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Metagame LC UU Introduction and Resource Thread

To add to your list, Scarf Golett completely invalidates Magby and nukes it with an EQ, but webs.

Onto webs (re: Dewpider), I don't think Dewpider should be banned. We now have a priority Defog user in Cottonnee (and I guess Fletchling *technically* counts) which really boosts the ability to play around webs. I'm not saying things are perfect, but it's really an improvement. We also recently got Frillish, who can Taunt Dewpider who can only fight back with relatively weak Giga Drains, Natu is also an option, bringing your own Webs, Trick Room, Clear Body Tentacool is a great spinner to get rid of them. Webs has been prevalent since the jump in this tier, there are plenty of ways to get around it. I don't think webs is a valid reason to ban Dewpider. If I'm being honest, I'm also sick of seeing webs everywhere, but I don't think it's broken by any stretch of the imagination.

Onto this allegation that Dewpider is somehow both an unstoppable force and an immovable object, long answer: it isn't. Longer answer: Depwider has pretty awful typing given it is weak to SR, and has to ward off Flying and Rock type attacks, and now with the introduction of Elekid, there is another way to punch a big stupid hole in Dewpider's once impervious armour. The aforementioned Frillish is also a decent check, Mantyke can setup on Dewpider, Lileep as well, although there is Ice Beam/Icy Wind to consider. Additionally, something that I feel Teeno's post doesn't take into account when mentioning Eviolite and Berry Juice, is the trade off. Eviolite provides more bulk, but loses out on recovery and longevity, as Giga Drain/Leech Life will only get you so far. Berry Juice provides recovery, but loses to Pancham (assuming Knock Off on the switch) and also has less bulk than Eviolite versions, so there is a pretty big tradeoff to consider and both limit the efficacy of Dewp. As far as offensive output, only Dewp's STAB moves are really terribly frightening, unless you are hitting for 4x or against a particularly frail threat. Liquidation/Surf boosted by Water Bubble is very threatening yes, but the are no shortage of viable Grass-types or pokemon with water attack immunities (most have been mentioned).

Finally, a point many might consider when looking at Dewpider, is the utility. Dewpider is probably one of the biggest reasons we don't have a tier littered with weather-based teams (thank God). It also holds other threats, such as LO Magby in check and a handful of others.

Conclusion: Dewpider is very good, but can be dealt with easily when taking it into account when team building. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
 
now that lpl is over here's some cool sets i came up with

Voltorb @ Eviolite
Ability: Soundproof
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 196 Def / 76 SpA / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Foul Play
i've talked about this set more than the others here but it's still pretty neat. bulktorb is cool on defensive teams bc it can pivot with volt switch (something most defensive teams really lack), keep hazards off and/or stallbreak a little with taunt, and revenge kill super dangerous shit like magby with foul play (mach does like 60 tho so pairing it with a wish passer is probably smart). cool mon, really good vs shit like dewp, birds and the aforementioned magby.
Aron @ Air Balloon / Berry Juice
Ability: Rock Head
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Atk / 116 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Head Smash
- Heavy Slam
- Automotize / Earthquake / Magnet Rise
this thing is awesome. recoil-less head smash does a ton to everything that doesn't resist, while heavy slam provides awesome neutral coverage, most notably 2hkoing (and often outspeeding!) pancham. air balloon forces a lot of mismatches against other common leads such as archen that rely on eq to beat this. 4th slot is pretty versatile, but i especially like magnet rise to fuck with checks on switches.
Exeggcute @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 5
EVs: 116 Def / 196 SpA / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Psychic
- Leaf Storm
this thing is just impossible to switch into, and anything that can just gets put to sleep. grass/psychic copverage hits pretty much the whole tier neutrally, and this thing hits about as hard as lo snover (another great, underrated set btw). it also has a lot of physical bulk--even with lo, it's physically bulkier than evio fomantis, for example. imo this set is much, much better than the oran harvest bullshit that egg is known for.
Darumaka @ Life Orb
Ability: Hustle
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Atk / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Rock Slide
196 Atk Life Orb Hustle Darumaka Flare Blitz vs. 228 HP / 132+ Def Eviolite Shellos: 10-13 (37 - 48.1%) -- 87.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Lickitung @ Berry Juice
Ability: Oblivious
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Return
- Knock Off
- Brick Break
this thing is really only viable on webs, but if it sets up, you win. nothing lives.
i also played around with some shit that should be used more, but isn't fsr, like sd axew and trubbish. lots of stuff out there to play around with! i might post about the suspect later but tl;dr ban dewp, don't ban magby
 
Magby and Dewpider post incoming:
In early LC UU, Magby was massively broken, but since the introduction of Frillish and Cottonee, it has become more manageable.

Magby:
Magby is probably the single most difficult mon to deal with when belly drum is set up. Below are some checks to beat Magby.
Scarf Golett - This thing is a hard stop to Magby, since Magby can't outspeed it without webs and Golett is immune to mach punch. Additionally, this thing does well against Elekid and Voltorb, and is decent offensively. In the current meta, I consider scarf to be this guy's best set.
Scarf Frillish - Deals with Magby in the same way as Golett, assuming webs aren't up. It can also fire off powerful water spouts or use trick to cripple a defensive mon by passing them a scarf. Unlike Golett, I think eviolite Frillish is more versatile and useful than scarf.
Scarf Foul Play Salandit - A set used by Levi against me in LPL. Salandit outspeeds Magby (assuming no webs) and resists mach punch, then ohkos with foul play. However, other than putting Archen in defeatist range, foul play is pretty bad on Salandit, and it would rather run coverage. Additionally, scarf Salandit is definitely worse than life orb.
Wooper - Unaware Wooper ignores Magby's belly drum boost and takes little damage from unboosted fire punch/mach punch/thunderpunch. However, this thing is otherwise garbage, don't use it pls. Woobat also gets unaware but is 2HKOed by thunderpunch; Bidoof gets unaware but prefers to use simple, and is pretty bad either way.
Sturdy-juice users - Tyrunt, Nosepass and Aron survive any attack providing hazards aren't up, and OHKO in return.

Encore Cottonee - This is a shaky check to setup sweepers in general, since if the Magby user predicts a cottonee switch in and uses fire punch instead of belly drum, the Cottonee is 2HKOed.
Growlithe - Intimidate puts Magby at +5, and Growlithe can be given 23/14/14 bulk which allows it to take 56.5 - 69.5% damage from Thunderpunch. However, Growlithe struggles to KO Magby in return, since wild charge does 50 - 60%.
Charm Cottonee - This is a way of limiting damage when Magby is already set up. Charm puts Magby down to +4 attack, which allows some bulky teammates to survive a hit and KO Magby.
Fake Out Life Orb Buneary - Life orb boosted fake out 2HKOs Magby. However, this requires a teammate to be sacced to allow it in to finish off Magby.
Lickitung - Can live a +6 fire punch with heavy defense investment, and has a good chance to OHKO in return with earthquake.
Eviolite Drilbur - Under sand, Drilbur outspeeds Magby, and survives a +6 mach punch. Life orb tends to survive a mach punch, but the subsequent life orb recoil almost always KOes Drilbur.
Aqua Jet Eviolite Buizel/Totodile - Survives a mach punch, and does 90% to Magby, so it only needs a little chip to KO. Not a good set.
Eviolite dragon types - Resist thunderpunch and fire punch, and aren't OHKOed by mach punch.
Scarf Encore Purrloin - Has to be scarf to avoid getting OHKO'ed by +6 mach punch. Definitely a bad set.
Also, Magby can't set up on certain mons, such as clear smog, roar, haze or encore users.

Dewpider:
Dewpider poses a vastly different threat to Magby, since it can set webs and fire off powerful boosted water attacks. For this, I'm going to look at what counters webs and what Dewpider can do without setting webs.

Checks to webs - Contrary and Defiant abilities, Flying types, Clear body users
Inkay - This guy benefits greatly from webs being set, since it effectively gains a scarf, providing it is running 14/15 speed. It can then build up successive superpower boosts, making it a threat. This is also a threat without the boost from webs
Fomantis - Poor man's Snivy also effectively gets a scarf, but only takes advantage of it properly if it runs 14 speed, which means it misses out on bulk. It can then fire off successive leaf storms, boosting its special attack in the process. This is a threat without the web boost, but not as much as
Inkay.
Mankey - This normally runs a scarf, so webs puts it at +2 attack and 16 speed. This makes it a threat to anything 16 speed or under, but leaves it vulnerable to mons like Archen and Taillow. Unlike Pawniard, it lacks strong priority so it cannot run an eviolite set to exploit the defiant boost.
Piplup - Has a mediocre physical movepool, with waterfall, drill peck and return/brick break and has decent bulk with eviolite. It can also remove the hazards with defog. However, this thing is pretty bad if webs aren't up, and would prefer to use its stronger special side.
Taillow - Although this can't switch into anything safely, it is a big threat to webs teams without a scarfer or Elekid/Voltorb.
Archen - Easier to outspeed than Taillow, but it has a good typing and it can remove hazards with defog and be a threat with its strong attack stat and movepool.
Natu - This is a double threat since it can bounce webs to the setters team and then do heavy damage to Dewpider with its flying-STAB moves. Its special offensive movepool is underwhelming however.
Mantyke, Woobat, and Rowlet all do things against webs teams too.
Tentacool - Not a huge threat offensively, but clear body allows it to ignore the speed drop and spin away the webs.
Klink - LC's favourite shift gear user also ignores the speed drop using its only good ability. It can then setup shift gear and be some sort of threat.

And now onto Dewpider itself, and what it can do
Set webs - Duh
Soft check Pancham - it can either burn Pancham with scald or lower its attack with lunge. Liquidation from 116 attack adamant Dewpider is a guaranteed 2HKO.
Check ground types - Dewpider easily OHKOs smooth rock Hippopotas and OHKOs eviolite Hippo after rocks, OHKOs Sandshrew, OHKOs Drilbur after surviving a life orb boosted rock slide, and the same applies to Diglett-Alola.
Check ice types - Most ice types struggle to do large damage to Dewpider, with the exception of Amaura.
Soft checks fire types - water bubble reduces how hard fire moves hit, and although some fire types carry electric coverage, Dewpider often wins a 1v1. Larvesta only beats Dewpider in a 1v1 if it has z-wild charge.
Burn things - but only 30% of the time with scald.

Threaten slow rock types - since most rock types outspeed Dewpider, this assumes webs have been set already. Dewpider can do heavy damage to the likes of Lileep, Kabuto and Omanyte depending on whether it runs a special or physical set.
Soft check grass types - It can deal heavy damage to unboosted Bulbasaur, Cottonee and others with its ice and bug coverage moves.
It can also reflect status moves with magic coat and upset bulky stallers like Shellos with toxic.

My thoughts:
I think the lack of viability and variety of Magby's checks pushes it to be broken. These checks also don't consider the life orb set, which destroys Cottonee and can be switched out of an unfavourable matchup.

I think webs has a decent amount of counterplay, since most teams should run at least one of the checks listed above. However, Dewpider provides too much value to teams even without setting webs. Compare it to Surskit in regular LC, which sets webs once before being KOed; this effectively forces the webs player to build with 5 mons, whereas Dewpider allows the web user to build with 6 mons. Spinarak and Sewaddle offer less to their teams outside of webs, and would balance the web archetype imo.

So in conclusion: Ban both
 
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Magby

I think Magby is super busted. It's hugely more effective than every other sweeper in the tier mainly because it effectively doesn't have defensive counterplay, bar Wooper or worse. Its downside of only really having one chance to come in for a sweep - no second chances with z-Memento, no wearing down its own checks if rocks are in play - is rendered more or less negligible by how strong it is; it doesn't need to wear down its defensive checks, and can make do with only one setup opportunity, when most bulky mons are OHKOed after Stealth Rock. Not having any (viable) defensive checks means that if you're running a slower/balanced team, you cannot have even a single Pokemon that lets Magby set up, or it will sweep without fail. This forces these teams to run anti-Magby techs on every single mon, e.g. Wish Lickitung has to run Earthquake, Pancham has to run Superpower or Rock Slide, or just cut their losses and give up a slot for an otherwise terrible mon/set like Wooper.

It also heavily differentiates itself from more gimmicky/support-heavy Belly Drum abusers like offensive Lickitung and Chespin in that it's a generally strong set that can immediately threaten the average offensive team as well. It does have checks, but there aren't enough of them and they aren't good enough. Its most splashable answers are either extremely costly or just aren't reliable - Cottonee dies to Fire Punch if it tries to come in to Encore the Belly Drum, and using Sand to handle Magby means that you're sacking Hippopotas first. Its even moderately reliable answers (not counting Totodile or w.e) mainly just consist of Scarf users, and even these have to be able to withstand a fairly powerful +6 Mach Punch. Of those Scarf users, most of them have no serious use outside of dealing with Magby, e.g. Scarf is an otherwise much less sensible offensive item than LO on Natu, which is a relatively weak mon with good coverage, and Golett isn't a good Scarfer in general when it lacks all of VoltTurn/immunity-less STAB/immediate OHKO power/surprise value. Specific sets like Scarf Frillish and (healthy) Scarf Drilbur do exist, but suffice to say that this list of reliable and otherwise viable Magby checks is unreasonably short.

So then Magby is a very good/not overly niche mon in a metagame already warped by its presence who, almost on its own, constrains another archetype in balance/semistall to such a degree that the archetype is no longer relevant. I've seen mentions of how a lot of Magby's checks are shut down by webs to break it even more, but I think that as a standalone threat, Magby is already too strong, so I've done my best at describing Magby without factoring in webs.

Dewpider / webs

I believe that Magby breaks webs in LC UU at least as much as webs breaks Magby. Part of this is just that Magby is probably the most threatening webs abuser, but it's also because of how Magby heavily shifts the metagame towards hyper offense, which is the archetype that is best able to stack multiple anti-Magby Scarf users or other counterplay, but also the archetype that is most badly hindered by webs. In other words, the issue isn't prepping for webs, it's prepping for webs in a Magby metagame.

Unlike Magby, I do not believe that webs, as a standalone threat in an otherwise balanced metagame, would be too strong. Most webs teams will want to consist almost entirely of the subset of offensive threats that can immediately look for a KO every time they enter play. Including a single utility check is acceptable, but deviating heavily isn't a good idea simply because less of these mons means less web abusers and more opportunities for your opponent to spin/defog the webs away. Being so constrained means that although it's very matchup based, webs shouldn't actually win a higher % of games than other top tier archetypes. The abusers generally aren't particularly fast or bulky, meaning they struggle to get into play and sweep, especially when the archetype as a whole has less room to fit in rocks / VoltTurn. This means that if an opponent happens to carry a hard check or significant counterplay to a web abuser, then that web abuser becomes a liability, as it is a mon that's difficult to get into play, ineffective once it's in, and unable to get a teammate in safely afterwards. The teams that focus heavily on being able to reliably check or counterplay common threats will be more defensive in nature; defensive teams also carry mons that just don't care as much about the speed drop to begin with. These teams happen to be the ones that Magby crushes with minimal teambuilding drawback.

Offensive teams are much less likely to be able to easily deal with individual web abusers; they do have options that offer counterplay to webs as a whole, but they're quite limited and not very reliable. I won't go into this in detail because I feel that enzo has it covered fairly well. In general, webs is looking to usually have the upper hand over other offensive teams at the cost of being weaker against defensive teams (and a neutral matchup against balance on average).

There are a select few setup sweeping web abusers, mainly BD Lickitung, where the idea that defensive > web abusers isn't strictly true, because these abusers have the potential to shoot for just-win matchups against slower teams without the appropriate safety nets. But outside of Magby, their relevance is held back by how they're deadweight in pretty much any other matchup; they may win or lose against different parts of the metagame, but they're ultimately just as matchup based as regular webs abusers.

A few replays that I have in mind wrt how webs would become less overbearing in a metagame where defensive teams are introduced as a significant negative matchup. They all pretty much go the same way - the defensive team has a decent answer to every abuser on the webs team, which means the defensive team can just autopilot.

Following this train of thought, Dewpider being a stronger offensive mon than other web setters isn't enough to push the web archetype over the edge (which would be the reason to ban Dewpider over webs as a whole) because the teams that webs already struggles with (defensive teams, offensive teams with heavy countermeasures to webs) are generally fine against Dewpider anyways. Frillish, Bulbasaur, Skrelp, Tentacool are all fantastic mons on bulky teams that can wall Dewpider.

tl;dr magby is busted and also busts an otherwise ok archetype in webs. ban magby only
 
The council has finished voting. Special thanks to DBW, Kolonel Kipkluif, STarsAma, and Bebo for contributing their votes after each winning a suspect tour. Also, thanks King Leo V for qualifying to vote by being the highest placing non-council LC UU Cup finalist. Without further ado, here are the results:

240.png
Magby - Ban
Bebo - Ban
Corporal Levi - Ban
DBW - Do Not Ban
EnzoLapras - Ban
fatty - Ban
King Leo V - Ban
Kolonel Kipkluif - Do Not Ban
Pamplona - Do Not Ban
Serene Grace - Ban
STarsAma - Ban
tahu - Ban
taranteeeno - Ban

Ban: 9
Do not ban: 3
7 out of 12 votes were required to ban Magby.

751.png
Dewpider - Do Not Ban
Bebo - Do Not Ban
Corporal Levi - Do Not Ban
DBW - Ban
EnzoLapras - Ban
fatty - Ban
King Leo V - Ban
Kolonel Kipkluif - Do Not Ban
Pamplona - Do Not Ban
Serene Grace - Do Not Ban
STarsAma - Do Not Ban
tahu - Ban
taranteeeno - Ban

Ban: 6
Do not ban: 6
7 out of 12 votes were required to ban Dewpider.

Thank you to all for participating in the suspect tours and sharing your thoughts in this thread!
 
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I got more stupid opinions on some of the mons in the VR

Amaura A- > A
I feel like Amaura is a valid alternative to Snover, because of it's better speed and special attack, and better coverage. It's typing may be worse defensively, but hail isn't a defensive archetype anyway. The only thing Snover really has over Amaura is Ice Shard.

Fomantis A- > C+/B-
Fomantis is really bad, because it has no coverage whatsover, leaving it to be easily switched into. It can't disrupt the foe with any annoying status moves, unlike the other grass types in the tier. Lastly, keeping it alive to function in whatever role it serves is tedious and you will be forced to switch it out a numerous amount, because of it's poor bulk and speed for an offensive pokemon. Defog in combination with a very unlikely sweep is the only trait that keeps it somewhat relevant, but overall this pokemon is outclassed by the other grass types in the tier, both offensively and supporting.

Bronzor B+ > B
Bronzor's absence of offense often makes it a free switchin and setup opportunity for the opponent. It's only saving grace is the ability to put Stealth Rock up and stay alive reliably for multiple times in a match.

Growlithe B- > B+
Intimidate and 23/14/14 bulk make growlithe a good choice for a physical wall. Access to strong physical and special moves, Will-O-Wisp, recovery and Roar make this pokemon a versatile tank that is only held back by it's typing.

Natu B > A
Natu has a great ability, helping it keep Dewpider in check, as well as a lot of other hazard setters. It packs quite a punch with a Life Orb, and it offers a good combination of special moves in combination with U-turn, giving it very little safe switchins.

Kabuto B > B+
Kabuto can set up Stealth Rock reliably, and at the same time pose a physical threat because of it's good attack stat and Weak Armor ability. It struggles to find s slot on teams though, because there are a lot of good water types around.

Tentacool A > B
With every new pokémon dropped, Tentacool got worse. Frillish spinblocks it and walls it out completely, and Elekid and Drilbur both threaten it as well. In my opinion it does not deserve a slot on many teams right now, because it will not be able to spin reliably in the newer meta.

Diglett-Alola unranked > B+
Diglett-Alola is a staple on sand teams and makes for a very threatening physical sweeper when Sand Force is activated. Access to Sucker Punch and a high base speed in general make it useful outside of sandstorm as well, which is something most other weather sweepers fail to do.

Koffing C > B
Koffing is a good physical sponge with some funny utility tools in Will-O-Wisp, Clear Smog/Haze and Pain Split. It's ability Levitate and Poison typing make it hard to threaten it physically, forcing switches on most physical opponents. It's lack of reliable recovery does hold it back, however.
 
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swinub up 1/2 a rank
this thing is an electric, fire and steel(sort of) check. heard that hail suffers from those two. not anymore.
196+ Atk Swinub Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Magby: 32-42 (160 - 210%) -- guaranteed OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub Rock Slide vs. 52 HP / 180 Def Eviolite Dewpider: 10-12 (47.6 - 57.1%) -- 12.1% chance to 2HKO
196+ Atk Swinub Earthquake vs. 196 HP / 196 Def Electrike: 26-32 (113 - 139.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub Earthquake vs. 60 HP / 36 Def Cranidos: 30-36 (125 - 150%) -- guaranteed OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub Superpower vs. 60 HP / 36 Def Cranidos: 24-30 (100 - 125%) -- guaranteed OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub Earthquake vs. -1 76 HP / 0 Def Clamperl: 16-21 (76.1 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub Earthquake vs. 36 HP / 196 Def Eviolite Voltorb: 14-20 (66.6 - 95.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
196+ Atk Swinub Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 36 HP / 0 Def Lickitung: 20-30 (76.9 - 115.3%) -- approx. 6.3% chance to OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub All-Out Pummeling (190 BP) vs. 76 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Onix: 12-16 (57.1 - 76.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
196+ Atk Swinub Superpower vs. 116 HP / 52 Def Shieldon: 28-36 (133.3 - 171.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub Earthquake vs. 116 HP / 52 Def Shieldon: 36-48 (171.4 - 228.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

even opposing hail teams
196+ Atk Swinub Superpower vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Sandshrew-Alola: 24-32 (114.2 - 152.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub Superpower vs. 60 HP / 0 Def Amaura: 48-60 (192 - 240%) -- guaranteed OHKO

the set:
Swinub @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Snow Cloak
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 196 Atk / 116 Def / 116 SpD / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
 
lolgod2 said:
swinub up 1/2 a rank
this thing is an electric, fire and steel(sort of) check. heard that hail suffers from those two. not anymore.
196+ Atk Swinub Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Magby: 32-42 (160 - 210%) -- guaranteed OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub Rock Slide vs. 52 HP / 180 Def Eviolite Dewpider: 10-12 (47.6 - 57.1%) -- 12.1% chance to 2HKO
196+ Atk Swinub Earthquake vs. 196 HP / 196 Def Electrike: 26-32 (113 - 139.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub Earthquake vs. 60 HP / 36 Def Cranidos: 30-36 (125 - 150%) -- guaranteed OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub Superpower vs. 60 HP / 36 Def Cranidos: 24-30 (100 - 125%) -- guaranteed OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub Earthquake vs. -1 76 HP / 0 Def Clamperl: 16-21 (76.1 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub Earthquake vs. 36 HP / 196 Def Eviolite Voltorb: 14-20 (66.6 - 95.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
196+ Atk Swinub Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 36 HP / 0 Def Lickitung: 20-30 (76.9 - 115.3%) -- approx. 6.3% chance to OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub All-Out Pummeling (190 BP) vs. 76 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Onix: 12-16 (57.1 - 76.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
196+ Atk Swinub Superpower vs. 116 HP / 52 Def Shieldon: 28-36 (133.3 - 171.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub Earthquake vs. 116 HP / 52 Def Shieldon: 36-48 (171.4 - 228.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

even opposing hail teams
196+ Atk Swinub Superpower vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Sandshrew-Alola: 24-32 (114.2 - 152.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
196+ Atk Swinub Superpower vs. 60 HP / 0 Def Amaura: 48-60 (192 - 240%) -- guaranteed OHKO

the set:
Swinub @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Snow Cloak
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 196 Atk / 116 Def / 116 SpD / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
Click to expand...

I disagree on this.
The Magby calc is irrelevant because Magby is banned.
The Dewpider calc proves nothing, because Dewpider outspeeds this set and OHKOs it with any water type move.
The Electrike calc is mostly irrelevant because there are better electric types as alternative.
It can kill Cranidos, but Cranidos outspeeds Swinub and OHKOs it back. Sandshrew-Alola can KO Cranidos as well, and Sandshrew-a can also outspeed Cranidos in hail, which Swinub can not.
Sure, it can prevent Clamperl from setting a smash if both are on the field, but Clamperl OHKOs (and likely outspeeds) with Surf without DeapSeaTooth.
Sure, it can check voltorb, but it takes near OHKO damage from HP grass Elekid, a better electric type mon.
The Lickitung calc is laughable, you used 5 hits of Icicle Spear and gave Lickitung no Eviolite or Berry Juice.
Onix isn't even LC UU.
Shieldon is beyond irrelevant.
You didn't add calcs for the most relevant steel type in honedge, and none for any fire types you claim to sort of check with Swinub (because you don't, they once again just outspeed and KO you).
Hail also has problems with dealing with bulky water types and putting Swinub on your team only amplifies that weakness. I honestly can't see any consistent use for it and in my opinion it is justified as unranked mon.
(idk if this is bait or not)
 
Also, Snover + Sandshrew-Alola ( or occasionally, Amaura ) were enough for Hail team and its not like you're gonna build a full team that can take advantage of hail. So its better to used other mon outside of Hail that can help these 2 core check some threatening things.
 
Kolonel Kipkluif said:
I disagree on this.
The Magby calc is irrelevant because Magby is banned.
The Dewpider calc proves nothing, because Dewpider outspeeds this set and OHKOs it with any water type move.
The Electrike calc is mostly irrelevant because there are better electric types as alternative.
It can kill Cranidos, but Cranidos outspeeds Swinub and OHKOs it back. Sandshrew-Alola can KO Cranidos as well, and Sandshrew-a can also outspeed Cranidos in hail, which Swinub can not.
Sure, it can prevent Clamperl from setting a smash if both are on the field, but Clamperl OHKOs (and likely outspeeds) with Surf without DeapSeaTooth.
Sure, it can check voltorb, but it takes near OHKO damage from HP grass Elekid, a better electric type mon.
The Lickitung calc is laughable, you used 5 hits of Icicle Spear and gave Lickitung no Eviolite or Berry Juice.
Onix isn't even LC UU.
Shieldon is beyond irrelevant.
You didn't add calcs for the most relevant steel type in honedge, and none for any fire types you claim to sort of check with Swinub (because you don't, they once again just outspeed and KO you).
Hail also has problems with dealing with bulky water types and putting Swinub on your team only amplifies that weakness. I honestly can't see any consistent use for it and in my opinion it is justified as unranked mon.
(idk if this is bait or not)
Click to expand...
snow cloak come in handy
 
I'd like to make a nomination for Klink to be ranked in LCUU, probably starting at C for now.
Klink's niche is that it is a setup sweeper that uses Shift Gear in order to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame and sweep with it's 24 atk and a combination of Gear Grind, Return and Wild Charge. However, Klink in particular does not have a weakness to Intimidate or Sticky Web thanks to it's ability, Clear Body, as well as being able to break Sashes, Sturdy and Substitutes thanks to Gear Grind hitting twice. The set I use personally is:

Klink @ Eviolite
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 5
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 Def / 116 SpD / 116 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shift Gear
- Wild Charge
- Gear Grind
- Return

This is pretty much Smogon standard, I don't think I need to go too indepth into why this moveset is the most ideal. With Eviolite, Klink hits 20hp and 21/21 defenses, making it fairly bulky for a sweeper.
Now for some calcs:
+1 236+ Atk Klink Wild Charge vs. 52 HP / 180 Def Eviolite Dewpider: 16-20 (76.1 - 95.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (After chip damage/rocks, this KOs)
+1 236+ Atk Klink Gear Grind (2 hits) vs. 36 HP / 36 Def Sandshrew-Alola: 18-24 (81.8 - 109%) -- approx. 6.3% chance to OHKO (Almost guaranteed to KO after rocks, needs Sticky Web support)
+1 236+ Atk Klink Wild Charge vs. 236 HP / 116+ Def Eviolite Frillish: 16-20 (64 - 80%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Chip required)
These are the most important calcs, as these are high tier walls or threats. Everything else either gets grinded or checks Klink. What is important to note is that Klink requires support to sweep hard, thus this is why I'd like to rank it at C. Ideal teammates are Taillow and Pancham, who check most things that wall Klink, in particular Pancham, Honedge and Golett, and Dewpider is also an ideal teammate, since it can set webs for Klink allowing it to outspeed most scarves and Sandshrew-Alola.

Finally, I'd like to provide a link to a tournament final where Klink showed why it's viable.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7lcuu-933232904
In this battle, Klink was able to check Tailow and Smoochum, where it broke Smoochum's Substitute and outright killed it. While Smoochum may not be the most viable Pokemon, the Substitute breaking stands. Klink also hard counters Taillow as Taillow cannot do anything to it and it is free to Shift Gear or Wild Charge to outright kill the Taillow.

So, in summary:
Klink - Unranked --> C
 
taranteeeno said:
Usage based tier updates have been released.

From LC UU to LC OU:
clamperl.gif
dewpider.gif
drilbur.gif
elekid.gif
frillish.gif
munchlax.gif
omanyte.gif


From LC OU to LC UU:
meowth.gif
pikipek.gif
torchic.gif


LC UU format is already updated on Pokemon Showdown. This usage will not be put into effect for any current tours involving LC UU (like LPL3) until next week.
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My thoughts.
Rip, Dewpider, gonna missed the mirror matchup Magic Coating each other... as well as the most reliable web setter.

Drops:
pikipek.gif

Pikipek @ Choice Scarf / Life Orb
Ability: Skill Link
Level: 5
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 Def / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Knock Off / Bullet Seed
- Brick Break
- U-turn

Why do i feel like i don't see any useful from Skill Link Bullet Seed, the only relevant Rock-Type I know is Archen, which is neutral and always survives 5 Bullet Seed with Berry Juice intact. I think i would used this if i desperately wanted to break through Hippo and Shellos.

torchic.gif

Torchic @ Firium Z / Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Def / 200 SpA / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Protect
- Will-O-Wisp

HP Electric over HP Grass. Again, there are few Rock-Type to used HP Grass and HP Electric lets you hit Archen, Tentacool and Skrelp for super-effective damage, even though the latter 2 will always survive it. You could replace will-o-wisp with something.

meowth.gif

Meowth @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Level: 5
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 SpD / 36 SpA / 196 Spe
Jolly / Hasty Nature
IVs: 19 HP
- Fake Out
- Feint / Return
- Aerial Ace / Hidden Power [Fire] / Knock Off
- U-turn

Honestly, i don't find something to revenge kill with Fake Out + Feint combo aside from like Voltorb and the Scarfers.

Small Tip: Pancham will always survive Fake Out followed by Aerial Ace after Stealth Rock.

236 Atk Life Orb Technician Meowth Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 100 Def Eviolite Pancham: 8-9 (34.7 - 39.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
Possible damage amounts: (8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9)

236 Atk Life Orb Technician Meowth Aerial Ace vs. 0 HP / 100 Def Eviolite Pancham: 13-16 (56.5 - 69.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Possible damage amounts: (13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 16)

8(Fake Out) + 13 (Aerial Ace) + 1 (Stealth Rock chip) = 22 ( Pancham has 23 HP, 9 and 16 were only 1/16th roll, so it won't happened most of the time unless you desperately hope to get that roll, lol)

Well, you can leave Pancham weakened enough, but its best to keep Meowth alive if there is something you need to revenge kill so, try chipping it a little with U-turn.
 
Roldski32 said:
meowth.gif

Meowth @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Level: 5
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 SpD / 36 SpA / 196 Spe
Jolly / Hasty Nature
IVs: 19 HP
- Fake Out
- Feint / Return
- Aerial Ace / Hidden Power [Fire] / Knock Off
- U-turn

Honestly, i don't find something to revenge kill with Fake Out + Feint combo aside from like Voltorb and the Scarfers.

Small Tip: Pancham will always survive Fake Out followed by Aerial Ace after Stealth Rock.

236 Atk Life Orb Technician Meowth Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 100 Def Eviolite Pancham: 8-9 (34.7 - 39.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
Possible damage amounts: (8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9)

236 Atk Life Orb Technician Meowth Aerial Ace vs. 0 HP / 100 Def Eviolite Pancham: 13-16 (56.5 - 69.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Possible damage amounts: (13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 16)

8(Fake Out) + 13 (Aerial Ace) + 1 (Stealth Rock chip) = 22 ( Pancham has 23 HP, 9 and 16 were only 1/16th roll, so it won't happened most of the time unless you desperately hope to get that roll, lol)

Well, you can leave Pancham weakened enough, but its best to keep Meowth alive if there is something you need to revenge kill so, try chipping it a little with U-turn.
Click to expand...

Just here to correct your Meowth calcs. If running Fake Out Meowth should always run Lonely or Naughty for the +Atk Nature.

236+ Atk Life Orb Technician Meowth Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 100 Def Eviolite Pancham: 8-9 (34.7 - 39.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Possible damage amounts: (8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9)

This is the calc for a 100 def pancham at 15 HP
236+ Atk Life Orb Technician Meowth Aerial Ace vs. 0 HP / 100 Def Eviolite Pancham: 13-18 (56.5 - 78.2%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
Possible damage amounts: (13, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 18)

I have no idea what Pancham runs in this tier but if it is 0 HP/100 Def Meowth kills it.
 
New meta means new viability ranking nominations, starting with the newcomers

Pikipek: Enter at A+
This guy is very difficult to check due to its coverage. Between Brave Bird, Bullet Seed (with skill link), Flame Charge, Brick Break and Knock Off it can take down a plethora of rock and steel types, opening the gates for its fellow flying type felons to freely f*ck you up.
Meowth: Enter at A
Fake out-Feint is a great teambuilding tool to take down many frail threats in a tier where priority is generally lacking. It also has a variety of moves which can be boosted by technician, most notably hidden power; this movepool makes it hard to predict what Meowth is running, and it can be customised to suit a variety of teams. However, Meowth's lack of power prevents him from being much higher than A imo.
Torchic: Enter at B+/A-
As soon as BP-less Torchic was freed in regular LC, I knew he would end up in LCUU pretty soon after. The reason being how underwhelming it is; Fire blast with Z or Life Orb is cool, especially after a speed boost or two, but it has little diversity in offensive movepool - Fire blast and HP grass/electric isn't great and easily countered. The main use i see for it is countering hail by getting speed boosts at the end of a hail period and firing off a super effective fire blast.
Archen: A to A+/S
The arrival of Pikipek has improved Archen's place in the metagame, since it is a decent check to Pikipek and Taillow. It can also work with them to break down shared checks as mentioned above. Its strong offensive presence means it can contribute a lot to a variety of team styles.
Honedge: A to A+
Definitely the best Hail+Bird check. Obviously it needs support for checking both of these team types due to its weakness to knock off and special attacks, but the meta changes really suit it.
Amaura: A- to A
Hail is really good right now and Amaura benefits from a better SpA stat than Snover, as well as having better moves to take down fire types that threaten alolan-shrew.
Diglett-Alola: A- to B+
Sand isn't as good now that Drilbur is gone. Its coverage is really good but it's going to struggle in a more hail dominated meta.
Fomantis: A- to B
Since Dewpider is gone, Fomantis loses its niche of being a ground resist that also threatens webs teams. Also struggles with hail and copious birds.
Inkay: B+ to B
Like Fomantis, loses some of its benefit of being a webs counter.
Purrloin: UR to C
Prankster weather, encore, copycat, STAB knock off and uturn. Although I'll admit most of my teams that end up with a Purrloin in end up being rebuilt, it's definitely got enough going for it to be ranked.

There may be other unranked mons which deserve to be ranked. I may end up posting again in a few weeks when the meta has settled a bit more.
 
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Now that the regular season of the most prestigious of LC team tours, the LPL, is over; I've compiled the usage stats for the post-shift meta viewable here (Post-Shift Meta only because I felt that the change was so significant, that the week 1 stats aren't relevant to the current meta)

Some pretty interesting takeaways here being that Archen and Pancham are the clear titans of the meta, and Archen does prob deserve that rise to S. Skrelp is another standout mon whose 80% win rate with the 6th highest usage should also constitute a rise up the VR from its spot in B. New drops, Pikipek and Meowth tended to struggle a bit (especially Pikipek), while Torchic had a very solid showing when used. Fomantis and Tyrunt's 100% win rate on a slightly low, but still significant number of uses is also notable.
 
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It has been about 6 weeks after the July drops for LCUU and we had a good amount of experimentation occurred. The tier lost a lot of offensive mons like Magby, Elekid, Drilbur, and shell smashers like Clamperl and Omanyte. At the same time, LCUU also lost Frillish and Dewpider, two bulky defensive waters that dominated the metagame. A combination of the losses plus the dropping of offensive mons like Pikipek and Meowth really allowed this offensive meta with many viable archetypes to appear in LCUU. Moving onto ranking of the S tiers and the new drops:

I view many of the LCUU as a combination of two regular LC mons while lacking a significant trait that makes them good. Pancham is a Mienfoo/Timburr hybrid that can throw off strong Iron-fist boosted Drain Punches while being able to pivot with Parting Shot. Although it lacks Mienfoo’s regenerator and Timburr’s priority, it is arguably the best mon in the tier. It is bulky, has two great abilities in Iron First and Mold Breaker, and has a versatile moveset. 24 HP/ 14 Def/ 14 Sp.Def Eviolite allows u to serve as a soft check to hail while being able to live BB from Pikipek and boosted Acro from Utility Archen at full.

Archen is the Vullaby of the tier, blessed with a great movepool and good typing while trading some bulk for extra power. However, it has an ability that stops it from being extremely unhealthy to the meta. In my opinion, Archen is the best offensive rockers in the tier, being able to set up rocks while pressuring the opp with powerful Rock Slides and Acrobatics. Berry Juice allows it to temporarily offset its bad ability and switch into birds while boosting its Acro. For its 4th move, u have a choice between coverage or utility from moves like EQ, U-turn, Knock, and Tailwind. A coverage move that is underlooked but something I really enjoy is Heat Wave. It punishes switch-ins like Phys. Def. Honedge and A-Shrew that normally resists Archen’s dual stab and can take Knock Off and EQ.

The first drop and the one I believe has the potential to be S tier. If u look at just base stats, Archen is better than Pikipek in all aspects. However, not having the constraints of Defeatist and Acrobatics really allows Pikipek to be more diverse than Archen. It can fit on almost any team archetypes, serving as a core breaker that complements the late game cleaner. It can run a plethora of sets, ranging from Scarf to BJ Set-up to Dual Dance with SD and Flame Charge to Fly Z. In my opinion, Fly Z is the best set, allowing Pikipek to threaten a KO, something that is lacking due to its average atk.

Meowth is good but not great. Having base 40 stats for everything that is not speed is quite bad. However, having technician and wielding a LO sorta solves the issue. Meowth is prolly the best revenge killer in the metagame, having dual priority in Fake Out and Feint while boasting a 19 Speed. The speed tier in LCUU is concentrated at 17 for non-scarfers which allows both neutral nature and +speed nature to outspeed and kill. Water pulse allows u to threaten Archen whereas Aerial Ace can be used to punish Pancham.

Honestly, I am not a big fan of Torchic. It suffers from the same syndrome that it suffered during its brief stint in LC which was its lack of power. Putting a LO or Firium Z does alleviate the problem somewhat but it still has trouble getting through the bulky waters in the tier like Slowpoke and Shellos. Its coverage is kinda atrocious with no real coverage moves aside from Hidden Power Electric/Grass. It also gets Sword Dance(w/ no good physical fire stab) and Work Up (Meh) which further complicates its problems. As an offensive fire type, I believe it is outclassed by Houndour and Salandit which both have a secondary stab and/or reliable boosting move to do well in the tier.

Other Noms I would like to propose:
Houndour (B+ to A-): Should belong with the other fire types. Can run mixed sets, taking advantage of both its good attacking stats. Good speed tier, along with utility in wisp, dbond.
Skrelp (B to A-/A): Big underrated. Functions like an offensive mareanie, being able to set up t-spikes while hitting hard with adaptability boosted stabs. Often seen on multiple team archetypes (bulky offense, balance, etc.)
Cottonee (A to A+): Prankster is extremely good with less dark types in the tier. Can function both as a defensive stopper/pivot with encore/defog/memento or as an offensive threat.
Inkay/Fomantis (B to B+/A-): I grouped both together but Fomantis might be slightly better. End of sticky web meta did not really kill their usage as expected. Scarf set is a good cleaner, especially when teams are not prepared to handle the boosting through contrary.
Cranidos (B to B+): The most common scarfer on web. Nothing really switches into its coverage of Rock Slide, EQ, and Zen Headbutt. Scarf alleviates its speed problem but limits its ability to switch up coverage moves so web support and good prediction is required. It's better everything else in B tier (except the proposed rises).

These are my noms. Most of noms were made based on LPL matches (both playing and spectating), personal teambuilding, and brief discussions. I did not get to look at the usage stats until after writing this which may have influenced me to write some extra rises (like Tyrunt). Thanks for reading this.
 
Oh and since my team is out, I wanted to drop the teams I used in my fairly successful, though admittedly somewhat limited, run in LC UU. You know, just cause.


This was my first week starting (and really even playing in a tour setting since 2016, maybe 2017) so I really wanted to have a good showing here. With this being the first week post-July shifts, there were a fair few unknowns about what people would be running, so I just wanted to go with something generally solid and I think I accomplished that. Originally this was gonna be a Sun team around Tyrunt and Torchic, as Tyrunt was something I felt would fair decently well in the new meta and I also wanted to just mess around with Torchic since it was new. Eventually, I just scrapped the Sun idea because it was a bit too matchup dependent and just went with a decent Bulky Offense. Z-Outrage Tyrunt OHKOs basically everything in the tier (that doesn’t resist) at +1 and is just a super fun breaker. Torchic is pretty standard Life Orb with Rock Slide 4th move because I thought hitting other fires would be nice (didn’t end up needing it, but it could’ve been cool). Cottonee is probably my favorite glue mon in the tier and is running a pretty straightforward set with dual-STAB + Knock and Tailwind as the 4th for last-ditch hail insurance and since Omanyte and Clampearl bounced, Encore is less required. Bronzor helps the Hail matchup and provides Rocks. EQ is so Houndour can’t just come in for free and kill something otherwise it’d probably be Recycle. Sanshrew was for cool spin support and gave me my required Electric Immunity (which I will run on every team even when Electrics aren’t that good). And lastly, Skrelp fills the role of beefy boi/2nd Fight resist with some T-Spikes support on the side while also being a potential Breaker/Tailwind Appreciator. Overall I really like this team and it worked out pretty well. Though I really should’ve lost, if Tahu’s Psyduck was more than 14 speed, but we’ll ignore that little detail.


Unlike the previous week, I wasn’t feeling particularly great about any of my teams, so I ended up going with this Hail squad originally built by my man JC, just with a couple of set/spread tweaks by yours truly. JC can probably expand on everything’s individual roles better than I can since he made the team, but in my eyes: we’ve got Scarfed Amaura for some speed control and Hail setting, A-Shrew as our Hail sweeper with Evio for better overall bulk and Sub to try and capitalize on things like Protect and stuff. Pikipek provides us with an offensive Fight check with Z-Brave Bird as an extra little nuke (like it needed one). Tentacool our spin and primary Fighting resist and T-Spikes to help with busting past some more sturdy pokémon. Pumpkaboo is our much-needed Ground resist and provides Wil-o support and some cool priority. I actually change it from special Pumpk to physical as a part of my tweaking, but the way the match worked out, special would’ve been more useful to me since I caught a Scald burn, but hindsight is 20/20 and all. Anyway, lastly we’ve got Rocks and my Electric immunity coming from Numel, which is a pokémon that I think is a little underexplored in LC UU. The spread allows Numel to outspeed everything below 16 Scarfers after a Flame Charge, and Fire/Ground coverage is generally threatening to a lot of offensive builds. I didn’t end up winning this week, in large part because of a choke on my part where I didn’t kill Bebo’s Shellos when I had the chance to. Complete fuck-up. Entirely my fault. Regardless, I think this is a really solid take on Hail in the current meta with Amaura being better following the Water-type exodus from the tier.


I was pretty upset with myself for the way I prepped and lost the previous week, so I was a bit extra motivated heading into this one. I had a couple of teams in mind heading into the week, but I ultimately decided to go with my Curse Lickitung team I had been working on. There is something intensely satisfying to me in sweeping with mono-attacking setup sweepers a la CurseLax and CroCune. In LC that type of sweeper is very difficult to pull off, but I felt that there was an opportunity to do it in LCUU with Licktung and that’s what I set out to do. The set is your classic Curse/RestTalk set with solid defenses on both sides to ensure I can actually get a curse or 2 off. I could’ve gone up to 18 SpDef, but I wanted my Body Slams to have a bit more oomph to them and I generally value SpDef lower than PhysDef. Anyway, the rest of the team is built to support Lickitung. Twinkle Tackle Stunky provides a decent lure for Pancham and helps deal with Ghost-types with his decently powerful Dark STAB. Nosepass provides Rocks and acts as a very sturdy tank with, always useful EdgeQuake coverage and even Volt Switch to provide a bit of momentum. Cottonee again serves as my favorite glue mon with your standard dual STAB + Knock Off, but with an uncommon 4th move in Worry Seed mainly because I wasn’t feeling particularly strongly about any other 4th move and Worry Seed allows me to Knock Off Shellos and potentially provides a number of niche benefits by removing the abilities of pokémon that greatly rely on them to function; A-Shrew, Skrelp, etc. Goldeen is our Water-type and Electric Immunity all in one and has super nice coverage for a lot of team constructions while maintaining the very useful 17-speed tier. I kept regular Bounce because weren’t particularly compelling other options and Bounce allows me to hit Pancham as well as Grass-types. And finally, we’ve got NASCAR Sash Solosis as nothing but a security blanket. Its job is just to get a guaranteed hit off on something should I need it, and 12 speed allows it to outspeed stuff like Skrelp and Pancham’s analysis spread and get off as hard a hit as possible. The way the match ended up playing out, Burnt Zebra had absolutely nothing for Lickitung (outside of his Trick-Scarf Smoochum, which I contend I would’ve been able to suss out had I needed to) and once I figured that out, it was pretty much over.


So this is just a pretty simple Tailwind Offense team with Cranidos and Turbo Z-Poison Skrelp as my abusers. Cottonee is easily my favorite pokemon in the tier to use thanks to the wonderful amount of options it provides you, and in this case, I was most interested in using it for Tailwind support. Other than that it’s running my standard 15 speed, dual-STAB + Knock set. I like 15 speed Cott in UU because it allows you to run a little extra bulk, and there isn’t stuff like Pawniard or Vullaby that you absolutely need to outspeed running around. Anyway, Cranidos is Life Orb, 4 Attacks for maximum wall-breaking power. 15 Speed Adamant guarantees a kill onto 23/14 Pancham from full every time while being able to outspeed most bulky mons in the metagame, as well as every offensive mon while under Tailwind. 12 Speed Z-Poison Skrelp is able to outspeed analysis Pancham and fire off an extremely powerful nuke in its Adaptability Acid Downpour. Thunderbolt is literally only for opposing Skrelp and Tentacool as they’re basically the only things that resist both of Skrelp’s STABs. Natu provides yet another Fighting check to the team, as well as being a nice hazard deterrent, and a somewhat fast bulky pivot: 10/10 Great mon. Sandshrew is my Electric immunity and provides Knock Off support alongside Rocks and Spin. And finally, Helioptile provides me some very useful speed control, as well as a Water immunity. After looking at Scrubs Team replays from previous weeks, I really wanted to use a Scarfed Electric, and Helioptile is the best for that job in my opinion. The way the match played out was highly unfortunate, as I was basically gifted the win with a few super lame crits, which really sucked. But I do like the team and think I had a solid chance of winning the game regardless. (but obviously, I’m gonna say that, who wouldn’t?) Hail matchup is fucking terrible though.

Weeks 6 and 7 I was switched to DPP so I only have these 4 to share. But overall I had a lot of fun playing LC UU for the Litwicks despite us not doing great as a team. Feel free to praise/flame my teambuilding abilities, and I think it'd be cool if other players could/would drop some of their squads or at least some cool sets and stuff.
 
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