[OVERVIEW]
Yveltal fills a unique offensive support role unlike any other restricted Pokemon in the format. Its offensive power is hard to check, as there are not many popular Pokemon that resist Dark-type moves, and it can OHKO bulky Trick Room setters such as Bronzong and Cresselia. Yveltal supports its teammates with just its presence through Dark Aura, which boosts the power of Dark-type moves such as Sucker Punch, or through moves like Snarl. Its typing gives it two immunities, making it easy to fit onto teams. Unfortunately this typing is also Yveltal's biggest weakness, as it makes Yveltal weak to some of the most popular offensive types in VGC16 such as Fairy and Ice, and outside of obscure moves, Yveltal can't hit their users back super effectively. Yveltal is also weak to common spread moves like Dazzling Gleam and doesn't resist Eruption or Water Spout. Occasionally Yveltal's ability can backfire onto its own teammates, since it boosts the foe's Dark-type moves as well. Base 99 is an awkward Speed tier—while it's useful against many of the other slower restricted Pokemon, it isn't good enough to prevent Yveltal from being outsped by other crucial threats.
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Foul Play
move 4: Protect
item: Life Orb
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Knock Off deals incredible amounts of damage, even OHKOing the likes of Cresselia. Sucker Punch lets Yveltal finish off Pokemon that its other moves couldn't and helps it clean up late-game. Foul Play seems strange on an offensive set, as it doesn't use Yveltal's own Attack stat, but it does more damage than Knock Off would to Primal Kyogre, Primal Groudon, and Mega Evolutions with high Attack stats. It also makes Yveltal not as affected by opposing Intimidate. This set is relatively frail, so Protect helps Yveltal stay around longer.
Set Details
========
Life Orb boosts the power of all of Yveltal's attacks at the cost of HP, helping obliterate targets that wouldn't be knocked out otherwise. Dark Aura helps boost the power of Yveltal's Dark-type moves as well as those of its teammates. Maximum Speed is used for Speed tying with Xerneas and other Yveltal. 252 EVs are dumped into Attack, making Yveltal hit as hard as possible, and the remaining EVs go into HP.
Usage Tips
========
Yveltal is effective against many team archetypes and performs well at all points in a battle. Be careful against teams that have a Xerneas, however, as Yveltal is almost useless against it. This Yveltal set is strong against teams that rely on Cresselia or Bronzong for speed control and positioning. Being able to knock them out in one hit with Knock Off can completely eliminate a team's supporting options for the rest of the battle.
Team Options
========
Many players will try to exploit Yveltal's Fairy or Ice weakness, so Pokemon like Primal Groudon, Scizor, and Ferrothorn that can deal with Xerneas and Ice-types make for excellent teammates. Dark Aura allows partners such as Mega Mawile or Mega Kangaskhan to get a boost to their Dark-type attacks. A teammate's Swagger can be used to increase the damage of Foul Play. Wide Guard can help block powerful spread moves like Dazzling Gleam and Rock Slide. Primal Kyogre can usually pressure a lot of Yveltal's checks and counters, and the raw power that both of them bring makes it very hard to deal with. However, they both have a weakness to Electric-type attacks and neither enjoys dealing with a boosted Xerneas.
[SET]
name: Assault Vest
move 1: Foul Play / Dark Pulse
move 2: Snarl
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Oblivion Wing
item: Assault Vest
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Foul Play allows Yveltal to punish heavy physical attackers and Pokemon that boost their Attack, like Swords Dance Rayquaza and Power-Up Punch Mega Kangaskhan, and deals heavy damage to all the restricted Pokemon that naturally have high Attack stats. Dark Pulse is a more consistent damage option that hits Pokemon with low attack for more damage, isn't affected by burn or a teammate's Intimidate, and can make slower targets flinch. Snarl lowers both of the foes' Special Attack and gets some chip damage, which is very useful against Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, as it decreases the power of Eruption and Water Spout. Sucker Punch allows Yveltal to get the edge against faster Pokemon and secure safe revenge kills. Oblivion Wing makes Yveltal much harder to KO and deals good damage to Pokemon such as Scrafty and Hitmontop.
Set Details
========
Assault Vest adds a ton of special bulk without sacrificing EVs, allowing Yveltal to survive moves such as a +2 Dazzling Gleam from Xerneas and a maximum-strength Water Spout from Primal Kyogre in the rain. Using Sucker Punch on a set with an Attack-reducing nature seems strange, but it already does a load of damage even when uninvested and doesn't dig into Yveltal's defenses like a nature such as Naive would. Dark Aura is mandatory, as it is Yveltal's only ability and adds more damage potential to Yveltal's and its teammates' Dark-type moves. 84 Speed with a Timid nature allows Yveltal to outspeed base 90 Pokemon that aren't using a Speed-increasing nature, such as Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre. The rest of the EVs go into HP and Defense for more bulk, but they are very customizable on this set. Change them to outspeed more Pokemon or deal more damage as your team needs it.
Usage Tips
========
As Yveltal is good in most team match ups, it can be brought along to most games, but it has to be wary around teams that have Xerneas. Yveltal can be used both in the lead or in the back. Foul Play will help chunk away damage for a later sweep from a teammate, Snarl will deal chip damage and reduce the power of the foes' attacks, Oblivion Wing helps Yveltal stick around longer, and Sucker Punch can help clean up late-game.
Team Options
========
Prankster users such as Liepard can use Swagger to double Foul Play's damage output. Yveltal hates to deal with any Fairy-type, so Steel-types like Mega Mawile, Ferrothorn, and Bronzong are great partners. These Steel-types also help cover Yveltal's weakness to Ice-types. Primal Groudon is also a great partner, as it is a good Fairy and Electric check. A Lightning Rod user can help redirect Thunder Waves and other Electric-type moves, especially if Yveltal is paired with Primal Kyogre. Wide Guard can also help block Xerneas's Dazzling Gleam, Primal Groudon's Eruption, and various Rock Slides. Yveltal's presence boosts the power of any Dark-type move, which teammates such as Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Mawile can take advantage of to get their Sucker Punches boosted. Be wary of boosting Dark-type moves from foes, however. Intimidate support can help Yveltal stay alive for even longer, but it will cut into the damage Yveltal can deal with Foul Play. If this is an issue, use Dark Pulse instead.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
164 Speed with a Jolly nature allows Yveltal to outspeed base 100s that don't have a Speed-boosting nature. Oblivion Wing might seem useful on a dedicated support set to deal more damage to Grass-types and help recover HP, but its Base Power is low and Yveltal doesn't like giving up one of its other Dark-type moves. If you really want recovery to help Yveltal stick around longer and aren't using an Assault Vest, Roost is better. Yveltal has an interesting support movepool, with moves like Taunt and Tailwind, but it doesn't really have a free moveslot to give up for one of them.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fairy-types**: Most Fairies don't take much damage from anything Yveltal can throw at them. Mega Mawile has a large amount of bulk, and its base forme has Intimidate to weaken some of Yveltal's moves, while Xerneas uses Yveltal as setup bait.
**Ice-types**: Ice-types such as Kyurem-W and Weavile often scare Yveltal out with a powerful Ice move. Weavile can also use Yveltal's Dark Aura against its teammate.
**Speed Control**: Yveltal relies on being faster than other restricted Pokemon to deal massive amounts of damage to them before it gets hit back. While Yveltal does have enough bulk to take a hit or two, having its Speed reduced through paralysis or moves like Icy Wind turns Yveltal into easy prey for all of the high-powered attacks being flung around by other restricted Pokemon; this forces Yveltal to rely on Sucker Punch to get the first hit in. Electric-type Pokemon that use paralysis such as Thundurus and Raichu can also hit Yveltal super effectively.
**Intimidate and Burns**: Burns and Intimidate will lower Yveltal's damage output, making it far less of a threat, as it will no longer be able to pick up the OHKOs that it otherwise would be able to. Burn will also lower Yveltal's own Foul Play damage, whereas the opponent's Intimidates will not have this effect. A teammate's Intimidate will lower Yveltal's Foul Play damage, however.
**Faster Priority Moves**: Yveltal relies on Sucker Punch to deal damage to faster targets, but Extreme Speed, faster priority moves, Extreme Speed, and even Quick Guard will completely nullify the attack.
**Terrakion**: Terrakion can throw around powerful Rock Slides to hit Yveltal super effectively, take advantage of Dark-type attacks with its resistances and Justified ability, and also use Quick Guard to block Sucker Punches on its teammates.
Yveltal fills a unique offensive support role unlike any other restricted Pokemon in the format. Its offensive power is hard to check, as there are not many popular Pokemon that resist Dark-type moves, and it can OHKO bulky Trick Room setters such as Bronzong and Cresselia. Yveltal supports its teammates with just its presence through Dark Aura, which boosts the power of Dark-type moves such as Sucker Punch, or through moves like Snarl. Its typing gives it two immunities, making it easy to fit onto teams. Unfortunately this typing is also Yveltal's biggest weakness, as it makes Yveltal weak to some of the most popular offensive types in VGC16 such as Fairy and Ice, and outside of obscure moves, Yveltal can't hit their users back super effectively. Yveltal is also weak to common spread moves like Dazzling Gleam and doesn't resist Eruption or Water Spout. Occasionally Yveltal's ability can backfire onto its own teammates, since it boosts the foe's Dark-type moves as well. Base 99 is an awkward Speed tier—while it's useful against many of the other slower restricted Pokemon, it isn't good enough to prevent Yveltal from being outsped by other crucial threats.
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Foul Play
move 4: Protect
item: Life Orb
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Knock Off deals incredible amounts of damage, even OHKOing the likes of Cresselia. Sucker Punch lets Yveltal finish off Pokemon that its other moves couldn't and helps it clean up late-game. Foul Play seems strange on an offensive set, as it doesn't use Yveltal's own Attack stat, but it does more damage than Knock Off would to Primal Kyogre, Primal Groudon, and Mega Evolutions with high Attack stats. It also makes Yveltal not as affected by opposing Intimidate. This set is relatively frail, so Protect helps Yveltal stay around longer.
Set Details
========
Life Orb boosts the power of all of Yveltal's attacks at the cost of HP, helping obliterate targets that wouldn't be knocked out otherwise. Dark Aura helps boost the power of Yveltal's Dark-type moves as well as those of its teammates. Maximum Speed is used for Speed tying with Xerneas and other Yveltal. 252 EVs are dumped into Attack, making Yveltal hit as hard as possible, and the remaining EVs go into HP.
Usage Tips
========
Yveltal is effective against many team archetypes and performs well at all points in a battle. Be careful against teams that have a Xerneas, however, as Yveltal is almost useless against it. This Yveltal set is strong against teams that rely on Cresselia or Bronzong for speed control and positioning. Being able to knock them out in one hit with Knock Off can completely eliminate a team's supporting options for the rest of the battle.
Team Options
========
Many players will try to exploit Yveltal's Fairy or Ice weakness, so Pokemon like Primal Groudon, Scizor, and Ferrothorn that can deal with Xerneas and Ice-types make for excellent teammates. Dark Aura allows partners such as Mega Mawile or Mega Kangaskhan to get a boost to their Dark-type attacks. A teammate's Swagger can be used to increase the damage of Foul Play. Wide Guard can help block powerful spread moves like Dazzling Gleam and Rock Slide. Primal Kyogre can usually pressure a lot of Yveltal's checks and counters, and the raw power that both of them bring makes it very hard to deal with. However, they both have a weakness to Electric-type attacks and neither enjoys dealing with a boosted Xerneas.
[SET]
name: Assault Vest
move 1: Foul Play / Dark Pulse
move 2: Snarl
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Oblivion Wing
item: Assault Vest
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Foul Play allows Yveltal to punish heavy physical attackers and Pokemon that boost their Attack, like Swords Dance Rayquaza and Power-Up Punch Mega Kangaskhan, and deals heavy damage to all the restricted Pokemon that naturally have high Attack stats. Dark Pulse is a more consistent damage option that hits Pokemon with low attack for more damage, isn't affected by burn or a teammate's Intimidate, and can make slower targets flinch. Snarl lowers both of the foes' Special Attack and gets some chip damage, which is very useful against Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, as it decreases the power of Eruption and Water Spout. Sucker Punch allows Yveltal to get the edge against faster Pokemon and secure safe revenge kills. Oblivion Wing makes Yveltal much harder to KO and deals good damage to Pokemon such as Scrafty and Hitmontop.
Set Details
========
Assault Vest adds a ton of special bulk without sacrificing EVs, allowing Yveltal to survive moves such as a +2 Dazzling Gleam from Xerneas and a maximum-strength Water Spout from Primal Kyogre in the rain. Using Sucker Punch on a set with an Attack-reducing nature seems strange, but it already does a load of damage even when uninvested and doesn't dig into Yveltal's defenses like a nature such as Naive would. Dark Aura is mandatory, as it is Yveltal's only ability and adds more damage potential to Yveltal's and its teammates' Dark-type moves. 84 Speed with a Timid nature allows Yveltal to outspeed base 90 Pokemon that aren't using a Speed-increasing nature, such as Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre. The rest of the EVs go into HP and Defense for more bulk, but they are very customizable on this set. Change them to outspeed more Pokemon or deal more damage as your team needs it.
Usage Tips
========
As Yveltal is good in most team match ups, it can be brought along to most games, but it has to be wary around teams that have Xerneas. Yveltal can be used both in the lead or in the back. Foul Play will help chunk away damage for a later sweep from a teammate, Snarl will deal chip damage and reduce the power of the foes' attacks, Oblivion Wing helps Yveltal stick around longer, and Sucker Punch can help clean up late-game.
Team Options
========
Prankster users such as Liepard can use Swagger to double Foul Play's damage output. Yveltal hates to deal with any Fairy-type, so Steel-types like Mega Mawile, Ferrothorn, and Bronzong are great partners. These Steel-types also help cover Yveltal's weakness to Ice-types. Primal Groudon is also a great partner, as it is a good Fairy and Electric check. A Lightning Rod user can help redirect Thunder Waves and other Electric-type moves, especially if Yveltal is paired with Primal Kyogre. Wide Guard can also help block Xerneas's Dazzling Gleam, Primal Groudon's Eruption, and various Rock Slides. Yveltal's presence boosts the power of any Dark-type move, which teammates such as Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Mawile can take advantage of to get their Sucker Punches boosted. Be wary of boosting Dark-type moves from foes, however. Intimidate support can help Yveltal stay alive for even longer, but it will cut into the damage Yveltal can deal with Foul Play. If this is an issue, use Dark Pulse instead.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
164 Speed with a Jolly nature allows Yveltal to outspeed base 100s that don't have a Speed-boosting nature. Oblivion Wing might seem useful on a dedicated support set to deal more damage to Grass-types and help recover HP, but its Base Power is low and Yveltal doesn't like giving up one of its other Dark-type moves. If you really want recovery to help Yveltal stick around longer and aren't using an Assault Vest, Roost is better. Yveltal has an interesting support movepool, with moves like Taunt and Tailwind, but it doesn't really have a free moveslot to give up for one of them.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fairy-types**: Most Fairies don't take much damage from anything Yveltal can throw at them. Mega Mawile has a large amount of bulk, and its base forme has Intimidate to weaken some of Yveltal's moves, while Xerneas uses Yveltal as setup bait.
**Ice-types**: Ice-types such as Kyurem-W and Weavile often scare Yveltal out with a powerful Ice move. Weavile can also use Yveltal's Dark Aura against its teammate.
**Speed Control**: Yveltal relies on being faster than other restricted Pokemon to deal massive amounts of damage to them before it gets hit back. While Yveltal does have enough bulk to take a hit or two, having its Speed reduced through paralysis or moves like Icy Wind turns Yveltal into easy prey for all of the high-powered attacks being flung around by other restricted Pokemon; this forces Yveltal to rely on Sucker Punch to get the first hit in. Electric-type Pokemon that use paralysis such as Thundurus and Raichu can also hit Yveltal super effectively.
**Intimidate and Burns**: Burns and Intimidate will lower Yveltal's damage output, making it far less of a threat, as it will no longer be able to pick up the OHKOs that it otherwise would be able to. Burn will also lower Yveltal's own Foul Play damage, whereas the opponent's Intimidates will not have this effect. A teammate's Intimidate will lower Yveltal's Foul Play damage, however.
**Faster Priority Moves**: Yveltal relies on Sucker Punch to deal damage to faster targets, but Extreme Speed, faster priority moves, Extreme Speed, and even Quick Guard will completely nullify the attack.
**Terrakion**: Terrakion can throw around powerful Rock Slides to hit Yveltal super effectively, take advantage of Dark-type attacks with its resistances and Justified ability, and also use Quick Guard to block Sucker Punches on its teammates.
[OVERVIEW]
name: Offensive
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Foul Play
move 4: Protect
item: Life Orb
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Set Details
========
Usage Tips
========
Team Options
========
name: Assault Vest
move 1: Foul Play / Dark Pulse
move 2: Snarl
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Oblivion Wing
item: Assault Vest
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Set Details
========
Usage Tips
========
Team Options
========
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fairy-types** Most Fairies don't take much damage from anything Yveltal can throw at them. Mega Mawile has a large amount of bulk and its base form has Intimidate to weaken some of Yveltal's moves, while Xerneas uses Yveltal as setup bait.
**Ice-types** Ice-types such as Kyurem-White and Weavile often scare Yveltal out with a powerfull Ice move. Weavile can also use Yveltal's Dark Aura against its teammate.
**Speed Control** Yveltal relies on being faster than other restricted pokemon to deal massive amounts of damage to them before it gets hit back. While Yveltal does have enough bulk to take a hit or two, having its speed changed through paralysis or moves like Icy Wind turns Yveltal into easy prey for all of the high-powered attacks being flung around by other restricted pokemon, and forces Yveltal to rely on Sucker Punch to get the first hit in. Electric-type pokemon that use paralysis such as thundurus and raichu can also hit Yveltal super-effectively.
**Intimidate and Burns** Burns and intimidate will lower Yveltal's damage output, making it far less of a threat, as it will no longer be able to pick up the OHKOs that it otherwise would be able to. Burn will also lower Yveltal's own Foul Play damage, whereas the opponent's intimidates will not have this effect. A teammate's intimidate will lower yveltal's Foul Play damage, however.
**Faster Priority Moves** Yveltal relies on Sucker Punch to deal damage to faster targets, but faster sucker punches, extreme speed, and even quick guard will completely nullify the attack.
**Terrakion** Terrakion can throw around powerful rock slides to hit Yveltal super-effectively, can take advantage of dark-type attacks with its resistances and Justified ability, and can also use Quick Guard to block sucker punches on its teammates.
- Fills a unique offensive support role unlike any other restricted pokemon in the format
- Offensive power is hard to check, as there are not many popular pokemon that resist dark-type moves
- Can OHKO bulky trick room setters such as bronzong or cresselia
- Supports teammates with just its presence due to Dark Aura boosting the power of dark-type moves, or through moves like snarl
- Carries two immunities, making it easy to fit onto teams
- Biggest flaws are in its defensive typing, making it weak to some of the most popular offensive types in VGC such as Fairy and Ice. Outside of obscure moves it has nothing to hit said types super effectively.
- Yveltal is also weak to common spread moves like Dazzling Gleam as well as Eruption and Water Spout which it doesn't resist.
- Occasionally Yveltal's ability can backfire onto its team mates as well since it boosts the opponent's Dark-type moves as well
- 99 base Speed is an awkward speed tier, as it's useful against many other restricted pokemon who are usually slower, but isn't fast enough to prevent it from being outsped by other crucial threats
name: Offensive
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Foul Play
move 4: Protect
item: Life Orb
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Knock Off is the main move on this set as it deals incredible amounts of damage, even OHKOing the likes of Cresselia.
- Sucker Punch lets Yveltal finish off pokemon that its other moves couldn't.
- Foul Play seems strange on an offensive set as it doesn't use Yveltal's own attack stat, but it does more damage to primals and high-attack mega pokemon than Knock off would. It also makes Yveltal not as affected by intimidates.
- This Yveltal is more frail than its supporting set, so Protect helps it stick around longer.
Set Details
========
- Life Orb boosts the power of all of Yveltal's attacks at the cost of HP, helping obliterate targets that wouldn't be knocked out otherwise.
- Dark Aura helps to boost the power of Yveltal's Dark-type moves as well as its teammates.
- Maximum speed is used for speed tying with xerneas and other yveltal
- 252 Evs are dumped into attack making Yveltal hit as hard as possible and the remaing EVs go into HP.
Usage Tips
========
- Yveltal is effective against many team archetypes and is effective at all points in a battle. Be careful against teams that have a Xerneas, however, as Yveltal is almost useless against it.
- This Yveltal set is strong against teams that rely on Cresselia or Bronzong for speed control and positioning. Being able to knock them out in one hit with Knock Off can completely eliminate a team's supporting options for the rest of the battle.
Team Options
========
- Many players will try to exploit Yveltal's Fairy or Ice weakness so pokemon like Primal Groudon, Scizor, and Ferrothorn who can deal with Xerneas or other ice-types make for excellent teammates.
- A teammate's Swagger can be used to increase the damage of Foul Play.
- Dark Aura allows your teammates to get a boost to their Dark-type attacks. So when combined with a Pokemon like Mega Mawile or Mega Kangaskhan who enjoy having a boosted Sucker Punch alongside any stat boost they have produce themselves allows you to overwhelm an opponent.
- Wide guard can help block powerful spread moves like dazzling gleam or rock slide.
- Primal Kyogre can usually pressure a lot of Yveltal's Checks and Counters and the raw power that both of them bring makes it very hard to deal with. However they both have a weakness to electric attacks and neither enjoys dealing with a boosted Xerneas.
name: Assault Vest
move 1: Foul Play / Dark Pulse
move 2: Snarl
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Oblivion Wing
item: Assault Vest
ability: Dark Aura
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
- Foul Play allows Yveltal to punish heavy physical attackers and Pokemon that boost their attack, like Swords Dance Rayquaza and Power-up Punch Mega Kangaskhan, and deals heavy damage to all the restricted pokemon that naturally have high attack stats
- Dark pulse is a more consistent damage option that hits pokemon with low attack for more damage, isn't affected by burn or a teammate's intimidate, and can flinch slower targets
- Snarl lowers both of the opponents special attack and gets some chip damage, which is very useful against pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Kyogre as it lowers their special attack and decreases the power of Eruption and Water Spout respectively.
- Sucker Punch allows Yveltal to get the edge against faster pokemon and secure safe revenge kills.
- Oblivion wing makes Yveltal much harder to kill and deals good damage to pokemon such as Scrafty and Hitmontop
Set Details
========
- Assault Vest adds a ton of special bulk without sacrificing EVs, allowing you to survive moves such as a +2 dazzling gleam from xerneas and a maximum strength water spout from primal kyogre in the rain
- Using Sucker Punch on a set with an attack-reducing nature seems strange, but it already does a load of damage even when uninvested and doesn't dig into Yveltal's defenses like a nature such as Naive would.
- Dark Aura is mandatory as it is Yveltal's only ability but it does have the amazing perk of being able to add more damage to your Dark-type moves as well as your teammates.
- 84 speed with a Timid nature allows Yveltal to outspeed base 90 pokemon that aren't using a speed-increasing nature, such as the primals
- The rest of the EVs go into HP and defense for more bulk, but they are very customizable on this set. Change them to outspeed more pokemon or deal more damage as your team needs it
Usage Tips
========
- As Yveltal is good in most team matchups, it can be brought along to most games, but it has to be wary around teams that have Xerneas
- Yveltal can be used as both a lead and in the back. Foul play will help chunk away damage for a later sweep from a teammate, Snarl will deal chip damage and reduce the power of the opponents' attacks, oblivion wing helps it stick around longer, and sucker punch can help clean up late-game.
Team Options
========
- Prankster users such as Liepard can use Swagger to double Foul Play's damage output.
- Yveltal hates to deal with any Fairy-type so Steel-types like Mega Mawile, Ferrothorn and Bronzong are great partners for Yveltal. These steel-types also help cover Yveltal's weakness to ice-types. Primal Groudon is also a great partner as it is a good fairy-type and electric-type check.
- Yveltal's presence boosts the power of any dark-type move so teammates such as Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Mawile can abuse this to get their Sucker Punches boosted. Be wary of boosting dark-type moves from the opponent, however.
- Wide Guard can also help block Xerneas's Dazzling Gleam, Primal Groudon's Eruption and various Rock Slides.
- Intimidate support can help this Yveltal stay alive for even longer, but it will cut into the damage yveltal can deal with foul play. If this is an issue, use dark pulse instead
- A lightning rod user can help redirect away thunder waves and other electric-type moves, especially if Yveltal is paired with primal kyogre
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
- 164 speed with a Jolly nature allows it to outspeed base 100's that don't have a speed boosting nature.
- Oblivion Wing might seem useful on a support set to deal more damage to grass-types and help recover HP, but its base power is weak and Yveltal doesn't like giving up one of its other dark-type moves. If you really want recovery to help Yveltal stick around longer, Roost is better.
- An assault vest can be useful on bulkier sets, allowing Yveltal to even survive a +2 Dazzling Gleam from opposing xerneas.
- Yveltal has an interesting support movepool, with moves like Taunt and Tailwind, but it doesn't really have a free moveslot to give up for one of them.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fairy-types** Most Fairies don't take much damage from anything Yveltal can throw at them. Mega Mawile has a large amount of bulk and its base form has Intimidate to weaken some of Yveltal's moves, while Xerneas uses Yveltal as setup bait.
**Ice-types** Ice-types such as Kyurem-White and Weavile often scare Yveltal out with a powerfull Ice move. Weavile can also use Yveltal's Dark Aura against its teammate.
**Speed Control** Yveltal relies on being faster than other restricted pokemon to deal massive amounts of damage to them before it gets hit back. While Yveltal does have enough bulk to take a hit or two, having its speed changed through paralysis or moves like Icy Wind turns Yveltal into easy prey for all of the high-powered attacks being flung around by other restricted pokemon, and forces Yveltal to rely on Sucker Punch to get the first hit in. Electric-type pokemon that use paralysis such as thundurus and raichu can also hit Yveltal super-effectively.
**Intimidate and Burns** Burns and intimidate will lower Yveltal's damage output, making it far less of a threat, as it will no longer be able to pick up the OHKOs that it otherwise would be able to. Burn will also lower Yveltal's own Foul Play damage, whereas the opponent's intimidates will not have this effect. A teammate's intimidate will lower yveltal's Foul Play damage, however.
**Faster Priority Moves** Yveltal relies on Sucker Punch to deal damage to faster targets, but faster sucker punches, extreme speed, and even quick guard will completely nullify the attack.
**Terrakion** Terrakion can throw around powerful rock slides to hit Yveltal super-effectively, can take advantage of dark-type attacks with its resistances and Justified ability, and can also use Quick Guard to block sucker punches on its teammates.
Last edited:
