Resource SV UU Creative and Underrated Sets

[avarice]

Approved by Lily | OP ripped from ss uu thread | art by Gaboswampert

​

Welcome to UU Creative and Underrated Sets! This project will be used for sharing effective yet non-standard or uncommon sets for any viable Pokemon in SS UU. There will be an archive for sets the community posts that are particularly effective or outside of the box. Here are some guidelines for posting sets in this thread:

What constitutes an underrated and/or creative moveset?

• Creative Movesets would be those that are:

1. Not commonly seen on the ladder whatsoever.
2. It successfully pulls off a role and is not strictly outclassed by others.
3. It takes advantage of metagame trends.
4. It might be able to surprise and demolish Pokemon that normally counter the usual sets, but does not become a gimmick in order to do so.
5. It has had some success (sufficient testing/replays).

• Underrated Movesets would be those that are:

1. Somewhat common but still under-utilized despite being effective choices in the current metagame.
2. Underrated sets are meant to prey on specific facets of the metagame.

What are some things that constitute a gimmick?

1. Movesets that are highly inconsistent.
2. Unviable Pokémon. Check out the Viability Rankings if you are not sure/do a nomination there instead.
3. Movesets that are inferior and ineffective compared to existing movesets, or use an obscure move for the sake of hitting an even more obscure check or counter.

Thread Rules:

1. NO GIMMICKS. They don't add any positives to the discussion and only derail the thread. These posts may be subject to being deleted.
2. Explain a little as to what your set does and how it accomplishes its goal.
3. Dumping multiple sets at once is perfectly acceptable as long as all are well explained.
4. Replays are not required, but are encouraged whenever possible. Make sure if you use replays, they aren't low on ladder and adequately reflect the niche of the set you're posting.
5. Be nice.

Posts that don't follow these rules will be deleted, so please try to keep them in mind.

Happy posting!

 

[avarice]

Archive

none yet!

Outdated Sets

Substitute Tyranitar by Mossy Sandwich

Choiced Slowking by Askov

Salazzle by Askov

Tatsugiri by Askov

Mono Ice Shell Smash Cloyster by Lavern

Bulk Up Zarude by pokemonisfun

Dragon Breath Altaria by Celebiii

Protect Drednaw by i like cute things

Iron Defense Salamence by Lavern

 

[Celebiii]

Altaria @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Natural Cure
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dragon Breath
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Defog

Dragon Breath is a really neat utility option on Altaria that mainly functions to allow it to cripple faster offensive Pokemon with paralysis, especially setup sweepers and special attackers that don't mind taking a burn from Will-O-Wisp. It also allows Altaria to maintain modest damage output against other Dragons like Salamence and Haxorus. 4 SpD EVs allow Altaria to survive 2 non-Specs Kilowattrel Hurricanes.

 

[Mossy Sandwich]

Got top 5 last night (Well I no longer am today, but still) so I'd say I'm ready to share the set that got me a lot of my wins on that grind. I'll color code this post to try to make it look nicer to read, so just keep in mind Green is for Good matchups, Blue is for Neutral matchups and Red is for Bad matchups.


Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 84 SpD / 76 Spe
Impish Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Substitute
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

DD Ttar is overall a bit underrated since it can get some boosts pretty easily and this ability is amplified by using a good defensive tera type. Sets with 3 attacks, more offensive investment or Taunt are equally viable and they can allow Ttar to beat different things like Quagsire, but the set I wanna talk about is bulky with Substitute.

-The idea of this set is to use Tera Flying to gain resistances to types like Grass, Bug and Fighting that pokemon like Slither Wing or Tsareena will try to throw at you and use that opportunity to setup a Sub. From that point, it's pretty easy to get 2 or 3 boosts and keep the Sub up since you're probably hitting the pokemon that can actually threaten you too hard.

-The HP and Physical Defense investment allows your sub to survive a non Choice Band Adamant Slither Wing Close Combat (as well as a bunch of other stuff) after Tera in case they want to stay in after their First Impression fails.

-Next up, the speed allows you to outspeed 0 Speed base 70s, most notably Wo-Chien, but also slow Bisharp sometimes (you can't rely on them being slow though) and get a sub up. It also allows you to outspeed Gengar, Maushold and Scream Tail at +2. There's an alternate spread that uses 144 Speed and 16 Spdef to outspeed Talonflame at +2 to Sub before it burns you, though it's most notable for preventing stuff like Kilowattrel and Noivern from revenge-killing you after Tera.

-Finally, the Special Defense investment is mostly filler, but allows your Sub to more easily take moves from Water type walls like Slowking and Gastrodon.

Substitute Tyranitar can actually win pretty easily on the spot against a lot of teams if positionned properly, but it does have a good amount of pokemon that need to be crippled or KOed before it can sweep.

-Generally, this will include some Ground types. Hippowdon and Quagsire, while unable to hit it after tera, prevent it from making progress with Whirlwind or Unaware (Quagsire can actually fully PP stall you) and Gastrodon can sometimes be a bit annoying with Clear Smog or Ice beam. Donphan and Forretress are often too bulky to take out, but get chipped down easily, so they're usually no big deal. Slowbro, especially Iron Defense, can be very annoying to beat since it's bulkier than Slowking and can run more moves that annoy you, though it is rarer than its brother. Finally, Orthworm is a big issue as it takes your STAB combo very well and can use Iron Defense to outpace your boosts.

-Other revenge-killers like Noivern whose Boomburst hits through Substitutes and Scarfers like Staraptor can be annoying if you can't manage to get enough boosts.

None of these issues are impossible to deal with though some of these targets can be pretty heavily crippled by Knock Off and status, especially poison, and, if you want, alternate DD TTar sets can deal with them quite well. Here are a few options you can try out for yourself.

-Using a Third coverage option over Substitute or using a different 2 move combo can lead to Orthworm, Slowbro or Quagsire being easy pickings depending on what you pick. I'd say Tera Blast Grass is especially useful, though it leaves you weaker to priority.

-More offensive investment can be used on Screens HO since Reflect and Light Screen make up for your lower bulk, letting you break through Slowbro, Slowking or Gastrodon more easily.

-Taunt over Substitute is great at shutting down Hippowdon and Quagsire and generally does well against Slowbro and Orthworm as well, though it can't scout switches as effectively and leaves itself open to different mons like Talonflame.

Feel free to experiment with Dragon Dance Tyranitar, it's an excellent sweeper if you use the many tools available to make setup easier or to mess with its counters.

 

[Askov]

gonna drop some fun stuff that i saw/tested, try them at your own risk



Talonflame @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
Tera Type: Flying / Steel / Water / Fairy / Poison / Dark (There's not really a ''best'' tera type, it's up to what you wanna turn the tables on but i like flying because of the additional power if needed)
EVs: 248 HP / 76 Atk / 52 SpD / 132 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up / Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Substitute / Taunt

We all know how the standard talon set w bb roost wisp/uturn/defog/taunt/blitz is good but i think that setup talon has some potential as well. Subs avoid stuff like gastrodon poison fishing you with sludge bomb and can set up on more passive checks while Taunt prevents stuff like Hippowdon from WWing you.




Gastrodon @ Leftovers / Rawst Berry / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Storm Drain
Tera Type: Fairy / Steel / Poison / Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Earthquake
- Recover
- Liquidation

As long as you can bait in stuff like Tsareena/Wo-Chien you don't need to worry too much about your tera type but fairy is a good overall defensive type that probably is the most useful one in general, while steel and poison are also relatively good and mostly important avoids poison, fire is prob bad but you do avoid wisp so ig there's some usefulness (at that point you can prob just run Rawst Berry tho)



Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Cursed Body
Tera Type: Fighting / Ghost / Dark
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid / Hasty Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Sludge Bomb
- Sucker Punch

Yeah i do like sucker punch on my special attackers.... But being serious this is actually a cool tool to revenge kill weakened faster stuff since i think most people dont remember that gengar gets sucker punch or won't expect it at all so...



Klefki @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Steel / Fairy / Water / Poison / Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Def / 248 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Draining Kiss
- Iron Defense
- Stored Power

Didn't really figure the best tera type or spread for it yet and this set isn't really something new but i've barely seen it while laddering and i think that it has good potential to clean in some mus



Slowking @ Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick
- Surf
- Slack Off
- Chilly Reception

An old gem from ss uu meta... Kinda cool to mess up with some defensive pokemon trying to check it



Salazzle @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Corrosion
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 8 Def / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Knock Off / Nasty Plot / Encore / Toxic / Thunder Wave / Will-o-Wisp / Venoshock
- Toxic Spikes / Nasty Plot / Encore / Toxic Thunder Wave / Will-o-Wisp

Provides cool utility being a fast poke + tspikes user (which i think is kinda underrated atm) and knock getting rids of the super common boots.


Medicham @ Choice Band
Ability: Pure Power
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Bullet Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- Rock Slide / Trick / Drain Punch / High Jump Kick / Fake Out

Insane breaker, cc is all that you realistically need if your opp doesnt have a ghost type. Rock Slide kills Talonflame w/o giving chances of triggering Flame Body, Trick can be useful if you desperately need to stop a bulky setup sweeper, Drain Punch/HJK gives an alternative fighting STAB if you run out ouf CCs for some reason and Fake Out can possibly revenge stuff that BP can't.



Arboliva @ Sitrus Berry / Starf Berry / Salac Berry / Choice Specs / Chesto Berry
Ability: Harvest / Seed Sower
Tera Type: Steel / Grass
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Energy Ball
- Hyper Voice
- Earth Power / Protect
- Strength Sap / Leaf Storm / Synthesis / Rest / Substitute

Can be a sturdy check to bulky waters, specs hits hard af



Abomasnow @ Choice Specs / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Snow Warning
Tera Type: Grass / Ice
EVs: 152 HP / 252 SpA / 104 Spe
Modest Nature
- Blizzard
- Leaf Storm
- Earth Power
- Ice Shard / Focus Blast / Giga Drain / Aurora Veil / Wood Hammer

Same as Arboliva



Bruxish @ Choice Band / Life Orb
Ability: Strong Jaw
Tera Type: Water / Psychic
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wave Crash / Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Psychic Fangs
- Crunch

pretty strong breaker and faster than gallade/lucario ig



Tatsugiri @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
Tera Type: Dragon (?)
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Nasty Plot
- Surf
- Draco Meteor

we all know what it does but i think it's kinda underrated giving that it's kinda hard to switch into if you have those tinkaton slowking/gastro tsareena talonflame teams



Altaria @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 248 HP / 20 Def / 136 SpD / 104 Spe
Careful Nature
- Cotton Guard
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Acrobatics

Most likely bad but it's a fun set that with a ton of support might clean one game or another...

 

[Seed Sower]

Armarouge @ Iron Ball
Ability: Flash Fire
Tera Type: Grass / Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Psychic
- Energy Ball
- Armor Cannon
- Trick Room

This set has been really fun to use. Armarouge has an awkward speed tier, so I decided to double down on its slowness with a Trick Room set. Iron Ball ensures you move before most Gastrodon/Quagsire/Slowtwin sets under TR so you can bop them with Energy Ball. I like Tera Grass to boost EB, but Steel is also an option if you have trouble with Talonflame.

 

[ThatOneApple]

Live Reaction (Wo-Chien) @ Leftovers
Ability: Tablets of Ruin
Tera Type: Ghost/Water/Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Knock Off
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed
- Mean Look

The idea of this set is to use mean look combined with leech seed and knock off to wear down and take out various things like tinkaton, orthworm, etc. It works well with tera so that it can fish in matchups that look favorable to the opponent, such as tera ghosting in front of gallade as it sacred swords. Tera water could be used as an alternative to help against rain, steel can also help on a more specially defensive set could also potentially also bait specs kilowattrel into clicking hurricane. Other types could be experimented with to help certain matchups, such as tera fighting or ground for tyranitar, but Steel Water and Ghost looked the most effective to me. Lastly, giga drain lets it immediately remove quagsire after trapping it without needing to worry about toxic and gastrodon without being too afraid of Sludge Bomb.

There are various alterations that could be made of this set, maybe fitting taunt over giga drain, but overall I found it fun and pretty effective in battles, as even if someone knew it was coming, the threat of it can force awkward plays that can be taken advantage of. For example, it can force a free switch for you to get a knock off, which can be very good on a hazard setting team.

Anyways, have fun with your live reaction to this set in action.

 

[STEELDRAGON]

Orthworm @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Earth Eater
EVs: 252 Atk/24 Def/232 Spe
Jolly Nature
-Shed Tail
-Heavy Slam
-Body Press
-Spikes/Earthquake

This Orthworm set takes a more offensive route and does well on Hyper Offense. Due to its high speed it is able to set up a Shed Tail on the vast majority of the metagame. After it's done it job it can proceed to up Spikes to further put offensive pressure on the opponent. It can also function as a good check to things like Swords Dance Lucario and Maushold. Heavy Slam also does some decent damage against many of the faster threats.

 

[i like cute things]

protect drednaw

Drednaw @ White Herb
Ability: Swift Swim
Tera Type: Water / Dark / whatever you feel like running
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Liquidation
- Stone Edge / Crunch / insert coverage
- Shell Smash
- Protect

not really a creative set but drednaw is pretty underrated in general i think
protect is for slither wing and lokix and occasional band haxorus
you click protect and then get a free smash
tera dark + crunch is for slowbrothers if you care about them

this set is good against offense but bad against fat run tera blast grass instead to own fat

 

[Negative Charge]

Maushold @ Wide Lens
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Tidy Up
- Population Bomb
- Bite
- Protect

I think this is probably better than Tera Normal and U-Turn. Protect stops first impression, and lets you scout. Many people without a rocky helmet rely on Talonflame burning you to stop your sweep but Tera Fire prevents this.

 

[Moutemoute]

Maushold @ Wide Lens
Ability: Technician
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Tidy Up
- Population Bomb
- Bite
- Protect

I think this is probably better than Tera Normal and U-Turn. Protect stops first impression, and lets you scout. Many people without a rocky helmet rely on Talonflame burning you to stop your sweep but Tera Fire prevents this.

100% agree on Tera Fire + Protect Maushold over U-turn variants. Protect is too valuable for this Pokémon, being able to scout out Choice Locked Pokémon + prevent being revenge killed by First Impression is really great.

 

[Negative Charge]

Naclstack @ Eviolite
Ability: Purifying Salt
Tera Type: Ghost / Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Salt Cure
- Recover
- Protect

I posted this in the metagame thread, but I think it's worth throwing in here too. Naclstack is absolutely viable in UU. It's a rocker + status immunity + annoyance all in one. A lot of teams just can't properly deal with it, especially in tandem with protect. Tera Ghost is optimal imo, as it leaves you with a single weakness to Dark, though Water is usable as well. Protect is nice for wasting rain and psychic terrain turns too. There are games where Tera ghost just wins (mostly against stall / BO). Orthworm getting a free switch on this can often spell death for your team so try and avoid it if possible. Huge fan of this mon.

 

[sleestacks]

Today, I have travelled from a distant land to deliver a set to all of you. A set so stupid yet so incredible that it took an entire 5 minutes of stealing it from a Flying Press article to bring it here:

CHOICE BAND MUDSDALE.

The Set

The Horse Is In (Mudsdale) @ Choice Band
Ability: Stamina
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Close Combat
- Heavy Slam
- Stone Edge

Listen, it's a lot better than it sounds, okay?

This thing is basically Banded Tyranitar but it 1v1s every neutral physical attacker instead of every neutral special attacker. EQ absolutely obliterates common defensive mons like Donphan & Forretress. They got a resist? That's where the nutty movepool comes into play. For some ungodly reason, this thing learns CC, so Wo-Chien, Bonnet and Orthworm are easily defeated. You also get stone edge like every other ground type, so Talon, Gyara and friends get torn to shreds. And finally, the cherry on top is Heavy Slam, which easily OHKOs Scream tail and is massive neutral damage if you Tera Steel for STAB. That's not even mentioning the immense defensive utility (especially when paired with a wish passer!). Haxorus, Mence, TTar, and other common physical threats are easily taken out by your massively powered-up moves, especially if you tera steel and heavy slam on the fliers (which OHKOs no bulk mence without intimidate!). And, just to demonstrate the absolute massive power AND bulk of this thing, here are some calcs:

a lot of calcs

252+ Atk Choice Band Mudsdale Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Haxorus: 286-337 (97.6 - 115%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Haxorus Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mudsdale: 307-361 (75.9 - 89.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 Atk Salamence Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mudsdale: 204-240 (50.4 - 59.4%) -- approx. 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Mudsdale Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Salamence: 252-297 (76.1 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Steel Mudsdale Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Salamence: 378-445 (114.1 - 134.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Bisharp Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mudsdale: 280-330 (69.3 - 81.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Mudsdale Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Bisharp: 350-414 (104.7 - 123.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Mudsdale Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Forretress: 148-175 (41.8 - 49.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Mudsdale Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Donphan: 166-196 (43.3 - 51.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Mudsdale Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tsareena: 213-251 (61.2 - 72.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Mudsdale Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowking: 217-256 (55 - 64.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Oh, and it's important to remember how much defensive utility you get COMBINED with this power. Banded Mudsdale is a backup blanket check to so much of the meta that it's tough to turn down. You also have to consider Stamina, turning many of these 2HKOs into 3HKOs. Stamina also lets Mudsdale 1v1 all the multi-hit sweepers like Maushold and Iron Thorns, but the calcs with stamina are janky so I didn't post them here.

In addition, here's a team that I made with Banded Mudsdale. Maushold appreciates the Mighty Horse being able to weaken common physical walls, Scream Tail gives good wish support, and the rest is just good teambuilding where you check all of the boxes that you need. The full RMT is probably coming soon.

And, finally, I'd like to share a replay where Mudsdale knocked out two opponents, showing how the suprise factor can help this already solid mon become absolutely terrifying. I'd post more replays, but I'm a bit busy right now and can't play too many matches. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9uu-1781344123-jube4etpw6i6z4bd529g1tcnxml8c1spw

 

[Lavern]

I've been using a bunch of new sets in the spirit of SV UU Research Week, and I've come up with a bunch of really fun sets.

@
Salamence @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 248 HP / 104 Atk / 44 SpD / 112 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Iron Defense
- Roost
- Dual Wingbeat

I got this idea when I watched Lily use Iron Defense Salamence in her charity match vs IP. Salamence can pair both Iron Defense + DD to straight up win against physical HO teams, and even Balance/BO builds, if they lack Quag and Tflame. You can still beat TFlame, it is just a near coinflip of being burned or not. I didn't really optimize this spread, I just used the same one I use on Leftovers DD Mence, which outspeeds Scarf Gengar at +2 and lives 2 Hurricanes from boots Kilowattrel. Because of how matchup fishy this set is, I can honestly see this one do really well in some tournament games, maybe less so on ladder. It's still been fun on ladder though.


Wo-Chien @ Leftovers
Ability: Tablets of Ruin
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Knock Off

This set is really funny. Wo-Chien already has a bunch of bulk, even without investment, and with max speed it is able to outstall things like adamant gallade, modest armarouge, and banded ttar. Sub+Protect is evil with Leech Seed, and also helps to scout vs Specs Noivern, which is the one thing that can hit you through the sub. Knock Off is just great for getting rid of Leftovers, as well as choice items. Ruination could possibly work, but I feel like Knock is much more valuable.


Lokix @ Choice Band
Ability: Tinted Lens
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- U-turn
- Assurance
- Tera Blast

Introducing: A worse Slither Wing that has to tera to kill Talonflame. The issue with Lokix is that it is dead weight against Talonflame teams, and this is what I've been using during research week to circumvent that. It also has the added benefit of being able to 2HKO bulky mence. Assurance is a much better option than Throat Chop, and can actually turn Lokix into a half decent Wallbreaker (you OHKO Tinkaton for reference).


Iron Thorns @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Volt Switch

I've experimented with this set, since I wanted something that can switch into Staraptor, while also being able to fit on VoltTurn. I expected this set to be completely trash, but it is actually just mildly trash. It is a pretty reliable rocker, as long as you pair it with Brambleghast, which spinblocks Donphan. Volt Switch has been decent, the issue is just that the set struggles massively against any ground type, which makes Slither Wing a good partner for it. The PhysDef makes it pretty decent at checking Slither Wing, especially when paired with protect Wo-Chien. Tera Flying also helps with checking Dragon Dancers. I haven't really optimized the spread, so there is most likely a better spread out there that hits some benchmark. I've tried Body Press at first, which is nice vs Bisharp, but I honestly find EQ to be more valuable, because of Tinkaton.

 

[sasol]

Armarouge @ Leftovers
Ability: Weak Armor
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Iron Defense

Very silly set. Weak armor gives you a free +2 boost and compensates for its low speed. Iron defense lets you take the hit in the first place, and calm mind boosts you even further. Flamethrower and stored power are pretty good coverage, no need for tera shenanigans.

 

[Negative Charge]

Florges @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Giga Drain
- Synthesis

This isn't exactly an unknown set but for those that don't know, Tera Grass enables Florges to actually have a good ability in singles.

Flower Veil - Grass-type Pokemon on this Pokemon's side cannot have their stat stages lowered by other Pokemon or have a non-volatile status condition inflicted on them by other Pokemon.

This set is not my primary Tera user on my team, but it can occasionally provide a lot of value. You act as a status sponge and are never at risk of stat drops from stuff like Shadow Ball. Grass is a much worse typing in UU than Fairy because of the sheer number of Bug and Fighting moves but this set is situationally quite good (against rain in particular).

 

[Lavern]

I haven't posted much recently, since I've been busy working on a lot of things, things which I had to redo all over again, because I lost all of my process. It's been taking longer than anticipated, but expect something in the following weeks.
To get to what I want to talk about though, there are 2 sets that I want to talk about. Both were part of a team that has been quite successful so far, getting me as high as 5th on the ladder (and immediately dropping 5 places to just one game, thank you elo rating, you're lovely), as well as getting Goro Yagami to the semifinals of the pia tour (I'm offended at you changing the nicknames though. Imagine naming the goat after one of the worst protagonists). The first set was also able to get me reqs for the Iron Hands suspect, on another build.

@
Cloyster @ Never-Melt Ice
Ability: Skill Link
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
- Protect

This set is honestly just broken. Like, if you thought that polteageist was broken, you'll absolutely hate this one. I have been using this set on a screens team, and behind screens, this set is just borderline impossible to stop. Cloyster sets up on anything physical, and one turn to set up is all it needs to just outright win a game by itself. I know, the coverage on this set looks lackluster, and I've had people ask me why I wouldn't use Rock Blast "surely this gets walled by water types". The thing is, it doesn't. A resisted tera ice Icicle Spear with Never Melt Ice is stronger than a neutral Rock Blast, so there is literally no reason to run Rock Blast. Like, the Ice resists don't even matter, cause Cloyster just straight up OHKOs some of them at +2 with tera ice, it's fucking stupid. Because Icicle Spear already kills everything, you don't need any coverage, and you can just use the last 2 slots to make Cloyster borderline impossible to revengekill. Ice Shard kills most scarfers that are faster, allowing you to go for an adamant nature, which gets you important kills. Protect makes killing this with First Impression impossible. The thing that makes this set so broken is that most of the regular counterplay just does not work. Encore with prankster Grafaiai? 0 HP / 0 Def Grafaiai dies to +2 tera Ice Shard. Encore with Tinkaton on the turn that Cloyster shell smashes? Cloyster is slower than Tinkaton, so Encore will always fail. Wall it with Quagsire? Quagsire takes 60-73%. Revengekill with a faster scarfer? Unless they tera into an ice resist, all of them die to +2 tera Ice Shard. Use First Impression to revengekill it? Gets blocked by Protect. Use Sucker Punch to revengekill? Ice Shard goes first and makes Sucker Punch fail. Use Extreme Speed? Cloyster just lives. Use Mimikyu to take a hit? Icicle Spear easily OHKOs through Disguise. Even Ditto isn't that easy, cause Ditto has to actually think and play smart, it can't just revengekill Cloyster that easily. I'm going to include some calcs and replays down below, to give you proof of how stupid this is.

calcs

+2 252+ Atk Never-Melt Ice Tera Ice Cloyster Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Tinkaton: 365-430 (97.8 - 115.2%) -- approx. 93.8% chance to OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Never-Melt Ice Tera Ice Cloyster Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Slowking: 350-415 (88.8 - 105.3%) -- approx. 6.3% chance to OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Never-Melt Ice Tera Ice Cloyster Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Unaware Quagsire: 240-290 (60.9 - 73.6%) -- approx. 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252+ Atk Never-Melt Ice Tera Ice Cloyster Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 195-235 (49.4 - 59.6%) -- approx. 99.6% chance to 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Never-Melt Ice Tera Ice Cloyster Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tera Steel Salamence: 350-415 (105.7 - 125.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Never-Melt Ice Tera Ice Cloyster Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Scream Tail: 430-510 (99 - 117.5%) -- approx. 93.8% chance to OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Never-Melt Ice Tera Ice Cloyster Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Bisharp: 195-235 (58.3 - 70.3%) -- approx. 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Never-Melt Ice Tera Ice Cloyster Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 245-290 (45.8 - 54.3%) -- approx. 41.4% chance to 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Never-Melt Ice Tera Ice Cloyster Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gengar: 280-330 (107.2 - 126.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Never-Melt Ice Tera Ice Cloyster Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Grafaiai: 262-310 (98.1 - 116.1%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Never-Melt Ice Tera Ice Cloyster Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Pawmot: 248-292 (88.2 - 103.9%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Never-Melt Ice Tera Ice Cloyster Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Lycanroc-Dusk: 262-310 (90 - 106.5%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Tera Normal Lucario Extreme Speed vs. -1 64 HP / 0 Def Cloyster through Reflect: 75-88 (29.1 - 34.2%) -- 4.8% chance to 3HKO
252+ Def Slowbro Body Press vs. -1 64 HP / 0 Def Cloyster through Reflect: 77-91 (29.9 - 35.4%) -- 24.9% chance to 3HKO
4 SpA Slowbro Surf vs. -1 0 HP / 4 SpD Tera Ice Cloyster through Light Screen: 136-161 (56.4 - 66.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 252 Atk Salamence Outrage vs. 64 HP / 0 Def Cloyster through Reflect: 90-106 (35 - 41.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+1 252 Atk Salamence Outrage vs. -1 64 HP / 0 Def Cloyster through Reflect: 135-159 (52.5 - 61.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Donphan Earthquake vs. -1 64 HP / 0 Def Cloyster through Reflect: 76-90 (29.5 - 35%) -- 12.1% chance to 3HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 64 HP / 0 Def Cloyster through Reflect: 109-129 (42.4 - 50.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Sharpness Gallade Sacred Sword vs. 64 HP / 0 Def Cloyster through Reflect: 127-151 (49.4 - 58.7%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO

replays

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9uu-1807006731 Cloyster setting up on Encore Tink
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9uu-1807706512 Cloyster saving a game at +0
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9uu-1807698409 Cloyster setting up on Bramble and winning the game (got crit through screens with E-Speed, but still did enough to win the game)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9uu-1805726972-k01jx4qrab7zew3bgxh01dabv8t1lkppw Cloyster beating Psychic Terrain
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9uu-1804626483-jlwm74rjc1odunvuew0cwcty4t9v2t7pw Cloyster using a questionable banded First Impression to win the game
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9uu-1808188786-uctrthz20x2dbi8kk1vshecsvq8onh3pw Cloyster using a taunted Hippo to win on turn 3
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9uu-1808192915-3b2hxqwlaxuocavxm9grp4r5usxw6htpw Cloyster winning vs Quagsire
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9uu-1808200393-ipz6nkycb91o0jxjqndkzg5x9wqjy7cpw Cloyster winning vs another Quagsire build
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9uu-1803898291-iu8bm09t3s491vbki0dnozfwkvlnb82pw Cloyster setting up vs T-Wave Tinkaton, and winning through paralysis
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9uu-1803620355 Cloyster setting up on +1 Mence and winning the game

Iron Thorns @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 23 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Crunch

This has been a great hazards lead on my screens team. Iron Thorns is by no means the best hazards lead, not even close, but it does fill a very important, and significant role. Preventing the opposite side from setting up rocks. Lycanroc also does this, but there are some important things that Iron Thorns has over Lycanroc. Most importantly, it has access to spikes. It is the only Pokemon in the game to have access to Stealth Rocks + Spikes + Taunt, aside from Sudowoodo, which is Sudowoodo. It uses a Timid Nature with 23 attack IVs, which results in Booster Energy boosting its speed, making it faster than anything unboosted. This means that it can Taunt against Lycanroc, preventing it from setting up rocks, and more importantly, it is able to Taunt Talonflame, shutting down Defog. The last slot really doesn't matter at all, since this doesn't attack anyways. You don't need to worry about anything using you for setup fodder either, since you're faster than all of them, and just Taunt to prevent them from setting up. I've found that Crunch is the best option, since the only time you'll actually attack is if something like Magic Bounce Espeon is preventing you from doing so, and Crunch 2HKOs that. The only other scenario where you attack is to break Donphan's Sturdy, and Crunch is good enough for that. This set is pretty good on HO, since it basically always guarantees you rocks. Some of the Cloyster replays already showcase how easy it is for Iron Thorns to get up hazards, but there is one last replay I want to share, showcasing the Lycanroc vs Iron Thorns lead matchup.

 

[Negative Charge]

Slither Wing @ Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 148 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Flame Charge
- Leech Life
- Close Combat

This isn't exactly an unknown, but this set is extraordinarily threatening. 148 speed jolly lets you outspeed max speed talonflame after a flame charge (it's probably optimal to run less speed to just outrun noivern but eh). 104 HP EVs gives you 337 total HP, I just threw the extra 4 EVs into SpD because it's wasted in both HP and Speed at these thresholds. The HP EVs make you kinda tanky, I don't have calcs laying around but at +1 Defense you're really a big problem if they don't have a Quag.

Fire type lets you wack talonflame around freely and lets your flame charge actually hurt a bit. Leech Life keeps you healthy and +1 Protosynthesis CC is a nuke (it OHKOs SpD Hippo). I have run this set with leftovers and boots as well, both of which are perfectly fine and make this less of an all-or-nothing sweeper with booster energy. Huge fan of this set.

 

[pokemonisfun]

View attachment 499736
Slither Wing @ Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 148 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Flame Charge
- Leech Life
- Close Combat

This isn't exactly an unknown, but this set is extraordinarily threatening. 148 speed jolly lets you outspeed max speed talonflame after a flame charge (it's probably optimal to run less speed to just outrun noivern but eh). 104 HP EVs gives you 337 total HP, I just threw the extra 4 EVs into SpD because it's wasted in both HP and Speed at these thresholds. The HP EVs make you kinda tanky, I don't have calcs laying around but at +1 Defense you're really a big problem if they don't have a Quag.

Fire type lets you wack talonflame around freely and lets your flame charge actually hurt a bit. Leech Life keeps you healthy and +1 Protosynthesis CC is a nuke (it OHKOs SpD Hippo). I have run this set with leftovers and boots as well, both of which are perfectly fine and make this less of an all-or-nothing sweeper with booster energy. Huge fan of this set.

I have to say, this is an incredibly nasty set, both with Booster Energy and, as you mentioned, Leftovers and Boots. Not only do you beat Talonflame, Noivern and Salamence that switch in and use Flamethrower are at a very real chance of losing to you. Hippowdon, which sort of checks Choice/non Bulk Up sets, becomes bait. Gengar which checks some sets gets destroyed by Flame Charge (if you didn't know, moves under 60 BP get 60 BP automatically if they get a Tera Boost). Mimikyu no longer checks you.

I won many tour games and ladder games with this set, you kind of stomp on people who rely on one of the Pokemon mentioned above to beat Slither Wings which is just super common these days: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9uu-1821149842-ycf15qpfc2lut9l4gxeupmwk1bemtnspw

Personally I think more HP > Attack but I can see booster Energy making attack more helpful to OHKO Hippo as you mentioned.

 

[Negative Charge]

I have to say, this is an incredibly nasty set, both with Booster Energy and, as you mentioned, Leftovers and Boots. Not only do you beat Talonflame, Noivern and Salamence that switch in and use Flamethrower are at a very real chance of losing to you. Hippowdon, which sort of checks Choice/non Bulk Up sets, becomes bait. Gengar which checks some sets gets destroyed by Flame Charge (if you didn't know, moves under 60 BP get 60 BP automatically if they get a Tera Boost). Mimikyu no longer checks you.

I won many tour games and ladder games with this set, you kind of stomp on people who rely on one of the Pokemon mentioned above to beat Slither Wings which is just super common these days: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9uu-1821149842-ycf15qpfc2lut9l4gxeupmwk1bemtnspw

Personally I think more HP > Attack but I can see booster Energy making attack more helpful to OHKO Hippo as you mentioned.

As I ladder with it, I might dare to say this is actually Slither Wing's best set. It needs very, very specific counterplay. IMO it should have a written analysis, it's absolutely on par or better than the listed sets.

 

[pokemonisfun]

As I ladder with it, I might dare to say this is actually Slither Wing's best set. It needs very, very specific counterplay. IMO it should have a written analysis, it's absolutely on par or better than the listed sets.

I’m just realizing I think Adamant is probably more efficient and can still outspeed Talon, that said, there’s utility to outspeeding Gengar at +2 if you want to go for that with jolly I think might be needed

 

[klamalam]

tinky ur winky (Tinkaton) @ Eject Button
Ability: Pickpocket
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 240 HP / 92 Atk / 172 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Gigaton Hammer
- Knock Off
- Encore

Came up with this with pokemonisfun and scrimzn on stream today. It's a standard tinkaton set, but it uses eject button so it can function as a pivot and then pickpocket after it's button is used. One use case is to steal boots from talonflame without needing to use knock off.

 

[Mossy Sandwich]

Slither Wing @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Stun Spore
Quick post, but Slither Wing usage has been going down lately so I want to spark some new interest in the mon. It's honestly pretty great at checking Wo-Chien and Sandy Shocks currently which are very hard to deal with, though obviously, there's something else that's holding Slither Back. Talonflame and Salamence usage has been rather high lately and Slither Wing hates both. It also has to compete with Scizor who has more spammable priority. However, it's not done yet, not at all. Stun Spore is an amazing option that is very easy to land due to how telegraphed your opponent's switch-in to Slither Wing is. With a lot of teams relying on Talonflame as speed control, a paralysis on it can be devastating. It's not as bad for Salamence, but that mon is still hurt by a speed drop. You also get to mess with Gengars trying to find switch-in opportunities on you. It's not perfect and Slither Wing is still obviously flawed, but its strengths are really relevant and Stun Spore allows it to somewhat turn its flaws to your advantage.

 

[Mossy Sandwich]

It's been a month and I wanted to post some new relatively small move choice changes that have been getting some more considerations. These are nothing gamechanging, but just some nice options that haven't been highlighted much on forums from what I've seen.


Salamence @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 192 SpA / 64 Spe
Rash Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Hurricane
- Earthquake
- Roost
Earthquake on Special Mence has been becoming a bit more common to wear down Hurricane switchins like Tyranitar or Tinkaton more quickly than Draco Meteor or Flamethrower can. You lose a bit of damage on other Steel types without Flamethrower, especially Scizor, but you can catch Tera Fire from it and Bisharp with Earthquake which can be nice. Flamethrower also tends to be a better midground than most of Salamence's other moves since it can't miss and doesn't have immunities. Lastly, you'll probably have to use a -SpDef nature now which fortunately isn't that important, though it's still a factor. Earthquake allows you to work past some mons more easily though, so it can be worth trying out.


Oricorio-Pom-Pom @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Dancer
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost / Revelation Dance
- Quiver Dance
- Hurricane /Air Slash
- Taunt
This is a set I have yet to try, but it seems like it can be very potent against teams relying on Quagsire or Tinkaton as their switch-in. You can get a dance in, prevent Encore or Toxic and then get some more boosts as they become unable to cripple you. The problem with this is you have to drop a STAB or Roost which makes sweeping or setting up harder against some teams. Running into Tyranitar without Revelation Dance is horrible, for example. Sensu might be a better user of Taunt since Ghost has fewer immunities. This move is a very nice option on Oricorio though, perhaps one that it could use to come back from its drop on the VR.


Gardevoir @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Trace
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Psyshock
- Will-O-Wisp / Knock Off / Destiny Bond
- Trick
I'm moreso trying to highlight Gardevoir's utility option here as it has a lot of potential to mess with switch-ins. Will-O-Wisp is great at crippling Tinkaton and Scizor, giving teammates a chance to take advantage of their lowered damage output. Knock Off can also remove Tinkaton's passive recovery, but, more importantly, removes Boots from Fire types such as Talonflame or Rotom-Heat that think they're safe from a Moonblast. Destiny Bond is a bit more gimmicky, but getting a surprise KO on a threatening mon can make or break a game. There are more options to explore such as Teleport, Taunt, Encore and Thunder Wave, so don't limit yourself to Healing Wish and Trick. You could even consider dropping your Psychic move for a third utility option!

 

[Negative Charge]

Iron Thorns @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Tera Blast
- Earthquake

Credits to mimilimi.

This set is legit, Tera Grass lets you blow past ground types like Quag and Gastro, Stone Edge kills talonflame and Earthquake hits the steels of the tier. I think Tera Grass is much better than Tera Bug Loaded Dice in this meta to tank random water moves while still setting up on Ground types. It's quite simple but it flips the script on typical Thorns answers.