- Introduction
- The mechanics
- The moves
- Acid Armor / Barrier / Iron Defense
- Agility / Rock Polish
- Amnesia
- Belly Drum
- Bulk Up
- Calm Mind
- Charge Beam
- Curse
- Dragon Dance
- Growth
- Nasty Plot
- Quiver Dance
- Shell Smash
- Shift Gear
- Stockpile
- Swords Dance
- Tail Glow
- The users (where more than one stat up move is mentioned and not all of them are relevant, I'll underline the ones I intend to center the description around to avoid misunderstanding - generally the other move is mentioned for Baton Pass purposes)
- Azelf (Nasty Plot)
- Celebi (Nasty Plot)
- Cloyster (Shell Smash)
- Cobalion (Calm Mind, Swords Dance)
- Conkeldurr (Bulk Up)
- Dragonite (Dragon Dance)
- Espeon (Calm Mind)
- Feraligatr (Swords Dance)
- Ferrothorn (Curse)
- Gallade (Bulk Up, Swords Dance)
- Gliscor (Agility/Rock Polish, Swords Dance)
- Gorebyss (Amnesia, Iron Defense, Shell Smash)
- Gyarados (Dragon Dance)
- Haxorus (Dragon Dance, Swords Dance)
- Heracross (Bulk Up, Swords Dance)
- Huntail (Amnesia, Iron Defense, Shell Smash)
- Infernape (Nasty Plot, Swords Dance)
- Jirachi (Calm Mind)
- Kabutops (Swords Dance)
- Kingdra (Dragon Dance)
- Landorus (Rock Polish, Swords Dance)
- Latias (Calm Mind)
- Latios (Calm Mind)
- Lilligant (Quiver Dance)
- Lucario (Nasty Plot, Swords Dance)
- Magnezone (Charge Beam)
- Metagross (Agility/Rock Polish)
- Mew (Amnesia, Barrier/Iron Defense, Nasty Plot, Rock Polish, Swords Dance)
- Quagsire (Stockpile)
- Reuniclus (Calm Mind)
- Salamence (Dragon Dance)
- Sawsbuck (Swords Dance)
- Scizor (Agility, Swords Dance)
- Scrafty (Bulk Up, Dragon Dance)
- Shiftry (Growth)
- Sigilyph (Cosmic Power)
- Smeargle (Shell Smash, Shift Gear, everything else)
- Suicune (Calm Mind)
- Terrakion (Rock Polish, Swords Dance)
- Togekiss (Nasty Plot)
- Toxicroak (Bulk Up, Nasty Plot, Swords Dance)
- Tyranitar (Dragon Dance)
- Vaporeon (Acid Armor)
- Venomoth (Quiver Dance)
- Venusaur (Growth)
- Virizion (Calm Mind, Swords Dance)
- Volbeat (Tail Glow)
- Volcarona (Quiver Dance)
- Weavile (Swords Dance)
- The strategies
- Hazard Stacking
- Baton Pass
- Dual Screens / Memento
- Slow Boosting
- Toxic Stalling
- Encore
- How to foil stat up tactics (will figure out exact order later)
- Haze / Clear Smog
- Phazing moves
- Unaware
- Taunt
- Encore
- Trick
- Toxic
- Choice Scarf / Priority
- Perish Song
- Conclusion
Mons I voted against despite having an OU analysis
Calm Mind Chandelure - I'm not convinced of the reasons the analysis brings for why I should choose it over Volcarona. Whenever I saw this used somewhat seriously in OU it always was Choiced or, rarely, Sub + 3 attacks.
Curse Snorlax - I'm not totally persuaded about it, would like to hear more feedback about it.
Shell Smash Crustle - Another set I'm not too convinced about, since I can't recall seeing it recently, at all. Is it truly viable in OU?
Mons I included despite NOT having an OU analysis
Swords Dance Feraligatr - I playtested this thing extensively for months, and it works. It sets up much more easily than Kabutops, while getting past the Jellicent/Ferrothorn core better than any other rain sweeper (the set, if you're wondering is 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Def, Adamant, Torrent, Life Orb, Swords Dance/Aqua Jet/Superpower/Crunch). I always get the following reply: "until it gets Sheer Force it's worthless". I'd use Torrent over Sheer Force regardless, personally - at least on this set. Feel free to contest me, but I've got solid data to base my considerations on.
Introduction
Raising your own stats to break through the opponent's team is a very old concept in the history of Pokemon, yet so influential. Black/White has not reversed this trend, either. Due to some concurring environmental factors, stat-up strategies really saw a massive spike in the OU metagame, forcing every team to prepare for them whether they intend to opt for them or not.
This article will review all the relevant stat-up moves, analyzing their viable uses as well as their potential users. We'll see also how it is possible to abuse such strategies, and how you can stop them from overwhelm your team.
The mechanics
Jirachi used Calm Mind!
Jirachi's Special Attack rose!
Jirachi's Special Defense rose!
It is apparent that stat raising moves boost one or more stats. However, how do such boosts work, and which are the hidden mechanics concerning them?
There are seven different stats which can be raised or lowered with stat-raising moves, and they are: Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, Speed, Accuracy, and Evasion. Of these, the first five ones are specific to each Pokemon, and depend on their IVs, EVs, and nature. The latter two, instead, are hidden and have a default value for every Pokemon that can be altered with stat changing moves, items, and so on. These two kinds of stats differ also because they raise at a different pace when affected by stat changes. The table below gives you a quick overview of this fact:
<table class="sortable>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Boost Stage</th>
<th>Effective stat value (Attack, Defense, Sp. Attack, Sp. Defense, Speed)</th>
<th>Effective stat value (Accuracy, Evasion)<th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>+6</td>
<td>Stat * 4</td>
<td>Stat * 3</td>
</tr>
<tr class='a'>
<td>+5</td>
<td>Stat * 3.5</td>
<td>Stat * 2.66</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>+4</td>
<td>Stat * 3</td>
<td>Stat * 2.33</td>
</tr>
<tr class='a'>
<td>+3</td>
<td>Stat * 2.5</td>
<td>Stat * 2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>+2</td>
<td>Stat * 2</td>
<td>Stat * 1.66</td>
</tr>
<tr class='a'>
<td>+1</td>
<td>Stat * 1.5</td>
<td>Stat * 1.33</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>0</td>
<td>Stat</td>
<td>Stat</td>
</tr>
<tr class='a'>
<td>-1</td>
<td>Stat * 0.66</td>
<td>Stat * 0.75</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>-2</td>
<td>Stat * 0.5</td>
<td>Stat * 0.6</td>
</tr>
<tr class='a'>
<td>-3</td>
<td>Stat * 0.4</td>
<td>Stat * 0.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>-4</td>
<td>Stat * 0.33</td>
<td>Stat * 0.428</td>
</tr>
<tr class='a'>
<td>-5</td>
<td>Stat * 0.285</td>
<td>Stat * 0.375</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>-6</td>
<td>Stat * 0.25</td>
<td>Stat * 0.33</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
As you can see, the boosts and drops from stat changes are quite steep. A +2 Adamant Lucario, for example, has an effective Attack stat of 700! This is what makes stat-up strategies so effective and threatening.
It also should be noted that critical hits interact with stat changes in a peculiar way. While offensive boosts and defensive drops affect the damage output, in fact, neither offensive drops nor defensive boosts intervene in the calculation. This is a huge risk for slow boosting moves such as Calm Mind and Curse, and also what makes many boosting races (when two Pokemon set up alongside) a russian roulette where the first Pokemon who gets a critical hit obliterates the foe and sweeps the whole opposing team. Whether you accept or not to take the risk, this is something you should always be aware, as sometimes hitting repeatedly an opponent and hoping for a critical hit may be your only way out of a dire situation.
The moves
While there is an astounding variety of stat-raising moves, often each Pokemon learns few of them at most, so your options are somewhat restricted. Nevertheless, those Pokemon who use the same stat-up move tend to play very similarly, so it may be helpful to analyze each boosting move in its own merits.
Acid Armor / Barrier / Iron Defense
Raising your Defense is often of little use competitively, for several reasons. First of all, the supposed counters to the Pokemon in question will generally be able to kill or cripple it regardless of the Defense boost. Moreover, critical hits always threaten to break through the stage boosts. But, perhaps most importantly, often these moves accomplish little in the way of defeating the opponent.
However, they do have their use on Baton Pass chains. Due to how widespread priority moves as well as Choice Scarf users are, the receiver of the entire Baton Pass chain will often require the defensive boosts to live through the revenge killing attempts. On top of it, such boosts make any Substitute bulkier, thus easing the task of completing the chain without having to set up a Substitute too often.
Vaporeon is the premier user of Acid Armor and, most likely, the only one you'll ever see on an OU team (generally on a Baton Pass chain). Similarly, Barrier Mew and Iron Defense Gorebyss/Huntail can pass Defense boosts to their team mates, but they generally have better stat-up moves to use in a Baton Pass chain.
Agility / Rock Polish
While these two moves have the same effect of boosting the user's Speed by two stages, their usage is vastly different. Agility is seldomly seen because it has a really bad distribution. Many of the Pokemon who get it are already very fast, which may make sense flavor-wise but gives them little reason to boost their Speed further. But most importantly, the possible users tend to be pretty frail, thus exposing them to the many powerful priority attacks thrown around in the Standard environment. The only relevant exception is Metagross, who however has other issues that prevent him from being as threatening as he used to be in the past two generations.
Rock Polish is another whole matter. First of all, it is a TM move, thus getting a much wider distribution. Moreover, many of the Pokémon that learn it tend to be slow and therefore appreciate the stat boost. Surprisingly enough though, the most common users have good or very good speed stats. One could think this contradicts what has been said about Agility, but the truth is, these Pokemon often have the bulk and the typing to take priority attacks as well as enough firepower to plow through the opposition even without any Attack or Special Attack boosts. Some of them are so lucky that, between their access to Swords Dance and the ability to get enough coverage with just two attacks, they can afford to run both Rock Polish and Swords Dance to pose a diverse and multidimensional threat.
Landorus and Terrakion are the most prominent offensive users of Rock Polish offensively, able to destroy a large majority of the metagame with their STAB moves or choice. Both are so fast that no Choice Scarf can hope to catch them, and they are impervious to many priority attacks due to some neat resistances as well as respectable defenses. Rock Polish Gliscor, on the contrary, used to be the premier Speed booster in a Baton Pass chain last generation but has been put out of job by the most versatile Rock Polish Mew.
Amnesia
What has been said about defensive boosts in the case of Acid Armor and its equivalents holds true for Amnesia, too. Raising your Special Defense often won't prevent counters from foiling any sweeping attempt, and Amnesia itself is not very conductive at sweeping attempts to begin with. The kinda bad distribution has little to do with the few usage it gets, unlike other moves.
However, just like Barrier and such moves, Amnesia gets its fair share of usage on Baton Pass chains. It should be noted that, contrary to Defense stat-up moves, Amnesia gets fierce competition from the more powerful Calm Mind and Quiver Dance. However, depending on the outlook of your team, it may be simplier to run Amnesia on Mew or Gorebyss rather than sacrificing a team slot to something like Venomoth. Still, even then, Espeon is so vital to Baton Pass chains that, more often than not, it's more practical to just put Calm Mind on it.
Belly Drum
If a move ever defined the very notion of "high risk, high reward strategy" in the world of Pokémon, that move would certainly be Belly Drum. Losing 50% of your max HP can often be the quickest way to get knocked out by your opponent, but should you manage to survive, the gigantic Attack boost will allow you to sweep like very little else. However, this tactic took a huge hit in BW, since Salac Berry is currently unobtainable, thus making Belly Drum users a lot more vulnerable to revenge killing. Some environmental factors, such as the renewed popularity of priority moves, hurt the viability of this move even more.
The only true threat Belly Drum could pose to a decent OU team is the possibility of it being passed by Smeargle to one of his team mates thanks to Baton Pass. However, considering you should always be on your guard against Smeargle regardless due to the wide number of set-up moves he can pass, Belly Drum is hardly a concern. Even with the buff Extremespeed got in the form of a higher priority bracket, the viability of Linoone is questionable at best, and even if you're not actually prepared for it you should not have any problem in stopping it.
Bulk Up
While many boosting moves work best when the Pokemon immediately takes advantage of them after one use, Bulk Up is better suited for a slower pace. Since its user is raising its Attack and its Defense at the same time, it is possible to rack up several boosts while progressively building pressure on the opponent. It is worth noting that, while its special equivalent Calm Mind is sometimes used on all-out offensive movesets, this is not the case with Bulk Up, as almost any possible user learns Swords Dance and will thus prefer the latter in such situations.
As a matter of fact, most Bulk Up sets will look oddly similar. Since they are all Fighting-types, they will carry their STAB attack of choice - usually Drain Punch because of the enhanced survivability it brings. If a secondary STAB of some use isn't available, the empty slot can be filled with several wildcards, depending on the options of the Pokemon in question. Finally, a slot is devoted to coverage for all those opponents who resist Fighting. The most popular choice is a Dark-type move (usually Payback, but not always) because of the few number of foes who resist the Fighting / Dark combination, but those Pokemon who are scared more by Flying-types than Psychic-types (such is the case with Heracross, for example) will opt for Stone Edge.
This doesn't mean that there aren't differences between Bulk Up users. While their movesets may look almost identical, each user brings his own traits to the table as well, and each combination of stats, abilities, and typing results in vastly different Pokemon. Whereas Conkeldurr abuses his gigantic Attack stat to lay the hurt on the opposing team after a couple boosts, for example, Scrafty takes advantage of his Shed Skin ability in tandem with Rest to outlast his foes. Toxicroak, Gallade, Heracross... each of them comes with a unique set of features, which in turn makes it impossible to have a catch-all answer for every possible Bulk Up user.
Calm Mind
It may be tempting to compare Calm Mind to its physical equivalent, Bulk Up. But such a comparison would be ultimately misleading. Calm Mind is significantly more widespread than its counterpart, and the competition it gets from Nasty Plot is much less fierce than the one Swords Dance provides for Bulk Up, since Nasty Plot is not a TM or a tutor move and thus gets a narrow distribution. On top of that, the variety in types among Calm Mind users is staggeringly wider than among Bulk Up ones, where almost all of them are Fighting-types.
That being said, the number of all-out Calm Mind users has somewhat diminished from the last generation. The ones who still roam the Standard environment generally are somewhat durable, with high stats, favourable typing, and / or a recovery move of some sort. For example, Virizion takes advantage of several key resistances, as well as Giga Drain to restore his HP. On the contrary, Latios counts more on his offensive presence to snatch a Calm Mind boost and sweep. Jirachi is still a threatening presence as well, but he will hardly be able to afford a third coverage move over Substitute or Wish.
As far as defensive Calm Mind strategies go, the first Pokemon that comes to mind is Reuniclus. Phenomenal bulk, coupled with an even more awesome ability in Magic Guard as well as a large Special Attack stat, allows him to set up on a surprisingly large amount of opponents, healing any damage incurred with Recover. Should a special wall like Blissey switch in, or should a foe attempt to set up Calm Mind alongside Reuniclus, Psyshock can bypass their walling attempts and wipe them out. Jirachi can run a similar set, but lacks the instant recovery and Focus Blast for coverage. Latias has usually more issues with status ailments, but Roar allows her to laugh as the foe who tried to race in the set-up with her is suddenly faced with the threat of boosted Dragon Pulse and no defense to withstand them.
In regards to Baton Pass, Espeon was mentioned before, and with good reason. His Magic Bounce ability makes him such a vital piece for any OU Baton Pass team that he is by far the most popular Calm Mind passer, above and beyond what he used to be in the past generations. Mew is another passable candidate, but he has generally better stat-up moves to use.
Charge Beam
Given the large amount of powerful set-up moves available, Charge Beam may look quite underwhelming in comparison. A 70% chance to raise the user's Special Attack (which becomes 63% after factoring in the less than perfect accuracy) is significantly unreliable, especially for such a small boost. While it is not stopped by Taunt, it can be blocked by a Ground-type switch-in, something that tends to happen pretty often with Electric-types. Even then, two consecutive Thunderbolts cause more damage than a Charge Beam followed by Thunderbolt - and this is assuming Charge Beam hits and raises the user's Special Attack, which as said is less likely than a hit from Focus Blast. The majority of the other Pokemon that learn this move via TM also have access to Calm Mind, so Charge Beam is often neglected.
This is not to say Charge Beam is non-existent in the Standard environment. Magnezone in particular makes for a dangerous threat with his Substitute + Charge Beam set, able to set up with surprising ease and leaving large holes into teams. However, almost any Pokemon getting these moves wish they had a better set-up option, at best.
Curse
One of the oldest set up moves in the history of Pokemon, Curse no longer enjoys the widespread usage it saw when it first appeared in GSC, but that doesn't mean it should be forgotten as an option. While the Speed drop may look like an unappealing drawback, in fact, the main Curse users are hardly bothered by it. Given the relatively narrow distribution of any better alternatives, such as Bulk Up and Coil, Curse still finds a spot on a couple Pokemon movesets. Ferrothorn in particular can put this move to good use, taking a lot of his supposed counters by surprise and turning the tables quickly - despite the abysmal Speed.
Dragon Dance
For a long time, Dragon Dance had been the most threatening set-up move available bar none. The 5th generation included other options, such as Shell Smash and Quiver Dance, which make Dragon Dance look no longer as powerful as it used to be. This is however a deceitful impression. Dragon Dance is still a dangerous stat-up move, and it can turn even a mild annoyance into a frightful sweeper.
Unlike other multiple stat-boosting moves, such as Calm Mind, Bulk Up, and Quiver Dance, Dragon Dance leaves the user's defenses untouched. This means that, unless the user has great defenses to begin with (which is the case, for something like Dragonite), Dragon Dance is best used in a fast-paced fashion, racking one or two boosts at most and then sweeping the opposition like you would do with the likes of Swords Dance and Nasty Plot. Luckily for its users, Dragon Dance is incredibly efficient for this purpose, granting the necessary power without leaving the Pokemon prone to revenge killing (at least, not as easily).
As hinted before, there are several stat-up options which are apparently more powerful than Dragon Dance. So, one could ask, how can this move thrive in a metagame along with Shell Smash, Quiver Dance, and its seemingly superior alternatives? The answer is that, while Dragon Dance may not be as threatening on paper, it gets the upper hand as far as distribution goes. The amount of strong Pokemon that learn this move is incredibly large: Gyarados, Dragonite, Salamence, Scrafty... just to name a few. When judging the merit of a set-up move, its distribution is as important as its effects, and Dragon Dance is perhaps one of the most successful examples of good potential meeting good users.
Growth
It's been a very long time since when Growth showed for the last time on a competitive article addressing the latest generation. But even if the age of NYPC events and Growth Vaporeon is long gone and forgotten, Growth made a return into BW thanks to a major overhaul which turned it from a mediocre choice comparable to Howl and Leer to an extraordinary stat-up move - at least, when the sunlight is strong. Giving to its user what actually is a combination of the effects of Swords Dance and Nasty Plot, Growth became a staple on several Chlorophyll sweepers, both old and new.
In the past, most of them faced a tough choice in OU: going physical and being walled by Skarmory, or going special and being walled by Blissey. This is not the case anymore. Thanks to the huge boost from Growth and the sunny weather, Hidden Power Fire is now more than enough to take out the steel bird, while a good physical STAB move keeps Blissey and other special walls at bay. Obviously this may not even be necessary when the sweeper is Venusaur, and Sleep Powder is available to screw over the hopeful wall.
Nasty Plot
While Swords Dance is still solidly higher in usage, Nasty Plot's distribution is still good enough to make it a mildly common sight in OU. Despite not being a TM, in fact, it shows up on quite a large number of good Pokemon, allowing for a large number of viable strategies. Celebi and Togekiss can abuse their bulkiness, combined with recovery in the form of Roost / Recover or Giga Drain, to try and rack up several boosts. Azelf, Lucario, and Infernape can break through the opposition with their frightening power. And finally, Mew can pass those boosts to his team mates with the same ease with which he can sweep by himself.
It should be noted, though, that unlike Swords Dance, the power offered by Nasty Plot is still not enough to break through the main special walls (Blissey and Chansey in particular) with neutral STAB moves alone - unless the Pokemon in question can fall back on Fighting STAB, he will need some sort of countermeasure (such as Psyshock or, in Togekiss's case, Serene Grace Air Slash) to get past these pink blobs.
Quiver Dance
Right when the players were getting used even to the frightening might of Dragon Dance, Game Freak introduced Quiver Dance. Combining the best aspects of Calm Mind and Dragon Dance itself, Quiver Dance allows not only to boost severely the sweeping potential of its user raising both his power and his speed, but it also provided a nice defensive buffer to set up even more comfortably. Quiver Dance is exactly the kind of move that leaves little room for mistakes, punishing any lost opportunity and putting pressure on the opponent even before the sweeper entered the battlefield.
This would look good and all, until the reader realizes most of the users have hideous stats and / or typing. Even with such an awesome stat up move, Butterfree, Masquerain, and their likes are not breaking into OU anytime soon - although the mere fact Venomoth is considered viable in OU for the first time ever should leave a lot to think about. However, the sense of "wasted opportunity" completely fades away as soon as the eyes fall on Volcarona and his extreme sweeping potential. Even if apparently outclassed, the seemingly innocent Lilligant can turn into an annoying threat as well, taking out his main counter with Sleep Powder and outlasting several other checks thanks to Giga Drain.
Shell Smash
Shell Smash is undoubtedly the best stat-up move in the game, held back only by the fact that most of its users are somewhat mediocre. This should not come as a surprise, though, as a +2 boost to Attack, Special Attack, and Speed can turn just about any remotely OU viable Pokémon in a major threat. The lowered defenses may appear as a handicap, but an easily fixable one thanks to White Herb.
As far as sweeping goes, the first name which should come to mind is Cloyster. While his Attack score may look mediocre, it is still more than enough to sweep after a Shell Smash, especially since it can fall back on a powerful STAB Icicle Spear, further boosted by Skill Link. To make things worse for the opponent, Shell Smash boosts can even be transferred to other, more proficient sweepers via Baton Pass. Huntail and Gorebyss excel at the job thanks to a good typing and passable defenses, although Smeargle has a lot of tricks up to his sleeve, including the invaluable Spore.
This has been said about many offensive boosting moves, but it can't be stressed enough in the case of Shell Smash: act quickly. Whichever countermeasure you pack (the available ones will be discussed later in this guide), put it in practice as soon as possible, because no matter how sturdy your walls are, a Shell Smash sweeper can sweep an entire team very easily (especially if he got the boosts through Baton Pass).
Shift Gear
Shift Gear is one of Klinklang's signature moves, the other one being Gear Grind. It has a lot of potential in itself, as, unlike Dragon Dance and Quiver Dance, it allows the user to outspeed pretty much the entire metagame right off the bat and, unlike Agility and Rock Polish, it provides him with the required punch to break through walls. Sadly, though, Klinklang has absolutely no viability in OU, because of his utter lack of coverage attacks. However, just like every other move in the game, there is always at least another possible user available. Smeargle, that is.
While it lacks the terrific power of Shell Smash, Shift Gear has the benefit of not lowering the user's defenses. If you take into account the fact that Smeargle generally needs the item slot for better things than White Herb, Shift Gear will look a lot more appealing than at first sight. Still, it should be mentioned that Shell Smash is often the superior choice for Baton Pass purposes, whether you opt for using Smeargle or not.
Stockpile
At first sight Stockpile may appear to be an inferior Cosmic Power, especially given how useless Spit Up and Swallow are. While this impression is somewhat true, Cosmic Power has a very poor distribution, and Stockpile shows up on quite a few interesting Pokemon that have no access to the other, superior option.
The most obvious user of Stockpile is Quagsire, for a lot of reasons. The biggest one is certainly his wonderful ability, Unaware, which allows him to boost without fearing being set up on in return. Recover keeps him healthy, while Toxic wears out the opponent. Ground STAB ensures most Poison- and Steel- types can't come in and wall the set easily. Gastrodon is another possible user, thanks to the same good typing as well as Recover, but while the water immunity provided by Storm Drain is good, Unaware is often more useful on a similar set.
Swords Dance
Swords Dance is perhaps the most common stat up move in any metagame. It may lack the sheer power of Tail Glow or Shell Smash, the versatility of Quiver Dance, or the speed of Dragon Dance and Shift Gear. However, Swords Dance has one advantage over all these moves: its distribution. Swords Dance has been available as a TM for a longer time than any other stat-up move, and it has been given out to an incredible variety of Pokemon. It should not come as a surprise that a lot of powerful threats got access to this move. When people argue about why physical sweepers have dominated the competitive scene for so long, many think to Earthquake, or the countless high Attack Pokemon introduced with every generation. But if there is one move that, more than others, made this supremacy possible, it certainly is Swords Dance.
As hinted before, the list of viable Swords Dance users is impressive, even if we limit our analysis to OU alone. Fighting-types have always been strong candidates because of their high powered physical STAB moves, as well as their coverage options. Terrakion, Virizion, Lucario, Infernape... almost any Pokémon with access to STAB Close Combat and Swords Dance can wreak havoc if he isn't outclassed by his Fighting-type brethen. Toxicroak may lack Close Combat, but can still play mindgames with their opponents, who are left with the risk of letting him set up or eat a Sucker Punch. Ground-types are no slouch, either. Swords Dance Landorus is a common sight in the OU metagame, and his boosted Earthquakes are perhaps the main reason for why any team lacking a Ground-type resistance or immunity is doomed to defeat. And while, in the past, the combination of Dragon-type and Swords Dance has always been relegated to the Ubers tier, BW changed things with the introduction of Haxorus. Sporting a gigantic base 147 attack and a deadly STAB Outrage, he is almost perfectly designed for abusing Swords Dance.
This long list is far from being comprehensive. Almost any type of Pokemon can vouch for a viable Swords Dance user, which opens to a surprising array of strategies - including Baton Pass. Many Pokemon in the past have been banned even because of their access to Swords Dance, such as Garchomp, Blaziken, and Excadrill. It is impossible to have a catch-all answer for every possible Swords Dance user out of there, but should you miss out on even one, you may be in for a world of hurt.
Tail Glow
Yet another very exclusive move, Tail Glow can be learned only by three Pokemon: Manaphy, Smeargle, and Volbeat. Manaphy, once proved that the introduction of Drizzle in OU as well as the newly improved Tail Glow made him even worse than in last generation, was banned to Ubers. Smeargle has several better options for Baton Pass, such as Quiver Dance and Shell Smash. This leaves Volbeat as the only possible, and perhaps viable, candidate. As it is discussed at length in his description, Volbeat's saving grace is his Dream World ability, Prankster, which allows him to pull off Baton Pass despite his subpar stats. It isn't something you'll see very commonly in the Standard metagame, but it isn't a tactic you can completely forget about, either.
The users
Now that we've gone through an overview of the most commonly seen stat-up moves in the Standard metagame, we'll explore in detail each viable user in an attempt to give the reader a useful reference summary of the many available users. Each of them will be followed by a short list of the stat-up moves they can viably use in OU, as well as a brief comment explaining the main features they can boost over the competition. Note that these paragraphs won't be simple overviews of the Pokemon in question - there are analyses for that. Instead, they will be centered around the boosting sets these Pokemon can run, and how they affect the metagame.
While it is not strictly a stat-up move in itself, Baton Pass is so influential that it will be added in parentheses next to the other stat-up moves, so that the reader may easily find any Baton Pass user he may look for.
Azelf
Notable stat-up moves: Nasty Plot
Even if the Standard environment is crowded with fearsome Pursuit users, along with some troublesome Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Landorus, Azelf still stands out as a legitimate and troublesome special sweeper. While his defenses are slightly subpar, his huge offenses allow him to force switches and buy free turns to set up Nasty Plot. From there, he can proceed to annihilate the foe's special walls thanks to STAB Psyshock, while Thunderbolt, Fire Blast, and Hidden Power Fighting provide a decent slate of coverage moves. Azelf may be held back by his Pursuit weakness and his vulnerability to revenge killing, be it in the form of priority moves or Choice Scarf users, but he is still a respectable, albeit uncommon threat.
Celebi
Notable stat-up moves: (Baton Pass), Calm Mind, Nasty Plot
Celebi is one of those Pokemon who, despite getting severe competition for his role, manages to thrive on the strength of his unique traits. The revamped Giga Drain gave him a stability most other Nasty Plot users can only wish for, healing himself without sacrificing coverage. This allows Celebi to make full use of his good defensive stats and his key resistances, while posing a significant offensive threat. And among other Grass-types, Virizion may be faster, but Celebi can set up much more quickly, causing Giga Drain to restore larger amounts of health. His coverage options, such as Earth Power, differentiate him further from the new Grass-type legend. Even if Celebi were to resort to the old standard Calm Mind, access to Recover is still enough to set himself apart from the crowd.
As the proverbial cherry on the pie, Baton Pass allows him to transfer those boosts (and even other ones such as those obtained from Swords Dance) to other team mates, making Celebi a useful additions to Baton Pass chains as well. Swords Dance is another possible option for Baton Pass chains, but better left to other Pokemon.
Cloyster
Notable set-up moves: Shell Smash
At a first look, Cloyster's stat spread seems to suggest a defensive role. However, this impression immediately disappears as soon as one realizes the full extent of Cloyster's sweeping capabilities. Thanks to Shell Smash, he can easily break through even the sturdiest of walls, while his extremely strong STAB moves more than make up for the middling Attack and Special Attack stats. If anything, the huge base 180 Defense stat helps to offset the stat drop caused by Shell Smash. Cloyster still has a bit of difficulty finding room to set up without suffering crippling damage or status ailments, but once he breaks out of his shell, little can stand in his path.
Cobalion
Notable set-up moves: Calm Mind, Swords Dance
Not many Fighting types can boast the offensive versatility of Cobalion, and even among them, none shares the same blend of resistances, bulkiness, and speed which he brings on the table. This means that Cobalion can manage to rack up several Calm Mind or Swords Dance, but at the same time, a base 108 Speed make Cobalion much harder to be revenge killed than your average bulky sweeper. Still, Cobalion's lack of strong coverage moves to pair his Fighting STAB gives him a lot of problems when he is confronted with bulky Ground- and Water-type walls. The only silver lining is that, unlike most Swords Dance sweepers, Cobalion has enough Special Attack to put Gliscor and Landorus in place with Hidden Power Ice
Conkeldurr
Notable stat-up moves: Bulk Up
One of the banes of many potential Bulk Up sweepers is the vulnerability to status ailments, combined with the lack of recovery. This is not the case with Conkeldurr. Thanks to his ability Guts, he has nothing to fear from Will-O-Wisp users. Being paralyzed can be annoying at times, but his strong priority move Mach Punch helps to offset the reduced Speed. Of course, he may as well take advantage of that with Payback, hitting the likes of Reuniclus and Slowbro much harder than usual. And while Toxic and Toxic Spikes will eventually kill him, the Guts boost and the recovery provided by Drain Punch often allows him to take something down with him. It is worth noting that, on top of this, all these attacks come from a massive base 140 Attack stat. However, even Conkeldurr has his weaknesses. His Special Defense is kind of lacking, and even if invested, it has trouble absorbing the powerful attacks of Rotom-W, Latios, and the other special threats looming in OU.
Dragonite
Notable stat-up moves: Dragon Dance
After years of overshadowed performances, Dragonite finally became the most dangerous Dragon Dance user of the OU metagame. Thanks to his incredible Multiscale ability, if he's at full health he can take any kind of attack and survive, even if he doesn't invest at all in his defenses. This allows him to have an almost guaranteed turn of set-up if Stealth Rock isn't in play, something the other Dragon Dance sweepers can only wish for. Once boosted, he can mop the floor with the opposing team through his deadly STAB Outrage, along with Fire Punch for coverage. Extremespeed is just the icing on the cake: with base 80 power and its +2 priority bracket, it can prevent many revenge killing attempts from Choice Scarf Pokemon. and although Dragonite's defenses are already good as they are, they can become impressively impenetrable with the right EV investment. This gives him the ability to slowly boost up with Dragon Dance while recovering any incurred damage with Roost (taking advantage of Multiscale in the process), until he can sweep the opposition with STAB Dragon Claw.
Espeon
Notable stat-up moves: (Baton Pass), Calm Mind
Espeon would be quite the average Baton Pass user (especially when compared to the likes of Celebi and Mew), if it weren't for his extraordinary Magic Bounce ability. Being immune to Taunt, Encore, Trick, Roar, and Whirlwind makes him much more dangerous, especially in a Baton Pass chain, where he can prevent the boosts of the entire chain from being erased, while at the same time pounding the opponent with a mighty Stored Power. However, Espeon shouldn't be discounted as a standalone sweeper, either. The ability to heal himself with Morning Sun, combined with Magic Bounce, allow him to set up even in the face of Blissey and other walls, fearing nothing from Toxic or Seismic Toss.
Feraligatr
Notable stat-up moves: Swords Dance
Feraligatr is often shunned off in favor of other Water-type sweepers, such as Gyarados. However, Feraligatr holds a notable advantage over his competition in his ability to get past the Ferrothorn / Jellicent defensive core which gives problems to many Drizzle teams thanks to Superpower and Crunch, respectively. While it may be tempting to run Waterfall as the STAB move of choice, it would also expose Feraligatr to revenge killing attempts from the likes of Rotom-W. Using Aqua Jet fixes this issue, allowing Feraligatr to pick off faster foes once boosted, erasing even many Water-type resistant Pokemon once within Torrent range. As an added plus, using Aqua Jet allows him to invest EVs in HP rather than Speed, improving his chances to set up.
Ferrothorn
Notable stat-up moves: Curse
Ferrothorn is generally regarded as a support Pokemon, and for good reason. However, he has several traits which qualify him as a legitimate Curse user: namely, his good typing, great defenses, and good STABs. The loss of speed not only is negligible, but actually help him, powering up his Gyro Ball even against slow walls such as Chansey and Reuniclus. Power Whip deals tons of damage to the many Grass weak Pokemon used on sandstorm and rain teams. Leech Seed may help him setting up, thanks to the extra healing. Alternatively, Bulldoze is a useful coverage move which can obliterate Magnezone, should he attempt to trap and kill Ferrothorn.
Gallade
Notable stat-up moves: Bulk Up, Swords Dance
Gallade suffers a stiff competition from the myriad Fighting-types who roam the OU tier, but his massive movepool and decent stats give him the chance of crafting himself a niche in the metagame. His good Special Defense, in fact, makes him a natural candidate for a Bulk Up set. Drain Punch is the main STAB and helps him stay healthy. Ice Punch obliterates Gliscor, a feat few other Fighting-types share with Gallade. and Shadow Sneak makes for a kinda weak but useful priority move, able to pick off some key foes such as Gengar and Latios after a couple boosts, making Gallade a bit harder to revenge kill. Alternatively, he can run Swords Dance to plow through the opponent's walls, but many other Fighting-types can run such a set with similar, if not better results.
Gliscor
Notable stat-up moves: Agility / Rock Polish, (Baton Pass), Swords Dance
While Gliscor has only one viable set-up move, Swords Dance, which is worth running outside pure Baton Pass sets, he is versatile enough to still be able to run quite a few sets. His high Defense makes a bulky Swords Dance set an obvious choice, as his Poison Heal ability makes him surprisingly durable, while Earthquake and Ice Fang works very well together. Taunt is another advantage, since it prevents phazers from disrupting his set-up or enemy set-uppers from boosting alongside with him. However, Gliscor has another neat ability, Sand Veil, which allows him to run an annoying Substitute set in a sandstorm. And with the item slot no longer used up by Toxic Orb, he can make room for a Flying Gem, which works marvels in tandem with STAB Acrobatics.
As hinted before, Gliscor also makes for a dangerous Baton Pass user, able to transfer both Speed and Attack boosts, while Taunt shuts down most phazing attempts. However this set took quite a blow from last generation, since the introduction of Dragon Tail made Taunt no longer as reliable as it used to be, thus forcing Gliscor to choose between Taunt and Substitute or to give up one of his stat-up moves. Moreover, with Mew now available to OU teams, he gets severe competition as Mew boasts overall higher defenses, and lacks some crippling weaknesses such as the Ice-type one.
Gorebyss
Notable stat-up moves: (Baton Pass), Shell Smash
Gorebyss is one of only three Pokemon who can transfer Shell Smash boosts with Baton Pass, and arguably the most threatening and effective one. Not only he has the bulk to get the job done, but he also boasts a high Special Attack that, once boosted, puts immense pressure on any opponent attempting to phaze him. His neat Hydration ability also means he doesn't need to worry about status moves like other Baton Passers need to, meaning he can devolve the item slot to something different from Lum Berry. The most obvious choice is White Herb, as it negates the defense drops from Shell Smash, thus making any Baton Pass recipient much less prone to revenge killing from priority moves. On dedicated Baton Pass chains, Gorebyss can even pass other kind of boosts, such as Defense (Iron Defense) and Special Defense (Amnesia). But in both cases, there are generally better candidates for the job.
However, Gorebyss is not limited to a support role, as he is more than capable of sweeping on his own, regardless of the weather. And while Cloyster is generally slightly more effective as a sweeper, the mere threat of Baton Pass often gives Gorebyss a lot more free turns to set up and sweep. The Steel-type resistance and lack of Fighting-type weakness are some useful perks, too.
Gyarados
Notable stat-up moves: Dragon Dance
Gyarados is one of the most representative users of Dragon Dance, for a variety of reasons. Gyarados himself owes a lot to this move, as it was the one which first brought him in the higher echelons of OU. Thanks to respectable bulk, as well as the incredible Intimidate ability, he has a lot of switch-in opportunities, only hindered by his Stealth Rock weakness. His STAB Waterfall puts large holes into everything not resisting it. Actually, some of those new Pokémon who do, such as Ferrothorn and the newly revamped Rotom-W, threatened to push Gyarados out of his comfort zone. But in the end, he managed to reinvent himself enough to deal with these threats as well, thanks to a higher reliance on Substitute and the secondary STAB he gets in the form of Bounce. Gyarados remains a large threat for almost any kind of team.
Haxorus
Notable stat-up moves: Dragon Dance, Swords Dance
Few stat-up users are able to shrug off their lack of coverage like Haxorus does. Even if his offensive movepool can be essentially summed up in Earthquake, Brick Break, and Dragon-type attacks, he is more than capable of steamrolling offensive and defensive teams alike with just his STAB moves. Backed by a gigantic 147 base Attack, they leaves significant holes even into Steel-types after a boost, while obliterating everything else. Dragon Dance is mainly a threat for offensive teams, who may find themselves in trouble should they lack a revenge killer. Swords Dance, on the contrary, runs through stall teams like a crossbolt through a wet sheet. What makes Haxorus so threatening, though, is the fact that, unlike other set-up sweepers, he boasts immense power right off the bat, especially when one takes into account how commonly he runs Choice Band. This means that any Pokemon who doesn't switch, in the hopes of weakening it before it sets up, may pay this risk dearly.
Heracross
Notable stat-up moves: Bulk Up, Swords Dance
Like other old Fighting types, Heracross suddenly found himself pushed out to the borders of OU, because of the increased competition. But like some of his colleagues, he found his way around this problem, to a certain extent. This obviously implies focusing on his most unique assets, namely his high Special Defense, his unique typing, and his powerful STAB moves. In the past, Swords Dance has been his trademark set-up move, but this generation saw more emphasis on his other option, Bulk Up. Between Bulk Up, the buffed up Drain Punch, and his already mentioned Special Defense, Heracross can become a durable foe to take out. Like Conkeldurr, he has nothing to fear from status ailments, and while Heracross may lack a priority move, he makes up for it with his STAB Megahorn, which plows through some of Conkeldurr's common checks, such as Reuniclus. Gliscor may still be a problem, but nothing a surprise Natural Gift (Ganlon Berry) can't fix - although this strategy is better suited for a classic Swords Dance set.
Huntail
Notable stat-up moves: (Baton Pass), Shell Smash
Huntail is one of the few Pokemon who can Baton Pass the large boosts obtained with Shell Smash. Gorebyss is generally favored over him because the former's STAB Surf significantly outdamages the latter's STAB Waterfall against the majority of targets. Moreover, Gorebyss has Hydration. However, Huntail is still more than capable to pull his weight, although he has more chances to do so as a standalone sweeper, where the traits which differentiate him from Gorebyss - namely, his superior mixed stats, as well as some neat coverage moves such as Crunch for Jellicent - have more chances to be useful.
Infernape
Notable stat-up moves: Nasty Plot, Swords Dance
It's hard to pull off two completely different sets with equal prowess, but such is the case with Infernape. On one hand, Nasty Plot allows him to let loose with boosted Fire Blast, with STAB Close Combat keeping special walls such as Blissey at bay. On the other hand, Swords Dance turns him into a murdering monkey, able to blast through most physical walls just by virtue of his STAB moves alone. And, as the cherry on the pie, he can even resort to priority attacks regardless of the set-up move of choice, thanks to his access to Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave. Infernape may have taken a hit with all those 108 base Speed Fighting-type legendaries crowding his previously unique niche, but his offensive prowess rivals with titans such as Terrakion, allowing the fiery monkey to retain his place in the metagame.
Jirachi
Notable stat-up moves: Calm Mind
What once used to be Jirachi's staple is now quite the uncommon sight, but don't let this fool you: Calm Mind is still a formidable weapon in the hands of something with the resistances, the stats, and the movepool of Jirachi. Wish and Substitute turn him into a dangerous threat for the myriad slow walls who can do nothing while he sets up on them. As for the coverage options, Psyshock is a shiny new STAB which makes breaking through opposing special walls infinitely easier, thus making the all-out Calm Mind set more viable than it used to be. Additionally, the rain provided by Politoed's Drizzle makes both Thunder and Water Pulse interesting options. Not only they pack a good combination of power and coverage, they also take full advantage of Jirachi's Serene Grace ability. It is still hard to fit into an environment where the old enemies, such as Heatran, are paired with new ones like Volcarona, but Jirachi does it just fine.
Kabutops
Notable stat-up moves: Swords Dance
Even if crippled by the fact he can't run Swift Swim on a team with Drizzle Politoed, Kabutops is far from useless. Thanks to his powerful priority move, Aqua Jet, the speed loss is not that big of a deal. Moreover, his respectable 80 base Speed still allows him to get the jump on those Pokemon, such as Ferrothorn, which will be the main target of his coverage moves. He still encounters some trouble in setting up, due to his frailty, and he must suffer competition from other Swords Dance + Aqua Jet sweepers, such as Feraligatr, but he has still enough perks to stand out - in particular, a mighty STAB Stone Edge and the ever useful Rapid Spin. And while the Rock-type exposes him to priority attacks such as Bullet Punch and Mach Punch, it also makes him immune to Sandstorm damage, which allows him to play almost equally well in the two most common weather conditions of the OU metagame.
Kingdra
Notable stat-up moves: Dragon Dance
Much like all Swift Swim Pokemon, Kingdra suffers a lot from not being able to be paired with Drizzle Politoed. However, by virtue of Swift Swim itself, Kingdra still constitutes one of the most dangerous threats to opposing rain teams, as his enhanced speed and boosted STABs can tear through any team lacking Ferrothorn. And even when rain is not present at all, Kingdra's access to a wonderful STAB combination, as well as a small yet precise movepool, makes him a threat which can't be underestimated. Even defensively, the lack of weaknesses besides Dragon and the respectable stats allow Kingdra to run a tricky Chesto Rest set which can quickly get out of hand, should he manages to rack up enough boosts. He would probably be seen much more often, if Ferrothorn didn't enjoy such a widespread usage.
Landorus
Notable stat-up moves: Rock Polish, Swords Dance
Landorus is the most dominant Ground-type sweeper in the tier, and one of the biggest reason any team must include at least one Pokemon with Ground immunity. He sports an immensely powerful Earthquake, coming off a strong base 125 Attack stat and further boosted by the Sand Force ability. Stone Edge complements it nicely, especially since it benefits from Sand Force as well. You may think Landorus has to choose between Rock Polish and Swords Dance, but this is not the case. The coverage it gets between Earthquake and Stone Edge is so good that he often can afford to run both set-up moves. Most opponents won't let him get in two boosts, but having both options still gives him an important degree of flexibility, making him a threat both to offensive and defensive teams. If you really think you can afford one of the set up moves, Substitute is an excellent choice for scouting the opposition and setting up more safely.
Latias
Notable stat-up moves: Calm Mind
While Latias may look outclassed by her sibling Latios in the role of a Calm Mind sweeper, she actually isn't - although the competition she gets from him spurred her to adapt a bit. Taking advantage of her superior defenses, Latias functions as a pivot of sorts, forcing out foes and racking up several Calm Mind boosts in the process. Dragon Pulse is a must because of STAB, and so are Recover for its staying power and, naturally, Calm Mind itself. The fourth slot, however, is a wild card. Hidden Power Fire complements Dragon Pulse wonderfully in coverage, with the added bonus of stopping Scizor's attempt to trap her. If one prefers to rely on Latias's Dragon STAB alone, instead, Substitute offers a welcome protection against status and revenge killing attempts. Roar gives her the upper hand against foes who try to set up alongside her. And finally, Reflect can provide her with a whole new set of opportunities for setting up, although this choice often requires a significant investment into Defense to work.
Latios
Notable set-up moves: Calm Mind
Latios is undoubtedly one of the most threatening sweepers in the OU environment. And while, unlike Latias, he often ditches Calm Mind, he is perfectly capable of sweeping with it as well. However, unlike most Calm Mind users, he doesn't play it in a defensive role of sorts. On the contrary, he takes advantage of his immense power to force out the opponent while setting up Calm Mind in the process. Then, he proceeds to lay the hurt with a boosted Dragon Pulse and his other coverage moves. Surf is a natural choice, due to how well it pairs with Dragon-type attacks. Hidden Power Fire fries Ferrothorn and rounds off the coverage flawlessly. Psyshock takes advantage of STAB and lets Latios get past special walls and opposing Calm Mind users more easily. And finally, Recover gives him more survivability and a chance to rack up even more boosts.
Lilligant
Notable set-up moves: Quiver Dance
Lilligant may look decidedly mediocre for the Standard metagame at first sight, but he has a few saving graces which can make up for his apparent flaws. The biggest selling point is Quiver Dance, and its extreme sweeping potential. Sleep Powder is an important plus, as it provides him with an opportunity to set up, as well as a way to get past an otherwise hard counter. Chlorophyll helps his cause as well, bringing his Speed to unbelievable heights. And when it comes to STAB, Giga Drain is an excellent choice as it allows him to recover health and actually take advantage of the defensive boosts Quiver Dance provides. But the good news end here. Lilligant's movepool is very shallow, and so he really needs to resort to Hidden Power for coverage. And depending on what he choices, Steel-types, Fire-types, and Dragon-types can give him a hard time.
Lucario
Notable stat-up moves: Nasty Plot, Swords Dance
Despite his Special Attack is higher than his Attack, Lucario used to favor the physical route when it came to set-up sweeping, because of how more of an immediate threat Swords Dance could pose, compared to Calm Mind. This generation however gifted him with Nasty Plot, making a special set-up strategy once again viable. Regardless of the chosen path, Lucario benefits from a strong STAB, an almost perfect coverage move, and a priority attack to make up for his middling speed. The introduction of a plethora of new checks - such as Landorus, Terrakion, and Volcarona - hurt his viability to a certain extent, but he's still an unpredictable threat to any OU team.
Magnezone
Notable stat-up moves: Charge Beam
Few people would consider Charge Beam an effective set-up move, compared to the likes of Swords Dance or Nasty Plot. However, Magnezone is perfectly able to put it to use, thanks to his unique traits, the most important of which is Magnet Pull. Unlike other sweepers, who generally don't get more than one or two turns to set-up, Magnezone can switch into a Steel-type who can't hurt him and start setting up unharmed, coming out with several Special Attack boost and, often, a Substitute to hide behind. From there, he can proceed to annihilate everything with his mighty STAB attacks, coming off the highest Special Attack of all Electric types. He may be unable to set up on almost everything like Dragonite, but his utility as a Steel trapper makes up for it easily.
Metagross
Notable stat-up moves: Agility / Rock Polish
Metagross combines many positive traits in a way few other Pokemon can emulate. He packs a massive offensive power, with a base 135 Attack stat as well as STAB Meteor Mash. He has much more coverage options than the average sweeper, including Ice Punch, Thunderpunch, Earthquake, and Hammer Arm. And his bulkiness is pretty unusual for a sweeper like him, sporting an impressive slate of resistances as well as respectable defenses. When taking all these factors in consideration, it becomes apparent that not only Metagross can get plenty of chances to set up Agility, but he is so powerful that he hardly needs more than patching up his middling Speed. He may have lost some spots in the usage stats, but this has to do more with his reduced usefulness as a lead than his effectiveness as a sweeper. Ignore this steel spider at your own risk.
