Manaphy

xzern

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[OVERVIEW]
While Manaphy is uniquely capable of boosting its Special Attack to the moon and back with Tail Glow, it still faces heavy competition for a team slot as an offensive Water-type from the likes of Azumarill and Keldeo, both of which sport useful secondary typings that allow them to eliminate a wider range of threats. They also have immediate power and access to priority attacks for the former and more Speed for the latter. Furthermore, Manaphy requires dedicated redirection support in order to maximize its potential as a setup sweeper, as well as hail support to be as powerful as possible by spamming Blizzard. Manaphy does, however, set itself apart from other Water-types with its sheer power when using Tail Glow and its ability to beat Grass-types such as Amoonguss.

[SET]
name: Powerhouse of the Team
move 1: Scald
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Tail Glow
move 4: Protect
item: Safety Goggles / Sitrus Berry
ability: Hydration
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Scald, while being Manaphy's strongest STAB option, also has an added burn chance that discourages physically offensive bulky Pokemon such as Ferrothorn from switching into Manaphy. Ice Beam is for useful coverage that sets Manaphy apart from Azumarill and Keldeo, which don't beat Grass- and Dragon-types. If Manaphy is being used with Abomasnow, Blizzard is a great option over Ice Beam for powerful spread coverage. Tail Glow quickly makes Manaphy very powerful by boosting its Special Attack by +3 in just one turn. Protect should be used to take a turn to allow one of Manaphy's allies to eliminate a faster threat that would prove fatal to it, as well as to stall out opposing field conditions such as Tailwind and Trick Room.

Set Details
========
Modest Manaphy with maximum Special Attack EVs OHKOes Mega Kangaskhan with a +3 Scald after burn damage and OHKOes Amoonguss with +3 Ice Beam, as well as Speed tying with other base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Mega Kangaskhan. Timid can also be used in order to attack as fast as possible while also outspeeding Adamant Mega Kangaskhan. Safety Goggles can be used to hit foes with Scald without having to worry about Amoonguss's Rage Powder or Spore and to avoid residual damage when Manaphy is used on hail teams. Sitrus Berry can also be used to make Manaphy survive longer with its immediate recovery.

Usage Tips
========
Generally, Manaphy wants to set up once it's on the field, as it poses zero threat when not boosted. However, sometimes it is vital to remove a certain attacker before letting Manaphy set up. That being said, when using Tail Glow, Manaphy should usually be supported by a teammate's Fake Out or Follow Me. Longevity is key with Manaphy; use Protect when against a faster Pokemon that threatens Manaphy, such as Thundurus, to allow an ally to beat the threat in that turn. Manaphy functions well as a late-game sweeper, so it's usually a good idea to eliminate the fast Pokemon that threaten Manaphy before setting up with it.

Team Options
========
Redirection in the form of Follow Me or Rage Powder is vital in order to use Manaphy successfully. Pokemon such as Jirachi, Clefairy, Togekiss, and Amoonguss do this well. However, Manaphy should use Safety Goggles when paired with Amoonguss; its inability to redirect moves from other Grass-types hinders Manaphy and Safety Goggles grants it an immunity to an opposing Spore. Fake Out users such as Mega Kangaskhan and Infernape also provide more opportunities to set up. Pokemon that beat Water-types that wall Manaphy, such as Thundurus, Mega Venusaur, and Serperior, are also great partners. Dragon-types, such as Latios, Hydreigon, and Kyurem-B are good partners to Manaphy for their ability to beat some opposing Electric- and Water-types such as Thundurus and Rotom-W. They also benefit from Manaphy's ability to threaten Mega Diancie. Tailwind users, such as Talonflame, Latios, and Togekiss, make Manaphy a significantly more threatening sweeper by enabling it to outspeed Pokemon that would normally be faster than it and OHKO it, such as Virizion, Serperior, and Thundurus. Speed control can also be supplied by Thunder Wave users such as Thundurus and Jirachi. Regular or Mega Abomasnow can also be used with Manaphy to enable it to use Blizzard over Ice Beam, giving Manaphy threatening spread coverage. Abomasnow also has good offensive synergy with Manaphy, as it can threaten opposing Grass- and Water-types with its STAB attacks.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Wacan or Rindo Berry can be used to allow Manaphy to withstand an Electric- or Grass-type attack, respectively, in order to lure and get rid of one of its checks. It can also use Energy Ball, which enables it to beat other Water-types. However, doing so leaves Manaphy with a greater weakness to opposing Grass- and Dragon-types.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-type Pokemon**: Grass-types, such as Serperior, Chlorophyll Venusaur, and Virizion, inflict massive damage on Manaphy with their super effective STAB moves. Some bulky Grass-types, namely Mega Venusaur and Ferrothorn, can survive a boosted attack or two and then do heavy damage back to Manaphy.

**Electric-type Pokemon**: Electric-types, such as Thundurus and Rotom-W, can OHKO or do big damage to Manaphy with their STAB moves, but Thundurus can't switch in easily.

**Opposing Weather**: Sun weakens Manaphy's only STAB attack by a considerable degree and reduces Blizzard's accuracy, subsequently rendering it less of a threat. Mega Charizard Y also has a chance to OHKO Manaphy with Solar Beam.

**Faster Pokemon**: As Manaphy is rather slow for a setup sweeper, it's not difficult for faster Pokemon such as Keldeo, Mega Metagross, and Latios to double target it or wear it down.

**Taunt**: Taunt from the likes of Thundurus and Sableye can prevent Manaphy from setting up with Tail Glow, incapacitating it.
 
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Bughouse

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Well, first of all the most glaring thing is in set details. The reason for Safety Goggles is not so much dodging Spore and residual damage from Sand/Hail (although that is nice on a Hail team with Blizzard) as it is being able to hit opponents with Scald and not worry about Amoonguss using Rage Powder.

I also wonder if Lum is worth an OO mention because of Thundurus and Mental Herb bc Manaphy is pretty useless if it gets Taunted and can't get TG set up.

I'd probably slash Timid before Modest because there's no point in having that shot to kill Kang
+3 252+ SpA Manaphy Scald vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Kangaskhan: 298-352 (84.6 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO (so slightly less than 30% to kill with a burn cuz +12.5% in the best case scenario of facing 4 hp kang)

Meanwhile, in that best case scenario where it's 4 HP Kang that you have the chance to kill where Manaphy is Modest... what if Kang is Jolly?, it's doing this to Manaphy first: 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Manaphy: 243-288 (71 - 84.2%). That sounds no fun to me. Timid also lets you beat Timid Hydreigon if for some reason you face that. Also relevant for Mega Gard and fast Mega CharY.

Modest just makes Manaphy that much more reliant on redirection :/
 

Checkmater

It’s just us kittens left, and the rain is coming
is a Tiering Contributor
hydro?

shaydit:
>tfw manaphy doesn't get hydro pump
>why live

;_____;


checkedit:

>no hydro
>no life
 

Pastelle

we're all star stuff
am leggo

Overview
  • It also faces competition from Azu and Keld due to being slower than ideal for a setup sweeper (Azu has priority so it doesn't matter), and for requiring setup to be worth a damn
  • I feel like you're overhyping Manaphy in the last bullet. As much as you love it, its EXTREMELY niche and other offensive water types like the ones you mentioned are better in almost any situation due to better stats, typing, speed, requiring less support, etc. Really it should only be used if you want to make a silly hail team or be "innovative"
Moves
  • Explain what Tail Glow does since it's not seen very often
  • I say slash Blizzard behind Ice Beam, since the strongest argument for using Manaphy is Hail spam with Abomasnow, and the only good spread it gets. Official QC can change it if they don't like it, but thats just my opinion.
Set Details
  • I say no to slashing Modest on the main set due to the reasons stated by Bughouse, but still mention it like you do, as well as explain that it makes it less reliant on speed control, which imo is more valuable then gaining only one more important KO.
  • Add the thing that Bughouse said about Safety Goggles, cause he's 100% correct
Usage Tips
  • Looks good, but feels bare bones, can't figure out why tho
Team Options
  • Maybe mention that TWave from the likes of Thundy or Jirachi help Manaphy deal with faster threats
OO
  • Surf is also weaker then Scald with spread reduction, that deserves to be reiterated here
  • It gets Psychic which is neat I guess, maybe a small mention with Energy Ball
Checks and Counters
  • Opposing Weather: Char-Y also cancels out hail if used with Abomasnow

Everything else looks good. Check with QC b4 implementing, u know the drill
 

talkingtree

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Good check Pastelle and thanks Bughouse for the help with Set Details, I'm giving the official go-ahead to implement. Agreeing that Blizzard should be slashed and Timid before Modest, although I do still feel Modest should be mentioned at the least.

Couple of other things:
-Mention that Scald has a chance to burn, allowing Manaphy to threaten physical attackers that may be trying to switch in/live a hit it normally couldn't
-Don't stress setting up quite so strongly in Usage Tips - while it's true that Manaphy needs a TG to be scary, sometimes removing a threat or attacking on a predicted Taunt makes more sense. I don't want people falling into a similar trap to the turn 1 Tailwind sac
-No need to mention Psychic in OO, the only threats I can think of that it would really hit harder than one of Scald/Ice Beam or Blizzard/Energy Ball are Mega Venusaur and Hariyama, and no team really needs specific coverage against one of those two.
-Add Wacan Berry/Rindo Berry mentions in OO, often Manaphy only has to take one super-effective hit in order to finish cleaning the enemy team
-I'm good with adding Lum too but I can't think of a specific time that I'd run it over goggles so use your own judgment to decide whether to include it in OO

Do Pastelle's check (except Psychic) and my extra bits and you're good for 1/3 :>
 

Idyll

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I'm gonna make some changes to Pastelle's check because some of them are a bit off

OV
  • "Really it should only be used if you want to make a silly hail team or be "innovative" - Don't actually say this please :( Just say that Manaphy should only picked as a starting point as it needs some dedicated support in order to efficiently set up and be effective. The point in which this part was taken is still valid though!
Moves
  • Don't slash Blizzard! It's fine as a mere Moves mention. Blizzard needs a specific teammate (Abomasnow) in order to be truly effective; it's not something that you can use on any team and expect to work
SD
  • We're still slashing Modest, more info later.
C&C
  • It's not just sun that can take away hail and make Blizzard inaccurate, but it's all other weathers. Make note of such and make specific mentions of sun also weakening Manaphy's STAB and rain being a mixed bag against it due to activating Hydration and making its Water-type attacks stronger.
Other than those, change the slashes for the item and nature. Please use Modest / Timid and Safety Goggles / Life Orb. Modest is going to be slashed first because of what Arcticblast said below. Timid is so you don't get outrun and beat by faster things and gotta go fast; TG makes up for any the power loss anyway and you don't miss out on any relevant KOs as far as I'm concerned. Life Orb is going to be slashed because it gives Manaphy really dangerous killing power, and Safety Goggles is there for the things Bughouse mentioned, what you mentioned in your OP being secondary. That's all :)!
 
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Arcticblast

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Manaphy needs a Modest nature to guarantee the OHKO on Sassy Amoonguss with +3 Ice Beam which is honestly kind of disappointing but yeah. Kang a shit don't worry about her

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 72+ SpD Amoonguss: 410-484 (94.9 - 112%)
+3 204+ SpA Manaphy Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 72+ SpD Amoonguss: 432-510 (100 - 118%)
 

Yoda2798

Not the user you are looking for
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2/3 finally, let get this thread moving again!

Overview
  • Mention Manaphy's reliance on hail support to reach it's full potential imo.
Moves
  • Just remove mention of Surf as you talk about it in OO.
  • Mention Ice Beam hitting Dragon-types as well.
  • Mention Protect being useful for stalling out field conditions.
Set Details
  • Mention that max Speed lets you tie with other base 100s such as Mega Kangaskhan.
  • Unless you can personally and honestly vouch for Manaphy sand (which I think realistically is a bad combination), remove the mention of avoiding sand damage with Safety Goggles imo tbch.
  • Mention how Timid is mainly for outspeeding Adamant Mega Kangaskhan and tying with Jolly.
Usage Tips
  • Are you saying Manaphy should setup at the start of the match or just as soon as it's on the field? Make it a bit clearer please.
  • Mention using Tail Glow when teammates can provide Fake Out or redirection support to help protect Manaphy.
Team Options
  • Mention that Dragon-types also help deal with opposing Water-types.
  • Mention that Abomasnow helps with opposing Water-types and Grass-types.
  • Mention Fake Out users to help provide set up opportunities.
Other Options
  • Remove Blizzard mention as it's in Set Details.
  • I would remove Surf imo, hitting teammates with your only STAB and main attack just isn't worth it. Also non-STAB Dazzling Gleam really isn't too good either tbh, you already beat Dragons with Ice Beam/Blizzard, and you can't touch Amoonguss with Dleam.
  • Mention that Energy Ball leaves Manaphy weaker against Grass- and Dragon-types.
Checks and Counters
  • Mega Charizard Y doesn't just do heavy damage, the standard spread has a chance to OHKO, which I would mention.
  • Mention that opposing weather also reduces Blizzard's accuracy.
  • Remove mention of Encore imo, it's not really relevant and I haven't seen this mentioned on any other analysises.
 

talkingtree

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Since we've changed the system for C&C Tags, the new tags should be as follows:

**Electric-type Pokemon**:
**Grass-type Pokemon**:
**Opposing Weather**:
**Faster Pokemon**:
**Taunt**:
 

Idyll

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Overview: The first sentence is fluff and should be removed. Generally speaking, saying that Manaphy "can take its place as a powerhouse of any team" makes it sound like it's the best thing ever, when it's not. Like, for your lead sentence, just say that "While Manaphy is capable of being a powerful threat with Tail Glow, it is <insert summation of flaws here>" or something. At the last sentence, you could also remove the "worth its salt" thing as that's just fluff too. "Manaphy, however, does set itself apart from other Water-types with its sheer power when used with Tail Glow and its ability to beat Grass-types such as Amoonguss" is the same thing except it's a few words shorter.

Moves: Combine the first two sentence as they just talk about Scald. Also on the sentence "Blizzard is also a great option over Ice Beam for powerful spread coverage if Manaphy is being used with Abomasnow," make the underlined part go first.

OO: "As Manaphy has access to a wide variety of coverage moves, it can also use Energy Ball, which enables it to beat other Water-types." The striked part isn't really needed. You can just simply say that it also gets access to Energy Ball and it'd be fine.

These are easy af changes so 3/3 when done
 

Empress

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[OVERVIEW]
While Manaphy is uniquely capable of setting up boosting its Special Attack to the moon and back with insane levels (a tad less colloquial; this isn't an article dude) Tail Glow, it is not without its flaws. It faces heavy competition for a team slot as an offensive Water-type from the likes of Azumarill and Keldeo, both of which sport a useful secondary typings that allow them to eliminate a wider range of threats. They also have immediate power and access to priority for the former and more speed or priority access Speed for the latter. Furthermore, Manaphy requires dedicated redirection support in order to maximize its potential as a setup sweeper, as well as hail support to be as powerful as possible by spamming Blizzard. Manaphy, however, does, however, set itself apart from other Water-types with its sheer power when used with using Tail Glow and its ability to beat Grass-types such as Amoonguss.

[SET]
name: Powerhouse of the Team (More specific name pls)
move 1: Scald
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Tail Glow
move 4: Protect
item: Safety Goggles / Sitrus Berry
ability: Hydration
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Scald, while being Manaphy's strongest STAB option, also has an added burn chance that discourages physically offensive bulky Pokemon such as Ferrothorn from switching in(remove space)to Manaphy. Ice beam Beam is for useful coverage that sets itself apart from the aforementioned more common Water-types that Azumarill and Keldeo, which (You didn't mention either in this paragraph yet) don't beat Grass- and Dragon-types. If Manaphy is being used with Abomasnow, Blizzard is also a great option over Ice Beam for powerful spread coverage. Tail Glow quickly makes Manaphy very powerful by boosting its SpA Special Attack by +3 in just one turn. Protect should be used to take a turn to allow one of Manaphy's allies to eliminate a faster threat that would prove fatal to it, but Protect is otherwise a staple move in Doubles that as well as stalls out opposing field conditions such as Tailwind and Trick Room.

Set Details
========
Modest natured Manaphy with maximum Special Attack EVs SpA OHKOes Mega Kangaskhan with a +3 Scald after a burn damage and OHKOes Amoonguss with (+3 I presume) Ice Beam, while also speed Speed tying with other base 100's Speed Pokemon such as Mega Kangaskhan. Timid can also be used in order to attack as fast as possible while also outspeeding Adamant Mega Kangaskhan. Safety Goggles can be used to hit opponents foes with Scald without having to worry about Amoonguss's Rage Powder or Spore and to avoid residual damage for use on from hail teams. Sitrus Berry can also be used to make Manaphy more durable survive longer (Sitrus Berry does not boost Manaphy's bulk) with its immediate recovery.

Usage Tips
========
Generally, Manaphy wants to set up once it'(apostrophe)s on the field, as it poses zero threat when not boosted. However, sometimes it is vital to remove a certain attacker before letting manaphy Manaphy set up. That being said, when using Tail Glow, Manaphy should usually be supported by a teammate's Fake Out or Follow Me. Longevity is key with Manaphy; use Protect when against a faster Pokemon that threatens Manaphy, such as Thundurus, to allow an ally to beat the threat in that turn. Manaphy functions well as a late-(AH)game sweeper, so it'(apostrophe)s usually a good idea to eliminate the fast pokemon Pokemon that threaten Manaphy before setting up with it.

Team Options
========
Redirection in the form of Follow Me or Rage Powder is vital in order to use Manaphy successfully. pokemon Pokemon such as Jirachi, Clefairy, Togekiss, and Amoonguss do this well. However, Manaphy should use Safety Goggles when paired with Amoonguss; its inability to redirect moves from other Grass-types hinders Manaphy and Safety Goggles maintains grants it an immunity to an opposing Spore. Fake Out users such as Mega Kangaskhan and Infernape also provide more opportunities to set up. Pokemon that beat Water-types that wall Manaphy, such as Thundurus, Mega Venusaur, and Serperior, (AC) are also great partners. Dragon-types, such as Latios, Hydreigon, or Kyurem-B are also good partners to Manaphy for their ability to beat some opposing Electric- and Water-types such as Thundurus and Rotom-W. They also benefit from Manaphy's ability to threaten Mega Diancie. Tailwind users, such as Talonflame, Latios, and Togekiss make Manaphy a significantly more threatening sweeper by enabling it to outspeed Pokemon that would normally outspeed be faster than (repetition) and OHKO it, such as virizion, serperior, and thundurus Virizion, Serperior, and Thundurus. Speed control can also be supplied by Thunder Wave users such as Thundurus and Jirachi. Regular or Mega Abomasnow, Mega or Non-mega, can also be used with Manaphy to enable it to use Blizzard over Ice Beam, giving Manaphy threatening spread coverage. Abomasnow also has good offensive synergy with Manaphy, as it can threaten opposing Grass- and Water-types with its STABs attacks.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Wacan or Rindo Berry can be used to allow Manaphy to live survive an Electric- or Grass-type attack, (AC) respectively, (AC) in order to lure and get rid of a check to Manaphy. It can also use Energy Ball, which enables it to beat other Water-types. However, it leaves Manaphy with a greater weakness to opposing Grass- and Dragon-types.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-type Pokemon**: Grass-types, such as Serperior, Chlorophyll Venusaur, and Virizion, inflict massive damage to Manaphy with their super effective STABs moves. Some bulky Grass-types, namely Mega Venusaur and Ferrothorn, can survive a boosted attack or two and then do heavy damage back to it.

**Electric-type Pokemon**: Electric-types, such as Thundurus and Rotom-W, can also OHKO or do big damage to Manaphy with their STABs moves, but Thundurus can't switch in easily.

**Opposing Weather**: Sun weakens Manaphy's only STAB attack by to a considerable degree and reduces Blizzard's accuracy, subsequently rendering it less of a threat. Mega Charizard Y also has a chance to OHKO Manaphy with Solar Beam.

**Faster Pokemon**: As Manaphy is rather slow for a setup sweeper, its not difficult for faster Pokemon such as Keldeo, Mega Metagross, and Latios to double target it or wear it down.

**Taunt Users**: Taunt from the likes of Thundurus and Sableye can prevent Manaphy from setting up with Tail Glow, incapacitating it.
GP 1/2
 
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xzern

for sure
is a Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Thanks for the check! There were just a few changes that I left out because I either didn't agree with them or because I thought took out my own voice too much, but I hope that's okay.
 

P Squared

a great unrecorded history
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GP 2/2 o/
[OVERVIEW]
While Manaphy is uniquely capable of boosting its Special Attack to the moon and back with Tail Glow, it still faces heavy competition for a team slot as an offensive Water-type from the likes of Azumarill and Keldeo, both of which sport useful secondary typings that allow them to eliminate a wider range of threats. They also have immediate power and access to priority attacks for the former and more Speed for the latter. Furthermore, Manaphy requires dedicated redirection support in order to maximize its potential as a setup sweeper, as well as hail support to be as powerful as possible by spamming Blizzard. Manaphy does, however, set itself apart from other Water-types with its sheer power when using Tail Glow and its ability to beat Grass-types such as Amoonguss.

[SET]
name: Powerhouse of the Team (is this an inside joke? seems kinda weird otherwise)
move 1: Scald
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Tail Glow
move 4: Protect
item: Safety Goggles / Sitrus Berry
ability: Hydration
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Scald, while being Manaphy's strongest STAB option, also has an added burn chance that discourages physically offensive bulky Pokemon such as Ferrothorn from switching into Manaphy. Ice Beam is for useful coverage that sets itself Manaphy apart from Azumarill and Keldeo, which don't beat Grass- and Dragon-types. If Manaphy is being used with Abomasnow, Blizzard is a great option over Ice Beam for powerful spread coverage. Tail Glow quickly makes Manaphy very powerful by boosting its Special Attack by +3 in just one turn. Protect should be used to take a turn to allow one of Manaphy's allies to eliminate a faster threat that would prove fatal to it, as well as to stall out opposing field conditions such as Tailwind and Trick Room.

Set Details
========
Modest Manaphy with maximum Special Attack EVs OHKOes Mega Kangaskhan with a +3 Scald after burn damage and OHKOes Amoonguss with +3 Ice Beam, while also as well as Speed tying with other base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Mega Kangaskhan. Timid can also be used in order to attack as fast as possible while also outspeeding Adamant Mega Kangaskhan. Safety Goggles can be used to hit foes with Scald without having to worry about Amoonguss's Rage Powder or Spore and to avoid residual damage when it Manaphy is used on hail teams. Sitrus Berry can also be used to make Manaphy survive longer with its immediate recovery.

Usage Tips
========
Generally, Manaphy wants to set up once it's on the field, as it poses zero threat when not boosted. However, sometimes it is vital to remove a certain attacker before letting Manaphy set up. That being said, when using Tail Glow, Manaphy should usually be supported by a teammate's Fake Out or Follow Me. Longevity is key with Manaphy; use Protect when against a faster Pokemon that threatens Manaphy, such as Thundurus, to allow an ally to beat the threat in that turn. Manaphy functions well as a late-game sweeper, so it's usually a good idea to eliminate the fast Pokemon that threaten Manaphy before setting up with it.

Team Options
========
Redirection in the form of Follow Me or Rage Powder is vital in order to use Manaphy successfully. Pokemon such as Jirachi, Clefairy, Togekiss, and Amoonguss do this well. However, Manaphy should use Safety Goggles when paired with Amoonguss; its inability to redirect moves from other Grass-types hinders Manaphy and Safety Goggles grants it an immunity to an opposing Spore. Fake Out users such as Mega Kangaskhan and Infernape also provide more opportunities to set up. Pokemon that beat Water-types that wall Manaphy, such as Thundurus, Mega Venusaur, and Serperior, are also great partners. Dragon-types, such as Latios, Hydreigon, or and Kyurem-B are good partners to Manaphy for their ability to beat some opposing Electric- and Water-types such as Thundurus and Rotom-W. They also benefit from Manaphy's ability to threaten Mega Diancie. Tailwind users, such as Talonflame, Latios, and Togekiss, (AC) make Manaphy a significantly more threatening sweeper by enabling it to outspeed Pokemon that would normally be faster than it and OHKO it, such as Virizion, Serperior, and Thundurus. Speed control can also be supplied by Thunder Wave users such as Thundurus and Jirachi. Regular or Mega Abomasnow can also be used with Manaphy to enable it to use Blizzard over Ice Beam, giving Manaphy threatening spread coverage. Abomasnow also has good offensive synergy with Manaphy, as it can threaten opposing Grass- and Water-types with its STAB attacks.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Wacan or Rindo Berry can be used to allow Manaphy to withstand an Electric- or Grass-type attack, respectively, in order to lure and get rid of one of its checks a check to Manaphy. It can also use Energy Ball, which enables it to beat other Water-types. However, it doing so leaves Manaphy with a greater weakness to opposing Grass- and Dragon-types.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Grass-type Pokemon**: Grass-types, such as Serperior, Chlorophyll Venusaur, and Virizion, inflict massive damage to on Manaphy with their super effective STAB moves. Some bulky Grass-types, namely Mega Venusaur and Ferrothorn, can survive a boosted attack or two and then do heavy damage back to Manaphy it.

**Electric-type Pokemon**: Electric-types, such as Thundurus and Rotom-W, can also OHKO or do big damage to Manaphy with their STAB moves, but Thundurus can't switch in easily.

**Opposing Weather**: Sun weakens Manaphy's only STAB attack by a considerable degree and reduces Blizzard's accuracy, subsequently rendering it less of a threat. Mega Charizard Y also has a chance to OHKO Manaphy with Solar Beam.

**Faster Pokemon**: As Manaphy is rather slow for a setup sweeper, it's not difficult for faster Pokemon such as Keldeo, Mega Metagross, and Latios to double target it or wear it down.

**Taunt**: Taunt from the likes of Thundurus and Sableye can prevent Manaphy from setting up with Tail Glow, incapacitating it.
 
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