[OVERVIEW]
Mareanie's fantastic defensive ability in Regenerator alongside its decent mixed bulk, access to reliable recovery, and typing allow it to function on balanced and defensive teams as a stellar defensive pivot as well as a reliable check to common threats in Mienfoo, Vullaby, Alolan Grimer, and more. Furthermore, Mareanie's expansive utility movepool, consisting of useful options in Haze, Toxic Spikes, and Scald, allows it to discourage setup sweepers and inflict foes with status to stall them out. Despite these perks, Mareanie's poor offensive stats make it quite passive, and its merely decent bulk still leaves it susceptible to the tier's common Electric- and Ground-type attacks as well as especially powerful wallbreakers in Abra and Gastly. Furthermore, as a result of its passiveness, Mareanie often faces competition from Skrelp on more offensively oriented teams.
[SET]
name: Defensive Pivot
move 1: Scald
move 2: Sludge Bomb / Haze
move 3: Recover
move 4: Toxic Spikes / Haze
item: Eviolite
ability: Regenerator
nature: Calm
evs: 196 HP / 100 Def / 12 SpA / 100 SpD / 76 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Scald is a useful STAB attack that has a decent chance to burn physical attackers such as Mudbray, Doduo, and Pawniard. Sludge Bomb is a good STAB attack that hits Fairy- and Grass- types such as Cottonee and Snubbull; the former is OHKOed and the latter is often 2HKOed. Recover provides Mareanie with an impressive amount of longevity and, alongside Regenerator, allows it to sustain itself throughout a match and stall out status-inflicted foes. Toxic Spikes allows Mareanie to support its teammates by poisoning foes; thanks to Regenerator, it is able to be set up consistently throughout a match. Haze can be used over Sludge Bomb or Toxic Spikes in order to help Mareanie deal with threatening setup sweepers in Swords Dance Pawniard and Shell Smash Shellder more reliably by removing their stat boosts.
Set Details
========
Maximum HP EVs allow Mareanie to heal an extra hit point with Regenerator upon switching out, and 100 EVs in both Defense and Special Defense, a Calm nature, and an Eviolite allow Mareanie to optimize its bulk and tank powerful hits such as Snivy's unboosted Leaf Storm, Staryu's Psychic, and Ponyta's Wild Charge. 72 Speed EVs allow Mareanie to outpace Snubbull and defensive Mudbray, while the remaining 12 EVs are invested in Special Attack to increase Mareanie's Special Attack stat by one point. Regenerator is the preferred ability, as it allows Mareanie to switch out of attacks that threaten it, such as Mudbray's Earthquake or Abra's Psychic, and recover in the process.
Usage Tips
========
Thanks to its Regenerator ability, typing, and good bulk, Mareanie is able to reliably switch into a plethora of fearsome attacks such as Mienfoo's High Jump Kick, Spritzee's Moonblast, Vulpix's Fire Blast, and Rufflet's Superpower. Regenerator should be taken advantage of whenever possible, such as when threatened by a powerful attacker like Abra or when you predict a switch to a foe that threatens it. Because of Regenerator, Mareanie should try to avoid using Recover when it doesn't need to in order to preserve momentum. Because Mareanie forces switches against common Pokemon in Mienfoo and Ponyta, it often has access to free turns, which it should use to set up Toxic Spikes, try burning switch-ins with Scald, or recover. Despite its good bulk, Mareanie has glaring weaknesses to Ground-, Psychic-, and Electric-type attacks, which means it should pivot out of Pokemon with these types of attacks to avoid taking severe damage that compromises its tanking capabilities. Don't be conservative about using Haze if running it; it's better for Mareanie to use Haze and have the opponent KO it, as this will allow Mareanie's teammates to safely revenge kill a foe that hasn't accumulated any stat boosts. Mareanie is very reliant on Eviolite, and as a result, must be wary of super effective coverage options from the likes of Mienfoo and Timburr after having its Eviolite removed by Knock Off. Mareanie should also always be wary of Guts Timburr, as it is a prevalent threat that receives an Attack boost from status, thus discouraging the use of any of Mareanie's status-inflicting moves. Lastly, Mareanie should be wary of switching into a pivoting attacker such as Mienfoo or Pancham if Diglett is on the opposing team, as it will trap and KO Mareanie.
Team Options
========
Mareanie's poor Speed and passiveness often mean that it fits best on slower-paced teams due to otherwise being a less useful pick than Skrelp. Ferroseed is a fantastic teammate, as it appreciates Mareanie's Fire-type resistance, is able to provide additional entry hazards with Spikes or Stealth Rock, and it is able to come in on the Ground-, Psychic-, and Electric-type attacks that Mareanie hates taking. Diglett is also a good partner, as it can make use of its Arena Trap ability to trap and remove foes that absorb Toxic Spikes such as Alolan Grimer and Stunky. Pokemon that are capable of switching into or KOing Psychic-types, such as Ferroseed, Pawniard, Magnemite, and Carvanha, all make for fantastic partners that can help Mareanie ease the pressure that Psychic-types like Abra and Slowpoke put on it, while Electric-type checks such as Onix, Drilbur, Diglett, and Chinchou are all either able to switch into or eliminate common Electric-types in Magnemite and Elekid that Mareanie hates dealing with. Grass-types such as Snivy and Cottonee appreciate Mareanie's ability to tank Bug-, Ice-, Fire-, and Poison-type attacks. In return, Mareanie appreciates the aforementioned Pokemon's abilities to switch into Electric- and Ground- type attacks that it hates taking. Fairy-types such as Spritzee and Snubbull appreciate Mareanie's ability to tank the Steel- and Poison-type attacks that threaten them, while Ghost-types such as Gastly, Pumpkaboo-XL, and Honedge are useful teammates for Mareanie because of their ability to prevent users of Rapid Spin from removing Toxic Spikes. Mienfoo, Buneary, and Ponyta are all examples of Pokemon that appreciate the Toxic Spikes support Mareanie provides, as it helps them break through bulkier threats. Lastly, if Mareanie isn't running Haze, it appreciates other phazers such as Hippopotas and Munchlax as teammates, as its team won't be as vulnerable to threatening setup sweepers.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Mareanie can use Toxic alongside its good bulk and recovery to cripple and stall out offensive and defensive threats alike, though due to the low HP stats of Pokemon in LC, this is rather difficult given the amount of time it takes for foes to take heavy damage from poison. Mareanie can also use its Merciless ability alongside Toxic or Toxic Spikes to guarantee critical hits on any poisoned target, though Mareanie is still fairly weak, it comes at the cost of Mareanie's invaluable pivoting recovery provided by Regenerator, and it's very situational given the tier's amount of Pokemon immune to poisoning or Toxic Spikes. A physical set with Liquidation can be used because of Mareanie's higher Attack stat; however, this usually isn't preferred due to Scald and Sludge Bomb's burn and poison chances. Mareanie can opt to run a Stockpile set to increase its tanking capabilities, but this is at the cost of typically more valuable utility options and makes Mareanie very passive. Mareanie can run Hidden Power Fire to hit Ferroseed, Hidden Power Fighting to hit Pawniard, Hidden Power Psychic to hit Croagunk, or Hidden Power Ground for Magnemite, but they are all situational given the low damage output against any foe that isn't 4x weak to them.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Powerful Wallbreakers**: Despite Mareanie's impressive mixed bulk, powerful wallbreakers like Life Orb Diglett, Cranidos, and Abra are capable of severely damaging or OHKOing it with their respective STAB attacks.
**Electric-types**: Electric-types such as Chinchou, Elekid, and Magnemite are capable of severely damaging Mareanie with their super effective STAB attacks and either forcing it to switch out or finishing it off.
**Ground-types**: Ground-types such as Diglett, Mudbray, and Drilbur won't be able to switch into Mareanie's Scald, but will otherwise be able to threaten to OHKO it with their super effective STAB attacks.
**Croagunk**: By virtue of its Dry Skin ability, Croagunk is immune to Mareanie's Scald, and it also resists Sludge Bomb. Furthermore, Croagunk can remove Mareanie's Toxic Spikes just by switching in, set up on it if it lacks Haze, and remove its Eviolite via Knock Off.
**Setup Sweepers**: Because Mareanie is so passive, it's often set up on and threatened by the likes of Vullaby, Timburr and Mienfoo.
Mareanie's fantastic defensive ability in Regenerator alongside its decent mixed bulk, access to reliable recovery, and typing allow it to function on balanced and defensive teams as a stellar defensive pivot as well as a reliable check to common threats in Mienfoo, Vullaby, Alolan Grimer, and more. Furthermore, Mareanie's expansive utility movepool, consisting of useful options in Haze, Toxic Spikes, and Scald, allows it to discourage setup sweepers and inflict foes with status to stall them out. Despite these perks, Mareanie's poor offensive stats make it quite passive, and its merely decent bulk still leaves it susceptible to the tier's common Electric- and Ground-type attacks as well as especially powerful wallbreakers in Abra and Gastly. Furthermore, as a result of its passiveness, Mareanie often faces competition from Skrelp on more offensively oriented teams.
[SET]
name: Defensive Pivot
move 1: Scald
move 2: Sludge Bomb / Haze
move 3: Recover
move 4: Toxic Spikes / Haze
item: Eviolite
ability: Regenerator
nature: Calm
evs: 196 HP / 100 Def / 12 SpA / 100 SpD / 76 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Scald is a useful STAB attack that has a decent chance to burn physical attackers such as Mudbray, Doduo, and Pawniard. Sludge Bomb is a good STAB attack that hits Fairy- and Grass- types such as Cottonee and Snubbull; the former is OHKOed and the latter is often 2HKOed. Recover provides Mareanie with an impressive amount of longevity and, alongside Regenerator, allows it to sustain itself throughout a match and stall out status-inflicted foes. Toxic Spikes allows Mareanie to support its teammates by poisoning foes; thanks to Regenerator, it is able to be set up consistently throughout a match. Haze can be used over Sludge Bomb or Toxic Spikes in order to help Mareanie deal with threatening setup sweepers in Swords Dance Pawniard and Shell Smash Shellder more reliably by removing their stat boosts.
Set Details
========
Maximum HP EVs allow Mareanie to heal an extra hit point with Regenerator upon switching out, and 100 EVs in both Defense and Special Defense, a Calm nature, and an Eviolite allow Mareanie to optimize its bulk and tank powerful hits such as Snivy's unboosted Leaf Storm, Staryu's Psychic, and Ponyta's Wild Charge. 72 Speed EVs allow Mareanie to outpace Snubbull and defensive Mudbray, while the remaining 12 EVs are invested in Special Attack to increase Mareanie's Special Attack stat by one point. Regenerator is the preferred ability, as it allows Mareanie to switch out of attacks that threaten it, such as Mudbray's Earthquake or Abra's Psychic, and recover in the process.
Usage Tips
========
Thanks to its Regenerator ability, typing, and good bulk, Mareanie is able to reliably switch into a plethora of fearsome attacks such as Mienfoo's High Jump Kick, Spritzee's Moonblast, Vulpix's Fire Blast, and Rufflet's Superpower. Regenerator should be taken advantage of whenever possible, such as when threatened by a powerful attacker like Abra or when you predict a switch to a foe that threatens it. Because of Regenerator, Mareanie should try to avoid using Recover when it doesn't need to in order to preserve momentum. Because Mareanie forces switches against common Pokemon in Mienfoo and Ponyta, it often has access to free turns, which it should use to set up Toxic Spikes, try burning switch-ins with Scald, or recover. Despite its good bulk, Mareanie has glaring weaknesses to Ground-, Psychic-, and Electric-type attacks, which means it should pivot out of Pokemon with these types of attacks to avoid taking severe damage that compromises its tanking capabilities. Don't be conservative about using Haze if running it; it's better for Mareanie to use Haze and have the opponent KO it, as this will allow Mareanie's teammates to safely revenge kill a foe that hasn't accumulated any stat boosts. Mareanie is very reliant on Eviolite, and as a result, must be wary of super effective coverage options from the likes of Mienfoo and Timburr after having its Eviolite removed by Knock Off. Mareanie should also always be wary of Guts Timburr, as it is a prevalent threat that receives an Attack boost from status, thus discouraging the use of any of Mareanie's status-inflicting moves. Lastly, Mareanie should be wary of switching into a pivoting attacker such as Mienfoo or Pancham if Diglett is on the opposing team, as it will trap and KO Mareanie.
Team Options
========
Mareanie's poor Speed and passiveness often mean that it fits best on slower-paced teams due to otherwise being a less useful pick than Skrelp. Ferroseed is a fantastic teammate, as it appreciates Mareanie's Fire-type resistance, is able to provide additional entry hazards with Spikes or Stealth Rock, and it is able to come in on the Ground-, Psychic-, and Electric-type attacks that Mareanie hates taking. Diglett is also a good partner, as it can make use of its Arena Trap ability to trap and remove foes that absorb Toxic Spikes such as Alolan Grimer and Stunky. Pokemon that are capable of switching into or KOing Psychic-types, such as Ferroseed, Pawniard, Magnemite, and Carvanha, all make for fantastic partners that can help Mareanie ease the pressure that Psychic-types like Abra and Slowpoke put on it, while Electric-type checks such as Onix, Drilbur, Diglett, and Chinchou are all either able to switch into or eliminate common Electric-types in Magnemite and Elekid that Mareanie hates dealing with. Grass-types such as Snivy and Cottonee appreciate Mareanie's ability to tank Bug-, Ice-, Fire-, and Poison-type attacks. In return, Mareanie appreciates the aforementioned Pokemon's abilities to switch into Electric- and Ground- type attacks that it hates taking. Fairy-types such as Spritzee and Snubbull appreciate Mareanie's ability to tank the Steel- and Poison-type attacks that threaten them, while Ghost-types such as Gastly, Pumpkaboo-XL, and Honedge are useful teammates for Mareanie because of their ability to prevent users of Rapid Spin from removing Toxic Spikes. Mienfoo, Buneary, and Ponyta are all examples of Pokemon that appreciate the Toxic Spikes support Mareanie provides, as it helps them break through bulkier threats. Lastly, if Mareanie isn't running Haze, it appreciates other phazers such as Hippopotas and Munchlax as teammates, as its team won't be as vulnerable to threatening setup sweepers.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Mareanie can use Toxic alongside its good bulk and recovery to cripple and stall out offensive and defensive threats alike, though due to the low HP stats of Pokemon in LC, this is rather difficult given the amount of time it takes for foes to take heavy damage from poison. Mareanie can also use its Merciless ability alongside Toxic or Toxic Spikes to guarantee critical hits on any poisoned target, though Mareanie is still fairly weak, it comes at the cost of Mareanie's invaluable pivoting recovery provided by Regenerator, and it's very situational given the tier's amount of Pokemon immune to poisoning or Toxic Spikes. A physical set with Liquidation can be used because of Mareanie's higher Attack stat; however, this usually isn't preferred due to Scald and Sludge Bomb's burn and poison chances. Mareanie can opt to run a Stockpile set to increase its tanking capabilities, but this is at the cost of typically more valuable utility options and makes Mareanie very passive. Mareanie can run Hidden Power Fire to hit Ferroseed, Hidden Power Fighting to hit Pawniard, Hidden Power Psychic to hit Croagunk, or Hidden Power Ground for Magnemite, but they are all situational given the low damage output against any foe that isn't 4x weak to them.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Powerful Wallbreakers**: Despite Mareanie's impressive mixed bulk, powerful wallbreakers like Life Orb Diglett, Cranidos, and Abra are capable of severely damaging or OHKOing it with their respective STAB attacks.
**Electric-types**: Electric-types such as Chinchou, Elekid, and Magnemite are capable of severely damaging Mareanie with their super effective STAB attacks and either forcing it to switch out or finishing it off.
**Ground-types**: Ground-types such as Diglett, Mudbray, and Drilbur won't be able to switch into Mareanie's Scald, but will otherwise be able to threaten to OHKO it with their super effective STAB attacks.
**Croagunk**: By virtue of its Dry Skin ability, Croagunk is immune to Mareanie's Scald, and it also resists Sludge Bomb. Furthermore, Croagunk can remove Mareanie's Toxic Spikes just by switching in, set up on it if it lacks Haze, and remove its Eviolite via Knock Off.
**Setup Sweepers**: Because Mareanie is so passive, it's often set up on and threatened by the likes of Vullaby, Timburr and Mienfoo.
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