With the advent of Diamond and Pearl, Medicham was blessed with a new Choice item it can use with great success - Choice Scarf. By attaching a Choice Scarf to Medicham, it is able to outspeed many threats in the current metagame, exemplifying its ability to hit hard with its impressive attack stat in instances it may have previously been restricted to do so due to having lackluster speed and defenses. Hi Jump Kick's improved base power in Diamond and Pearl complements the purpose of this set, which is to hit as hard and as fast as possible. If the risk of its accuracy is too much to bear, Brick Break still represents an acceptable alternative. This comes down to a matter of preference of whether the trade-off in power is worth the improved accuracy and ability to remain unharmed on incoming Ghost switches. With Shadow Ball no longer a physical move in Diamond and Pearl, Medicham can no longer use it to its advantage as it did in Advanced play. Psycho Cut, its second STAB option, now represents Medicham's best hope against the likes of Dusknoir switch-ins, while still hitting Gengar super-effective. Although the loss of Shadow Ball reduces Medicham's coverage, Psycho Cut should not be underestimated coming from an attack stat such as Medicham's. Although Shadow Ball was lost in Diamond and Pearl, Medicham gained use of the Elemental Punches, which it can use to improve its coverage. Ice Punch allows you to hit the likes of Garchomp, Gliscor and Hippowdon effectively, whilst ThunderPunch will make Gyarados think twice about switching in. Although Jolly lowers Medicham's maximum Attack from 480 to 438, when used in conjunction with Choice Scarf, Medicham can achieve a maximum Speed of 426. This allows Medicham to outspeed threats such as Jolteon, Aerodactyl and Crobat, while even getting the jump on Pokemon such as Adamant Ninjask and Adamant Heracross running a Choice Scarf of its own. In this case, the drop in attack allows Medicham to threaten Pokemon that it would previously be unable to in a head to head situation, greatly improving its capabilities to sweep unsuspecting opponents.
Although Medicham can now use Choice Scarf with great success in Diamond and Pearl, one must not forget that the Choice Band represents a force to be reckoned with. The idea behind this moveset may seem pretty much the same as the Choice Scarf one at first blush. However, the manner in which the two sets operate is very different. Jolly no longer represents the preferred option for Medicham's nature when equipped with a Choice Band. This is due to the fact that between Medicham's maximum respective Speeds under each nature (259 and 284), there isn't enough that Medicham will outrun to make the trade-off worthwhile. Furthermore, when using a Choice Band, the difference between boosting attack and choosing not to is far more noticeable. With an Adamant nature, Medicham's maximum Attack is 720, but opting for a Jolly nature will result in 657, a marked difference.
While one cannot deny the power behind a fully powered STAB Reversal coming from an attack stat as huge as Medicham's, there are many new limitations on a set that was once very much potent during the Advance era. The general concept behind the set is the same. To effectively maximize the potential behind a Reversal sweep, one must reduce Medicham's HP to 1% in order to activate Salac Berry and sweep with Medicham's remaining attacking moves, favoring the extremely powerful Reversal in most situations. When deciding between Endure and Substitute, please note that more often than not, Endure is the preferred choice due to secondary damage such as Spikes and Stealth Rock ruining Medicham's ability to Substitute down to 1%, thus defeating the concept of the set before it has even been set up properly. Users of Medicham's Reversal set must proceed in doing so with caution - it now represents more of a novelty option than anything. The Diamond and Pearl metagame contains much more weakening weather effects and priority moves which foil this set's strategy much more easily than in the previous generation. Other OptionsFocus Punch allows Medicham to severely hurt any incoming switches that are not resistant or immune to it. Rock Slide can be used over ThunderPunch on any of the sets if the possibility of triggering an enemy Electivire's Motor Drive ability is too great, though is generally the inferior of the two options, giving less coverage as well as less power against threats such as Gyarados. Its possible flinch-rate when used in conjunction with Choice Scarf is notable, however. Fire Punch is a solid option for hitting Pokemon such as Bronzong, Metagross, Forretress and Scizor harder. EVsMaximize Attack and Speed. A Pokemon as frail as Medicham doesn't have time to be concerned with HP and defenses. Opinion"Glass cannon" is a phrase which sums up Medicham nicely; although it lost Shadow Ball in Diamond and Pearl, the addition of the elemental punches as well as Choice Scarf allow Medicham to hit as hard as ever. Despite posing such a big threat, Medicham can often be hard to get onto the field with its low HP and defenses. Stealth Rock resistance is helpful in this regard, to a degree. CountersCresselia is an excellent counter to Medicham with its large base HP and defenses, as well as resistance to Medicham's STAB attacks as well as Medicham's lack of super-effective attack on it at all. Furthermore, it can disable Medicham with a Thunder Wave, and reduce the damage done by it by setting up a Reflect. Dusknoir, with enough EVs in Defense, can block Medicham's attacks outside of Psycho Cut and hit hard with Shadow Punch or Shadow Sneak. It can also remove Medicham as a threat by burning it with Will-O-Wisp. By extension, Spiritomb can also counter Medicham, with a further immunity to Psycho Cut due to its part Dark typing. Celebi can sponge a Medicham locked into any attack not named Ice Punch, and on top of this, set up Reflect so Medicham poses a lesser threat to its team members. So long as Salamence and Gyarados do not switch in Ice Punch or ThunderPunch respectively, they can pose an immediate threat to Medicham. Psycho Cut has the potential to 2HKO them, however, and without recovery options outside of Wish support, they cannot indefinitely switch in to Medicham's relentless barrages. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
