I would, but every time I do it'd say that I've exceeded the character limit. I've found a solution to this so once it's fixed I'll update it. Sorry for the inconvenience :(
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Monotype Viability Rankings
- Thread starter Anttya
- Start date
- Status
oh weird ok then...
We still need starmie (psychic), heatran (fire) , kingdra (water), jirachi (psychic), latias (dragon), ludicolo (water) , rotom H (fire), rotom w (water) drapion (dark), gallade mega (psychic) didance mega (fairy) mega altaria(flying ) slowbro mega (water and psychic) sharpedo mega (water and dark), latias and latios mega (psychic and dragon), swampert mega (ground), and steelix mega (ground) mega glalie (ice), wallrein (ice) gardevoir mega (fairy) I've seen fairy teams use normal gardevoir on trick or support as well...
Things already reserved are empoleon (steel), tyranitar (dark), swampert mega (water),, and mega mega beedrill (bug)
New tutor/level up moves like crunch for gyarados and heal bell for diancie may mean some older ranks can be adjusted.
Everything else on the old reserved list has already been written up or deemed unworthyRIP spirtomb
Things already reserved are empoleon (steel), tyranitar (dark), swampert mega (water),, and mega mega beedrill (bug)
New tutor/level up moves like crunch for gyarados and heal bell for diancie may mean some older ranks can be adjusted.
Everything else on the old reserved list has already been written up or deemed unworthy
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Mega Gallade for S rank. (Fighting)
Gallade @ Galladeite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat/Drain Punch
- Ice Punch/Knock Off/Shadow Sneak/Swords Dance
- Ice Punch/Knock Off/Shadow Sneak/Swords Dance
- Psycho Cut/Zen Headbutt
Swords Dance is Gallade's setup move that allows it to KO the majority of the meta after a boost. Drain Punch and Psycho Cut are the mandatory STAB moves. Knock Off has the best coverage alongside Drain Punch and Psycho Cut, and is especially handy for getting past bulky Ghost-types. Ice Punch can be used in the last slot to get past Gliscor, Landorus, Salamence, etc; Close Combat works as a stronger Fighting STAB move lacking recovery but it really packs a punch, Zen Headbutt is in the same situation as Close Combat dealing more damage and being able to flinch but having a 10% chance to miss and losing the high critical hit ratio. Shadow Sneak just works as priority move to damage pokemon with low health that happen to resist other moves. Now it's kinda obvious that Gallade will eventually outclass Mega Medicham due to the offenses and defenses this one has also the fact that Gallade gets Swords Dance and Medicham doesn't (most people would say both get Bulk Up but it doesn't hit as hard).
Gallade @ Galladeite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat/Drain Punch
- Ice Punch/Knock Off/Shadow Sneak/Swords Dance
- Ice Punch/Knock Off/Shadow Sneak/Swords Dance
- Psycho Cut/Zen Headbutt
Swords Dance is Gallade's setup move that allows it to KO the majority of the meta after a boost. Drain Punch and Psycho Cut are the mandatory STAB moves. Knock Off has the best coverage alongside Drain Punch and Psycho Cut, and is especially handy for getting past bulky Ghost-types. Ice Punch can be used in the last slot to get past Gliscor, Landorus, Salamence, etc; Close Combat works as a stronger Fighting STAB move lacking recovery but it really packs a punch, Zen Headbutt is in the same situation as Close Combat dealing more damage and being able to flinch but having a 10% chance to miss and losing the high critical hit ratio. Shadow Sneak just works as priority move to damage pokemon with low health that happen to resist other moves. Now it's kinda obvious that Gallade will eventually outclass Mega Medicham due to the offenses and defenses this one has also the fact that Gallade gets Swords Dance and Medicham doesn't (most people would say both get Bulk Up but it doesn't hit as hard).
I also think Slurpuff's physical sets became a lot more viable with drain punch; it finally has some coverage!
That's true, it might finally move up to B since Steel types won't wall it anymore
Mega Altaria (Dragon) for A rank
Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
Happiness: 0
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (if Roost)/Lonely Nature (if Fire Blast)
- Dragon Dance
- Frustration
- Earthquake
- Roost / Fire Blast
Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD or 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Calm Nature/Bold Nature
- Heal Bell
- Roost
- Tailwind / Roar / Perish Song
- Hyper Voice
Mega Altaria is a very interesting addition to Dragon monotype teams. It is currently the only non-uber Dragon type that is not weak to Dragon moves. And what makes it even better is that it's immune to them. This typing, along with its very solid 75/110/105 defenses allows Dragon teams to pull off a much more defensive play style than they were previously able to. Of course Dragon as a whole is still better suited to hyper offensive sweeping, but Mega Altaria makes other play styles more viable. Another huge addition that Altaria brings to Dragon mono teams is Heal Bell. Before, if Dragons wanted to remove their status ailments, they had to rely on either Heal Bell Dragonite (a pokemon that is much better suited to sweeping than it is to healing its teammates) or Healing Wish Latias (which only heals one of your pokemon and sacrifices the user of the move). Regular Altaria could have used Heal Bell, but its stats and typing were just too much of a hindrance to the team to make it worth using. Now that it gets a mega, both of those problems are fixed so it is now the premier Heal Bell user of Dragon teams.
Because of Mega Altaria's ability, Pixilate, and its access to Dragon Dance, it can also function as an effective physical sweeper. The combination of Frustration (Fairy type after Pixilate) and Earthquake has great neutral coverage. The only notable pokemon in monotype that resist both Fairy and Ground are Mega Charizard Y, Crobat, and Skarmory. For this reason, Fire Blast is an option instead of Roost, mostly to hit Skarmory for super effective damage but also to hit Crobat for neutral damage. It won't get anything out of the Dragon Dance boosts and you will be sacrificing valuable recovery for it, but it's worth considering since Dragon can have trouble with Steel.
TL;DR Mega Altaria is the best Heal Bell user Dragon has access to and the only Dragon that's immune to Dragon type moves. It can pull off a bulky support set but it can also function as a great physical sweeper with Dragon Dance and Pixilate.
Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
Happiness: 0
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (if Roost)/Lonely Nature (if Fire Blast)
- Dragon Dance
- Frustration
- Earthquake
- Roost / Fire Blast
Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD or 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Calm Nature/Bold Nature
- Heal Bell
- Roost
- Tailwind / Roar / Perish Song
- Hyper Voice
Mega Altaria is a very interesting addition to Dragon monotype teams. It is currently the only non-uber Dragon type that is not weak to Dragon moves. And what makes it even better is that it's immune to them. This typing, along with its very solid 75/110/105 defenses allows Dragon teams to pull off a much more defensive play style than they were previously able to. Of course Dragon as a whole is still better suited to hyper offensive sweeping, but Mega Altaria makes other play styles more viable. Another huge addition that Altaria brings to Dragon mono teams is Heal Bell. Before, if Dragons wanted to remove their status ailments, they had to rely on either Heal Bell Dragonite (a pokemon that is much better suited to sweeping than it is to healing its teammates) or Healing Wish Latias (which only heals one of your pokemon and sacrifices the user of the move). Regular Altaria could have used Heal Bell, but its stats and typing were just too much of a hindrance to the team to make it worth using. Now that it gets a mega, both of those problems are fixed so it is now the premier Heal Bell user of Dragon teams.
Because of Mega Altaria's ability, Pixilate, and its access to Dragon Dance, it can also function as an effective physical sweeper. The combination of Frustration (Fairy type after Pixilate) and Earthquake has great neutral coverage. The only notable pokemon in monotype that resist both Fairy and Ground are Mega Charizard Y, Crobat, and Skarmory. For this reason, Fire Blast is an option instead of Roost, mostly to hit Skarmory for super effective damage but also to hit Crobat for neutral damage. It won't get anything out of the Dragon Dance boosts and you will be sacrificing valuable recovery for it, but it's worth considering since Dragon can have trouble with Steel.
TL;DR Mega Altaria is the best Heal Bell user Dragon has access to and the only Dragon that's immune to Dragon type moves. It can pull off a bulky support set but it can also function as a great physical sweeper with Dragon Dance and Pixilate.
lucario (steel) for B rank
Lucario @ Choice Specs
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Aura Sphere
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden power ice
- Vacuum Wave
One of the rare special attackers for steel teams, lucario's coverae and unique priority move do not disapoint against most teams. I drop flash cannon so it can still hit bulky psychics (and metagross before mega) and because steel should have plenty of other answers for fairies. Has the most initial power of all lucario, which makes him less deadweight against offensive teams that his frailty prevents him from setting up on.
Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Crunch / Bullet Punch / Stone Edge
However, because lucario isn't incredibly fast, you can use give it adamant and still outspeed walls due to their inability to run 216 speed EVs and maintain bulk. Adamant +2 also accomplishes some major feats of wall breaking while being protected against fast glasscannons, especially with the support of spikes and stealth rock, which a steel team is perfectly suited to providing. Gliscor is fairly rare in monotype, so Ice Punch is not as good this generation, especially as the other pokemon with a 4x weakness have a penchant for running 252 jolly. It can also attack weakened pokemon before boosting for sizable damage, which helps it retain usefullness against teams it won't have an oppurtunity to setup on, such as ground.
Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Aura Sphere
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden power ice
- Nasty Plot / Agility
Boosting special lucario has more checks than SD due to the lack of a priority move with excellant coverage and decent power. Agility sets (physical or special) check teams that need to use things like landorus, gengar, scarfers from magnezone to terrakion, etc as their answer to lucario..
Lucario is Horribly mach punch weak, and his awful defense compared to scizor and mawile makes him unreliable as an SD Pokemon against offensive teams. His strentgh is in Close Combat's higher BP than their moves, and lucario's priotrity is not reliant on the opponet attacking like mawile, while at the same time lucario natively outspeeds most of the pokemon that ressost extremespeed, which allows him to switch between it and his stronger stab more freely than the other two. His role as a special attacker is semi unique for steel teams, but doesn't acheive the sheer versatility as SD luke
Lucario @ Choice Specs
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Aura Sphere
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden power ice
- Vacuum Wave
One of the rare special attackers for steel teams, lucario's coverae and unique priority move do not disapoint against most teams. I drop flash cannon so it can still hit bulky psychics (and metagross before mega) and because steel should have plenty of other answers for fairies. Has the most initial power of all lucario, which makes him less deadweight against offensive teams that his frailty prevents him from setting up on.
Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Crunch / Bullet Punch / Stone Edge
However, because lucario isn't incredibly fast, you can use give it adamant and still outspeed walls due to their inability to run 216 speed EVs and maintain bulk. Adamant +2 also accomplishes some major feats of wall breaking while being protected against fast glasscannons, especially with the support of spikes and stealth rock, which a steel team is perfectly suited to providing. Gliscor is fairly rare in monotype, so Ice Punch is not as good this generation, especially as the other pokemon with a 4x weakness have a penchant for running 252 jolly. It can also attack weakened pokemon before boosting for sizable damage, which helps it retain usefullness against teams it won't have an oppurtunity to setup on, such as ground.
- Extreme Speed vs. 4/0 Shaymin-S: 81.9% - 96.5%
- Extreme Speed vs. 4/0 Latios: 88.4% - 104.3%
- Extreme Speed vs. 112/0 Latias: 73.3% - 86.3%
- Close Combat vs. 252/252+ Skarmory: 84.4% - 99.7% ( high jump kick can give an OHKO, with the usuall reservations)
- Close Combat vs. 252/252+ Bronzong: 95.2% - 100%
- Close Combat vs. 252/176+ Hippowdon: 80.7% - 95% (high jump kick can finish off the modern lazy EV set with 12% prior damage, which spikes or the use of smooth rock>lefties will make possiblee)
- Crunch vs. 252/220+ Celebi: 81.2% - 95.5%
- Easy OHKO at +2 on defensive rotom with CC, offensive rotom will outsped adamant lucario.
- Extreme Speed vs. 0/0 Starmie: 97.3% - 114.6%
- Extreme Speed vs 0/0 Zapdos: 79.1% - 93.1%
- Bullet Punch vs. 0/0 Gengar: 95.8% - 113%
- Bullet Punch vs. 0/0 Tyranitar: 89.7% - 105.6% (DD mega TTar requires even more prior damage)
- Stone Edge (+1) vs. 156/96 Gyarados: 121.6% - 143.2%
- Stone Edge vs. 248/228+ Zapdos: 118% - 138.9%
Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Aura Sphere
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden power ice
- Nasty Plot / Agility
Boosting special lucario has more checks than SD due to the lack of a priority move with excellant coverage and decent power. Agility sets (physical or special) check teams that need to use things like landorus, gengar, scarfers from magnezone to terrakion, etc as their answer to lucario..
Lucario is Horribly mach punch weak, and his awful defense compared to scizor and mawile makes him unreliable as an SD Pokemon against offensive teams. His strentgh is in Close Combat's higher BP than their moves, and lucario's priotrity is not reliant on the opponet attacking like mawile, while at the same time lucario natively outspeeds most of the pokemon that ressost extremespeed, which allows him to switch between it and his stronger stab more freely than the other two. His role as a special attacker is semi unique for steel teams, but doesn't acheive the sheer versatility as SD luke
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Yeah, I'll update that soon. I'll need to test out hyper voice + earth power Aurorus first for myself though.
Mega-Sableye S Rank (Ghost)
Mega-Sableye is a great pokemon on ghost because it gives ghost ability to take a knock off and makes ghost monos a lot more viable. Overall with its great defenses and decent offensives it performs as a great cm sweeper. Also with its new ability unlike mega slowbro it can't be directly statused and worn down as easily. Also couple tips for using Mega-Sableye a big tip is to use prankster as Sableye's regular ability because it still has prankster even the turn it mega evolves. Also this works with cm recover wil-o taunt etc.
The set
the only way i see Mega-Sableye being used and the most effective way to use it is as a calm sweeper. The main reason this set is popular is because Mega-Sableye has prankster before it megas up. Wil-o is to cripple physical attackers and have them not be a threat to you. Calm mind is the set up move the makes this pokemon so dangerous because it can't be worn down by toxic only by indirect status. Mega-Sableye has another option over calm mind in Nasty plot its an option, but it is not as good as cm. The next move is a coin toss between a weak dark move that lowers special attack (snarl) and a more powerful move in dark pulse. Both are good and can be used. Recover is the last move which keeps this Pokemon alive for a lot longer and makes it very annoying. Overalll Mega-Sableye can run a physical set although not as dangerous it can run it. Overall this pokemon gives ghost one of the tools it needs to work a pokemon that can take a knock off. Overalli rate it S because it is a pokemon that ghost needs to take a knock off and also its a very dangerous cm sweeper. (Also note you can evs to specially defensive on set and i can also see this Pokemon getting ban on ghost and dark)
Mega-Sableye is a great pokemon on ghost because it gives ghost ability to take a knock off and makes ghost monos a lot more viable. Overall with its great defenses and decent offensives it performs as a great cm sweeper. Also with its new ability unlike mega slowbro it can't be directly statused and worn down as easily. Also couple tips for using Mega-Sableye a big tip is to use prankster as Sableye's regular ability because it still has prankster even the turn it mega evolves. Also this works with cm recover wil-o taunt etc.
Sableye @ Sableyenite
Ability: Prankster (changes to Magic Bounce with mega)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: NaN Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Calm Mind
- Dark Pulse/Snarl
- Recover
Ability: Prankster (changes to Magic Bounce with mega)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: NaN Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Calm Mind
- Dark Pulse/Snarl
- Recover
The set
the only way i see Mega-Sableye being used and the most effective way to use it is as a calm sweeper. The main reason this set is popular is because Mega-Sableye has prankster before it megas up. Wil-o is to cripple physical attackers and have them not be a threat to you. Calm mind is the set up move the makes this pokemon so dangerous because it can't be worn down by toxic only by indirect status. Mega-Sableye has another option over calm mind in Nasty plot its an option, but it is not as good as cm. The next move is a coin toss between a weak dark move that lowers special attack (snarl) and a more powerful move in dark pulse. Both are good and can be used. Recover is the last move which keeps this Pokemon alive for a lot longer and makes it very annoying. Overalll Mega-Sableye can run a physical set although not as dangerous it can run it. Overall this pokemon gives ghost one of the tools it needs to work a pokemon that can take a knock off. Overalli rate it S because it is a pokemon that ghost needs to take a knock off and also its a very dangerous cm sweeper. (Also note you can evs to specially defensive on set and i can also see this Pokemon getting ban on ghost and dark)
Mega Audino for S/A Rank!
Audino @ Audinoite
Ability: Regenerator (Healer)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell / Calm Mind / Thunder Wave / Toxic
- Dazzling Gleam / Draining Kiss
Normal has always been that iffy monotype that can be amazing, but always got destroyed so badly by fighting that it prevented it from being a top tier threat.
Audino answers normal's prayers, as not only has an amazing defensive stat spread of 103/126/126, but it also sports fairy typing, letting it only take neutral damage from fighting moves. It can also hit the respective fighting types back hard with dazzling gleam as while its special attack isnt high, most fighting types that are used are quite frail.
Having Audino also makes for another user of Heal bell and thunder wave, thankfully clearing up moveslots for Chansey, who is often fighting to use many moves on normal teams; it can make room for a status move or stealth rock. A calm mind Audino can also prove to be quite the deadly late game sweeper due to it being very hard to take down with that great typing and access to wish and heal bell. Wish passing can also prove useful for the team, as chansey usually does not have the moveslots to be using a wish passing set.
Also a very important note; Mega Audino makes for an amazing knock off absorber! Before, stray knock off users could cripple normal teams because its main walls Porygon-2 and Chansey were very susceptible to knock off due to their reliance on eviolite. Mega Audino not only resists knock off, but it takes lower damage from it as well due to not having an item that can be knocked off. Bisharp is still a problem, though, as iron head threatens Audino, but Audino can choose not to mega.
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DoW
formally Death on Wings
I think both wish and protect are mandatory in order for Audino to be able to successfully counter MMedi. The set I'd suggest would be:
Mega Audino for A Rank!
Audino @ Audinoite
Ability: Regenerator (Healer)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind / Thunder Wave
- Dazzling Gleam / Draining Kiss
- Wish
- Heal Bell / Protect
Normal has always been that iffy monotype that can be amazing, but always got destroyed so badly by fighting that it prevented it from being a top tier threat.
Audino answers normal's prayers, as not only has an amazing defensive stat spread of 103/126/126, but it also sports fairy typing, letting it only take neutral damage from fighting moves. It can also hit the respective fighting types back hard with dazzling gleam as while its special attack isnt high, most fighting types that are used are quite frail.
Having Audino also makes for another user of Heal bell and thunder wave, thankfully clearing up moveslots for Chansey, who is often fighting to use many moves on normal teams; it can make room for a status move or stealth rock. A calm mind Audino can also prove to be quite the deadly late game sweeper due to it being very hard to take down with that great typing and access to wish and heal bell. Wish passing can also prove useful for the team, as chansey usually does not have the moveslots to be using a wish passing set.
Also a very important note; Mega Audino makes for an amazing knock off absorber! Before, stray knock off users could cripple normal teams because its main walls Porygon-2 and Chansey were very susceptible to knock off due to their reliance on eviolite. Mega Audino not only resists knock off, but it takes lower damage from it as well due to not having an item that can be knocked off. Bisharp is still a problem, though, as iron head threatens Audino, but Audino can choose not to mega.
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell / Calm Mind / Thunder Wave / Toxic
- Dazzling Gleam / Draining Kiss
Some people have run Wish/Protect/Heal Bell/Toxic and found success, however leaving it as that much taunt bait on a normal team sounds like a bad idea to me. Neither move is going to be dishing out masses of damage, but it's enough to do #50% to non-mega sableye, for example, which can force it to keep recovering and causing problems when taunt wears off.
Moreover, I think that with its great defensive stats, supportive capabilities and great synergy with Chansey, it should be considered for S rank, as it seems to me like an integral part of a stally normal team, especially one which wants to beat fighting.
Note that while HJK does 2HKO M-Audino, due to the protect/HJK mindgames and Dazzling gleam also 2HKOing (while draining kiss 3HKOs but recovers a significant amount of HP), it's very much a matchup that relies on predictions, and one that a good normal player should be able to win.
I see, I'll change the set thank you! I'm not fully sure if it deserves S rank but I'll just mark it as S rank for now.
Right, I'm gonna do Chandelure(Fire). Can't believe you guys forgot about it.
Chandelure(Fire) for B Rank
Lampyeeeee(Chandelure)(F)@Choice Specs/Choice Scarf
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 4 HP, 252 SpAtk, 252 Spe
Modest Nature if Choice Specs, Timid Nature if Choice Scarf
-Fire Blast/Flamethrower
-Energy Ball
-Shadow Ball
-Trick/Hidden Power Ground
This is probably Chandelure's best set. Although Specs and Scarf play differently, the moveset is still the same. Choice Specs is for nuking the slower threats and Choice Scarf is for threats that outspeed Chandelure normally. Chandelure has sort of a balancing problem with its stats though. With Chandelure's high SpAtk and low Speed you'd think that Chandelure would be a bulky attacker, but it turns out that Chandelure is kind of frail. So we have to rely on Specs to maximize Chandelure's wallbreaking potential or Scarf for extra Speed. Fire Blast will be the STAB you should probably pick because it can hurt a lot. Flamethrower is for the people with bad luck. Shadow Ball is your second STAB move. Energy Ball will be your coverage move. And Trick is for crippling walls like Chansey which give Chandelure a hard time. Infiltrator will be your substitute(get it?) for Flash Fire or Flame Body. Because who would use a Fire type move against a Fire Mono? And since Chandelure is really frail, I doubt Flame Body would help too much. Infiltrator is the most helpful here as it allows Chandelure to bypass those pesky Substitutes.
You could also try this out...
Lampyeeeee(Chandelure)(F)@Leftovers
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 112 HP, 140 SpAtk, 4 SpDef, 252 Spe (you could play around with EVs a bit. They're really weird on this set.)
Timid Nature or Modest Nature
-Flamethrower
-Shadow Ball
-Substitute
-Calm Mind
If you're ever in a jam with your opponent having Substitute, pull Chandelure out, and begin to set up. With Calm Mind boosts, Chandelure becomes incredibly powerful. However, the problem is Chandelure's low Speed once again. This set is mainly for countering those pesky paralyzation-ers.
Overall, Chandelure is really strong. However, low Speed, glaring frailty, and weakness to Stealth Rocks make Chandelure unable to switch multiple times. This still doesn't make Chandelure a great wallbreaker though. And with Infiltrator and Trick, it could be a great asset.
P.S. I'm not too sure about the rank to be honest. I kinda feel like it should be a bit higher, but it fits B Rank's description perfectly.
P.S.S Sorry about the double post.
P.S.S.S Chandy, don't kill me.
Lampyeeeee(Chandelure)(F)@Choice Specs/Choice Scarf
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 4 HP, 252 SpAtk, 252 Spe
Modest Nature if Choice Specs, Timid Nature if Choice Scarf
-Fire Blast/Flamethrower
-Energy Ball
-Shadow Ball
-Trick/Hidden Power Ground
This is probably Chandelure's best set. Although Specs and Scarf play differently, the moveset is still the same. Choice Specs is for nuking the slower threats and Choice Scarf is for threats that outspeed Chandelure normally. Chandelure has sort of a balancing problem with its stats though. With Chandelure's high SpAtk and low Speed you'd think that Chandelure would be a bulky attacker, but it turns out that Chandelure is kind of frail. So we have to rely on Specs to maximize Chandelure's wallbreaking potential or Scarf for extra Speed. Fire Blast will be the STAB you should probably pick because it can hurt a lot. Flamethrower is for the people with bad luck. Shadow Ball is your second STAB move. Energy Ball will be your coverage move. And Trick is for crippling walls like Chansey which give Chandelure a hard time. Infiltrator will be your substitute(get it?) for Flash Fire or Flame Body. Because who would use a Fire type move against a Fire Mono? And since Chandelure is really frail, I doubt Flame Body would help too much. Infiltrator is the most helpful here as it allows Chandelure to bypass those pesky Substitutes.
You could also try this out...
Lampyeeeee(Chandelure)(F)@Leftovers
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 112 HP, 140 SpAtk, 4 SpDef, 252 Spe (you could play around with EVs a bit. They're really weird on this set.)
Timid Nature or Modest Nature
-Flamethrower
-Shadow Ball
-Substitute
-Calm Mind
If you're ever in a jam with your opponent having Substitute, pull Chandelure out, and begin to set up. With Calm Mind boosts, Chandelure becomes incredibly powerful. However, the problem is Chandelure's low Speed once again. This set is mainly for countering those pesky paralyzation-ers.
Overall, Chandelure is really strong. However, low Speed, glaring frailty, and weakness to Stealth Rocks make Chandelure unable to switch multiple times. This still doesn't make Chandelure a great wallbreaker though. And with Infiltrator and Trick, it could be a great asset.
P.S. I'm not too sure about the rank to be honest. I kinda feel like it should be a bit higher, but it fits B Rank's description perfectly.
P.S.S Sorry about the double post.
P.S.S.S Chandy, don't kill me.
Mega Diancie (Rock) for A Rank
50/100/150/100/150/50 --> 50/160/110/160/110/110
Calm Mind Sweeper
Diancie @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power/Hidden Power [Fire]
- Calm Mind/Hidden Power [Fire]/Heal Bell/Protect
This set takes advantage of the switches that Magic Bounce provides to set up a Calm Mind and hopefully sweep. Moonblast is a mandatory STAB that crushes fighting types and bulky dark types, such as Conkeldurr or Sableye, respectively. Diamond Storm is another useful STAB that can be used to check dangerous flying types and has a nifty 50% chance to raise defense as well. In ORAS, Diancie gained Earth Power, a useful coverage move that hits Nidoking, Heatran, Mega Metagross, Bisharp, Excadrill, and Klefki. Calm Mind is the jewel of the set; if you can get Diancie in on weaker special attackers or hazard leads, you can easily set up a calm mind and rip apart the opposing team once Diancie's checks are gone (basically things with bullet punch). Other options include Hidden Power [Fire] which can hit Genesect, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and other threatening steels on the switch and Heal Bell which is unique to Diancie and Carbink on Mono rock and can be used when Diancie scares something out with Magic Bounce/Offense. Protect may also be used to prevent Diancie from taking damage during its mega evolving turn, which helps against threats that could dent it otherwise, such as Breloom or Keldeo.
Explanation: Mega Diancie is an amazing addition for more offensive rock teams. Upon mega evolving, Diancie gets a huge buff to its offenses and speed, making for a nice mixed sweeper. It has just enough speed to outpace major threats and threaten to OHKO. Keldeo, Terrakion, and Garchomp are a few examples. Its fairy typing and great speed tier make it a decent answer to Fighting monotypes, especially if you can provide sticky web support. Unlike many rock types, it usually doesn't need to take a hit first and dish one out after, like Cradily, TTar, Rhyperior, Omastar, regular Diancie, etc; it has enough speed and power to OHKO many fast threats late game and come out unscathed. Also, Diancie's ability Magic Bounce is extremely useful. With it, Diancie can set up in the face of walls that threaten the team as a whole, like Will-o-Mew, Sableye (mega), and Skarmory. It also provides an pseudo immunity to WoW which helps when most of your team is physical.
The major downside of Diancie-Mega is the loss of Aggron-Mega. It trades out a Steel resist for a x4 weakness to steel. This is why Diancie usually only fits on the more offensive types that need to rely on sheer power get past its checks. It also fails to reliably check threats that it needs to check; since regular Diancie only has 50 speed, when the opponent has a specs Keldeo, you would need to find a turn to mega evolve Diancie before Keldeo comes in if Diancie lacks protect. Fighting Monotypes can take advantage of Diancie's lowered bulk (50/150/150 -> 50/110/100) by using priority, common on many of its members.
50/100/150/100/150/50 --> 50/160/110/160/110/110
Calm Mind Sweeper
Diancie @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power/Hidden Power [Fire]
- Calm Mind/Hidden Power [Fire]/Heal Bell/Protect
This set takes advantage of the switches that Magic Bounce provides to set up a Calm Mind and hopefully sweep. Moonblast is a mandatory STAB that crushes fighting types and bulky dark types, such as Conkeldurr or Sableye, respectively. Diamond Storm is another useful STAB that can be used to check dangerous flying types and has a nifty 50% chance to raise defense as well. In ORAS, Diancie gained Earth Power, a useful coverage move that hits Nidoking, Heatran, Mega Metagross, Bisharp, Excadrill, and Klefki. Calm Mind is the jewel of the set; if you can get Diancie in on weaker special attackers or hazard leads, you can easily set up a calm mind and rip apart the opposing team once Diancie's checks are gone (basically things with bullet punch). Other options include Hidden Power [Fire] which can hit Genesect, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and other threatening steels on the switch and Heal Bell which is unique to Diancie and Carbink on Mono rock and can be used when Diancie scares something out with Magic Bounce/Offense. Protect may also be used to prevent Diancie from taking damage during its mega evolving turn, which helps against threats that could dent it otherwise, such as Breloom or Keldeo.
Explanation: Mega Diancie is an amazing addition for more offensive rock teams. Upon mega evolving, Diancie gets a huge buff to its offenses and speed, making for a nice mixed sweeper. It has just enough speed to outpace major threats and threaten to OHKO. Keldeo, Terrakion, and Garchomp are a few examples. Its fairy typing and great speed tier make it a decent answer to Fighting monotypes, especially if you can provide sticky web support. Unlike many rock types, it usually doesn't need to take a hit first and dish one out after, like Cradily, TTar, Rhyperior, Omastar, regular Diancie, etc; it has enough speed and power to OHKO many fast threats late game and come out unscathed. Also, Diancie's ability Magic Bounce is extremely useful. With it, Diancie can set up in the face of walls that threaten the team as a whole, like Will-o-Mew, Sableye (mega), and Skarmory. It also provides an pseudo immunity to WoW which helps when most of your team is physical.
The major downside of Diancie-Mega is the loss of Aggron-Mega. It trades out a Steel resist for a x4 weakness to steel. This is why Diancie usually only fits on the more offensive types that need to rely on sheer power get past its checks. It also fails to reliably check threats that it needs to check; since regular Diancie only has 50 speed, when the opponent has a specs Keldeo, you would need to find a turn to mega evolve Diancie before Keldeo comes in if Diancie lacks protect. Fighting Monotypes can take advantage of Diancie's lowered bulk (50/150/150 -> 50/110/100) by using priority, common on many of its members.
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Dragalge for B-Rank for Dragon!
Shreds (Dragalge) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast/Scald/Shadow Ball/Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump/Focus Blast/Thunderbolt/Scald
- Sludge Wave
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast/Scald/Shadow Ball/Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump/Focus Blast/Thunderbolt/Scald
- Sludge Wave
Now if you ask why Dragalge might even be used in Dragon, its because of its new ability Adaptibility which makes its Dual STAB's of Poison/Dragon insanely hardhitting. So now it can bop Fairies with its insanely hard hitting Sludge Waves. It also packs some solid power and coverage options with Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, and Hydro Pump/Scald/Surf. With this type of power from Adaptability and with a pair of specs, it can truly change the battle on Dragon's side vs. Fairy. Very questionable physical bulk won't let it necesarily take on Mawile, but it can still put dents in with coverage moves such as Focus Blast or Hydro Pump. But its lack of speed, meh hp stat, and slightly questionable defense puts it at odds with some common Fairy pokemon such as Mawile or Azumarill. If you are unsure of the switch to a steel pokemon against fairy such as Klefki or Mawile, Scald is a good option to take chances at pulling off a burn. It won't be entirely useless against other matchups as well, as it can tank a hit and respond with a Draco Meteor.
Pieces (Dragalge) @ Leftovers
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
- Sludge Wave
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
- Sludge Wave
If you need to absolutely dissuade stall on your team, use this set. Plus it still bops annoying fairies for Dragon too, and puts pressure on the opponent to defog or spin the spikes away.
252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Dragalge Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Sylveon: 368-436 (93.4 - 110.6%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Dragalge Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 220+ SpD Heatran: 250-296 (64.9 - 76.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Dragalge Scald vs. 248 HP / 220+ SpD Heatran: 168-198 (43.6 - 51.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Dragalge Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 220+ SpD Heatran: 230-272 (59.7 - 70.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Dragalge Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gastrodon: 312-368 (73.2 - 86.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Dragalge Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 220+ SpD Heatran: 250-296 (64.9 - 76.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Dragalge Scald vs. 248 HP / 220+ SpD Heatran: 168-198 (43.6 - 51.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Dragalge Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 220+ SpD Heatran: 230-272 (59.7 - 70.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Dragalge Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gastrodon: 312-368 (73.2 - 86.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
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A bit of an old post, but I've been playing with Crawdaunt on Dark myself, and holy fuck it is a lord. Obliterates everything in its path, and with Bisharp as a partner, they form a deadly dual priority core that takes no prisoners. One thing I have to say is that you forgot to add the SD set. Some might not think the SD set is any good due to its speed, but it is far from useless. It outspeeds a lot more than you'd think with 252 speed, and most things that are faster to it fall to a +2 Aqua Jet. Lemme just post some calcy calcs~Crawdaunt for (Dark) B rank, and (Water) C rank
Crawdaunt @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Crunch
Crawdaunt obliterates any wall that dares commit the simple crime of being slower than him. Crunch packs extra punch on things that you've been obliged to knock off with your other pokemon or megas, but the star of the show is Usually Knock off. With Polietoed rain up his crabhammer reaches such ZOMG power that it 2HKOs skarmory through roost. Aqua jet is good on pokemon that have been weakened, which is easy for a water team to provide between its hazards and bulk. Anything cabable of living him will find itself hard pressed to outwall your own team without their items. ANY Azumarill is outsped, and while you don't get to use the 2HKO against competent opponents, clicking knock off means that they can never belly drum, since the sitrus will not activate to put them where they neeed to be. Most Clefable are outsped easily, and the fastest of them typically quit at neutral uninvested base 70s, so you even get insurance against cancer, who will be weakened to the point that you're almost guranteed to have something on your team to KO it with, even if it's mandibuzz. It can even go ham on mawile on certain occasions, although it's bulk is bad enough for the resitant sucker punch to kill with klefki's spikes up or after mawille is boosted.
Crawdaunt @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Crunch
It JUST retains the power to prevent azumarill from getting a belly drum. IF clefable (65-75%) or mawile (75%-85%, still a 2HKO with intimidate) wuss out, then you get 75% on klefki, and because it never runs speed, you can aqua jet to KO before it sets up reflect or twave, meaning you will still get 1 of the other 3 trades, any of which would put them in kill range of many of your other pokemon even if they did get screens again .
It's almost entirely outclassed by the band set against other teams, as few other monos share resistances to this pair of stabs, although it means they cannot revenge you with weakened pokemon anymore due to being able to switch to priority at any time.
Crawdaunt @ Lum Berry
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Dragon Dance/ Swords Dance
Crawdaunt can set up with one of two moves.. While he dosen't outspeed much, (see below) it has it's uses. The SD set is usually better, as aqua jet is the most versatile attack, and at +2 it can break several frailer pokemon with just a touch of prior u-turn, sandstorm, or hazard damage.
Crawdaunt @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Crabhammer
- Crunch
- Switcheroo
Crawdaunt falls short of base 60 so he only edges out base 105 (unevolved manetric anyone?)+natures rather than the all important base 108 + natures or the 110+ lati twins that a base 60 scarfer could get. However, in exchange for giving up sheer power, he can hit crippling threats like mew before they status him, trick people, or whittle down a pokemon that your team just needs to not exist in order to function. He's also wonderful because if he KOs something in a neutral match up, they are almost guaranteed to reveal which of their own pokemon is scarfed, which can be huge if it was something that you didn't expect, or at the least, allow you to bring out a brick wall and freely hazard/phase/status when it runs away again.
All in all, Crawdaunt is comparable to the crash novas you found in old arcade coin op games. He clears the screen and then his blaze of glory burns out just as suddenly. Water teams suit him extremely well because he can ward off habits of safe switching between important walls and get rid of the one things per team that typically threatens to have the ability to disable the defensive core for good. Slow rotom w volt swtich and vaporeon baton pass can even get him in easily. If your wondering, Life orb adamant knock off still JUST stops azumarill from using belly drum, for those of you afraid of letting in mawile, who is still 2HKO by crab hammer after an intimidate.
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Adaptability Crawdaunt Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 343-404 (84.9 - 100%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Adaptability Crawdaunt Aqua Jet vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard X: 216-255 (60.1 - 71%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Adaptability Crawdaunt Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Ferrothorn: 382-452 (108.5 - 128.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Adaptability Crawdaunt Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Mega Venusaur: 242-286 (66.4 - 78.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Adaptability Crawdaunt Crabhammer vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 335-395 (100.2 - 118.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Crawdaunt's power at +2 is absolutely incredible, OHKO'ing Azumarill after one round of SR. Not to mention it is EXTREMELY easy to get up to +2, as Crawdaunt forces all kinds of switches when a player knows what it's capable of, so a +2 is not at all hard to get up to. All in all, mention this SD set in your post as well:
Crawdaunt @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EV's: 252 Atk/ 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
-Swords Dance
-Aqua Jet
-Crabhammer
-Knock Off
Great post overall, just forgot to mention, IMO, one of the most threatening sets that this lobster can run o.o
This post was from back in September and I'm really not sure why I didn't catch this back then because I "liked" it at the time, but someone just brought it to my attention in PM. The set provided is not the most common or the most viable set for Golurk. It's usable, but I find Golurk's bulk to be not nearly enough to tank many hits so max Attack and Speed with a Sash is the most effective set.Okay...here we go.
For Mono Ghost...
Golurk for B Rank
Golurk @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Shadow Punch
- Ice Punch
Golurk brings a few good niches to a Mono Ghost team: It is the only Ghost-type that can set up Stealth Rock, and it is a physical Ghost-type, something it shares only with Dusknoir, Mega Banette, and lol Shedinja (oh and I guess Trevenant and Aegislash). It sets up Stealth Rock decently well, and has a nice set of resistances and decent bulk to do so. It also packs a solid punch with Earthquake, Shadow Punch, and Ice Punch, so it puts some nice dents in the opponent's team. Being a strong Pokemon is nice and Golurk can also take on special walls that trouble it. It can run a Choice Band set decently well too, and it has a nice movepool to use. It's pretty slow though and has a lot of exploitable weaknesses. Overall though it's a nice physical attacker and Stealth Rock setter for Mono Ghost teams, the latter being especially important.
Golurk @ Focus Sash
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- DynamicPunch
- Stone Edge
That set allows it to set up its rocks most of the time and outspeed any walls that it may need to hit. Golurk is mostly just used for Rocks and taking out walls, and this set accomplishes both of those roles.
Running Speed lets it outspeed uninvested pokemon with speeds 80 or less iirc. It's helpful.
Antt fix the link in the OP to link to my tutorial of how to get stuff in their sig :P Also I've been p. busy lately, so anyone who wants to take Aero-Mega, Empy or Mega Metagross off me, feel free to, I probs will get them done if no-one else does but I've been sitting on them for far too long
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