Annihilate
Alright, after getting 1000 likes i’m using it as an excuse to make a RMT. SS UU has been interesting ever since I came back after gen7 ended. It’s gone through a lot of metagame changes and now we’re here, after Mamoswine was banned and moving into another era of UU. This team was originally built before the Mamo ban and has gone through a lot of iterations until it became what it is today. I find this one of the most fun teams I’ve built in all of SS UU so far, along with it being extremely effective against what's common in the meta.
It all started with the Slurpuff, this was first built when Slurpuff just got its signature Belly Drum+Unburden combo back and it seemed like a menace in UU, taking advantage of so many common things with the best checks being Galarian Weezing, Bronzong, and Doublade. The perfect first partner was Espeon. It provided screens support, magic bounce, and its speed tier meant it could very reliably check all three of the mons above with the coverage in Psychic+Shadow Ball. Screens were the big thing as it let Slurpuff abuse its bulky to easily get up a Belly Drum.
The next two mons added to the team were Haxorus and Lucario, which completed a pretty nice Fairy Dragon Steel core. Haxorus was a menace in general, always having been a threat in the tier just due to its sheer power. Screens let it more easily set up as well. Lucario seemed like a nice choice as it was able to threaten a lot of pokemon that could be a worry to this team such as Gardevoir and Umbreon. It also gave me a form of priority to revenge kill pokemon that could give me trouble in Extreme Speed or Vacuum Wave.
The last two additions were Polteageist and Barbaracle. The teapot has always been a menace and its home is for sure on HO. Just Shell Smash+Stored Power is a nasty combo. A second smasher in Barbaracle that also provided me with rocks. Both of these are so hard to deal with for an unprepared team so they seemed like great options.
This is where the team changes a lot from the original version. First big change is Pangoro over Lucario. I was struggling a lot breaking fatter teams along with ghost types like Doublade and Polteageist. The added dark typing along with utility in Knock Off made so much difference, especially since I was able to beat both the pokemon I was struggling with it easily. It also improved my matchup vs Umbreon and Incineroar drastically.
The last two changes were Haxorus over Duraludon, and Toxtricity over Polteageist. While Haxorus is amazing, Duraludon added so much utility in its typing and movepool that it just was more worth it to add. It gave me a rocker, meaning Barbaracle was freed a slot. Along with that Steel is such a useful and important type that it was hard to get rid of now that Lucario was replaced. Toxtricity being my other change made a big difference as well. It was a much more consistent setup sweeper that took advantage of some defensive pokemon that would otherwise sit on my team. With these changes the final version was set in stone.
Link (Slurpuff) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Play Rough
- Drain Punch
- Facade
Slurpuff is the star of the show here. Belly Drum+Unburden makes Slurpuff one of the most terrifying sweepers in the tier. Even without a Belly Drum it can pose a threat if put into its Unburden state just because it's ability to outspeed most common scarfers and Noivern at +2. Drain Punch is the perfect coverage move for Slurpuff, making most steel types not a very good check at all. Not only that but the recovery you get from Drain Punch just means Slurpuff can survive even more hits, making it extremely hard to kill at times. Facade ends off its coverage, turning a stray poison or burn to its advantage. A neutral 140 BP Facade is going to hurt a lot that switches in, and just gives it an accurate neutral move that completes the set perfectly. Jolly is run due to its ability to outspeed Scarf flygon, along with Modest Venusaur at +2. Adamant could be used for the boost in power but i’ve found being outsped by flygon being much more common and annoying than the rolls that Adamant changes for slurpuff. Adamant however is still a completely valid option for the sheer power boost it gives Slurpuff, especially with the fact it almost 100% of the time kills Chandelure. They each have their strengths and their weaknesses, but in the current meta of UU I feel Jolly is the choice.
Zelda (Espeon) @ Light Clay
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
Espeon is our first member! One of the key pokemon on this team due to its unique combination of traits. While not a new addition to the tier, nor did it gain anything from home it’s viability and options are just not being explored in UU. It’s the best screens setter in my personal opinion due to its speed tier, and its ability Magic Bounce, which prevents Defog from removing screens from your side. Overall Espeon has a lot of valuable traits in the current metagame that no other pokemon can provide. While it doesn’t gives the Psychic Terrain Indeedee does, the job it does do it does very well.
Vah Rudania (Duraludon) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Draco Meteor
- Steel Beam
- Thunder Wave
Next up is our common lead Duraludon. This pokemon is extremely interesting. It’s our second Steel/Dragon typing next to Dialga and while not as good, it surely provides some useful tools. Its typing was the big selling point for me here. It gave me a lot of defensive utility Haxorus didn’t give me, while still having good breaking power due to high Base Power moves. It’s a rocker that matches up vs other common rockers quite well besides Bronzong which is just food for one of my other mons which i’ll cover later on. With a focus sash, It’s also able to beat Noivern 1v1, or if it’s not Draco Meteor, just beat it in general. Steel Beam is a nice move that lets Duraludon keep up momentum for the team by killing itself, and doing hefty damage to whatever has to take the move. Lastly is Thunder Wave, an annoying but very useful move that just lets it cripple whatever is in front of it. It could also be a coverage move like Dark Pulse or Thunderbolt [i’d personally choose Dark Pulse out of the two] but the ability to just completely make a pokemon lose its speed or the chance to paralyze is too useful to give up.
Ganon (Pangoro) @ Life Orb
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Bullet Punch
Next up is the kung fu panda himself, Pangoro. Why’s this on an HO team when it’s slow? That’s because it absolutely annihilates common bulky teams. Dark/Fighting is hard to wall especially when it has steel type coverage. The dark typing also lets it resist ghost type attacks, which is extremely useful for the team. Similar to Slurpuff, it has the bulk to take advantage of screens extremely well, letting Pangoro wreak havoc on bulky teams that may not be able to easily kill it. Scrappy is used because it prevents Intimidate, a new buff to the ability given in Sword and Shield. Even though I have other good pokemon that have the potential to break bulky teams Pangoro just does it so efficiently. Builet Punch also gives me a form or priority that lets it hit fairy types that are faster than it, and the fairies it's weak to in general.
Moblin (Toxtricity) @ Throat Spray
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shift Gear
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Sludge Bomb
Toxtricity is yet another setup user which works great behind screens. This is one of the new gen8 pokemon and I absolutely love this thing. But instead of ranting on its design i’m going to say why it performs well on this team. The biggest boon is its consistency in what it does. Typically seen as a Choice Specs user, the Shift Gear + Throat Spray set can be equally terrifying. Once you get the first hit off, you hit as strong as Specs does with the ability to switch moves. Not to mention it's able to threaten bulky waters for the team that otherwise the team may struggle with. Basically a really scary mon to deal with a lot of the time. Another big addition Toxtricity brings is a resist to fairy type attacks, letting it take advantage of Galarian Weezing extremely well for the rest of the team. Sludge Bomb is used because of the prevalence of fairy types in the current meta along with the poison chance.
Stalfos (Barbaracle) @ Lum Berry / Shuca Berry
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Shell Smash
- Liquidation
- Stone Edge
- Protect / Cross Chop / Earthquake
Last but not least is Barbaracle, a critically underrated pokemon in the UU meta. This thing destroys any team without a Gastrodon. There are more checks than just that but the main idea is this thing destroys teams, bulky and offensive alike. Water/Rock STAB is really hard to wall in this meta and those are really the only two moves it needs. Protect is the last move of choice besides its setup in Shell Smash. This is because it easily gets rid of the threat First Impression would impose on it. Lum Berry is the item of choice though a lot of items could fit here. Lum Berry gets rid of the threat a burn or paralysis could impose on it as a one time thing, and after it gets it set up it's usually ready to sweep a team, or very heavily weaken it especially when behind screens. Overall Barbracle in general should really be used more in general due to its potency as a sweeper AND breaker. Alright now to some alternate options. Shuca Berry is a good item for the reason that it can tank a ground type attack that may otherwise kill it, which is very useful. Cross Chop is the fighting type Stone Edge. It allows Barbaracle to one shot non-Chople Berry Cobaloion along with hitting Gastrodon for big damage which otherwise walls it. Earthquake is just a good neutral coverage option, the famous EdgeQuake coverage that many pokemon run. It hits a wider variety of things such as Toxicroak which otherwise checks it well. Earthquake does leave it more vulnerable to Shuca Cobalion which is very common.
Now onto the threat list of this team.
The biggest one is easily Sun as a playstyle. Venusaur at +2 outspeeds everything on my team even if they are boosted which can pose a huge problem given how strong it is. The best way I've found is to try to get rid of the sun setter first, or use Duraludon’s sash to paralyze Venusaur. After that you can easily outspeed it with one of your setup mons, allowing you to pretty easily win a matchup like that.
Inteleon has proved to be extremely troublesome for this team. Nothing takes a specs water move.. That’s pretty much it. If it leads off with it you’re just going to have to hope it doesn’t click Hydro Pump and that you can get off a light screen. I’ve won once due to being able to set up one of my pokemon on a team with inteleon, and living a surf with slurpuff but.. This lizard is a problem. Nothing can live its attacks. This could easily apply to something like Barraskewda as well but that mon is much rarer.
This one is annoying specifically with the physical set. It's typing, ability, and ability to have priority in Sucker Punch just makes it annoying. While Espeon outspeeds and kills it with Psychic, Toxicroak outspeeds and kills a lot of my pokemon. Plus without Earthquake Barbaracle can't kill it. Overall it's not too bad but overall it's something to look out for.
Another annoyance is Lucario. Specifically Lucario’s extreme speed just because it's such a strong move. Nothing on my time very easily takes Lucario’s STABs and along with that Extreme Speed can heavily dent my team, or just team up in general due to it being +2 priority. While a very possible matchup it can be annoying to deal with. This could also apply to an Arcanine's or a Linoone's extreme speed but those are more easily dealt with.
Whimsicott, or more specifically Encore can be a bit of an annoyance for sure. This is a given for any team of this type just since your entire game plan revolves around setup. Encore just completely shutting any of my sweepers down is extremely annoying, but Pangoro being a dark type and having Bullet Punch makes this more than possible.
Through building and using this team for an extended period of time I’ve learned quite a bit. First of all Hyper Offense is an extremely potent playstyle in UU. Due to how formulaic some teams can be, you can really customize to overwhelm those common cores and end up coming on top with your own sweepers even with little defensive presence. It’s been extremely fun learning the playstyle more and through doing so i’ve learned more as a player as well. This has been a great team to use in SS UU and that’s why i’m putting it out for anyone else to use. It’s not a perfect team, it’s not the best team, but it surely is one that shows creativity is possible in UU. Thanks to everyone who read my essay of a Rate My Team and I hope you all enjoy it! Also there is no peak or anything of the sort mainly cuz UU ladder sucks. Now onto shoutouts of people who’ve made UU all the more enjoyable cuz they all deserve some love.
Thanks again for reading my essay of a Rate My Team. Have fun everyone!
Alright, after getting 1000 likes i’m using it as an excuse to make a RMT. SS UU has been interesting ever since I came back after gen7 ended. It’s gone through a lot of metagame changes and now we’re here, after Mamoswine was banned and moving into another era of UU. This team was originally built before the Mamo ban and has gone through a lot of iterations until it became what it is today. I find this one of the most fun teams I’ve built in all of SS UU so far, along with it being extremely effective against what's common in the meta.
It all started with the Slurpuff, this was first built when Slurpuff just got its signature Belly Drum+Unburden combo back and it seemed like a menace in UU, taking advantage of so many common things with the best checks being Galarian Weezing, Bronzong, and Doublade. The perfect first partner was Espeon. It provided screens support, magic bounce, and its speed tier meant it could very reliably check all three of the mons above with the coverage in Psychic+Shadow Ball. Screens were the big thing as it let Slurpuff abuse its bulky to easily get up a Belly Drum.
The next two mons added to the team were Haxorus and Lucario, which completed a pretty nice Fairy Dragon Steel core. Haxorus was a menace in general, always having been a threat in the tier just due to its sheer power. Screens let it more easily set up as well. Lucario seemed like a nice choice as it was able to threaten a lot of pokemon that could be a worry to this team such as Gardevoir and Umbreon. It also gave me a form of priority to revenge kill pokemon that could give me trouble in Extreme Speed or Vacuum Wave.
The last two additions were Polteageist and Barbaracle. The teapot has always been a menace and its home is for sure on HO. Just Shell Smash+Stored Power is a nasty combo. A second smasher in Barbaracle that also provided me with rocks. Both of these are so hard to deal with for an unprepared team so they seemed like great options.
This is where the team changes a lot from the original version. First big change is Pangoro over Lucario. I was struggling a lot breaking fatter teams along with ghost types like Doublade and Polteageist. The added dark typing along with utility in Knock Off made so much difference, especially since I was able to beat both the pokemon I was struggling with it easily. It also improved my matchup vs Umbreon and Incineroar drastically.
The last two changes were Haxorus over Duraludon, and Toxtricity over Polteageist. While Haxorus is amazing, Duraludon added so much utility in its typing and movepool that it just was more worth it to add. It gave me a rocker, meaning Barbaracle was freed a slot. Along with that Steel is such a useful and important type that it was hard to get rid of now that Lucario was replaced. Toxtricity being my other change made a big difference as well. It was a much more consistent setup sweeper that took advantage of some defensive pokemon that would otherwise sit on my team. With these changes the final version was set in stone.
Link (Slurpuff) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Play Rough
- Drain Punch
- Facade
Slurpuff is the star of the show here. Belly Drum+Unburden makes Slurpuff one of the most terrifying sweepers in the tier. Even without a Belly Drum it can pose a threat if put into its Unburden state just because it's ability to outspeed most common scarfers and Noivern at +2. Drain Punch is the perfect coverage move for Slurpuff, making most steel types not a very good check at all. Not only that but the recovery you get from Drain Punch just means Slurpuff can survive even more hits, making it extremely hard to kill at times. Facade ends off its coverage, turning a stray poison or burn to its advantage. A neutral 140 BP Facade is going to hurt a lot that switches in, and just gives it an accurate neutral move that completes the set perfectly. Jolly is run due to its ability to outspeed Scarf flygon, along with Modest Venusaur at +2. Adamant could be used for the boost in power but i’ve found being outsped by flygon being much more common and annoying than the rolls that Adamant changes for slurpuff. Adamant however is still a completely valid option for the sheer power boost it gives Slurpuff, especially with the fact it almost 100% of the time kills Chandelure. They each have their strengths and their weaknesses, but in the current meta of UU I feel Jolly is the choice.
Chandelure
+6 252 Atk Slurpuff Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Chandelure: 231-273 (88.5 - 104.5%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Slurpuff Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Chandelure: 254-299 (97.3 - 114.5%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
Rhyperior
+6 252 Atk Slurpuff Play Rough vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Rhyperior: 339-399 (78.6 - 92.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+6 252+ Atk Slurpuff Play Rough vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Rhyperior: 372-438 (86.3 - 101.6%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery
These just show the sheer difference in power Jolly vs Adamant gives.
+6 252 Atk Slurpuff Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Chandelure: 231-273 (88.5 - 104.5%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Slurpuff Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Chandelure: 254-299 (97.3 - 114.5%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
Rhyperior
+6 252 Atk Slurpuff Play Rough vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Rhyperior: 339-399 (78.6 - 92.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+6 252+ Atk Slurpuff Play Rough vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Rhyperior: 372-438 (86.3 - 101.6%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery
These just show the sheer difference in power Jolly vs Adamant gives.
Zelda (Espeon) @ Light Clay
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
Espeon is our first member! One of the key pokemon on this team due to its unique combination of traits. While not a new addition to the tier, nor did it gain anything from home it’s viability and options are just not being explored in UU. It’s the best screens setter in my personal opinion due to its speed tier, and its ability Magic Bounce, which prevents Defog from removing screens from your side. Overall Espeon has a lot of valuable traits in the current metagame that no other pokemon can provide. While it doesn’t gives the Psychic Terrain Indeedee does, the job it does do it does very well.
Vah Rudania (Duraludon) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Draco Meteor
- Steel Beam
- Thunder Wave
Next up is our common lead Duraludon. This pokemon is extremely interesting. It’s our second Steel/Dragon typing next to Dialga and while not as good, it surely provides some useful tools. Its typing was the big selling point for me here. It gave me a lot of defensive utility Haxorus didn’t give me, while still having good breaking power due to high Base Power moves. It’s a rocker that matches up vs other common rockers quite well besides Bronzong which is just food for one of my other mons which i’ll cover later on. With a focus sash, It’s also able to beat Noivern 1v1, or if it’s not Draco Meteor, just beat it in general. Steel Beam is a nice move that lets Duraludon keep up momentum for the team by killing itself, and doing hefty damage to whatever has to take the move. Lastly is Thunder Wave, an annoying but very useful move that just lets it cripple whatever is in front of it. It could also be a coverage move like Dark Pulse or Thunderbolt [i’d personally choose Dark Pulse out of the two] but the ability to just completely make a pokemon lose its speed or the chance to paralyze is too useful to give up.
Ganon (Pangoro) @ Life Orb
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Bullet Punch
Next up is the kung fu panda himself, Pangoro. Why’s this on an HO team when it’s slow? That’s because it absolutely annihilates common bulky teams. Dark/Fighting is hard to wall especially when it has steel type coverage. The dark typing also lets it resist ghost type attacks, which is extremely useful for the team. Similar to Slurpuff, it has the bulk to take advantage of screens extremely well, letting Pangoro wreak havoc on bulky teams that may not be able to easily kill it. Scrappy is used because it prevents Intimidate, a new buff to the ability given in Sword and Shield. Even though I have other good pokemon that have the potential to break bulky teams Pangoro just does it so efficiently. Builet Punch also gives me a form or priority that lets it hit fairy types that are faster than it, and the fairies it's weak to in general.
Moblin (Toxtricity) @ Throat Spray
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shift Gear
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Sludge Bomb
Toxtricity is yet another setup user which works great behind screens. This is one of the new gen8 pokemon and I absolutely love this thing. But instead of ranting on its design i’m going to say why it performs well on this team. The biggest boon is its consistency in what it does. Typically seen as a Choice Specs user, the Shift Gear + Throat Spray set can be equally terrifying. Once you get the first hit off, you hit as strong as Specs does with the ability to switch moves. Not to mention it's able to threaten bulky waters for the team that otherwise the team may struggle with. Basically a really scary mon to deal with a lot of the time. Another big addition Toxtricity brings is a resist to fairy type attacks, letting it take advantage of Galarian Weezing extremely well for the rest of the team. Sludge Bomb is used because of the prevalence of fairy types in the current meta along with the poison chance.
Stalfos (Barbaracle) @ Lum Berry / Shuca Berry
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Shell Smash
- Liquidation
- Stone Edge
- Protect / Cross Chop / Earthquake
Last but not least is Barbaracle, a critically underrated pokemon in the UU meta. This thing destroys any team without a Gastrodon. There are more checks than just that but the main idea is this thing destroys teams, bulky and offensive alike. Water/Rock STAB is really hard to wall in this meta and those are really the only two moves it needs. Protect is the last move of choice besides its setup in Shell Smash. This is because it easily gets rid of the threat First Impression would impose on it. Lum Berry is the item of choice though a lot of items could fit here. Lum Berry gets rid of the threat a burn or paralysis could impose on it as a one time thing, and after it gets it set up it's usually ready to sweep a team, or very heavily weaken it especially when behind screens. Overall Barbracle in general should really be used more in general due to its potency as a sweeper AND breaker. Alright now to some alternate options. Shuca Berry is a good item for the reason that it can tank a ground type attack that may otherwise kill it, which is very useful. Cross Chop is the fighting type Stone Edge. It allows Barbaracle to one shot non-Chople Berry Cobaloion along with hitting Gastrodon for big damage which otherwise walls it. Earthquake is just a good neutral coverage option, the famous EdgeQuake coverage that many pokemon run. It hits a wider variety of things such as Toxicroak which otherwise checks it well. Earthquake does leave it more vulnerable to Shuca Cobalion which is very common.
Cobalion
+2 252 Atk Tough Claws Barbaracle Liquidation vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cobalion: 250-295 (77.3 - 91.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Tough Claws Barbaracle Cross Chop vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cobalion: 392-462 (121.3 - 143%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Specially Defensive Gastrodon
+2 252 Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Gastrodon: 192-227 (45 - 53.2%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Tough Claws Barbaracle Cross Chop vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Gastrodon: 334-394 (78.4 - 92.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Barbaracle Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Gastrodon: 257-303 (60.3 - 71.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Defensive Gastrodon
+2 252 Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gastrodon: 129-152 (30.2 - 35.6%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Tough Claws Barbaracle Cross Chop vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gastrodon: 223-263 (52.3 - 61.7%) -- 98% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Barbaracle Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gastrodon: 172-203 (40.3 - 47.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Toxicroak
+2 252 Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Toxicroak: 199-235 (64.8 - 76.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Barbaracle Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Toxicroak: 532-628 (173.2 - 204.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Tough Claws Barbaracle Liquidation vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cobalion: 250-295 (77.3 - 91.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Tough Claws Barbaracle Cross Chop vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cobalion: 392-462 (121.3 - 143%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Specially Defensive Gastrodon
+2 252 Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Gastrodon: 192-227 (45 - 53.2%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Tough Claws Barbaracle Cross Chop vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Gastrodon: 334-394 (78.4 - 92.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Barbaracle Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Gastrodon: 257-303 (60.3 - 71.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Defensive Gastrodon
+2 252 Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gastrodon: 129-152 (30.2 - 35.6%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Tough Claws Barbaracle Cross Chop vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gastrodon: 223-263 (52.3 - 61.7%) -- 98% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Barbaracle Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gastrodon: 172-203 (40.3 - 47.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Toxicroak
+2 252 Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Toxicroak: 199-235 (64.8 - 76.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Barbaracle Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Toxicroak: 532-628 (173.2 - 204.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Now onto the threat list of this team.
The biggest one is easily Sun as a playstyle. Venusaur at +2 outspeeds everything on my team even if they are boosted which can pose a huge problem given how strong it is. The best way I've found is to try to get rid of the sun setter first, or use Duraludon’s sash to paralyze Venusaur. After that you can easily outspeed it with one of your setup mons, allowing you to pretty easily win a matchup like that.
Inteleon has proved to be extremely troublesome for this team. Nothing takes a specs water move.. That’s pretty much it. If it leads off with it you’re just going to have to hope it doesn’t click Hydro Pump and that you can get off a light screen. I’ve won once due to being able to set up one of my pokemon on a team with inteleon, and living a surf with slurpuff but.. This lizard is a problem. Nothing can live its attacks. This could easily apply to something like Barraskewda as well but that mon is much rarer.
This one is annoying specifically with the physical set. It's typing, ability, and ability to have priority in Sucker Punch just makes it annoying. While Espeon outspeeds and kills it with Psychic, Toxicroak outspeeds and kills a lot of my pokemon. Plus without Earthquake Barbaracle can't kill it. Overall it's not too bad but overall it's something to look out for.
Another annoyance is Lucario. Specifically Lucario’s extreme speed just because it's such a strong move. Nothing on my time very easily takes Lucario’s STABs and along with that Extreme Speed can heavily dent my team, or just team up in general due to it being +2 priority. While a very possible matchup it can be annoying to deal with. This could also apply to an Arcanine's or a Linoone's extreme speed but those are more easily dealt with.
Whimsicott, or more specifically Encore can be a bit of an annoyance for sure. This is a given for any team of this type just since your entire game plan revolves around setup. Encore just completely shutting any of my sweepers down is extremely annoying, but Pangoro being a dark type and having Bullet Punch makes this more than possible.
Through building and using this team for an extended period of time I’ve learned quite a bit. First of all Hyper Offense is an extremely potent playstyle in UU. Due to how formulaic some teams can be, you can really customize to overwhelm those common cores and end up coming on top with your own sweepers even with little defensive presence. It’s been extremely fun learning the playstyle more and through doing so i’ve learned more as a player as well. This has been a great team to use in SS UU and that’s why i’m putting it out for anyone else to use. It’s not a perfect team, it’s not the best team, but it surely is one that shows creativity is possible in UU. Thanks to everyone who read my essay of a Rate My Team and I hope you all enjoy it! Also there is no peak or anything of the sort mainly cuz UU ladder sucks. Now onto shoutouts of people who’ve made UU all the more enjoyable cuz they all deserve some love.
A Cake Wearing A Hat
Give this man his artist badge c'mon. Thanks to him for the great art provided in this RMT along with just being an overall amazing person and friend. He's super helpful in so many ways and i'm lucky to call him a friend.
Eve
She's great. From when this team was first made she was one who helped me test it a lot at the beginning. From there it has developed so far into what it is today. Cute person and good friend. Excited to keep talking to you in the future.
Notily
Thanks for being an overall cool person and helping me out in finalizing the team along with testing the final version. Appreciate you dude.
yeezyknows Hilomilo
Both of y'all are super cool. You put up with me constantly sending you shit teams that I never end up testing and are always just super fun to talk to the both of you. Glad we became better friends and hope for only the best for the both of you.
Lilburr Accelgor Sage Nuked vivalospride
People I don't talk to nearly enough. Even in the short times we do talk you guys are always awesome. Super nice and have always been helpful to me when i've come to ask. You're all super talented and overall just.. awesome. There's nothing more to say. All the love to you guys tbh.
All the people in the MSPL and Glaceon Goons chat/discord. And anyone else I havent specifically mentioned.
I don't have the patience or knowledge of everyone's @s but all of you there that I haven't specifically shouted out deserve some love too. You've made my time on Showdown and just in the UU community amazing. There have been countless times where my thoughts were proven completely wrong by the people i'm around. You've shown me that I have my place here and that people know and even respect me for the very little I do here and I thank all of you for that. I may not know some of the people grouped into here all too well but the matter of fact is you've all made a difference and have made things great being a part of this community. Shout outs to all the people here being amazing.
Another special shout out to Nuked and A Cake Wearing A Hat
Y'all are giant nerds. You can't change my mind.
Give this man his artist badge c'mon. Thanks to him for the great art provided in this RMT along with just being an overall amazing person and friend. He's super helpful in so many ways and i'm lucky to call him a friend.
Eve
She's great. From when this team was first made she was one who helped me test it a lot at the beginning. From there it has developed so far into what it is today. Cute person and good friend. Excited to keep talking to you in the future.
Notily
Thanks for being an overall cool person and helping me out in finalizing the team along with testing the final version. Appreciate you dude.
yeezyknows Hilomilo
Both of y'all are super cool. You put up with me constantly sending you shit teams that I never end up testing and are always just super fun to talk to the both of you. Glad we became better friends and hope for only the best for the both of you.
Lilburr Accelgor Sage Nuked vivalospride
People I don't talk to nearly enough. Even in the short times we do talk you guys are always awesome. Super nice and have always been helpful to me when i've come to ask. You're all super talented and overall just.. awesome. There's nothing more to say. All the love to you guys tbh.
All the people in the MSPL and Glaceon Goons chat/discord. And anyone else I havent specifically mentioned.
I don't have the patience or knowledge of everyone's @s but all of you there that I haven't specifically shouted out deserve some love too. You've made my time on Showdown and just in the UU community amazing. There have been countless times where my thoughts were proven completely wrong by the people i'm around. You've shown me that I have my place here and that people know and even respect me for the very little I do here and I thank all of you for that. I may not know some of the people grouped into here all too well but the matter of fact is you've all made a difference and have made things great being a part of this community. Shout outs to all the people here being amazing.
Another special shout out to Nuked and A Cake Wearing A Hat
Y'all are giant nerds. You can't change my mind.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1096396619 vs sun
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1096928542 utility of unburden
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1096961088 Drain punch is good
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1097985638 Slurpuff being strong
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1096915564 More strong Slurpuff
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1098183596 Thunder Wave is good
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1096928542 utility of unburden
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1096961088 Drain punch is good
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1097985638 Slurpuff being strong
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1096915564 More strong Slurpuff
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1098183596 Thunder Wave is good
Link (Slurpuff) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Play Rough
- Drain Punch
- Facade
Zelda (Espeon) @ Light Clay
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
Vah Rudania (Duraludon) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Draco Meteor
- Steel Beam
- Thunder Wave
Ganon (Pangoro) @ Life Orb
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Bullet Punch
Moblin (Toxtricity) @ Throat Spray
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shift Gear
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Sludge Bomb
Stalfos (Barbaracle) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Shell Smash
- Liquidation
- Stone Edge
- Protect
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Play Rough
- Drain Punch
- Facade
Zelda (Espeon) @ Light Clay
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
Vah Rudania (Duraludon) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Draco Meteor
- Steel Beam
- Thunder Wave
Ganon (Pangoro) @ Life Orb
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Bullet Punch
Moblin (Toxtricity) @ Throat Spray
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shift Gear
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Sludge Bomb
Stalfos (Barbaracle) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Shell Smash
- Liquidation
- Stone Edge
- Protect
Thanks again for reading my essay of a Rate My Team. Have fun everyone!
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