Secretly a Power Ranger
[Overview]
name: Defiant
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Iron Head / Low Kick
move 3: Low Kick / Night Slash
move 4: Protect
item: Dark Gem / Steel Gem
ability: Defiant
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
- Defiant is one of the best abilities for a physical attacker in Doubles, as Intimidate is everywhere.
- STAB Sucker Punch is extremely deadly, especially if you get a Defiant boost.
- Steel/Dark typing allows it to counter Cresselia and Latios, which are considered huge threats.
- The Defiant Pokemon that works best in Trick Room.
- Unfortunately, it is very weak to common spread moves (Heat Wave and EQ)
- Huge Fighting weakness, Breloom will destroy you.
- Pretty damn one-dimensional.
name: Defiant
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Iron Head / Low Kick
move 3: Low Kick / Night Slash
move 4: Protect
item: Dark Gem / Steel Gem
ability: Defiant
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
- Bisharp is a huge threat at +1 (Intimidate switch-in)
- Icy Wind is even better; gives you a +2 boost.
- Works very well for working for or against Trick Room teams, as it will move first both in and outside of it.
- Sucker Punch is the crux of the set, because Icy Wind won't affect its speed problems at all, since priority.
- The choice between Iron Head and Low Kick is whether you want extra STAB with a little coverage or weaker, but excellent coverage.
- Night Slash is used for hitting Trick Room setters, Low Kick is for Steel types.
- Protect is obligatory on any offensive pokemon; it lets you play around Breloom's Mach Punch
- Dark Gem is usually preferred for its boost in Sucker Punch, but Iron Gem can be used to OHKO Hitmontop.
- EV spread is very straightforward: since you will be using Sucker Punch and Protect most of the time, there is not much need for speed.
- Max HP makes it impressively bulky; it can even survive powerful super effective attacks such as Jolly Landorus-T's Earthquake and Zapdos's Heat Wave. Max Atk will let it kill as much as possible.
- Speed EVs might work out, especially if you want to outspeed Hitmontop, as they usually run between 4 and 132 speed EVs.
- You could also run a Brave nature combined with 0 Speed IVs in order to function in Trick Room.
- Taunt is a cool option, since it allows you to shit even more on Cress and help Sucker Punch succeed in hitting.
- Bisharp pressures the opponent into playing carefully, and can therefore sometimes set up with Swords Dance.
- Good teammates are Dragon types that are slower than Latios; you basically get a free switch into Bisharp.
- Pokemon that are good at helping Bisharp are ones that take care of Steel types. Hitmontop could KO most of them with Fighting Gem-boosted CC, and make room for Bisharp through Intimidate + Fake Out.
- Any physical attacker susceptible to Intimidate will love the presence of Bisharp, as it will pressure the opponent to refrain from switching in their Intimidate Pokemon.
- Taunt Pokemon; Sucker Punch is more reliable now.
- Substitute could be used to help Sucker Punch hit, but requires support, and fucks up the whole Defiant thing.
- Swords Dance is terrifying with Follow Me, Fake Out, or Wide Guard support.
- Brick Break could see use over Low Kick to annoy dual screen teams and hit lightweight things.
- Thunder Wave could work for catching opponents off guard and providing offensive support.
- Life Orb for consistensy
- Low Sweep is a good way for controlling Speed, and still provides great coverage.
- Stone Edge hits Zapdos, Gyarados, and Thundurus for a lot of damage.
- Lum Berry for burns / para
- Pursuit is an option, but is hard to use with success in Doubles.
- Choice Band is an option, but due to its many common weaknesses, Protect is extremely useful.
- Chople Berry for Mach Punch, but the power boost from Dark Gem is usually preferred.
- Focus Sash can be useful for surviving EQs, Heat Waves, Mach Punches and more, and with a Sash, one should use a spread of 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe Adamant, since heavy HP investment + Sash is redundant.
- Magnet Rise is a gimmicky move that allows you to avoid incoming Earthquakes.
- Any faster Fighting-type can put a full stop to Bisharp, resisting Sucker Punch and easily OHKOing with a STAB move of choice. Notable ones include Terrakion, Breloom, Conkeldurr, Infernape, Virizion, and even though it boosts you, even speedy variants of Hitmontop will beat you.
- Life Orb Garchomp and Excadrill can survive a Sucker Punch and KO back.
- Darkrai can take a Sucker Punch and KO back with Focus Blast.
- Substitute pokemon.
- Steel-types such as Scizor, Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Escavalier will put an end to Bisharp.
- Fire types such as Ninetales, Volcarona, and most notably Heatran can usually take a hit and KO back.
- Hydreigon resists Sucker Punch, and can deal a ton of damage back with Earth Power or OHKO with Focus Blast.
- Follow Me and Rage Powder Pokemon such as Jirachi, Amoonguss, and Togekiss will render Sucker Punch completely useless.
- Sableye can avoid Sucker Punch and burn it.
- Bulky Water-types, bar Jellicent, such as Politoed and Gastrodon can take any unboosted hit and do a lot of damage in return.
- Choice Scarf Tyranitar, though uncommon, will easily take a Sucker Punch, and swiftly take out Bisharp with Superpower or Low Kick.
[Overview]
<p>Blessed with one of the best abilities for a physical attacker in the Doubles metagame, Bisharp is a force to be reckoned with. Defiant and Steel typing allows allow Bisharp to not only brush off Intimidate and Icy Wind but also grab an Attack boost from them instead. It also has access to and STAB on Sucker Punch, allowing it to take advantage of its ability against fast teams. Bisharp also does extremely well in and against Trick Room, as priority moves first both in and out of Trick Room. Rounding off the list of merits, Bisharp's typing allows it to keep common Psychic- and Dragon-types, such as Cresselia and Latios, in check.</p>
<p>That said, Bisharp is unfortunately weak to common spread moves; Heat Wave and Earthquake hit it super effectively, and it does not exactly enjoy taking Rain-boosted Surfs either. In addition to this, it also has a crippling weakness to Fighting-type moves, and being that Fighting-types resist Sucker Punch, it has a very hard time dealing with said Pokemon. In addition to these demerits, Bisharp is also very one-dimensional and is therefore predictable. Even with all these weaknesses, Bisharp is an amazing addition to teams that otherwise have problems with Intimidate and Icy Wind as its presence alone forces your opponent to think twice before using them.</p>
[SET]
name: Defiant
move 1: Sucker Punch
move 2: Iron Head / Low Kick
move 3: Low Kick / Night Slash
move 4: Protect
item: Dark Gem / Steel Gem
ability: Defiant
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set aims to to prevent opponents from freely spamming Intimidate and Icy Wind, becoming a huge threat if they make a mistake. Its combination of the ability Defiant and access to STAB Sucker Punch allows it to fill this role consistently and effectively. Sucker Punch is the main move of this set and should be, with the possible exception of Protect, the move you are using the most. In the second spot, Iron Head is the preferred option, as it is much more consistently powerful than Low Kick due to STAB, but if you want to use Night Slash in the third slot, Low Kick provides better coverage. In the third spot, Low Kick hits problematic Steel-types that Sucker Punch and Iron Head cannot, but Night Slash is great for preventing Trick Room from being set, as it hits the majority of setters super effectively. In the final slot, Protect is obligatory; it is a massive staple on offensive Pokemon in Doubles, especially those weak to common types such as Fighting, Ground, and Fire.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Considering that Bisharp will be using Sucker Punch and Protect most of the time, Attack and HP investment is usually preferred over Speed investment, as both of these moves have priority. With 252 HP EVs, Bisharp is surprisingly bulky and can even take super effective hits such as Jolly Landorus-T's Earthquake and Modest Zapdos's Heat Wave. One could opt to run an alternative spread of 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe alongside Steel Gem, as this enables Bisharp to outspeed standard Hitmontop and OHKO with +1 Steel Gem-boosted Iron Head, but the spread is situational. If using Bisharp on a Trick Room team, you should use a Brave nature with 0 Speed IVs, as this makes the most out of Trick Room. When it comes to picking an item, Dark Gem is usually preferred, gaining important OHKOs on Pokemon such as Tornadus and Reuniclus, but Steel Gem is very useful to get that OHKO on Hitmontop. Swords Dance is also a possibility, as Bisharp forces the opponent to play carefully, which helps it find opportunities to set up.</p>
<p>When it comes to teammates, Bisharp enjoys the presence of Pokemon that can deal with Steel-types. Fire-types can roast said Steel-types; Volcarona is a notable partner, as it can also redirect Fighting-type attacks with Rage Powder. Fighting-types such as Terrakion and Hitmontop can also punch holes in Steel-types, allowing Bisharp to have an easier time breaking through the opposition. Any Pokemon susceptible to Intimidate or Icy Wind loves having Bisharp by its side, as the opponent will have to think twice about spamming said tactics. Notable Pokemon that appreciate this support are Terrakion, Landorus-T, and Tyranitar. Pokemon that carry Taunt such as Thundurus and Gyarados also support Bisharp well; Taunt support makes Sucker Punch much more reliable, as it will only fail if a Taunted Pokemon switches out or uses a faster priority move.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Bisharp has a ton of other options to try out, but many of them are very situational. Notable items to use include Life Orb, Lum Berry, Focus Sash, and Choice Band. Life Orb provides a more consistent boost, but Bisharp's bulk is ruined by the residual damage. Lum Berry allows Bisharp to avoid burn and paralysis once, but the power boost from Dark Gem is preferred. Focus Sash is great for taking threatening Fighting-type attacks, and it allows Bisharp to invest fully into Speed, but with no boost in power, Bisharp misses a lot of KOs if not boosted by Defiant. Focus Sash also helps Bisharp set up Swords Dance if you want to use that. Choice Band is definitely an item best suited for Trick Room, as outside of it, Bisharp will be open to many more Fighting-type attacks and therefore likes the ability to use Protect effectively much more.</p>
<p>With a fantastic movepool at its disposal, Bisharp naturally has many other moves to try out as well. Thunder Wave is an option if your team is focused on spreading paralysis, and Magnet Rise can be used to dodge obvious Earthquakes, but Bisharp is best suited for an offensive role, and the two moves limit its coverage. Bisharp finds the best coverage alongside its STABs in Fighting-types moves, a few of which it learns besides Low Kick. Low Sweep can be used for speed control, but Low Kick hits the majority of targets for much more damage. Brick Break is the second coverage option and is a good choice for teams that have trouble with dual screens. Pursuit is another STAB option, especially useful for fleeing Psychic-types, such as Latios. Finally, Stone Edge is an option for hitting Flying-types, such as Tornadus and Zapdos, for more damage.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>The best way to keep Bisharp in check is to play around it carefully; refrain from use Icy Wind and switching in an Intimidate Pokemon while Bisharp is on the field. Once you begin to play around Bisharp like this, it is not very hard to counter. The presence of faster Fighting-types, such as Terrakion, Heracross, and Breloom, put Bisharp in a living hell, as they can shrug off Sucker Punch and OHKO with their STAB moves. Most Steel-types can wall Bisharp, especially if it doesn't carry Low Kick. Notable examples include Scizor, Heatran, Escavalier, and Excadrill. Fast Dark-types with coverage moves, such as Choice Scarf Tyranitar and Hydreigon with Low Kick and Fire Blast, respectively, can put a stop to Bisharp as well, as said Pokemon can shrug off a Sucker Punch and OHKO back. Bar Jellicent, bulky Water-types, such as Politoed and Gastrodon are shaky checks, as they can easily take unboosted hits, but some miss the OHKO on Bisharp. Finally, there is Sableye which can easily play around Bisharp's Sucker Punch, and use priority Will-O-Wisp to limit its attacking capabilities.</p>
<p>In addition to typing, there are also a couple of moves that counter Bisharp's main move, Sucker Punch. Substitute dodges Sucker Punch and allows its user to pose as a threat at the same time; this move is especially effective if the Substitute user is resistant to Bisharp's coverage moves. Will-O-Wisp also avoids Sucker Punch, but instead of making its user more threatening, the move makes Bisharp less threatening. Finally, Follow Me and Rage Powder are also moves that completely shut down Sucker Punch, as both redirect it and dodge it at the same time.</p>
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