- Rare Dark/Flying typing giving it immunity to Ground and Psychic attacks while also giving it resistance to some other common typings such as Dark,Ghost, and Grass, making it a more reliable switch.
- Overcoat ability makes it immune to powder moves like spore and damage from sandstorm and Hail
- Great 110 base HP and 105 Defense keeps this Bird at high health giving it the opportunity to return a foul play or game changing toxic to commence a roost stall.
- STAB Foul Play kills most set up physical attackers and takes into account your opponent's Attack boosts when dealing damage.
- Outclassed in defensive stats by Cresselia, Suicune, Hippowdown, and Eviolite Porygon2.
- Unable to efficiently switch into Double Edge users like Mega-Kangaskhan and Salamence.
- Shut down by Magic Guard Clefable and loses momentum when dealing with fairies, good special attackers, and Mega Sableye.
[SET]
name: Can't touch my bulk
move 1: Foul Play
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Roost
move 4: Toxic
item: Rocky Helmet
ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Foul Play is boosted by Mandibuzz's Dark Typing and works to take off good amounts of HP from countless threats in singles like Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Metagross while still keeping up healthy HP. It also works when dealing with set up sweepers such as Dragon Dance Salamence, Gyarados, Dragonite, and Swords Dance setters like Mega Charizard X and Scizor. Considering that Foul Play uses the target's Attack stat in damage calculation and does more when it's boosted. Foul Play also has base 95 attack and doesn't need any attack investment whatsoever in EVs to bring out its full power.
- Taunt is used to prevent Hazard Setters such as Ferrothorn to place spikes or seeds and status inducers such as Slowbro Toxic/Twave and Sub/Toxic Aegislash, while also being able to shut down recovery moves.
- Roost is standard for recovering 50% of health to keep Mandibuzz at a healthy level of HP while performing toxic stall/foul playing. This also removes its flying typing, halving the power of what would normally be super effective such as rock tomb.(note that you would have to outspeed your opponent).
- Toxic Badly Poisons your opponent's Pokemon in most cases and adds on severity each turn as it increases in percentage. It's helpful when dealing with some more all out attackers that usually won't do much damage to Mandibuzz such as Breloom, Garchomp, and Blaziken to stack on more damage per turn while you can freely roost and not have to attack, letting the poison damage and rocky helmet damage eat away at your opponent's Pokemon.
Set Details
========
252 EVs are invested into Mandibuzz's HP as well as 252 EVs into her defense to maximize
her bulk and make it easier to live threatening attacks like Stone Edge with ease. Overcoat is the best suited ability that makes it immune to powder moves and damage from Sandstorm or Hail. This is especially helpful when dealing with nuisances like Spore Breloom. Rocky Helmet is added to aid Mandibuzz when roost stalling and makes the attacker loses 1/6 of its maximum HP upon physical contact to stack even more damage and have the battle more in control. This works great especially against Mega Kangaskhan and other Pokemon with recoil damage moves like Mega Salamence and Blaziken.
Usage Tips
========
-Foul Play offensive physical attackers when possible
-Preferably send out to tank a physical attacker when possible and avoid carelessly going into Double Edge Mega Kangaskhan and Salamence. By all means if you come in unharmed from a switch in, proceed with Foul Play+Helmet or simply Roost+Helmet depending on the threat level.
-Toxic if you feel that your opponent may not do much damage to Mandibuzz
-Don't stay in on Steel Walls and Fairy types like Skarmory and Clefable
-Don't stay in on Special attackers who can throw super effective blows
-Do not toxic Guts users like Conkeldurr and Magic Guard users such as Clefable and Alakazam
-Avoid strong physical attacking super effective types such as Icicle Spear Mamoswine, Icicle Crash Weavile, Stone Edge Tyranitar, and Play Rough Azumarill.
-Avoid set up resting pokemon such as but not limited to: Calm Mind, Curse, and Crocune Suicune
Team Options
========
- Ferrothorn resists Electric, Rock, and Fairy attacks. As well as Grass, Normal, Psychic, Rock, Steel, Water, Dragon and immune to Poison attacks.
- Cresselia has base 120HP and 130Sp.D and can tank special attacks and heal well with moonlight.
- Venusaur-Mega resists Electric and Fairy, as well as Fighting, Grass, and Water
- Mamoswine has Thick Fat and is immune to electric attacks
- Rotom-Wash resists ice attacks and is immune to ground attacks as well (mamoswine)
- Suicune has fairly high defenses and HP, and can switch on incoming ice attacks both physical and special.
- Mega Manectric's volt turn core+Intimidate has great synergy switching into Mandibuzz's Roost stall.
- Aegislash can switch into most fairies while being able to rely on Mandibuzz for dark/ghost resisted switch-ins.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
-Brave Bird
For Blaziken, Mega Heracross, Conkeldurr, Serperior and better coverage on Breloom.
-Knock Off
An effective move to use against unpredicted switches and stall pokemon who favor leftovers and eviolite.
-Tailwind
For 4 turns, your team's speed is doubled, giving you the opportunity to revenge kill better with Pokemon who would normally be out-sped.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fairy Types**: With only foul play and toxic to use as offense, it's no secret Mandibuzz is threatened severely by most fairy types such as Hyper Voice Sylveon and Mega Mawile play rough. Fairy type Pokemon also resist dark type attacks and Magic Guard Clefable does not take damage from poison. Often times you may find Sylveon even running Rest.
**Bulky Steel Types**: Defensive Pokemon such as Heatran, Klefki, Magnezone, Skarmory, and Mawile have no problem whatsoever staying in on Mandibuzz to set up or attack. Since Steel types are immune to Poison, Mandibuzz is unable to throw out toxics to poison them, limiting it have to 3 moves and having it rely on Foul Play for offensive means. Even Foul Play doesn't do much to these tanks, leaving it prone to getting burned with a lava plume or just simply volt switched.
**Guts Conkeldurr**: While not often seen around, coming across a guts Conkeldurr poses a great threat to Mandibuzz's toxic/stall duo. Since this ability boosts Conkeldurr's attack to 1.5, Conkeldurr can easily drain punch and heal plentiful amounts of health and threatens Mandibuzz to roost, lose it's flying type, and get hit by a STAB boosted draining punch.
**Electric Types**: Being super effective and targeting its less invested stat, Electric types threaten Mandibuzz heavily and can easily set up a Nasty Plot or Calm Mind/Sub on the baited switch. Most notable electric types are Thunderus and Volt Turn Manectric/Raikou, along with Zapdos and even Mega Ampharos.
**Strong Special Attackers**: Pokemon who specialize in Special offense such as Thundurus, Rotom Wash, and Quiver Dance Volcarona all take lethal blows onto Mandibuzz's less bulkier Special Defensive side, especially since most of them have either strong STAB moves like Fire Blast Charizard-Y or even Super Effective moves like Ice Beam Greninja.
**OHKO Abusers**: As a defensive pokemon,
working on it hula!
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