(Approved by ausma)
Stats: 80/160/60/170/130/80
Notable moves:
- Calm Mind
- Dark Pulse
- Drain Punch
- Focus Blast
- Grass Knot
- Gunk Shot
- Hyperspace Fury
- Knock Off
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Taunt
- Tera Blast
- Trick
- Zen Headbutt
Pros:
- Highest mixed attacking stats in the game, let alone in OU. This thing is capable of some of the highest damage output possible when given a Choice item, and has the coverage to hit everything in the tier for super effective both physically and specially.
- Surprising special bulk, letting it sponge an ungodly amount of hits. Notably, it's high enough to live 2 Specs Dragapult Shadow Balls, Specs Wake's Draco Meteor, and has odds to live Specs Gholdengo's Make It Rain, all without any investment.
- It still gets Knock Off.
Cons:
- Physical bulk is very poor, which can make it very hard to bring in outside of pivoting allies like Slowking and Dragapult. Basically every physical attacker in the tier scares it out.
- 4x U-turn weakness means that many offensive threats that it can theoretically brawl with thanks to its special bulk, like Hydreigon and Dragapult, become unsafe.
- Mediocre Speed and doesn't have a way to boost it, meaning invested staples like Gholdengo, Great Tusk, and Baxcalibur outrun it. Can make it very hard to use against offensive teams without a Choice Scarf.
- Many of its moves, while undeniably powerful, pack common resists. Notably, Dark is resisted by the 2 best Pokemon in the tier (Great Tusk and Kingambit), with its coverage options typically not packing the same OHKO potential. This makes it pretty prediction reliant.
- Magician doesn't do anything in most games.
Terastal potential:
- Tera Dark is probably the go-to on Choice Band sets. Tera Dark Hyperspace Fury simply does not have reliable switchins outside of Great Tusk and Ting-Lu, even 2HKOing Max HP Kingambit after Stealth Rock, and also cuts clean through all of the bulky Waters. It also boosts Knock Off, which is excellent.
- Tera Psychic boosts its most spammable move on special sets, being Psychic. However, it's only likely to see use on special sets, as it removes Hoopa-U's Dark and Ghost neutrality.
- Tera Fighting boosts Drain Punch, giving Hoopa-U very nice longevity, and it also prevents Kingambit from scaring it off with Sucker Punch. It can also help deal with potential Tera Dark users that want to eat Hyperspace Fury. Specs Tera Focus Blast also OHKOes Ting-Lu after Stealth Rock.
Potential sets:
Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Band
Ability: Magician
Tera Type: Dark / Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Zen Headbutt
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch / Gunk Shot
Very straightforward wallbreaker that absolutely mauls stall, which has almost no long-term options outside of Tera Dark physical walls like Alomamola. Drain Punch gives good longevity and a strong option against said Tera Dark walls, while Gunk Shot nuhes Tera Fairy users and carries a cool poison chance. A key benefit here is that you have Knock Off, meaning exposure to Rocky Helmet is minimized and your targets' longevity can be cut even further by removing Boots. Against more offensive teams, this will likely be something you try and trade with, as Hoopa's reliance on correct predictions drags it down when it simply doesn't get enough windows to attack.
Hoopa-Unbound @ Life Orb
Ability: Magician
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Knock Off
Its basically another stallbreaker but with a different set of checks, which can catch people that rely on Tera physical walls off-guard. Knock Off is still recommended because its a broken move, and it gives an easy way to nuke Chansey and Blissey. Tera Psychic boosts its most spammable move, but it can realistically be whatever you need to smash specific checks or offer niche immunities.
Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magician
Tera Type: Dark / Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 12 SpA / 244 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Knock Off
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Trick
A fast mixed option against offensive teams. 244+ Spe EVs reaches 423 Speed, outrunning Dragapult (240+ jumps down to 421, which ties it). Psychic is used here to prevent Hoopa-U being complete scout fodder for Toxapex and Iron Valiant, the former of which safely scouting the Choice Lock and the latter devouring Knock Off. Focus Blast prevents Ting-Lu, Kingambit, and Garganacl from being relatively safe switchins, with Tera Fighting used to 2HKO the former. Trick can cripple a selected wall when Hoopa-U is no longer needed.
Other Options:
- Choice Specs can be used as a side-grade special wallbreaking option, offering higher instant damage, no Life Orb recoil, and the potential for Trick in return for higher prediction reliance, lower damage potential, and a weaker Knock Off.
Verdict:
Hoopa-U is an absolutely demonic wallbreaking presence, packing everything it needs to tear any team apart. How will you use it in the HOME meta? How will you make up for its shortcomings against offensive teams, especially given the slew of other fast threats HOME brings with it? Is it perhaps banworthy? Let me know your thoughts!
Stats: 80/160/60/170/130/80
Notable moves:
- Calm Mind
- Dark Pulse
- Drain Punch
- Focus Blast
- Grass Knot
- Gunk Shot
- Hyperspace Fury
- Knock Off
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Taunt
- Tera Blast
- Trick
- Zen Headbutt
Pros:
- Highest mixed attacking stats in the game, let alone in OU. This thing is capable of some of the highest damage output possible when given a Choice item, and has the coverage to hit everything in the tier for super effective both physically and specially.
- Surprising special bulk, letting it sponge an ungodly amount of hits. Notably, it's high enough to live 2 Specs Dragapult Shadow Balls, Specs Wake's Draco Meteor, and has odds to live Specs Gholdengo's Make It Rain, all without any investment.
- It still gets Knock Off.
Cons:
- Physical bulk is very poor, which can make it very hard to bring in outside of pivoting allies like Slowking and Dragapult. Basically every physical attacker in the tier scares it out.
- 4x U-turn weakness means that many offensive threats that it can theoretically brawl with thanks to its special bulk, like Hydreigon and Dragapult, become unsafe.
- Mediocre Speed and doesn't have a way to boost it, meaning invested staples like Gholdengo, Great Tusk, and Baxcalibur outrun it. Can make it very hard to use against offensive teams without a Choice Scarf.
- Many of its moves, while undeniably powerful, pack common resists. Notably, Dark is resisted by the 2 best Pokemon in the tier (Great Tusk and Kingambit), with its coverage options typically not packing the same OHKO potential. This makes it pretty prediction reliant.
- Magician doesn't do anything in most games.
Terastal potential:
- Tera Dark is probably the go-to on Choice Band sets. Tera Dark Hyperspace Fury simply does not have reliable switchins outside of Great Tusk and Ting-Lu, even 2HKOing Max HP Kingambit after Stealth Rock, and also cuts clean through all of the bulky Waters. It also boosts Knock Off, which is excellent.
- Tera Psychic boosts its most spammable move on special sets, being Psychic. However, it's only likely to see use on special sets, as it removes Hoopa-U's Dark and Ghost neutrality.
- Tera Fighting boosts Drain Punch, giving Hoopa-U very nice longevity, and it also prevents Kingambit from scaring it off with Sucker Punch. It can also help deal with potential Tera Dark users that want to eat Hyperspace Fury. Specs Tera Focus Blast also OHKOes Ting-Lu after Stealth Rock.
Potential sets:
Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Band
Ability: Magician
Tera Type: Dark / Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Zen Headbutt
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch / Gunk Shot
Very straightforward wallbreaker that absolutely mauls stall, which has almost no long-term options outside of Tera Dark physical walls like Alomamola. Drain Punch gives good longevity and a strong option against said Tera Dark walls, while Gunk Shot nuhes Tera Fairy users and carries a cool poison chance. A key benefit here is that you have Knock Off, meaning exposure to Rocky Helmet is minimized and your targets' longevity can be cut even further by removing Boots. Against more offensive teams, this will likely be something you try and trade with, as Hoopa's reliance on correct predictions drags it down when it simply doesn't get enough windows to attack.
Hoopa-Unbound @ Life Orb
Ability: Magician
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Knock Off
Its basically another stallbreaker but with a different set of checks, which can catch people that rely on Tera physical walls off-guard. Knock Off is still recommended because its a broken move, and it gives an easy way to nuke Chansey and Blissey. Tera Psychic boosts its most spammable move, but it can realistically be whatever you need to smash specific checks or offer niche immunities.
Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magician
Tera Type: Dark / Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 12 SpA / 244 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Knock Off
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Trick
A fast mixed option against offensive teams. 244+ Spe EVs reaches 423 Speed, outrunning Dragapult (240+ jumps down to 421, which ties it). Psychic is used here to prevent Hoopa-U being complete scout fodder for Toxapex and Iron Valiant, the former of which safely scouting the Choice Lock and the latter devouring Knock Off. Focus Blast prevents Ting-Lu, Kingambit, and Garganacl from being relatively safe switchins, with Tera Fighting used to 2HKO the former. Trick can cripple a selected wall when Hoopa-U is no longer needed.
Other Options:
- Choice Specs can be used as a side-grade special wallbreaking option, offering higher instant damage, no Life Orb recoil, and the potential for Trick in return for higher prediction reliance, lower damage potential, and a weaker Knock Off.
Verdict:
Hoopa-U is an absolutely demonic wallbreaking presence, packing everything it needs to tear any team apart. How will you use it in the HOME meta? How will you make up for its shortcomings against offensive teams, especially given the slew of other fast threats HOME brings with it? Is it perhaps banworthy? Let me know your thoughts!
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