Azelf (Analysis) [QC 2/3]

[Troggy]

For the Nasty Plot set is HP Ground still worth a mention? After a Nasty Plot it OHKOs most T-Tars (with Stealth Rock damage included) except ones that invest 252 in HP and also invest in SpD.

 

[Rakan]

For the Nasty Plot set is HP Ground still worth a mention? After a Nasty Plot it OHKOs most T-Tars (with Stealth Rock damage included) except ones that invest 252 in HP and also invest in SpD.

HP Fighting is superior to HP Ground in every way. Hits Ttar for 4x Super-effective damage, always OHKOing it after a NP, and it also hits Balloon Heatran for super effective damage, mostly OHKOing after a NP boost.

 

[Troggy]

HP Fighting is superior to HP Ground in every way. Hits Ttar for 4x Super-effective damage, always OHKOing it after a NP, and it also its Balloon Heatran for super effective damage, mostly OHKOing after a NP boost.

Oh, I forgot about balloon, thanks for the comment.

 

[Bloo]

Aerrow and I were talking on IRC and noticed that there were quite a few changes mentioned previously that haven't been included into the OP, so I'll reiterate them here, since they were good suggestions that I'd like to see implemented!

1. Don't use "Lead" as the name of he first set you have listed. With the advent of team previews, the lead metagame has pretty much died off. As such, I'd like to see that set renamed "Stealth Rock."
2. Take a look at Iconic's post again and update the first set to reflect the changes he outlined. There's no reason to list U-Turn / Fire Blast / Psychic two times.
3. Make HP Fighting the first slash before Grass Knot on the Nasty Plot set (HP Fighting should be written as Hidden Power Fighting in your OP; you currently don't have it as that). HP Fighting is much better in this metagame, mainly because Tyranitar is everywhere, and HP Fighting guarantees a KO most of the time. It also provides better coverage against Heatran, even though it isn't that common.
4. I think Flamethrower is better than Fire Blast on the NP set as well. You really don't want to afford missing versus the likes of Scizor, and the extra power from Fire Blast doesn't provide any special KOes that Flamethrower doesn't.

I'd probably include the Choice Band / Choice Scarf set as mentioned before. I can see them working fairly well.

Physical Choice

[SET]
name: Physical Choice
move 1: Zen Headbutt
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Fire Punch
move 4: U-turn / Trick
item: Choice Band / Choice Scarf
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Pretty self explanatory. That's all; please update your OP with these changes whenever you get the chance!

EDIT: @chanazn: Trick slipped my mind :p The best move to slash that with would be U-turn; change made!

 

[Rakan]

Perhaps Trick could be slashed on that choice set somewhere Bloo? I feel like Azelf could utilize Trick to mess up some physical walls trying to anticipate its moves. I have used Trick in this metagame; it seems to work pretty well, although the coverage loss is somewhat annoying...

 

[AccidentalGreed]

Yes, I know this is, technically, fully approved by the QC, but since Bloo posted here and the analysis doesn’t seem to be too defined, I might as well add my thoughts.

For the sake of trying to fit Stealth Rock on any normal team, would a Life Orb set for Azelf be viable? Of course, that’s the QC’s choice, but it IS on the Azelf analysis for 4th generation, and like the set says, it does pack power, even without the use of Explosion or Nasty Plot. Azelf is also fast enough to set up Stealth Rock before it faints, which is pretty plausible, considering leads don’t really exist anymore and sometimes bulky Stealth Rock users slow you down. The Life Orb set should look like this (this generation):

Name: Offensive
Move 1: Psycho Shock / Psychic
Move 2: Flamethrower
Move 3: Grass Knot / Hidden Power Fighting
Move 4: U-Turn / Stealth Rock
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Naïve / Timid
Evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

 

[Rakan]

Yes, I know this is, technically, fully approved by the QC, but since Bloo posted here and the analysis doesn’t seem to be too defined, I might as well add my thoughts.

For the sake of trying to fit Stealth Rock on any normal team, would a Life Orb set for Azelf be viable? Of course, that’s the QC’s choice, but it IS on the Azelf analysis for 4th generation, and like the set says, it does pack power, even without the use of Explosion or Nasty Plot. Azelf is also fast enough to set up Stealth Rock before it faints, which is pretty plausible, considering leads don’t really exist anymore and sometimes bulky Stealth Rock users slow you down. The Life Orb set should look like this (this generation):

Name: Offensive
Move 1: Psycho Shock / Psychic
Move 2: Flamethrower
Move 3: Grass Knot / Hidden Power Fighting
Move 4: U-Turn / Stealth Rock
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Naïve / Timid
Evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

I honestly don't think Psychic should even be given a slash, I mean, what does Psychic hit harder than Psycho Shock that you can't kill with another move? Hippowdon comes to mind, but you can kill it with Grass Knot. I'm just not seeing the merits of Psychic as Psycho Shock allows Azelf to destroy all Special Walls.

 

[AccidentalGreed]

Hm, point taken. U-Turn isn't a very good move with minimal Attack investment and the lack of Explosion too, so...the offensive set should be straightforward. I think it's a set worthy of mention due to setting up Stealth Rocks and hitting usually hard on a casual basis (hit something, defeat a few, and when you know you're about to die, use Stealth Rock).

Name: Offensive
Move 1: Psycho Shock
Move 2: Flamethrower
Move 3: Grass Knot / Hidden Power Fighting
Move 4: Stealth Rock / U-Turn (for utility, but the point of this set is to set up Stealth Rocks comfortably)
Item: Life Orb
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

 

[TorchicBlaziken]

Why no Magic Coat, or Imprison for that matter? Magic Coat bounces back Taunt and entry hazards, and Imprison prevents the foe from even trying to use Taunt, Magic Coat, or Stealth Rock.

 

[Bloo]

This was taken over here.