[Overview]
The long-awaited combination of Contrary and Leaf Storm makes Serperior a potent offensive Pokemon in the OU metagame. Serperior combines boosting its Special Attack by two stages with a high Base Power move, avoiding the common dilemma of whether to boost or attack, which is faced by many other Pokemon. As a result, Serperior is a fairly straightforward Pokemon whose function can be quickly described as "spam Leaf Storm." Its base 113 Speed is a major factor in its effectiveness as well, allowing it to use its coverage moves to beat otherwise major threats such as Latios and Mega Pinsir. Aside from its Speed, its stats are all just average, and switching in is a difficult proposition for Serperior, as its subpar defensive stats and poor defensive typing mean it can easily take huge damage just by hitting the field. This also leaves it vulnerable to common revenge killers such as Talonflame. Its base 75 Special Attack is perhaps its biggest downfall, causing it to miss important KOs at any stage of battle. It even takes heavy damage switching in against many bulky Water-types and actually fails to OHKO some of them before a boost, such as Assault Vest Azumarill. Because of this, Serperior must be played very delicately, coming in at just the right time to get a boost off without taking too much prior damage.
[SET]
name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: Leaf Storm
move 2: Dragon Pulse
move 3: Hidden Power Fire
move 4: Giga Drain / Substitute / Taunt
item: Life Orb
ability: Contrary
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
ivs: 29 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
With its high Base Power and backed by a Life Orb, Leaf Storm actually hits surprisingly hard, despite Serperior's low base Special Attack. The boost provided by Leaf Storm makes the coverage moves available to Serperior more usable. Dragon Pulse hits Dragon-types such as Latios and Dragonite after Multiscale is broken. It's also good for neutral damage on Pokemon such as Talonflame on the switch. Hidden Power Fire is used mainly for Steel-types, with Ferrothorn and Scizor being hit the hardest by it. After a boost from Leaf Storm, Hidden Power Fire is a clean OHKO on both. The last move is entirely up to preference, as Serperior's actual coverage options are slim. Giga Drain provides a useful Grass-type STAB move that has higher PP as well as the perk of healing off recoil from Life Orb. Substitute allows Serperior to take advantage of the switches it often forces and avoids Sucker Punch from the likes of Bisharp and Toxicroak. Taunt is especially useful against defensive teams, since most rely on Mega Sableye to deflect Taunt users and Serperior can simply outboost and KO it. It also helps wear down checks to Serperior such as Chansey, as it removes their ability to recover. Knock Off is another option in the final slot that can help Serperior wear down the likes of Heatran and Chansey more easily, since both rely heavily on their item to function defensively. Hidden Power Ground can be used instead of Hidden Power Fire if your team requires a lure to Heatran, since after a Leaf Storm boost Hidden Power Ground is a guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock. Synthesis is a solid form of recovery that allows Serperior to heal off damage from attacks in order to give it more longevity throughout the match. Lastly, Glare can be used to cripple common switch-ins, such as Talonflame, Tornadus-T, and Mega Charizard Y.
Set Details
========
Life Orb is a mandatory item choice for Serperior on this set. Its Special Attack stat is nothing impressive and Life Orb gives it a boost that it desperately needs to get many important OHKOs after a boost against such Pokemon as Latios. Because Life Orb is the item of choice, 29 HP IVs reduce the damage taken from Life Orb recoil. Timid is absolutely necessary on Serperior because its Speed tier puts it above key threats such as Keldeo, Latios, Latias, Gengar, and Mega Diancie.
Usage Tips
========
Getting in Serperior safely is key, as it is heavily reliant on the boosts provided by Leaf Storm. As such, Serperior should be brought in with a slow U-turn, Volt Switch, or Baton Pass. Serperior is best used as a mid- to late-game sweeper, and in order for it to have the best sweeping capabilities, be sure to weaken or remove its checks before boosting with Leaf Storm. This can be done with the help of Pokemon such as Dugtrio, Earthquake Latios, and Fire Blast Clefable. Be sure to use Leaf Storm wisely, because it can be somewhat easily stalled out by defensive Pokemon due to its low PP.
Team Options
========
Serperior's team support is partially dependent on its chosen coverage move. If Hidden Power Fire is used, partners to lure in or pressure Heatran is important, so the likes of Earthquake Latios, Earthquake Mega Altaria, and Dugtrio pair well. However, if Hidden Power Ground is chosen, Pokemon that can apply pressure to or lure in Steel-types apart from Heatran with coverage moves are necessary teammates, such as Hidden Power Fire Latios, Fire Blast Mega Altaria, Mega Manectric, Clefable with Flamethrower or Fire Blast, and Talonflame. These Pokemon also pair well since they appreciate Heatran being lured in with Hidden Power Ground, as it is a typical check to some of them, mainly Clefable and Talonflame. Other specific checks to Serperior such as Mega Altaria, Talonflame, and Mega Charizard Y are important to take into account with Serperior's teammates. Mega Altaria can be checked by the likes of Scizor, Gengar, and Victini. In addition, Scizor and Victini provide a slow U-turn to get Serperior in safely, and the latter appreciates Serperior's ability to check Water-, Rock-, and Ground-types. Mega Charizard Y can be handled by teammates such as Mega Manectric, Latias, and Talonflame. Lastly, common Talonflame checks such as Tyranitar, Suicune, and Rotom-W make for solid teammates. From a general standpoint, wallbreakers such as Mega Medicham, Hydreigon, and Azumarill pair well because Serperior functions best as a mid- to late-game cleaner.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Miracle Seed gives a boost in power to Serperior's Grass-type attacks without the recoil from Life Orb. Expert Belt can be used for a similar purpose of getting rid of recoil but for a boost to Serperior's coverage moves. A set with Substitute and Leech Seed can be used to punish Serperior's typical answers in a different manner, but lacks the power and coverage moves to be effective. The combination of a Coba Berry and Hidden Power Rock can be used to bait in and KO Talonflame and Tornadus-T, but is very situational and has little use outside of that.
Checks and Counters
===================
Note that Serperior's checks largely depend on how many boosts it has obtained.
**Heatran**: Heatran 4x resists Serperior's STAB and resists almost all of its coverage moves, only fearing the occasional Hidden Power Ground. Choice Scarf variants outspeed and KO Serperior, but nonetheless all Heatran variants threaten Serperior with a strong Fire-type attack.
**Talonflame**: Talonflame 4x resists Serperior's STAB moves and threatens to OHKO or deal massive damage to Serperior with either of its own STAB moves. Note that offensive variants take a hefty chunk from Life Orb-boosted Dragon Pulse, while specially defensive Talonflame is a much more reliable check to Serperior. However, Talonflame is severely crippled by Glare.
**Mega Charizard Y**: Mega Charizard Y 4x resists Serperior's STAB moves and threatens back with a powerful Fire-type Attack. However, Mega Charizard Y must keep Stealth Rock off the field in order to effectively check Serperior, as a boosted Dragon Pulse OHKOes Mega Charizard Y after Stealth Rock damage.
**Mega Altaria**: Mega Altaria resists Serperior's STAB moves and either resists or is immune to Serperior's coverage moves. Offensive variants have quite a bit of trouble switching in, but bulky Dragon Dance and support sets handle Serperior easily. Mega Altaria can potentially use Serperior as setup fodder depending on how much bulk it has invested and how healthy it is.
**Bulky Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types such as Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss, and Ferrothorn all check at least one variant of Serperior. Mega Venusaur easily sponges up anything Serperior can throw at it and retaliate with a Sludge Bomb. Amoonguss also shrugs off most of Serperior's attacks and can remove Serperior's boosts with Clear Smog. Ferrothorn checks only Hidden Power Ground variants, but is not usually a very reliable check due to Hidden Power Fire being much more common.
**Faster Pokemon and Choice Scarf users**: Faster Pokemon such as Mega Houndoom, Mega Beedrill, Mega Lopunny, Tornadus-T, Mega Pidgeot, and Choice Scarf users such as Victini, Kyurem-B, and Diggersby are solid offensive checks to Serperior.
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