Since the current analysis is still concerned about Glalie being outclassed by Froslass, I figured I'd give him a Lead set to call his own. Also, I've since been persuaded to write the full revamp of Glalie's sets, so that's been added as well.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/glalie
QC Stamps:
(Heysup)
(FlareBlitz)
GP Stamps:
(bugmaniacbob)
(Fatecrashers)
Updates and Changes:
July 4th: Added Crunch to Optional changes.
July 6th: Removed comparison to Qwilfish.
August 20th: Added information differentiating Glalie from Qwilfish, and a few general comments.
October 10th: Finally found time to finish the full writeup and post it. Removed EVs section due to redundancy.
October 11th: Updated with changes by SOMALIA and Flashrider57. Title changed to add the Revamp, which will be done when I have time.
October 13th: Moved Ice Fang from the main set to Optional Changes. Changes to the revamp listed below.
Initial Changes to Revamp:
<p>Glalie has often been shunned as an option since its competitive debut. It's average at both offense and defense, and it has a very limited movepool to boot. The creation of its evolutionary partner Froslass meant that Glalie was forced to reside in the dank, overcrowded recesses of the NU tier. However, with Froslass banished to the Borderline tier for the remainder of the DPP generation, Glalie finally has a comfortable niche in the Underused tier.</p>
[SET]
name: Spikes Lead
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Explosion
move 4: Ice Shard
item: Focus Sash
ability: Inner Focus
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Glalie makes an excellent lead thanks to its above-average Speed, Taunt, and the ability to lay down Spikes. With decent all-round stats, Glalie fits comfortably into many different types of teams. Taunt prevents slower leads from setting up their own entry hazards, and also stops opposing Taunt leads from ruining your fun. Glalie can then reliably set up multiple layers of Spikes before using Explosion to take a chunk out of one of your opponent’s Pokemon. Leads like Uxie, Ambipom (thanks to Inner Focus), Mesprit, Spiritomb, and Omastar are all setup fodder for Glalie if you play it right. Ice Shard’s primary purpose is to consistently break Focus Sashes, regardless of what lead you are up against, unless you're facing a faster priority lead like Pinsir.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Glalie is one of only two Pokemon to get the combination of Explosion, Spikes, Taunt, and a STAB priority move, the other being Qwilfish. This set takes full advantage of all these blessings in tandem. Using Glalie is a simple process, although it varies depending on what lead your opponent is using. Against Ambipom, the wisest move is to simply lay Spikes on the first turn while it tries to Fake Out or U-Turn out. Versus Omastar, Taunt is always the safest move, as it will prevent Omastar from setting up its own entry hazards. Against Mesprit and Uxie, Taunt and Spikes are both viable choices as the first move, depending on whether or not you believe your opponent is holding a Scarf. In the case of Cloyster, your first move depends on whether you believe your opponent will use Rock Blast or Spikes. Finally, against Spiritomb, throwing out as many layers of Spikes as you can is always the best option.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>The first thing to consider when choosing teammates for any Spikes lead is "Which spinblocker do I use?" In Glalie’s case, Mismagius is its best partner; its ability to set up Substitute and either Nasty Plot or Calm Mind can cause serious problems for your opponent when coupled with Glalie's Spikes support. Rotom and Spiritomb are also viable partners, as they possess better typings than Mismagius and can thus offer you more possibilities on the defensive side. Venusaur also makes an excellent Glalie partner, especially the special and physical Life Orb variants; Sleep Powder forces many switches, and when this is combined with Venusaur’s ability to hit hard on the switch , your opponent will have to play very carefully in order to survive. Donphan is also a great teammate for Glalie; Stealth Rock adds another entry hazard to the mix, and Rapid Spin support can help mitigate the effects of a a bad prediction on your part. Heracross is a reasonable choice as a Glalie partner, however it is much better off being paired with Cloyster, who does a better job of clearing out a few spots on the opponent’s team for a Heracross sweep. Finally, bulky Water-types, particularly offensive Milotic and Dragon Dance Feraligatr, are good teammates for Glalie; they offer decent synergy, and make great use of the Spikes that Glalie provides.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Lead Glalie can run a set with a specially offensive spread and Ice Beam in place of Ice Shard, but the loss of power from Explosion is a real letdown. Crunch is also a possible option over Ice Shard if you feel that Alakazam and bulky Psychic-type leads are a problem. Ice Fang is a more powerful attack than Ice Shard, but it doesn't OHKO or 2HKO anything of note, so Ice Shard is generally superior for breaking Focus Sashes. Super Fang is plausible if you want to take chunks out of bulky Steel-type leads like Steelix and Registeel, but otherwise it’s rather lackluster. Light Screen is an option to make Spiking easier, but Glalie is usually better served by using that moveslot for Taunt or Explosion.</p>
<p>Aside from the Lead set, Glalie's options are few and far between. A Choice Band set is comparatively viable, due to Glalie's access to STAB priority and Explosion. However, Glalie has a rather lackluster movepool and weak stats, as well as a weakness to Stealth Rock, leaving it utterly outclassed by Pokemon like Kabutops, Qwilfish, and Regirock. In the same vein, Choice Specs is also plausible, with Explosion to punish special walls like Chansey, but again, there are better Pokemon for the job.</p>
<p>On the defensive and support side, Glalie can run a bulkier Spikes set, but it is generally outclassed in that role by Qwilfish and Omastar, thanks to their better typing, lack of Stealth Rock weakness, and access to more types of entry hazards. Glalie can also work in a hail team to make use of Ice Body, but Walrein outclasses Glalie for this role. Lastly, Glalie can run Sing from Pokemon XD; however, its shaky accuracy makes it very risky.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Glalie hates dealing with Arcanine and Kabutops when in the lead position. Both of them can hit Glalie with a super effective STAB move, and then follow up with priority, meaning that the most you can do is either throw out a single layer of Spikes or Taunt Kabutops to prevent Stealth Rock. Moltres also poses problems for Glalie, as it is faster than Glalie and can 2HKO with Flamethrower, forcing Glalie to set up only a single layer of Spikes. Leads with U-turn, such as Scyther and Swellow, are also an irritation for Glalie because they can break its Focus Sash, leaving Glalie open for a faster sweeper to come in and finish it off.</p>
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/glalie
QC Stamps:
GP Stamps:
Updates and Changes:
July 4th: Added Crunch to Optional changes.
July 6th: Removed comparison to Qwilfish.
August 20th: Added information differentiating Glalie from Qwilfish, and a few general comments.
October 10th: Finally found time to finish the full writeup and post it. Removed EVs section due to redundancy.
October 11th: Updated with changes by SOMALIA and Flashrider57. Title changed to add the Revamp, which will be done when I have time.
October 13th: Moved Ice Fang from the main set to Optional Changes. Changes to the revamp listed below.
Initial Changes to Revamp:
- Put the Spikes Lead set that I've developed (and has already been passed through QC) to the primary set.
- Removed both Choice sets and placed them in Optional Changes. Both are rather lackluster, and there are better Pokemon for the jobs.
- Moved both the Bulky Spiker and Hail Stall sets to Optional Changes. Both are not really that good and are badly outclassed.
- Rewrote the analysis to focus on Spiking, which is Glalie's primary niche in UU.
- Added Sing to Optional Changes, as per Flashrider57's suggestion.
<p>Glalie has often been shunned as an option since its competitive debut. It's average at both offense and defense, and it has a very limited movepool to boot. The creation of its evolutionary partner Froslass meant that Glalie was forced to reside in the dank, overcrowded recesses of the NU tier. However, with Froslass banished to the Borderline tier for the remainder of the DPP generation, Glalie finally has a comfortable niche in the Underused tier.</p>
[SET]
name: Spikes Lead
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Explosion
move 4: Ice Shard
item: Focus Sash
ability: Inner Focus
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Glalie makes an excellent lead thanks to its above-average Speed, Taunt, and the ability to lay down Spikes. With decent all-round stats, Glalie fits comfortably into many different types of teams. Taunt prevents slower leads from setting up their own entry hazards, and also stops opposing Taunt leads from ruining your fun. Glalie can then reliably set up multiple layers of Spikes before using Explosion to take a chunk out of one of your opponent’s Pokemon. Leads like Uxie, Ambipom (thanks to Inner Focus), Mesprit, Spiritomb, and Omastar are all setup fodder for Glalie if you play it right. Ice Shard’s primary purpose is to consistently break Focus Sashes, regardless of what lead you are up against, unless you're facing a faster priority lead like Pinsir.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Glalie is one of only two Pokemon to get the combination of Explosion, Spikes, Taunt, and a STAB priority move, the other being Qwilfish. This set takes full advantage of all these blessings in tandem. Using Glalie is a simple process, although it varies depending on what lead your opponent is using. Against Ambipom, the wisest move is to simply lay Spikes on the first turn while it tries to Fake Out or U-Turn out. Versus Omastar, Taunt is always the safest move, as it will prevent Omastar from setting up its own entry hazards. Against Mesprit and Uxie, Taunt and Spikes are both viable choices as the first move, depending on whether or not you believe your opponent is holding a Scarf. In the case of Cloyster, your first move depends on whether you believe your opponent will use Rock Blast or Spikes. Finally, against Spiritomb, throwing out as many layers of Spikes as you can is always the best option.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>The first thing to consider when choosing teammates for any Spikes lead is "Which spinblocker do I use?" In Glalie’s case, Mismagius is its best partner; its ability to set up Substitute and either Nasty Plot or Calm Mind can cause serious problems for your opponent when coupled with Glalie's Spikes support. Rotom and Spiritomb are also viable partners, as they possess better typings than Mismagius and can thus offer you more possibilities on the defensive side. Venusaur also makes an excellent Glalie partner, especially the special and physical Life Orb variants; Sleep Powder forces many switches, and when this is combined with Venusaur’s ability to hit hard on the switch , your opponent will have to play very carefully in order to survive. Donphan is also a great teammate for Glalie; Stealth Rock adds another entry hazard to the mix, and Rapid Spin support can help mitigate the effects of a a bad prediction on your part. Heracross is a reasonable choice as a Glalie partner, however it is much better off being paired with Cloyster, who does a better job of clearing out a few spots on the opponent’s team for a Heracross sweep. Finally, bulky Water-types, particularly offensive Milotic and Dragon Dance Feraligatr, are good teammates for Glalie; they offer decent synergy, and make great use of the Spikes that Glalie provides.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Lead Glalie can run a set with a specially offensive spread and Ice Beam in place of Ice Shard, but the loss of power from Explosion is a real letdown. Crunch is also a possible option over Ice Shard if you feel that Alakazam and bulky Psychic-type leads are a problem. Ice Fang is a more powerful attack than Ice Shard, but it doesn't OHKO or 2HKO anything of note, so Ice Shard is generally superior for breaking Focus Sashes. Super Fang is plausible if you want to take chunks out of bulky Steel-type leads like Steelix and Registeel, but otherwise it’s rather lackluster. Light Screen is an option to make Spiking easier, but Glalie is usually better served by using that moveslot for Taunt or Explosion.</p>
<p>Aside from the Lead set, Glalie's options are few and far between. A Choice Band set is comparatively viable, due to Glalie's access to STAB priority and Explosion. However, Glalie has a rather lackluster movepool and weak stats, as well as a weakness to Stealth Rock, leaving it utterly outclassed by Pokemon like Kabutops, Qwilfish, and Regirock. In the same vein, Choice Specs is also plausible, with Explosion to punish special walls like Chansey, but again, there are better Pokemon for the job.</p>
<p>On the defensive and support side, Glalie can run a bulkier Spikes set, but it is generally outclassed in that role by Qwilfish and Omastar, thanks to their better typing, lack of Stealth Rock weakness, and access to more types of entry hazards. Glalie can also work in a hail team to make use of Ice Body, but Walrein outclasses Glalie for this role. Lastly, Glalie can run Sing from Pokemon XD; however, its shaky accuracy makes it very risky.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Glalie hates dealing with Arcanine and Kabutops when in the lead position. Both of them can hit Glalie with a super effective STAB move, and then follow up with priority, meaning that the most you can do is either throw out a single layer of Spikes or Taunt Kabutops to prevent Stealth Rock. Moltres also poses problems for Glalie, as it is faster than Glalie and can 2HKO with Flamethrower, forcing Glalie to set up only a single layer of Spikes. Leads with U-turn, such as Scyther and Swellow, are also an irritation for Glalie because they can break its Focus Sash, leaving Glalie open for a faster sweeper to come in and finish it off.</p>
