|
-
Torrent
- Boosts power of Water-type moves by 50% when at 1/3 HP or less.
-
Defiant
- Boosts Attack by two stages for every stat drop.
|
Level 50 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
84
|
- |
159 |
191 |
- |
| Atk |
86
|
95 |
106 |
138 |
151 |
| Def |
88
|
97 |
108 |
140 |
154 |
| SpA |
111
|
117 |
131 |
163 |
179 |
| SpD |
101
|
108 |
121 |
153 |
168 |
| Spe |
60
|
72 |
80 |
112 |
123 |
Overview
Back in the days before the 5th Generation and the year of the Ubers, Empoleon had some wide usage in VGC. While its typing let it resist lots of moves, Empoleon gets hit fairly hard by common moves such as Earthquake, Close Combat, and Thunderbolt. However, with a nice Special Attacking stat along with bulky base defenses and low base Speed, Empoleon makes good use out of being under Trick Room to easily produce a sweep.
Scald is the main STAB for the set as it's one of Empoleon's most reliable Water-type STABs with benefits. Icy Wind is a nice move that Empoleon has in its arsenal to help it take on more of a team supporting role by lowering the opponent's Speed and dealing damage at the same time. Hidden Power Grass gets most of its use by hitting things such as Gastrodon and Rotom-W, which otherwise wall almost anything Empoleon has. However, Grass Knot can hit others, including Rhyperior and Swampert, harder. Protect is a staple on almost anything in VGC. It can help stall, give protection for that turn, and help mess with the opponent's predictions on what to attack the next turn.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
With the prevalent use of Fighting-types in this metagame, Chople Berry helps Empoleon tank even the strongest Fighting-type attack. Wacan Berry is another choice with the common use of Pokemon such as Rotom-W, Zapdos, and Thundurus roaming about with hard hitting moves, as Wacan Berry lets Empoleon survive these. Both Berries also leave Empoleon at enough HP to have Torrent activate, strengthening Scald. As mentioned before, Torrent is a far superior ability for Empoleon over Defiant. A Calm nature gives Empoleon slightly more special bulk, allowing it to survive an Electric Gem-boosted Thunder from Zapdos with Wacan Berry as well as other special attacking moves. Full HP investment lets Empoleon survive lots of attacks and last longer to utilize Icy Wind repeatedly. Full Special Attack investment ensures that it still hits hard while being a decent supporter.
Rain support is cool to boost Empoleon's main STAB and to be in control of the dominating weather on the field. Empoleon can pair well with slower, hard-hitting Pokemon that enjoy facing opponents with lowered Speed from Icy Wind support, namely Hydreigon, Chandelure, and Rotom-A; all can be big threats but are often slower than major foes such as Latios or Garchomp. Tornadus and Crobat make good partners, as they prevent Fighting-types on the field from causing a big problem for Empoleon with their Flying Gem-boosted Acrobatics.
Scald is the main STAB option on the set. It deals some good damage and has a slight chance to burn the opponent, which might come in handy when hitting physical attackers. Hydro Pump is the other option as it is stronger, but has a higher chance to miss, which could be crucial in some games. Ice Beam gives coverage over many things that threaten Empoleon, such as Garchomp, Zapdos, and Thundurus, which can all use their respective STAB moves to deal heavy damage to Empoleon. Grass Knot hits fellow Water-types, such as Gastrodon and Swampert. Hidden Power Flying gives Empoleon excellent coverage to hit Fighting-type threats, such as Hitmontop and Toxicroak. Protect is a staple move for any Pokemon in VGC. It can do great things during a match such as stall burns, prevent a turn from being wasted due to Fake Out, or just keep Empoleon safe from harm while it's partner takes out threats.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
To maximize the attacking output of Empoleon, Life Orb is the item of choice for it. However, Chople Berry can be an alternative option as a lot of the time, Life Orb is already used up on the majority of Trick Room teams. Chople Berry can help Empoleon tank the common Fighting-types in the metagame such as Scrafty and Hariyama. Torrent is the best ability for Empoleon, having more practical uses over Defiant, as Empoleon is a better Special Attacker. Quiet nature maximizes Empoleon's Special Attack and decreases its Speed for better Trick Room use. Empoleon has decent base defenses, but a somewhat low HP stat of 84, so with full investment Empoleon becomes harder to OHKO with moves such as Earthquake from Garchomp and Mamoswine. A Speed IV of 2 in conjunction with the right IVs in the other stats allows Empoleon to get maximum power on Hidden Power Flying while being as slow as possible for Trick Room. Aqua Jet could be used to finish off weakened opponents. Hidden Power Grass is an option to use over Grass Knot to be able to hit threats such as Gastrodon, Rotom-W, and Quagsire harder. If you do use this as an option, a Speed IV of 3 along with the other IVs matching in the right field will make a Grass-type Hidden Power. Surf can be used as the main Water-type STAB for Empoleon, but should only be used with partners immune to Surf such as Gastrodon so that you don't have to waste a moveslot with Protect on your partner when using it.
Pokemon that work well at setting up Trick Room pair very well with Empoleon, as they can set Trick Room for Empoleon to wreck the rest of the team. Other Pokemon which work well under Trick Room that have Lightningrod, such as Marowak and Seaking, are excellent partners for Empoleon, as they prevent foes such as Zapdos and Thundurus from being huge threats. Empoleon's counters mostly consist of common VGC physical attackers, such as Hitmontop, Garchomp and Excadrill, as they can all hit Empoleon for super effective damage. Prankster Sableye is a good partner, as it can use Will-O-Wisp and the combination of Trick and Lagging Tail to stop these kinds of threats that may KO Empoleon. Politoed makes a good partner with the ability to set rain and increase the power of Empoleon's main STAB.
Other Options
Hidden Power Fighting can hit both Ferrothorn and Abomasnow super effectively, regardless of weather. Hidden Power Fire can also hit both of these but is weaker while it is raining. FeatherDance can lower the Attack of physical attackers, making it harder for them to KO Empoleon. The same principle is applied when using Iron Defense to boost Emploeon's Defense to take hits better. Blizzard can be used over Ice Beam if Empoleon is paired with Abomasnow. Flash Cannon is a useful STAB move, but only gives extra coverage on Ice-types such as Abomasnow and Glaceon. Empoleon's only other ability is Defiant, which it gets from the Dream World. Its Attack stat is somewhat decent, but the only time you would see Attack boosts from this ability would be in the face of Intimidate users. This could help Empoleon beat Intimidate Hitmontop, but it can easily fail if not played correctly. Empoleon could abuse Absorb Bulb on an offensive set, as it resists Water-types and can somewhat easily collect boosts.
Checks and Counters
Unless Empoleon somehow finds a way to stop Electric-type attacks from hurting it through team support, Empoleon gets done in by fast, strong Electric-types such as Zapdos, Rotom-W, and Thundurus. Rotom-W checks Empoleon very well as it resists all of Empoleon's moves and takes very little from Grass Knot, and can hit back pretty hard with Thunderbolt. Fighting-types such as Hitmontop and Hitmonlee can use priority attacks such as Mach Punch or just Close Combat to severely damage Empoleon. Gastrodon can sponge almost all of Empoleon's hits if it lacks Hidden Power Grass or Grass Knot. Most common sand abusers can hurt Empoleon with powerful and quick Earthquakes to deal a lot of damage, potentially KOing Empoleon.
