|
-
Thick Fat
- Halves Ice and Fire damage.
-
Guts
- Attack is increased 50% when hit with a status move.
|
Statistics
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
144
|
- |
429 |
492 |
- |
| Atk |
120
|
248 |
276 |
339 |
372 |
| Def |
60
|
140 |
156 |
219 |
240 |
| SpA |
40
|
104 |
116 |
179 |
196 |
| SpD |
60
|
140 |
156 |
219 |
240 |
| Spe |
50
|
122 |
136 |
199 |
218 |
Cross Chop will hurt a lot, especially if you get that critical hit against Salamence or Skarmory. Knock Off is always a great move since it gets rid of the probable Leftovers.
Thick Fat and Guts both work on this set. Guts is the immediate choice, because Sleep Talk activates it, but with only one attack, it's not as important. Thick Fat helps Hariyama overcome its low Special Defense. You could lower the HP and / or Defense in exchange for some Attack EVs, but it OHKOs Tyranitar, and 2HKOs Blissey, Snorlax, and Regice, and you need a ton to turn that into a OHKO. Don't forget that with Cross Chop's high Critical Hit rate, they can be OHKOed at any time, even a +6 Cursed up Snorlax. The main reason would be to be able to kill Skarmory more easily. This set is significantly more effective with a few layers of Spikes on the field to abuse Whirlwind. It also counters Baton Pass teams effectively. The high Critical Hit rate of Cross Chop can scare all but Ninjask, Mr. Mime, and Celebi (killing Umbreon, Smeargle, and Vaporeon, and Scizor to an extent). Whirlwind is not blocked by Soundproof, so the only way to set up against this is if Smeargle can Ingrain. With Smeargle vs. Hariyama, you have Sleep Talk for when they Spore and Cross Chop for when they Ingrain. If you predict Spore, you have two chances to Cross Chop (once on the Spore, and once on the Ingrain). If you choose Whirlwind turn 1 of Sleep Talk, then you have forced them to delay using Ingrain, so you can continue to wear them down.
Machamp pretty much does this a lot better, as it has a higher Attack stat. However, with this, you can take hits a bit better, and you have the option to Fake Out, which is always helpful.
The theory behind this set is that Focus Punch is a strong move, and should be used whenever you aren't getting attacked. However, if you are attacked, it is useless, so you use the second move to remedy this. Counter is an obvious choice with Hariyama's absolutely massive HP. Revenge is a respectable choice, as well as being a mostly unknown move. Revenge is kind of like Focus Punch, except in reverse. It has 60 base power, which seems weak compared even to Brick Break; however, if you use Revenge on a turn where they enemy attacks you, Revenge doubles in power, to be a base 120 power Fighting attack. Counter is generally preferred, as Revenge still does very little to Pokémon like Salamence, whereas Counter will OHKO them. However, Revenge works regardless of the attack's type—physical or special. Hidden Power Ghost and Rock Slide hit most Pokémon resistant to Fighting Super Effective.
Other Options
Toxic increases Hariyama's good stalling potential and works in tandem with Knock Off. Bulk Up can let it tank physical hits, and can be used together with Counter if you want, to take a Choice Band Hidden Power Flying from Salamence and OHKO with Counter. Hariyama's massive HP will assure you survive that Salamence hit but still take enough damage to kill it.
EVs
Hariyama's HP is extremely high, so build up either of your defenses. Make it Adamant and stack Attack to let Cross Chop threaten enemies, or go even more defensive and help your other defensive stat as well. About 28 Speed EVs allows Hariyama to outspeed Swampert, which is always helpful.
Opinion
Hariyama covers all of Salamence's and Celebi's important special weaknesses, which helps a lot. If it Knock Off Skarmory's, Suicune's, or Blissey's Leftovers, you'll find out how easy they are to kill without them. Apart from that, without boosting its attack it can 2HKO Skarmory with Focus Punch.
Counters
Muk is the only thing that can switch into Hariyama Cross Chop and Knock Off without losing its item. Salamence and Gyarados are obviously good bets since they resist Cross Chop and have Intimidate to cut the damage even more. They might lose their item though, get hit with Rock Slide, or even eat a Cross Chop Critical Hit. They need to watch out for Counter too. Weezing is an good bet; it cannot beat the Sleep Talk set though, it might trigger Guts with Will-O-Wisp, and if Hariyama Counters Sludge Bomb, Weezing is dead. Skarmory's Flying moves will hurt Hariyama, and again they may get Countered. Skarmory's not really the best bet since it doesn't even resist Fighting and gets killed easily by Focus Punch or Cross Chop sometimes, but is a decent option.
Heracross can work. If Hariyama is trying to Counter it, Heracross will lose, unless it has Substitute, Bulk Up, or Swords Dance. Ghosts like Gengar only really work against Hariyama with only one attacking move (namely a STAB one).