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Lightningrod
- When hit with an Electric-type move, Special Attack is boosted by one stage. All Electric-type attacks are drawn to this Pokemon.
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Motor Drive
- Grants immunity to Electric-type moves and boosts Speed by 1 stage when hit by an Electric-type move.
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Sap Sipper
- Grants immunity to Grass-type moves and boosts Attack by 1 stage when hit by a Grass-type move.
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Level 5 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
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Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
75
|
- |
24 |
27 |
- |
| Atk |
100
|
14 |
16 |
19 |
20 |
| Def |
63
|
10 |
12 |
16 |
17 |
| SpA |
80
|
12 |
14 |
17 |
18 |
| SpD |
63
|
10 |
12 |
16 |
17 |
| Spe |
116
|
16 |
18 |
21 |
23 |
Overview
Once ignored in favor of its Electric-type brethren due to its average attacking stats and barren movepool, Zebstrika was finally bestowed with a niche to separate it from its peers with the arrival of Ludicolo, Charizard, and Sawsbuck—and consequently weather's rise in popularity. Zebstrika could finally make use of its amazing Speed stat, alongside a Choice Scarf to outspeed various weather sweepers such as Gorebyss, Exeggutor and Victreebel. Even without a Choice Scarf, Zebstrika's excellent Speed tier places it above the likes of Swoobat, and Serperior. Complimenting its Speed, Zebstrika has two excellent abilities at its disposal: Lightningrod and Sap Sipper. The former graces Zebstrika with an immunity to Electric-types moves as well as a much needed power boost, while the latter bestows Zebstrika with an immunity to Grass-types moves, such as Exeggutor's Leaf Storm, as well as an Attack boost.
Despite Zebstrika's excellent Speed, it still faces stiff competition from its fellow Electric-types. Rotom-S's secondary Flying typing gifts it with an additional STAB, which allows it to dispatch Grass-types, such as Roselia and Tangela, more reliably. However, Rotom-S's Flying typing is a double-edged sword, as it make Rotom-S vulnerable to Stealth Rock. Additionally, Rotom-S is forced to use Timid to outrun +2 Gorebyss, while Zebstrika can run Modest with no drawbacks. Electabuzz and Raichu also give Zebstrika a run for its money, as their access to Focus Blast enables them to hit Rock-types, such as Probopass and Golem, super effectively without relying on Hidden Power, and Electabuzz has a lot more power.
While using a Choice Scarf remains the most popular option, it should be noted that Zebstrika is already as fast as a lightning bolt without a boosting item, making a standard attacking set viable. By using a Life Orb, Zebstrika gains not only the ability to switch attacks and make better use of its movepool but also a marked increase in power, making revenge killing certain targets less of a hassle. Although Electrode is arguably more suited to this role due to its ability to outspeed Swellow and a few Choice Scarf users (and a marginal bulk increase), Zebstrika holds some advantages that make it worth consideration. Lightningrod lets Zebstrika switch into Thunder Waves from the likes of Regice and Probopass without repercussions. This is excellent for offensive teams that don't want one of their fast Pokemon to be crippled by these ubiquitous threats. It also lets Zebstrika completely destroy the momentum of Volt Switch users, both defensive, such as the aforementioned Probopass, and offensive ones such as Rotom-F and Rotom-S. Furthermore, at +1 Special Attack, Zebstrika is far more threatening than Electrode and can sweep teams more easily in the late-game. Alternatively, Sap Sipper can be used, letting Zebstrika switch into Roselia's Sleep Powder and preventing it from disabling a target. It's also great for switching into powerful Grass-type attacks such as Exeggutor's Leaf Storm and Torterra's Wood Hammer, although switching into such powerful attackers with Zebstrika's pitiful defenses is inherently risky. Overheat lets Zebstrika fill this niche more easily, providing a powerful weapon to use against the noted Grass-type Pokemon, while also dissuading them from switching into its STAB attacks later on. Overall, while Electrode can check Swellow more effectively, Zebstrika's extra offensive characteristics give its Life Orb set arguably more utility in the metagame.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
As Zebstrika can use Overheat to roast opposing Grass-type Pokemon, Hidden Power Grass is the most useful choice for the fourth moveslot, letting it more effectively deal with the likes of Golem and Seismitoad. However, Hidden Power Ice still retains utility against Altaria and other weakened Dragon-types. If you lack the appropriate Hidden Power type to deal with a certain threat, make sure to use teammates to fill in the gaps in Zebstrika's coverage. Torterra performs excellently against Golem, while Probopass can deal with Choice Specs Altaria, and Intimidate Mawile is a good response to physically-orientated Dragon-type Pokemon. A Modest nature can be used instead of Timid for more power, but this leaves Zebstrika unable to revenge kill targets such as Kadabra, Rapidash, and Tauros, which can be potentially disastrous. Signal Beam is available to hit Exeggutor slightly harder, but Overheat's extra power against almost every other target makes Signal Beam a largely inferior choice.
Even with a Life Orb, Zebstrika struggles to break through bulky walls such as Lickilicky and Regice. Packing a powerful physical attacker to deal with them is important; Sawk is a great candidate for offensive teams, while Swords Dance Samurott can set up on these specially defensive walls. The latter can not only revenge-kill Choice Scarf users with a boosted Aqua Jet; it also benefits greatly from the synergy provided by either of Zebstrika's abilities, making the combination hard for opponents to deal with. Rapidash is also a good choice and places significant pressure on Grass-types that could potentially switch into Zebstrika's Volt Switch. Opposing Electric-types are also hard to break through, so using a Ground-type Pokemon such as Golurk or Seismitoad can also be beneficial, drawing in Grass-type attacks and boosting Sap Sipper's utility on Zebstrika. Camerupt is also a good choice for a teammate, being particularly good at dealing with opposing Electric-types thanks to its neutrality to common Hidden Power types. Finally, providing entry hazard support allows Zebstrika to secure more KOs in the late-game; Torterra can provide Stealth Rock support while threatening opposing Ground-type Pokemon that can block Zebstrika's Volt Switches, while Roselia can provide Spikes support and performs much better against other Grass-type threats.
It might seem silly, preposterous even, to give one of the fastest Pokemon in the tier a Choice Scarf. However, with the item, Zebstrika's incredible Speed allows it to outrun powerful weather sweepers who would otherwise terrorize many teams such as Exeggutor, Gorebyss, and Victreebel. Outside of weather sweepers, Zebstrika is also useful for revenge killing many fast Pokemon that other Choice Scarf Pokemon would miss out on such as Swoobat, Cinccino, Altaria, and even Combusken. Thunderbolt is a reliable STAB attack, hitting Pokemon weak to it very hard; it is also Zebstrika's main weapon against Rain Dance teams. Volt Switch allows Zebstrika to grab momentum against many teams and is also useful against frail Pokemon like Simipour. Overheat is Zebstrika's main weapon against Sunny Day teams, as it hits Exeggutor and Victreebel for quick OHKOs. Overheat is also useful outside of Sunny Day for hitting Pokemon such as Roselia, Klang, and Pinsir. The choice between Hidden Power Grass and Hidden Power Ice comes down to personal preference. Hidden Power Grass hits Golurk, Golem, and Seismitoad harder and is preferred because of that. However, Hidden Power Ice is still handy on a team that struggles against Dragon-types, particularly Altaria and Fraxure, and is a very usable option.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Modest is the preferred nature for the extra power it provides, though Timid is an option if you need to defeat Timid Ludicolo and Victreebel. It is noteworthy that Timid Zebstrika will almost never 2HKO Ludicolo, while Modest can almost always accomplish this. Lightningrod makes Zebstrika arguably the best counter to Rotom-S in NU, freely switching into its Electric-type attacks while getting a Special Attack boost in the process. On the other hand, Sap Sipper gives Zebstrika a pseudo sleep immunity, as nearly every sleep inducing attack is Grass-type. Sap Sipper also allows Zebstrika to come in on a Bullet Seed from Cinccino, outspeed, and do massive damage in return. Signal Beam is usable as a fourth attack if Psychic-types like Beheeyem and Musharna are issues, but it has little utility otherwise.
Zebstrika struggles to break anything that has a decent Special Defense stat; in particular, Normal-types, such as Miltank and Lickilicky, absolutely destroy this set. Because of this, Fighting-types such as Gurdurr and Sawk make great teammates to rip them to shreds. Skuntank is a nifty teammate because of its powerful Sucker Punch, which does a lot of damage to most Electric-types, something Zebstrika struggles to do. Skuntank is also handy to handle Psychic-types, which often have high Special Defense. Torterra is a great teammate for Zebstrika because of its resistance to Earthquake, which allows it to take on many threats to Zebstrika, such as Golem, with ease. Stealth Rock is needed in order to guarantee OHKOs on Pokemon such as Braviary and Charizard. Therefore, Golem, Regirock, Piloswine, or Probopass are recommended for their ability to reliably set it up.
Other Options
Like most Electric-types, Zebstrika has an incredibly barren movepool, with very few options not listed already. A physical set with Sap Sipper can be decent, but Zebstrika's lack of a movepool really lets it down. Charge Beam can be used to boost Zebstrika's Special Attack, but because Zebstrika relies on Overheat for coverage, it is often counterproductive. Substitute can be used to ease prediction, but usually will only lead to Zebstrika getting walled. Zebstrika can use Rain Dance and Thunder to good effect, but would rather not set up weather for the enemy to use. Discharge can be used for the extra paralysis chance, but the drop in power is not what Zebstrika wants. Motor Drive is handy for a Speed boost, but Zebstrika prefers Lightningrod because of its lack of power and already excellent Speed.
Checks and Counters
Zebstrika isn't that strong, so anything with decent Special Defense will be able to handle it. Lickilicky and Flareon do extremely well against it due to their great Special Defense and recovery in Wish. Gardevoir can trace Lightningrod for a free Special Attack boost and has high enough Special Defense to tank an Overheat easily. Camerupt is a great counter because it is immune to Thunderbolt, resists Overheat, and takes negligible damage from Hidden Power, while OHKOing in return with STAB Earth Power. Dragon-types such as Altaria and Fraxure counter any set without Hidden Power Ice. Ground-types work well because they can tank anything except Hidden Power, which in turn is a terrible move to be locked into. Seismitoad does a great job because it hard counters any set without Hidden Power Grass. Probopass fears nothing from Zebstrika and can retaliate with Earth Power. Cradily can also tank any attack with ease and can either boost in front of Zebstrika or retaliate with a STAB attack. Bulky Fighting-types, in particular Gurdurr and Throh, can switch in on Zebstrika with impunity and hit it with Drain Punch or Circle Throw, respectively. Electric-types fear nothing from Zebstrika but can do little in return because it is immune to Electric-type attacks, so they are forced to whittle it down with unSTABed Hidden Powers. Regirock has a good enough Special Defense that it can switch in with ease and respond with Stone Edge or Rock Slide, easily defeating Zebstrika.
