Genesect (Ubers analysis) [GP 2/2]

Theorymon · Aug 13, 2012

http://www.smogon.com/bw/pokemon/genesect

[Overview]

Rising from the ashes of the nuclear fire, the Team Plasma Systems Model 101, Genesect, finally comes to the present! Scizor may be the first thing to come in mind when you think of "Steel / Bug type Pokemon that maintains momentum with U-turn", but Genesect brings a whole new twist on the familiar role thanks to its many unique attributes. Unlike Scizor, Genesect has a good base 99 Speed and an excellent special movepool that, when combined with a Choice Scarf chip, allows Genesect to revenge kill dominant life forms such as Groudon, Mewtwo, Rayquaza, and Darkrai. Skynet's new warrior is also equipped with a top of the line combat ability in Download, which means one of Genesect's attack stats will always be boosted when it switches in. Because of Download, Genesect's above average base 120 attack stats will become the equivalent of a monstrous uninvested 189 base Attack with 0 EVs, and near an even more murderous base fully invested 205 Attack with 252 EVs!

All of Genesect's excellent qualities may make it look like the beginning of the end for humanity, but fortunately for us humans (and unfortunately for Skynet), Genesect doesn't have what it takes to bring forth the apocalypse alone! Genesect's greatest flaw is that unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger, this robotic assassin isn't very durable, with even unboosted Draco Meteors and Life Orb Mewtwo's unboosted Psystrike chipping off over 50% of the insectinator's health, which means that most neutral hits in Ubers will fry Genesect's CPU. Also, because Genesect constantly switches out due to U-turn, the prominence of Stealth Rock and Spikes in Ubers and the difficulty in spinning will quickly wear down Genesect's exoskeleton, making its warranty even shorter than usual. Finally, while Genesect does take advantage of an Attack boost from Download via U-turn, it's a shame that the only other worthwhile physical attacks Genesect has are Iron Head and Explosion. However, once you get past the durability and movepool issues, you're still left with one of the most dangerous U-turn users the game has to offer. So while Genesect may not cause the end of the world as we know it, Genesect, much like the Terminator, is one hell of a lethal machine!

[SET]
name: Physically Based Choice Scarf
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Explosion / Flamethrower
move 4: Iron Head / Flamethrower
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Naive / Hasty
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Equipped with a high speed Choice Scarf processor, this model of Genesect is one of the most dangerous scouting machines in existence! U-turn is key to Genesect's success at wearing down organic beings, allowing Genesect to deal a good amount of damage to the enemy while allowing your army to keep control of the offensive momentum. Even without a Download boost, Genesect can still deal 66.7% - 79.7% to Mewtwo and 83.7% - 100% to Darkrai (a 74% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock damage). After a Download boost, Genesect's scouting duties become much more dangerous to the opponent, allowing U-turn to OHKO Mewtwo, Latias, and Latios, and also inflicting 52-61% to 4 HP Kyogre, 50-59% to Timid Palkia, 45-53% to Timid Kyurem-W, and 62-74% to max HP Grass Arceus.

Ice Beam is one of Choice Scarf Genesect's main tools for assassination, allowing it to outspeed and terminate threats that are 4x weak to Ice such as Dragon Dance Rayquaza, Garchomp, Shaymin-S, Gliscor, Salamence, and Landorus. With the power of Download, Genesect's Ice Beam can also severely damage 252 HP Groudon (who takes 64-76%) and 4 HP Zekrom (who takes 70-83%).

While Explosion's power has dwindled this generation, a Download boost will ensure that Genesect's sacrifice won't be in vain, allowing the metallic martyr to vaporize max HP Kyogre, max HP Ho-Oh, Palkia, Reshiram, and Kyurem-W. In emergencies, you can even use Genesect's ExtremeSpeed resistance to wear down a Normal Arceus with an unboosted Explosion, dealing 49-58% to max HP Arceus and 57-68% to 4 HP Arceus. While Iron Head offers poor coverage, Genesect's hyperalloy skull shatters Kyurem-W after the Download boost, and before the boost, deals 83-98% to Terrakion and 63-75% to Kyurem-B. Iron Head also has a 30% chance of flinching, allowing Genesect to infuriate even the most well-prepared general if Lady Luck is on your side.

If you are willing to give up Explosion or Iron Head, Genesect has two other options to choose from. Flamethrower is Genesect's best chance of hurting most Steel-types in the sun, allowing it to OHKO Forretress, Skarmory, and Scizor (assuming a Download boost), deal 92-100% to Ferrothorn, and 2HKO Excadrill. Be warned though, if your army has rain support, Flamethrower becomes pathetically weak, only being able to 2HKO Forretress and Scizor. The final, most niche choice is X-Scissor. X-Scissor deals less damage to Ghosts, both Kyurem, Terrakion, and has no chance of flinching which usually makes it a less effective weapon than Iron Head, but the extra damage done to Mewtwo, Darkrai, Latias, Kyogre, and Palkia can help Genesect clean through some weakened armies more easily after a boost. One final configuration to note is your Genesect's nature. Naive allows Genesect to take less from physical priority attacks like ExtremeSpeed, while Hasty allows Genesect to take a bit less from the many powerful special Dragon attacks.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Genesect's Choice Scarf processor and scouting routines with U-turn make it an incredibly independent machine that can work on almost any kind of army, but there are a few things to consider that can make Genesect even more effective than usual. Always try to take advantage of Genesect's common switch-ins, which include Ho-Oh, Lugia, Ghost Arceus, Giratina, Dialga, and most other Steel-type Pokemon. While checking these Pokemon isn't a bad idea, one of the best ways to take advantage of U-turn is to pair Genesect with powerful, momentum shifting teammates. Choice Scarf and Choice Specs Kyogre are a great example of this, not only setting up rain, but also giving Kyogre the perfect opportunity to unleash a healthy Water Spout depending on the enemy. Choice Kyogre also does a good job of drowning Ho-Oh, Ghost Arceus, and Forretress. Life Orb Deoxys-A is another example of a great Genesect teammate, using Genesect's U-turn support to patch up its issue with switching in, and letting loose insanely powerful Psycho Boosts. If your army prefers a Pokemon who can take a hit but still offers similar power to Deoxys-A, then Kyurem-W is an excellent alternative. With Choice Specs or Life Orb, almost nothing can switch into Kyurem-W's super powerful Draco Meteors besides Steel-types and Chansey/Blissey, and Fusion Flare and Focus Blast will smash most Steel-types, while Choice Specs can defeat Blissey and Chansey with Focus Blast and hazards support. Choice Specs Kyurem-W is also a good response to most Giratina and Dialga switch-ins after a U-turn. Other Dragon-type Pokemon with powerful Draco Meteors like Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia, Latios, and Reshiram will also perform a good job of complimenting Genesect's U-turn support if Kyurem-W doesn't fit into your team. If your team has sun support, Ho-Oh can be great soldier to pair with Genesect. Several of the Pokemon Genesect lures in have serious issues with Ho-Oh in the sun (such as Ferrothorn, Dialga, and Ghost Arceus). Ho-Oh can use Genesect's Fire weaknesses as a great time to switch-in, and thanks to Regenerator and Roost, Ho-Oh can be a great U-turn partner for a longer time than most of Genesect's regular teammates. While Terrakion has issues with Ghost Arceus and Giratina, it does a great job of smashing through Dialga and Ferrothorn with Close Combat, and ripping Ho-Oh to shreds with Stone Edge. Choice Band Landorus-T can also defeat Dialga, Ferrothorn (if you have Superpower), and Ho-Oh, and can use its own U-turn to form a momentum-keeping partnership with Genesect. Finally, while Darkrai doesn't have the powerful unboosted attacks like the former teammates, Genesect's U-turn support gives Darkrai the perfect opportunity to put a life form to sleep with Dark Void, and it still does a good job of scaring out Giratina, Ghost Arceus, and Lugia.

Genesect's biggest problem is being worn down by Stealth Rock and Spikes, but ironically Genesect also loves hazards support to make switching out of U-turn more punishing than usual. While Genesect doesn't need Spikes and Rapid Spin support to function, it can make the hyperalloy scout a more effective soldier. Tentacruel is one of the best Rapid Spin users around for Genesect, with a resistance to Genesect's only weakness, Fire. Genesect can also revenge kill some of Tentacruel's problems such as Mewtwo and Latios. While it does share the Fire weakness, Excadrill can use Rapid Spin, offers Stealth Rock, and has the ability to slam Dialga with a STAB Earthquake. Forretress can provide Genesect with Rapid Spin and Spikes support to punish your enemy for switching out, and even has access to Volt Switch to keep momentum on your army's side. If you just need a Spiker, then Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Deoxys-S, and Deoxys-A are still fine choices if your army doesn't need Rapid Spin support. While a more risky option than spinning, Genesect can be paired with one of the two Magic Bounce users, Espeon or Xatu, to take care of hazards. Another option for extending Genesect's warranty is to pair it with the viable Wish users of Ubers: Chansey, Blissey, and Jirachi. One final thing to note is that if your team deals with entry hazards and has Drought support, Ho-Oh is an even greater teammate than usual!

[SET]
name: Specially Based Choice Scarf
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Bug Buzz / Flamethrower / Thunder
move 4: Flamethrower / Thunder
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Naive / Hasty
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

While Genesect has the usual Choice Scarf processor, this model takes a radically different approach to using it. Instead of focusing on wearing down the opposition with fast, boosted U-turns, this model of Genesect invests in Special Attack EVs to take advantage of its excellent special attacking movepool, allowing Genesect to have an easier time cleaning teams and gain new KOs vs several threats in Ubers. As a side effect, U-turn is significantly less powerful, now needing Stealth Rock to OHKO 160 HP Latias 79% of the time. Despite this setback, U-turn will still be Genesect's most commonly used attack because of its ability to scout and wear down the enemy army.

Ice Beam is Genesect's weapon of choice for the many Pokemon in Ubers that are 4x weak to Ice, and thanks to the Special Attack investment, a boosted Ice Beam will almost always terminate minimum HP Zekrom and minimum HP Groudon after Stealth Rock damage. Additionally, a boosted Ice Beam can 2HKO physically defensive Giratina and max HP Ground Arceus.

There are 3 viable special attacking weapons left in this model's arsenal; the right combination of them greatly depends on your army's needs. While Bug Buzz may seem like a redundant weapon with U-turn, it does a great job of helping Genesect sweep through weakened teams after a Special Attack boost. For example, a +1 Bug Buzz will OHKO Darkrai and Mewtwo, and also 2HKO fairly bulky offensive Pokemon like Latias, Groudon, Zekrom, Kyurem-W, and minimum HP Kyogre. Flamethrower is Genesect's weapon of choice for most Steel-type Pokemon, and the extra Special Attack investment this model has makes it Genesect's most powerful weapon in the sun, giving +1 Genesect a 91% chance of 2HKOing max HP Arceus. Finally, while most of Thunder's targets give Genesect an Attack boost, it still allows Genesect to 2HKO max HP Kyogre and Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock damage. With a Special Attack boost, Genesect can also 2HKO Lugia after Stealth Rock damage, OHKO Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock damage, 2HKO Forretress, and OHKO Skarmory.

If your army is dead set on having Bug Buzz to ease cleaning, then Flamethrower is the best final choice on sun teams for the extra power, while Thunder is the best choice on rain teams for 100% accuracy and the ability to still OHKO Skarmory and 2HKO Forretress. If your army has both Kyogre and Groudon, or if you feel that better coverage trumps easier cleaning power, then you can use both Thunder and Flamethrower over Bug Buzz.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

There are several different EV modifications for this model of Genesect that may fit your army better if you are willing to make a few sacrifices. If you are willing to give up on some cleaning power and the ability to always OHKO min HP Zekrom after Stealth Rock, you can opt to use an EV spread of 88 Atk / 196 SpA / 224 Spe. The Attack EVs allow Genesect to OHKO offensive Mewtwo and 160 HP Latias after Stealth Rock damage with a boosted U-turn, while the 224 Speed EVs allow Genesect to still outspeed Dragon Dance Rayquaza.

 If your army is fine with sacrificing Genesect's revenge killing power vs Dragon Dance Rayquaza and the many Choice Scarf users of Ubers, you can choose to use a Rash nature for more Special Attack. In addition to allowing Genesect to clean through weakened armies more easily, Rash will also allow Genesect's boosted Ice Beam to OHKO max HP Groudon after Spikes damage, and OHKO max HP Kyogre with Thunder with Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes. Furthermore, if your army is fine with not being able to outspeed neutral natured base 90 Choice Scarf users like Kyogre, you can use an EV spread of 136 Atk / 252 SpA / 120 Spe. 120 Speed EVs is enough for Choice Scarf Genesect to outspeed Mewtwo, while the remaining 136 EVs give U-turn a healthy increase in power, now allowing Genesect's +1 U-turn to always OHKO Mewtwo after Stealth Rock, and always 2HKO Timid Palkia after Stealth Rock.

The final viable EV spread for Rash is 252 Atk / 136 SpA / 120 Spe. This Genesect still has a higher Special Attack stat than the standard special Scarf model by 2 points, but it also has the same Attack stat as the physical Scarf set, allowing you to use Explosion or Iron Head over the usual coverage moves if you are willing to give up more revenge killing power.

Because this Genesect model is the preferred set for cleaning through weakened teams, adding Spikes to the usual Stealth Rock support can make this set much more effective. Deoxys-S, Deoxys-A, and Froslass are good examples of Spikers for offensive teams, but more defensive Spikers like Ferrothorn, Forretress, and Skarmory are reasonable options for some teams as well.

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Thunder
move 4: Flamethrower / Hidden Power Fighting
item: Expert Belt
nature: Hasty / Naive
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Choice Scarf Genesect's amazing revenge killing power can be difficult to replace, but if you are willing to take the risks, Expert Belt Genesect can provide benefits to your army that few Pokemon can match. In addition to netting Genesect even more KOs than usual, Expert Belt is a great bluffing item, allowing your army to get surprise KOs vs many slower Pokemon that think you will be forced to switch out due to Choice Scarf.

As usual, U-turn is Genesect's weapon for scouting, and it does a good job of fooling the enemy into thinking your Genesect is a specially based Choice Scarf set. Ice Beam will do far more than just terminate the usual 4x weak Pokemon, as a Special Attack boost allows Ice Beam to OHKO Groudon and mixed Giratina-O, and 2HKO physically defensive Giratina. Thunder zaps Kyogre, Lugia, and Ho-Oh, and with a Download boost, it will OHKO Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock damage, OHKO Lugia after Stealth Rock damage 56% of the time, and OHKO max HP Kyogre 62% of the time after Stealth Rock damage. +1 Flamethrower will OHKO most Steel-types in the sun, but even if the weather is rainy, Genesect can still 2HKO Ferrothorn and OHKO Forretress after Stealth Rock damage. If your army has Drizzle support, Hidden Power Fighting can be an appealing alternative to Flamethrower, with +1 Hidden Power Fighting being able to 2HKO support Dialga, Excadrill, and Ferrothorn at the cost of being walled by Jirachi.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

While Expert Belt is the preferred item for its luring capabilities, Life Orb can still be a reasonable choice. While Life Orb will cut Genesect's warranty when combined with U-turn and hazards damage, it does gain some new KOs. A boosted Ice Beam will now always terminate max HP Groudon, and 2HKO specially defensive Giratina after Stealth Rock damage. Also, boosted Thunders will now OHKO Kyogre and Lugia after Stealth Rock damage, while boosted Flamethrowers in the sun will now 2HKO support Dialga. Finally, Genesect's U-turn will now become far more powerful, now being able to do 50% to max HP Kyogre after a boost.

If your army is willing to give up the amazing momentum keeper in U-turn, you can opt to replace U-turn with Rock Polish, and use a Timid nature. As a Speed-boosting cleaner, Genesect has trouble competing directly with Groudon and Landorus-T due to its reliance on a Download boost. However, Genesect can still do a nice job of hitting Pokemon hard with its good coverage, so the strategy behind Rock Polish Genesect is to play it much like the regular special attacking set, and focus more on using Rock Polish as a more situational / surprise set-up move, rather than the kind of sweeper you may focus a team around supporting. Note that if you want to destroy healthy Mewtwo and Darkrai and deal a good amount of damage to Latias, Thunder or Flamethrower will need to be replaced with Bug Buzz.

Another alternate approach to this model of Genesect is to use a mixed attacking EV spread of 128 Atk / 128 SpA / 252 Spe with a Life Orb. The Special Attack EVs give a boosted Ice Beam enough power to OHKO max HP Groudon after Stealth Rock damage, 2HKO support Dialga in the sun with boosted Flamethrower, and deal around 1% less damage than Expert Belt Genesect vs most other Pokemon. With the Attack investment, you can now run Explosion or Iron Head over Thunder or Flamethrower. Explosion is insanely powerful after a boost, being able to terminate max HP Arceus and max HP Kyogre after Stealth Rock damage, and even deal 52-62% to support Dialga! Iron Head on the other hand, allows Genesect to crush both Kyurem formes and 2HKO max HP Arceus after Stealth Rock damage.

The most valuable support you can give any of these special attacking Genesect sets is paralysis support, because most Pokemon that outspeed Genesect can crash its hard drive. Thunder Wave Kyogre is a superb teammate for this, with its ability to lure in Latias, Palkia, and Grass Arceus, none of which like taking boosted U-turns. Fighting Arceus still does a good job of luring in Latias, but can also attract Mewtwo and deal with Dialga that switch into Genesect's U-turn. Groudon can also attract Latias, but can also paralyze fast Lugia switch-ins to prevent it from stalling Genesect with Roost. While Jirachi may unfortunately share Genesect's Fire weakness, it does a good job of spreading paralysis with Thunder Wave, Thunder, or Body Slam, and can extend Genesect's warranty with Wish support. Ferrothorn is also a good paralysis spreader that can also extend Genesect's lifespan with Leech Seed. Finally, while Thundurus must often sacrifice itself to paralyze fast Pokemon via Prankster Thunder Wave, many of these fast Pokemon will take a serious amount of damage from Genesect's attacks.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Explosion
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Ice Beam / Flamethrower
item: Choice Band
nature: Hasty / Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

A Choice Band processor may seem like an odd choice considering Genesect's narrow physical movepool, but when combined with Download, Genesect can fire off U-turns so powerful that any lifeform that doesn't resist it will take an incredible amount of damage. For example, +1 U-turn can deal near or over 50% to Ferrothorn, max HP Kyogre, max HP Arceus, offensive Groudon, bulky Excadrill, Zekrom, Tentacruel, and Jirachi. Even Rayquaza, defensive Groudon, and Lugia will usually take over 35% from these monstrous boosted U-turns!

The other big selling point of Choice Band Genesect is Explosion. Explosion already deals plenty of damage coming from Choice Scarf Genesect, so when Choice Band Genesect unleashes it, Explosion will deal such ungodly amounts of damage that even Skynet would consider it a worthy addition to its nuclear arsenal! A +1 Explosion is so powerful that Steel Arceus, Skarmory, Forretress, and specially defensive Dialga can take over 60% from it, leaving only three Ubers viable Pokemon who don't resist a boosted Explosion that can survive it after Stealth Rock damage: defensive Groudon, defensive Normal Arceus, and defensive Landorus-T; even those three usually still take over 80%!

Iron Head pairs well with U-turn and Explosion, and when boosted, it allows Genesect's reinforced skull to 2HKO Ghost Arceus, Giratina-O, and Excadrill, and after Stealth Rock damage, it 2HKOes Ho-Oh, Lugia, specially defensive Giratina, and Reshiram. Finally, while this may be a Choice Band set, Genesect still appreciates a special attack to help patch up its poor coverage. Ice Beam will let Genesect OHKO Rayquaza and 2HKO defensive Groudon, while Flamethrower is Genesect's best non suicidal attack vs Skarmory and Forretress.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

This model of Genesect does best when it has paralysis support, so Thunder Wave Kyogre, Groudon, and Fighting Arceus are good teammates for luring in and crippling Latias. While Jirachi may share Genesect's Fire weakness, it's one of the few paralysis spreaders that can keep Genesect alive longer via Wish. Ferrothorn won't restore as much health as Jirachi, but it can take on Kyogre that lack Choice Specs when Genesect is locked into Iron Head. Thundurus is one of the few paralysis spreaders that has a powerful scouting move in Volt Switch to support your army, though it must often sacrifice itself to paralyze faster enemies like Mewtwo and Darkrai. Dialga also deserves special mention for its ability to not only paralyze the enemy with Thunder Wave, but also scare out the physically defensive Giratina that attempt to switch-in.

[Other Options]

While Genesect may be dangerous, Skynet didn't give this Terminator model a very wide movepool. Charge Beam can be used to boost Genesect's Special Attack, but Genesect is usually better off predicting its defensive switch-ins instead of hoping for another Special Attack boost. Flame Charge can boost Genesect's Speed, but is mostly outclassed by Rock Polish. Dark Pulse is the hardest Genesect can hit Ghost Arceus, but its usefulness ends there. Thunderbolt allows Genesect to always hit Ho-Oh in the sun, but it's such a weak move vs Kyogre that Thunder is better most of the time. Metal Sound can be used to scare many walls with the idea of getting KOed, but their ability to simply switch makes this strategy only useful with entry hazards.

Choice Specs may seem like a natural fit for Genesect's great special attacking movepool, but the choice restrictions and the inability to boost U-turn's power make this one of Genesect's lesser sets. Insect Plate can be used to boost Genesect's U-turn power, but Choice Band is usually the better way to go for powerful U-turns.

[Checks and Counters]

Genesect is out there. It can't be bargained with; it can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead. However, what makes Genesect even more difficult to counter than most cyberkinetic assassins is it's habit of U-turning out of the battlefield before you can say "Hasta la vista baby!". Thankfully, you can exploit Genesect's U-turn strategies by setting up Spikes and Stealth Rock, which will force the synthetic assassin to sacrifice 25% of its health each time it scouts. Ferrothorn in particular can use most of Genesect's non super effective or scouting attacks to set up Spikes, while Forretress and Skarmory can set up Spikes on physically based Genesect that aren't U-turning.

While Genesect may be difficult to directly counter, there are several Pokemon that can take most of its attacks. Bulky Ghost Arceus is one of the best checks in the game, as it can take on most of Genesect's attacks, and can even threaten to set up Calm Mind when Genesect doesn't U-turn. Steel Arceus can also generally out-machine Genesect as long as it doesn't switch into a boosted Flamethrower in the sun. Specially defensive Dialga braces anything except boosted Flamethrowers in the sun and Hidden Power Fighting, and can threaten to OHKO Genesect with a Fire attack of its choice. Heatran defeats Genesect even more easily than Dialga thanks to Flash Fire. Provided that it's raining, bulky Excadrill isn't 2HKOed by anything but a boosted Hidden Power Fighting, and it can hit Genesect hard with Earthquake. Ho-Oh can take anything but Explosion and Thunder and use Genesect as the perfect time to set up a Substitute. In a similar manner as Ho-Oh, Reshiram and Fire Arceus can switch into most of Genesect's attacks and threaten to either set up or unleash powerful sun-boosted Fire attacks. Specially defensive Giratina isn't 2HKOed by any of Genesect's moves (with the exception of a Life Orb +1 Ice Beam), and can threaten to either phaze or cripple Genesect's scouting power with Will-O-Wisp. As far as more situational checks go, Blaziken can switch into U-turn with its 4x Bug resistance to get a free Speed Boost turn, while Wobbuffet can trap and revenge kill any Choice Scarf Genesect that isn't locked into a Bug attack.

Non-Choice Genesect can be a bit trickier to directly counter due to Download and its excellent coverage, but generally, any Pokemon that is faster than Genesect in Ubers has a good chance of crashing its hard drive after a kill, such as the Mewtwo, Palkia, Hidden Power Fire Latias, and most Choice Scarf Pokemon.

His Eminence Lord Poppington II · Aug 14, 2012

AC mention of physical spread 252 atk / 4 SpA / 252 spe hasty / naive. you use u-turn most of the time and ice beam still koes ray / chomp; groudon and zekrom suffer though.

genesect is a simple beast and i can't see much else to add on here, i've only used scarf thus far though, but it's undoubtedly an amazing set.

edit: i actually got this spread from TR mentioning it lol, credits to him. QC APPROVED 2/3

trickroom · Aug 14, 2012

Scarf still works with Poppy's spread. I like max Attack more because you will be using U-Turn most of the time. Starting the match with a fast and powerful U-Turn is always fun to grab the advantage. Iron Head works great on Scarf physically offensive, it revenges Kyurem formes easily while smacking Arceus harder than U-Turn. Shadow Claw is your best move vs Ghost Arceus and still hits it fairly hard with a boost.

Mention Genesect can set up Stealth Rock somewhere.

QC APPROVED 1/3

Furai · Aug 14, 2012

What about the Rock Polish set? Is that also in testing?

hamiltonion · Aug 14, 2012

[qc]3/3[/qc]

Nothing really to add till i test out some of the more obscure sets :]

Furai · Aug 14, 2012

Scarf base 100s outspend and can hit p hard because Genesect is not that bulky, Fire Arceus is in the same case as Reshiram, and Rock Arceua is only afraid of Flash Cannon/Iron Head.

Theorymon · Aug 14, 2012

trickroom said:
Scarf still works with Poppy's spread. I like max Attack more because you will be using U-Turn most of the time. Starting the match with a fast and powerful U-Turn is always fun to grab the advantage. Iron Head works great on Scarf physically offensive, it revenges Kyurem formes easily while smacking Arceus harder than U-Turn. Shadow Claw is your best move vs Ghost Arceus and still hits it fairly hard with a boost.

Mention Genesect can set up Stealth Rock somewhere.

QC APPROVED 1/3

I wish Stealth Rock was legal... but sadly I think that was from a messed up tutor list, Genesect doesn't learn Stealth Rock :(. Anyways I will put the physically based spread on Scarf for sure, but I don't think I will give a mention to Shadow Claw, its so weak that it fails to 2HKO Ghost Arceus after Stealth Rock >_>

firecape · Aug 14, 2012

bug doesn't resist bug............................................

http://www.smogon.com/bw/types/ here's the chart if you need it :)

Trolling aside, I like max attack+ A LOT better than SpA. I found myself using U-turn and even Explosion more than any special attack. U-turn just rips stuff up!

Jibaku · Aug 14, 2012

Explosion on Scarf perhaps? +1 fast Explosion can be extremely game changing, and is a great way to finish off Genesect's job. Blasting Ho-Oh to shreds is definitely nice as well.

Unowninator · Aug 14, 2012

How about a Hone Claws set? There's X-Scissor, Iron Head & Shadow Claw as Physical moves. Thunder & Blizzard enjoy the accuracy boost, so maybe a mixed claws set could work?

And how would Quick Attack be to surprise your opponents w/ a priority move? (NOT on the Hone Claws set). Thunder Wave could also surprise your opponents who aren't expecting it.

Theorymon · Aug 22, 2012

Okay just an update: after testing it, Choice Band Genesect is getting added as the last set, and if I'm unable to fit the gist of the physically based Genesect sets for Scarf and All Out Attacker in AC, they may become separate sets. We'll see tomorrow...

superstar · Aug 25, 2012

I think Bug Buzz should be slashed in on the All-Out attacker set. It provides the same benefits as on the choice scarf set, and 99 base speed is actually decent in Ubers considering all the base 90s running around, so Genesect can clean up on a weakened team with his great STAB move

Splendiferous · Aug 26, 2012

I think physical > specially based is better for the scarf set. uturn/explosion/iron head/filler (flamethrower or ice beam) is pretty good since uturn will be doing decent damage at +1 (bit over 50% to 4hp kyogre iirc). Explosion and iron head can be useful for certain situations mid-lategame.

Theorymon · Sep 12, 2012

GAH, stupid real life... THIS WILL BE MOSTLY DONE IN 2 DAYS GUYS, I DIDNT MEAN TO TAKE OVER A MONTH! anyways, a while ago we determined that there will now be 5 sets: Specially based Scarf, Physically based Scarf, Specially Based Attacker, Physically Based Attacker, and Choice Band. I'll update the skeleton later today!

Edit: GAH just one more day, my internet has been beyond retarded :( (as of September 17th its sorta okay though)

Theorymon · Nov 18, 2012

There have been some really big change happening to the analysis over the past few months, I'll change the outline tomorrow, and FINALLY have this fucking thing done this week!

Furai · Nov 19, 2012

THEORYMON swear to me that it won't become a second wobbuffet

Theorymon · Jan 2, 2013

I feel fucking ashamed of myself for taking this long... but it's almost done, I just need to finish the AC comments for all sections! I've cut down the original writing I had by a lot.. so this might seem a bit shorter than most of you are expecting (also, there aren't as many Terminator references as before but you'll still find them :P). Otherwise, QC members feel free to nitpick this while I finish AC stuff later today!

dice · Jan 2, 2013

I'd slash Flamethrower on Phys. Scarf w/ Explosion & not Iron Head. I find Iron Head invaluable for the Kyurem's, end-game STAB, flinching CM Arceus if you're desperate, etc.

Theorymon · Jan 11, 2013

Alright I got some nitpicks from some QC people and other users on IRC (also brii I took in account what you and furai said about flamethrower, made a compromise and slashed Flamethrower in both slots)... so this is FINALLY ready to be GP checked!

EDIT: fyi GP members, you may notice that this analyses uses... strange terminology. I was trying to make this a giant tribute to the first two terminator movies, but bojangles didn't get most of it, so while there are still a lot of terminator references (especially the quotes in the counters section, most of the overview, and anything that mentions Skynet or Hyperalloy), I replaced a lot of the more obscure stuff with more generic computer / electronics terms. Also, the reason I use the word "army" a lot is because its supposed to be like terminators vs humans, so I imagine that army is the terminator version of a Pokemon team :P.

Oglemi · Jan 12, 2013

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[Overview]

Rising from the ashes of the nuclear fire, the Team Plasma Systems Model 101, Genesect, finally comes to the present! Scizor may be the first thing to come in mind when you think of "Steel / Bug Pokemon that maintains momentum with U-turn", but Genesect brings a whole new twist on the familiar role thanks to its many unique attributes. Unlike Scizor, Genesect has a good base 99 Speed and an excellent special movepool, that when combined with a Choice Scarf chip, allows Genesect to revenge kill dominant life forms such as Groudon, Mewtwo, Rayquaza, and Darkrai. Skynet's new warrior is also equipped with a top of the line combat ability in Download, which means one of Genesect's attack stats will always be boosted when it switches in. Because of Download, Genesect's above average base 120 attack stats will become the equivalent of a monstrous uninvested 189 base Attack with 0 EVs, and near an even more murderous base fully invested 205 Attack with 252 EVs!

All of Genesect's excellent qualities may make it look like the beginning of the end for humanity, but fortunately for us humans (and unfortunately for Skynet), Genesect doesn't have what it takes to bring forth the apocalypse alone! Genesect's greatest flaw is that unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger, this android assassin isn't very durable, with even unboosted Scarfed Draco Meteors and Life Orb Mewtwo's unboosted Psystrike chipping off over 50% of the insectinator's health, which means that most neutral hits in Ubers will fry Genesect's CPU. Also, because Genesect constantly switches out due to U-turn, Stealth Rock's and Spikes's prominence in Ubers and the difficulty in spinning will quickly wear down Genesect's exoskeleton, making its warranty even shorter than usual. Finally, while Genesect does take advantage of an Attack boost from Download via U-turn, it's a shame that the only other worthwhile physical attacks Genesect has are Iron Head and Explosion. However, once you get past the durability and movepool issues, you're still left with one of the most dangerous U-turn users the game has to offer. So while Genesect may not cause the end of the world as we know it, much like the Terminator, Genesect is one hell of a lethal machine!

[SET]
name: Physically Based Choice Scarf
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Explosion / Flamethrower
move 4: Iron Head / Flamethrower
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Naive / Hasty
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Equipped with a high speed Choice Scarf processor, this model of Genesect is one of the most dangerous scouting machines in existence! U-turn is key to Genesect's success at wearing down organic beings, allowing Genesect to deal a good amount of damage to the enemy while allowing your army to keep control of the offensive momentum. Even without a Download boost, Genesect can still deal 66.7% - 79.7% to Mewtwo and 83.7% - 100% to Darkrai (a 74% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock damage). After a Download boost, Genesect's scouting duties become much more dangerous to the opponent, allowing U-turn to OHKO Mewtwo, Latias, and Latios, and also inflicting 52-61% to 4 HP Kyogre, 50-59% to Timid Palkia, 45-53% to Timid Kyurem-W, and 62-74% to max HP Grass Arceus.

Ice Beam is one of Choice Scarf Genesect's main tools for assassination, allowing it to outspeed and terminate threats that are 4x weak to Ice such as Dragon Dance Rayquaza, Garchomp, Shaymin-S, Gliscor, Salamence, and Landorus. With the power of Download, Genesect's Ice Beam can also severely damage 252 HP Groudon (who takes 64-76%) and 4 HP Zekrom (who takes 70-83%).

While Explosion's power has dwindled this generation, a Download boost will ensure that Genesect's sacrifice won't be in vain, allowing the metallic martyr to vaporize max HP Kyogre, max HP Ho-Oh, Palkia, Reshiram, and Kyurem-W. In emergencies, you can even use Genesect's ExtremeSpeed resistance to wear down a Normal Arceus with an unboosted Explosion, dealing 49-58% to max HP Arceus and 57-68% to 4 HP Arceus. While Iron Head offers poor coverage, Genesect's hyperalloy skull shatters Kyurem-W after the Download boost, and before the boost, deals 83-98% to Terrakion and 63-75% to Kyurem-B. Iron Head also has a 30% chance of flinching, allowing Genesect to infuriate even the most well-prepared general if Lady Luck is on your side.

If you are willing to give up Explosion or Iron Head, Genesect has two other options to choose from. Flamethrower is Genesect's best chance of hurting most Steel-types in the sun, allowing it to OHKO Forretress, Skarmory, and Scizor (assuming a Download boost), deal 92-100% to Ferrothorn, and 2HKO Excadrill. Be warned though, if your army has rain support, Flamethrower becomes pathetically weak, only being able to 2HKO Forretress and Scizor. The final, most niche choice is X-Scissor. X-Scissor deals less damage to Ghosts, both Kyurem, Terrakion, and has no chance of flinching which usually makes it a less effective weapon than Iron Head, but the extra damage done to Mewtwo, Darkrai, Latias, Kyogre, and Palkia can help Genesect clean through some weakened armies more easily after a boost. One final configuration to note is your Genesect's nature. Naive allows Genesect to take less from priority attacks like ExtremeSpeed, while Hasty allows Genesect to take a bit less from the many powerful special Dragon attacks.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Genesect's Choice Scarf processor and scouting routines with U-turn make it an incredibly independent machine that can work on almost any kind of army, but there are a few things to consider that can make Genesect even more effective than usual. Always try to take advantage of Genesect's common switch-ins, which include Ho-Oh, Lugia, Ghost Arceus, Giratina, Dialga, and most other Steel-type Pokemon. While checking these Pokemon isn't a bad idea, one of the best ways to take advantage of U-turn is to pair Genesect with powerful, momentum shifting teammates. Choice Scarf and Choice Specs Kyogre are a great example of this, not only setting up rain, but also giving Kyogre the perfect opportunity to unleash a healthy Water Spout depending on the enemy. Choice Kyogre also does a good job of drowning Ho-Oh, Ghost Arceus, and Forretress. Life Orb Deoxys-A is another prime example of a great Genesect teammate, using Genesect's U-turn support to patch up its issue with switching in, and letting loose insanely powerful Psycho Boosts. If your army prefers a Pokemon who can take a hit but still offers similar power to Deoxys-A, then Kyurem-W is an excellent alternative. With Choice Specs or Life Orb, almost nothing can switch into Kyurem-W's super powerful Draco Meteors besides Steel-types and Chansey/Blissey, and Fusion Flare and Focus Blast will smash most Steel-types, while Choice Specs can defeat Blissey and Chansey with Focus Blast and hazards support. Choice Specs Kyurem-W is also a good response to most Giratina and Dialga switch-ins after a U-turn. Other Dragon-type Pokemon with powerful Draco Meteors like Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia, Latios, and Reshiram will also perform a good job of complimenting Genesect's U-turn support if Kyurem-W doesn't fit into your team. If your team has sun support, Ho-Oh can be great soldier to pair with Genesect. Several of the Pokemon Genesect lures in have serious issues with Ho-Oh in the sun (such as Ferrothorn, Dialga, and Ghost Arceus). Ho-Oh can use Genesect's Fire weaknesses as a great time to switch-in, and thanks to Regenerator and Roost, Ho-Oh can be a great U-turn partner for a longer time than most of Genesect's regular teammates. While Terrakion has issues with Ghost Arceus and Giratina, it does a great job of smashing through Dialga and Ferrothorn with Close Combat, and ripping Ho-Oh to shreds with Stone Edge. Choice Band Landorus-T can also defeat Dialga, Ferrothorn (if you have Superpower), and Ho-Oh, and can use its own U-turn to form a momentum keeping partnership with Genesect. Finally, while Darkrai doesn't have the powerful unboosted attacks like the former teammates, Genesect's U-turn support gives Darkrai the perfect opportunity to put a lifeform to sleep with Dark Void, and it still does a good job of scaring out Giratina, Ghost Arceus, and Lugia.

Genesect's biggest problem is being worn down by Stealth Rock and Spikes, but ironically Genesect also loves hazards support to make switching out of U-turn more punishing than usual. While Genesect doesn't need Spikes and Rapid Spin support to function, it can make the hyperalloy scout a more effective soldier. Tentacruel is one of the best Rapid Spin users teammates around for Genesect, with its resistance to Genesect's only weakness, Fire, while Genesect can revenge kill some of Tentacruel's problems such as Mewtwo and Latios. While it does share the Fire weakness, Excadrill can Rapid Spin, and offers Stealth Rock and the ability to slam Dialga with a STAB Earthquake. Forretress can provide Genesect with Rapid Spin and Spikes support to punish your enemy for switching out, and even has access to Volt Switch to keep momentum on your army's side. If you just need a Spiker, then Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Deoxys-S, and Deoxys-A are still fine choices if your army doesn't need Rapid Spin support. While a more risky option than spinning, Genesect can be paired with one of the two Magic Bounce users, Espeon or Xatu, to take care of hazards. Another option for extending Genesect's warranty is to pair it with the viable Wish users of Ubers, Chansey, Blissey, and Jirachi. One final thing to note is that if your team deals with entry hazards and has Drought support, Ho-Oh is an even greater teammate than usual!

[SET]
name: Specially Based Choice Scarf
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Bug Buzz / Flamethrower / Thunder
move 4: Flamethrower / Thunder
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Naive / Hasty
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

While Genesect has the usual Choice Scarf processor, this model takes a radically different approach to using it. Instead of focusing on wearing down the opposition with fast, boosted U-turns, this model of Genesect invests in Special Attack EVs to take advantage of its excellent special attacking movepool, allowing Genesect to have an easier time cleaning teams and gain new KOs vs several threats in Ubers. As a side effect, U-turn is significantly less powerful, now needing Stealth Rock to OHKO 160 HP Latias 79% of the time. Despite this setback, U-turn will still be Genesect's most commonly used attack because of its ability to scout and wear down the enemy army.

Ice Beam is still Genesect's weapon of choice for the many Pokemon in Ubers that are 4x weak to Ice, and thanks to the Special Attack investment, a boosted Ice Beam will now almost always terminate minimum HP Zekrom and minimum HP Groudon after Stealth Rock damage. Additionally, a boosted Ice Beam can now 2HKO physically defensive Giratina and max HP Ground Arceus.

There are 3 viable special attacking weapons left in this model's arsenal, the right combination of them greatly depends on your army's needs. While Bug Buzz may seem like a redundant weapon with U-turn, it does a great job of helping Genesect sweep through weakened teams after a Special Attack boost. For example, a +1 Bug Buzz will OHKO Darkrai and Mewtwo, and also 2HKO fairly bulky offensive Pokemon like Latias, Groudon, Zekrom, Kyurem-W, and minimum HP Kyogre. Flamethrower is still Genesect's weapon of choice for most Steel-type Pokemon, and the extra Special Attack investment this model has makes it Genesect's most powerful weapon in the sun, giving +1 Genesect a 91% chance of 2HKOing max HP Arceus. Finally, while most of Thunder's targets give Genesect an Attack boost, it still allows Genesect to 2HKO max HP Kyogre and Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock damage. With a Special Attack boost, Genesect can also 2HKO Lugia after Stealth Rock damage, OHKO Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock damage, 2HKO Forretress, and OHKO Skarmory.

If your army is dead set on having Bug Buzz to ease cleaning, then Flamethrower is the best final choice on sun teams for the extra power, while Thunder is the best choice on rain teams for 100% accuracy and the ability to still OHKO Skarmory and 2HKO Forretress. If your army has both Kyogre and Groudon, or if you feel that better coverage trumps easier cleaning power, then you can use both Thunder and Flamethrower over Bug Buzz.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

There are several different EV modifications for this model of Genesect that may fit your army better if you are willing to make a few sacrifices. If you are willing to give up on some cleaning power and the ability to always OHKO min HP Zekrom after Stealth Rock, you can opt to use an EV spread of 88 Atk / 196 SpA / 224 Spe. The Attack EVs allow Genesect to OHKO offensive Mewtwo and 160 HP Latias after Stealth Rock damage with a boosted U-turn, while the 224 Speed EVs allow Genesect to still outspeed Dragon Dance Rayquaza.

 If your army is fine with sacrificing Genesect's revenge killing power vs Dragon Dance Rayquaza and the many Choice Scarf users of Ubers, you can elect to use a Rash nature for more Special Attack. In addition to allowing Genesect to clean through weakened armies more easily, Rash will also allow Genesect's boosted Ice Beam to OHKO max HP Groudon after Stealth Rock damage, and OHKO max HP Kyogre with Thunder with Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes. Furthermore, if your army is fine with not being able to outspeed neutral natured base 90 Choice Scarf users like Kyogre, you can use an EV spread of 136 Atk / 252 SpA / 120 Spe. 120 Speed EVs is enough for Choice Scarf Genesect to outspeed Mewtwo, while the remaining 136 EVs give U-turn a healthy increase in power, now allowing Genesect's +1 U-turn to always OHKO Mewtwo after Stealth Rock, and always 2HKO Timid Palkia after Stealth Rock.

The final viable EV spread for Rash is 252 Atk / 136 SpA / 120 Spe. This Genesect still has a higher Special Attack stat than the standard special Scarf model by 2 points, but it also has the same Attack stat as the physical Scarf set, allowing you to use Explosion or Iron Head over the usual coverage moves if you are willing to give up more revenge killing power.

Because this Genesect model is the preferred set for cleaning through weakened teams, adding Spikes to the usual Stealth Rock support can make this set much more effective. Deoxys-S, Deoxys-A, and Froslass are good examples of Spikers for offensive teams, but more defensive Spikers like Ferrothorn, Forretress, and Skarmory are reasonable options for some teams as well.

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Thunder
move 4: Flamethrower / Hidden Power Fighting
item: Expert Belt
nature: Hasty / Naive
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Choice Scarf Genesect's amazing revenge killing power can be difficult to replace, but if you are willing to take the risks, Expert Belt Genesect can provide benefits to your army that few Pokemon can match. In addition to netting Genesect even more KOs than usual, Expert Belt is a great bluffing item, allowing your army to get surprise KOs vs many slower Pokemon that think you will be forced to switch out due to Choice Scarf.

As usual, U-turn is Genesect's weapon for scouting, and it does a good job of fooling the enemy into thinking your Genesect is a specially based Choice Scarf set. Ice Beam will do far more than just terminate the usual 4x weak Pokemon, as a Special Attack boost allows Ice Beam to OHKO Groudon and mixed Giratina-O, and 2HKO physically defensive Giratina. Thunder zaps Kyogre, Lugia, and Ho-Oh, and with a Download boost, it will OHKO Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock damage, OHKO Lugia after Stealth Rock damage 56% of the time, and OHKO max HP Kyogre 62% of the time after Stealth Rock damage. +1 Flamethrower will OHKO most Steel-types in the sun, but even if the weather is rainy, Genesect can still 2HKO Ferrothorn and OHKO Forretress after Stealth Rock damage. If your army has Drizzle support, Hidden Power Fighting can be an appealing alternative to Flamethrower, with +1 Hidden Power Fighting being able to 2HKO support Dialga, Excadrill, and Ferrothorn at the cost of being walled by Jirachi.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

While Expert Belt is the preferred item for its luring capabilities, Life Orb can still be a reasonable choice. While Life Orb will cut Genesect's warranty when combined with U-turn and hazards damage, it does gain some new KOs. A boosted Ice Beam will now always terminate max HP Groudon, and 2HKO specially defensive Giratina after Stealth Rock damage. Also, boosted Thunders will now OHKO Kyogre and Lugia after Stealth Rock damage, while boosted Flamethrowers in the sun will now 2HKO support Dialga. Finally, Genesect's U-turn will now become far more powerful, now being able to do 50% to max HP Kyogre after a boost.

If your army is willing to give up the amazing momentum keeper in U-turn, you can opt to replace U-turn with Rock Polish, and use a Timid nature. As a Speed-boosting cleaner, Genesect has trouble competing directly with Groudon and Landorus-T due to its reliance on a Download boost. However, Genesect can still do a good job of hitting Pokemon hard with its good coverage, so the strategy behind Rock Polish Genesect is to play it much like the regular special attacking set, and focus more on using Rock Polish as a more situational / surprise set-up move, rather than the kind of sweeper you may focus a team around supporting. Note that if you want to destroy healthy Mewtwo and Darkrai and deal a good amount of damage to Latias, Thunder or Flamethrower will need to be replaced with Bug Buzz.

Another alternate approach to this model of Genesect is to use a mixed attacking EV spread of 128 Atk / 128 SpA / 252 Spe with a Life Orb. The Special Attack EVs give Ice Beam enough power to OHKO max HP Groudon after Stealth Rock damage, 2HKO support Dialga in the sun, and deal around 1% less damage than Expert Belt Genesect vs most other Pokemon. With the Attack investment, you can now run Explosion or Iron Head over Thunder or Flamethrower. Explosion is insanely powerful after a boost, being able to terminate max HP Arceus and max HP Kyogre after Stealth Rock damage, and even deal 52-62% to support Dialga! Iron Head on the other hand, allows Genesect to crush both Kyurem formes and 2HKO max HP Arceus after Stealth Rock damage.

The most valuable support you can give any of these special attacking Genesect sets is paralysis support, because most Pokemon that outspeed Genesect can crash its hard drive. Thunder Wave Kyogre is a superb teammate for this, with its ability to lure in Latias, Palkia, and Grass Arceus, none of which like taking boosted U-turns. Fighting Arceus still does a good job of luring in Latias, but can also attract Mewtwo and deal with Dialga that switch into Genesect's U-turn. Groudon can also attract Latias, but can also paralyze fast Lugia switch-ins to prevent it from stalling Genesect with Roost. While Jirachi may unfortunately share Genesect's Fire weakness, it does a good job of spreading paralysis with Thunder Wave, Thunder, or Body Slam, and can extend Genesect's warranty with Wish support. Ferrothorn is also a good paralysis spreader that can also extend Genesect's lifespan with Leech Seed. Finally, while Thundurus must often sacrifice itself to paralyze fast Pokemon via Prankster Thunder Wave, many of these fast Pokemon will take a serious amount of damage from Genesect's attacks.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Explosion
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Ice Beam / Flamethrower
item: Choice Band
nature: Hasty / Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

A Choice Band processor may seem like an odd choice considering Genesect's narrow physical movepool, but when combined with Download, Genesect can fire off U-turns so powerful that any lifeform that doesn't resist it will take an incredible amount of damage. For example, +1 U-turn can deal near or over 50% to Ferrothorn, max HP Kyogre, max HP Arceus, offensive Groudon, bulky Excadrill, Zekrom, Tentacruel, and Jirachi. Even Rayquaza, defensive Groudon, and Lugia will usually take over 35% from these monstrous boosted U-turns!

The other big selling point of Choice Band Genesect is Explosion. Explosion already deals plenty of damage coming from Choice Scarf Genesect, so when Choice Band Genesect unleashes uses it, Explosion will deal such ungodly amounts of damage that even Skynet would consider it a worthy addition to its nuclear arsenal! A +1 Explosion is so powerful that even Steel Arceus, Skarmory, Forretress, and specially defensive Dialga can take over 60% from it, leaving the only three Ubers viable Pokemon who don't resist a boosted Explosion that can survive it after Stealth Rock damage: defensive Groudon, defensive Normal Arceus, and defensive Landorus-T, and even those three usually still take over 80%!

Iron Head pairs well with U-turn and Explosion, and when boosted, allows Genesect's reinforced skull to 2HKO Ghost Arceus, Giratina-O, and Excadrill, and after Stealth Rock damage, 2HKO Ho-Oh, Lugia, specially defensive Giratina, and Reshiram. Finally, while this may be a Choice Band set, Genesect still appreciates a special attack to help patch up its poor coverage. Ice Beam will let Genesect OHKO Rayquaza and 2HKO defensive Groudon, while Flamethrower is Genesect's best non suicidal attack vs Skarmory and Forretress.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

This model of Genesect does best when it has paralysis support, so Thunder Wave Kyogre, Groudon, and Fighting Arceus are good teammates for luring in and crippling Latias. While Jirachi may share Genesect's Fire weakness, it's one of the few paralysis spreaders that can keep Genesect alive longer via Wish. Ferrothorn won't restore as much health as Jirachi, but it can take on Kyogre that lack Choice Specs when Genesect is locked into Iron Head. Thundurus is one of the few paralysis spreaders that has a powerful scouting move in Volt Switch to support your army, though it must often sacrifice itself to paralyze faster enemies like Mewtwo and Darkrai. Dialga also deserves special mention for its ability to not only paralyze the enemy with Thunder Wave, but also scare out the physically defensive Giratina that attempt to switch-in.

[Other Options]

While Genesect may be dangerous, Skynet didn't give this terminator model a very wide movepool. Charge Beam can be used to boost Genesect's Special Attack, but Genesect is usually better off predicting its defensive switch-ins instead of hoping for another Special Attack boost. Flame Charge can boost Genesect's Speed, but is mostly outclassed by Rock Polish. Dark Pulse is the hardest Genesect can hit Ghost Arceus, but its usefulness ends there. Thunderbolt allows Genesect to always hit Ho-Oh in the sun, but it's such a weak move vs Kyogre that Thunder is better most of the time. Metal Sound can be used to scare many walls with the idea of getting KOed, but their ability to simply switch makes this strategy only useful with entry hazards.

Choice Specs may seem like a natural fit for Genesect's great special attacking movepool, but the choice restrictions and the inability to boost U-turn's power make this one of Genesect's lesser sets. Insect Plate can be used to boost Genesect's U-turn power, but Choice Band is usually the better way to go for powerful U-turns.

[Checks and Counters]

Genesect is out there. It can't be bargained with; it can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead. What makes Genesect even more difficult to counter than most cyberkinetic assassins however, is it's habit of U-turning out of the battlefield before you can say "Hasta la vista baby!" Thankfully, you can exploit Genesect's U-turn strategies by setting up Spikes and Stealth Rock, which will force the synthetic assassin to sacrifice 25% of its health each time it scouts. Ferrothorn in particular can use most of Genesect's non super effective or scouting attacks to set up Spikes, while Forretress and Skarmory can set up Spikes on physically based Genesect that aren't U-turning.

While Genesect may be difficult to directly counter, there are several Pokemon that can take most of its attacks. Bulky Ghost Arceus is one of the best checks in the game, as it can take on most of Genesect's attacks, and can even threaten to set up Calm Mind when Genesect doesn't U-turn. Steel Arceus can also generally out-machine Genesect as long as it doesn't switch into a boosted Flamethrower in the sun. Specially defensive Dialga braces anything except boosted Flamethrowers in the sun and Hidden Power Fighting, and can threaten to OHKO Genesect with a Fire attack of its choice. Heatran defeats Genesect even more easily than Dialga thanks to Flash Fire. Provided that it's raining, bulky Excadrill isn't 2HKOed by anything but a boosted Hidden Power Fighting, and can hit Genesect hard with Earthquake. Ho-Oh can take anything but Explosion and Thunder, and use Genesect as the perfect time to set up a Substitute. In a similar manner as Ho-Oh, Reshiram and Fire Arceus can switch into most of Genesect's attacks, and threaten to either set up or unleash powerful sun-boosted Fire attacks. Specially defensive Giratina isn't 2HKOed by any of Genesect's moves (with the exception of a Life Orb +1 Ice Beam), and can threaten to either phaze or cripple Genesect's scouting power with Will-O-Wisp. As far as more situational checks go, Blaziken can switch into U-turn with its 4x Bug resistance to get a free Speed Boost turn, while Wobbuffet can trap and revenge kill any Choice Scarf Genesect that isn't locked into a Bug attack.

Non-Choice Genesect can be a bit trickier to directly counter due to Download and its excellent coverage, but generally, any Pokemon that is faster than Genesect in Ubers has a good chance of crashing its hard drive after a kill, such as the Mewtwo, Palkia, Hidden Power Fire Latias, and most Choice Scarf Pokemon.

[gp]1/2[/gp]

Theorymon · Jan 13, 2013

Made the GP check, just need one more!

NatGeo · Jan 13, 2013

[Overview]

Rising from the ashes of the nuclear fire, the Team Plasma Systems Model 101, Genesect, finally comes to the present! Scizor may be the first thing to come in mind when you think of "Steel / Bug type Pokemon that maintains momentum with U-turn", but Genesect brings a whole new twist on the familiar role thanks to its many unique attributes. Unlike Scizor, Genesect has a good base 99 Speed and an excellent special movepool, that, when combined with a Choice Scarf chip, allows Genesect to revenge kill dominant life forms such as Groudon, Mewtwo, Rayquaza, and Darkrai. Skynet's new warrior is also equipped with a top of the line combat ability in Download, which means one of Genesect's attack stats will always be boosted when it switches in. Because of Download, Genesect's above average base 120 attack stats will become the equivalent of a monstrous uninvested 189 base Attack with 0 EVs, and near an even more murderous base fully invested 205 Attack with 252 EVs!

All of Genesect's excellent qualities may make it look like the beginning of the end for humanity, but fortunately for us humans (and unfortunately for Skynet), Genesect doesn't have what it takes to bring forth the apocalypse alone! Genesect's greatest flaw is that unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger, this ~~android~~robotic assassin isn't very durable, with even unboosted Draco Meteors and Life Orb Mewtwo's unboosted Psystrike chipping off over 50% of the insectinator's health, which means that most neutral hits in Ubers will fry Genesect's CPU. Also, because Genesect constantly switches out due to U-turn, the prominence of Stealth Rock's and Spikes~~'s prominence~~ in Ubers and the difficulty in spinning will quickly wear down Genesect's exoskeleton, making its warranty even shorter than usual. Finally, while Genesect does take advantage of an Attack boost from Download via U-turn, it's a shame that the only other worthwhile physical attacks Genesect has are Iron Head and Explosion. However, once you get past the durability and movepool issues, you're still left with one of the most dangerous U-turn users the game has to offer. So while Genesect may not cause the end of the world as we know it, Genesect, much like the Terminator, ~~Genesect~~ is one hell of a lethal machine!

[SET]
name: Physically Based Choice Scarf
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Explosion / Flamethrower
move 4: Iron Head / Flamethrower
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Naive / Hasty
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Equipped with a high speed Choice Scarf processor, this model of Genesect is one of the most dangerous scouting machines in existence! U-turn is key to Genesect's success at wearing down organic beings, allowing Genesect to deal a good amount of damage to the enemy while allowing your army to keep control of the offensive momentum. Even without a Download boost, Genesect can still deal 66.7% - 79.7% to Mewtwo and 83.7% - 100% to Darkrai (a 74% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock damage). After a Download boost, Genesect's scouting duties become much more dangerous to the opponent, allowing U-turn to OHKO Mewtwo, Latias, and Latios, and also inflicting 52-61% to 4 HP Kyogre, 50-59% to Timid Palkia, 45-53% to Timid Kyurem-W, and 62-74% to max HP Grass Arceus.

Ice Beam is one of Choice Scarf Genesect's main tools for assassination, allowing it to outspeed and terminate threats that are 4x weak to Ice such as Dragon Dance Rayquaza, Garchomp, Shaymin-S, Gliscor, Salamence, and Landorus. With the power of Download, Genesect's Ice Beam can also severely damage 252 HP Groudon (who takes 64-76%) and 4 HP Zekrom (who takes 70-83%).

While Explosion's power has dwindled this generation, a Download boost will ensure that Genesect's sacrifice won't be in vain, allowing the metallic martyr to vaporize max HP Kyogre, max HP Ho-Oh, Palkia, Reshiram, and Kyurem-W. In emergencies, you can even use Genesect's ExtremeSpeed resistance to wear down a Normal Arceus with an unboosted Explosion, dealing 49-58% to max HP Arceus and 57-68% to 4 HP Arceus. While Iron Head offers poor coverage, Genesect's hyperalloy skull shatters Kyurem-W after the Download boost, and before the boost, deals 83-98% to Terrakion and 63-75% to Kyurem-B. Iron Head also has a 30% chance of flinching, allowing Genesect to infuriate even the most well-prepared general if Lady Luck is on your side.

If you are willing to give up Explosion or Iron Head, Genesect has two other options to choose from. Flamethrower is Genesect's best chance of hurting most Steel-types in the sun, allowing it to OHKO Forretress, Skarmory, and Scizor (assuming a Download boost), deal 92-100% to Ferrothorn, and 2HKO Excadrill. Be warned though, if your army has rain support, Flamethrower becomes pathetically weak, only being able to 2HKO Forretress and Scizor. The final, most niche choice is X-Scissor. X-Scissor deals less damage to Ghosts, both Kyurem, Terrakion, and has no chance of flinching which usually makes it a less effective weapon than Iron Head, but the extra damage done to Mewtwo, Darkrai, Latias, Kyogre, and Palkia can help Genesect clean through some weakened armies more easily after a boost. One final configuration to note is your Genesect's nature. Naive allows Genesect to take less from physical priority attacks like ExtremeSpeed, while Hasty allows Genesect to take a bit less from the many powerful special Dragon attacks.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Genesect's Choice Scarf processor and scouting routines with U-turn make it an incredibly independent machine that can work on almost any kind of army, but there are a few things to consider that can make Genesect even more effective than usual. Always try to take advantage of Genesect's common switch-ins, which include Ho-Oh, Lugia, Ghost Arceus, Giratina, Dialga, and most other Steel-type Pokemon. While checking these Pokemon isn't a bad idea, one of the best ways to take advantage of U-turn is to pair Genesect with powerful, momentum shifting teammates. Choice Scarf and Choice Specs Kyogre are a great example of this, not only setting up rain, but also giving Kyogre the perfect opportunity to unleash a healthy Water Spout depending on the enemy. Choice Kyogre also does a good job of drowning Ho-Oh, Ghost Arceus, and Forretress. Life Orb Deoxys-A is another ~~prime~~ example of a great Genesect teammate, using Genesect's U-turn support to patch up its issue with switching in, and letting loose insanely powerful Psycho Boosts. If your army prefers a Pokemon who can take a hit but still offers similar power to Deoxys-A, then Kyurem-W is an excellent alternative. With Choice Specs or Life Orb, almost nothing can switch into Kyurem-W's super powerful Draco Meteors besides Steel-types and Chansey/Blissey, and Fusion Flare and Focus Blast will smash most Steel-types, while Choice Specs can defeat Blissey and Chansey with Focus Blast and hazards support. Choice Specs Kyurem-W is also a good response to most Giratina and Dialga switch-ins after a U-turn. Other Dragon-type Pokemon with powerful Draco Meteors like Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia, Latios, and Reshiram will also perform a good job of complimenting Genesect's U-turn support if Kyurem-W doesn't fit into your team. If your team has sun support, Ho-Oh can be great soldier to pair with Genesect. Several of the Pokemon Genesect lures in have serious issues with Ho-Oh in the sun (such as Ferrothorn, Dialga, and Ghost Arceus). Ho-Oh can use Genesect's Fire weaknesses as a great time to switch-in, and thanks to Regenerator and Roost, Ho-Oh can be a great U-turn partner for a longer time than most of Genesect's regular teammates. While Terrakion has issues with Ghost Arceus and Giratina, it does a great job of smashing through Dialga and Ferrothorn with Close Combat, and ripping Ho-Oh to shreds with Stone Edge. Choice Band Landorus-T can also defeat Dialga, Ferrothorn (if you have Superpower), and Ho-Oh, and can use its own U-turn to form a momentum -keeping partnership with Genesect. Finally, while Darkrai doesn't have the powerful unboosted attacks like the former teammates, Genesect's U-turn support gives Darkrai the perfect opportunity to put a life form to sleep with Dark Void, and it still does a good job of scaring out Giratina, Ghost Arceus, and Lugia.

Genesect's biggest problem is being worn down by Stealth Rock and Spikes, but ironically Genesect also loves hazards support to make switching out of U-turn more punishing than usual. While Genesect doesn't need Spikes and Rapid Spin support to function, it can make the hyperalloy scout a more effective soldier. Tentacruel is one of the best Rapid Spin users around for Genesect, with ~~its~~a resistance to Genesect's only weakness, Fire~~, while~~. Genesect can also revenge kill some of Tentacruel's problems such as Mewtwo and Latios. While it does share the Fire weakness, Excadrill can use Rapid Spin, ~~and~~ offers Stealth Rock, and has the ability to slam Dialga with a STAB Earthquake. Forretress can provide Genesect with Rapid Spin and Spikes support to punish your enemy for switching out, and even has access to Volt Switch to keep momentum on your army's side. If you just need a Spiker, then Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Deoxys-S, and Deoxys-A are still fine choices if your army doesn't need Rapid Spin support. While a more risky option than spinning, Genesect can be paired with one of the two Magic Bounce users, Espeon or Xatu, to take care of hazards. Another option for extending Genesect's warranty is to pair it with the viable Wish users of Ubers,: Chansey, Blissey, and Jirachi. One final thing to note is that if your team deals with entry hazards and has Drought support, Ho-Oh is an even greater teammate than usual!

[SET]
name: Specially Based Choice Scarf
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Bug Buzz / Flamethrower / Thunder
move 4: Flamethrower / Thunder
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Naive / Hasty
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

While Genesect has the usual Choice Scarf processor, this model takes a radically different approach to using it. Instead of focusing on wearing down the opposition with fast, boosted U-turns, this model of Genesect invests in Special Attack EVs to take advantage of its excellent special attacking movepool, allowing Genesect to have an easier time cleaning teams and gain new KOs vs several threats in Ubers. As a side effect, U-turn is significantly less powerful, now needing Stealth Rock to OHKO 160 HP Latias 79% of the time. Despite this setback, U-turn will still be Genesect's most commonly used attack because of its ability to scout and wear down the enemy army.

Ice Beam is Genesect's weapon of choice for the many Pokemon in Ubers that are 4x weak to Ice, and thanks to the Special Attack investment, a boosted Ice Beam will almost always terminate minimum HP Zekrom and minimum HP Groudon after Stealth Rock damage. Additionally, a boosted Ice Beam can 2HKO physically defensive Giratina and max HP Ground Arceus.

There are 3 viable special attacking weapons left in this model's arsenal,; the right combination of them greatly depends on your army's needs. While Bug Buzz may seem like a redundant weapon with U-turn, it does a great job of helping Genesect sweep through weakened teams after a Special Attack boost. For example, a +1 Bug Buzz will OHKO Darkrai and Mewtwo, and also 2HKO fairly bulky offensive Pokemon like Latias, Groudon, Zekrom, Kyurem-W, and minimum HP Kyogre. Flamethrower is Genesect's weapon of choice for most Steel-type Pokemon, and the extra Special Attack investment this model has makes it Genesect's most powerful weapon in the sun, giving +1 Genesect a 91% chance of 2HKOing max HP Arceus. Finally, while most of Thunder's targets give Genesect an Attack boost, it still allows Genesect to 2HKO max HP Kyogre and Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock damage. With a Special Attack boost, Genesect can also 2HKO Lugia after Stealth Rock damage, OHKO Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock damage, 2HKO Forretress, and OHKO Skarmory.

If your army is dead set on having Bug Buzz to ease cleaning, then Flamethrower is the best final choice on sun teams for the extra power, while Thunder is the best choice on rain teams for 100% accuracy and the ability to still OHKO Skarmory and 2HKO Forretress. If your army has both Kyogre and Groudon, or if you feel that better coverage trumps easier cleaning power, then you can use both Thunder and Flamethrower over Bug Buzz.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

There are several different EV modifications for this model of Genesect that may fit your army better if you are willing to make a few sacrifices. If you are willing to give up on some cleaning power and the ability to always OHKO min HP Zekrom after Stealth Rock, you can opt to use an EV spread of 88 Atk / 196 SpA / 224 Spe. The Attack EVs allow Genesect to OHKO offensive Mewtwo and 160 HP Latias after Stealth Rock damage with a boosted U-turn, while the 224 Speed EVs allow Genesect to still outspeed Dragon Dance Rayquaza.

 If your army is fine with sacrificing Genesect's revenge killing power vs Dragon Dance Rayquaza and the many Choice Scarf users of Ubers, you can ~~elect~~choose to use a Rash nature for more Special Attack. In addition to allowing Genesect to clean through weakened armies more easily, Rash will also allow Genesect's boosted Ice Beam to OHKO max HP Groudon after Spikes damage, and OHKO max HP Kyogre with Thunder with Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes. Furthermore, if your army is fine with not being able to outspeed neutral natured base 90 Choice Scarf users like Kyogre, you can use an EV spread of 136 Atk / 252 SpA / 120 Spe. 120 Speed EVs is enough for Choice Scarf Genesect to outspeed Mewtwo, while the remaining 136 EVs give U-turn a healthy increase in power, now allowing Genesect's +1 U-turn to always OHKO Mewtwo after Stealth Rock, and always 2HKO Timid Palkia after Stealth Rock.

The final viable EV spread for Rash is 252 Atk / 136 SpA / 120 Spe. This Genesect still has a higher Special Attack stat than the standard special Scarf model by 2 points, but it also has the same Attack stat as the physical Scarf set, allowing you to use Explosion or Iron Head over the usual coverage moves if you are willing to give up more revenge killing power.

Because this Genesect model is the preferred set for cleaning through weakened teams, adding Spikes to the usual Stealth Rock support can make this set much more effective. Deoxys-S, Deoxys-A, and Froslass are good examples of Spikers for offensive teams, but more defensive Spikers like Ferrothorn, Forretress, and Skarmory are reasonable options for some teams as well.

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Thunder
move 4: Flamethrower / Hidden Power Fighting
item: Expert Belt
nature: Hasty / Naive
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Choice Scarf Genesect's amazing revenge killing power can be difficult to replace, but if you are willing to take the risks, Expert Belt Genesect can provide benefits to your army that few Pokemon can match. In addition to netting Genesect even more KOs than usual, Expert Belt is a great bluffing item, allowing your army to get surprise KOs vs many slower Pokemon that think you will be forced to switch out due to Choice Scarf.

As usual, U-turn is Genesect's weapon for scouting, and it does a good job of fooling the enemy into thinking your Genesect is a specially based Choice Scarf set. Ice Beam will do far more than just terminate the usual 4x weak Pokemon, as a Special Attack boost allows Ice Beam to OHKO Groudon and mixed Giratina-O, and 2HKO physically defensive Giratina. Thunder zaps Kyogre, Lugia, and Ho-Oh, and with a Download boost, it will OHKO Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock damage, OHKO Lugia after Stealth Rock damage 56% of the time, and OHKO max HP Kyogre 62% of the time after Stealth Rock damage. +1 Flamethrower will OHKO most Steel-types in the sun, but even if the weather is rainy, Genesect can still 2HKO Ferrothorn and OHKO Forretress after Stealth Rock damage. If your army has Drizzle support, Hidden Power Fighting can be an appealing alternative to Flamethrower, with +1 Hidden Power Fighting being able to 2HKO support Dialga, Excadrill, and Ferrothorn at the cost of being walled by Jirachi.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

While Expert Belt is the preferred item for its luring capabilities, Life Orb can still be a reasonable choice. While Life Orb will cut Genesect's warranty when combined with U-turn and hazards damage, it does gain some new KOs. A boosted Ice Beam will now always terminate max HP Groudon, and 2HKO specially defensive Giratina after Stealth Rock damage. Also, boosted Thunders will now OHKO Kyogre and Lugia after Stealth Rock damage, while boosted Flamethrowers in the sun will now 2HKO support Dialga. Finally, Genesect's U-turn will now become far more powerful, now being able to do 50% to max HP Kyogre after a boost.

If your army is willing to give up the amazing momentum keeper in U-turn, you can opt to replace U-turn with Rock Polish, and use a Timid nature. As a Speed-boosting cleaner, Genesect has trouble competing directly with Groudon and Landorus-T due to its reliance on a Download boost. However, Genesect can still do a ~~good~~nice job of hitting Pokemon hard with its good coverage, so the strategy behind Rock Polish Genesect is to play it much like the regular special attacking set, and focus more on using Rock Polish as a more situational / surprise set-up move, rather than the kind of sweeper you may focus a team around supporting. Note that if you want to destroy healthy Mewtwo and Darkrai and deal a good amount of damage to Latias, Thunder or Flamethrower will need to be replaced with Bug Buzz.

Another alternate approach to this model of Genesect is to use a mixed attacking EV spread of 128 Atk / 128 SpA / 252 Spe with a Life Orb. The Special Attack EVs give a boosted Ice Beam enough power to OHKO max HP Groudon after Stealth Rock damage, 2HKO support Dialga in the sun with boosted Flamethrower, and deal around 1% less damage than Expert Belt Genesect vs most other Pokemon. With the Attack investment, you can now run Explosion or Iron Head over Thunder or Flamethrower. Explosion is insanely powerful after a boost, being able to terminate max HP Arceus and max HP Kyogre after Stealth Rock damage, and even deal 52-62% to support Dialga! Iron Head on the other hand, allows Genesect to crush both Kyurem formes and 2HKO max HP Arceus after Stealth Rock damage.

The most valuable support you can give any of these special attacking Genesect sets is paralysis support, because most Pokemon that outspeed Genesect can crash its hard drive. Thunder Wave Kyogre is a superb teammate for this, with its ability to lure in Latias, Palkia, and Grass Arceus, none of which like taking boosted U-turns. Fighting Arceus still does a good job of luring in Latias, but can also attract Mewtwo and deal with Dialga that switch into Genesect's U-turn. Groudon can also attract Latias, but can also paralyze fast Lugia switch-ins to prevent it from stalling Genesect with Roost. While Jirachi may unfortunately share Genesect's Fire weakness, it does a good job of spreading paralysis with Thunder Wave, Thunder, or Body Slam, and can extend Genesect's warranty with Wish support. Ferrothorn is also a good paralysis spreader that can also extend Genesect's lifespan with Leech Seed. Finally, while Thundurus must often sacrifice itself to paralyze fast Pokemon via Prankster Thunder Wave, many of these fast Pokemon will take a serious amount of damage from Genesect's attacks.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Explosion
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Ice Beam / Flamethrower
item: Choice Band
nature: Hasty / Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

A Choice Band processor may seem like an odd choice considering Genesect's narrow physical movepool, but when combined with Download, Genesect can fire off U-turns so powerful that any lifeform that doesn't resist it will take an incredible amount of damage. For example, +1 U-turn can deal near or over 50% to Ferrothorn, max HP Kyogre, max HP Arceus, offensive Groudon, bulky Excadrill, Zekrom, Tentacruel, and Jirachi. Even Rayquaza, defensive Groudon, and Lugia will usually take over 35% from these monstrous boosted U-turns!

The other big selling point of Choice Band Genesect is Explosion. Explosion already deals plenty of damage coming from Choice Scarf Genesect, so when Choice Band Genesect unleashes it, Explosion will deal such ungodly amounts of damage that even Skynet would consider it a worthy addition to its nuclear arsenal! A +1 Explosion is so powerful that ~~even~~ Steel Arceus, Skarmory, Forretress, and specially defensive Dialga can take over 60% from it, leaving ~~the~~ only three Ubers viable Pokemon who don't resist a boosted Explosion that can survive it after Stealth Rock damage: defensive Groudon, defensive Normal Arceus, and defensive Landorus-T~~, and~~; even those three usually still take over 80%!

Iron Head pairs well with U-turn and Explosion, and when boosted, it allows Genesect's reinforced skull to 2HKO Ghost Arceus, Giratina-O, and Excadrill, and after Stealth Rock damage, it 2HKOes Ho-Oh, Lugia, specially defensive Giratina, and Reshiram. Finally, while this may be a Choice Band set, Genesect still appreciates a special attack to help patch up its poor coverage. Ice Beam will let Genesect OHKO Rayquaza and 2HKO defensive Groudon, while Flamethrower is Genesect's best non suicidal attack vs Skarmory and Forretress.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

This model of Genesect does best when it has paralysis support, so Thunder Wave Kyogre, Groudon, and Fighting Arceus are good teammates for luring in and crippling Latias. While Jirachi may share Genesect's Fire weakness, it's one of the few paralysis spreaders that can keep Genesect alive longer via Wish. Ferrothorn won't restore as much health as Jirachi, but it can take on Kyogre that lack Choice Specs when Genesect is locked into Iron Head. Thundurus is one of the few paralysis spreaders that has a powerful scouting move in Volt Switch to support your army, though it must often sacrifice itself to paralyze faster enemies like Mewtwo and Darkrai. Dialga also deserves special mention for its ability to not only paralyze the enemy with Thunder Wave, but also scare out the physically defensive Giratina that attempt to switch-in.

[Other Options]

While Genesect may be dangerous, Skynet didn't give this tTerminator model a very wide movepool. Charge Beam can be used to boost Genesect's Special Attack, but Genesect is usually better off predicting its defensive switch-ins instead of hoping for another Special Attack boost. Flame Charge can boost Genesect's Speed, but is mostly outclassed by Rock Polish. Dark Pulse is the hardest Genesect can hit Ghost Arceus, but its usefulness ends there. Thunderbolt allows Genesect to always hit Ho-Oh in the sun, but it's such a weak move vs Kyogre that Thunder is better most of the time. Metal Sound can be used to scare many walls with the idea of getting KOed, but their ability to simply switch makes this strategy only useful with entry hazards.

Choice Specs may seem like a natural fit for Genesect's great special attacking movepool, but the choice restrictions and the inability to boost U-turn's power make this one of Genesect's lesser sets. Insect Plate can be used to boost Genesect's U-turn power, but Choice Band is usually the better way to go for powerful U-turns.

[Checks and Counters]

Genesect is out there. It can't be bargained with; it can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead. WHowever, what makes Genesect even more difficult to counter than most cyberkinetic assassins ~~however,~~ is it's habit of U-turning out of the battlefield before you can say "Hasta la vista baby!". Thankfully, you can exploit Genesect's U-turn strategies by setting up Spikes and Stealth Rock, which will force the synthetic assassin to sacrifice 25% of its health each time it scouts. Ferrothorn in particular can use most of Genesect's non super effective or scouting attacks to set up Spikes, while Forretress and Skarmory can set up Spikes on physically based Genesect that aren't U-turning.

While Genesect may be difficult to directly counter, there are several Pokemon that can take most of its attacks. Bulky Ghost Arceus is one of the best checks in the game, as it can take on most of Genesect's attacks, and can even threaten to set up Calm Mind when Genesect doesn't U-turn. Steel Arceus can also generally out-machine Genesect as long as it doesn't switch into a boosted Flamethrower in the sun. Specially defensive Dialga braces anything except boosted Flamethrowers in the sun and Hidden Power Fighting, and can threaten to OHKO Genesect with a Fire attack of its choice. Heatran defeats Genesect even more easily than Dialga thanks to Flash Fire. Provided that it's raining, bulky Excadrill isn't 2HKOed by anything but a boosted Hidden Power Fighting, and it can hit Genesect hard with Earthquake. Ho-Oh can take anything but Explosion and Thunder, and use Genesect as the perfect time to set up a Substitute. In a similar manner as Ho-Oh, Reshiram and Fire Arceus can switch into most of Genesect's attacks, and threaten to either set up or unleash powerful sun-boosted Fire attacks. Specially defensive Giratina isn't 2HKOed by any of Genesect's moves (with the exception of a Life Orb +1 Ice Beam), and can threaten to either phaze or cripple Genesect's scouting power with Will-O-Wisp. As far as more situational checks go, Blaziken can switch into U-turn with its 4x Bug resistance to get a free Speed Boost turn, while Wobbuffet can trap and revenge kill any Choice Scarf Genesect that isn't locked into a Bug attack.

Non-Choice Genesect can be a bit trickier to directly counter due to Download and its excellent coverage, but generally, any Pokemon that is faster than Genesect in Ubers has a good chance of crashing its hard drive after a kill, such as the Mewtwo, Palkia, Hidden Power Fire Latias, and most Choice Scarf Pokemon.

[Overview]

Rising from the ashes of the nuclear fire, the Team Plasma Systems Model 101, Genesect, finally comes to the present! Scizor may be the first thing to come in mind when you think of "Steel / Bug type Pokemon that maintains momentum with U-turn", but Genesect brings a whole new twist on the familiar role thanks to its many unique attributes. Unlike Scizor, Genesect has a good base 99 Speed and an excellent special movepool that, when combined with a Choice Scarf chip, allows Genesect to revenge kill dominant life forms such as Groudon, Mewtwo, Rayquaza, and Darkrai. Skynet's new warrior is also equipped with a top of the line combat ability in Download, which means one of Genesect's attack stats will always be boosted when it switches in. Because of Download, Genesect's above average base 120 attack stats will become the equivalent of a monstrous uninvested 189 base Attack with 0 EVs, and near an even more murderous base fully invested 205 Attack with 252 EVs!

All of Genesect's excellent qualities may make it look like the beginning of the end for humanity, but fortunately for us humans (and unfortunately for Skynet), Genesect doesn't have what it takes to bring forth the apocalypse alone! Genesect's greatest flaw is that unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger, this robotic assassin isn't very durable, with even unboosted Draco Meteors and Life Orb Mewtwo's unboosted Psystrike chipping off over 50% of the insectinator's health, which means that most neutral hits in Ubers will fry Genesect's CPU. Also, because Genesect constantly switches out due to U-turn, the prominence of Stealth Rock and Spikes in Ubers and the difficulty in spinning will quickly wear down Genesect's exoskeleton, making its warranty even shorter than usual. Finally, while Genesect does take advantage of an Attack boost from Download via U-turn, it's a shame that the only other worthwhile physical attacks Genesect has are Iron Head and Explosion. However, once you get past the durability and movepool issues, you're still left with one of the most dangerous U-turn users the game has to offer. So while Genesect may not cause the end of the world as we know it, Genesect, much like the Terminator, is one hell of a lethal machine!

[SET]
name: Physically Based Choice Scarf
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Explosion / Flamethrower
move 4: Iron Head / Flamethrower
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Naive / Hasty
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Equipped with a high speed Choice Scarf processor, this model of Genesect is one of the most dangerous scouting machines in existence! U-turn is key to Genesect's success at wearing down organic beings, allowing Genesect to deal a good amount of damage to the enemy while allowing your army to keep control of the offensive momentum. Even without a Download boost, Genesect can still deal 66.7% - 79.7% to Mewtwo and 83.7% - 100% to Darkrai (a 74% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock damage). After a Download boost, Genesect's scouting duties become much more dangerous to the opponent, allowing U-turn to OHKO Mewtwo, Latias, and Latios, and also inflicting 52-61% to 4 HP Kyogre, 50-59% to Timid Palkia, 45-53% to Timid Kyurem-W, and 62-74% to max HP Grass Arceus.

Ice Beam is one of Choice Scarf Genesect's main tools for assassination, allowing it to outspeed and terminate threats that are 4x weak to Ice such as Dragon Dance Rayquaza, Garchomp, Shaymin-S, Gliscor, Salamence, and Landorus. With the power of Download, Genesect's Ice Beam can also severely damage 252 HP Groudon (who takes 64-76%) and 4 HP Zekrom (who takes 70-83%).

While Explosion's power has dwindled this generation, a Download boost will ensure that Genesect's sacrifice won't be in vain, allowing the metallic martyr to vaporize max HP Kyogre, max HP Ho-Oh, Palkia, Reshiram, and Kyurem-W. In emergencies, you can even use Genesect's ExtremeSpeed resistance to wear down a Normal Arceus with an unboosted Explosion, dealing 49-58% to max HP Arceus and 57-68% to 4 HP Arceus. While Iron Head offers poor coverage, Genesect's hyperalloy skull shatters Kyurem-W after the Download boost, and before the boost, deals 83-98% to Terrakion and 63-75% to Kyurem-B. Iron Head also has a 30% chance of flinching, allowing Genesect to infuriate even the most well-prepared general if Lady Luck is on your side.

If you are willing to give up Explosion or Iron Head, Genesect has two other options to choose from. Flamethrower is Genesect's best chance of hurting most Steel-types in the sun, allowing it to OHKO Forretress, Skarmory, and Scizor (assuming a Download boost), deal 92-100% to Ferrothorn, and 2HKO Excadrill. Be warned though, if your army has rain support, Flamethrower becomes pathetically weak, only being able to 2HKO Forretress and Scizor. The final, most niche choice is X-Scissor. X-Scissor deals less damage to Ghosts, both Kyurem, Terrakion, and has no chance of flinching which usually makes it a less effective weapon than Iron Head, but the extra damage done to Mewtwo, Darkrai, Latias, Kyogre, and Palkia can help Genesect clean through some weakened armies more easily after a boost. One final configuration to note is your Genesect's nature. Naive allows Genesect to take less from physical priority attacks like ExtremeSpeed, while Hasty allows Genesect to take a bit less from the many powerful special Dragon attacks.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Genesect's Choice Scarf processor and scouting routines with U-turn make it an incredibly independent machine that can work on almost any kind of army, but there are a few things to consider that can make Genesect even more effective than usual. Always try to take advantage of Genesect's common switch-ins, which include Ho-Oh, Lugia, Ghost Arceus, Giratina, Dialga, and most other Steel-type Pokemon. While checking these Pokemon isn't a bad idea, one of the best ways to take advantage of U-turn is to pair Genesect with powerful, momentum shifting teammates. Choice Scarf and Choice Specs Kyogre are a great example of this, not only setting up rain, but also giving Kyogre the perfect opportunity to unleash a healthy Water Spout depending on the enemy. Choice Kyogre also does a good job of drowning Ho-Oh, Ghost Arceus, and Forretress. Life Orb Deoxys-A is another example of a great Genesect teammate, using Genesect's U-turn support to patch up its issue with switching in, and letting loose insanely powerful Psycho Boosts. If your army prefers a Pokemon who can take a hit but still offers similar power to Deoxys-A, then Kyurem-W is an excellent alternative. With Choice Specs or Life Orb, almost nothing can switch into Kyurem-W's super powerful Draco Meteors besides Steel-types and Chansey/Blissey, and Fusion Flare and Focus Blast will smash most Steel-types, while Choice Specs can defeat Blissey and Chansey with Focus Blast and hazards support. Choice Specs Kyurem-W is also a good response to most Giratina and Dialga switch-ins after a U-turn. Other Dragon-type Pokemon with powerful Draco Meteors like Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia, Latios, and Reshiram will also perform a good job of complimenting Genesect's U-turn support if Kyurem-W doesn't fit into your team. If your team has sun support, Ho-Oh can be great soldier to pair with Genesect. Several of the Pokemon Genesect lures in have serious issues with Ho-Oh in the sun (such as Ferrothorn, Dialga, and Ghost Arceus). Ho-Oh can use Genesect's Fire weaknesses as a great time to switch-in, and thanks to Regenerator and Roost, Ho-Oh can be a great U-turn partner for a longer time than most of Genesect's regular teammates. While Terrakion has issues with Ghost Arceus and Giratina, it does a great job of smashing through Dialga and Ferrothorn with Close Combat, and ripping Ho-Oh to shreds with Stone Edge. Choice Band Landorus-T can also defeat Dialga, Ferrothorn (if you have Superpower), and Ho-Oh, and can use its own U-turn to form a momentum-keeping partnership with Genesect. Finally, while Darkrai doesn't have the powerful unboosted attacks like the former teammates, Genesect's U-turn support gives Darkrai the perfect opportunity to put a life form to sleep with Dark Void, and it still does a good job of scaring out Giratina, Ghost Arceus, and Lugia.

Genesect's biggest problem is being worn down by Stealth Rock and Spikes, but ironically Genesect also loves hazards support to make switching out of U-turn more punishing than usual. While Genesect doesn't need Spikes and Rapid Spin support to function, it can make the hyperalloy scout a more effective soldier. Tentacruel is one of the best Rapid Spin users around for Genesect, with a resistance to Genesect's only weakness, Fire. Genesect can also revenge kill some of Tentacruel's problems such as Mewtwo and Latios. While it does share the Fire weakness, Excadrill can use Rapid Spin, offers Stealth Rock, and has the ability to slam Dialga with a STAB Earthquake. Forretress can provide Genesect with Rapid Spin and Spikes support to punish your enemy for switching out, and even has access to Volt Switch to keep momentum on your army's side. If you just need a Spiker, then Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Deoxys-S, and Deoxys-A are still fine choices if your army doesn't need Rapid Spin support. While a more risky option than spinning, Genesect can be paired with one of the two Magic Bounce users, Espeon or Xatu, to take care of hazards. Another option for extending Genesect's warranty is to pair it with the viable Wish users of Ubers: Chansey, Blissey, and Jirachi. One final thing to note is that if your team deals with entry hazards and has Drought support, Ho-Oh is an even greater teammate than usual!

[SET]
name: Specially Based Choice Scarf
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Bug Buzz / Flamethrower / Thunder
move 4: Flamethrower / Thunder
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Naive / Hasty
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

While Genesect has the usual Choice Scarf processor, this model takes a radically different approach to using it. Instead of focusing on wearing down the opposition with fast, boosted U-turns, this model of Genesect invests in Special Attack EVs to take advantage of its excellent special attacking movepool, allowing Genesect to have an easier time cleaning teams and gain new KOs vs several threats in Ubers. As a side effect, U-turn is significantly less powerful, now needing Stealth Rock to OHKO 160 HP Latias 79% of the time. Despite this setback, U-turn will still be Genesect's most commonly used attack because of its ability to scout and wear down the enemy army.

Ice Beam is Genesect's weapon of choice for the many Pokemon in Ubers that are 4x weak to Ice, and thanks to the Special Attack investment, a boosted Ice Beam will almost always terminate minimum HP Zekrom and minimum HP Groudon after Stealth Rock damage. Additionally, a boosted Ice Beam can 2HKO physically defensive Giratina and max HP Ground Arceus.

There are 3 viable special attacking weapons left in this model's arsenal; the right combination of them greatly depends on your army's needs. While Bug Buzz may seem like a redundant weapon with U-turn, it does a great job of helping Genesect sweep through weakened teams after a Special Attack boost. For example, a +1 Bug Buzz will OHKO Darkrai and Mewtwo, and also 2HKO fairly bulky offensive Pokemon like Latias, Groudon, Zekrom, Kyurem-W, and minimum HP Kyogre. Flamethrower is Genesect's weapon of choice for most Steel-type Pokemon, and the extra Special Attack investment this model has makes it Genesect's most powerful weapon in the sun, giving +1 Genesect a 91% chance of 2HKOing max HP Arceus. Finally, while most of Thunder's targets give Genesect an Attack boost, it still allows Genesect to 2HKO max HP Kyogre and Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock damage. With a Special Attack boost, Genesect can also 2HKO Lugia after Stealth Rock damage, OHKO Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock damage, 2HKO Forretress, and OHKO Skarmory.

If your army is dead set on having Bug Buzz to ease cleaning, then Flamethrower is the best final choice on sun teams for the extra power, while Thunder is the best choice on rain teams for 100% accuracy and the ability to still OHKO Skarmory and 2HKO Forretress. If your army has both Kyogre and Groudon, or if you feel that better coverage trumps easier cleaning power, then you can use both Thunder and Flamethrower over Bug Buzz.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

There are several different EV modifications for this model of Genesect that may fit your army better if you are willing to make a few sacrifices. If you are willing to give up on some cleaning power and the ability to always OHKO min HP Zekrom after Stealth Rock, you can opt to use an EV spread of 88 Atk / 196 SpA / 224 Spe. The Attack EVs allow Genesect to OHKO offensive Mewtwo and 160 HP Latias after Stealth Rock damage with a boosted U-turn, while the 224 Speed EVs allow Genesect to still outspeed Dragon Dance Rayquaza.

 If your army is fine with sacrificing Genesect's revenge killing power vs Dragon Dance Rayquaza and the many Choice Scarf users of Ubers, you can choose to use a Rash nature for more Special Attack. In addition to allowing Genesect to clean through weakened armies more easily, Rash will also allow Genesect's boosted Ice Beam to OHKO max HP Groudon after Spikes damage, and OHKO max HP Kyogre with Thunder with Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes. Furthermore, if your army is fine with not being able to outspeed neutral natured base 90 Choice Scarf users like Kyogre, you can use an EV spread of 136 Atk / 252 SpA / 120 Spe. 120 Speed EVs is enough for Choice Scarf Genesect to outspeed Mewtwo, while the remaining 136 EVs give U-turn a healthy increase in power, now allowing Genesect's +1 U-turn to always OHKO Mewtwo after Stealth Rock, and always 2HKO Timid Palkia after Stealth Rock.

The final viable EV spread for Rash is 252 Atk / 136 SpA / 120 Spe. This Genesect still has a higher Special Attack stat than the standard special Scarf model by 2 points, but it also has the same Attack stat as the physical Scarf set, allowing you to use Explosion or Iron Head over the usual coverage moves if you are willing to give up more revenge killing power.

Because this Genesect model is the preferred set for cleaning through weakened teams, adding Spikes to the usual Stealth Rock support can make this set much more effective. Deoxys-S, Deoxys-A, and Froslass are good examples of Spikers for offensive teams, but more defensive Spikers like Ferrothorn, Forretress, and Skarmory are reasonable options for some teams as well.

[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Thunder
move 4: Flamethrower / Hidden Power Fighting
item: Expert Belt
nature: Hasty / Naive
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

Choice Scarf Genesect's amazing revenge killing power can be difficult to replace, but if you are willing to take the risks, Expert Belt Genesect can provide benefits to your army that few Pokemon can match. In addition to netting Genesect even more KOs than usual, Expert Belt is a great bluffing item, allowing your army to get surprise KOs vs many slower Pokemon that think you will be forced to switch out due to Choice Scarf.

As usual, U-turn is Genesect's weapon for scouting, and it does a good job of fooling the enemy into thinking your Genesect is a specially based Choice Scarf set. Ice Beam will do far more than just terminate the usual 4x weak Pokemon, as a Special Attack boost allows Ice Beam to OHKO Groudon and mixed Giratina-O, and 2HKO physically defensive Giratina. Thunder zaps Kyogre, Lugia, and Ho-Oh, and with a Download boost, it will OHKO Ho-Oh after Stealth Rock damage, OHKO Lugia after Stealth Rock damage 56% of the time, and OHKO max HP Kyogre 62% of the time after Stealth Rock damage. +1 Flamethrower will OHKO most Steel-types in the sun, but even if the weather is rainy, Genesect can still 2HKO Ferrothorn and OHKO Forretress after Stealth Rock damage. If your army has Drizzle support, Hidden Power Fighting can be an appealing alternative to Flamethrower, with +1 Hidden Power Fighting being able to 2HKO support Dialga, Excadrill, and Ferrothorn at the cost of being walled by Jirachi.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

While Expert Belt is the preferred item for its luring capabilities, Life Orb can still be a reasonable choice. While Life Orb will cut Genesect's warranty when combined with U-turn and hazards damage, it does gain some new KOs. A boosted Ice Beam will now always terminate max HP Groudon, and 2HKO specially defensive Giratina after Stealth Rock damage. Also, boosted Thunders will now OHKO Kyogre and Lugia after Stealth Rock damage, while boosted Flamethrowers in the sun will now 2HKO support Dialga. Finally, Genesect's U-turn will now become far more powerful, now being able to do 50% to max HP Kyogre after a boost.

If your army is willing to give up the amazing momentum keeper in U-turn, you can opt to replace U-turn with Rock Polish, and use a Timid nature. As a Speed-boosting cleaner, Genesect has trouble competing directly with Groudon and Landorus-T due to its reliance on a Download boost. However, Genesect can still do a nice job of hitting Pokemon hard with its good coverage, so the strategy behind Rock Polish Genesect is to play it much like the regular special attacking set, and focus more on using Rock Polish as a more situational / surprise set-up move, rather than the kind of sweeper you may focus a team around supporting. Note that if you want to destroy healthy Mewtwo and Darkrai and deal a good amount of damage to Latias, Thunder or Flamethrower will need to be replaced with Bug Buzz.

Another alternate approach to this model of Genesect is to use a mixed attacking EV spread of 128 Atk / 128 SpA / 252 Spe with a Life Orb. The Special Attack EVs give a boosted Ice Beam enough power to OHKO max HP Groudon after Stealth Rock damage, 2HKO support Dialga in the sun with boosted Flamethrower, and deal around 1% less damage than Expert Belt Genesect vs most other Pokemon. With the Attack investment, you can now run Explosion or Iron Head over Thunder or Flamethrower. Explosion is insanely powerful after a boost, being able to terminate max HP Arceus and max HP Kyogre after Stealth Rock damage, and even deal 52-62% to support Dialga! Iron Head on the other hand, allows Genesect to crush both Kyurem formes and 2HKO max HP Arceus after Stealth Rock damage.

The most valuable support you can give any of these special attacking Genesect sets is paralysis support, because most Pokemon that outspeed Genesect can crash its hard drive. Thunder Wave Kyogre is a superb teammate for this, with its ability to lure in Latias, Palkia, and Grass Arceus, none of which like taking boosted U-turns. Fighting Arceus still does a good job of luring in Latias, but can also attract Mewtwo and deal with Dialga that switch into Genesect's U-turn. Groudon can also attract Latias, but can also paralyze fast Lugia switch-ins to prevent it from stalling Genesect with Roost. While Jirachi may unfortunately share Genesect's Fire weakness, it does a good job of spreading paralysis with Thunder Wave, Thunder, or Body Slam, and can extend Genesect's warranty with Wish support. Ferrothorn is also a good paralysis spreader that can also extend Genesect's lifespan with Leech Seed. Finally, while Thundurus must often sacrifice itself to paralyze fast Pokemon via Prankster Thunder Wave, many of these fast Pokemon will take a serious amount of damage from Genesect's attacks.

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: U-turn
move 2: Explosion
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Ice Beam / Flamethrower
item: Choice Band
nature: Hasty / Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

A Choice Band processor may seem like an odd choice considering Genesect's narrow physical movepool, but when combined with Download, Genesect can fire off U-turns so powerful that any lifeform that doesn't resist it will take an incredible amount of damage. For example, +1 U-turn can deal near or over 50% to Ferrothorn, max HP Kyogre, max HP Arceus, offensive Groudon, bulky Excadrill, Zekrom, Tentacruel, and Jirachi. Even Rayquaza, defensive Groudon, and Lugia will usually take over 35% from these monstrous boosted U-turns!

The other big selling point of Choice Band Genesect is Explosion. Explosion already deals plenty of damage coming from Choice Scarf Genesect, so when Choice Band Genesect unleashes it, Explosion will deal such ungodly amounts of damage that even Skynet would consider it a worthy addition to its nuclear arsenal! A +1 Explosion is so powerful that Steel Arceus, Skarmory, Forretress, and specially defensive Dialga can take over 60% from it, leaving only three Ubers viable Pokemon who don't resist a boosted Explosion that can survive it after Stealth Rock damage: defensive Groudon, defensive Normal Arceus, and defensive Landorus-T; even those three usually still take over 80%!

Iron Head pairs well with U-turn and Explosion, and when boosted, it allows Genesect's reinforced skull to 2HKO Ghost Arceus, Giratina-O, and Excadrill, and after Stealth Rock damage, it 2HKOes Ho-Oh, Lugia, specially defensive Giratina, and Reshiram. Finally, while this may be a Choice Band set, Genesect still appreciates a special attack to help patch up its poor coverage. Ice Beam will let Genesect OHKO Rayquaza and 2HKO defensive Groudon, while Flamethrower is Genesect's best non suicidal attack vs Skarmory and Forretress.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

This model of Genesect does best when it has paralysis support, so Thunder Wave Kyogre, Groudon, and Fighting Arceus are good teammates for luring in and crippling Latias. While Jirachi may share Genesect's Fire weakness, it's one of the few paralysis spreaders that can keep Genesect alive longer via Wish. Ferrothorn won't restore as much health as Jirachi, but it can take on Kyogre that lack Choice Specs when Genesect is locked into Iron Head. Thundurus is one of the few paralysis spreaders that has a powerful scouting move in Volt Switch to support your army, though it must often sacrifice itself to paralyze faster enemies like Mewtwo and Darkrai. Dialga also deserves special mention for its ability to not only paralyze the enemy with Thunder Wave, but also scare out the physically defensive Giratina that attempt to switch-in.

[Other Options]

While Genesect may be dangerous, Skynet didn't give this Terminator model a very wide movepool. Charge Beam can be used to boost Genesect's Special Attack, but Genesect is usually better off predicting its defensive switch-ins instead of hoping for another Special Attack boost. Flame Charge can boost Genesect's Speed, but is mostly outclassed by Rock Polish. Dark Pulse is the hardest Genesect can hit Ghost Arceus, but its usefulness ends there. Thunderbolt allows Genesect to always hit Ho-Oh in the sun, but it's such a weak move vs Kyogre that Thunder is better most of the time. Metal Sound can be used to scare many walls with the idea of getting KOed, but their ability to simply switch makes this strategy only useful with entry hazards.

Choice Specs may seem like a natural fit for Genesect's great special attacking movepool, but the choice restrictions and the inability to boost U-turn's power make this one of Genesect's lesser sets. Insect Plate can be used to boost Genesect's U-turn power, but Choice Band is usually the better way to go for powerful U-turns.

[Checks and Counters]

Genesect is out there. It can't be bargained with; it can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead. However, what makes Genesect even more difficult to counter than most cyberkinetic assassins is it's habit of U-turning out of the battlefield before you can say "Hasta la vista baby!". Thankfully, you can exploit Genesect's U-turn strategies by setting up Spikes and Stealth Rock, which will force the synthetic assassin to sacrifice 25% of its health each time it scouts. Ferrothorn in particular can use most of Genesect's non super effective or scouting attacks to set up Spikes, while Forretress and Skarmory can set up Spikes on physically based Genesect that aren't U-turning.

While Genesect may be difficult to directly counter, there are several Pokemon that can take most of its attacks. Bulky Ghost Arceus is one of the best checks in the game, as it can take on most of Genesect's attacks, and can even threaten to set up Calm Mind when Genesect doesn't U-turn. Steel Arceus can also generally out-machine Genesect as long as it doesn't switch into a boosted Flamethrower in the sun. Specially defensive Dialga braces anything except boosted Flamethrowers in the sun and Hidden Power Fighting, and can threaten to OHKO Genesect with a Fire attack of its choice. Heatran defeats Genesect even more easily than Dialga thanks to Flash Fire. Provided that it's raining, bulky Excadrill isn't 2HKOed by anything but a boosted Hidden Power Fighting, and it can hit Genesect hard with Earthquake. Ho-Oh can take anything but Explosion and Thunder and use Genesect as the perfect time to set up a Substitute. In a similar manner as Ho-Oh, Reshiram and Fire Arceus can switch into most of Genesect's attacks and threaten to either set up or unleash powerful sun-boosted Fire attacks. Specially defensive Giratina isn't 2HKOed by any of Genesect's moves (with the exception of a Life Orb +1 Ice Beam), and can threaten to either phaze or cripple Genesect's scouting power with Will-O-Wisp. As far as more situational checks go, Blaziken can switch into U-turn with its 4x Bug resistance to get a free Speed Boost turn, while Wobbuffet can trap and revenge kill any Choice Scarf Genesect that isn't locked into a Bug attack.

Non-Choice Genesect can be a bit trickier to directly counter due to Download and its excellent coverage, but generally, any Pokemon that is faster than Genesect in Ubers has a good chance of crashing its hard drive after a kill, such as the Mewtwo, Palkia, Hidden Power Fire Latias, and most Choice Scarf Pokemon.

Theorymon · Jan 21, 2013

Sorry, real life got hectic last week. Anyways, this is now finally done and uploaded!

Genesect (Ubers analysis) [GP 2/2]

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Who let marco in here????

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