Persian (Alola Form)
Pokedex Number - #53
Type - Dark
Base Stats - 65 HP / 60 Atk / 60 Def / 75 SAtk / 65 SDef / 115 Spe - (440 BST)
Abilities
Ability 1 - Fur Coat: Halves the damage taken from physical moves.
Ability 2 - Technician: Moves of base power 60 or less are boosted by 50%.
Hidden Ability (Available) - Rattled: Speed is raised by one stage when the Pokémon is hit by a Bug-type, Ghost-type or Dark-type move.
Level Up Moves:
Lv1 - Swift
Lv1 - Quash
Lv1 - Play Rough
Lv1 - Switcheroo
Lv1 - Scratch
Lv1 - Growl
Lv1 - Bite
Lv1 - Fake Out
Lv6 - Bite
Lv9 - Fake Out
Lv14 - Fury Swipes
Lv17 - Screech
Lv22 - Feint Attack
Lv25 - Taunt
Lv32 - Power Gem
Lv37 - Slash
Lv44 - Nasty Plot
Lv49 - Assurance
Lv56 - Captivate
Lv61 - Night Slash
Lv65 - Feint
Lv69 - Dark Pulse
TM & HM Compatibility
TM01 - Work Up
TM05 - Roar
TM06 - Toxic
TM10 - Hidden Power
TM11 - Sunny Day
TM12 - Taunt
TM15 - Hyper Beam
TM17 - Protect
TM18 - Rain Dance
TM21 - Frustration
TM24 - Thunderbolt
TM25 - Thunder
TM27 - Return
TM30 - Shadow Ball
TM32 - Double Team
TM40 - Aerial Ace
TM41 - Torment
TM42 - Facade
TM44 - Rest
TM45 - Attract
TM46 - Thief
TM48 - Round
TM49 - Echoed Voice
TM60 - Quash
TM63 - Embargo
TM65 - Shadow Claw
TM66 - Payback
TM68 - Giga Impact
TM77 - Psych Up
TM85 - Dream Eater
TM87 - Swagger
TM88 - Sleep Talk
TM89 - U-turn
TM90 - Substitute
TM95 - Snarl
TM97 - Dark Pulse
TM100 - Confide
Egg Moves
Egg - Hypnosis
Egg - Assist
Egg - Foul Play
Egg - Spite
Egg - Charm
Egg - Amnesia
Egg - Parting Shot
Egg - Flail
Egg - Flatter
Egg - Punishment
Egg - Snatch
Egg - Covet
Transfer Only Moves
Hones Claws
Dig
Retaliate
Flash
Secret Power
Cut
Covet
Gunk Shot
Hyper Voice
Icy Wind
Knock Off
Seed Bomb
Shock Wave
Endure
Natural Gift
Mud Slap
Headbutt
Body Slam
Double-Edge
Mimic
Defense Curl
Nightmare
Take Down
Bubblebeam
Water Gun
Pay Day
Rage
Bide
Skull Bash
Lv1 - Swift
Lv1 - Quash
Lv1 - Play Rough
Lv1 - Switcheroo
Lv1 - Scratch
Lv1 - Growl
Lv1 - Bite
Lv1 - Fake Out
Lv6 - Bite
Lv9 - Fake Out
Lv14 - Fury Swipes
Lv17 - Screech
Lv22 - Feint Attack
Lv25 - Taunt
Lv32 - Power Gem
Lv37 - Slash
Lv44 - Nasty Plot
Lv49 - Assurance
Lv56 - Captivate
Lv61 - Night Slash
Lv65 - Feint
Lv69 - Dark Pulse
TM & HM Compatibility
TM01 - Work Up
TM05 - Roar
TM06 - Toxic
TM10 - Hidden Power
TM11 - Sunny Day
TM12 - Taunt
TM15 - Hyper Beam
TM17 - Protect
TM18 - Rain Dance
TM21 - Frustration
TM24 - Thunderbolt
TM25 - Thunder
TM27 - Return
TM30 - Shadow Ball
TM32 - Double Team
TM40 - Aerial Ace
TM41 - Torment
TM42 - Facade
TM44 - Rest
TM45 - Attract
TM46 - Thief
TM48 - Round
TM49 - Echoed Voice
TM60 - Quash
TM63 - Embargo
TM65 - Shadow Claw
TM66 - Payback
TM68 - Giga Impact
TM77 - Psych Up
TM85 - Dream Eater
TM87 - Swagger
TM88 - Sleep Talk
TM89 - U-turn
TM90 - Substitute
TM95 - Snarl
TM97 - Dark Pulse
TM100 - Confide
Egg Moves
Egg - Hypnosis
Egg - Assist
Egg - Foul Play
Egg - Spite
Egg - Charm
Egg - Amnesia
Egg - Parting Shot
Egg - Flail
Egg - Flatter
Egg - Punishment
Egg - Snatch
Egg - Covet
Transfer Only Moves
Hones Claws
Dig
Retaliate
Flash
Secret Power
Cut
Covet
Gunk Shot
Hyper Voice
Icy Wind
Knock Off
Seed Bomb
Shock Wave
Endure
Natural Gift
Mud Slap
Headbutt
Body Slam
Double-Edge
Mimic
Defense Curl
Nightmare
Take Down
Bubblebeam
Water Gun
Pay Day
Rage
Bide
Skull Bash
General Analysis
Alolan Persian has been dismissed by a lot of people, but it actually has a great amount of potential. It can firstly act as a blanket check to physical attackers and sweepers, due to it's ability Fur Coat. It is also the best Knock Off switch-in that exists. It's primary role on teams, however, will be a quick and bulky pivot; it does a fantastic job of coming in on physical, or resisted special, hits and then pivoting out into a threatening attacker due to Parting Shot. Parting Shot gives it the ability to weaken enemy offensive threats, which could provide your incoming Pokemon with free turns to fire off a nuke, or unique and easier set-up opportunities. Ideally, you will want to be running Persian-A against a more offensive team because defensive 'Mons rarely care about the stat drop from Parting Shot. However, it does have the tools to cripple slower, more defensive teams as well. As icing on the cake, Alolan Persian has access to Z-Parting Shot, allowing it to drop the opponent's Atk and SpAtk stats, while fully healing the Pokemon that comes in to replace it. All of these things together make it a solid glue option for a lot of teams.
Potential Movesets
Live Long and Pawsper (Z-Persian)
Persian-Alola @ Darkinium-Z
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 228 HP / 28 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Taunt
- Parting Shot
- Toxic/Roar
Set Description:
This will be the standard set for Persian-A. It gives it the Speed to combat faster threats, whether that be via Foul Play, Taunt, or Parting Shot. Maxing out HP allows it to switch in to resisted Special hits better, like Shadow Ball or Dark Pulse. Moving EV's from HP into Def will drastically improve it's physical bulk, so if sponging Special hits is not a priority for you, then moving EV's into Def will probably be worthwhile. 28 Def guarantees that it will survive +1 Flare Blitz form Zard-X, and KO in return (with the recoil). As for the movepool, Foul Play heavily damage the physically oriented Pokemon that Persian-A wants to be switching into. Taunt will cripple the slower, more defensive 'Mons that don't mind taking a Parting Shot. Parting Shot, the most important move that Persian-A gets, allows it to keep up momentum and allow you to get switch-ins, matchups, and opportunities that were unavailable without that stat drops. Toxic and Roar are here because of the lack of options. They will rarely be used, due to the momentum of Parting Shot or the utility of Taunt being more valuable in general, although they each do have their uses, mostly against Pokemon that are wanting to set up in your face.
ScarFace (Scarf Persian)
Persian-Alola @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 228 HP / 28 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Taunt
- Parting Shot
- Switcheroo
Set Description:
A slightly alternative option to the standard set. You lose the ability to fully heal an incoming ally, but there are several benefits that might make this set more attractive than the standard on some teams. Firstly, it frees up a Z-Move slot. This can allow you to run a Z-Move sweeper (Porygon-Z or Z-Manapy for example). Parting Shot will still do what it needs to, for the most part, which is provide momentum and be an effective middle-man. Another benefit of this set, is Switcheroo. Persian is generally less effective and struggles to find switch-ins versus Balance or Semi-Stall teams, so it's main use is against more aggressive teams. With Switcheroo, however, it can render a Pokemon completely useless, such as Chansey or Skarmory. Taunt works similarly, but then you always have to have Persian-A in against them, and Taunt only lasts three turns. Switcheroo ensures that the 'Mon is crippled for the entirety of the match. It also has the benefit of completely crippling Zygarde-Complete and Aegislash, who it can always switch into. Thirdly, if these two points weren't enough for you already, it serves as an even better check to physical set-up sweepers. For example, with Scarf it will outspeed +1 Mega-Charizard-X, and has a 70% chance to OHKO after rocks before the cat even gets touched (and remember, it survives if you get unlucky). Other examples include outspeeding and OHKO'ing +2 Mega-Pinsir, +1 Dnite after rocks, and a plethora of other boosting or Scarfed Pokemon. While losing access to Z-Parting Shot is a fairly sizeable loss, Persian-A's Scarf Set makes a trade-off for a lot of increased utility that could be very worth it on a lot of teams.
Teammate Options:
Pokemon that Dislike Knock-Off: Standard Persian-A is the best Knock Off switch-in that exists, due to it's bulk, resist, and the inability to lose it's Darkinium-Z. Pairing it with something like Latios allows it to eat up the attack, and Latios likes to get free switch-ins, especially against the Fighting-types that Persian-A brings in.
Bulky Attackers: Remember that with a fast Parting Shot, the incoming Pokemon will be eating an attack if the opponent doesn't switch out. Even with the stat drop, or even the full heal from Z-Parting shot, you may not want an extremely frail 'Mon coming in. It will more often be of value to switch in something bulkier and hard-hitting, due to the free turns that Parting Shot provides. Something like Hoopa-U or Tapu Bulu would appreciate the ability to nuke an opponent without fear of being OHKO'd (or burned, if you go for Taunt with Persian-A first).
Set-Up Sweepers: Parting Shot and Z-Parting Shot, when combined with the switches that Persian-A forces, provides a lot of set-up opportunities for sweepers. It also is unique in the fact that it allows sweeper to set up on things that it previously wasn't able to, due to the stat drops. Pokemon such as Double-Dance Lando-T or SubCM Keldeo (or almost any Pokemon with Sub) will pair well with Persian.
Checks and Counters:
U-Turn/Volt Switch: A fast Parting Shot is countered completely by a slower VoltTurn move. You lose the stat drop, and they get the momentum. And in a metagame where momentum is monumental (say that three times fast), you have to keep this in mind or else you will be set very far behind. Even if the enemy is faster, resulting in you getting switch priority, you really don't want to be taking U-Turns or Volt Switches, which are Super Effective and Special respectively.
Bisharp: Firstly, it is important to note that Persian-A is an absolute fantastic switch-in to Bisharp. It takes Knock Off and Iron Head with impunity. If you pack Roar, or if it is weakened a bit, it cannot set up on you. However the issue lies when you try to Parting Shot into a Bisharp. Both the Atk drop and SpAtk drop result in a Defiant proc, leaving in with +3 Atk. Nobody wants to deal with that.
Special/Mixed Attackers: This should go without saying, but Persian-A's special bulk is extremely lackluster, and it shouldn't be switching into anything special, bar resisted hits. Special Pokemon will try to take advantage of this. This is somewhat remedied by the fact that Parting Shot will give you the momentum when the opponent tries to switch into you, but if the opponent's team (or the Metagame) consists of mostly Special attackers, then Persian-A loses a lot of opportunities to switch in.
Closing Thoughts:
I personally think that having access to a fast, bulky, and viable Parting Shot user makes individual games, and the Metagame, far more interesting. I believe that this cat has a lot of potential, and nothing would please me more than to see it get some use after it was mostly written off as being awful. This thing has niches and roles that I don't think were fully explored, and I believe that it will be an under-prepared-for threat in the future!
Thanks for Reading!
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