Meru
ate them up
Overview
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Sableye once again finds itself at home in UU as one of the tier's few viable spinblockers. Thanks to Prankster, Sableye gets priority on support moves such as Taunt, Will-O-Wisp, and Recover which helps it shut down set-up sweepers, physical attackers, and support Pokemon alike. These shenanigans are further enhanced by the recent buff to Knock Off, making it even more adept at whittling down and punishing its foes. On top of all of this, Sableye's semi-unique Dark / Ghost typing grants neutrality to Dark-type attacks, making it the only Ghost-type with reliable recovery to survive the 2HKO from both Choice Band Mienshao's Knock Off and Mega Blastoise's Dark Pulse, allowing it to fully abuse Ghost's immunities against these Pokemon.
However, the introduction of the new Fairy typing means that Sableye can no longer claim to have zero weaknesses, which makes it easily forced out by one of the most common support Pokemon in the tier, Florges. To make matters worse, UU has more Fire-types than ever before, which have an easy time blazing through Sableye thanks to their Will-O-Wisp immunity. Additionally, old threats such as Guts Heracross and certain strong special attackers prey on Sableye's poor stats, so a strong defensive backbone is necessary to support the goblin. However, if properly supported, Sableye's unique attributes will shine through and keep control of the match in your favor.
Prankster
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name: Prankster
move 1: Recover
move 2: Will-O-Wisp
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Knock Off / Foul Play
ability: Prankster
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
nature: Careful / Calm
Moves
========
This set aims to make use of Sableye's good support movepool in conjunction with Prankster to become a nuisance to both defensive and offensive teams alike. Recover allows Sableye to stay continually healthy and is notable on this set for being the only defensive Pokemon in the tier with priority recovery. Will-O-Wisp is also a staple in Sableye's repertoire, allowing it to cripple most physical attackers while spreading residual damage at the same time. Taunt has many uses on this set, preventing support moves, setup moves, and opposing Taunt users from using Sableye as setup bait. Knock Off rounds off the set as a fantastic STAB move to further enhance Sableye's tactics of wearing down its foes. However, if another member of the team aims to make use of Knock Off's power boost to facilitate a sweep, Foul Play is still a decent alternative STAB move, allowing Sableye to straight up OHKO common switch-ins such as Victini and Darmanitan as well as punishing goes attempting to set up such as Swords Dance Heracross.
Set Details
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The EVs provide Sableye with balanced defensive capabilties, with an emphasis on Sableye's Special Defense because of its access to priority burns which can bolster its Defense. A Careful nature is used alongside Knock Off while Calm is used with Foul Play.
Usage Tips
========
Knock Off is best used early-game if the opponent does not have any Mega Evolutions. However, keep an eye out for Justified users such as Lucario, Cobalion, and Absol, as activating their ability may be more harmful than helpful. Will-O-Wisp is useful for spreading residual damage, but can be completely nullified by Fire-type switch-ins, so make sure to keep Stealth Rock on the field to punish them and wear them down. In addition, using Will-O-Wisp can sometimes backfire, either due to being bounced back by common Synchronize users such as Mew and Umbreon, or by giving a free Attack boost to Guts users such as Heracross and Machamp. And finally, make sure to never fodder Sableye until you truly need to, as it can bring itself back to full health thanks to priority Recover as long as it is still able to switch in.
Team Options
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Bulky Water-types such as Swampert, Alomomola, Suicune, and Slowbro all make good partners as they are able to soak up V-creates, Flare Blitzes, and Sacred Fires that are often thrown in Sableye's direction. Thick Fat Snorlax stands out in particular, as it appreciates Sableye's immunity to Fighting-type attacks. Cleric support from the likes of Blissey, Florges, or Aromatisse help cure burns and poisons that cripple Sableye, while also providing Wish support to cushion Sableye's entry to the battlefield. Entry hazards go well with Sableye due to its spinblocking capabilities, with Roserade and Forretress standing out due to their ability to cleanly switch in and set up on Florges. The former is able to absorb Toxic Spikes for Sableye while the latter can Rapid Spin away opposing entry hazards. Sableye can also fit onto more offensive teams by making use of the infamous double Ghost-type strategy alongside Froslass to guarantee Spikes stay up against Rapid Spinners.
Other Options
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Snarl allows Sableye to punish strong special attackers that tend to switch into it, but has a really paltry base power. Night Shade is able to provide consistent damage to even Dark-type resists and really hurts low base HP Pokemon such as Forretress. Confuse Ray can be used with Prankster to allow Sableye to confuse its opponent during really tight situations, but is also incredibly unreliable and synergizes poorly with Will-O-Wisp. Toxic can also be used over Will-O-Wisp, but for the most part, it is incredibly overshadowed compared to the utility of a burn.
Checks & Counters
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**Fire-types**: Physical Fire-types such as Victini, Darmanitan, and Entei threaten to take Sableye out in a single hit, although none of them are thrilled about taking a Foul Play. Special Fire-types like Chandelure and Rotom-H have high power STAB attacks to scare Sableye out, with the latter taking nothing from either Knock Off or Foul Play. However, Fletchinder and Mega Houndoom stand out in particular due to being unaffected by Knock Off's side effect, and are able to freely set up Swords Dance and Nasty Plot respectively.
**Fairy-types**: While Florges and Aromatisse won't appreciate having their items knocked off, both of them have STAB attacks that hit super effectively, and have the ability to use Aromatherapy to cure any burns that Sableye has spread. A special mention goes to Aromatisse, as its Aroma Veil ability makes it immune to Taunt, allowing even predicted Taunts to have no effect on her clerical duties.
**Pokemon Unaffected By Burns**: Guts users such as Heracross and Machamp gain an Attack boost from Will-O-Wisp while strong special attackers like Shaymin and Roserade are able to easily force Sableye out with high-powered STAB attacks to penetrate through Sableye's poor base stats.
**Status**: Status makes Sableye much more inefficient at doing its job. Scald burns can be used to slow down Sableye's shenanigans while Toxic puts it on a timer, although the latter is much harder to affect Sableye with due to its access to Prankster Taunt.
**Mega Evolutions**: Due to Sableye's reliance on Knock Off, certain Mega Evolutions such as Ampharos and Absol are easily able to switch in and damage Sableye, especially Absol, who gets a Justified boost before Mega Evolving and has Magic Bounce to ward off burn after Mega Evolving.
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Sableye once again finds itself at home in UU as one of the tier's few viable spinblockers. Thanks to Prankster, Sableye gets priority on support moves such as Taunt, Will-O-Wisp, and Recover which helps it shut down set-up sweepers, physical attackers, and support Pokemon alike. These shenanigans are further enhanced by the recent buff to Knock Off, making it even more adept at whittling down and punishing its foes. On top of all of this, Sableye's semi-unique Dark / Ghost typing grants neutrality to Dark-type attacks, making it the only Ghost-type with reliable recovery to survive the 2HKO from both Choice Band Mienshao's Knock Off and Mega Blastoise's Dark Pulse, allowing it to fully abuse Ghost's immunities against these Pokemon.
However, the introduction of the new Fairy typing means that Sableye can no longer claim to have zero weaknesses, which makes it easily forced out by one of the most common support Pokemon in the tier, Florges. To make matters worse, UU has more Fire-types than ever before, which have an easy time blazing through Sableye thanks to their Will-O-Wisp immunity. Additionally, old threats such as Guts Heracross and certain strong special attackers prey on Sableye's poor stats, so a strong defensive backbone is necessary to support the goblin. However, if properly supported, Sableye's unique attributes will shine through and keep control of the match in your favor.
Prankster
########
name: Prankster
move 1: Recover
move 2: Will-O-Wisp
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Knock Off / Foul Play
ability: Prankster
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
nature: Careful / Calm
Moves
========
This set aims to make use of Sableye's good support movepool in conjunction with Prankster to become a nuisance to both defensive and offensive teams alike. Recover allows Sableye to stay continually healthy and is notable on this set for being the only defensive Pokemon in the tier with priority recovery. Will-O-Wisp is also a staple in Sableye's repertoire, allowing it to cripple most physical attackers while spreading residual damage at the same time. Taunt has many uses on this set, preventing support moves, setup moves, and opposing Taunt users from using Sableye as setup bait. Knock Off rounds off the set as a fantastic STAB move to further enhance Sableye's tactics of wearing down its foes. However, if another member of the team aims to make use of Knock Off's power boost to facilitate a sweep, Foul Play is still a decent alternative STAB move, allowing Sableye to straight up OHKO common switch-ins such as Victini and Darmanitan as well as punishing goes attempting to set up such as Swords Dance Heracross.
Set Details
========
The EVs provide Sableye with balanced defensive capabilties, with an emphasis on Sableye's Special Defense because of its access to priority burns which can bolster its Defense. A Careful nature is used alongside Knock Off while Calm is used with Foul Play.
Usage Tips
========
Knock Off is best used early-game if the opponent does not have any Mega Evolutions. However, keep an eye out for Justified users such as Lucario, Cobalion, and Absol, as activating their ability may be more harmful than helpful. Will-O-Wisp is useful for spreading residual damage, but can be completely nullified by Fire-type switch-ins, so make sure to keep Stealth Rock on the field to punish them and wear them down. In addition, using Will-O-Wisp can sometimes backfire, either due to being bounced back by common Synchronize users such as Mew and Umbreon, or by giving a free Attack boost to Guts users such as Heracross and Machamp. And finally, make sure to never fodder Sableye until you truly need to, as it can bring itself back to full health thanks to priority Recover as long as it is still able to switch in.
Team Options
========
Bulky Water-types such as Swampert, Alomomola, Suicune, and Slowbro all make good partners as they are able to soak up V-creates, Flare Blitzes, and Sacred Fires that are often thrown in Sableye's direction. Thick Fat Snorlax stands out in particular, as it appreciates Sableye's immunity to Fighting-type attacks. Cleric support from the likes of Blissey, Florges, or Aromatisse help cure burns and poisons that cripple Sableye, while also providing Wish support to cushion Sableye's entry to the battlefield. Entry hazards go well with Sableye due to its spinblocking capabilities, with Roserade and Forretress standing out due to their ability to cleanly switch in and set up on Florges. The former is able to absorb Toxic Spikes for Sableye while the latter can Rapid Spin away opposing entry hazards. Sableye can also fit onto more offensive teams by making use of the infamous double Ghost-type strategy alongside Froslass to guarantee Spikes stay up against Rapid Spinners.
Other Options
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Snarl allows Sableye to punish strong special attackers that tend to switch into it, but has a really paltry base power. Night Shade is able to provide consistent damage to even Dark-type resists and really hurts low base HP Pokemon such as Forretress. Confuse Ray can be used with Prankster to allow Sableye to confuse its opponent during really tight situations, but is also incredibly unreliable and synergizes poorly with Will-O-Wisp. Toxic can also be used over Will-O-Wisp, but for the most part, it is incredibly overshadowed compared to the utility of a burn.
Checks & Counters
########
**Fire-types**: Physical Fire-types such as Victini, Darmanitan, and Entei threaten to take Sableye out in a single hit, although none of them are thrilled about taking a Foul Play. Special Fire-types like Chandelure and Rotom-H have high power STAB attacks to scare Sableye out, with the latter taking nothing from either Knock Off or Foul Play. However, Fletchinder and Mega Houndoom stand out in particular due to being unaffected by Knock Off's side effect, and are able to freely set up Swords Dance and Nasty Plot respectively.
**Fairy-types**: While Florges and Aromatisse won't appreciate having their items knocked off, both of them have STAB attacks that hit super effectively, and have the ability to use Aromatherapy to cure any burns that Sableye has spread. A special mention goes to Aromatisse, as its Aroma Veil ability makes it immune to Taunt, allowing even predicted Taunts to have no effect on her clerical duties.
**Pokemon Unaffected By Burns**: Guts users such as Heracross and Machamp gain an Attack boost from Will-O-Wisp while strong special attackers like Shaymin and Roserade are able to easily force Sableye out with high-powered STAB attacks to penetrate through Sableye's poor base stats.
**Status**: Status makes Sableye much more inefficient at doing its job. Scald burns can be used to slow down Sableye's shenanigans while Toxic puts it on a timer, although the latter is much harder to affect Sableye with due to its access to Prankster Taunt.
**Mega Evolutions**: Due to Sableye's reliance on Knock Off, certain Mega Evolutions such as Ampharos and Absol are easily able to switch in and damage Sableye, especially Absol, who gets a Justified boost before Mega Evolving and has Magic Bounce to ward off burn after Mega Evolving.
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