Noctowl
-Credits also goes to Brammi for making the skeleton for this analysis and getting it through QC, before I took over.
[Overview]
<p>One might get the impression that Noctowl is just another generic Normal / Flying Pokemon like the rest, but it's completely different. Noctowl has great specially defensive stats, as well as a rather decent Special Attack compared to the other, more physically oriented, birds. Noctowl is also quite fast for a defensive Pokemon, and NU in general. Due to its Flying typing, Noctowl resists Grass-type moves, and thanks to its Insomnia ability, it becomes a great answer to the many Grass-types in the tier, most notably Tangela and Amoonguss. However, even though it has these things going for it, there are still many obstacles that hinder Noctowl. Noctowl is weak to the common Ice-, Electric-, and Rock-types moves in the tier, including Stealth Rock, while its horrible Defense stat makes it susceptible to almost any physical move it doesn't resist. However, if you play to Noctowl strengths, take advantage of its good support movepool, and account for its weaknesses, Noctowl can become a great addition to your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Roost
move 2: Whirlwind
move 3: Air Slash / Night Shade
move 4: Toxic / Reflect / Magic Coat
item: Leftovers
ability: Insomnia
nature: Calm
evs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is the most promising thing Noctowl can do, being surprisingly bulky on the special side. With Insomnia, it can switch in on common sleep-inducing moves coming from Pokemon such as Tangela, Amoonguss, and Jynx. Roost is a great boon for Noctowl, being able to restore any health it might have lost, retaining its bulk. Whirlwind lets Noctowl force out various special setup sweepers, such as Jynx, Mesprit, and Duosion, effectively preventing a sweep. Air Slash will hit the many Grass-types Noctowl is capable of handling for super effective damage, while Night Shade will deal more damage to most other Pokemon. The choice between the moves depends solely on whether you want more consistent damage from Night Shade, or if you want Noctowl to be able to hit specific Grass-type foes harder. The last move is mostly based on what your team needs. Toxic can be used to spread status, while Reflect gives both Noctowl and its teammates an easier time against physical threats; for example, Reflect makes it easier for Noctowl to deal with Leafeon. Magic Coat can be a real surprise for any opponent, allowing Noctowl to bounce status and entry hazards back at the unwitting foe.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Noctowl can effectively use moves such as Light Screen, Hypnosis, and Protect on this set. Light Screen together with Reflect will turn Noctowl into an effective dual screen user, while Hypnosis can put an opponent to sleep; however, one should be wary of its shaky accuracy. Protect can work wonders together with Toxic, Leftovers, and Roost. An EV spread of 252 HP / 120 SpD / 136 Spe is worth considering, as it allows Noctowl to outspeed all variants of Choice Specs Exeggutor, a Pokemon Noctowl can effectively take down with Air Slash. Rapid Spin support to rid the field of Stealth Rock helps Noctowl a lot, as it will keep its health as high as possible when switching in. Physically defensive Rapid Spin users, such as Armaldo and Torkoal, work well alongside Noctowl's special bulk, and have no problem ridding the field of entry hazards. However, Armaldo and Torkoal share a Rock-type weakness with Noctowl, so that needs to be taken into account. This makes Tentacool a viable option as well, as it is able to provide Toxic Spikes support at the same time; however, Noctowl and Tentacool do serve similar roles with their special bulk. This set has difficulty dealing with some special threats and an easier time dealing with others, so it is wise to pair Noctowl with other bulky Pokemon that cover each others' weaknesses. Examples of this include Quagsire, Lickilicky, and Miltank, being able to deal with various threats, such as Regirock, Regice, Probopass, and Magmortar, while Noctowl can effectively take down Grass-types, as well as certain Fighting-types, for the aforementioned Pokemon, respectively.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Noctowl has a pretty wide array of moves in its movepool, but not many of these are viable options. Noctowl has access to Psycho Shift with which it can pass burns onto its opponents with the use of Flame Orb, but this strategy isn't as viable without Magic Guard to prevent Noctowl from taking burn damage. Like most other Pokemon, Noctowl has access to both Rain Dance and Sunny Day, and can quite effectively set both of them up. Keep in mind, though, that there are more prominent users of these two moves, so you should only consider this if your team is pressed for a spot. FeatherDance is an interesting move, lowering the opponent's Attack stat by two stages, but it can be hard to fit on a set. Noctowl gets Tinted Lens from the Dream World, making a special attacking set seem like a good idea. However, Noctowl only has Work Up to boost its Special Attack, so it's recommended to just stick with an defensive approach when using Noctowl. In the same vein, Noctowl has access to Agility to boost its Speed, but Noctowl's unboosted Special Attack stat leaves much to be desired. Noctowl can capitalize on opposing Calm Mind users by using Psych Up, effectively stopping their attempts at a sweep. This strategy is rather hit-or-miss though, and a dedicated set would differ too much from the given set, and runs the risk of Noctowl being deadweight.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Even though Noctowl has great Special Defense and HP, it's not hard to counter it. The easiest way is to aim at Noctowl's lower Defense stat. The most common way to take Noctowl down is to use one of the myriad Rock-type Pokemon residing in NU, such as Regirock, Golem, and Gigalith, and just pulverize it with their Rock-type STAB moves. There are also physically oriented Ice- and Electric-types, namely Piloswine, Beartic, Glalie, Sneasel, and Luxray, who can all easily KO Noctowl with their STAB moves. However, because Noctowl's Defense stat is so atrociously low, any strong physical attacker, such as Absol or Sawk, can easily end it. Taunt is another effective way to stop Noctowl, as it leaves Noctowl with only a weak Air Slash or Night Shade to use. Notable users of Taunt include Misdreavus, Golbat, Murkrow, and Serperior. One should also keep in mind that even though Noctowl's Special Defense is great, any strong, super effective move from Pokemon such as Jynx and Magmortar will still deal heavy damage to it. And last but not least, one should not forget that Stealth Rock strips 25% of Noctowl's health when it switches in, making it an effective way to take Noctowl down.</p>
