Alright, I got something for you lot.
Stall Smashing Dragonite:
Dragonite (M) @ Life Orb / Leftovers Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 60 Atk / 252 SAtk / 196 Spd
Lonely Nature (+Atk, -Def) / Naughty Nature (+Atk, -Sdef)
- Outrage
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
So, you look at this and two things are going to come to mind: How is this creative as opposed to the normal Mixnite set on site? And also why would you use this instead of the nearly identical Mixed Salamence set?
Well to the first one, this is specialized to take on Stall in its entirety, not to just to lure in and eliminate a few. It also has speed EVs instead of relying on Extremespeed (which doesn't have enough power for defensive Pokemon). The EVs given allow it to outspeed standard Gliscor, which is the fastest defensive threat you're likely to encounter that can actually hurt you back. Because the Speed EVs allow you to forgo Extremespeed, Dragonite can afford to carry Outrage, which allows you to go gung-ho all over the enemy team as soon as their steels are elminated (and you will eliminate them with this set). This set has a move for almost any switch in, with only the rare Porygon-2 avoiding a 2HKO. It has just enough attack to 2HKO Chansey with Life Orb, though if using Leftovers you may wish to invest more in attack to secure the same KO. Asside from those two, nothing is taking this combination of moves, unlike the Mixed set listed on the site which has many more Pokemon that can take it due to reduced speed and coverage.
Now, what sets this set appart from Salamence? The big thing is the element of surprise. People EXPECT Salamence to go mixed somehow, and so play accordingly. On the other hand, no one expects Dragonite to go mixed outside of the rain anymore, allowing it to lure in and KO Steels and other physical walls with ease. This makes it a great partner for Pokemon like Terrakion, which love having their counters and checks removed. It also has more bulk than Salamence, particularly if you opt for leftovers over Life Orb, allowing you to come back in and do it again later if need be, or to use Dragonite as an offensive pivot if the need arises. This Dragonite therefore generally functions better on more balanced teams than Salamence does, as they appreciate the bulk for switching more and have fewer options to remove specific walls, which Dragonite does a better job of doing thanks to its ability to lure (steel types in particular will never switch into Salamence. Not so for Dragonite). Another benefit is that even if you start with a Special attack, people will still assume you're not mixed and instead assume you're specially based, causing them to switch in a Special wall for you to KO. Because of this you'll frequently find Dragonite actually retains its surprise factor for more than one turn, allowing it to KO multiple walls before the opponent figures out what's going on.
As for more in depth look at the details of the set, Earthquake is chosen over Brick Break for the extra power and ability to hit Heatran and Specially Defensive Jirachi much harder, while still 2HKOing all standard Tyranitar variants. Blissey and Chansey are a non-factor in this decision since STAB outrage is better against them anyway. The Speed EVs, as mentioned, are to outspeed Gliscor, who would otherwise 2HKO with Ice Fang. Sp. Attack recieves maximum investment to power up Draco Meteor, but the nature is for Attack since its more efficient for the nature to boost the higher stat and attack EVs are limited thanks to the speed investment. Fire Blast wrecks 90% of the steels that switch in expecting a DD set and Earthquake smashes the other 10%, as well as giving a sometimes better option in rain. The choice between Life Orb and Leftovers depends on how much survivability you need in Dragonite; Leftovers increases his survivability by leaps and bounds thanks to Multiscale, but Life Orb secures the 2HKO on Chansey and makes cleaning up mid-game easier. If you do opt for Leftovers, you may wish to shift the attacking EVs around so they can deal with whatever defensive threats are more important for it to eliminate (for instance, if you have terrakion not being to KO Chansey isn't as important as being to KO Gliscor).
