Diancie [QC 0/3]

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EonX

Battle Soul
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[OVERVIEW]
  • Unique Rock / Fairy typing that sports resistances to Normal, Fire, Dark, and Flying plus a Dragon immunity
  • Great twin base 150 defenses to help support its resistances
  • Key support moves in Stealth Rock and Heal Bell help it to stand out
  • Z-moves gave it a means of one-time recovery in the form of Z-Heal Bell
  • Diamond Storm now gives +2 Defense instead of +1
  • Struggles with its neutrality to Fighting as a Fairy-type in a tier where Heracross is a central figure
  • 4x Steel weakness sucks with Doublade, Escavalier, and Durant being major threats
  • Weaknesses to Water and Grass isn't nice with the likes of Shaymin and Feraligatr waiting at many turns
  • Struggles to keep the likes of Gligar and Donphan from removing its entry hazards due to its Ground weakness
  • Very susceptible to bulky Pokemon like Reuniclus, Snorlax, and Feraligatr using it as setup fodder due to low damage output or weakness to their common moves
  • Z-moves allow Pokemon like Salazzle and Flygon to push past Diancie before it can exploit their weaknesses
  • Base 50 Speed means it will often be hit twice upon switch in before it can retaliate
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Diamond Storm
move 4: Heal Bell
item: Leftovers / Normalium Z
ability: Clear Body
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
  • Stealth Rock is needed for every team, and Diancie has good resistances to get in on to set it up
  • Moonblast handles the likes of Zoroark, Honchkrow, and Kommo-O quickly and has solid neutral coverage
  • Diamond Storm deals with Moltres, Yanmega, and Salazzle reliably and can give +2 Defense often
  • Heal Bell cures status ailments for Diancie's team and, with Normalium Z, provides Diancie a one-time means of recovery
  • Toxic can cripple the likes of Cresselia, Gligar, and Slowbro if the team can go without Heal Bell
Set Details
========
  • EVs maximize Diancie's special bulk to check the likes of Yanmega, Zoroark, and Moltres more reliably
  • Sassy is used as Diancie uses both attacking stats and doesn't hurt much from losing Speed
  • Leftovers is the preferred item for passive recovery so Diancie can more reliably handle Yanmega, Zoroark, and Moltres
  • Normalium Z is a viable alternative in conjunction with Heal Bell to allow Diancie to fully heal its HP once
Usage Tips
========
  • Diancie should be sent in on special attacks that it resists as it lacks reliable recovery unless it's using Normalium Z. Pokemon like Yanmega and Moltres are key targets to switch in on
  • Stealth Rock or Heal Bell should almost always be Diancie's first move once on the battlefield unless it's faced with a dangerous threat that needs to be addressed immediately
  • Despite resisting Knock Off, Diancie should only switch into Knock Off if it's carrying Normalium Z as Leftovers is otherwise its only form of recovery
  • Be wary around potential Z-move users. Salazzle and Moltres are key Pokemon that could be packing a Z-move to push through Diancie if it's low enough on HP
  • Double switching is key when the opponent has something like Snorlax, Reuniclus, or Feraligatr on their team as Diancie has a hard time keeping them from setting up
  • Diamond Storm has low PP, so it needs to be used somewhat sparingly to ensure it isn't PP stalled
Team Options
========
  • Grass-types like Chesnaught, Roserade, and Shaymin to deal with bulky Water-types. Chesnaught also checks Feraligatr well while Roserade can double as a Grass-type check
  • Bulky Pokemon like Cresselia, defensive Moltres, and Gligar appreciate Heal Bell support.
  • Steel-type checks as Diancie can't do much to them. Moltres again works well while the likes of Nidoqueen, Heracross, and Flygon can also work well
  • Nidoqueen is arguably the most immediately threatening Pokemon to Diancie. Rotom-H, Cresselia, and Bronzong are some good checks to it
  • Wish support is nice so Diancie isn't worn down too quickly. Umbreon is a great option for this as it also reliably checks Nidoqueen
  • Snorlax and Reuniclus are dangerous bulky setup sweepers that don't care about what Diancie has to offer
  • Snorlax can be checked by powerful Fighting- and Steel-types like Pangoro, Heracross, and Doublade
  • Reuniclus has a tough time with Escavalier, Zoroark, and Pangoro
  • Of the aforementioned teammates, Cresselia is nice for Z-move Salazzle while Rotom-H easily handles Bloom Doom Moltres, two Pokemon Diancie can otherwise check once their Z-moves are used up
[SET]
name: Offensive Stealth Rock
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Diamond Storm
move 4: Earth Power / Psychic
item: Shuca Berry
ability: Clear Body
nature: Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
  • Stealth Rock allows Diancie to more easily outlast Pokemon it checks like Yanmega and Moltres
  • Moonblast is strong, reliable STAB that deals with common Dragon- and Dark-types
  • Diamond Storm deals with the likes of Ynamega and Moltres before they can push through Diancie
  • Earth Power hits the likes of Doublade and Nidoqueen for super effective damage
  • Psychic retains coverage on Nidoqueen and also hits the likes of Roserade and Venusaur pretty hard
Set Details
========
  • EVs maximize Special Attack and overall bulk so that Diancie can hit as hard as possible while still taking hits
  • Shuca Berry allows Diancie to handle one Ground-type move and retaliate with the appropriate move
  • If using Psychic, Rindo Berry can allow Diancie to take a hit from Roserade and Venusaur
  • Quiet nature is used as Diancie uses both attacking stats. Even with Quiet, Diancie outspeeds Rhyperior, allowing it to win if Rhyperior switches into Moonblast
  • If outspeeding Donphan is necessary for your team, Modest nature can be used with the 4 extra EVs thrown into Speed
Usage Tips
========
  • This set requires more planning to use. Identify the target you want Diancie to lure in and make sure it stays healthy enough to successfully do this
  • It's imperative to only expose Diancie to resisted attacks, preferably from defensive Pokemon to maintain its health as much as possible
  • Once Diancie switches in, setting Stealth Rock should be your top priority. Shuca Berry allows Diancie to beat Donphan 1v1 while max SpA Moonblast puts heavy pressure on Gligar
  • If Diancie isn't likely to be able to lure and KO a target with its resist berry, it can be played a little more aggressively
  • Be more careful around the likes of Yanmega and Moltres as Diancie lacks the special bulk it normally has
  • Keep Diancie away from Knock Off. Losing its resist berry means it won't be able to lure what it's meant to
  • Once Diancie finds itself facing the Pokemon you want it to lure in and KO, feel free to go for the appropriate move
Team Options
========
  • Diancie is able to severely weaken or eliminate bulky Ground-types, so the likes of Doublade, Durant, and Heracross appreciate having some or all of them weakened or outright KOed
  • Rotom-H is a useful teammate to check Yanmega and Moltres since Diancie has a harder time checking them with this set. It appreciates having Ground-types removed to spam Volt Switch
  • Without the likes of Nidoqueen or Donphan to hold them back, Escavalier, Heracross, and Pangoro can more easily open up holes in the opposing team
  • Even with Special Attack investment, Diancie struggles in dealing with Snorlax and Calm Mind Cresselia. Doublade easily handles both while Haze variants of Milotic and Mantine can prevent both from getting out of hand
  • Water-types like Slowbro and Milotic appreciate Rindo Berry variants of Diancie luring in and severely weakening Grass-types
  • Late-game cleaners such as Heracross and Dragon Dance Flygon can find it easier to sweep with bulky Ground-types worn down or removed outright
[SET]
name: Trick Room
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Diamond Storm
move 4: Earth Power / Psychic
item: Life Orb
ability: Clear Body
nature: Quiet
evs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpA
ivs: 0 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
  • Trick Room flips the script on offensive teams, allowing Diancie to outpace them under the twisted dimensions.
  • Moonblast is primary STAB. Hits quite hard and has great neutral coverage
  • Diamond Storm can give +2 Defense and can hit stuff like Mantine much harder than Power Gem
  • Earth Power hits Steels for good damage as they resist Diancie's STAB combination
  • Psychic offers strong super effective coverage on the likes of Roserade and Venusaur if those are more detrimental to your team
  • Diamond Storm can be dropped in favor of both Earth Power and Psychic if the team has easy ways around Mantine, Rotom-H, and Moltres
  • HP Fire can be useful if coverage on Escavalier and Durant specifically is warranted for the team
  • Explosion can be used over a coverage option to allow Diancie to get a teammate in after Trick Room is set up
Set Details
========
  • Maximum HP and Special Attack investment is used to hit as hard as possible while still maintaining decent bulk
  • Life Orb gives a power to all moves as base 100 Special Attack is only decent without a boost
  • Quiet and 0 Speed IVs ensure Diancie is as slow as possible for Trick Room
  • Fairium Z for a one-time power move with Moonblast and to be a Knock Off switch in. Coverage moves become much weaker though
Usage Tips
========
  • Use Team Preview to determine if Diancie should be used as a wallbreaker or late-game cleaner under Trick Room
  • Weakening bulky Waters is key if you plan on using Diancie to sweep late-game. Firing off powerful Moonblasts early can help with this
  • Due to Life Orb, Diancie doesn't have many turns to work with. Use your switch-ins wisely to get the most out of this set
  • Once Trick Room is up, maximize turns by predicting switch-ins with coverage moves. Something as simple as hitting an incoming Venusaur with Psychic can help immensely due to the limited turns this set has
  • Try not to switch into many attacks unless necessary. Much more prone to being worn down than other sets
  • Watch out for priority moves, particularly Aqua Jet from Bruxish and the less common SD Feraligatr. Remove these threats before sweeping with Diancie to maximize its turns late-game
Team Options
========
  • Other Trick Room setters to take pressure off of Diancie. Reuniclus, Slowbro, and Porygon2 can work nicely
  • Trick Room abusers to either break down teams or finish what Diancie starts. Escavalier, Dragalge, and Pangoro are potent slow powerhouses
  • Bulky Water-types can be a pain for Diancie to get around. The likes of Dragalge, Vikavolt, and Dhelmise can heavily pressure most of them
  • Without Psychic, Diancie needs help against Venusaur and Roserade. Aforementioned Dragalge and Reuniclus can handle them nicely
  • Steel-type checks, particularly to Escavalier and Bronzong, are important for Diancie to succeed. Moltres and Rotom-H provide Speed outside of Trick Room in case Diancie has issues setting it up and can check these threats reliably
  • More traditional offensive Pokemon, such as Sharpedo, Heracross, and Nidoqueen are usable should you just want to use this as a standalone sweeper

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
  • Calm Mind, but there's Florges and Comfey
  • Passho Berry on the Offensive SR set to beat Sharpedo and Feraligatr
  • HP Fire beats Durant on the switch and deals significant damage to Escavalier
  • Choice Specs with Moonblast, Power Gem, Earth Power, Psychic. Really slow though and done better by Gardevoir
  • Groundium Z or Psychium Z to power up coverage on the Offensive SR set. Resist berry is usually better since Diancie is slow
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Setup Sweepers**: Pokemon like Snorlax, Reuniclus, Slowbro, and Cresselia can easily use the defensive set as setup fodder. Snorlax and Reuniclus don't even care about Toxic variants. Slowbro needs to be wary of the offensive set as it's 2HKOed by Moonblast after Stealth Rock.

**Steel-types**: Bronzong, Escavalier, Doublade, and Durant are key Steel-types that can exploit Diancie's 4x weakness. Doublade and Durant have to careful around the offensive set due to Earth Power.

**Bulky Water-types**: Milotic, Slowbro, and Slowking have to be wary of the rare Toxic, but they can take any offensive move Diancie carries and hit it hard with super effective STAB Water-type moves. Mantine is riskier since Diamond Storm hits it for super effective damage and it doesn't always carry Scald, but Diamond Storm can be PP stalled with Roost. Feraligatr is a threatening offensive Water-type that can easily tank a Moonblast or Diamond Storm while setting up a Dragon Dance.

**Grass-types**: Any Diancie without a Rindo Berry has a hard time fending off Grass-types. Shaymin is particularly threatening as Diancie will almost never have super effective coverage coverage for it, rendering Rindo Berry useless against Shaymin in most situations. Roserade and Venusaur are other key Grass-types, but they can be dented or KOed by Psychic.

**Ground-types**: Unless it's the Shuca Berry variant, Diancie can't do much to keep Ground-types away. Nidoqueen is the biggest one to note thanks to its secondary Poison-typing, but Donphan, Gligar, and Rhyperior can also prove problematic for Diancie without a Shuca Berry, although they can be crippled by the rare Toxic.

**Z-Move users**: Pokemon like Salazzle and Moltres can utilize Z-moves to surprise and push past Diancie once it has taken some prior damage. Groundium Z Flygon can even get past Shuca Berry Diancie if it has setup a Dragon Dance already without needing to risk Iron Tail.

**Offensive pressure**: Unless it has Normalium Z, Diancie has no reliable recovery moves available to it, meaning that powerful wallbreakers like Choice Specs Gardevoir, Mega Glalie, and Dragalge can simply take away chunks of Diancie's HP in order to overwhelm it.
 

teachable

Banned deucer.
Hi, not QC but here's some things I noticed.

Overall, remove Nidoqueen/Reuniclus/Heracross mentions. Good job w/ all the mentions, though. Pretty solid.

[OVERVIEW]
  • Z-Move Flygon would typically be running Iron Tail anyways, for Gardevoir, probably not worth a mention here.
  • Mention that Diancie either competes for a Z-Crystal slot on your team or is hindered with no reliable recovery.
  • Bullet describing Diancie being neutral to Fighting should in addition (or solely) mention it being neutral to Poison, as Salazzle is a huge metagame threat at the moment.
[Specially Defensive]
  • Not sure if Power Gem is possibly worth a mention, simply for the fact that it'd let you beat any Moltres variant with Pressure.
  • For the Toxic mention, possibly worth mentioning Donphan as you described having trouble keeping rocks up against it before? Gligar is mentioned here and neither enjoys Toxic.
  • Mention Swellow somewhere in Set Details, probably as an addition as the other Pokemon you listed as relevant.
  • In usage tips, mention that although it has Heal Bell it still doesn't enjoy status due to its low PP.
  • Dragalge worth a mention in team options for Salazzle + Bloom Doom Moltres. Also mention it as a bulky mon that enjoys Heal Bell support
[Offensive Stealth Rock]
  • Mention Registeel as a reason to run Earth Power over Psychic, as its otherwise a free switch in.
  • Only shorten Special Attack to SpA when offering an EV spread, otherwise type it out.
  • If you're going to mention Rindo Berry in team options, mention it somewhere in Set Details as an option and describe what it would in turn allow you to lure e.g. Roserade and Shaymin.
[Trick Room]

  • Mention specific Steel-types, such as Registeel, who would wall you without Earth Power.
  • Mention some Offensive mons that Diancie naturally checks, such as Swellow or Zoroark, that it can setup Trick Room against.
  • Mention Cresselia, Hoopa, and Cofagrigus in setters, possibly remove Slowbro.
  • Mention Araquanid, Hoopa, and Cofagrigus in slow trick room abusers.
  • On the Bulky water mention, Spider Web Araquanid beats/lures them, worth mentioning.

[Other Options]
  • Flesh out the wording in this section, as a whole. Mention Comfey's priority, Florge's Speed tier, Gardevoir's access to Trick, Groundium-Z barely doing half to the main target (Registeel), etc.
[Checks and Counters]
  • With Iron Tail, Flygon not really worth a mention in the Z-Move section in my opinion.

avocado edit: good changes, do all of them imo
 
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