Tournament UUFPL II: Birth of Kings and Legends - Commencement & Announcements


:bw/Exploud: UUFPL UPDATE :bw/Exploud:
Sulo unfortunately cannot play to their full extent because of technical issues outside their control. Saur True Venusaurs have elected to sell Sulo back and purchase Cubic Skunk from the undrafted pool, who will be allowed to play from week 2 onward. Sulo will not be punished as this is outside of their control. Tagging avarice Expulso for awareness.

Additionally, Sirfetch'deez Nuts have traded Spl4sh to Silicobra Kai for pannuracotta. This trade goes into effect immediately and they will be able to play for their new teams week 2 onward. Tagging the managers Aqua Jet pokemonisfun Cam bb skarm for awareness.
 

pokemonisfun

Banned deucer.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen6uu-616853

Some thoughts on my week 1 game vs Specs

t1 I don't have U-Turn so I resort to making a pretty obvious double

t3 good U-Turn by opponent

t4 should I have went Exca here? Seismitoad is probably fine on a likely Rocks but by turn 5 it's just clear my opponent is getting too many turns right to turn around a poor match up, as I didn't knock metagross, a huge threat

t7 - perhaps going florges for me is better? it helps vs florges still (so I can heal Seismitoad status) and it helps vs the Hydreigon double that occured. but it would have hurt vs a Roserade double. the thing is, opponent doesn't really want to go Florges for fear of Esca. idk here, I think my play is reasonable but I get predicted again this turn

t12 - was curse or hard body slam better? well, probably body slam, if curse is ever the right play that kind of means mienshao didn't come in but where's his Snorlax counterplay outside of Mienshao? I don't think he has much.

t14 - Again, I don't have U-turn

t15 - another prediction my opponent gets right, if I knew they stay in, obviously I should knock, it's just really tilting to be constantly predicted when you feel like your opponent just has to guess and they get the guesses right

t16 - yet another tilting predicting

t17 - I'm pulling my hair out

t19 - I get a crit but the prediction means it's not nearly as bad as it could be for the opponent, sometimes I hit what's in front of me and sometimes I don't, the constant getting predicted is just something I am failing vs

t25 - sleep powder is obvious but I don't sleep talk on the off chance of a miss or he doesn't have it and knowing sleep talk might pick rest anyways

t31 - I think you can make a strong case wish is better here to heal back Esca

t33 - Unsurprisingly, I get predicted again, it's just pure pain at this point


Would be interested to hear in the opponent's thoughts, truly excellently played by them with an incredible amount of correct and meaningful predictions to turn around a dire MU.
 

Specs

Getting in your own way
is a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Staff Alumnus
UUPL Champion
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen6uu-616853

Some thoughts on my week 1 game vs Specs

t1 I don't have U-Turn so I resort to making a pretty obvious double

t3 good U-Turn by opponent

t4 should I have went Exca here? Seismitoad is probably fine on a likely Rocks but by turn 5 it's just clear my opponent is getting too many turns right to turn around a poor match up, as I didn't knock metagross, a huge threat

t7 - perhaps going florges for me is better? it helps vs florges still (so I can heal Seismitoad status) and it helps vs the Hydreigon double that occured. but it would have hurt vs a Roserade double. the thing is, opponent doesn't really want to go Florges for fear of Esca. idk here, I think my play is reasonable but I get predicted again this turn

t12 - was curse or hard body slam better? well, probably body slam, if curse is ever the right play that kind of means mienshao didn't come in but where's his Snorlax counterplay outside of Mienshao? I don't think he has much.

t14 - Again, I don't have U-turn

t15 - another prediction my opponent gets right, if I knew they stay in, obviously I should knock, it's just really tilting to be constantly predicted when you feel like your opponent just has to guess and they get the guesses right

t16 - yet another tilting predicting

t17 - I'm pulling my hair out

t19 - I get a crit but the prediction means it's not nearly as bad as it could be for the opponent, sometimes I hit what's in front of me and sometimes I don't, the constant getting predicted is just something I am failing vs

t25 - sleep powder is obvious but I don't sleep talk on the off chance of a miss or he doesn't have it and knowing sleep talk might pick rest anyways

t31 - I think you can make a strong case wish is better here to heal back Esca

t33 - Unsurprisingly, I get predicted again, it's just pure pain at this point


Would be interested to hear in the opponent's thoughts, truly excellently played by them with an incredible amount of correct and meaningful predictions to turn around a dire MU.
First off these posts are really cool, glad you do them. Getting to read a top players thought process whether you get the turns right or not is really cool, and I appreciate your kind words

I didn't find this match up too dire, and you actually played extremely well to counter my intial game plan of getting a free turn with Mega-Pert to set up Rain Dance and go to town. A lot of it was actually coming to fruition, Metagross was softening checks each time it got in and it was getting in a lot meaning more and more value. It just so happened that the back up plan of having to use Mienshao extremely aggressively worked, however it just as easily could not have worked. All in all I think you're favoured on turn 0 60:40 at most

My aggressive plays against the Escav were all calculated as beat as possible.

Turn 2 I feel you gain a lot from guaranteed value, so Knock Off made complete sense. Knocking off my Specs on Hydreigon (s/o to hs once again <3) works out for me so this felt like my best play. Alternative play for me is maybe Mienshao, but idk if you Iron Head and do 80 or something it gets dicey right from the beginning, at the very least if you do Megahorn into Hydreigon it has a chance to miss so not all is potentially lost

Turn 3-5 is all auto pilot, not much to be said. The U-turn is free, and Rocks + Toxic is invaluable

Turn 7 was one of the biggest turns in the game, getting Metagross in again is what I knew I want to do, and I felt I could either outpredict you again or have a find a fine switch in even if you go Escav on it. So that's why the Hydreigon double on Escav forcing Florges giving me Metagross was the plan

Turn 12 I think you 100% Body Slam but this is hindsight, and it's very easy to say that now. It just seems to get way more value, and Para'ing a potential Metagross if I hard into it also is also a ton of value for no risk on your end. You still have a Seis and an Escav

On Turn 15 I knew if I got this play right of staying in on Megahorn, I could get in Hydreigon on Knock Off on turn 16. I felt I had you very clamped after the result of turn 15, and you would again resort to guaranteed value over a potential miss resulting in none. The upside to me getting Hydrei in again makes this all worth it, so that was my thought process for these two turns. It was both a mental read and a read based on the state of the game + my play in previous turns

Turn 19 the crit sucked but getting rid of the Scarf on Mien was nice. I felt like I had enough counterplay to Mega-Scept, while also planning to get my eventual free turn with Mega-Pert that I talked about earlier against Crobat. So weakening my immediate pressure vs it by getting rid of the Scarf wasn't a total bad thing. In actuality it could've helped me if say I sacked Mien to Crobat at some point to Brave Bird, giving me Mega-Pert in against the best thing possible. This didn't happen but went through my head

I could've Rain Danced and maybe should've on Turn 21, cant exactly recall my thought process here. Immediately getting a KO is cool. Maybe I had thought you would Sceptile on Rain Dance and Pivot to Escav and with Protect you could stall enough and even the position? That wouldn't do much though, so not sure. Think this was a miss play on my end.

I should've double switched to either Swampert or Mienshao on turn 23, Florges health means absolutely nothing anymore and I gain far too much from a double to not just pull the trigger. I'm definitely slipping at this point

Turn 27 I should always U-Turn, if this misses I have very little odds to win. HJK works out but yeah

Very Similar thought process on Turn 33 to the other "What will Escav click turns" I get it right again that the guaranteed value of Knock Off is too good to pass up, and I even get a sack to rocks with it

Rest of the game idt needs explaining, thank you Mienshao for only missing twice during the game. Gave me a heart attack though. Again thanks for posting this, hopefully it all made sense but it might not idk! Thanks for reading, best of luck in the rest of the tour friend
 
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justdrew

is an official Team Rateris a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a defending SCL Champion
PUPL Champion
Greetings UUFPL'ers and humble spectators alike! I am itsjustdrew, and I would once again like to welcome you to the UUFPL Podcast. This is a video in which those involved or interested in UUFPL come together to discuss the previous week and perhaps make predictions about the following week. All are welcome as long as you are kind, respectful, and willing to share your Pokemon expertise to anyone who watches! Smogon rules apply in this Discord so please be mindful!

Please find attached the link to the Discord which will be used to facilitate the Podcast. All Podcasts will be posted to my YouTube channel linked in my signature.

The Week 1 Podcast will begin at 8 PM GMT -4 today! Future Podcasts will be held either Monday or Wednesday evening GMT -4!

Thank you very much for your time!
 
:blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard::blobwizard:

:afrostar::afrostar:IT'S TIME FOR UUFPL ALL STAR CAPTAIN VOTING!!!!!!!!!!!:afrostar::afrostar:

:blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard: :blobwizard::blobwizard:

We have created a google form for you to fill out to vote for this year's All Star captains!!! The two captains will be the ones to pick their players for the semi-annual UUFPL All Star Game next week!

FORM: https://forms.gle/YYkuUABu8Mmdj7M6A

Some rules:
  • Anyone can vote! But you can only vote once!
  • By ANYONE I mean ANYONE - including non-UUFPL players! (but UUFPL player votes are weighted slightly higher)
  • If you don't put in your Smogon username then it doesn't count

Good luck to all the potential captains on the ballot this year!
 
Great news! We have received funding from Nabisco to sponsor two major events during next week's UUFPL All Star Week! They are:

:ss/Heatran: JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH

Four adventurers (all from different teams) will embark on a journey together to Earth's innermost frontier! The late King Uther was rumored to have stored an artifact of immense power there, but all who have ventured there have never returned. What will come of this final expedition?

-------------------------

:ss/Blacephalon: BLACEPHALON'S WILD CIRCUS RIDE

A new circusmaster, B. Lace Papelbon, has arrived in U. Dunder Oozed and has proposed operations for a new attraction. It seems rather harmless, yet fun, so four avid danger-seekers (from different teams) have volunteered to partake in the fun! Surely nothing nefarious is afoot....

----------------------

These are co-op events, and you must have LOTS of free time next week if you want to participate. It is limited to 1 person per team (and actually 1 person per team is required), so talk to your manager if you want to partake, and have the time next week to do so. Other than 1 per team, there are no other limitations with respect to tier eligibility etc.

Have fun everyone!
 
:bw/Loudred: :ss/Starmie: :afrostar: :afrostar: :afrostar: :ss/Staryu: :bw/Loudred:
UUFPL ALL STAR GAME CAPTAINS ANNOUNCEMENT
:ss/Jirachi: :blobwizard::blobwizard::blobwizard: :ss/Minior:

The captains for the UUFPL All Star Game next week have been decided! By popular vote by all of you participants and spectators, the captains will be....

hariyana grande


and

eden

Congratulations! Here is a look at the results for the polling:


1650675969422.png


1650675996033.png


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The All Stars for this year will be picked backyard playground draft style by both captains (certain restrictions apply). Stay tuned for more information on this star-studded event!
 
:bw/Starmie: ALL STAR DRAFT + CO CAPTAINS ANNOUNCEMENT :bw/Starmie:

hariyana grande has selected Expulso to co-captain their All Star team

eden has selected Amukamara to co-captain their All Star team

The All Star Game Draft will take place Sunday, April 24, @ 7:00 PM GMT-4 (11:00 PM GMT, 4:00 PM GMT-7) on The UUFPL Podcast Discord Server hosted by itsjustdrew and Toyota. Either captain or co-captain can draft their All Star players at that time. The draft style will be High School Gymnasium Dodgeball style picking. Any player with 2 wins after 4 weeks is eligible to be drafted as an All Star for any tier they have played at least 1 game in thus far (I will have an easy-to-read list available for the captains broken up by tiers). Both captains and co-captains are also players (or subs) on their respective All Star teams.

Good luck everyone!
 
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THE ROAD TO THE PLAYOFFS
Presented by Auto Zone - Get in the Zone!
With the Playoffs almost in sight, I have compiled scenarios on how each team can still make it in! Believe it or not, NO TEAM IS GUARANTEED IN AT THIS POINT! So as Mario would say, here we go!

:ss/Silicobra: Silicobra Kai :ss/Silicobra:
Record: 4-0-1
Points: 9
Differential: +14


The Silicobras are NOT a lock for the playoffs despite what everyone thinks. But it will take a total meltdown combined with the most absurd circumstances from other matchups for them to be out. Basically the ONLY circumstance where they miss the playoffs is if all of these things happen:
1: They lose Week 6 and Week 7, and REALLY lose big, by a least 8 total points combined (depends on the other teams that win)
2: Starly Rae has to TIE against either Deez Nuts or Diancie, then they must lose the other matchup but only by very little (4-6).
3: Diancie has to win big in Week 7 against the Sunfloras. For Week 6 they must tie or beat Starly Rae (but if they tie then Starly Rae must lose to Deez Nuts, and if they win then Starly Rae must tie Deez Nuts)
4: Deez Nuts have to win big against Silicobra this week, and I mean REALLY big, and then they must either beat or tie Starly Rae (but see above).
5: Poliwags have to win big against the Kakunas and Venusaurs both weeks.

If somehow ALL of these things happen at once, then the Silicobras are packing home.

:ss/Starly: Starly Rae Jepsen :ss/Starly:
Record: 4-1-0
Points: 8
Differential: +10


If the Silicobras are not guaranteed, then neither are the Starlys. And they are actually not very safe as they face both the Diancies and Deez Nuts, two teams that could surpass them immediately if they lose both matchups. Here's what they need to do to stay in:
#1: Easiest method in is to win either Week 6 or Week 7. Either one secures a playoff spot.
#2: If the tie one week and lose the other, they are still PROBABLY in, but if they somehow lose tremendously to the point where there differential is now worse than the team they tied, AND Diancie, Deez Nuts, and Poliwags all win out (with all three winning by healthy margins), then the Starlys are out.
#3: If they lose both weeks, they can actually still make it. But if Deez Nuts and Diancies gain enough of a differential on them, and the Poliwags gain 3 points (i.e. Win + Tie or Win + Win) in the last two weeks while also make up their differential, then the Starlys are out.

:ss/Diancie: Diancie is Unbreakable :ss/Diancie:
Record: 2-1-2
Points: 6
Differential: +4


Here is where things start to get interesting, and where there is much room for error. This is how the Diancies get into the playoffs:
#1: Win Weeks 6 and 7. This will guarantee a spot and is the easiest way in.
#2: Tie one week and Win the other. This will give them 9 points, and the only way they can miss out with this is if all of these things happen at once: the Poliwags win out both weeks by large enough margins to gain the differential advantage. Additionally, Starly Rae would have to at least tie one week, and Deez Nuts would have to also Tie + Win (with a better differential gain) or Win + Win.
#3: Tie both weeks or Win one and Lose one: This puts them at 8 points, which is shaky, but still possible. As long as the Poliwags don't gain +3 points and close the differential, or Deez Nuts don't gain +2 points and close the differential, then Diancie is still safe in this scenario.
#4: Tie one week and lose the other. This makes the Diancies likely to miss out, and it would just take one win by Deez Nuts and the Poliwags (with enough differential), or even two wins by the Kakunas with either of the other two teams winning, to close the gap and kick the Diancies.
#5: Lose both weeks. While it is still possible to get in losing both weeks, it would only take a Tie by Deez Nuts and a win by the Poliwags in the last two weeks (or the Kakunas also gaining ground) to kick the Diancies here.

:ss/Sirfetchd: Sirfetch'deez Nuts :ss/Sirfetchd:
Record: 2-1-2
Points: 6
Differential: +1


The Sirfetchds are in a similar position as the Diancies. Here's how they get in:
#1: Win Weeks 6 and 7. This will guarantee a spot and is the easiest way in.
#2: Tie one week and Win the other. This will give them 9 points, and the only way they can miss out with this is if all of these things happen at once: the Poliwags win out both weeks by large enough margins to gain the differential advantage (not that hard since Sirfetchds don't have a great differential). Additionally, Starly Rae would have to at least tie one week, and Diancie would have to also Tie + Win (while maintaining the differential advantage) or Win + Win.
#3: Tie both weeks or Win one and Lose one: This puts them at 8 points, which means they can still get in, BUT: If the Poliwags gain +3 points and close the differential, and Diancie gains +2 points and maintains the differential advantage, then Sirfetchd is out.
#4: Tie one week and lose the other. This makes Deez Nuts likely to miss out, and it would just take one win by Diancie and the Poliwags (with enough differential), or even two wins by the Kakunas with either of the other two teams winning, to close the gap and kick Deez Nuts out of the running.
#5: Lose both weeks. While it is still possible to get in losing both weeks, it would only take a win by the Poliwags in the last two weeks, and a single win by the Kakunas (with enough differential) or a win and tie/win, and Deez Nuts are out of here.

:ss/Poliwag: Yolo Swag Poliwags :ss/Poliwag:
Record: 1-1-3
Points: 5
Differential: -2


The Poliwags still have a decent shot of making it. But they will also need some help. Here's how they do it:
#1: Win out both weeks and the Poliwags are likely in, though not guaranteed. As long as Diancie or Deez Nuts loses a week, or ties a week but lose the differential edge, then the Poliwags are in.
#2: Win and Tie: If this happens, then the Poliwags are at 8 points, and will need to hope that the Diancie or Deez Nuts don't gain +2 points, and also hope the Kakunas don't win out big both weeks, to secure the playoff spot.
#3: Win and Lose or Win and Tie: this is 7 total points which is difficult but not impossible. It will require the Diancies and Sirfetchd's to likely both lose both weeks, and also require the Kakunas to not gain +3 points in those two weeks.
#4: Tie and Lose: This likely kicks the Poliwags, but if a miracle happens and the Diancies and Sirfetch'ds have total meltdowns to the point their differential is abyssmally changed, and the Kakunas don't gain +2 points, then the Poliwags can actually still make it in with this.

:ss/Kakuna: Kakuna Matata :ss/Kakuna:
Record: 2-3-0
Points: 4
Differential: -1


The Kakunas are down bad but not quite out yet! Here's how they get in:
#1: Win out both weeks is the best chance they have. But they would also need at least two of the teams above them to flounder. Lucky for them, there's a lot of potential combinations of mishaps for those teams to undergo to give them a shot. Just two of the following need to happen:
The Starlys have a meltdown and lose out and lose their differential edge.
Diancie fails to get +2 points in final weeks, or gets +2 but loses the differential edge.
Deez Nuts fail to get +2 points in final weeks, or get +2 but lose the differential edge.
Poliwags fail to get +3 points in final weeks, or get +3 but lose the differential edge.
If two of those things happen, and Kakunas win Weeks 6 and 7, then the Kakunas are in.
#2: Tie one week and win the other. This is much more difficult, but still possible. It will require another two of the following to happen:
Diancie fails to get +1 points in final weeks, or gets +1 but loses the differential edge.
Deez Nuts fail to get +1 points in final weeks, or get +1 but lose the differential edge.
Poliwags fail to get +2 points in final weeks, or get +2 but lose the differential edge.
Two of those need to happen in this scenario for Kakunas to be in.
#3: Get +2 points in last two weeks, but you cannot lose to the Poliwags in Week 6. Even still, the Kakunas would also need the Diancies and Deez Nuts to have meltdowns and lose both weeks while losing key differntial points. It's unlikely all this happens, but still possible.

:ss/Sunflora: Here Comes the Sunfloras :ss/Sunflora:
Record: 1-4-0
Points: 2
Differential: -10


The Sunfloras are actually not out yet, though it will take a Christmas Miracle for them to actually make it. Here is what has to happen:
1: First, they need to win out both weeks. They also have to win really big. No other option, so let's start with that. Then, THREE OUT OF FOUR of these next two things must happen:
2a: Next, Diancie will need to lose both weeks, and lose big enough to allow the Sunfloras to close the differential. Since the Sunfloras play Diancie in Week 7, this is the best opportunity for that.
2b: Additionally, Deez Nuts have to lose both weeks by hefty margins to allow Sunfloras to close that differential.
2c: Also, the Poliwags would need to either lose both weeks or lose one and tie one while giving up enough differential.
2d: Finally, the Kakunas would have to Win or Tie the Poliwags in Week 6, while losing (or tying if they tied W6) to Silicobra in Week 7.
If 3 out of 4 of these things happen at once, while the Sunfloras win big both weeks, then miracles are real and the Sunfloras are in the playoffs.

:ss/Venusaur: Saur True Venusaurs :ss/Venusaur:

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ausma

token smogon furry
is a Site Content Manageris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Top Artistis a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
OU Forum Leader
Hi everyone, my team (Yolo Swag Poliwags) is confirmed out and for the sake of metagame development I wanted to share the teams that I built and used in my games, with the exception of Week 5 since I was really sick and had no energy to build and Week 6 since I asked to be subbed out due to finals. Major shoutouts to Juno Askov and Micciu for helping me optimize them and keeping things practical.

Week 1:
vs. OnArceus
:zygarde-10::thundurus-therian::skarmory::zarude::swampert::nihilego:

This team admittedly is probably among the more standard and probably more boring of the builds I brought to the table, so I won't really spend a lot of time talking about it. Especially as it was a team that was not based in any kind of scout due to the lack of intel on OnArceus in SS UU, I mostly just wanted to try my hand at playing with the hip wallbreaker Zygarde-10%, pairing it with Skarmory Spikes in order to really make it and Thundurus really hard to play around.

Spikes in concept wound up not really being too influential in my game as OnArceus opted to bring hyper offense, which limited my Skarmory to being, simply, a deterrent. If anything, this battle made me appreciate the unlikely Nihilego as a cleaner. If you can limit Aegislash and Excadrill, it's shockingly hard to stop on teams that lack defensive counterplay.

Week 2:
vs Meri
:aegislash::reuniclus::mandibuzz::cobalion::hippowdon::amoonguss:

In my scout against Meri, there were a few key things I realized: she likes playing to offense, but she also likes making safe plays to make consistent forms of progress. In the builder, I instantly noticed SubToxic Aegislash as a strong Pokemon against her structures and her playstyle, as its superb defensive typing in tandem with Substitute made it extremely hard for her, from what I understood of her playstyle and her team styles, to stop from making progress with unrelenting Toxic and Shadow Ball spam. In a stroke of genius, Jade and Askov both suggested Trick + Sticky Barb Reuniclus as an option, which alongside SubToxic Aegislash, was demonic. In addition to Aegislash being able to lock Toxic against Dark-types like Mandibuzz, Aegislash itself really appreciated Sticky Barb being forced onto obnoxious, durable Steel-type targets like Celesteela and Scizor that could hold off Shadow Ball spam. The rest of the team was mostly centered around reinforcing my team defensively, with Cobalion serving as a secondary win condition that could clear the rubble between Sticky Barb pressure and SubToxic Aegislash. Amoonguss and Cobalion both also served as superb Knock Off pivots, which Reuniclus and Aegislash are massively pressured by.

In execution, pretty much the entire team saw no play as Reuniclus ended up securing an amazing matchup and won on the spot. However, the team did end up seeing use in UUPL, which was a really pleasant surprise and I'm glad the team turned out good enough to be worth using among the best of the best. I'd argue without Galarian Moltres around the team has actually gotten even better, and Stone Edge could probably be slotted off for Whirlwind given the prevalence of SD Scizor in the tier presently.

Week 3:
vs. Allen-xia
:salazzle::scizor::primarina::excadrill::zarude::salamence:

Allen-xia was by far the most aggressive, offensively-inclined, and pivot-heavy player in my scouts, packing numerous win conditions, carving themselves dangerous opportunities through strict positioning, and often using at least one Poison-type on their team. Allen-xia is a player and type of builder that I could not afford to make many mistakes against. Instantly, I noticed how strong SubToxic Salazzle looked against many of their structures, as it was extremely fast and provided a consistent form of pressure against their wide range of dangerous progress-making Poison-types that they favored like Nihilego and Tentacruel, which was extremely valuable. Landing so many Toxics meant being able to apply pressure against win conditions even if I was struck out of position. Bulky RestTalk Primarina was a really great complement, as its defensive typing and overall bulk were not only amazing assets, but it absolutely adored having Tentacruel and other Poison-type checks on a timer to give its damage more magnitude. Bulky SD Scizor also really appreciated Corrosion pressure on Tentacruel, and the rest of the team was centered around positioning Salazzle and reinforcing the team defensively.

In the battle with Allen-xia, they did in fact bring a Tentacruel, but in an ironic twist of fate, I accidentally burnt it with Scald turn 1 and all of that prep was meaningless. The resulting game was still really spicy and I had a ton of fun with it, and it especially highlighted just how durable and flexible Primarina really is, but I can't help but think about how much more devastating Primarina would've been offensively if I managed to Toxic Tentacruel instead of burning it like I intended.

Week 4:
vs. pannuracotta
:klefki::thundurus-therian::dhelmise::swampert::scizor::mandibuzz:

This was by far my weirdest build, so let's break it down. pannuracotta, from what I've seen of their plays and prep, actually is a fairly honest offense player, with very little in terms of their playstyle to actively exploit, mostly aside from really liking their Poison-types. Like Allen-xia, there was a lot of Poison-type usage to account for, but unlike Allen-xia, I felt there was more room for error in terms of how I took advantage of those Poison-types due to pannuracotta's safer playstyle. Hazards and status were definite standouts as things to exploit against pannuracotta, and that was when I had the absolute balls-to-the-walls idea of SubToxic Klefki. Yes, it was my third week in a row designing a team around SubToxic, but I live for that playstyle. However, what made Klefki unique was Prankster, its typing going into their Mandibuzz and Galarian Moltres use, and access to Spikes.

Substitute Klefki itself had a few unique qualities, taking advantage of its superb typing to form a Substitute and lay out a fast Toxic or layer Spikes quickly and consistently. After playing against pannuracotta, I most definitely think this set would've been better with Foul Play over Dazzling Gleam. I never used Dazzling Gleam in practice as it only really had appeal against Hydreigon, I could get a priority Toxic on things like Salamence anyway, I could PP stall Mandibuzz Defog with ease (as I did in-game anyway), and Foul Play let me actually stop SD Scizor. pannuracotta also even admitted to me post-game that they would have actually taken advantage of Klefki with their Scizor if they knew I didn't have Foul Play, so that's fairly telling of that. Tl;dr: if you use this set, run it with Foul Play, especially now that Galarian Moltres is banned. Dhelmise was also a very selective choice for this team as it directly took advantage of Excadrill, which entirely stone walled this Klefki set (another reason to run Foul Play), using its Ghost-type to spinblock and its Grass-type to deter Earthquake. Anchor Shot is not standard from my understanding, but with Toxic users it was really good at forcing chip damage against things like Tangrowth which really helped open up NP Thundurus-Therian.

In practice, Dhelmise went absolutely crazy. It deterred Keldeo like little else, used Anchor Shot and its handy Sludge Bomb neutrality to run down Amoonguss, and was immensely resilient into Hippowdon and Raikou. Klefki also managed to work out, laying out Spikes consistently and making great use of Prankster Toxic to, notably, keep getting damage on Raikou and Keldeo even when on the backfoot, which wound up winning me the game.

Week 7:
vs. omicorio
:amoonguss::heracross::hydreigon::swampert::moltres::aegislash:

The big thing I noticed about omicorio was that she played hardcore to big breakers, packing at least one in nearly every game I saw her play. I wanted to take direct advantage of that, so for once I actually opted to build around Eject Button Amoonguss itself instead of using it as a way to complement a key wallbreaker. However, I did find a fairly fitting complement regarding key wallbreakers: Heracross. Heracross on paper appears massively outclassed by Conkeldurr as a Guts user, but it packs numerous very powerful caveats that make it very distinct. For one, its typing is incredibly vital. With how much Amoonguss and Tangrowth use is going around, being able to resist Giga Drain is huge in ensuring its damage against them in the 1v1 sticks, and its typing also comes packed with a handy Ground- and Mach Punch resistance, allowing for it to be one of the only few wallbreakers in the tier able to consistently follow up on Zygarde-10%'s Thousand Arrows and Conkeldurr to revenge break.

That being said, Heracross also packed access to STAB Megahorn and Swords Dance, both of which being moves I would've really liked in the matchup I was met with and were ones I massively considered. I also came with mixed attacking Aegislash, which she had numerous forms of counterplay for, and Hydreigon was something this team ended up being exceedingly weak to in practice. However, even in spite of that and the unfortunate critical hit on my Moltres (which losing made pivoting a lot harder), if I had Swords Dance like I originally was considering, Heracross had the potential to win by itself after I removed Hydreigon and Keldeo from the game. This wound up being my only loss of the tour, but I made some misplays and she capitalized well on them; nothing much to complain about there. Though, I think Heracross has a lot of potential regardless, especially against bulkier structures, and potentially even against offense thanks to a solid Speed tier.

___

And this is everything! I want to briefly thank the Yolo Swag Poliwags for being a fun and chill team to work with, and I'm really happy I managed to get a much better record than I did in the original UUFPL. Good luck to everyone in playoffs!
 
:ss/Pyukumuku: :ss/Scyther: FINAL POWER RANKINGS :ss/Zarude: :ss/Pincurchin:
(featuring art from Gaboswampert )

No introductions, let's get right to it:

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#1: Silicobra Kai
Record: 5 - 0 - 2 (12) | +17
Manager: bb skarm Cam

Star Player: hjkhj

Silicobra Kai has been dominant the entire season, finishing off with 0 losses and a +17 win differential which is ludicrous. They never lost a matchup, and rarely even lost games. hjkhj is the only 6-0 player in the tour and did it in two tiers. They also had three additional players with near perfect records in their respective tiers (eden , Parpar , and Sirwings). Their GSC and RBY slots are questionable, but Cam performed well enough to be an RBY All Star this year despite not engaging much in the tier beforehand, and they are so dominant in the other 8 spots that it hasn't mattered at all. Spl4sh has also been a positive for the Cobras, going 4-2 with them while playing multiple tiers, and OnArceus is a much better player than his 2-4 record suggests, meaning if he comes alive in the playoffs then it may be a wrap for the competition. The cobras are at the top and have their eye on the prize.

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#2: Starly Rae Jepsen
Record: 4 - 2 - 1 (9) | +6
Manager: itsjustdrew pdt

Star Player: Amukamara

Starly Rae Jepsen looked strong from the very beginning, clinching a playoff berth after Week 6 and just sort of riding out the final week. Amukamara cleaned out the entire SM pool going 6-0. And they were winning with their most expensive player Koalacance , the reigning RBY Circuit Champ, going 1-4, which they hope can turn around for the upcoming weeks. itsjustdrew has had a good run in SS, and players like Allen-xia have shown solid performances while other solid players like UnzipsCrogre and haxlolo have been successfully rotated in and out with positive records. They haven't had a lot of activity from their veteran bench players though, with players like A Hero's Destiny and Inder mostly being around for support with minimal games actually played, but that's all they've needed out of them thus far. They're not particularly weak in any slots, but other than SM, they're also not overwhelming dominant either, so most of their fights could end up going either way. But sometimes that's all you need for success in le Pokemons.

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#3: Diancie is Unbreakable
Record: 3 - 1 - 3 (9) | +6
Manager: Estarossa May
Star Player: Unowndragon

The Diancies were similar to the Starlys in many ways. They looked strong from the start of Week 1 all the way to the finish, and they have solid overall players without any glaring weaknesses. They have Unowndragon who has crushed the RBY pool with a 6-1 record. They also have Thor , who is likely the most reliable GSC player in the tour. In fact, all of their oldgens are pretty superb, with Estarossa in SM, Lily in ORAS, and gorex in ADV all netting positive records for the season. But their SS lineup has been very questionable throughout the tour, with multiple swaps and subs and no SS player really taking off for them. Meri Berry is a very capable SS player, and has won the last two games after starting 0-3, so hopefully for the Diancies that momentum can keep carrying and they can clean up the rest with their superior oldgens lineup.

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#4: Sirfetch'deez Nuts
Record: 3 - 1 - 3 (9) | +5
Manager: Aqua Jet pokemonisfun

Star Player: hariyana grande

It seems as though pokemonisfun has a tendency of bringing last-ranked PR teams into the playoffs for UUFPL. The Nuts did not look good after Week 1, losing 3-7 to the Sunfloras. But things turned around quickly for them, and they haven't lost since. hariyana grande was a big reason their record stayed positive, as all of the weeks were extremely close, and hariyana's 4-0 start helped ensure the Nuts picked up some important wins in the first half. Even though they traded Spl4sh, the other Splash has stuck around with a 3-1 record. Fc has also come alive as of late, finishing with a 5-1 record, and they have Fakee as a BW staple. Elfuseon has had a solid run in ORAS thus far with a positive record, and Celebiii has been able to handle the GSC pool just fine finishing 4-2 for the season. Their weakness is their lack of consistency in the other slots, as you are often times wondering what you are going to get out of the rest of the players, and sometimes they may not even show up. But they don't need to win them all - they just need to win 6 out of 10 and they've stamped a ticket to the finals.

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#5: Kakuna Matata
Record: 3 - 4 - 0 (6) | +0
Manager: Brexus dunoks

Star Player: DugZa

Kakuna just barely didn't make the cut this season, but they have a lot to be proud of with their finish (other than dead gaming all their remaining games). With 6 points and a +0 differential, they were certainly a formidable team that was capable of matching up against anyone. They cleaned up the lower ranked teams just as good teams are supposed to do, beating the Sunfloras, Venusaurs, and Poliwags all by a 7-3 margin. But they just couldn't get the right stroke of luck against the rest, losing close matchups and close games. But players like DugZa and Volk really shined with them, going 6-1 and 5-0 respectively. They had a solid oldgen lineup with Accel in ADV, Goblin in DPP, and cherryb0ng in GSC, and also had a great comeback performance from RaJ.Shoot in BW after going winless in UUFPL 1. Unfortunately they couldn't bunch up their wins at the right time, otherwise they would have been a surefire contender in the playoffs. Best of luck to all of them in the future.

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#6: Saur True Venusaurs
Record: 2 - 5 - 0 (4) | -10
Manager: avarice Expulso

Star Player: omicorio

Sometimes in life, things don't work out the way you plan. You are put up on a pedestal by the PR committee only to be left wondering where everything went wrong. This is the story of the Saur True Venusaurs in 2022's UUFPL. They actually, truly, and honestly, were NOT a bad team. They had a strong SS core with KM. They had RoA Leader phoopes in RBY. They had Mr.378 in ADV. They had generally solid overall players like gum cy and Expulso that could play various tiers. Alkione was last year's Best DPP player. So what happened? If you look back on it, it was just a case of some bad luck + underperforming from some key players, especially early in the season when a good chunk of their base was still focused on UUPL (which worked out for them as avarice and KM won it all, grats Sisters!) omicorio was the only consistent winner on the team throughout, as many of their other players couldn't get it together all season. Towards the end, you saw what the team was really capable of, as they won their last two weeks 7-3 and 6-4 without even using their true lineup, but by then it was too late. And it was a shame too - if they could have found their groove just a couple weeks earlier, they probably had a shot at really contending towards the end.

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#7: Yolo Swag Poliwags
Record: 1 - 3 - 3 (5) | -8
Manager: Trevelion holly

Star Player: ausma

The Poliwags had a tremendous upside after the draft. Spending 25k on Juno did seem worth it for a GSC pool that was questionably thin, and players like ausma and stunner047 gave them great value with 5 wins a piece under 10k total price. HSOWA and Panther-T also had very good seasons overall, and I'm sure some of them really did have some fun this tour. Their downfall was not really their fault. While the 25k GSC pricetag seemed good in theory, it didn't end up working out as their GSC slot went 2-4 (though Juno is a better player than that). The Strap , who they were counting on playing ADV, decided to cancer after Week 1. Then, midseason, passion also cancered. Both of these players were about 15k a piece, and trying to replace two 15k cancers for oldgens is a nearly impossible task. And then you had their co-manager holly who was pretty over it all very early in the season, leaving Trevelion to do most of the managerial work. The Poliwags ended up finishing 6th in the standings, but by the end of the season they were quite depleted overall as they struggled to the finish line, and I am sure Trevelion is a bit relieved that this is over now.

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#8: Here Comes the Sunfloras
Record: 1 - 6 - 0 (2) | -16
Manager: sanguine Mystras Leoxses

Star Player: style.css

Here Comes the Sunfloras!! said nobody ever unfortunately except when they came to lose. It didn't have to be like this though - they weren't that bad. Part of it wasn't their fault, as they drafted Diophantine who made it his life's goal to be slotted in GSC without actually playing the games, and they didn't actually have a single GSC backup player for that (they actually used 6 different players in 7 weeks in GSC UU). But that was just one slot, and they had 9 more to make up for it. Having AM + Shellnuts should have given them a solid RBY core, but they finished RBY with a lackluster 3-4 record. They also drafted like 20 players, and never seemed to figure out the best arrangement to slot them in for wins. After sweeping SS 3-0 in Week 1, they inexplicably benched all their W1 SS players in Week 2. Maybe they just wanted to give everyone a chance, and that's cool and admirable. But at the end of the day we all want to win too, and on this team only style.css and innovamania had winning records. It's not like they didn't have good players - sanguine is a better BW player than the 1-4 record suggests, and Specs and Adrift had a decent enough 3-3 season a piece. It just comes down to too many players and never finding the right lineup for all of them. But life is full of second chances, so maybe their chance comes next time!

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FOR ALL OF THOSE ON THE NON-PLAYOFF TEAMS, IT'S NOT OVER YET! IF YOU WANT TO PLAY ONE MORE GAME BE SURE TO SIGN UP FOR THE HEARTS AND FLAMES SHOWDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SIMPLY POST YOUR SIGN UP POST IN THE UUFPL II SEMIFINALS TOPIC: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...oda-part-1-heart-and-flames-of-glory.3702244/
 
Part of it wasn't their fault, as they drafted Diophantine who made it his life's goal to be slotted in GSC without actually playing the games, and they didn't actually have a single GSC backup player for that (they actually used 6 different players in 7 weeks in GSC UU).
It's sentences like these that would drive old players away from competing and keep aspiring new ones from wanting to try. Again, Faded Love may have every reason to complain as its his own team, but seeing as this is ultimately a side tournament for a small game (of a lower tier, of a not very popular generation), it seems unfair to say that Diophantine intentionally did this.

He's pretty much better at this tier than anyone in the pool, but nobody's going to take my word for it. I know it's all for fun but then why the hell are we taking ourselves so seriously? At least can we use a language that doesn't antagonize someone who has all the reasons in the world not to play? He's busy and it would be silly for anyone besides his manager to hold it against him. We all choose to play the game and the fact that he chooses to signup to play GSC should be something closer to a sign that he cares than a curse. This isn't some invitational.
 

pdt

is a Past SCL Champion
PUPL Champion
It's sentences like these that would drive old players away from competing and keep aspiring new ones from wanting to try. Again, Faded Love may have every reason to complain as its his own team, but seeing as this is ultimately a side tournament for a small game (of a lower tier, of a not very popular generation), it seems unfair to say that Diophantine intentionally did this.

He's pretty much better at this tier than anyone in the pool, but nobody's going to take my word for it. I know it's all for fun but then why the hell are we taking ourselves so seriously? At least can we use a language that doesn't antagonize someone who has all the reasons in the world not to play? He's busy and it would be silly for anyone besides his manager to hold it against him. We all choose to play the game and the fact that he chooses to signup to play GSC should be something closer to a sign that he cares than a curse. This isn't some invitational.
Dio has a history of being an activity risk, if he's busy irl, maybe don't sign up if you can't play any weeks, so I think its fair for a joke to be thrown his way. The real joke is sanguine who forgot to draft a GSC player who would actually play

Also I do not think what Big Fat Mantis says in the UUFPL birth of kings and legends is going to sway the tide of the GSC UU community. (sorry Big Fat Mantis)

Go Starlies
 
It's sentences like these that would drive old players away from competing and keep aspiring new ones from wanting to try. Again, Faded Love may have every reason to complain as its his own team, but seeing as this is ultimately a side tournament for a small game (of a lower tier, of a not very popular generation), it seems unfair to say that Diophantine intentionally did this.

He's pretty much better at this tier than anyone in the pool, but nobody's going to take my word for it. I know it's all for fun but then why the hell are we taking ourselves so seriously? At least can we use a language that doesn't antagonize someone who has all the reasons in the world not to play? He's busy and it would be silly for anyone besides his manager to hold it against him. We all choose to play the game and the fact that he chooses to signup to play GSC should be something closer to a sign that he cares than a curse. This isn't some invitational.
nobody asked dumbass
 
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