Hey guys, Magnemite with TRC. here bringing everyone the next Pokemon of the Week!
The XY OU Pokemon of the Week is an (obviously) weekly project in the Overused forum. The idea originated from when we were reading many of the discussion threads, often the discussion is a bit lacking in the content department. Our goal here to is to highlight a threat in the metagame that isn't as well known, or isn't used as much as it should be, and provide a concise amount of information about that Pokemon; this will encourage creativity during teambuilding, and it will also provide an instant wealth of knowledge about that particular threat. This will hopefully be more helpful to the massive influx of new players in the OU subforum and promote better discussion within the individual threads. In this thread though, the main point of discussion should be about experiences with that particular Pokemon and the sets featured, and how it has helped in some way during your battling. Niche sets and gimmicks can be mentioned as well, but bear in mind that this thread is mainly an informative source of knowledge through what is written in the OP; discussion is not its main focus, though it is most certainly allowed. we need to make this point clear. Think of this like an article introducing you to a new threat that you can use; and try it out! Oh yeah, you can also VM one of us what you think the next POTW should be, bearing in mind that they will be on lesser-used threats, such as Chesnaught, Krookodile, or Cofagrigus.
Remember, in order to be Pokemon of the Week, a Pokemon must be in a tier below OU (Including BL), based on the new 1760 stats. Due to the policy change occurring at the same time as us creating this Pokemon of the Week, this Pokemon is currently OU.
Art by The (phenomenal)Mega Lotad.
Type: Water
Base Stats: 100 HP / 100 Atk / 100 Def / 100 SpA / 100 SpD / 100 Spe
Ability: Hydration
Introduction
Boasting access to the almost exclusive Tail Glow, Manaphy is one of very few Pokemon in the game that can boost their Special Attack by 3 stages in one turn. This combined with Manaphy's balanced stat spread means that Manaphy is a fearsome special attacker that can often find opportunities to set up thanks to its natural bulk. If you want to setup in a similar manner but you have a preference for bulk, you always have Calm Mind at your disposal, and even Rain Dance which will benefit Manaphy greatly, as it means that it can fully recover and wake up in one turn by using Rest. It has excellent coverage with its STAB move of choice and a selection of Ice Beam, Energy Ball, and Psychic.
Unfortunately, Manaphy is held back by its average Speed stat, which means it can be revenge killed by almost any moderately fast attacker with some sort of super effective coverage. Its bulk slightly remedies this, but it is still an issue. It also has trouble with some relatively common Pokemon depending on what coverage move it runs in the last slot, and its Special Attack is quite underwhelming should Manaphy not find an opportunity to set up.
What to try:
Manaphy @ Leftovers / Life Orb
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Tail Glow
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Psychic / Energy Ball
This set takes advantage of Manaphy's access to the rare Tail Glow, one of the best setup moves in the game. The use of it will boost Manaphy's Special Attack by 3 stages, which means its STAB and coverage moves will be able to heavily dent, and most likely OHKO the opponent. The STAB move of choice is Surf, as it is powerful and accurate. If you want to, you can use Scald instead of Surf to ward physical attackers off with the threat of a burn. It must be noted that it is less powerful than Surf though. Ice Beam provides excellent coverage, as it is super effective against the Grass- and Dragon-types that resist Surf. The final slot is an important choice. Psychic is used for Mega Venusaur, while Energy Ball is used for Rotom-W, Gastrodon, and Quagsire. Psychic will KO Rotom-W after a bit of prior damage, but if you prefer to always be able to safely KO it, use Energy Ball. Bear in mind that Mega Venusaur is a big threat to Manaphy that don't run Psychic. The item choice is basically dependent on whether power or longevity matter the most, but a Wacan Berry is a cool choice to lure Thundurus and hit it with Ice Beam, while a Rindo Berry does the same to Mega Venusaur if you aren't running Psychic. The EV spread is obvious, but if you are looking for a Speed benchmark to be at to invest more in bulk, try this alternate EV spread: 90 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 162 Spe, as with a Modest nature you can outspeed Adamant Excadrill. The Timid nature is to outspeed Pokemon below base 100 Speed, and tie with ones that are exactly base 100.
Manaphy @ Life Orb
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Rain Dance
- Scald
With Manaphy's good bulk, it can easily set up Calm Minds, further increasing its bulk as well as its offensive capability. The next two moves are sort of an excerpt from Manaphy last gen, as Rain Dance not only boosts Manaphy's STAB but it also means that Manaphy can use Rest to recover to full health, and then wake up, ready to set up more Calm Minds. Scald is the choice as the STAB option, as it allows Manaphy to break through foes that resist it with the possible burn. The amount of Speed invested is enough to outspeed neutral natured base 70s, with the rest put into physical bulk. With Life Orb, Manaphy can 2HKO even Chansey with Surf, the premier special wall of the tier.
What else can you try?
If you want to have more power while still performing in the same way as the second Manaphy set, then try Tail Glow instead of Calm Mind. Manaphy's signature move, Heart Swap, is an interesting way of playing with Manaphy as it allows you to steal an opponents boosts. Finally, U-turn can be used with Rain Dance to generate momentum for rain sweepers such as Kabutops, Kingdra, and Tornadus-T.
Good Partners for this Pokemon:
Manaphy has naturally low Speed, but with Sticky Web in play, Manaphy will be able to easily clean through teams after a boost. Galvantula is actually the best choice here as it is faster than Garchomp, a threat to Manaphy, and can KO it with Hidden Power Ice. Terrakion, Conkeldurr, and Lucario are also immensely helpful to break through Chansey, something that gives Manaphy a lot of trouble. Choice Specs Magnezone is amazing as it can trap and OHKO Ferrothorn, which is another stop to Manaphy. Politoed is helpful for the first set, but amazing for the second set, as it provides rain for Manaphy to recover itself in.
Playing against Manaphy: Checks and Counters
If you know it isn't running Psychic, Mega Venusaur is able to set up Leech Seed on Manaphy, or use Giga Drain. If it isn't running Energy Ball, Rotom-W should be able to come in on a Tail Glow, survive Psychic, and Volt Switch out again, though it will be significantly weakned. Ferrothorn is a huge problem for Manaphy, as it has no form of attack against it. It can even turn Manaphy's own rain into an advantage. Chansey and Blissey completely wall it even after a Tail Glow, and can cripple it with status or stall it out. Thundurus and Thundurus-T can do hefty amounts of damage to Manaphy, unless of course it is running Wacan Berry. Assault Vest Tangrowth can wall it and retaliate with Leaf Storm. Finally, Kyurem-B can KO it with Fusion Bolt while not minding much of Manaphy's attacks.
There we go, that's the fifth Pokemon of the Week! Let us know whether this has helped you at all, and your results of testing these Manaphy sets on the ladder. Also, don't forget to let us know via VM what Pokemon you want to see next. All opinions are welcome, as well as opinions about the Pokemon of the Week format and any ideas you want to see implemented, as well as questions for us about either Manaphy or POTW itself. Go out there and try Manaphy now, and we'll see you next time!
The XY OU Pokemon of the Week is an (obviously) weekly project in the Overused forum. The idea originated from when we were reading many of the discussion threads, often the discussion is a bit lacking in the content department. Our goal here to is to highlight a threat in the metagame that isn't as well known, or isn't used as much as it should be, and provide a concise amount of information about that Pokemon; this will encourage creativity during teambuilding, and it will also provide an instant wealth of knowledge about that particular threat. This will hopefully be more helpful to the massive influx of new players in the OU subforum and promote better discussion within the individual threads. In this thread though, the main point of discussion should be about experiences with that particular Pokemon and the sets featured, and how it has helped in some way during your battling. Niche sets and gimmicks can be mentioned as well, but bear in mind that this thread is mainly an informative source of knowledge through what is written in the OP; discussion is not its main focus, though it is most certainly allowed. we need to make this point clear. Think of this like an article introducing you to a new threat that you can use; and try it out! Oh yeah, you can also VM one of us what you think the next POTW should be, bearing in mind that they will be on lesser-used threats, such as Chesnaught, Krookodile, or Cofagrigus.
Remember, in order to be Pokemon of the Week, a Pokemon must be in a tier below OU (Including BL), based on the new 1760 stats. Due to the policy change occurring at the same time as us creating this Pokemon of the Week, this Pokemon is currently OU.
This week's Pokemon of the Week is Manaphy.
Art by The (phenomenal)Mega Lotad.
Type: Water
Base Stats: 100 HP / 100 Atk / 100 Def / 100 SpA / 100 SpD / 100 Spe
Ability: Hydration
Introduction
Boasting access to the almost exclusive Tail Glow, Manaphy is one of very few Pokemon in the game that can boost their Special Attack by 3 stages in one turn. This combined with Manaphy's balanced stat spread means that Manaphy is a fearsome special attacker that can often find opportunities to set up thanks to its natural bulk. If you want to setup in a similar manner but you have a preference for bulk, you always have Calm Mind at your disposal, and even Rain Dance which will benefit Manaphy greatly, as it means that it can fully recover and wake up in one turn by using Rest. It has excellent coverage with its STAB move of choice and a selection of Ice Beam, Energy Ball, and Psychic.
Unfortunately, Manaphy is held back by its average Speed stat, which means it can be revenge killed by almost any moderately fast attacker with some sort of super effective coverage. Its bulk slightly remedies this, but it is still an issue. It also has trouble with some relatively common Pokemon depending on what coverage move it runs in the last slot, and its Special Attack is quite underwhelming should Manaphy not find an opportunity to set up.
What to try:
Manaphy @ Leftovers / Life Orb
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Tail Glow
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Psychic / Energy Ball
This set takes advantage of Manaphy's access to the rare Tail Glow, one of the best setup moves in the game. The use of it will boost Manaphy's Special Attack by 3 stages, which means its STAB and coverage moves will be able to heavily dent, and most likely OHKO the opponent. The STAB move of choice is Surf, as it is powerful and accurate. If you want to, you can use Scald instead of Surf to ward physical attackers off with the threat of a burn. It must be noted that it is less powerful than Surf though. Ice Beam provides excellent coverage, as it is super effective against the Grass- and Dragon-types that resist Surf. The final slot is an important choice. Psychic is used for Mega Venusaur, while Energy Ball is used for Rotom-W, Gastrodon, and Quagsire. Psychic will KO Rotom-W after a bit of prior damage, but if you prefer to always be able to safely KO it, use Energy Ball. Bear in mind that Mega Venusaur is a big threat to Manaphy that don't run Psychic. The item choice is basically dependent on whether power or longevity matter the most, but a Wacan Berry is a cool choice to lure Thundurus and hit it with Ice Beam, while a Rindo Berry does the same to Mega Venusaur if you aren't running Psychic. The EV spread is obvious, but if you are looking for a Speed benchmark to be at to invest more in bulk, try this alternate EV spread: 90 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 162 Spe, as with a Modest nature you can outspeed Adamant Excadrill. The Timid nature is to outspeed Pokemon below base 100 Speed, and tie with ones that are exactly base 100.
Manaphy @ Life Orb
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Rain Dance
- Scald
With Manaphy's good bulk, it can easily set up Calm Minds, further increasing its bulk as well as its offensive capability. The next two moves are sort of an excerpt from Manaphy last gen, as Rain Dance not only boosts Manaphy's STAB but it also means that Manaphy can use Rest to recover to full health, and then wake up, ready to set up more Calm Minds. Scald is the choice as the STAB option, as it allows Manaphy to break through foes that resist it with the possible burn. The amount of Speed invested is enough to outspeed neutral natured base 70s, with the rest put into physical bulk. With Life Orb, Manaphy can 2HKO even Chansey with Surf, the premier special wall of the tier.
What else can you try?
If you want to have more power while still performing in the same way as the second Manaphy set, then try Tail Glow instead of Calm Mind. Manaphy's signature move, Heart Swap, is an interesting way of playing with Manaphy as it allows you to steal an opponents boosts. Finally, U-turn can be used with Rain Dance to generate momentum for rain sweepers such as Kabutops, Kingdra, and Tornadus-T.
Good Partners for this Pokemon:
Manaphy has naturally low Speed, but with Sticky Web in play, Manaphy will be able to easily clean through teams after a boost. Galvantula is actually the best choice here as it is faster than Garchomp, a threat to Manaphy, and can KO it with Hidden Power Ice. Terrakion, Conkeldurr, and Lucario are also immensely helpful to break through Chansey, something that gives Manaphy a lot of trouble. Choice Specs Magnezone is amazing as it can trap and OHKO Ferrothorn, which is another stop to Manaphy. Politoed is helpful for the first set, but amazing for the second set, as it provides rain for Manaphy to recover itself in.
Playing against Manaphy: Checks and Counters
If you know it isn't running Psychic, Mega Venusaur is able to set up Leech Seed on Manaphy, or use Giga Drain. If it isn't running Energy Ball, Rotom-W should be able to come in on a Tail Glow, survive Psychic, and Volt Switch out again, though it will be significantly weakned. Ferrothorn is a huge problem for Manaphy, as it has no form of attack against it. It can even turn Manaphy's own rain into an advantage. Chansey and Blissey completely wall it even after a Tail Glow, and can cripple it with status or stall it out. Thundurus and Thundurus-T can do hefty amounts of damage to Manaphy, unless of course it is running Wacan Berry. Assault Vest Tangrowth can wall it and retaliate with Leaf Storm. Finally, Kyurem-B can KO it with Fusion Bolt while not minding much of Manaphy's attacks.
There we go, that's the fifth Pokemon of the Week! Let us know whether this has helped you at all, and your results of testing these Manaphy sets on the ladder. Also, don't forget to let us know via VM what Pokemon you want to see next. All opinions are welcome, as well as opinions about the Pokemon of the Week format and any ideas you want to see implemented, as well as questions for us about either Manaphy or POTW itself. Go out there and try Manaphy now, and we'll see you next time!
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