[OVERVIEW]
Deoxys-A is able to outspeed most of the tier and has sky-high Attack and Special Attack with great coverage, allowing it to easily go mixed. Deoxys-A is a great choice for hyper offense teams in order to maintain pressure; almost nothing can switch into it safely. Deoxys-A is extremely frail and can't switch in on any attack, while its reliance on its Speed stat means that it has trouble against Choice Scarf users and forms of speed control such as Thunder Wave; Extreme Speed only partially compensates for this.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Psycho Boost
move 2: Ice Beam / Extreme Speed
move 3: Superpower / Low Kick
move 4: Detect
item: Focus Sash
ability: Pressure
nature: Rash
evs: 20 Atk / 252 SpA / 236 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Psycho Boost is able to easily tear down even bulky Pokemon, though it has a -2 Special Attack drop as a drawback. Ice Beam hits Dragon-types such as Hydreigon and Latios hard and lets Deoxys-A KO Pokemon weak to it, such as Landorus-T, without suffering Psycho Boost's drawback. Extreme Speed is used to outspeed the most common priority users, play mind games against Sucker Punch users such as Mega Kangaskhan, and KO boosted sweepers with low HP without breaking Focus Sash; due to Deoxys-A's great Attack, it is also great at revenge killing faster foes. Superpower hits Dark- and Steel-types such as Hydreigon and Bisharp. Low Kick is an option to avoid the Attack drop, but it deals less damage than Superpower against most foes and Deoxys-A is too frail to mind the Defense drop. Detect stops priority such as Fake Out from Mega Kangaskhan, which can KO Deoxys-A. It is also useful to scout the foe's moveset, and because Deoxys-A is powerful and always runs Focus Sash, it is usually double targeted; Detect is preferred to Protect due to Imprison.
Set Details
========
The given EVs allow Deoxys-A to outspeed Mega Gengar, deal huge damage with Psycho Boost, and deal slightly more damage with Superpower. A Rash nature boosts Psycho Boost even further and maintains Deoxys-A's Defense to tank physical priority moves, such as Fake Out and Mach Punch, better. Focus Sash is the preferred item because Deoxys-A is very frail and Focus Sash increases its staying power. Life Orb is an option to increase Deoxys-A's power, but it reduces the chance of staying on the field. An EV spread of 60 Atk / 252 SpA / 196 Spe with a Naive nature is an option to outspeed Adamant Choice Scarf Landorus-T, but it loses a lot of power, giving Deoxys-A a lower chance of OHKOing Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Charizard Y, and Thundurus.
Usage Tips
========
Deoxys-A often works in a hit-and-run manner, striking hard with Psycho Boost and then switching to a bulky teammate so that it can come back in again later with its Special Attack restored. Due to its inability to switch into attacks, Deoxys-A typically functions as a lead or revenge killer; as it can only switch onto the field after a teammate has been KOed. Deoxys-A needs to be kept away from secondary damage such as sand, hail, (AC) or Rocky Helmet, as this breaks its Focus Sash. Use Detect if you expect a priority move, especially Fake Out, or a double target on Deoxys-A, as Deoxys-A tends to draw in many attacks. If using Extreme Speed, it can be used to finish off weakened threats or circumvent your opponent's speed control or priority attackers.
Team Options
========
Mega Kangaskhan is able to give Deoxys-A momentum and help block attacks with Fake Out to preserve Deoxys-A's Focus Sash. Pokemon with redirection moves, such as Amoonguss or Togekiss, help keep Deoxys-A in the game a lot, as they draw in hits. Because Deoxys-A is frail, it will be the target of spread moves many times; Wide Guard users such as Hitmontop and Aegislash may help it, especially against Heatran and Sylveon, (AC) respectively. Pokemon that can stop priority with Quick Guard, such as Talonflame, Keldeo, or Terrakion, also work well. Aegislash is able to take on Mega Metagross and Jirachi, which can tank all of Deoxys-A's moves.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Knock Off can be considered in order to hit Choice Scarf Landorus-T on a switch so it can't outspeed Deoxys-A anymore, as well as give Deoxys-A a way to hit Aegislash, but outside of this it's pretty limited. Thunderbolt helps against Water-types such as Politoed and does not drop Deoxys-A's Special Attack against Keldeo, but Psycho Boost is a better option overall. Taunt might seem useful, but with Deoxys-A's frailness, it's better to let it attack from the get-go. Dark Pulse could be an option to hit Mega Metagross hard, thanks to its Special Defense being lower than its Defense. Substitute can be used in conjunction with Life Orb, but it works badly with Psycho Boost's Special Attack drop, forcing Deoxys-A to switch, and Deoxys-A tends to be double targeted most of the time; Deoxys-A will usually be OHKOed as it sets up a Substitute.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Typing Advantage**: Pokemon such as Cresselia or Mega Metagross can switch in on a Psycho Boost and trouble Deoxys-A; Aegislash, Assault Vest Escavalier, and Jirachi can also switch in and threaten Deoxys-A with their STAB moves.
**Utility**: Pokemon with Fake Out such as Hitmontop and Scrafty can break Deoxys-A's Focus Sash. Deoxys-A dislikes priority moves in general, particularly from Talonflame, Bisharp, and Mega Kangaskhan. Feint from Hitmontop and Scizor is especially troublesome, as the move bypasses Detect.
**Speed Control**: Thunder Wave from Pokemon with Prankster such as Thundurus makes Deoxys-A almost useless. Trick Room teams are very annoying, because by being slower, Deoxys-A won't get a chance to attack due to its frailness; Cresselia can switch in on anything and then proceed to use Thunder Wave or Trick Room to render Deoxys-A useless. Tailwind works similarly to Trick Room with Pokemon such as Suicune.
**Faster Pokemon**: Anything faster than Deoxys-A is a threat. Fast Choice Scarf users, such as Jolly Landorus-T or Genesect, can outspeed and threaten Deoxys-A with U-turn, breaking its Focus Sash. Weather sweepers such as Swift Swim Mega Swampert, Ludicolo, and Kingdra, as well as Chlorophyll Venusaur, are also problematic under their favored weather, as Deoxys-A won't survive even neutral STAB attacks.
Deoxys-A is able to outspeed most of the tier and has sky-high Attack and Special Attack with great coverage, allowing it to easily go mixed. Deoxys-A is a great choice for hyper offense teams in order to maintain pressure; almost nothing can switch into it safely. Deoxys-A is extremely frail and can't switch in on any attack, while its reliance on its Speed stat means that it has trouble against Choice Scarf users and forms of speed control such as Thunder Wave; Extreme Speed only partially compensates for this.
[SET]
name: Mixed Attacker
move 1: Psycho Boost
move 2: Ice Beam / Extreme Speed
move 3: Superpower / Low Kick
move 4: Detect
item: Focus Sash
ability: Pressure
nature: Rash
evs: 20 Atk / 252 SpA / 236 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Psycho Boost is able to easily tear down even bulky Pokemon, though it has a -2 Special Attack drop as a drawback. Ice Beam hits Dragon-types such as Hydreigon and Latios hard and lets Deoxys-A KO Pokemon weak to it, such as Landorus-T, without suffering Psycho Boost's drawback. Extreme Speed is used to outspeed the most common priority users, play mind games against Sucker Punch users such as Mega Kangaskhan, and KO boosted sweepers with low HP without breaking Focus Sash; due to Deoxys-A's great Attack, it is also great at revenge killing faster foes. Superpower hits Dark- and Steel-types such as Hydreigon and Bisharp. Low Kick is an option to avoid the Attack drop, but it deals less damage than Superpower against most foes and Deoxys-A is too frail to mind the Defense drop. Detect stops priority such as Fake Out from Mega Kangaskhan, which can KO Deoxys-A. It is also useful to scout the foe's moveset, and because Deoxys-A is powerful and always runs Focus Sash, it is usually double targeted; Detect is preferred to Protect due to Imprison.
Set Details
========
The given EVs allow Deoxys-A to outspeed Mega Gengar, deal huge damage with Psycho Boost, and deal slightly more damage with Superpower. A Rash nature boosts Psycho Boost even further and maintains Deoxys-A's Defense to tank physical priority moves, such as Fake Out and Mach Punch, better. Focus Sash is the preferred item because Deoxys-A is very frail and Focus Sash increases its staying power. Life Orb is an option to increase Deoxys-A's power, but it reduces the chance of staying on the field. An EV spread of 60 Atk / 252 SpA / 196 Spe with a Naive nature is an option to outspeed Adamant Choice Scarf Landorus-T, but it loses a lot of power, giving Deoxys-A a lower chance of OHKOing Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Charizard Y, and Thundurus.
Usage Tips
========
Deoxys-A often works in a hit-and-run manner, striking hard with Psycho Boost and then switching to a bulky teammate so that it can come back in again later with its Special Attack restored. Due to its inability to switch into attacks, Deoxys-A typically functions as a lead or revenge killer; as it can only switch onto the field after a teammate has been KOed. Deoxys-A needs to be kept away from secondary damage such as sand, hail, (AC) or Rocky Helmet, as this breaks its Focus Sash. Use Detect if you expect a priority move, especially Fake Out, or a double target on Deoxys-A, as Deoxys-A tends to draw in many attacks. If using Extreme Speed, it can be used to finish off weakened threats or circumvent your opponent's speed control or priority attackers.
Team Options
========
Mega Kangaskhan is able to give Deoxys-A momentum and help block attacks with Fake Out to preserve Deoxys-A's Focus Sash. Pokemon with redirection moves, such as Amoonguss or Togekiss, help keep Deoxys-A in the game a lot, as they draw in hits. Because Deoxys-A is frail, it will be the target of spread moves many times; Wide Guard users such as Hitmontop and Aegislash may help it, especially against Heatran and Sylveon, (AC) respectively. Pokemon that can stop priority with Quick Guard, such as Talonflame, Keldeo, or Terrakion, also work well. Aegislash is able to take on Mega Metagross and Jirachi, which can tank all of Deoxys-A's moves.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Knock Off can be considered in order to hit Choice Scarf Landorus-T on a switch so it can't outspeed Deoxys-A anymore, as well as give Deoxys-A a way to hit Aegislash, but outside of this it's pretty limited. Thunderbolt helps against Water-types such as Politoed and does not drop Deoxys-A's Special Attack against Keldeo, but Psycho Boost is a better option overall. Taunt might seem useful, but with Deoxys-A's frailness, it's better to let it attack from the get-go. Dark Pulse could be an option to hit Mega Metagross hard, thanks to its Special Defense being lower than its Defense. Substitute can be used in conjunction with Life Orb, but it works badly with Psycho Boost's Special Attack drop, forcing Deoxys-A to switch, and Deoxys-A tends to be double targeted most of the time; Deoxys-A will usually be OHKOed as it sets up a Substitute.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Typing Advantage**: Pokemon such as Cresselia or Mega Metagross can switch in on a Psycho Boost and trouble Deoxys-A; Aegislash, Assault Vest Escavalier, and Jirachi can also switch in and threaten Deoxys-A with their STAB moves.
**Utility**: Pokemon with Fake Out such as Hitmontop and Scrafty can break Deoxys-A's Focus Sash. Deoxys-A dislikes priority moves in general, particularly from Talonflame, Bisharp, and Mega Kangaskhan. Feint from Hitmontop and Scizor is especially troublesome, as the move bypasses Detect.
**Speed Control**: Thunder Wave from Pokemon with Prankster such as Thundurus makes Deoxys-A almost useless. Trick Room teams are very annoying, because by being slower, Deoxys-A won't get a chance to attack due to its frailness; Cresselia can switch in on anything and then proceed to use Thunder Wave or Trick Room to render Deoxys-A useless. Tailwind works similarly to Trick Room with Pokemon such as Suicune.
**Faster Pokemon**: Anything faster than Deoxys-A is a threat. Fast Choice Scarf users, such as Jolly Landorus-T or Genesect, can outspeed and threaten Deoxys-A with U-turn, breaking its Focus Sash. Weather sweepers such as Swift Swim Mega Swampert, Ludicolo, and Kingdra, as well as Chlorophyll Venusaur, are also problematic under their favored weather, as Deoxys-A won't survive even neutral STAB attacks.
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