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[B][U]QC checks:[/U][/B] iss, RayJay [B][2/2][/B]
[B][U]GP checks:[/U][/B] comatthew6, Calm Pokemaster [B][2/2][/B] + sandshrewz[Overview]
<p>Drifloon is often overshadowed by Misdreavus and Gastly as Little Cup's offensive Ghost-type Pokemon, and with only base 34 Defense and base 44 Special Defense, Drifloon is extremely frail. Ghost / Flying is not the best defensive typing either, as Drifloon is weak to common Dark-, Ghost-, and Electric-type moves. In addition, Stealth Rock strips off 25% of Drifloon's health every time it switches in, decreasing its already short lifespan. But Drifloon does have its merits. It has a wonderful ability—Unburden—that it can utilize with the new item Flying Gem. However, the Gem not only doubles Drifloon's Speed after it has been used up, but also powers up Acrobatics to a sky-high 247 Base Power (including STAB and Acrobatics's effect). Drifloon is also very fast, reaching 17 Speed with maximum investment. This allows it to outspeed any Pokemon in the game after the Unburden boost. Nevertheless, Drifloon is an underestimated sweeper that should always be taken into consideration.</p>
[SET]
name: Acrofloon (Acrobatics)
move 1: Acrobatics
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Destiny Bond / Will-O-Wisp
ability: Unburden
nature: Naive / Naughty
item: Flying Gem
evs: 36 HP / 200 Atk / 8 Def / 40 SpA / 200 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is, without a doubt, Drifloon's most effective set. It utilizes Drifloon's fantastic Unburden ability to become a fast, dangerous sweeper. Not only does Flying Gem boost Drifloon's Speed, it also makes Acrobatics (which is already fearsome as it is only resisted by Steel-, Electric-, and Rock-type Pokemon) an extremely powerful attack, boosting its Base Power to 247. Even after the Gem's boost has been used, Acrobatics still hits fairly hard with a Base Power of 165. Shadow Ball is a great secondary STAB, having a pretty wide neutral coverage in conjunction with Acrobatics.</p>
<p>The choice between the two types of Hidden Power is up to you. Hidden Power Ice hits Murkrow, Drilbur, Axew, and Dragon-types, such as Axew and Dratini, for super effective damage, whereas Hidden Power Fire OHKOes Ferroseed and deals heavy damage to Bronzor and Pawniard. Destiny Bond and Will-O-Wisp are used to play mind-games against Sucker Punch users such as Stunky, as Sucker Punch will only activate if Drifloon uses an attacking move. Destiny Bond is usually the superior option because Drifloon will most of the time lose against these Pokemon, and can use this opportunity to take the foe down with it. Will-O-Wisp, however, can be used to cripple Pokemon such as Mienfoo and Stunky before starting the sweep, or maybe even during it.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>200 Attack EVs allow Drifloon to hit the hardest, whereas 200 Speed EVs are needed for Drifloon to be as fast as possible. With a Naive nature, Drifloon ties with positive-natured Sand Rush Drilbur, having a chance to use Destiny Bond before Drilbur OHKOes it with Rock Slide. However, Naughty nature makes a very solid option, as it allows Drifloon to hit much harder. Some Drilbur run Adamant so that the Speed tie with these Drilbur is not lost in some situations. Drifloon usually appreciates a Special Defense-lowering nature because most of the priority attacks Drifloon is weak to are physical, such as Sucker Punch. The rest of the EVs are filler, bumping HP, Defense, and Special Defense up by one point. It should be noted that the EVs are optimized for both versions of Hidden Power Ice and Hidden Power Fire. Drifloon reaches 34 Speed after the Unburden boost, outspeeding all Choice Scarf users in Little Cup. Therefore, having a Choice Scarf user to counter Drifloon is pretty pointless. But because Sucker Punch will always manage to hit Drifloon should it decide to attack, Pokemon with access to these moves, such as Croagunk, Houndour, and Stunky, should all be removed before attempting a sweep.</p>
[SET]
name: SubCM
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Calm Mind
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Hidden Power Fighting / Thunderbolt
ability: Unburden
nature: Modest
item: Oran Berry
evs: 116 HP / 8 Def / 200 SpA / 8 SpD / 120 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The goal of this set is fairly simple: switch into something that Drifloon is likely to force out (such as Mienfoo), and set up a Substitute. If Drifloon is faster, set up Calm Mind to get some Special Attack and Special Defense boosts, and if not, set up Substitute. The key for sweeping with this set is setting up Substitutes until Oran Berry is activated, thus activating Unburden for the Speed boost. A Drifloon with an Unburden boost and a few boosts in Special Attack and Special Defense is not easy to face, and it has a great chance to sweep if it's behind a Substitute. To demonstrate Drifloon's power, after it has achieved two Special Attacks boosts, it deals a minimum damage of 76.19% to Mienfoo—one of the most dominant offensive threats in Little Cup—with Shadow Ball. Hidden Power Fighting's coverage in conjunction with Shadow Ball is perfect, but Thunderbolt is usually stronger, hitting Pokemon such as Murkrow or Omanyte harder.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A Modest nature with 200 EVs invested in Special Attack allows Drifloon to hit the hardest. 120 Speed EVs ensure Drifloon will outspeed Choice Scarf users that hit 28 Speed, such as Murkrow and Misdreavus, after the Unburden boost. The rest of the EVs are fillers, bumping Drifloon's Defense and Special Defense by 1 point, and its HP by two points—this means the opponent will have harder time breaking Drifloon's Substitute. An offensive spread of 36 HP / 8 Def / 200 SpA / 8 SpD / 200 Spe with a Timid nature can be used to be as fast as possible in at the cost of some bulk and firepower. Oran Berry is needed, as it not only activates Unburden, but also heals Drifloon to nearly full health if it drops to just under half. Stunky, yet again, is a big annoyance to this set. It is not weak to any move Drifloon packs, and is bulky enough to take boosted hits. Moreover, it can OHKO with its STAB attacks, whether it's Crunch, priority Sucker Punch, or trapping with Pursuit. Magnemite and Chinchou can take a boosted hit and hit very hard with their STABs, though they might not OHKO Drifloon due to the Special Defense boost. Therefore, Diglett makes an amazing partner, as it traps and beats all three with its STAB Earthquake.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>On the first set, Taunt can be used to stop Ferroseed, Bronzor, and Dwebble from laying entry hazards down. Explosion can be used to go out with a bang, but Destiny Bond and Will-O-Wisp are usually the better options to play mindgames against Sucker Punch users. Hypnosis puts the foe to sleep, but its shaky accuracy does not make it a viable move. Sucker Punch can be used to hit priority users before they hit you, nullifying the opponent's Sucker Punch or taking some of the foe's health away before Drifloon is KOed, but most of these priority users (such as Croagunk, Houndour, and Stunky) resist Sucker Punch. Hidden Power Fighting has perfect coverage with Shadow Ball, but it's not going to do significant damage to most threats. Thunder Wave and Toxic can also be used over Will-O-Wisp, but Will-O-Wisp's support is more needed for this set to weaken physical priority attacks such as Sucker Punch. If Snover is present in your team, Weather Ball can replace Hidden Power Ice, saving the Hidden Power for another type. Substitute can be used to block status and Sucker Punch.</p>
<p>Drifloon does not have many other options, unfortunately. A set with a combination of Rest and Chesto Berry can also be used to utilize Unburden, but it is not bulky enough to make an efficient use of this combo. Baton Pass can be used on the SubCM set to pass the Calm Mind boosts to a special sweeper such as Misdreavus and Abra. Charge Beam can also be used to raise Drifloon's Special Attack, but it has a chance of missing, and Calm Mind also boosts its Special Defense. Clear Smog or Haze can be used to cancel any boosts the opponent has collected, but only works effectively against rare Baton Pass teams. Hidden Power Ground can be used to OHKO Magnemite and hit Chinchou and Stunky harder, but the coverage it has with Shadow Ball is underwhelming compared to Drifloon's other moves. Memento can be used to utilize Drifloon's respectable Speed, allowing another sweeper to set up safely. Stockpile can be used to stack Defense and Special Defense boosts, but as said, Drifloon is just not bulky enough. Focus Sash, however, makes use of Drifloon's frailness, as after its been used Drifloon's Speed will double due to Unburden.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Dark-types such as Stunky, Pawniard, Murkrow, and Houndour in general are Drifloon's biggest enemies. Most are using Eviolite as their item, which makes them very bulky, and they also usually pack STAB priority in Sucker Punch. In general, a great way to counter Drifloon would be by using priority attacks, as it is weak to common priority attacks such as Snover's Ice Shard and Croagunk's Sucker Punch. Magnemite and Chinchou resist Acrobatics due to their Electric typing, and can retaliate with their super effective STABs. Rock- and Steel-types, such as Bronzor and Lileep, will not be able to take on the SubCM set well, but they don't take much from Acrobatics, and can poison Drifloon with Toxic; the latter can also Recover the damage off. If Drifloon does not have Hidden Power Ice or Thunderbolt, defensive variants Murkrow can take repeated hits while healing off any damage taken with Roost. Hippopotas and Munchlax are bulky enough to take any of Drifloon's moves, and can hit back hard with Crunch or Pursuit. Moreover, they have recovery moves in Slack Off and Rest, respectively, to recover the health they have lost. Tirtouga and Omanyte will get struck hard by Hidden Power Fighting or Thunderbolt, but they can still set up on Drifloon with Shell Smash and OHKO with their STAB moves.</p>
