ScraftyIsTheBest
On to new Horizons!
http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/648.shtml
[Overview]
<p>Meloetta is quite an interesting Pokemon. At first, it seems like your generic Psychic-type, with high Special Attack and Special Defense. However, Meloetta does have some tools to set it apart from the rest of the crowd. The first thing one notices is that it has a very cool signature move in Relic Song. This can be played very interestingly, alternating between formes to play mind games with your opponent, thanks to its Pirouette forme having a Fighting typing and base 128 Attack. Meloetta also sports a Normal-typing, which means Chandelure, Cofagrigus, and Mismagius have little to hurt it. It also sports a very wide movepool including Calm Mind, Psychic, Thunderbolt, and much more, allowing it to run many sets.</p>
<p>Meloetta does have its flaws, though. It has a disappointing base 90 Speed stat, which means it gets outrun frequently. It also has a Dark-type weakness, which mean Pursuit and Sucker Punch spell doom for it, and has to set up or run Choice Specs to be a threat. Nonetheless, Meloetta is a very diverse and unpredictable Pokemon and is not to be taken lightly.</p>
[SET]
name: Offensive Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Psychic / Psyshock
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Focus Blast / Thunderbolt / Grass Knot
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Calm Mind is easily Meloetta's best set thanks to its extremely high Special Attack and Special Defense stats. To stand out from other Calm Mind users, Meloetta boasts a Ghost-type immunity, which allows it to take on Cofagrigus and Chandelure with almost complete impunity. Meloetta also sports the best special stats of all Calm Mind users in UU, allowing it to use Calm Mind very effectively.</p>
<p>Calm Mind is the boosting move of choice, providing bulk and firepower. Psychic provides STAB and hits Fighting-types for heavy damage. Psyshock is also usable to get around Snorlax. Shadow Ball is the main coverage move, hitting Mew and Azelf for serious damage. Focus Blast is the final coverage move, hitting Dark-types such as Weavile and Krookodile for heavy damage. Thunderbolt is a more accurate alternative and hits Sableye and Honchkrow hard. Do note, however, that if one decides to use Thunderbolt, Krookodile will be an issue. Grass Knot is also a decent coverage move to defeat Rhyperior, Swampert, and Krookodile. Houndoom and Bisharp will, however, pose a threat if Grass Knot is chosen.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A Timid nature is preferred to get past threats such as Timid Chandelure and Nidoking. A Life Orb is the preferred item on this set, because it allows Meloetta to hit hard right off the bat if setting up is too risky. Leftovers is also a viable option if being able to stay in longer is preferred over extra firepower.</p>
<p>For this set to succeed, the ability to eliminate Dark-types is very important. A Fighting-type such as Mienshao is immensely helpful for eliminating threats such as Bisharp, Krookodile, and Weavile. Crobat is also a useful teammate to get around Heracross, who commonly runs Scarf and can KO with Megahorn. Houndoom or Chandelure are also helpful to stop Sableye, which can Taunt Meloetta and burn its other teammates with Will-O-Wisp.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Shadow Ball / Thunderbolt
move 4: U-turn / Trick
item: Choice Specs
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set opts for immediate power at the cost of not being able to switch moves. Thanks to Meloetta's high base 128 Special Attack, it can utilize a Choice Specs very effectively, and its wide movepool and power set it apart from other users of the item. With its amazing coverage, Normal typing to take on Cofagrigus and Chandelure, and great all round stats, it easily stands out from Mew and Azelf.</p>
<p>Psychic is the primary STAB move, hitting numerous targets for good damage thanks to its power. Focus Blast is a powerful coverage move, smashing Steel-types, such as Registeel and Empoleon, as well as Snorlax for much needed damage. Shadow Ball provides great coverage with Psychic and Focus Blast and can seriously hurt Mew and Azelf, as well as denting Slowbro. Thunderbolt is also a very good coverage move, hitting Slowbro harder than Shadow Ball and also hurting Suicune, who otherwise can take all of Meloetta's other attacks. Finally, Trick is a very useful move to cripple Pokemon such as Bronzong and Porygon2, which become instantly useless due to losing bulk and being locked into a single move. U-turn is also useful if scouting and keeping offensive pressure is needed over crippling targets.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A Timid nature is chosen to outspeed Pokemon such as Timid Nidoking and Chandelure, as Meloetta does not need the additional power due to the boost provided by Choice Specs. A Choice Specs is the chosen item for the ability to hit hard right off the bat, which is the main purpose of this set. Grass Knot is also a usable coverage move over Shadow Ball if Swampert is an issue.</p>
<p>Due to this set not setting up at all, Honchkrow and Bisharp demolish it completely with Sucker Punch, as Meloetta will always be attacking. Additionally, Pursuit users such as Weavile and Krookodile can trap Meloetta if it is locked into Psychic. Due to this, a Fighting-type like Heracross or Mienshao is an important teammate to handle the Dark-types that stand in Meloetta's path. As Choice Scarf Heracross blows through Meloetta with Megahorn, Crobat is also a potent ally to defeat it.</p>
[SET]
name: Substitute + Calm Mind
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Calm Mind
move 3: Psychic / Psyshock
move 4: Hyper Voice / Thunderbolt / Focus Blast
item: Leftovers
nature: Modest
evs: 172 HP / 232 SpA / 104 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set takes advantage of Meloetta's power and bulk to utilize two moves that work well together: Substitute and Calm Mind. Thanks to Meloetta's great stats, Meloetta can use Substitute effectively while setting up free Calm Minds behind a reliable shield. Its massive base 128 Special Defense, high Special Attack, and Normal / Psychic typing set it apart from Raikou, its main competitor for this role.</p>
<p>Substitute and Calm Mind are, of course, the cruxes of the set, aiming to allow Meloetta to freely boost while not taking damage. Psychic or Psyshock provide much needed STAB, with a choice between either more power or the ability to get past Snorlax and opposing Calm Mind users. Hyper Voice is an option in the final slot for a secondary STAB and provides decent neutral coverage, as well as 2HKOing Umbreon after two Calm Minds. Thunderbolt is also a decent option if Psychic is the chosen STAB, getting around Suicune as well as hurting Sableye. Focus Blast is also a usable coverage move to hurt Steel-types such as Registeel, while still denting Snorlax, but be aware that it is very inaccurate.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The selected EV spread invests 172 EVs into HP to allow enough HP to build very sturdy Substitutes, while providing enough Special Attack to hit hard with. 104 EVs are invested into Speed to provide Meloetta with enough Speed to outpace Honchkrow, the biggest threat to Meloetta. Leftovers is the chosen item to recover HP to allow more Substitutes. A Modest nature is chosen to attain needed 2HKO's on targets such as Umbreon and Snorlax, and this set does not require Speed.</p>
<p>As this set heavily relies on Substitute, Cinccino beats it with ease, as it can smash through any Substitute that Meloetta puts up with Tail Slap. Fast Dark-types like Weavile and Krookodile can defeat Meloetta with their Dark STAB before it gets going. For this reason, Heracross or Mienshao are important teammates, as their ability to hit these Pokemon very hard is greatly appreciated. A Ground-type like Nidoqueen or Krookodile can deal with Raikou to allow Meloetta to avoid a Calm Mind war.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Thanks to Meloetta's diverse movepool, it has many options at its disposal. Relic Song is a very cool move that provides a lot of surprise factor, the ability to switch into its Pirouette forme, which is strong and speedy as well as sporting a Fighting-type, is very interesting. This allows Meloetta to utilize Close Combat to hurt its normal counters otherwise. With this, a mixed set of Relic Song, Close Combat, Psychic, and Thunderbolt, is very possible and can build up pressure with Spikes support, but this is generally inferior to Meloetta's other sets. However, if you really love keeping up offensive pressure, this set can perform well. That aside, Meloetta also has other offensive options such as Energy Ball, which can be used to hurt Swampert but is generally inferior to Grass Knot and Thunderbolt. It also has Thunder if you're running manual rain, but it's horribly inaccurate and is inferior to Thunderbolt in general. Return could be used if you're brave enough to use Pirouette forme Meloetta, but it doesn't provides decent coverage. Meloetta also has a decent physical movepool consisting of Zen Headbutt, Stone Edge, the elemental punches, and Shadow Claw, but you're better off using special sets. A specially defensive set with options such as Toxic, Thunder Wave, and Perish Song is possible, but it's outclassed by Snorlax, which has Whirlwind to phaze and recovery in Rest. Finally, Charge Beam is an option for troll factor, with Serene Grace raising its Special Attack boosting chance to 100%, but you're better off running Calm Mind for boosting.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Meloetta absolutely hates the presence of Dark-types; Krookodile, Weavile, and Zoroark can all outspeed and KO it, while Honchkrow and Bisharp can take it out with Sucker Punch. Meloetta is also hindered by the presence of Escavalier, which can take Meloetta's onslaughts pretty well and retaliate with a powerful Megahorn or Pursuit. If Meloetta is not using Shadow Ball, Cresselia walls it to no end and can cripple it with Thunder Wave or even set up its own Calm Minds. Snorlax is a thorn in Meloetta's side as well, with its huge special bulk allowing it to survive numerous hits and phaze with Whirlwind, undoing all of Meloetta's Calm Mind boosts. Heracross can smash Meloetta with Megahorn, which also grants it a free Attack boost, but it must be wary of Psychic. Togekiss can take many onslaughts from Meloetta and retaliate with Thunder Wave and Air Slash. Finally, thanks to Meloetta's middling Defense stat, powerful physical attackers such as Darmanitan and Mienshao can hit it very hard with their attacks.</p>
[Overview]
<p>Meloetta is quite an interesting Pokemon. At first, it seems like your generic Psychic-type, with high Special Attack and Special Defense. However, Meloetta does have some tools to set it apart from the rest of the crowd. The first thing one notices is that it has a very cool signature move in Relic Song. This can be played very interestingly, alternating between formes to play mind games with your opponent, thanks to its Pirouette forme having a Fighting typing and base 128 Attack. Meloetta also sports a Normal-typing, which means Chandelure, Cofagrigus, and Mismagius have little to hurt it. It also sports a very wide movepool including Calm Mind, Psychic, Thunderbolt, and much more, allowing it to run many sets.</p>
<p>Meloetta does have its flaws, though. It has a disappointing base 90 Speed stat, which means it gets outrun frequently. It also has a Dark-type weakness, which mean Pursuit and Sucker Punch spell doom for it, and has to set up or run Choice Specs to be a threat. Nonetheless, Meloetta is a very diverse and unpredictable Pokemon and is not to be taken lightly.</p>
[SET]
name: Offensive Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Psychic / Psyshock
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Focus Blast / Thunderbolt / Grass Knot
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Calm Mind is easily Meloetta's best set thanks to its extremely high Special Attack and Special Defense stats. To stand out from other Calm Mind users, Meloetta boasts a Ghost-type immunity, which allows it to take on Cofagrigus and Chandelure with almost complete impunity. Meloetta also sports the best special stats of all Calm Mind users in UU, allowing it to use Calm Mind very effectively.</p>
<p>Calm Mind is the boosting move of choice, providing bulk and firepower. Psychic provides STAB and hits Fighting-types for heavy damage. Psyshock is also usable to get around Snorlax. Shadow Ball is the main coverage move, hitting Mew and Azelf for serious damage. Focus Blast is the final coverage move, hitting Dark-types such as Weavile and Krookodile for heavy damage. Thunderbolt is a more accurate alternative and hits Sableye and Honchkrow hard. Do note, however, that if one decides to use Thunderbolt, Krookodile will be an issue. Grass Knot is also a decent coverage move to defeat Rhyperior, Swampert, and Krookodile. Houndoom and Bisharp will, however, pose a threat if Grass Knot is chosen.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A Timid nature is preferred to get past threats such as Timid Chandelure and Nidoking. A Life Orb is the preferred item on this set, because it allows Meloetta to hit hard right off the bat if setting up is too risky. Leftovers is also a viable option if being able to stay in longer is preferred over extra firepower.</p>
<p>For this set to succeed, the ability to eliminate Dark-types is very important. A Fighting-type such as Mienshao is immensely helpful for eliminating threats such as Bisharp, Krookodile, and Weavile. Crobat is also a useful teammate to get around Heracross, who commonly runs Scarf and can KO with Megahorn. Houndoom or Chandelure are also helpful to stop Sableye, which can Taunt Meloetta and burn its other teammates with Will-O-Wisp.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Shadow Ball / Thunderbolt
move 4: U-turn / Trick
item: Choice Specs
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set opts for immediate power at the cost of not being able to switch moves. Thanks to Meloetta's high base 128 Special Attack, it can utilize a Choice Specs very effectively, and its wide movepool and power set it apart from other users of the item. With its amazing coverage, Normal typing to take on Cofagrigus and Chandelure, and great all round stats, it easily stands out from Mew and Azelf.</p>
<p>Psychic is the primary STAB move, hitting numerous targets for good damage thanks to its power. Focus Blast is a powerful coverage move, smashing Steel-types, such as Registeel and Empoleon, as well as Snorlax for much needed damage. Shadow Ball provides great coverage with Psychic and Focus Blast and can seriously hurt Mew and Azelf, as well as denting Slowbro. Thunderbolt is also a very good coverage move, hitting Slowbro harder than Shadow Ball and also hurting Suicune, who otherwise can take all of Meloetta's other attacks. Finally, Trick is a very useful move to cripple Pokemon such as Bronzong and Porygon2, which become instantly useless due to losing bulk and being locked into a single move. U-turn is also useful if scouting and keeping offensive pressure is needed over crippling targets.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A Timid nature is chosen to outspeed Pokemon such as Timid Nidoking and Chandelure, as Meloetta does not need the additional power due to the boost provided by Choice Specs. A Choice Specs is the chosen item for the ability to hit hard right off the bat, which is the main purpose of this set. Grass Knot is also a usable coverage move over Shadow Ball if Swampert is an issue.</p>
<p>Due to this set not setting up at all, Honchkrow and Bisharp demolish it completely with Sucker Punch, as Meloetta will always be attacking. Additionally, Pursuit users such as Weavile and Krookodile can trap Meloetta if it is locked into Psychic. Due to this, a Fighting-type like Heracross or Mienshao is an important teammate to handle the Dark-types that stand in Meloetta's path. As Choice Scarf Heracross blows through Meloetta with Megahorn, Crobat is also a potent ally to defeat it.</p>
[SET]
name: Substitute + Calm Mind
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Calm Mind
move 3: Psychic / Psyshock
move 4: Hyper Voice / Thunderbolt / Focus Blast
item: Leftovers
nature: Modest
evs: 172 HP / 232 SpA / 104 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set takes advantage of Meloetta's power and bulk to utilize two moves that work well together: Substitute and Calm Mind. Thanks to Meloetta's great stats, Meloetta can use Substitute effectively while setting up free Calm Minds behind a reliable shield. Its massive base 128 Special Defense, high Special Attack, and Normal / Psychic typing set it apart from Raikou, its main competitor for this role.</p>
<p>Substitute and Calm Mind are, of course, the cruxes of the set, aiming to allow Meloetta to freely boost while not taking damage. Psychic or Psyshock provide much needed STAB, with a choice between either more power or the ability to get past Snorlax and opposing Calm Mind users. Hyper Voice is an option in the final slot for a secondary STAB and provides decent neutral coverage, as well as 2HKOing Umbreon after two Calm Minds. Thunderbolt is also a decent option if Psychic is the chosen STAB, getting around Suicune as well as hurting Sableye. Focus Blast is also a usable coverage move to hurt Steel-types such as Registeel, while still denting Snorlax, but be aware that it is very inaccurate.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The selected EV spread invests 172 EVs into HP to allow enough HP to build very sturdy Substitutes, while providing enough Special Attack to hit hard with. 104 EVs are invested into Speed to provide Meloetta with enough Speed to outpace Honchkrow, the biggest threat to Meloetta. Leftovers is the chosen item to recover HP to allow more Substitutes. A Modest nature is chosen to attain needed 2HKO's on targets such as Umbreon and Snorlax, and this set does not require Speed.</p>
<p>As this set heavily relies on Substitute, Cinccino beats it with ease, as it can smash through any Substitute that Meloetta puts up with Tail Slap. Fast Dark-types like Weavile and Krookodile can defeat Meloetta with their Dark STAB before it gets going. For this reason, Heracross or Mienshao are important teammates, as their ability to hit these Pokemon very hard is greatly appreciated. A Ground-type like Nidoqueen or Krookodile can deal with Raikou to allow Meloetta to avoid a Calm Mind war.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Thanks to Meloetta's diverse movepool, it has many options at its disposal. Relic Song is a very cool move that provides a lot of surprise factor, the ability to switch into its Pirouette forme, which is strong and speedy as well as sporting a Fighting-type, is very interesting. This allows Meloetta to utilize Close Combat to hurt its normal counters otherwise. With this, a mixed set of Relic Song, Close Combat, Psychic, and Thunderbolt, is very possible and can build up pressure with Spikes support, but this is generally inferior to Meloetta's other sets. However, if you really love keeping up offensive pressure, this set can perform well. That aside, Meloetta also has other offensive options such as Energy Ball, which can be used to hurt Swampert but is generally inferior to Grass Knot and Thunderbolt. It also has Thunder if you're running manual rain, but it's horribly inaccurate and is inferior to Thunderbolt in general. Return could be used if you're brave enough to use Pirouette forme Meloetta, but it doesn't provides decent coverage. Meloetta also has a decent physical movepool consisting of Zen Headbutt, Stone Edge, the elemental punches, and Shadow Claw, but you're better off using special sets. A specially defensive set with options such as Toxic, Thunder Wave, and Perish Song is possible, but it's outclassed by Snorlax, which has Whirlwind to phaze and recovery in Rest. Finally, Charge Beam is an option for troll factor, with Serene Grace raising its Special Attack boosting chance to 100%, but you're better off running Calm Mind for boosting.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Meloetta absolutely hates the presence of Dark-types; Krookodile, Weavile, and Zoroark can all outspeed and KO it, while Honchkrow and Bisharp can take it out with Sucker Punch. Meloetta is also hindered by the presence of Escavalier, which can take Meloetta's onslaughts pretty well and retaliate with a powerful Megahorn or Pursuit. If Meloetta is not using Shadow Ball, Cresselia walls it to no end and can cripple it with Thunder Wave or even set up its own Calm Minds. Snorlax is a thorn in Meloetta's side as well, with its huge special bulk allowing it to survive numerous hits and phaze with Whirlwind, undoing all of Meloetta's Calm Mind boosts. Heracross can smash Meloetta with Megahorn, which also grants it a free Attack boost, but it must be wary of Psychic. Togekiss can take many onslaughts from Meloetta and retaliate with Thunder Wave and Air Slash. Finally, thanks to Meloetta's middling Defense stat, powerful physical attackers such as Darmanitan and Mienshao can hit it very hard with their attacks.</p>