Assault Vest

[DDRMaster]

Assault Vest: An item to be held by a Pokemon. This offensive vest raises Sp. Def but prevents the use of status moves.
In depth effect: Assault Vest boosts the SpDef of a Pokemon by 50% but prevents it from using any move in the Status Category.

With Ubers being primarily Specially based, there's no doubt that this item will pop up to allow Pokemon to weather the strong Special attacks in the tier. This along with the Special moves nerf means that many Special attackers have counters that couldn't have existed in previous generations.

Palkia @ Assault Vest
EVs: 76 HP / 220 SpAtk / 216 Spe
Nature: Timid
Ability: Pressure
~ Thunder
~ Spacial Rend/Draco Meteor
~ Surf/Hydro Pump
~ Fire Blast

With Assault Vest and a mere 76 HP EVs, Palkia this Palkia can now switch in on any attack Specs Kyogre can throw at it and come out on top. This Palkia is never 2HKO'd by Kyogre's Thunder, even after switching into Stealth Rock, while it can 2HKO max HP Kyogre back with its own Thunder after SR. 4 HP Kyogre won't even need to take SR damage to be 2HKO'd. Scarf Kyogre is in a similar boat, since it can't even 3HKO Palkia while it gets 2HKO'd in return.

The Speed EVs with Timid allow Palkia to out speed Jolly Rayquaza and the rest is put into SpAtk to increase damage and guarantee the 2HKO on max HP Kyogre after SR. The other 3 moves aren't there for any specific reason and you can just about any Palkia set with this set up, as long as you invest 76 EVs in HP.

Metagross @ Assault Vest
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpDef
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Clear Body
~ Iron Head/Meteor Mash
~ Bullet Punch
~ Ice Punch
~ Pursuit/Earthquake

Metagross laughs at +2 Xerneas, as it isn't even guaranteed to OHKO Metagross without Assault Vest equipped. Metagross can then proceed to KO back with either a combination of Iron Head and Bullet Punch or a Meteor Mash. This Metagross can even check Deoxys-A well, as LO HP Fire and Shadow Ball will never OHKO even with LO, while Bullet Punch will always KO it after the LO recoil. Focus Sash ones can also be dealt with, provided they at least switched into SR.

In the last slot, Pursuit can catch Psychics who try to switch out while Earthquake is mainly for Heatran. More SpDef can be invested to better survive weather boosted attacks, but then you'll miss out on key KO's.

 

[MMII]

Keep in mind Soul Dew isn't released (contrary to the PS sim's beliefs) so not much point in discussing it.

Also you forgot all about Assault Vest Scizor. A nice specially bulky U-turn users is sexy. There's also Assault Tar and Assault Yveltal and quite a few others. This is a really creative item for a metagame as special oriented as Ubers.

 

[DDRMaster]

I forgot about Soul Dew being unavailable, so I'll edit that part out. And I didn't want to post every single viable Assault Vest Pokemon I could think of in the OP to see what other people would come up with.

 

[Jimmyftw]

Dialga @ Assault Vest
252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
~ Dragon Pulse
~ Flash Cannon
~ Thunder
~ Fire Blast

Given that Dialga is neutral to Dragon, resist Fairy and Water, it can be a great user of Assault Vest. While still weak to physically based ubers, Assault Vest allows Dialga to function better as an offensive pivot and it doesn't miss having SR as much due to Defog being omnipresent.

 

[ChaosNemesis]

Dialga @ Assault Vest
Given that Dialga is neutral to Dragon, resist Fairy and Water, it can be a great user of Assault Vest.

It doesn't resist fairy, it's neutral...

Btw I can see also Ho-oh and maybe kyogre using assault vest.

 

[Lolk]

I don't think the assault vest deserves as much hype as some threads have been giving it. Specifically to Ubers, the lack of recovery walls would get such as Ho-Oh (who needs roost) would hinder it more than the boost to Special Defense. Offensive Pokemon need the choice item or Life orb to deal significant damage, unless the playstyle is extremely balanced and you don't need the win condition for some reason. I do really like the pivot Scizor, though, as in-and-out Pokemon are the only ones who can use the assault vest to its fullest advantage.

 

[Haruno]

I don't think the assault vest deserves as much hype as some threads have been giving it. Specifically to Ubers, the lack of recovery walls would get such as Ho-Oh (who needs roost) would hinder it more than the boost to Special Defense. Offensive Pokemon need the choice item or Life orb to deal significant damage, unless the playstyle is extremely balanced and you don't need the win condition for some reason. I do really like the pivot Scizor, though, as in-and-out Pokemon are the only ones who can use the assault vest to its fullest advantage.

Ho oh has fucking regenerator. Most ho oh sets bar defensive variants don't even run roost.............. Though ho oh doesn't exactly need/want assault vest.

 

[Lolk]

I was talking about the defensive Ho-Oh set that was mentioned lol... My point was that a stall mon that lose 50% every switch (barring regenerator, which doesn't stop the damage when it swtiches in, which still means it can be powered through easily) in with no recovery won't last long. Chill out sonnnnn.

 

[Jimmyftw]

Is Psystrike / Psyshock affected by Assault Vest?

 

[Alert to Sounds]

Since those moves calculate damage off of the Defense stat, they obviously bypass the boost.

 

[Ferdie]

Very nice item. I have seen some very clever use of it for example assault vest amoonguss tanking special threats and have used assault vest scizor myself which is like one of the best xerneas counters. Think there are other good canditates like dialga, palkia, metagross maybe even jirachi etc.

 

[Jexulus]

Keep in mind that this item is meant specifically for bulky attackers who rely on power and bulk, not speed, to defeat the opposition. Though they might miss out on boosting moves, Pokemon who don't usually carry them anyway, like Zekrom, Dialga, and Palkia, will benefit greatly from these on offensive sets. Beyond that, I don't think this item will be seen all too much in Ubers, with the prominence of boosting moves being too good to pass up for those who get it.

 

[asterat]

It's like a more reliable but less niche haban berry for Palkia. I don't understand your spread in the OP, with the SpD boost investing in SpD less wile give you more special bulk than investing in HP more. An unmentioned mon is scizor, it's like metagross with U-turn but more susceptible to fire.

 

[MMII]

Sadly for Palkia, not running Lustrous Orb is even more noticeable as he can't threaten to 2HKO a bulky Arceus with that item and Hydro Pump due to the disappearance of perma weather.

 

[DDRMaster]

It's like a more reliable but less niche haban berry for Palkia. I don't understand your spread in the OP, with the SpD boost investing in SpD less wile give you more special bulk than investing in HP more. An unmentioned mon is scizor, it's like metagross with U-turn but more susceptible to fire.

You could invest in SpDef to require less SpDef EVs than you would need to in HP, but the HP EVs do give it some physical bulk as well. I have a feeling neither the extra physical bulk nor the extra SpAtk you'd get with the saved EVs would matter much, though.

 

[DontStealMyPenguin]

Wobbufet with assault vest can only use mirror coat and counter, however, it can live a max special attack modest choice specs stab full hp water spout from kyogre in the rain.

 

[MMII]

That defeats the whole purpose of Wobbuffet. Anything with a setup move (or any other non-attack) will just steamroll you.

 

[KogaEliteFour]

Palkia or Kyogre with Assault Vest can just be hurt badly by Zekrom's or Victini's Bolt Strike, although I haven't seen very many Victini in Ubers.

 

[Jahf12]

What about....
Blissey @ Assault Vest
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Charge Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam

 

[ChaosNemesis]

What about....
Blissey @ Assault Vest
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Charge Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam

Already April's fool?
Nonsense a wall like blissey that can't heal herself...
Eviolite chansey is infinite times better than this thing.

 

[jim995]

I've ran this with moderate success:

Scizor @ Assault Vest
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 6 SDef / 252 Atk
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Pursuit

(Not sure if the EVs are optimal, bear with me).
Although the loss of power compared to Banded Scizor is significant, the bulk it gains is also not negligible. U-Turn is there for standard pivot shenanigans, Bullet Punch mostly for low health Xerneas (usually 2HKO) and other Pokemon, Superpower and Pursuit are basically filler with niche use (i. e., trapping mega Gengar, bluffing a Choice set on a Chansey, etc.).

Edit: In case it is not perfectly clear, this is merely a utility counter to certain Pokemon (Xerneas, the Lati twins, etc.) that also functions as a pivot). In general, I feel that the Assault Vest is too restrictive in its moves to be able to do little more than that for any Pokemon, with Palkia missing the Lustrous Orb Power/ Choice Scarf speed, Ho-oh missing the Roosts, etc.

Edit 2: It is sort of a middle ground between the Band and the Specially Defensive Sets from last gen. You're probably better of running one or the other though. :/

 

[sammao]

I wonder what does " Status Category" exactly mean? Does it mean the "status moves" we all know like toxic and thunder wave, or does it mean only attacking moves can be used? Do moves like confuse ray or leech seed included??

 

[Theorymon]

I wonder what does " Status Category" exactly mean? Does it mean the "status moves" we all know like toxic and thunder wave, or does it mean only attacking moves can be used? Do moves like confuse ray or leech seed included??

Pretty much everything that's not an attacking move is counted sadly.

 

[Hack]

I have been trying Assault Vest on several mons and I am impressed. Those mons that it is actually viable to use it on function really well. Previous posters have been mentioning some users, so I'll address them first:

Dialga
Please don't use Assault Vest on this. While it has good coverage and pretty decent typing (not really that great anymore imo), it will now lack Stealth Rocks that it reliably lays as a supporter, and it lacks the power it can have as a wallbreaker. It sure functions okay as a pivot but Palkia is a better Kyogre check, is faster, and has even better coverage.

Ho-oh
You are giving up power that Life Orb gives you, and staying power that Roost gives you. It should be pretty obvious why this equation doesn't work out. And it's not THAT easy to Defog.

Metagross
I haven't tested this much yet but truth be told I can't see the niche this mon has when there are plenty of bulky Steel-types to choose from (Jirachi, Bronzong, Aegislash, Scizor), and all of them function really greatly without Assault Vest, meaning they support their teams better. However, I haven't tried this enough to have a good opinion about this, mind explaining how it works DDRmaster?

Now onto some AV mons I found nifty.

Palkia
First off, the OP spread is bad. Max speed is needed to outspeed Yveltal and Xerneas, allowing you to hit them quite hard. Dropping more special attack EVs just to achive that obscure bulk that allows you to not get 2HKOed by a move that is choice-locked move (meaning you should have an immunity or at least a resist) after Stealth Rock (which is hardly standard battle conditions anymore) seems kinda useless to me. Other than that, Assault Vest Palkia is amazing as it just tanks the shit out of Kyogre, takes attacks from Yveltal a bit better, and hardly fears Grassceus hitting it as hard anymore. Even without a Lustrous Orb to boost its STAB-moves, Palkia has amazing coverage and is very dangerous offensively too.

Set:
Palkia @ Assault Vest
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spacial Rend
- Fire Blast
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder

Amoonguss
A personal favourite for my more stallish teams, regen is amazing as we know. It does have a great niche in checking Kyogre, Palkia (no Fire Blast in sun) and Xerneas (no Psyshock). Amoonguss is hard to set up against with Foul Play and Clear Smog in its arsenal. The loss of Spore is a bit upsetting, but the new sleep mechanics makes it bearable to give up on that.

Set:
Amoonguss @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Def
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk (IV accordingly for Hidden Power
- Grass Knot
- Clear Smog
- Sludge Bomb / Hidden Power Ice
- Foul Play

Zekrom
I found Zekrom pretty nifty as well. Even though it can't take hits from specsogre well, it does check the more common scarfed variant, and unlike Palkia it can really just OHKO pretty much any Kyogre. Other things Zekrom has over Palkia is a strong move to OHKO Ho-oh with in sun, same goes for Lugia obviously. This makes Zekrom fit pretty well on teams that need a Kyogre check that pressures Ho-oh well. Zekrom also has that slow Volt Switch which can safely bring in mons like Mega Gengar on predicted switches or just after you have tanked a hit. Zekrom also scares Yveltal and CM Arceus way more than Palkia, which is cool. While Assault Vest Zekrom probably isn't the best set, it was still fun to use and it does have its niches.

Set:
Zekrom @ Assault Vest
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 208 HP / 216 Atk / 20 SDef / 64 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Bolt Strike
- Volt Switch
- Outrage
- Dragon Tail

(I speed crept a bit here).

 

[Unowninator]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Groudon. Or Landorus's Therain form. How would those 2 do?
Alo, Tornadus's Therain forme has Regenerator, which can restore its lost HP.

And although I know they're pretty bad, but Lopunny & Swoobat are the only 2 Pokemon who can Trick this item onto something else (enjoy Chansey, Lugia).