Azelf (Life Orb) [QC: 0/3]

Trinitrotoluene

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Credit for this set goes to Motagua and Olman. The RMT where I found this set in is The Homunculi.

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Status: Quality Control
QC Approvals: [ ], [ ], [ ]
QC Rejections: [ PK Gaming ], [ Pocket ], [ ]
GP Checks: [ ], [ ]
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Here goes nothing...



Relics of a time long gone...
[SET]
name: Life Orb
move 1: Psyshock / Psychic
move 2: Fire Blast / Flamethrower
move 3: Hidden Power Ground / Grass Knot
move 4: Explosion / Grass Knot / U-turn
item: Life Orb
nature: Naive
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Why this set deserves to be on-site:
  • Fast, powerful, can sweep late-game
  • Acts as a powerful late-game sweeper and mid-game scout
  • Can give offensive teams trouble
  • Unlike Alakazam, it has access to U-turn and the ability to live through a CB Scizor's Bullet Punch, taking only 74.57% - 87.97%, only a 2HKO
  • Gives slower teams trouble with its powerful attacks
  • Can act as a great contributor to a VoltTurn chain with its powerful attacks and ability to beat Virizion, BU Breloom, Celebi, and Gastrodon
  • Psyshock lets Azelf deal a heavy amounnt of damage to the pink blobs and Fighters not named Scrafty
  • Fire Blast annihilates opposing steels, 2HKOing Ferrothorn and OHKOing Scizor in the rain IIRC
  • Hidden Power Ground nails Heatran and other Fire-types
  • Explosion can be used to let Azelf go out with a bang, potentially taking the opponent down with it
  • Grass Knot lets Azelf beat Quagsire and Gastrodon, and it also deals heavy damage to Tyranitar and Hippowdon
  • U-turn lets Azelf gain momentum for the team
Additional Comments:
  • Psychic is available is more consistent damage is desired
  • Flamethrower is more accurate, but it misses out on key KOs
  • Ice Punch can be used to surprise opposing Dragons
  • Shadow Ball can be used to deal heavy damage to Reuniclus
  • A more physically inclined spread can be used, forgoing Psychic / Psyshock for Zen Headbutt
  • Hidden Power Fighting can be used to deal even more damage to Tyranitar (note that the use of HP Fighting leaves you unable to Speed tie with opposing Azelf and Starmie)
  • The switches Azelf forces can give it a free turn to set Stealth Rock up
  • Expert Belt can be used to fake choice items or Focus Sash
  • Thunder murders Politoed, establishes itself as a lead of sorts
Teammates and Counters:
  • Loves hazards, so hazard setters such as Ferrothorn and Deoxys-D, work well with Azelf
  • Fighting-types work well due to innate ability to capitalize on Tyranitar and Choice-locked Scizor; Mienshao and Infernape make ideal teammates
  • Something that can take care of Scizor, such as Mag or a Fire-type, is needed
  • Pokemon that appreciate the absence of Steels and fighters should be considered
  • A Scizor of your own is an excellent teammate due to its ability to eliminate Reuniclus
  • Other VoltTurners, such as Rotom-W, Hydreigon, and Landorus, can be used with this set
 
This is a cool set, but you should deslash Ice Punch. It's rather weak without Attack investment and losing out on hitting Steel-types is not worth it. Yes, it hits Dragons, but most already take a lot from STAB Life Orb-boosted Psyshock / Psychic and vs those that don't (Lati@s and Hydreigon) you're almost always better off U-turning.
 

shrang

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I'd mention Stealth Rock in there somewhere, since Azelf can act as an offensive SR layer if it needs to as well.
 
Since in additional comments you mentioned missing out on key KOs you might want to mention what KOes it misses out on but otherwise it looks solid but I can't say more till I try it out for myself
 
I don't know if Shadow Ball is really worth mentioning if it's just for Reuniclus. It seems like U-turn -> counter would get the job done a lot more effectively. You only get the 2HKO, whereas offensive TR or CM OHKO you.
 
Nice to finally see a proper Azelf set without Explosion.
I don't think you need HP Ground, as if you find yourself in a situation with Heatran, well just "when in doubt, U turn out." Heatran is also quite limited as to what it can do to you, as Fire Blast is it's best move and you can just switch to a water type to gain momentum.
I'd also take out Ice Punch, as nobody is going to send in a dragon type to Azelf (bar maybe multiscale Dragonite.) because the moment people see Azelf they think about BOOM and POW and EXPLOSION!. Steel types will be racing in to see your Azelf, so Fire Blast is the better option. The best thing about this set is its surprise factor, so I say that faking an Explosion set would bring you a lot of success. Because this set is very mixed, I would even recommend giving it an expert belt, because there is not a lot that can take psychic, bug, fire, and grass neutrally. With an expert belt, you won't lost HP, and you can even continue faking that normal gem whilst giving you opponent the chills.
Nice set!
 

Trinitrotoluene

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This is a cool set, but you should deslash Ice Punch. It's rather weak without Attack investment and losing out on hitting Steel-types is not worth it. Yes, it hits Dragons, but most already take a lot from STAB Life Orb-boosted Psyshock / Psychic and vs those that don't (Lati@s and Hydreigon) you're almost always better off U-turning.
I see your point. I'll just leave it in AC. How does that sound?

I'd mention Stealth Rock in there somewhere, since Azelf can act as an offensive SR layer if it needs to as well.
Does it deserve a slash, or should I just leave it in AC?

Since in additional comments you mentioned missing out on key KOs you might want to mention what KOes it misses out on but otherwise it looks solid but I can't say more till I try it out for myself
I'll get to that. Thanks for pointing that out.

I don't know if Shadow Ball is really worth mentioning if it's just for Reuniclus. It seems like U-turn -> counter would get the job done a lot more effectively. You only get the 2HKO, whereas offensive TR or CM OHKO you.
You're right about that.

Nice to finally see a proper Azelf set without Explosion.
I don't think you need HP Ground, as if you find yourself in a situation with Heatran, well just "when in doubt, U turn out." Heatran is also quite limited as to what it can do to you, as Fire Blast is it's best move and you can just switch to a water type to gain momentum.
I'd also take out Ice Punch, as nobody is going to send in a dragon type to Azelf (bar maybe multiscale Dragonite.) because the moment people see Azelf they think about BOOM and POW and EXPLOSION!. Steel types will be racing in to see your Azelf, so Fire Blast is the better option. The best thing about this set is its surprise factor, so I say that faking an Explosion set would bring you a lot of success. Because this set is very mixed, I would even recommend giving it an expert belt, because there is not a lot that can take psychic, bug, fire, and grass neutrally. With an expert belt, you won't lost HP, and you can even continue faking that normal gem whilst giving you opponent the chills.
Nice set!
Heatran. Still, you bring up an excellent point. I'll give Expert Belt a mention in AC, and if enough people clamor for it getting a slash, then I'll slash it in with Life Orb.
 

jrrrrrrr

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This set is the exact same as the NP set except it has U-Turn over Nasty Plot. This isn't a bad set, Azelf already has too many similar sets in its analysis IMO.
 
Except it isn't NP...

I believe U-turn differentiates itself from other sets well, and this set is pretty effective. I like it..
 
They play completely differently. This is used for scouting and hitting hard when need be, and the Nasty Plot set is devoted to sweeping. I don't think Stealth Rock deserves a mention -- essentially, this set becomes one of the dedicated Stealth Rock sets on-site if Stealth Rock is used. Regarding Fire Blast, I would only mention that it can be used for Scizor on the switch in, as otherwise, there is a chance you're going to be KOed by Bullet Punch after Stealth Rock. If Choice Band Scizor decides to use Pursuit, you can simply turn the game against the opponent by taking advantage of his or her being locked into a weak Dark-type move, and this is exceptionally useful if you want to bring in something along the lines of SubSD Terrakion or SD Lucario. Essentially, you can use Azelf's suicide to your advantage -- that's basically what I'm trying to say. Of course if Scizor uses Bullet Punch, you simply bring in the appropriate Pokemon.

As far as teammates are concerned, Rapid Spin users are great because Azelf already takes a toll from hazards + Life Orb + weather if sand is around. Additionally, a Wish user should be appreciated because it can get Azelf back in shape. Jirachi seems like a good option considering it provides paralysis as well, a great asset for the offensive teams Azelf is meant for.
 

dragonuser

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Ive played with this set a little and I can back up the difference between the NP set and this set. This set is actually pretty effective right now as it catches most teams off guard as they are expecting a rocks suicide lead and leaves them guessing on which coverage moves you have.

For teammates I would also mention choice banded tyranitar as a partner. Choice banded tyranitar can get the OHKO on reuniclus while also doing around 80% to scizor with stone edge. It acts as a pretty nice lure for scizor, since most scizors just u-turn on tyranitar only to be outsped and hit extremely hard by stone edge. Choice banded tyranitar also puts alot of pressure on opposing heatrans and tyranitars(non scarf) which both really annoy this set.
 

His Eminence Lord Poppington II

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an excellent set, but i personally use thunder because it OHKOs all politoed sets except specially defensive (it takes 60 damage from grass knot), u-turn hurts tyranitar, and psychic hits hippowdon whilst it can't eq you back so you can just u-turn out if you're using psyshock.

i'd say mention its prowess as a lead as well, especially when used with something like dugtrio or on a volt-turn team. it outspeeds all the weather starters and can trap tyranitar / ninetales with dugtrio, OHKO politoed with thunder, fire blast abomasnow, grass knot hippowdon.

oh admittedly thunder is unreliable when used out of rain but we use focus blast so i wouldn't say it's necessary. i've hit gyarados when i've had to.
 

Trinitrotoluene

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an excellent set, but i personally use thunder because it OHKOs all politoed sets except specially defensive (it takes 60 damage from grass knot), u-turn hurts tyranitar, and psychic hits hippowdon whilst it can't eq you back so you can just u-turn out if you're using psyshock.

i'd say mention its prowess as a lead as well, especially when used with something like dugtrio or on a volt-turn team. it outspeeds all the weather starters and can trap tyranitar / ninetales with dugtrio, OHKO politoed with thunder, fire blast abomasnow, grass knot hippowdon.

oh admittedly thunder is unreliable when used out of rain but we use focus blast so i wouldn't say it's necessary. i've hit gyarados when i've had to.
You bring up some very good points. I'll slash Thunder in, and with that, I'll move Stealth Rock to the AC of this set. Having Stealth Rock slashed just makes it a special analogue to the Offensive Stealth Rock set on-site already.
 

shrang

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This set looks fine, but personally I can't see why we can't just slash U-turn on the Nasty Plot set on-site, rename it "Special Attacker" and call it a day.
 

alexwolf

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This set looks fine, but personally I can't see why we can't just slash U-turn on the Nasty Plot set on-site, rename it "Special Attacker" and call it a day.
Because they play different.

One is a sweeper, and the other one is a hard-hitter/scouter.
 

shrang

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Because they play different.

One is a sweeper, and the other one is a hard-hitter/scouter.
Not different enough to warrant two sets, IMO. The only thing that the OP has differently to NP is U-turn, which really doesn't differentiate it much from Nasty Plot. U-turn is NOT a main move, but an auxillary one. Nasty Plot hits just as hard as this set, if not harder due to potential boosts.
 
So this set would get rejected because it only differs from the NP set by one move? Having used this set a lot of in the past, i can tell you it plays very differently from Nasty Plot. Yes, both sets are hard hitters, but this set is good in the early, mid, and lategame, unlike the Nasty Plot set.
 
I'm not sold. Nasty Plot can also come out whenever it wants to attack with the same 3 moves and doesn't kill itself with residual damage by wasting it's talent using LO U-Turn. I guess you hit Lati@s and Celebi but what other reason is there? Just because it can use U-Turn doesn't mean it can do it all day like Scizor or Rotom-W- this thing will die very quickly. If you really want a LO attacker and not Nasty Plot, might as well let it go out with a bang.
 

shrang

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So this set would get rejected because it only differs from the NP set by one move?
Uh, yes. They don't play vastly differently from each other, making this set very redundant. As I said, if we deem U-turn to be good, then we'll probably just slash U-turn onto the Nasty Plot set (and maybe Explosion), and edit the Nasty Plot set to more of a Special Attacker set.
 

Seven Deadly Sins

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So this set would get rejected because it only differs from the NP set by one move? Having used this set a lot of in the past, i can tell you it plays very differently from Nasty Plot. Yes, both sets are hard hitters, but this set is good in the early, mid, and lategame, unlike the Nasty Plot set.
fun fact: being rejected because the set is basically already on site is barely a rejection because it is an acknowledgement that the set is good enough to be on-site... that's why it's there already
 

ginganinja

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Yea I am with my fellow QC staff on this one. U-Turn does give you that "scouting" potential I guess, while NP is going to be more effective against slower, more balanced teams (in my experience). They are very similar sets and yea, we just need to slash U-Turn with NP and say "Special Attacker" or something.
 

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