Cofagrigus
[Overview]
<p>In a tier dominated by powerful Fighting-types, such as Heracross and Mienshao, Cofagrigus stands out as a great check to many of them. Breaking through Cofagrigus with physical attacks is very difficult with his gargantuan base 145 Defense and he can even take some special attacks due to his usable base 105 Special Defense. Base 95 Special Attack combined with access to Trick Room and Nasty Plot means that he can run a sturdy special sweeper set that is very difficult to stop. The icing on the cake is Cofagrigus's unique ability, Mummy, which helps weaken Pokemon with powerful abilities such as Azumarill. However, he has his flaws: base 58 HP hinders his walling abilities and the UU tier is filled with not only Fighting- but also Dark-types. Despite this, Cofagrigus is a great addition to many team that need a reliable response to Fighting-types or a good spinblocker.</p>
[SET]
name: Offensive Trick Room
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Hidden Power Fighting
move 3: Nasty Plot
move 4: Trick Room
item: Leftovers
nature: Quiet
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpA
ivs: 2 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 2 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is the most threatening and used Cofagrigus set. Thanks to a combination of good bulk and perfect coverage, Cofagrigus has all he needs to be a very sturdy and powerful special sweeper. Even uninvested, his bulk is good enough that he can still check Fighting-types and weak attackers and use them to set up a sweep. Nasty Plot boosts his Special Attack to a respectable 634, while Trick Room makes Cofagrigus "faster" than many other Pokemon. Shadow Ball is a reliable and powerful STAB attack and has perfect coverage with Hidden Power Fighting. The chosen item is Leftovers, as the passive recovery helps Cofagrigus set up a sweep.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread is standard for a Trick Room sweeper: Special Attack is maximized for power, while HP is maximized so that Cofagrigus remains bulky. A Quiet nature with 2 IVs in Speed is used so that Cofagrigus is as slow as possible, while ensuring Hidden Power Fighting has 70 Base Power. 2 IVs in Attack help reduce damage inflicted by confusion and the move Foul Play.</p>
<p>As for teammates, Cofagrigus appreciates those that can set up entry hazards, as this will help him break through the opponent's team. Rhyperior, Empoleon, and Roserade are good teammates because they lure out Fighting-type Pokemon on which Cofagrigus can set up. Froslass is a good Spikes setter that works well with Cofagrigus, forming a double Ghost combo which makes Rapid Spinning very difficult. Umbreon and the rarer Clefable are great defensive teammates for Cofagrigus. They can heal Cofagrigus via Wish or Heal Bell, have perfect type synergy with him, and can lure out Fighting-types. As for offensive teammates, Choice Band Snorlax and offensive Porygon2 with Download are some of the best due to their good synergy and ability to utilize Trick Room due to their low Speed stats. Lastly, a good wallbreaker such as Nidoking or Porygon-Z can damage special walls to make Cofagrigus's life easier.</p>
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Pain Split
move 4: Haze / Knock Off
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Cofagrigus's stat distribution just screams defensive wall. While it is not as threatening or used as the offensive Trick Room set, this set sees usage on full stall teams that need a very sturdy spinblocker and Fighting-type counter. With his base 145 Defense and Ghost typing, he can easily check all the Fighting-types in UU with the exception of Scrafty. He can also check most physical attackers in general due to his ability to cripple them with a burn via Will-O-Wisp. Will-O-Wisp is also good for luring Snorlax, a very common switch-in to the Offensive set. With his base 95 Special Attack, he is not setup fodder either and can still hit hard with his STAB Shadow Ball. Pain Split is Cofagrigus's only usable form of recovery, and while it is not very reliable, it allows Cofagrigus to heal against Pokemon with high HP stats such as Snorlax. Haze is used in the last slot to prevent sweepers such as Swords Dance Heracross and Substitute + Bulk Up Gallade from setting up sweeps while also checking Baton Pass chains. However, if you don't need that, Knock Off is an option to remove Leftovers and Life Orbs.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread maximizes Defense because Cofagrigus is meant to check Fighting- and Bug-types such as Heracross and Cobalion. RestTalk provides a more reliable method of recovery, but it means that you have to drop Haze or Knock Off, so use them only if you have another Hazer on the team. Cofagrigus's best friend here is Umbreon: it has a very good synergy with the Coffin Pokemon and can heal it with Wish and Heal Bell. Clefable can do this as well, but is not as bulky as Umbreon. Special sponges like Snorlax and Porygon2 work well at taking strong special attacks, while Cofagrigus can switch in on Fighting-type moves directed at them. Finally, because Cofagrigus lures out Dark-types, bulky Steel-types, such as Registeel and Empoleon, make good teammates.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>With access to Calm Mind and titanic bulk, a bulky Calm Mind set seems usable. Sadly, lack of reliable recovery hurts Cofagrigus and the set is generally outclassed by the offensive Trick Room set. Curse, Destiny Bond, Heal Block, and Magic Coat are all support options he can use, but they're all gimmicky at best. Offensively, Cofagrigus has Grass Knot and Energy Ball to hit Swampert and Rhyperior, but a burn hurts them enough. Hex is a Ghost-type move that has 100 Base Power when the opponent's Pokemon is suffering from a status condition, but Shadow Ball is generally better because it is more reliable and has more PP. A Choice Specs set with Trick is an option, but is outclassed by Chandelure, who has more power and Fire-type STAB.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>The best counters to offensive Cofagrigus are Togekiss and Calm Mind Meloetta. Both are immune to Shadow Ball and laugh at Hidden Power Fighting due to their high special bulk and neutrality to the move; the former can set up Nasty Plots on Cofagrigus and Roost off any damage, while the latter can set up Calm Minds and KO it with Shadow Ball. They both have access to Heal Bell, so they can even beat the defensive set with ease. Choice Band Snorlax with Crunch can take a Hidden Power with its supreme bulk and destroy Cofagrigus with Crunch or Pursuit, but the defensive set can cripple it with Will-O-Wisp. Offensive Roserade can switch in on Trick Room or Nasty Plot and OHKO with Leaf Storm and can heal a burn with Natural Cure. Milotic has Dragon Tail and Haze to stop offensive Cofagrigus and can take a +2 Shadow Ball. Furthermore, Will-O-Wisp activates Marvel Scale, increasing Milotic's Defense. The rare Cryogonal is the only spinner that can beat Cofagrigus; it has Haze to prevent Cofagrigus from boosting and can bring it down with repeated Ice Beams. Strong Sucker Punch users such as Honchkrow and Bisharp can revenge kill Cofagrigus by bypassing Trick Room, and they usually have Substitute to block Will-O-Wisp from the defensive set. When Trick Room runs out, powerful Dark- and Ghost-types can revenge kill Cofagrigus with their STAB attacks.</p>
<p>The defensive set is much easier to counter. Fire-types, such as Arcanine and Darmanitan, can switch in on a Will-O-Wisp on Shadow Ball and hit hard with their Flare Blitzes. Chandelure and Victini work too, but they are weak to Shadow Ball and should be careful switching in. Specially based Dark-types such as Zoroark and Houndoom don't care much about a burn and are resistant to Shadow Ball, so they are good checks. In general, hitting Cofagrigus hard on the switch and hitting it with status are good ways to bring it down.</p>