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Rotom-Wash

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Spoiler

Overview

Rotom-Wash has solidified itself as one of most consistent and influential Pokémon in the OU metagame. by sporting an amazing typing amplified by one of the best abilities in the game. On top of its useful typing it has been blessed by an extensive movepool, which includes valuable moves such as Volt Switch and the buffed Defog, allowing for some insane role compression. Although it isn't the flashiest Pokémon by any means, the sheer value it offers in a single teamslot makes Wash a good fit on literally any OU team.

 

Strategies

Defensive Pivot

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers  
Ability: Levitate  
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Volt Switch  
- Hydro Pump / Hidden Power Ice
- Will-O-Wisp / Toxic / Pain Split
- Defog / Pain Split

 

Set Details

The bread and butter defensive Rotom set. Maximizing bulk to stay alive as long as possible. People may opt for no speed investment to get the slower Volt Switch off against opposing Rotoms, some even go as far as to not maximize the Speed IV of their Rotom. But a pivoting Rotom generally prefers some speed investment, especially when using Will o Wisp.

 

Alternative EV spreads may look like:

252 HP / 196 Def / 60 Spe - allowing Rotom to outspeed maxed Adamant Tyranitar

252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe - allowing Rotom to outspeed maxed Adamant Scizor

252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe - maxed speed isn't very common on Wash, but it is an option if your team needs to outspeed something like Timid Togekiss before they can Roost, or if you want to ensure a fast Volt switch for some reason.

 

Moves

Rotom has a lot of options available and nearly all of them can be good depending on the team it is used on. Volt Switch is a given and in most cases so is Hydro Pump. Hidden Power Ice might be subbed in for Hydro Pump in more stall heavy team compositions that value Move PP. However without Hydro Pump Rotom no longer counters Pokémon like Hippowdon or Tyranitar effectively, making it a less reliable Defogger. Defog is definitely one of Rotom's biggest strengths in the metagame. But even that might be dropped for something like Pain Split, to make Rotom harder to wear down. Toxic is an option if your team really hates bulky Waters like Gastrodon/Swampert, which are rare but otherwise are able to handle Wash effectively.

 

Usage Tips

Rotom can be an excellent lead because it immediately gets into your opponents head, as Scarf Rotom is the second most common set. You generally want to spread burns to start whittling the opponent down or Volt Switch out if something like Blissey is an obvious switch in. Rotom should be used as a pivot and not a heavy wall. It's typing gives it useful resistances but it still takes neutral damage from things like U-Turn and Close Combat, so try to not switch Rotom in on those kind of moves if possible. Rotom enjoys switching in on more passive Pokémon and pressuring them into switching so you can grab momentum with Volt Switch.

 

Team Options

Defensive Rotom is an excellent partner with Scizor, covering each others weaknesses incredibly well and constantly pressuring the opponent with the VoltTurn combination. Rotom also pairs excellently with defensive Pokémon like Gliscor and Ferrothorn, helping them set up Stealth Rocks. Without Pain Split, Rotom also very much enjoys Wish support as it boosts Rotoms longevity through the roof.

 

ScarfTom

Rotom-Wash @ Choice Scarf  
Ability: Levitate  
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe  
Timid Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Volt Switch  
- Hydro Pump  
- Trick
- Thunderbolt / Defog / Hidden Power Grass

 

Set Details

ScarfTom is one of the biggest reasons why Rotom is such a menace in the OU metagame, taking offensive pivoting to the next level. Trick is an incredibly difficult move to deal with especially combined with the threat of Volt Switch, putting a lot of pressure on your opponent from the mere possibility of those moves. Turns out a Hydro Pump from an invested 105 base Special Attack actually hurts quite a bit. It's hard to go wrong with a spread for ScarfTom as it is often used with a lot of bulk as well to function as a defensive pivot after tricking the Scarf. So again there is a lot of playroom in the EVs for ScarfTom.

 

Alternative spreads may look like:

252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe - some people opt to maximize the bulk and speed of Rotom, trying to get the best of both worlds of the defensive pivot and scarf build.

252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD - this set mostly functions as the defensive pivot set, aiming to cripple the opponent as quickly as possible with a Scarf

204 HP / 92 SpA / 212 Spe - this set sacrifices some speed and special attack to give ScarfTom some more longevity, while not completely taking away its offensive potential. The special attack investment allows Rotom to always OHKO Bulky DD Gyarados with Volt Switch, while the speed investment ensures it outspeeds some boosted threats as well like Scarf Tyranitar, +1 Adamant Dragonite and +1 Bulky DD Gyarados

 

Moves

ScarfTom has a bit less flexibility in the moves it uses. Volt Switch and Trick are mandatory and give ScarfTom it's unique combination of traits in the metagame. Hydro Pump is an essential hard hitting STAB move, sadly Rotom does not have access to other Water moves like Surf. So mainly the last moveslot has room for experimentation. Thunderbolt gives ScarfTom more sweeping potential, as it's a more reliable STAB than Hydro Pump and hits harder than Volt Switch, Defog can be used if your team really needs a Defog user or you want access to a fast Defog that cannot generally be Taunted. Hidden Power Grass is mainly a tech for the likes of Swampert and Gastrodon.

 

Usage Tips

ScarfTom is one of those Pokémon that is easy to use but hard to master. In the hands of a capable player it can be absolutely devastating. Ideally you'd want to Trick common defensive switch ins like Ferrothorn and Blissey, seriously hampering their effectiveness in the battle. On the other hand ScarfTom is often a crucial revenge killer in teams, taking out a rampaging Gyarados or Dragonite for instance. You have to carefully consider the matchup and decide if it is even a good idea to Trick away the Choice Scarf.

 

Team Options

ScarfTom is more focused on offensive synergies but still functions well with the aforementioned Ferrothorn and Gliscor. But with the added switch pressure ScarfTom functions incredibly well with offensive threats like: Scizor, Breloom, Dragonite, Conkeldurr or Mienshao that enjoy the switch into specially defensive Pokémon. It's ability to Trick special defensive walls like Chansey or Blissey is also highly valued by Special Attackers, so ScarfTom pairs well with teams that focus on Special spam.

 

Other Options

Hidden Power Fire could be used to catch Ferrothorn switch ins, but it is highly specific and doesn't come close to OHKOing. Trick would often be the better and more consistent move if you'd like to cripple a Ferrothorn. Hidden Power Flying is an option to deal with Breloom, if your team absolutely hates giving Breloom turns to do Breloom things. A specially defensive Rotom could also be used if you need a solid pivot in your team that can somewhat deal with Rain. Calm Rotom also deals very well with Mixed Garchomp and with Will o Wisp it can still cripple plenty of physical threats.

 

Checks and Counters

Rotom earned its spot as one of the most influental Pokémon in the OU metagame specifically because it is so hard to counter, or even check, properly. The combination of Volt Switch with Water STAB makes many Ground type Pokémon defenseless against Rotom. Nevertheless, Ground types are essential in most OU team composition to at least pressure the Volt Switch option. Teams without Ground types or at least a Volt Absorber will most likely fall to a team with Rotom in it. Rotom can also do very little to Grass types like Breloom, Ferrothorn and Roserade, except Volt Switching on the switch of course. Breloom (with Poison Heal activated) and Roserade are in particular solid switch ins to Rotom, as Rotom does not necessarily like getting Tricked a Toxic Orb or Black Sludge respectively. Wash's sibling Rotom-Mow gets a special mention, as it resists both STABs and can counter the momentum from Volt Switch with its own Volt Switch, or threaten Wash with a supereffective Leaf Storm.

 

Swampert & Gastrodon: Without Rotom-Wash these Pokémon would barely have a niche in OU, but as it stands they are one of the better ways to deal with most Rotom Wash variants. Sticky Hold Gastrodon in particular does not care about most things Rotom can dish out, although even that can fall prey to Toxic.

 

Hydreigon & Garchomp: Garchomp block Volt Switches and with a LO Draco Meteor it won't even really care about a burn all that much. It can sometimes trade 1 on 1 with a Rotom-Wash as it can drop the health of Rotom while it tries to Defog. Hydreigon in particular resists both STAB moves and can punish a passive turn like Pain Split or Defog by setting up a Substitute or Nasty Plot, Scarf Hydreigon also doesn't care about Trick at all.

 

Protect & Substitute: There are some Pokémon that can try to take advantage of Rotom having to rely on Hydro Pump to hit hard enough, by perhaps banking on a low roll or miss while trying to set up a Sub. Mons that come to mind are for example Breloom, Gliscor and Garchomp. But even something more unconventional like a Sub DD Gyarados can take advantage of Rotom having to rely on Volt Switch to break the Sub. Protect also helps scout the set Rotom is running, as that is often half the battle against it. It can sometimes be obvious if you're dealing with a ScarfTom or a Leftovers variant from a single turn, which drastically helps you make better decisions against Rotom.

 

Lures and hard hitting Neutral moves: Rotom is really a tough Pokémon to deal with, often you'll have to be willing to take a hard hit to chunk it back. A good example of this is the common Chomp vs Rotom scenario where it will often be worth it to take a Hydro Pump to the face to dent Rotom with a Draco. Of course it all really depends on your team composition. Lures can also be effective to take on Rotom, like a Wacan Gyarados that can hit back with Power Whip or Chandelure with Energy Ball. All in all your whole team needs to be build with Rotom on the back of your mind, because if you don't have a few ways of dealing with it, the team will surely fall against a capable Rotom player.

 

Written by @ThinkNicer

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Grammar checked by


Garchomp

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Spoiler

Overview

Someone looked at a hammerhead shark and decided it wasn't terrifying enough, so they gave it some scythes and made it able to rampage on land as well. There isn't really a better way to describe the terror that is Garchomp. With an incredibly useful speed tier it manages to take the OU metagame by storm and it does this by combining stellar offensive stats with terrifying STAB and useful defensive synergies.

 

Strategies

MixChomp

Garchomp @ Life Orb / Leftovers / Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe  
Naive or Hasty Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Draco Meteor
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast / Toxic

 

Set Details

This is the set that took the metagame by storm after Swords Dance got taken from Garchomp. Since in PokeMMO we don't have the buffed Outrage, many people have shifted over to a special attaking Meteor spamming Dragon. With a Life Orb attached Earthquake still does monstruous damage with minimal investment. Some people prefer to mix up the special and attack EVs, but this set is the gold standard. Maximizing speed and Meteor damage while being able to hit nearly everything for super effective damage. The Nature for Mixchomp can be an interesting choice, as Hasty allows you to more often survive 2 uninvested Hydro Pumps from Rotom Wash, while it makes Garchomp more vulnerable to fast U-turns, and Mach/Bullet Punch. If you're running Leftovers you might want to opt for Hasty, as it gives you a better ability to switch into Rotom, while with Life Orb you wouldn't be able to take 2 Hydros because of recoil anyway. Different moves aren't really needed, as Dragon, Ground and Fire cover nearly everything. Toxic can be used to nail something like Calm Rotom, Togekiss or SpDef Hippo, but you lose your ability to deal with Skarmory and Ferrothorn.

 

Usage Tips

Garchomp excells at using Stealth Rocks, as it often is bulky enough to take some hits and threatens a majority of the metagame with its speed and power. Common Defog users do not like Defoging on a Life Orb Draco and every spinner bar Starmie has no business spinning against Garchomp. As such this set is best used as quickly as possible to get Rocks pressure and punch holes in teams. If using the Leftover variants you could opt to be a bit more preservative with Garchomp as it has many useful resistances, including blocking Volt Switch.

 

Team Options

MixChomp functions well in offensively orientated teams or balanced teams, it synergises well with Steel types like Scizor and bulky Waters like Rotom Wash and Jellicent, that can take on any threatening Ice Beams. Tyranitar is often a great partner for Garchomp as well, as it activates Sand Veil and can benefit from the holes Garchomp creates with its Dracos like denting Hippowdon and Rotoms. Magnezone partners well with Garchomp as it can remove Steel types so Garchomp can free up a moveslot, while also somewhat threatening bulky Waters that would give Chomp problems otherwise.

 

ScarfChomp

Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe  
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang / Fire Blast
- Stone Edge / Toxic / Stealth Rock

 

Set Details

Garchomp is an excellent user of Scarf, which it can use to revenge kill many threats like Volcarona, Dragonite, or Gyarados while also having sweeping potential with a powerful Earthquake. In general it will be the fastest Pokémon in the metagame as no other Scarfers are  commonly used that are faster than it. A special Fire move could be used instead of Fire Fang to specifically hit Skarmory harder, a Hasty or Naive nature should be used in such a case.

 

Usage Tips

Scarfchomp is an excellent tool against offensive teams as they often will have limited switch ins to Garchomp, while Garchomps bulk will allow it to switch in multiple times throughout a game. If your team is lacking a good Volcarona answer it can also be a great fit as it can usually comfortably switch into it and even easily threaten +1 Volcarona. Overall you want to try and eliminate the oppponents Flying types and Levitate users to facilitate Scarf EQ spam. ScarfChomp lacks the raw power from its Life Orb set so you often want to soften up the opponent with hard hitters like Conkeldurr and Scizor.

 

Setup Chomp

Garchomp @ Lum Berry / Yache Berry / Life Orb
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe  
Naive Nature
- Hone Claws
- Earthquake
- Dragon Rush
- Fire Blast

 

Set Details

Even without Swords Dance Garchomp continues to impress and adapt. With Hone Claws it is free to use the stronger Dragon Rush, even providing a flinch chance for easier sweeps. The accuracy boost from Hone Claws also facilitates Fire Blast. Lum Berry is the first item that comes to mind as it can give you free set up against a Will -o Wisp, which is how many teams try to deal with a Hone Claws Chomp. If you are confident in your ability to protect Garchomp however, Yache Berry or even Life Orb can make Garchomp nearly unstoppable.

 

Usage Tips

This Garchomp can be used as a lategame cleaner or even in the early game to lure in checks for the Pokémon you have in the back and hit them hard with a +1 Dragon Rush. Other set up Pokémon like Swords Dance Scizor or DDnite benefit from Garchomp chomping off the health bars from Rotoms, Hippos and Skarmories. For lategame sweeping you might want to use Yache Berry, while for the early game hole punching a Lum Berry or Life Orb would most often be preferred.

 

Other Options

People might prefer to use the more consistent Flamethrower over Fire Blast on many of the given sets. Although it has to be said that Fire Blast is superior at guaranteeing some OHKOs or 2HKOS after Stealth Rock that Flamethrower often won't.

For example Fire Blast could completely prevent a hazard from going up:

252 SpA Life Orb Garchomp Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 176+ SpD Ferrothorn: 166-198 (91.7 - 109.3%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

While Flamethrower would never OHKO a slightly chipped Ferrothorn. In the end the choice is yours of course. On the other end of this, people might prefer to use Rock Slide over Stone Edge if one of the main jobs of their ScarfChomp is to check Volcarona.

 

Garchomp could possible also run Hone Claws with Substitute, with either Leftovers or Salac Berry. This set would absolutely need support from Magnezone to work. Finally there are also more bulky variants of the Rock setting Garchomp, that prey on uninvested Rotoms with Toxic and Stealth Rock. In general these types of Garchomps are great at punishing Hazard removal and are therefore excellent rock setters.

 

Checks and Counters

To properly counter or check Garchomp you first have to assess the potential set it has, the Draco Meteor using Garchomp often requires different checks than the physical attacking counterparts. Specially defensive Hippowdon is a great general check to most Garchomp. As it can take most LO boosted attacks and let Garchomp wear itself down, it can recover off the damage and even take advantage of the turn by going for Stealth Rocks. Cofagrigus in the same vein can take most hits from full and threaten with Pain Split or WoW. Most bulky Waters like Jellicent, Mixed Milotic, Swampert and Rotom-W can also decently check most variants of Garchomp.

 

Special Bulk Flying Types or Levitaters: The MixChomp can be countered somewhat by specially defensive variants of Rotom-W, Togekiss and Gliscor. Which also all have the option to Defog. Gliscor and Rotom-W can threaten Chomp with their moves, but Togekiss can mostly only soak up hits and heal them off. On the other hand the physically based Garchomp can be countered by the likes of defensive Rotom-W and Gliscor.

 

Steel Types: Steel types can be a decent check to some Garchomp, they do have to be wary of its common partner in Magnezone though. Mons like Scizor and Ferrothorn can best come in on predicted Dragon moves or Stealth Rock, while either pivoting again or dealing with it some other way. For Rain teams it would be crucial to have Rain up as quickly as possible, to neutralize Fire moves.

 

Speed: Sometimes it is best to fight fire with fire. Although 102 base speed is very impressive, there are many Pokémon capable of outspeeding Garchomp and threatening KOs. Mienshao and Infernape with Hidden Power Ice comes to mind, as well as Starmie and Scarf users like Hydreigon. Gyarados can take advantage of a -2 Garchomp as well by Intimidating and getting a free turn to set up Dragon Dance.

 

Written by @ThinkNicer

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Grammar checked by

 

Conkeldurr

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Spoiler

Overview

Conkeldurr does its appearance justice, by boasting one of the highest Attack stats in the game while having the ability to boost its already insane Attack stat to ludicrous levels with Guts. Being hit by an opposing Conkeldurr indeed feels like someone smacking concrete pillars in your face. Its low speed is actually a boon for Conkeldurr, as it loves using Drain Punch to gain missing health back. It is an incredibly hard Pokémon to wall properly, because of the plethora of coverage options available to it. Unlike the BW OU metagame, Conkeldurr does not compete with Terrakion or Keldeo. While also not having to worry about Regenerator Slowbro, Amoonguss and Tangrowth or strong Psychic types like the Latitwins, Celebi or Mew. All of these factors combined make Conkeldurr one of the most threatening Pokémon in the OU metagame, and it is the reason you should have at least one or two Fighting resists in your OU team.

 

Strategies

All Out Attacker

Conkeldurr @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts  
EVs: 84 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 132 SpD / 28 Spe  
Adamant Nature  
-Drain Punch / Close Combat
- Mach Punch
- Stone Edge / Payback
- Ice Punch / Thunderpunch / Facade

 

Moves

Conkeldurr has a surprising amount of options available for coverage. It can cover the vast majority of the metagame, but there will always be a few Pokémon that it can fail to hit hard. Fighting + Rock + Ice coverage is the most commonly seen, and it hits the most important things neutrally. As with this coverage defensive switch ins like Gliscor, Hippowdon and Cofagrigus can be hit hard. Facade helps the match up against Reuniclus as that is a 2HKO, while Thunderpunch is an option for Jellicent. Payback is sometimes also seen, but it is definitely more rare as it no longer doubles in power on switches. The type of coverage you use should be based on what your team struggles to be against, so if you don't have many ways to deal with Reuniclus you might want to pick Facade for example.

 

Set Details

84HP investment ensures that we have the highest HP stat possible while taking the least amount of damage from Flame Orb, Hazards and Weather. Max Attack is obviously to hit as hard as possible. The Speed investment is important to speedcreep Hippowdon, making you able to 2HKO it with Ice Punch or Close Combat. The rest of the EVs should then be used to cover for Conkeldurr's low Special Defense. 132 SpD investment allows us to live a Reuniclus Psychic after Burn. There is a lot of room for experimentation with the EV spread for Conkeldurr however, depending on the role you want it to have on your team and the moves it carries.

 

Alternative spreads may look like:

84 HP / 252 Atk / 172 SpD - forgoing the speed investment to try and outspeed Hippowdon, as some Hippo have started running speed to outpace Conkeldurr

252 Atk / 44 SpD / 212 Spe - investing heavily in speed to catch many speedier walls like Jellicent and Skarmory by surprise. Sets that focus on speed will more often carry Close Combat, to really be able to break open opposing teams.

 

Usage Tips

Conkeldurr mainly enjoys the early and midgame as its coverage will not be revealed yet and it has the most opportunity to cleave through walls. However Mach Punch is an excellent tool that allows Conkeldurr to sweep and revenge kill in many scenarios, so it can be used in the late game as well. Conkeldurr enjoys taking a few hits to exchange blows with Drain Punch, as the opponent will usually be on the losing side of such trades. Try to get in Conkeldurr often and hit switch ins hard with the coverage moves you have. Note that Conkeldurr is at its most vulnerable when Guts is not activated yet, as such it enjoys teammates that can guarantee it to come in safely such as Teleport, U-Turn or Volt Switch users. Conkeldurr also enjoys being paired with Tyranitar, as Tyranitar can get rid of pesky Psychic and Ghost types like Reuniclus and Gengar with Pursuit, opening up the way for Conkeldurr.

 

Bulk Up

Conkeldurr @ Leftovers / Flame Orb
Ability: Guts  
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful or Adamant Nature  
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch / Stone Edge
- Stone Edge / Ice Punch

 

Set Details

The Bulk Up variant of Conkeldurr tries to take a more slow and steady approach to try and dismantle the opposing team. With Leftovers + Drain Punch it has some serious longevity, being able to come in repeatedly with its Stealth Rock resist. Although without Guts activated it is easier to deal with for walls such as Hippowdon and Cofagrigus, they however do need a phazing move or else they will be blown away by continuous Bulk Ups.  Conkeldurr can run Flame Orb paired with Bulk Up however, to boost its wallbreaking capabilities through the stratosphere. Neutral coverage options like Facade are less viable on these sets as Rock + Fighting covers most of the metagame with a boost. Just as with the All Out Attacker set, this set can play around with its EVs and even Nature. There are honestly a lot of ways to go about it, some players even sacrifice Attack EVs, as the Attack would be boosted by Bulk Up anyway. If you're running Flame Orb, you probably want to stick to Adamant and high Attack investment though.

 

Usage Tips

Depending on the style of Bulk Up Conk you're using, you might want to save it for the late game or try to punch holes as quickly as possible in the early game. The Leftovers set has the flexibility of coming in multiple times to annoy the opponent with Drain Punch, still retaining enough health to attempt a sweep in the late game, while the Flame Orb variant probably wants to stick to coming in once or twice and attempt to do its thing. Try to assess what your opponent has, that would stop your Conkeldurr from sweeping and try to whittle those mons down first.

 

Team Options

Bulk Up Conkeldurr might enjoy a bit more support than its wallbreaking counterpart. As always, Tyranitar is an excellent fit as a partner, covering the Psychic weakness and removing Psychic -and Ghost types. Bulk Up Conkeldurr can also be seen on Trick Room teams, turning its low Speed into an advantage, while some other players might try to support Conkeldurr with Screens. In particular Light Screen can help Conkeldurr gets two or three boosts, after that it would most likely not need the Screens anymore, healing itself up with Drain Punch. That said, Bulk Up Conk can be an excellent standalone sweeper, and fits on many standard team archetypes.

 

Other Options

Many players opt to run Rock Blast over Stone Edge, for greater accuracy, more PP and to circumvent mons like Gengar and Chandelure fishing for a SE miss with Substitute. Also, while Mach Punch plays a big part in making Conkeldurr the threat it is, some players opt to play without Mach Punch. Without Mach Punch Conkeldurr loses a lot of flexibility, so this should be accounted for during teambuilding. Conkeldurr is also able to use Toxic on a defensive Leftovers set, as it almost always forces in a defensive switch. Instead of trying to break through walls with sheer force, it would try to break them down slowly, while recovering with Drain Punch. Speaking of Sheer Force, this ability is in almost every way inferior to Guts. As the Burned condition only chips by 6% per turn, instead of the 12% it used to be. This greatly increases the longevity of Flame Orb Conkeldurr, also making it immune to being Toxic'd. Finally a Choice Band might be considered on Conkeldurr to catch players by surprise, with its newfound access to Close Combat it could even blast through the likes of Gliscor if it manages to get statussed.

 

Checks and Counters

It is extremely hard to completely counter Conkeldurr, as it has a way to blow through basically anything under the right circumstances. Due to Mach Punch, a lot of faster Pokémon that would otherwise threaten it become mere cannon fodder. Faster Pokémon that resist Mach Punch and can hit hard on the special side, or super effective on the physical side are one of the best ways to limit Conkeldurr in the game. Also be vary of giving the Conkeldurr player a free turn to activate Guts. If the opponent manages to activate Guts freely while gaining momentum you will often be in deep trouble.

 

Ghost and Psychic types like Jellicent, Cofagrigus and Reuniclus can give Conkeldurr a lot of trouble. Namely Cofagrigus carries everything it needs to, to combat Conkeldurr. It has Hex to take advantage of Flame Orb and Haze to get rid of Bulk Up boosts. It has to be careful of getting trapped via Pursuit however and has to keep its health high. Reuniclus with Psychic can safely come in on most Conkeldurr variants as well, although scouting for Facade is advised. Jellicent is good at denying Conkeldurr recovery from Drain Punch, altho it has no good way of immediately threatening it. With a well timed Cursed Body proc, it can easily outlast Conkeldurr with Recover. Faster and frailer ghosts like Chandelure and Gengar are excellent at revenge killing Conkeldurr, as they do not have to fear Mach Punch, and can hit hard on the special side.

 

Flying types such as Gliscor and Skarmory can also try to check Conkeldurr, although both have to fear Ice Punch and Close Combat respectively. Gliscor also is not well equipped to deal with Bulk Up, unless running Acrobatics. Hippowdon is also a mon that can decently check Conk, by sheer base stats and chipping Conk down faster with Sandstorm. Most of these checks can fall if they switch into the wrong coverage move, or lack ways to deal with Bulk Up, so a team should be equipped with a backup plan.

 

Rocky Helmet: Many players opt to run Rocky Helmet on their defensive pivots like Gliscor, Hippowdon and Reuniclus. Mainly to chip down Conk faster so it can be revenge killed easier, or to simply limit the amount of times it can switched in.

 

Written by @ThinkNicer

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Grammar checked by

 

Scizor
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Spoiler

 

Overview

Scizor captured many hearts with its undeniably cool crimson design, but it also enjoys a great position in the OU metagame. Its defensive typing grants it many key resistances to help glue a team together, it uses this typing to dart in and out of battle with U-turn, making it hard to pin Scizor down. Arguably its best trait is having a Techinician boosted Bullet Punch, making it a staple revenge killer in the OU metagame. Being in general great at picking off chipped targets like Gengar, Dragonite or even Infernape with a Choice Band equipped. It doesn't end there however, as Scizor is one of the most fearsome users of Swords Dance, being naturally bulky and not needing speed as much due to Bullet Punch. Scizor does have to be careful however, there are many mons that carry Fire coverage and Magnezone can render Scizor helpless on a predicted Bullet Punch. Its limited coverage options also mean it is easier to wall effectively by the likes of the extremely common Skarmory, Hippowdown, Cofagrigus and Jellicent. Despite of that, Scizor is often a great pick for most teams with its ability to provide tempo and defensive synergy in one slot.

 

Strategies

Choice Band

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-Turn
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Pursuit / Bug Bite

 

Set Details

This set makes use of Scizors greatest traits. Getting in on resisted hits or a Toxic and getting out with U-Turn, chipping down switch ins till they can get picked off by Bullet Punch or other moves. The immediate power from Choice Band makes it very potent at revenge killing as well, making it a menace against offensive teams. Superpower is needed to be able to hit Steel types, threaten Pink Blobs and it is also it's strongest neutral move. The last moveslot can vary, Pursuit can be a great option to trap Gengar, as Scizor can often get in on a Shadow Ball and threaten a KO with Bullet Punch. It also helps chip targets so that they can get picked off by Bullet Punch later. Bug Bite gives it a stronger STAB move, which can helps get through bulky Waters like Milotic and Rotom-Wash. The EVs for Scizor can vary, mostly by adjusting its Speed. Max Speed can be a great option as it can avoid damage from the likes of speed invested Tyranitar, Conkeldurr, Jellicent or speedy waters like Milotic and Rotom-W.

 

Team Options

CB Scizor is honestly a great choice for any kind of team. Its Steel typing gives it many resistances that are valued on standard teams and U-Turn facilitates sweepers and walls alike. Rotom-Wash or Mow are great partners for Scizor, that can take advantage of the common switch ins to Scizor like Hippowdon and Skarmory. Conkeldurr pairs well with Scizor too, as it enjoys getting a free turn to activate Guts. Obviously Water types cover Scizors Fire weakness, while Scizor can patch up their Grass weakness. Likewise Dragon and Steel cores are very solid defensively, so Scizor pairs well with any Dragon. A special mention also goes out to Rain teams, which naturally cover the Fire weakness of Scizor, taking full advantage of all the strengths that the Steel typing grants.

 

Swords Dance

Scizor @ Lum Berry / Life Orb / Occa Berry
Ability: Technician
EVs: 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Bug Bite / Thief

 

Set Details

Scizor can forgo a Choice Band and focus on cleaning up lategame with a Swords Dance set. A +2 Bullet Punch backed with a Life Orb makes Scizor very hard to revenge kill. Thief can be considered over Bug Bite to get through Jellicent and Cofagrigus more easily. The item of choice really depends on what stage you would like to use SD Scizor in. Early on in the game a Lum or Occa Berry might be more useful, as your opponent will often have a Will o Wisp user, or try to get lucky on Scald burns. Occa Berry can be great to bait Magnezone into using HP Fire, getting KO'd by Superpower in return. Occa Berry doesn't help against STAB fire moves, but it can protect you against non-STAB Flamethrowers and (surprise) Hidden Powers. Generally you'd want SD Scizor to have plenty of speed to outspeed walls like Milotic, Mandibuzz and even slow Rotoms. With 28 HP EVs Scizor reaches 149 HP, minimizing the recoil from Life Orb as much as possible. 228 Speed EVs allows Scizor to outspeed slower Rotoms to nail them with a +2 Bug Bite or Superpower.

 

Team Options

You have to consider if Scizor will be the main sweeper in your team, or if it's supposed to support other physical sweepers in the team. Nevertheless, Scizor likes being paired up with Pokémon that lure in physical walls like Mandibuzz, Rotom-Wash, Hippowdon and Cofagrigus. Set up Dragons and SD Gliscor provide great overlapping offensive and defensive synergy for example, pressuring the same kind of walls and covering each others weaknesses. Strong Fire types like Infernape and Chandelure can also be interesting pairings with Scizor.

 

Utility Swords Dance

Scizor @ Leftovers
Ability: Technician
EVs: 116 HP / 140 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance / Pursuit
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- U-Turn / Bug Bite / Pursuit

 

Set Details

This Scizor mainly focuses on the utility of U-Turn and Bullet Punch, not being concerned about dealing direct damage, but providing a team with revenge killing options, momentum grabbing and possible lategame cleaning in one teamslot. U-Turn with Swords Dance seem ridiculous at first glance, but the two moves aren't supposed to work together. Swords Dance is only supposed to be used with Bullet Punch for possible lategame sweeping, and this Scizor mainly does that by sitting on walls like Ferrothorn and Hippowdon and getting to +6. Swords Dance can be dropped for Pursuit, as can U-Turn, to make Scizor mainly a Gengar trapper. But U-Turn combined with special bulk and Leftovers make this Scizor incredibly annoying and hard to catch. The EVs give Scizor maximum Leftover recovery, while also being able to take a HP Fire from Magnezone after Stealth Rock chip and U-Turn out to safety. The EVs on this set are very open for experimentation, some might even opt to run Adamant for more sweeping capability.

 

Team Options

Utility Scizor is best used on defensive Balance teams or even some variants of semi-stall, as this set can provide a lot of value for defensive teams in one slot. Mainly the ability to hold momentum while simultaneously being able to revenge kill and check threats like Hydreigon, Gengar, Tyranitar , Reuniclus and Dragonite.

 

Other Options

Choice Band Scizor may run Aerial Ace as a tech to threaten Conkeldurr, in particular in can get through a Bulked Up Conkeldurr in a pinch, provided it is adequatly chipped. Choice Scarf is an interesting option for Scizor, as it provides it with a blazing fast U-Turn, making it able to dart in and out of battle quickly and not falling prey to a double switch to Magnezone. With a Jolly nature it can outspeed and OHKO Starmie, while also being safer to press U-Turn against the likes of Hydreigon and Garchomp. Scarf does really hamper the ability of Scizor to sweep with Bullet Punch, so maybe even Iron Head could be considered on that set. The offensive SD variants could also hold a Flying Gem, as Scizor has access to Acrobatics. A +2 Flying Gem boosted Acrobatics will blow past many walls that would normally be able to take it on (after Stealth Rock chip). It also gives it a surefire option for dealing with Bulk Up Conkeldurr, as Aerial Ace can be lackluster. Similarly some players can tech in a Dark Gem, as a Dark Gem boosted Thief at +2 destroys Cofagrigus and Jellicent without any prior chip damage. Finally the Utility Scizor could perhaps make use of Knock Off, instead of Swords Dance, getting rid of the Recovery options of walls like Cofagrigus and Ferrothorn can be a game-deciding move. Defog can also be a consideration, as the utility set has great longevity. It isn't the best at Defoging against most common Hazard setters, because it fails to threaten them adequately. But it can find many opportunities to get rid of Hazards in drawn out games.

 

Checks and Counters

As stated in the overview, there are many ways of safely dealing with most Scizor with plenty of Pokémon. Defensive Hippowdon, Skarmory and Cofagrigus are some of the most annoying walls for Scizor to deal with. Scizor also does not enjoy being chipped by Rocky Helmet from Hippowdon and Skarmory, as it severly limits its U-Turning. Cofagrigus can stop any Scizor sweep in its tracks with Mummy, taking away Scizors Techinician ability. Highly physically defensive bulky Waters and other mons can also help check Scizor, although they do have to be careful not to be chipped to hard by Banded U-Turns, or Life Orb boosted Bug Bites.

 

Offensively Scizor can be checked by many threats. Gyarados is one of its greatest checks, as it minimizes damage with Intimidate and can use a locked in Scizor to boost up with Dragon Dance. Fire types like Chandelure and Volcarona also do not fear many things Scizor can do and even threaten to permanently cripple it with Flame Body. Without a boost Scizor will also have trouble blasting through bulkier offensive Pokémon like Conkeldurr, Dragonite and Garchomp. Which can in turn threaten it out effectively. Hazards are also incredibly important to keep Banded Scizor in check, as Scizor loves coming in and out of battle. Players may also opt to tech in Hidden Power Fire, on mons that would otherwise be checked or countered effetively by Scizor. This is mainly an option for Grass types like Roserade and Rotom-Mow, but even some mons like Gengar or Starmie might tech in HP Fire, as Scizor loves trying to Pursuit trap these mons.

 

Of course a special mention goes out to Magnezone, which can completely stop Scizor from doing anything with a well timed switch in and Hidden Power Fire. Magnezone does often need to be Timid to ensure it can trap Scizor, as a faster Scizor can U-Turn out to safety on a Modest Hidden Power Fire. Although if you're dealing with a Banded Scizor and it is locked into Bullet Punch, it is goodnight for Scizor.

 

Written by @ThinkNicer

Quality checked by @gbwead

Grammar checked by

 

Reuniclus

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Spoiler

 

Overview

Reuniclus leaves its mark on the OU metagame by being one of the premier Psychic types in the tier, followed by Starmie. Reuniclus is always the quiet sleeping threat in teams, being able to take games with a single boost and spiraling out of control. Any consistent OU team has to be build with Calm Mind Reuniclus in mind, by either having multiple options of hitting it fast and hard, or by stalling or phazing it continously. Reuniclus manages to be such a big threat thanks to its Magic Guard ability, arguably the most broken ability in the tier. Being able to ignore any entry Hazard, any Weather damage and even scoffing at Toxic, this feutus ain't scared of anything. Well, maybe it is scared of some things. Namely the ever present Scizor and Tyranitar, but even Steel and Dark types have to be vary of Focus Blast.

 

Strategies

Calm Mind

Reuniclus @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Psychic / Stored Power / Psyshock
- Focus Blast / Acid Armor

 

Moves

The classic Reuniclus set will run Calm Mind, Recover with Psychic and Fighting coverage. This set can easily take games in the mid or lategame, if the opponent fails to deal with it immediately. The choice of Psychic move depends on your set, generally Psychic will be the best choice. But some variants of Acid Armor Reuniclus might want to pack Psyshock to beat opposing Reuniclus. Stored Power has the greatest damage potential, but you need plenty of time to set it up. Reuniclus might even opt to drop Focus Blast, losing coverage on Dark and Steel types, to boost its defenses to astronomical levels. The idea behind dropping Focus Blast is to make its Defenses so high that Tyranitar and Weavile won't be able to break through it with their Dark moves, with a Rocky Helmet they would only be wearing themselves down. This would allow Reuniclus to set up Calm Mind uncontested after a while, making a sweep immenent after it reaches +6. Dropping Focus Blast is generally not advised however. Although Acid Armor looks good in theory, it is often not consistent. Many defensive teams will have other ways of dealing with Reuniclus, and the setup is slow enough that most offensive teams can deal with it with a well placed Taunt, Trick or Nasty Plot boost of their own. Thus the Calm Mind with 2 attacks is in most cases the superior and more consistent option.

 

Set Details

This set is simple yet effective at what it does. Calm Mind Reuniclus is always a threat, as even uninvested it can do quite some damage at +1. Max defensive bulk allows Reuniclus to function as a soft check to many setup sweepers like Garchomp or Gyarados. Its biggest strength is being a special attacker that does not care at all about Blissey or Chansey, Reuniclus excells at annoying these special blobs as they give it free turns to Calm Mind, it will have to watch out for a Teleport into a Dark type though. Some players might want to opt for some Speed investment. This allows you to have a bigger chance of winning Calm Mind wars against opposing Reuniclus and also enables Reuniclus to annoy Cofagrigus by being able to hit them with a +1 Psychic before they can Haze the boost.

 

Usage Tips

Reuniclus can be used as a great defensive pivot versus stuff like Conkeldurr, or even Gyarados. It also doesn't mind switching into Blissey/Chansey or the likes of Ferrothorn, as Magic Guard lets it bypass Toxic and Leech Seed. It mainly has to watch out for getting Pursuit trapped by something like Scizor or Tyranitar. Calm Mind Reuniclus can best be used during the mid to late game, when you know more about the sets of your opponent and can perhaps start attempting a sweep. Because of Recover and Magic Guard Reuniclus can stay healthy through the whole course of the game, so try to abuse this by using it to switch into defensive Pokémon that could otherwise threaten your offensive mons with Toxic, Scald burns or other shenanigans.

 

Team Options

Reuniclus can be vulnerable to strong special attacks and is also afraid of the common Scizor and Tyranitar. Thus you can see Reuniclus often being paired with another strong defnesive wall and a special sponge like Blissey. This kind of team structure can be hard to break. If using the Acid Armor set, you'd definitely want to support it with anti Dark type Pokémon like a bulky Conkeldurr and Hazards to limit the switch ins of these Dark types. Reuniclus can also be paired with other Pokémon that do not fear Stealth Rocks as much, putting the pressure of Hazard removal on your opponent and allowing you to stack Hazards more freely.

 

Trick Room

Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 124 HP / 132 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Trick Room
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball / Hidden Power Fire / Recover

 

Set Details

This set turns the terrible speed stat of Reuniclus into its greatest strength, turning it into a fearsome sweeper. The EVs allow Reuniclus to maximise its defensive bulk while running 201 HP, which forces Blissey to Seismic Toss Reuniclus 5 times. Due to Magic Guard Reuniclus takes no recoil from Life Orb, raking in all the benefits without the disadvantages. Because of Reuniclus' impressive physical bulk this set is hard to properly revenge kill while Trick Room is active too. Psyshock can be considered over Psychic to hit Blissey or Chansey better without relying on Focus Blast, but the downside is that physical walls like Hippowdon and Gliscor can actually stall out the Trick Room without Psychic. The last moveslot offers the most flexibility. Shadow Ball helps you mow past opposing Reuniclus, who could otherwise stop you easily, while Hidden Power Fire helps specifically to get rid of bulkier Scizor. Recover is an option to be able to use Reuniclus more throughout the battle, making it more flexible in the early game but seriously hampering its sweeping potential. This set really shines against offensive teams, as it can easily take a hit to set up Trick Room and then be able to outspeed anything the opponent has, OHKOing anything with the right coverage move. It is best reserved for the lategame, where mons have been chipped enough to go down to one hit. With Recover however, the set is a bit more flexible. Trick Room Reuniclus can also be paired up with slow and strong Pokémon like Conkeldurr, which can take advantage from the Trick Room after Reuniclus has been taken out. If you're using multiple slow Pokémon you probably have to use multiple Trick Room users to form a Trick Room archetype. This archetype isn't very common in tournament play, as it isn't very consistent, but it can take an opponent by surprise for sure.

 

Other Options

Reuniclus vs Reuniclus can be such a common sight in Balance or Stall match ups, that some players may opt to run Imprison on their Calm Mind sets. Inhibitting the opposing Reuniclus from setting up. Some Reuniclus also run Thunder or Energy Ball, to hit bulky waters including Jellicent, who can otherwise try to Taunt and stall with Cursed Body procs. Thunder is mainly seen as a tech on Rain teams, with a Life Orb attached. Some Reuniclus forgo the Calm Mind or Trick Room option and run three coverage moves with Recover, this can be a strong option against Balance and Offensive teams as well.

 

Some players choose to run Toxic on Reuniclus, either over Calm Mind or Focus Blast. Toxic gives Reuniclus a way to cripple Hazers like Dragonite and Milotic or Dark types like Tyranitar, Hydreigon and Mandibuzz without having to rely on Focus Blast, this can work well on Rocky Helmet Acid Armor sets, as it makes it really hard to break through Reuniclus. Dropping Calm Mind does mean that Steel types with recovery can give it a lot of trouble however, so optionally this kind of Reuniclus could be paired with Magnezone.

 

Finally some players hate Breloom enough to drop Magic Guard for Overcoat, which makes it immune to Brelooms Spore. Making it basically one of the only failsafe counters to it, the tradeoff is obviously massive but it is an option.

 

Checks and Counters

The counters for Reuniclus vary a lot depending on if it is running Acid Armor or not. The usual counters to most of what Reuniclus can do is Haze users like Milotic, Cofagrigus and Careful Dragonite. Haze has too much PP for Reuniclus to content with, making it inevitably lose these matchups 1 on 1. The pink blobs are also great pivots, taking advantage of Teleport to get the true counter in safely. Special defensive phazers like Careful Skarnory or Spdef Hippowdon can also neutralize Reuniclus with Whirlwind, although this will not stop Reuniclus forever. In most cases you have to try to respond to Reuniclus quickly, as otherwise it can spiral out of control. Without a boost it is rather vulnerable though, so usually the first turn Reuniclus is in is the best time to put pressure on it. Dark types like Tyranitar, Weavile and Hydreigon are obviously great checks to Reuniclus, but they do have to come in safely first. Swords Dance Scizor can also take advantage of Reuniclus most of the time, although it does have to pack Bug Bite if it starts boosting Acid Armor. Reuniclus is also pretty vulnerable on the special side, even with a boost they can be revenge killed by the likes of Gengar, Chandelure or Volcarona. Because Reuniclus is so reliant on boosting moves or Trick Room, it is often messed up by moves like Taunt, Trick and Encore as well, giving you the time you need to counterattack. Lastly you can keep in mind that Reuniclus heavily depends on Focus Blast for coverage, it is both inconsistent and lacks PP, which might sometimes give you the out you need to win the game.

 

Written by @ThinkNicer

Quality checked by @gbwead

Grammar checked by

 

Tyranitar
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Spoiler

Overview

Tyranitar has been the face and center of many itterations of the PokeMMO OU metagame, sadly its days of tyranny are over as strong Fighting types have become more viable and Sand has been nerfed to no longer be permanent. It gets outsped by many threats that can OHKO it and the most common Pokémon in the OU metagame have ways to hit it supereffectively naturally, making the metagame pretty hostile towards it. Despite of these flaws, Tyranitar manages to still be relevant in OU, showing of its adaptability with its impressive movepool and versatility in item choices and teamroles. It boosts its own Special Defense with Sand Stream, making it able to threaten Pokémon that could otherwise KO it, like Gengar, Starmie and Reuniclus. It does have to share its niche with Hippowdon, which also summons Sandstorms at will, but Tyranitar is able to distinguis itself from the big hippo with its superior flexibility, making Tyranitar an easier fit on teams.

 

Strategies

Scarftar

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Superpower / Ice Beam

 

Set Details

Scarftar is one of the more common variants of Tyranitar in high level play. It fixes Tyranitar's biggest flaw, which is its sad Speed stat. With a Jolly nature Tyranitar is able to outspeed Starmie, making it a very capable trapper of the most common Psychic and Ghost types in the tier. Stone Edge is mandatory, because Tyranitar has to run Jolly it needs the added power. The last slot has the most flexibility. Superpower is neccesary if you want Tyranitar to be able to get through Blissey, while Ice Beam can catch many Tyranitar checks by surprise like Gliscor, Garchomp and Hippowdon. When choosing for special coverage move it is advised to run either a Hasty or Naive nature. Scarftar is not suited for wallbreaking, because it is unable to boost its Attack and has to run Jolly. Therefore Tyranitar works best with other powerful hitters that can weaken walls. Conkeldurr is a very common ally, as it lures in Ghosts and Psychic types that Tyranitar can trap and also whittle down walls that give Tyranitar problems. Scarftar is also commonly seen on Stall teams, as it is able to revenge kill plenty of threats and is bulkier than most other Scarf options. Scarftar also very much enjoys the added Hazards that are commonly used on Stall teams.

 

Bandtar

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Superpower / Aqua Tail

 

Set Details

Banded Tar is one of the strongest and most consistent Choice Band users in the tier. While Tyranitar does not have the utlity provided by the omnipresent CB Scizor, it makes up for that by providing raw power and quality STAB moves. Bandtar is also more flexible in Pursuit trapping than Scarftar, because Banded Pursuit can cripple targets like Blissey beyond recovery due to the added power. Bandtar Banded Stone Edge can basically 2HKO any unresisted switch in, even a fully defensive Skarmory is 2HKO'd with ease after Stealth Rock damage. Bandtar has such overwhelming attacking power that it doesn't need much coverage. Superpower makes short work of Ferrothorn and Excadrill, which are common switch ins, while it also hits Conkeldurr and Breloom hard. Aqua Tail can be a great option to smack Hippowdon and Gliscor, which otherwise are able to wall Bandtar. You generally want to have some speed on Bandtar, because of Pokémon like Skarmory that can otherwise Roost before being hit by Stone Edge. 84 Speed investment allows us to speedcreep standard Skarmory, while 164 Speed investment outpaces Mandibuzz. Max Speed investment can also be valuable, as it can surprise unsuspecting Rotom-Wash or bulky Scizor.

 

Team Options

Bandtar is very much a wallbreaker, as such it pairs well with Pokémon that enjoy crippled physical walls. Bandtar can for example be an interesting pairing with Excadrill. Excadrill brings much needed speed to the team, abusing Sand Rush activated by Tyranitar. The metagame can be a bit hostile towards Bandtar, as it is slower and Fighting and Water moves are pretty common, so it appreciates U-Turn and Volt Switch Support. Volt Switchers in particular are more likely to bait in special walls, which can be crippled by a straight up attack or Pursuit. Bandtar absolutely needs Stealth Rock on the field to ensure some 2HKOs too. Tyranitar brings a lot of common weaknesses to the team, so make sure you're well equipped to take strong Fighting, Ground and Water attacks, while having checks for the U-Turners.

 

All Out Attacker

Tyranitar @ Expert Belt

Ability: Sand Stream

EVs: 124 HP / 252 Atk / 28 SpA / 20 SpD / 84 Spe

Lonely Nature

- Crunch

- Stone Edge / Superpower / Focus Punch

- Ice Beam

- Fire Blast

 

Set Details

The 4 attack Tyranitar takes a different approach to wallbreaking than the Choice Band set. Instead of forcing its way through with Banded Stone Edges, it values super effective coverage and good prediction. With a mixed set Tyranitar tries to take full advantage of its extensive movepool, being able to hit a good portion of the metagame for superefffective damage. Expert Belt is a natural fit on this set, as it allows Tyranitar to 2HKO the likes of Hippowdon and Skarmory with 28 SpA investment. It can opt to run less Attack to boost its SpA to higher levels, allowing it to OHKO Skarmory and Ferrothorn after Stealth Rock. With an Expert Belt equipped the added Attack EVs don't help too much in handling the usual suspects like Reuniclus, Cofagrigus, Jellicent or Gengar. Focus Punch is an interesting option, as Chansey and Blissey would usually be able to Toxic stall this kind of Tyranitar. 84 Speed again allows Tyranitar to speedcreep Skarmory, which it can then proceed to melt into the earth. 124 HP investment maximizes Tyranitar's bulk with the remaining EVs, making it take the least amount of damage possible from Stealth Rocks. This set can run a multitude of different moves and spreads, too many to really list here, a discussion on the vast amount of options available to Tyranitar can be found under 'Other Options'.

 

Stealth Rocker

Tyranitar @ Leftovers / Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful or Sassy Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Superpower / Toxic / Fire Blast

 

Set Details

Stealth Rock Tyranitar can be a bit difficult to use. For one, the best time to set up Stealth Rock is usually when your opponent is going for Stealth Rock. This is already a hard task for Tyranitar, as the common Stealth Rock users in the tier are capable of damaging it severly, or straight op KOing it. Secondly, Tyranitar does not match up well against common Defog users like Rotom-Wash and Gliscor, while also having a terrible match up against the premier spinner Excadrill. That being said Tyranitar can be an excellent back up Rocker on the team, supporting your main Stealth Rock user, or it can be used along Spikes. This Tyranitar tries to remedy its special weaknesses by going for a Careful or Sassy nature, boosting its Special Defense stat to Blissey territory. It can then try to leverage this special bulk by annoying Defog users like Rotom with Toxic. Toxic also allows Tyranitar to cripple most other common switch ins to it. With a Chople Berry attached it can function as a great Reuniclus and Gengar check as well. EV spreads, natures and items can honestly vary greatly for more utility focused Tyranitar, we will try to go over many possible options in the 'Other Options' section.

 

Other Options

Besides the obvious Scarf and Band, Tyranitar is truly a Pokémon that can do it all and do it effectively to boot. In this paragraph we'll go by more Move options, Item options and Nature/EV options.

 

Moves: Moves on the Scarf and Band sets are more rigid, as these sets fulfill specific functions within teams and they don't have to stray to niche options to fulfill those functions effectively. Although Fire Blast can be considered on Scarf sets over Superpower and Ice Beam, to hit Skarmory in particular. Rocker Tyranitar and non-choice offensive Tyranitar however can experiment wildly with many moves available to them. On the utility side of things Tyranitar can use Taunt, being able to completely shut down things like Cofagrigus and Skarmory without needing coverage for them. Taunt variants of Tyranitar would usually want to have enough Speed to outpace Skarmory. Another useful move that Tyranitar can use effectively is Substitute. Tyranitar is able to make 51 HP subs, which means that they can't be broken by a single Seismic Toss or Night Shade. Substitute can be great because Tyranitar is excellent at forcing switches, I mean just look at that mug. Roar is another option available to Tyranitar and it is specifically useful on Hazard stacking teams, racking up Spikes damage on switch ins like Hippowdon is great and there is of course also the chance that the Roar drags in an unwilling Gengar or Chandelure. Of course we should also mention that Tyranitar has acces to Dragon Dance, but the problem is that the metagame is to hostile towards Tyranitar to allow it to sweep with DD. Scizor and Conkeldurr are extremely common, which can OHKO with their priority moves and even at +1 DD Ttar will be outsped by the likes of Scarf Rotom and Garchomp. Defensively it has no good tools to get through bulky Steel and Ground types either, unless specifically running Fire or Ice coverage, which in turn severy hinders its overall ability to sweep.

 

Items: Tyranitar can function as a great lure with resist berries. Chople Berry is already used on the Rocker set, making it able to withstand some Focus Blast and still remaining useful for the remainder of the match. However Tyranitar can also make use of a Shuca Berry, to lure in Hippowdon, Gliscor and Garchomp with Ice Beam. Lum Berry can also be an option on attacking sets, to give Tyraniar a second chance if it happens to get caught by a Will o Wisp or Scald burn. Or players can opt to go more aggresive with a speedy Life Orb variant, although with the right coverage moves Expert Belt does the trick almost as well. Earlier it was said that Tyranitar is often not a great primary Rocker, but with a Focus Sash Tyranitar can be a great lead Rocker. It differentiates itself by its ability to beat other lead Rockers with its coverage, specifically the popular Garchomp.

 

Spreads: Some players may opt to try and surprise opponents with a special based Tyranitar. These often try to be speedy to catch things like Scizor, Skarmory and even Breloom off guard. An invested Dark Pulse can also be surprising if your opponent was banking on Will o Wisp to cripple Tyranitar's ability versus Psychics and Ghosts. Speed natured Tyranitar in particular can be surprisingly effective at wallbreaking Balanced teams. A general rule of thumb is that Tyranitar with a mixed or special moveset will often be speedier than their only physical counterparts. This is because special attacking Tyranitar try to catch unsuspecting Scizor or Breloom off guard, which are otherwise excellent checks to Tyranitar.

 

Checks and Counters

Fighting types obviously do great against Tyranitar, as they resists both its STABs and Tyranitar never runs a move that can hit Fighting for super effective. Breloom does have to look out for potential Ice or Fire coverage and it is also not keen on taking Banded Superpowers. Ground types like Hippowdon, Gliscor and Excadrill often have not much to fear from Tyranitar either. Opposing Excadrill even enjoy a speed boost from Sand Stream, making it able to check Scarftar with ease as long as it doesn't come in on a Superpower. It is often a good idea to feel out what kind of set the Tyranitar is running, especially if it is not Band or Scarf. Tyranitar can never cover everything, so usually there will be something on your team that can take it on close to riskfree.

 

Offensively Tyranitar gets pressured by many things, its Rock typing makes it weak to common special attacks like Scald and Hydro Pump, due to Sand Stream however it will usually be able to take at least two suppereffective special hits from full. Ground is also an extremely common offensive type, with many Earthquake users plaguing the tier. It is also annoyed by the common U-Turn from Pokémon like Hydreigon, Mienshao and Scizor. While also being weak to the two most common piority moves in the tier in Bullet Punch and Mach Punch. Tyranitar really only enjoys switching in on more passive Pokémon like Blissey or Cofagrigus. Although even on the former it has to watch for Will o Wisp. Generally there will only be one or two Pokémon on your team where Tyranitar will have an opportunity to switch in, so make note of those openings and be alert on a potential switch in.

 

Written by @ThinkNicer

Quality checked by @gbwead

Grammar checked by

 

Ferrothorn

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Spoiler

Overview

Ferrothorn basically redefined how offensive Pokémon are valued within the tier. Does it have limited ways to deal with Ferrothorn? Well then it is probably not good. With defensive stats and a movepool that make Skarmory blush and resistances that many support Pokémon envy, it has become an important cornerstone of the OU metagame. While it does have plenty of switch in opportunities, it also has to be fearful of Fire coverage tech on Pokémon like Tyranitar and Dragon types. The lack of great Psychic Pokémon also gave way to many Fighting types, which Ferrothorn does not enjoy. These traits make Ferrothorn unfit to be a decent wall, but its ability to support the team with Spikes, Stealth Rock, Leech Seed or even Knock Off while handling Rotom, Scizor, Excadrill and many others, far outweigh the flaws Ferrothorn has.

 

Strategies

Standard

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Def / 108 SpD
Sassy Nature

IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes / Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed

- Power Whip

- Gyro Ball / Protect

 

Set Details

This is the only set Ferrothorn really needs, although the SpD investment is higly variable and depends on your team. 108 SpD investment allows Ferrothorn to live a Hidden Power Fire from Magnezone, with the rest invested in defensive bulk. More SpD investment can be used to make Ferrothorn a stronger check against Rain teams, Rotoms or even Gengar and Hydreigon. A Sassy nature is preferred with minimal Speed IVs to get the most out of Gyro Ball, which can do some impressive damage to faster Pokémon due to STAB and a surprising 94 base Attack. Gyro Ball could be replaced by Protect, to help Ferrothorn's recovery problem and can rack up additional chip when combined with Leech Seed. Protect does however make Ferrothorn overly passive and can give too much room to threats like SD Scizor or Lucario. Power Whip is important to hit bulky Waters, who would otherwise wall it and be free to fire off Scalds. Leech Seed brings more support to the team and is in general an annoyance for offensive and defensive teams alike, as it allows Ferrothorn's offensive teammates to come in more freely.

 

Usage Tips

Ferrothorn stength is coming in on resistant hits or weak neutral moves from walls or Choice locked targets, try not to bring Ferrothorn in on stronger neutral moves like CB Scizor U-Turn, because Ferrothorn has no reliable recovery method. Once Ferrothorn is in you want to focus on Hazards foremost, if a layer of Spikes is already up Ferrothorn can start annoying the opponent with Leech Seed, adding another layer of passive damage after they take Hazard damage and putting overall pressure on your opponent. Attacking is mostly reserved for the times you think your opponent wants to bring in a more offensive Pokémon, or when facing annoying Water types. A Breloom or Roserade switch can be punished hard with a Gyro Ball for instance. Ferrothorn isn't meant to last forever, so don't be afraid to sacrifice it after it has done its job of chipping the opponent and setting hazards.

 

Ferrothorn works well with bulky Waters that can take on strong physical threats. Rotom-Wash and Jellicent come to mind, for their ability to cripple or deal with attackers like Scizor. Rain archetypes are especially good at supporting Ferrothorns weaknesses, making even Magnezone have a hard time of trapping Ferrothorn. Speaking of Magnezone, you generally want to have a Pokémon partnered with Ferrothorn that can take advantage of a Magnezone locked into Hidden Power Fire. For example a Sub or Nasty Plot user like Gengar, or a physical threat like Bulk Up Conkeldurr or DDnite.

 

Other Options

Ferrothorn has plenty of other support options available that may work in more specific teams. Ferrothorn is one of the few Pokémon that doesn't mind running Knock Off for example. Which can be very effective at crippling unsuspecting switches, like knocking of a Flame Orb from Conkeldurr before it was activated, or taking Leftovers from Reuniclus. Thunder Wave can be another option to cripple the opponent, but this is fairly specific. Some players like to run Spikes and Stealth Rock on the same set because Ferrothorn gets many turns against slower teams. Ferrothorn can also run Worry Seed, which is another highly specific tech that can annoy switch ins like Breloom or Magnezone. Although on Rain teams it is far more consistent as it does not have to worry about Magnezone as much. Another tech to try to punish Magnezone is Bulldoze, which can 2HKO Magnezone on the switch, Ferrothorn would still need to be healthy enough to take Hidden Power Fire to make this work.

 

Some players opt to run Rocky Helmet on Ferrothorn, although the recoil damage can look rather impressive it does seriously limit the longevity of Ferrothorn. Rocky Helmet can be used, but it is probably best to pair it with Wish Support from Chansey or Vaporeon. Lastly you also have some brave souls that run a Choice Band Ferrothorn, which can be surprisingly effective with high power moves like Gyro Ball, Power Whip and Explosion. This set might be able to fulfill some niche in offensive teams that appreciate the resistances that Ferrothorn brings to the table.

 

Checks and Counters

There are plenty of Pokémon that check Ferrothorn well, Ferrothorn namely preys on defensive Pokémon like Hippowdon or Choice Locked targets such as Tyranitar to get in safely. Reuniclus is a Pokémon that annoys Ferrothorn greatly, as it ignores Leech Seed and the Hazards set by Ferrothorn. Walls that pack Taunt, like Skarmory or Mandibuzz also completely shut down Ferrothorm. Ferrothorn also has to watch out for Will o Wisp from the likes of Cofagrigus and Jellicent, as that hampers its supportive and offensive capabilities. Fighting types such as Conkeldurr and Bulk Up Breloom can use Ferrothorn as set up bait as well, as can Setup users like Scizor, Lucario, Chandelure and Volcarona. Rotom-Mow can also be an effective way to deal with Ferrothorn, as it ignores Leech Seed, resists both STABs, threatens with Trick or Will o Wisp and even is immune to a stray Thunder Wave. 

 

Ferrothorn is also very vulnerable to item manipulation in the form of Trick or Knock Off, as it heavily relies on Leftovers to do its job, with its low Speed it can never make use of a tricked on Scarf either and Ferrothorn has no useable special stat to make use of Specs. Of course Magnezone perfectly counters Ferrothorn as well, although if it comes in on a Leech Seed during Rain it can be a slog to take Ferrothorn out.

 

Written by @ThinkNicer

Quality checked by @gbwead

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Hydreigon
c9a0039f4a1e33c4752556b434153fd0.png

Spoiler

Overview

The three headed hydra has some excellent traits that make it a formidable threat. It has a unique typing that grants it many useful resistances, one of the best abilities in the game, great offensive and defensive tools and the stats to help it achieve its potential. Hydreigon particularly enjoys that Rotom-Wash and Mow are extremely common, as it can capitilize of off their weaknesses well. With Taunt or Substitute it can ruin the day of many defensive Pokémon like Cofagrigus, Hippowdon and Gliscor, which usually do not carry moves to threaten Hydreigon. It is however in an awkward Speed tier, being outsped by the most common Dragon-types Garchomp and Salamence. Speaking of other Dragon-types, it competes with that spot with one of the best OU Pokémon; Garchomp, making it harder for Hydreigon to fit on teams. With the absence of Draco Meteor from its movepool it can also struggle to do enough damage to offensive teams, although it generally performs great against Balance or Stall.

 

Strategies

Nasty Dragon

Hydreigon @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid or Modest Nature

IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Focus Blast / Flamethrower

- Dark Pulse / Dragon Pulse

- Substitute / Taunt

 

Set Details

Sub Nasty Plot Hydreigon is one of the most common Hydreigon sets in the OU metagame, because it can capitalize off of common defensive structures. Levitate makes it able to dodge Earthquakes from Hippowdon or Gliscor, which can lead to a free Substitute. Hydreigon's Dragon Typing gives it resists to Water, Electric and Grass as well, which means that most Rotom variants are helpless against it. Its Dark typing forces the likes of Jellicent, Cofagrigus or Reuniclus to run in fear. Taunt can be an option to make Chansey and Blissey less effective checks to Hydreigon, while also denying Hippowdon a Whirlwind. Dark Pulse with Focus Blast gives Hydreigon perfect coverage, although sometimes Fire + Dragon/Dark coverage is chosen instead to be able to threaten Steel types more consistently. The Nature mostly depends on the team, Timid will be the most common as it allows Hydreigon to speedtie against opposing Hydra and outpace mons like Rotoms, Lucario, Excadrill and the elusive Haxorus. Sub variants that want to mostly abuse defensive teams can however opt to run Modest, as the 98 Speed tier still allows Hydreigon to outspeed base 80 and below threats.

 

Team Options

Hydreigon itself can decimate defensive teams, so you would generally want to focus on covering for more offensive teams with your other teamslots. Resistances to Fighting types are crucial as are ways to deal with U-Turn. Jellicent can cover many of Hydreigon's weaknesses for example as can Reuniclus. Hydreigon absolutely needs partners that can deal with faster threats that generally force Hydreigon out, like Mienshao, Garchomp, Gengar or even Starmie. Substitute Gengar can be a great offensive partner for Hydreigon. If your opponent has Chansey for example, they will either carry Seismic Toss or Psywave, meaning that one of your special attackers will be able to completely dominate Chansey.

 

Choice Scarf

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid or Hasty Nature
- U-Turn
- Dark Pulse

- Dragon Pulse

- Fire Blast / Focus Blast / Superpower

 

Set Details

Hydreigon is an excellent user of Choice Scarf, turning the tables against some of its offensive checks like Garchomp and Gengar. It also makes Hydreigon an excellent answer to the plague that is Trick Rotom. U-Turn is what makes Scarf Hydreigon shine, as it gives it the ability to retain momentum. Dark Pulse and Dragon Pulse are mandatory on the set, to cover for threats like opposing Dragons and Reuniclus. Fire Blast is great to nail Scizor, who can otherwise be a nasty check to Hydreigon. Focus Blast also generally gives Hydreigon enough coverage against Steel types while also doing enough damage to offensive Scizor but it obviously has consistency issues. Finally some players opt to run Superpower to lure in Blissey, when running Superpower a Hasty Nature would be preferred. Naive will often be less consistent because Hydreigon is such a great check to Rotom forms. Even with a Hasty Nature, Hydreigon needs 140 Atk investment to ensure a 2HKO on Blissey after Stealth Rocks, and that kind of investment is not worth it. The Hydreigon user would need to lure in Blissey with Stealth Rock up once on a U-Turn so it can then be in range of uninvested Superpower. Modest Hydreigon can also be considered, although you then lose the ability to outpace Scarftoms weakening that favorable matchup.

 

Team Options

Scarf Hydreigon is a great fit on offensive or balance teams that are looking for a good check to Ghost and Psychic while being a decent answer to Rotom. U-Turn gives it the utlity to support offensive partners like Conkeldurr while scouting the opponents set. Fighting types like Breloom, Conkeldurr and Mienshao really like the utility of the Scarf set, as the Fighting types generally lure out mons that Hydreigon has a great matchup against. Rotom-Wash can be an excellent partner, forming the iconic VoltTurn core, while Wash also covers Hydreigon somewhat defensively.

 

Stallbreaker

Hydreigon @ Leftovers / Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid or Modest Nature

IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Roost

- Flamethrower

- Dragon Pulse / Dark Pulse

 

Set Details

This set differs from the Nasty Plot variant by being a much more solid answer to defensive teams. With Taunt and Roost combined Hydreigon can break almost any defensive core, while the Nasty Plot variant has to choose which defensive threats it wants to neutralize with Substitute or Taunt. Roost allows Hydreigon to stall out Pokémon like Blissey, by limiting their recovery with Taunt. Flamethrower is a very important move on this set, it has more PP than Fire Blast and Focus Blast while providing the much needed coverage. The choice of Dragon Pulse or Dark Pulse is dependant on the team. Dragon Pulse gives a bit more power to Hydreigon's attacks, while Dark Pulse allows Hydreigon to take Reuniclus and Starmie out of the game. If the team is in need of a decent Psychic type check than Dark Pulse might be the way to go. Leftovers gives Hydreigon the best ability to outstall Pink Blobs and makes Hydreigon more resistant to Burns from the likes of Will -o Wisp from Rotom/Cofagrigus and Scalds from the likes of Jellicent/Tentacruel. Life Orb makes Hydreigon more of a threat to offensive teams, but will force it to Roost more often.

 

If you would like this Hydreigon to primarily break open defensive teams, you can opt for a Modest nature with HP investment, as Hydreigon is so speedy that it doesn't need much to outpace common walls.

68 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 52 SpD / 132 Spe Modest for example, gives Hydreigon enough Speed to outpace Jolly Breloom and Bulky DD Gyarados, allowing Hydreigon to Taunt the latter before a Dragon Dance. While the HP investment gives it maximum Leftover recovery.

 

Other Options

Hydreigon can also make use of 3 Attack sets with Roost and Life Orb, forgoing the utility of Taunt for extra coverage. The sacrifice of the utility that Taunt offers is usually not worth that trade off. Some players might also opt for a Substitute set without Nasty Plot, but with Roost. This can work because Hydreigon forces a lot of switches and it eases the prediction factor. SubRoost can perhaps work well with Toxic Spike support as Hydreigon usually forces in grounded non-Steel targets and Poison types like Gengar and Tentacruel don't like facing a Hydreigon behind a Substitute. Hydreigon can also learn Defog, giving access to a rather fast Hazard remover, it is however plagued by the fact that Garchomp is the most common Rock setter in OU, but it is an option if you are looking for a Defog user that can come in on Rockers like Gliscor and Hippowdon easily, without being weak to Rocks. Rotom fulfills this role much better than Hydreigon can in most cases. Hydreigon can also run Dragon Dance, while it lacks the destructive power of physical Dragons like Dragonite and Garchomp, it can catch the opponent off guard. Lastly Hydreigon can make use of Torment shenanigans, as many Pokémon only carry one move to hit Hydreigon neutrally or supereffectively it can be quite annoying to deal with combined with Protect.

 

Checks and Counters

There are no true counters to Hydreigon, as it can run so many varied sets and can hit hard on the special and physical side. Chansey comes the closest to being an outright counter, as even Superpower will need some heavy chip before it can 2HKO. Hydreigon is best checked offensively, as it can prey on many defensive staples. Conkeldurr can switch in on Dark or Fire moves and other setup moves like Nasty Plot and Substitute, Guts boosted Mach Punch is enough of a threat to threaten Hydreigon out. Choice Band Scizor can also be a great check with prior chip damage and Garchomp can revenge non Scarf variants any time. Volcarona outspeeds Hydreigon and can threaten it with a Bug Buzz OHKO. Defensively Hydreigon can be stopped by plenty of Pokémon as long as it isn't running its Stallbreaker set. Blissey, Chansey, Spdef Hippo, Mandibuzz or Milotic can all threaten or phaze it in some way. These defensive switchins get obliterated by Stallbreaker, so you need to have ways of threatening Hydreigon in other ways, like hampering its utility with Trick, getting it Paralyzed ot Toxicd or having Pokémon that can outspeed and KO it.

 

Written by @ThinkNicer

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Grammar checked by

 

Blissey65f014b95c051425d80a5e1b69517fca.png

Spoiler

Overview

Once upon a time this loving, sweet and caring Pokémon enraged millions of people by being paired with Skarmory and forming the infamous SkarmBliss core. Nowadays some players will still feel an involuntary impulse to gag at the sight of it, being irrevesibly damaged by the severe mental and physical trauma that Blissey put players through. Don't let its sweet demeanor fool you, Blissey is still a formidable threat in this metagame and should be planned for in every match. Its ability to take strong special hits is nearly unmatched and with all its efforts focused on honing its six pack it can take neutral physical hits deceptively well too. It is however, not the unbreakable wall it used to be, even paired with Skarmory. Strong Fighting types with Close Combats plague the OU metagame and special attackers like Gengar and Hydreigon can attempt to blow past it with Nasty Plots and Focus Blasts. Blissey also has to be fearful of Trick, which is often carried by Rotom. All in all the metagame has become more hostile towards Blissey, but it still is one of the best special sponges you can find in the metagame.

 

Standard

Blissey @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature

IVs: 0 Atk
- Softboiled
- Toxic / Stealth Rock

- Teleport / Seismic Toss

- Ice Beam / Flamethrower

 

Set Details

Blissey is one of the main choices when Balance and Defensive teams are looking for a special wall, even Offense can make use of the utility provided by it (albeit with a more offensive moveset). Blissey is a better choice than Chansey for teams that have Sand, as Leftovers negates the chip from Sandstorm. Blissey is also better equipped to deal with setup Pokémon like Gengar, Hydreidon and Scizor by having ways to hit them supereffectively. Blissey is also a bit less reliant on Hazard removal support, as Chansey really dislikes taking repeated Stealth Rock.

 

So an offensive coverage move is almost always preferred on Blissey, because otherwise you have more reasons to run Chansey. Ice Beam covers setup from Dragons like Hydreigon, Garchomp and Dragonite. While Flamethrower is mainly used for Scizor, who otherwise doesn't care one bit about Blissey and can come in for a free Swords Dance. Its other moves, besides Softboiled, can all vary wildly. Teleport lets Blissey scout switch ins, and with its immense bulk it can pull this trick off multiple times in a match. Seismic Toss gives it ways to stall out or chip targets on more defensive or balance teams. Toxic is usually the main way for Blissey to inflict damage on the opponent, but Blissey can also be a reliable Rocker in a pinch. There are a multitude of other options available to Blissey, those will be covered later.

 

Blissey will generally run a Bold Nature, which might strike newer players as odd, as a base 10 Defense would barely get boosted. However an incredibly low base defense stat, combined with a monstrous HP stat, means that every single added defense stat is vitaly important in taking physical hits. For example a Calm 252 HP / 0 Def Blissey would take:

252 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Blissey: 442-523 (122 - 144.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

While a Bold 252 HP / 252 Def Blissey would take:

252 Atk Life Orb Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 196-231 (54.1 - 63.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

On the other hand, because of Blissey's giant HP stat and great special defense, it doesn't benefit Blissey much from investing resources into its special defense. Nevertheless a Calm Nature can be considered, as it makes Blissey a more solid Rain check and gives it more staying power against +2 Focus Blasts from Gengar.

 

Alternative spreads may look like:

252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD Calm - getting more stats out of the Nature boost, while still retaining decent physical bulk

4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD Calm/Bold - forgoing HP investment, as Blissey already has the highest base HP stat in the game and doesn't benefit much from investing into it other than taking stronger physical attacks like Garchomp EQ.

 

Blissey can honestly partner with many Pokémon in many team archetypes. It is often paired with physically sound Ghost types like Cofagrigus and Jellicent, as they cover Blissey's glaring Fighting weakness. Bulky Psychic types are in a similar way useful partners. Skarmory is still an amazing partner for Blissey, but the core is far from infallible so it needs added support from walls like Hippowdon. Teleport allows Blissey to support its team offensively as well, it can take even U-Turns and Volt Switches and guarantee that frail offensive partners come in unscathed. Blissey does not enjoy taking Hazards, so having a reliable Defog user or Spinner is generally crucial on teams that utilize Blissey.

 

Usage Tips

Teleport has transformed Blissey into a great pivot Pokémon. It can for example come in on a Volcarona, Gengar and Reuniclus and use Teleport to get the real counter of the team in safely. You might want to scout Pokémon that can carry Trick first before sending Blissey in, as Blissey is not the best user of Scarf. Depending on the set you use for Blissey you have to be careful about when and against what you switch it in. For example a Bold Blissey can be crushed by strong special attacks like a Rain boosted Hydro Pump from Kingdra, if Blissey took prior Stealth Rock chip. As such it can be important to keep Blissey's health topped off with Softboiled against offensive teams even if it only took 20-30% damage.

 

Other Options

Shadow Ball is sometimes used to surprise Gengar, Chandelure and to chip Reuniclus. Blissey can also opt to run Thunderbolt, if the team is in dire need for a Gyarados check. Some Blissey opt to run dual or even triple coverage options, with Softboiled as their last move. Blissey can also opt to run special attacks like Ice Beam and Flamethrower with Serene Grace, to try and cheese a Freeze or Burn, Natural Cure is way more consistent however and makes Blissey a switch into Toxic. Serene Grace variants could also run Calm Mind, turning Blissey into a niche sweeper and a potential alternative win condition for Stall.

 

Blissey can also run Aromatherapy, because Blissey gets so many free turns it is a consistent way of keeping your bulky teammates healthy. Blissey can tech in Psych Up, with Psych Up Blissey can potentially win against the likes of setup Reuniclus and QD Volcarona, Rock Slide is an option as a very specific tech targeting Volcarona.

 

Lastly some players like to run Wish on Blissey instead of Softboiled. In the case of Wish you'd also need to run Protect to ensure Blissey can recover itself. Blissey's massive HP stat allows it to Wish back many teammates to basically full health, Protect also allows Blissey to scout moves from the likes of Banded Scizor or Tyranitar which are common switch ins. The disadvantage is that recovery becomes a bit less consistent and Protect chews up a valuable moveslot. There are also players that combine the utility of Softboiled and Wish, by running them both on the same set, forgoing Protect.

 

Checks and Counters

While Blissey gets many coverage options, it still has a pitiful SpA stat, making even Flamethrower on Bulky Scizor and Thunderbolt on Gyarados a 2HKO. It is best to try and scout out the coverage move Blissey is carrying before switching in Pokémon like Scizor haphazardly. Steel types are generally good switch ins to Blissey that don't carry Flamethrower, because they don't get bothered by Toxic. Magic Guard from Reuniclus also protects it from Toxic and it can set up Calm Mind on Blissey's face.

 

Obviously strong Fighting types are a great check to Blissey, Conkeldurr and Breloom enjoy the Toxic and more defensive Breloom don't even care about Flamethrower or Ice Beam as Leech Seed basically heals them back to full due to Blissey's huge HP stat. Taunt can also ruin Blissey as it limits Toxic, Softboiled and Teleport. Poison types like Tentacruel and Gengar can come in on free turns like Softboiled or Toxic to set up or Rapid Spin, special setup mons like Nasty Plot Togekiss and QD Safeguard Volcarona are also designed to beat Blissey and Co., as such Blissey isn't a good counter to many of the special sweepers in the tier.

 

Written by @ThinkNicer

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Rotom-Mow443b90dff0b9fb03dc90437ad46463b9.png

Spoiler

Overview

PokeMMO OU allows Rotom-Mow to thrive alongside its sibling and OU popstar Rotom-Wash. It enjoys the absence of powerful counters such as Latias, Heatran and Celebi making it an excellent Pokémon in the metagame. Its niche over Rotom-Wash is that Rotom-Mow is a better abuser of Volt Switch, as even Ground types like Swampert cannot safely block it and Leaf Storm has a higher base power than Hydro Pump. Its typing also makes it a better absorber of oppsing Volt Switch and thereby making it an excellent counter to Rotom-Wash. Unlike Rotom-Wash it is also a superior check to Dragon Dance Gyarados, as Ice Fang needs significantly more chip damage than Power Whip would against Wash.

 

Strategies

Scarftom-C

Rotom-Mow @ Choice Scarf  
Ability: Levitate  
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe  
Timid Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Volt Switch  
- Leaf Storm
- Trick
- Thunderbolt / Hidden Power Fire / Defog

 

Set Details

Scarftom is the most common variant of Mow you'll see in the OU metagame. Its typing and ability to abuse Volt Switch lends it to be a great Scarf user and it has all the advantages that Rotom-Wash enjoys. Hidden Power Fire can be a tech to nail Ferrothorn, who otherwise can wall Rotom-Mow completely, although if it gets hit by a Trick it will be crippled as well. Defog can be an interesting option to give Rotom-C more options after it has Tricked its Choice Scarf.

 

Again, like Rotom-Wash, Rotom-C can use different EV spreads. Although Rotom-C is more often used on offensive teams, so it is less advised to run a significant amount of bulk because the special attack investment is needed to give Leaf Storm crucial OHKOs against bulky Waters and some 2HKOs against the likes of Gliscor and Garchomp. 164 SpA investment for example is the minimum to ensure a 2HKO after Rocks against Naive Garchomp or max HP Gliscor, but it fails to get the OHKO on mons like Jellicent or Milotic after Rocks. Because one of Rotom-Cs biggest strengths is its ability to take on bulky Waters, it is not generally advised to lower SpA investment further. Modest can be an interesting consideration, it would ensure it to be slower than other Timid Rotom-W or C, getting the slow Volt Switch and max speed would still allow it to outspeed most +1 Gyarados, it would however lose its ability to outspeed mons like Timid Chandelure and Togekiss after Trick, which can be a pain for offensive teams.

 

Usage Tips

Rotom-C is a great momentum grabber as it can come in on Volt Switch and, with a Scarf, grab the momentum back with the threat of its own Volt Switch. Try not to switch it into neutral moves as it likes those even less than Rotom-Wash, because it seriously cuts into its ability to get in on Scalds and Electric attacks. As with Rotom-Wash you need to consider if you want to Trick your Scarf in the game or not, as you might need it to revenge threats like Starmie, Gengar or Gyarados.

 

Rotom-C  can be a bit trickier to use than Wash, as with a Scarf you have to carefully evaluate the risk of Leaf Storm. Even if you KO something with it, you open yourself up to setup from the likes of Dragonite, Scizor, Gyarados, Hydreigon, Gengar and many others. As such the board position should be evaluated, sometimes it can actually be optimal to not KO a Pokémon when you can.

 

SupportTom

Rotom-Mow @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate  
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Volt Switch  
- Leaf Storm
- Defog / Pain Split
- Hidden Power Fire / Will o Wisp

 

Set Details

Rotom-Cs unusual typing gives it some neat resistances that can be valuable for some teams. Without a Scarf it is still a great absorber of Volt Switches and with Leftovers attached it can take those Volt Switches all game. It is also a great switch to another common attack; Scald. With Leftovers and WoW or Hidden Power Fire it actually manages to turn the tables on one of its better counters in Ferrothorn. Speed allows Rotom to get out of the way of common attacks like Flamethrowers and Fire Punches with Volt Switch and max HP gives Mow the ability to pivot for a long period of time.

 

Wisp gives it a chance to better cripple checks like Gliscor or Hydreigon, while still giving it a solid option against Ferrothorn and Scizor. Hidden Power Fire gives it a better ability to check opposing Grass types like other Rotom-C and Breloom however. Defog Rotom-C can be a bit hard to use as it loses hard to the common Life Orb Garchomp rock setter and even offensive Spikers like Roserade can threaten it with Sludge Bomb. Some players will, for that reason, not bother with Defog on Rotom-C and in stead increae its ability to take on Waters and Electrics with Pain Split.

 

EVs are again very variable for Rotom, but generally Rotom-C benefits more from speed than Rotom-W, as it is weak to more common moves in the meta, namely Fire, Bug and Ice. At minimum you would want to outspeed max Scizor so it can never surprise you with a fast U-Turn or Bug Bite.

 

Other Options

Rotom-Mow functions best with the options listed in its sets, it doesn't need to stray far from those moves to do its job well. Sitrus Berry can be an option on bulkier variants, because Rotom is so often Scarf it allows you to bluff a Scarf, which can result into players staying in with Ground types if they think you're locked into Volt Switch. Nasty Plot could potentially be used, but Rotom-C lacks the resistances, speed and capability to beat Pink Blobs. To make use of it effectively it would need support to break through traditional defensive teams.

 

Checks and Counters

Rotom-C is weak to common coverage moves like Ice Beam and Fire Blast, as such it isn't hard to check as long as Rotom-C can't hit supereffectively. Grass types like Ferrothorm, Breloom and Roserade can take advantage of Mow. Special walls like Blissey and Chansey sponge hits from Rotom indefinitely, although they have to be wary of Trick. It is hard to stop Rotom from Volt Switching though, there aren't many Ground types that are able to take two Leaf Storms. Jolly Garchomp with Leftovers can take two, but needs chip damage to ensure a KO with Fire Fang. Careful Gliscor is one of the better counters to Rotom-C, but again a Trick can ruin it.

 

Because defensively countering it is a near impossible task, many players try to deal with Rotom-C offensively. Baiting Leaf Storms can be an effective way of reducing the damage Mow can do. For example switching to Dragonite to take a Leaf Storm and switching back to Hippowdon to block a Volt Switch not fearing -2 Leaf Storm as much. Mons like Scizor, Hydreigon, Dragonite and Lucario can also take advantage of Rotom-C locking itself into Leaf Storn. Pursuit trapping Rotom with the likes of CB Scizor or Tyranitar can also catch Rotom on the Volt Switch, or if it is locked into a -2 Leaf Storm. Stealth Rock can be very important in chipping down Rotom-C, as it will often have no way of recovering itself.

 

Gengar3bc52f1576cf25ff6c0629af2d9ebb46.png

Spoiler

Overview

Gengar floats over the OU metag- ... wait a second, oh right, sorry I meant Gengar DOESN't float over the OU metagame like a flightless bird. Gamefreak taking its ability Levitate has left this jolly ghost bitter, it now spends its time cursing at anything that comes near it. Oh how the times have changed. Nevertheless Gengar shows off how dominant it can be, even without Levitate, as its bag of tricks has never been bigger. Having access to moves like Nasty Plot, Trick, WoW, Pain Split, Disable and many offensive coerage moves can make Gengar a terrifying Pokémon to face. Cursed Body can also be extremely annoying as Gengar can give setup opportunities to its partners with a lucky proc. Of course its defensive stats don't look to stellar, and it is prone to being trapped by common Pursuit users Scizor and Tyranitar, but this doesn't stop this body of gas from terrorizing the metagame.

 

Strategies

Nasty Ghost

Gengar @ Black Sludge / Life Orb
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 4HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball

- Focus Blast

- Substitute

 

Set Details

This is the bread and butter Gengar set, its Ghost typing allows it to force many switches, giving it plenty of oppertunity to use Substitute. Behind a Sub it can then pick the most appropriate next move, depending on what the opponent brought out. Ghost + Fighting gives Gengar perfect coverage, which means it doesn't really need any other coverage move. With Black Sludge Gengar has more chances to use Substitute and also makes it a better absorber of Trick, while Life Orb helps out the damage output, helping it get many KOs with or without a boost. The set itself is very simple, yet effective and flexible. The unpredictability of Gengar comes from the many ways it can adjust this base set to fit the needs of its team, these options will be covered under 'Other Options'.

 

Gengar is an often natural fit on offensive teams, as it can leave some serious holes in the defenses of the opponent. Cursed Body can also allow teammates to get a riskfree setup, as such Gengar is often paired with other Substitute or Swords Dance users. Gengar will often be revenge killed by Tyranitar or Scizor so teammates that can take advantage of locked Dark and Steel moves like Hydreigon, Lucario, Scizor or Excadrill can be excellent offensive partners. Other special sweepers that would enjoy special walls being crippled like Volcarona are also an option.

 

Other Options

Because of Gengar's incredible movepool, we will cover most viable options seperately in this section.

 

Choiced Variants: Gengar can make great use off of Choice Scarf or Specs with Trick. Specs can really tear through offensive teams, while a Trick can cripple defensive teams. Scarf makes Gengar the fastest Pokémon in the tier, making it able to revenge kill everything except Scizor.

 

All out attack variants: With a Life Orb attached Gengar can really take opponents off guard. Thunderbolt can make short work of Milotic, Mandibuzz and Gyarados, while Psychic can OHKO some Conkeldurr. Sludge Bomb can also be a great neutral option to hit targets like Rotom-W hard or to try and cripple a switch with Poison. Hidden Power Fire and Ice also have great use, as they can OHKO targets like Scizor, Garchomp and Dragonite which Sludge Bomb can't do.

 

Colbur Berry: Some Gengar opt to use a Colbur Berry with Protect in stead of Substitute. This is useful for the common match up versus Scizor and Tyranitar. These matchups can quickly become 50/50 scenarios, where if you stay in they might Bullet Punch or Crunch KO respectively, but a switch on Pursuit would mean instant death as well. Protect allows you to scout what your opponent would lock itself into, allowing you to safely switch or attack.

 

Pain Split: Life Orb Gengar can opt to run Pain Split over Nasty Plot, boosting its longevity while still threatening Balance and Offensive teams with LO boosted attacks. Chansey and Blissey can be crippled heavily with a Pain Split, paving the way for other special attackers to take advantage of them. It also gives Gengar an option to heal off the damage it has done to itself with LO, and the more it damaged itself the more it can hurt the opponent with Pain Split. Pain Splits high PP also means you can actually attempt to outstall recovery attempts from the likes of Chansey.

 

Will o Wisp: Gengar can make use of WoW, allowing it to cripple aggressive switches without having to rely on prediction too much. WoW is often paired with Hex in stead of Shadow Ball, Hex has the added benefit of immediately being more powerful against targets like Breloom and Conkeldurr.

 

Disable: Gengar's typing allows it to make good use of Disable, as plenty of defensive Pokémon only carry one move to hit Gengar with, like Scald from Tentacruel, Foul Play from Mandibuzz or Earthquake from Hippowdon. With Substitute it can also scout out Choiced moves and possibly Disable Pursuit from the likes of Choice Band Scizor and Tyranitar.

 

Destiny Bond: Destiny Bond has become a lot harder to use, now that it automatically fails when used consecutively, but it can still be an option to ensure a 1 for 1 or even 2 for 1 trade in Gengar's favor. Destiny Bond fits best with All Out Attackers that don't need a fourth coverage slot.

 

All the moves listed above can work in one way or another with each other, Gengar could also drop Focus Blast for more consistent options for example. EVs can also vary, althought max Speed and SpA are often important in every match.

 

Checks and Counters

Any Pokémon with a large variable movepool can be hard to counter, especially when combined with its blazing 110 base Speed. Standard Gengar can be countered by a handful of special walls however. Pokémon that have access to Haze can remove Gengar's boosts behind a sub, Calm Milotic and Careful Dragonite are mons that can take Gengar's boosted hits and recover with Recover and Roost respectively. Special defensive Hippowdon threatens OHKO with Earthquake and can also Whirlwind Gengar behind a sub. However, phazers can be bypassed by Taunt, in turn Gengar becomes more vulnerable to Pokémon like Psywave Chansey or any Blissey with an offensive move. Blissey sometimes runs Shadow Ball to prevent any Gengar shenanigans as well.

 

Mandibuzz gets a special mention as it can threaten Gengar with Whirlwind or Foul Play and is not hit suppereffectively by anything other than Thunderbolt, which is rare. Specially defensive mons that carry Black Sludge also don't have to be as afraid of Trick, Roserade can take a Shadow Ball and threaten with Extrasensory, while Tentacruel can attempt to cripple Gengar with Haze, Scald or even Mirror Coat, although Tentacruel will usually trade 1 for 1 against Gengar.

 

Strong pursuit users that resist Shadow Ball are also great at removing Gengar from the game. Scarftar cannot switch into a potential Focus Blast or Substitute, so it has to try and get in on a double switch or as a revenge kill. Scizor can come in on Shadow Ball, or a setup move and threatens a OHKO with Banded BP, forcing Gengar into a sticky situation. Spiritomb is an unusual option, but it can take most unboosted hits and threaten with Sucker Punch and Pursuit. Weavile can be great at trapping Gengar, but its frailty makes it tricky to utilize

 

Scarfers that can take a hit and threaten it back are a good way to keep Gengar at bay. Rotom-Wash, Garchomp and Hydreigon come to mind. It is difficult to outpace Gengar with natural speed, but in a pinch Starmie or Crobat could revenge kill a Gengar. Unboosted Gengar without LO can also have difficulty OHKOing bulkier offensive Pokémon that can take advantage of it by setting up. Dragon Dance Dragonite, Gyarados and Swords Dance Scizor come to mind as well as Bulk Up Conkeldurr if it runs plenty of Special Defense.

 

Written by @ThinkNicer

Quality checked by

Grammar checked by

 

Dragonite

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Spoiler

Overview

Dragonite has many traits that distinguish it from its fellow OU Dragons. It is by far the slowest Dragon in the tier, but it the only Dragon that can use a priority move and an excellent one at that; Extreme Speed. Its bulk allows it to live hits that some of its siblings would not be able to take, using that to its advantage with Dragon Dance. It has the most versatile moveset of all the Dragons in the tier, being able to pull of Mixed sets, Choice Band sets, Dragon Dance sets and even sets that utilize Haze to wall the opposition. Inner Focus has also been buffed to prevent Intimidate drops, making Pokémon like Gyarados unable to check it properly anymore. Despite these defnining traits, it can be difficult to fit Dragonite on standard teams because of its Stealth Rock weakness and slower speed, making Garchomp an easier fit for most teams.

 

Strategies

DDnite

Dragonite @ Lum Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / / 252 Spe
Adamant or Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Punch
- Extreme Speed / Earthquake

 

Set Details

A simple Dragon Dance set, with its multiple resistances and bulk it can find multiple oppertunities to set up. If it manages to set up without taking damage it can even be hard for the opponent to knock Dragonite out in one hit. An Adamant Nature won't be able to outspeed base 130s like Jolteon, but this is not much of a problem if you're running Exteme Speed. Extreme Speed also allows Dragonite to bypass priority moves from Mamoswine or Weavile, and possibly knocking out a heavily chipped Scizor before it can Bullet Punch. Both Adamant and Jolly Natured Dragonite can play around with Speed investment, although Jolly would definitely want to outspeed base 130s after a Dragon Dance. For Adamant a good speed tier to aim for is base 110, to catch Gengar after a Dragon Dance as it is not affected by Extreme Speed.

 

Lum Berry is a great item for DDnite, as many people will try to answer Dragonite by Burning it with Cofagrigus, Jellicent or Rotom or trying to Toxic stall it with Protect or recovert moves from the likes of Gliscor or Hippowdon. Leftovers can give that bit of longevity that can keep Dragonite out of priority range, but it does allow Dragonite to be checked by more Pokémon. Life Orb can also be considered in more offensive teams, as it seriously amps up the wallbreaking potential after a Dragon Dance.

 

DDnite pairs well in teams that stack physical offense as a midgame wallbreaker or lategame cleaner, with Extreme Speed it is more suited towards cleaning up teams than without it. Pokémon like Scizor complement Dragonite both defensively and offensively. Sometimes Dragonite will be paired with other Dragon types like Garchomp to try and hammer the opponent with neutral Dragon moves, these teams will often feature Magnezone to remove Steel types. Bulky waters are an excellent partner for Dragonite as well, they can take the Ice Beams and Stone Edges that are often thrown Dragonite's way. Hazard control is appreciated, but for the Dragon Dance set it isn't mandatory, because Dragonite will likely only come in once and try to do as much damage as possible.

 

Choice Band

Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Punch
- Extreme Speed
- Superpower / Waterfall

 

Set Details

Dragonite is able to distinguish itself from other Choice Band users by having Extreme Speed, making it capable of revenge killing many 'out of control' threats like a set up Gyarados or Hydreigon. It is also a great anti-offense tool as it can sometimes cleanly sweep up chipped down offensive teams with Extreme Speed alone. Fire Punch makes short work of any Steel type that dares to come into Dragonite as even fully defensive Skarmory is 2HKO'd after Rocks. Superpower is a great neutral option that actually hits harder than STAB Dragon Claw and still hits most Steel types hard. Waterfall is a great way to deal with Gliscor and Hippowdon, who can otherwise beat Dragonite with Rocky Helmet and recovery.

 

CB Dragonite can be a great asset to Balance and Offense teams, because it doesn't need a turn to set up.  With the immediate power provided by Choice Band it can surprise many teams that would've liked a turn to switch around. It likes to be surrounded by bulkier teammates because it often will only stay in for a turn. Because of the hit -and run nature of CB Dragonite, the team absolutely needs good Hazard control. So pair it with a reliable Defog user or even a team that utilizes double Defog or a combination of Rapid Spin and Defog.

 

Stallnite

Dragonite @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Haze
- Roost
- Heal Bell / Fire Punch / Dragon Dance

 

Set Details

Dragonite is a staple in Stall teams thanks to a combination of traits making it able to handle Pokémon that would normally destroy any Stall team singlehandedly. To understand what makes Dragonite a near essential part of hardcore Stall teams, we need to talk about what Pokémon give Stall big problems. First of all we have Togekiss, that can run a Nasty Plot set with recovery and Heal Bell, making it able to shrug off Toxic and Air Slash flinches ensure that it will win against slower phazers by eventually getting enough flinches in a row. Secondly we have Reuniclus, which is able to ignore most of the things Stall teams try to do, which is stack hazards and chip with Status. Coupled with Calm Mind and/or Acid Armor it can take away games. Volcarona is another Pokémon that can run sets that allow it to recover and ignore Status moves while using the incredibly threatening Quiver Dance. These Pokémon can be dealed with by other mons, but (bar Timid Milotic) Dragonite is the only Pokémon that can stop all of these threats in one slot. This allows Stall teams to be way more consistent, because the rest of the team can focus their efforts on walling other Pokémon while Dragonite can stop most special attackers.

 

Max HP and Special Defense allows Dragonite to wall any special attacker that isn't running an Ice or Dragon move, other noteable setup Pokémon that are stopped by Dragonite are Calm Mind Chandelure and Nasty Plot Gengar for example, as Haze passes through Substitute as well. Pivots like Rotom-W or C also aren't a big problem for Dragonite. In a pinch this set can even counter Breloom, provided that it runs Fire Punch and something else on the team is Slept. 60 Speed EVs will allow Dragonite to speedcreep slower Rotom, allowing it to Roost before a Volt Switch. It might also be beneficial to put some Speed EVs regardless to speedcreep more defensive Nasty Plot Togekiss.

 

The last moveslot allows for some flexibility. Heal Bell provides Dragonite with the most role compression, being able to wall, phase and be a cleric. Fire Punch does allow Dragonite to do a few other things though, like not giving opposing Steel types free turns to set up Hazards and not giving Pokémon like Scizor and Breloom free switches. Finally Dragon Dance can allow the team to have an alternate win condition, after the opposing team has been whittled down by Hazards and Satus Conditions.

 

Obviously this set should only be used in the most defensive of teams, as it doesn't provide any kind of pressure. It's important to cover strong Dragon, Ice or Rock type users and physical setup Pokémon like Scizor or Gyarados as they can take advantage of the passivity of this set. This set also needs plenty of Hazard removal, but that is a given in defensive teams.

 

Mixed Attacker

Dragonite @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 72 Atk / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Mild Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower
- Superpower
- Extreme Speed / Roost

 

Set Details

A 100 base Special Attack is nothing to scoff at with the access to powerful moves like STAB Draco Meteor and Fire Blast, especially powered by Life Orb. This set is basically unwallable as it can break through anything with the right prediction, even offensively it can sometimes be difficult to check because of Extreme Speed. Max Special Attack allows Dragonite to absolutely blow away walls like Hippowdon and Gliscor, that would normally come in on the most common Dragonite sets. The Speed EVs are there to at least outspeed Breloom, which Dragonite can decently check with its typing. The EVs and even Nature are variable, some may opt for more Attack investment to nail delete Pokémon like Chansey for example. Roost allows Dragonite to still function as a decent check to mons like Rotom, but not having Extreme Speed really hampers the usability of this set against more offensive teams.

 

Like the Choice Band set this Dragonite enjoys the absence of Stealth Rock, even moreso because of Life Orb recoil. It can act like a great lure to physically defensive Pokémon like Cofagrigus, opening up the team to a physically offensive assault. Players might even opt for Thunderbolt / Thunder in stead of Fire coverage to get rid of Jellicent and still be able to hit Skarmory. Wish Support from something like Blissey can also be a great boon for Dragonite as they have decent defensive synergy and it can bypass the recoil from LO or damage from Stealth Rocks.

 

SubRoost Dragonite

Dragonite @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 204 HP / 172 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Substitute

 

Set Details

Dragon Dance Dragonite has to usually choose between longevity from Leftovers or preventing Status with Lum Berry, this set allows Dragonite to have the best of both worlds while sacrificng its ability to setup easily and hit more targets. With a Substitute Dragonite can dodge Will -o Wisp and with the defneisve investment listed a defensive Rotom cannot break the sub with Volt Switch, while Jellicent and Cofagrigus will have great difficulty with breaking the Sub with Scald or Hex respectively as well. This set is great at breaking down more defensive teams, after phazers like Skarmory or Hippowdon are crippled or removed. The Speed EVs are again to speedcreep defensive Rotom, although there is enough room in the spread to go for more Speed or even a Jolly Nature.

 

As this set only utilizes Dragon type attacks, Magnezone immediately comes to mind as a partner for this set in particular. Although there are plenty of Pokémon that can lure in Steel types like Skarmory to try and remove them from the game. Life Orb Scizor can damage walls like Hippo and Skarmory greatly with a boosted Superpower for example and offers the team more utility than a Magnezone would. The same can be said for Conkeldurr running Close Combat, or Choice Band Tyranitar. Hazard removal is not mandatory, as this Dragonite has plenty of bulk and can recover the chip with Roost.

 

Other Options

Most of the viable options that Dragonite has have already been discussed, however there are still some moves or sets one might consider when using Dragonite. As mentioned it has access to Thunder which can help it break through bulky Waters. Dragonite can also use Hurricane when used in Rain, which can function as an excellent high power STAB move and covers the tier well combined with Superpower. There is also many things you can do with attacking sets combined with its supporting moves. Like have Heal Bell and Roost on a LO set, or some other combination of utility like Thunder Wave. Dragonite has access to Agility, which it can use to great effect against Offensive teams as it fixes Dragonite's main problem versus fast teams. Lastly Dragonite can also opt to use Dragon Tail to phase or shuffle Pokémon, although Haze is far superior in hard stall teams due to its ability to bypass Sub, accuracy and high PP.

 

Checks and Counters

Dragonite is hard to counter properly because of the vast array of options that are available to it. Mixed Hippowdon comes close to being able to stop most sets cold, although it has to really watch out for LO Dragon Dance sets or sets that use Water moves. Mandibuzz is another Pokémon that doesn't care much about what set Dragonite is running and can punish it with Foul Play if it wants to try and set up. The safest bets are strong defensive walls like Hippowdon, Gliscor, Cofagrigus and bulky Waters like Jellicent or Swampert. They all have ways to threaten Dragonite and are able to take boosted hits.

 

Mixed sets can be very hard to deal with defensively, but due to Dragonite's low speed many teams can pressure it with offense in stead. Having control over Stealth Rocks is essential to try to limit the options Dragonite gets. Basically you'd want to try to keep the pressure high so Dragonite has only limited times that it can come in to threaten the team. Nvertheless, mons like Calm Milotic can check mixed sets decently well and even Chansey and Blissey can come in on anything that isn't Superpower. In general Mixed sets rely heavily on Draco Meteor and Superpower, so its possible to bait some moves to cause stat drops making it easier to check for more teammates as well.

 

There are also many Scarf users that are able to check a rampaging Dragonite well, like Garchomp and Hydreigon. Choice Band Scizor does a great amount of damage with Bullet Punch and resists Extreme Speed, making Scizor able to revenge kill Dragonite even when chipped heavily. Naturally faster Pokémon generally have a coverage move to deal with Dragonite as well, so countering Dragonite very much starts in the teambuilder.

 

Written by @ThinkNicer

Quality checked by

Grammar checked by

 

Excadrill

a152f8513ab10523ad61b1ae8ecb47a0.png

Spoiler

Overview

its a god damn drilling mole

 

Next up Excadrill

Edited by ThinkNicer
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