This set plays virtually identically to Blissey in OU, except with weaker defenses on both ends and without the ability to effectively use special attacks. Chansey is an ideal Pokémon for stall teams, as it has Wish and great defenses (and its lacking offensive power hurts less on a stall team). The idea here is to switch Chansey in on virtually any special based Pokémon in UU, then use Wish to heal your teammates or Protect in tandem with Wish to stall against your opponent. This stalling strategy works best with Toxic Spikes so that you don't have to use Toxic all the time, but this Chansey can Toxic enemies itself if needed. This kind of strategy is also helpful when you need to stall a move like Seed Flare out of PP. Seismic Toss is Chansey's only worthwhile offensive option. The consistent 100 damage it does will often outdo even super effective special attacks, and although it often won't deter switch-ins, the damage eventually adds up. It also allows Chansey to beat most Substitute / Calm Minders one-on-one. Clefable and Hypno could do the same thing with Seismic Toss, but if you're using it on Clefable, there's little reason to not use the much bulkier Chansey. If you elect to use a different move, there's a good chance that Clefable, Hypno, or Regice do it better. Chansey is basically forced to use a status attack in the fourth slot, though it is not "filler" by any means. The choice in status is mostly dependent on your team. Toxic is the move of choice for stall teams, where Chansey should be played. It hits Flying-types and Levitators like Claydol that would be immune to Toxic Spikes, and works nicely with Protect. Hitting Mismagius on the switch with Toxic will also ruin its plans quickly. Thunder Wave is a better status option for most teams, crippling an offensive threat for another team member to pick off. If you are nervous that opponents will take advantage of Chansey's Protect turn to set up, you can elect to use Softboiled over Protect. This allows you more freedom in attacking with Chansey, as it does not need to use Wish with a significant chunk of Chansey's health remaining in order to throw out an attack. However, this is a less attractive option for stalling out opponents as Wish / Protect decreases the chances of a critical hit ruining your strategy by 50%, while Softboiled and Wish leaves you completely exposed for the 32 PP between them.
Since it is impossible to obtain a Chansey with both Wish and Aromatherapy, if you opt to use Chansey as a status-curing cleric, you'll have to use Softboiled for recovery. Chansey is a natural choice for a cleric: it can switch in on the special half of UU and use the turn spent switching to nurse your team back to health. However, once Chansey uses Aromatherapy it becomes somewhat of a liability if you send it in after your opponent statuses something; most can see the attack coming from a mile away. Alternatively, if your team would like the support of Stealth Rock over Aromatherapy, you can use that. Considering you have a Natural Cure Chansey to sponge status as it is, it might not be necessary to carry Aromatherapy, and this way slots are freed up on your other tanks to cover more threats. Chansey is one of the most reliable Stealth Rock users in UU, since it gets plenty of free turns to set up the entry hazard while it is soaking up special attacks for your team. The choice in status move is dependent on your team and how exactly you want Chansey to threaten opponents. This set in particular needs to be somewhat threatening to dissuade opponents from switching in powerful sweepers, lest they let their key Pokemon get crippled. Thunder Wave is the most reliable, generic option; most teams appreciate paralysis and it has 100% accuracy. Sing's 55% accuracy is very unreliable, but the payoff of a Pokemon being put to sleep is too great to completely ignore. Toxic is best for more defensively oriented teams that want to gradually wear down the opposition. Team OptionsChansey is a fairly self-sustaining Pokémon; it supplies its own recovery and can heal itself of status ailments, and its massive Special Defense and HP means it doesn't necessitate a defensive partner to beat many foes. Chansey's best use is on stall teams, though, and stall teams shouldn't rely on a single Pokémon to beat any foe. Chansey is a magnet for physical blows, especially Fighting attacks, and it can do little to threaten common switch-ins other than paralyzing or poisoning them. A defensively oriented team will want a few Pokémon to absorb physical hits. There's no one Pokémon that can absorb all of the physical hits oriented at Chansey, but your standard tanks in Registeel, Steelix, Weezing, Spiritomb, Slowbro, and the like can all be paired with it on more defensively oriented teams. Wish Chansey is the ideal partner for these walls as most of them lack reliable recovery moves. Ideally one of them should resist Fighting. Mismagius is unique in that Chansey does absolutely nothing to its standard Substitute / Calm Mind set. Thus, defensive teams can't rely on Chansey to wall Mismagius, and should pack other responses. Registeel, Spiritomb, Haze Milotic, Perish Song Altaria, and special defensive Drapion all work well as Mismagius counters and can do something to support a typical stall team. Chansey's primary way of harming foes is through status and stalling, so supporting Chansey with Toxic Spikes from the likes of Drapion or Nidoqueen isn't a bad idea. The problem is that grounded Poison-types like Venusaur are extremely common in UU, so if one elects to use Toxic Spikes one should kill such opponents before revealing his Toxic Spiker. This way the opponent will not go to extreme lengths just to keep their Toxic Spikes absorbers alive. Other Pokémon that carry status moves, especially Toxic, help Chansey stall out teams effectively. Entry hazard support for Chansey is always appreciated, as it has great switch-causing capabilities, but it is not necessary. Other OptionsStealth Rock can fit on pretty much any Chansey set, as it gives Chansey something to do to support the team. The main reason not to use it is that everything learns it, so you probably have something like Registeel or Claydol with room for it. Heal Bell is identical to Aromatherapy unless you have a Soundproof Pokemon on your team; if you don't, you can use Heal Bell if it's easier to breed for or you prefer the name. A common misconception is that an opponent's Soundproof Pokemon makes Heal Bell fail; this is false. Special attacks can theoretically be used on Chansey for 4x weak targets; however, Chansey's base 35 Special Attack stat is so low that even Pokemon like Pinsir, Scyther, and Hariyama have higher Special Attack stats. Seismic Toss will do more damage than an ordinary attack from Chansey in nearly every situation; the exceptions are Ghosts, where Shadow Ball doesn't 2HKO any of them anyway, and some obscure, frail Pokemon with quadruple weaknesses, which are not threatening enough to require Chansey to specialize anyway. If you disdain Seismic Toss's inability to threaten Chansey's default responses, use a different Pokemon like Clefable or Hypno. Calm Mind doesn't really work for the same reasons special attacks in general don't. Since Chansey doesn't have excellent Defense, it needs to be able to threaten physical attackers after just one Calm Mind, something it simply cannot do. Also, even at +6 Special Attack, it will fail to 2HKO any special wall in UU unless it is using a super effective attack. Charm is a really neat option, especially in tandem with Light Screen, but it is illegal with Seismic Toss and Wish. Since very few physical hits actually OHKO Chansey in UU, Counter is a good choice to surprise the opponent. When you consider how lacking Chansey is in offense, it becomes that much more attractive. EVsMuch like Blissey, Chansey needs 252 Defense, always. In the early stages of UU, many used 252 HP / 0 Def Chansey to take Special hits better. People have discussed the idea in UU theorymon threads, and the conclusion has been that this is not the ideal way to go with Chansey. There are two main reasons for this:
Calm is preferred to Bold nature to take special hits a little better, like Houndoom's Fire Blasts and Roserade's Leaf Storms, particularly with Spikes in play, while Bold adds only 10 points to Chansey's Defense and doesn't change many notable 2HKOs. The 4 spare EVs should be put into Speed to win the tie with Registeel; this allows Chansey to not fear flinches and outstall Registeel should the need arise, though Chansey should not be one's default Registeel response. OpinionHistorically Chansey has been banned from low tier play, and when it was announced that NFEs would be allowed in UU, many predicted a metagame dominated by Chansey. This prediction has largely been false, as Chansey is much less versatile and bulky than its evolution Blissey. The 35 Special Attack stat is probably Chansey's biggest drawback as a special wall. Regardless of the hype that never materialized, Chansey is still a great Pokemon in UU, being able to handle big special attacking threats such as Yanmega without breaking a sweat. Wish or Aromatherapy support is appreciated on most every team, and Chansey fits that role very, very well. CountersThis is where Chansey's lack of offensive prowess comes back to bite her; Chansey is very easy to threaten with some of the metagame's most powerful Pokemon. Hariyama is easily Chansey's number one counter. Its base 144 HP lets it easily take Seismic Toss, and Guts versions will appreciate status. Even the most defensive of Hariyama with the weakest of physical Fighting moves (Force Palm) 2HKOes Chansey. Behind Hariyama are most powerful physical attackers that don't care about status moves. Nidoking is immune to both Thunder Wave and Toxic, making it an ideal Chansey-breaker. Thunder Wave versions are set up fodder for Torterra, while Toxic versions don't do much to threaten Swords Dance Drapion or Toxicroak. Drapion in general is threatening for Chansey because Choice Band Pursuit can do more than 50% to Chansey on a switch. Other Pursuiters, like Absol and Honchkrow, must be wary of Thunder Wave but otherwise put Chansey in a checkmate position; Chansey either risks eating Superpower if she stays in or Pursuit on her way out. Some special attackers can break through Chansey with stat up moves and sheer force. Calm Mind / Substitute Mismagius can't be touched by Chansey at all; Mismagius can come in on 3/4 of Chansey's movesets (watch out for status) and set up a Substitute that Chansey can't break with any attack she learns, then Calm Mind up to +6 and 2HKO with Hidden Power Fighting. Calm Mind / Rest / Sleep Talk Spiritomb doesn't even care about Toxic, using Chansey as pure set-up fodder. Beware of mixed attackers with Fighting attacks, especially Blaziken. Many Pokemon can plop Superpower or Focus Punch onto a moveset to surprise Chansey; it's important that Chansey is not your only check in these situations. In general, physical attackers with strong STAB moves will force Chansey to quit stalling and get out of play. |
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