Singles Victim of the Week [Current Victim: Landorus-T] ~ VOTING ~

[PPB]

Creeper3971
Lopunny is a pretty great check to M-Kanga since it naturally outspeeds and OHKO's. I would probably vote for M-Gallade because of Inner Focus if Kanga didn't outspeed without Protect.

 

[Ares]

Haban012 wins! He will be logged in the archive.

Next weeks victim is:

 

[HydreigonIsOP]

Fast and efficiant anwser:

@ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze/Solar Power > Drought
Level: 50
Shiny: Dosent matter
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid/Modest Nature
- Flamethrower/Fire Blast/Overheat
- Air Slash/Focus Miss Blast
- Solar Beam
- Dragon Pulse/HP Ice

252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield in Sun: 188-224 (112.5 - 134.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Simple and quick KO. Dosent even care about King's Shield.

Solar Beam is obvious water coverage. Your Fire move of choice depends on preference: Flamethrower is reliable, Fire Blast is unreliable but very strong, and Overheat is a complete NUKE BUTTON OH YEAH. Air Slash is a decent secondary STAB, although its really only useful for Flying types. Focus Blast KO's Ttar and helps with Heatran, but has terribad accuracy. Dragon Pulse is there to hit stuff like Latis and Hydra for high damage, while HP Ice bops Comps and Mences.

 

[NOVED]

Entei @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Stone Edge
- Bulldoze
- Iron Head

CB Entei. Manages to get an ohko on 252 HP Aegi so it doesn't have to worry about weakness policy going off. It doesn't like switching in but it can as long as it's not life orb which isnt too common. It also always outspeeds aegi of course so it's a pretty great check. And iirc Sacred Fire doesn't make contact so there's no -2 from king's shield.(correct me if i'm wrong)

What makes it really cool though imo, is that even if aegi wants to switch out you have a 50% to cripple whatever comes in, so long as it doesn't have flash fire.

252 Atk Choice Band Entei Sacred Fire vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Shield: 168-198 (100.5 - 118.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Entei: 106-126 (55.4 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

 

[Ares]

Alright, someone needs to post a set that isn't just a Fire-type spamming a Fire move.

Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Encore
- Return
- High Jump Kick

Alright, here is the game plan. Switch in on the predicted Ghost-type move, Substitute on the obvious Kings Shield, Encore the Aegislash into Kings Shield, then Substitute again as they Kings Shield again (unless they got the double Kings Shield last turn), click High Jump Kick, Profit????

 

[haban012]

Fast and efficiant anwser:

@ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze/Solar Power > Drought
Level: 50
Shiny: Dosent matter
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid/Modest Nature
- Flamethrower/Fire Blast/Overheat
- Air Slash/Focus Miss Blast
- Solar Beam
- Dragon Pulse/HP Ice

252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield in Sun: 188-224 (112.5 - 134.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Simple and quick KO. Dosent even care about King's Shield.

Solar Beam is obvious water coverage. Your Fire move of choice depends on preference: Flamethrower is reliable, Fire Blast is unreliable but very strong, and Overheat is a complete NUKE BUTTON OH YEAH. Air Slash is a decent secondary STAB, although its really only useful for Flying types. Focus Blast KO's Ttar and helps with Heatran, but has terribad accuracy. Dragon Pulse is there to hit stuff like Latis and Hydra for high damage, while HP Ice bops Comps and Mences.

Good counter.. but I've seen sash aegislash with rock move.

 

[cant say]

Good counter.. but I've seen sash aegislash with rock move.

Just because it doesn't stop some weird niche set doesn't mean it isn't good..

Alright, someone needs to post a set that isn't just a Fire-type spamming a Fire move.

Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Encore
- Return
- High Jump Kick

Alright, here is the game plan. Switch in on the predicted Ghost-type move, Substitute on the obvious Kings Shield, Encore the Aegislash into Kings Shield, then Substitute again as they Kings Shield again (unless they got the double Kings Shield last turn), click High Jump Kick, Profit????

Damn you Mont I was literally about to post this smh

 

[PPB]

Good counter.. but I've seen sash aegislash with rock move.

I think that's Head Smash. I've seen Head Smash Aegi once before, against my Volcarona. The sad thing is that it missed. Then again it can also learn rock slide.

 

[Meultima]

Damn you Mont I was literally about to post this smh

Gotta be wary of that Second King's Shield 1/3 success rate though. It's not for the faint-hearted!

 

[PPB]

Volcarona @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 50
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fire Blast
- Quiver Dance
- Roost/ Bug Buzz
- Bug Buzz/ Will-O Wisp

Volcarona has a chance OHKO Aegislash (252+ SpA Volcarona Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 152-180 (91 - 107.7%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO). Sitrus Berry prevents a 2HKO from Shadow Ball and gives you an opportunity to set up Quiver Dance. Unless your opponent is gutsy, they will probably NOT stay in blade form, and you can scout for that using Roost – if they use KS, you regain all or almost all of your health, giving you a chance to set up Quiver Dance! If your opponent’s Sword is physical, you can use Will-O to cripple it. The only real danger there is the 15% chance of missing, but remember that Sword also has a chance of getting haxxed by Flame Body. 132 speed EVs allow you to reach 137 speed and specifically outrun max speed Mega Lopunny and Mega Manectric after a QD. 124 HP EVs hit an even number of HP (176), which means your Sitrus Berry will activate when you switch into Stealth Rock. 176 is also evenly divisible by four. If you want more coverage, you can run Bug Buzz over Roost, but then you miss out on the opportunity to capitalize on a King’s Shield. Likewise you can run it over Will-O, but then you risk more against physically offensive Aegislash and are more susceptible to the mind game of whether or not it will use King’s Shield to change forme. However, I think most physical swords run Iron Head/ Sacred Sword over Shadow Claw, so Bug Buzz may be worth the sacrifice.

Many calcs:

252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Claw vs. 124 HP / 0 Def Volcarona: 103-123 (58.5 - 69.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 124 HP / 0 Def Volcarona: 58-70 (32.9 - 39.7%) -- 100% chance to 3HKO

252+ Atk burned Aegislash-Blade Shadow Claw vs. 124 HP / 0 Def Volcarona: 51-61 (28.9 - 34.6%) -- 8.1% chance to 3HKO
252+ Atk burned Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 124 HP / 0 Def Volcarona: 29-35 (16.4 - 19.8%) -- possible 6HKO
123 (Max Shadow Claw) - 44 (Sitrus) + 61 (Max Burned Shadow Claw) + 35 (Max Burned Shadow Sneak)= 175 < 176 (your HP)

Note: If Volcarona is left with less than 36 HP after Shadow Claw and Shadow Sneak, you might get KO’d by a burned Shadow Sneak if the opponent gets a max roll, and you might want to switch, but at least you will leave Aegislash crippled.

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 124 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 81-96 (46 - 54.5%) -- 50% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. +1 124 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 54-64 (30.6 - 36.3%) -- 52.3% chance to 3HKO
4 Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 124 HP / 0 Def Volcarona: 46-55 (26.1 - 31.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
96(Max Shadow Ball) + 65(Max Shadow Ball after QD) – 44 + 55(Max Shadow Sneak with 4 Attack EVs) = 172 < 176 (Your HP)

+1 252+ SpA Volcarona Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aegislash-Shield: 330-390 (101.8 - 120.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[GateCreeper]

What about Diggersby tho?

Diggersby @ Life Orb
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Return
- Swords Dance
- Filler (Elemental Punches, Knock Off, Quick Attack)

I remember the days when people were hyped about Huge Power Diggersby, and how it could check Aegi so well. Good times. Well, it still checks Aegi very well today, with a LO Earthquake OHKOing Aegislash. It can switch into predicted ghost moves and OHKO it in return. If Air Balloon Aegislash is a concern to you, Knock Off + EQ can work well, but you have to hope Aegi doesn't KS you while using Knock Off. You can simply SD when you predicted a KS anyway, and OHKO with Knock Off the next turn. Diggersby is also a great wallbreaker in this battle spot meta as well, it can dent many walls when at +2. Here's the calcs:

252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Shield: 205-244 (122.7 - 146.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Sacred Sword vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Diggersby: 154-182 (96.2 - 113.7%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Diggersby: 103-123 (64.3 - 76.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Shield: 133-159 (79.6 - 95.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Shield: 88-107 (52.6 - 64%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Diggersby isn't the most reliable check to Aegislash, but it's different from other checks who just use a fire move to OHKO it (even though it is the best way to handle it).

 

[NOVED]

but it's different from other checks who just use a fire move to OHKO it

Using EQ isn't that different lol its just a different super effective type
but the dirty bunny is cool :-)

 

[GateCreeper]

Using EQ isn't that different lol its just a different super effective type
but the dirty bunny is cool :-)

Well, the only real way of beating Aegislash reliably is to take out with a strong super effective move, unless someone else would like to nominate a 100% counter to it. So using a different super effective move is the most different that I could get =]

 

[freekhoorn]

Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Calm Mind
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Shadow Ball

Special defensive Mega sableye can survive the 2HKO from max special offensive aegislash, and can recover and calm mind from there.

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mega Sableye: 55-66 (35 - 42%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

If you predict this and use prankster calm mind its not even a 4HKO

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. +1 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mega Sableye: 37-45 (23.5 - 28.6%) -- 91.8% chance to 4HKO

If your opponents aegislash is a surprise physical attacker and while you go mega and calm mind and he goes for swords dance you survive the shadow sneak from aegislash after that, while you will know its physical so you use will-o-wisp.

+2 252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Sableye: 69-82 (43.9 - 52.2%) -- 17.2% chance to 2HKO

After aegi is burned he does this damage with shadow sneak:

+2 252+ Atk burned Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Sableye: 34-41 (21.6 - 26.1%) -- 4% chance to 4HKO

So that is max 78,3% damage in total and you can use recover to get your hp back after that shadow sneak. After that you can calm mind and recover for free.

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Sableye: 79-94 (50.3 - 59.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. +1 252 HP / 252+ SpD Sableye: 52-63 (33.1 - 40.1%) -- 100% chance to 3HKO

If you come in while non mega you can 100% counter it at full health if aegislash doesnt get a crit or shadow ball does not lower special defense, cause when you prankster calm mind it does max 40,1% and added to the max 59,8 from non-calm mind boost is lower than 100%! Note that you have to stay nonmega cause only then you get the prankster recover on the second turn!

If you come in and he is physical and uses swords dance he does this damage afterwards

+2 252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Sableye: 69-82 (43.9 - 52.2%) -- 17.2% chance to 2HKO

And after that you burn him and the damage will be reduced to

+2 252+ Atk burned Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Sableye: 34-41 (21.6 - 26.1%) -- 4% chance to 4HKO

And afterwards you can recover the damage back. This means this sableye is a 100% counter if at full health and switched in directly at the first move of aegislash wether aegislash is max physical or max special! (If aegislash uses another physical move with higher base attack like shadow claw sableye will go first because of prankster and burn him before aegislash attacks)

 

[Meultima]

Well, the only real way of beating Aegislash reliably is to take out with a strong super effective move, unless someone else would like to nominate a 100% counter to it. So using a different super effective move is the most different that I could get =]

Not entirely necessary, you can go the option of winning attrition wars with Pokémon that a standard Aegislash isn't capable of damaging very well (I will concede however that it's not a fun place to be). Here's one proposal (Thrown up against Quiet Mixed Slash):

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace / Download
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpDef
Nature: Bold
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball/Ice Beam
- Recover

So we Thunder Wave and Thunderbolt it down to size. Shadow Ball can be used when you're not in danger of activating Weakness Policy. If you notice Leftovers/Lum Berry, then fire away willy-nilly.

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Eviolite Porygon2: 58-69 (30.2 - 35.9%) -- 31.6% chance to 3HKO
4 Atk Aegislash-Blade Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Porygon2: 50-60 (26 - 31.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

On the flipside, we get:

0 SpA Porygon2 Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 44-54 (26.3 - 32.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
0 SpA Porygon2 Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 26-31 (15.5 - 18.5%) -- possible 6HKO

On the off-chance you get a Download boost?

+1 0 SpA Porygon2 Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 68-80 (50.3 - 59.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 0 SpA Porygon2 Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 38-45 (28.1 - 33.3%) -- Miniscule chance to 3HKO

Yeah this entire setup hinges on you spamming Recover every couple turns and hoping that Flash Cannon doesn't provide the -SpDef drop, and kinda scoops to +Attack SDSlash, although to be fair SDSLash was designed to beat a lot of its usual checks (Especially those running around with Safety Goggles/Lum Berries).

...

Okay you know what nevermind that's all pretty silly let's just go with this one.

Mandibuzz @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpDef
Nature: Impish
- Taunt
- Foul Play
- Knock Off
- Roost

It's a simple one-two.
Step 1: Taunt
Step 2: Foul Play

0 Atk Mandibuzz Foul Play vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Blade: 260-308 (155.6 - 184.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

In the meanwhile:

252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mandibuzz: 87-103 (40 - 47.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mandibuzz: 45-53 (20.7 - 24.4%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery

And for funsies:

252+ Atk Aegislash-Blade Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mandibuzz: 146-174 (67.2 - 80.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Fortunately this one doesn't even make a blip on the usage stats, in case you were wondering.

 

[Ares]

Time to vote, lots of good options here, this was a good week! :o

HydreigonIsOP - Charizard-Y
NOVED - Entei
Montsegur - Mega Loppuny
PPB - Volcarona
Creeper3971 - Diggersby
freekhoorn - Mega Sableye
Meultima - Mandibuzz

Votes in bold pls
NOVED

 

[PPB]

NOVED, Sacred Fire 2good.

 

[GateCreeper]

Gotta go with NOVED, Banded Entei is an efficient and unique answer.

 

[HydreigonIsOP]

PPB cause Volcarona's always fun to mess with

 

[haban012]

voting for NOVED, sacred fire can get burn when they switch in as he said. And entei works in battle spot singles right now, since there are so much physical pokes

 

[NOVED]

Mont

i always like offensive mons who can utilize encore

 

[ethan06]

Creeper3971

I've been trying Diggersby out a bit myself and it's ridiculously strong and as good against stall archetypes, as well as wrecking Aegislash for me. Do recommend if you're looking for an interesting Ground-type attacker.

 

[cant say]

Hmmmmm this is tough but I'm gonna have to go with Mont coz Scrappy High Jump Kick is V strong (also Encore+Sub). freekhoorn is tough to miss out as (mega) Sableye is great imo

 

[Ares]

NOVED wins, thought for sure I had it with awesome bunny

Next Victim is:

(creeper's choice)

 

[cant say]

[insert Rotom-W set here]

this post will be amended with a real set