Aipom (QC 2/3)

[athleteandy1]

Overview
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• fast, has very high 19 Speed, can use to revenge kill unboosted pokes
• good scout with fast U-Turn
• has perfect coverage in three moves
• Stronger than Meowth
• has Fighting-type coverage that Meowth lacks
  
• MYTH: MEOWTH'S FAKE OUT IS STRONGER. THEY AVERAGE TO BE ABOUT THE SAME DAMAGE, BUT AIPOM CAN KEEP THAT POWER FOR LONGER
• more bulky than Meowth
• +3 priority is helpful for out-priority-ing other pokes (yes, I know that's not a real word)
• solid anti-lead and late game cleaner
• Meowth has Covet / Thief

Life Orb Attacker
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name: Life Orb Attacker
move 1: Return
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: U-Turn
move 4: Low Sweep / Fake Out / Taunt
ability: Pickup
item: Life Orb
evs: 76 HP / 196 Atk / 236 Spe
nature: Jolly

Moves
========

• Return is strongest move and hits really hard
  
• Knock Off hits Misdreavus and Gastly and just about everything else you want it to hit, and it hits hard
• hurts Aipom's counters by removing their Eviolites and Berry Juices
  
• U-Turn for some damage on the switch
• Low Sweep OHKOs Pawniard after Fake Out and is nice to slow things switching inTaunt makes it a perfect anti-lead, preventing hazards or setting up
• Fake Out has solid +3 priority
• Taunt allows Aipom to be an effective lead, preventing hazards from the likes of Dwebble and Tirtouga
• also prevents setup from pokes like tirtouga or shellder

Set Details
========

• EVs and Nature give max Attack and put it in that cool 19 Speed tier
• The rest goes in HP for that teensy-weensy bit of extra bulk
  
• Pickup is the only Ability that can do anything
• In the absurdly improbable case that Aipom stays in for and survives something's Knock Off, Pickup can sometimes grab it a Berry Juice or something else.

Usage Tips
========

• Knock off helps weaken its counters by ridding them of their eviolites or berry juices
• can be used to gain momentum, but should not be used as part of a VoltTurn combo since it's very frail and can't switch in much
  
• Aipom has bad defenses, so it's best to switch out against something it can't win 1v1, like Slowpoke or bulky Mienfoo etc.
• using Fake Out, Taunt, and U-turn together make Aipom an effective lead, but in this metagame, a designated lead is an unwise choice
  
• vulnerable to priority, so watch out for those, Timburr, Croagunk, and Murkrow especially

Team Options
========

• Aipom causes a lot of switches, so hazard support from Dwebble or Ferroseed to rack up chip damage is appreciated
  
• burn support is nice so Aipom doesn't have to switch in on a powerful physical attack; only a weak one--Misdreavus is good, absorbing the Fighting-type attacks Aipom draws
  
• Timburr and Mienfoo beat Pawniard
• Spritzee beats all Fighting-types
  
• Fletchling has a strong Acrobatics to scare out Timburr and Mienfoo and Croagunk

Other Options
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• a set with only Fake Out and Last Resort is funny, but walled by too many things
• Normal Gem + Fake Out + Acrobatics is cool
  
• a Baton Pass set could work, but Aipom is too frail to use it effectively
• Thunderpunch also exists
• Doubleslap or Fury Swipes with Skill Link is weaker than Return
• this thing gets bounce somehow; hits Fighting-types, but it's easy to work around
• nice special movepool with Nasty Plot, but low SpA
• can Baton Pass Nasty Plot and Agility boosts
  
• Gunk Shot maims Spritzee and has massive surprise factor
• Hone Claws is fun, but little time to set it up
• T-wave, but that's better left to other pokes
• Seed Bomb for Tirtouga, not much else
• Choice + Switcheroo is cool
• weather setter, but that's better left to other pokes

Checks & Counters
########

• Slowpoke can take a hit and T-Wave or attack with STAB Scald or Psychic
• Pawniard resists all but Low Sweep and has Sucker Punch or sets up
• Foongus can take anything and Spore
• Bulky Mienfoo and timburr can take a few hits and hit back hard
• priority beats Aipom down after it has taken a few hits because of its awful defenses, so Meditite, Murkrow, Timburr (can absorb hits, too), Tirtouga (has Sturdy and Berry Juice to even set up on), Fletchling, etc.
• any Scarfer outspeeds and KOs because of such bad defenses
• Spritzee is a big fat annoying blob that walls Aipom
• rock types: lileep, tirtouga, dwebble (neutral to Low Sweep)

 

[Darkamber8828]

U-turn is definitely the best option in the last slot.

I wouldn't slash Seed Bomb. Aipom can't hit Shell Smashers with it if it switches in after a teammate dies and Fake Outs, they'd already be at +2.

I'd put Taunt somewhere in there, either in OO or in that last slot.

Low Sweep still OHKOs Pawniard after Fake Out

196 Atk Life Orb Aipom Fake Out vs. 156 HP / 36 Def Eviolite Pawniard: 3-4 (13 - 17.3%) -- possible 6HKO
196 Atk Life Orb Aipom Low Sweep vs. 156 HP / 36 Def Eviolite Pawniard: 21-26 (91.3 - 113%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

and slowing stuff on the switch is pretty cool.

Thunder Wave is pretty nice too.

Hone Claws / Work Up in OO??

In the OP, I think you should go into more depth about what Aipom has over Meowth: more bulk, stronger not-Fake Out attacks, and Knock Off, compared to Meowth's stronger Fake Out and Covet.

 

[athleteandy1]

U-turn is definitely the best option in the last slot.

I wouldn't slash Seed Bomb. Aipom can't hit Shell Smashers with it if it switches in after a teammate dies and Fake Outs, they'd already be at +2.

I'd put Taunt somewhere in there, either in OO or in that last slot.

Low Sweep still OHKOs Pawniard after Fake Out

196 Atk Life Orb Aipom Fake Out vs. 156 HP / 36 Def Eviolite Pawniard: 3-4 (13 - 17.3%) -- possible 6HKO
196 Atk Life Orb Aipom Low Sweep vs. 156 HP / 36 Def Eviolite Pawniard: 21-26 (91.3 - 113%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

and slowing stuff on the switch is pretty cool.

Thunder Wave is pretty nice too.

Hone Claws / Work Up in OO??

In the OP, I think you should go into more depth about what Aipom has over Meowth: more bulk, stronger not-Fake Out attacks, and Knock Off, compared to Meowth's stronger Fake Out and Covet.

I agree about U-Turn. I found the others to be mostly situational, whereas I could use U-Turn to inflict a little bit of damage before switching out. Having played against other Aipoms, I agree about Taunt. It makes Aipom a better lead. I put in what you said about T-Wave and Hone Claws in OO because where else do you put all the failed sets? I made sure to emphasize Aipom's superiority overall. I genuinely believe that Meowth does not do anything better in this metagame than Aipom--other than situational things like Coveting an enemy's item.

 

[Darkamber8828]

also

196 Atk Life Orb Aipom Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 196 HP / 156+ Def Eviolite Slowpoke: 13-18 (46.4 - 64.2%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO
196 Atk Life Orb Aipom Return vs. 196 HP / 156+ Def Slowpoke: 16-19 (57.1 - 67.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

196 Atk Life Orb Aipom Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 124 HP / 156+ Def Eviolite Foongus: 6-9 (24 - 36%) -- 15.4% chance to 3HKO (rolls 8+ dmg 15/16 times)
196 Atk Life Orb Aipom Return vs. 124 HP / 156+ Def Foongus: 17-21 (68 - 84%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

= 2hkod 15/16 of the time

• Pawniard resists all but Brick Break and has Sucker Punch or sets up

Low Sweep

 

[athleteandy1]

also

196 Atk Life Orb Aipom Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 196 HP / 156+ Def Eviolite Slowpoke: 13-18 (46.4 - 64.2%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO
196 Atk Life Orb Aipom Return vs. 196 HP / 156+ Def Slowpoke: 16-19 (57.1 - 67.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

196 Atk Life Orb Aipom Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 124 HP / 156+ Def Eviolite Foongus: 6-9 (24 - 36%) -- 15.4% chance to 3HKO (rolls 8+ dmg 15/16 times)
196 Atk Life Orb Aipom Return vs. 124 HP / 156+ Def Foongus: 17-21 (68 - 84%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

= 2hkod 15/16 of the time

Low Sweep

Nice catch. Anyone besides the wonderful Mr. Darkamber8828 want to help a brother out?

 

[Rowan]

OVERVIEW
don't say it's objectively better than meowth. meowth has other niches anyway like Covet/Thief. just talk about Aipom's higher attack and access to Fighting-coverage.

SET
I'd rather it not be called anti-lead. The lead metagame is a bit non existant I think something like 'Life Orb Attacker' would be better.
I'm also struggling with the set a bit. I think U-turn is necessary to grab some momentum, I think Fake out is the most expendable move. I'd definitely rather see taunt and low sweep slashed with fake out. If you disagree, feel free to argue with this and I'll speak to some other QC members about what I feel is best. Goddess Briyella, Treecko, Electrolyte, prem, macle, what do you think?

MOVES
Fake Out breaks sturdy, mention this.
why is low sweep particularly useful over brick break, aipom is already fast.

USAGE TIPS
obviously remove gligar mentions.
talk about how it's really good at being a lead with fake out/taunt/u-turn. taunt is especially cool for any hazard setters etc... uturn grabs early game momentum, fake out is fake out.
talk about knock off making aipom a really good team supporter as well as it weakening its own counters.
u-turn really helps aipom keep momentum.
priority from timburr and croagunk is even more threatening

TEAM OPTIONS
will need changing up since gligar is gone.
just think of more fighting counters - Misdreavus can't really switch in that well to fighters due to knock off spam.
think of stuff that can switch into bulky rock types well.

OTHER OPTIONS
normal gem fake out + acrobatics makes a good lure
only thing that can baton pass nasty plot iirc, so mention that. also mention agility when mentioned baton pass
remove mention of swirlix... gunk shot still should be mentioned for spritzee though.
seed bomb is its best option that isn't in the set, hitting tirt and other rocks

C&C
rock types mainly. lileep, tirtouga etc...
remove gligar
alongside mienfoo, mention the other fighting types
other random bulky things like Hippo

holding back on QC approval till I get more opinions on the set.

 

[Rowan]

spoke with electro, and we both decided that taunt and low sweep are fine slashed where they are. make my changes and QC 1/3

 

[GlassGlaceon]

you should probably remove all mention of swirlix as well, which cork might have missed.

 

[ryan]

Woah wait what? U-turn is way more important than Fake Out.

Oh, that's exactly what Corky said. Yea, I totally agree with moving Fake Out to the last slot and slashing it with Low Sweep. I'm not sure about Taunt though. I guess in some situations, it would be really useful to have Taunt to keep some shit from setting up (Tirtouga is the only thing that comes to mind at the moment, especially because it can set up all over standard Fake Out Aipom), but it seems fairly niche and entirely suicidal. The best moveset imo would be like:

1: Return
2: U-turn
3: Knock Off
4: Low Sweep / Fake Out

AC: Taunt, maybe even Seed Bomb for the aforementioned Tirtouga but idk calcs with it

But I'd be chill with Taunt slashed as well. Just not sure it should be.

And definitely don't call it anti-lead. If you lead with Aipom, you're doing it wrong unless you're using it to lure in specific shit like annoying ass Normal Gem Fake Out with Acro for bulky Mienfoo. Like seeing Aipom in the team preview is the easiest way to get taken advantage of in all of Pokemon because it's disgustingly obvious.

Also take out that Meowth Normal Gem comparison because no one good uses that shit. Life Orb Meowth is significantly better (and Life Orb and Normal Gem apply the same exact boost in XY anyways, so running it is stupid as fuck).

I guess that's all!

 

[Electrolyte]

While this isn't super important, Taunt does provide Aipom with a small niche as a lead / anti-lead that can Taunt things like Dwebble or Tirtouga and then scout the switchin, since Aipom can do few other notable things. I like Treecko's set and Corkscrew's changes, but just slash in Taunt after Fake Out in the fourth slot. Once you've implemented all these changes, athleteandy1, I'll look it over one last time and give you a stamp.

 

[athleteandy1]

Put in all the changes, I think. I strongly disagree with having Fake Out the second slash on the last move, but if QC says.....

I put in Corkscrew's stamp, and I await Electrolyte's.

 

[Electrolyte]

Ok, this looks pretty good. Just a few things:

Overview:
You've done a good job here, but I would like you to put just as much emphasis into explaining what Aipom actually does as to how it compares to Meowth. Mention that its Speed lets it revenge kill lots of things, and it's also a great scout with U-Turn.

Set:
Just answering your question and explaining our reasoning for the placement of Fake Out. Honestly, while it is a cool move for hitting with priority and chipping off damage, it really doesn't do much and might as well not be there. Also, with Life Orb recoil limiting the amount of times you can attack, it's not worth it all the time in the long run.

Moves:
~Mention how KNock Off removes items too, helping Aipom weaken its opponents' defenses by removing their Eviolites
~Don't forget to explain the function of Taunt- letting Aipom act as an anti-lead and shutting down pokemon such as Dwebble, Tirtouga, or Ferroseed

Usage Tips:
~Add a note about how its frailty makes it more of a hit-and-run attacker, and with U-Turn, it can easily escape most situations without taking too much damage.

Team Options:
~You're listing more counters here than partners. Remove the counters and just specifically leave the partners that are helpful for beating those counters.
~Aipom also appreciates hazard support since it tends to force switches.
~Also likes burn support to help weaken opposing attacks. Aipom can draw in Fighting-types and pivot switch to Wil-o-Wispers to burn them.

Other Options:
~Manual weather setter (Rain, Sun)
~Choice + Switcheroo


Other than that, looks great, athleteandy1!

QC Approved 2/3

 

[athleteandy1]

Ok, this looks pretty good. Just a few things:

Overview:
You've done a good job here, but I would like you to put just as much emphasis into explaining what Aipom actually does as to how it compares to Meowth. Mention that its Speed lets it revenge kill lots of things, and it's also a great scout with U-Turn.

Set:
Just answering your question and explaining our reasoning for the placement of Fake Out. Honestly, while it is a cool move for hitting with priority and chipping off damage, it really doesn't do much and might as well not be there. Also, with Life Orb recoil limiting the amount of times you can attack, it's not worth it all the time in the long run.

Moves:
~Mention how KNock Off removes items too, helping Aipom weaken its opponents' defenses by removing their Eviolites
~Don't forget to explain the function of Taunt- letting Aipom act as an anti-lead and shutting down pokemon such as Dwebble, Tirtouga, or Ferroseed

Usage Tips:
~Add a note about how its frailty makes it more of a hit-and-run attacker, and with U-Turn, it can easily escape most situations without taking too much damage.

Team Options:
~You're listing more counters here than partners. Remove the counters and just specifically leave the partners that are helpful for beating those counters.
~Aipom also appreciates hazard support since it tends to force switches.
~Also likes burn support to help weaken opposing attacks. Aipom can draw in Fighting-types and pivot switch to Wil-o-Wispers to burn them.

Other Options:
~Manual weather setter (Rain, Sun)
~Choice + Switcheroo


Other than that, looks great, athleteandy1!

QC Approved 2/3

I see your side of the Fake Out argument, but I will agree to disagree. Changes implemented.

 

[athleteandy1]

I'm using my bump. Please, someone, give me my last QC stamp.

 

[Goddess Briyella]

athleteandy1, you may write this in paragraph form now. Good work. :)

QC 3/3

 

[Goddess Briyella]

The writer has dropped this analysis and it has been picked up by another writer who has already posted a new thread for it, so I'll be locking this.