reachzero
the pastor of disaster
One of the most interesting aspects of the discussion related to the current UU Suspects (Froslass) has been the impact of Spikes on the UU metagame. Spikes are of course nothing new to players of competitive Pokemon, since Spikes are a staple of stall in every tier--they can be put down pretty easily in Standard by such excellent Pokemon as Skarmory and Forretress. However, in the present UU metagame, Spikes are more useful than they have been in Standard; no one has ever even suggested that any OU Spiker should be a Suspect. In UU, five of the top 25 UU Pokemon are immune to Spikes; in Standard, ten of the top 25 OU Pokemon are immune to Spikes. On the whole, UU tends to be more "grounded" than Standard, and as such Spikes appear to make a greater competitive impact. However, no current UU Spiker has the reliable recovery that Skarmory has in Standard--UU Spikers must conserve their health to maximize their contribution. What is the value of Spikes in UU relative to Standard, and how do you manage UU Spikers (not just Froslass....)?
Similarly, Stealth Rock is one of the defining characteristics of 4th generation Pokemon, serving to balance the Standard metagame by keeping such strong Pokemon as Gyarados and Salamence from becoming unmanageable. However, Stealth Rock is generally less significant in UU than it is in OU, since many of the most distinctive UU Pokemon are neutral at worst at Stealth Rock (Venusaur, Milotic, Donphan, Rhyperior....). In fact, whereas weakness to Stealth Rock can mean significantly reduced usage in Standard (such as Yanmega and Weavile), in UU being Stealth Rock weak does not seem to be nearly so great a handicap; key UU Pokemon such as Moltres and Arcanine remain UU despite being weak to Stealth Rock. In fact, four of the five BL Pokemon were banned from UU regardless of their weakness to Stealth Rock: Staraptor, Abomasnow, Crobat and Yanmega. What does this say about the value of Stealth Rock in UU?
Toxic Spikes are a mixed blessing in the UU metagame, useless in certain games yet invaluable in others. Unlike Standard or Ubers, UU has a number of very viable and common grounded Poison-types, notably Venusaur, Nidoking and Nidoqueen, Drapion, Toxicroak, and even the highly underrated Venomoth. These heavily discourage the use of Toxic Spikes in UU, despite the fact that most of these can deploy Toxic Spikes themselves. The lure of Toxic Spikes is substantial, however--the metagame also features prominent bulky Water- and Ground-types that hate facing Toxic Spikes. Are Toxic Spikes useful in UU, and if so, how does one keep them from being absorbed by the ubiquitous grounded Poisons?
Finally, how good and how easy to use is Rapin Spin in the present UU metagame? Are the Spinners ahead of the Ghosts, or vice-versa?
As a short summary, the Pokemon currently allowed in UU that can set up Spikes are Cacturne, Cloyster, Froslass, Glalie, Omastar and Qwilfish.
The Pokemon currently allowed in UU that can use Rapid Spin are Armaldo, Blastoise, Claydol, Cloyster, Delibird, Donphan, Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Hitmontop, Kabutops, Sandslash and Torkoal.
Similarly, Stealth Rock is one of the defining characteristics of 4th generation Pokemon, serving to balance the Standard metagame by keeping such strong Pokemon as Gyarados and Salamence from becoming unmanageable. However, Stealth Rock is generally less significant in UU than it is in OU, since many of the most distinctive UU Pokemon are neutral at worst at Stealth Rock (Venusaur, Milotic, Donphan, Rhyperior....). In fact, whereas weakness to Stealth Rock can mean significantly reduced usage in Standard (such as Yanmega and Weavile), in UU being Stealth Rock weak does not seem to be nearly so great a handicap; key UU Pokemon such as Moltres and Arcanine remain UU despite being weak to Stealth Rock. In fact, four of the five BL Pokemon were banned from UU regardless of their weakness to Stealth Rock: Staraptor, Abomasnow, Crobat and Yanmega. What does this say about the value of Stealth Rock in UU?
Toxic Spikes are a mixed blessing in the UU metagame, useless in certain games yet invaluable in others. Unlike Standard or Ubers, UU has a number of very viable and common grounded Poison-types, notably Venusaur, Nidoking and Nidoqueen, Drapion, Toxicroak, and even the highly underrated Venomoth. These heavily discourage the use of Toxic Spikes in UU, despite the fact that most of these can deploy Toxic Spikes themselves. The lure of Toxic Spikes is substantial, however--the metagame also features prominent bulky Water- and Ground-types that hate facing Toxic Spikes. Are Toxic Spikes useful in UU, and if so, how does one keep them from being absorbed by the ubiquitous grounded Poisons?
Finally, how good and how easy to use is Rapin Spin in the present UU metagame? Are the Spinners ahead of the Ghosts, or vice-versa?
As a short summary, the Pokemon currently allowed in UU that can set up Spikes are Cacturne, Cloyster, Froslass, Glalie, Omastar and Qwilfish.
The Pokemon currently allowed in UU that can use Rapid Spin are Armaldo, Blastoise, Claydol, Cloyster, Delibird, Donphan, Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Hitmontop, Kabutops, Sandslash and Torkoal.