Overview
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From the depths of obscurity comes Serperior, a Pokemon gifted with what is essentially a 130 Base Power Nasty Plot in the form of Leaf Storm thanks to its ability: Contrary. Against offensive builds, its impressive base 113 Speed allows it to outspeed a large part of the metagame, making it a fantastic cleaner. While defensive Pokemon such as Chansey and Mega Sableye will have a hard time keeping up with its constant boosting. Serperior's defensive stats are also just bulky enough for it to survive some important attacks, Mega Pinsir's Quick Attack being one of them.
With that said, Serperior does suffer from relatively low Special Attack without a boost. This means even Pokemon like Ferrothorn will be able to survive an unboosted Hidden Power Fire. And Leaf Storm's low PP can also make things difficult in longer games. Serperior also relies heavily on teammates to get past its counters, such as Heatran, Mega Altaria, and Talonflame, as it has few options against them. Still, with adequate support, Serperior can be a terror for opponents to face.
All-Out Attacker
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name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: Leaf Storm
move 2: Dragon Pulse
move 3: Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Giga Drain / Taunt/ Knock Off
ability: Contrary
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
ivs: 29 HP
nature: Timid
Moves
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Leaf Storm should be the move Serperior uses the most. With its high Base Power and backed by a Life Orb, Leaf Storm actually hits surprisingly hard, despite Serperior's low base Special Attack. The boost provided by Leaf Storm makes the coverage moves available to Serperior more usable. Dragon Pulse hits Dragon types such as Latios and Dragonite after Multiscale is broken. It's also good for neutral damage on Pokemon such as Talonflame on the switch. Hidden Power Fire is used mainly for Steel types, with Ferrothorn and Scizor being hit the hardest by it. After a boost from Leaf Storm, Hidden Power Fire is a clean OHKO on both. The last move is entirely up to preference, as Serperior's actual coverage options are slim. Giga Drain provides a useful Grass-type STAB move that has higher PP as well as the perk of healing off recoil from Life Orb. Taunt is especially useful against defensive teams, since most rely on Mega Sableye to deflect Taunt users and Serperior can simply boost against it. It helps wear down checks to Serperior such as Chansey, as it removes their ability to recover. Knock Off is another option in the final slot, that can help Serperior wear down the likes of Heatran and Chansey more easily, since both rely heavily on their item to function defensively. Hidden Power Ground can be used instead of Hidden Power Fire if your team requires a lure to Heatran, since after a Leaf Storm boost, Hidden Power Ground is a guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock.
Set Details
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Life Orb is a mandatory item choice for Serperior on this set. Its special Attack stat is nothing special and Life Orb gives it a boost that it desperately needs to get many important OHKOs after a boost against such Pokemon as Latios. Because Life Orb is the item of choice, 29 HP IVs give it a Life Orb number. Timid is absolutely necessary on Serperior because its Speed tier puts it above key threats such as Keldeo, Latios and Latias, Gengar, and Mega Diancie. Although it might be tempting to run 232 Speed EVs to just barely outspeed base 110s while investing the rest in HP, the extra EVs don't give Serperior any noticeable bulk, so max Speed is preferred.
Usage Tips
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- Because Serperior is so reliant on boosting, momentum is key.
- Try to wear down its counters using either Serperior as a lure or its teammates (ie if running HP fire consider EQ Lati or if running HP Ground consider HP Fire Lati).
- Best used late game as a cleaner.
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- Scizor/Mega Scizor
- Mega Altaria
- Mega Gallade
- Mega Manectric
- Latios
- CM Keldeo
- Landorus-T
- Gengar
- Suicune
- CB Talonflame
- Tornadus-T
- Dugtrio
Sub Leech Seed
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name: Sub Leech Seed
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Leech Seed
move 3: Leaf Storm
move 4: Hidden Power Fire
ability: Contrary
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD 252 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
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- Substitute protects Serperior from revenge killing, and lets it more easily set up on stall Pokemon that can't break its sub
- Leech Seed can be used on the switch into something Serperior can't break through such as tran or unaware Clef and wear them down for later
- Leaf Storm is the main STAB, raising SpA by 2 and being generally strong
- Hidden Power Fire is the best coverage move Serperior has for this set as it hits Grass types immune to Leech Seed
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- A bulkier spread of 232 HP lets it continually set up subs on Latios until at -6 where it can no longer break the sub
- 56 HP means Rotom-W's Hydro Pump will never break its sub, but Rotom will never stay in on Serperior anyway
- Leftovers is the best item due to the added recovery when used in conjunction with Leech Seed.
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- This set shines against bulkier teams try to set up subs on Pokemon that absolutely have to switch out against it, ie Celebi or Slowbro
- Doesn't work against offense as well for this exact reason, offense tends to be able to just sac a Pokemon instead of switching around.
- Since Leaf Storm's PP is low, be liberal with throwing out Leech Seed instead on predicted switches if the opp has a known counter.
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- Mega Manectric
- Mega Scizor
- Landorus-T
- Mega Altaria
- Stall Breaker Talonflame
- CM Keldeo
- Suicune
- Gyarados
- Tornadus-T
- Dugtrio
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- Glare is an interesting option to
- Choiced sets mostly suck because Leaf Storm has bad coverage
- Dual Screens but there are better users
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- Mega Altaria
- Heatran
- Ferrothorn (checks HP Ground versions)
- SDef Talonflame, Mega Pinsir, Charizard Y, SDef Dragonite (if no rocks)
- Largely depends on if boosted or not
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