As a community, Smogon has shunned One Hit Knock-Out(referred to as ohko) moves such as Guillotine for a very long time. However with the release of Ruby and Sapphire on Netbattle, new moves appeared on the horizon as moves with almost the same power as ohko moves-Reversal, Flail and Endeavor. Armed with new berries, battlers began to arm their pokemon with these 3 moves and began to rack up instant knock-outs from one single pokemon, and make extraordinary comebacks from a 5-1 deficit to a 1-0 win. Today, Reversal, Flail, and Endeavor are very rarely seen, but the strategy still works if you use it properly. Now let's have a look at these moves.
Reversal:
Type: Fighting
Base: Physical
Power: ---
Accuracy: 100%
Effect: ---
PP: 15(24 with ppups clause)
Target: Selected Target
Move Description: Inflicts more damage when the user's HP is down
Flail
Type: Normal
Base: Physical
Power: ---
Accuracy: 100%
Effect: ---
PP: 15(24 with ppups clause)
Target: Selected Target
Move Description: Inflicts more damage when the user's HP is down
Endeavor:
Type: Normal
Base: Physical
Power: ---
Accuracy: 100%
Effect: ---
PP: 5(8 with ppups clause)
Target: Selected Target
Move Description: Gains power if the user's HP is lower than the foe's HP
Right off the bat you may have noticed that Reversal and Flail are identical except for the type, and Endeavor is very similar to the other two. However there are big differences in each move. The in-game effect of Reversal and Flail is basically the lower your HP, the higher the amount of damage, whereas the in-game effect of Endeavor is if your HP is lower then your opponents HP, then when you use endeavor their HP% becomes the same percentage as yours. So Endeavor can never fully ohko a pokemon, while Reversal and Flail can. However there are even more differences now-but this time they are in the type chart
Reversal:
SE against Normal, Dark, Rock, Ice, and Steel types
Not Effective (NE from now on) against Poison, Psychic, Bug, and Flying types
ND (no damage) to Ghost types
Flail:
SE against none!
NE against Rock and Steel types
ND to Ghost types
Endeavor:
SE against none
NE against none
ND to none
Reversal has the largest SE and NE range, Flail has a much smaller SE and NE range, and Endeavor hits anything at normal calculations-even Ghost types-which surprises quite a lot of people(my Gengar got owned one time!). Another difference-Reversal and Flail take into account STAB (same type attack bonus), while Endeavor does not take into account STAB and always does a certain amount of damage depending on your HP. Now let's have a look at what pokemon use each move and how they use them.
Reversalers and Flailers:
There are two types of rev/flailers: Subrev and Endure rev. Subrevvers use Substitute along with a high speed level to bring their HP down to 1(after the 4th sub) without taking any damage from the opponent, and then use Reversal. WARNING: this only works if you HP stat is a number not divisible by 4-so for instance if I had a Heracross with 260 HP I wouldn’t be able to substitute the 4th time. So always set your HP ev as an odd number or as a number not divisible by 4 so that you can sub the 4th time and have some hp left over for a reversal/flail. Endure revvers don't have to use this rule-Endure always leaves the user with 1 HP after your opponent lands a deadly blow. So then you can proceed to Rev/Flail. Here are examples of each:
SubRevver
Heracross@Salac Berry
~Substitute
~Reversal
~Megahorn
~Focus Punch/Swords Dance/Rock Slide
Carrying double STAB with Reversal and Megahorn
SubFlailer
Dodrio@Salac Berry
~Substitute
~Flail
~Drill Peck
~Hidden Power Ghost
Carrying double stab with drill peck and flail
EndureRevver
Blaziken@Salac Berry
~Endure
~Reversal
~Fire Blast
~Swords Dance/Rock Slide/Focus Punch
Double STAB
EndureFlailer
Zangoose@Salac Berry
~Endure
~Flail
~Hidden Power Ghost
~Focus Punch/Swords Dance
Single STAB however carrying the same variety of moves.
Pretty self explanatory-for the subrevvers set up against something slower or when it switches in until you get to 1 hp, then Salac will activate(ill cover that later) and you can sweep. With Endure, you have more to lose because someone could paralyze you while you are enduring. But Endure will have the same effect-get you down to 1 HP to sweep. Each of these sets carries a variety of moves to cover the pokemon that resist each move-for instance, Zangoose has Flail and HP Ghost, because Flail doesn’t touch ghosts so hp ghost can still keep ghosts out of the way. However this set will still have problems with rock and steel types (Aggron! but also focus punch is an option) but that’s besides the point (which is to cover as many weaknesses as you can). If you fail to cover all your weakness, then you will be walled quite quickly. Now, on to Endeavor users!
EDIT: if you want to calculate flail and reversal, use this chart
Flail and Reversal power:
0 - 4.2% HP = 200 Base Power
4.3 - 10.4% HP = 150 Base Power
10.5 - 20.8% HP = 100 Base Power
20.9 - 35.4% HP = 80 Base Power
35.5 - 68.8% HP = 40 Base Power
68.9 - 100% HP = 20 Base Power
(Data stolen from Mosh on the old forums...)
Endeavor:
Endeavor functions basically in the same way: the only two types are Endure and Substitute Endeavorers. That in mind, it’s the same thing until you get to 1 HP. Some common Endeavor user's are:
Subber
Sceptile@Salac/Petaya berry
~Substitute
~Endeavor
~Hidden Power Ice/Fire
~Leaf Blade
Endurer
Smeargle@Salac Berry
~Endure
~Endeavor
~Spore
~Extremespeed/Seismic Toss
As you can see, it's basically the same as revving, except that Endeavor will never kill so if you use it 1vs1 then you'll get killed, so it's better for predicting switches. If these sets are used properly, they can seriously mess up a team. With Smeargle, you can get 2 kills (if you have someone with a fast move like Mach Punch or Extremespeed clean up) and with Sceptile you can fry a Blissey walling your team. Blissey wont be able to switch into anything if it’s at lower then 100 HP, and with spikes she is instantly dead. Endeavor, unlike Flail and Reversal, is meant for weakening a team instead of fully sweeping it. If a Blissey gets a full blown endeavor, Raikou can proceed. It’s a different and rarely seen strategy which is quite surprising when effectively used.
Berries:
In Advanced mode, a new common thing is stat boosting berries. These berries are items that pokemon can hold, and during a battle, if their HP falls below 25%, then the berry will activate giving the user +1 in a certain stat. So for instance, I have a Ninjask which has 263 HP and I sub 4 times, all 4 are broken. After the 4th sub is broken, Ninjask would get a boost from the berry. The most common berry is (by far) Salac (which raises speed). Salac berries are always used on a rev/flail/endeavor user because they raise the speed when you get down to 1HP-so that nobody can out speed you. Without Salac, few revvers would even exist because their speed is such a low stat without the boost. Here are the Berries and their effect
Salac: raises speed by +1
Petaya: raises special attack by +1
Liechi: raises attack by +1
Apicot: raises special defense by +1
Ganlon: raises defense by +1
Starf: raises a random stat by +2(:/)
Support
some quick tips to help your rev/flailer/endeavorer
1. If the pokemon is not immune to sandstream(if its not rock/steelor ground) then always carry a weather changing move on your team and be able to check and eliminate Tyranitar from the opposing team at all times.
2. Spikes are support for anything, as they lower opponent's HP making it easier to blow fatal damage.
3. Magneton-be ready to get rid of Skarmory/other walls that may stop you
and finally,
Counters:
The #1 counter for rev/flail/endeavor is…
TYRANITAR (sandstream)
Tyranitar’s sandstream ability does damage to any pokemon that is not Steel, Rock, or Ground. And when you rev/flail/endeavor, you always want to be at a very low HP level, so a simple switch in from Tyranitar automatically ruins a reversal plan. It’s that simple, and because Tyranitar is so popular, Reversal hasn’t been seen for a while.
EDIT: this wasn't need in the analysis but scizor is the only reversaler/flailer immune to sandstorm, however lit loses the stab that other revvers have.
#2: Speed moves
If you are at 1 HP, any move that does damage will instantly kill you. Speed moves such as Extremespeed, Mach Punch, and Quick Attack always go first, so they will instantly kill you before you can use Reversal all the time. Not anywhere near as common as Tyranitar, but teams that don’t carry Tyranitar usually have one of these.
#3: Hazers/Psuedo-Hazers/spikes/whatnot
Hazers and Psuedo-hazers ruin the boost from Salac and possible Swords Dances. Spikes are evil.
In conclusion, Reversal is a very powerful move, and teams should always be built to have a counter for them or you will regret it.
is that okay or do i need more info on endeavor and stuff
Reversal:
Type: Fighting
Base: Physical
Power: ---
Accuracy: 100%
Effect: ---
PP: 15(24 with ppups clause)
Target: Selected Target
Move Description: Inflicts more damage when the user's HP is down
Flail
Type: Normal
Base: Physical
Power: ---
Accuracy: 100%
Effect: ---
PP: 15(24 with ppups clause)
Target: Selected Target
Move Description: Inflicts more damage when the user's HP is down
Endeavor:
Type: Normal
Base: Physical
Power: ---
Accuracy: 100%
Effect: ---
PP: 5(8 with ppups clause)
Target: Selected Target
Move Description: Gains power if the user's HP is lower than the foe's HP
Right off the bat you may have noticed that Reversal and Flail are identical except for the type, and Endeavor is very similar to the other two. However there are big differences in each move. The in-game effect of Reversal and Flail is basically the lower your HP, the higher the amount of damage, whereas the in-game effect of Endeavor is if your HP is lower then your opponents HP, then when you use endeavor their HP% becomes the same percentage as yours. So Endeavor can never fully ohko a pokemon, while Reversal and Flail can. However there are even more differences now-but this time they are in the type chart
Reversal:
SE against Normal, Dark, Rock, Ice, and Steel types
Not Effective (NE from now on) against Poison, Psychic, Bug, and Flying types
ND (no damage) to Ghost types
Flail:
SE against none!
NE against Rock and Steel types
ND to Ghost types
Endeavor:
SE against none
NE against none
ND to none
Reversal has the largest SE and NE range, Flail has a much smaller SE and NE range, and Endeavor hits anything at normal calculations-even Ghost types-which surprises quite a lot of people(my Gengar got owned one time!). Another difference-Reversal and Flail take into account STAB (same type attack bonus), while Endeavor does not take into account STAB and always does a certain amount of damage depending on your HP. Now let's have a look at what pokemon use each move and how they use them.
Reversalers and Flailers:
There are two types of rev/flailers: Subrev and Endure rev. Subrevvers use Substitute along with a high speed level to bring their HP down to 1(after the 4th sub) without taking any damage from the opponent, and then use Reversal. WARNING: this only works if you HP stat is a number not divisible by 4-so for instance if I had a Heracross with 260 HP I wouldn’t be able to substitute the 4th time. So always set your HP ev as an odd number or as a number not divisible by 4 so that you can sub the 4th time and have some hp left over for a reversal/flail. Endure revvers don't have to use this rule-Endure always leaves the user with 1 HP after your opponent lands a deadly blow. So then you can proceed to Rev/Flail. Here are examples of each:
SubRevver
Heracross@Salac Berry
~Substitute
~Reversal
~Megahorn
~Focus Punch/Swords Dance/Rock Slide
Carrying double STAB with Reversal and Megahorn
SubFlailer
Dodrio@Salac Berry
~Substitute
~Flail
~Drill Peck
~Hidden Power Ghost
Carrying double stab with drill peck and flail
EndureRevver
Blaziken@Salac Berry
~Endure
~Reversal
~Fire Blast
~Swords Dance/Rock Slide/Focus Punch
Double STAB
EndureFlailer
Zangoose@Salac Berry
~Endure
~Flail
~Hidden Power Ghost
~Focus Punch/Swords Dance
Single STAB however carrying the same variety of moves.
Pretty self explanatory-for the subrevvers set up against something slower or when it switches in until you get to 1 hp, then Salac will activate(ill cover that later) and you can sweep. With Endure, you have more to lose because someone could paralyze you while you are enduring. But Endure will have the same effect-get you down to 1 HP to sweep. Each of these sets carries a variety of moves to cover the pokemon that resist each move-for instance, Zangoose has Flail and HP Ghost, because Flail doesn’t touch ghosts so hp ghost can still keep ghosts out of the way. However this set will still have problems with rock and steel types (Aggron! but also focus punch is an option) but that’s besides the point (which is to cover as many weaknesses as you can). If you fail to cover all your weakness, then you will be walled quite quickly. Now, on to Endeavor users!
EDIT: if you want to calculate flail and reversal, use this chart
Flail and Reversal power:
0 - 4.2% HP = 200 Base Power
4.3 - 10.4% HP = 150 Base Power
10.5 - 20.8% HP = 100 Base Power
20.9 - 35.4% HP = 80 Base Power
35.5 - 68.8% HP = 40 Base Power
68.9 - 100% HP = 20 Base Power
(Data stolen from Mosh on the old forums...)
Endeavor:
Endeavor functions basically in the same way: the only two types are Endure and Substitute Endeavorers. That in mind, it’s the same thing until you get to 1 HP. Some common Endeavor user's are:
Subber
Sceptile@Salac/Petaya berry
~Substitute
~Endeavor
~Hidden Power Ice/Fire
~Leaf Blade
Endurer
Smeargle@Salac Berry
~Endure
~Endeavor
~Spore
~Extremespeed/Seismic Toss
As you can see, it's basically the same as revving, except that Endeavor will never kill so if you use it 1vs1 then you'll get killed, so it's better for predicting switches. If these sets are used properly, they can seriously mess up a team. With Smeargle, you can get 2 kills (if you have someone with a fast move like Mach Punch or Extremespeed clean up) and with Sceptile you can fry a Blissey walling your team. Blissey wont be able to switch into anything if it’s at lower then 100 HP, and with spikes she is instantly dead. Endeavor, unlike Flail and Reversal, is meant for weakening a team instead of fully sweeping it. If a Blissey gets a full blown endeavor, Raikou can proceed. It’s a different and rarely seen strategy which is quite surprising when effectively used.
Berries:
In Advanced mode, a new common thing is stat boosting berries. These berries are items that pokemon can hold, and during a battle, if their HP falls below 25%, then the berry will activate giving the user +1 in a certain stat. So for instance, I have a Ninjask which has 263 HP and I sub 4 times, all 4 are broken. After the 4th sub is broken, Ninjask would get a boost from the berry. The most common berry is (by far) Salac (which raises speed). Salac berries are always used on a rev/flail/endeavor user because they raise the speed when you get down to 1HP-so that nobody can out speed you. Without Salac, few revvers would even exist because their speed is such a low stat without the boost. Here are the Berries and their effect
Salac: raises speed by +1
Petaya: raises special attack by +1
Liechi: raises attack by +1
Apicot: raises special defense by +1
Ganlon: raises defense by +1
Starf: raises a random stat by +2(:/)
Support
some quick tips to help your rev/flailer/endeavorer
1. If the pokemon is not immune to sandstream(if its not rock/steelor ground) then always carry a weather changing move on your team and be able to check and eliminate Tyranitar from the opposing team at all times.
2. Spikes are support for anything, as they lower opponent's HP making it easier to blow fatal damage.
3. Magneton-be ready to get rid of Skarmory/other walls that may stop you
and finally,
Counters:
The #1 counter for rev/flail/endeavor is…
TYRANITAR (sandstream)
Tyranitar’s sandstream ability does damage to any pokemon that is not Steel, Rock, or Ground. And when you rev/flail/endeavor, you always want to be at a very low HP level, so a simple switch in from Tyranitar automatically ruins a reversal plan. It’s that simple, and because Tyranitar is so popular, Reversal hasn’t been seen for a while.
EDIT: this wasn't need in the analysis but scizor is the only reversaler/flailer immune to sandstorm, however lit loses the stab that other revvers have.
#2: Speed moves
If you are at 1 HP, any move that does damage will instantly kill you. Speed moves such as Extremespeed, Mach Punch, and Quick Attack always go first, so they will instantly kill you before you can use Reversal all the time. Not anywhere near as common as Tyranitar, but teams that don’t carry Tyranitar usually have one of these.
#3: Hazers/Psuedo-Hazers/spikes/whatnot
Hazers and Psuedo-hazers ruin the boost from Salac and possible Swords Dances. Spikes are evil.
In conclusion, Reversal is a very powerful move, and teams should always be built to have a counter for them or you will regret it.
is that okay or do i need more info on endeavor and stuff
