QC: Anttya / Lax / scpinion
GP: P Squared / The Dutch Plumberjack
[OVERVIEW]
**Psychic**
With its unique typing shared by no other Psychic-type Pokemon, Meloetta is one of the best Ghost checks that Psychic teams have to offer, taking on significant threats like Gengar, Chandelure, and Doublade. Meloetta is also blessed by good stats and a large movepool and thus becomes much more than just a Ghost-type check; its huge Special Defense stat combined with its decent HP lets it serve as a great blanket check to a variety of special attackers in the Monotype metagame, and its great Special Attack and impressive coverage options transform Meloetta into a formidable wallbreaker. Meloetta's Defense, however, leaves much to be desired and makes it extremely vulnerable to common physical moves that it is already weak to, like Knock Off, U-turn, and Pursuit. In addition, Meloetta has rather low Speed for a wallbreaker and thus finds itself being forced out by faster Pokemon. Meloetta faces competition from Hoopa-U as a Ghost check but is often a better choice on balanced Psychic teams because of its superior bulk and immunity to Ghost-type moves.
[SET]
name: Assault Vest Pivot (Psychic)
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Hyper Voice
move 4: Psyshock / Psychic
item: Assault Vest
ability: Serene Grace
nature: Modest
evs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Shadow Ball is necessary to let Meloetta check Ghost-type Pokemon like Doublade, and it also hits other Psychic-type Pokemon. Focus Blast provides a way to hit Dark-type Pokemon like Tyranitar and Bisharp while hitting Steel-types that resist its STAB moves like Heatran and Magnezone. Hyper Voice is a powerful STAB move with great neutral coverage. Psyshock is another STAB attack that hits specially defensive Pokemon like Chansey, Lanturn, and Togekiss harder than Psychic, but Psychic can also be used because of its slightly higher power and 20% chance to drop Special Defense after Serene Grace. Energy Ball is a possible coverage move that Meloetta can utilize to get past Gastrodon and to hit other Water- and Ground-types slightly harder than its STAB moves.
Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack investment is used alongside a Modest nature to let Meloetta hit as hard as possible. HP is also maximized with the remaining EVs in Special Defense to boost Meloetta's already huge special bulk to monstrous levels in tandem with Assault Vest. This Meloetta set can also use a faster spread, with 96 EVs in Speed letting it outspeed neutral-natured base 70 Speed Pokemon and below, like Bisharp and Mega Swampert, and 188 Speed EVs letting it outspeed positive-natured base 70 Speed Pokemon, most notably Breloom. Serene Grace works great with Shadow Ball's, Focus Blast's, and Psychic's chances to drop Special Defense and makes Meloetta very annoying to switch into.
Usage Tips
========
Equipped with an Assault Vest, Meloetta turns into a fantastic pivot. Switch it in on Ghost-type moves and special moves in general and retaliate with one of its strong STAB moves or impressive coverage moves. If the opponent has a Choice Scarf Chandelure or Gengar, make sure to keep Meloetta healthy or at the very least alive so that they are not able to freely use Shadow Ball. Meloetta can switch into these Pokemon among other special attackers like Latios, Alakazam, and Thundurus reliably, but it is easy to wear down because of its lack of recovery and susceptibility to entry hazards of all kinds.
Team Options
========
Meloetta is easily worn down by all kinds of entry hazards, so Rapid Spin users like Starmie and Defog users like Latios and Mew are appreciated to extend Meloetta's ability to check Pokemon. Mew in particular can spread burns and can ease the defensive pressure put on Meloetta in addition to getting rid of entry hazards. Jirachi can also increase Meloetta's longevity by giving it recovery through passing Wishes. Slowbro is also a fantastic teammate for Meloetta, as its high Defense is complemented perfectly by Meloetta's high Special Defense, and it does a good job taking moves like non-STAB U-turn and Knock Off, which Meloetta despises. Offensively, Victini is a great teammate, as Meloetta's best switch-ins are usually specially defensive Pokemon that are weak to Victini's strong physical V-create. In addition, Victini can deal with Bug-type moves and Pokemon with its Fire typing. This Meloetta set cannot touch Mega Sableye and struggles to get past Mandibuzz, so Mega Gardevoir is a good partner to get rid of these threats and other Dark-type Pokemon.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker (Psychic)
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Psyshock / Psychic
move 4: Dazzling Gleam / Hyper Voice / Trick
item: Choice Specs
ability: Serene Grace
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Shadow Ball lets Meloetta hit Ghost-type Pokemon like Doublade and Chandelure, as well as other Psychic-type Pokemon. Focus Blast hits Steel-type Pokemon like Heatran and Magnezone that resist both of its STAB types and also hits Dark-type Pokemon like Tyranitar and Bisharp super effectively. Psyshock is a strong STAB move that hits specially defensive Pokemon like Togekiss, Lanturn, and specially defensive Zapdos much harder than Psychic, but Psychic can also be used because it is stronger and can hit physically defensive Pokemon like Landorus-T and Hippowdon harder. In addition, Psychic is affected by Serene Grace. Dazzling Gleam rounds off Meloetta's coverage, letting it get past Mega Sableye and Mandibuzz while also providing a more reliable way to hit other Dark-type Pokemon in general. Hyper Voice can still be used as a good neutral STAB attack but does not help Meloetta's coverage. Trick can be used to cripple walls and Pokemon that Meloetta can't get past. U-turn can be an interesting option that lets Meloetta pivot around Pokemon that it can't beat, but Meloetta struggles to fit it in its moveset.
Set Details
========
The EV spread is simple; maximum Speed and maximum Special Attack make Meloetta as fast and as powerful as possible. A Timid nature is preferred to outspeed base 80 Speed Pokemon like Mamoswine and Hoopa-U along with outspeeding maximum Speed, neutral-natured base 100 Speed Pokemon. A Modest nature can be used if the above threats are not a concern to the team, however. Meloetta can opt for a slower EV spread if a more reliable Ghost-type switch-in is needed: 188 Speed EVs can be used to outspeed positive-natured base 70 Speed Pokemon, most notably Breloom, and 96 Speed EVs can be used to outspeed neutral-natured base 70 Speed Pokemon and below like Bisharp and Mega Swampert. Serene Grace increases Shadow Ball's, Focus Blast's, and Psychic's chances of dropping Special Defense, making Meloetta harder to switch into. Choice Specs greatly increases Meloetta's power, letting it OHKO most offensive threats and 3HKO most defensive threats at worst. Life Orb is an option so that Meloetta can freely switch moves, but the recoil limits Meloetta's utility as a Ghost check.
Usage Tips
========
Use this set as a wallbreaker, using its very powerful STAB moves or unresisted coverage moves to break holes in the the opposing team. Meloetta has very good natural special bulk, so freely switch it into weak special attacks like Scald. Keep Meloetta healthy if the opposing team has a Chandelure or Gengar so they are not free to spam Shadow Ball. Be wary of switching into strong special moves with this set, as while Meloetta's natural bulk is good, this set is not nearly as bulky as the Assault Vest set. For example, the Assault Vest set is able to switch into Chandelure's Fire Blast, whereas this set is not.
Team Options
========
Victini complements this Meloetta set perfectly; its strong V-create hits the specially defensive Pokemon that are likely switching into Meloetta hard, and it can use U-turn to pivot into Meloetta on the Water- and Ground-type Pokemon that give Victini trouble. Victini is also able to take weak Bug-type moves for Meloetta, and Meloetta can switch into most Water-type moves for Victini. Slowbro is a good teammate for Meloetta as well, as its high physical defense complements Meloetta's weaker defensive stat and it can take on most U-turn and Knock Off aimed at Meloetta. If Meloetta is not using Dazzling Gleam, Mega Gardevoir pairs well with it, as it is able to get rid of Mega Sableye and Mandibuzz for Meloetta while also dealing with other Dark-type Pokemon and taking Dark- and Bug-type moves neutrally.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
**Psychic**
Meloetta's base 100 HP combined with its solid bulk lets it use a Substitute + Calm Mind set effectively, as it can make 101 HP Substitutes that cannot be broken by Seismic Toss and can boost reliably against bulkier types like Normal, Water, and Flying. Such a set, however, takes a long time to set up, is very matchup reliant, and often becomes dead weight against types like Dark, Bug, and Steel. Meloetta also has an interesting support movepool, with options like Heal Bell, Perish Song, and Thunder Wave, so a defensive set with these moves could be used on a stall Psychic archetype; however, it is hindered by Meloetta's lack of reliable recovery and competition from the plethora of other Psychic-type Pokemon that also have access to these moves, most notably Celebi. Relic Song may seem like a tempting option to turn Meloetta into a mixed or physical based attacker, but it can be difficult to get it going and there are other, better Fighting-type Pokemon that Psychic can use, like Mega Gallade and Mega Medicham. Finally, niche moves like Thunderbolt and Signal Beam have their uses, with Thunderbolt in particular being able to hit Skarmory more reliably and Signal Beam hitting Hoopa-U, but Meloetta already has trouble fitting moves into its moveset and is often better off using its dual STAB moves and its more common coverage.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Psychic**
**Fast Physical Attackers**: Since Meloetta is relatively slow and has an easily exploitable Defense stat, faster physical attacking Pokemon can usually force it out with ease. Examples of these Pokemon are Victini, Landorus-T, and Mega Pinsir.
**Bulky Steel-type Pokemon**: Steel-type Pokemon resist both of Meloetta's STAB types and force Meloetta to rely on the unreliable Focus Blast. Mega Scizor in particular is neutral to Focus Blast and can use sets without Choice Specs as setup fodder. Specially defensive Skarmory, Jirachi, and Metagross all take on most Meloetta sets with ease, but they must be wary of Choice Specs-boosted Focus Blast and Shadow Ball, respectively.
**Mega Sableye**: Mega Sableye is immune to both of Meloetta's STAB types, takes little from its coverage moves, and can set up Calm Mind on it, but it must fear a Choice Specs-boosted Dazzling Gleam.
**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Very specially bulky Pokemon like Chansey, Umbreon, and specially defensive Alomomola can switch into most of Meloetta's moves, but they must be wary of the Choice Specs set, as they are all crippled by Trick and 2HKOed by the correct move with prior damage.
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