Hey everybody, how's it going? My name is mrseacoore and today we are playing some Showdown with the UnderUsed Fighting Champions Competition to see which mon of 13 is the best fighting type in UU. Today we are looking at the 1st member that was in the original 12 fighting types before the May 2016 tier updates, Infernape.
If you want to see the rules and how this competition works, use the following link to the video on my youtube channel here:
There is a playlist for it as well if you want more. Thank you to anyone and everyone who has any interest, wants to participate, etc. in the UnderUsed Fighting Champions (UU FC).
So the very first team of the UU FC and the first of the Infernape teams I've built for it is probably one of my favorite teams so far, especially with Alakazam banned during suspect testing. (If you ask me, Alakazam should not be banned because it can be dealt with in the same fashion that Hoopa-U was dealt with in OU, a.k.a making the correct play after it reveals its set and or using priority. Also Zam is much more easily pursuit trapped than any other psychic type in the current meta because of its paper thin physical defense. It is just a really good pokemon due to its speed and power. But, it is a complete glass cannon in every sense of the term.) This team was made long before the suspect test for Alakazam and was used to ladder up into in the upper 1400s on my account name: Huttoe. Currently I'm sitting at 1298 in the suspect test. 21 wins and 9 losses so far and I think I might be able to get the reqs to vote if I keep it up. Anyway, the Infernape team is very powerful and will typically require sacrifice for your end game to dominate against offensive builds and has enough balance to beat stall/defensive builds. I feel that Suicune is by far the biggest problem for the team. Crocune is literally a problem for every team to face in my honest opinion. I mean it's essentially still using the same Rest+Talk set from Generation 2 if I'm not mistaken. It forces teams to incorporate a dry skin user and or a specific grass type pokemon that can beat it after a few calm minds too.
Anyway, here's some information about the UnderUsed Fighting Champions Competition.
For this competition I am very much trying to stay high in the UU ladder to face good players and teams to have a better judgement on the fighting types. The teams are all made for every fighting type to be approximately equal in viability (as valid as possible) and are made differently to gauge each feature for each set for each of the 13 fighting types. For instance, Chesnaught would clearly not be better than Virizion or Infernape as a sweeper and or wallbreaker, but Chesnaught will always provide more support in the form of hazards and defense/bulk than either Virizion or Infernape. In short, what fighting type plays its role on a team with the greatest success = the best fighting type in UU according to the UU FC. Every team is allowed to use only one of fighting type and it must be one of the following 13: Chesnaught, Cobalion, Conkeldurr, Heracross, Infernape, Lucario, Machamp, Medicham, Mienshao, Pangoro, Scrafty, Toxicroak, and Virizion. Changes are made to every team whenever appropriate. When Zapdos was moved up into OU, quite a number of my ideas for future teams and a few current teams clearly changed dramatically as there is no replacement for Zapdos in the UU tier currently. (Damn OU Stall...) Celebi, Sylveon, and Conkeldurr did move down however, which was fantastic for the UU FC. Sylveon can act as a better cleric than Florges due to the higher HP and special attack boosted by pixilate in addition to having a slow Baton Pass for its wishes if one desires to do so. Sylveon also does a fantastic job wallbreaking, even if it is easily revenge killed. Celebi is by far the greatest baton passer in the meta right now. Celebi is able to nasty pass, SD pass, and calm mind pass. It can also set up rocks if necessary. Celebi is incredibly bulky, despite a somewhat questionable typing of Grass/Psychic. Celebi can even act as a bulky sweeper by forgoing Baton Pass. So between the eeveelution and legendary pixie being passed down, Shaymin and Florges both will have good competition for making way onto a team. Florges is much better as a CM user than Sylveon just because it can carry heal bell in its set where Sylveon cannot. Also Florges acts a tad bit better as a special wall. Shaymin (imo) is a scary wall breaker and can tear through teams if you aren't careful. So there are reasons to run each mon and it brings a lot of diversity to the tier. Conkeldurr however... Brings some sheer destructive firepower and insane natural bulk to rival Machamp (nearly replacing it in the metagame imo). Now, I really am exploring this serious rivalry in the UU FC (Machamp vs Conkeldurr) and I have not come to any full conclusions as of yet. So far I have determined that both mons are equally viable, but for completely different reasons and will merely force players to make a preference choice (which I documented in about 20 matches before the suspect test, as Conk by appearances on opposing teams). But that's just me going on a tangent there, and we aren't here for tangents. This isn't the Lobby. This is the RMT forum. I have over 25 teams so far and I'm not even halfway into the competition as far as building the teams goes. Every single team for the UU FC that I make and that I take from any participants will be used and will receive a post in the RMT forums (participant's teams will only have an RMT post upon direct consent telling me to make an RMT for their team in question).
Anyway, the idea for this team is just based on the concept of using Infernape as a suicide lead without taunt and instead using Endeavor. I have a defog user on my team so I don't feel that taunt is as useful on Infernape because of the fact defog clears all hazards anyway and for the reason that taunt cannot stop rapid spin from happening on something like Donphan. Endeavor is especially useful against more aggressive players who have a tendency to attack first rather than setting hazards turn 1. This is further exemplified when Infernape outspeeds the opposing lead (bar leads that carry a priority move and are able to bring Infernape to its sash as well. The team playstyle is primarily balanced offense. There are several combos and an interesting idea which has proven itself as a success for both Salamence and Azelf. So, without further ado, here is the first Infernape team for the UU FC.
Infernape @ Focus Sash
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Mach Punch
- Flare Blitz
- Endeavor / Taunt
This is suicide Infernape. Nothing too special about it. Flare Blitz is great recoil for knocking itself out if needed in the right situation. Mach Punch is good priority backed by Iron Fist. Endeavor is used over taunt because it is less prepared for and doesn't work as well on an offensive team that uses defog for hazards over rapid spin. Infernape provides the team with some useful support and can even be saved in certain cases thanks to endeavor, allowing it to outspeed something slow and pretty much drop it down to unusable health. This is helpful against Crocune sometimes for example.
Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 212 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Knock Off / Foul Play
- Taunt
Sableye is just one of those pokemon that is always and forever going to be a nuisance. It's a pretty good spin blocker, and it makes for the best deterrent against defog users thanks to priority taunt. This also allows it to both stall and stall break. Knock Off is very useful for utility and is run over foul play because I feel that adding in extra team support on balanced offense wherever possible is greatly beneficial in general. W-o-W and Recover are practically mandatory on Sableye. The special nature with the investment just allows Sableye to act better as a spin blocker, primarily against Mega Blastoise, which isn't the greatest matchup in the slightest, but is enough to stop a rapid spin for a turn or two at least. 4 Speed investment is specifically to outspeed any opposing uninvested Sableye and hit them with taunt first. 40 Defense is really just a rule of thumb for me because it hits 196 which is also uninvested base 80 defense. Backed by a burn, this increases Sableye's physical survivability by about 10%, which is nice. The difference in special defense isn't important in most cases, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with having max SpD. Overall, this really helps my team because it breaks stall more easily for the rest of the team and does wonders for hazard control. It is a Sableye after all.
Salamence @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake / Refresh
- Roost
Salamence is a monster because of its capabilities and diversity in general. I actually based this set on the Bulky Mega Mence variant in Ubers. The only problem for this in UU is the fact that Salamence does need to be able to outspeed many more things before getting the +1 boost. Hydreigon especially. But seeing as how much HP Mence has with investment, hitting a really clean 381 which is physically reinforced by Intimidate and physical defense investment. Yes I lose out on quite a lot of power, but capitalizing on the bulk for Mence actually works very well because it allows Mence to set up multiple dragon dances with greater success. It has enough bulk to stall non-custap Forretress out of Gyro Ball, taking about 52% at maximum after a boost. Dragon Claw is STAB that is safer than Outrage and is much appreciated on a bulky set that doesn't want to get locked into a move if at all possible. Earthquake works well for good coverage and is technically replaceable for any other coverage move of preference I suppose. But I just think that EQ works best because covers 5 difference typings for super effective damage and in combination with dragon claw will hit a majority of the metagame for neutral damage. Refresh is an optional move to run and works best with leftovers as an item. This Mence essentially stomps on defensive builds.
Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rain Dance
- Earthquake
- Waterfall / Aqua Tail
- Ice Punch / Ice Beam
This is pretty much the rain sweeper/cleaner variant of Mega Swampert, one of my favorite mega evolutions. Earthquake is very powerful STAB backed by 438 Attack.
(that's higher than Adamant Landorus-T's attack if you weren't aware)
Waterfall is the more preferred move due to perfect accuracy and decent chances to flinch. When boosted by the rain, there are very very few things that can stomach a hit from Swampert. Aqua Tail is a really wonderful alternative if you just want to hit everything ~10-15% harder at the cost of no side effects and 10% less accuracy than Waterfall. Ice Punch is just good coverage and deals some important damage to most grass types that can take either STAB and OHKO back with a respective Grass STAB move of their own. Chesnaught excels at this job as it does take Ice Punch. But something like Roserade can't handle the power. Ice Beam is an alternative for hitting Chesnaught and physically bulky Salamence, a.k.a FatMence, just a bit harder than Ice Punch. If you know the UU tier well enough, then you know what Mega Swampert is capable of. It's a very dangerous pokemon that can bust through teams in an instant.
Crobat @ Choice Band
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Cross Poison / Poison Fang
- Defog
This is standard Banded Crobat from the Smogondex page. It has both STAB moves, even though it's pretty much going to spam brave bird anyway. U-turn is good offensive momentum. Defog is as defog does. Poison Fang is usable over Cross Poison if the idea of spreading toxic around without carrying toxic appeals to you. Both moves are acceptable though. This thing is very fast and pairs up super duper well with Mega Swampert. This crushes all fighting and grass types known to mankind. Swampert deals with all the electric types bar Rotom-C, any and all rock types, steel types in general, and of course Swampert takes advantage of most ice types lacking freeze-dry. So offensively and defensively, Crobat and Swampert make a fantastic pair.
Azelf @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 8 Def / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psyshock / Psychic
- Energy Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
This is colbur berry Nasty Plot Azelf. This can check Toxicroak if needed and can lure in a few dark types to use as fodder all thanks to colbur berry. This set does not hit as hard as the life orb NP set, but it does have an easier time of setting up and is not worn down as quickly. The difference between 349 and 348 on an offensive stat is 0.0% damage, so I'm going to be as persnickety as possible and use the extra 4 EVs on defense. The rest of the spread should be self explanatory. Energy Ball is run for this team because of what Suicune does, which is wall everything while boosting its stats for a sweep because it is Suicune. In all reality, this doesn't beat Crocune, but it does do enough damage to make it easier for another team member to finish the job 6 or 7 times out of 10. E-ball also smacks ground types around. Krookodile and Mamoswine in particular, as both are pretty powerful ground types that are capable of making or breaking games in their own right. Either way, Azelf is great to have when I'm up against slightly more offensive builds just thanks to its speed and hefty offensive prowess.
This team has proven itself to work very well. Everything has a role to support the rest of the team in one way or another.
I would appreciate any and all feedback. I hope you all enjoy the RMT. There will be... many many many more to come for the UU FC. Please vote on the poll, I am really curious to see what you guys think of the UU metagame right now. Sorry for prematurely posting this RMT, like I said, my laptop can be kind of a dick at times.
Anyway, thank you all for reading, watching my channel, and commenting.
- mrseacoore
If you want to see the rules and how this competition works, use the following link to the video on my youtube channel here:
So the very first team of the UU FC and the first of the Infernape teams I've built for it is probably one of my favorite teams so far, especially with Alakazam banned during suspect testing. (If you ask me, Alakazam should not be banned because it can be dealt with in the same fashion that Hoopa-U was dealt with in OU, a.k.a making the correct play after it reveals its set and or using priority. Also Zam is much more easily pursuit trapped than any other psychic type in the current meta because of its paper thin physical defense. It is just a really good pokemon due to its speed and power. But, it is a complete glass cannon in every sense of the term.) This team was made long before the suspect test for Alakazam and was used to ladder up into in the upper 1400s on my account name: Huttoe. Currently I'm sitting at 1298 in the suspect test. 21 wins and 9 losses so far and I think I might be able to get the reqs to vote if I keep it up. Anyway, the Infernape team is very powerful and will typically require sacrifice for your end game to dominate against offensive builds and has enough balance to beat stall/defensive builds. I feel that Suicune is by far the biggest problem for the team. Crocune is literally a problem for every team to face in my honest opinion. I mean it's essentially still using the same Rest+Talk set from Generation 2 if I'm not mistaken. It forces teams to incorporate a dry skin user and or a specific grass type pokemon that can beat it after a few calm minds too.
Anyway, here's some information about the UnderUsed Fighting Champions Competition.
For this competition I am very much trying to stay high in the UU ladder to face good players and teams to have a better judgement on the fighting types. The teams are all made for every fighting type to be approximately equal in viability (as valid as possible) and are made differently to gauge each feature for each set for each of the 13 fighting types. For instance, Chesnaught would clearly not be better than Virizion or Infernape as a sweeper and or wallbreaker, but Chesnaught will always provide more support in the form of hazards and defense/bulk than either Virizion or Infernape. In short, what fighting type plays its role on a team with the greatest success = the best fighting type in UU according to the UU FC. Every team is allowed to use only one of fighting type and it must be one of the following 13: Chesnaught, Cobalion, Conkeldurr, Heracross, Infernape, Lucario, Machamp, Medicham, Mienshao, Pangoro, Scrafty, Toxicroak, and Virizion. Changes are made to every team whenever appropriate. When Zapdos was moved up into OU, quite a number of my ideas for future teams and a few current teams clearly changed dramatically as there is no replacement for Zapdos in the UU tier currently. (Damn OU Stall...) Celebi, Sylveon, and Conkeldurr did move down however, which was fantastic for the UU FC. Sylveon can act as a better cleric than Florges due to the higher HP and special attack boosted by pixilate in addition to having a slow Baton Pass for its wishes if one desires to do so. Sylveon also does a fantastic job wallbreaking, even if it is easily revenge killed. Celebi is by far the greatest baton passer in the meta right now. Celebi is able to nasty pass, SD pass, and calm mind pass. It can also set up rocks if necessary. Celebi is incredibly bulky, despite a somewhat questionable typing of Grass/Psychic. Celebi can even act as a bulky sweeper by forgoing Baton Pass. So between the eeveelution and legendary pixie being passed down, Shaymin and Florges both will have good competition for making way onto a team. Florges is much better as a CM user than Sylveon just because it can carry heal bell in its set where Sylveon cannot. Also Florges acts a tad bit better as a special wall. Shaymin (imo) is a scary wall breaker and can tear through teams if you aren't careful. So there are reasons to run each mon and it brings a lot of diversity to the tier. Conkeldurr however... Brings some sheer destructive firepower and insane natural bulk to rival Machamp (nearly replacing it in the metagame imo). Now, I really am exploring this serious rivalry in the UU FC (Machamp vs Conkeldurr) and I have not come to any full conclusions as of yet. So far I have determined that both mons are equally viable, but for completely different reasons and will merely force players to make a preference choice (which I documented in about 20 matches before the suspect test, as Conk by appearances on opposing teams). But that's just me going on a tangent there, and we aren't here for tangents. This isn't the Lobby. This is the RMT forum. I have over 25 teams so far and I'm not even halfway into the competition as far as building the teams goes. Every single team for the UU FC that I make and that I take from any participants will be used and will receive a post in the RMT forums (participant's teams will only have an RMT post upon direct consent telling me to make an RMT for their team in question).
Anyway, the idea for this team is just based on the concept of using Infernape as a suicide lead without taunt and instead using Endeavor. I have a defog user on my team so I don't feel that taunt is as useful on Infernape because of the fact defog clears all hazards anyway and for the reason that taunt cannot stop rapid spin from happening on something like Donphan. Endeavor is especially useful against more aggressive players who have a tendency to attack first rather than setting hazards turn 1. This is further exemplified when Infernape outspeeds the opposing lead (bar leads that carry a priority move and are able to bring Infernape to its sash as well. The team playstyle is primarily balanced offense. There are several combos and an interesting idea which has proven itself as a success for both Salamence and Azelf. So, without further ado, here is the first Infernape team for the UU FC.
Infernape @ Focus Sash
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Mach Punch
- Flare Blitz
- Endeavor / Taunt
This is suicide Infernape. Nothing too special about it. Flare Blitz is great recoil for knocking itself out if needed in the right situation. Mach Punch is good priority backed by Iron Fist. Endeavor is used over taunt because it is less prepared for and doesn't work as well on an offensive team that uses defog for hazards over rapid spin. Infernape provides the team with some useful support and can even be saved in certain cases thanks to endeavor, allowing it to outspeed something slow and pretty much drop it down to unusable health. This is helpful against Crocune sometimes for example.
Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 212 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Knock Off / Foul Play
- Taunt
Sableye is just one of those pokemon that is always and forever going to be a nuisance. It's a pretty good spin blocker, and it makes for the best deterrent against defog users thanks to priority taunt. This also allows it to both stall and stall break. Knock Off is very useful for utility and is run over foul play because I feel that adding in extra team support on balanced offense wherever possible is greatly beneficial in general. W-o-W and Recover are practically mandatory on Sableye. The special nature with the investment just allows Sableye to act better as a spin blocker, primarily against Mega Blastoise, which isn't the greatest matchup in the slightest, but is enough to stop a rapid spin for a turn or two at least. 4 Speed investment is specifically to outspeed any opposing uninvested Sableye and hit them with taunt first. 40 Defense is really just a rule of thumb for me because it hits 196 which is also uninvested base 80 defense. Backed by a burn, this increases Sableye's physical survivability by about 10%, which is nice. The difference in special defense isn't important in most cases, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with having max SpD. Overall, this really helps my team because it breaks stall more easily for the rest of the team and does wonders for hazard control. It is a Sableye after all.
Salamence @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 200 HP / 56 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake / Refresh
- Roost
Salamence is a monster because of its capabilities and diversity in general. I actually based this set on the Bulky Mega Mence variant in Ubers. The only problem for this in UU is the fact that Salamence does need to be able to outspeed many more things before getting the +1 boost. Hydreigon especially. But seeing as how much HP Mence has with investment, hitting a really clean 381 which is physically reinforced by Intimidate and physical defense investment. Yes I lose out on quite a lot of power, but capitalizing on the bulk for Mence actually works very well because it allows Mence to set up multiple dragon dances with greater success. It has enough bulk to stall non-custap Forretress out of Gyro Ball, taking about 52% at maximum after a boost. Dragon Claw is STAB that is safer than Outrage and is much appreciated on a bulky set that doesn't want to get locked into a move if at all possible. Earthquake works well for good coverage and is technically replaceable for any other coverage move of preference I suppose. But I just think that EQ works best because covers 5 difference typings for super effective damage and in combination with dragon claw will hit a majority of the metagame for neutral damage. Refresh is an optional move to run and works best with leftovers as an item. This Mence essentially stomps on defensive builds.
Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rain Dance
- Earthquake
- Waterfall / Aqua Tail
- Ice Punch / Ice Beam
This is pretty much the rain sweeper/cleaner variant of Mega Swampert, one of my favorite mega evolutions. Earthquake is very powerful STAB backed by 438 Attack.
(that's higher than Adamant Landorus-T's attack if you weren't aware)
Waterfall is the more preferred move due to perfect accuracy and decent chances to flinch. When boosted by the rain, there are very very few things that can stomach a hit from Swampert. Aqua Tail is a really wonderful alternative if you just want to hit everything ~10-15% harder at the cost of no side effects and 10% less accuracy than Waterfall. Ice Punch is just good coverage and deals some important damage to most grass types that can take either STAB and OHKO back with a respective Grass STAB move of their own. Chesnaught excels at this job as it does take Ice Punch. But something like Roserade can't handle the power. Ice Beam is an alternative for hitting Chesnaught and physically bulky Salamence, a.k.a FatMence, just a bit harder than Ice Punch. If you know the UU tier well enough, then you know what Mega Swampert is capable of. It's a very dangerous pokemon that can bust through teams in an instant.
Crobat @ Choice Band
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Cross Poison / Poison Fang
- Defog
This is standard Banded Crobat from the Smogondex page. It has both STAB moves, even though it's pretty much going to spam brave bird anyway. U-turn is good offensive momentum. Defog is as defog does. Poison Fang is usable over Cross Poison if the idea of spreading toxic around without carrying toxic appeals to you. Both moves are acceptable though. This thing is very fast and pairs up super duper well with Mega Swampert. This crushes all fighting and grass types known to mankind. Swampert deals with all the electric types bar Rotom-C, any and all rock types, steel types in general, and of course Swampert takes advantage of most ice types lacking freeze-dry. So offensively and defensively, Crobat and Swampert make a fantastic pair.
Azelf @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 8 Def / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psyshock / Psychic
- Energy Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
This is colbur berry Nasty Plot Azelf. This can check Toxicroak if needed and can lure in a few dark types to use as fodder all thanks to colbur berry. This set does not hit as hard as the life orb NP set, but it does have an easier time of setting up and is not worn down as quickly. The difference between 349 and 348 on an offensive stat is 0.0% damage, so I'm going to be as persnickety as possible and use the extra 4 EVs on defense. The rest of the spread should be self explanatory. Energy Ball is run for this team because of what Suicune does, which is wall everything while boosting its stats for a sweep because it is Suicune. In all reality, this doesn't beat Crocune, but it does do enough damage to make it easier for another team member to finish the job 6 or 7 times out of 10. E-ball also smacks ground types around. Krookodile and Mamoswine in particular, as both are pretty powerful ground types that are capable of making or breaking games in their own right. Either way, Azelf is great to have when I'm up against slightly more offensive builds just thanks to its speed and hefty offensive prowess.
This team has proven itself to work very well. Everything has a role to support the rest of the team in one way or another.
I would appreciate any and all feedback. I hope you all enjoy the RMT. There will be... many many many more to come for the UU FC. Please vote on the poll, I am really curious to see what you guys think of the UU metagame right now. Sorry for prematurely posting this RMT, like I said, my laptop can be kind of a dick at times.
Anyway, thank you all for reading, watching my channel, and commenting.
- mrseacoore
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