When it comes to making your UU team, the only advice I have for you is to be as unpredictable as possible. Try new and crazy movesets and rotate your pokemon around. To get you going, I’ll provide you with the moves that each pokemon learns that can be worth using in the UU environment with a brief explanation of what each pokemon is capable of doing, and a ranking out of 10.
Aerodactyl: Toxic, Substitute, Sky Attack, Mimic, Hyper Beam, Fire Blast, Double-Edge, Wing Attack, Supersonic, Agility.
The upsetting thing about Aerodactyl is that he has no good moveset. He is the next fastest pokemon in the UU metagame to Electrode, he has a decent enough attack, and has a good dual type with Rock/Flying. If he got any one of Earthquake, Rock Slide, Body Slam, or Drill Peck, he’d easily be BL. But the lack of a moveset is what hurts him. Give him a shot, but don’t be disappointed if he ends up being one of the more useless pokemon on your team. Don’t get me wrong, he IS usable, but with his poor movepool, there are better options. 6.5/10.
Arbok: Screech, Glare, Wrap, Body Slam, Double-Edge, Hyper Beam, Earthquake, Acid, Rock Slide, Toxic, Substitute
Arbok just doesn’t really have the stats to do much. Even with powerful moves like Earthquake, Rock Slide, D-E, H-Beam, and B-Slam running off a 268 attack (which in UU is pretty damn good), his defenses ruin him. But, Glare is a fun (but fairly inaccurate) paralyzing move. If only Aerodactyl had the movepool that Arbok had. Oh man. One nice thing is that Poison pokemon don’t really have to worry about Psychic pokemon in UU, and Grounds aren’t that common either. 7/10.
Arcanine: Agility, Flamethrower, Body Slam, Dig, Fire Blast, Double-Edge, Mimic, Reflect, Hyper Beam, Substitute
Arcanine is, quite simply, a UU beast. Highest overall combined stats (1505), rivals some of the OU pokemon. Lack of need for fire in OU is what hurts Arcanine, and drops him to UU. Just attack, attack, attack. Use Fire Blast/Flamethrower, along with a physical attack or two running off his 318 attack. You can’t go wrong with Arcanine. 10/10
Beedrill: Agility, Focus Energy(Stadium), Twineedle, Hyper Beam, Reflect, Swords Dance, Substitute, Swift, Toxic
People tried SO hard to make this guy usable when RBY was first taking off. We hoped that with his Twineedle and Swords Dance, he’d become the big Mewtwo killer. But, Tobybro eventually was created, and people finally gave up on this poorly-statted pokemon. In UU, he certainly becomes MORE usable, but still lacks a lot stat-wise. Try him out if you want, but you’ll soon realize what thousands of hopefuls have learned long ago. He just doesn’t cut it. 4/10.
Blastoise: Hydro Pump, Blizzard, Body Slam, Dig, Counter, Double-Edge, Rest, Earthquake, Hyper Beam, Ice Beam, Mimic, Reflect, Seismic Toss, Substitute, Surf
Blastoise is one of the many water pokemon that are rampant in RBY UU. Not one of the best choices for Water, but popular because he was many people’s very first pokemon when he was a Squirtle (awww). Pretty good stats for UU. Can tank fairly well with Reflect/Rest. Has a decent enough attack to try Earthquake out for those incoming Magneton/Electabuzz/Electrode. Overall, good stats, good movepool, good choice. 8/10.
Butterfree: Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Mega Drain, Psychic, Hyper Beam, Mimic, Substitute, Reflect
Not that good of a pokemon. His only real claim to fame is being able to Double Powder, which IS actually a good way to make yourself famous. Other than that, it can’t do anything. Usually, you’ll just want to round the set out with Psychic/Mega Drain, so it can at least do some kind of damage. Just for being able to double powder, though, I say give him a try. 5/10.
Dewgong: Ice Beam, Rest, Blizzard, Body Slam, Double-Edge, Hyper Beam, Surf
Good HP and Special. Definitely worth a try. Gets stab on Water and Ice, which is always nice. A STAB-ed Ice Beam/Blizzard could take you a long way. However, the dual Ice hurts him against Fire, because he takes normal damage instead of ½ damage. Not as good a physical attacker as other Water choices, but still can utilize Body Slam/Hyper Beam good enough. Just an average UU pokemon. Nothing great, but he has the stats to be able to handle himself. 6.5/10.
Ditto: Transform
Don’t use him. Ever. Unless you want to have a handicap, or plan on losing in the first place. 0/10.
Dragonair: Agility, Hyper Beam, Thunder Wave, Wrap, Blizzard, Body Slam, Double-Edge, Fire Blast, Ice Beam, Reflect, Substitute, Thunder, Thunderbolt, Surf,
A very versatile pokemon. You can make him physical-based, or special-based. Regardless, he is one of the few T-Wavers available in RBY UU that is actually usable. BoltBeam is still as useful as it is in Standard metagame play. And, he is also capable of Wrapping, which is now growing in popularity. Great movepool, and stats that are just good enough to help him pull it off. 7.5/10.
Dugtrio: Earthquake, Mimic, Slash, Sand Attack, Growl, Rock Slide, Substitute, Body Slam,
Limited movepool, but he has what he needs: A stab move, Slash, and a choice of Mimic/Sand Attack/Growl/Sub for the last 2 slots—good enough for me. Is one of the fastest pokemon in RBY UU, thus giving him one of the highest CH rates as well. One of the best grounds to use in RBY UU, and believe it or not, but long ago when RBY first came out, this guy was definitely a Standard. It’s a shame he’s lost so much popularity, but it is for a good reason. Other than his speed, his stats aren’t that great, especially his HP which maxes out at 273. But, he is definitely worth a shot, despite getting 2HKO-ed by just about anything. 7/10.
Electabuzz: Light Screen, Thunder Wave, Thunderbolt, Body Slam, Hyper Beam, Psychic, Reflect, Seismic Toss, Substitute,
Solid UU choice—probably the best Electric in the UU metagame. After T-Wave & T-Bolt, it has many great options for the last 2 slots. It has enough attack to use Body Slam or Hyper Beam successfully, but Seismic Toss is a good way to just take off 100 HP no matter what type the pokemon is. Psychic is nice, because of the total lack of psychic pokemon to use in UU. Electabuzz’s Psychic is one of the most powerful Psychic’s in the UU metagame. Only Venomoth and Magmar rival him. 8.5/10
Electrode: Explosion, Light Screen, Screech, Reflect, Thunder Wave, Thunderbolt
Pretty one-dimensional. Explosion is the only really cool thing about him. Fastest pokemon in UU metagame, and in the entire game, for that matter. He gets the job done, though. No ghosts in UU metagame, and not many rock types, so his explosion will pretty much always put a nice dent in someone if its needed. Other than that, nothing really impressive about him. 7.5/10
Farfetch’d: Agility, Swords Dance, Slash, Sand Attack, Body Slam, Reflect, Substitute, Swift
Doesn’t really have the stats. Is one of the few Swords Dancers in UU, but won’t be able to withstand the setup. Good for a laugh, but not much more. 4/10.
Fearow: Agility, Drill Peck, Hyper Beam, Sky Attack, Substitute, Toxic
Fearow has good attack and speed, coupled with Drill Peck. That’s essentially all you’ll ever be doing, so the rest of the set doesn’t matter TOO much. Hyper Beam is a necessity for finishing stuff off, but other than DP and HB, it shouldn’t matter. Can hold its own fairly well. Doesn’t have a whole lot of stamina, but can put a dent into a good amount of things. More useful than Farfetch’d, at least. 5.5/10.
Flareon: Fire Spin, Flamethrower, Sand Attack, Body Slam, Double-Edge, Fire Blast, Hyper Beam, Mimic, Reflect, Substitute
Great Attack and Great Special. On par with Arcanine as far as awesomeness in UU is concerned. Fire Blast/Body Slam are necessities, so you get a couple slots to play around with. Mimic is a fun choice, Reflect is solid, and Fire Spin might be popular for those Wrap teams. Good stamina and movepool. 9.5/10
Golbat: Confuse Ray, Haze, Leech Seed, Screech, Wing Attack, Mega Drain, Hyper Beam, Toxic
Nothing special here. Golbat has average stats, but makes a decent support pokemon. Can’t sleep anything, but it can Confuse and Poison, as well as Leech Seed and act as a Hazer, if needed. 5/10
Golduck: Disable, Hydro Pump, Fury Swipes, Blizzard, Body Slam, Hyper Beam, Double-Edge, Mimic, Substitute, Seismic Toss, Surf,
Golduck is a solid UU pokemon. Good-Great stats across the board, and is probably the best pure water type right behind Vaporeon. Not a whole lot to say…he’d make a great choice for your UU team. 8.5/10
Graveler: Earthquake, Explosion, Body Slam, Rock Slide, Substitute, Seismic Toss
Could be the most useful ground to have on your team for UU-purposes. It can explode, and grab STAB off Quake and R’Slide. It has good HP, Attack along with tremendous defense. No speed or special, but, hey, that’s expected. 7.5/10
Hitmonchan: Agility, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Body Slam, Seismic Toss, Submission, Substitute
I don’t know why I bothered listing the elemental punches. It’s really the only thing that separates Chan from Lee, as well as Lee’s HJK, which makes him the better Hitmon choice. With a 168 special, those punches won’t do much. He’s just a shafted version of Hitmonlee. 4.5/10
Hitmonlee: Focus Energy(Stadium), Hi Jump Kick, Meditate, Body Slam, Seismic Toss, Substitute
Hi Jump Kick is the best fighting move in RBY, but has 90% accuracy, and you hurt yourself if it misses. Assuming Focus Energy works, you’ll want it on this guy. He has poor stamina, so meditate isn’t THAT great of an option. I’d prefer FEing if I can, and just going crazy with HJK and B-Slam until it goes down. With 338 attack and 272 speed, you’ll be outspeeding most pokemon, and hitting them extremely hard. Lack of stamina really messes up what otherwise would be a tremendously powerful UU pokemon. 7.5/10.
Kabutops: Hydro Pump, Slash, Blizzard, Body Slam, Double-Edge, Hyper Beam, Ice Beam, Mimic, Seismic Toss, Swords Dance, Surf, Substitute
Rock/Water. It completely walls all those awesome Fire Types (though, not as well as his fossil-counterpart Omastar). Another Swords Dancer, but sadly, it isn’t quite worth it. The only worthwhile setup for UU would be FE if it worked. But, to really get him going, you’d want 2 SD, but by then the grass is in, and you’re switched back out. And, sadly, he doesn’t quite have the speed to be a sweeper. Just go all-out attacking with Kabutops. However, if you feel you have the right team around you, by all means go with Swords Dance. For some reason I never really warmed up to him though. 7.5/10.
Kingler: Crabhammer, Blizzard, Body Slam, Double-Edge, Hyper Beam, Ice Beam, Mimic, Substitute Surf, Swords Dance
Probably the most popular Swords Dancer in the RBY UU metagame. He has great defense, attack (358), and decent HP, but unfortunately has a subpar speed and a bad, bad special stat. With the lack of a Special stat, Crabhammer is better than Surf for him due to the high CH rate. Otherwise, you should be unloading with Body Slams and Hyper Beams. 8.5/10
Lickitung: Disable, Screech, Supersonic, Wrap, Blizzard, Body Slam, Double-Edge, Earthquake, Fire Blast, Hyper Beam, Ice Beam, Mimic, Seismic Toss, Surf, Swords Dance, Thunderbolt
Has an unbelievable movepool. Unfortunately his stats are crap. 158 speed? Ugh. You can try to use him if you want, but in RBY UU, there are much better options than this guy. 3.5/10
Machamp: Focus Energy, Low Kick, Seismic Toss, Submission, Body Slam, Double-Edge, Earthquake, Hyper Beam, Rock Slide, Seismic Toss, Substitute
Great Attack and HP. Every other stat is good enough to make Machamp a very usable UU pokemon. No real Fighting attack for him, seeing as how Low Kick and Submission don’t quite have the accuracy you’d wish for in a signature move. But with Quake and R’Slide, as well as Hyper Beam and/or Body Slam, you have enough on this guy’s arsenal to make him dangerous. 8/10.