Hello, I play UU… it’s what I do. One day though, I was playing ODDish and while he complimented me on my knowledge of UU, he complained that I used the bog standard of UU and encouraged me to think outside the box when making my teams. After initial anger subsided I began to realize what he said was true. I know plenty of what the UU metagame is all about, but I still stray from the less used UUs in lieu of Clefable/Steelix/etc… So in an attempt to better myself, I made a team that took advantage of the current state of the Metagame.
UU has very few reliable Fighting type counters and even the ones it does have lack reliable recovery out of Rest/Sleep Talk. With this knowledge I devised a team that was meant to pound the opposition into the dust with high powered Close Combats, and when I had finally taken out their Fighting counter I would sweep! I chose the 4 strongest Fighting threats of UU, with two coverage Pokemon to tie up loose ends. What came about as a finished product was something that looked pretty crappy. Have a look.
Team UU Fighting Abuse
Well at the same moment in time as I got done making the team, Antique Roadshow was throwing together a makeshift UU tournament. I entered in and prepared to be destroyed. But to my surprise the team worked beautifully. I soared passed round one, only to be met with my demise in round two due to some untimely Fire Blast misses. The finals were staged to be Manaphree vs. Cynthia. But Manaphree DC’d and sent a messenger to tell the main chat to allow me to play in his stead! I graciously accepted and awaited the challenge approaching from Cynthia who used a fairly balanced team.
Team UU Balance
What followed the challenge was one of the best UU battles I have ever had. So without further adieu, I present Cynthia vs. LonelyNess.
*Note*
Rules:
Evasion Clause
Freeze Clause
OHKO Clause
Sleep Clause
Species Clause
Strict Damage Clause
Timed Battle
Let the battle begin!
LonelyNess sent out Hitmonlee (lvl 100 Hitmonlee ?).
Cynthia- sent out Swellow (lvl 100 Swellow ?).
Hitmonlee versus Swellow seems like a pretty bad matchup for me, but I run Scarf Hitmonlee so I know I will outspeed and OHKO with Close Combat. Cynthia and I were talking in the main chat earlier about how common Scarfed Fighting types were as leads so I bet she will Protect just in case. There’s no reason for me to switch out though, as even if she Protects I can just OHKO the next turn, so I stay in and see if she tries to get greedy and Brave Bird for the quick OHKO.
Swellow used Protect.
Swellow protected itself!
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
Swellow protected itself!
Swellow was badly poisoned!
Hitmonlee: 100% Swellow: 100%
Unfortunately she played conservatively and protects. I knew she would and at the time I figure that I didn’t lose any advantage by using Close Combat… Little did I know how vital that Close Combat would have been later on down the road.
Protect is a safe opening move that scouts and gives Swellow that nice Guts Boost. It can be used against you if the opponent runs Substitute or a stat upping move, but Hitmonlee is almost always Scarfed.
At this point Cynthia has to know that I’m Scarfed and will likely go to her Fighting counter. That’s exactly what I want her to do though. The more damage I do to it early on the better I can set up a sweep later.
Cynthia- switched in Claydol (lvl 100 Claydol).
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
It's not very effective...
Claydol lost 28% of its health.
Hitmonlee's defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee's special defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee: 100% Claydol: 78%
Awesome, a Claydol! And I did quite a bit of irreversible damage to it. I’m not about to stay in and get destroyed by Psychic or Earth Power though, so I’m off to my Golduck to see if I can’t sleep it so that it’s
not a problem later.
Claydol walls Hitmonlee nicely. I'm not suspecting anything at this point, this is a pretty standard opening exchange.
LonelyNess switched in Golduck (lvl 100 Golduck ?).
Claydol used Stealth Rock.
Pointed stones float in the air around your foe's team!
Golduck: 100% Claydol: 84%
Stealth Rocks aren't really that big of a problem for this team seeing as how I have 4 Fighting types, but Ninetails doesn’t like it at all, so it’s unfortunate that she got it up so early.
Staring at the Claydol I have one of 3 options. I can Hypnosis, but that might be risky as I’m pretty sure Cynthia will switch out to avoid a Surf and I know she has a perfectly good status absorber in Swellow. I can Surf to do decent damage to it, but staying in to take a Surf would be stupid since she knows I have a Hitmonlee on the team. My third option would be to Ice Beam. Ice Beam does respectable damage to Claydol, will OHKO Swellow if it tries to switch in on Hypnosis, and will hopefully do some damage to the prospective switch in. So that’s what I went with!
Golduck is a versatile Pokemon, it could run Calm Mind, or be Spec'd, or inflict status. Anything it does hurts Claydol badly, so it's not staying in.
Cynthia- switched in Poliwrath (lvl 100 Poliwrath ?).
Golduck used Ice Beam.
It's not very effective...
Poliwrath lost 9% of its health.
Golduck: 100% Poliwrath: 97%
That was a good switch in by Cynthia. Poliwrath walls all of Golduck’s moves and so Sleep isn’t that big of a deal because I can’t break it in the amount of time it takes to wake back up, and Poliwrath can throw up a Sub or Hypnosis me back and Focus Punch me into oblivion.
I choose to Hypnosis just so that I can get a free switch the turn after.
I still don't know it's set, but at least Poliwrath didn't run into Specs HP Grass.
Golduck used Hypnosis.
Poliwrath fell asleep!
Poliwrath is fast asleep!
Golduck: 100% Poliwrath: 100%
Luckily my Hypnosis actually hits (that 70% accuracy is misleading… it NEVER seems that good) I’m going to switch to my Primeape as it hits really hard really quickly and is immune to sleep so it’ll put Poliwrath on the offensive, plus it has U-Turn just in case Claydol decides to rear its ugly little head again. Seems like the best choice!
If it's carrying Hypnosis and Ice Beam it probably isn't a Calm Minder as it would need Surf for STAB and more coverage than Surf/Ice Beam offers. Poliwrath can take whatever it dishes out.
LonelyNess switched in Primeape (lvl 100 Primeape ?).
Pointed stones dug into Primeape.
Primeape lost 6% of its health.
Poliwrath woke up!
Poliwrath used Hypnosis.
Primeape: 94% Poliwrath: 100%
Alright, one turn of sleep? That sucks… good thing I have Vital Spirit though as a sleeping pig monkey wouldn’t be a very useful thing to have. I don’t want to Close Combat just to have it Waterfall and get an OHKO, so it’s back to Golduck to put it back to sleep so we can try this scenario again.
That Hypnosis would have been a much better move had he not switched to a sleep immune Pokemon. I decide to keep Poliwrath in though, most Primeapes scout with U-Turn and I don't want Claydol to get too beaten up.
Primeape used U-turn.
It's not very effective...
Poliwrath lost 12% of its health.
LonelyNess switched in Golduck (lvl 100 Golduck ?).
Pointed stones dug into Golduck.
Golduck lost 12% of its health.
Primeape lost 10% of its health.
Poliwrath used Waterfall.
It's not very effective...
Golduck lost 18% of its health.
Primeape: 84% Golduck: 76% Poliwrath: 94%
I called the Waterfall perfectly and now Golduck is out and ready to put the tadpole back to sleep… barring a miss that is.
Life Orb Primeape? I'm getting suspicious at this point, since Primeape and Hitmonlee are rather similar Pokemon.
Golduck used Hypnosis.
Golduck's attack missed!
Poliwrath used Hypnosis.
Golduck fell asleep!
Golduck: 82% Poliwrath: 100%
Once again… barring a miss that is… >_< I’m telling you, Hypnosis does NOT have 70% accuracy. I don’t really know what to do here, but I DO know that my Toxicroak walls Poliwrath six ways to Lord_Sunday, and could use the time to set up a Swords Dance. So off to Toxicroak!
Hax favors me in this instance. Time for a free switch in to my biggest sweeper.
LonelyNess switched in Toxicroak (lvl 100 Toxicroak ?).
Toxicroak's Anticipation made it shudder!
Pointed stones dug into Toxicroak.
Toxicroak lost 6% of its health.
Cynthia- switched in Swellow (lvl 100 Swellow ?).
Swellow is hurt by poison!
Swellow lost 6% of its health.
Toxicroak: 94% Swellow: 94%
Ouch… that was a great switch by Cynthia and I didn’t see it coming at all. I know that Life Orb Sucker Punch won’t OHKO without a Swords Dance, so it looks like I’m going to have to make a sacrifice in order to bring in my Hitmonlee safely. Golduck, I’m sorry, but you’ve done your job for this battle, time to say goodbye.
Another fighting type? Does this guy think he's Bruno or something? I haven't seen anything that isn't Facade bait so far so I go for the kill.
LonelyNess switched in Golduck (lvl 100 Golduck ?).
Pointed stones dug into Golduck.
Golduck lost 12% of its health.
Swellow used Facade.
Golduck lost 70% of its health.
LonelyNess's Golduck fainted.
Swellow is hurt by poison!
Swellow lost 12% of its health.
Golduck: 0% Swellow: 82%
5-6: -Cynthia-
Damn that thing is strong, I was hoping for it to use Brave Bird so that it would get some recoil damage and make it easier to take down with Sucker Punch later on, but I guess it really didn’t make sense to use Brave Bird when as far as she knows, I have 3 fighting types and a Golduck.
Atleast Hitmonlee gets in for free.
I actually don't even run Brave Bird on Swellow. It's coverage with Facade is rather redundant and I use Pursuit for ghosts and to abuse the fact that Swellow forces switches.
LonelyNess switched in Hitmonlee (lvl 100 Hitmonlee ?).
Pointed stones dug into Hitmonlee.
Hitmonlee lost 6% of its health.
Cynthia- switched in Claydol (lvl 100 Claydol).
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
It's not very effective...
Claydol lost 28% of its health.
Hitmonlee's defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee's special defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee: 94% Claydol: 60%
I fire off another Close Combat and this time Swellow doesn’t stay in to Protect again, probably because of mounting Poison damage and the threat of Sucker Punch. Claydol takes a nasty hit and is now at just above half health. I know that an actual attack is coming, a special one probably, so I bring in my Hitmontop as it has pretty good special Defense and I can probably score a Close Combat hit on it as it will most likely try to stay in!
Claydol still walls Hitmonlee, there isn't really a move it runs that can beat Claydol so I don't bother Protecting.
LonelyNess switched in Hitmontop (lvl 100 Hitmontop ?).
Pointed stones dug into Hitmontop.
Hitmontop lost 6% of its health.
Claydol used Earth Power.
Hitmontop lost 39% of its health.
Hitmontop: 55% Claydol: 66%
Dang, that did more damage than I thought it would. Looks like this is going to be a 3HKO instead of the 4HKO I was hoping for. Anyway, I’m going to smack SOMETHING hard with a Close Combat this turn. Whether it be Swellow/Poliwrath/Claydol or some hidden pokemon that I haven’t seen yet.
Claydol conveniently counters Hitmontop. 4/5 Pokemon I've seen so far have been fighting types, Claydol's really earning its spot today.
Claydol used Earth Power.
Hitmontop lost 37% of its health.
Hitmontop used Close Combat.
It's not very effective...
Claydol lost 31% of its health.
Hitmontop's defence was lowered.
Hitmontop's special defence was lowered.
Hitmontop lost 10% of its health.
Hitmontop: 7% Claydol: 37%
Wow, I was not expecting Claydol to be faster than me, but actually it’s a god send because it allowed me to survive rather than be 2HKO’d because of the Sp. Def drop. Claydol is sitting 37% health right now… which is nice and low. Ready for a sweep from any of my fighting types! I Bullet Punch if only to put a little more damage on Claydol before I kick the bucket.
Psychic would be nice to have here, but Earth Power works fine. Claydol's running out of steam though, it has no recovery, so I switch to preserve a little health.
Cynthia- switched in Vileplume (lvl 100 Vileplume ?).
Hitmontop used Bullet Punch.
Vileplume lost 25% of its health.
Hitmontop lost 7% of its health.
LonelyNess's Hitmontop fainted.
Hitmontop: 0% Vileplume: 81%
4-6: -Cynthia-
Hmm, a Vileplume, that could be trouble as it isn’t 2HKO’d by Close Combat from any of my remaining pokemon, and I desperately need to start my sweep. I switch in Ninetails to scare it off.
I contemplated using Fire Blast here but then I remembered that Cynthia has Poliwrath and will likely expect a Fire Blast. So instead I choose Hypnosis which will incapacitate both Vileplume AND Poliwrath… barring a miss that is.
With the amount of fighting types in UU, two fighting resists is a good investment. I'm still in control at this point, but my walls are wearing down.
LonelyNess switched in Ninetales (lvl 100 Ninetales ?).
Pointed stones dug into Ninetales.
Ninetales lost 25% of its health.
Cynthia- switched in Poliwrath (lvl 100 Poliwrath ?).
Ninetales used Hypnosis.
Ninetales's attack missed!
Ninetails: 75% Poliwrath: 100%
Damn my luck. That’s two Hypnosis hits in a row. At this point I was blinded by my rage that I didn’t realize the obvious Swellow switch in to absorb the status, so instead of Fire Blasting, I hypnosis again, clinging to the hope that it will hit instead of Poliwrath OHKOing me with Waterfall.
I was expecting this Ninetales to be some sort of Specs variant, as Golduck already used Hypnosis. 70% accuracy saves me again though.
Cynthia- switched in Swellow (lvl 100 Swellow ?).
Ninetales used Hypnosis.
But it failed!
Swellow is hurt by poison!
Swellow lost 6% of its health.
Ninetails: 75% Swellow: 76%
Damn… I need all of my Fighters, so it’s not really an option to sacrifice any of them. Looks like Ninetail’s life is at an end. Sorry my foxy lady, you’ve gotta go for the greater good.
Antique Roadshow: Fail
Shut Up, AR.
Swellow can't switch into much, but status attacks are fair game with a Toxic Orb. I know at this point that Facade will rip massive holes through his team.
Swellow used Facade.
Ninetales lost 75% of its health.
LonelyNess's Ninetales fainted.
Swellow is hurt by poison!
Swellow lost 12% of its health.
Ninetails: 0% Swellow: 64%
3-6: -Cynthia-
I switch in Hitmonlee here so that I can finally kill off that freaking Swellow. I fire off a Close Combat and catch Claydol again on the switch, but this time, the encounter of Hitmonlee vs. Claydol is much less favorable because THIS time, Claydol is in 2HKO range.
I'm feeling pretty good at this point. I have a 3 Pokemon lead, so this should be a win from here.... right?
LonelyNess switched in Hitmonlee (lvl 100 Hitmonlee ?).
Pointed stones dug into Hitmonlee.
Hitmonlee lost 6% of its health.
Cynthia- switched in Claydol (lvl 100 Claydol).
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
It's not very effective...
Claydol lost 28% of its health.
Hitmonlee's defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee's special defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee: 88% Claydol: 22%
LonelyNess: IT'S DONE!
My exclamation basically sums up my next move, I can finally take down the Claydol which opens up a sweep as nothing else can really switch into my Close Combat... especially not Swellow because that's the only thing that's going to be fast enough to stop a sweep from Primeape/Toxicroak! Vileplume is still a threat to my team, but Toxicroak can take that down with SD Poison Jab.
Uh-oh. This was Claydol's last switch in. The tide is turning.
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
It's not very effective...
Claydol lost 22% of its health.
Cynthia-'s Claydol fainted.
Hitmonlee's defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee's special defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee: 88% Claydol: 0%
3-5: -Cynthia-
Finally, first blood on Cynthia's team. Not just first blood, but her Fighting counter! Things are starting to look promising now!
Hitmonlee is a serious problem now, with no reliable switch-ins, and my two unrevealed pokes do poorly against Close Combat.
Cynthia- switched in Vileplume (lvl 100 Vileplume ?).
Looks like I'll have to switch out here, I can't take a STAB Grass or Poison attack... not with my -1 defenses. Toxicroak is the best option, and I can probably get a free SD for a sweep!
Vileplume still resists fighting however, and its STAB attacks are nothing to laugh at either. This is an instance where I wish I had status over Aromatherapy.
LonelyNess switched in Toxicroak (lvl 100 Toxicroak ?).
Pointed stones dug into Toxicroak.
Toxicroak lost 6% of its health.
Vileplume used Sludge Bomb.
It's not very effective...
Toxicroak lost 33% of its health.
Toxicroak: 61% Vileplume: 87%
Time to Swords Dance as she will probably switch to Swellow.
There aren't any good switches into Toxicroak at this point, and Vileplume can still land a 3HKO. I'm also hoping that perhaps it will miss with Cross Chop/Stone Edge.
Toxicroak used Swords Dance.
Toxicroak's attack was sharply raised.
Vileplume used Sludge Bomb.
It's not very effective...
Toxicroak lost 30% of its health.
Toxicroak: 31% Vileplume: 93%
Wait, she stayed in to Sludge Bomb again!? >_< Well atleast I have my Swords Dance. Of what I know, nothing can take a +2 Poison Jab, so that’s what I’m going to throw at it and hope to OHKO SOMETHING and put another kill on the board.
I could really use Toxicroak's next attack missing.
Toxicroak used Poison Jab.
Vileplume lost 93% of its health.
Cynthia-'s Vileplume fainted.
Toxicroak lost 10% of its health.
Toxicroak: 21% Vileplume: 0%
3-4: -Cynthia-
I catch her Vileplume, which is really nice because it was really the only thing keeping a Close Combat sweep from happening. This is looking to be pretty good for me. I’m sitting right at 15% health, with 4 left on Cynthia’s side. That’s 2 Pokemon killed and hopefully one for Hitmonlee/Primeape to clean up afterward. This looks to be a successfully executed strategy.
But of course he uses the 100% accurate Poison Jab. And here I thought I only one using poison attacks. I'm in deep trouble without my fighting resists.
Cynthia- switched in Swellow (lvl 100 Swellow ?).
Time to Sucker Punch for the OHKO…
Swellow used Quick Attack.
Toxicroak lost 21% of its health.
LonelyNess's Toxicroak fainted.
Swellow is hurt by poison!
Swellow lost 6% of its health.
Toxicroak: 0% Swellow: 57%
2-4: -Cynthia-
Quick Attack!? QUICK ATTACK!? Come on man, throw me a bone here and use a standard set. I thought Swellows carried Pursuit so that Rotom didn’t wall them. Darn you Cynthia and your use of a priority move on something with base 125 Speed.
Now I’m doubting the likelyhood of a Fighting type sweep… but there’s always hope.
Priority moves are nearly essential in UU, with all the Rain Dancers, Scarfers, and the odd Endure/Reversal sets. It also beats some priority users as illustrated here if you're faster, cry your heart out Technitop.
LonelyNess switched in Hitmonlee (lvl 100 Hitmonlee ?).
Pointed stones dug into Hitmonlee.
Hitmonlee lost 6% of its health.
Swellow used Quick Attack.
Hitmonlee lost 62% of its health.
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
Swellow lost 57% of its health.
Cynthia-'s Swellow fainted.
Hitmonlee's defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee's special defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee: 19% Swellow: 0%
2-3: -Cynthia-
Cynthia Quick Attacks expecting an OHKO (to be honest I expected it to OHKO too) but is left a bit short… about 20% too short. I kill off Swellow and live to fight another day!
I needed this KO here, Hitmonlee's a huge problem now. Swellow did its job though.
Cynthia- switched in Poliwrath (lvl 100 Poliwrath ?).
Cynthia sends in the presumably bulkiest thing left on her team. I can’t OHKO with Close Combat and I know that Waterfall will destroy my -2 Defenses. I go with Primeape to absorb a Waterfall and put some damage on that frog.
With my unrevealed two Pokemon weak to fighting and rather slow, Poliwrath is all I have left.
LonelyNess switched in Primeape (lvl 100 Primeape ?).
Pointed stones dug into Primeape.
Primeape lost 6% of its health.
Poliwrath used Hypnosis.
Poliwrath's attack missed!
Primeape: 78% Poliwrath: 100%
I don’t really know why she used Hypnosis when a Waterfall would have sufficed for an OHKO, but hey, I’m all for free switch-ins where I can get ‘em. I Close Combat, knowing that I won’t OHKO and that Waterfall will destroy my Primeape.
Hypnosis was not the best move here, but it would have missed anyway and I couldn't have OHKOd Primeape with Waterfall.
Primeape used Close Combat.
Poliwrath lost 66% of its health.
Primeape's defence was lowered.
Primeape's special defence was lowered.
Primeape lost 10% of its health.
Poliwrath used Waterfall.
Primeape lost 68% of its health.
LonelyNess's Primeape fainted.
Primeape: 0% Poliwrath: 40%
1-3: -Cynthia-
That's the end of the pigmonkey, but I'm left with a weakened Poliwrath and two fighting weaks against a Scarfed Hitmonlee. I am officially screwed.
LonelyNess switched in Hitmonlee (lvl 100 Hitmonlee ?).
Pointed stones dug into Hitmonlee.
Hitmonlee lost 6% of its health.
LonelyNess: Alright
LonelyNess: CLOSE COMBAT SWEEP
Those words solidify what I choose to do here. Poliwrath is plenty low enough for Close Combat to OHKO. My real concern is that she has something that Close Combat can’t kill in one hit, but Close Combat is my only hope for a sweep, but it's my only hope for winning, so let's take a chance and see what happens!
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
Poliwrath lost 40% of its health.
Cynthia-'s Poliwrath fainted.
Hitmonlee's defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee's special defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee: 14% Poliwrath: 0%
1-2: -Cynthia-
One down, 2 to go.
Antique Roadshow: Go go Froslass!
(god I hope not)
Oh shit.
Cynthia- switched in Probopass (lvl 100 Probopass ?).
Easily killed by Close Combat!!! I might pull this off!!!!!
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
It's super effective!
Probopass lost 100% of its health.
Cynthia-'s Probopass fainted.
Hitmonlee's defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee's special defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee: 14% Probopass: 0%
1-1: Tie Game
One last Pokemon for the win!
Alas, Probopass we hardly knew thee.
Cynthia- switched in Glaceon (lvl 100 Glaceon ?).
Yes! A Glaceon! Even if it's Scarfed I'm Scarfed too, so I'm faster. The only real problem I have is if it's Focus Sashed but that's unlikely. I quickly click "Attack" and get set to fire off the game winning Close Combat!
I send in Glaceon and prepare to say my gg and suffer a bitter loss when...
Hitmonlee used Struggle.
Glaceon lost 5% of its health.
Hitmonlee was hit by recoil!
Hitmonlee lost 13% of its health.
LonelyNess's Hitmonlee fainted.
Hitmonlee: 0% Glaceon: 95%
0-1: -Cynthia-
Cynthia- wins!
Close Combat's 8 pp lets it down here. Struggle fails to OHKO Glaceon and Hitmonlee kills itself. Yes!
I… I ran out of PP. On the LAST Pokemon my Close Combat runs out of PP and I stuggle for the loss. But what a fantastic way to end a game anyway! Great game, -Cynthia-.
Antique Roadshow: These are the kind of battles I want in my Tournaments =3
Well I was happy to oblige, AR.
Props:
UU has very few reliable Fighting type counters and even the ones it does have lack reliable recovery out of Rest/Sleep Talk. With this knowledge I devised a team that was meant to pound the opposition into the dust with high powered Close Combats, and when I had finally taken out their Fighting counter I would sweep! I chose the 4 strongest Fighting threats of UU, with two coverage Pokemon to tie up loose ends. What came about as a finished product was something that looked pretty crappy. Have a look.
Team UU Fighting Abuse
Well at the same moment in time as I got done making the team, Antique Roadshow was throwing together a makeshift UU tournament. I entered in and prepared to be destroyed. But to my surprise the team worked beautifully. I soared passed round one, only to be met with my demise in round two due to some untimely Fire Blast misses. The finals were staged to be Manaphree vs. Cynthia. But Manaphree DC’d and sent a messenger to tell the main chat to allow me to play in his stead! I graciously accepted and awaited the challenge approaching from Cynthia who used a fairly balanced team.
Team UU Balance
What followed the challenge was one of the best UU battles I have ever had. So without further adieu, I present Cynthia vs. LonelyNess.
*Note*
- Comments made by LonelyNess will be made in Blue
- Comments made by -Cynthia- will be made in Dark Green
- Comments made by spectators will be made in normal text with the name in Red
- Raw battle log will be made in Bold
- End of turn health will be Underlined
- Score will be Italicized
Rules:
Evasion Clause
Freeze Clause
OHKO Clause
Sleep Clause
Species Clause
Strict Damage Clause
Timed Battle
Let the battle begin!
LonelyNess sent out Hitmonlee (lvl 100 Hitmonlee ?).
Cynthia- sent out Swellow (lvl 100 Swellow ?).
Hitmonlee versus Swellow seems like a pretty bad matchup for me, but I run Scarf Hitmonlee so I know I will outspeed and OHKO with Close Combat. Cynthia and I were talking in the main chat earlier about how common Scarfed Fighting types were as leads so I bet she will Protect just in case. There’s no reason for me to switch out though, as even if she Protects I can just OHKO the next turn, so I stay in and see if she tries to get greedy and Brave Bird for the quick OHKO.
Swellow used Protect.
Swellow protected itself!
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
Swellow protected itself!
Swellow was badly poisoned!
Hitmonlee: 100% Swellow: 100%
Unfortunately she played conservatively and protects. I knew she would and at the time I figure that I didn’t lose any advantage by using Close Combat… Little did I know how vital that Close Combat would have been later on down the road.
Protect is a safe opening move that scouts and gives Swellow that nice Guts Boost. It can be used against you if the opponent runs Substitute or a stat upping move, but Hitmonlee is almost always Scarfed.
At this point Cynthia has to know that I’m Scarfed and will likely go to her Fighting counter. That’s exactly what I want her to do though. The more damage I do to it early on the better I can set up a sweep later.
Cynthia- switched in Claydol (lvl 100 Claydol).
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
It's not very effective...
Claydol lost 28% of its health.
Hitmonlee's defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee's special defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee: 100% Claydol: 78%
Awesome, a Claydol! And I did quite a bit of irreversible damage to it. I’m not about to stay in and get destroyed by Psychic or Earth Power though, so I’m off to my Golduck to see if I can’t sleep it so that it’s
not a problem later.
Claydol walls Hitmonlee nicely. I'm not suspecting anything at this point, this is a pretty standard opening exchange.
LonelyNess switched in Golduck (lvl 100 Golduck ?).
Claydol used Stealth Rock.
Pointed stones float in the air around your foe's team!
Golduck: 100% Claydol: 84%
Stealth Rocks aren't really that big of a problem for this team seeing as how I have 4 Fighting types, but Ninetails doesn’t like it at all, so it’s unfortunate that she got it up so early.
Staring at the Claydol I have one of 3 options. I can Hypnosis, but that might be risky as I’m pretty sure Cynthia will switch out to avoid a Surf and I know she has a perfectly good status absorber in Swellow. I can Surf to do decent damage to it, but staying in to take a Surf would be stupid since she knows I have a Hitmonlee on the team. My third option would be to Ice Beam. Ice Beam does respectable damage to Claydol, will OHKO Swellow if it tries to switch in on Hypnosis, and will hopefully do some damage to the prospective switch in. So that’s what I went with!
Golduck is a versatile Pokemon, it could run Calm Mind, or be Spec'd, or inflict status. Anything it does hurts Claydol badly, so it's not staying in.
Cynthia- switched in Poliwrath (lvl 100 Poliwrath ?).
Golduck used Ice Beam.
It's not very effective...
Poliwrath lost 9% of its health.
Golduck: 100% Poliwrath: 97%
That was a good switch in by Cynthia. Poliwrath walls all of Golduck’s moves and so Sleep isn’t that big of a deal because I can’t break it in the amount of time it takes to wake back up, and Poliwrath can throw up a Sub or Hypnosis me back and Focus Punch me into oblivion.
I choose to Hypnosis just so that I can get a free switch the turn after.
I still don't know it's set, but at least Poliwrath didn't run into Specs HP Grass.
Golduck used Hypnosis.
Poliwrath fell asleep!
Poliwrath is fast asleep!
Golduck: 100% Poliwrath: 100%
Luckily my Hypnosis actually hits (that 70% accuracy is misleading… it NEVER seems that good) I’m going to switch to my Primeape as it hits really hard really quickly and is immune to sleep so it’ll put Poliwrath on the offensive, plus it has U-Turn just in case Claydol decides to rear its ugly little head again. Seems like the best choice!
If it's carrying Hypnosis and Ice Beam it probably isn't a Calm Minder as it would need Surf for STAB and more coverage than Surf/Ice Beam offers. Poliwrath can take whatever it dishes out.
LonelyNess switched in Primeape (lvl 100 Primeape ?).
Pointed stones dug into Primeape.
Primeape lost 6% of its health.
Poliwrath woke up!
Poliwrath used Hypnosis.
Primeape: 94% Poliwrath: 100%
Alright, one turn of sleep? That sucks… good thing I have Vital Spirit though as a sleeping pig monkey wouldn’t be a very useful thing to have. I don’t want to Close Combat just to have it Waterfall and get an OHKO, so it’s back to Golduck to put it back to sleep so we can try this scenario again.
That Hypnosis would have been a much better move had he not switched to a sleep immune Pokemon. I decide to keep Poliwrath in though, most Primeapes scout with U-Turn and I don't want Claydol to get too beaten up.
Primeape used U-turn.
It's not very effective...
Poliwrath lost 12% of its health.
LonelyNess switched in Golduck (lvl 100 Golduck ?).
Pointed stones dug into Golduck.
Golduck lost 12% of its health.
Primeape lost 10% of its health.
Poliwrath used Waterfall.
It's not very effective...
Golduck lost 18% of its health.
Primeape: 84% Golduck: 76% Poliwrath: 94%
I called the Waterfall perfectly and now Golduck is out and ready to put the tadpole back to sleep… barring a miss that is.
Life Orb Primeape? I'm getting suspicious at this point, since Primeape and Hitmonlee are rather similar Pokemon.
Golduck used Hypnosis.
Golduck's attack missed!
Poliwrath used Hypnosis.
Golduck fell asleep!
Golduck: 82% Poliwrath: 100%
Once again… barring a miss that is… >_< I’m telling you, Hypnosis does NOT have 70% accuracy. I don’t really know what to do here, but I DO know that my Toxicroak walls Poliwrath six ways to Lord_Sunday, and could use the time to set up a Swords Dance. So off to Toxicroak!
Hax favors me in this instance. Time for a free switch in to my biggest sweeper.
LonelyNess switched in Toxicroak (lvl 100 Toxicroak ?).
Toxicroak's Anticipation made it shudder!
Pointed stones dug into Toxicroak.
Toxicroak lost 6% of its health.
Cynthia- switched in Swellow (lvl 100 Swellow ?).
Swellow is hurt by poison!
Swellow lost 6% of its health.
Toxicroak: 94% Swellow: 94%
Ouch… that was a great switch by Cynthia and I didn’t see it coming at all. I know that Life Orb Sucker Punch won’t OHKO without a Swords Dance, so it looks like I’m going to have to make a sacrifice in order to bring in my Hitmonlee safely. Golduck, I’m sorry, but you’ve done your job for this battle, time to say goodbye.
Another fighting type? Does this guy think he's Bruno or something? I haven't seen anything that isn't Facade bait so far so I go for the kill.
LonelyNess switched in Golduck (lvl 100 Golduck ?).
Pointed stones dug into Golduck.
Golduck lost 12% of its health.
Swellow used Facade.
Golduck lost 70% of its health.
LonelyNess's Golduck fainted.
Swellow is hurt by poison!
Swellow lost 12% of its health.
Golduck: 0% Swellow: 82%
5-6: -Cynthia-
Damn that thing is strong, I was hoping for it to use Brave Bird so that it would get some recoil damage and make it easier to take down with Sucker Punch later on, but I guess it really didn’t make sense to use Brave Bird when as far as she knows, I have 3 fighting types and a Golduck.
Atleast Hitmonlee gets in for free.
I actually don't even run Brave Bird on Swellow. It's coverage with Facade is rather redundant and I use Pursuit for ghosts and to abuse the fact that Swellow forces switches.
LonelyNess switched in Hitmonlee (lvl 100 Hitmonlee ?).
Pointed stones dug into Hitmonlee.
Hitmonlee lost 6% of its health.
Cynthia- switched in Claydol (lvl 100 Claydol).
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
It's not very effective...
Claydol lost 28% of its health.
Hitmonlee's defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee's special defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee: 94% Claydol: 60%
I fire off another Close Combat and this time Swellow doesn’t stay in to Protect again, probably because of mounting Poison damage and the threat of Sucker Punch. Claydol takes a nasty hit and is now at just above half health. I know that an actual attack is coming, a special one probably, so I bring in my Hitmontop as it has pretty good special Defense and I can probably score a Close Combat hit on it as it will most likely try to stay in!
Claydol still walls Hitmonlee, there isn't really a move it runs that can beat Claydol so I don't bother Protecting.
LonelyNess switched in Hitmontop (lvl 100 Hitmontop ?).
Pointed stones dug into Hitmontop.
Hitmontop lost 6% of its health.
Claydol used Earth Power.
Hitmontop lost 39% of its health.
Hitmontop: 55% Claydol: 66%
Dang, that did more damage than I thought it would. Looks like this is going to be a 3HKO instead of the 4HKO I was hoping for. Anyway, I’m going to smack SOMETHING hard with a Close Combat this turn. Whether it be Swellow/Poliwrath/Claydol or some hidden pokemon that I haven’t seen yet.
Claydol conveniently counters Hitmontop. 4/5 Pokemon I've seen so far have been fighting types, Claydol's really earning its spot today.
Claydol used Earth Power.
Hitmontop lost 37% of its health.
Hitmontop used Close Combat.
It's not very effective...
Claydol lost 31% of its health.
Hitmontop's defence was lowered.
Hitmontop's special defence was lowered.
Hitmontop lost 10% of its health.
Hitmontop: 7% Claydol: 37%
Wow, I was not expecting Claydol to be faster than me, but actually it’s a god send because it allowed me to survive rather than be 2HKO’d because of the Sp. Def drop. Claydol is sitting 37% health right now… which is nice and low. Ready for a sweep from any of my fighting types! I Bullet Punch if only to put a little more damage on Claydol before I kick the bucket.
Psychic would be nice to have here, but Earth Power works fine. Claydol's running out of steam though, it has no recovery, so I switch to preserve a little health.
Cynthia- switched in Vileplume (lvl 100 Vileplume ?).
Hitmontop used Bullet Punch.
Vileplume lost 25% of its health.
Hitmontop lost 7% of its health.
LonelyNess's Hitmontop fainted.
Hitmontop: 0% Vileplume: 81%
4-6: -Cynthia-
Hmm, a Vileplume, that could be trouble as it isn’t 2HKO’d by Close Combat from any of my remaining pokemon, and I desperately need to start my sweep. I switch in Ninetails to scare it off.
I contemplated using Fire Blast here but then I remembered that Cynthia has Poliwrath and will likely expect a Fire Blast. So instead I choose Hypnosis which will incapacitate both Vileplume AND Poliwrath… barring a miss that is.
With the amount of fighting types in UU, two fighting resists is a good investment. I'm still in control at this point, but my walls are wearing down.
LonelyNess switched in Ninetales (lvl 100 Ninetales ?).
Pointed stones dug into Ninetales.
Ninetales lost 25% of its health.
Cynthia- switched in Poliwrath (lvl 100 Poliwrath ?).
Ninetales used Hypnosis.
Ninetales's attack missed!
Ninetails: 75% Poliwrath: 100%
Damn my luck. That’s two Hypnosis hits in a row. At this point I was blinded by my rage that I didn’t realize the obvious Swellow switch in to absorb the status, so instead of Fire Blasting, I hypnosis again, clinging to the hope that it will hit instead of Poliwrath OHKOing me with Waterfall.
I was expecting this Ninetales to be some sort of Specs variant, as Golduck already used Hypnosis. 70% accuracy saves me again though.
Cynthia- switched in Swellow (lvl 100 Swellow ?).
Ninetales used Hypnosis.
But it failed!
Swellow is hurt by poison!
Swellow lost 6% of its health.
Ninetails: 75% Swellow: 76%
Damn… I need all of my Fighters, so it’s not really an option to sacrifice any of them. Looks like Ninetail’s life is at an end. Sorry my foxy lady, you’ve gotta go for the greater good.
Antique Roadshow: Fail
Shut Up, AR.
Swellow can't switch into much, but status attacks are fair game with a Toxic Orb. I know at this point that Facade will rip massive holes through his team.
Swellow used Facade.
Ninetales lost 75% of its health.
LonelyNess's Ninetales fainted.
Swellow is hurt by poison!
Swellow lost 12% of its health.
Ninetails: 0% Swellow: 64%
3-6: -Cynthia-
I switch in Hitmonlee here so that I can finally kill off that freaking Swellow. I fire off a Close Combat and catch Claydol again on the switch, but this time, the encounter of Hitmonlee vs. Claydol is much less favorable because THIS time, Claydol is in 2HKO range.
I'm feeling pretty good at this point. I have a 3 Pokemon lead, so this should be a win from here.... right?
LonelyNess switched in Hitmonlee (lvl 100 Hitmonlee ?).
Pointed stones dug into Hitmonlee.
Hitmonlee lost 6% of its health.
Cynthia- switched in Claydol (lvl 100 Claydol).
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
It's not very effective...
Claydol lost 28% of its health.
Hitmonlee's defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee's special defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee: 88% Claydol: 22%
LonelyNess: IT'S DONE!
My exclamation basically sums up my next move, I can finally take down the Claydol which opens up a sweep as nothing else can really switch into my Close Combat... especially not Swellow because that's the only thing that's going to be fast enough to stop a sweep from Primeape/Toxicroak! Vileplume is still a threat to my team, but Toxicroak can take that down with SD Poison Jab.
Uh-oh. This was Claydol's last switch in. The tide is turning.
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
It's not very effective...
Claydol lost 22% of its health.
Cynthia-'s Claydol fainted.
Hitmonlee's defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee's special defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee: 88% Claydol: 0%
3-5: -Cynthia-
Finally, first blood on Cynthia's team. Not just first blood, but her Fighting counter! Things are starting to look promising now!
Hitmonlee is a serious problem now, with no reliable switch-ins, and my two unrevealed pokes do poorly against Close Combat.
Cynthia- switched in Vileplume (lvl 100 Vileplume ?).
Looks like I'll have to switch out here, I can't take a STAB Grass or Poison attack... not with my -1 defenses. Toxicroak is the best option, and I can probably get a free SD for a sweep!
Vileplume still resists fighting however, and its STAB attacks are nothing to laugh at either. This is an instance where I wish I had status over Aromatherapy.
LonelyNess switched in Toxicroak (lvl 100 Toxicroak ?).
Pointed stones dug into Toxicroak.
Toxicroak lost 6% of its health.
Vileplume used Sludge Bomb.
It's not very effective...
Toxicroak lost 33% of its health.
Toxicroak: 61% Vileplume: 87%
Time to Swords Dance as she will probably switch to Swellow.
There aren't any good switches into Toxicroak at this point, and Vileplume can still land a 3HKO. I'm also hoping that perhaps it will miss with Cross Chop/Stone Edge.
Toxicroak used Swords Dance.
Toxicroak's attack was sharply raised.
Vileplume used Sludge Bomb.
It's not very effective...
Toxicroak lost 30% of its health.
Toxicroak: 31% Vileplume: 93%
Wait, she stayed in to Sludge Bomb again!? >_< Well atleast I have my Swords Dance. Of what I know, nothing can take a +2 Poison Jab, so that’s what I’m going to throw at it and hope to OHKO SOMETHING and put another kill on the board.
I could really use Toxicroak's next attack missing.
Toxicroak used Poison Jab.
Vileplume lost 93% of its health.
Cynthia-'s Vileplume fainted.
Toxicroak lost 10% of its health.
Toxicroak: 21% Vileplume: 0%
3-4: -Cynthia-
I catch her Vileplume, which is really nice because it was really the only thing keeping a Close Combat sweep from happening. This is looking to be pretty good for me. I’m sitting right at 15% health, with 4 left on Cynthia’s side. That’s 2 Pokemon killed and hopefully one for Hitmonlee/Primeape to clean up afterward. This looks to be a successfully executed strategy.
But of course he uses the 100% accurate Poison Jab. And here I thought I only one using poison attacks. I'm in deep trouble without my fighting resists.
Cynthia- switched in Swellow (lvl 100 Swellow ?).
Time to Sucker Punch for the OHKO…
Swellow used Quick Attack.
Toxicroak lost 21% of its health.
LonelyNess's Toxicroak fainted.
Swellow is hurt by poison!
Swellow lost 6% of its health.
Toxicroak: 0% Swellow: 57%
2-4: -Cynthia-
Quick Attack!? QUICK ATTACK!? Come on man, throw me a bone here and use a standard set. I thought Swellows carried Pursuit so that Rotom didn’t wall them. Darn you Cynthia and your use of a priority move on something with base 125 Speed.
Now I’m doubting the likelyhood of a Fighting type sweep… but there’s always hope.
Priority moves are nearly essential in UU, with all the Rain Dancers, Scarfers, and the odd Endure/Reversal sets. It also beats some priority users as illustrated here if you're faster, cry your heart out Technitop.
LonelyNess switched in Hitmonlee (lvl 100 Hitmonlee ?).
Pointed stones dug into Hitmonlee.
Hitmonlee lost 6% of its health.
Swellow used Quick Attack.
Hitmonlee lost 62% of its health.
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
Swellow lost 57% of its health.
Cynthia-'s Swellow fainted.
Hitmonlee's defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee's special defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee: 19% Swellow: 0%
2-3: -Cynthia-
Cynthia Quick Attacks expecting an OHKO (to be honest I expected it to OHKO too) but is left a bit short… about 20% too short. I kill off Swellow and live to fight another day!
I needed this KO here, Hitmonlee's a huge problem now. Swellow did its job though.
Cynthia- switched in Poliwrath (lvl 100 Poliwrath ?).
Cynthia sends in the presumably bulkiest thing left on her team. I can’t OHKO with Close Combat and I know that Waterfall will destroy my -2 Defenses. I go with Primeape to absorb a Waterfall and put some damage on that frog.
With my unrevealed two Pokemon weak to fighting and rather slow, Poliwrath is all I have left.
LonelyNess switched in Primeape (lvl 100 Primeape ?).
Pointed stones dug into Primeape.
Primeape lost 6% of its health.
Poliwrath used Hypnosis.
Poliwrath's attack missed!
Primeape: 78% Poliwrath: 100%
I don’t really know why she used Hypnosis when a Waterfall would have sufficed for an OHKO, but hey, I’m all for free switch-ins where I can get ‘em. I Close Combat, knowing that I won’t OHKO and that Waterfall will destroy my Primeape.
Hypnosis was not the best move here, but it would have missed anyway and I couldn't have OHKOd Primeape with Waterfall.
Primeape used Close Combat.
Poliwrath lost 66% of its health.
Primeape's defence was lowered.
Primeape's special defence was lowered.
Primeape lost 10% of its health.
Poliwrath used Waterfall.
Primeape lost 68% of its health.
LonelyNess's Primeape fainted.
Primeape: 0% Poliwrath: 40%
1-3: -Cynthia-
That's the end of the pigmonkey, but I'm left with a weakened Poliwrath and two fighting weaks against a Scarfed Hitmonlee. I am officially screwed.
LonelyNess switched in Hitmonlee (lvl 100 Hitmonlee ?).
Pointed stones dug into Hitmonlee.
Hitmonlee lost 6% of its health.
LonelyNess: Alright
LonelyNess: CLOSE COMBAT SWEEP
Those words solidify what I choose to do here. Poliwrath is plenty low enough for Close Combat to OHKO. My real concern is that she has something that Close Combat can’t kill in one hit, but Close Combat is my only hope for a sweep, but it's my only hope for winning, so let's take a chance and see what happens!
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
Poliwrath lost 40% of its health.
Cynthia-'s Poliwrath fainted.
Hitmonlee's defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee's special defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee: 14% Poliwrath: 0%
1-2: -Cynthia-
One down, 2 to go.
Antique Roadshow: Go go Froslass!
(god I hope not)
Oh shit.
Cynthia- switched in Probopass (lvl 100 Probopass ?).
Easily killed by Close Combat!!! I might pull this off!!!!!
Hitmonlee used Close Combat.
It's super effective!
Probopass lost 100% of its health.
Cynthia-'s Probopass fainted.
Hitmonlee's defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee's special defence was lowered.
Hitmonlee: 14% Probopass: 0%
1-1: Tie Game
One last Pokemon for the win!
Alas, Probopass we hardly knew thee.
Cynthia- switched in Glaceon (lvl 100 Glaceon ?).
Yes! A Glaceon! Even if it's Scarfed I'm Scarfed too, so I'm faster. The only real problem I have is if it's Focus Sashed but that's unlikely. I quickly click "Attack" and get set to fire off the game winning Close Combat!
I send in Glaceon and prepare to say my gg and suffer a bitter loss when...
Hitmonlee used Struggle.
Glaceon lost 5% of its health.
Hitmonlee was hit by recoil!
Hitmonlee lost 13% of its health.
LonelyNess's Hitmonlee fainted.
Hitmonlee: 0% Glaceon: 95%
0-1: -Cynthia-
Cynthia- wins!
Close Combat's 8 pp lets it down here. Struggle fails to OHKO Glaceon and Hitmonlee kills itself. Yes!
I… I ran out of PP. On the LAST Pokemon my Close Combat runs out of PP and I stuggle for the loss. But what a fantastic way to end a game anyway! Great game, -Cynthia-.
Antique Roadshow: These are the kind of battles I want in my Tournaments =3
Well I was happy to oblige, AR.
Props:
- Hitmonlee for almost getting a sweep, and for taking out Claydol.
- Hitmontop for taking a good bit of health off of Claydol so that Hitmonlee could finish it off.
- Toxicroak for taking out Vileplume.
- Primeape for weakening Poliwrath.
- Fighting types for being so freaking powerful
- -Cynthia- for giving me an amazing match.
- Close Combat only having 8 PP... >_<
- Hypnosis and its crappy 70% accuracy.
- Allowing so many free switches to Swellow which ended up in the death of my Ninetails and Golduck.
- Struggle... for the lose.
- Swellow, for general ownage.
- LonelyNess, for using a unique and effective strategy.
- Having a great UU battle in general.
- Struggle finish.
- Probopass and Glaceon for doing almost nothing.
