(RU) Priority moves in RU [WIP]

[Swamp-Rocket]

Might as well get what I have up. Also, I'm not an expert on headings and such yet, so I'll change them if needed.
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<p>Priority moves, hence the name, are noteworthy for the fact that they are able to strike first. When using a priority move, a Pokémon can often fix its speed issues, revenge kill weaken treats in order to stop the opponent from sweeping your team, and also pose an offensive threat that is more difficult to revenge kill than other Pokémon. A priority move is a must have on nearly any RU team, as it serves as a last-minute check to Pokémon that may be sweeping your team with its high speed, in case a counter has gone down. Many Pokémon also rely on their priority moves in order to become noteworthy offensive threats, meaning that priority is used for offense to stop offense from defeating them, as strange as it may seem. However, this ties in well with RU, as it has generally been a tier biased more toward offense rather than stall.</p>

<p>A priority move can be sorted into two ways. The first are the basic, 40 Base Power moves, which include Quick Attack, Mach Punch, Shadow Sneak, Aqua Jet, Ice Shard, Bullet Punch, and Vacuum Wave. The "other" moves are Fake Out, Sucker Punch, and Extremespeed. Fake Out only hits on the first turn, but it always flinches and strikes before even other priority moves. Sucker Punch is twice as strong, but only works when the foe is attacking. Finally, there is the rare Extremespeed, which has twice the priority and twice the power of other priority moves.</p>

<p>As there are many options to use with priority moves, there are a few things to consider before putting a priority move on a certain Pokémon.</p>

What makes a Priority move good on a Pokemon?

<p>As most of the priority moves are weak compared to moves you generally see in the metagame, a STAB boost on the basic priority moves is usually a must. Otherwise, a 40 Base Power move is not going to be hitting very hard. Suppose you do not have a STAB boost on the move -- what happens then? Generally, if you have Swords Dance and a high enough attack stat, you can use the move and begin hitting faster foes with a +2 move. It still isn't really that strong, but it means that weakened revenge killers will fail to kill them. Even better is if they have Swords Dance and the STAB boost – several Pokemon with STAB priority moves were blessed with Swords Dance, and they become very hard to revenge kill without resistant Choice Scarfed Pokémon.</p>

<p>The exception to this is Sucker Punch and Extreemespeed, which is a useful offensive tool for any Pokemon that gets it, STAB or not, due to the already decent 80 base power of the moves. Sucker Punch allows Pokemon to bypass faster Pokemon and revenge killers, as they can strike hard before they get hit themselves. Gamefreak rarely gives out Extreemespeed, but it works in favor of almost anything that gets the move, and is easier to utilize with a Choice Band because it can clean up a weakened wall before it can heal.</p>

What uses which Priority Move?

<p>Aqua Jet is most likely the most common "basic" priority move in RU, and if there is one reason for this, it is Fire-types. RU has very dangerous Fire-types, including Moltres, Magmortar, and Typhlosion, some of which have ways of 2HKOing common Water-type walls such as Slowking. Due to this, an offensive check to them is packed on many teams, and fortunately, they all get STAB boosts, and most of the common ones get Swords Dance. Kabutops is the most notable Aqua Jet user in RU, as it 4x resistance to Fire lets it set up a Swords Dance on these foes and either attempt to sweep, hit them with Aqua Jet immediately, or proceed to use Rapid Spin. Feraligatr is more simple-minded, and is generally only seen boosting its stats. Its own Swords Dance set also uses Aqua Jet, and when Feraligatr is in Torrent range, it can easily take down many of its foes. There are also NU Pokemon that use Aqua Jet effectively in RU. Samurott is similar to Feraligatr, but trades lower stats for Megahorn to get past what its Water STAB cannot. Carracosta doesn't get Swords Dance, but it gets Shell Smash instead to boost its Attack (and also its speed). Even though Carracosta's speed is raised, it still likes Aqua Jet to get decently fast foes, and Carracosta can also be an effective tank with Stealth Rock, in which it uses Aqua Jet to finish off faster, weakened foes, which is almost all of them. Essentially, when you see a physically attacking Water-type, expect them to try to set up and start pummeling you with boosted Aqua Jets, as that is what most of them do.</p>

<p>What Shadow Sneak lacks in distribution it makes up for in being a useful move on two of the best Pokemon in the tier - Gallade and Spiritomb. Gallade's only priority move happens to be Shadow Sneak, so on its Swords Dance sets, if it wants to use a priority move, it has to go with this move. However, it isn't a bad move for Gallade, as it allows it to hit Ghost-types and Psychic-types for a lot of damage, which could otherwise survive a Close Combat, outpace it, and take advantage of its lowered stats (although it is worth noting that a super effective Shadow Sneak is still weaker than a resisted Close Combat). It also becomes a way for Gallade to defeat a weakened revenge killer - even without a STAB boost, anything coming off of Gallade's massive attack at +2 hurts quite a bit. Spiritomb, on the other hand, uses Shadow Sneak not only for its priority but also for the fact that it is literally the only physical Ghost move that Spiritomb has access to. Spiritomb, when it cannot rely on Sucker Punch to do damage or when the foe is not switching, can use Shadow Sneak to get a decent amount of damage in, and it can do a surprising amount of damage when backed up by a Choice Band.</p>

(placeholder for Mach Punch)

(placeholder for Quick Attack)

<p>The lesser seen "basic" priority moves in RU include Ice Shard, Bullet Punch, and Vacuum Wave, which simply lack the number of Pokémon to use it. Ice Shard isn't seen much due to Druddigon being the only Dragon-type seen in the tier, and it is already really slow. There is also not very many Pokémon that actually have a high attack with Ice Shard. Piloswine is the most powerful user of Ice Shard in RU; while it can use the move for decent results, it is also weak to Grass, making it an unreliable check to them. Snover also sees use of the move in order to weak down an opponent before it dies, adding onto the residual damage it was made to distribute. Bullet Punch is mostly unseen in RU due to nothing getting a STAB boost on it, although Hariyama and Medicham occasionally use the move in order to finish off foes – both have a fairly high attack to use it with, but it still usually ends up being fairly weak. Finally, Vacuum Wave is a terrible choice on everything in RU – when the strongest user of the move in the tier is Monferno, it should be clear it is a move to avoid.</p>

<p>Fake Out has a respectable distribution and a useful side effect, but damage from the move is fairly predictable. Essentially, on the first turn only, you can hit the foe with what is essentially Quick Attack and flinch them, which may lead to additional and undesirable extra Life Orb recoil. Although it is not RU, Kangaskhan is arguably the best user of the move in the tier, mostly due to a STAB boost, as the extra damage and another priority move in Sucker Punch can make Kangaskhan act as a last-minute check to a lot of set-up sweepers, and its decent bulk allows it to take a hit or two. Hariyama and Hitmonlee ocasionally make use of Fake Out in order to activate their abilities - Hariyama can use Fake Out to give activate its status orb, allowing it to plummel the foe with Guts boosted attacks, and Hitmonlee can use Fake Out alongside a Normal Gem to activate Unburden. It should be advised, however, that Hitmonlee does not use Fake Out without the Normal Gem, as it otherwise becomes too weak.</p>

<p>When you think of Extreemespeed in RU, the first, and likely only, Pokemon that should come to mind is Entei. Thanks to its high attack stat, as well as Extreemespeed's high base power for a priority move, is one of the traits that makes Entei such a large threat. With this move, when backed up by a Choice Band, Entei can revenge kill weakened threats of all kinds, avoid any priority moves that they have, and attack them even when they aren't attacking it back, which is one of the disadvantages of the equally powerful Sucker Punch. This, along with Entei's strong Flare Blitz, makes it a big threat to several teams, and is a big reason why Entei has always been one of the most used Pokemon in RU. Linoone, while being NU, is worth a mention due to its high-risk, high-reward Belly Drum set, which also utilizes Extreemespeed. With a STAB boost, at +6, this set pulverizes unprepared teams, but it is hard to set up and somewhat easy to check, making it a rare sight.</p>

<p>Last, but definitely not least, there is Sucker Punch, which is one of the best moves in RU for many reasons. Many Pokemon can learn the move, it has a high base Power, and considering the offensive nature of RU and the number of Pokemon weak to Dark, it comes in handy very often. (more to come here)