Gen 8 Choice Scarf Urshifu-R [QC 1/2] [GP 0/1]

[veti]

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Surging Strikes
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Ice Punch
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Unseen Fist
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Urshifu-R is a top tier Choice Scarf user in SS OU thanks to its high damage output, spammable STAB moves, and U-turn. Choice Scarf patches up Urshifu-R's middling Speed tier, making it blow past the entire unboosted metagame, although Urshifu-R is the second slowest common Choice Scarf user, being outsped by every other common Choice Scarf user bar Tapu Lele. Additionally, Speed boosting Pokemon like Scale Shot Garchomp, Dragon Dance Dragapult, and Volcarona and priority users like Rillaboom and Dragonite can prove troublesome for Urshifu-R's Speed control capabilities. What Urshifu-R lacks in Speed it makes up for in its role compression, with it being able to check Weavile and provide excellent pivot support for teammates that gain opportunities to wallbreak or set up against bulky Water-types. Ice Punch is Urshifu-R's best option against Dragapult and Dragonite, two Pokemon that it would otherwise struggle with due to its STAB moves being innefective and diminish its effectiveness as a Choice Scarf user by extension. Outside of its role against offensive teams, Urshifu-R is still able to make progress against bulky teams with support from Future Sight or Knock Off and entry hazards, however it lacks some of the sheer effectiveness of Protective Pads and Choice Band sets of slicing through bulkier teams due to it having to lock into a move without a damage boost or protection from contact effects, making other wallbreakers a neccesary addition.

Team Options
========

Future Sight Slowbro is an excellent partner as its FuturePort allows Urshifu-R to make progress against teams with walls like Toxapex, Buzzwole, and Tapu Fini. Tapu Lele, Offensive Zapdos, and Tapu Koko all appreciate Urshifu-R pivoting out of the physically defensive Water-types that check it, such as Toxapex, Tapu Fini, and Slowbro to fire off their powerful attacks with safe entry. Tapu Lele in particular is one of the tier's best wallbreakers, patching up Choice Scarf Urshifu-R's weakness to bulky teams that can easily take its hits, while Urshifu-R provides a short term check to Steel- and Dark-types like Melmetal, Heatran, Weavile, and Tyranitar that can take advantage of Tapu Lele locked into Psychic. While Choice Scarf Urshifu-R is good speed control, Choice Scarf Blacephalon and Kartana can both outspeed it and deal heavy damage, and it fails to revenge kill some threats such as Rillaboom and boosted Garchomp. Zapdos is an excellent answer to Kartana, Garchomp, and Rillaboom while forming a VoltTurn core with Urshifu-R. Tyranitar and Heatran love Urshifu-R's pivoting to gain entry on Pokemon like Toxapex, Dragapult, and Zapdos, additionally Slowbro for Tyranitar, and they are some of the best Blacephalon checks in the tier. Urshifu-R can be worn down by Rocky Helmet chip due to its reliance on contact moves, especially Surging Strikes. Pokemon with Knock Off that can target Rocky Helmet users like Toxapex, Buzzwole, and Skarmory such as Weavile are greatly appreciated as they make Urshifu-R's attacks much more spammable without the threat of massive chip damage. Weavile can also revenge kill Swords Dance Garchomp, offensively check Dragapult, and wear down bulky Water-types that Urshifu-R struggles with like Toxapex, Rotom-W, Tapu Fini as well as Psychic-types like Slowbro, Mew, and Reuniclus.

[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/veti.612907/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/slowpoke-fan.617219/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.103/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/

 

[Slowpoke Fan]

Please tag me after implementation so I can go through it one more time

add remove highlight comment

veti, post: 10047846, member: 612907

[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Surging Strikes
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Ice Punch
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Unseen Fist
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Urshifu-R is a top tier scarfer Choice Scarf user (GP guidelines) in SS OU thanks to its high damage output, spammable STAB moves, and U-turn. Choice Scarf patches up Urshifu-R's middling Speed tier, making it blow past the entire unboosted metagame, although Urshifu-R is the second slowest common scarfer Choice Scarf user, being outsped by every other common scarfer Choice Scarf user bar Tapu Lele. Additionally, Speed boosting Pokemon like Scale Shot Garchomp, Dragon Dance Dragapult, and Volcarona and priority users like Rillaboom and Dragonite can prove troublesome for Urshifu-R's Speed control capabilities. What Urshifu-R lacks in Speed it makes up for in its role compression, with it being able to check Weavile and provide excellent pivot support for teammates that gain opportunities (you should expand on what sort of opportunities they gain on bulky Water-types if you don't want to use a different phrase) on Bbulky Water-types. Ice Punch is Urshifu-R's best option against Dragapult and Dragonite, two Pokemon that it would otherwise struggle with (you definitely want to talk about how Urshifu's STAB moves thud into them) and diminish its effectiveness as a scarfer Choice Scarf user by extension. Outside of its role as a Choice Scarf user, Urshifu-R remains highly threatening to offensive teams especially while still being able to make progress against bulky teams with support (phrasing is confusing here, scarf Urshifu threatens offensive teams because of the Speed control it provides, but you started this sentence off wanting to talk about the things it does outside of being a Choice Scarf user, not to mention throwing in how it can make progress against bulky teams with no explanation), however it lacks some of the sheer effectiveness of Protective Pads and Choice Band sets of slicing through bulkier teams, making other wallbreakers a neccesary addition.

Team Options
========

Future Sight Slowbro is an excellent partner as its FuturePort allows Urshifu-R to make progress against teams with walls like Toxapex, Buzzwole, and Tapu Fini. Tapu Lele, Offensive Zapdos, and Tapu Koko all appreciate Urshifu-R pivoting out of the physically defensive Water-types that check it, such as Toxapex, Tapu Fini, and Slowbro to fire off their powerful attacks with completely safe entry. Tapu Lele in particular is one of the tier's best wallbreakers, patching up Choice Scarf Urshifu-R's weakness to bulky teams that can easily take its hits, while Urshifu-R provides a short term check to Steel- and Dark-types like Melmetal, Heatran, Weavile, and Tyranitar that can take advantage of Tapu Lele locked into Psychic. While Choice Scarf Urshifu-R is good speed control, Choice Scarf Blacephalon and Kartana can both outspeed it and deal heavy damage, and it fails to revenge kill some threats such as Rillaboom and boosted Garchomp. Zapdos is an excellent answer to Kartana and Rillaboom (You should mention Garchomp here since you mentioned it in the previous sentence, Zapdos isn't that great of a Garchomp check, but it can be part of a defensive core slowing Garchomp down. If you don't want to do that, bring up a Pokemon that can check both Garchomp. Remember to circle back to your examples in these situations when writing analyses.) while forming a VoltTurn core with Urshifu-R,. while Tyranitar and Heatran love Urshifu-R's pivoting (explain how they can take advantage of Urshifu-R's pivoting), and they are while being some of the best offensive Blacephalon checks in the tier. Urshifu-R is crippled can be worn down by Rocky Helmet chip due to its reliance on contact moves, especially Surging Strikes. Pokemon with Knock Off that can target Rocky Helmet users like Toxapex, Buzzwole, and Skarmory such as Weavile are greatly appreciated as they make Urshifu-R's attacks much more spammable without the threat of massive chip damage (Weavile probably deserves a special mention as it can Ice Shard boosted Garchomp, check Dragapult offensively, and break through shared checks like Toxapex/Rotom-W/Tapu Fini while destroying Slowbro).

[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/veti.612907/
Quality checked by:
,https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/slowpoke-fan.617219/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.103/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/

 

[veti]

Slowpoke Fan implemented

Edit: 1/2 given.