Overview
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With its large assortment of support moves as well as its signature move Relic Song, Meloetta is able to set itself apart from the rest of the typical Psychic-types in the tier. When used, Relic Song will change the typing and stats of Meloetta completely, turning it into Meloetta-P, a Normal / Fighting type with high Attack and Speed stats. Meloetta-P naturally outspeeds most of the tier and is blessed by the buff to Knock Off, which serves as a good way to hurt Ghost-types that might try to wall it.
However, Meloetta and Meloetta-P have some defining flaws. Meloetta has a below-average Defense stat for a bulky Pokemon and has no reliable recovery, which makes it to have to constantly avoid taking means it can't take powerful attacks. To make matters worse, Meloetta doesn't have a very good Speed stat and is under the constant threat of being outsped. Meloetta-A It also takes a turn to setup into transform into Meloetta-P, leaving it open to attacks on that turn, which can cost you the game. Nonetheless, Meloetta is a very versatile Pokemon and, if played right, can be a great addition to any team.
SubCM
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name: SubCM
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Psyshock
move 4: Thunderbolt / Focus Blast
ability: Serene Grace
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 136 HP / 252 SpA / 120 Spd
Moves
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Meloetta already has amazing Special Attack and Special Defense stats, but and Calm Mind boosts these stats to even greater levels, putting offensive pressure on the opponent as well as preparing Meloetta it for a sweep. Substitute is Meloetta's best way of avoiding status and can give Meloetta-A it more setup opportunities, putting further offensive pressure on the opponent. After a Calm Mind boost, Psyshock hits very hard, dealing heavy damage in particular to and aims to hit special walls, Assault Vest users, and opposing Calm Mind users. Thunderbolt hits common Calm Mind users and bulky Water-types for super effective damage and enables Meloetta to easily win Calm Mind wars. If Dark-types are problematic, then Meloetta can use Focus Blast to secure KOs on these threatening Pokemon. Dazzling Gleam can be used as a more accurate way to hit Dark-types and prevent Sableye from walling Meloetta, but it lacks the coverage and the power that Focus Blast has. Hyper Voice and Shadow Ball give perfect neutral coverage, but they don't give many super effective hits.
Set Details
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A Timid nature and 120 Speed EVs allow Meloetta to outspeed Adamant Heracross and Adamant Toxicroak while also outpacing every relevant wall in the tier. With maximum Special Attack, not many Pokemon can take a hit from +1 Meloetta after a Calm Mind boost. The remaining HP EVs give Meloetta a little more bulk and can potentially keep Meloetta-A's its Substitute up for another turn. Leftovers is the most best Meloetta has for reliable recovery and can help Meloetta-A the latter take another hit if it needs to.
Usage Tips
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Meloetta can beat opposing Calm Mind users like Suicune and Slowbro, so set up Calm Mind boosts on them or try to deal with them quickly with Thunderbolt. Don't stay in on strong Pokemon like Hydreigon or Houndoom unless you're Meloetta behind a Substitute; (semi-colon) in which that case, try to take them out quickly with Focus Blast.
Team Options
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Meloetta is vulnerable to all forms of entry hazards, so Rapid Spinners like such as Forretress and Tentacruel and Defog users such as Mew and Empoleon can help by spinning away entry hazards, but Defog users like Mew and Empoleon can also make great partners as they can Defog hazards away. Pokemon like Sableye and Jirachi can burn or paralyze opposing Pokemon, respectively, to potentially give Meloetta another setup opportunity. Physically defensive walls like such as Slowbro can stop the strong physical attackers that would otherwise tear Meloetta apart and are thus great teammates for Meloetta-A it. Aromatisse and Alomomola are excellent physical walls that can also provide status support.
Assault Vest
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name: Assault Vest
move 1: Psyshock
move 2: Hyper Voice
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Shadow Ball / Thunderbolt
ability: Serene Grace
item: Assault Vest
nature: Modest
evs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Moves
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Psyshock is Meloetta's primary STAB move and hits opposing Assault Vest users and specially defensive walls for heavy damage. Hyper Voice is Meloetta-A's a secondary STAB move and that is great at getting strong neutral damage. Focus Blast prevents Steel-type Pokemon from walling Meloetta and is an excellent way of destroying Dark-type switch-ins. Shadow Ball inflicts a lot of damage to Pokemon like Celebi and Metagross and is excellent at breaking specially defensive walls like Mew thanks to Serene Grace, giving Shadow Ball which gives it a 40% chance to lower Special Defense. Thunderbolt is an excellent way of getting past bulky Water-types like such as Suicune and Vaporeon and can OHKO most Flying-types. If Sableye is troublesome, then Meloetta can opt for Dazzling Gleam in replacement of over Focus Blast to hit Sableye and give better accuracy, but it gives Meloetta less power and coverage.
Set Details
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248 HP EVs give Meloetta an extra Stealth Rock switch-in while also maximizing Meloetta-A's its bulk. With maximum Special Attack and a Modest nature, Meloetta can deal out lots of damage while also retaining a lot of excellent special bulk thanks to Assault Vest; for instance, Assault Vest allows Meloetta-A to take special hits extremely well, so well that Choice Specs Hydreigon barely guarantees manages a 2HKO on Meloetta. Serene Grace gives Meloetta the ability to wallbreak opposing Pokemon with Special Defense drops from Focus Blast and Shadow Ball while also giving Thunderbolt a higher chance to paralyze opposing Pokemon.
Usage Tips
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Don't use Meloetta recklessly, as even though it can take special attacks extremely well, Meloetta it has no reliable recovery. Ideally, it should switch into a neutral special attack and deal out as much damage as possible while trying to avoid physical hits and strong special attacks.
Team Options
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Pokemon that can take the physical hits that Meloetta can't make great teammates. Cleric support in the form of Wish and Heal Bell or Aromatherapy can help increase Meloetta's longevity drastically. Meloetta doesn't want to take excessive damage because it has no reliable recovery, so it appreciates the support that Pokemon like Blastoise and Aerodactyl can provide by getting rid of entry hazards using Rapid Spin or Defog respectively. Aromatisse is an excellent partner for Meloetta due to its nifty resistances to Dark- and Bug-type moves, its ability to take physical hits rather well, and its access to cleric support Wish and Aromatherapy.
Physical Sweeper
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name: Physical Sweeper
move 1: Relic Song
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Return
move 4: Knock Off
ability: Serene Grace
item: Life Orb
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moves
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Relic Song is the most important move in this set as it is the only way to turn Meloetta-A allows Meloetta to transform into Meloetta-P, but and thankfully, it has a 20% chance to make the opposing Pokemon fall asleep as well, so it isn't an entirely useless move. Close Combat is Meloetta-P's main STAB move and can effectively punch holes in teams. Return gives Meloetta-P a strong STAB move that delivers strong neutral hits to hits much of the metagame neutrally. Knock Off is Meloetta-P's best way of dealing with Ghost-types that would otherwise wall it, (add comma) and helps also hitting the Psychic-types that threaten it for heavy damage.
Set Details
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With maximum Speed investment and a Timid Jolly nature, Meloetta-P outspeeds most of the tier after transforming. Maximum Attack gives Meloetta-P the power to pound through the opposition with relative ease. A Jolly nature is preferred to enable Meloetta-P to outspeed as much as possible, but an Adamant nature can be run to give Meloetta-P it even more power. Life Orb helps Meloetta-P dish out as much damage as it can and helps it guarantees 2HKOs on Pokemon like Slowbro after Stealth Rock damage. Relic Song gets a 20% chance to make the opposing Pokemon fall asleep thanks to Serene Grace.
Usage Tips
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Meloetta-P is an excellent mid- to late-game cleaner and can play mind games with the opponent as to whether Meloetta is going to transform or not. Try to avoid using Meloetta-P early in the match because it takes a turn to set up transform every time Meloetta-A it switches in. Try to use Meloetta-P after Choice Scarf users Pokemon and Pokemon that naturally outspeed Meloetta-P it are taken out.
Team Options
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Entry hazards like Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Sticky Web can help Meloetta-P in its sweep immensely by securing OHKOs for Meloetta-P for it and by slowing down potentially Choice Scarf users Pokemon. Shuckle can provide Stealth Rock and Sticky Web support, (add comma) while and Forretress can provide Stealth Rock and Spikes support. Meloetta-P hates status, so Pokemon that can absorb status like Guts Heracross can be great teammates. Meloetta-P can't outspeed Choice Scarf users Pokemon, so a Pokemon that can wall them, (add comma) like such as Quagsire or Florges, (add comma) are appreciated.
Other Options
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A mixed attacking set with Relic Song, Work Up, Psychic, and Close Combat could work well, but switching between formes with Relic Song can be difficult. Meloetta-P can go for a bulky Assault Vest set with Relic Song, Drain Punch, Knock Off, and a filler move, but once again, Relic Song takes too long makes it difficult to use this set effectively. Meloetta has a huge support movepool that can be utilized well with its incredible special bulk, but with threats like Mega Houndoom and Hydreigon roaming the tier, it's difficult to use well. A Choice Scarf Meloetta-A set can be used to abuse Meloetta-A's make good use of Meloetta's incredible Special Attack stat while somewhat mitigating its measly 90 base 90 Speed. A Choice Specs set would make Meloetta an incredibly strong wallbreaker, but it's usually outclassed in that role by Darmanitan and Exploud (this makes it sound like Darmanitan is a good Choice Specs user). Choice sets can use Trick to cripple opponents. U-turn is a great scouting move, but Meloetta's Attack stat is pretty low, (add comma) and Meloetta-A it is usually better off firing a powerful special attack.
Checks and Counters
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**Dark-types**: Fast, (add comma) and hard-hitting Dark-types like Mega Absol and Krookodile can easily wipe out Meloetta, but they have difficulty getting around Meloetta-P.
**Physical Attackers**: If Meloetta-A can't outspeed a physical attacker, then it will immediately threaten to KO Meloetta-A . (Please write this in a direct form. I don't know the relevant physical attackers, but it should be something like: "Powerful physical attackers such as <insert names> can outspeed and deal heavy damage to Meloetta-A, if not KO it off the bat.")
**Choice Scarfed Pokemon users**: Common Choice Scarf users Pokemon like such as Darmanitan, Victini, and Mienshao can threaten to outspeed and KO both Meloetta formes.
**Mega Aerodactyl**: Mega Aerodactyl gets a special mention for being able to naturally outspeed Meloetta-P and OHKO with Aerial Ace.
**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types like such as Chandelure wall Meloetta-P; thanks to their immunity to Relic Song, Meloetta can't transform, and Knock Off will deal poor damage coming off because Meloetta-A can't transform into Meloetta-P if Relic Song can't hit and Ghost-types laugh at Knock Off from Meloetta-A due to its abysmal base 77 Attack stat.
**Sableye**: Sableye completely walls any set lacking Dazzling Gleam and can simply stall out both formes with Will-O-Wisp, Taunt, and Recover.
