Truth be told there wasn't a lot for me to do, this was already quite concise.
Status: Uploaded. Good job Snorlaxe.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/weavile
What I did:
~made it somewhat more concise
~reworded stuff
~made Life Orb an option on the first set
~made it more up to date with today's metagame (Hariyama was mentioned like 80 times in the analysis lol)
~updated to the new format
[Overview]
<p>Weavile certainly isn't winning any awards defensively, as not only is he stripped of 25% of his health every time he switches into Stealth Rock, but he also has poor defensive stats and weaknesses to common attacking types like Rock, Fire, Steel, and Fighting. He can also be easily walled, so outside of the late-game, his sweeping potential is limited. On the other hand, Weavile's combination of Speed, Attack, and useful STAB moves can be a great asset to many teams. Is Starmie causing you trouble? Pursuit it to death. Is Salamence threatening a sweep with Dragon Danced Outrages? Not with Weavile's Ice Shard in the wings. While Weavile faces stiff competition for STAB Dark-type attacks from Tyranitar, Weavile has significantly higher Speed and access to Ice Shard which can sometimes give him the edge depending on what your team needs. Overall, Weavile can be extremely threatening with proper team support, and as such, he is a physical attacker who should not be underestimated.</p>
[SET]
name: Revenge Killer
move 1: Pursuit
move 2: Ice Shard
move 3: Low Kick
move 4: Ice Punch / Night Slash
item: Choice Band / Life Orb
nature: Jolly
evs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>At first glance, this Weavile seems to be a generic physical attacker, but he functions as insurance against many of the metagame's top threats. This is mostly thanks to Weavile's STAB Pursuit, which allows him to outspeed and KO threats like Gengar. Starmie is also OHKOed by Pursuit on the switch, letting your Gyarados or Infernape sweep with their check eliminated.</p>
<p>Weavile's STAB Ice-type attacks allow him to easily OHKO any Dragon-type Pokemon in OU bar Kingdra. Ice Shard is used on this set as it handles both Choice Scarf Flygon and Dragon Dance Salamence regardless of their Speed. Low Kick OHKOes Tyranitar, whom Weavile can outspeed even after a Dragon Dance, and hits Steel- and Normal-types for super effective damage as well. Ice Punch can be used in the last slot as a means of hitting Flying- and Grass-types harder, while Night Slash can be used for stronger Dark STAB. Choice Band is the main item choice for extra power, but Life Orb is a viable option if you wish to retain decent power and still have the freedom to switch attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Gyarados and Scizor can be serious threats to this set, especially bulky variants. None of Weavile's attacks do significant damage to either, and both can do serious damage with Stone Edge and Bullet Punch respectively. Both Scizor and Gyarados fear Rotom-H as he can take most of Scizor's attacks and OHKO back with Overheat, while also OHKOing Gyarados with Thunderbolt. Choice Scarf Magnezone is a fantastic Scizor counter, as he can come in on a 4x resisted Bullet Punch and OHKO Scizor with Hidden Power Fire. Magnezone can also take care of other Steel-types who wall Weavile, such as Skarmory and Forretress. Celebi and Vaporeon are also good Gyarados counters; nothing Gyarados commonly uses can touch Celebi or Vaporeon (with the exception of Bounce in Celebi's case) and they can KO it in turn with Grass Knot or Hidden Power Electric respectively.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Night Slash
move 3: Ice Shard / Ice Punch
move 4: Low Kick
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt
nature: Jolly
evs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Weavile's combination of Speed and power makes him an excellent candidate for a late-game sweeper when its counters are weakened or gone altogether. With Swords Dance to boost his already impressive Attack, very few Pokemon can switch in on his boosted Night Slash, and your opponent will usually have to resort to a priority move or a Choice Scarf user to take down Weavile without taking significant damage themselves.</p>
<p>Night Slash is a great STAB move that hits most types neutrally, and Low Kick lets Weavile handle Steel-types and Tyranitar. Ice Shard is generally a better option than Ice Punch because it OHKOes the same Pokemon, like Salamence, who you would be hitting with Ice Punch, but allows Weavile to always strike first. It is also helpful against faster Pokemon like Jolteon, who is always OHKOed by a +2 Ice Shard after taking Stealth Rock damage. Still, Ice Punch is an option if you want a more powerful attack to use, especially against bulky Ground-types like Hippowdon.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The item choice is somewhat difficult, and largely depends on personal preference. Life Orb is a great option if you can predict a switch-in well, but given the popularity of Stealth Rock and Weavile's general frailty, it's not always the best choice. Expert Belt gives your attacks a little extra kick and can help Weavile bluff a Choice item, but it's usually not needed because anyone hit with a Swords Dance boosted super effective attack is going to faint anyway. Lum Berry is another option, as it will let you set up against someone like Blissey, who would otherwise use Thunder Wave to stop Weavile's sweep.</p>
<p>The greatest issue for this set is Scizor due to his ability to revenge kill Weavile with Bullet Punch. Scizor can easily be taken care of by a Substitute Heatran, who can take Scizor's Bullet Punch, scare it out at the prospect of a STAB Fire Blast, and set up a Substitute to wreak havoc on the opposing team. However, Heatran fears Superpower from Scizor, so this makes Gyarados or Rotom-A excellent choices to threaten him as well. Rotom-A in particular can use Will-O-Wisp to cripple Scizor, while Gyarados can set up a Dragon Dance on Scizor's Choice-locked Bullet Punch and proceed to sweep the opposing team.</p>
[SET]
name: Anti-Lead
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Counter
move 4: Night Slash / Ice Punch
item: Focus Sash
nature: Hasty
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Weavile is one of the few Pokemon who can stop the popular suicide leads in today's metagame, particularly Azelf and Aerodactyl. Fake Out is the most important move on the set, as it allows Weavile to break the Focus Sashes on leads such as Aerodactyl, Infernape, and Azelf, while keeping his own intact. Night Slash lets you finish off Azelf, while Ice Punch handles Aerodactyl.</p>
<p>The other half of the set, Taunt and Counter, allows Weavile to deal with slower, bulkier Pokemon like Bronzong. First, Taunt to prevent them from using a support move like Stealth Rock. Now that they are forced to attack you, Counter back their physical attacks for a OHKO. This strategy also works in situations like when facing a lead Metagross, who will probably attack you from the start (so using Counter first is advised). This strategy is very risky, especially when facing dangerous leads like Infernape, but if you predict correctly, the payoff is enormous.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Low Kick can be used over Counter if you want to beat Heatran and Tyranitar leads. However, keep in mind that doing this means that Weavile won't be able to deal with some other leads as easily. For instance, it can no longer Counter back Swampert's Earthquake or Metagross' Meteor Mash. While Weavile will lose out on the ability to beat these leads, he will gain the ability to beat Heatran and Tyranitar leads right off the bat, which can be valuable if your team struggles with them.</p>
<p>The occasional Pokemon with Inner Focus can be damaging to this set. In particular, Anti-Lead Lucario can tear the set apart, and can also easily set up a Swords Dance against it. For this reason, Gliscor makes a great partner for Weavile, as he can check Lucario very easily thanks to his high Speed and STAB Earthquake. Swampert is also a problem; even if you Taunt him, Swampert could hit you with a STAB Surf, which can't be Countered. Celebi makes a fantastic Swampert counter, as he isn't heavily damaged by anything Swampert has, and threatens an OHKO with Grass Knot. However, using Celebi isn't a necessity, as most Swampert forego Surf in place of Ice Beam.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Because Weavile isn't the most powerful sweeper out there (especially without Swords Dance), entry hazards of your own help him immensely. Entry hazards can turn several 2HKOs into OHKOs. Swampert and Gliscor make great choices to provide Stealth Rock support due to their high Defense and good typing. Skarmory can provide Spikes support for Weavile, but both are weak to Fire-type moves.</p>
<p>For an offensive team, there are several Pokemon who can help deal with Weavile's counters. Starmie, especially Choice Scarf variants, can deal with Gyarados, who takes minimal damage from anything Weavile can dish out. Starmie also has access to Rapid Spin, which removes Stealth Rock and allows Weavile to switch in a bit more easily. On a more defensive or balanced team, Vaporeon and Celebi support Weavile very well. Both of these Pokemon effectively counter Gyarados; Vaporeon can OHKO offensive Gyarados with Hidden Power Electric, and Celebi can do heavy damage with Grass Knot or Leaf Storm. Choice Scarf Heatran outspeeds Weavile and can OHKO him with his STAB Fire attacks. Blissey and Tentacruel are good counters to Heatran, though Blissey needs to watch out for Explosion, while Tentacruel will not enjoy Choice Specs Earth Power. Bulky Pokemon in general are good choices to pair with Weavile, as they can soak up the hits that Weavile cannot.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Punishment is useful for taking out Calm Minders like Jirachi, as it will do more damage than Night Slash after a few boosts. Assurance can also be used if you have Stealth Rock support, but Night Slash is generally the better choice due to its greater Base Power, high critical hit rate, and general reliability. Stay away from using special attacks, because although Weavile gets Nasty Plot, he will never be doing much damage with his terrible Special Attack stat. Focus Punch and Substitute can be used if you want Weavile to pack a more powerful Fighting-type move, although Life Orb and Substitute, as well as entry hazards, will deteriorate Weavile's health quickly. Reflect can be used, but it has little utility on such a defensively challenged Pokémon.</p>
<p>Always use a Speed-boosting nature to take advantage of Weavile's great Speed stat. Maximizing Speed isn't needed, so just aim for 373 Speed (216 EVs) to outrun Base 120 Speed Pokemon like Dugtrio and Alakazam, and put the remaining EVs in HP. Max Attack is a given, because Weavile needs all the power it can get. On the lead set, you needn't put any EVs into HP, because the aim is to activate Focus Sash quickly so that you can then use Counter to OHKO the opposing lead.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Steel-types take Weavile’s attacks with ease. Forretress laughs at all of his attacks and can use Weavile’s Speed against himself by firing off STAB Gyro Balls. Bronzong works in a similar way, though Night Slash does hit it neutrally. Metagross and Scizor can also switch in without trouble and OHKO Weavile with STAB Bullet Punches. Scizor is particularly problematic as he can also use U-turn to scout your team and cause some major damage thanks to his base 130 Attack stat. Gyarados is another good choice, as he can easily switch into Weavile thanks to Intimidate, and OHKO with Stone Edge. Swampert can also come in on Weavile and 2HKO with Earthquake.</p>
<p>Beware of random Choice Scarf Pokémon when using Weavile, especially Heatran. Mach Punch ruins Weavile as well, so watch out for Pokemon like Infernape. Any Pokemon who is faster than Weavile can generally cause very heavy damage to him thanks to Weavile's low defensive stats.</p>
Status: Uploaded. Good job Snorlaxe.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/weavile
What I did:
~made it somewhat more concise
~reworded stuff
~made Life Orb an option on the first set
~made it more up to date with today's metagame (Hariyama was mentioned like 80 times in the analysis lol)
~updated to the new format
[Overview]
<p>Weavile certainly isn't winning any awards defensively, as not only is he stripped of 25% of his health every time he switches into Stealth Rock, but he also has poor defensive stats and weaknesses to common attacking types like Rock, Fire, Steel, and Fighting. He can also be easily walled, so outside of the late-game, his sweeping potential is limited. On the other hand, Weavile's combination of Speed, Attack, and useful STAB moves can be a great asset to many teams. Is Starmie causing you trouble? Pursuit it to death. Is Salamence threatening a sweep with Dragon Danced Outrages? Not with Weavile's Ice Shard in the wings. While Weavile faces stiff competition for STAB Dark-type attacks from Tyranitar, Weavile has significantly higher Speed and access to Ice Shard which can sometimes give him the edge depending on what your team needs. Overall, Weavile can be extremely threatening with proper team support, and as such, he is a physical attacker who should not be underestimated.</p>
[SET]
name: Revenge Killer
move 1: Pursuit
move 2: Ice Shard
move 3: Low Kick
move 4: Ice Punch / Night Slash
item: Choice Band / Life Orb
nature: Jolly
evs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>At first glance, this Weavile seems to be a generic physical attacker, but he functions as insurance against many of the metagame's top threats. This is mostly thanks to Weavile's STAB Pursuit, which allows him to outspeed and KO threats like Gengar. Starmie is also OHKOed by Pursuit on the switch, letting your Gyarados or Infernape sweep with their check eliminated.</p>
<p>Weavile's STAB Ice-type attacks allow him to easily OHKO any Dragon-type Pokemon in OU bar Kingdra. Ice Shard is used on this set as it handles both Choice Scarf Flygon and Dragon Dance Salamence regardless of their Speed. Low Kick OHKOes Tyranitar, whom Weavile can outspeed even after a Dragon Dance, and hits Steel- and Normal-types for super effective damage as well. Ice Punch can be used in the last slot as a means of hitting Flying- and Grass-types harder, while Night Slash can be used for stronger Dark STAB. Choice Band is the main item choice for extra power, but Life Orb is a viable option if you wish to retain decent power and still have the freedom to switch attacks.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Gyarados and Scizor can be serious threats to this set, especially bulky variants. None of Weavile's attacks do significant damage to either, and both can do serious damage with Stone Edge and Bullet Punch respectively. Both Scizor and Gyarados fear Rotom-H as he can take most of Scizor's attacks and OHKO back with Overheat, while also OHKOing Gyarados with Thunderbolt. Choice Scarf Magnezone is a fantastic Scizor counter, as he can come in on a 4x resisted Bullet Punch and OHKO Scizor with Hidden Power Fire. Magnezone can also take care of other Steel-types who wall Weavile, such as Skarmory and Forretress. Celebi and Vaporeon are also good Gyarados counters; nothing Gyarados commonly uses can touch Celebi or Vaporeon (with the exception of Bounce in Celebi's case) and they can KO it in turn with Grass Knot or Hidden Power Electric respectively.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Night Slash
move 3: Ice Shard / Ice Punch
move 4: Low Kick
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt
nature: Jolly
evs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Weavile's combination of Speed and power makes him an excellent candidate for a late-game sweeper when its counters are weakened or gone altogether. With Swords Dance to boost his already impressive Attack, very few Pokemon can switch in on his boosted Night Slash, and your opponent will usually have to resort to a priority move or a Choice Scarf user to take down Weavile without taking significant damage themselves.</p>
<p>Night Slash is a great STAB move that hits most types neutrally, and Low Kick lets Weavile handle Steel-types and Tyranitar. Ice Shard is generally a better option than Ice Punch because it OHKOes the same Pokemon, like Salamence, who you would be hitting with Ice Punch, but allows Weavile to always strike first. It is also helpful against faster Pokemon like Jolteon, who is always OHKOed by a +2 Ice Shard after taking Stealth Rock damage. Still, Ice Punch is an option if you want a more powerful attack to use, especially against bulky Ground-types like Hippowdon.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The item choice is somewhat difficult, and largely depends on personal preference. Life Orb is a great option if you can predict a switch-in well, but given the popularity of Stealth Rock and Weavile's general frailty, it's not always the best choice. Expert Belt gives your attacks a little extra kick and can help Weavile bluff a Choice item, but it's usually not needed because anyone hit with a Swords Dance boosted super effective attack is going to faint anyway. Lum Berry is another option, as it will let you set up against someone like Blissey, who would otherwise use Thunder Wave to stop Weavile's sweep.</p>
<p>The greatest issue for this set is Scizor due to his ability to revenge kill Weavile with Bullet Punch. Scizor can easily be taken care of by a Substitute Heatran, who can take Scizor's Bullet Punch, scare it out at the prospect of a STAB Fire Blast, and set up a Substitute to wreak havoc on the opposing team. However, Heatran fears Superpower from Scizor, so this makes Gyarados or Rotom-A excellent choices to threaten him as well. Rotom-A in particular can use Will-O-Wisp to cripple Scizor, while Gyarados can set up a Dragon Dance on Scizor's Choice-locked Bullet Punch and proceed to sweep the opposing team.</p>
[SET]
name: Anti-Lead
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Counter
move 4: Night Slash / Ice Punch
item: Focus Sash
nature: Hasty
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Weavile is one of the few Pokemon who can stop the popular suicide leads in today's metagame, particularly Azelf and Aerodactyl. Fake Out is the most important move on the set, as it allows Weavile to break the Focus Sashes on leads such as Aerodactyl, Infernape, and Azelf, while keeping his own intact. Night Slash lets you finish off Azelf, while Ice Punch handles Aerodactyl.</p>
<p>The other half of the set, Taunt and Counter, allows Weavile to deal with slower, bulkier Pokemon like Bronzong. First, Taunt to prevent them from using a support move like Stealth Rock. Now that they are forced to attack you, Counter back their physical attacks for a OHKO. This strategy also works in situations like when facing a lead Metagross, who will probably attack you from the start (so using Counter first is advised). This strategy is very risky, especially when facing dangerous leads like Infernape, but if you predict correctly, the payoff is enormous.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Low Kick can be used over Counter if you want to beat Heatran and Tyranitar leads. However, keep in mind that doing this means that Weavile won't be able to deal with some other leads as easily. For instance, it can no longer Counter back Swampert's Earthquake or Metagross' Meteor Mash. While Weavile will lose out on the ability to beat these leads, he will gain the ability to beat Heatran and Tyranitar leads right off the bat, which can be valuable if your team struggles with them.</p>
<p>The occasional Pokemon with Inner Focus can be damaging to this set. In particular, Anti-Lead Lucario can tear the set apart, and can also easily set up a Swords Dance against it. For this reason, Gliscor makes a great partner for Weavile, as he can check Lucario very easily thanks to his high Speed and STAB Earthquake. Swampert is also a problem; even if you Taunt him, Swampert could hit you with a STAB Surf, which can't be Countered. Celebi makes a fantastic Swampert counter, as he isn't heavily damaged by anything Swampert has, and threatens an OHKO with Grass Knot. However, using Celebi isn't a necessity, as most Swampert forego Surf in place of Ice Beam.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Because Weavile isn't the most powerful sweeper out there (especially without Swords Dance), entry hazards of your own help him immensely. Entry hazards can turn several 2HKOs into OHKOs. Swampert and Gliscor make great choices to provide Stealth Rock support due to their high Defense and good typing. Skarmory can provide Spikes support for Weavile, but both are weak to Fire-type moves.</p>
<p>For an offensive team, there are several Pokemon who can help deal with Weavile's counters. Starmie, especially Choice Scarf variants, can deal with Gyarados, who takes minimal damage from anything Weavile can dish out. Starmie also has access to Rapid Spin, which removes Stealth Rock and allows Weavile to switch in a bit more easily. On a more defensive or balanced team, Vaporeon and Celebi support Weavile very well. Both of these Pokemon effectively counter Gyarados; Vaporeon can OHKO offensive Gyarados with Hidden Power Electric, and Celebi can do heavy damage with Grass Knot or Leaf Storm. Choice Scarf Heatran outspeeds Weavile and can OHKO him with his STAB Fire attacks. Blissey and Tentacruel are good counters to Heatran, though Blissey needs to watch out for Explosion, while Tentacruel will not enjoy Choice Specs Earth Power. Bulky Pokemon in general are good choices to pair with Weavile, as they can soak up the hits that Weavile cannot.</p>
[Optional Changes]
<p>Punishment is useful for taking out Calm Minders like Jirachi, as it will do more damage than Night Slash after a few boosts. Assurance can also be used if you have Stealth Rock support, but Night Slash is generally the better choice due to its greater Base Power, high critical hit rate, and general reliability. Stay away from using special attacks, because although Weavile gets Nasty Plot, he will never be doing much damage with his terrible Special Attack stat. Focus Punch and Substitute can be used if you want Weavile to pack a more powerful Fighting-type move, although Life Orb and Substitute, as well as entry hazards, will deteriorate Weavile's health quickly. Reflect can be used, but it has little utility on such a defensively challenged Pokémon.</p>
<p>Always use a Speed-boosting nature to take advantage of Weavile's great Speed stat. Maximizing Speed isn't needed, so just aim for 373 Speed (216 EVs) to outrun Base 120 Speed Pokemon like Dugtrio and Alakazam, and put the remaining EVs in HP. Max Attack is a given, because Weavile needs all the power it can get. On the lead set, you needn't put any EVs into HP, because the aim is to activate Focus Sash quickly so that you can then use Counter to OHKO the opposing lead.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Steel-types take Weavile’s attacks with ease. Forretress laughs at all of his attacks and can use Weavile’s Speed against himself by firing off STAB Gyro Balls. Bronzong works in a similar way, though Night Slash does hit it neutrally. Metagross and Scizor can also switch in without trouble and OHKO Weavile with STAB Bullet Punches. Scizor is particularly problematic as he can also use U-turn to scout your team and cause some major damage thanks to his base 130 Attack stat. Gyarados is another good choice, as he can easily switch into Weavile thanks to Intimidate, and OHKO with Stone Edge. Swampert can also come in on Weavile and 2HKO with Earthquake.</p>
<p>Beware of random Choice Scarf Pokémon when using Weavile, especially Heatran. Mach Punch ruins Weavile as well, so watch out for Pokemon like Infernape. Any Pokemon who is faster than Weavile can generally cause very heavy damage to him thanks to Weavile's low defensive stats.</p>
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