Approved by Dice
[QC checks: Dice, Valentine, Jukain]
[GP checks: fleurdyleurse, The Dutch Plumberjack]
Overview
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Noivern is the fastest Dragon-type in the game, giving it a unique niche in the OU metagame. Unlike Latios and Latias, Noivern can outspeed even Greninja and Tornadus-T, making it an excellent revenge killer. It also boasts a wide movepool that includes a strong secondary STAB move in Hurricane, complementary coverage options in Flamethrower and Focus Blast, and utility moves such as Roost, Taunt, and U-turn.
However, Noivern's Speed tier comes at a price, as its relatively low Special Attack means it can easily be walled. Noivern also suffers from a weakness to Stealth Rock, and with its average defenses, it has some difficulty switching in. To top it all off, Noivern's moves tend to have low accuracy, making it frustrating to use sometimes. However, Noivern is still a capable revenge killer and is fully capable of giving many standard teams trouble.
Life Orb
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name: Life Orb
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Focus Blast / Flamethrower
move 3: Hurricane
move 4: Roost / Taunt
ability: Infiltrator
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
========
Draco Meteor is Noivern's strongest STAB option, OHKOing threats such as Latias and Landorus after Stealth Rock damage. Focus Blast and Flamethrower both offer coverage on Steel-types. Focus Blast is capable of OHKOing Mega Tyranitar and 2HKOing Heatran, while Flamethrower OHKOes Mega Scizor and physically defensive Ferrothorn. Hurricane provides a strong secondary STAB move that is able to 2HKO Clefable and Mega Venusaur. The last slot makes use of Noivern's utility options. Roost helps to increase Noivern's longevity as well as offset Life Orb recoil, while Taunt shuts down recovery from walls such as Chansey and Hippowdon.
Set Details
========
A Timid nature and 252 Speed EVs are both necessary to outpace Greninja, while 252 Special Attack EVs let Noivern hit hard. Life Orb provides extra power to revenge kill while still letting Noivern switch moves, which is important, as it has good coverage and limited switch-in opportunities. Infiltrator goes well with Noivern's high Speed, letting it OHKO many common Substitute users such as Dragonite, Landorus, Kyurem-B, and Gengar through their Substitute.
Usage Tips
========
While Infiltrator lets Noivern bypass Substitutes, be aware that it is unable to break them for its teammates. Noivern is meant to be used early-game to punch holes if the opponent doesn't have Chansey, while revenge killing faster threats late-game.
Team Options
========
Keldeo works well with Noivern as it can get past Chansey, and does well against Ice Shard, Sucker Punch, and Bullet Punch users, which can all threaten Noivern. In return, Noivern can take out Latios, Latias, Thundurus, Mega Venusaur, and Amoonguss, Pokemon that Keldeo has enormous trouble getting past. Both of them can also wear down Assault Vest Azumarill for each other. Heatran has good type synergy with Noivern, sets up Stealth Rock, and helps keep Talonflame at bay. Scizor appreciates Noivern's ability to switch into Fire-types, such as Mega Charizard-Y and Heatran, as well as Water-types that resist Bullet Punch, such as Keldeo and Rotom-W. Scizor is also a good win condition against stall teams and can easily switch into Fairies such as Sylveon and Azumarill. Slower stallbreakers like Mega Heracross and Mega Medicham punish Chansey's presence and appreciate Noivern's revenge killing, although Talonflame and Fairy-types may become a problem due to Noivern's frailty and Mega Heracross and Mega Medicham's weaknesses to Fairy- and Flying-type moves.
Other Options
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Air Slash can be used over Hurricane for better accuracy, but it misses out on key KOs and is generally too weak. Choice Specs gives Noivern extra power to OHKO even bulkier threats such as Keldeo and goes well with Switcheroo to punish Chansey switch-ins. U-turn is good to keep momentum going, dealing decent damage to Latios, Latias, and Greninja if they decide not to switch. Just be aware that it cannot be used to break Substitutes, due to Infiltrator. Super Fang is a niche option, but it can be used to put a dent in common switch-ins to Noivern that it cannot touch, such as Chansey and Sylveon. Tailwind goes well with Noivern's high Speed, letting it almost always set it up to support the team. Frisk can be helpful in some early-game situations, such as scouting Azumarill's item, and finding out which forme of Mega Charizard you're up against.
Checks & Counters
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**Chansey**: Chansey is easily able to wall any Noivern set, although Taunt can shut down its recovery and support options.
**Faster Pokemon**: Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Manectric, and Mega Alakazam can all outpace Noivern and easily revenge kill it, although the latter two and neutral natured Mega Aerodactyl are outsped before they Mega Evolve. Sand Rush Excadrill, Swift Swim users such as Kabutops, and Choice Scarf users such as Landorus-T and Garchomp can also outspeed Noivern.
**Fairy-types**: Sylveon can easily wall any Noivern set, while Assault Vest Azumarill survives two Hurricanes and OHKOes Noivern with Play Rough. Clefable and Mega Gardevoir can check Noivern but must be careful when switching in, as they are 2HKOed by Hurricane.
**Special Tanks**: Specially defensive Hippowdon can wall any Noivern set, although it loses to Taunt variants of Noivern if it lacks Ice Fang or Rock Slide. Specially defensive Heatran and Tyranitar give trouble to any sets lacking Focus Blast, while Jirachi can wall any Noivern lacking Flamethrower. Assault Vest Tornadus-T is able to comfortably switch into Noivern and OHKO it with its own Hurricane.
**Priority**: Mamoswine threatens to OHKO Noivern with Ice Shard, while other priority users such as Talonflame, Scizor, and Bisharp can easily take out a weakened Noivern. Thundurus can utilize Prankster Thunder Wave to take away Noivern's sky-high Speed, but without a full paralysis, it risks being KOed by Draco Meteor.
[QC checks: Dice, Valentine, Jukain]
[GP checks: fleurdyleurse, The Dutch Plumberjack]
Overview
########
Noivern is the fastest Dragon-type in the game, giving it a unique niche in the OU metagame. Unlike Latios and Latias, Noivern can outspeed even Greninja and Tornadus-T, making it an excellent revenge killer. It also boasts a wide movepool that includes a strong secondary STAB move in Hurricane, complementary coverage options in Flamethrower and Focus Blast, and utility moves such as Roost, Taunt, and U-turn.
However, Noivern's Speed tier comes at a price, as its relatively low Special Attack means it can easily be walled. Noivern also suffers from a weakness to Stealth Rock, and with its average defenses, it has some difficulty switching in. To top it all off, Noivern's moves tend to have low accuracy, making it frustrating to use sometimes. However, Noivern is still a capable revenge killer and is fully capable of giving many standard teams trouble.
Life Orb
########
name: Life Orb
move 1: Draco Meteor
move 2: Focus Blast / Flamethrower
move 3: Hurricane
move 4: Roost / Taunt
ability: Infiltrator
item: Life Orb
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
========
Draco Meteor is Noivern's strongest STAB option, OHKOing threats such as Latias and Landorus after Stealth Rock damage. Focus Blast and Flamethrower both offer coverage on Steel-types. Focus Blast is capable of OHKOing Mega Tyranitar and 2HKOing Heatran, while Flamethrower OHKOes Mega Scizor and physically defensive Ferrothorn. Hurricane provides a strong secondary STAB move that is able to 2HKO Clefable and Mega Venusaur. The last slot makes use of Noivern's utility options. Roost helps to increase Noivern's longevity as well as offset Life Orb recoil, while Taunt shuts down recovery from walls such as Chansey and Hippowdon.
Set Details
========
A Timid nature and 252 Speed EVs are both necessary to outpace Greninja, while 252 Special Attack EVs let Noivern hit hard. Life Orb provides extra power to revenge kill while still letting Noivern switch moves, which is important, as it has good coverage and limited switch-in opportunities. Infiltrator goes well with Noivern's high Speed, letting it OHKO many common Substitute users such as Dragonite, Landorus, Kyurem-B, and Gengar through their Substitute.
Usage Tips
========
While Infiltrator lets Noivern bypass Substitutes, be aware that it is unable to break them for its teammates. Noivern is meant to be used early-game to punch holes if the opponent doesn't have Chansey, while revenge killing faster threats late-game.
Team Options
========
Keldeo works well with Noivern as it can get past Chansey, and does well against Ice Shard, Sucker Punch, and Bullet Punch users, which can all threaten Noivern. In return, Noivern can take out Latios, Latias, Thundurus, Mega Venusaur, and Amoonguss, Pokemon that Keldeo has enormous trouble getting past. Both of them can also wear down Assault Vest Azumarill for each other. Heatran has good type synergy with Noivern, sets up Stealth Rock, and helps keep Talonflame at bay. Scizor appreciates Noivern's ability to switch into Fire-types, such as Mega Charizard-Y and Heatran, as well as Water-types that resist Bullet Punch, such as Keldeo and Rotom-W. Scizor is also a good win condition against stall teams and can easily switch into Fairies such as Sylveon and Azumarill. Slower stallbreakers like Mega Heracross and Mega Medicham punish Chansey's presence and appreciate Noivern's revenge killing, although Talonflame and Fairy-types may become a problem due to Noivern's frailty and Mega Heracross and Mega Medicham's weaknesses to Fairy- and Flying-type moves.
Other Options
########
Air Slash can be used over Hurricane for better accuracy, but it misses out on key KOs and is generally too weak. Choice Specs gives Noivern extra power to OHKO even bulkier threats such as Keldeo and goes well with Switcheroo to punish Chansey switch-ins. U-turn is good to keep momentum going, dealing decent damage to Latios, Latias, and Greninja if they decide not to switch. Just be aware that it cannot be used to break Substitutes, due to Infiltrator. Super Fang is a niche option, but it can be used to put a dent in common switch-ins to Noivern that it cannot touch, such as Chansey and Sylveon. Tailwind goes well with Noivern's high Speed, letting it almost always set it up to support the team. Frisk can be helpful in some early-game situations, such as scouting Azumarill's item, and finding out which forme of Mega Charizard you're up against.
Checks & Counters
########
**Chansey**: Chansey is easily able to wall any Noivern set, although Taunt can shut down its recovery and support options.
**Faster Pokemon**: Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Manectric, and Mega Alakazam can all outpace Noivern and easily revenge kill it, although the latter two and neutral natured Mega Aerodactyl are outsped before they Mega Evolve. Sand Rush Excadrill, Swift Swim users such as Kabutops, and Choice Scarf users such as Landorus-T and Garchomp can also outspeed Noivern.
**Fairy-types**: Sylveon can easily wall any Noivern set, while Assault Vest Azumarill survives two Hurricanes and OHKOes Noivern with Play Rough. Clefable and Mega Gardevoir can check Noivern but must be careful when switching in, as they are 2HKOed by Hurricane.
**Special Tanks**: Specially defensive Hippowdon can wall any Noivern set, although it loses to Taunt variants of Noivern if it lacks Ice Fang or Rock Slide. Specially defensive Heatran and Tyranitar give trouble to any sets lacking Focus Blast, while Jirachi can wall any Noivern lacking Flamethrower. Assault Vest Tornadus-T is able to comfortably switch into Noivern and OHKO it with its own Hurricane.
**Priority**: Mamoswine threatens to OHKO Noivern with Ice Shard, while other priority users such as Talonflame, Scizor, and Bisharp can easily take out a weakened Noivern. Thundurus can utilize Prankster Thunder Wave to take away Noivern's sky-high Speed, but without a full paralysis, it risks being KOed by Draco Meteor.
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