This particular Smeargle set has become an excellent support lead as bulkier leads such as Metagross and Swampert have become more popular during the Platinum metagame. The principle here is simple: against a Pokemon that does not use Taunt, use Spore, and begin to set up layers of entry hazards. You can employ this simple strategy against Metagross, Swampert, Hippowdon, Bronzong, Heatran, and more, as the Focus Sash guarantees that you will put at least one Pokemon to sleep and set up at least one layer of entry hazards. Since this Smeargle carries no attacks and will not be surviving any special attacks commonly carried by leads, the EVs are invested in Defense to ensure that Smeargle can survive weaker physical assaults, like 2 Bullet Punches from a lead Metagross. This Smeargle is a risky lead, and therefore should only be used if your team can take advantage of it. For this reason, you should incorporate Pokemon that can make great use of multiple layers of Spikes. Lucario and Life Orb Gyarados are such Pokemon; two layer of Spikes and Stealth Rock guarantees a OHKO on Lucario's nemesis Hippowdon. Gyarados gets an OHKO on a defensive Starmie with Earthquake when Spikes and Stealth Rock are up. Other than that, using Pokemon that can force many switches, such as Scizor and Heatran, is a great way to further abuse Spikes. You can also try employing phazers, such as Suicune, Swampert, or Vaporeon, but since this Smeargle will be employed on offensive or balanced teams, the phazer should have a purpose on your team other than simply phazing. It should be clear by now that Spikes aren't simply a bonus to have, they need a team built around them to work. Therefore, it makes sense that a Ghost-type should be used to block Rapid Spin attempts. The Rotom formes are the premier spin blockers in the metagame, and can be played offensively or defensively, depending on your preference. Dusknoir can be considered if you want a more specialized spin blocker with higher defenses than Rotom-A (or are playing on Wifi). Smeargle has unfavorable matchups against faster leads such as Azelf, Aerodactyl, Jirachi, Infernape, and Roserade. A Rotom forme can fortunately cover many of these threats (Azelf, Aerodactyl, Jirachi), but if you are using it, be careful that it is not weakened to the point where it is useless later in the game, where it may be needed to counter threats such as Gyarados and Metagross. A Gyarados and Latias can set up on Infernape, and a Scizor can easily revenge kill a Roserade if necessary. As a bonus, both Scizor and Gyarados can effectively check lead Jirachis.
This Smeargle sacrifices the chance to get up Spikes in exchange for a better matchup against many leads that the Spiker Lead suffers against. Azelf, Aerodactyl, expecting the Spiker Lead, will likely use Taunt, but since you outpace them with a Choice Scarf, you can Trick them into the Taunt, gaining a Focus Sash, and U-turn (or simply switch if you lack the move) to scout the opponent's switch-in. A lead Infernape can be dealt with similarly by using Spore or Trick, as Fake Out will not OHKO. Bulkier leads still suffer against this Smeargle due to Trick, and Pokemon on stall teams in particular despise being given a Choice Scarf. Destiny Bond is there for late-game purposes if you need to score a KO on the opponent, while Encore (with some prediction) can stop something like a Latias that has procured too many Calm Minds. However, note that you will still need the Choice Scarf for these tactics to work, as otherwise you will be easily outsped and KOed (unless you have managed to procure a Focus Sash). Smeargle also happens to be one of the few Pokemon that can learn Lunar Dance, which can be helpful in getting a weakened or crippled sweeper back to full health. While you have a better matchup against many leads than the Spiker lead, you still unequivocally lose to Jirachi (who OHKOes you with Iron Head) and Ninjask (who completes its mission of Baton Passing to a sweeper). Fortunately, you can take advantage of a Jirachi's Iron Head to use Pokemon such as Gyarados or Heatran and set up on it. Ninjask is crippled by Taunt, so a bulky Gyarados makes an excellent partner to this Smeargle lead. You should also consider using a Pokemon that can set up the vital Stealth Rock. Heatran, Swampert, and Gliscor are excellent choices for this role. If you elect to use Lunar Dance, consider using a sweeper that can really benefit from having two opportunities to sweep, such as Tyranitar.
This set dates back to Smeargle's niche in RSE play as a key member of Baton Pass teams due to its ability to pass Ingrain to other members of the team, thus preventing phazers from destroying the chain. Ingrain also helps the members of the chain recover health (albeit slowly), which can be handy on a team as strapped for moveslots as a Baton Pass team. Spore is used to put problematic Pokemon to sleep, and is often the first move this Smeargle uses. The third slot is up for debate: Substitute, if selected, should often be the first move used in order to scout for priority users and Sleep Talkers. In addition to this, Substitute has potential with the Salac Berry to get you a free speed boost. Taunt can be handy in order to disable enemy Taunt users such as Gliscor and Gyarados. Spider Web is a gamble: it can mean an automatic victory if you trap an unthreatening Pokemon, or it can mean a painful switch if you trap something like a Scizor or Infernape (that possesses Mach Punch or Vaccuum Wave). The item Shed Shell is recommended for use only if you fear Perish Song Celebi or for whatever reason need to switch rather than Baton Pass, as Ingrain stops your team members from switching. Other than that, Leftovers is the reliable option. Because a base 75 Speed is nothing to brag about, this set works best with speed boosts passed in, and for that there are three main options: Zapdos, Gliscor, and Ninjask, each with their advantages. Zapdos tends to block common phazers, such as Skarmory, Suicune, and Swampert from acting due to fear of a strong Thunderbolt or Hidden Power Grass. Gliscor has access to Taunt to shut down enemy phazers completely. Ninjask, by virtue of its high speed, can block Trick from shutting down your chain by outspeeding a Choice Scarf user and putting up Substitute, but rather than repelling phazers like Suicune and Swampert, it attracts them, and is an iffy choice at best. This set tends to work best on dedicated Baton Pass teams, where every member of the team can pass stat boosts, Substitutes, or healing to one another. You should seek to include Pokemon that can pass Agility, and either Attack or Special Attack boosts, combined with Substitutes. A full guide to the construction of Baton Pass teams can be found here. http://www.smogon.com/dp/articles/baton_pass_chains
The old standard for Smeargle never loses the threat of being devastating, but it is almost moribund in the current metagame. The idea here is to set up a Substitute upon entering the field (you should be faster than your opponent's Pokemon.) If the opponent's switch-in lacks a phazing move or Haze, use Belly Drum and then Spore. Reverse the order if the opponent doesn't have such a move. Finally, Baton Pass the Attack and Speed to a Pokemon capable of sweeping through the OU tier, such as Aerodactyl, Metagross, Gyarados, or Lucario. The reason this set suffers in the current metagame is because it is difficult for Smeargle to get a free turn, combined with the large amount of priority, Choice Scarf users, and Taunters, such as Azelf, Gyarados, Lucario, Scizor, Latias, Heatran, etc. It does you little good to pass a Belly Drum if your recipient is outsped by a Scarfer or picked off by a priority user. Therefore, based on what recipient you choose, try to eliminate its counters accordingly. As with the other Baton Pass sets, passing Speed boosts is recommended because it ensures Smeargle can outpace and Spore Taunt users before they shut down the strategy. A Substitute Passer, such as Zapdos or Ninjask, can also help ensure that Smeargle gets a free turn it needs. Magnezone support is highly recommended just to ensure that you don't miss the odd Scizor, Lucario, or Skarmory that comes back to ruin your fun. If you want this Smeargle to work, give it the support it needs, and do not reveal it too early to the opponent.
This set forgoes Ingrain in order to attempt to pass Spider Web to a recipient capable of easily sweeping the opponent's team. It works on similar principles as the previously mentioned Ingrain Pass set: Spore first, use Spider Web on the next switch-in, and Baton Pass to an appropriate sweeper that can setup on the opponent. For the third moveslot, Encore can be used to lock the opponent into a particular move if you find a free turn with which to do so, or Cosmic Power can be used to make your switch-in's setup easier. Note, however, that both Encore and Cosmic Power are luxuries, not necessities, and if you use them recklessly, the Trap Pass strategy will fail due to Smeargle's untimely demise. Only use them if you have generated a free turn courtesy of a passed in Substitute. As mentioned in the other set, a Speed passer, likely with Substitute, is highly recommended here to make is easier for Smeargle to get onto the field and set. Zapdos works best for this role, Gliscor works well, but Ninjask is iffy. The next thing you should consider is the recipient of the trap pass. This should be a Pokemon capable of setting up and sweeping through OU given the chance. Pokemon such as Salamence, Lucario, and Gyarados work well for this role. You should make sure that the remainder of your team can clear the counters of your Pokemon of choice.
By using this set, Smeargle can do the one thing that Mew, the generally better Baton Passer, cannot do, Baton Pass a +6 Attack boost, thanks to Belly Drum. The set itself is very simple, but very difficult to pull off. The goal is to switch Smeargle in without it taking damage; then, to set up for its Baton Pass. This can be done a few ways, but the easiest is for Wobbuffet to Encore a non-damaging or threatening move. Once Smeargle is switched in, you use Spore to incapacitate one of your opponent’s Pokémon, then set up Substitute and proceed to Belly Drum. After Substituting once and using Belly Drum, the Salac Berry will activate, giving you a +1 Speed boost. Once you have both your Speed and Attack stats raised, you use Baton Pass to a physical Uber Pokémon, usually either Groudon, Rayquaza, or Garchomp. To have this set work, you’re going to need to get rid of all the priority users and faster Choice Scarf users on your opponents team, usually Scizor or Rayquaza. Scizor can be handled by Dialga, who switches in on a resisted Bullet Punch; it can then hit Scizorwith a super effective Flamethrower or Fire Blast. Rayquaza, on the other hand, is a bit more difficult to handle due to the variety of sets that it can run. If Rayquaza is running a Swords Dance set, then a Choice Scarf Dialga can easily come in on the Swords Dance or on a revenge kill and OHKO Rayquaza with Dragon Pulse. The Dragon Dance set is handled by a Choice Scarf Palkia, who outpaces it, even if it has used Dragon Dance, and OHKOes it with Spacial Rend. The mixed version of Rayquaza has no safe switch in, but many Choice Scarf Pokémon can deal with it easily. Choice Scarf Pokémon are cast aside by Wobbuffet, who can come in and OHKO them with either Counter or Mirror Coat. Team OptionsOUField conditions are not of integral importance to Smeargle, though they can help or hinder it. Sandstorm breaks the lead's Focus Sash and can potentially screw you up if you're not using Leftovers and remain on the field too long (this happens more frequently with the Drum Pass set), but such cases are rare, and certainly not worth using Rain Dance to clear up. Entry hazards certainly don't help a Baton Pass Smeargle set, but they can help the Pokemon who receive its boosts. In terms of typing, Smeargle doesn't really synergize offensively or defensively with any Pokemon (barring the immunity to Ghost-type attacks). However, Smeargle's utility to your team still depends exclusively on its partners: basically, the more you invest into making Smeargle work, the better results you will have from it. The lead set should be partnered by Pokemon that can protect your Spikes, such as Rotom-A, and sweepers that can take advantage of them, such as Lucario, Scizor, Salamence, Gyarados, etc. The Baton Pass sets should be paired with Agility Passers such as Zapdos, Gliscor, or Ninjask, and solid recipients of the boosts, which depend on the particular Baton Pass set that you are employing. For example, Aerodactyl may work with the Drum Passer, but would not work with anything else because it lacks a stat-boosting move. Some constants, however, are that the Pokemon in question should have high offensive stats and an expansive movepool, so Pokemon such as Metagross, Gyarados, and Salamence work well. Protection against priority moves such as Bullet Punch and Vaccuum Wave is a bonus. Your team should be able to deal with phazers such as Skarmory and Suicune, and as was mentioned, Zapdos and Gliscor are good ways to scare phazers off the field so you can get your boosts. The Spiker Lead and Anti-Lead Smeargle sets should be used on offensive or balanced teams that can make good use of the entry hazards. The other sets work best on Baton Pass chains or on teams with strong Baton Pass components. One thing is certain, though: don't use Smeargle, even the Spiker lead, on a stall team, as a stall team demands more from its lead than one or two layers of entry hazards in exchange for its life. UbersSince this set works best when there are no entry hazards on the field, a Pokémon who has Rapid Spin is extremely helpful to Smeargle. Forretress, who is the best Pokémon with Rapid Spin in Ubers, can come in on the plethora of Dragon-type attacks and spin away the entry hazards. It is suggested being careful of the Giratina formes, as they often come in to make your attempt at Rapid Spinning the hazards away completely useless. Taunt Mewtwo turns Giratina into set-up bait, stopping 3 out of the 4 moves that Giratina usually runs. Giratina-O is a different matter; if it is able to get a Substitute up, you can break it with a slower Pokémon, then use a faster Pokémon, like Palkia, to come in for a revenge kill. Switching Smeargle in without it being harmed is an extremely difficult task, so that is where our friend Wobbuffet comes in. Wobbuffet can come in on a Pokémon such as Blissey, Encore as it uses a status-inflicting move, and then use Safeguard to allow Smeargle to come in scot-free. Smeargle will then be able to switch in with zero threat, and do its job perfectly well. Other OptionsOUYou can Baton Pass Nasty Plot to a strong special sweeper such as Jolteon or Raikou, but Togekiss has better stats for that role. Smeargle has access to moves such as Endeavor, Transform, and Perish Song, but such moves tend to have situational usages, and are unreliable. For example, Endeavor-based strategies suffer against Sand Stream and the ubiquitous Rotom formes in the current metagame. Perish Trapping is a one-time use strategy that is not guaranteed to work, and even if it does work, all you have achieved is equality with the opponent, not an advantage. (both sides have effectively lost one Pokemon, as your Smeargle will not be able to use a Perish Song/Substitute strategy again once the opponent sends in a revenge killer). The Spiker Lead has can use moves such as Magic Coat (to defeat enemy Roserades), Protect (to block Fake Out from Infernape), and Counter (to defeat a Metagross), but such moves are situational in nature, and Stealth Rock is generally accepted as the best choice for the fourth moveslot. The Anti-Lead and Spiker Lead sets can use Memento to give one of your sweepers a free turn to set up against your opponent. However, this tends to work best in conjunction with Dual Screen support, making Uxie the preferred choice for a Memento user. Still, if you need Smeargle to use the move, it can do well with it. UbersSmeargle can make use of Rapid Spin, as it isn’t something that most people would expect. Smeargle learns almost every move in the game, but it can only do so much in the Uber tier. Encore can also be used to force out an Calm Mind Kyogre or Giratina, but it has limited uses. Lunar Dance and Memento can be of some use on Smeargle, helping set up a Pokémon on your team easier, however Cresselia and Latios do the respective job much better than Smeargle can. EVsOUThe guiding principle behind EVing Smeargle is first to max out the Speed stat and then to distribute the rest of the EVs into HP or Defense, in the hope that you can live against a low base power attack or an attack from a defensive Pokemon. There is little reason to deviate from the listed EVs, unless you are using U-turn or Extremespeed and want a bit more power to your attack, in which case you would invest in Attack. UbersAs for the EVs, maxing Speed is your first priority; you need to be able to outspeed non-Choice Scarf Pokémon after your +1 Speed boost. The next step is to maximize HP while still having it divisible by 4. The rest of the EVs can be dumped into wherever you want them to be. OpinionOUUsing Smeargle on your team is quite risky: if your opponent is prepared to deal with it, you may just have given up one Pokemon slot to do little more than Spore a Pokemon to sleep. However, Smeargle remains a critical component of Baton Pass teams because of its access to moves such as Ingrain, Spider Web, and Belly Drum, which have the potential to seal your opponent's fate in the match. Smeargle's lead sets punish stall teams and teams with bulky leads, so if your team can handle other offensive teams, Smeargle can be a great addition. In general, what you get from Smeargle depends on what you put into making it work: if you build your team with the intent of covering its weaknesses and abusing its potential, you likely won't be disappointed. UbersBelly Drum is the only reason to use Smeargle outside of Mew in Ubers; Mew comes with greater bulk and a higher base Speed stat, however, Mew does not get Spore, which is another redeeming aspect of Smeargle. CountersOUPokemon immune to sleep, such as Honchkrow and Primeape work well, but they are rarely used in OU due to their other weaknesses. A user of Sleep Talk, such as Machamp, can deal with Smeargle, but the combination of Spore and Taunt can shut it down. Smeargle's most popular set, the Spiker Lead, is defeated by faster leads such as Azelf, Aerodactyl, Jirachi, and Infernape. Lum Berry Metagross is another concern. The Anti-Lead can shut down these particular threats, but aside from being rare, it has little use besides dealing with enemy leads, and forcing Smeargle out is not quite difficult. Later in the match, fast Pokemon and priority users can stop Smeargle from acting, and if it uses Spore, revenge killing becomes quite easy due to Sleep Clause. In general, the Baton Pass sets of Smeargle requires a bit of playing around. Hyperoffensive teams packed with Pokemon such as Azelf, Infernape, and Gengar can easily kill off Smeargle before it does anything. The use of Taunt, if Smeargle has no Speed boosts so it can use Spore or Taunt to intercept you, also shuts it down. Other than that, perhaps the best strategy to defeating Smeargle is to apply pressure to it, forcing it to use a Sleep move and not get a free turn because of the Substitute. Then enter the field with a user of Choice Scarf such as Flygon or a Pokemon with strong priority moves such as Scizor or Infernape, who can kill off Smeargle or force it to switch, making it useless for the rest of the match because of Sleep Clause. UbersUnlike Mew, Smeargle isn’t going to have room on its Baton Pass set to be able to use Taunt, so any Pokémon with Roar or Whirlwind will make Smeargle useless. Scizor, Rayquaza, and the Deoxys formes bring issues, as, with priority, they can get around Baton Pass and hit a Smeargle who is at 25% health with a priority move, making sure that the stat boosts will never reach their recipient. |
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