qc: Eien / Paleo / scpinion
gp: The Dutch Plumberjack / P Squared
[OVERVIEW]
**Rock:**
Diancie is the best Trick Room setter on Rock, as well as a decent Stealth Rock setter, and it performs well as both a bulky attacker and Trick Room sweeper thanks to its decent attacking stats and magnificent 50 / 150 / 150 bulk; on the other hand, Mega Diancie is a great mixed attacker with the ability to OHKO many threatening Pokemon in the Monotype metagame thanks to its spectacular attacking stats and Speed, as well as decent 50 / 110 / 110 bulk. On Rock teams, Mega Diancie is one of the best wallbreakers due to its mixed STAB attacks, Diamond Storm and Moonblast. Its Fairy typing also makes it a great offensive check to most Fighting-types, and it outspeeds most of them too; it puts offensive pressure on Dragon teams too because it prevents them from using their Dragon-type attacks against Rock teams reliably. Mega Diancie is also a decent stallbreaker as well due to Magic Bounce, as it can reflect status moves and damage most status users with its attacks. However, while a Rock / Fairy typing is great for Rock teams, it makes Diancie doubly weak to Steel-type moves, of which Bullet Punch is especially threatening. Diancie's awful base 50 Speed also means that it almost always needs to use Protect upon Mega Evolving to guarantee that it can survive until the next turn to begin sweeping.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker (Rock)
move 1: Moonblast
move 2: Diamond Storm
move 3: Earth Power
move 4: Protect
item: Diancite
ability: Clear Body
nature: Naive
evs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Moonblast is Mega Diancie's primary STAB move, which lets it hit Pokemon on Fighting and Dragon teams super effectively, notably Keldeo, Breloom, and Latios, and also provides decent neutral coverage. Diamond Storm is Mega Diancie's other STAB move, letting it hit Fire-, Bug-, Flying-, and Ice-types like Volcarona, Mega Pinsir, Mega Charizard Y, and Weavile super effectively, and, like Moonblast, provides decent neutral coverage. Mega Pinsir is an important Pokemon to hit, as after a Swords Dance, it's really threatening to Rock teams. Earth Power lets Mega Diancie hit opposing Electric-, Rock-, and Steel-types that can possibly threaten it or its teammates, such as Magnezone, opposing Mega Diancie, and Heatran. Protect lets Diancie safely Mega Evolve and allows it to scout the foe's moves and for potential Choice item users.
Set Details
========
Clear Body lets Diancie switch into Intimidate and Sticky Web before Mega Evolving. Magic Bounce is the ability Diancie obtains after Mega Evolving, which lets it switch into any possible Klefki, Whimsicott, or Sableye, as well as most entry hazard setters; Magic Bounce is especially useful because it prevents Mega Diancie from being inflicted with a status ailment. Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment, as well as 4 Attack EVs and a Naive nature, allow Mega Diancie to hit as hard and as fast as possible. A Naive nature is preferred over a Hasty one because it guarantees that Mega Diancie will never get OHKOed by Mega Lopunny's High Jump Kick.
Usage Tips
========
If you haven't Mega Evolved Diancie yet, switch it in on any potential Intimidate switch-ins, Mementos, or stat-lowering moves. Use Mega Diancie to wallbreak early-game to help set up a late-game sweep from a teammate. Try preserving Mega Diancie's health so it can sweep late-game after faster threats have been removed or Sticky Web is up and the opposing team is weakened. For example, Mega Diancie can potentially sweep Fighting teams quickly after Sticky Web is set up; however, it requires Mega Medicham to be KOed first, as it would otherwise lose to Mega Medicham's Bullet Punch. An alternative to this is to not Mega Evolve Diancie straight away, as regular Diancie survives a Bullet Punch from Mega Medicham and can KO it in return. It is recommended to use Protect while Mega Evolving to prevent any severe damage loss, even if Diancie will outspeed the foe on the first turn, to prevent it from taking any excessive damage. Try to Mega Evolve early-game to prevent entry hazard setters from getting entry hazards up on your side thanks to Magic Bounce. Rather than switching in on attacks, switch Mega Diancie in on various status users like Sableye to bounce the status ailments back, as those are more reliable opportunities to switch in safely.
Team Options
========
Mega Diancie appreciates the sand that Tyranitar provides with Sand Stream because of the boost in Special Defense that sand gives to make up for a Naive nature; Assault Vest Tyranitar specifically is a good specially defensive wall that can pivot into attacks intended to hit Mega Diancie. In return, Tyranitar appreciates Mega Diancie's ability to take care of Fighting-types. Cradily can absorb Grass- and Water-type attacks for Mega Diancie and use Toxic to wear down walls that Mega Diancie can't break, and physically defensive Cradily is good to take on Mega Gyarados, because regular Gyarados's Intimidate lowers Mega Diancie's Attack, which allows it to survive a Diamond Storm after Mega Evolving. Omastar appreciates Mega Diancie's wallbreaking help, as it allows Omastar to switch in and set up on weakened teams. Mega Diancie appreciates Shuckle's ability to set up Stealth Rock and Sticky Web and drain the HP and PP of bulky and threatening Pokemon with Toxic and Encore, respectively; Sticky Web is especially important, as it lets Mega Diancie become a major threat to Fighting teams. Rhyperior is an outstanding teammate because it can survive multiple Bullet Punches from Scizor and Mega Scizor due to its great bulk and access to Solid Rock, making it almost a required teammate for Mega Diancie. Fully defensive Rhyperior also survives a High Jump Kick from Mega Medicham and can OHKO it back with Earthquake after its Weakness Policy is activated. Choice Band Terrakion is a good teammate because it takes care of walls that Mega Diancie cannot, such as Porygon2, Skarmory, and Chansey. All of Mega Diancie's teammates appreciate its ability to reflect status and entry hazards.
[SET]
name: Bulky Attacker (Rock)
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Diamond Storm
move 3: Moonblast
move 4: Earth Power
item: Leftovers
ability: Clear Body
nature: Quiet
evs: 244 HP / 16 Def / 252 SpA
ivs: 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Trick Room lets Diancie and its teammates easily outspeed and KO a plethora of foes. Moonblast is Diancie's primary STAB move, letting it hit Pokemon on Fighting and Dragon teams like Breloom and Latios super effectively and providing decent neutral coverage. Diamond Storm lets Diancie hit Bug-, Flying-, and Ice-types like Mega Pinsir, Volcarona, Mega Charizard Y, and Weavile super effectively and also provides decent neutral coverage. Earth Power lets Diancie hit opposing Electric-, Rock-, and Steel-types that can possibly threaten it or its teammates like Magnezone, Mega Diancie, and Heatran. Stealth Rock is an alternative to Trick Room and lets Diancie support its teammates by allowing them to get easier KOs, and it annoys the opponent by causing their Pokemon to take residual damage. However, Stealth Rock is better used on teammates like Shuckle if possible for more reliability on slower Rock teams.
Set Details
========
Leftovers provides Diancie with a reliable form of passive recovery. Clear Body grants Diancie with an immunity to Intimidate and various stat-lowering moves. A Quiet nature, alongside maximum Special Attack investment, 244 HP EVs, and 16 Defense EVs, allows Diancie to survive as many hits as possible while still maintaining a decent offensive presence and allows it to avoid getting OHKOed by Adamant Mega Medicham's Bullet Punch, even after Stealth Rock damage. Use a Relaxed nature and an EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD if you're running Stealth Rock on Diancie; this allows it to make use of both its offensive and its defensive stats and lets it avoid the OHKO from Mega Medicham's High Jump Kick after Stealth Rock damage.
Usage Tips
========
Setting up Trick Room as early as possible is key to allow for as much fast attacking as possible on slower Rock teams. Try to use Diancie as a switch-in to Intimidate or any other stat-lowering conditions that are applicable. Avoid Steel-type attacks as much as possible, as Diancie is 4x weak to Steel. If you're running Stealth Rock over Trick Room on Diancie, take advantage of its ability to bluff a Mega Diancie set to force switches to allow for more opportunities to set up. This Diancie set can be used to switch into resisted attacks; however, be careful while doing so, as chip damage makes it more difficult for Diancie to reliably set up Trick Room throughout the match. Try to set up Trick Room against more passive Pokemon mid-game to keep Diancie healthy enough to repeatedly set it up.
Team Options
========
All slow Rock-types appreciate Diancie's ability to set up Trick Room, as most of them benefit from it. The team should not be focused entirely on Trick Room, as Diancie is the only viable Rock-type with access to the move, so once it's KOed, the team loses out on future uses. Tyranitar is a good teammate because it provides Diancie with sand, which gives it more special bulk. In return, Tyranitar appreciates Diancie's ability to get rid of Fighting-types. Cradily can absorb Grass- and Water-type attacks for Diancie to help it survive longer. Mega Aggron is immune to Poison-type moves, resists Steel-type moves, and has Filter to take care of Ground-types, making it perfect to deal with threats like Scizor for Diancie. Diancie appreciates Shuckle's ability to set up Stealth Rock and Sticky Web and drain the HP and PP of bulky and threatening Pokemon with Toxic and Encore, respectively; however, Shuckle's Sticky Web can backfire on Trick Room Diancie teams, as the Pokemon might be slow enough after switching into Sticky Web to outspeed Diancie under Trick Room. Terrakion is a nice wallbreaking teammate that operates well outside of Trick Room, giving your team a useful Pokemon for when Diancie cannot set it up. Fully defensive Rhyperior can survive a High Jump Kick from Mega Medicham and OHKOes it back with Earthquake after its Weakness Policy is activated.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
**Rock:**
Explosion can be used on Diancie as a last resort to deal as much damage to the foe as possible before Diancie's KOed. Calm Mind or Rock Polish can be used over Protect on Mega Diancie, as they make it into a potent sweeper. However, the loss of Protect could result in Diancie getting KOed while Mega Evolving or after it Mega Evolves due to the inability to scout for moves. Hidden Power Fire allows Mega Diancie to break Skarmory and KO offensive Mega Scizor on the switch, but losing better coverage is annoying, and Protect is very hard to give up.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Rock:**
**Bullet Punch Users**: Bullet Punch users like Mega Medicham, Scizor, Mega Scizor, and Lucario all OHKO Mega Diancie with Bullet Punch and 2HKO Diancie with it.
**Revenge Killers**: Revenge killers like Choice Scarf Terrakion, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and Swift Swim Kingdra can come in and OHKO Mega Diancie with Close Combat, Earthquake, or Scald. Swift Swim Kingdra specifically is a threat because even after its Speed is lowered by Sticky Web, it still outspeeds Mega Diancie.
**Mixed Walls**: Porygon2 is barely 4HKOed by both Diamond Storm and Moonblast and is 5HKOed by Earth Power, and even after taking Stealth Rock damage, it is still not guaranteed to get 3HKOed by Mega Diancie. Chansey takes laughable damage from Moonblast, as it is barely 6HKOed by the move, even after Stealth Rock, and it can 3HKO Mega Diancie with Seismic Toss. Mew isn't even 3HKOed by any of Mega Diancie's moves after Stealth Rock and can PP stall it with Roost.
**Steel-types**: Mega Scizor OHKOes Mega Diancie with Bullet Punch and can set up on Diancie with Swords Dance and continue to OHKO it with Bullet Punch. Excadrill and Jirachi both OHKO Diancie and Mega Diancie with Iron Head. Heatran OHKOes Mega Diancie with Flash Cannon and 2HKOes Diancie, and Choice Scarf Magnezone OHKOes both with Flash Cannon.
**Water-types**: Manaphy survives any hit from Mega Diancie and OHKOes it in return with Scald, and Manaphy it also sets up on Diancie with Tail Glow and continues to OHKO it. Azumarill's Aqua Jet OHKOes Mega Diancie, and its Waterfall 2HKOes Diancie. Starmie OHKOes Mega Diancie with Hydro Pump and 2HKOes Diancie with it. Volcanion survives an Earth Power and Diamond Storm from Mega Diancie and OHKOes it in return, and it 2HKOes Diancie with Steam Eruption. Mega Sharpedo can gain the Speed boost on the first turn and proceed to OHKO Mega Diancie with Waterfall. Swampert can OHKO Mega Diancie with Earthquake and 2HKO it with Scald, 2HKOing or 3HKOing non-Mega Diancie with the same moves.
**Ground-types**: Landorus OHKOes both Diancie and Mega Diancie with Earth Power. Landorus-T OHKOes Mega Diancie and 2HKOes Diancie with Earthquake. Gastrodon 2HKOes Mega Diancie with both Earthquake and Earth Power and can survive repeated hits from both formes. Seismitoad OHKOes Mega Diancie with Earth Power and 2HKOes Diancie with it. Garchomp OHKOes Mega Diancie with Earthquake on the switch and 2HKOes Diancie with it and survives a Moonblast; Choice Scarf Garchomp outspeeds and KOes both formes. Mega Garchomp 2HKOes regular Diancie with Earthquake; however, Mega Diancie outspeeds and KOes Garchomp with Moonblast.
**Grass-types**: Ferrothorn survives any hit from Mega Diancie and OHKOes it with either Power Whip or Gyro Ball and 2HKOes Diancie with Power Whip. Mega Venusaur isn't even 3HKOed by any move Mega Diancie throws at it and OHKOes Mega Diancie and 2HKOes Diancie with Giga Drain. Breloom can come in on weakened Mega Diancie and KO it with Mach Punch. Mega Diancie is 2HKOed by Cradily's Giga Drain, and Diancie is 3HKOed. Serperior outspeeds and OHKOes Mega Diancie with Leaf Storm and has a chance to OHKO Diancie when unboosted. Rotom-C takes any hit from both Diancie and Mega Diancie and OHKOes them both with Leaf Storm.
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