Acast
Ghost of a Forum Mod & PS Room Owner
I'd like to throw in my own opinion of Cobalion and just say that Fírnen's set is my new favorite thing to use. Earlier today I was able to win an OT mostly due to his special set.To be Honnest, I prefer the special set for Cobalion in Steel team.
Cobalion @ Expert Belt/Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Sp.Atk / 252 Spe/ 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Vol Switch
- Hidden Power Ice
- Flash Canon
- Taunt/ Focus Blast
Why this set can be good for Steel?
Just because one Pokemon called Landorus Earth Power/Focus Blast is able to destroy mono Steel Alone.
In addition with the fact HP Ice 0HKO Landorus, you have the opportunity to surprise your opponent with that set.
Ok, but is HP ice only for Landorus?
Nope, There is something called M-Chomp who can destroy too Steel teams.
But here, HP Ice doesn't 0Hko all the time (SpA Life Orb Cobalion Hidden Power Ice vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Mega Garchomp: 312-369 (87.3 - 103.3%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock).
Well, some people will say there is Gastro and Seismitoad to tank this set and they'll be right.
Ps 1: Vol Switch has 50% 2HKO M-Zard Y.
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/monotype-306221672
Sorry I only have one replay, but that was the finals of the OT and I'd say Cobalion was the MVP of this match by far. I was able to punch a couple holes in my opponent's Ground team with HP Ice and Focus Blast and I saved Cobalion until the end just in case I needed it for Landorus. Admittedly my opponent's team wasn't as anti-steel as most Ground teams are (no Focus Blast on Landorus and Garchomp didn't have a Fire move as far as I saw), but I think the outcome would have been the same even if Lando and Garchomp had their anti-steel moves.
On a different topic, I'd like to present my own addition to the "underrated Steel sets" conversation.
Naledi (Jirachi) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Energy Ball
- Charge Beam / Flash Cannon / Thunderbolt
My Steel team used to struggle a lot with Water. Ferrothorn wasn't working out for me as much as I wanted it to and Magnezone was always walled by the Water/Ground types. Infernape and Keldeo on Fighting were also serious concerns I had, and what Steel team doesn't have issues with Hydreigon? Sure, Scarf Rachi can probably work just as well against those threats, but I refused to ditch my Scarf Excadrill and I'd rather not have two scarf users. Not to mention I wanted Jirachi to be able to switch moves, so my AV Rachi set was born.
KEY: Green=Jirachi is attacking the opponent. Red=The opponent is attacking Jirachi.
Psyshock is your generic special STAB that deals with Infernape and Keldeo.
252 SpA Life Orb Infernape Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Jirachi: 265-315 (65.7 - 78.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Jirachi Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Infernape: 318-374 (108.5 - 127.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Jirachi: 178-210 (44.1 - 52.1%) -- 14.1% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Jirachi: 207-244 (51.3 - 60.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Jirachi Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Keldeo: 260-308 (80.4 - 95.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
Moonblast is mainly for Hydreigon, but it helps against other Dragons too.
252+ SpA Life Orb Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Jirachi: 242-289 (60 - 71.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Jirachi Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 416-492 (128 - 151.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Energy Ball is great coverage, but it's especially useful for the Water/Ground types and Rotom-W.
252+ SpA Jirachi Energy Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Swampert: 392-464 (97 - 114.8%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Jirachi Energy Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Quagsire: 508-600 (128.9 - 152.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Rotom-W Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Jirachi: 102-121 (25.3 - 30%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252+ SpA Jirachi Energy Ball vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Rotom-W: 170-200 (56.1 - 66%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Charge Beam makes use of Jirachi's Serene Grace to give it a 100% chance to boost SpA. I've always loved the Serene Grace Charge Beam combo, but in the past I only ever used it on AV Meloetta. Personally I prefer Charge Beam, but Flash Cannon is fine if you'd rather have a secondary STAB move instead.
AV Jirachi isn't going to be a hard counter or switch-in to Steel's biggest threats, but it is a solid check to many of them and it handles what my team needs it to handle.
Oh and here's a replay of it putting in a little work against Lax's weird Water team. It didn't do much, but it had a some time to shine at the end.
EDIT: Added in Thunderbolt as an option after WishingJirachi7's recommendation. I still prefer Charge Beam since it's basically the special version of Power Up Punch due to Serene Grace, but Thunderbolt is better if you strictly want Electric coverage.
EDIT 2: Finally saved a replay showcasing AV Rachi at its best. http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-306635458 It tanked Hoopa-U's Dark Pulse and was able to take out my scariest threat in that particular battle. I ended up losing, but Jirachi still put in some serious work. This replay also shows how nice Charge Beam is because it's so easy to set up boosts on bulky Pokemon that can't do much to you like Mew or Forretress.
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