Now that the college process is basically over, I actually have time to work on this, so I've made some pretty major updates, and I'm really sorry for not taking care of this earlier. The only sections that I have left to finish are Defensive Aspects of Offense, Strategies in Offense, Threats to Offensive Teams, and the Conclusion. I also need to add example Pokemon to all of the sections that require them. Since I'm always open to input, anyone interested is welcome to write up examples using the following format:
Salamence
Base Stats: 95 HP / 135 Atk / 80 Def / 110 SpA / 80 SpD / 100 Spe
Abilities: Intimidate / Moxie
Salamence is one of the most dangerous and underrated sweepers available in the OU metagame. Its sheer unpredictability makes it very difficult to handle. Salamence's 135 / 110 / 100 offensive stats make it very good at breaking down opposing teams, especially in conjunction with an expansive offensive movepool containing moves like Dragon Dance, Outrage, Earthquake, Fire Blast, Brick Break, Hydro Pump, and Draco Meteor. Salamence's access to two of the best abilities in the game, Intimidate and Moxie, increase its offensive prowess even further. Intimidate helps Salamence grab setup opportunities, while Moxie makes Salamence even more threatening after it secures its first KO.
Salamence usually attempts to sweep with an all-out offensive Dragon Dance set, using Intimidate, reasonable bulk, and its incredible offensive pressure to force a switch and gain a Dragon Dance boost, then proceeding to sweep with the combination of Outrage, Earthquake, and Fire Blast, which provide coverage only resisted by Heatran holding the Item Air Balloon. While Fire Blast, a Special attack, seems like a strange option on a physical sweeper, Salemence's Special Attack stat is too good to pass up and allows Salamence to make use of Fire Blast in order to KO Pokemon that would otherwise wall it, such as Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Forretress.
Salamence can use either Intimidate or Moxie when sweeping with Dragon Dance, but Intimidate is generally the better option because the combination of Moxie, Dragon Dance, and Outrage is incompatible, which prevents Salamence from using its most powerful physical STAB move in conjunction with its boosting move.
Now, to address the people who have commented since I've last updated this:
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Originally Posted by Fat Harsha
Hey, I looked over this and it looks really good right now. However, since you're mentioning Dugtrio, a trapper, in the revenge-killing section, does Magnezone deserve a mention? It does the same thing, albeit with a lower speed. Not sure whether you would consider it mention-worthy, though.
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I mentioned Dugtrio in the revenge killing section because of its high Speed, since the specific examples associated with it are all natural revenge killers that rely on high Base Speed to revenge kill. Magnezone will definitely receive a mention in the Trapping section, though.
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Originally Posted by Fat Novaray
Include Trickroom Reuniclus in the LO Sweeper section
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat CommandurrClowncrete
Suggestion: Include sd lucario in the priority or setup sweeper part.
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I'm updating the examples now that I've actually got a specific format for writing them up. It's not meant to be a comprehensive list of all of the Pokemon that can do whatever job the examples are referring to, but rather a selection of Pokemon that can do that job and have significant presence in the metagame. However, Lucario and Reuniclus definitely have enough presence in the metagame to make them worth adding to the examples.