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Old Dec 1st, 2012, 3:20:18 PM   #1
Trinitrotoluene
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Default OU VoltTurn Guide Updates

OU Guide to VoltTurn Offense
Written by Harsha and Trinitrotoluene | Art by Swaggersaurus

Alright. The current guide to OU VoltTurn Offense is a tad outdated. I'll be updating this, but before I get to work, I need your opinion on the following updates I have planned for it.
List of Changes to be Made (Please read this!)


New Pokemon Entries:

VoltTurn Users to Consider:
  • Volt Absorb lets it absorb incoming Electric-type attacks aimed at your team
  • Most powerful Volt Switch in the game, barring Specs and LO variants of certain Pokemon
  • Gets great coverage with Volt Switch, Focus Blast, and HP Ice
  • Again, works well with Politoed
  • Grass-types even more valuable as teammates because Gastrodon walls Thundurus-T entirely
  • Works with Keldeo, Tornadus-T, and / or Latios to form a 1-2 punch that most offensive teams cannot keep up with
  • Powerful Water-type sweepers should be considered to weaken walls Thundurus-T has trouble beating; Starmie especially notable because Rapid Spin support and powerful Water-type sweepers
  • RAPID SPIN SUPPORT ABSOLUTELY NEEDED FOR THUNDURUS-T BECAUSE SR WEAK AND NO REGENERATOR
  • Scarf versions w/out Grass Knot beaten by Gastrodon, Ferrothorn, and pink blobs; Specs variants troubled by faster Pokemon and Gastrodon (again, assuming a lack of SR)
  • Can lay hazards without a hitch
  • Can actually beat Terrakion and many other physical sweepers because typing and Intimidate
  • More of a utility VoltTurner than sweeper VoltTurner, unless CB is used
  • Can work with other defensive mons (e.g. Specially Defensive Rotom-W) to form a defensive VoltTurn core of sorts
  • Very strongth with Choice Band
  • Works well with Rotom-W as a defensive and offensive VoltTurn core, Rotom-W resists all of Landorus-T's weaknesses
  • Shares many counters with Incarnate forme, but can actually take a non-STAB Ice Shard from Donphan
  • Breloom, Celebi, and Virizion resist EQ and Stone Edge, but none can switch into a CB Landorus-T's Earthquake repeatedly (w/ exception of Celebi)
  • Mamoswine kills Landorus-T without any problems
  • Skarm can wall bulky versions
  • Close Combat and Brave Bird give Staraptor insane power
  • Return or Reckless Double-Edge very good STAB
  • Two great abilities in the form of Intimidate and Reckless, the former giving Staraptor slightly easier switch-ins, and the latter more powerful attacks, at the cost of more recoil
  • Beats Breloom and Celebi
  • Choice Band makes Staraptor a powerful wall-breaker; Choice Scarf makes Staraptor a fast, great revenge killer
  • Works with teams that like fast, powerful Flying-type coverage without being bound to Politoed or walled by Chansey / Blissey
  • Countered by Skarmory; Zapdos resists Close Combat + Brave Bird, but won't like taking a Return
  • Original Rotom resists all 3 of Normal / Fighting / Flying coverage, but cannot take 2 Brave Birds
  • V-CREATE punches holes under sun, giving Victini copious amounts of POWER
  • Beats Grass-types that torment Rotom-W and other VoltTurners (e.g. Breloom, Amoonguss)
  • Has Psychic STAB (but it's worth crap nowadays)
  • Works well with sun teams, thanks to V-CREATE and Bolt Strike granting it immense power
  • For above reasons, CB remains Victini's best item
  • Scarf has some merit in forcing revenge kills
  • something about a move called final gambit and how it can be used to force a 5-5 situation or something like that
  • Ninetales nearly mandatory to amp up V-CREATE's power and weaken Water-type moves
  • Something that can beat Terrakion and TTar is appreciated; Fighters, Scizor, and Landorus-T work well
  • Countered by Terrakion, but Terrakion won't like a V-CREATE or Brick Break; same for TTar
  • Weather shifts rob V-CREATE of power, so Politoed, Hippowdon, & TTar great counters
  • Faster Pokemon w/ super-effective STAB (e.g. Garchomp, Landorus, Gengar, Starmie) can check Victini
  • Frailty may make Azelf seem like bad choice for VoltTurn, but powerful Psychic STAB, Explosion, and ability to go mixed truly set it apart from other VoltTurners
  • Incredible base 115 Speed, which allows Azelf to get the jump on many Pokemon considered fast (main examples: Terrakion, Latios, Gengar)
  • Can set SR in a pinch
  • Choice Band powers up halfway decent Psychic STAB in Zen Headbutt and a moderately powerful Explosion that complements U-turn; Scarf set revenges almost everything @ +1
  • Good teammates include Magnezone, which can trap and deliver pain to Scizor and Jirachi, as well as Fighting-types that can smite Tyranitar and Heatran
  • Beaten out by Tyranitar (Dark STAB), Scizor (powerful as nails Bullet Punch), Jirachi (paralysis sucks), Heatran (stomachs everything that Azelf can throw at it)
  • Faster, (ever-so-slightly) weaker Magnezone; does most of the same
  • Can actually trap Scizor without worrying about being outsped
  • Eviolite gives Magnezone great bulk at the cost of running another item
  • If you're seriously thinking about running Scarf Magnezone, go with Magneton instead. It's faster and a better Scarf abuser than Magnezone.
  • Ideal teammates would be Pokemon that can beat away at Fire-type attacks; Politoed good wih Scarf Magneton as Drizzle allows it to run Thunder
  • Same counters as Magnezone
Teammates for VoltTurn:
  • Hazards are any good VoltTurn team's bane, and Rapid Spin is the bane of hazards. Starmie just happens to be OU's most offensive Rapid Spinner, so it's a natural fit for VoltTurn teams.
  • Very powerful if EVed right, and potent in rain
  • Beats Keldeo and other fighters like Breloom
  • Synergizes well with many common VoltTurners and can keep offensive momentum going
  • Can be more defensively EVed to act as a reliable pivot
  • Counters include opposing Scizor, TTar, and Ferrothorn
  • Magnezone an excellent teammate since it can trap Scizor and Ferrothorn; Fighters welcome teammates to beat apart pesky Darks
  • A more defensive spinner than Starmie that can lay TSpikes




Threats to VoltTurn:












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Last edited by Trinitrotoluene; Mar 2nd, 2013 at 4:28:54 PM. Reason: A new challenger has appeared!
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