https://pokepast.es/ff6cdd2150aa45d7
Introduction
GSC UU has been up as a rotational ladder for the last 2 weeks. I’ve found myself playing it occasionally and even building some new teams for this tier. Despite that, there is one old team I made a while ago that I keep going back to. I can say for certain, no matter how many new teams I make for this tier, this one will always be my favorite. This is a double bug offense team with the star member being pinsir.
How This Team Was Created
This team was conceptualized and made during UUPL Week 4. I was on the Cinnabar Stars and our GSC slot was doing pretty badly. The managers for the Stars were Esche & TSR. They were also our building support for this tier but neither of them played or built GSC UU. We had 1 GSC starter with Torchic but he did not build in this tier either. Our GSC slot was 0-3 and we had no support. There was honestly a very high chance that our GSC slot went winless 0-7 and we don’t make playoffs. It was the end of Week 3 and we had just lost 4-6. I remember Torchic wanting a team incredibly early during Week 4 to get some practice as he wanted to get a win. No one on the team had a team for him to practice with though and nobody wanted to build so early in the week. I remember Torchic desperately wanting a team immediately so he could get some practice in. This was my opportunity to actually do something. I was on the team but I wasn’t doing anything the first 3 weeks. Torchic wanted a team to practice with early, so I told him I’d just make one for him to use.
Building Process
Pinsir was definitely the mon I wanted to center the team around. It is easily one of my favorite Pokemon. I’ve used it in multiple old gens UUs before. It’s also my favorite Pokemon in GSC UU as Bug is one of my favorite Types too. Torchic’s opponent for Week 4 was Holly. When I was making the team I did a scout on Holly. I noticed she spammed Lanturn and Piloswine teams like crazy and it makes sense. It’s one of the best defensive cores in the tier that deters offense. This is why I thought Pinsir would do so well. It has a fantastic 125 base attack stat with access to swords dance. 85 speed is also very nice for an offensive mon as it’s faster than Gyarados and Blastoise. Pure Bug is also a fantastic Type in GSC UU due to the overwhelming presences of Water Pokemon in this tier. Not being part Flying type like Scyther means that it isn’t weak to Ice Beam from Piloswine or Thunder from Lanturn. Water types being so oppressive in this tier makes Fire & Rock Types very difficult to use in GSC UU which is why you almost never see any of them, if at all. That’s great for Pinsir because it gets rid of 2/3 of its weaknesses. That just leaves the Flying Type and there aren’t too many Flying Type offensive mons for Pinsir to worry about. Obviously Scyther is amazing in this tier but Pinsir is so physically bulky it can actually always take +2 wing attack from Scyther at full, even if the Scyther has the full 15 DVs for some reason.
+2 Scyther Wing Attack vs. Pinsir: 280-330 (84 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Jumpluff and Gyarados are Flying types that see moderate usage in GSC UU but they hardly ever run Flying moves. Jumpluff doesn’t always have the space for Hidden Power and the times it does, it uses Hidden Power Grass, not Flying. Gyarados can run Hidden Power Flying but it occasionally uses hidden power ground so it has a strong move to hit Lanturn which otherwise walls it. The last Flying type is Dodrio and it hardly ever sees any usage (Even though it’s really good)
So if you want to look at it one way, Pinsir theoretically only has 1 weakness in this tier for a Type that is very rare offensively. As I said before Holly uses Pilo Lanturn defensive cores incredibly frequently. I knew Pinsir would definitely be a great pick for this matchup. One issue was that standard Pinsir is walled by Haunter. Normal and Bug is terrible coverage. This was a simple fix. All I had to do was change Pinsir’s Hidden Power so it could hit Haunter for Super Effective Damage which was easy to do. Pinsir at +2 beats any Haunter without Destiny Bond with a good Hidden Power.
Hypno was the next member I decided on. Pinsir has great bulk on the physical side but not on the special one. Putting Light Screen on Hypno alleviated this issue and also gave the team a Psychic Type and a special wall which is very valuable on all GSC UU teams.
Qwilfish was an easy add on for this team. Offense that isn’t screens HO is very hard to use without Spikes due to how DVs and leftovers work in this gen. The only thing Qwilfish has to do is keep up Spikes the whole game and if it does that then it has done its job.
Piloswine was the next mon I added to the team. Ground types are incredibly valuable in this tier since it can switch into mons with thunder wave as well being part ice type makes Jumpluff think twice before switching in. Piloswine also has great physical bulk and it's the rest talker for the team.
Haunter was an easy pick because it’s not only a normal immune but it’s also the most offensive normal immune/resist. Having access to things like Thief, Hypnosis, Destiny Bond and Explosion gives this mon fantastic utility. It’s very easy to understand why an offensive team would want Haunter.
Scyther is the last member and the clean up mon for this team. This mon’s job is to win you the game. Scyther appreciates Pinsir being on the team and the role it fulfills. Pinsir’s job is to just do as much damage as possible and open up holes in the opponent’s team. Pinsir almost never can sweep due to only having 85 speed. A lot of other threatening mons in this tier are much faster being at base 90, 95, or even 100 speed. This is why Scyther is the game winning mon and why it’s so important. 105 speed with access to swords dance is incredible. The best thing is that the mons that switch into Scyther are also the same mons that switch in Pinsir. Pinsir almost always gets 1 KO and dents another mon that would switch into Scyther. This is why these two bug types work so well together. My favorite set is definitely Swords Dance, Wing Attack, Double Edge and Hidden Power Ground. I prefer Hidden Power Ground much more than Bug because I like to OHKO Haunter at +2. Miracle Berry is definitely the ideal item for Scyther. This allows you to setup on Piloswine or even Lanturn with a screen up without the fear of getting frozen or paralyzed.
Movesets
Pinsir @ Leftovers
Ability: No Ability
IVs: 14 HP / 24 Atk
- Swords Dance
- Protect
- Double-Edge
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Pinsir is the star member and the reason why I built this team to begin with. Swords Dance allows it to boost its attack to astronomical levels. Double-Edge with Hidden Power Ground is almost perfect coverage in GSC UU. This allows pinsir to hit everything for neutral damage at least. Honestly, Pinsir really only needs these 3 moves. The fourth move can be anything from Rock Throw for Scyther, Body Slam for a decently strong move that can inflict status or even Submission to have a Fighting move for Granbull. However, my favorite fourth move is definitely Protect. The way that Leftovers work in GSC, you can switch in at the end of the turn when another member gets KOed and you gain 6%. If you add this with Protect, you will find that Pinsir gains 12% in total. This may not seem like a lot but for such an offensive mon like Pinsir who constantly clicks Double-Edge, getting back 12% is very helpful.
Hypno @ Leftovers
Ability: No Ability
- Light Screen
- Sleep Talk
- Psychic
- Rest
Hypno supports this team very nicely. Being a pure Psychic type is great. It has pretty decent Physical bulk and a ton of Special Defense. Having access to Light Screen is what makes this mon so good. It can help your offensive mons like Pinsir & Scyther setup safely against strong Special Attackers. Pinsir beats Piloswine 1v1 easily with a Light Screen up. Psychic is a good stab mon for mono Attack Hypno. Rest is to make sure Hypno can stay healthy and Sleep Talk is to make sure you aren't passive while asleep.
Qwilfish @ Leftovers
Ability: No Ability
- Spikes
- Hydro Pump
- Sludge Bomb
- Haze
Qwilfish has one of the most valuable moves in this tier which is Spikes. Without it, offensive teams that aren't Explosion/Screens HO would be very hard to use. Hydro pump allows Qwilfish to hit grounds and sludge bomb to hit the water types that don't resist it. The fourth move can be anything you want. It can be Haze or Curse. I just use Haze to prevent opposing mons from setting up but Curse is a fine option too.
Piloswine @ Leftovers
Ability: No Ability
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Ice Beam
- Earthquake
Piloswine is a physical tank that can handle a lot of special attackers too. This mon checks things like Nidoqueen, Haunter, Hypno, Mr. Mime, Magneton, oppsing Piloswine and many more. Ice Beam and Earthquake are very nice complementary attacks as the combination of those two moves allows Piloswine to threaten things like Jumpluff & Scyther who are immune to Ground. Rest and Sleep Talk is to make sure you can reliably heal and threaten your opponent while asleep.
Haunter @ Leftovers
Ability: No Ability
- Destiny Bond
- Psychic
- Thunder
- Explosion
Haunter fulfills a plethora of roles on the team. Being a normal immunity instead of a resist is huge because you can always switch into mono normal attack Granbull at any time without the fear of getting crit if you're low on HP. Psychic allows you to hit poisons such as Nidoqueen and opposing Haunter for Super Effective Damage. Thunder allows you to spread paralysis and hit Water Types like Blastoise for a lot of damage. Destiny Bond is nice at hitting mons that have setup a lot, such as Curse Hypno with Psychic or Curse Granbull with Hidden Power Ground. Explosion is 100% mandatory on any Haunter set. It's not just because it's a high damaging move. Explosion ends the turn which prevents your opponent from setting up with Curse or healing with Rest.
Scyther @ Miracle Berry
Ability: No Ability
IVs: 14 HP / 24 Atk
- Swords Dance
- Wing Attack
- Double-Edge
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Scyther's role on this team is just as important as Pinsir's. Swords Dance is a must have on every Scyther set. A decently high Attack Stat combined with its incredible 105 speed is too good to pass up on. Wing Attack is crucial so you can hit opposing Scyther, Jumpluff and Pinsir for Super Effective Damage. Hidden Power Ground is far superior to Hidden Power Bug. Hidden Power Ground at +2 guarantees you 2HKO all of Nidoqueen, Qwilfish & Omastar. It lets Scyther OHKO Haunter at +2 Attack. The benefits of Hidden Power Ground heavily outweighs the positives of Hidden Power Bug. Double-Edge is my favorite fourth move on Scyther. Some people like Baton Pass but there isn't a good mon to pass +2 Attack on this team, besides Pinsir, who already has access to Swords Dance.
Replay Breakdown
This team is not just fun to use but it also has a high win rate. It has been used multiple times in many UU tours such as UUPL, UUSD & UU Classic Playoffs. I have supplied multiple replays showcasing this teams wins (and also a loss)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen2uu-615476 - Torchic Vs Holly UUPL X Week 4
The first time it was used was during Week 4. Torchic used this team and demolished Holly with it. Torchic gets a Light Screen early allowing him to switch into Pinsir on Piloswine and get a Swords Dance. This allows Pinsir to devastate Holly’s team. Pinsir KOs Haunter & Granbull while doing massive damage to Qwilfish and Lanturn which makes them useless for the remainder of the game. After dismantling Holly’s team with some great offensive plays by Torchic, he is able to get up a Light Screen which allows Scyther to swords dance on Piloswine and win the game. I was very proud of Torchic for getting his first win in UUPL and for finally getting the Stars a win in GSC UU. I know he wanted to get a win really badly and I could finally relax too. This was my first time building in GSC UU for Torchic. Had he lost with my team, I would have felt really bad especially considering our GSC was already 0-3 and we really couldn’t afford to lose again. I also know that for certain reasons, I probably shouldn’t have even been on the team to begin with. Torchic winning with my team gave me a lot of relief.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen2uu-1638847629 - Holly Vs Ika Ika Musume UUSD III Week 7
Ironically enough, even though this team was made for Torchic to beat Holly with, Holly liked the team so much she took it and started using it constantly. Holly is probably the person who has used this team the most. She has used it on numerous occasions in tours such as in UUSD and GSC UU Cup. The only lost that this team had in UUSD was actually when Holly used it Week 7. Scyther gets burnt by Nidoqueen and is unable to do real damage. It’s very unfortunate because had Scyther not get burnt, it would have done incredible damage to the opposing team and probably helps win the game (This is why you use Miracle Berry & not Leftovers on Scyther btw)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen2uu-651921 - Amukamara Vs Totomon UU Classic Playoffs Semi-Finals
Amukamara, aka Liam, used this team with great proficiency in UU Classic Semi-Finals. He is able to get up a Light Screen quickly and switch Pinsir into Piloswine. This allows Pinsir to get to +2 instantly and start ravaging the opponent’s team. Pinsir is able to do a lot of damage to Gligar and Blastoise while also KOing Haunter. Liam also uses protect which is my favorite fourth move on Pinsir. Had Pinsir not gotten it’s leftovers stolen by Haunter, protect would allow it to constantly gain an extra 6% per turn which is a big deal because Pinsir’s best move, Double-Edge, inflicts recoil back to the user. Also with how Leftovers work in GSC, you can send Pinsir in after another mon gets KOed and get a free 6% if no Spikes are up. Another reason why I like this replay is that it shows how well built this team is even without Scyther. Scyther wasn’t used this game which shows how strong the other 5 members on the team are. They can run a myriad of different sets because these mons are just very good on their own.
A lot of other people used this team in UUSD III as well. I gave it to one of my teammates to use and they won with it as well. I know many other people used it and won with it because this team honestly just farms tours.
Conclusion
A lot of the sets on this team are very flexible as well. The paste I included is what I’d say is the ideal version but I have at least 7 different variants of this team as a lot of the mons on it are very interchangable. This team is incredibly fun to use. I’ve ladder a decent amount on gsc uu and I’ve used a number of teams while playing but I always go back to double bug offense. This team is truly something special. GSC UU is a tier heavily dominated by fat water balance with the occasional stall and Baton Pass teams. Double bug is one of the few viable offensive teams in this metagame that is actually consistent. Screens HO and Baton Pass teams can definitely work but I’ve never found them to be consistent and in a game like Pokemon, consistency is definitely something I prefer over a flashy team that can win one game sporadically.
People who deserve credit for this team
There are some people that I feel I have to thank for the creation of this team. I made Double Bug on my own but without certain people, I would have never built this team to begin with.
Liam definitely gets credit for this team. Without him, this team most likely doesn’t exist or I don’t make it until a few years later because he’s a big reason on why I got drafted in UUPL. If I didn’t get drafted I would have never made this team for Torchic Week 4. It would have never sparked my interest in team building for this tier either which I definitely needed for my UU Classic run. I also made the GSC UU teams the Stars used for W6 & W8 during UUPL which we absolutely need win in order to make playoffs. I would have never been able to make those teams without his help getting me drafted on the Stars. Liam gets a lot of credit for this team and he's a big factor on how our GSC slot found success during UUPL.
Even though Torchic didn’t help make the team, I made it for him to use against Holly. He used the team on its debut to great success. Working with him during UUPL was fun. I only got to build the teams for him on W4, W6, W7 & W8 but those four weeks were really enjoyable and so was discussing GSC stuff right before his games.
Introduction
GSC UU has been up as a rotational ladder for the last 2 weeks. I’ve found myself playing it occasionally and even building some new teams for this tier. Despite that, there is one old team I made a while ago that I keep going back to. I can say for certain, no matter how many new teams I make for this tier, this one will always be my favorite. This is a double bug offense team with the star member being pinsir.
How This Team Was Created
This team was conceptualized and made during UUPL Week 4. I was on the Cinnabar Stars and our GSC slot was doing pretty badly. The managers for the Stars were Esche & TSR. They were also our building support for this tier but neither of them played or built GSC UU. We had 1 GSC starter with Torchic but he did not build in this tier either. Our GSC slot was 0-3 and we had no support. There was honestly a very high chance that our GSC slot went winless 0-7 and we don’t make playoffs. It was the end of Week 3 and we had just lost 4-6. I remember Torchic wanting a team incredibly early during Week 4 to get some practice as he wanted to get a win. No one on the team had a team for him to practice with though and nobody wanted to build so early in the week. I remember Torchic desperately wanting a team immediately so he could get some practice in. This was my opportunity to actually do something. I was on the team but I wasn’t doing anything the first 3 weeks. Torchic wanted a team to practice with early, so I told him I’d just make one for him to use.
Building Process
Pinsir was definitely the mon I wanted to center the team around. It is easily one of my favorite Pokemon. I’ve used it in multiple old gens UUs before. It’s also my favorite Pokemon in GSC UU as Bug is one of my favorite Types too. Torchic’s opponent for Week 4 was Holly. When I was making the team I did a scout on Holly. I noticed she spammed Lanturn and Piloswine teams like crazy and it makes sense. It’s one of the best defensive cores in the tier that deters offense. This is why I thought Pinsir would do so well. It has a fantastic 125 base attack stat with access to swords dance. 85 speed is also very nice for an offensive mon as it’s faster than Gyarados and Blastoise. Pure Bug is also a fantastic Type in GSC UU due to the overwhelming presences of Water Pokemon in this tier. Not being part Flying type like Scyther means that it isn’t weak to Ice Beam from Piloswine or Thunder from Lanturn. Water types being so oppressive in this tier makes Fire & Rock Types very difficult to use in GSC UU which is why you almost never see any of them, if at all. That’s great for Pinsir because it gets rid of 2/3 of its weaknesses. That just leaves the Flying Type and there aren’t too many Flying Type offensive mons for Pinsir to worry about. Obviously Scyther is amazing in this tier but Pinsir is so physically bulky it can actually always take +2 wing attack from Scyther at full, even if the Scyther has the full 15 DVs for some reason.
+2 Scyther Wing Attack vs. Pinsir: 280-330 (84 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Jumpluff and Gyarados are Flying types that see moderate usage in GSC UU but they hardly ever run Flying moves. Jumpluff doesn’t always have the space for Hidden Power and the times it does, it uses Hidden Power Grass, not Flying. Gyarados can run Hidden Power Flying but it occasionally uses hidden power ground so it has a strong move to hit Lanturn which otherwise walls it. The last Flying type is Dodrio and it hardly ever sees any usage (Even though it’s really good)
So if you want to look at it one way, Pinsir theoretically only has 1 weakness in this tier for a Type that is very rare offensively. As I said before Holly uses Pilo Lanturn defensive cores incredibly frequently. I knew Pinsir would definitely be a great pick for this matchup. One issue was that standard Pinsir is walled by Haunter. Normal and Bug is terrible coverage. This was a simple fix. All I had to do was change Pinsir’s Hidden Power so it could hit Haunter for Super Effective Damage which was easy to do. Pinsir at +2 beats any Haunter without Destiny Bond with a good Hidden Power.
Hypno was the next member I decided on. Pinsir has great bulk on the physical side but not on the special one. Putting Light Screen on Hypno alleviated this issue and also gave the team a Psychic Type and a special wall which is very valuable on all GSC UU teams.
Qwilfish was an easy add on for this team. Offense that isn’t screens HO is very hard to use without Spikes due to how DVs and leftovers work in this gen. The only thing Qwilfish has to do is keep up Spikes the whole game and if it does that then it has done its job.
Piloswine was the next mon I added to the team. Ground types are incredibly valuable in this tier since it can switch into mons with thunder wave as well being part ice type makes Jumpluff think twice before switching in. Piloswine also has great physical bulk and it's the rest talker for the team.
Haunter was an easy pick because it’s not only a normal immune but it’s also the most offensive normal immune/resist. Having access to things like Thief, Hypnosis, Destiny Bond and Explosion gives this mon fantastic utility. It’s very easy to understand why an offensive team would want Haunter.
Scyther is the last member and the clean up mon for this team. This mon’s job is to win you the game. Scyther appreciates Pinsir being on the team and the role it fulfills. Pinsir’s job is to just do as much damage as possible and open up holes in the opponent’s team. Pinsir almost never can sweep due to only having 85 speed. A lot of other threatening mons in this tier are much faster being at base 90, 95, or even 100 speed. This is why Scyther is the game winning mon and why it’s so important. 105 speed with access to swords dance is incredible. The best thing is that the mons that switch into Scyther are also the same mons that switch in Pinsir. Pinsir almost always gets 1 KO and dents another mon that would switch into Scyther. This is why these two bug types work so well together. My favorite set is definitely Swords Dance, Wing Attack, Double Edge and Hidden Power Ground. I prefer Hidden Power Ground much more than Bug because I like to OHKO Haunter at +2. Miracle Berry is definitely the ideal item for Scyther. This allows you to setup on Piloswine or even Lanturn with a screen up without the fear of getting frozen or paralyzed.
Movesets
Pinsir @ Leftovers
Ability: No Ability
IVs: 14 HP / 24 Atk
- Swords Dance
- Protect
- Double-Edge
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Pinsir is the star member and the reason why I built this team to begin with. Swords Dance allows it to boost its attack to astronomical levels. Double-Edge with Hidden Power Ground is almost perfect coverage in GSC UU. This allows pinsir to hit everything for neutral damage at least. Honestly, Pinsir really only needs these 3 moves. The fourth move can be anything from Rock Throw for Scyther, Body Slam for a decently strong move that can inflict status or even Submission to have a Fighting move for Granbull. However, my favorite fourth move is definitely Protect. The way that Leftovers work in GSC, you can switch in at the end of the turn when another member gets KOed and you gain 6%. If you add this with Protect, you will find that Pinsir gains 12% in total. This may not seem like a lot but for such an offensive mon like Pinsir who constantly clicks Double-Edge, getting back 12% is very helpful.
Hypno @ Leftovers
Ability: No Ability
- Light Screen
- Sleep Talk
- Psychic
- Rest
Hypno supports this team very nicely. Being a pure Psychic type is great. It has pretty decent Physical bulk and a ton of Special Defense. Having access to Light Screen is what makes this mon so good. It can help your offensive mons like Pinsir & Scyther setup safely against strong Special Attackers. Pinsir beats Piloswine 1v1 easily with a Light Screen up. Psychic is a good stab mon for mono Attack Hypno. Rest is to make sure Hypno can stay healthy and Sleep Talk is to make sure you aren't passive while asleep.
Qwilfish @ Leftovers
Ability: No Ability
- Spikes
- Hydro Pump
- Sludge Bomb
- Haze
Qwilfish has one of the most valuable moves in this tier which is Spikes. Without it, offensive teams that aren't Explosion/Screens HO would be very hard to use. Hydro pump allows Qwilfish to hit grounds and sludge bomb to hit the water types that don't resist it. The fourth move can be anything you want. It can be Haze or Curse. I just use Haze to prevent opposing mons from setting up but Curse is a fine option too.
Piloswine @ Leftovers
Ability: No Ability
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Ice Beam
- Earthquake
Piloswine is a physical tank that can handle a lot of special attackers too. This mon checks things like Nidoqueen, Haunter, Hypno, Mr. Mime, Magneton, oppsing Piloswine and many more. Ice Beam and Earthquake are very nice complementary attacks as the combination of those two moves allows Piloswine to threaten things like Jumpluff & Scyther who are immune to Ground. Rest and Sleep Talk is to make sure you can reliably heal and threaten your opponent while asleep.
Haunter @ Leftovers
Ability: No Ability
- Destiny Bond
- Psychic
- Thunder
- Explosion
Haunter fulfills a plethora of roles on the team. Being a normal immunity instead of a resist is huge because you can always switch into mono normal attack Granbull at any time without the fear of getting crit if you're low on HP. Psychic allows you to hit poisons such as Nidoqueen and opposing Haunter for Super Effective Damage. Thunder allows you to spread paralysis and hit Water Types like Blastoise for a lot of damage. Destiny Bond is nice at hitting mons that have setup a lot, such as Curse Hypno with Psychic or Curse Granbull with Hidden Power Ground. Explosion is 100% mandatory on any Haunter set. It's not just because it's a high damaging move. Explosion ends the turn which prevents your opponent from setting up with Curse or healing with Rest.
Scyther @ Miracle Berry
Ability: No Ability
IVs: 14 HP / 24 Atk
- Swords Dance
- Wing Attack
- Double-Edge
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Scyther's role on this team is just as important as Pinsir's. Swords Dance is a must have on every Scyther set. A decently high Attack Stat combined with its incredible 105 speed is too good to pass up on. Wing Attack is crucial so you can hit opposing Scyther, Jumpluff and Pinsir for Super Effective Damage. Hidden Power Ground is far superior to Hidden Power Bug. Hidden Power Ground at +2 guarantees you 2HKO all of Nidoqueen, Qwilfish & Omastar. It lets Scyther OHKO Haunter at +2 Attack. The benefits of Hidden Power Ground heavily outweighs the positives of Hidden Power Bug. Double-Edge is my favorite fourth move on Scyther. Some people like Baton Pass but there isn't a good mon to pass +2 Attack on this team, besides Pinsir, who already has access to Swords Dance.
Replay Breakdown
This team is not just fun to use but it also has a high win rate. It has been used multiple times in many UU tours such as UUPL, UUSD & UU Classic Playoffs. I have supplied multiple replays showcasing this teams wins (and also a loss)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen2uu-615476 - Torchic Vs Holly UUPL X Week 4
The first time it was used was during Week 4. Torchic used this team and demolished Holly with it. Torchic gets a Light Screen early allowing him to switch into Pinsir on Piloswine and get a Swords Dance. This allows Pinsir to devastate Holly’s team. Pinsir KOs Haunter & Granbull while doing massive damage to Qwilfish and Lanturn which makes them useless for the remainder of the game. After dismantling Holly’s team with some great offensive plays by Torchic, he is able to get up a Light Screen which allows Scyther to swords dance on Piloswine and win the game. I was very proud of Torchic for getting his first win in UUPL and for finally getting the Stars a win in GSC UU. I know he wanted to get a win really badly and I could finally relax too. This was my first time building in GSC UU for Torchic. Had he lost with my team, I would have felt really bad especially considering our GSC was already 0-3 and we really couldn’t afford to lose again. I also know that for certain reasons, I probably shouldn’t have even been on the team to begin with. Torchic winning with my team gave me a lot of relief.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen2uu-1638847629 - Holly Vs Ika Ika Musume UUSD III Week 7
Ironically enough, even though this team was made for Torchic to beat Holly with, Holly liked the team so much she took it and started using it constantly. Holly is probably the person who has used this team the most. She has used it on numerous occasions in tours such as in UUSD and GSC UU Cup. The only lost that this team had in UUSD was actually when Holly used it Week 7. Scyther gets burnt by Nidoqueen and is unable to do real damage. It’s very unfortunate because had Scyther not get burnt, it would have done incredible damage to the opposing team and probably helps win the game (This is why you use Miracle Berry & not Leftovers on Scyther btw)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen2uu-651921 - Amukamara Vs Totomon UU Classic Playoffs Semi-Finals
Amukamara, aka Liam, used this team with great proficiency in UU Classic Semi-Finals. He is able to get up a Light Screen quickly and switch Pinsir into Piloswine. This allows Pinsir to get to +2 instantly and start ravaging the opponent’s team. Pinsir is able to do a lot of damage to Gligar and Blastoise while also KOing Haunter. Liam also uses protect which is my favorite fourth move on Pinsir. Had Pinsir not gotten it’s leftovers stolen by Haunter, protect would allow it to constantly gain an extra 6% per turn which is a big deal because Pinsir’s best move, Double-Edge, inflicts recoil back to the user. Also with how Leftovers work in GSC, you can send Pinsir in after another mon gets KOed and get a free 6% if no Spikes are up. Another reason why I like this replay is that it shows how well built this team is even without Scyther. Scyther wasn’t used this game which shows how strong the other 5 members on the team are. They can run a myriad of different sets because these mons are just very good on their own.
A lot of other people used this team in UUSD III as well. I gave it to one of my teammates to use and they won with it as well. I know many other people used it and won with it because this team honestly just farms tours.
Conclusion
A lot of the sets on this team are very flexible as well. The paste I included is what I’d say is the ideal version but I have at least 7 different variants of this team as a lot of the mons on it are very interchangable. This team is incredibly fun to use. I’ve ladder a decent amount on gsc uu and I’ve used a number of teams while playing but I always go back to double bug offense. This team is truly something special. GSC UU is a tier heavily dominated by fat water balance with the occasional stall and Baton Pass teams. Double bug is one of the few viable offensive teams in this metagame that is actually consistent. Screens HO and Baton Pass teams can definitely work but I’ve never found them to be consistent and in a game like Pokemon, consistency is definitely something I prefer over a flashy team that can win one game sporadically.
People who deserve credit for this team
There are some people that I feel I have to thank for the creation of this team. I made Double Bug on my own but without certain people, I would have never built this team to begin with.
Liam definitely gets credit for this team. Without him, this team most likely doesn’t exist or I don’t make it until a few years later because he’s a big reason on why I got drafted in UUPL. If I didn’t get drafted I would have never made this team for Torchic Week 4. It would have never sparked my interest in team building for this tier either which I definitely needed for my UU Classic run. I also made the GSC UU teams the Stars used for W6 & W8 during UUPL which we absolutely need win in order to make playoffs. I would have never been able to make those teams without his help getting me drafted on the Stars. Liam gets a lot of credit for this team and he's a big factor on how our GSC slot found success during UUPL.
Even though Torchic didn’t help make the team, I made it for him to use against Holly. He used the team on its debut to great success. Working with him during UUPL was fun. I only got to build the teams for him on W4, W6, W7 & W8 but those four weeks were really enjoyable and so was discussing GSC stuff right before his games.
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