I've been meaning to post my 2U teams for a while, but got sidetracked by my tournament and real-life commitments so much that I forgot all about it until now.
Compared to 1U, 2U is straight to the point: there's hardly any stalling. Hypno and, to an extent, Clefable, are the only two Pokemon with notable bulk. This is a fast-paced, hard-hitting tier that comes down to spreading as much paralysis as possible and killing your enemies before they kill you. I like that a lot, actually, especially after playing so much 1U.
Thus, when preparing for the World Championship I perused through the tier list and paid attention to two things: Speed and Thunder Wave. Off the bat, Kadabra, Raichu, Persian, and Tentacruel stood out. Clefable, though much slower, has access to Thunder Wave and can actually take a hit, so it was worthy of a slot. Hypno is also slow but by far the bulkiest Pokemon in the tier, so it was a must. I needed some muscle in my teams, so I added Kangaskhan because of that Normal STAB and Rhydon because it's so easy to spread paralysis in this tier.
Team 1: Early Advantage
Lead: Hypno
~Psychic
~Thunder Wave
~Hypnosis
~Seismic Toss
With the much-appreciated ability to spread both sleep and paralysis, this team's name is quite fitting. The idea is to put the opponent's lead to sleep (usually Kadabra or an opposing Hypno) and then paralyze the incoming Pokemon. As this variant of Hypno doesn't have Rest, I'm ok with putting one Pokemon to sleep and then pummeling the rest of the team as much as I can before Hypno dies.
Kadabra
~Psychic
~Thunder Wave
~Seismic Toss
~Recover
One of the key paralysis spreaders on the team, Kadabra's blistering 308 Speed means that the only worthwhile Pokemon that outspeeds it is Persian (Dugtrio isn't very good in this tier IMO). Psychic in conjunction with Kadabra's prodigious Special stat AND crit rate often means whatever has to take it will be in for a world of pain. Seismic Toss gives it something to do against Hypno and other Kadabras.
Raichu
~Thunderbolt
~Thunder Wave
~Surf
~Hyper Beam
Another paralysis spreader, Raichu is fast and has decent offensive capabilities on both the physical and special spectrums. Hyper Beam is its strongest attack against various foes, such as Kadabra, other Raichus, Victreebel, and I guess Hypno. Surf wrecks Rhydon.
Kangaskhan
~Body Slam
~Earthquake
~Hyper Beam
~Counter
One of the physical powerhouses of this team, Kangaskhan emerges from Tauros's shadows into the spotlight of 2U, providing me with a reliable way of wearing down paralyzed teams or ripping holes into it earlier on. Counter is great if I manage to predict a Hyper Beam from another Kangaskhan, which I was able to do a couple of times in the World Championship.
Persian
~Slash
~Thunderbolt
~Bubblebeam
~Hyper Beam
It's a damn crime that Persian is only B rank. Like Rhydon, it needs support to excel, but given how much easier it is to do so in 2U compared to 1U, Persian definitely stands out as one of the most threatening Pokemon in the tier. Nothing is faster than it (lol Dugtrio), it 2HKOs the majority of the tier, and it can usually take two hits. Persian did wonders for me in the World Championship--it's truly 2U's best kept secret.
Tentacruel
~Wrap
~Swords Dance
~Surf
~Blizzard
Oh my god, this thing is borderline broken. 298 Speed AND Special, AND access to one of the most broken moves in the game that turns definite losses for you into exasperating losses for your opponent? Yes, please. Tentacruel is borderline S rank thanks to Wrap. This thing saved me quite a few times in the World Championship.
Team 2: Rhydon's Bowling Alley
Lead: Kadabra
~Psychic
~Thunder Wave
~Seismic Toss
~Recover
Whereas my first team was all about putting pressure on the opponent immediately with early sleep and paralysis, my second team focuses on turning the opponent's team into pins so that Rhydon can mow them down. For that reason, Kadabra is my lead, as it can reliably paralyze something on the first turn.
Hypno
~Psychic
~Thunder Wave
~Seismic Toss
~Rest
Since I don't care about the opponent taking a nap, Hypno can take a snooze. Rest can give me additional chances to paralyze something in case something goes wrong.
Clefable
~Blizzard
~Body Slam
~Hyper Beam
~Thunder Wave
Clefable is slow, but it has decent bulk, which means that firing off a Thunder Wave shouldn't be a problem. Normal STAB helps out when dealing with the likes of Hypno and Kadabra, and Blizzard does a lot to Victreebel and something to Haunter.
Raichu
~Thunderbolt
~Thunder Wave
~Surf
~Hyper Beam
Raichu is here solely because it's fast and has Thunder Wave.
Kangaskhan
~Body Slam
~Hyper Beam
~Earthquake
~Thunderbolt
Kangaskhan also benefits tremendously from paralysis support, obviously. I have Thunderbolt here in case my opponent will try to predict the counter, and it also does considerably more damage to Gyarados despite its abysmal Special.
Rhydon
~Earthquake
~Rock Slide
~Body Slam
~Substitute
The superstar of this team, Rhydon can come in on predicted Thunder Waves and wreak some serious havoc on its slower, paralyzed adversaries. Earthquake is an insanely powerful attack that can actually OHKO Kadabra. Rock Slide mauls Gyarados. If the Bubblebeam Speed drop mechanics were properly implemented I would have used it over Body Slam, but extra paralysis never huts. Substitute is there to fish for fps if I need to.
I only used these two teams in the World Championship, which I won with a 14-1 record. The one game I lost came down to a Hypno/Kadabra war of attrition that I could have won if just one round of RNG went my way. Therefore, I feel that if you want to maximize your chances of success in this tier, you should focus on fast Pokemon and/or Pokemon that can inflict status.
Other thoughts
Lower ranked Pokemon like Dugtrio, Rapidash, and Poliwrath have niche uses but aren't very good overall IMO. I'm not really a fan of Haunter because of how weak it is, but it's the #1 Persian counter so it's good for something. I'm sorry, but I think Victreebel is kind of overrated. Of course it can be effective and it's arguably the best answer to Rhydon (only if it's at full health), but I think it's outclassed by Tentacruel as a Wrapper and Hypno is a better sleeper overall (even if Hypnosis has shitty accuracy).
Compared to 1U, 2U is straight to the point: there's hardly any stalling. Hypno and, to an extent, Clefable, are the only two Pokemon with notable bulk. This is a fast-paced, hard-hitting tier that comes down to spreading as much paralysis as possible and killing your enemies before they kill you. I like that a lot, actually, especially after playing so much 1U.
Thus, when preparing for the World Championship I perused through the tier list and paid attention to two things: Speed and Thunder Wave. Off the bat, Kadabra, Raichu, Persian, and Tentacruel stood out. Clefable, though much slower, has access to Thunder Wave and can actually take a hit, so it was worthy of a slot. Hypno is also slow but by far the bulkiest Pokemon in the tier, so it was a must. I needed some muscle in my teams, so I added Kangaskhan because of that Normal STAB and Rhydon because it's so easy to spread paralysis in this tier.
Team 1: Early Advantage
Lead: Hypno
~Psychic
~Thunder Wave
~Hypnosis
~Seismic Toss
With the much-appreciated ability to spread both sleep and paralysis, this team's name is quite fitting. The idea is to put the opponent's lead to sleep (usually Kadabra or an opposing Hypno) and then paralyze the incoming Pokemon. As this variant of Hypno doesn't have Rest, I'm ok with putting one Pokemon to sleep and then pummeling the rest of the team as much as I can before Hypno dies.
Kadabra
~Psychic
~Thunder Wave
~Seismic Toss
~Recover
One of the key paralysis spreaders on the team, Kadabra's blistering 308 Speed means that the only worthwhile Pokemon that outspeeds it is Persian (Dugtrio isn't very good in this tier IMO). Psychic in conjunction with Kadabra's prodigious Special stat AND crit rate often means whatever has to take it will be in for a world of pain. Seismic Toss gives it something to do against Hypno and other Kadabras.
Raichu
~Thunderbolt
~Thunder Wave
~Surf
~Hyper Beam
Another paralysis spreader, Raichu is fast and has decent offensive capabilities on both the physical and special spectrums. Hyper Beam is its strongest attack against various foes, such as Kadabra, other Raichus, Victreebel, and I guess Hypno. Surf wrecks Rhydon.
Kangaskhan
~Body Slam
~Earthquake
~Hyper Beam
~Counter
One of the physical powerhouses of this team, Kangaskhan emerges from Tauros's shadows into the spotlight of 2U, providing me with a reliable way of wearing down paralyzed teams or ripping holes into it earlier on. Counter is great if I manage to predict a Hyper Beam from another Kangaskhan, which I was able to do a couple of times in the World Championship.
Persian
~Slash
~Thunderbolt
~Bubblebeam
~Hyper Beam
It's a damn crime that Persian is only B rank. Like Rhydon, it needs support to excel, but given how much easier it is to do so in 2U compared to 1U, Persian definitely stands out as one of the most threatening Pokemon in the tier. Nothing is faster than it (lol Dugtrio), it 2HKOs the majority of the tier, and it can usually take two hits. Persian did wonders for me in the World Championship--it's truly 2U's best kept secret.
Tentacruel
~Wrap
~Swords Dance
~Surf
~Blizzard
Oh my god, this thing is borderline broken. 298 Speed AND Special, AND access to one of the most broken moves in the game that turns definite losses for you into exasperating losses for your opponent? Yes, please. Tentacruel is borderline S rank thanks to Wrap. This thing saved me quite a few times in the World Championship.
Team 2: Rhydon's Bowling Alley
Lead: Kadabra
~Psychic
~Thunder Wave
~Seismic Toss
~Recover
Whereas my first team was all about putting pressure on the opponent immediately with early sleep and paralysis, my second team focuses on turning the opponent's team into pins so that Rhydon can mow them down. For that reason, Kadabra is my lead, as it can reliably paralyze something on the first turn.
Hypno
~Psychic
~Thunder Wave
~Seismic Toss
~Rest
Since I don't care about the opponent taking a nap, Hypno can take a snooze. Rest can give me additional chances to paralyze something in case something goes wrong.
Clefable
~Blizzard
~Body Slam
~Hyper Beam
~Thunder Wave
Clefable is slow, but it has decent bulk, which means that firing off a Thunder Wave shouldn't be a problem. Normal STAB helps out when dealing with the likes of Hypno and Kadabra, and Blizzard does a lot to Victreebel and something to Haunter.
Raichu
~Thunderbolt
~Thunder Wave
~Surf
~Hyper Beam
Raichu is here solely because it's fast and has Thunder Wave.
Kangaskhan
~Body Slam
~Hyper Beam
~Earthquake
~Thunderbolt
Kangaskhan also benefits tremendously from paralysis support, obviously. I have Thunderbolt here in case my opponent will try to predict the counter, and it also does considerably more damage to Gyarados despite its abysmal Special.
Rhydon
~Earthquake
~Rock Slide
~Body Slam
~Substitute
The superstar of this team, Rhydon can come in on predicted Thunder Waves and wreak some serious havoc on its slower, paralyzed adversaries. Earthquake is an insanely powerful attack that can actually OHKO Kadabra. Rock Slide mauls Gyarados. If the Bubblebeam Speed drop mechanics were properly implemented I would have used it over Body Slam, but extra paralysis never huts. Substitute is there to fish for fps if I need to.
I only used these two teams in the World Championship, which I won with a 14-1 record. The one game I lost came down to a Hypno/Kadabra war of attrition that I could have won if just one round of RNG went my way. Therefore, I feel that if you want to maximize your chances of success in this tier, you should focus on fast Pokemon and/or Pokemon that can inflict status.
Other thoughts
Lower ranked Pokemon like Dugtrio, Rapidash, and Poliwrath have niche uses but aren't very good overall IMO. I'm not really a fan of Haunter because of how weak it is, but it's the #1 Persian counter so it's good for something. I'm sorry, but I think Victreebel is kind of overrated. Of course it can be effective and it's arguably the best answer to Rhydon (only if it's at full health), but I think it's outclassed by Tentacruel as a Wrapper and Hypno is a better sleeper overall (even if Hypnosis has shitty accuracy).
Last edited:
