Spice UUp Your Game: Physical Mythicals

By Lilburr. Released: 2021/03/24.
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Art

Art by anundeadboy.

Introduction

If you've been around Smogon for a long time, then you might remember Spice UUp Your Game, a series of UU-based articles that shows off underexplored sets and Pokemon within the UU metagame. Now that UU has settled down a bit after the Crown Tundra DLC, the series is finally making its long-awaited return! This issue will feature three fabulous Mythical Pokemon, and, while each of them is a common sight in UU, don't be fooled; their sets will be sure to catch your opponent off guard, and their effectiveness might surprise you too!

Dragon Dance Mew

Mew

Dragon Dance Mew is a relic of early SS UU, being a common sight back when Dynamax was still allowed in the tier. Nowadays, Mew tends to lend itself more towards supportive roles; it works best as a lead on hyper offense teams or as a defensive Spikes user that can check problematic Pokemon like Nidoqueen. However, once it taps into its coverage movepool, it's surprisingly difficult to wall! Psychic Fangs is a strong STAB move and, when backed by coverage moves like Flare Blitz for Celesteela and Scizor as well as Knock Off for Slowking and Victini, it can be very difficult for many teams to handle. Close Combat can be used over either move to handle the uncommon Incineroar and Umbreon, but in general these three attacks give Mew excellent coverage and allow it to act as a strong cleaner on dual screens teams.

Heavy-Duty Boots Zarude

Zarude

Zarude is most often seen sporting a Choice Scarf set, using its great Speed tier and power to offensively check dangerous threats like Alakazam, Zeraora, and Keldeo—this Heavy-Duty Boots set is much rarer than it used to be, but it's still very potent! Zarude's great bulk and access to Jungle Healing make it one of the most effective pivots into Water-types like Slowking, Milotic, and Rotom-W, being able to easily heal itself of burns from Scald or Will-O-Wisp and taking pittance from their attacks. It's still a great offensive check to the likes of Krookodile, Nihilego, and Chandelure, and its added longevity from Heavy-Duty Boots means that it can easily keep itself out of range of dangerous setup sweepers such as Belly Drum Azumarill and Shell Smash Polteageist. If you're looking for a useful offensive pivot with some great defensive utility, give Heavy-Duty Boots Zarude a try!

Bulk Up Zeraora

Zeraora

Zeraora is the best Pokemon in UU, largely owing to its amazing Heavy-Duty Boots pivot set that obliterates offensive teams and forces them to employ checks like Tapu Bulu, Amoonguss, and Choice Scarf Krookodile. This Life Orb set turns the tables on many of Zeraora's checks; a boosted Blaze Kick sends Tapu Bulu and Amoonguss packing, and Play Rough annihilates Kommo-o while doing great damage to Salamence too. This set fits really well on hyper offense teams, taking advantage of dual screens for setup opportunities or using layers of Spikes and Stealth Rock to wear would-be counters like Tangrowth into range of its attacks. As a results, it's one of the scariest late-game cleaners in the tier. Zeraora is often the subject of ridicule for its lack of versatility, but it's clear that it has a lot more to offer than one would think!

Closing

The next edition of Spice UUp Your Game will be centered around offensive Electric-types. Be sure to keep an eye out for that! Until then, I encourage you to try out these sets on the UU ladder; they'll be sure to catch your opponent off guard and leave them begging for mercy.

HTML by Lumari.
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