Statistics
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
70
|
- |
281 |
344 |
- |
| Atk |
90
|
194 |
216 |
279 |
306 |
| Def |
110
|
230 |
256 |
319 |
350 |
| SpA |
60
|
140 |
156 |
219 |
240 |
| SpD |
75
|
167 |
186 |
249 |
273 |
| Spe |
95
|
203 |
226 |
289 |
317 |
Sniper is an amazing ability, especially with all the high CH moves that Drapion possesses. Night Slash is the main STAB attack here. Brick Break is for coverage, particularly against Steels and Tyranitar; Earthquake can also do this. Knock Off will hurt against Heracross and Skarmory, but Fire Fang offers more general damage. Drapion's good Speed and Defense make it a prime candidate for Swords Dancing. The Speed is enough to outspeed base 100 neutral nature Pokémon.
Simple stuff—same as above, but with more outright damage potential. Fire Fang gives more damage against certain Steel-types—Metagross, Jirachi, Skarmory—than Brick Break does, but Brick Break is still needed for Tyranitar. This set isn't really as good—Drapion has good defenses, but its lack of resistances make it hard to keep bringing in.
Drapion has pretty sturdy defenses and is immune to critical hits. Furthermore, it learns Knock Off, which is always an excellent move. Toxic Spikes is a neat move against the right opponents—just watch out for Heracross. The resistances are lacking, but the stats are not—even an Adamant Garchomp Earthquake won't OHKO this.
Other Options
Drapion can use Payback to hit anything that's faster or anything that switches in with 100 base power plus STAB. This does more against foes like Azelf and Gengar than anything else Drapion could do, especially when you consider that most of the slower Pokémon are hit harder by Brick Break. Drapion learns Agility, which can be used without a single Speed EV. Pursuit is always good when combined with STAB. Taunt can be used to prevent phazing, but after a Swords Dance, Brick Break and Fire Fang will bring down Skarmory with ease if they CH. As a general rule, most opponents are going to prefer killing Drapion rather than hazing or disabling it—wasting time with a Pokémon that loves luck is not really a good idea.
EVs
Drapion's 95 base Speed is decent but not overwhelming. At best you're only going to outspeed Salamence and a few other Pokémon at base 100. On the other hand, Drapion's Attack isn't stellar and you'll probably be relying on critical hits for your kills.
Opinion
With Sniper, Drapion is a great Pokémon to use when luck is on your side. For the most part, 3x critical hits are going to wipe out even neutral targets. The rest of the story is a bit bleak, however—while Drapion's typing only gives it a single weakness, it only has 5 resistances / immunities, all of which are types rarely seen alongside each other. However, Drapion's typing also means it's immune to Azelf's Psychic without being weak to any other moves it commonly carries, and can take it out with a STAB Dark move. Because of the fact Drapion is a Poison-type, it will absorb Toxic Spikes on impact. This makes it a solid addition to an OU team that lacks a spinner or a Poison-type.
Counters
Metagross and Rhyperior will wall Drapion (barring Earthquake) and strike back with strong Earthquakes. Garchomp outspeeds the offensive sets and OHKOs easily, but won't OHKO the defensive set without a Choice Band. Dugtrio is a problem for the offensive set but loses to the defensive set, even if it is Adamant and Choice Banded. Skarmory can try to wall it, but a critical hit Swords Danced Fire Fang or Brick Break will spell its demise. Hippowdon works very well against the offensive set with its excellent Defense and STAB Earthquake.
