[OVERVIEW]
Mega Manectric has a solid niche in the CAP metagame as a strong, speedy user of Volt Switch, making it a good choice for VoltTurn teams. Mega Manectric's great base 135 Speed puts it ahead of some of the metagame's fastest attackers, including Stratagem, giving it great revenge killing potential. It also has access to Fire-type coverage in Overheat and Flamethrower, which sets it apart from other popular Electric-types in CAP and allows it to deal significant damage to Grass-types such as Ferrothorn and Necturna, which resist its Electric-type moves. In addition to this, having Fire-type coverage and high Speed means that Mega Manectric is able to reliably revenge kill the highly threatening Cawmodore, which is an especially useful trait. Mega Manectric's ability, Intimidate, is also quite useful, as this allows it to pivot into and check physical attackers more easily. Mega Manectric's main drawback lies in its rather unimpressive longevity; it's prone to being worn down by entry hazards due to the amount of switching in and out it does, and its middling bulk and lack of recovery don't help it in this regard. Mega Manectric is also very one-dimensional; it is only viable in its Mega forme and can't switch up its moveset very much, so it's quite predictable. Furthermore, the prevalence of Colossoil, especially Assault Vest variants, is a major roadblock for Mega Manectric in CAP, as Colossoil blocks its Volt Switch and doesn't take much damage from its other moves, making it quite difficult for Mega Manectric to function properly if Colossoil is still healthy.
[SET]
name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Volt Switch
move 3: Overheat / Flamethrower
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
item: Manectite
ability: Lightningrod
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Thunderbolt is Mega Manectric's most reliable STAB option, and it's ideal for heavily damaging several common Flying- and Water-types such as Mega Charizard Y, Tomohawk, Naviathan, and Manaphy. Volt Switch is also quite strong with STAB, allowing Mega Manectric to gain momentum against its switch-ins as long as they aren't immune to the move. Overheat provides strong coverage against Grass- and Steel-types, such as Ferrothorn, Necturna, Mega Scizor, Mega Metagross, and Cawmodore. Flamethrower can be used instead for its increased reliability, as it's 100% accurate and doesn't cause a Special Attack drop, but the power drop is noticeable against most of the previously mentioned targets. Hidden Power Ice rounds off the set by providing pseudo-BoltBeam coverage, hitting Dragon- and Ground-types such as Cyclohm, Latias, Latios, Mega Altaria, Garchomp, Gliscor, and Hippowdon super effectively.
Set Details
========
Maximum investment in Special Attack and Speed ensures that Mega Manectric hits as hard and as fast as possible. A Timid nature is preferred to make the best use out of Mega Manectric's excellent Speed tier. A Modest nature would leave it outsped by positive-natured Syclant, Stratagem, and Weavile, so it's not recommended. Lightningrod is Manectric's most useful ability prior to Mega Evolving, allowing it to nab a Special Attack boost from a foe's Electric-type move.
Usage Tips
========
With its high Speed and access to Volt Switch, Mega Manectric mainly functions as a scout and a momentum grabber earlier on in the match. As the match goes on, Mega Manectric can be brought in as needed for revenge killing. Be wary of Ground-types that can block Volt Switch and thus prevent Mega Manectric from gaining momentum, and catch them on the switch with Hidden Power Ice. If there are speedy foes, such as Cawmodore, on the opposing team that you suspect Mega Manectric will be required to check later on in the match, try to Mega Evolve Manectric as soon as possible so that it will have the Speed required to check these foes. Even after being significantly weakened, Mega Manectric can remain useful with Intimidate to weaken physically offensive foes and potentially give a teammate a setup opportunity later on in the match.
Team Options
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Ground-types, especially Colossoil, can be quite problematic for Mega Manectric, so it needs teammates to take these foes on. Flying-types such as Tomohawk and Skarmory function quite well in this regard and can provide entry hazard support, as well as entry hazard removal to prevent Mega Manectric from being worn down too quickly. Landorus-T can also check Ground-types quite well and provides Stealth Rock support, and it also has U-turn and Intimidate to support its team even further. Other U-turn users such as Scizor, Tornadus-T, and Kitsunoh can form potent VoltTurn cores with Mega Manectric. Colossoil also makes for a nice partner, as it can control entry hazards with Rebound or Rapid Spin and also has access to U-turn to form a VoltTurn core with Mega Manectric. Other entry hazard removers, such as Tomohawk and Scizor, can pair well with Mega Manectric. Mega Manectric has trouble breaking through bulky special walls, so it pairs well with a strong wallbreaker to pivot into such as Azumarill or Hoopa-U to help bring them down. Gothitelle is also helpful to trap, cripple, and remove opposing walls; just beware of the compounded Colossoil weakness your team will have.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Hidden Power Ground OHKOes offensive variants of Plasmanta while retaining super effective coverage on Cyclohm and is Mega Manectric's best way of hurting Heatran and Mollux, but it's usually not worth the loss of Hidden Power Ice. Hidden Power Grass allows Mega Manectric to significantly damage Water- and Ground-types such as Swampert and Quagsire that would otherwise wall it, but again, it's usually not worth giving up Hidden Power Ice. Charge Beam can boost Mega Manectric's Special Attack, potentially giving it a better shot at cleaning up late-game, but it's a bit too unreliable to be consistently useful, and Mega Manectric struggles to find a moveslot for it.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground-types**: Ground-types are immune to Volt Switch, preventing Mega Manectric from gaining momentum as they switch in, and threaten it back with their STAB moves. Colossoil gets a special mention as one of Mega Manectric's biggest threats due to its prevalence in the metagame. Colossoil can stomach Mega Manectric's coverage easily, especially with Assault Vest, and hit it back with Earthquake or Sucker Punch. Although Mega Manectric can manually switch out, the threat of Pursuit is also quite troublesome, as it deals a significant amount of damage to Mega Manectric, drastically limiting its longevity. Hippowdon also walls Mega Manectric easily, as it isn't 2HKOed by Hidden Power Ice and can heal off the damage with Slack Off. Other Ground-types, mainly bulky Landorus-T, specially defensive Gliscor, and Tank Garchomp, can check Mega Manectric, as they can take Hidden Power Ice once, but they can't switch into it safely.
**Special Walls**: Pokemon with good special bulk such as Chansey, Heatran, Mollux, Clefable, and Tyranitar can wall Mega Manectric and check it several times; they just need to be wary of switching into Volt Switch repeatedly.
**Dragon-types**: Dragon-types, especially Mega Charizard X and Kyurem-B, which are only hit neutrally by Hidden Power Ice, can easily check Mega Manectric. Other Dragon-types such as Cyclohm and Mega Altaria can also do this; they just need to be wary of being worn down by Hidden Power Ice.
**Mega Venusaur**: Mega Venusaur naturally resists Mega Manectric's Electric-type moves and is neutral to its Fire- and Ice-type coverage thanks to Thick Fat, allowing it to wall Mega Manectric quite easily, heal off the damage done with Synthesis, and threaten it back with its STAB moves.
**Residual Damage**: Mega Manectric is quite prone to being worn down by entry hazards over time due to the amount of switching it does, which can leave it more susceptible to being revenge killed as the match goes on.
**Faster Pokemon**: Though Mega Manectric is quite fast, a handful of Pokemon can still outspeed and heavily damage it, such as Mega Beedrill and Mega Alakazam, as well as faster Choice Scarf users, such as Landorus-T and Timid Mollux.
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