[OVERVIEW]
Inteleon's Speed tier and sky-high Special Attack make it a formidable threat in NU. Not only is it blazing fast, but with Choice Specs, it's also quite powerful and can 2HKO many common special walls like Alolan Muk, Copperajah, and Assault Vest Galarian Slowbro on the switch with Hydro Pump. Even when facing Water-immune Pokemon like Gastrodon, Toxicroak, and Vaporeon, Inteleon still has a way to flip the matchup in its favor in its U-turn, which lets it bring in teammates like Breloom, Flygon, and Toxicroak to take advantage of these checks. On the other hand, Inteleon does face a bit of competition from Basculegion and Paldean Tauros-W, as the former can switch up its moves because it largely uses Mystic Water, the latter has Intimidate, and both have access to priority and easily fit coverage for Toxicroak; however, it isn't hindered by contact punishment such as Talonflame's Flame Body and Vileplume's Rocky Helmet and Effect Spore. It also has to deal with not being able to use its strongest move when up against teams with Water-immune Pokemon, which greatly halts Inteleon's progress-making, as it's almost always forced to use U-turn against them if it doesn't want to give up momentum.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Hydro Pump / Surf
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Dark Pulse
move 4: U-turn
item: Choice Specs
ability: Torrent
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
tera type: Water / Ghost
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Hydro Pump is the preferred STAB option due to its power, but it can be unreliable at times. Alternatively, Surf can be run for accuracy in exchange for power. Ice Beam complements Inteleon's Water-type STAB move really well by hitting Grass-types like Rotom-C and Vileplume super effectively. Dark Pulse provides Inteleon with a coverage move so that it isn't completely useless against Water-types like Vaporeon and Basculegion. U-turn allows Inteleon to pivot on even Water-immune Pokemon like Gastrodon and Vaporeon. Instead of Ice Beam or Dark Pulse, Inteleon could opt for Air Slash to better target Toxicroak and Paldean Tauros-W, but its lower Base Power means that it's worse at breaking through other Water-immune and -resistant Pokemon. Tera Water boosts Inteleon's STAB move to insane levels, but Tera Ghost allows Inteleon to avoid priority like Breloom's Mach Punch and resist Flygon's First Impression while blanking high-Base Power attacks like Mienshao's and Infernape's Close Combat.
Inteleon forces in bulky Water-immune and -resistant Pokemon like Gastrodon, Vaporeon, and Tsareena, and it can capitalize on this with U-turn, letting it bring in a threat that takes advantage of them like Brambleghast, Toxicroak, or Incineroar. Toxicroak is an especially noteworthy partner, as it walls the most common Inteleon switch-in in Vaporeon and can use it as either setup fodder or a chance to throw out high-Base Power attacks. In return, Inteleon handles Fire- and Ground-types for the former two and can easily overwhelm physical walls Flygon brings in. Inteleon is quite powerful, but to achieve any of its 2HKOs, especially those against Water-type checks like Milotic and Vaporeon, it requires entry hazards to chip away at its foes; Copperajah, Bronzong, Gligar, and Klefki all synergize well to fill this role. Even without entry hazards, however, most special walls that do not resist Inteleon's STAB attacks like Bronzong, Alolan Muk, and Assault Vest Galarian Slowbro have a hard time switching in, as Bronzong is 2HKOed right away and Alolan Muk and Assault Vest Galarian Slowbro are 2HKOed after minimal chip damage. Special attacking partners like Diancie, Munkidori, and Nasty Plot Toxicroak make for good teammates, as they greatly appreciate Inteleon's ability to overwhelm their checks. Inteleon is threatened by Grass- and Electric-types like Tsareena, Rotom-C, and Kilowattrel, so Grass-types and Flying-resistant Pokemon like Vileplume, Wind Rider Brambleghast, and Diancie make for strong switch-ins to these threats. With Inteleon's frailty, it prefers to have slow pivots like Tsareena, Dragalge, and Incineroar, as they can draw out Fire- and Ground-types for Inteleon to threaten.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Inteleon can also run a Scope Lens + Sniper set that is similar to its Choice Specs moveset except with Hydro Pump being traded out for Snipe Shot. When landing a critical hit, Inteleon can dent many Pokemon, but its unreliability makes it weaker overall. Choice Scarf Inteleon reaches a blisteringly fast Speed tier and, with its high Special Attack and U-turn, easily revenge kills many setup sweepers and can create momentum. A moveset of Hydro Pump / Ice Beam / U-turn / Taunt can be run alongside Heavy-Duty Boots to bother passive Pokemon that would easily take advantage of Inteleon otherwise like Alolan Muk, Vaporeon, and Bronzong. Inteleon can drop U-turn in favor of running a second STAB move, like Surf or Snipe Shot, alongside Hydro Pump, letting it choose the right move depending on its situation; however, losing momentum versus Water-immune and -resistant Pokemon can be annoying at times. Tera Blast Grass can be run to snipe Water-immune Pokemon like Vaporeon and Gastrodon, but because Inteleon has to Terastallize to make use of it and already has access to U-turn, it typically is unnecessary and thus isn't used. Tera Dark can be used to boost Dark Pulse, letting Inteleon have a chance against checks like Vaporeon and Milotic, especially after they've been chipped.
Checks and Counters
====
**Water-immune Pokemon**: All of Vaporeon, Gastrodon, and Toxicroak blank Inteleon's STAB attack, and the former two can take the rest of Inteleon's attacks decently well, though the latter drops to Ice Beam. However, with access to U-turn and strong coverage moves, Inteleon can find ways around these matchups.
**Water- and Dragon-types**: Basculegion and Milotic can switch into Inteleon's Hydro Pump and Ice Beam and proceed to use it for momentum, but neither of them enjoy switching in on a Dark Pulse. Similarly, Dragalge can take Inteleon's Hydro Pump decently but dislikes having to take an Ice Beam.
**Grass-types**: Brambleghast, Tsareena, and Breloom can take Inteleon's Hydro Pump and proceed to KO it with their Grass-type STAB moves, but they can't do this repeatedly. Similarly, bulkier Grass-types like Brute Bonnet and Vileplume can switch into Hydro Pump and threaten with Seed Bomb or Giga Drain, respectively; however, the former's lack of recovery and the latter's poor Special Defense leads them to being overwhelmed. On top of this, all of these Grass-types must fear Ice Beam.
**Revenge Killers**: Due to Inteleon's frailty, faster Pokemon like Kilowattrel and Choice Scarf users like Mienshao and Munkidori easily threaten Inteleon with a KO and can use it for momentum, but they fail to switch in reliably with their lack of bulk.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/powerofmemes.583607/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rabia.336073/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tuthur.369076/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/tbolt.555379/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/adorluigi.528364/
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