Cobalion
Taken over from Peef Rimgar. The whole analysis is completely rewritten from scratch by me, however.
Overview
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Cobalion is a fairly unique Pokemon in RU due to its ability to perform many different roles. Thanks to Cobalion's solid typing, it has eight resistances to common attacking types such as Dark, Grass, Normal, and Bug. This, coupled with its excellent base 129 Defense, makes Cobalion a great check to prominent threats such as Escavalier, Shiftry, Exploud, Sharpedo, and Abomasnow; it also makes Cobalion a great switch-in to Knock Off thanks to its Dark-type resistance and ability, Justified. On top of that, Cobalion also has a great supportive movepool with access to moves such as Taunt and Stealth Rock, which makes Cobalion an excellent lead. Cobalion is also an offensive threat thanks to its access to Swords Dance as well as Cobalion's great base 108 Speed that lets it outpace a large portion of the metagame. Moreover, its STAB combination gives it solid neutral coverage and most Pokemon which resist it are hit hard by Stone Edge. Unfortunately, despite its positive qualities, Cobalion has numerous flaws. While Cobalion's physical bulk is excellent, it is fairly frail on the special side and has weaknesses to many common types, most notably Fire and Fighting. Cobalion's offensive movepool isn't especially good either, meaning it is easily walled by a lot of common Pokemon. Despite this, Cobalion is still a formidable Pokemon in RU.
Offensive Swords Dance
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name: Offensive Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Stone Edge / Stealth Rock
item: Lum Berry
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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Swords Dance is used to boost Cobalion's Attack by two stages and let it sweep once its checks and counters are either weakened or KOed. Close Combat is Cobalion's Fighting-type STAB move and hits most threats for a solid amount of damage, even without a Swords Dance boost. Iron Head is a strong Steel-type STAB move and hits Rock- and Fairy-types for super effective damage, while also having a nice chance to flinch the opponent. Stone Edge is used to hit Flying- and Fire-types harder, making a potential sweep more easy to pull off. Stealth Rock is an option to support the team if a sweep doesn't look too likely. Alternatively, Magnet Rise can be used to deal with Ground-types such as Rhyperior and Gligar, as it makes Cobalion immune to Ground-type moves for five turns.
Set Details
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Maximum Attack and Speed investment in combination with a Jolly nature is used to maximize Cobalion's offensive presence and let it outspeed threats such as Zoroark, Drapion, and Delphox. Lum Berry is the item of choice to make Cobalion less vulnerable to status ailments such as burn and paralysis, so Cobalion will struggle less against more defensive teams. Life Orb is a option for extra power, but it wears Cobalion down quickly due to recoil, while also making Cobalion more susceptible to status ailments.
Usage Tips
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Take advantage of Cobalion's high Defense and switch in on resisted physical hits. Use Swords Dance or even Stealth Rock on a predicted switch. Close Combat lowers Cobalion's Defense and Special Defense by one stage, so be wary of using it. Watch out for special attackers, as Cobalion is fairly frail on the special side.
Team Options
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Spike stackers such as Accelgor and Qwilfish greatly aid Cobalion in its sweep, because of the residual damage from Spikes. Pursuit trappers such as Skuntank and Drapion are also great partners for Cobalion, as they deal with a lot of Pokemon Cobalion has trouble breaking through, such as Jellicent, Slowking, Cofagrigus, Alomomola, and more importantly, Doublade. Moltres has great type synergy with Cobalion, and it also deals with Alomomola, Hitmontop, and Doublade. Delphox is another good option that deals with Hitmontop while also having good defensive synergy. Delphox can also somewhat deal with Rhyperior using Grass Knot, which can be helpful if Cobalion is not running Magnet Rise.
Substitute + Swords Dance
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name: Substitute + Swords Dance
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Swords Dance
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: Iron Head
ability: Justified
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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Substitute is the main move of this set as it makes Cobalion less susceptible to status aliments and eases prediction. Swords Dance is used to boost Cobalion's Attack by two stages, which means it can possibly perform a sweep if its checks and counters are weakened. Close Combat is a Fighting-type STAB move that hits hard, at the cost of lowered Defense and Special Defense when used. Iron Head is a Steel-type STAB move that hits Fairy-types. Stone Edge is an option that hits Flying- and Fire-types hard, both of which can be a problem without Rock-type coverage.
Set Details
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252 Attack EVs, 252 Speed EVs, and a Jolly nature are once again used to maximize Cobalion's sweeping capability, and helps it outspeed most of the tier. Leftovers is used for a little bit of HP recovery each turn, which is especially important on a set where Substitute is used.
Usage Tips
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Like the offensive Swords Dance set, you should take advantage of Cobalion's high Defense and switch in on resisted physical hits. Use Swords Dance or Substitute on a predicted switch. Substitute is great, as it makes Cobalion less prone to being revenge killed. However, it is recommended that you take care of Cobalion's checks and counters before attempting a sweep.
Team Options
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Spike stackers such as Accelgor and Qwilfish are, once again, recommended, as they greatly aid Cobalion in its sweep. Pursuit trappers such as Skuntank and Drapion are strongly recommended for this set too, as they deal with most of the threats Cobalion has trouble breaking through, including Jellicent, Slowking, Cofagrigus, Alomomola, and Doublade. Another good teammate is Moltres, which has great type synergy with Cobalion, and also deals with Alomomola, Hitmontop, and Doublade.
Support
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name: Support
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Close Combat / Sacred Sword
move 3: Volt Switch
move 4: Taunt / Iron Head
item: Leftovers
evs: 160 HP / 96 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly
Moves
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Stealth Rock is a great support move that can help teammates to get important KOs. Close Combat is a strong STAB move which gives Cobalion some offensive presence. Sacred Sword is an option over Close Combat at the cost of less power, as it doesn't lower Cobalion's Defense and Special Defense by one stage. Volt Switch is used to get some chip damage on the opponent, while also gaining momentum. Taunt is used to stop hazard leads and setup sweepers, but Iron Head can be used for more offensive presence.
Set Details
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160 HP EVs are used to improve general bulk, which makes it easier for Cobalion to do its job. 96 Attack EVs are used to let Cobalion 2HKO threats such as Virizion with Close Combat. 252 Speed EVs and a Jolly nature are used to make Cobalion as fast as possible, which is important especially when using Taunt. Leftovers is used for recovery, helping Cobalion stay alive for as long as possible.
Usage Tips
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As this set's aim is being a fast Stealth Rock setter, you should lead with Cobalion most of the time. Cobalion is also one of the fastest Taunt users in RU, which means that Cobalion can stop suicide leads with ease, making it even more suited for this job. With Volt Switch, Cobalion is able to grab momentum and prevent potential threats such as Doublade from setting up on Cobalion. Cobalion can often be useful later in the game, and should therefore not be sacrificed unless necessary.
Team Options
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Offensive Pokemon that appreciate having a bulky pivot and Stealth Rock love having Cobalion on their team. Moltres is, once again, a good teammate, because of good type synergy with Cobalion and the fact that it deals with Alomomola and Doublade, both of which wall Cobalion, and the latter can also use Cobalion as a setup bait. Slowking also has good type synergy with Cobalion, and deals with Pokemon such as Delphox, Hitmontop, Moltres, and Emboar. Delphox is another good teammate; not only does it resist Fighting-type moves aimed at Cobalion, it can also deal with threats such as Hitmontop. Cobalion works really well with Pokemon weak to Knock Off such as Psychic-types, as Cobalion loves getting hit by Knock Off because it doesn't take much damage and it also boosts Cobalion's Attack by one stage thanks to Justified.
Other Options
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A Calm Mind set can be used to boost Cobalion's mediocre Special Defense, but Cobalion's special movepool isn't that great, and it boosts Cobalion's offenses too slowly. A stallbreaker set utilizing Taunt could function effectively. Thunder Wave is a option to cripple the opponent's Pokemon, which can make it easier for teammates to plow through the opponent's team. Cobalion can use a Choice Scarf set, but it is already one of the fastest Pokemon in RU, so it is not recommended in most cases. Choice Band is another option, but Cobalion is rather weak and also loses the ability to switch between its STAB moves. Cobalion can also use a Double Dance set with Rock Polish and Swords Dance, but it's not the best option in most cases, as Cobalion is already very fast. X-Scissor so Cobalion isn't walled by Slowking, but it is useless aside from that and is therefore in most cases not worth a moveslot.
Checks & Counters
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**Fighting-types**: Fighting-types such as Emboar, Hitmontop, and Gallade are all big threats to Cobalion and can OHKO it with their Fighting-type STAB moves.
**Fire-types**: Delphox and Moltres can OHKO Cobalion, and are a huge threat if Cobalion isn't running Stone Edge. Choice Scarf Moltres is a even bigger threat, as it also outspeeds Cobalion.
**Bulky Ghost-types**: Bulky Ghost-types such as Doublade, Cofagrigus, and Jellicent completely wall Cobalion. Doublade can use Cobalion as setup bait, while Cofagrigus and Jellicent can hit Cobalion hard due to Cobalion's low special bulk.
**Bulky Psychic-types**: Cobalion struggles against bulky Psychic-types such as Cresselia and Slowking, which are both able to wall Cobalion. Slowking can also OHKO Cobalion with Fire Blast, while Cresselia can use Cobalion as setup bait.
**Physical walls**: Physical walls such as Alomomola and Gligar easily wall Cobalion, and therefore completely stop a potential Cobalion sweep by forcing it to switch out.
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