phantom
Banned deucer.
Medicham
[Overview]
<p>With its signature ability, Pure Power, Medicham's Attack stat transcends that of even the Uber titans Groudon and Rayquaza. When this ability is combined with one of the most powerful Fighting-type attacks, Hi Jump Kick, Medicham has the distinction of being one of the deadliest attackers in RU. Moreover, Medicham's decent base 80 Speed is enough to outpace a little over half of the metagame. This in tandem with its excellent movepool, containing Psycho Cut and ThunderPunch, gives it perfect coverage with only three attacks, making it a force to be reckoned with.</p>
<p>To say that Medicham has legendary offenses is an understatement, though that embellishment is contrary to its defensive prowess. Medicham can't take a hit to save its life because of its mediocre defenses, lackluster Speed for a sweeper, and unappealing defensive typing. To make matters worse, Medicham is vulnerable to almost every priority attack, which makes sweeping difficult. Often, another common Pokemon with a Psychic / Fighting typing, Gallade, is chosen over Medicham because of its superior bulk, versatility and Attack-boosting capabilities. Medicham also has difficulty getting past Ghost-types. With a Ghost-type on the opposing team, Medicham will have to be cautious if it's attempting to use Hi Jump Kick, lest it face devastating repercussions. The most notable Ghost-type is Spiritomb, which is immune to both of Medicham's STABs courtesy of its Ghost / Dark typing and can Pursuit trap Medicham if it is locked into an unfavorable attack. Despite these faults, with just a little bit of team support, Medicham can unleash its full potential and slaughter the opposing team with its absurd power.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Hi Jump Kick
move 2: Psycho Cut
move 3: ThunderPunch
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Pure Power
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>When equipped with a Choice Scarf, Medicham's otherwise mediocre Speed is augmented, turning it into a formidable revenge killer and late-game sweeper. Hi Jump Kick is the STAB attack of choice; with an Adamant nature, Medicham is able to 2HKO Alomomola, Tangrowth, and offensive Slowking, as well as OHKO Moltres after Stealth Rock. Psycho Cut is the more reliable STAB attack, hitting Fighting-type resists such as Amoonguss and Gallade. Psycho Cut is best used when the opponent has a Ghost-type, which makes the use of Hi Jump Kick too risky, as it might cause Medicham to lose much of its HP or become setup bait if said Ghost-type comes in after a kill. ThunderPunch rounds out Medicham's coverage and hits Sigilyph and defensive Slowking for super effective damage while hitting Spiritomb for neutral damage. In the final slot, Trick can be used to cripple walls such as Uxie, a Pokemon that Medicham has difficulty breaking through.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>An Adamant nature is preferred, as it gives Medicham the ability to OHKO Pokemon like Escavalier and Entei with entry hazard support. However, a Jolly nature is also an acceptable option to outspeed slower Choice Scarf users, Aerodactyl, and +2 Modest Omastar, as well as Speed tie with Hidden Power Rock Accelgor. Drain Punch can be used over Trick, giving Medicham a safer secondary Fighting-type STAB.</p>
<p>As previously mentioned, entry hazard support is crucial for Medicham to achieve many critical 2HKOs and OHKOs. With Stealth Rock, Medicham is able to OHKO offensive Moltres, defensive Druddigon, and Drapion while being able to 2HKO Tangrowth. Crustle, Clefable, and Kabutops can all set up Stealth Rock while being able to deal with many of Medicham's counters. Ferroseed, Omastar, and Roselia can set up Spikes; three layers of Spikes combined with Stealth Rock allow Medicham to 2HKO Slowking with Hi Jump Kick and offensive Spiritomb with ThunderPunch. Toxic Spikes support from Drapion and Roselia is also advantageous, as it can soften up walls for Medicham, opening the path for it to sweep. Pursuit support from Spiritomb and Absol is needed in order to get rid of Ghost-types and opposing Psychic-types so that Medicham can then use Hi Jump Kick with little concern. Offensive Accelgor synergizes almost perfectly with Medicham, as the two of them can remove each other's counters while Accelgor can even set up Spikes to keep up the offensive pressure on the opposing team. Finally, priority users, such as Choice Band Entei, Choice Band Spiritomb, and Sucker Punch Absol, can all cut Medicham's sweep short. As such, dual screens Uxie makes an excellent partner; Uxie can set up Reflect, thus softening the impact of the aforementioned attacks.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Hi Jump Kick
move 2: Psycho Cut / Zen Headbutt
move 3: ThunderPunch
move 4: Drain Punch / Bullet Punch
item: Choice Band / Life Orb
ability: Pure Power
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Although this set relinquishes Medicham's revenge killing capabilities, it turns Medicham into a formidable wallbreaker. Hi Jump Kick is Medicham's most powerful move; when equipped with either a Life Orb or a Choice Band, Medicham has the capacity to OHKO almost every Pokemon that does not resist it. Psycho Cut is Medicham's less risky attack, being able to OHKO Fighting-type resists such as Amoonguss. Due to Bullet Punch being incompatible with Psycho Cut, Zen Headbutt is an possible alternative physical Psychic-type move. While slightly inferior because of its unappealing accuracy, it is also slightly stronger then Psycho Cut. Zen Headbutt allows Choice Band Medicham to guarantee an OHKO on Qwilfish after Stealth Rock. ThunderPunch gives Medicham perfect coverage against Pokemon like Sigilyph, which would otherwise wall it. Once all Fighting-type resists are gone, Drain Punch becomes an appealing attack, as it allows Medicham to attack and heal itself simultaneously. Finally, Bullet Punch is an excellent priority move in order to pick off fast frail threats such as Archeops and Cryogonal.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The remaining 4 EVs are put into Defense; if Medicham is using a Life Orb, it can use 11 attacks with an odd HP number, as opposed to 10 attacks with an even number (assuming it has not used Drain Punch or taken any prior damage).</p>
<p>A Lum Berry is an acceptable option to rid Medicham of burn or paralysis. Recover can be used in the final slot to restore HP at a moment's notice. Fake Out can be used to break Focus Sashes and stop pesky Sturdy suicide leads. Speaking of Focus Sash, Medicham can also utilize a Counter + Focus set or just Focus Sash on its own to great effect. Finally, Trick can be used to cripple walls such as Uxie with a Choice Band, but it is generally inferior to Drain Punch and Bullet Punch because Medicham normally has the power to get past these walls without relinquishing its item.</p>
<p>Pursuit support is mandatory due to Medicham's inability to deal with bulky Ghost- and Psychic-types. Absol and Escavalier are both excellent Pursuit users, as they can get rid of most of Medicham's counters. Absol can even function as a backup wallbreaker. Due to Medicham's mediocre Speed, pairing it up with Ninjask can be quite useful. Ninjask can easily pass Medicham a few Speed boosts and even a Substitute; Medicham will then be fast enough to outspeed and demolish offensive teams and also have a handy Substitute to cushion the impact of powerful priority moves. Whimsicott can make itself useful by paralyzing faster threats with Prankster Stun Spore or giving Medicham some much needed Tailwind support. Magneton pairs well with Medicham because it can destroy Slowking and Sigilyph with its STAB Electric-type attacks. Entry hazard support in the form of Stealth Rock from Crustle allows Medicham to OHKO defensive Scyther, while Spikes support from the Qwilfish or the aforementioned Crustle allows Medicham to 2HKO Slowking. Due to Crustle's secondary Bug typing, it can even take out other bulky Psychic-types, such as Uxie and Musharna, while Qwilfish can paralyze faster threats, such as Cinccino and Entei, with Thunder Wave.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Medicham has quite a few tricks up its sleeve, though none of them are particularly viable. Low Kick and Reversal are two alternative Fighting-type attacks. Due to Medicham's ability to force switches, it can utilize a decently effective SubPunch set. Magic Coat can be used on an offensive lead set so that Medicham can bounce back entry hazards. Medicham can use Baton Pass in conjunction with Bulk Up to function as an offensive Baton Pass user. Rock Slide is an option to OHKO defensive Moltres and Scyther without the use of Stealth Rock. Feint can be used to hit Pokemon using Protect in an attempt to block Medicham's Hi Jump Kick. Finally, Toxic is an option to cripple Uxie and Spiritomb and chip away at their health slowly.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Spiritomb is Medicham's best counter. It is immune to both of its STABs and can even tank a ThunderPunch with ease; Spiritomb can then OHKO Medicham with its STAB priority moves, Pursuit trap it on a predicted switch, or cripple it with Will-O-Wisp. Bulky Psychic-types, such as Uxie and Musharna, can counter Medicham quite easily and can retaliate with repeated attacks or cripple it with Thunder Wave. With Alomomola's gargantuan Defense, it can easily outstall Medicham and incur Hi Jump Kick's nasty recoil side effect with Protect. Mesprit and Misdreavus can check Medicham, though both of them have difficulty taking constant attacks. If Medicham lacks ThunderPunch, defensive Moltres, Scyther, Sigilyph, and Slowking can tank Medicham's attacks and OHKO.</p>
<p>Medicham's lackluster defenses leave it wide open to a vast array of priority attacks. Absol's powerful STAB Sucker Punch can take out Medicham; Absol can even Pursuit trap Medicham if it intends on fleeing. Gallade can OHKO a weakened Medicham with Shadow Sneak. In a similar vein, Hariyama can take out Medicham with a combination of Fake Out and a Guts-boosted Bullet Punch. Choice Band Entei's ExtremeSpeed slices through Medicham's defenses like a hot knife through butter. Finally, most Pokemon that are faster then Medicham and carry a powerful STAB can take it out. Galvantula can OHKO Medicham with Thunder, Sceptile can destroy Medicham with its STAB Leaf Storm, and Archeops can OHKO with its STAB Acrobatics.</p>