Cobalion (Analysis)

<p>Again, Taunt can be a viable option to prevent phazing PHazing or set up moves,. though without Without Stone Edge, Cobalion you loses its your neutral coverage which Hidden Power Ice can't can fully replace with little restrictions (I don't really get what you're try to say here),
I meant that Fighting and Rock has an almost perfect neutral coverage while Fighting and Ice also has good but not such well coverage, as *named pokes there* will be able to resist this combination.

Volt Switch is an interesting interessting choice to allow Cobalion to scout for dangerous Pokemon before setting up, get field advantage (uh, I'm really not sure what you mean here by field advantage)
I wasn't sure how to explain it as english is still not my first language so i rely on what i know and dictionaries lol.. with field advantage I wanted to explain, that volt switch, like u-turn, allows you to flee from an unwanted matchup and bring something out that has a better chance at that point .. uh, don't know if this explanation makes things better..

Wobbuffet can be is maybe even more dangerous, as it can lock you down rather easily thanks to Encore and Shadow Tag. If you saw in team preview that you have to face one, it’s recommended to Volt Switch around (if you have it) until it’s not a threat thread anymore. If you're running Running the Swords Dance set, you have to rely on mindgames mindgaming. A +2 Iron Head is strong enough to 2HKO a Bold 28 HP / 252 Def Wobbuffet at from full HP but if you set up on the switch Cobalion might be screwed. It's better to Better use Swords Dance again to prevent the first Counter and use Iron Head the following turn to avoid Encore to beat Wobbuffet 1on1. (just a quick note on that last sentence, but if you put that there, wouldn't the Wobbuffet user learn to Encore first?)</p>
i guess it more depends what you did the turn your opponent switched in wobbufet. If you attacked straight away, he/she will most likely use counter/mirror coat. if you set up, he/she will more likely use encore first.
But due to the fact that the SD set doesn't have Iron Head anymore anyways, i don't see any reason to keep this paragraph in..

Ok, I made all the changes so far plus i found some minor nitpicks on my own while doing that.
 
I wasn't sure how to explain it as english is still not my first language so i rely on what i know and dictionaries lol.. with field advantage I wanted to explain, that volt switch, like u-turn, allows you to flee from an unwanted matchup and bring something out that has a better chance at that point .. uh, don't know if this explanation makes things better..
I think what you mean to say is Momentum.


Also, I don't know where it is in the analysis, but technically Cobalion does have access to Priority in the form of Quick Attack (relearned by Heart Scale, specifically). It doesn't get STAB, it's another attack walled by ghosts, and it's not the greatest priority move, but it does have priority.
 

Zystral

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Sorry, but you have most definitely NOT implemented all the changes presented in SilentVerse's grammar check.

I took a look at three sentences and there are still glaring errors.
It is the author's choice in the end to not accept some changes if they do not agree, but most of the time, the GP team knows best - That's why we're chosen. I am currently comparing SilentVerse's post to your original write up, and they differ like the difference in quality between Fearow and Staraptor. This is not acceptable.

Please implement ALL changes suggested by SilentVerse, because his check is actually perfect. Once all the changes are implemented, I will stamp the same check, as it is of good quality, whereas your write up isn't.
 
Ok, I checked the text several times now and I'm sure I changed anything like in SilentVerse's proofread. Please tell me if I missed out anything, I'll change it then.
 
with the current Ev spread on the swords dance set youll get 333 spd not 334 bc youll have to drop a spd IV in order o get Hidden power Ice...

or am i missing something here?
 
with the current Ev spread on the swords dance set youll get 333 spd not 334 bc youll have to drop a spd IV in order o get Hidden power Ice...

or am i missing something here?
Thankfully, Hidden Power Ice does not require a 30 Speed IV. I believe it does, however, reduce Special Defense (?) to 30, so that may be where you're getting that idea from. <- That's embarrassing. I thought strike-through tags worked...

-Zane

Edit: Just kidding. Maybe you're getting that idea from the default setting on Pokémon Online that gives you an IV spread of 31 / 31 / 31 / 31 / 31 / 30. However, underneath, you can change your IV spread to have a maximum Speed stat.
 
HP Ice is also obtainable with 30 Atk and 30 Def IVs, I edited them in the analysis. But since it's a legendary Pokemon, I don't know if these IVs are actually legal. Does anyone know, how I can check it?
 
Thankfully, Hidden Power Ice does not require a 30 Speed IV. I believe it does, however, reduce Special Defense (?) to 30, so that may be where you're getting that idea from.

-Zane

Edit: Just kidding. Maybe you're getting that idea from the default setting on Pokémon Online that gives you an IV spread of 31 / 31 / 31 / 31 / 31 / 30. However, underneath, you can change your IV spread to have a maximum Speed stat.



so it only has to have 1 in 30 ?
O_o¡?
 

Wild Eep

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HP Ice is also obtainable with 30 Atk and 30 Def IVs, I edited them in the analysis. But since it's a legendary Pokemon, I don't know if these IVs are actually legal. Does anyone know, how I can check it?
Natures and IVs for wild-caught Pokemon in Gen 5 are decoupled, so a wild Pokemon caught in Gen 5 can have any nature/IV combo you want.
 
<p>On the last slot you can choose between several Hidden Power types. Ice is most likely the best as it gives Cobalion strong overall coverage and deals especially well with both Landorus and Gliscor. When using Life Orb, 252/0 Gliscor and 4/0 Landorus are both easily OHKOed even without any Calm Mind boosts. Similarly, any Garchomp that doesn't invest too much in HP or Special Defense will also be OHKOed. Hidden Power Grass is also very effective as Cobalion otherwise has a hard time against several Water-types that resist its STABs, most notably Slowbro, Jellicent and Quagsire. Don’t worry about not having a super effective move against Dragons; with Life Orb and +1 SpA, Flash Cannon deals at least 95% to offensive Garchomp.</p>
Yep, it's a small nitpick. Quagsire actually doesn't resist Focus Blast ;).
 
so it only has to have 1 in 30 ?
O_o¡?
Yes. I believe that is why it is listed first, in order to conserve potentially wasted points. However, Pokémon Online does not consider the importance of Speed for most Pokémon, to my knowledge, and does not understand which stat (usually Speed or HP) cannot handle an IV of 30.

But for Cobalion, IVs of 30 in Attack and Defense is fine for Calm Mind. (The physical attacker should probably have 30 in Defense and HP, or Attack and Defense, but it's really not a big deal, considering it does not use Substitute or have a huge Stealth Rock weakness, nor does Cobalion use Leftovers very often. And I highly doubt that the 1 Defense IV will make much of an impact at all.)

I hope that helped.

-Zane
 
I never said it resist both STABs =P I guess it the paragraph is fine the way it is now.
Well... I thought when you said STABs instead of STAB you meant both of his STAB attacks ;). But if you say it's okay - I won't argue.
 
This thing could make a perfect partner for Volcarona, as it has a quad resistance to Rock and very high physical defense in general.
 
Now that I think about it ('cause I'm about to catch one, so it came to my mind), you may as well set the Attack IV to 2, for the sake of the rare confusion damage. I mean, if it's not even using that Attack stat, may as well. (According to Pokémon Online, it will still have Hidden Power Ice with a base power of 70.)

-Zane
 
This thing could make a perfect partner for Volcarona, as it has a quad resistance to Rock and very high physical defense in general.
I don't see it as a perfect partner for Volcarona, mainly because they don't care all too much about each others weaknesses (no resistance against common attack types like Ground, Water and Fire) and Cobalion's quad resist to Stealth Rock doesn't help Volcarona at all.
Now that I think about it ('cause I'm about to catch one, so it came to my mind), you may as well set the Attack IV to 2, for the sake of the rare confusion damage. I mean, if it's not even using that Attack stat, may as well. (According to Pokémon Online, it will still have Hidden Power Ice with a base power of 70.)

-Zane
Machamp became quite rare lately because of the prescence of Conkeldurr; Confuse Ray is even rarer as I only can think of Lanturn as its only user. Random 10% confusion chances by moves like Signal Beam aren't even worth being mentioned. However, if a QC member thinks it should be done, let me know.


I wished this would get either a second proofread (to make the text a bit smoother and correct possible overlooked grammatical errors) or its 2nd GP stamp~
 

Snorlaxe

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GP CHECK 2/2

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[Overview]

<p>Fighting-types became very common in 5th generation. A total of 15 new ones came to us, including a legendary trio. One of them is Cobalion, who also offers a secondary Steel type typing. Cobalion's typing is almost unique, as it is only shared with Lucario. Still, However, both Pokemon work entirely differently. While Lucario is more of a strong, but frail, set up sweeper with Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, and Agility, Cobalion is more of a bulky version with has more bulk and higher Speed, which makes the lack of priority almost a non-issue for it. Thanks to its total of 10 resistances, immunity to Toxic Spikes, and 4x resistance to Stealth Rock, it can do its job rather well due to the switch in opportunities these resistances and immunities provide. Despite the fact its movepool is rather limited, it offers boasts base 90 Attack and Special Attack and just enough moves to use both of them effectively.</p>

[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Flash Cannon
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass
nature: Timid
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set utilizes Cobalion's acceptable base 90 Special Attack while also boosting its pitiful Special Defense at the same time by simply using Calm Mind. Without access to any reliable recovery move, it has just the time to set up once or twice in the best case scenario, but will often only have time to obtain one or two boosts; however, that’s more than enough to attempt a sweep. Focus Blast is your the main attacking option, though it has shaky accuracy. Flash Cannon gives Cobalion a secondary STAB move which gives acceptable coverage by hitting hits most Pokemon that resist Fighting for at least neutral damage, most notably anything that’s part Ghost.</p>

<p>On the last slot you can choose between several Hidden Power types. Ice is most likely the best as it gives Cobalion strong overall coverage and deals especially well with both Landorus and Gliscor. When using Life Orb, 252/0 Gliscor and 4/0 Landorus are both easily OHKOed even without any Calm Mind boosts. Similarly, any Garchomp that doesn't invest too much in HP or Special Defense will also be OHKOed. Hidden Power Grass is also very effective as Cobalion otherwise has a hard time against several Water-types that resist its STABs, most notably Slowbro, Jellicent, and Quagsire. Don’t worry about not having a super effective move against Dragons; with Life Orb and +1 SpA, Flash Cannon deals at least 95% to offensive Garchomp.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Taunt can be placed over Flash Cannon or Hidden Power to prevent the opponent from phazing or setting up on Cobalion, giving it stallbreakerish somewhat stallbreaker-oriented qualities. With it, it can beat even Skarmory and opposing Calm Mind users like such as Reuniclus, Latias, and Suicune 1on1 one-on-one, as it also shuts down their recovery moves.</p>

<p>Cobalion doesn’t fear priority as long as it’s healthy enough. Adamant 252 Atk Mach Punch from Conkeldurr even fails to 2HKO. With 120 HP / 136 SpD, Conkeldurr barely survives +1 LO Life Orb Focus Blast at full HP. Without a Calm Mind boost, it’s still 2HKOed by Focus Blast, (factoring in Leftovers and assuming both hit). Cobalion has more bigger problems with faster opponents. At +1 SpD, Timid LO Life Orb Thundurus deals 89.8% minimum damage to Cobalion with Focus Blast, while Timid LO Life Orb Gengar does 92.3%. LO Life Orb-boosted Hidden Power Fire from Latios 2HKOs it Cobalion without fail. Any sort of Ghost-type makes an irreplaceable teammate for Cobalion. Jellicent deals with both Fire- and Fighting-types very easily. Latias is also viable as it’s its typing and ability allows it to resist any super effective move aimed at Cobalion, and together they resist any attacking type in the game bar Flying. Both recommended partners have access to Recover, which makes them effective sponges.</p>

<p>Excadrill is incredibly hard to deal with. Earthquake has a more than vital very high chance to OHKO from full HP; that’s where Air Balloon comes into play, as it’s Cobalion's only chance to deal with it the Subterrene Pokemon 1on1 one-on-one. In case you decided decide to run Life Orb, it’s recommended to bring a good counter to deal with Excadrill. Gliscor is probably the best choice for this job, at the moment, but Conkeldurr with its STAB Mach Punch is also effective. Hippowdon makes a great check with thanks to its very high physical Defense, as well as its access to with Roar, and Slack Off, as well as a STABed and a STAB Earthquake that can KO Excadrill as long as it doesn't have its on its Air Balloon anymore isn't intact. Latios is able to live survive a +2 Rock Slide, while Hidden Power Fire can KO back easily. Flygon with Fire Punch can stop Excadrill as well, but also offers a quite useful U-Turn U-turn and a strong dual STAB in Outrage and Earthquake. Mixed Salamence is probably one of Cobalion's best sweeping partners. A Dragon Dance variant is also viable, as both Cobalion and Salamence can set up as soon as they get the opportunity, putting the opponent under pressure rather easily.</p>

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Stone Edge / Taunt
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
nature: Naive / Hasty
item: Life Orb / Air Balloon
EVs: 212 Atk / 88 SpA / 208 Spe
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>With many resistances and its impressive physical Defense, Cobalion has an easy time to come coming in, setting up, and start sweeping through teams. With the given EVs, Cobalion hits 334 Speed, making it faster than positive natured Garchomp without a Choice Scarf and anything slower, which includes a huge amount of the current metagame. Close Combat is your Cobalion's main attacking move, offering great damage output, easily OHKOing 120/0 Conkeldurr with Close Combat after a Swords Dance. Stone Edge is there for coverage as it deals with Flying-types who resist Close Combat, like such as Gyarados, Zapdos, Salamence, Thundurus, and many more Pokemon. who resist your STAB. With the given investment in Special Attack, Hidden Power Ice is able to OHKO 4/0 Landorus without fail, has a very high chance to KO 252/0 Gliscor without any prior damage, and deals a huge amount to 4/0 Garchomp. Thanks to its ability, Justified, Cobalion loves to switch into any Dark-type move and abuse the +1 Attack boost. Cobalion is probably the best abuser of it, mainly because of its 4x resistance to Dark-type moves and its great defensive capabilities, making Pokemon like such as Tyranitar and other common users suddenly look quite harmless. However, Cobalion isn't all that powerful, so bulkier opponents like Vaporeon, Jellicent, and Wobbuffet usually are able to live survive a hit even after a Swords Dance.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Thanks to its Cobalion's 108 base Speed, a Naughty / Lonely nature can be used to deal more damage, but you lose it loses the jump over on Volcarona and other positive nature base 100's 100s. plus Garchomp, which This ultimately might cost your Cobalion in the end its life, making it the inferior option. If However, if you don’t mind this loss of Speed, it still outruns Cobalion can still outrun max EV positive-natured base 95 Speed Pokemon and neutral-natured base 100 Speed Pokemon.</p>

<p>Again, Taunt can be a viable option to prevent phazing or set up moves, though without Stone Edge, Cobalion loses its neutral coverage which Hidden Power Ice can't fully replace, leaving it open against Gyarados, Slowbro, and Jellicent, as well as almost a myriad of Ghost-types. to name the most important Pokemon. However, they are most likely shut down by Taunt anyways anyway, so it might be not too big of a deal. not be too harmful. An Air Balloon might come in handy with the numerous Earthquake and Spikes users around. However, without a Life Orb, Cobalion can't OHKO Gliscor and Landorus anymore unless you invest a heavy amount of EVs into Special Attack.</p>

<p>Fast special attackers can cause some problems for Cobalion, as its Special Defense isn't the best. Despite this, it's able to take some neutral hits at full HP as long as its defense defensive stats aren't dropped. For example, Life Orb 252 SpA Timid Starmie's Hydro Pump can't manage to OHKO Cobalion (77.2% - 91.0%). The same goes for Life Orb Thundurus's Thunderbolt, as long as Cobalion runs a neutral SpD nature. Super effective hits still tear it apart though, so be careful of anything that might run Focus Blast, Earth Power, and almost any Fire-type move.</p>

<p>Cobalion likes the presence of mixed Salamence on its side. They can take cover each other's weaknesses rather well, but also can hit hard with their respective STAB moves. Salamence's Outrage and Draco Meteor are powerful moves resisted only by Steel-types, which Cobalion can deal with thanks to Close Combat. Gengar also helps a lot as it's immune to 2 of 3 weaknesses Cobalion has; additionally, it can lure but also lures Dark-type moves, which helps help Cobalion activate its Justified ability.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Iron Head and Thunder Wave is a fairly common strategy, and it's also usable by Cobalion. Without the Serene Grace ability, it's not exactly as effective, but still worth being mentioned. a mention. Volt Switch is an interesting choicto choice to allow Cobalion to scout for dangerous Pokemon before setting up, but you won't like to switch out after setting up Swords Dance or Calm Mind. Additionally, Cobalion sadly has a natural ability to lure in virtually every Ground-type in first place existance, which is a major drawback. Rock Polish might seem like an attractive choice to set up, but without getting its attacking stats boosted, Cobalion becomes nothing more than a fast, average attacker. Cobalion's offensive movepool is rather restricted, including just Metal Burst, Poison Jab, X-Scissor, and Retaliate; however, but Cobalion won't find much use for them due to their poor coverage.</p>

<p>Boasting great defenses, Cobalion can make good use of its supportive movepool, including Substitute, Roar, Toxic, Safeguard, and Reflect. However, the lack of a reliable recovery move is just too big of a flaw for a Pokemon with such good defenses. With the new sleep mechanics, Rest became too unreliable without access to Sleep Talk. Feel free to run an Occa Berry to remove its Cobalion's Fire weakness, which might help in a metagame full of Hidden Power Fire users, but it's most likely just inferior to the mentioned items on the sets.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Even with access to Swords Dance, bulky Pokemon give Cobalion a hard time. The real problems are the high amount of bulky Water- and Ground-types who can switch into Close Combat and Swords Dance rather easily, being ready to take a hit, and scaring scare Cobalion out with effective moves. against it. Slowbro, Slowking, and Jellicent are prime examples because they resist both of its STAB moves and have extremely large movepools which allow them to cripple Cobalion easily with a variety of moves, including Thunder Wave, Will-o-Wisp Will-O-Wisp, and Scald. Quagsire is probably Cobalion's worst nightmare as it even nullifies any Swords Dance and Calm Mind boosts thanks to its Unaware ability, while having a super effective STAB Earthquake at the same time. Gliscor, Hippowdon, and their fellow Ground-types also cause problems as long as Cobalion doesn't run Hidden Power Ice. Speaking of sand abusers, Excadrill is a tough Pokemon to deal with. The opponent will likely expect you to switch out instantly, which gives them a free turn to set up with Substitute or Swords Dance. You'd better have a counter for it, or you'll be forced to risk Cobalion by just going straight for Close Combat to nail it before it can set up and sweep.</p>

<p>Faster opponents, especially specially-based ones, have no problem switching into Cobalion and immediately threatening him. In fact, there are quite a few Pokemon that are faster than Cobalion, including Gengar, Starmie, Raikou, Latias, Latios, Thundurus, Accelgor, and several others who all usually have at least 1 super effective move against Cobalion. You might like to have Jellicent in your team, as it absorbs can absorb both Fire- and Fighting-type moves rather easily. The same goes for Latias, which even has the needed a valuable Ground immunity. you look for. Both of them have access to Recover, so you don’t have to fear losing your special wall too early. Volcarona deserves special attention, as it resists both your Cobalion's STAB moves and almost any other move Cobalion has access to bar Stone Edge and Volt Switch, making it one of the biggest threats to deal with. Usually they will Volcarona will usually try to KO Cobalion with their its Fire STAB at the first chance they have. it has. You need to know whether to risk Stone Edge missing, or simply bring an effective counter to it.</p>

<p>Some former Ubers are also able to counter Cobalion, such as Deoxys-S and -D, who are either faster or just too bulky for Cobalion to deal with, and have access to Superpower and Focus Blast to KO Cobalion. Wobbuffet can be even more dangerous, as it can lock Cobalion rather easily thanks to Encoure Encore and Shadow Tag. If you saw in team preview, preview reveals that you have to face one, it’s recommended to Volt Switch around (if you have it) until it’s not a threat anymore. A +2 Iron Head is strong enough to 2HKO a Bold 28 HP / 252 Def Wobbuffet at full HP, but if you set up on the switch, Cobalion might be screwed in trouble.</p>


i'm actually getting off my lazy ass and gping something for once, what's upppp


uhh anyway not bad analysis. a few issues regarding grammar and prose, but the content is largely spot-on. nice job!

 
GP CHECK 2/2

additions
removals

[Overview]

<p>Fighting-types became very common in 5th generation. A total of 15 new ones came to us, including a legendary trio. One of them is Cobalion, who also offers a secondary Steel type typing. Cobalion's typing is almost unique, as it is only shared with Lucario. Still, However, both Pokemon work entirely differently. While Lucario is more of a strong, but frail, set up sweeper with Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, and Agility, Cobalion is more of a bulky version with has more bulk and higher Speed, which makes the lack of priority almost a non-issue for it. Thanks to its total of 10 resistances, immunity to Toxic Spikes, and 4x resistance to Stealth Rock, it can do its job rather well due to the switch in opportunities these resistances and immunities provide. Despite the fact its movepool is rather limited, it offers boasts base 90 Attack and Special Attack and just enough moves to use both of them effectively.</p>

[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Flash Cannon
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass
nature: Timid
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set utilizes Cobalion's acceptable base 90 Special Attack while also boosting its pitiful Special Defense at the same time by simply using Calm Mind. Without access to any reliable recovery move, it has just the time to set up once or twice in the best case scenario, but will often only have time to obtain one or two boosts; however, that’s more than enough to attempt a sweep. Focus Blast is your the main attacking option, though it has shaky accuracy. Flash Cannon gives Cobalion a secondary STAB move which gives acceptable coverage by hitting hits most Pokemon that resist Fighting for at least neutral damage, most notably anything that’s part Ghost.</p>

<p>On the last slot you can choose between several Hidden Power types. Ice is most likely the best as it gives Cobalion strong overall coverage and deals especially well with both Landorus and Gliscor. When using Life Orb, 252/0 Gliscor and 4/0 Landorus are both easily OHKOed even without any Calm Mind boosts. Similarly, any Garchomp that doesn't invest too much in HP or Special Defense will also be OHKOed. Hidden Power Grass is also very effective as Cobalion otherwise has a hard time against several Water-types that resist its STABs, most notably Slowbro, Jellicent, and Quagsire. Don’t worry about not having a super effective move against Dragons; with Life Orb and +1 SpA, Flash Cannon deals at least 95% to offensive Garchomp.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Taunt can be placed over Flash Cannon or Hidden Power to prevent the opponent from phazing or setting up on Cobalion, giving it stallbreakerish somewhat stallbreaker-oriented qualities. With it, it can beat even Skarmory and opposing Calm Mind users like such as Reuniclus, Latias, and Suicune 1on1 one-on-one, as it also shuts down their recovery moves.</p>

<p>Cobalion doesn’t fear priority as long as it’s healthy enough. Adamant 252 Atk Mach Punch from Conkeldurr even fails to 2HKO. With 120 HP / 136 SpD, Conkeldurr barely survives +1 LO Life Orb Focus Blast at full HP. Without a Calm Mind boost, it’s still 2HKOed by Focus Blast, (factoring in Leftovers and assuming both hit). Cobalion has more bigger problems with faster opponents. At +1 SpD, Timid LO Life Orb Thundurus deals 89.8% minimum damage to Cobalion with Focus Blast, while Timid LO Life Orb Gengar does 92.3%. LO Life Orb-boosted Hidden Power Fire from Latios 2HKOs it Cobalion without fail. Any sort of Ghost-type makes an irreplaceable teammate for Cobalion. Jellicent deals with both Fire- and Fighting-types very easily. Latias is also viable as it’s its typing and ability allows it to resist any super effective move aimed at Cobalion, and together they resist any attacking type in the game bar Flying. Both recommended partners have access to Recover, which makes them effective sponges.</p>

<p>Excadrill is incredibly hard to deal with. Earthquake has a more than vital very high chance to OHKO from full HP; that’s where Air Balloon comes into play, as it’s Cobalion's only chance to deal with it the Subterrene Pokemon 1on1 one-on-one. In case you decided decide to run Life Orb, it’s recommended to bring a good counter to deal with Excadrill. Gliscor is probably the best choice for this job, at the moment, but Conkeldurr with its STAB Mach Punch is also effective. Hippowdon makes a great check with thanks to its very high physical Defense, as well as its access to with Roar, and Slack Off, as well as a STABed and a STAB Earthquake that can KO Excadrill as long as it doesn't have its on its Air Balloon anymore isn't intact. Latios is able to live survive a +2 Rock Slide, while Hidden Power Fire can KO back easily. Flygon with Fire Punch can stop Excadrill as well, but also offers a quite useful U-Turn U-turn and a strong dual STAB in Outrage and Earthquake. Mixed Salamence is probably one of Cobalion's best sweeping partners. A Dragon Dance variant is also viable, as both Cobalion and Salamence can set up as soon as they get the opportunity, putting the opponent under pressure rather easily.</p>

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Stone Edge / Taunt
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
nature: Naive / Hasty
item: Life Orb / Air Balloon
EVs: 212 Atk / 88 SpA / 208 Spe
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>With many resistances and its impressive physical Defense, Cobalion has an easy time to come coming in, setting up, and start sweeping through teams. With the given EVs, Cobalion hits 334 Speed, making it faster than positive natured Garchomp without a Choice Scarf and anything slower, which includes a huge amount of the current metagame. Close Combat is your Cobalion's main attacking move, offering great damage output, easily OHKOing 120/0 Conkeldurr with Close Combat after a Swords Dance. Stone Edge is there for coverageas it deals with Flying-types who resist Close Combat, like such as Gyarados, Zapdos, Salamence, Thundurus, and many more Pokemon. who resist your STAB. With the given investment in Special Attack, Hidden Power Ice is able to OHKO 4/0 Landorus without fail, has a very high chance to KO 252/0 Gliscor without any prior damage, and deals a huge amount to 4/0 Garchomp. Thanks to its ability, Justified, Cobalion loves to switch into any Dark-type move and abuse the +1 Attack boost. Cobalion is probably the best abuser of it, mainly because of its 4x resistance to Dark-type moves and its great defensive capabilities, making Pokemon like such as Tyranitar and other common users suddenly look quite harmless. However, Cobalion isn't all that powerful, so bulkier opponents like Vaporeon, Jellicent, and Wobbuffet usually are able to live survive a hit even after a Swords Dance.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Thanks to its Cobalion's 108 base Speed, a Naughty / Lonely nature can be used to deal more damage, but you lose it loses the jump over on Volcarona and other positive nature base 100's 100s. plus Garchomp, which This ultimately might cost your Cobalion in the end its life, making it the inferior option. If However, if you don’t mind this loss of Speed, it still outruns Cobalion can still outrun max EV positive-natured base 95 Speed Pokemon and neutral-natured base 100 Speed Pokemon.</p>

<p>Again, Taunt can be a viable option to prevent phazing or set up moves, though without Stone Edge, Cobalion loses its neutral coverage which Hidden Power Ice can't fully replace, leaving it open against Gyarados, Slowbro, and Jellicent, as well as almost a myriad of Ghost-types. to name the most important Pokemon. However, they are most likely shut down by Taunt anyways anyway, so it might be not too big of a deal. not be too harmful. An Air Balloon might come in handy with the numerous Earthquake and Spikes users around. However, without a Life Orb, Cobalion can't OHKO Gliscor and Landorus anymore unless you invest a heavy amount of EVs into Special Attack.</p>

<p>Fast special attackers can cause some problems for Cobalion, as its Special Defense isn't the best. Despite this, it's able to take some neutral hits at full HP as long as its defense defensive stats aren't dropped. For example, Life Orb 252 SpA Timid Starmie's Hydro Pump can't manage to OHKO Cobalion (77.2% - 91.0%). The same goes for Life Orb Thundurus's Thunderbolt, as long as Cobalion runs a neutral SpD nature. Super effective hits still tear it apart though, so be careful of anything that might run Focus Blast, Earth Power, and almost any Fire-type move.</p>

<p>Cobalion likes the presence of mixed Salamence on its side. They can take cover each other's weaknesses rather well, but also can hit hard with their respective STAB moves. Salamence's Outrage and Draco Meteor are powerful moves resisted only by Steel-types, which Cobalion can deal with thanks to Close Combat. Gengar also helps a lot as it's immune to 2 of 3 weaknesses Cobalion has; additionally, it can lure but also lures Dark-type moves, which helps help Cobalion activate its Justified ability.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Iron Head and Thunder Wave is a fairly common strategy, and it's also usable by Cobalion. Without the Serene Grace ability, it's not exactly as effective, but still worth being mentioned. a mention. Volt Switch is an interesting choicto choice to allow Cobalion to scout for dangerous Pokemon before setting up, but you won't like to switch out after setting up Swords Dance or Calm Mind. Additionally, Cobalion sadly has a natural ability to lure in virtually every Ground-type in first place existance, which is a major drawback. Rock Polish might seem like an attractive choice to set up, but without getting its attacking stats boosted, Cobalion becomes nothing more than a fast, average attacker. Cobalion's offensive movepool is rather restricted, including just Metal Burst, Poison Jab, X-Scissor, and Retaliate; however, but Cobalion won't find much use for them due to their poor coverage.</p>

<p>Boasting great defenses, Cobalion can make good use of its supportive movepool, including Substitute, Roar, Toxic, Safeguard, and Reflect. However, the lack of a reliable recovery move is just too big of a flaw for a Pokemon with such good defenses. With the new sleep mechanics, Rest became too unreliable without access to Sleep Talk. Feel free to run an Occa Berry to remove its Cobalion's Fire weakness, which might help in a metagame full of Hidden Power Fire users, but it's most likely just inferior to the mentioned items on the sets.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Even with access to Swords Dance, bulky Pokemon give Cobalion a hard time. The real problems are the high amount of bulky Water- and Ground-types who can switch into Close Combat and Swords Dance rather easily, being ready to take a hit, and scaring scare Cobalion out with effective moves. against it. Slowbro, Slowking, and Jellicent are prime examples because they resist both of its STAB moves and have extremely large movepools which allow them to cripple Cobalion easily with a variety of moves, including Thunder Wave, Will-o-Wisp Will-O-Wisp, and Scald. Quagsire is probably Cobalion's worst nightmare as it even nullifies any Swords Dance and Calm Mind boosts thanks to its Unaware ability, while having a super effective STAB Earthquake at the same time. Gliscor, Hippowdon, and their fellow Ground-types also cause problems as long as Cobalion doesn't run Hidden Power Ice. Speaking of sand abusers, Excadrill is a tough Pokemon to deal with. The opponent will likely expect you to switch out instantly, which gives them a free turn to set up with Substitute or Swords Dance. You'd better have a counter for it, or you'll be forced to risk Cobalion by just going straight for Close Combat to nail it before it can set up and sweep.</p>

<p>Faster opponents, especially specially-based ones, have no problem switching into Cobalion and immediately threatening him. In fact, there are quite a few Pokemon that are faster than Cobalion, including Gengar, Starmie, Raikou, Latias, Latios, Thundurus, Accelgor, and several others who all usually have at least 1 super effective move against Cobalion. You might like to have Jellicent in your team, as it absorbs can absorb both Fire- and Fighting-type moves rather easily. The same goes for Latias, which even has the needed a valuable Ground immunity. you look for. Both of them have access to Recover, so you don’t have to fear losing your special wall too early. Volcarona deserves special attention, as it resists both your Cobalion's STAB moves and almost any other move Cobalion has access to bar Stone Edge and Volt Switch, making it one of the biggest threats to deal with. Usually they will Volcarona will usually try to KO Cobalion with their its Fire STAB at the first chance they have. it has. You need to know whether to risk Stone Edge missing, or simply bring an effective counter to it.</p>

<p>Some former Ubers are also able to counter Cobalion, such as Deoxys-S and -D, who are either faster or just too bulky for Cobalion to deal with, and have access to Superpower and Focus Blast to KO Cobalion. Wobbuffet can be even more dangerous, as it can lock Cobalion rather easily thanks to Encoure Encore and Shadow Tag. If you saw in team preview, preview reveals that you have to face one, it’s recommended to Volt Switch around (if you have it) until it’s not a threat anymore. A +2 Iron Head is strong enough to 2HKO a Bold 28 HP / 252 Def Wobbuffet at full HP, but if you set up on the switch, Cobalion might be screwed in trouble.</p>


i'm actually getting off my lazy ass and gping something for once, what's upppp


uhh anyway not bad analysis. a few issues regarding grammar and prose, but the content is largely spot-on. nice job!

Big thanks to this, I did all the changes mentioned.
If everything's fine now, and no one has any further suggestions, I'll change the status to done.
 
Cobalion's quad resist to Stealth Rock doesn't help Volcarona at all.
Um... I guess Rock Slide and Stone Edge are just never used by anyone then...?

The synergy isn't just in the resistances (Cobalion quad resists Volcarona's quad weakness I fail to see how that isn't good partnering) its in the stats, as Cobalion has the defense to take unboosted physical attacks that might hurt a non-bulky Volcarona badly.
 
I still see Cobalion as a fast physical wall
With it's low base Attack and Sp. Attack, I just don't think it should be focusing entirely on offense.
 
I still see Cobalion as a fast physical wall
With it's low base Attack and Sp. Attack, I just don't think it should be focusing entirely on offense.
A defensive set was listed in first version, but was declined in the end. So anything Cobalion can use defensively is put into OO.
 

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Shouldn't this be edited to UU given that Cobalion noe resides there? In particular, on the SD set the moveset should be Taunt/Close Combat/Stone Edge or Iron Head/ Swords Dance as HP Ice is no longer needed to cover Gliscor.
 
Shouldn't this be edited to UU given that Cobalion noe resides there? In particular, on the SD set the moveset should be Taunt/Close Combat/Stone Edge or Iron Head/ Swords Dance as HP Ice is no longer needed to cover Gliscor.
This is the OU analysis. There will be a UU one when the metagame is more balanced.
 
Not to mention just because a pokemon resides in UU doesn't mean they don't deserve OU sets if they can function well in OU. Pokemon like Heracross or Azelf though UU by usage are pretty much tailored to run in an OU environment.
 

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