QC: Bouff / King UU / Amaroq
GP: P Squared
[OVERVIEW]
* Cobalion is a Fighting-type that has a STAB move to deal with Fairy-types.
* Its typing also gives it a resistance to Dark, which, when combined with its ability Justified and high base Defense, makes Cobalion a great switch-in to Knock Off.
* Cobalion is 4x resistant to Stealth Rock and is immune to Toxic Spikes, making it easier to find multiple opportunities for it to switch in.
* Possessing a great base Speed, Cobalion is able to outspeed the majority of the tier. This works well with its access to Swords Dance, making Cobalion a good late-game sweeper.
* Unfortunately, it is weak to common offensive types in Fighting, Ground, and Fire.
* Cobalion is also held back by its average Attack, which results in it lacking immediate power.
* Cobalion's less than Special Defense limits its setup opportunities against special attackers.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Rock Polish / Stone Edge / Substitute
item: Fightinium Z / Shuca Berry
ability: Justified
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Swords Dance allows Cobalion to sweep, boosting its mediocre Attack to respectable levels.
* Close Combat is Cobalion's strongest and most reliable Fighting-type STAB move.
* Iron Head gives Cobalion a secondary STAB move, which is handy to deal with Fairy-types such as Clefable.
* Rock Polish in the last slot forms a double boosting set, increasing Cobalion's Speed to make it a lot harder to revenge kill after setting up.
* Stone Edge hits Pokemon that are bulky or resist both of Cobalion's STAB moves for super effective damage, such as Mantine, Mandibuzz, and Chandelure.
* Substitute allows Cobalion to more comfortably set up against passive Pokemon that are incapable of breaking the Substitute in one hit, such as Alomomola.
Set Details
========
* Full investment in Speed and Attack with a Jolly nature maximizes Cobalion's sweeping potential.
* Justified makes Cobalion a good switch-in to Dark-type attacks, giving it a boost in Attack in the process.
* Fightinium Z is able to turn Close Combat into a one-time use attack that does a ridiculous amount of damage, being able to OHKO Pokemon such as Hippowdon and Swampert at +2 after Stealth Rock.
* Shuca Berry allows Cobalion to better check Earthquake Mega Aerodactyl and Krookodile.
Usage Tips
========
* This set can either be used early-game to punch holes into the opponent's team or be saved till late-game for a sweep on its own. If the latter is chosen, ensure Cobalion's checks and counters such as Gliscor and Slowbro have been KOed or sufficiently weakened.
* If you are running Fightinium Z, use Cobalion's Z-Move wisely. It can be very useful to severely weaken or remove foes to support teammates, as well as break through Pokemon that would otherwise check Cobalion, such as Hippowdon.
* Cobalion's resistances coupled with its natural bulk provide numerous setup opportunities, particularly against Dark-types such as Bisharp and Hydreigon.
* If you're not running Rock Polish, Cobalion is easily revenge killed by common Choice Scarf users, so KO them where possible.
* With Rock Polish, Cobalion can sometimes clean up late-game just with the boost in Speed without setting up a Swords Dance, depending on how much the opposing team has been weakened.
Team Options
========
* Cobalion is aiming to sweep late-game, so entry hazard setters, in general, tend to make for good partners, such as Swampert, Hippowdon, and Froslass.
* Pokemon that can remove bulky Water-types, such as Celebi and Raikou, are useful to take on the likes of Suicune, Slowbro, Starmie, and Keldeo.
* Dark-types pair well with Cobalion in order to deal with the numerous Ghost- and Psychic-types, such as Slowbro, Doublade, and Chandelure, that cause issues for it. Examples of these would include Mega Absol, Krookodile, and Hydreigon. The former two can also Pursuit trap the aforementioned Ghost- and Psychic-types.
* Strong special attackers are handy in aiding Cobalion, as they pressure the physical walls that cause issues for Cobalion and also lure in special walls such as Blissey, which tend to be setup fodder for Cobalion. Hydreigon and Latias, in particular, do this really well, with both having good type synergy with Cobalion. Hydreigon is able to check Ghost- and Psychic-types, while Latias lures in Choice Scarf users that serve as setup opportunities for Cobalion.
[SET]
name: Offensive Pivot
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Swords Dance / Taunt / Volt Switch
item: Fightinium Z / Shuca Berry / Leftovers
ability: Justified
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Cobalion is one of the fastest users of Stealth Rock, making it an excellent choice for offensive teams.
* Close Combat is a high-powered STAB move and Cobalion's best source of damage.
* Iron Head is a secondary STAB move that gives good neutral coverage alongside Close Combat, also checking Fairy-types such as Clefable and Togekiss.
* Swords Dance boosts Cobalion's Attack stat, giving it more offensive presence when pivoting into threats, especially after setting up Stealth Rock for the team.
* Taunt can be used to prevent opposing entry hazards from being set up, which is handy given Cobalion's good Speed.
* Volt Switch gains momentum for the team and builds up damage on some Pokemon that are able to switch into Cobalion such as Suicune and Tentacruel.
Set Details
========
* 252 Atk / 252 Spe with a Jolly nature enables Cobalion to act as a fast support Pokemon while still being able to outspeed and check certain threats.
* Justified as the ability turns Cobalion into a very reliable Knock Off switch-in.
* Fightinium Z is best used in conjunction with Swords Dance, since it allows +2 Cobalion to OHKO or do a lot of damage to any Pokemon that doesn't resist Close Combat.
* Shuca Berry is the preferred item if you're running Taunt or Volt Switch in the last moveslot, as Cobalion lacks the immediate power to utilize Fightinium Z effectively without Swords Dance. It also allows you to better check Earthquake Mega Aerodactyl and more comfortably stay in against Pokemon such as Nidoqueen, Swampert, and Gliscor to Taunt them, preventing them from setting up Stealth Rock of their own.
* Leftovers provides Cobalion with some passive recovery, which is appreciated on an offensive pivot to increase its longevity and reliability in setting up Stealth Rock. This is mainly an option if you're running Volt Switch or Taunt on the last moveslot.
Usage Tips
========
* Aim to set up Stealth Rock early-game, as that's Cobalion's main role with this set.
* Cobalion's natural bulk and resistances should grant it multiple opportunities to switch in throughout the match.
* Make use of its ability to check offensive Pokemon such as Mega Sharpedo, Krookodile, and Hydreigon when pivoting in.
* Its great Speed and decent Attack allow it to still function as a late-game cleaner, especially if you're running Swords Dance with Fightinium Z.
* Do not stay in to Taunt Stealth Rock users such as Hippowdon and Nidoqueen that would typically check Cobalion, unless it's absolutely necessary to keep Stealth Rock off your side of the field or if you are fairly certain of them going for a non-attacking move. Take note of whether you need Cobalion in particular to check something on the opponent's team.
* Running Volt Switch would turn Cobalion into a hit-and-run Pokemon after setting up Stealth Rock, switching in on resisted hits and proceeding to Volt Switch out to gain momentum.
Team Options
========
* Offensive Pokemon and sweepers, in general, work well with Cobalion, as they appreciate the hazard support and the ability to remove walls such as Hippowdon and Swampert if Cobalion is running Fightinium Z. This makes Pokemon such as Raikou and Mega Absol good partners.
* Cobalion is able to reliably check Krookodile, Hydreigon, and Bisharp, so Pokemon that struggle with these would make good partners for Cobalion, such as Latias and Alakazam. These two also help to take care of the bulky Poison-types that Cobalion tends to have trouble doing its job against, such as Nidoqueen and Tentacruel.
* Bulky Water- and Psychic-types do well in taking hits that would hit Cobalion super effectively, such as Suicune, Primarina, Starmie, Slowbro, and Reuniclus.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Zen Headbutt could be useful on the Swords Dance set to better deal with Pokemon such as Nidoqueen and Tentacruel that would be able to take Cobalion's STAB moves decently well.
* X-Scissor is an option to hit Psychic-types harder, particularly Celebi, which has a chance to be OHKOed after Stealth Rock if it's an offensive variant. Slowbro doesn't take too much from it, but it does more damage than both of Cobalion's STAB moves, netting a possible 2HKO at +2, while Reuniclus gets easily 2HKOed by it.
* Magnet Rise allows Cobalion to easily set up on Ground-type Pokemon such as Hippowdon and Nidoqueen. However, Hippowdon may carry Whirlwind and Nidoqueen may run a Fire-type attack.
* Toxic can be useful to catch walls that tend to switch into Cobalion, such as Alomomola, Slowbro, and Hippowdon, slowly wearing them down.
* A bulky spread for the offensive pivot set can be used to better pivot into certain attacks such as Draco Meteor from Hydreigon. This comes at the cost of missing out on certain OHKOs, though, such as on the aforementioned Hydreigon and Krookodile.
* Life Orb is a possible item on the Swords Dance set if you're running Rock Polish. This is handy in matchups where Cobalion is able to run through the opponent's team of Pokemon that are frail but would normally outspeed it.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Ground-types**: Bulky Ground-types such as Hippowdon, Swampert, Nidoqueen, and Gliscor can all check Cobalion with relative ease, tanking hits from it and threatening it out with their Ground-type STAB moves, although the former two have to watch out for the one-time usage of Fightinium Z Close Combat.
**Bulky Water-types**: Starmie, Tentacruel, Slowbro, Jellicent, Suicune, and Alomomola are all possible checks to Cobalion due to their naturally high bulk and ability to threaten Cobalion with a Scald burn. Slowbro, Starmie, Tentacruel, and Jellicent are noteworthy for resisting both of Cobalion's STAB moves.
**Bulky Psychic-types**: Pokemon such as Reuniclus and Slowbro are pretty much impossible for Cobalion to break with just its STAB moves. It has to run X-Scissor with Swords Dance in order to be able to do so. That said, Slowbro has a chance to survive two hits of +2 X-Scissor and threaten Cobalion with a burn, while Reuniclus usually carries Focus Blast, which does massive damage to Cobalion.
**Ghost-types**: Ghost-type Pokemon, namely Chandelure, Doublade, Jellicent, and Gengar, are typically either hard counters or good checks to Cobalion. Chandelure, Doublade, and Jellicent take on both of Cobalion's STAB moves with ease, although Chandelure has to be careful about those running Stone Edge. Gengar, on the other hand, outspeeds Cobalion without any Speed boost and can OHKO it with Focus Blast or cripple it with Will-O-Wisp.
**Fire-types**: Certain Fire-types such as Chandelure and Infernape can cause Cobalion issues. Chandelure shrugs off both STAB moves with ease and can even be carrying a Choice Scarf to outspeed and OHKO Cobalion, whereas Infernape Speed ties with it, may carry a Choice Scarf as well, and has the option of running Mach Punch or Vacuum Wave. However, Chandelure has to be careful of getting hit by a super effective Stone Edge.
**Faster Pokemon**: Cobalion has a high Speed stat, but it is still easily revenge killed by common Choice Scarf users such as Keldeo, Hydreigon, and Gengar. Pokemon such as Earthquake Mega Aerodactyl, Raikou, and Life Orb Analytic Starmie that are naturally faster than Cobalion don't need much prior damage before revenge killing it.
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