This set should be used alongside Kyogre to abuse Hydration and Rest and to power up Manaphy's STAB attack. Tail Glow up, then Rest off any damage, wake up immediately and sweep. Ice Beam is generally the better option in the last slot, giving Manaphy an easy OHKO on Rayquaza, who will screw up Hydration with Air Lock. It also helps against the other Dragons like Giratina, Latias, and Latios. Grass Knot ensures a OHKO on Kyogre and hits Palkia harder than Ice Beam. Neither option leaves you entirely helpless against certain foes. For example, if you go with Ice Beam you can still 2HKO Kyogre with Surf thanks to boosts from Tail Glow, Life Orb and Drizzle. If you opt for Grass Knot then you can 2HKO Rayquaza with a Tail Glow, Life Orb Surf. Latios can also be 2HKOed by boosted Surfs with the Rain up, even accounting for Soul Dew (his more defensive sister will usually survive two hits though). Leftovers makes for a sturdier Manaphy, while Life Orb gives it some extra kick and the 10% recoil can be made up for with Rest.
A defensive set designed to abuse Toxic and Rest. Poison your foes and stall them out with Rest while they slowly die from the intensifying damage. Ice Beam is present to kill off Rayquaza, lest he spoil your fun with Air Lock. Grass Knot will hit Kyogre and also takes a big chunk out of Groudon. Light Screen and Reflect are options in the final two slots for more stalling potential and team support. Heart Swap could also be used here to prevent foes from setting up on you. Being a defensive set, the EVs should reflect this. You'll want this Manaphy to be slow so he can take hits then Rest up to full health. You can even stall out a Choice Scarf Kyogre as Thunder fails to OHKO, barring a critical hit. The Special Attack EVs ensure you will always OHKO minimum HP Rayquaza. If you want to rely on the slim chance of OHKOing Rayquaza you have with minimum Special Attack, then switch the Special Attack EVs to either of the defensive stats.
Of the most common Uber Pokémon, only Kyogre and Shedinja (and Manaphy itself though "common" is debatable in its case) resist Surf and Ice Beam. If Manaphy is able to successfully Substitute, it can hit a majority of the Ubers metagame with at least a neutral attack boosted by Tail Glow and the omnipresent Rain. 404 HP allows Manaphy to form 101 Substitutes that will not be broken by a single Seismic Toss. However, since Blissey's (the only common user of Seismic Toss) presence in the Ubers metagame is slowly diminishing, it is acceptable to move the HP EVs into Special Attack. With 320 Speed, Manaphy always outspeeds Groudon, Rayquaza, and Dialga. The EVs also allow Manaphy to outspeed common Palkia, which run at most 319 Speed (+Speed nature and 216 Speed EVs). The choice between Calm Mind and Tail Glow is difficult. Tail Glow offers an immediate two stage boost and allows Manaphy to more easily defeat Ubers Blissey. A +6 stage, Rain-boosted Surf 2HKOs Blissey over 96% of the time. Calm Mind allows Manaphy to defeat common Ubers threats such as Darkrai, Mewtwo, and Calm Mind Kyogre if some Special Attack and Speed EVs are transferred into Special Defense. The choice depends on personal experience with the set and the team that this set is inserted into. Other OptionsHeart Swap is Manaphy's signature move and can be used to steal stat boosts from opponents. Calm Mind can go over Tail Glow for a more defensive minded set up. Energy Ball can replace Grass Knot if you're concerned about other Manaphy, but otherwise Grass Knot is the better choice against other Ubers. Shadow Ball is a surprisingly poor option, since rain boosted Surfs do more to the likes of Mewtwo and Deoxys, while Ice Beam does more to Dragons like Giratina, Latias, and Latios. Substitute is a solid option on sweeper sets, ordinarily over Rest, and can also work with Calm Mind. EVsFor sweeping sets, you'll want Timid with at least 308 Speed to beat Kyogre, Groudon and Ho-Oh (Timid, 176 EVs). You can aim for 319 (Timid, 216 EVs) to get ahead of max Speed Rayquaza. Max Speed is only useful if you wish to tie with Timid Palkia. Max out Special Attack with anything left placed in HP. You can use a bulkier spread if you want Manaphy to take hits while setting up Tail Glow. 172 HP EVs allows Manaphy to survive a Choice Scarf Thunder from Kyogre, although you'll have to sacrifice Speed or Special Attack. For the Toxic stalling set, you'll want lots of HP and some Special Defense. You can aim for 277 Special Attack if you wish to guarantee an OHKO on minimum HP Rayquaza, although even without EV investment you still have a small chance of scoring a OHKO. Otherwise, simply max out Special Defense which will give you a good chance of surviving a Choice Specs Thunder from Modest Kyogre and will always survive a hit from Timid versions. OpinionSupport from Kyogre is an absolute must when using Manaphy, as constant rain makes Manaphy tough to take down when he can simply recover off all damage at will. He may not be as immediately threatening as either Kyogre or Palkia, but his access to Tail Glow means he can power up faster than either of them. His movepool is somewhat limited compared to his fellow Ubers, but what he has is just enough to make him a decent threat. CountersCalm Mind Blissey makes a fine counter and can stat up alongside Manaphy before finishing him off with Thunder. Dialga can wall his attacks quite effectively and Roar him out or hit back with Thunder. Latias' massive special defense prevents Ice Beam from hurting her, and her superior Speed backed up with Recover allows her to set up Calm Minds on Manaphy, eventually firing a powerful Dragon Pulse that would ultimately annihilate it. Her Speed also means that Manaphy won't be faster to Heart Swap Latias' Calm Minds. Palkia's 4x resistance to Surf and a very good base 120 Special Defense allows it to land a Choice Specs Thunder on Manaphy, easily OHKOing it. If Manaphy does not pack Grass Knot, Kyogre can switch into Manaphy with impunity and throw a very powerful Thunder at it. Beware of Rayquaza, Groudon, or Tyranitar switching in on Rest, as their ability to change the weather means Manaphy will be stuck sleeping for two turns. |
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