Taking this over Thund91 and Honko...
======
STAMPS
Quality Control: 2/2:
(Heysup)
(FlareBlitz)
Grammar Prose: 2/2:
(Honko)
(bugmaniacbob)
======
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/persian
======
[Overview]
<p>Persian's usage in the UU environment is greatly suppressed by the existence of Ambipom, who outclasses Persian in almost every respect. Really, Persian's only advantages are his slightly higher (though admittedly still awful) Special Attack, and access to Hypnosis and Switcheroo. Even if you take Ambipom out of the picture, Persian's stats are still rather lacking, and despite his stellar Technician ability, he has only modest attacking power. Still, with his high Speed stat, Persian can make an excellent scout in his own right, and coupled with his access to Nasty Plot, he can be a fine special sweeper as well. All in all, Persian's rather underrated, and though he is overshadowed by Ambipom, he is a very legitimate threat.</p>
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Hypnosis
move 3: Swift
move 4: Water Pulse
item: Life Orb / Lum Berry
ability: Technician
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set capitalizes on Persian's few advantages over Ambipom, specifically his higher Special Attack and access to Hypnosis, as well as his equally high Speed stat, in order to make him a rather effective sweeper. Although Persian's initial Special Attack is still pretty bad, it becomes surprisingly decent after a Nasty Plot; when further boosted by Life Orb, it is at least enough to dispose of many switch-ins that expect a typical physical set, such as Rhyperior and Donphan. Hypnosis can allow Persian a free set-up opportunity he would otherwise not have had, which is especially potent if he manages to hit a would-be counter as well. Swift is Persian's strongest special STAB attack after Technician, and it will be his primary attacking option. Water Pulse is boosted likewise, and it achieves perfect coverage in UU (besides Shedinja) alongside Swift.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Substitute can be a viable alternative to Hypnosis, and it can be really helpful in easing prediction and blocking status. However, losing the ability to instantly suspend an opponent in sleep is rather disappointing. Taunt is also an option that can allow Persian to grab a few extra Nasty Plot boosts against Chansey or stop opposing set-up sweepers from doing their thing. Icy Wind and Thunderbolt can be used in the second and fourth slots, respectively, if you decide against both Hypnosis and Substitute, for impressive coverage. Finally, Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball are options to hit Ghost-types, most notably Mismagius and Rotom, harder.</p>
<p>Dual screen support is very helpful to Persian, as he is incredibly frail. Pokemon such as Uxie and Mesprit make great candidates to set them up, as they have impressive bulk and a resistance to Fighting. Both also sport the ability to use Stealth Rock, a most valuable asset to any sweeper. Further Spikes and Toxic Spikes support will also be appreciated, and both can be provided by a Pokemon like Qwilfish. Finally, even after several Nasty Plot boosts, Persian just does not have the power needed to break through the infamous Chansey, and to a lesser extent, Registeel. Milotic can also prove troublesome if Persian is without Thunderbolt. In return, these Pokemon can easily smash him with their own attacks, or cripple him with status. A Pokemon such as Toxicroak can be very useful in dealing with these Pokemon, as it is able to use its Fighting STAB to easily dispose of Chansey and Registeel, or scare them off and set up. Its ability, Water Absorb, also allows it to switch into Milotic with near impunity.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: U-Turn
move 3: Hypnosis
move 4: Bite / Return / Taunt
item: Silk Scarf / Life Orb
ability: Technician
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With his high Speed stat, Persian can work as a fine scout, utilizing his STAB Technician Fake Out to get off free hits before switching to a counter with a fast U-turn. This set plays extremely similarly to Ambipom, but has the advantage of Hypnosis, which allows Persian to put a foe to sleep, rendering them useless. However unreliable its accuracy may be, dropping Hypnosis is not good idea, as without it, Persian is completely outclassed by Ambipom. Bite gets a Technician boost and is Persian's strongest attack against Ghost-types that may switch into Fake Out. On the other hand, Return is a strong STAB move which can be useful in finishing off healthier foes after Fake Out. Taunt can also be used in that slot to mess up any set-up attempts, and is especially useful when using Persian in the lead position.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Silk Scarf is usually the item of choice, as Persian will most often just be spamming Fake Out, and would appreciate the lack of recoil there. Then again, Life Orb's universal power boost will allow Persian to always KO Mismagius with Bite where it otherwise never would. Persian makes a surprisingly good lead with this set, and can easily prevent opposing Pokemon from setting up entry hazards with Taunt. Pokemon that enjoy this lack of entry hazards, such as Scyther and Moltres, who are both extremely deadly Pokemon with Stealth Rock off the field, make good teammates for this reason. They are both also able to take any Fighting-type attacks aimed at Persian with ease. It should be noted, however, that since Persian is so frail, many neutral attacks will KO him as well. Therefore, strong defensive pivots such as Slowbro and Milotic should be considered, so that Persian always has a fallback. Finally, Spiritomb is a massive headache to this set, making a Pokemon like Houndoom incredibly useful to deal with it. In addition, Houndoom can take out many notable defensive Pokemon (like Uxie and Weezing) that also cause Persian trouble.</p>
[SET]
name: Switcheroo
move 1: Switcheroo
move 2: Return
move 3: U-Turn
move 4: Night Slash / Hypnosis
item: Choice Band
ability: Limber
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Switcheroo is one of Persian's few perks over Ambipom; when coupled with Hypnosis, it allows Persian to possibly neuter a third of your opponent's team very quickly. A Choice Band is used to take advantage of Switcheroo as Persian is already quite fast and appreciates a boost in power much more than one in Speed (which it would get from Choice Scarf). Return is a strong STAB move to abuse the power while it lasts, and U-turn is for scouting purposes. In the final slot, both Hypnosis and Night Slash are worthy options; the latter provides a means of hitting Ghost-types, while the former allows Persian to disable yet another Pokemon after he uses Switcheroo. In either case, Limber is the best choice of ability due to the lack of low Base Power moves on the set.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The range of Pokemon Persian may potentially lure in and cripple is quite large, so any well-built team should naturally be able to take advantage of this set's main purpose. With that out of the way, this set has trouble dealing with physically bulky Pokemon such as Rhyperior, Hariyama, and Spiritomb, who can all withstand Persian's assaults and do not mind being given a Choice Band and may in fact already be carrying one. Therefore, it would be wise to pack a Pokemon who can deal with the aforementioned; Slowbro can handle most of these Pokemon with its strong STAB moves and impressive Defense, as can Milotic, who trades a resistance to Fighting for a neutrality to Dark. Dugtrio can use its Arena Trap ability to take out the Steel- and Rock-types that wall this set once they've been sufficiently weakened. Finally, if opting for Hypnosis over Night Slash, a Pursuit user such as Spiritomb can be employed to eliminate Ghost-types.</p>
[SET]
name: Weather Support
move 1: Rain Dance / Sunny Day
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Hypnosis
move 4: Taunt
item: Damp Rock / Heat Rock
ability: Limber
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Persian is tied with Ambipom as one of the fastest weather supporters in UU, but what sets Persian apart from it is his access to Hypnosis, which essentially removes a foe from the match for free. Rain Dance and Sunny Day are the core moves of this set, obviously, and their inherent qualities can turn Persian's otherwise generic teammates into deadly sweepers. A Damp Rock or Heat Rock should be held by Persian according to the choice of weather in order to prolong its effects. U-turn scouts out switch-ins and allows you to bring in an appropriate sweeper to combat them, while Taunt prevents enemy setup of all sorts.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>This Persian set makes for a great teammate to different Pokemon depending on the choice of weather. With Rain Dance, Swift Swim users such as Ludicolo, Kabutops, and Omastar make great teammates, as do Water-types in general. Sunny Day, on the other hand, makes Chlorophyll users, such as Tangrowth and Exeggutor, and Fire-types, such as Moltres, much more appropriate. As both rain and sun are offensive weathers, these Pokemon will also appreciate entry hazard support in order to aid their sweep. Uxie can set up Stealth Rock incredibly reliably, and can also serve as a very sturdy back-up supporter, as can Claydol, both of which resist Persian's Fighting-type weakness.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>On a physical set, Seed Bomb stands out as Persian's best attack against Rock-types, 2HKOing Rock Polish Rhyperior with entry hazard support. Unfortunately, it's hard to find a moveslot for it most of the time. Payback smacks Ghost-types harder on the switch, but is otherwise a lesser option compared to Bite and Night Slash because of Persian's high Speed stat. Technician Aerial Ace can be used to strike Fighting-, Grass-, and Bug-types harder than any of Persian's other moves, but is resisted by the same Pokemon that resist Normal. Last Resort can make an extremely threatening attack alongside Fake Out, but such a set is gimmicky, and done better by Ambipom anyway. Finally, Persian has access to Knock Off, which can prove extremely annoying to foes that rely on their items to be threatening.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>For offensive sets, the absolute best counter to Persian is Spiritomb, as it is immune to his Normal STAB, has excellent all-around bulk, and can also cripple him with Will-O-Wisp. Persian can't even switch or U-turn out safely, as a Choice Band-boosted Pursuit will do upwards of 95.2% to any offensive set. Bulky Fighting- and Water-types such as Hitmontop and Milotic, respectively, are also trouble for Persian. Physical variants are walled to Timbuktu and back by the likes of Weezing and Donphan. Support sets are harder to counter, technically speaking, but faster Taunt users can limit their options quite effectively. Finally, faster sweepers like Sceptile and Alakazam can revenge kill Persian, but should be wary of switching in directly. Keep in mind that even though Persian has a lot of checks, all of them must be wary of Hypnosis, Switcheroo, Knock Off, and U-turn when switching into him.</p>
======
Credits
======
STAMPS
Quality Control: 2/2:
Grammar Prose: 2/2:
======
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/persian
======
[Overview]
<p>Persian's usage in the UU environment is greatly suppressed by the existence of Ambipom, who outclasses Persian in almost every respect. Really, Persian's only advantages are his slightly higher (though admittedly still awful) Special Attack, and access to Hypnosis and Switcheroo. Even if you take Ambipom out of the picture, Persian's stats are still rather lacking, and despite his stellar Technician ability, he has only modest attacking power. Still, with his high Speed stat, Persian can make an excellent scout in his own right, and coupled with his access to Nasty Plot, he can be a fine special sweeper as well. All in all, Persian's rather underrated, and though he is overshadowed by Ambipom, he is a very legitimate threat.</p>
[SET]
name: Nasty Plot
move 1: Nasty Plot
move 2: Hypnosis
move 3: Swift
move 4: Water Pulse
item: Life Orb / Lum Berry
ability: Technician
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set capitalizes on Persian's few advantages over Ambipom, specifically his higher Special Attack and access to Hypnosis, as well as his equally high Speed stat, in order to make him a rather effective sweeper. Although Persian's initial Special Attack is still pretty bad, it becomes surprisingly decent after a Nasty Plot; when further boosted by Life Orb, it is at least enough to dispose of many switch-ins that expect a typical physical set, such as Rhyperior and Donphan. Hypnosis can allow Persian a free set-up opportunity he would otherwise not have had, which is especially potent if he manages to hit a would-be counter as well. Swift is Persian's strongest special STAB attack after Technician, and it will be his primary attacking option. Water Pulse is boosted likewise, and it achieves perfect coverage in UU (besides Shedinja) alongside Swift.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Substitute can be a viable alternative to Hypnosis, and it can be really helpful in easing prediction and blocking status. However, losing the ability to instantly suspend an opponent in sleep is rather disappointing. Taunt is also an option that can allow Persian to grab a few extra Nasty Plot boosts against Chansey or stop opposing set-up sweepers from doing their thing. Icy Wind and Thunderbolt can be used in the second and fourth slots, respectively, if you decide against both Hypnosis and Substitute, for impressive coverage. Finally, Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball are options to hit Ghost-types, most notably Mismagius and Rotom, harder.</p>
<p>Dual screen support is very helpful to Persian, as he is incredibly frail. Pokemon such as Uxie and Mesprit make great candidates to set them up, as they have impressive bulk and a resistance to Fighting. Both also sport the ability to use Stealth Rock, a most valuable asset to any sweeper. Further Spikes and Toxic Spikes support will also be appreciated, and both can be provided by a Pokemon like Qwilfish. Finally, even after several Nasty Plot boosts, Persian just does not have the power needed to break through the infamous Chansey, and to a lesser extent, Registeel. Milotic can also prove troublesome if Persian is without Thunderbolt. In return, these Pokemon can easily smash him with their own attacks, or cripple him with status. A Pokemon such as Toxicroak can be very useful in dealing with these Pokemon, as it is able to use its Fighting STAB to easily dispose of Chansey and Registeel, or scare them off and set up. Its ability, Water Absorb, also allows it to switch into Milotic with near impunity.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: U-Turn
move 3: Hypnosis
move 4: Bite / Return / Taunt
item: Silk Scarf / Life Orb
ability: Technician
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With his high Speed stat, Persian can work as a fine scout, utilizing his STAB Technician Fake Out to get off free hits before switching to a counter with a fast U-turn. This set plays extremely similarly to Ambipom, but has the advantage of Hypnosis, which allows Persian to put a foe to sleep, rendering them useless. However unreliable its accuracy may be, dropping Hypnosis is not good idea, as without it, Persian is completely outclassed by Ambipom. Bite gets a Technician boost and is Persian's strongest attack against Ghost-types that may switch into Fake Out. On the other hand, Return is a strong STAB move which can be useful in finishing off healthier foes after Fake Out. Taunt can also be used in that slot to mess up any set-up attempts, and is especially useful when using Persian in the lead position.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Silk Scarf is usually the item of choice, as Persian will most often just be spamming Fake Out, and would appreciate the lack of recoil there. Then again, Life Orb's universal power boost will allow Persian to always KO Mismagius with Bite where it otherwise never would. Persian makes a surprisingly good lead with this set, and can easily prevent opposing Pokemon from setting up entry hazards with Taunt. Pokemon that enjoy this lack of entry hazards, such as Scyther and Moltres, who are both extremely deadly Pokemon with Stealth Rock off the field, make good teammates for this reason. They are both also able to take any Fighting-type attacks aimed at Persian with ease. It should be noted, however, that since Persian is so frail, many neutral attacks will KO him as well. Therefore, strong defensive pivots such as Slowbro and Milotic should be considered, so that Persian always has a fallback. Finally, Spiritomb is a massive headache to this set, making a Pokemon like Houndoom incredibly useful to deal with it. In addition, Houndoom can take out many notable defensive Pokemon (like Uxie and Weezing) that also cause Persian trouble.</p>
[SET]
name: Switcheroo
move 1: Switcheroo
move 2: Return
move 3: U-Turn
move 4: Night Slash / Hypnosis
item: Choice Band
ability: Limber
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Switcheroo is one of Persian's few perks over Ambipom; when coupled with Hypnosis, it allows Persian to possibly neuter a third of your opponent's team very quickly. A Choice Band is used to take advantage of Switcheroo as Persian is already quite fast and appreciates a boost in power much more than one in Speed (which it would get from Choice Scarf). Return is a strong STAB move to abuse the power while it lasts, and U-turn is for scouting purposes. In the final slot, both Hypnosis and Night Slash are worthy options; the latter provides a means of hitting Ghost-types, while the former allows Persian to disable yet another Pokemon after he uses Switcheroo. In either case, Limber is the best choice of ability due to the lack of low Base Power moves on the set.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The range of Pokemon Persian may potentially lure in and cripple is quite large, so any well-built team should naturally be able to take advantage of this set's main purpose. With that out of the way, this set has trouble dealing with physically bulky Pokemon such as Rhyperior, Hariyama, and Spiritomb, who can all withstand Persian's assaults and do not mind being given a Choice Band and may in fact already be carrying one. Therefore, it would be wise to pack a Pokemon who can deal with the aforementioned; Slowbro can handle most of these Pokemon with its strong STAB moves and impressive Defense, as can Milotic, who trades a resistance to Fighting for a neutrality to Dark. Dugtrio can use its Arena Trap ability to take out the Steel- and Rock-types that wall this set once they've been sufficiently weakened. Finally, if opting for Hypnosis over Night Slash, a Pursuit user such as Spiritomb can be employed to eliminate Ghost-types.</p>
[SET]
name: Weather Support
move 1: Rain Dance / Sunny Day
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Hypnosis
move 4: Taunt
item: Damp Rock / Heat Rock
ability: Limber
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Persian is tied with Ambipom as one of the fastest weather supporters in UU, but what sets Persian apart from it is his access to Hypnosis, which essentially removes a foe from the match for free. Rain Dance and Sunny Day are the core moves of this set, obviously, and their inherent qualities can turn Persian's otherwise generic teammates into deadly sweepers. A Damp Rock or Heat Rock should be held by Persian according to the choice of weather in order to prolong its effects. U-turn scouts out switch-ins and allows you to bring in an appropriate sweeper to combat them, while Taunt prevents enemy setup of all sorts.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>This Persian set makes for a great teammate to different Pokemon depending on the choice of weather. With Rain Dance, Swift Swim users such as Ludicolo, Kabutops, and Omastar make great teammates, as do Water-types in general. Sunny Day, on the other hand, makes Chlorophyll users, such as Tangrowth and Exeggutor, and Fire-types, such as Moltres, much more appropriate. As both rain and sun are offensive weathers, these Pokemon will also appreciate entry hazard support in order to aid their sweep. Uxie can set up Stealth Rock incredibly reliably, and can also serve as a very sturdy back-up supporter, as can Claydol, both of which resist Persian's Fighting-type weakness.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>On a physical set, Seed Bomb stands out as Persian's best attack against Rock-types, 2HKOing Rock Polish Rhyperior with entry hazard support. Unfortunately, it's hard to find a moveslot for it most of the time. Payback smacks Ghost-types harder on the switch, but is otherwise a lesser option compared to Bite and Night Slash because of Persian's high Speed stat. Technician Aerial Ace can be used to strike Fighting-, Grass-, and Bug-types harder than any of Persian's other moves, but is resisted by the same Pokemon that resist Normal. Last Resort can make an extremely threatening attack alongside Fake Out, but such a set is gimmicky, and done better by Ambipom anyway. Finally, Persian has access to Knock Off, which can prove extremely annoying to foes that rely on their items to be threatening.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>For offensive sets, the absolute best counter to Persian is Spiritomb, as it is immune to his Normal STAB, has excellent all-around bulk, and can also cripple him with Will-O-Wisp. Persian can't even switch or U-turn out safely, as a Choice Band-boosted Pursuit will do upwards of 95.2% to any offensive set. Bulky Fighting- and Water-types such as Hitmontop and Milotic, respectively, are also trouble for Persian. Physical variants are walled to Timbuktu and back by the likes of Weezing and Donphan. Support sets are harder to counter, technically speaking, but faster Taunt users can limit their options quite effectively. Finally, faster sweepers like Sceptile and Alakazam can revenge kill Persian, but should be wary of switching in directly. Keep in mind that even though Persian has a lot of checks, all of them must be wary of Hypnosis, Switcheroo, Knock Off, and U-turn when switching into him.</p>
======
Credits
- QC period - Thund91
- GP Check 1 - Honko
- GP Check 2 - bugmaniacbob
