% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Expert Belt Azelf Dazzling Gleam vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Mandibuzz: 214-252 (50.5 - 59.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zygarde-10% Outrage vs. 248 HP / 208+ Def Mandibuzz: 178-210 (42 - 49.6%) -- 7.4% chance to 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Mystic Water Gyarados Waterfall vs. 248 HP / 208+ Def Mandibuzz: 181-214 (42.7 - 50.5%) -- 19.9% chance to 2HKO
So when I mentioned nothing lets in Hatt earlier, I was including Mandibuzz' ability to U-Turn when it switches in. Mandibuzz fills in nice defensive holes in this team while also maintaining momentum which is what I like.
With nearly max defense, Mandibuzz is far more immune to SD Excadrill and Jirachi's Iron Head Flinches, Swords Dance Scizor's Bullet Punch, and is very easily able to Defog on a lot of the tier. Its ability Overcoat makes it immune to Sand Storm damage and pairs well with Hippo as well. A little special defense is very nice for handling Azelf.
>7.35% usage in UUSD (weeks 1-3)
6.52% usage in UU Inv (rounds 1-4)
Midnight Show (Mandibuzz) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Def / 40 SpD / 12 Spe
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Defog
- U-turn
- Roost
Mandibuzz has seen incredibly low usage recently which is a little shocking to me because of how good it is. As I mentioned above, this Mandibuzz has 12 speed to be just slower than Skarmory. Skarmory walls this entire team except for Keldeo and Azelf. And while Keldeo and Azelf force it out, they can't switch in directly without taking a good chunk of damage from Body Press. By being slower, Mandibuzz is able to U-Turn safely into Keldeo and Azelf giving them a free switch and no damage to then threaten the opposing team.
One major thing Mandibuzz does for this team is be a defensive wall to Zygarde, Excadrill, Azelf's without Dazzling Gleam (and even if it's Dazzling Gleam you eat one), Zarude, Dragon Dance Gyarados and Salamence. Unlike it's other Flying friends like Salamence and Skarmory, Mandibuzz has U-Turn which means it's able to pivot and provide this team necessary momentum.
+2 252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 248 HP / 208+ Def Mandibuzz: 195-229 (46 - 54.1%) -- 83.6% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Expert Belt Azelf Dazzling Gleam vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Mandibuzz: 214-252 (50.5 - 59.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zygarde-10% Outrage vs. 248 HP / 208+ Def Mandibuzz: 178-210 (42 - 49.6%) -- 7.4% chance to 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Mystic Water Gyarados Waterfall vs. 248 HP / 208+ Def Mandibuzz: 181-214 (42.7 - 50.5%) -- 19.9% chance to 2HKO
So when I mentioned nothing lets in Hatt earlier, I was including Mandibuzz' ability to U-Turn when it switches in. Mandibuzz fills in nice defensive holes in this team while also maintaining momentum which is what I like.
With nearly max defense, Mandibuzz is far more immune to SD Excadrill and Jirachi's Iron Head Flinches, Swords Dance Scizor's Bullet Punch, and is very easily able to Defog on a lot of the tier. Its ability Overcoat makes it immune to Sand Storm damage and pairs well with Hippo as well. A little special defense is very nice for handling Azelf.
A+ Rank on UU Viability Rankings
25% usage in UUSD (weeks 1-3)
25% usage in UU Inv (rounds 1-4)
Somebody Told Me (Amoonguss) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Atk / 132 Def / 124 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Seed Bomb
- Sludge Bomb
- Foul Play
- Stomping Tantrum
Welcome to the highlight of this RMT. Many of you might be wondering why the hell you're seeing an Assault Vest Amoonguss. Well, I think it's good. This was a set introduced to me by PDT and I tweaked the ev's slightly. It's time for the relevant calcs:
252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Air Slash vs. 248 HP / 124+ SpD Assault Vest Amoonguss: 156-184 (36.1 - 42.6%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Choice Specs Primarina Psychic vs. 248 HP / 124+ SpD Assault Vest Amoonguss: 202-238 (46.8 - 55.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Thundurus-Therian Psychic vs. 248 HP / 124+ SpD Assault Vest Amoonguss: 136-160 (31.5 - 37.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Choice Specs Hydreigon Flamethrower vs. 248 HP / 124+ SpD Assault Vest Amoonguss: 182-216 (42.2 - 50.1%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
168 SpA Moltres Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 124+ SpD Assault Vest Amoonguss: 210-248 (48.7 - 57.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoking Sludge Wave vs. 248 HP / 124+ SpD Assault Vest Amoonguss: 138-164 (32 - 38%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
I could probably keep posting calcs that are strong special attackers using super effective moves or otherwise on Amoonguss to show that it just doesn't die. There are too many threats in this tier. Amoonguss allows this team to not have to predict what move Keldeo is clicking, Prima, or Thundurus-T. If you maintain good health, you are able to scout for any attack and then switch into something like Mandibuzz or Hippowdown which can potentially eat one of those attacks and then recover. This team's Scizor matchup is good enough in my opinion to allow Amoonguss to instead be a special wall and focus on the threats in this tier like Primarina and Keldeo that are more under the radar than they should be.
Think of Amoonguss as a defensive pivot, blanket check to many threats, as well as a general status and damage absorber that helps Hippowdon and Mandibuzz only check the things they are required to check in game while also keeping Keldeo and Azelf protected in the endgame.
25% usage in UUSD (weeks 1-3)
25% usage in UU Inv (rounds 1-4)
Somebody Told Me (Amoonguss) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Atk / 132 Def / 124 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Seed Bomb
- Sludge Bomb
- Foul Play
- Stomping Tantrum
Welcome to the highlight of this RMT. Many of you might be wondering why the hell you're seeing an Assault Vest Amoonguss. Well, I think it's good. This was a set introduced to me by PDT and I tweaked the ev's slightly. It's time for the relevant calcs:
252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Air Slash vs. 248 HP / 124+ SpD Assault Vest Amoonguss: 156-184 (36.1 - 42.6%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Choice Specs Primarina Psychic vs. 248 HP / 124+ SpD Assault Vest Amoonguss: 202-238 (46.8 - 55.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Thundurus-Therian Psychic vs. 248 HP / 124+ SpD Assault Vest Amoonguss: 136-160 (31.5 - 37.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Choice Specs Hydreigon Flamethrower vs. 248 HP / 124+ SpD Assault Vest Amoonguss: 182-216 (42.2 - 50.1%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
168 SpA Moltres Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 124+ SpD Assault Vest Amoonguss: 210-248 (48.7 - 57.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoking Sludge Wave vs. 248 HP / 124+ SpD Assault Vest Amoonguss: 138-164 (32 - 38%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
I could probably keep posting calcs that are strong special attackers using super effective moves or otherwise on Amoonguss to show that it just doesn't die. There are too many threats in this tier. Amoonguss allows this team to not have to predict what move Keldeo is clicking, Prima, or Thundurus-T. If you maintain good health, you are able to scout for any attack and then switch into something like Mandibuzz or Hippowdown which can potentially eat one of those attacks and then recover. This team's Scizor matchup is good enough in my opinion to allow Amoonguss to instead be a special wall and focus on the threats in this tier like Primarina and Keldeo that are more under the radar than they should be.
Think of Amoonguss as a defensive pivot, blanket check to many threats, as well as a general status and damage absorber that helps Hippowdon and Mandibuzz only check the things they are required to check in game while also keeping Keldeo and Azelf protected in the endgame.
A Rank on UU Viability Rankings
10.29% usage in UUSD (weeks 1-3)
18.48% usage in UU Inv (rounds 1-4)
Change Your Mind (Azelf) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Energy Ball
- U-turn
- Flamethrower
For the final member of the team, I selected Azelf. Azelf provides this team a few key things: the ability to pressure Slowking with Energy Ball, a second pivot, the optimal speed tier for speed control (which is fine if you pair it with a fast Pokemon like Keldeo & priority user like Scizor), and general offensive pressure and breaking power. Azelf pressures all that check Keldeo with Energy Ball or Flamethrower, giving it the ability to U-Turn on something that Keldeo can then come in on and pressure. For example, Mandibuzz is one of the most likely things to come in on Azelf; Chansey or Salamence also work well. Keldeo pressures all of those Pokemon. It can Scald Mandibuzz to fish for a burn, Calm Mind depending on the stage of the game, Icy Wind the Salamence, and so on. Azelf sets the team up for essential sequences to get Keldeo in to do work.
252 SpA Expert Belt Azelf Energy Ball vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Slowking: 211-250 (53.6 - 63.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
So, I did end up switching Azelf from Heavy Duty Boots to Expert Belt. This team lacks a slight amount of breaking power with no Choice Specs of Choice Band user and Expert Belt adds just a little more pressure to things like Hippowdon and Slowking. Some replays I show will have HDB Azelf, and some will have EBelt and you can judge for yourself!
10.29% usage in UUSD (weeks 1-3)
18.48% usage in UU Inv (rounds 1-4)
Change Your Mind (Azelf) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Energy Ball
- U-turn
- Flamethrower
For the final member of the team, I selected Azelf. Azelf provides this team a few key things: the ability to pressure Slowking with Energy Ball, a second pivot, the optimal speed tier for speed control (which is fine if you pair it with a fast Pokemon like Keldeo & priority user like Scizor), and general offensive pressure and breaking power. Azelf pressures all that check Keldeo with Energy Ball or Flamethrower, giving it the ability to U-Turn on something that Keldeo can then come in on and pressure. For example, Mandibuzz is one of the most likely things to come in on Azelf; Chansey or Salamence also work well. Keldeo pressures all of those Pokemon. It can Scald Mandibuzz to fish for a burn, Calm Mind depending on the stage of the game, Icy Wind the Salamence, and so on. Azelf sets the team up for essential sequences to get Keldeo in to do work.
252 SpA Expert Belt Azelf Energy Ball vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Slowking: 211-250 (53.6 - 63.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
So, I did end up switching Azelf from Heavy Duty Boots to Expert Belt. This team lacks a slight amount of breaking power with no Choice Specs of Choice Band user and Expert Belt adds just a little more pressure to things like Hippowdon and Slowking. Some replays I show will have HDB Azelf, and some will have EBelt and you can judge for yourself!
List of threats:
An unfortunate fact is that Crobat's usage is increasing, and most Crobat's run Taunt. Taunt Crobat hard walls Hippowdon, outspeeds both Azelf and Keldeo, and annoys everything else. I have a replay of myself losing to Taunt Crobat. Now, it was partnered with other Pokemon that were problems, but it nonetheless walled Hippowdon, prevented Mandibuzz from Defogging, and pressured the entire team. With Rocky Helmet on Hippowdon, defensive Mandibuzz, and Scizor, the matchup is playable, however difficult.
Togekiss gets a small amount of usage in competitive play, but is definitely used. This team has no Flying resist, which is fine as the combined bulk of Mandibuzz, Hippowdon, and Amoonguss is enough to wall the few Pokemon that wield Hurricane. Choice Specs Togekiss doesn't really come in on anything for free unless Mandibuzz clicks Defog, so that is less of an issue. Nasty Plot Togekiss, however, comes in on basically everything and is only reliably revenge killed by Scizor which is unable to OHKO Togekiss as it is quite bulky.
252+ Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Togekiss: 224-266 (60 - 71.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
With Toxic, Rotom-Heat really messes with Hippowdon, walls Scizor, comes in on Mandibuzz, and was just really annoying to face. Fortunately, it really doesn't get a lot of usage compared to Rotom-Wash. If you face it, really try to land a Toxic on it and it becomes manageable.
Unfortunately Glowbro is very fat so it doesn't die to Scizor's Knock Off and OHKO's in return with Flamethrower. Over a long game, Hippowdown can get Toxic'd or burnt which means that Glowbro is able to 1v1 by stalling it out. You are forced to crit, which you will see me do in a replay. Glowbro doesn't switch into Keldeo and Azelf, unless it's Assault Vest, but it can set up on them. It is able to 1v1 Amoonguss and eventually poison Mandibuzz. This matchup is playable, but it isn't the easiest, depending on your opponent.
So here are the miscellaneous threats that kinda scare the crap out of most teams. These Pokemon are insanely strong, but really don't come in on anything. Mamoswine you can switch to Scizor or Keldeo if it comes in and likely clicks Icicle Crash, but you're purely predicting. Conkeldurr usually forces you to trade Hippowdon or Amoonguss for damage on it. Nidoking is the hardest on here to deal with and you really try not to let it in and just sack stuff to chip. Finally, Azumarill is annoying because it freely comes in on Mandibuzz and Keldeo; if it evades a burn then something probably dies.
Replays (wins and losses):
Replay 1 (Glowbro) - Won with luck.
Replay 2 (Togekiss) - Hard fought and won by evading Paralyzes.
Replay 3 (Taunt Crobat + Nasty Plot Heatom + Specs Hydreigon) - Lost and there was nothing to do to counter all three of these threats. On their own they should be manageable
Replay 4 (Trick Room) - A little luck on my side but most Trick Room matchups should be easy to win.
Replay 5 (Rotom-Heat + Choice Band Azumarill) - Rotom-Heat with Toxic is able to put Hippo on a timer and allows Scarf Hydreigon to be considerably more good. Azumarill walls Keldeo and if there is no burn luck, it likely kills something. I made a prediction with Hippo expecting to see Knock Off or Ice Punch to chip it but didn't get the play right.
Replay 6 (Sand) - Got unlucky with a crit on Keldeo but still managed to win avoiding any bad luck from Iron Head
Replay 7 (Slowking) - So the opponent here misplayed quite a few times, but the point of this replay is to show how many people are so eager to attack Hippowdon that they let Slowking take a Toxic and then become a less consistent Keldeo answer.
Conclusion:
Well, if you made it here, thanks for reading! I put a ton of time and effort into writing this RMT in a manner that is both descriptive and educational for the newer user. This team is cool, it has won me a lot of games, but also lost quite a few. SS UU meta is very matchup based and there are a ton of toss up matchups such stall or hyper offense. For instance, there is a certain semi-stall that runs Jellicent, and that's essentially impossible to break because Keldeo is hard walled. Regardless, I really enjoyed using this team and writing this post. I hope you guys either enjoy the team or just enjoyed learning about SS UU. This team is standard in so far as the Pokemon are all viable, but the catch is that some of these sets are slightly unconventional and therefore make this team generally threatening. I encourage everyone to just focus, use your creativity, embrace the tilt and thrill of Pokemon, and constantly work to improve. I'll also probably keep editing this and adding replays because I'm hella a perfectionist with probably minor OCD but that's an issue for another day.
Shoutouts:
Starly Rae Jepsen, Hydrophobic Volcanions, friends, mentors, and others: thanks for support, kindness, etc.
style.css Mystras Leoxses pdt Permission Slip haxlolo Allen-xia zS crying Amukamara Spacial dingbat LBN UnzipsCrogre A Hero's Destiny Chaos23333 Inder Koalacance Moutemoute Adaam Xiri vani Torchic Armada Sirwings Regnite Scalescale Snowy innovamania Alkione Heysup Accel Sage vivalospride BigFatMantis jay Kink Shiba
Well, if you made it here, thanks for reading! I put a ton of time and effort into writing this RMT in a manner that is both descriptive and educational for the newer user. This team is cool, it has won me a lot of games, but also lost quite a few. SS UU meta is very matchup based and there are a ton of toss up matchups such stall or hyper offense. For instance, there is a certain semi-stall that runs Jellicent, and that's essentially impossible to break because Keldeo is hard walled. Regardless, I really enjoyed using this team and writing this post. I hope you guys either enjoy the team or just enjoyed learning about SS UU. This team is standard in so far as the Pokemon are all viable, but the catch is that some of these sets are slightly unconventional and therefore make this team generally threatening. I encourage everyone to just focus, use your creativity, embrace the tilt and thrill of Pokemon, and constantly work to improve. I'll also probably keep editing this and adding replays because I'm hella a perfectionist with probably minor OCD but that's an issue for another day.
Shoutouts:
Starly Rae Jepsen, Hydrophobic Volcanions, friends, mentors, and others: thanks for support, kindness, etc.
style.css Mystras Leoxses pdt Permission Slip haxlolo Allen-xia zS crying Amukamara Spacial dingbat LBN UnzipsCrogre A Hero's Destiny Chaos23333 Inder Koalacance Moutemoute Adaam Xiri vani Torchic Armada Sirwings Regnite Scalescale Snowy innovamania Alkione Heysup Accel Sage vivalospride BigFatMantis jay Kink Shiba
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