Iron Chef Season 3: Underused | EPISODE 9, PHASE 3 (post #252)

esche

Frust kommt auf, denn der Bus kommt nicht
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
3, 2, 1...

TIME'S UP!


Challenge phase is now over; allow me (as a member of the Panel of Judges) to introduce to you the teams presented by our participants!

i like cute things said:
Crustle @ Mental Herb
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Shell Smash

Crobat @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Cross Poison
- U-turn

Nihilego @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 80 HP / 176 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Power Gem
- Sludge Wave
- Grass Knot
- Thunderbolt

Infernape @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Def / 132 Spe
Impish Nature
- Flamethrower
- Low Kick
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off

Swampert @ Choice Band
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Double-Edge
- Ice Punch

Swellow @ Choice Specs
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Boomburst
- Heat Wave
- U-turn

"[23:03] +i like cute things: next round i'm dialing back the heat
[23:03] +i like cute things: if i go too far i might get burnt
i was lying through my teeth, sort of
so i lost to scarf crobat and band swampert (shout outs nightingales and csb) and as soon as i saw the secret ingredient i knew this was what i needed in my life
double-edge on swampert lures in rotom-wash and destroys its face off
i have no idea what choice crobat runs so i'm just running that
swellow is fun since you just drop things to boomburst
i need a switchin to scizor and fat nape is my switchin to scizor
crustle beats other leads trademark
standard specs nihilego to clean"
freakydood said:
Bacon (Infernape) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Grass Knot
- Focus Blast
- Vacuum Wave

Mushrooms (Hydreigon) @ Choice Band
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Outrage
- Stone Edge
- Crunch

Onions (Primarina) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Electric]

Pepperonis (Nidoking) @ Life Orb
Ability: Poison Point
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Poison Jab

Sausage (Celebi) @ Psychium Z
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Leaf Storm
- Psychic
- U-turn

Black Olives (Blastoise-Mega) @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Water Pulse
- Yawn
- Dark Pulse
- Rapid Spin

"I have prepared a supreme pizza. This team, much like a supreme pizza, can be picked off somewhat easily, but there is still an ingredient in there that someone doesn't like. Let's start off with the special ingredients. Mushrooms are typically most scouted out by most people to pick off, so let's use Hydreigon to scout for us. If you can't tell, this isn't your normal shiitake mushrooms that your dealer rips you off with. This mushroom is banded. It is unconventional, but can still pack a wallop with a decent attack stat adding more damage to it's u-turn rather than the latter with it's scarf set. Stone Edge for unsuspecting switch-ins like Infernape or Primarina... Ham (scarf or band) is also your typical topping for a supreme pizza, but bacon (specs Infernape) is so much better. It can hit really hard and act as a cleaner that this team is lacking with vacuum wave. Next up are onions (Primarina). Onions make you want to cry. If you aren't expecting a scarf set, she can hit you really hard, really fast making her a decent revenge killer. She can even outspeed non-scarfed latias. Now, we need some coverage options. What's the best coverage for any pizza? That's right, pepperonis (Nidoking)! None of the previous ingredients can truly cover fairies or poison, but pepperonis can. Also, considering that I need more physical wallbreakers so that I am not walled by Blissey or p2, he's a pretty good fit. Sausage (stealth rock Celebi) is another meat or wallbreaker that is necessary to complete the pizza, as all choice users love extra chip damage, and has that extra "umph" to offense with Psychium Z. And lastly, olives (Blastoise-Mega) adds that little bit of extra flavor that no one expects. I choose blastoise as my rapid spinner since he is more suited to this team than anybody else. Tentacruel and empoleon is weak to ground which my team is a bit weak to. Latias doesn't add anything to the team other than defog. Any other hazard removers doesn't bring much else to the table like mega-toise. I equipped it with yawn to maybe force a swap out and give me a chance to spin.
Overall, this team is pretty offensive and momentum based in order to fit the theme. Hydreigon and Celebi are both equipped with u-turn to keep the momentum alive with mega-toise to make sure they can do that, but isn't fool-proof as my team doesn't have that much bulk. Everyone has an answer to most of the pokemon they will face, but the team itself will have a tough match-up to anyone that can outspeed scarf primarina, e.g. mega-aerodactyl, mega-manectric, mega-beedrill."
SuperVegeta20 said:
Bizarre (Nidoqueen) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power

Proof (Kyurem) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Earth Power

Mr. Porter (Scizor) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Pursuit

Swifty McVay (Rotom-Wash) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Trick

Eminem (Togekiss) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Air Slash
- Heal Bell
- Roost

Kon Artis (Umbreon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Foul Play
- Toxic

"Aight muhfuckas its the last round I'm goin out swingin with a W under my belt u already know. I started off this team tryna figure out which 3 choice mons ima have, and I knew I wanted 1 of each. I wanted Kyurem to be my Specs mon, so I decided to surround it with the blassic scrotom voltturn core to be my Band and Scarf. The next mon I added was Nidoqueen because I wanted a defensive hazard setter and has pretty fuckin good type synergy with the rest of the team. I added 2 more mons and I tested, and I was STUPID weak to a few things and I was weak to stall. I added Togekiss to cover those problems and then I found myself ina similar situation to when I was using that balance team with hydrei,sylveon,maero,scizor,seis,tenta in a previous round, I found myself lacking recovery on the vast majority of the team and I was being easily crippled and found myself stuck with no switch ins and not many options when in a bad matchup, also I got like swept by a cm Latias, so I added Umbreon to the squad as the cleric, but with Toxic because Togekiss already has heal bell. I don't have a Mega so rip, or a z move so rip, but I like it."
Nicklypuff said:
Swellow (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sleep Talk
- Boomburst
- Heat Wave
- U-turn

Galvantula (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sticky Web
- Bug Buzz
- Energy Ball
- Thunder

Hoopa @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Trick
- Focus Blast
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball

Gliscor (F) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 8 Def / 200 SpD / 56 Spe
Careful Nature
- Roost
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Knock Off

Smeargle (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magic Coat
- Spore
- Stealth Rock
- Sticky Web

Terrakion @ Choice Band
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor

"I decided to go with a Sticky Web team for this challenge as I thought it would be a good fit for Choice items and their ability to boost up the wallbreaking abilities of Pokémon. I really wanted to use Hoopa since this challenge was announced and tried Trick Room and Paralysis, but I decided Sticky Web would be a nice fit and Hoopa can spinblock to keep the Sticky Web on the field. I liked Gliscor as a setup sweeper because it can make use of Sticky Web. I liked Smeargle due to its ability to setup Rocks as well as Sticky Web and I have Galvantula to battle Water-types as well as a backup Sticky Web setter. Terrakion and Swellow were my other wallbreakers because they have good type coverage along with Hoopa to tear through teams."
Askov said:
Mienshao @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge

Crawdaunt @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Superpower

Aggron-Mega @ Aggronite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch

Hydreigon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Flash Cannon
- Flamethrower

Slowbro @ Eject Button
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Slack Off
- Recycle
- Scald
- Psychic

Krookodile @ Normalium Z
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 84 Def / 172 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Me First
- Bulk Up
- Power Trip
- Earthquake

"I started the team with Scarf Mienshao because it's a scarfer that hits almost the entire tier with decent damage. I decided to add CB Crawdaunt and Specs Hydreigon because they can break through Ghost and Psychic types that annoys Mienshao, and form a really powerful dark spam wallbreaker duo.

Now I needed a defensive backbone, so I added Mega-Aggron as my Stealth Rocks user to check stuff like Scizor, Latias, Mega-Aero and Nihilego. Slowbro was added as my Fight resist, which let me check stuff like Terrakion, Cobalion and Heracross. Recycle + Eject Button is a cool tech because it allows me to bring a breaker safely to the field while possibly disrupting opponent's momentum (if the opponent uses uturn/volt switch, eject button activates and nulifies the opponent switch).

I had no electric resists, and I wanted an alternative wincon that could abuse the wallbreaking power that the dark duo provides, so I decided to try Z-Me First Power Trip Krook, which I saw Pearl using and thought it was a cool Pokemon that can put work on some match ups. EVs in speed on Krook is enough to outspeed positive 70s at +0 and Scarf Latias at +2."
Cynde said:
Altaria-Mega @ Altarianite
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Roost
- Dragon Dance
- Refresh

Terrakion @ Choice Band
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

Magneton @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 56 Atk / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Roost
- Draco Meteor
- Superpower
- Dark Pulse

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch

Nihilego @ Electrium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 76 HP / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder
- Sludge Wave
- Power Gem

"okay this team was made to sweep with altaria and everything is geared towards achieving that goal (except hydreigon that's just there to punish blissey which makes life a little easier for nihilego. anyway that's why nihilego has electrium z, it punishes empo and stuff, magneton is there for obvious reasons and that's to beat scizor and cobalion making altaria's life easier. sciz is there cuz i needed something to punish latias and pursuit was a great way of doing that, also keeps opposing altaria in check. terrakion is a good way to punish bulkier steel types like mega steelix and just wall break in general."

I, Smogon User Cynde, hereby present you my extraordinary dish: The double Choice Band wonder team! CB Scizor and Scarf Magneton can start a vicious U-turn/Volt Switch cycle to bring in the main breakers, CB Terrakion and Life Orb Hydreigon. Magneton and Electrium-Z Nihilego are tasked with removing Steel types for Mono-DD-Refresh Mega Altaria. This team relies on raw power to break to the opposing team, with some useful resistances sprinkled all over the team to take on a variety of threats. Last but not least I would like to add that I absolutely adore esche, thank you for your time and have a nice day.
. . . . . . .

The UU Community (including Iron Chefs!) may now vote for two of the most favorite teams in terms of the three criteria: Creativity, Essence, and Effectiveness. They can also vote for one team in different categories. Here's an example of how a vote goes:

CREATIVITY: Euphonos, eht
ESSENCE: pokemon sparrow, eht
EFFECTIVENESS: esche, pokemon sparrow
Alternatively, if you still want put a reasoning behind those votes, please refer to this:

CREATIVITY:
1. Euphonos - Ah, I've never seen someone using such sets before.
2. eht - Because he always build creative sets and never disappoint!

ESSENCE:
1. pokemon sparrow - He managed to use the secret ingredient very well as it served as an integral component to his team.
2. eht - He takes advantage of the secret ingredient in order for his key Pokemon to shine.

Effectiveness:
1. esche - Knowing this person, he doesn't bring out anything that wasn't truly effective in the first place, and this team is no exception; while having some creative touches, it translated to its effectiveness quite well!
2. pokemon sparrow - Don't be fooled with a team that was unaesthetically pleasing, it's just damn effective in what it does!

. . . . . . .

The UU community has until
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 10 AM GMT -4
to cast a vote on this thread which are
the most original,
the most essential,

and
the best-tasting
dishes ever witnessed this round!
Allez, cuisine!
 
Last edited:

vivalospride

been up all year my third eye aint even blinkin’
is a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Staff Alumnus
Creativity:
i like cute things - literally has a 3 move Crobat, doesn't get more creative than that
freakydood - i honestly don't know what im looking at but i like it

Essence:
Cynde

Effectiveness:
Cynde - pretty sure his exact words were "I was building to win" or some shit, it's clear you werent going for creativity and just wanted that W vs. pif :]
the rest of these are like... wtf LOL
 
CREATIVITY: askov: I like the idea of Eject Button, Recycle Slowbro and Krookodile Z-Me First Power Trip

ESSENCE: i like cute things: He used the secret ingredient well that he used 4 choice items instead of 3!

That's about it!
 

Euphonos

inanod ng mga luha; damdamin ay lumaya.
is a Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnus
Apologies for getting on this late; the itinerary of activities were too much for me to get on. And by the way, did I forget to mention that because of my Guest Iron Chef position, I am allowed to vote? Therefore, allow me to cast a vote!

CREATIVITY:
Looking at the Pokemon at first glance, I actually find i like cute things's dish being the most creative among the bunch. Crustle has never been used in this tier (ever), though while I actually wanted to recommend Shell Smash Barbaracle for fulfilling the same purpose as Crustle's but can do it way better. He also managed to use two Flying type Pokemon which definitely is a sight to look at (and I actually wanted Sleep Talk in their last slots to deal with Amoonguss and other random Sleep-inducing Pokemon). Finally, by the time I battled him, I got surprised with the sets he employed in his team, most notably putting Choice Band on Swampert (which I somehow expected it to be defensive in nature) and Rocky Helmet on Defensive Infernape (somehow trending, but novelty nonetheless).

While I find freakydood doing a rather creative take on describing each Pokemon as if he's making a pizza, I find Nicklypuff's team being a contender in this category by virtue of the number of underutilized Pokemon in the tier such as Swellow, Galvantula, and Hoopa.
ESSENCE:
Iron Chef Cynde's team captures the idea of the ingredient the most out of the dishes presented by our challengers. He managed to make use of the Choice Pokemon in his team to exert pressure on most Pokemon that would be integral to the success of the win condition in the form of Mega Altaria.

Despite his team somehow struggling to break against (Modest) Mega Sceptile with Mienshao being its only hope against it, Askov's team is an intriguing dish worth looking at in terms of this category. This is one team that could have addressed bulky archetypes better than the rest of the teams by virtue of Choice Band Crawdaunt and Choice Specs Hydreigon without struggling so much against offensive teams by virtue of Choice Scarf Mienshao.

EFFECTIVENESS:
Despite the team eventually struggling against Double Dance Cobalion, Iron Chef Cynde's team got my vote here as a reflection of capturing the essence of the ingredient the best. This is definitely a better team among the two teams that defeated me in my guest Iron Chef stint.

While I give i like cute things an honorable mention in this category for defeating me, apparently, lack of resists to Dragon and Rock attacks would be a huge pain to deal with; as such, I'd give Askov a vote here by the same reason as Cynde's - reflective of the Essence category.
 

Euphonos

inanod ng mga luha; damdamin ay lumaya.
is a Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnus
With that, we conclude the voting phase for this episode! Now, allow me to introduce the people's choice awardees for this episode!

Progress for the Judge Evaluations for Episode 8: We have finished rating the teams; we will just write up our consolidated rates to be released in a few hours.
 

Euphonos

inanod ng mga luha; damdamin ay lumaya.
is a Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnus
Apologies for undue delay; here are the rates from the eighth episode of UU Iron Chef!

CREATIVITY: 3.5 / 5
This team has some nice colors! Really though, despite being aesthetically pleasing to the eye, our taste buds equally enjoyed the direction this team took. To the judges, the unusual combination of Pokémon seemed the most creative aspect of this team, while featuring niche picks such as Calm Mind Comfey and Swords Dance Mega Sceptile as win conditions, and tech choices such as Eject Button Mantine and Memento Chandelure. What held this team back from achieving a higher score are the rather standard (and therefore predictable) moveset choices on Mamoswine, Mantine, Magneton and Chandelure.

ESSENCE: 4 / 5
The team pursues an understandable game plan with Magneton + Eject Button Mantine aiding SD Mega Sceptile and CM Comfey, while still being able to respond to metagame threats like Scizor (Magneton) and Muk-A (Earthquake Mega Sceptile) that stand in the way of the designated sweepers. Our only small nitpick in this category stems from the placing of Mantine on this team, which - despite functioning as an Eject Button pivot - seems to slow down the overall offensive pace of the team.

EFFECTIVENESS: 6.5 / 10
Even though it was shocking to us that you didn't manage to net a single win this episode, we still hold your creation in high places regarding effectiveness. The well thought-out game plan and responses to common trends made us come to that conclusion. Be sure to be aware of the danger that Mega Aerodactyl and bulky Dragon Dance Mega Altaria pose though! Great job!

TOTAL: 14 / 20


CREATIVITY: 3 / 5
Seldom have we been presented with a team that features not 1, not 2, but 3 forms of hazard control! Let's have a look at this dish: your choices for incorporating this weeks ingredient predominantly originate from tiers below UU - Bronzong, Moltres from the RU tier, and Xatu and Cryogonal from the NU tier. Cryogonal stood out to us the most, being the most unusual choice of the four. However, outside of Pokémon choices, we did not identify anything else as majorly 'creative' on this team since all of the sets are standard and therefore utterly predictable. Swampert and Sylveon do not warrant any creative consideration either due to them utilizing the most common sets as well.

ESSENCE: 1.5 / 5
While you did fulfill the criteria of this weeks secret ingredient, to the panel of judges the team seemed to be slapped together with little consideration of synergy between the individual members - mostly in regards to a win condition and game planning, which the team seem to lack entirely. Yes, it's supposedly a semi-stall team and therefore a reactionary playstyle, but without the potential of single sweeper or hazard stacking to pressure and punish the opposing team, this team will likely be too passive - even for a semi-stall build - and thus susceptible to be overwhelmed. A consideration from our side - if you will - was Calm Mind Xatu (with Stored Power to overwhelm opposing full stall) instead of the support set; give it a try!

EFFECTIVENESS: 4 / 10
To a major degree our judgment from the essence criterion does reflect our judgment of the effectiveness criterion as well, passiveness being the main difficulty this team faces. However, the team might still be able to hold its ground versus balanced teams that may lack a dedicated breaker or that can't sufficiently take advantage of hazard stacking versus this team. Valiant effort, nonetheless.

TOTAL: 8.5 / 20


CREATIVITY: 2 / 5
This team utilizes defensive Cofagrigus, which is almost never used over its offensive counterpart, but actually has some merit with DD Mega Altaria running wild in the tier (Mummy + Haze should stop any set up attempt cold). Other interesting picks include mixed Mega Sceptile with Earthquake and Hippowdon, which has fallen out of favor completely as of late. However, Blissey, Klefki, and Starmie are all rocking standard sets.

ESSENCE: 2.5 / 5
The direction of a defensive playstyle was identifiable with Blissey, Hippowdon, Cofagrigus and Klefki on the team but the addition of Life Orb Offensive Starmie and All-Out Attacking Mega Sceptile definitely caught us off guard, so to say. The mindset of this team moreso seems to equal that of a balance build than a stall build. A win condition wasn't perfectly apparent to us either - other than simply wearing down the opposing team with the defensive core & offensive Starmie until Mega Sceptile can sweep.

EFFECTIVENESS: 3 / 10
To us this team seemed a little all over the place. You yourself proclaimed it as a stall team, but for reasons outlined above it actually fits the description of a balance team better. An easy fix to this could be opting for defensive Starmie over the offensive LO version and defensive Dragon Dance Mega Altaria over Mega Sceptile, which would add a designated win condition, which the team lacks, and push it more into the direction of a (semi-)stall team. Not being able to rely on Starmie for hazard control purposes due its frailty and lack of recovery the defensive core is prone to be overwhelmed by hazards, Toxic Spikes especially. Anyway, good effort and keep contributing!

TOTAL: 7.5 / 20


CREATIVITY: 2.5 / 5
The most inspiring sight on your team is most definitely Hoopa; a rare sight indeed. The Mega Altaria set featuring Cotton Guard and Dragon Dance is often neglected for the Refresh set; glad you gave it a go! Your team also makes use of a neat tech choice in Eject Button Alomomola with Healing Wish. However, the rest of the team didn't stand out to us at all, with Magneton, Scizor and Mamoswine all utilizing standard sets.

ESSENCE: 4 / 5
Considering your team addresses both offense and stall, with Dragon Dance + Cotton Guard Mega Altaria and Substitute + Nasty Plot Hoopa respectively, while also backing them with the option of a Healing Wish from Alomomola, we felt it was appropriate to reward your ideas in this criterion. Of course, Magneton also pairs very well with a Eject Button Alomomola to remove Scizor for Mega Altaria. Unfortunately, Mamoswine and Scizor felt a little out of place, although they do provide priority options.

EFFECTIVENESS: 7.5 / 10
We agreed that we can see your team doing well! The trapping aspect convinced us the most in this regard, while also addressing various playstyles with your choices of 'mons. Be sure to be wary of Mega Manectric and VoltTurn styles in general, tough. Other than that - great job!

TOTAL: 14 / 20


CREATIVITY: 3 / 5
For a stall team, this one has some interesting choices not often utilized: Nidoqueen and Klekfi are more commonly found on offensive teams! Therefore, it was intriguing to us how you incorporated them in your team (more about that under the Essence criterion). Double Hazards Nidoqueen, Magnet Rise Klefki and Substitute + Calm Mind Cresselia (as well as support Mega Altaria) warrant for an above average score in the Creativity department. What holds this team in this criterion is that Alomomola and Mantine run standard sets.

ESSENCE: 4 / 5
Apparently, you decided to build a stall with spike stacking aspect, and Nidoqueen provides two out of three forms of hazards while also being capable of phazing the opposing team with Roar! Klefki makes up the other part with Spikes support, and manages to check a good amount of threats, Magnet Rise aiding it in its task to dodge Ground type attacks. Another intriguing choice was the idea of Substitute + Calm Mind Cresselia which gives the team a win condition. Wish Support from Alomomola patches up the lacking longevity of Nidoqueen, Klefki and even Cresselia (maybe they are too reliant on it, even).

EFFECTIVENESS: 7 / 10
We can see this team faring well, although the team undoubtedly has its fair share of troubles. For example, SD Gliscor easily decimates this team, having plenty of set up opportunities, while the team lacks an Unaware user and relies on Mantine to reset boosts. While these flaws let this team down; we feel that this team would make a huge wave of success, and kudos to you on building such a good team.

TOTAL: 14 / 20
 

Euphonos

inanod ng mga luha; damdamin ay lumaya.
is a Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnus
Therefore, the winner of the eighth episode, with a cumulative weighted average of 65.25%, goes to...


Chef Ov3r Ac3!

While Chefs SuperVegeta20 and explodingdaisies never disappointed the highly esteemed Panel of Judges, Chef Ov3r Ac3 surpassed the former two by virtue of the community voting and his battle records as he is the only one to net a win in this round of Iron Chef. Congratulations, Ov3r Ac3; your team will now be etched into the Hall of Fame!

(I wonder when esche and eht start to meet each other for the rates; and I wonder when sparrow comes back...)
 

esche

Frust kommt auf, denn der Bus kommt nicht
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Apologies for the crazy long delay, the staff faced some problems concerning availability and communication.

Anyway, here are the rates for the 9th episode of UU Iron Chef:

Creativity 4/5
Crustle and Swellow are the most interesting choices concerning the selection of Pokémon, whereas Choice Scarf Crobat and Choice Band Swampert are most intriguing concerning the ingenuity of sets. Choice Specs Nihilego and defensive Infernape are still reasonably creative although they have been heard of.


Essence 3/5
This team actually incorporates 4 instead of the required 3 Pokémon equipped with a Choice item; interesting approach! While the team might lack a solid win condition it can still break walls rather sufficiently, especially when nailing a prediction. Unfortunately, it was deemed a tad lazy to only make use of 3 moves on both Crobat and Swellow (even a filler move like Sleep Talk is better than nothing in this case!).


Effectiveness 3/10
This team seems to rely on surprise factor a lot, which makes it effective for single-use but less so in a tournament or ladder environment. Also concerning is the threat of Mega Aerodactyl, which tears the team apart. Additionally, the lack of a win condition (I'll be honest here, sweeping with speed boosting Nihilego locked into one move isn't exactly reliable) holds this team back from achieving a higher score in this category.


Overall: 10/20


Creativity 4/5
The distribution of Choice items is most interesting here and will probably throw off the majority of opponents, although it is questionable whether that alone can carry the team. While purely physical Nidoking is an unusal (albeit somewhat inoptimal) choice, Yawn Mega Blastoise is a neat way to take advantage of the scarcity of Mega Blastoise's switch-ins.


Essence 2.5/5
Although it is commendable to be flexible and switch up things once in a while, the distribution of Choice items in this case - while certainly creative - is not at all an "optimal" one. Despite of increased predictability, Choice Band Infernape, Choice Specs Primarina and Choice Scarf Hydreigon would certainly perform the respective roles better.


Effectiveness 2.5/10
This team is too easily pressured by popular metagame threats like Serperior and Dragon Dance Mega Altaria (especially offensive variants with Earthquake), which is partly due to the lack of speed control, the fastest option on it being Choice Scarf Primarina. However, the surprise effectiveness factor will not be ignored, for example someone's Latias might be taken by surprise by the unexpected speed of Primarina, which may open some opportunities for Infernape and Hydreigon.


Overall: 9/20


Creativity 1.5/5
The team somewhat lacks in this category. Defensive Nidoqueen and Umbreon may not be used as frequently but are both nothing unheard of.


Essence 3.5/5
The set dristribution, while fairly standard, is inarguably efficient. Anyway, the choice of Pokémon does have an identifiable goal in mind (chipping Steel types with Specs Kyurem and Band Scizor to allow Togekiss more freedom), which is commendable.


Effectiveness 6/10
Most of this team's members appear to perform as they are intended to, which should be rewarded considering a couple of teams were lacking in this regard this episode. Hazards of any sort are looking dangerous to face, but at least the team has a way to pressure stall sufficiently (might even beat it) with Togekiss and Trick Rotom-Wash.


Overall: 11/20


Creativity 4/5
This team's structure is slightly reminiscient of that of a Sticky Web team in RU (utilizing Gliscor>Nidoqueen and Terrakion over Bewear or Pangoro)! Anyway, Swellow and Hoopa are interesting and powerful Choice Specs users and Choice Band Terrakion is a great choice for an underrated wallbreaker from the UU tier itself. Though Galvantula and Smeargle definitely aren't used much in UU, they are not to be considered particularly creative when placed on a full-blown Sticky Web team.

Essence 2.5/5
Decent score in this category, Hoopa and Swellow draw in similar answers which opens up opportunities for predictions (U-turn/Focus Blast/double into Terrakion on Blissey or fat Steel types for example), that are more likely to work out than not. Still, the nature of Sticky Web is not incorporated as well (which would be essential for this archetype).


Effectiveness 2.5/10
Although this team possesses two setters for Sticky Web and can therefore potentially reset them, opposing teams get to Defog way to easily versus it (no users of Taunt; Choice locks are too easily taken advantage of).Similarly to i like cute thing's team, this one has major trouble with Mega Aerodactyl. On the topic of dangers, SD Scizor is another, incredibly threatening problem for this team, and so is Dragon Dance Mega Altaria.

Overall: 9/10


Creativity 3.5/5
The use of Eject Button Slowbro to bring in the breakers safely is a fun strategy, which has seen some use in tournaments in the past but is interesting to see incorporated for this ingredient. Bulk-Up, Power Trip and Normalium-Z Me First are an amalgamation of unusual choices on Krookodile might seem a little much at once (we'll see how is performs though), but it's certainly creative.


Essence 3.5/5
The double up of powerful Dark types, Choice Band Crawdaunt & Choice Specs Hydreigon, makes this team scary to face, especially for balance teams, although with Recycle Slowbro can even pull out a couple of surprises, cycling in the breakers, versus offensive teams as well. The defensive factor/use of the core seems to be somewhat neglected in this case (weaknesses are stacked), but considering the Choice items are intended for offensive use, this "flaw" can be overlooked.


Effectiveness 5/10
The E-Button pivot + breaker combination makes this team what it is and it was deemed that the team was capable of executing that strategy rather well. Anyway, the Krookodile set will almost never carry its weight throughout the battle, most of the time it can't even afford to set up properly, if it even gets the opportunity to. A Choice Band set on Krookodile and SD Crawdaunt instead may work better here. Mega-Aggron seems a little out of place considering it definitely drains momentum but the team was desperately in need of an answer to DD Mega Altaria, so the pick is understandable.


Overall: 12/20


Creativity 1/5
This team doesn't really stand out at all in this regard, Electrium-Z Nihilego and Choice Band Terrakion being the most "creative" (or in the case of the later, underappreaciated) picks, which is reflective of the team's score in this category. No worries though, this team has other qualities.


Essence 5/5
The Pokémon holding Choice items take advantage of the issues of the other members of the team, most notably supporting Mega Altaria in its ultimate endeavour to sweep. Utilizing two Choice Band users instead of 1 of each available items is a great way to apply pressure, especially when they can take on the answers of the other (Terrakion beats Moltres and Mantine; Scizor traps Latias, pressures Slowbro and Doublade), AND can wear down common answers such as Rotom-W and Gliscor. Choice Scarf Magneton aids in the plan of removing Steel types, while forming a neat little VoltTurn core with Scizor.

Effectiveness 9/10
If the battle versus pif had been won, we would have given a 10 here. However, Cynde won all the other games he played and this is pretty much as good as it gets with a team like this: It has a readily identifiable and comprehensible structure, the execution works out in practise and even makes use of some surprises in the form of lures (Electrium-Z Nihilego & LO Superpower Hydreigon).


Overall: 15/20


Thank you all for your patience,
our beloved chairman Euphonos will soon proclaim the winner of this episode of UU Iron Chef,

so stay tuned!
 
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Euphonos

inanod ng mga luha; damdamin ay lumaya.
is a Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnus
Therefore, the winner of the eighth episode, with a cumulative weighted average of 68.88%, goes to...


Iron Chef Cynde!

While Chef i like cute things managed to defeat two of the Iron Chefs for that episode, Iron Chef Cynde pulled off a landslide victory after winning the hearts of the highly esteemed Panel of Judges. Congratulations; your team will be etched in the Hall of Fame!

This concludes the Sun and Moon edition of UU Iron Chef. It has been a roller coaster ride leading this project again - from various twists and turns to communication issues, I feel like this project is still worth it for all people who wish to build teams again.

So, allow me to tell you that UU Iron Chef will not be over (so does the good old Discord channel); therefore a spin-off to this most sought-after project will be released soon, and then a new wave of UU Iron Chef will be up soon after the spin-off. Thank you for being participative in this team building project; we appreciate it. :)
 

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