After being inspired by
this post by Tobes in the Teambuilding thread, I gained a new fascination for Weavile. I have added one to my team and more often than not, it is my savior. Instead of writing a big post about its rocky history, I'll get right to the point. Weavile is totally anti-metagame, outspeeding tons of threats, mainly Dragons, and picking off Scarfers with its priority Ice Shard. Here is my favorite set:
Weavile @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Ice Punch
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick
- Pursuit
With a blazing fast base 125 Speed, Weavile outspeeds almost every relevant Pokemon in OU, only outsped by only Meloetta-P, Aerodactyl, Jolteon, and Ninjask, while tying with the incredibly rare and totally outclassed Swellow. Let's take a look at the fast and scary threads that it actually DOES outspeed:
- Tornadus-T (OHKO with Ice Punch)
- Alakazam (OHKO with Ice Punch or unboosted Pursuit if Sash is broken)
- Dugtrio (OHKOes two times over with Ice Punch if Sash is broken)
- Starmie (2HKOed by unboosted Pursuit, OHKOed if it flees)
- Gengar (62% to OHKO, guaranteed with Stealth Rock)
- Espeon (Pursuit guarantees 2HKO on 252/4, 43% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock on rarer 4/0)
- Latios (OHKOed by Ice Punch)
- Latias (guaranteed 2HKO, or OHKO after Stealth Rock on 252/4, 43% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock on rarer 4/0)
- Keldeo (not much here but it can revenge kill weakened non-Scarf versions)
- Terrakion (OHKOed by Low Kick)
- Choice Scarf Landorus-I, Garchomp, and Salamence (OHKOed by Ice Shard)
Weavile has some big problems, though. Its low Base Power attacks are a let down. Notice how conditional all of those OHKOes are; Stealth Rock must be up (not a huge problem, but still something you must consider) for its Ice moves to do their job, while Pursuit only gets notable OHKOes if the Pokemon flees. It's also priority weak and is relatively easy to switch into. Low Kick is also conditional with variable Base Power, but OHKOing Tyranitar is fun. Basically, if Weavile cannot muster a OHKO, it will end up dead in the process. It can't really do much to Scizor, as Bullet Punch is an easy OHKO, or your opponent can just click U-turn while Weavile switches. Conkeldurr can just use Bulk Up while taking very little from Weavile's attacks. Jirachi also man handles it, getting free turns to Calm Mind up, paralyze with Thunder Wave / Body Slam, or just Iron Head it to death with Choice Scarf.
What are some of your favorite Weavile sets? What have been your shortcomings while using it? How do you counter it most effectively?