so if you were to pair this guy up with say a Baton Pass Scolipede... roughly how many speed boosts would it take before this guy is viable to sweep in OU? assuming a couple of sword dances as well.
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Pokémon Malamar
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I bred/trained this Malamar yesterday:
Contrary
Careful
252 HP/Atk, 4 Spd Leftovers
Superpower
Night Slash
Psycho Cut
Topsy Turvy
...for use in the Battle Maison. Pretty standard set, but I've loved the ability Contrary since it was released, and Superpower is really what makes it. However, as many have raised, I had concerns about the generally low base stats this thing has, possibly making it difficult to get the ball rolling with the Superpowers. After a lot of theorymon-ing, I realised I'd found a great partner for it - Klefki!
Klefki (nicknamed Boo-Boo Keys - hope someone gets the Spongebob reference)
Prankster
Bold
252 HP/Def, 4 SpDef
Light Clay
Reflect
Light Screen
Thunder Wave
Foul Play
Leading with Klefki both allows me to paralyze the majority of Pokémon as soon as they pop up, and set up the necessary screen(s) before subbing Malamar in at a safe point to rip it up with Superpower. Malamar's massive Bug weakness is countered wonderfully by Klefki's Bug resistance too, so it's an ideal partnership in that regard. I'm still on a streak with these guys at the Maison at the moment (and Mega Gyarados, yet to find a more suitable third Pokémon but I do so love Mega Gyarados) and am really pleased with them!
Malamar ain't perfect, and as a big fan of all things U-Turn I was skeptical at first, but I actually really quite like it!
Contrary
Careful
252 HP/Atk, 4 Spd Leftovers
Superpower
Night Slash
Psycho Cut
Topsy Turvy
...for use in the Battle Maison. Pretty standard set, but I've loved the ability Contrary since it was released, and Superpower is really what makes it. However, as many have raised, I had concerns about the generally low base stats this thing has, possibly making it difficult to get the ball rolling with the Superpowers. After a lot of theorymon-ing, I realised I'd found a great partner for it - Klefki!
Klefki (nicknamed Boo-Boo Keys - hope someone gets the Spongebob reference)
Prankster
Bold
252 HP/Def, 4 SpDef
Light Clay
Reflect
Light Screen
Thunder Wave
Foul Play
Leading with Klefki both allows me to paralyze the majority of Pokémon as soon as they pop up, and set up the necessary screen(s) before subbing Malamar in at a safe point to rip it up with Superpower. Malamar's massive Bug weakness is countered wonderfully by Klefki's Bug resistance too, so it's an ideal partnership in that regard. I'm still on a streak with these guys at the Maison at the moment (and Mega Gyarados, yet to find a more suitable third Pokémon but I do so love Mega Gyarados) and am really pleased with them!
Malamar ain't perfect, and as a big fan of all things U-Turn I was skeptical at first, but I actually really quite like it!
I definitely wanna try this out. Bp scolipede to malamar might be pretty dangerous.
You could say that about nearly every Pokemon with a decent Attack and Speed. You'd be better off passing it to any number of other Pokemon.
I was assuming that the boosts would be passed to Malamar as they are, unaffected by Contrary. I would have to test that in-game to be sure one way or the other, though.
I'm not too keen on the idea of using Malamar........he just seems to me like the word "Gimmick" given a living breathing Pokémon Form.
That was castform. Malamar is a frail niche sweeper that can hit switch ins hard while also obtaining boosts. I could easily see the scarf set becoming one of the better cleanup sets this generation and the assualt vest set could be great at sponging some hits while bulking up. Honestly, once malamar is in, the only things switching in are fast ghosts that can ohko it, and bulky flying and bug types. While malamar isnt too difficult to revenge kill, after a super power or two, its bulk is fairly significant.
Contrary only affects stat changes as they occur. Baton Pass will simply pass the stats as they are, no change.
Hammer Arm just seems ill suited to it. Besides, superpower is arguably more effective. Shame it doesn't know sucker punch.
I do agree that Super Power is a much better option, but Hammer Arm seems to be Malamars best shot at patching up her own speed.
Something that I'm surprised no one has mentioned is how well Blaziken pairs with her. Everyone's favorite flaming chicken resists Bug type moves, and takes neutral damage from Fairies. He could also Baton Pass some speed boosts to Malamar, allowing for a Choice Banded set with max HP/Def, max Atk to more easily sweep with superpower.
I use the word "sweep" loosely here, because the only thing Malamar will be sweeping without some Superpower boosts will be weakened mons.
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I honestly think Malamar will be the Beheeyum of this Gen. That is; gimmicky in singles, but decently powerful in doubles.
I don't think it's "decent" in doubles, I think it's awesome in doubles, I just LOVE a Topsy-Turvy after a Draco Meteor / Overheat / Psycho Boost (lol) / Leaf Storm, think about how great can that be.
BUT I do agree about how it sucks in singles. Well, can be awesome in NU / RU
Something I was thinking about regarding this thing.
With infiltrator's new sub-bypassing mechanic, Malamar gains the ability to use hypnosis or toxic through an opponent's substitute, and also use topsy-turvy through a sub if it couldn't before. It doesn't seem like there'd be any safe way to set up against it.
With infiltrator's new sub-bypassing mechanic, Malamar gains the ability to use hypnosis or toxic through an opponent's substitute, and also use topsy-turvy through a sub if it couldn't before. It doesn't seem like there'd be any safe way to set up against it.
While Malamar has some very clear counters, with proper support and targetting, you can quite easily clear the stage for her to pull off some very effective late-game cleanup: with a hazard heavy team (and sticky web on either side of the battlefield), often a battle can be just as simple as keeping Malamar in the wings until obvious U-Turn users are out of the way. She has a superb dual-type, with only two weaknesses that can be exploited (which can be lured out and taken care of before Malamar comes onto the field), and one of the most beautiful offensive combinations I've seen a single pokemon blessed with. Her base 70 speed, while nothing to write home about in normal circumstances, has the potential to either A: be enough for a sweep with sticky web support, or B: be enough for a sweep if the opponent has sticky web on your side of the field. The addition of Assault Vest to the metagame patches up her worrying Special Defense, and after you get a superpower off, it's going to take a couple of hits to get Malamar down, and all the while, he's picking up boosts or lucky crits. If OU is as Sticky Web heavy as it's starting to look, Malamar could be the perfect candidate to abuse it.
Currently, I'm running the Assault Vest set with Payback, Superpower, Night Slash and Psycho Cut. Payback can be a useful option rather than Rock Slide, taking down a lot of fast threats in one hit rather than two, which can be the difference between life and death for the evil squid. However, if you are running Sticky Web support, Rock Slide would definitely make the better option, as Malamar can steamroll through slowed Bugs that could happily OHKO it. Assault Vest improves her survivability incredibly, pretty much guaranteeing that SOMETHING is going to die to her tentacles.
As far as building a team with Malamar goes, Galvantula and Heatran (and other Fire or Steel types, though Heatran is absolutely perfect for the role) make excellent partners. Galvantula setting up Sticky Web changes that base 70 speed from 'mediocre' to 'just enough' for some very key threats, and can paralyze setup sweepers (which Malamar unfortunately can't troll with Topsy Turvy if she has Assault Vest.) Heatran sports a key 4x resistance against Fairy AND Bug, and can even offer Stealth Rock support, which Malamar likes; picking off a weakened opponent with her first Superpower can often set the stage for a sweep. As Heatran isn't available until December, Klefki or Carbink could happily jump in instead, throwing up dual screens and entry hazards, both of which help Malamar immensely.
All in all, while Malamar has got some problems, she can be almost unstoppable if taken into play when everyone else has already been weakened. This is the sort of Pokemon that you could build an entire team around and do very well, or you could simply throw her out to clean up the wreckage. She might not be solid OU, she'll probably settle at UU (BL?) but she definitely has the capacity to be used alongside the hard hitters of this generation.
Currently, I'm running the Assault Vest set with Payback, Superpower, Night Slash and Psycho Cut. Payback can be a useful option rather than Rock Slide, taking down a lot of fast threats in one hit rather than two, which can be the difference between life and death for the evil squid. However, if you are running Sticky Web support, Rock Slide would definitely make the better option, as Malamar can steamroll through slowed Bugs that could happily OHKO it. Assault Vest improves her survivability incredibly, pretty much guaranteeing that SOMETHING is going to die to her tentacles.
As far as building a team with Malamar goes, Galvantula and Heatran (and other Fire or Steel types, though Heatran is absolutely perfect for the role) make excellent partners. Galvantula setting up Sticky Web changes that base 70 speed from 'mediocre' to 'just enough' for some very key threats, and can paralyze setup sweepers (which Malamar unfortunately can't troll with Topsy Turvy if she has Assault Vest.) Heatran sports a key 4x resistance against Fairy AND Bug, and can even offer Stealth Rock support, which Malamar likes; picking off a weakened opponent with her first Superpower can often set the stage for a sweep. As Heatran isn't available until December, Klefki or Carbink could happily jump in instead, throwing up dual screens and entry hazards, both of which help Malamar immensely.
All in all, while Malamar has got some problems, she can be almost unstoppable if taken into play when everyone else has already been weakened. This is the sort of Pokemon that you could build an entire team around and do very well, or you could simply throw her out to clean up the wreckage. She might not be solid OU, she'll probably settle at UU (BL?) but she definitely has the capacity to be used alongside the hard hitters of this generation.
I feel like she massively benefits from sticky web. A choice scarf is generally a bad idea, because she won't hit that hard with a scarf, and still gets outsped by other scarfers, having to be stuck using superpower to get boosts, while without sticky web, she's too slow to do that much damage.
On sticky web teams, you can outspeed a lot, while against sticky web teams, you get that +1 speed, and can outspeed a lot, the problem is without sticky web, she can become far less effective.
On sticky web teams, you can outspeed a lot, while against sticky web teams, you get that +1 speed, and can outspeed a lot, the problem is without sticky web, she can become far less effective.
I think he may be right. I was really excited the first time I fought a Malamar and it hit with Superpower and got the contrary buffs... but it just doesn't have many options other than gimmicks. Malamar comes out, you know superpower is the next thing coming because it needs the buffs to be viable. Switch in something that resists/is immune to superpower and peel Malamar apart any way you'd like.
I hope Malamar gets some more interesting moves, but I dunno, feels like only a gimmick for now.
What do you guys think about a Specially Defensive Malamar? What's a good EV spread for that? I was thinking 252 Attack/HP and 252 Sp. Def... but I can't decide which. I want Attack boosted so he still hits hard, but is sacrificing that much HP going to make him bad at taking any hits? Is sacrificing that much attack going to make him bad at sweeping? I'm pairing him with a Scolipede, so he'll have some attack boosts as is, which is why I'm considering dropping the Attack EVs some.
Well, there's actually an Inkay event in Japan right now, so I'm thinking this squid has some tricks we just haven't figured out yet. GF hasn't really ever given us an event mon that wasn't useful somehow...
So i've been trying to make some sort of disruptor Malamar, and this is what i've come up with so far:
Malamar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Switcheroo
- Topsy-turvy
- Swagger
Basically, you try to switch in (avoiding pokemon with U-turn), and use switcheroo. This locks them into one move, and you're free to use Swagger. Against physical sweepers, feel free to use Topsy-turvy, and drop their attack to useless levels. Furthermore, thanks to Infiltrator, choice scarf, 252 speed and a jolly nature, you can use Topsy-Turvy to outspeed a sweeper behind a substitute (provided they don't have speed boosts) and negate their boosts.
Thoughts/tips?
Edit:
Trying to get some battle logs up:
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/oubeta-59167117
Baiting a set-up with forretress, i get up stealthrock + 2 layers of spikes + toxic spikes, and swiftly destroy his set up, without losing anyone.
Malamar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Switcheroo
- Topsy-turvy
- Swagger
Basically, you try to switch in (avoiding pokemon with U-turn), and use switcheroo. This locks them into one move, and you're free to use Swagger. Against physical sweepers, feel free to use Topsy-turvy, and drop their attack to useless levels. Furthermore, thanks to Infiltrator, choice scarf, 252 speed and a jolly nature, you can use Topsy-Turvy to outspeed a sweeper behind a substitute (provided they don't have speed boosts) and negate their boosts.
Thoughts/tips?
Edit:
Trying to get some battle logs up:
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/oubeta-59167117
Baiting a set-up with forretress, i get up stealthrock + 2 layers of spikes + toxic spikes, and swiftly destroy his set up, without losing anyone.
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