Item Assault Vest

[Jaroda]

Well Barbaracle isn't left wanting for attack options and fortunately gets an ability that enhances damage and naturally good Defense. But he'll really miss his boosting moves and his speed is lousy, and being EQ weak sucks, but he is a fantastic switch into Talonflame 4x resisting Fire and 2x Flying... This is very situational, he could potentially do quite well on certain teams. I know full well the SpD prowess of Assault Vest on Rock types in the Sand, it was made for them. Hippowdon then would be a terrific partner who can take those Electric attacks and is bulky enough for unboosted Fighting and Ground moves. A potentially sound pairing.

 

[Trevenant]

Well, I have a feeling that most of the time Barbaracle will be wanting Shell Smash, not Assault Vest, so.... It could be more useful in some situations but I really don't know, I haven't played too much with or against it.

 

[TheDoctor1]

I posted this in the underrated move set thread a couple of days ago

not sure if this has been posted but:

Conkledurr
Item: Assault vest
Nature: adamant
Ability: Guts
ev's: 252 hp
252 attack
4 spc def

Moves:
Drain punch
mach punch/power up punch
ice punch
knock off

I made this on a joke team but he really works. I mostly use him as an anti lead almost always using knock off turn 1. Idk how many people have either switched in something weak to knock off like gengar or the grass ghost guy, or lost an item a poke would really of liked thanks to turn 1 knock off. Also guts is nice since some people throw around status regardless of the possibility of guts, plus if you don't lead with him and you expect a status move you get a free boost.

I prefer the priority over the pup since I have often gotten pokes down to low %'s and really wanted to go first to finish them off.

Counters: some fairys such as azzum since none of these move hit him hard. Also of course talonflame (but he doesnt like coming into knock off). Also mega pinsir. So yea he has counters but thats what the rest of the team is for.

 

[Floettes]

(Please take note that this is just a speculation thread and is based off of my personal ideas)

Assault Vest

​

XY Flavour Text: An item to be held by a Pokémon. This offensive vest raises Sp. Def but prevents the use of status moves.

In-Depth Effect: When held by a Pokémon, it increases the Sp. Defense stat by 50% but requires the Pokémon to only use damaging attacks.

Competitive Use​

The Assualt Vest is an interesting item to say the least. At first glance, the monstrous 50% increase in Special Defense indicates that this item will be preferred on physically bulky walls with low Special Defense, such as Skarmory and Hippowdon. However, this item suffers the major drawback of making the holder unable to use status moves. Thus, I believe that this item would be preferred on bulky offensive Pokemon, as many of them do not require the use of support moves and appreciate the extra bulk the the Assault Vest gives them the ability to check various threats.

Potential Users​

Tyranitar: With the Assault Vest, Sandstream, and maximum Special Defense investment, Tyranitar reaches a monstrous 738 Special Defense, allowing it to take even ridiculously powerful attacks such as Mega Charizard Y's Focus Blast. Using its increased Special Defense, Tyranitar can function as the ultimate check to threats such as Latios, Double Dance Thundurus, and Volcarona. If needed, Tyranitar can even function as a last resort check to Mega Gengar, as it is not OHKOed by Focus Blast (Assuming SR is not present) and can OHKO Gengar with Crunch. The only major drawback of the Assault Vest is that it limits Tyranitar longevity due to the lack of Leftovers.

Heatran: With the Assault Vest, Heatran can blend its Specially Defensive and offensive set to function as a decent offensive pivot. This is especially useful for offensive teams, as Heatran can function as an amazing check to threats such as Gardevoir, Sylveon, Alakazam, Talonflame and Latios. Heatran also has the ability to check Charizard Y relatively well, as it only has a 2% chance to OHKO Assault Vest Heatran if it is running maximum HP. However, like Tyranitar, Heatran suffers the problem of being unable to run other items. At times, Heatran really misses the recovery that Leftovers provides or the ability to check Mega Charizard X and Garchomp with the Air Balloon equipped.

Community Set Ideas

Drapion by Dekzeh

Goodra by Bribery; Additional Comments by Molk

Scizor by Chou Toshio; Addition Comments by Chou Toshio and The Loser Of RU
Magnezone by The Reptile
Conkeldurr by Jaroda
Slowking by Screw-On Head
Scrafty by Ice-Master
Metagross by Boudoche
Serperior by Shadow-XIII

Conclusion​

Overall, I believe that while the Assault Vest isn't the most useful item, it still has its uses on bulky offensive Pokemon to check various threats. Do you believe that this item will affect the metagame? Are there any other potential abusers of this item? Discuss!

​

I really don't think Tran and TTar are viable AV users since specially defensive Heatran also has the job of checking threats like Talonflame and in order to do this, the passive recovery of lefties is sorely missed. Additionally, defensive Tran's main moves happen to be non attacking ones, so AV renders it pretty useless. Similarly to Heatran, specially defensive Tyranitar's main task besides checking special attackers is getting up Rocks, and it can't do that with Assault Vest. You're better off using Leftovers on Heatran and Tyranitar or Chople Berry on TTar.

 

[Mega Mantine]

I'm a bit new to all this so sorry if I'm not an expert on some things. But here's a few things I think could work with Assualt Vest:

Granbull with 90/75/60 defenses, access to a coveted combination of Fairy/Ground without relying on HP, and Intimidate, it becomes a passable Physically-based Fairy which can actually check dragons much more reliably. A moveset might look like Play Rough/Earthquake/Thunder Punch (for the flying-types that resist PR and are immune to EQ)/Stone Edge or Fire Punch. Weezing is basically the only thing that hard-walls it, although most Bronzong are only 3HKOed by max atk Fire Punch so that's another hurdle for it.

Gyarados can also pull this off with 95/79/100 defenses + Intimidate, and a set of Waterfall/Ice Fang/Stone Edge/Earthquake.

Golem could run with Rock Blast/Earthquake/Fire Punch/Sucker Punch.

An interesting use of Assault Vest is on Cobalion, making him bulky on both sides. Volt Switch is nice for getting out in a pinch.

Landorus-T rounds out Intimidate users with decent 89/90/80 defenses. A probable set would be Earthquake/U-turn/Stone Edge/HP Ice or Superpower (the HP nerf stings although it still lets him get around Gliscor if need be).

Malamar becomes a lot better with this, as 86/88/75 isn't too impressive, but after Superpower and the Assault vest, it's pretty good.

Tangrowth could run it with Giga Drain/Focus Blast/Ancientpower/HP Ice or Fire, or with Power Whip/Earthquake/Knock Off/Rock Side. Another possibility is a mixed set with Giga Drain/Earthquake/Knock Off/HP Ice to have recovery (Regenerator too), Knock Off some items along the way and tank hits like a champ.

The same can apply to Rhyperior, patching up its major weaknesses to water and grass with Solid Rock and a boost to defenses. Stone Edge/Earthquake/Megahorn/Ice Punch to attack and not care about being hit back or Megahorn/Earthquake/Rock Blast/dragon tail to shuffle.

So out of those, what do you guys think?

 

[Floettes]

I'm a bit new to all this so sorry if I'm not an expert on some things. But here's a few things I think could work with Assualt Vest:

Granbull with 90/75/60 defenses, access to a coveted combination of Fairy/Ground without relying on HP, and Intimidate, it becomes a passable Physically-based Fairy which can actually check dragons much more reliably. A moveset might look like Play Rough/Earthquake/Thunder Punch (for the flying-types that resist PR and are immune to EQ)/Stone Edge or Fire Punch. Weezing is basically the only thing that hard-walls it, although most Bronzong are only 3HKOed by max atk Fire Punch so that's another hurdle for it.

Gyarados can also pull this off with 95/79/100 defenses + Intimidate, and a set of Waterfall/Ice Fang/Stone Edge/Earthquake.

Golem could run with Rock Blast/Earthquake/Fire Punch/Sucker Punch.

An interesting use of Assault Vest is on Cobalion, making him bulky on both sides. Volt Switch is nice for getting out in a pinch.

Landorus-T rounds out Intimidate users with decent 89/90/80 defenses. A probable set would be Earthquake/U-turn/Stone Edge/HP Ice or Superpower (the HP nerf stings although it still lets him get around Gliscor if need be).

Malamar becomes a lot better with this, as 86/88/75 isn't too impressive, but after Superpower and the Assault vest, it's pretty good.

Tangrowth could run it with Giga Drain/Focus Blast/Ancientpower/HP Ice or Fire, or with Power Whip/Earthquake/Knock Off/Rock Side. Another possibility is a mixed set with Giga Drain/Earthquake/Knock Off/HP Ice to have recovery (Regenerator too), Knock Off some items along the way and tank hits like a champ.

The same can apply to Rhyperior, patching up its major weaknesses to water and grass with Solid Rock and a boost to defenses. Stone Edge/Earthquake/Megahorn/Ice Punch to attack and not care about being hit back or Stone Edge/Earthquake/Rock Blast/Dragon Tail or Roar to shuffle.

So out of those, what do you guys think?

Tangrowth is definitely a good user of Assault Vest since it can recover HP with Regenerator and function as a great mixed wall.

The Malamar set seems a bit gimmicky since its shoddy defenses lack of overall power mean that it probably won't be getting a kill/pulling off a sweep.

Rhyperior might be a pretty good user, but from what I've seen in my pretty short UU career, its main jobs seem to be getting up Stealth Rock, a luxury that sadly won't be available to him with a Vest on, and punching holes through the opponents team with a Choice Band equipped.

Landorus-T needs Leftovers IMO since it is often one of, if not the, only team member on one's team that can check powerful physical behemoths (e.g. Terrakion), and so, it needs all of the defensive investment and passive recovery in the form of Leftovers it can get. Besides, even with an Assault Vest equipped, it'll most likely get 1-2HKO'd by Ice Beams and Water type attacks.

Gyarados would be a decent user except for the fact that it's weak to Stealth Rock. Additionally, it would face stiff competition with Tornadus-T which gets recovery in the form of Regenerator, a much higher Speed stat, and can also function as a great bulky pivot.

Cobalion is an interesting option in UU, and I'd like to see it functions once tiers start to form. It's got decent typing and can function as a pretty useful pivot.

My knowledge on the other Mons you mentioned is limited. Keep suggesting though :]

 

[DaiGuren]

I'm a bit new to all this so sorry if I'm not an expert on some things. But here's a few things I think could work with Assualt Vest:

Granbull with 90/75/60 defenses, access to a coveted combination of Fairy/Ground without relying on HP, and Intimidate, it becomes a passable Physically-based Fairy which can actually check dragons much more reliably. A moveset might look like Play Rough/Earthquake/Thunder Punch (for the flying-types that resist PR and are immune to EQ)/Stone Edge or Fire Punch. Weezing is basically the only thing that hard-walls it, although most Bronzong are only 3HKOed by max atk Fire Punch so that's another hurdle for it.

Gyarados can also pull this off with 95/79/100 defenses + Intimidate, and a set of Waterfall/Ice Fang/Stone Edge/Earthquake.

Golem could run with Rock Blast/Earthquake/Fire Punch/Sucker Punch.

An interesting use of Assault Vest is on Cobalion, making him bulky on both sides. Volt Switch is nice for getting out in a pinch.

Landorus-T rounds out Intimidate users with decent 89/90/80 defenses. A probable set would be Earthquake/U-turn/Stone Edge/HP Ice or Superpower (the HP nerf stings although it still lets him get around Gliscor if need be).

Malamar becomes a lot better with this, as 86/88/75 isn't too impressive, but after Superpower and the Assault vest, it's pretty good.

Tangrowth could run it with Giga Drain/Focus Blast/Ancientpower/HP Ice or Fire, or with Power Whip/Earthquake/Knock Off/Rock Side. Another possibility is a mixed set with Giga Drain/Earthquake/Knock Off/HP Ice to have recovery (Regenerator too), Knock Off some items along the way and tank hits like a champ.

The same can apply to Rhyperior, patching up its major weaknesses to water and grass with Solid Rock and a boost to defenses. Stone Edge/Earthquake/Megahorn/Ice Punch to attack and not care about being hit back or Stone Edge/Earthquake/Rock Blast/Dragon Tail or Roar to shuffle.

So out of those, what do you guys think?

Ive been using AV Rhyperior with max HP and SpDef and it's a monstrous mixed tank. The only thing it really fears are Stab water-type attacks, since Ice and Grass stab users are very scarce atm, except Protean Greninja. Its moveset are as follows:

EQ (heh no brainer)
Rock Blast (for sash bug leads namely Ninjask and Scolipede)
Fire Punch (for Ferrothorn-ohko in the sun, Genesect, Scizor)
Avalanche (for Gliscor, Garchomp, Dragonites and Salamences that think they can ohko Rhyperior)

The only thing it really fears are burns and a stab Hydro Pump/Ice beam/Grass Knot. Wish support imo is very much needed, because Talonflame users will generally try to bring Rhyperior down asap.

 

[PicardsFlute]

Hey, slight nitpick, but why not use Knock Off? It is 97 BP when the opponent has the item, and 65 when the target doesn't.

He can't learn Knock Off in Non-Pokebank OU. I'd use it if I could.

I posted this in the underrated move set thread a couple of days ago

An important change in mine is using Poison Jab the cover the fairy weakness, and using SDef EVs instead of HP, as he gets a lot more SBulk from the SDef investment.

 

[Lovelace]

Assault Vest is really difficult to apply correctly. On the one hand a Pokemon has to bulky enough for the Assault Vest to give a real boost to durability but on the other hand they can't be so bulky that Leftovers would be an overall better choice. For example I was using AV Snorlax with Max Attack/Spdef and while it was bulky as all hell, it was too damn bulky. I would switch into Genesect and take like 8% from Ice Beam but be really wishing I had Leftovers as it was hazards and sand that were really doing the most damage.

A Pokemon also needs to be sufficiently potent attacks to make use of the time granted by Assault Vest, a limited time due to AV's prevention of Leftovers or Healing moves. It needs to be either hard hitting with no boosts, such as Conkeldurr, or have great utility such as Excadrill with Rapid Spin. For this reason Pokemon like Cobalion or Virizion (do some special attacker calcs on AV Virizion, it's insane) are not good users as although AV is a great boon to their durability they do not have sufficient fire power without boosting items and/or boosting moves.

Additionally, the use of Assault Vest is not effective when it comes at a great opportunity cost for using status moves. For this reason Pokemon like Amoongus/Tangrowth are not such effective users as status moves such as Spore/Sleep Powder/Leech Seed/Synthesis are too good to pass up.

I do think Assault Vest is a really potent item but I play against and read about people putting it on the most random of Pokemon. Assault Vest Ninjask is not a good idea and when you do this kind of thing you're really wasting the potential of both the Assault Vest and the Pokemon you're crippling.

 

[alexwolf]

Tornadus-T, Rotom-W, and Excadrill should definitely be added in the OP. I also suggest that you add sets for the Pokemon which you don't have linked to sets, such as Heatran and Tyranitar. I am koko's bitch if you want i can provide the sets for those Pokemon, as well as some better ones for some of the Pokemon you have linked.

 

[Mega Mantine]

. Additionally, the use of Assault Vest is not effective when it comes at a great opportunity cost for using status moves. For this reason Pokemon like Amoongus/Tangrowth are not such effective users as status moves such as Spore/Sleep Powder/Leech Seed/Synthesis are too good to pass up.

The real problem Amoonguss and Alomomola can't run AV compared other things with Regenenerator is because they have maybe 2 or 3 viable attacks. Tangrowth does have the stats and moves to run AV. Giga Drain + Regenerator gives it the recovery it needs, and can stop Fire-types like Heatran or Charizard with Earthquake or Rock Slide. And it gets Knock to mess with opponents that do rely on their Leftovers.

 

[didaswiwaw]

I propose a set with metagross

Metagross @ Assault Vest
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Def /4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Power-Up Punch


This set focuses on the fact that metagross can take any hit in existence,and hit back hard.It has some powerful moves to strike back with,meteor mash and earthquake for this set.it has priority in bullet punch,with some boosts is deadly.The assault vest greatly benefits a pokemon like metagross,especially when it has a boosting move,priority,and power.

How is it going for you? I'm running an HP Sp.def set Metagross with AV. It takes Sp.atk like a champ, but somehow feels like a one-trick pony
I suppose your set could hit stuff harder, and did the 252 def did any justice on the current meta?

 

[Alopex]

Thinking of running AV on Camerupt, who seems to be a perfect candidate for it, to me...

-Bulky, but not quite bulky enough.
-Its number 1 fear is Water, which is mostly special attacks.
-Has a great ability in Solid Rock to help that bulk
-Neutral to Stealth Rocks
-Can switch in with impunity on Electric attacks
-Has great attacking typing and stats
-Gets Lava Plume for that trollish burn rate to increase even its physical bulk
-Can boost speed with Flame Charge to help sweep and is practically immune to paralysis

Camerupt @ AV
Solid Rock
248HP/8Def/252SpD
Calm
-Lava Plume
-Earth Power
-Ancient Power
-Flame Charge/Eruption


Would love some advice on that.

EDIT:
252 SpA Greninja Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Solid Rock Camerupt: 264-315 (76.9 - 91.8%)

That's bulky!!!

 

[Littha]

How well can Rhyperior take special attacks with Assault vest+Rock Solid?

Pretty well all things considered, it's not going to be taking keldo's hydro pumps anytime soon (outside sand) but:
252+ SpA Life Orb Gengar Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Solid Rock Rhyperior: 211-250 (48.6 - 57.6%)
252 SpA Greninja Surf vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Solid Rock Rhyperior: 282-336 (64.9 - 77.4%)

To which it replies with:
4+ Atk Rhyperior Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gengar: 240-283 (91.9 - 108.4%)

It gets really silly when sandstorm is up

252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Solid Rock Rhyperior in Sand: 355-421 (81.7 - 97%)

Survives a STAB 110 power move coming off a base 129 SAtt. That it is 4x weak to.

252 SpA Palkia Surf vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Solid Rock Rhyperior in Sand: 252-297 (58 - 68.4%)

I don't think there is a single set in OU that can 1 hit that. Most of ubers struggles too (barring kyogre)

 

[Aquaslash]

Milotic @ Assault Vest
Trait: Marvel Scale
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump / Scald
- Ice Beam
- Dragon Pulse / Hidden Power (Coverage)
- Dragon Tail / Hidden Power (Coverage)

I am not good with EVs so I am sure someone would know of a better split for them. Marvel Scale makes her an even bigger tank if affected by status. Hydro Pump for greater damage, Scald for more accuracy and the chance to Burn increasing her survivability. Ice Beam hits Grass types that would eat your Water type moves and removes Bugs which I think will be more prevalent due to all of the new Megas. Then you can take Dragon Pulse for Dragon types or you can Dragon Tail to phase out a threat that Milotic cannot handle. Hidden Power can fill in for coverage.

I'd think if you're going to be doing Assault Vest on Milotic, you should be running Competitive. At least then you can come in on sticky web and benefit from Intimidate. I think Milo's best use is her standard recovery sets though.

Having used AV Meloetta extensively I can second this. I often switch it into Greninja Dark Pulses just because with its great bulk it can avoid the 2HKO.

I've been using it Max HP / Max Special Attack but with all around decent stats and a versatile movepool you can do tonnes of stuff. Base 90 speed means you can outpseed a lot of mons with enough investment and its defense is good to enough to live a few hits on that side too (Max HP is enough to survive +2 252+ Sacred Sword from Aegislash). With a physical movepool containing stuff like U Turn and Close Combat you can invest there and obliterate incoming TTar and Chansey.

Wow, I like the sound of this idea. I use a mixed Meloetta and longevity has become a real problem lately. Add to the fact that Relic Song is a special move, and there's some serious potential in this.

 

[Garchompi]

I think Kyurem-B is another candidate for Assault Vest.
If it can survive this without any HP/SpDef EVs:
252 SpA Latios Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Kyurem-B: 308-366 (78.7 - 93.6%)
then I'm sure it has plenty of practical applications.

 

[Pidgey Airlines]

Gothielle

Pre-PB
Ability: Shadow Tag
Base Values: 70 / 55 / 95 / 95/ 110 /65
Item: Assault Vest
Nature: Calm
EVs: 252 HP + 252 SpD // 252 SpA + 252 SpD (w. Sticky Web support)

-Psyshock
-Psychic / Future Sight (now 120 BP)
-
-
Options:
//Charge Beam
//Energy Ball / Thunderbolt / Shadow Ball /Dark Pulse (flinch!)
//Past PB: Signal Beam / Foul Play

Playstyle:
Swap Gothielle in on a special attacker who can't 1-turn condition you (Thunderwave..)
Beam allows you to setup against supports like Espeon.
However, Charge Beam only is worth using, when combined with a Sticky Web support so you can actually sweep after your setup instead of being forced out.
Psyshock and Psychic are STABs which ensure that you don't become the one who is getting walled (Goodra says hi), since Psyshock uses physical defense in order to calculate its damage.
Future Sight can be a great tool welcome the next swap in and with it's new 120 base power, combined with your bulk it is really nothing for your opponent to laugh about.

The rest basically is coverage of your choice.


Since Shadow Tag sets the battlefield to your favor 252 SpA / 252 SpD is a great choice since you're save vs. swap ins.
252Hp 252 SpA however does a good job when you decide to grab Charge Beam.

 

[Mr Omgness]

Anyone considered Regice for this?

Regice @ Assault Vest
Clear Body
252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Flash Cannon

Regice has a whoppin' 200 Special Defense stat meaning it can leave it uninvested and invest in more power instead. Regice has base 100 SpA which is workable but also has pretty nice coverage in BoltBeam, Focus Blast, Flash Cannon, AncientPower and Hidden Powers. If Regice gets Freeze Dry then we're in for an extra treat. It didnt get any recovery moves which is the bane of many a defensive pokémon in Gen V, but Assault Vest gives these guys a new leash on life. Clear Body is not the greatest ability but it's helpful to switch into Shadow balls and other SpD lowering moves without fear as well as other stat lowering moves it is likely to tank (looking at you Moonblast). 100 base Defense also means that it can live a plethora of non-SE physical moves. Stealth Rock weakness sucks but Defog buff means this is no longer a make-or-break thing for a poke.

Sadly, Regice does have a lot of weaknesses but to show how bulky it is:
252 SpA Modest M-Gengar's Focus Blast does 35-42%.
252 SpA Modest Specs Chandelure's Fire Blast does 64-76%.
252 SpA Modest Specs Latios' Draco Meteor does 34-42%.
252 SpA Modest M-CharizardY's Fire Blast does 69-82% in the sun.

Just a few examples to show it's bulkiness, I'm pretty sure no special move can OHKO this thing unless a few boosts have been obtained (or you're Specs Chandelure/Heatran in the sun). I'm not saying this thing will be a worthy competitor in OU, but I can see this thing going up 1 or 2 tiers. It does counter pretty much all specially oriented Dragons.

 

[Kejmur]

Anyone considered Regice for this?

Regice @ Assault Vest
Clear Body
252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Flash Cannon

Regice has a whoppin' 200 Special Defense stat meaning it can leave it uninvested and invest in more power instead. Regice has base 100 SpA which is workable but also has pretty nice coverage in BoltBeam, Focus Blast, Flash Cannon, AncientPower and Hidden Powers. If Regice gets Freeze Dry then we're in for an extra treat. It didnt get any recovery moves which is the bane of many a defensive pokémon in Gen V, but Assault Vest gives these guys a new leash on life. Clear Body is not the greatest ability but it's helpful to switch into Shadow balls and other SpD lowering moves without fear. 100 base Defense also means that it can live a plethora of non-SE physical moves. Stealth Rock weakness sucks but Defog buff means this is no longer a make-or-break thing for a poke.

Sadly, Regice does have a lot of weaknesses but to show how bulky it is:
252 SpA Modest M-Gengar's Focus Blast does 35-42%.
252 SpA Modest Specs Chandelure's Fire Blast does 64-76%.
252 SpA Modest Specs Latios' Draco Meteor does 34-42%.
252 SpA Modest M-CharizardY's Fire Blast does 69-82% in the sun.

Just a few examples to show it's bulkiness, I'm pretty sure no special move can OHKO this thing unless a few boosts have been obtained (or you're Specs Chandelure/Heatran in the sun). I'm not saying this thing will be a worthy competitor in OU, but I can see this thing going up 1 or 2 tiers. It does counter pretty much all specially oriented Dragons.

Just to ask - those calculations include positive nature or not ?

Anyway Regice is actually something interesting to include as his bulk is really indeed great on special side with AV. And unlike Blissey he can hit targets for decent damage at least. Yeah, lack of recovery really damn suck, but as bulky pivot should work. I'll need to check his Ubers calcs as well as with AV his bulk should be impressive even by Ubers standards. Also Ubers is much more special attack based, so maybe it could work there, who knows (technically showing middle finger for example to Shaymin-S with Clear Body, etc.)

BTW when we talk about Regice - maybe it's worth to consider Charge Beam ? I admit that it is somewhat gimmicky, as forcing Regice is not something hard to do, but sometimes that situational +1 bonus may help with his ok, but not great 100 SpA. Also has access to Seismic Toss, which is something worth to consider (especially for Ubers).

 

[Mr Omgness]

I ran a Modest nature on the Regice, meaning it's not SpD boosting but rather giving it more power. So defensively speaking this isnt even his final forme, but investing too much in defense will take away his chances of doing something in return to the things it's supposed to wall.

 

[Jaroda]

I think it's been covered numerous times already that Assault Vest becomes less and less useful the higher your SpD already is, as the return investment pales compared to Leftovers, which recovers HP overall that could have been damaged by either stat. Assault Vest is the most reliable on pokemon that have poor SpD, great HP, great initial attacking stats, great coverage, and has the resistances to switch in repeatedly and not minding hazards. The list is short.

Regice is weak to Stealth Rock and it's SpD is already so good that Assault Vest does nothing but hinder him since he can't use recovery options. Not to mention he'll get murdered by the numerous physical Fire, Fighting, Rock and Steel moves.

 

[vayu]

Machamp @ Assault Vest
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Stone Edge/Ice Punch
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off

Has been working out extremely well for me. A megagar can barely 3kho

 

[Kakimori]

I run a Bulk Up Conkeldurr with (I think) max attack and 116 in SpDef, and I'm very seriously considering running this over Leftovers. Loss of Bulk Up and Leftovers would be hard to stomach, but on the other hand I'd be able to run Ice Punch/Knock Off side by side as well as live a Draco Meteor/Psychic.

 

[Plasma.EXE]

Standard Azumarill set, but with assault vest instead of choice band has worked out extremely well for me. Helps get a lot of surprise kills and allows Azumarill to take an extra super effective hit or 2. Mega Gengar in particular can't OH-KO Azumarill at full health with sludge bomb and whatever you fall short of killing can be taken out with an Aqua Jet.

 

[Mr Omgness]

I think it's been covered numerous times already that Assault Vest becomes less and less useful the higher your SpD already is, as the return investment pales compared to Leftovers, which recovers HP overall that could have been damaged by either stat. Assault Vest is the most reliable on pokemon that have poor SpD, great HP, great initial attacking stats, great coverage, and has the resistances to switch in repeatedly and not minding hazards. The list is short.

Regice is weak to Stealth Rock and it's SpD is already so good that Assault Vest does nothing but hinder him since he can't use recovery options. Not to mention he'll get murdered by the numerous physical Fire, Fighting, Rock and Steel moves.

Hmm I tend to disagree as a 1.5x boost to special defense becomes bigger and bigger as the stat itself increases, it's the same with Choice Specs/Scarf isn't it? Assault Vest can allow Special Defensive Walls to invest in something else than Special Defense, might it be Offense or Physical Defense. I've been experimenting a lot lately with Assault Vest and the biggest successes I had were Sylveon and Goodra. Ever since I used that set on Sylveon I don't make a team without Sylveon, although I now prefer it as WishPasser for my Assault Vest user as Sylveondoes that job superb.

Also Regice does not have any recovery options outside of Leftovers and Rest anyway which are available for all pokémon.

I think when using Assault Vest you have to take this in consideration:
- Use it on something that has workable special defense or atleast a high HP stat or a good set of resistances (p.e. don't use it on Mienshao)
- Use it on something that has a good offensive stat and the coverage to take advantage of it (p.e. don't use it on Claydol or Amoonguss).
- Use it on something that doesn't rely on status moves mainly to carve it's niche in it's respective metagame (especially important recovery moves) (p.e. don't use it on Jellicent or Blissey).
- Wish Support is something to take into consideration, an Assault Vest user should have many switch-in opportunities anyway and should therefore not have much trouble to receive a Wish.

That being said I thought of another set:
Magnezone @ Assault Vest
Analytic
252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power

With resistances to Bug, Fairy, Electric, Grass, Steel, Flying, Psychic, Dragon, Rock, Normal, Poison and Ice Magnezone can handle quite some special attacks and has many switch-in opportunities. With maximum investment into SpA and by running Analytic you also simulate having a Life Orb (without the recoil) in most cases because Analytic will also trigger when your opponent switches. The power of this set lies especially in Volt Switch which gives you momentum while hitting pretty hard. You can also bluff Magnet Pull early game and use this to your advantage. This Magnezone shouldn't be played as a wall but as a pivot with Volt Switch giving you momentum throughout the game while also dishing out some respectable damage. With a slow Volt Switch it pairs greatly with M-Gengar who can use Shadow Tag to trap and finish off whatever you like, Gyarados and Salamence who resist all weaknesses Magnezone has (and vice versa) and can find an opportunity to setup or you can build a VoltTurn team with it.

Hidden Power depends on what you like to hit hard: Fire for Ferrothorn/Scizor, Ice for Dragons & Ground/Flying-types, Ground for Heatran and Grass for Gastrodon/Quagsire.