Full On Analysis Part 3

Time to finish the analysis, let's go UU!

1. Venusaur: 18.09%

Venusaur taking number 1 in UU should be no surprise to anyone who plays it, as the Fire-Grass-Water trinity is awfully important in UU, and there's slim pickings for Grass in UU. Roserade going up into OU helped pave the way for Venusaur, but it would've been high up anyway. Sleep Powder was the most used move, on 80% of Venusaurs, which shouldn't be a surprise since every Venusaur set has a use for it. Sludge Bomb is next, due to all the Steels busy being OU, followed by Earthquake, which hits the pesky Registeel. Venusaur also showed how many possibilities it has, with Synthesis at 35%, Swords Dance at 19%, and Leech Seed at 35% as well. Some ran bulky with max HP and Special Defense and others ran offensive with max Attack. At least the most run Pokemon in the least centralized metagame of the lot has more than two sets *coughScizorcoughcough*.

2. Arcanine: 15.83%

Arcanine is Vermy's favourite Pokemon from what I gathered in my game against him. Random facts out of the way, Arcanine is a pretty beast sweeper in UU. The two most used moves were Extremespeed at 83% and Flare Blitz at 82.3%, which should be no surprise, as the strongest normal priority move in the game and the best STAB move Arcanine has access to. 70% had Intimidate, 30% had Flash Fire, the uses of which should be obvious. If you have a Fire weakness, Arcanine solves that. Physical sweeper weakness? Arcanine solves that! Arcanine is also part of the Fire-Grass-Water trinity that I said was oh so important above, so Arcanine also serves as support with Toxic at 31%, and Will-o-Wisp at 22%.

3. Honchkrow: 15.37%

The Big Boss pokemon was a much needed evolution of Murkrow, and he's certainly up to UU's standard. 85.6% used Insomnia for the more robust option, with the rest using the mighty Super Luck, raising Night Slash to a crit an eighth of the time for the hax option. Superpower was the most used option, letting Honchkrow break through Registeel, who it otherwise has problems with, at 97%. Sucker Punch was next, as a pretty damn powerful STAB priority move, even if it does have problems with prediction, at 83%. The majority of Honchkrows were Life Orb, choosing to mix it up rather than be locked in, at 75%, with the rest being Scarfed. Although Honchkrow doesn't possess the diversity of the above two, he makes up for it with sheer power and powerful STAB moves.

4. Uxie: 15.25%

Uxie is the defensive counterpart to Azelf, and though it isn't the dominant lead due to the sheer power of Ambipom in the UU format, its still the third most common lead. Uxie was shown to be a pretty common set up of just about everything, with a fifth holding Light Clay or Damp Rock, and 3% holding Heat Rock, showing it can set up Sunny Day, Screens or Rain Dance. Stealth Rock was most common, however, on 74%, followed by U-Turn, so that once its done setting up, it can get right into the action, at 61%. Reflect was on 30%, Light Screen on 23%, Rain Dance on 19% and Memento on 22%, so Uxie was definitely up there in usage via its ability to support just about every team in UU, regardless of what they're doing. Trick was at 16% usage, as well, letting Uxie play shenanigans with enemy items and lock down enemy setup.

5. Mismagius: 15.14%

First of all, this and the 3 Pokemon above it (not including Venusaur) have such amazingly close percentages, at such low numbers, to show UU is truly a balanced metagame. Mismagius getting Nasty Plot in HeartGold/SoulSilver certainly helped it as a sweeper, letting it skip the unnecessary special defence buff. However, Mismagius does have a fairly decent special defence, so Calm Mind makes it awfully bulky. 51% used Nasty Plot, and 22% used Calm Mind, though, showing the people prefer a Mismagius who kills faster. The most used moves were Shadow Ball at 97% and HP-Fighting at 54%, presumably to give nice type coverage and hit the annoying Registeel, who still hasn't appeared yet, somewhat ironically. Pain Split and Taunt appeared on 10.8% of sets, showing that Mismagius can both counter phazers and kill sweepers, so don't think you're out of the water once you get her down to lower health.

6. Raikou: 14.37%

One of the more feared special sweepers of UU comes out to play, with its feared STAB Thunderbolt at most used move at 95%. Calm Mind was next most used at 81%, showing that Raikou isn't so different to his OU brother, Suicune. Note, however, they're both quite different from their NU brother, Entei, who's a wall who gets killed by SR. Not a good place to be. Substitute was the third most used at 47%, to prevent Raikou's CM sweep being brought to an early end by status. 58% ran Leftovers, while the next largest group was more ballsy, running Life Orb (26%). Sleep Talk was on 5.5% of sets, but Rest didn't make the list, so I'm assuming something went wrong there or people are predicting Venusaur to try and counter Raikou.

7. Ambipom: 14.07%

The most feared lead in UU shows up, with 11% of his usage being as a lead, the rest abusing his speed, powerful Fake Out and moderate attack to use him to sweep. No prizes for guessing what the most used move was, at 93%, its Fake Out. When powered up with the Silk Scarf 42% were running, Fake Out hits an effective base power of 108. Return and U-Turn were next, at 56% and 55% respectively, the first for sheer STAB power, especially with Silk Scarf, and the second to laugh off Ambipom's typical counters, and to also switch out to a better counter to whatever lead they're running. Taunt was disappointingly low at 42%, as Taunt is really one of the best moves in the game, countering leads at Ambipom's speed like its nobody's business. Nasty Plot Pass didn't make the list this time, alas, as its a fairly easy thing to Baton Pass with Taunt and Ambipom's speed.

8. Gallade: 14.01%

Raikou, Ambipom and Gallade are all also absurdly close in usage, and yet nobody is dominant to the extreme Scizor is in OU. Gallade is the manly version of Gardevoir, though you can still get a male Gardevoir if you don't evolve it to Gallade, which is creepy enough. Gallade's most used move at 85% was Close Combat, which should be no surprise, as its top of every fighting type that can learn it (except Machamp, who gets something better anyway). Shadow Sneak was next most used, which kinda makes sense, I guess, even though priority moves without STAB or Technician seems like a bad idea, but I guess its working for its users. Swords Dance was next up at 52%, with Bulk Up barely being used at all this month. Taunt was also in obscurity, so it should be fairly easy to Roar him away if you do let him set up.

9. Registeel: 13.90%

Registeel, known by some as Nazisteel (just look at his hand in the sprite!), is infamous in UU, walling a good portion of the format with its great defence and special defence, and, of course, its typing. Most used move was Iron Head at 82%, followed by Stealth Rocks, which it sets up like nobody's business. Thunder Wave is more popular than Toxic at the moment, at 59% and 19% respectively. Cursesteel was down to 12% this month, so you don't have to worry about any potential aggression from it, and its Rain Dancing was practically non-existant, probably more in favour of Uxie above.

10. Frosslass: 12.82%

Frosslass is one of the best Suicide leads in the metagame, laughing at Ambipom's Fake Out and Return, as well as resisting U-Turn. Initially, it was thought that Abomasnow was the reason for Frosslass' usage, but she's certainly putting up a good fight without the Yeti. Most common moves are Spikes (92%), Ice Beam (69%), Taunt (58%) and Destiny Bond (50%), the last of which bringing new meaning to the term 'suicide'. Trick is still on 10% with a Choice item, so its still possible for Frosslass to cripple two Pokemon with Trick and Destiny Bond. Thunder Wave is also hanging in there, at 14%, but its not too likely that you'll get Tricked or Thunder Waved by Frosslass.

11. Hitmontop: 12.78%

Spinning away into the future is the most used Hitmon, the top. Close Combat makes it second appearance as most used move in UU, at 69%, followed by Hitmontop's signature Rapid Spin at 64%. 52% had Technician, making Mach Punch feel like a bullet (see what I did there?) at the remaining 48% had Intimidate, showing the first time both abilities have been usable on one Pokemon so far. Hooray! On that note, every December 7th will be Hitmontop Day. I'll hold a party next year, trust me. Mach Punch was on 57% of sets, of which I'm assuming the majority would be Technician rather than Intimidate. Fake Out was on a measly 40%, not even every Technician set. Rather disappointing, guys. Psuedo-STAB on Fake Out with a pretty good attack makes for hilarious fun, and yet its completely overlooked on Hitmontop. Even lets it continue its job of support well, but oh well. Other than Spin, a small amount of Tops supported with Toxic, 6.5% of them.

12. Milotic: 12.71%

Gyarados' passive-aggressive sister comes to play as a bulky water in UU, with 84% holding Leftovers and a weird few trying to sweep with Life Orb. Really guys, there's better for sweeping. Recover was second-most used at 75%, underneath the obvious STAB Surf at 88%. 18.9% were RestTalkers, using Milotic's massive bulk during Rest due to Marvel Scale to do some damage, and Toxic was (unsurprisingly, really) more popular than Hypnosis on the status level, 27.5% to 18%. True Haze was still there, at 14.5%, for those of you people too cheap to use Roar or Whirlwind and abuse entry hazards.

13. Spiritomb: 11.06%

Heralded in the release of DP as the Sableye that's actually good, Spiritomb was a bit of a letdown after the hype wore off, proving walls that only resist Poison aren't really very good walls. If he had Levitate, he'd been insane, however, immune to the two most common attacking types and walling everything like nobody's business then. Will-o-Wisp was his most common move at 52%, followed by Shadow Ball and Pursuit. I don't think Spiritomb is really the best user of Pursuit, but I guess it gets the job done. Sucker Punch was down at a measly 27%, which is a bit low for such a powerful (STAB, may I add) priority move, but I suppose Shadow Sneak (36%). Calm Mind was only at 22%, so most of the time, you won't be worried about a sweeping bulky Spiritomb.

14. Donphan: 10.98%

100% ran Earthquake, rounded up, which is the first time all sets of a Pokemon have run one move. Congrats to Donphan. 90% ran Rapid Spin, which is one of Donphan's niches (though I prefer the Top in most cases). Really, Donphan's only ran 7 moves: Earthquake, Rapid Spin, Ice Shard, Stealth Rock, Assurance, Stone Edge and Roar. Roar wasn't on any sets, really, so there's only 6 moves you have to worry about, in descending order. As if predicting ever got hard. In addition, 93% ran Leftovers, so even the item front is decided.

15. Umbreon: 10.63%

Umbreon, the one who's closest to OU out of these Pokemon, hasn't had as large of an impact as you'd expect. Wish is the most common move at 78%, Payback at 70%, and Heal Bell at 42%, the first to let Umbreon abuse its great defences by improving its health, second for good STAB damage off of its low speed and Heal Bell to not only heal your team, but to abuse Synchronize in a great way. As far as hindering the other Pokemon goes, Mean Look was on 20% (Baton Pass or Curse is a great way to abuse that), Yawn (still lets you get Curse up) on 16% and Taunt (Stops those pesky stat-uppers from trying to do it to Umbreon) on 14%. Toxic was the only status in sight, however, on 21%.

16. Alakazam: 10.60%

How the mighty fall. Alakazam, former member of OU (and quite high up, might I add.) Now, however, he doesn't even make top 15 of UU, and doesn't even get 3% in OU. Nonetheless, Alakazam is a force to be reckoned with, possessing his unstoppable special attack and speed. His most used item was Choice Specs, 33.3%, followed by Life Orb, 24%, both of which use his already high speed to dish out damage. Psychic was the most used at 94%, which should be no surprise for an all-out attacker. Trick remains top 4 at 30%, letting Alakazam get some more use out of the Specs once he's done killing things (especially at his speed). Encore also let the Life Orb ones fuck around with Blissey, at 24%. Contrary to popular belief, Alakazam's special defence is high enough, so if all their physical attackers are dead, Alakazam can really just Calm Mind away, and some did, at 16%. Dual Screens were still there, even if Light Clay wasn't, and Taunt was also low down on the list, so some Alakazams do do more than attack, but I wouldn't assume they do in a random game.

17. Rhyperior: 10.51%

Immediately after the former OU special attacker, we have the former physical attacker/wall. When Rhyperior's base stats were first discovered, everyone went crazy with hype. Surely he's broken, with that much health, attack and defence. But alas, the metagame took a nosedive into the fast and furious, with priority and speed everywhere, and someone as slow as Rhyperior fell into UU. 100% after rounding had the mighty STAB Earthquake, which should kill anything it hits for neutral off of his attack, really. 58% had Leftovers, the rest had Life Orb, so more Rhyperiors in UU are going for bulky setup/support/wall, rather than Choice Banded destroyer. For setup, the most common of the two options was Rock Polish at 33%, over Swords Dance at 13%, since people decided he has enough attack already. For support, 39% had Stealth Rock, 13% had Roar, and that's pretty much all he did. Even when he walls, he attacks.

18. Blaziken: 10.32%

Another former OU Pokemon, this one from a different age, though. Infernape came along and ruined its fun, alas. Most of them were Life Orbed wallbreakers at 68%, but a small few had Choice Scarf, trying to make up for the fact Blaziken isn't as fast as Infernape. Superpower, Fire Blast and Vacuum Wave were the most common moves, choosing to use its STAB fire off of Blaziken's slightly worse special attack rather than Flare Blitz off of its better attack. 18% were using Swords Dance for a setup sweep, while a smaller few used Agility at 8%.

19. Sceptile: 9.97%

Sceptile was rather divided items wise, with roughly equal amounts holding Choice Specs, Leftovers or Life Orb, but all of those are fairly easy to differentiate after one turn, so its a-okay. Most common move was Leaf Storm, what's becoming its signature move, at 69%. A few decided they could break walls, running Earthquake (37%) and Leaf Blade (33%), and others used its less amazing physical attack to run Swords Dance (20%). A small few felt like stalling it out, running Leech Seed (14%) and Substitute (17%), but overall, he was more of a mixed sweeper this time around.

20. Clefable: 9.45%

Clefable's always been an interesting support choice due to Magic Guard letting it absorb any Toxic you want. Softboiled, Seismic Toss and Encore were the three most used moves, making it somewhat reminiscent of Blissey. The Toxic Orb-Facade combo was certainly there, albeit in small numbers, with Toxic Orb at 17% and Facade at 13%, letting Clefable actually hit things for high amounts of physical damage. Thunder Wave had an edge in the status area, sitting on 31%, compared to Toxic's 19%. Other than Facade, Clefable's most common moves were Fire Blast, Flamethrower and Double Edge, though none of them were really in high enough percentages that they'd be common.

Now for interesting usages:

52. Snover: 3.49%

The goal is in sight Snover, and we're all rooting for you. If Snover makes it to UU, he'll be the second NFE with the same type of stat distribution to its evolution to be in UU. The first was Chansey, and Scyther, Porygon2 and Magneton don't count due to different stat distributions (Scyther's faster than Scizor, Porygon2 is completely different to Porygonz and Magneton is slightly faster than Magnezone). Snover is obviously being used as a replacement to the BL Abomasnow, because of its ability to induce the most powerful weather in the UU metagame, Hail. It combines well with Frosslass above to trigger Snow Veil and give 100% accurate Blizzard, but Snover's flaws are greatly evident. Its stats are low, and its 4x weakness to fire on its stats can make it a liability. Still, if Snover makes it, it will be a landmark event.

56. Magneton: 3.20%

You'd think with Registeel remaining up there in usage, Magneton would as well for its ability to trap and kill the pesky wall, but apparantly not. If Snover doesn't make it to UU, its impossible for Magneton to remain in UU, and the only usage it would see in NU is the fact its a Steel type that is better than Mawile.

57. Electrode: 3.19%

You'd think with Ludicolo up so high, the fastest Taunt and Rain Dance in the game, that also gets STAB Thunder would see some more usage, but apparently not. Especially with an ability to prevents Heal Bell from working, but again, apparently not. Still, I'm sure Electrode's usage will pick up in December, and it won't fall away into NU.

And that's it for the moment. Now remember, I'm doing this again for December, which is even more important due to being the end of the tier list revision period, so pay more attention then. You lot better be grateful! :P