Medicham (BW2 Revamp)

Medicham

[Overview]

<p>With its signature ability, Pure Power, Medicham's Attack stat transcends that of even the Uber titans Groudon and Rayquaza. When this ability is combined with one of the most powerful Fighting-type attacks, Hi Jump Kick, Medicham has the distinction of being one of the deadliest attackers in RU. Moreover, Medicham's decent base 80 Speed is enough to outpace a little over half of the metagame. This in tandem with its excellent movepool, containing Psycho Cut and ThunderPunch, gives it perfect coverage with only three attacks, making it a force to be reckoned with.</p>

<p>To say that Medicham has legendary offenses is an understatement, though that embellishment is contrary to its defensive prowess. Medicham can't take a hit to save its life because of its mediocre defenses, lackluster Speed for a sweeper, and unappealing defensive typing. To make matters worse, Medicham is vulnerable to almost every priority attack, which makes sweeping difficult. Often, another common Pokemon with a Psychic / Fighting typing, Gallade, is chosen over Medicham because of its superior bulk, versatility and Attack-boosting capabilities. Medicham also has difficulty getting past Ghost-types. With a Ghost-type on the opposing team, Medicham will have to be cautious if it's attempting to use Hi Jump Kick, lest it face devastating repercussions. The most notable Ghost-type is Spiritomb, which is immune to both of Medicham's STABs courtesy of its Ghost / Dark typing and can Pursuit trap Medicham if it is locked into an unfavorable attack. Despite these faults, with just a little bit of team support, Medicham can unleash its full potential and slaughter the opposing team with its absurd power.</p>


[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Hi Jump Kick
move 2: Psycho Cut
move 3: ThunderPunch
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Pure Power
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>When equipped with a Choice Scarf, Medicham's otherwise mediocre Speed is augmented, turning it into a formidable revenge killer and late-game sweeper. Hi Jump Kick is the STAB attack of choice; with an Adamant nature, Medicham is able to 2HKO Alomomola, Tangrowth, and offensive Slowking, as well as OHKO Moltres after Stealth Rock. Psycho Cut is the more reliable STAB attack, hitting Fighting-type resists such as Amoonguss and Gallade. Psycho Cut is best used when the opponent has a Ghost-type, which makes the use of Hi Jump Kick too risky, as it might cause Medicham to lose much of its HP or become setup bait if said Ghost-type comes in after a kill. ThunderPunch rounds out Medicham's coverage and hits Sigilyph and defensive Slowking for super effective damage while hitting Spiritomb for neutral damage. In the final slot, Trick can be used to cripple walls such as Uxie, a Pokemon that Medicham has difficulty breaking through.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>An Adamant nature is preferred, as it gives Medicham the ability to OHKO Pokemon like Escavalier and Entei with entry hazard support. However, a Jolly nature is also an acceptable option to outspeed slower Choice Scarf users, Aerodactyl, and +2 Modest Omastar, as well as Speed tie with Hidden Power Rock Accelgor. Drain Punch can be used over Trick, giving Medicham a safer secondary Fighting-type STAB.</p>

<p>As previously mentioned, entry hazard support is crucial for Medicham to achieve many critical 2HKOs and OHKOs. With Stealth Rock, Medicham is able to OHKO offensive Moltres, defensive Druddigon, and Drapion while being able to 2HKO Tangrowth. Crustle, Clefable, and Kabutops can all set up Stealth Rock while being able to deal with many of Medicham's counters. Ferroseed, Omastar, and Roselia can set up Spikes; three layers of Spikes combined with Stealth Rock allow Medicham to 2HKO Slowking with Hi Jump Kick and offensive Spiritomb with ThunderPunch. Toxic Spikes support from Drapion and Roselia is also advantageous, as it can soften up walls for Medicham, opening the path for it to sweep. Pursuit support from Spiritomb and Absol is needed in order to get rid of Ghost-types and opposing Psychic-types so that Medicham can then use Hi Jump Kick with little concern. Offensive Accelgor synergizes almost perfectly with Medicham, as the two of them can remove each other's counters while Accelgor can even set up Spikes to keep up the offensive pressure on the opposing team. Finally, priority users, such as Choice Band Entei, Choice Band Spiritomb, and Sucker Punch Absol, can all cut Medicham's sweep short. As such, dual screens Uxie makes an excellent partner; Uxie can set up Reflect, thus softening the impact of the aforementioned attacks.</p>


[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Hi Jump Kick
move 2: Psycho Cut / Zen Headbutt
move 3: ThunderPunch
move 4: Drain Punch / Bullet Punch
item: Choice Band / Life Orb
ability: Pure Power
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Although this set relinquishes Medicham's revenge killing capabilities, it turns Medicham into a formidable wallbreaker. Hi Jump Kick is Medicham's most powerful move; when equipped with either a Life Orb or a Choice Band, Medicham has the capacity to OHKO almost every Pokemon that does not resist it. Psycho Cut is Medicham's less risky attack, being able to OHKO Fighting-type resists such as Amoonguss. Due to Bullet Punch being incompatible with Psycho Cut, Zen Headbutt is an possible alternative physical Psychic-type move. While slightly inferior because of its unappealing accuracy, it is also slightly stronger then Psycho Cut. Zen Headbutt allows Choice Band Medicham to guarantee an OHKO on Qwilfish after Stealth Rock. ThunderPunch gives Medicham perfect coverage against Pokemon like Sigilyph, which would otherwise wall it. Once all Fighting-type resists are gone, Drain Punch becomes an appealing attack, as it allows Medicham to attack and heal itself simultaneously. Finally, Bullet Punch is an excellent priority move in order to pick off fast frail threats such as Archeops and Cryogonal.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The remaining 4 EVs are put into Defense; if Medicham is using a Life Orb, it can use 11 attacks with an odd HP number, as opposed to 10 attacks with an even number (assuming it has not used Drain Punch or taken any prior damage).</p>

<p>A Lum Berry is an acceptable option to rid Medicham of burn or paralysis. Recover can be used in the final slot to restore HP at a moment's notice. Fake Out can be used to break Focus Sashes and stop pesky Sturdy suicide leads. Speaking of Focus Sash, Medicham can also utilize a Counter + Focus set or just Focus Sash on its own to great effect. Finally, Trick can be used to cripple walls such as Uxie with a Choice Band, but it is generally inferior to Drain Punch and Bullet Punch because Medicham normally has the power to get past these walls without relinquishing its item.</p>

<p>Pursuit support is mandatory due to Medicham's inability to deal with bulky Ghost- and Psychic-types. Absol and Escavalier are both excellent Pursuit users, as they can get rid of most of Medicham's counters. Absol can even function as a backup wallbreaker. Due to Medicham's mediocre Speed, pairing it up with Ninjask can be quite useful. Ninjask can easily pass Medicham a few Speed boosts and even a Substitute; Medicham will then be fast enough to outspeed and demolish offensive teams and also have a handy Substitute to cushion the impact of powerful priority moves. Whimsicott can make itself useful by paralyzing faster threats with Prankster Stun Spore or giving Medicham some much needed Tailwind support. Magneton pairs well with Medicham because it can destroy Slowking and Sigilyph with its STAB Electric-type attacks. Entry hazard support in the form of Stealth Rock from Crustle allows Medicham to OHKO defensive Scyther, while Spikes support from the Qwilfish or the aforementioned Crustle allows Medicham to 2HKO Slowking. Due to Crustle's secondary Bug typing, it can even take out other bulky Psychic-types, such as Uxie and Musharna, while Qwilfish can paralyze faster threats, such as Cinccino and Entei, with Thunder Wave.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Medicham has quite a few tricks up its sleeve, though none of them are particularly viable. Low Kick and Reversal are two alternative Fighting-type attacks. Due to Medicham's ability to force switches, it can utilize a decently effective SubPunch set. Magic Coat can be used on an offensive lead set so that Medicham can bounce back entry hazards. Medicham can use Baton Pass in conjunction with Bulk Up to function as an offensive Baton Pass user. Rock Slide is an option to OHKO defensive Moltres and Scyther without the use of Stealth Rock. Feint can be used to hit Pokemon using Protect in an attempt to block Medicham's Hi Jump Kick. Finally, Toxic is an option to cripple Uxie and Spiritomb and chip away at their health slowly.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Spiritomb is Medicham's best counter. It is immune to both of its STABs and can even tank a ThunderPunch with ease; Spiritomb can then OHKO Medicham with its STAB priority moves, Pursuit trap it on a predicted switch, or cripple it with Will-O-Wisp. Bulky Psychic-types, such as Uxie and Musharna, can counter Medicham quite easily and can retaliate with repeated attacks or cripple it with Thunder Wave. With Alomomola's gargantuan Defense, it can easily outstall Medicham and incur Hi Jump Kick's nasty recoil side effect with Protect. Mesprit and Misdreavus can check Medicham, though both of them have difficulty taking constant attacks. If Medicham lacks ThunderPunch, defensive Moltres, Scyther, Sigilyph, and Slowking can tank Medicham's attacks and OHKO.</p>

<p>Medicham's lackluster defenses leave it wide open to a vast array of priority attacks. Absol's powerful STAB Sucker Punch can take out Medicham; Absol can even Pursuit trap Medicham if it intends on fleeing. Gallade can OHKO a weakened Medicham with Shadow Sneak. In a similar vein, Hariyama can take out Medicham with a combination of Fake Out and a Guts-boosted Bullet Punch. Choice Band Entei's ExtremeSpeed slices through Medicham's defenses like a hot knife through butter. Finally, most Pokemon that are faster then Medicham and carry a powerful STAB can take it out. Galvantula can OHKO Medicham with Thunder, Sceptile can destroy Medicham with its STAB Leaf Storm, and Archeops can OHKO with its STAB Acrobatics.</p>

You're gonna need to mention just how much Medicham loves Pursuit support from things like Absol or Spiritomb to eliminate the Ghost and Psychic types that can get in the way of a HJK sweep (talking about the Scarf set). Spiritomb is its greatest obstacle that cant be Pursuited, but is thankfully an easy switchin for powerhouse Fire-types such as Moltres, Entei and Emboar.

On a further note I far prefer using Adamant over Jolly on ScarfCham, the only thing you miss out on is Aerodactyl, whose STAB you resist anyway. Adamant allows you to 2HKO incoming Tangrowth and Moltres (who is OHKOd after Stealth Rock)

As Cherubagent mentioned there should definitely be a mention on how damn much medicham loves pursuit support, its incredibly useful to weaken and eliminate HJK resists such as Slowking and Uxie (not to mention things like Spiritomb and Misdreavus, having half your health shaved off from a ghost switching in is never good).

Pokemon that can take advantage of the Pursuit users that plague medicham (especially Spiritomb) should be given special mention as teammates as well. Examples off hand include Klinklang, Lum Hone Claws Durant, Emboar, Entei, and Rock Polish Aggron. in Klink's, Durant's, and Aggron's case they can quickly turn a successful trap from the opponents Spiritomb into an advantage, setting up and simply plowing through the rest of the opponents team using tomb as fodder.

The two sets both max speed and attack but one has HP while the other has defense. Which one allows you to survive two jump misses and should the other one be like it?

Not super experienced with Choice Scarf, but I've used CB a ton ('cuz there's no kill like overkill :>), and there are two issues I have with the current set. For one, Trick shouldn't even get a slash imo. Defensive Spiritomb, Uxie and the rare Musharna are essentially the only defensive 'mons that don't get 2HKOed by Medicham, and even then Uxie and Musharna is taking about 40% from HJK on average. Fake Out is generally really situational from my experiences with Medicham, especially considering it normally draws in Ghost-types more so than any other 'mon, and doesn't really doesn't push any notable KOs. I would probably make the final slash something along the lines of Drain Punch / Bullet Punch, having a safe Fighting STAB to work with before eliminating Ghost-types is pretty damn useful early-game (the ability to recover HP from hazards damage is neat too), and of course the priority Bullet Punch offers is neat overall, especially if Medi needs to come in on stuff like Aerodactyl.

Also, Adamant>Jolly 90% of the time. Unless you're relying on Medicham to check 'mons like Mesprit and Gallade (which it really doesn't do too well against in the first place, Kabutops is OHKOing w/Aqua Jet at +2 after some prior damage anyway), Jolly really doesn't amount to much. On the other hand, with Adamant Medicham is capable of cleanly 2HKOing CBTomb with TPunch, pressuring a 50-50 predict, unconditionally 2HKOing Defensive Slowking with HJK, almost always OHKOing Poliwrath after SR, etc. As a whole Adamant puts much more pressure on defensive teams, which is basically what CBcham is supposed to be doing in the first place. Just my two cents though, take of it what you will.

I always used Drain Punch on CB. I agree with col49 that Trick is nearly useless on CB and the last slot should be Drain Punch / Bullet Punch.

Any thoughts on giving Recover at least an AC mention on the Physical Attacker set? Medicham's pretty frail but it could theoretically force enough switches to recover off things such as priority, Life Orb recoil, or even a Hi Jump Kick miss if that ends up happening. I think it could easily go in the last moveslot where Bullet Punch and Drain Punch are currently slashed, but thats just me.


Also, agreeing that Adamant should be slashed before Jolly on the Choice Scarf set, you really dont lose out on that much in the end, only really gaining the jump on Aerodactyl and Scarf Magneton while tying with Accelgor that run a speed reducing Hidden Power when running Jolly, and the power difference between Adamant and Jolly is certainly noticeable. I'd probably keep Jolly as a secondary slash for now, but if other QC members think Adamant should be the only listed nature on Scarfcham then i'm totally fine with that too.

There's a reason why I moved Bulk Up to OO. Medicham hardly has time to do anything but attack. Very rarely will Medicham have a free turn to do anything and if it does, it's best just keep attacking. Besides that, Drain Punch already allows it to restore health while attacking, making it much more useful 9 times out of 10. But if you feel strongly about it, an AC mention wouldn't be too much for Recover.

Sorry it took so long, but I made all the changes everyone asked for. This is ready for checks I suppose. I'll get Jynx ready either today or tomorrow.

Just a minor nitpick, but ThunderPunch doesn't have a space between "Thunder" and "Punch".

looks fine to me atm

QC approved 1/3

[qc]2/3[/qc]

ok, you'll have to flesh it out a little bit when you write it, especially the AC of the scarf set, but for now it's fine

This is written and ready for its final QC check.

Icecream said:

With its signature ability, Pure Power, Medicham's Attack stat transcends that of Uber titans Groundon and Rayquaza; when combined with one of the most powerful Fighting-type attacks, Hi Jump Kick; Medicham has the distinction of wielding the strongest attack in the entirety of the RU tier.

Click to expand...

Lickilicky's Explosion and Rampardos's Head Smash are stronger ;)

Icecream said:

Medicham can't take a hit to save its life (literally).

Click to expand...

Make it clear that this is just as much about Medicham's typing and low speed as it is above its defenses. Medicham is technically bulkier than things like Absol, Archeops, Cinccino, Galvantula, and Rotom, but they are all much faster and/or have useful resistances or immunities and/or have STAB priority to protect against revenge killing. Medicham has none of that, which is what makes it so frail.

Icecream said:

An Adamant nature is preferred as the power difference is notable and will prevent Medicham from being able to achieve an array of OHKOs and 2HKOs.

Click to expand...

Give examples or don't say this. Everyone reading this analysis already knows there is a power difference between Adamant and Jolly. Unless you have important examples, mentioning it is just fluff.

Icecream said:

As previously mentioned, entry hazard support is crucial for Medicham to achieve most of its critical 2HKOs and OHKOs. Ferroseed, Steelix, and Druddigon can all set up Stealth Rock while being able to deal well against Medicham's counters. Ferroseed, Omastar, and Roselia, can set up Spikes; with three layers of Spikes and Stealth Rock, Medicham will be able to 2HKO Slowking with Hi Jump Kick and offensive Spiritomb with ThunderPunch. Toxic Spikes support from Drapion and Roselia is also advantageous, as it will soften up walls for Medicham, opening the path for it to sweep.

Click to expand...

Same here. Every attacker in the game likes entry hazard support and will get additional KOs with it. It's only worth mentioning if you have good examples of these crucial KOs OR some entry hazard setter has great synergy with Medicham. I'm not really convinced that any of the Pokemon you mentioned can deal with Medicham's counters, except maybe Omastar. The example of KOing Slowking and Spiritomb is nice, but SR + 3 layers of Spikes is not going to happen that often, especially on the types of teams that Medicham is on.

Icecream said:

With a Life Orb, Drain Punch is an appealing attack; Medicham can attack and heal itself simultaneously.

Click to expand...

This makes it sound like Drain Punch is only good with Life Orb, but it's also great with CB (and Bullet Punch is better with LO than with CB, so you don't want it to sound like Drain Punch always goes with LO and Bullet Punch always goes with CB). Once Fighting resists are worn down, Drain Punch becomes CB Medicham's best move.

Icecream said:

An Adamant nature is preferred in order to dish out as much power as possible; a Jolly nature is also acceptable in order to Speed tie with max Speed Gallade, however, the decrease in damage output is noticeable.</p>

Click to expand...

Same comment here as above.

Icecream said:

Finally, Trick can be used to cripple walls such as Spiritomb, but it is generally inferior to either Drain Punch or Bullet Punch.</p>

Click to expand...

Use a different example here like Uxie. Many Spiritomb won't really be crippled by receiving a CB. The biggest reason Trick is an inferior option is that Medicham can just power through Pokemon like Slowking that would normally be good targets for Trick.

Icecream said:

Finally, entry hazard support from Kabutops, Rhydon, and Uxie gives Medicham some much needed OHKOes and 2HKOes.</p>

Click to expand...

Same comment here as above. I'm also surprised you didn't mention Qwilfish, since it provides both hazard and paralysis support.

Icecream said:

Fire Punch and Ice Punch can both be used to nail Escavalier and Tangrowth, but are generally mediocre coverage moves.

Click to expand...

Hi Jump Kick hits Tangrowth harder than Ice Punch. The only remotely good Pokemon that Ice Punch would be useful for is Altaria, but even that doesn't deserve a mention imo.

Icecream said:

Finally, a dual screens set is also a decent yet situational option.</p>

Click to expand...

lol. Don't even mention this except maybe as a joke. Dual Screens Medicham would be biggest waste of potential ever.

Done. So I left the Jolly Vs Adamant comment in the first set, as it's kinda redundant. The overview was fixed and more appropriate teammates and explanations were mentioned.

I know this still needs another QC check and all, but the second paragraph in your overview is really bad.

I can explain why in detail if you'd like, but hopefully you can just fix it yourself.

If the Choice Scarf set is a revenge-killer, why do you mainly mention defensive targets?

Groundon->Groudon
Amoongus->Amoonguss
Aerodactly->Aerodactyl
Cyrogonal->Cryogonal

And in OO the S in Rock Slide needs to be capitalized.

This needs its last check. I fixed up everything I could find pertaining to content, grammar, and prose.

If the Choice Scarf set is a revenge-killer, why do you mainly mention defensive targets?

Click to expand...

Because it OHKOes everything else with the right attack.

Remove Acupressure and Calm Mind from OO.

[qc]3/3[/qc]

Thanks Honko. I can finally get this going.

I made an am check. Nice job on the analysis. Medicham is indeed a force to be reckoned with in RU.
Additions
Deletions
Comments

Thanks for the check GCSChris, implemented.

Thanks for the am check, implemented. Although, some of the changes in regards to the sentence structure (in AC) was kinda fuzzy and only deteriorated the prose. Most of your check was made though. ^^

<p>The remaining 4 EVs are put into Defense; if Medicham is using a Life Orb, it can use 11 attacks with an odd HP number, as opposed to 10 attacks with an even number (assuming it has not used Drain Punch or taken any prior damage).</p>

Click to expand...

This is still a completely incorrect sentence. You can't use remaining without nothing to remain from; it literally makes no sense.

Speaking of Focus Sash, Medicham can also utilize a Counter-Sash set, or just use Focus Sash to great effect.

Click to expand...

This sentence is too.

Magneton pairs well with Medicham in order to destroy Slowking and Sigilyph with its STAB Electric-type attacks.

Click to expand...

The phrase "in order to" does not mean "because"; you have to change it.

Using the future tense in most scenarios makes sentences sound dumb. Oftentimes, you're not actually referring to the future tense.

If a sentence can stand on its own without the "such as" statement, there needs to be commas before and after it; no exceptions.

When equipped with a Choice Scarf, Medicham's otherwise mediocre Speed is augmented, turning it into a formidable revenge killer. Hi Jump Kick is the STAB attack of choice; with an Adamant nature, Medicham is able to 2HKO Alomomola, Tangrowth, and offensive Slowking, as well as OHKOing Moltres after Stealth Rock.

Click to expand...

You don't put a present progressive (-ing) after "as well as" in a lot of scenarios, and this is one of them.

I'd recommend reading this over to yourself and double checking it, as there are a lot of changes you implemented wrong (misspellings and such).

I can't say with a 100% certainty that everything I did was all right, but I know your changes were not. Look, the issue I had with that change is that it lumped the first two paragraphs together. Those paragraphs both present two different thoughts. One mentions evs, the other speaks of teammates. Combining them makes it difficult to follow and messes up the flow. The changes to the prose only made it weak. The changes were also a bit drastic and could be simplified, which I was about to do later. I'm not a fan of something being over-explained, especially when I can use half of the otherwise complex thought to convey the same meaning.

in order to
Web definitions
As a means of achieving the specified aim; to.
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/in_order_to

Click to expand...

It fits just fine in that sentence, there is no issue. Unless your mixing up the definition with something else?

As for the part about Moltres, I added that in haste, but then forgot to remove it.

I added a little over half of your changes, but even then, I added onto them to improve the prose, as the changes were unsatisfactory. To be honest, a lot of your changes were subjective and I only did so out of courtesy. I'm not even obligated to make any of your changes so long as I explain why.