|
-
Unburden
- Speed increases when an item is used or lost.
-
Aftermath
- Deals 25% damage when KOed by contact damage.
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Statistics
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
150
|
- |
441 |
504 |
- |
| Atk |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
| Def |
44
|
111 |
124 |
187 |
205 |
| SpA |
90
|
194 |
216 |
279 |
306 |
| SpD |
54
|
129 |
144 |
207 |
227 |
| Spe |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
Drifblim's purpose in life is to pass gigantic Substitutes to other team members. With the same useful array of immunities as Gengar, it will have no problem switching into Choice Banded assaults to begin its set-up. Hypnosis will aid you in passing those Substitutes and will allow you to put one of your opponent’s Pokémon out of commission. Calm Mind is an option over Hypnosis if you want the option of passing something in addition to Substitute, but it may prove difficult as Drifblim’s Speed is decidedly average. An added bonus of using Calm Mind is that it will add a bit of bite to the final offensive move of the set that makes use of the ghostly balloon’s passable Special Attack score. Stockpile now works like Cosmic Power, and is an option if you would like to pass defensive boosts.
This set is about setting up a sweep, so generally you will not want to attempt to pull this off until later in the match when you know the target of your Baton Pass will have a clear shot at sweeping the competition. Bring him in on Choice Banders and use Substitute three times to activate your pinch berry. Use Hypnosis along the way to take one Pokémon out of the match, and eventually pass the offensive berry boost and hopefully a Substitute to your sweeper. Unburden will take Drifblim’s Speed sky high upon the activation of the pinch berry making the eventual Baton Pass quite easy. However, note that the Unburden Speed boost can't be passed on. Thunderbolt is listed as the primary attacking option to punish Skarmory and Suicune for coming in to phaze away your Substitutes, but of course Shadow Ball can be used for STAB. If you alter the suggested EV spread, be sure to make sure that your final Hit Point score is divisible by four so as to ensure that the berry will activate on the third Substitute-maintaining efficacy in a Sandstorm.
This set plays out pretty simply: Bring out Drifblim on something that isn't much of a threat (Choiced Ground, Normal or Fighting attacks are a bonus) and proceed to Calm Mind. Continue to do so in the face of an offensive threat not strong enough to bring you down; then proceed to Rest. Not only does this restore Drifblim's HP, but also doubles its Speed due to Unburden. Drifblim can then sweep with 418 Speed and a boosted high Special Attack.
There are a few options for the last move. The one you use depends on personal preference and what your team needs. Hidden Power Fighting coupled with Shadow Ball is resisted by nothing. Baton Pass allows Drifblim to pass the Calm Mind boosts to a more potent special sweeper. Thunderbolt is an option if you decide to use this set in OU play because it hits common Roar users like Skarmory and Suicune.
The purpose of the EVs is to make Drifblim as bulky as possible while retaining its heavy hitting power. The defensive EVs make Steelix's Stone Edge a 3HKO, so unless it carries Roar Drifblim can set up on it. The Speed EVs allow Drifblim to outspeed Scarfed Jynx and Sharpedo after the Unburden boost.
This set is meant to be used as a lead to scout the opponent's team, because it forces a lot of switches, and can potentially take out two of the opponent's Pokemon (provided Hypnosis hits). The strategy behind this set is to Sleep something while surviving a normally fatal hit. Losing Focus Sash activates Unburden and lets Drifblim reach a Speed stat of 434, outspeeding Base 95 Choice Scarf users like Jynx and Primeape. At this point you can attack freely, Explode or use Destiny Bond when you're in danger of fainting. Lum Berry is an option over Focus Sash since quite a few leads focus on statusing the opponent, after which they still activate your Unburden while you retain a full health Drifblim.
This set has the surprise factor on its side, as most people expect Drifblim to create bulky Substitutes and Baton Pass them. The EVs are tailored for UU, as Drifblim has a lot of trouble pulling this set off in OU, where Tyranitar and Hippowdon ruin its Focus Sash and Gengar somewhat outclasses it. The Speed EVs allow Drifblim to outspeed almost all UU Pokemon after Unburden, and the Attack EVs let it OHKO many common special walls such as Grumpig, Hypno, and Mantine with Explosion.
The IVs are set to provide Drifblim to have the lowest amount of HP and Defense possible while allowing it to have a maximum power Hidden Power Fighting, allowing for more efficiency with Focus Sash.
Physical attackers like Tyranitar, Metagross, Weavile and others may feel rather confident in their ability to disrupt Drifblim’s Baton Pass, but they certainly would not like to be met with a Will-O-Wisp on the switch. Hypnosis is as useful as ever and the third slot should be filled with your STAB attack of choice. Hidden Power Flying is useful against Guts Pokémon, who tend to be Fighting-types (Heracross, for example), and also hits Swellow, who is immune to Shadow Ball. The last slot attempts to make sure that Drifblim will be able to take at least one Pokémon with it on its way out. If you choose Explosion, a nature besides Calm should be selected.
While Drifblim's main role is often as a supporter/Baton Passer, its decent base 90 Special Attack shouldn't be overlooked, as it can prove to be a good special sweeper in UU. After a single Calm Mind, it will be operating with an impressive 459 Special Attack stat and the Special Defense boost also helps to sponge some weaker special attacks. Shadow Ball is your main sweeping tool, while you have two options in third moveslot for providing type coverage. Hidden Power Fighting is a great help against Steel-types like Aggron, and Darks such as Absol. Thunderbolt covers Honchkrow, Skuntank and Sharpedo more effectively and brings down Mantine. However, you will struggle against Shiftry and Cacturne if you opt for Thunderbolt over Hidden Power Fighting. Finally, you also have a decision to make as which move you use to aid Drifblim's sweep. Hypnosis is great for incapacitating an enemy, thus enabling Drifblim to begin boosting with Calm Mind. Substitute serves a few different purposes here. It provides protection against status and direct attacks in general, most notably Sucker Punch. It will also give Drifblim to chance to make use of his Unburden ability. Once Drifblim's HP drops below one-quarter (three uses of Substitute) Petaya Berry activates for a Special Attack boost and Unburden kicks in, doubling Speed to further aid a sweep.
This set is only usable in UU play, where this is somewhat effective as Drifblim is rarely expected to pack such high initial attacking power. The above options are much more viable than this, but it does have STAB on Shadow Ball which has excellent coverage when paired with Hidden Power Fighting. Hypnosis is there because the first three moves cover everything that counts. If you are facing a troublesome enemy that can't be taken out in one hit with your other attacks, you can sacrifice Drifblim with Explosion.
Rotom is generally a better choice for this type of set, thanks to its higher Speed and STAB on Thunderbolt. However, the usefulness of Hypnosis and Explosion (compared to Rotom's Trick) should not be discounted.
Other Options
Drifblim has a few other attacks that are all usable with his acceptable Special Attack depending on what you need to cover on your team. Charge Beam, Silver Wind and Ominous Wind could be used in tandem with Baton Pass. Psychic is also there, but Shadow Ball is better in almost every instance that matters. The best physical option of note, Explosion, has been discussed. None of the other physical options stand out. A few other support options exist that have not been discussed. Thunder Wave is perhaps the best of them and could fit into the sets listed above, Haze is interesting but has little utility on Drifblim, and Psych Up could be used to copy Baton Passable stat boosts. Focus Energy is also on offer for Baton Passing, but the only targets that make it worth considering are Absol and Drapion, thus making it a lesser option.
EVs
Spreads are suggested with each set, but feel free to switch Special Defense EVs to Defense if you would rather cover the physical side of things. Again, if you want to use Substitute and a pinch berry, be sure that your Hit Points are divisible by four.
Opinion
Drifblim is certainly a very interesting Pokémon as its options are many and varied. With its gargantuan Hit Point score and a useful set of immunities and resistances he is definitely quite usable. For some perspective, on its defensive capabilities, just think Wailord with better typing! It has the potential to wreak quite a bit of havoc if played correctly, even in the OU tier. It is just a shame that Unburden requires you to actually lose your item before it kicks in, and that it can't be Baton Passed.
Counters
As with all Baton Passers, it is difficult to list outright counters since they can just flee to safety at will. Drifblim mostly fears Pokémon like Sleep Talk Suicune or Skarmory who are able to phaze out his stat boosts making Substitute quite useless along the way. Pursuit Tyranitar, Absol and Drapion cause problems for Drifblim as well if you have no Substitute up to guard your health.
