Pokémon Manectric

[Darknut07]

I hear a lot of "it isn't worth wasting your mega slot on". I think as the metagame settles down, people will realize that you can make a good team without a mega fairly easily. Once that happens Manectric will see a lot more use ironically. You don't need to force a mega onto every team, and last gen there were many teams that used Jolteon and Thundurus-T. If the team that you've built has a mega on it, use one of those two. If it doesn't use MM. It'll be fine and get decent usage.

And seriously I saw some people saying that losing immunity to electric attacks is bad....it gets Intimidate for it....one of the better abilities by far.

 

[Garchompi]

I agree with M-Manectric being the worst mega evo. 135 SpAtk without boosting items or moves is underwhelming and despite Intimidate it's still rather frail.
In the end it's a slightly faster Jolteon with a better movepool Overheat but less damage potential. Its mega evo even loses Switcheroo which is otherwise one of its main niche, making it a downgrade since it can no longer deal with special walls that aren't weak to fire/electric.
If it got Nasty Plot it would be a completely different story, but right now I can't justify using the megamon slot for this.

 

[JSND]

I have tried Mega Mac, and I must say its not as bad as some would think of it(at least its better than Mega Cross)
Intimidate is an amazing ability, and its coverage lets it do a lot of stuff. Notably, its movepool allows it to become an offensive electric type that did not get shitted on by Ferrothorn(or at least without resorting to Focus Miss)

The really high speed puts it into a nice position as well

Granted I might have been biased because my most sucessful team so far runs this thing but eh

 

[farranpoison]

I just need to figure out a good U-Turn mon to pair with it that I can get ingame (Landorus doesn't count).

Maybe Scizor, but I'm a bit iffy on that.

 

[Machi]

I just need to figure out a good U-Turn mon to pair with it that I can get ingame (Landorus doesn't count).

Maybe Scizor, but I'm a bit iffy on that.

Anything that can take the incoming EQ is generally a good partner, since those tend to be the most common attacks aimed at MManetric so I wouldn't really consider Scizor for that job.

 

[Tressed]

I just need to figure out a good U-Turn mon to pair with it that I can get ingame (Landorus doesn't count).

Maybe Scizor, but I'm a bit iffy on that.

anything that'd pick on stuff that'd take an electric attack well. Pick on your Grass types, Dragons, Grounds (though you aren't Volt Switching out of those), etc.

So.... Greninja? I mean, you aren't really going to be relying on defensive coverage anyways, may as well force switches with crazy coverage and power, right?

 

[The Haymaker]

anything that'd pick on stuff that'd take an electric attack well. Pick on your Grass types, Dragons, Grounds (though you aren't Volt Switching out of those), etc.

So.... Greninja? I mean, you aren't really going to be relying on defensive coverage anyways, may as well force switches with crazy coverage and power, right?

By far, the best, most successful team I have created for Gen 6 OU is M-Manectric/Landorus-T/Scizor/Greninja/Azumarill/Salamence. So yes, I can vouch for Greninja's synergy with MegaTric. A strong Fighting attack is also recommended to deal with the pink blobs, Blissey and Chansey.

 

[Eeyore]

The only place that I really see Manectric flourish is in VGC 2014. With Lando-T scratched, T-tar and Garchomp nerfed, Cresselia non-existant and a majority of the meta-game shifting almost purely to physical, I'm seeing these things ALL the time.

So I wanted to have one on my team.

I found it has excellent synergy with Intimidate Scrafty-- latter causes switches between turns, and the mega-evolve causes intimidate to happen DURING the turn, after switches have occurred. Talonflame is also running rampant in that teir (is lured by Scrafty) and Manectric is an excellent counter with some bulk investment.

Gyarados is a good partner as well, either Moxie or Intimidate work well (I find moxie works better IMO), and it's coverage with Earthquake/Waterfall/Ice Fang is pretty spot on. With back and forth protects running, an earthquake/discharge spam could work nicely.


The problem is that it almost has to Mega-evolve immediately. You can't rely on Lightningrod, as the intimidate boost is its main draw.

Here's the Maney I'm using right now


Manectric @ Manectite
Ability: Static ==> Intimidate
EVs: 200 Spd / 252 SAtk / 56 HP
Timid Nature
- Flamethrower/Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Discharge
- Protect


I like the 200 Spd, to have 56 Hp, especially with Timid, it's quick enough to outspeed most of the VGC-limited meta-game (It's only the pokemon in the kalos dex) Max invest in special attack lets it hit hard.
Overheat can be used instead of Flamethrower, but it then causes Volt Switch afterwards to be incredibly predictable, and rather lackluster. I can't complain, I am using that over Flamethrower right now, but I switch frequently to see which I prefer.

Protect is a staple in the VGC game, for anyone unfamiliar.

 

[Shroomisaur]

I have to say, Mega Manectric is one of if not THE most underrated/overlooked Mega Evolutions. I admit that I pretty much ignored it until recently, since even with the stat boosts it's not very impressive on paper compared to other Megas. However, that 135 base Speed is amazing. It sits in its own unique tier, allowing you to outspeed basically everything of note.

Intimidate might seem useless on a Pokemon weak to EQ with crummy 70/80/80 defenses, but then you realize Manectric packs Volt Switch and the synergy between the two is incredible. As part of a VoltTurn core or even as a standalone, Manectric can drop an opponent's Attack and then Volt Switch to deal solid chip damage and either scout the switch, or bring in a counter if they stayed in.

While itemless 135 SpA isn't too powerful, it works quite well in practice. Because the only common Electric attack in OU currently is Rotom's pitiful Volt Switch, I often find that many teams aren't equipped to handle Megatric's powerful TBolt. Flamethrower is excellent for Ferro (I prefer it over Overheat since it has perfect accuracy and doesn't force you out next turn) and you can round out your coverage with the HP of your choice. Ice for Gliscor/Chomp/etc, and Grass for Quagsire/Gastrodon.

Mega Manectric doesn't have too many options, but it has everything it needs to be effective!

 

[Live4evil]

When I initially looked at Mega Manectric's stats I also thought it wasn't special but after actually trying it out it is a very solid pokemon especially considering the threats it out speeds. While playing Showdown the most common Megas seem to be Kanga, Lucario, Gengar, and perhaps Pinsir. They are all slower than Manectric since they can't get scarves and at 135 base speed it outspeeds most other pokemon. It's coverage is similar to a special Genesect with Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, and HP Ice. You can also use Volt Switch for some easy damage when you would switch since it is probably faster than the enemy.

Intimidate is a great ability to gimp physical attackers especially with the core I run. I have Landorus T, Gyarados, Mega Manectric, and Heatran. Landy and Gyarados take the earthquakes headed for Manectric and Heatran while Heatran takes the Ice attacks headed for Landorus. Gyarados takes the water attacks while Manectric takes the first Electric attack headed for Gyarados for an easy power up, Landy can take further Electric attacks. Landy, Gyarados, Mega Manectric all have Intimidate so they easily power down physical attackers especially since Landy has U-Turn for VoltTurns with Manectric.

 

[meteor64]

anything that'd pick on stuff that'd take an electric attack well. Pick on your Grass types, Dragons, Grounds (though you aren't Volt Switching out of those), etc.

So.... Greninja? I mean, you aren't really going to be relying on defensive coverage anyways, may as well force switches with crazy coverage and power, right?

Talonflame seems legit also. Especially since its u-turns will be invested. And it also synergises with Manectric what with it being immune to EQ while Manectric can take Tbolts.

 

[Tressed]

Talonflame seems legit also. Especially since its u-turns will be invested. And it also synergises with Manectric what with it being immune to EQ while Manectric can take Tbolts.

All these different pairings cement my thoughts that Manectric was made to force switches. Intimidate, Volt Switch, coverage, speed, power... It really is a momentum grabbing Pokemon.

Gonna try this out with a full hazards core and VoltTurn core tonight.

 

[Aldrius]

Yeah using MegaManectric to bounce around your opponents team and volt switch EVERYTHING is really it's best use. I like to run Thunder Wave too just to spread the status as much as possible. But it's probably better to run T-Bolt or a Hidden Power.

It hits hard, maybe not as hard as if it had a life orb or choice specs, but still hard. And it's speed is unmatched. It and MegaAmpharos are probably the two best users of volt switch. Seriously, it's so fast that outside of priority and ground-types it'll never get hit if it's using Volt Switch. And well Bullet Punch isn't very effective, and Manectric has fire moves for hitting Scizor and Lucario. Aqua Jet is mostly used by Azumarill who doesn't want to get hit by Manectric's Volt Switch.

It's really not a bad pokemon at all.

 

[GeneralMLD]

I see this getting more use then Mega Banette, now that Mega is a pokemon nobody is talking about, with Gengar stealing its thunder.

 

[Machi]

While itemless 135 SpA isn't too powerful, it works quite well in practice. Because the only common Electric attack in OU currently is Rotom's pitiful Volt Switch, I often find that many teams aren't equipped to handle Megatric's powerful TBolt. Flamethrower is excellent for Ferro (I prefer it over Overheat since it has perfect accuracy and doesn't force you out next turn) and you can round out your coverage with the HP of your choice. Ice for Gliscor/Chomp/etc, and Grass for Quagsire/Gastrodon.

Mega Manectric doesn't have too many options, but it has everything it needs to be effective!

The trade off with flamethrower that does need to be noted is the ability to comfortably OHKO Excadrill and MLucario (course if it misses admittedly you're screwed) so just keep that in mind. Though Flamethrower aside from accuracy does have the advantage of not making MManetric set up bait for those that could capitalize on the -2 SpA, e.g. Dragonite.

While the problem with trying to gain a boost from Lightning rod I just have issues since I find it incredibly risk at times to try and bait a Rotom-W since I notice many enjoy just going all out with a Hydro Pump or WoW, neither of which MManetric enjoys, but given that MManetric is more of a pivot than anything it isn't all that important to snag the +1 boost since he's not there to necessarily sweep. It is great if he snags that boost but priority should be mega-evolving as intimidate offers better utility.

 

[PK Gaming]

The cool thing about Mega Manectric is that it can deal with most of the Pokemon that block Volt Switch (Excadrill, Landorus, Gliscor and Chomp). Because that's all you'll be doing with this thing. Revenge kill weakened threats with your decent coverage and/or Volt Switch, rinse and repeat. It's damage output is really, really bad though; it's actually weaker than a Pokemon with base 90 SpA that's equipped with a LO, which should put things into perspective.

The natural resistance to Talonflame is nice though!

 

[meteor64]

135 Sp Atk isn't bad in the slightest, it just seems bad because you're comparing it to something with LO. Like, thats saying +0 Dnite Dragon Claw is also weak- obviously its not ohkoing anything, but its not really, really bad. Or even bad. And especially when Manectrics job is just maintaining offensive presence, and not straight up sweeping. 135 Sp.Atk by itself is moderately difficult to switch in on as is, especially something with Manectrics options. Sure, you may have plenty of mons that avoid a 2hko, but how often can you switch them in reliably before they are subject to a swift 2hko on a switch in?

Essentially what I'm trying to drive at is- how many mons can it 2hko after an initial Volt Switch? Because I'd imagine 135 Sp.atk actually allows him to do that fairly regularly, and with 135 speed and immunity to paralysis, that really does make things rather difficult for opponents in the mid-game. If he can pull that off, then he succeeds as a hard hitting mon IMO.

 

[PK Gaming]

Your standards must be really low if you think that Mega Manectric is hard to switch into. It has trouble OHKOing Pokemon that are weak to its STAB, and struggles to 2HKO Pokemon that are neutral to it. It's made extremely apparent With this calc i'm about to show you.

252 SpA Mega Manectric Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-W: 144-169 (47.36 - 55.59%) -- 17.58% chance to 2HKO

Mega Manectric struggles to do over 50% to 252/0 Rotom-W. And before you say "that's a 2hko after SR!" that's not the issue here. The issue is that if Rotom-W manages to switch into a Fire-type/HP ice, you won't be able to beat it. You can't even rely on Mega Manectric to beat it on a revenge kill. It's That's just one example; Mega Manectric fares much worse special tanks such as Goodra, Tyranitar, Latias and Hippowdon who can take its attacks for days on end. I'd also argue that it's difficult to maintain offensive pressure Mega Manectric isn't threatening. You're too fixated on the base SpA stat; the fact that it's weaker than a LO Pokemon with significantly lower SpA is an issue.

I still think it's a decent choice in OU, but there's no getting around the fact that Mega Manectric is weak.

 

[Tressed]

Your standards must be really low if you think that Mega Manectric is hard to switch into. It has trouble OHKOing Pokemon that are weak to its STAB, and struggles to 2HKO Pokemon that are neutral to it. It's made extremely apparent With this calc i'm about to show you.

Mega Manectric struggles to do over 50% to 252/0 Rotom-W. And before you say "that's a 2hko after SR!" that's not the issue here. The issue is that if Rotom-W manages to switch into a Fire-type/HP ice, you won't be able to beat it. You can't even rely on Mega Manectric to beat it on a revenge kill. It's That's just one example; Mega Manectric fares much worse special tanks such as Goodra, Tyranitar, Latias and Hippowdon who can take its attacks for days on end. I'd also argue that it's difficult to maintain offensive pressure Mega Manectric isn't threatening. You're too fixated on the base SpA stat; the fact that it's weaker than a LO Pokemon with significantly lower SpA is an issue.

I still think it's a decent choice in OU, but there's no getting around the fact that Mega Manectric is weak.

I've been testing it, and yeah, it does feel like it should have some more power. That said, I still like it. Intimidate Volt Switching is really fun, I've been running it with Lando-T and it just shuts down any physical attackers, which is quite useful and infuriating. That, and its coverage. If you find something that it hits super effectively, it does hurt, but I'm thinking you really just want to Volt Switch on as much as possible. You're definitely right, though, its absolutely a niche Pokemon, although its pretty good at said niche, which is really a glue Pokemon, good to throw in a few Volt Switches, Intimidate some stuff, and force things out with coverage.

Also, most efficient spread seems to be 252 Sp Attack / 224 Speed / 32 HP with Timid. You outrun Lando-I on your Mega Turn and everything under base 130 after (there's nothing between 130 and 135, iirc), while the rest goes into HP to help you tank the odd Intimidate dropped physical attack.

 

[PK Gaming]

Also, most efficient spread seems to be 252 Sp Attack / 224 Speed / 32 HP with Timid. You outrun Lando-I on your Mega Turn and everything under base 130 after (there's nothing between 130 and 135, iirc), while the rest goes into HP to help you tank the odd Intimidate dropped physical attac

Did you completely forget about Garchomp?

Anyway the boost to HP is practically inconsequential, so you're better off running using a 252/252 spread.

 

[Velits]

I have to say, Mega Manectric is one of if not THE most underrated/overlooked Mega Evolutions. I admit that I pretty much ignored it until recently, since even with the stat boosts it's not very impressive on paper compared to other Megas. However, that 135 base Speed is amazing. It sits in its own unique tier, allowing you to outspeed basically everything of note.

Intimidate might seem useless on a Pokemon weak to EQ with crummy 70/80/80 defenses, but then you realize Manectric packs Volt Switch and the synergy between the two is incredible. As part of a VoltTurn core or even as a standalone, Manectric can drop an opponent's Attack and then Volt Switch to deal solid chip damage and either scout the switch, or bring in a counter if they stayed in.

While itemless 135 SpA isn't too powerful, it works quite well in practice. Because the only common Electric attack in OU currently is Rotom's pitiful Volt Switch, I often find that many teams aren't equipped to handle Megatric's powerful TBolt. Flamethrower is excellent for Ferro (I prefer it over Overheat since it has perfect accuracy and doesn't force you out next turn) and you can round out your coverage with the HP of your choice. Ice for Gliscor/Chomp/etc, and Grass for Quagsire/Gastrodon.

Mega Manectric doesn't have too many options, but it has everything it needs to be effective!

I was wondering what would pair good with it? MegaManectric caught my eye as well but I feel like it needs the support of another Pokemon, prefably someone with U-Turn.

 

[SomeDrunkRockLee]

I hear a lot of "it isn't worth wasting your mega slot on". I think as the metagame settles down, people will realize that you can make a good team without a mega fairly easily. Once that happens Manectric will see a lot more use ironically. You don't need to force a mega onto every team, and last gen there were many teams that used Jolteon and Thundurus-T. If the team that you've built has a mega on it, use one of those two. If it doesn't use MM. It'll be fine and get decent usage.

And seriously I saw some people saying that losing immunity to electric attacks is bad....it gets Intimidate for it....one of the better abilities by far.

Although it's also important to point out that one of the main uses for Thundurus and Jolteon was Thunder/Rain abuse.

Actually, though, I had a question. Does intimidate kick in on your mEvo turn, or do you have to wait for your next switch in?

 

[EternalZ]

It kicks in on the Mevo. Which is why I love this thing. It takes volturning to a new level, especially with Landorus as a partner. Landorus is actually a GREAT partner as it can come in on the ground attacks aimed at Manectric and double intimidate the enemy, either making its attacks useless or taking away things like SD or weakness policy boosts. and that blistering base 135 speed means it revenges nearly the entire unboosted tier. I know. AMAZING

 

[Shroomisaur]

Although it's also important to point out that one of the main uses for Thundurus and Jolteon was Thunder/Rain abuse.

Actually, though, I had a question. Does intimidate kick in on your mEvo turn, or do you have to wait for your next switch in?

Yes, Intimidate activates immediately upon Mega Evolving. This is one of the ways in which Intimidate works perfectly with Volt Switch - it allows you to not only scout the switch-in, but hit it for solid damage AND lower its Attack on your MEvo turn.

 

[Tressed]

Did you completely forget about Garchomp?

Anyway the boost to HP is practically inconsequential, so you're better off running using a 252/252 spread.

Yes, yes I did Γ(-_- ) Guess its best to just run standard EVs.