Sharpedo Discussion

[Cloud 8]

Sharpedo

#319
http://serebii.net/pokedex-bw/319.shtml​

Overview:​

Sharpedo swims into 5th gen with a fantastic new ability in Speed Boost. The ability that made Blaziken Uber was now given to everyone's favourite shark and it is sure to make a splash in the RU metagame. Sharpedo has excellent coverage with Water/Dark that allows him to blast through common walls like Rhyperior and Rhydon. Along with his nice offensive typing, Sharpedo has a great attack of 120 and a decent special attack stat of 95. He also has a speed stat of 95 allowing him to outspeed many common Pokemon; even scarfers like Porygon-Z with a Speed Boost​

Sadly, Sharpedo is held back by many negative aspects that stop him from being the great offensive threat he could be. Sharpedo is hampered by terrible defensive stats along with a bad defensive typing that gives him a weakness to the common Mach Punch. Sharpedo is also stopped cold by the very comoon Ferroseed who can Leech Seed him and set up Spikes in his face. Bulky waters in general are very hard for Sharpedo to overcome without team support as they can often tank Crunches and burn him with a Scald. Another problem is Sharpedo's lack of diversity as almost every Sharpedo is a Speed Boost variant. Despite the short comings, Sharpedo is a definite threat in RU and every team should be prepared for this menace.​

Potential Movesets:​

Mixed Speed Boost
Sharpedo @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Naughty
EV'S: 128 Spe / 128 Sp. Atk / 252 Atk
Moves:
-Hydro Pump
-Crunch
-Protect
-Ice Beam/ HP Fire​

The most common Sharpedo set, and for good reason too. Protect allows Sharpedo to grab a free Speed Boost despite his shoddy defenses and then rampage against the opponent's team with his great offensive prowess. Hydro Pump and Crunch form his main moves and allow him to break through many walls like Cresselia and Rhyperior. The last move is for coverage and while Ice Beam is most commonly used for its higher base power and ability to hit Honchkrow, Hidden Power Fire could also be used to hit Ferroseed and bug types super effectively while still maintaining coverage against grass types. The nature and EV spread is very flexible considering Sharpedo can be tailored to hit a large amount of different threats. The speed EV's allows Sharpedo to get the jump on Swellow while the Special Attack EV's allow him to OHKO specially defensive Rhperior/ Rhydon and physically defensive Moltres 100% of the time with the remainder dumped into Attack.​

Choice Band Speed Boost
Sharpedo @ Choice Band
Ability: Speed Boost
Nature: Adamant / Jolly
EV's: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Moves:
-Waterfall
-Aqua Jet
-Crunch
-Double-Edge / Earthquake​

A hole-punching, priority abusing set. Similar to that of Entei's Choice Band set. Choice Band Waterfall can allow you to get kills on a lot of slower things like Rhydon to then accumulate enough of a Speed Boost to outspeed and KO the opponents switch in like a Scarfed Porygon-Z. Aqua Jet also serves as a great utility; picking off foes your team members have weakened while Crunch provides extra STAB and a way to beat Cresselia. Double-Edge is a general coverage option that has great neutral coverage with Waterfall but if the recoil is offputting Ice Fang can be used to damage Ferroseed. Adamant provides a nice power boost but doesn't gain any notable KO's while Jolly allows you to outspeed Timid, Choice Scarf Porygon-Z. Entry Hazards are very important to this set as Sharpedo often misses out on vital OHKO's and 2HKO's. Because of this, Ferroseed makes a nice partner who also synergizes well with Sharpedo despite a shared fighting weakness. ​

Personal Opinion: ​

Despite not taking the metagame by storm like Yanmega and Cresselia do I feel as though Sharpedo is definetely an underestimated threat that everyone should be prepared for.​

 

[col49]

Although hitting the speed tie with PZ can be useful at times, I would think that a spread of 120 Spd/136 Atk / 252 SAtk w/Rash would be a bit more optimal. With such an investment he is outspeeding everything from Swellow down at +1 (you could run 240 Spd EVs to outpace Accelgor, but then you basically give up the chance to 2HKO CM Cress :/ ). Also, although Hp Fire is the best way to beat Ferroseed, that's basically all it hits in the end. Most Bugs are hit neutrally or better by Hydro Pump, meaning that it hits harder than Hp Fire when calculating in stab. Hp Fire for Ferroseed is like Zen Headbutt for Poliwrath, it will help in such an instance, but nowhere else. It deserves a mention, but maybe not there. Moreover, I would suggest maybe mentioning Aqua Jet, simply as a method of beating priority users that try to stop Sharpedo, as well as revenge killing a poke in order to obtain +1 speed without having to resort to Protect.

The CB set looks pretty solid, just some minor nitpicks. I would suggest putting Adamant as the first option because, as you already mentioned, the only reason to run Jolly is to beat Scarfed PZ. Also, perhaps you could list EQ as an option in the final slot? Though not all amazing an option, it allows you to hit Ferroseed harder than any other options he has, as well as still Poliwrath, Crawdaunt and such for a fair amount (though indeed less than Double-Edge). I suppose Cacturne/Shiftry will resist your moves then, but on what planet can they be considered a defensive pivot?

 

[Cloud 8]

Although I agree on lowering the speed of Sharpedo putting max special attack doesnt gain any notable kills where Max attack is needed to beat max Defense Cresselia. HP fire seems more important than Ice Beam just because Ferroseed is more prevalent than anything else that walls Sharpedo. Im not sure about Aqua jet just becasue PRotecting would be easier and Sharpedo really needs the coverage.

I agree that Adamant seems best but after doing a lot of calcs Adamant doesnt gain any noteable kills which is the main reason for using Jolly. The EQ part was a good catch. I dont know what I thought Ice Fang would be hitting.

 

[kniteowl]

Earlier in the tier, more people used Tangela, so People started using Ice beam Sharpedo to counter Tangela because of it's weaker SpD side, Although hopefully Tangela will amke a return when Mega gets banned.

 

[Twannes]

Mandibuzz is another counter to sharpedo

 

[SharKing]

If Ice Beam or Hydro Pump 2HKO, Mandy isn't a counter.

 

[col49]

If you're referring to the first set, didn't I put a larger investment into Atk than that of your set anywho? Notwithstanding, I was somewhat lazy with my EV spread, sorry 'bout that :P If you want to 2HKO 252 Hp/252 Def Bold Cress, you need to hit 344 Atk if considering SR+1 turn of Lefties recovery, meaning you'll have to splurge for the Naughty/Lonely Nature. Without SR the 2HKO isn't even guaranteed with max investment. A 252 Atk Naughty Sharpedo deals 50.5-59.9% to Cress via Crunch. So unless you invest heavily in Attack, you shouldn't be aiming for the 2HKO on Cress, either way the worst case scenario against it is that it gets a screen up, maybe you get poisoned (lol @ poisoning a glass cannon like sharpedo). As for the CB set, I only suggest Adamant as you will already be outpacing the entire metagame in 2 turns, so the extra power couldn't hurt.

 

[Twannes]

If Ice Beam or Hydro Pump 2HKO, Mandy isn't a counter.

Well i have seen some Sharpedos already with Mandibuzz and im pretty sure that Ice Beam isn't a 2HKO with proper investment (max Hp and like 44 in SpD with boosting nature), as Mandibuzz can actually toxicstall Sharpedo if no hax occurs (which is kinda rare for 7 turns in a row).

And if you need to hear a wall: Ferroseed :D

 

[Cloud 8]

If you're referring to the first set, didn't I put a larger investment into Atk than that of your set anywho? Notwithstanding, I was somewhat lazy with my EV spread, sorry 'bout that :P If you want to 2HKO 252 Hp/252 Def Bold Cress, you need to hit 344 Atk if considering SR+1 turn of Lefties recovery, meaning you'll have to splurge for the Naughty/Lonely Nature. Without SR the 2HKO isn't even guaranteed with max investment. A 252 Atk Naughty Sharpedo deals 50.5-59.9% to Cress via Crunch. So unless you invest heavily in Attack, you shouldn't be aiming for the 2HKO on Cress, either way the worst case scenario against it is that it gets a screen up, maybe you get poisoned (lol @ poisoning a glass cannon like sharpedo). As for the CB set, I only suggest Adamant as you will already be outpacing the entire metagame in 2 turns, so the extra power couldn't hurt.

I think so. Im sure I made a mistake. Have you tested out that EV spread? I know its the basic but Im still scarred from a person with absolutely 0 skills in the game stalling 3 pokemon out with Toxic, Sub, Moonlight and Calm mind. I still leave Jolly up as an option as the CB set switches out a lot so its very rare to utilize any boosts past +1

 

[col49]

Well as of late I've been running a spread of 120 Spd/ 148 Atk / 240 SAtk w/Naughty if I want it to check Cress, but otherwise I don't usually try to check Cress with him. Often I play with an offensive core of Bulk Up+Taunt Krookodile and SD/CB Scollipede, which has actually yielded quite a fair deal of success, seeing as both can check Cress in their own right (Krookodile completely shuts down Psychic variants via Taunt, and Scollipede only takes 27.8-33.% from an Ice Beam while consistently 2HKOing w/Megahorn). Nonetheless, I would say that if you want to check her with Sharpedo, then run those EVs and make sure to keep rocks up. Just my two cents though

 

[SharKing]

I don't even bother with Cress when using Sharpedo; I won't let one Pokemon centralize a potential sweeper. I just go with the 128 Atk / 252 SpA / 128 Spe layout with a Rash nature; with a base value of 95, that Sp. Attack needs as much oomph as it can get.

 

[Chieliee]

If Ice Beam or Hydro Pump 2HKO, Mandy isn't a counter.

ice beam does not 2hko lol
252 SpAtk Sharpedo Ice Beam vs 252 HP/168 SpDef Mandibuzz: 38,21% - 45,28%
3 hits to KO

252 SpAtk Sharpedo Hydro Pump vs 252 HP/168 SpDef Mandibuzz: 36,08% - 42,69%
3 hits to KO