This set is simple—set up a sturdy 101 HP Substitute, backed up by Kangaskhan's great defenses, and then attack away. Sucker Punch is really cool and works nicely with Sub. Ghosts like Rotom and Gengar are forced to attack the Sub, rather than trying to hit Kangaskhan with status. Hit them with Sucker Punch, often KOing them in the process and leaving your Sub intact. Now Kangaskhan can freely hit the next opponent with a Return or Focus Punch. This a solid and reliable set, but the prevalence of Sandstorm and Hail in OU battles means it doesn't function as well in that environment. However, it works really nicely in UU battles. Either ability is fine here. Scrappy eases your prediction a little, and gives you the chance to hammer Spiritomb and Sableye with super effective Focus Punches. Early Bird helps Kangaskhan come in against sleep inducers. The given EVs outspeed Adamant Heracross and Toxicroak, and allow for Kangaskhan to create a Substitute that survives two hits from Seismic Toss. The value of 101 Substitutes is a bit limited, as Blissey is the only common user of Seismic Toss. With that in mind, you can sacrifice some HP EVs and pour them into Attack if you want Kangaskhan to hit harder.
This set lets Kangaskhan stick around for quite some time, while handing out some respectable damage in the process. Return and Life Orb allow for a slightly higher damage output than Double-Edge and Leftovers, but you'll have to rely solely on Rest for healing. You could use both Double-Edge and Life Orb, but that will drastically reduce Kangaskhan's staying power. Earthquake takes out Rocks and Steels and does plenty of damage to Banette. Only use Hammer Arm if you have Scrappy, otherwise every single Ghost in game will be getting in for free. Hammer Arm's only real advantage over Earthquake on this set is that it does some decent damage to Solrock and Lunatone. With Early Bird and only her STAB move and Earthquake, she is left helpless against Shedinja, Rotom and Drifblim. However, if you have a Pursuit user waiting to eliminate them, Early Bird is cool as it allows Kangaskhan to wake up after a single turn of sleep.
If you thought the last set was hard to kill, this one is even worse. Or better, depending on your perspective. Poison your enemies and stall them out with Wish and Protect, firing off Returns when you can. Obviously, Steel-types like Aggron wall this set with ease, so you can use Earthquake in the last slot, although you lose the cool synergy that Protect has with Toxic and Wish. Roar is also a decent option in the last slot. You can Roar out Aggron as he throws up a Sub, although you're risking getting hit with Thunder Wave, Stone Edge or Focus Punch if your prediction falters. Only consider Roar if you really need a phazer on your team, or if your team is setting up Spikes and Stealth Rock. Wish is available as a special move from NYPC, so it can prove tough to obtain a legitimate one for WiFi battles.
Here, Scrappy is really valuable, as it eases prediction a little. Once you get Kangaskhan in, lead with a Focus Punch or Hammer Arm, allowing you to do plenty of damage to all of the likely switch-ins for a Normal-type (Ghosts, Rocks and Steels). Aggron, Bastiodon, Probopass, Rotom, Banette and Shedinja all fall in one hit from Hammer Arm. Rock-types like Golem and Relicanth will usually survive one hit from your Fighting attack, but a second hit from Hammer Arm finishes them off, and Kangaskhan will usually be faster, even after the Speed drop. Once the Rocks and Steels are gone, just batter everything in sight with Return. The last slot is mostly filler. Earthquake has a bit more merit if you chose Focus Punch in the second slot, as it will allow you to hurt Rocks and Steels, without getting "flinched". Avalanche is mostly for Altaria, or Garchomp and friends if you're using Kangaskhan against OU teams. If you went with Hammer Arm in slot 2, choose Avalanche for your last move, as it will make Kangaskhan a great counter to Dragon Dance Altaria. Other OptionsReversal sounds awesome on paper, but without STAB and Kangaskhan's only modest Attack, you're not liable to sweep with it. Endeavor is better left to frailer Pokémon, as it detracts from Kangaskhan's sturdiness. Kangaskhan has a few physical options from the ADV move tutors, but all of them are incompatible with Scrappy. If you're willing to give up Scrappy, Body Slam (for some paralysis support), Fire Punch (dents Skarmory, Forretress and Bronzong), ThunderPunch (brings down Gyarados) and Ice Punch (for Dragons) are all on offer. Also illegal with Scrappy, are Sing (from XD) and Yawn (from NYPC). Outrage offers little in the way of type coverage, and once you're locked in, Steel-types will happily come in and set up. Fake Out is nice to get in a free hit on the first turn. Double Hit is a bit too weak compared to Return and Double-Edge, but it can be used to break Substitutes. Her special movepool is impressive, but her base Special Attack is not, so stay away from Fire Blast, Ice Beam, etc. EVsIf you want a slower Kangaskhan than the 270 (216 EVs) ones listed, 112 EVs outspeeds Jolly Tyranitar, and a mere 24 outspeeds Adamant ones. 232 Speed EVs lets Kangaskhan outrun max Speed Absol, and if you switch to a Jolly nature, max Speed Hitmonlee. This also makes her faster than Adamant Dodrio and others from the base 100 Speed group, if they are not using a Speed boosting nature. OpinionKangaskhan is a cool Pokémon with good, decently distributed stats and a great movepool. The result might come off as a bit mediocre sometimes, but Kangaskhan should definitely not be overlooked, especially in the lower tiers. CountersOU: Plenty of to choose from here. Floating Steel-types like Bronzong and Skarmory are good choices, although Focus Punch puts a nice dent in them both. Metagross and Jirachi both do well if Kangaskhan isn't carrying Earthquake. Gliscor and Hippowdon both work ok, thanks to their good Defense stat and recovery moves. Dusknoir takes hits from her quite easily too, even with Scrappy. Bulky Gyarados can absorb a Return or Focus Punch without taking much damage and proceed to set up with Dragon Dance, or Taunt Kangaskhan's attempts to use Sub, Rest or Sleep Talk. UU: Without Scrappy or Sucker Punch she can't even touch Rotom, Shedinja and Drifblim. Sucker Punch, Hammer Arm or Focus Punch is required to hurt Solrock and Lunatone. Not much can come in on the Choice Bander safely, but as with all Choice locked attackers, prediction is key. A sturdy Fighting resist like Nidoqueen is usually a good initial switch-in, while Rocks and Steels like Aggron and Golem will easily absorb Return. |
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