http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/crobat
probat.
[Overview]
<p>Crobat is one of the fastest non-Uber Pokemon in existence, losing only to Electrode and Ninjask, and tying with Jolteon and Aerodactyl. On top of this, its other stats, while not amazing, are far from poor, enabling it to utilize a variety of tactics to beat your opponent. From using its high Attack stat and decent movepool to whittle down the opponent, abusing Nasty Plot and its moderate Special Attack and simply sweeping, or just using its support movepool and moderate bulk to cripple the foe's team, Crobat will always successfully fill its role on your team</p>
[SET]
name: Utility Bat
move 1: Taunt
move 2: Roost
move 3: Super Fang
move 4: Brave Bird / U-turn
item: Leftovers
nature: Jolly
evs: 232 HP / 56 Def / 76 SpD / 144 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>By far Crobat's most effective set. The combination of high Speed, Roost, and Taunt absolutely demolishes stall teams, as they find themselves not only unable to heal themselves while Crobat tears away at 50% of their health with Super Fang, but also unable to actually hurt Crobat due to its good bulk and Roost. Crobat can even serve as a decent check to offensive teams as well, since even Swords Dance Infernape's Close Combat or Fire Punch won't 2HKO, and neither will Heatran's Fire Blast OHKO, meaning Crobat can switch into physically based Infernape and stall out its Close Combat's PP with Roost, or just Brave Bird for the KO.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Crobat loves Toxic Spikes in play, since that helps it take down opposing defensive Pokemon such as Vaporeon, Suicune and Blissey with greater ease. Brave Bird is especially helpful for hastening the death of the aforementioned Pokemon, as standard Vaporeon takes roughly 30% and Blissey takes about 34%, meaning Crobat can take them down after 2 Super Fangs. An alternate EV spread of 168 HP / 88 Def / 252 Spe can be used as this gives Brave Bird more power in order to KO other threats to your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Sludge Bomb
move 3: Heat Wave / Roost
move 4: Hidden Power Fighting
item: Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 108 HP / 252 SpA / 148 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Crobat appears to have a poor Special Attack stat, but it is the fastest user of Nasty Plot in the game, and with a Nasty Plot boost behind it, its Special Attack actually becomes respectable to the point where Crobat is able to OHKO/2HKO a lot of common threats. Its special movepool is also varied enough to give it just the coverage it needs. Despite being weak to Stealth Rock, Life Orb is used to give Crobat all the power it can get, since its Special Attack is its weakest stat. With Hidden Power Fighting, Heat Wave, and Sludge Bomb, Crobat is capable of hitting nearly everything in OU for neutral damage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Crobat is extremely frail, and thus should avoid sandstorm unless it is are attempting to kill Tyranitar with Hidden Power Fighting. Crobat can score OHKOs on most Pokemon, but against notable threats like Gyarados, Tyranitar, and Heatran, it will miss the OHKO by only a small amount. Thus, Spikes and Stealth Rock support is extremely helpful. Hidden Power Ground can be used to hit Heatran and Magnezone harder while still retaining decent damage on Tyranitar, but Tyranitar isn't OHKOed by +2 Hidden Power Ground, while Choice Scarf Magnezone is KOed by an unboosted Heat Wave most of the time and Heatran dies to a +2 Hidden Power Fighting after two layers of Spikes. Roost is definitely an option over Heat Wave, since Crobat is losing HP from Life Orb nearly every turn, so its longevity is limited.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Brave Bird
move 2: Cross Poison
move 3: Pursuit
move 4: U-turn
item: Choice Band
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Due to its high Speed and passable Attack, Crobat makes a viable user of Choice Band. Its typing allows it to switch in easily on a variety of threats, especially users of common attacks such as Earthquake and Close Combat, and retaliate with a strong move that usually hits for super effective damage. Crobat makes a particularly good lead since Inner Focus means it cannot be stopped by Fake Out, and many common leads such as Infernape and Azelf are KOed by Brave Bird and Pursuit, respectively.</p>
<p>When using Choice Band Crobat, it's pretty noticeable that its damage output doesn't compare with that of other Choice Band users (or even some Choice Scarf users). However, like the Utility set, Crobat should be focusing on wearing down the opponent's team before letting another Pokemon clean up - Crobat can't usually score OHKOs, but it can turn many 2-3HKOs into OHKOs for teammates. As a result, U-turn is one of Crobat's more usable options, since not only is Crobat is one of the fastest existing users of it, but you can also switch in something that can not only clean up a weakened team, but also take little damage from the Rock-, Ice-, and Electric-type moves aimed at Crobat.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Since Crobat supports the team through direct damage as opposed to Taunt or Toxic, it has more EVs focused into power as opposed to bulk. Because of this, finding a good switch-in to Crobat's checks is a good idea. Magnezone is a great choice since it traps and kills the Steel-types that wall Crobat, while the pair can each switch in on each other's weaknesses; Crobat is immune to Magnezone's Ground-type x4 weakness while Magnezone resists every single type Crobat is weak to (Psychic, Electric, Ice, and Rock).</p>
<p>Since Crobat lacks instant recovery when equipped with a Choice Band, it is absolutely vital that Stealth Rock is removed from play. Otherwise, without Wish support, Crobat is not coming in more than 4 times, thus severely cutting its usefulness. Super Fang or Taunt are good options over Cross Poison or Pursuit, as Cross Poison may benefit from STAB, but usually has poor coverage, while Pursuit lacks power. Taunt can be used to stop slower leads such as Swampert and Bronzong from setting up, letting you bring in a sweeper and start pounding down on the foe, whereas Super Fang is useful versus bulkier teams, cutting 50% of the opposing Pokemon's health. This not only makes it easier to KO them, but also allows you to switch in a sweeper or a threat for free while they heal the damage off.</p>
[TEAM OPTIONS]
<p>Crobat is one of those Pokemon that takes entry hazards as both a necessity and a deterrent. Stealth Rock will slash Crobat's longevity, and considering how frail it is without investment in the first place, that is not a good thing. On the other hand, if using the Choice Band/Nasty Plot set, Spikes support will be a godsend for scoring those OHKOs Crobat misses narrowly. If using the Utility Bat, Toxic Spikes will take down Pokemon such as Blissey and Swampert even faster, making it easier for your sweepers to plough through the opposing team.</p>
<p>Magnezone and Heatran are some of Crobat's best partners since they resist most of the types Crobat is weak to, while Crobat is immune to their 4x Ground-type weaknesses. They also have the ability to take out many of Crobat's common counters, such as Steel-types, Suicune, and Swampert. In return, Crobat can take down or weaken the many walls that would otherwise stop Magnezone and Heatran cold. However, Blissey will stop both Crobat and Heatran if Crobat is running Nasty Plot (and Heatran lacks Explosion), whereas Skarmory can stop Crobat if it uses any other set (although Magnezone and Heatran can KO it easily).</p>
[OPTIONAL CHANGES]
<p>Crobat has a large variety of EV spreads it can run, due to the different roles it can fufill. You can reduce the Speed number to 144 EVs, as this comes to 356 Speed, just enough to outpace +1 Tyranitar. Crobat has no business trying to speed tie with Aerodactyl or Jolteon, so it can use 104 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Def / 136 Spe to give more bulk while still powering Brave Bird to its full extent. X-Scissor can be a stronger alternative against Celebi and other Psychic-types, but Cross Poison is often more useful (and gets STAB). Crobat can use Giga Drain on the Nasty Plot set, since it will always OHKO Swampert after a Nasty Plot while regaining some much-needed health. Confuse Ray, Whirlwind, Rain Dance, and Screech are all usable support options, but there is almost always there is a better user out there, and Crobat has more effective tools for supporting the team. Hypnosis is an extremely useful tool for putting the opponent's Pokemon to sleep, although it is illegal with Brave Bird, and Brave Bird is by far the more useful option. Additionally, the low accuracy doesn't help the fact that Crobat cannot afford a miss against a large threat, even with defensive investment.</p>
[COUNTERS]
<p>Zapdos and Rotom-A wall Crobat to high heaven, and most Rock-, Steel-, and Ground-types do too, but are hit hard by the Nasty Plot set. Jolteon and Aerodactyl can effectively revenge kill Crobat, since it rarely runs maximum Speed. Anything switching in has to be wary of Super Fang, Taunt, or Hypnosis, but generally Pokemon like Snorlax and Blissey can take on the special sweeper while Swampert, Skarmory, and Heatran do well against the physical attacker.</p>
<p>The hardest thing about countering Crobat is that you don't know what set it is running until about a turn or two after it is sent out. By then there's a chance that it's already KOed your counter, so it's important to play cautiously when it first comes out. However, once you determine its set, it's easy to take down. Generally, you should take advantage of the fact that it cannot hit very hard outside of Nasty Plot, and the fact that Crobat is actually quite frail provided you hit it with a move that it doesn't resist.</p>
