UU Simple Questions Thread

[Thanks Brock Obama]

Is it viable to run the same move on two of my pokemon? I am a beginner at UU and choose to put Hydreigon and Mega Blastoise on my team. Dark Pulse was obviously a must on Hydreigon, but I'm not sure if my spinner Blastoise needs to run it. I am aware of ghost types, but it seems rather unnecessary to me. I don't want to run aura sphere in its place since I have CC Infernape, and am considering running two water moves on it (the one it already has is water pulse, debating on scald).

Any advice?

Hydreigon and Mega Blastoise both need Dark Pulse, Hydreigon needs it for STAB while Blastoise needs it to take out Ghosts who would otherwise be able to stop him from spinning. As for Blastoise's whole moveset I'd suggest this:

Blastoise @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Water Pulse / Scald
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin​

The EV's really depend on what set you're running, if you decide to run Scald instead of Water Pulse I'd suggest moving the SpA EVs to Def, someone else might have a better EV spread, but I think that should do. I've bolded Ice Beam because that's Blastoise's best coverage move, letting you hit more types for super effective damage which is a lot more important than getting the boost from running Aura Sphere or Dragon Pulse.

 

[DarkGricer]

There's a small issue with those Speed EVs for Tyrantrum. Most/all of the base 100s run enough Speed to outspeed Adamant Honchkrow, who shares a base Speed stat with Tyrantrum. So to my understanding literally every base 100 Pokemon will be outrunning Adamant Tyrantrum. Some will be only that fast, other will invest more fully. But I suggest you go for a different benchmark, or simply max out. You could also run Jolly which is hilarious when your Tyrantrum or Krow is outspeeding stuff they aren't expecting it to outspeed.

Thanks for telling me! Based on your advice, I have modified the sets EVs, as well included a Jolly Nature.

Once again, the EVs are for level 50.

Tyrantrum @ Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 60 HP/252 Atk/196 Spe||60 HP/252 Atk/4 Def/4 SpD/188 Spe
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
- Head Smash
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Zen Headbutt/Crunch

Adamant should run 196 speed to outspeed uninvested base 95s, such as defensive Arcanine, who it can OHKO with Head Smash before it manages to burn Tyrantrum.

Jolly should run 188 speed, allowing it to outspeed fully offensive Mega Blastoise, who it can OHKO with Head Smash. However, without the power boost of an Adamant nature, this Tyrantrum relies heavily on entry hazards, as many of the OHKOs Adamant Tyrantrum scores turn into rolls when using a Jolly nature. Thus, entry hazards are almost necessary for this set to be effective. Without the Adamant nature, Tyrantrum also misses out on the guaranteed 2HKO against Bronzong with Crunch, so seeing as Bronzong is the only reason to use Crunch, Zen Headbutt should always be used over it. Jolly Tyrantrum also misses out on the guaranteed OHKO on defensive Jellicent and specially defensive Umbreon after Stealth Rocks.

The previous EV spread I posted with 236 speed EVs can still be used to outspeed Exploud while still maintaining an Adamant nature. But Tyrantrum cannot switch in on Exploud unless the latter is locked into Fire Blast, so this EV spread is not recommended unless you desperately need something to revenge kill Exploud.

 

[Swede]

Hydreigon and Mega Blastoise both need Dark Pulse, Hydreigon needs it for STAB while Blastoise needs it to take out Ghosts who would otherwise be able to stop him from spinning. As for Blastoise's whole moveset I'd suggest this:

Blastoise @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Water Pulse / Scald
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin​

The EV's really depend on what set you're running, if you decide to run Scald instead of Water Pulse I'd suggest moving the SpA EVs to Def, someone else might have a better EV spread, but I think that should do. I've bolded Ice Beam because that's Blastoise's best coverage move, letting you hit more types for super effective damage which is a lot more important than getting the boost from running Aura Sphere or Dragon Pulse.

That's actually the set I've been currently running, aside from my 8 EVs going into SpD. I think I may just choose Scald if I find that physical attackers are having their way with my team (I do have Chesnaught as a main wall, but Arcanine can be a pain from time). Thanks for the advice.

 

[DoubleMP]

I asked this once but didn't get a legitimate answer.
What is with all this "Zen Mode is completely unviable" stuff? It's clearly viable and able to be used well. Though I can also see that not everyone can see that it is, but I'm not taking that for an answer.

 

[Ununhexium]

I asked this once but didn't get a legitimate answer.
What is with all this "Zen Mode is completely unviable" stuff? It's clearly viable and able to be used well. Though I can also see that not everyone can see that it is, but I'm not taking that for an answer.

There's no way to reliably bring it below 50% other than Belly Drum (which boosts its Attack lol), would require mixed if you didn't use Belly Drum, and lowers its Speed when below 50% HP. Also, why not just use normal Darmanitan which both hits like a truck and has decent Speed.

 

[newfren]

I asked this once but didn't get a legitimate answer.
What is with all this "Zen Mode is completely unviable" stuff? It's clearly viable and able to be used well. Though I can also see that not everyone can see that it is, but I'm not taking that for an answer.

If you're not going to accept it when we tell you the truth I'm not sure why you're asking again? Darm-z has basically no way to reliably get down to 50%, and even if you do get there it's good bulk is compromised by being below 50% with a fairly terrible defensive type. It has shit all coverage options to stop it being prey for most water types, hydreigon, etc, and while it has some decent options in its support movepool (encore, taunt, roar) its terrible speed makes most of them useless and good luck letting it take a hit to roar.

 

[Zartres10]

Is it viable to run the same move on two of my pokemon? I am a beginner at UU and choose to put Hydreigon and Mega Blastoise on my team. Dark Pulse was obviously a must on Hydreigon, but I'm not sure if my spinner Blastoise needs to run it. I am aware of ghost types, but it seems rather unnecessary to me. I don't want to run aura sphere in its place since I have CC Infernape, and am considering running two water moves on it (the one it already has is water pulse, debating on scald).

Any advice?

It's best not to run two of the same move on a pokemon. Instead of dark pulse on blastoise, you could try aura sphere. Definitely not two water moves. As you said, ghost types shouldn't be too much of a problem, and in any case, you'll have hydreigon to deal with them :).

 

[Thanks Brock Obama]

It's best not to run two of the same move on a pokemon. Instead of dark pulse on blastoise, you could try aura sphere. Definitely not two water moves. As you said, ghost types shouldn't be too much of a problem, and in any case, you'll have hydreigon to deal with them :).

You can't afford to get rid of Dark Pulse on Blastoise though, its main job is to act as a spinner and Dark Pulse is essential to that role since it takes out every ghost type you might realistically come across in the tier, while on the other hand Aura Sphere doesn't really give you any notable coverage.

 

[Mahmudkipz]

You can't afford to get rid of Dark Pulse on Blastoise though, its main job is to act as a spinner and Dark Pulse is essential to that role since it takes out every ghost type you might realistically come across in the tier, while on the other hand Aura Sphere doesn't really give you any notable coverage.

Thinking abouting it, are there any Ghosts that are relevant in UU not beaten by Hydro Pump/Ice Beam? Sure, I will give you Jellicent, but even that is extremely rare. And tbh, is spinblocking even a thing anymore when everyone uses Defog/Dark Pulse toise. I would rather let Blastiose have Hydro/Ice Beam/Aura to pressure Rock setters better like Gligar, Empoleon, Aggron etc.

 

[Swede]

Just chipping in my two cents, I am against giving Blastoise Aura Sphere because I already have two Fighting type moves on my team (Infernape CC and Hydreigon Superpower to get through steels and Lucario/Absol/occasional Scrafty). If anyone has a good reason why I should try Aura Sphere, feel free to let me know why.

The spin-blocking aspect of UU hasn't really shown itself during my battles, either. Trevenant and Chandelurist can be predicted around pretty well with the basic Pulse/Beam moveset I'm running.

 

[pipasonze]

That amazing trait that mega blastoise has of being a spinner with a really strong super effective move to hit ghost types with isn't very relevant in UU, where ghost types are almost never seen, with the exception of chandelure, which is weak to blastoise's water moves anyway. But, besides giving you better chances of beating a stall team with a spinblocker, dark pulse has other uses that people often forget:
Dark pulse hits super effectively the psychic type pokemon in UU: celebi and starmie (that resist water), jirachi, cresselia, azelf, alakazam, slowking and reuniclus.
Also, dark pulse gets the equivalent of a stab boost and hits neutrally most pokemon that resist water (which are water types, and dragon or grass, but those are hit harder by ice beam), examples being opposing mega blastoise, suicune, tentacruel, empoleon and alomomola.
So, this is part of the reason why dark pulse is almost mandatory on blastoise. As for the other moves, I think it's best to use water pulse, ice beam and rapid spin.

 

[Patrick1088]

Thinking about trying Pangoro. Whats a good set to start off with?

Panda@Choice Band
Iron Fist/Scrappy
Adamant nature
252 attack/ ? Hp/ ? Speed
-Knock off
-Drain Punch/Hammer Arm
-Gunk Shot
-Parting Shot

Im thinking enough Speed Evs to speed creep 0 speed Machamp to get the Parting Shot in to my champ counter.

Also, good partners for Pangoro? Hazards with Froslass/Swampy with a cleaner?

 

[HT]

Thinking about trying Pangoro. Whats a good set to start off with?

Panda@Choice Band
Iron Fist/Scrappy
Adamant nature
252 attack/ ? Hp/ ? Speed
-Knock off
-Drain Punch/Hammer Arm
-Gunk Shot
-Parting Shot

Im thinking enough Speed Evs to speed creep 0 speed Machamp to get the Parting Shot in to my champ counter.

Also, good partners for Pangoro? Hazards with Froslass/Swampy with a cleaner?

Haven't used Pangoro too extensively, but I know that a majority of Machamp run quite a bit of speed to beat out Vaporeon and Florges so trying to creep 0 speed Champ is pretty pointless. A few people I talk to said that they run adamant max speed Pangoro to get a jump on faster walls so that sounds like a pretty good place to start. As for other sets: I've used/seen SD Lum, Sub SD, and life orb 4 attacks.

 

[canasian]

Also Pangoro's speed is naturally higher than Machamp's.

Pangoro's speed is really unfortunate because fully invested with a positive nature, he hits 236, aka tied with uninvested base 100's. Max speed adamant is probably the best option, beating things like (mostly) uninvested Gligar and Cresselia.

 

[Stardust_SOLDIER]

Ive been tinkering with a Milotic set that seems to work more effectively in the OU tier but not UU, trying to make use of its new Coil move. I figured id post here to get input since Milotic is UU.

Milotic @ Leftovers/Weakness Policy
Competitive
Sassy Nature
252 HP/252 SpDef/4 Def
- Hydro Pump
- Dragon Tail
- Coil
- Recover

Its been more effective in OU thanks to Mega Manectrics/Gyarados/Landorus/any VoltTurn combo/etc. I've gotten this girl up to +6 SpAtk before and swept comfortably. Although maybe it could be catching people off guard sometimes. When coupled with hazards, even phazing is still respectable with this set thanks to Milotic's bulk.
In UU, I have to deal with more Haze and less opportunities to set off Competitive, often relying on lucky hax with SpDef drop moves.

My point being, is this set viable at all in either tier? Or can it be tweaked to be viable? I do struggle with status and try to change things up but I really want to get something right. I just want to use Coil effectively with its ability to grant a reliable Defense boost outside of the norm and perfect accuracy Hydro Pump.

 

[Patrick1088]

Also Pangoro's speed is naturally higher than Machamp's.

Pangoro's speed is really unfortunate because fully invested with a positive nature, he hits 236, aka tied with uninvested base 100's. Max speed adamant is probably the best option, beating things like (mostly) uninvested Gligar and Cresselia.

Do you think i sbould try to fit Ice Punch for Gligar? I know it gets an iron fisted boost. Poison + STABs and parting shot seem to cover most of the UU tier.

 

[Mahmudkipz]

Do you think i sbould try to fit Ice Punch for Gligar? I know it gets an iron fisted boost. Poison + STABs and parting shot seem to cover most of the UU tier.

Ice Punch literally only hits Gligar in a wallbreaking standpoint (which Knock Off hits already). Unless your team gets completely walled by Gligar (which is very unlikely considering you can remove its eviolite), I wouldn't consider it an option.

 

[Patrick1088]

Thanks for telling me! Based on your advice, I have modified the sets EVs, as well included a Jolly Nature.

Once again, the EVs are for level 50.

Tyrantrum @ Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 60 HP/252 Atk/196 Spe||60 HP/252 Atk/4 Def/4 SpD/188 Spe
Nature: Adamant/Jolly
- Head Smash
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Zen Headbutt/Crunch

Adamant should run 196 speed to outspeed uninvested base 95s, such as defensive Arcanine, who it can OHKO with Head Smash before it manages to burn Tyrantrum.

Jolly should run 188 speed, allowing it to outspeed fully offensive Mega Blastoise, who it can OHKO with Head Smash. However, without the power boost of an Adamant nature, this Tyrantrum relies heavily on entry hazards, as many of the OHKOs Adamant Tyrantrum scores turn into rolls when using a Jolly nature. Thus, entry hazards are almost necessary for this set to be effective. Without the Adamant nature, Tyrantrum also misses out on the guaranteed 2HKO against Bronzong with Crunch, so seeing as Bronzong is the only reason to use Crunch, Zen Headbutt should always be used over it. Jolly Tyrantrum also misses out on the guaranteed OHKO on defensive Jellicent and specially defensive Umbreon after Stealth Rocks.

The previous EV spread I posted with 236 speed EVs can still be used to outspeed Exploud while still maintaining an Adamant nature. But Tyrantrum cannot switch in on Exploud unless the latter is locked into Fire Blast, so this EV spread is not recommended unless you desperately need something to revenge kill Exploud.

What ev spread are you talking about where jolly CB aTyrantrum can ohko offensive mega stoise??

252 Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Head Smash vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Blastoise: 298-352 (99.6 - 117.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

Nobody runs 0 HP mega stoise. The minimum HP investment I see on mega stoise is 200 hp and somepeopleopt for def investment, as well.

252 Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Head Smash vs. 200 HP / 0 Def Mega Blastoise: 298-352 (85.3 - 100.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

Adamant is going to be a preferred nature most of the time. Mega stoise is naturally faster and usually runz enough speed to KO honch with jce beam. There really is no reason for Jolly.

 

[DarkGricer]

What ev spread are you talking about where jolly CB aTyrantrum can ohko offensive mega stoise??

252 Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Head Smash vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Blastoise: 298-352 (99.6 - 117.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

Nobody runs 0 HP mega stoise. The minimum HP investment I see on mega stoise is 200 hp and somepeopleopt for def investment, as well.

252 Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Head Smash vs. 200 HP / 0 Def Mega Blastoise: 298-352 (85.3 - 100.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

Adamant is going to be a preferred nature most of the time. Mega stoise is naturally faster and usually runz enough speed to KO honch with jce beam. There really is no reason for Jolly.

Well, the set I made is for level 50 play, in which case...

252 Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Head Smash vs. 200 HP / 0 Def Mega Blastoise: 157-186 (87.7 - 103.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Besides, if Mega Blastoise wants to outspeed Adamant Honch/Tyrantrum, it has to sacrifice bulk. Unless its sacrificing SpA instead, which is less then optimal.

 

[newfren]

Well, the set I made is for level 50 play, in which case...

252 Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Head Smash vs. 200 HP / 0 Def Mega Blastoise: 157-186 (87.7 - 103.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Besides, if Mega Blastoise wants to outspeed Adamant Honch/Tyrantrum, it has to sacrifice bulk. Unless its sacrificing SpA instead, which is less then optimal.

UU isn't a level 50 metagame, it's intended to be played at level 100. The only metagame that is capped at level 50 is nintendo's own VGC metagame (and maybe some other nintendo metagames? the rest are pretty arse tbh).

 

[Thanks Brock Obama]

Besides, if Mega Blastoise wants to outspeed Adamant Honch/Tyrantrum, it has to sacrifice bulk. Unless its sacrificing SpA instead, which is less then optimal.

Well lately the speed creep between Mega Blastoise and Nidoqueen has been insane, I've seen both of them go 252 just to get a jump on the other and I'd say outspeeding Honch is hardly unheard of or less than optimal right now.

 

[Patrick1088]

Well, the set I made is for level 50 play, in which case...

252 Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Head Smash vs. 200 HP / 0 Def Mega Blastoise: 157-186 (87.7 - 103.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Besides, if Mega Blastoise wants to outspeed Adamant Honch/Tyrantrum, it has to sacrifice bulk. Unless its sacrificing SpA instead, which is less then optimal.

As said before, UU standard level. I play Wifi UU as well and know that the evs can vary slightly due to the lower level. But, if you post sets on here, you have to assume level 100 calcs. If you are so focused on Wifi UU level 50, then level up your mons to 100, its really not that hard this gen to level them up that muvh.

 

[DarkGricer]

True, I should've used level 100 calcs. But jolly Tyrantrum still has its merits. It can outspeed neutral natured base 80s and everything below (Not that there are a lot of things in with base 80 speed that are relevant in UU). The only downside being that it misses quite a bit of power. But that's what a team is for.

While I do agree that adamant will generally be the way to go, jolly is probably gonna be better on teams that use Spikes, as Spikes allow jollytrum to snatch the same OHKOs as adamantrum would score, whilst giving it the benefit of outspending several threats it otherwise could not with an adamant nature. Tyrantrum also benefits Spike teams by taking care of the flying types that are immune to Spikes. It also helps that Tyrantrum has excellent defensive synergy with Forretress, one of the better users of Spikes in UU.

But that's just what I think. As I've said before, I have pretty much no experience in the UU metagame, so I could be completely wrong about all of this.

 

[zebra.k]

Hi, I'm making a pretty standard team but I need something to deal with Mega Swampert.
But I'm not sure what's a recent spread in MegaPert.

Is it max Attack, max Speed? Or is it the same as the spread you see on the strategy dex?
Cause my EVs depend on this

 

[Saria]

Hi, I'm making a pretty standard team but I need something to deal with Mega Swampert.
But I'm not sure what's a recent spread in MegaPert.

Is it max Attack, max Speed? Or is it the same as the spread you see on the strategy dex?
Cause my EVs depend on this

Mega Swampert most of the time runs 252 Atk / 252 Spe to work as a rain sweeper. Some people use defensive sets, but they are significantly less common and threatening.