The Best of the Worst! An Overview of PU

Introduction

Welcome to PU! PU is the tier under Neverused. The tier is named "PU" because all of its Pokémon stink more than Skuntank's Defog! In the tier are many dangerous threats that have little use in above tiers that truly get a chance to shine. Such Pokémon will be covered in this article, along with the newly introduced Pokémon Showdown room, the PU room. We'll be going over each of these threats with importable sets for you to be able to test them and explore the tier!

Threats

Although PU is the bottom tier, that by no means is to say that all the Pokémon in the tier are horrible! While some aren't viable still, there are always threats that will fill into the top. These Pokémon are the threats that your team has to watch out for when playing the tier, here are some strong powerhouses in the metagame include:

Sneasel @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Ice Punch
- Low Kick

There are various reasons as to why Sneasel is so good in PU. For one, it has a Psychic-type immunity by virtue of its partial Dark typing, giving it the upper hand against threats like Mr. Mime and Beheeyem, although it is worth to note that Sneasel's bad bulk makes it difficult for it to switch into these Pokémon. Sneasel's high Speed allows it to outpace nearly the entire unboosted meta. Furthermore, it has incredibly powerful STAB attacks supported by unique type coverage. PU is full of Eviolite users, so STAB Knock Off is very useful, as it hits everything for large amounts of damage and gets rid of the foe's item. Ice Punch is key for dealing with pesky Flying-types. Sneasel outspeeds Chatot and OHKOes with Ice Punch, while it also carries Ice Shard which allows it to pick off faster and weakened foes such as Choice Scarf Sawsbuck, Dragon Dance Altaria, and Zebstrika.

Carracosta @ Life Orb
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Jet

Carracosta is currently one of the best sweepers in PU. A base 108 Attack boosted by Shell Smash is not something to mess around with. It can break walls with its powerful dual STAB attacks and secure KO's on weakened targets with its STAB priority move, Aqua Jet. Before using Shell Smash, Carracosta has nice bulk, with a respectable base 133 Defense. Accompanied by its ability, Solid Rock, which reduces the damage of all super effective moves by 25%, it can take a lot of common attacks like Earthquake. On the other hand, after it sets up its Shell Smash, it really doesn't want to take any hits.

Some big threats to Carracosta include Serperior and Poliwrath, which it can't touch at all and is easily OHKOed by Giga Drain from Serperior. Serperior can also outspeed +2 Adamant Carracosta. Poliwrath can not 2HKO Carracosta, though it walls it completely and forces it out with Circle Throw.

Golem @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast
- Sucker Punch / Toxic

Golem is one of the tier's best Stealth Rock setters. It has impressive bulk as well as Sturdy which aid it defensively, but Golem is in general a really handy Pokemon on many teams simply because it's also very strong. Its dual STAB moves are both very strong, with Rock Blast being able to break Substitutes as well as the Focus Sashes of Ninjask and Kricketune. Golem also has a couple of good options for the final slot, with Sucker Punch providing valuable priority and Toxic to catch bulky walls, specifically Tangela, Poliwrath, and Pelipper, on the switch. Roar is a valid alternative over either of these moves, enabling Golem to phase out bulky opponents that boost their stats while racking up entry hazard damage. Golem is also a great check to many other Pokemon simply because of its typing and bulk. It checks Pokemon such as Scyther, Purugly, and Dodrio, and absorbs Volt Switch by virtue of its typing. Overall, Golem's great resistances, access to Stealth Rock, and good offensive presence make it a nice choice for a tank on offensive and balanced teams.

Haunter @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Trick
- Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball
- Destiny Bond

Haunter is a heavy-hitting special attacker. With a huge Special Attack stat, its STAB attacks are hard to take. This set plays as a great revenge killer that is able to pull off a quick Destiny Bond. Its Speed stat is already respectable without the Choice Scarf, and not too much in the metagame can out speed it without boosts. Sludge Bomb is very threatning to Fairy-types, which not much else can hit hard, as there aren't too many Steel-types in PU, so being locked into Sludge Bomb has almost no downsides. Shadow Ball, on the other hand, is absorbed by the many Normal-types that populate PU, and the fact that it is not as powerful as Sludge Bomb leads to Shadow Ball only being used when attacking a Psychic- or fellow Ghost-type Pokémon or when Sludge Bomb is resisted.

Chatot @ Life Orb
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Boomburst
- Chatter
- Substitute / Encore
- Nasty Plot

Chatot is a big threat in PU, as it can deal huge amounts of damage with its Life Orb-boosted STAB Boomburst, completely breaking through the defenses of special walls such as Clefairy, Throh, and Togetic, leaving them prone to be 2HKOed or 3HKOed more easily. Chatter is another unique move that guarantees inducing confusion on the opponent, and hitting Ghost-types that are immune to Boomburst. While it does not deal as much damage as Boomburst does, the possibility of the foe hitting itself due to confusion gives Chatter a niche place on the move set. Nasty Plot is a great move because it enables Chatot to 2HKO practically everything on Stall with ease, though Substitute and Encore both offer their own perks. Substitute is usable for the safety shield against Thunder Wave and aids Chatot's setup, though Encore can lock the opponent into an unfavorable move for Chatot to take advantage of.

Frogadier @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Dark Pulse
- Hydro Pump

Much like Greninja, Frogadier is a huge specially offensive threat. With Protean making all of its moves get a STAB bonus along with an extra damage boost from Life Orb. Frogadier's respectable base 97 Speed allows it out speed a lot of the meta game, securing KOs before U-turning out to keep offensive momentum. Hydro Pump allows Frogadier to hit almost everything hard. Ice Beam has great coverage against Pokémon such as Torterra, Altaria, and other Ground-, Dragon-, Grass and Flying -types. Dark Pulse provides coverage against Psychic- and Ghost -types. This set is walled by bulky Pokémon such as Lickilicky which are able to force Frogadier out or wear it down via Life Orb.

Why was the PU room added?

The primary reason PU was added as a room was due to its popularity and wide playerbase. At first, only a PU ladder was up, but this eventually grew into the room. PU actually had more battles in October than NU, an official metagame. This meant that PU had a much more active ladder than an official metagame with its own room. People decided that the room would be a great addition to discuss the rapidly growing metagame. Not many people really disagreed with the addition of the room, so it was added!

What goes on in the room?

Well, we talk about PU! We discuss the metagame itself and potential suspects, and we share with each other our own different Pokémon we've discovered. There's usually a fantastic discussion going about various threats! The room is not just a random moshpit, though; we actually do have intelligent discussions. The atmosphere of the room is very nice in general, with a generally friendly user base. The room is now public and running functionally—come chat with us here! If you're looking to become integrated with the room, don't be shy, just start talking about PU and you'll do fine! The PU room is also bustling with tours quite often. These tours are nearly always PU tours, with an occasional oddball thrown in. During the tours, discussion is quite high and many players share battling strategies! This is a wonderful time to come to the room and is usually when the room is at its most active. These tournaments occur frequently, and if you miss one, you'll likely be able to join the following one in a short time.

Other info

The room is public, so anyone is free to join and contribute. We'd love to see you come and chat with us. The best cure to not knowing people and not feeling like a part of the community is talking, so please get involved! There are regular tournaments in the room (nearly always PU), and they really brighten up the chat while they're running. As the room is a new one, there's a simple initial staff structure: the tier leaders (Detective Dell and WhiteDMist) are room Owners, while council members are room Moderators. If you'd like to become a part of the staff, just remember that being a constantly good chat presence is the best way to get promoted!

Conclusion

PU is an extremely fun metagame where previously underwhelming Pokémon can become powerful threats in their own rights. XY PU, being new to the simulator, gives an opportunity for lots of new sets and strategies to come to light. The newly added PU room on PS! is a great place to find PU battles, get advice from some of the best PU players, and discuss the metagame!

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