An Introduction to SV Ubers UU

By QBKing3 and FluffyPets. Released: 2023/11/24.
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Art by Finchely

Art by Finchely.

What is Ubers UU?

Ubers UU, often shortened to UUbers, the second tier of Ubers play, is finally here as Smogon's newest Unofficial Metagame! Generation 9 has had an unprecedented number of bans from OU, and most of these banned Pokémon cannot compete at box legendary levels in Ubers. Conversely, many returning Ubers such as Dialga and Zacian find themselves outclassed and irrelevant in the Ubers metagame and end up with next to no usage in the tier. UUbers was created to give both groups of Pokémon a home, in an environment where they can compete with others at their power level.

The tiering mechanics for Ubers UU are identical to regular UU, but with Ubers as the base. This means that any Pokémon with a 4.52% or higher usage in Ubers is not allowed in Ubers UU, which includes some OU and even UU Pokémon. The high Ubers usage of certain lower tier Pokémon like Skeledirge and Ribombee means they are unavailable in Ubers UU, creating a unique metagame with diverse team structures that cannot be found anywhere else.

The Meta

Due to the presence of bulky defensive options coming from low-usage Ubers, the metagame is not warped around hyper offensive play styles as you might guess. Almost every archetype that you can think of is viable in Ubers UU. Every single weather is viable thanks to each of them having good setters and attackers. Balance teams have a litany of options in both defensive and offensive cores that handle the powerful attackers and break through walls. Hazard stacking is a good strategy anchored by Gholdengo, if the best hazard control in Cyclizar can be eliminated reliably. Hyper offense teams are able to put the pressure on with powerful setup sweepers, but they must be wary of phazing moves. Sticky Web has a lot of options that can take advantage of it but it is forced to rely on subpar setters like Masquerain and Leavanny. Even Grassy Terrain is viable here with Rillaboom, Espathra, and Sneasler. Trick Room has Magearna and Ursaluna back together, along with new threats like Dialga as both a setter and attacker. Last but not least, stall is still an option even at the increased power level thanks to the reliability of bulky walls like Clefable, Blissey, and Alomomola.

Top Pokémon

magearna

Magearna's fantastic Steel / Fairy typing, incredible bulk, vast movepool, and high Special Attack make it the best Pokémon in Ubers UU. It is able to provide an invaluable supporting role on nearly every team, ready to fill in gaps and act as the gluemon we need in the tier. It can safely switch into a myriad of common attacks and reliably set Spikes, cripple foes with Thunder Wave, and provide pivoting with Volt Switch, while its powerful STAB Fleur Cannon deals solid damage even without any Special Attack investment.

cyclizar

Cyclizar's Shed Tail is the best pivoting move available, providing free switches to any Pokémon against almost any enemy. Cyclizar also has Rapid Spin, providing the tier's best hazard control, as well as the complementary moves Knock Off and Taunt. Its high Speed, notably getting the jump on Arceus and Palkia-O, allows it to safely function as a fast pivot and hazard remover.

zacian

Zacian is the top physical attacker, with a great pure Fairy typing, blistering Speed tier, powerful coverage moves such as Close Combat, Crunch, Psychic Fangs, Iron Head, and even Tera Blast paired with flexible Tera options, and Swords Dance to break the tier's powerful defensive cores. Choice Band is also a good set to allow Zacian more immediate power but is less common. Zacian's good natural bulk and defensive typing provide it with consistent entry points throughout the game and allow it to check hyper offense teams thanks to outspeeding and being able to OHKO everything on those teams after a Swords Dance boost.

palafin-hero

Palafin's Jet Punch is the best priority in the tier, and its Wave Crash is one of the most powerful physical attacks, hitting many of the top Pokémon for neutral STAB damage. Its pure Water typing also provides decent defensive utility along with Flip Turn for pivoting.

palkia-origin

Palkia-O has effectively unresisted dual STAB attacks coming off a huge base 150 Special Attack, boosted further by Lustrous Globe, along with good coverage moves such as Fire Blast and Earth Power. Its high speed, serviceable bulk, and great defensive typing allow it many opportunities to come onto the field to threaten the opposing team, but its lack of reliable stat boosts and locked held item hold it back from running over the tier.

dialga

Dialga's great defensive typing and utility movepool including Roar, Thunder Wave, and Stealth Rock allows it to function as a check to some of the most powerful threats in the tier, complemented further by either Tera Flying or Water. A strong Special Attack stat and access to Draco Meteor ensure it's not simply a passive wall, but a noteworthy threat as well.

chi-yu

Chi-Yu is rather slow and frail by Ubers UU standards, but its monstrous natural power allows it to use a Choice Scarf set that still muscles through some of the bulkiest cores in the meta with its Dark / Fire STAB combination.

Arceus formes

Arceus, in a selection of formes, provides stability to Ubers UU gameplay with its phenomenal stat spread. Its titanic natural defenses along with immediate power mean that any of the following forme can be both the defensive backbone of a team and a terrifying attacker. Picking the correct forme of Arceus can be the deciding factor as to whether a team succeeds. While almost every legal Arceus has a niche, here are the four that are at the top of the meta.

arceus-poison

Arceus-Poison most often runs a Dragon Dance set to take advantage of its powerful Gunk Shot, which pairs with Earthquake for amazing neutral coverage. It can also run a defensive set that allows it to cripple attackers with Will-O-Wisp and force out boosting threats with Roar. Both sets have a great matchup against Zacian thanks to the defensive capabilities of Poison.

arceus-dark

Arceus-Dark can use a set with Judgment, Calm Mind, Taunt, and Recover set, which rips through stall more effectively than almost anything else, or a defensive set similar to Arceus-Poison with Will-O-Wisp and Roar to take advantage of the unique defensive matchups of the Dark type.

arceus-grass

Arceus-Grass is a premier special wallbreaker with Calm Mind, Judgment, and Recover. It often uses Earth Power for coverage in the final slot but can also use Taunt to more easily break stall teams. Its pure Grass typing provides valuable defensive utility against the many powerful Water-type attacks in the tier. It's for this reason Arceus-Grass specifically fits very well onto rain and sun teams.

arceus-fire

Arceus-Fire uses a Dragon Dance set with a powerful Flare Blitz paired with coverage such as Earthquake and Poison Jab or even Extreme Speed to function as a phenomenal late-game cleaner. While its typing is exploitable, it does provide some entry points against threats such as Zacian and Chi-Yu.

Ubers UUBL

These Pokémon were banned from Ubers UU due to being problematic in the meta. They are listed in chronological order of bans.

arceus-flying arceus-steel arceus-water

Arceus-Flying, Arceus-Steel, and Arceus-Water were banned for their Judgment, Calm Mind, Taunt, and Recover sets that resulted in most games coming down to a Speed tie between two Arceus using Taunt at the same time.

arceus-electric

Arceus-Electric was banned for its Judgment, Ice Beam, Calm Mind, and Recover set, as it was almost impossible to handle without another of the banned Arceus formes using Taunt on it.

basculegion-female

Basculegion-F was banned for being super restricting to teambuilding, requiring a Tera Normal thanks to Last Respects sweeping teams left and right.

shaymin-sky

Shaymin-S was banned for being uncompetitive and restricting to teambuilding thanks to Air Slash and Serene Grace enabling it to beat its checks with some luck.

arceus-ghost

Arceus-Ghost dropped in November and was banned for its Extreme Killer set. This set was overwhelmingly powerful, requiring very specific counters. It also doubled as a spinblocker that doesn't mind Knock Off, a terrifying prospect for our best spinner Cyclizar.

Come Play Ubers UU!

Ubers UU in generation 9 was created by player KineSquared in October 2023, and since then the community of over 2,200 players has grown at an incredible rate before this step of Smogon recognition. We have a Discord here where we have weekly events, a vibrant community to discuss the meta with, and easy access to resources to help you get started with the tier. Our forum page is here. We also have a live ladder on Pokémon Showdown, and a shared room with other UMs, so go out and play some games! We hope you will join us in enjoying this great metagame and using Pokémon that would otherwise never see play!

HTML by Lumari.
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