[Overview]
<p>A few of years ago, Owl City's Fireflies rocked the Billboard charts. Now, Volbeat seems to be impacting the RU tier just as significantly, which at first glance may be pretty hard to believe; after all, Volbeat sports horrible stats and a small movepool. A mere five words may change your mind, however: Prankster, Tail Glow, and Baton Pass. Volbeat has access to all of those tools, which makes for a pretty deadly combination, especially since BW upgraded Tail Glow to raise Special Attack by 3 stages. That's more than enough to turn any special attacker, such as Rotom formes, Manectric, and Typhlosion, into deadly sweepers. All isn't good, however, since Volbeat's new niche automatically makes it Taunt bait, which is bad considering its horrible offensive stats. Worse, phazing is prevalent in RU, making all of Volbeat's hard work just disappear before your eyes. Still, if you're looking for a quick and simple way to give your special attacker a huge boost and have a team slot to spare, Volbeat may be just what you're looking for.</p>
[SET]
name: Baton Pass
move 1: Tail Glow
move 2: Baton Pass
move 3: Encore
move 4: Thunder Wave / Substitute
item: Leftovers
ability: Prankster
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Volbeat's bread and butter set, and in fact, the only reason to use it. Prankster gives Volbeat an advantage over Smeargle, the only other Pokemon that learns these moves. This set does not need to spend much time on the field, since Volbeat only has to use Tail Glow twice before its Special Attack is maximized, subsequently turning any ordinary special attacker into a dangerous sweeper. If an opposing Volbeat should get that boost against you, it's more than likely time to kiss your team goodbye. This set works best as a lead, largely because most leads set up Stealth Rock or Spikes instead of attacking, which Volbeat is vulnerable to. Upon entering the field, Volbeat can set up Tail Glow if predicting a switch, or Encore the opposing lead into a non-damaging move. Substitute can prevent status from harming Volbeat, but Thunder Wave cripples the opponent and offers a bit more support for the rest of the team, including a slow Baton Pass recipient.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Quite obviously, Volbeat must run alongside a special attacking teammate, preferably fast ones that have good coverage, such as Kadabra, Moltres, and Porygon-Z—note that Moltres is also weak to Stealth Rock. Dual screens help Volbeat get that second Tail Glow in, due to its subpar defensive stats; Uxie, Swoobat, and Claydol can provide them. Rapid Spinners go a long way in helping both Volbeat and its target, given Volbeat's weakness to Stealth Rock and vulnerability to Spikes. Claydol, Sandslash, and Cryogonal are all great choices for this role; the former two can set up Stealth Rock for Volbeat's special attacking teammate, while Cryogonal has access to Recover to keep it alive longer.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Despite Volbeat's seemingly small movepool, it still has a couple of other tricks up its sleeve. Swagger and Confuse Ray are two examples to spread confusion if Volbeat needs some more time to take its chance with hax. Moonlight is a semi-reliable form of recovery, if Volbeat needs to heal. If Volbeat finds itself being constantly OHKOed, it could use a Focus Sash to guarantee at least one Tail Glow boost. Volbeat can also be used to set up weather due to its access to Sunny Day and Rain Dance; Sunny Day further increases Moonlight's healing. Volbeat could use the Tail Glow boosts itself despite its horrid Special Attack, and it can surprise Taunt users, or use U-turn to make a quick escape if needed. If being OHKOed is not a problem and Volbeat doesn't need the Leftovers recovery, a Mental Herb could be run to surprise Taunt users. Among other things, it can run an annoyer set thanks to Moonlight, Thunder Wave, and Toxic, though Volbeat's horrible defenses keep it from posing a threat. Finally, Volbeat can Trick a Choice item to cripple the opponent and give more time for it to set up, or it can give its teammate an easier switch in.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Its main set fully relies on non-attacking moves; therefore, after being Taunted, it's a fish out of water, since both its offensive and defensive stats are poor, which results in an easy KO for the opponent. Additionally, phazers can switch in and erase all of Volbeat's stat boosts. Priority users can bypass Prankster's priority boost and attack Volbeat before it can pass the boosts, possibly KOing it. Encore users, such as Primeape, Gallade, Accelgor, can shut down Volbeat for a couple of turns unless it is Baton Passing, forcing it to switch, or risk getting KOed. Cincinno stands out as one of the best counters, since it can switch in and use either a Skill-Link or Technician-boosted Rock Blast to destroy even Focus Sash or Substitute-carrying Volbeat.</p>
