Lunatone (Update)

[Overview]

<p>Lunatone has had a rough road since its introduction in RSE. It has a very unique typing, a great ability, and an expansive movepool, but it lacks any real phenomenal exceptional stats to abuse its good qualities with. Add that onto the fact that its typing brings with it a whole slew of weaknesses, the absence of a good special Rock-type STAB, and the fact that Lunatone is directly outclassed by its counterpart, Solrock, and there seems to be little reason to use it all. While Lunatone's lower Attack stat compared to Solrock does mean a weaker Explosion, its higher Special Defense and Special Attack do provide it with a niche in the UU metagame. Play to Lunatone's strengths, and the results just may surprise you.</p>

[SET]
name: Baton Pass
move 1: Rock Polish
move 2: Baton Pass
move 3: Psychic
move 4: Calm Mind / Substitute
item: Leftovers / Petaya Berry
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 28 SpD / 228 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set is designed to actually take advantage of Lunatone's many weaknesses; Lunatone can lure out specific counters, use Rock Polish on the switch, and then proceed to Baton Pass to the appropriate teammate. The last two attacks allow Lunatone to deal some decent damage off its decent respectable base 95 Special Attack stat. With the lack of a good Rock-type STAB, Psychic is Lunatone's most reliable STAB move available, blasting Venusaur and Fighting-types for good damage. Calm Mind gives Lunatone another option to Baton Pass to its teammates. In most situations, Lunatone will only be able to set up a Rock Polish before needing to Baton Pass out; however, in a Baton Pass chain, Lunatone could be passed some defensive boosts, allowing it to find more time to set up a few Calm Minds before passing to the a receiver. Finally, Substitute can be abused in the last slot to bring Lunatone down to a low enough health HP total to activate the Petaya Berry. Substitute itself can be passed too, and it is very helpful for blocking unexpected status attacks and for protecting Lunatone's teammates as it Baton Passes to them.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EVs are designed to allow Lunatone to reach a Speed stat of 233, enough to just outpace max Speed Torterra. After a Rock Polish boost, it Lunatone reaches a Speed stat of 466, enough to outspeed Timid Choice Scarf Rotom. The rest of the EVs are placed into HP and Special Defense to give Lunatone some bulk. Lunatone isn't just limited to passing a Petaya Berry boost, either; any of the pinch Berries make for a good replacement, depending on who the Pokemon Lunatone Baton Passes is planning on passing to. Charge Beam is a good alternative to use in the last slot, as it allows Lunatone to go on the offensive and pass on any boosts it receives to its teammates. Psychic and Electric also have fantastic coverage in the UU tier. Explosion can be used in the last slot too, but Lunatone's low Attack stat means it usually won't be doing much damage, especially without any EV investment. It can be useful for punching a hole in Chansey and Clefable, who otherwise wall Lunatone until the end of days, thus allowing a specially-oriented sweeper to come in and clean up.</p>

<p>Because of Lunatone's many weaknesses, there is a plethora of potential teammates who can make use of Lunatone's boosts while covering its weaknesses. Lunatone tends to draw Water- and Grass-type attacks, especially from the two most-used most common Pokemon of UU, Milotic and Venusaur. So, Therefore, any partner who can make use of the Speed boost Lunatone provides while eliminating the aforementioned Pokemon makes a great teammate for Lunatone. Life Orb Magmortar or offensive Venusaur can easily come in on Venusaur or Milotic, respectively, while boasting an increase to their average Speed thanks to the Baton Passed Rock Polish from Lunatone. Drapion makes a good partner to Lunatone, covering its Ghost-, Dark-, Bug- and Grass-type weaknesses and enjoying the Speed boosts it provides. As a bonus, Lunatone can easily come in on any Ground-type attacks aimed at Drapion and start the cycle all over again. Some good examples of other Pokemon who appreciate Lunatone's Rock Polishes include Azumarill, Octillery, Cradily, Hariyama, Medicham, and Moltres. Finally, if Lunatone gets a chance to use Calm Mind as well, the aforementioned Octillery and Moltres make even better partners, as they are able to capitalize on the Special Attack boosts to become truly devestating sweepers.</p>

[SET]
name: Rock Polish + Life Orb
move 1: Rock Polish
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Earth Power
move 4: Shadow Ball / Grass Knot / Baton Pass
item: Life Orb
nature: Modest
evs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>This set aims to abuse Lunatone's decent Special Attack, access to Rock Polish, rare Speed stat, and generous movepool to their fullest extent. After a single Rock Polish, Lunatone reaches 466 Speed, enough to outpace Timid Choice Scarf Rotom. From there, Lunatone's goal is to either blast its usual counters with a super effective coverage move, sweep late-game, or Baton Pass out to a teammate if the opposition is too tough. Psychic is Lunatone's STAB move of choice, and is powerful enough to OHKO Special Sweeper Venusaur on the spot. Earth Power and Shadow Ball, when combined with Psychic, provide the best possible super effective coverage in the UU tier. Earth Power nails Registeel (though only for 33.5% - 39.6%), Rhyperior, Drapion, and Skuntank, while Shadow Ball blasts opposing Psychic- and Ghost-types into oblivion, dealing 44.6% - 53.1% to 252 / 0 Uxie and 73.3% - 87% to 4 / 0 Mismagius. Grass Knot is a good alternative for the last slot, as it 2HKOes Milotic and other bulky Water-types that would otherwise wall Lunatone and drown it with Surf. Finally, Baton Pass is available to allow Lunatone to escape from a bad situation, such as against a full-health Registeel or Spiritomb, and pass the Rock Polish boost to a teammate.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>An alternative EV spread of 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe with a Timid nature can be used, and allows Lunatone to outpace neutral-natured base 80s before a boost. This can be particularly useful to eliminate neutral-natured Venusaur and Blaziken in emergency situations. Lunatone's movepool has no shortage of other options to use in the last slot. Ice Beam is extremely useful for OHKOing Tangrowth, Altaria, Exeggutor, and Donphan, Donphan (the latter two after Stealth Rock damage, damage) in one go. Signal Beam is nice to hit Absol for super effective damage, but in most situations it will Sucker Punch and OHKO Lunatone anyway, making it the attempt null futile. Lunatone tends to lure in Chansey and Clefable, on whom Lunatone can then use Explosion with a Rash nature, OHKOing them and opening the door for a special sweeping teammate sweeper to clean up the opponent's team unhindered. Unfortunately, Lunatone does not receive a good special Rock-type STAB attack outside of AncientPower and Hidden Power Rock.</p>

<p>Like most offensive Pokemon, Lunatone enjoys Spikes and Stealth Rock support to achieve a few KOs, such as a 2HKO on Registeel with Earth Power. Cloyster and Qwilfish are fantastic teammates for providing Spikes, while Miltank and Steelix are great teammates for setting up Stealth Rock. Chansey and Clefable utterly wall Lunatone if it lacks Explosion, and Registeel does the same if Lunatone isn't running Earth Power, so teammates who can get rid of them such threats are highly appreciated. Hariyama can switch in on all of them with ease and smash them with its STAB attacks, and Dugtrio can trap and dispose of them with Earthquake or Beat Up. Uxie and Mesprit wall Lunatone if it doesn't have Shadow Ball or Signal Beam, as do Altaria and Tangrowth if it lacks Ice Beam. Spiritomb easily rips the pixies apart with Pursuit, while Milotic can switch into Altaria with ease and eliminate it with its own Ice Beam. Finally, Venusaur is a great offensive teammate to pair with Lunatone, and it can dispose of Tangrowth with its powerful STAB Sludge Bomb.</p>

[SET]
name: Trick Room
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Explosion
move 3: Stealth Rock
move 4: Psychic
item: Leftovers / Focus Sash
nature: Brave
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>As a Trick Room user, Lunatone offers a unique array of qualities that separate it from its fellow Trick Room-using brethren competition. Lunatone's biggest advantage is its access to both Explosion and Stealth Rock. With Explosion, Lunatone is able to set up Trick Room, Explode on whatever unfortunate Pokemon that happens to be on the field, and allow a teammate to come in unscathed with three turns of Trick Room remaining. Stealth Rock is always useful for chipping health off of the opposing team Pokemon, and making it easier for Lunatone's teammates to garner KOs. The last slot is mostly filler. Psychic is Lunatone's most reliable STAB, but unfortunately leaves it walled by Spiritomb and Steel-types.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>When using Lunatone, the main idea is to come in, set up Trick Room, and use Explosion as soon as possible to give the rest of the team time to abuse Trick Room. However, using Explosion blindly is not always the best course of action; in many cases, it will probably be better to use Stealth Rock and then switch to the appropriate teammate. If your team already has Stealth Rock support elsewhere, Earth Power or Shadow Ball can be used in its place to grant Lunatone far greater coverage, allowing it to function as a sweeper. The EV spread is designed to give Lunatone the strongest Explosion possible, as Lunatone will rarely be using Psychic at all.</p>

<p>Lunatone makes an adequate lead, but it suffers from the omnipresence of Taunt, and has no way of stopping to stop leads such as Omastar, Uxie, and Qwilfish from setting up entry hazards. However, using Lunatone in the lead position can prove useful at times, as Lunatone is guaranteed to set up Trick Room if the opposing lead lacks Taunt. When being used as a lead, Focus Sash is the recommended item since it allows Lunatone to survive any attack and set up Trick Room. With the EV spread listed, Lunatone has a chance to survive a the combination of Life Orb Ambipom's Fake Out and U-turn. However, most times it will usually be better to just switch out to a teammate who isn't threatened by Ambipom, such as Rhyperior or Spiritomb. Using Lunatone in the lead position can also provide your team with Stealth Rock early in the game, while Explosion is useful for punching a hole in the opposing team right from the get-go.</p>

<p>Good teammates for this Lunatone include Pokemon who love Trick Room in play, and can that also cover Lunatone's many weaknesses well. Exeggutor and Slowbro can both set up Trick Room, as well and as absorb the Grass- and Water-type attacks, respectively, that are aimed at Lunatone. Porygon2 makes a good partner to Lunatone, absorbing the Ghost-type attacks aimed at it and switching into Spiritomb with little trouble. Porygon2 is also neutral to Dark-type attacks, unique among Trick Room users, but is crippled by Taunt. Good sweepers to pair with Lunatone include Azumarill, Hariyama, and Camerupt. Azumarill has no trouble switching into the Water-types Lunatone will probably encounter, and functions well both in and out of Trick Room thanks to Aqua Jet. Hariyama can switch into any Dark-type Lunatone may encounter and hits hard smash them with its STAB Close Combat. Lunatone loves Camerupt as a partner, since Lunatone can switch into Ground-type attacks aimed at Camerupt for free and set up Trick Room again multiple times throughout the battle.</p>

[Team Options]

<p>Water-types such as Azumarill and Octillery make great partners to Lunatone; they are able to switch into any Water-type attacks aimed at Lunatone, and enjoy any Speed boosts it may provide. Lanturn is a great defensive partner as well; well, since Lunatone can switch into any Ground-type attacks aimed at Lanturn for free, while Lanturn can tank any Water-type attacks for Lunatone. Drapion makes a good teammate to Lunatone, being able to switch into the Dark-, Bug-, Grass-, and Ghost-type attacks aimed at Lunatone the Meteorite Pokemon. Lunatone is easily walled by the likes of Registeel, Regirock, and Chansey, so Pokemon who can easily dispose of them, such as Milotic, Dugtrio, and Hariyama, make good teammates. Sweepers who enjoy Trick Room, such as Camerupt, Clamperl, and Exeggutor, make good partners for Lunatone as well.</p>

[Optional Changes]

<p>Lunatone has a plethora of other support options, including Hypnosis, Reflect, Light Screen, and Gravity, but is generally too frail to successfully use any of them. Lunatone can also pass Charge Beam and Cosmic Power boosts, but has a hard time doing so due to its many weaknesses and lack of Speed. A Choice Specs set consisting of Psychic / Grass Knot / Shadow Ball / Ice Beam is possible, but Lunatone is far too frail and slow to pull it off effectively pull off such a set. AncientPower is Lunatone's sole source of a special Rock-type STAB outside of Hidden Power Rock, but the base power Base Power is far too low and the benefits are not worth the effort. Lunatone also has Pain Split, but, again, Lunatone is neither bulky nor fast enough to make use of it. If using Lunatone in the lead slot, Hidden Power Grass can be used in place of Stealth Rock to 2HKO Rhyperior, Omastar, and Kabutops, but has little use otherwise.</p>

[Counters]

<p>Countering Lunatone directly is tricky due to Baton Pass and Explosion, but Chansey, Clefable, and Miltank easily wall anything, save for Explosion, that Lunatone may attempt. Registeel fears almost nothing from Lunatone, except maybe a +4 Earth Power, and easily breaks down Lunatone the Meteorite Pokemon with a super effective Iron Head or Shadow Claw. Altaria and bulky Grass-types not named Venusaur walk all over Lunatone if it lacks Ice Beam. Phazers stop Lunatone's Baton Passing games in its tracks and prevent any stat boosts from being accumulated. Dark-types put Lunatone in a checkmate position if it lacks Baton Pass, and Water-types can soak Lunatone if it lacks Grass Knot. Lanturn sticks out as a Water-type who doesn't fear Grass Knot in the slightest, but it won't like Earth Power. In general, Lunatone probably won't be attacking any Pokemon directly, but be wary of who it may be passing to and watch out for Explosion.</p>