
BUMP
I beg to differ.Deoxys-S is best used as a hazard-setter or a dual screener, not an all-out attacker.
4 Atk Life Orb Azelf Knock Off vs. 0 HP / 0 Def (custom): 110-131 (32.25 - 38.41%) -- 97.95% chance to 3HKOIn short, none of the Pokémon you mentioned have the same role or even close to the same Attack and wall-breaking power as Azelf. Also, Azelf gets almost no set-up opportunities with Nasty Plot and is prone to being revenge killed by priority and revenge killers, which is why it's not posted in the analysis.
Psycho Boost, even with the drop, can realistically 2HKO most targets, not to mention Deoxys-S's ability to switch to Superpower to finish off a threat. Azelf's STABs do grant it greater staying power....which it still doesn't really have because it's really frail and cannot afford to take hits, even from walls; this being the main reason I suggested Nasty Plot, so it can actually wallbreak better with its coverage + Psyshock, and it doesn't face much, if any, competition doing so. I admit I missed out on Ferro and SDef Skarm, though Deoxys-S still has Superpower for the former at least.Psycho boost is stronger initially, however it has poorer wall breaking potential considering the drops that all of its moves incur, 2 Azelf Psychics are far strnger than 2 Deo-S Psycho Boosts. Fire blast is not merely for targets with strong priority such as those, it hits defensive steel types like Ferrothorn, or Sdef Skarm.
Anyways, the biggest reason I bothered to try azelf is species clause. Deo is a better all out attacker in most places, but, it's also a really damn good hazards lead meaning that if you want to run Deo as a hazard setting pokemon, considering it's one of the best at this, and as an offensive poke then subbing Deo-S for Azelf gives it a niche.
I forgot about Knock Off. Yes, I see your points. OK. Just pretend I said nothingI don't really see a point in dual screens or Lead when Deo and Cress exist. Deo does it faster and better in nearly every way, Cress does screens more reliably. Azelf is the only screens + boom that has any speed but this kind of thing is such a negligible niche It is not worth a set. As for Choice Band I'm not exactly sold on this set either. The metagame definitely has a phsically defensive bias. Rotom-W, Mandibuzz, Skarmory, Clefable, Landorus-therian, these are some of the most popular defensive pokemon for balanced teams right now, and they all tend to go with physically defensive spreads as the biggests threats in the meta are physically offensive. As well, will o wisp use is beyond prominent. Knowing this it doesnt seem to be wise at all to take a pokemon with a perfectly balanced mixed attacking stats, whose special moves have greater power than physical, and making it a purely physical pokemon. Why zen headbutt when Psychic is going to damage more in general? Why Fire punch when Fire blast is strnger? Azelf has no special ice move, however it doesnt need it, Psychic 2HKOs the typical ice beam targets like Garchomp, and Lando.
Azelf's defensive attributes are non existent outside of levitate really, it isnt paper frail, but it can rarely be brought in on direct attacks due to nearly no resistances. With this it's hard to justify a choice set just because if you predict incorrectly, or the opponent has a good wall for all your moves youre going to do nearly nothing the whole battle. This is the exact same kind of pokemon Greninja, 3 attack Gengar, Infernape, and to an extent Thundurus is. Fast, kinda frail, but great coverage so a bit hard to handle. A choice item takes away its "hard to handle" nature. On top of this choice users tend to need to be "nukes" to be good. Terrakion is running with 120 base power STAB, azelf is running with 80. Zen headbutt is just too easy to switch into to be that good.
The only use I see in a CB set is that you act more of a "utility band" than a wall breaking choiced attacker. Trick can mess with some counters (sup defensive heatran?), Knock off from CB hurts, as does explosion, and u-turn. These kinds of moves dont just muscle past the opponent, they cause item loss, or create momentum.
- Zen Headbutt
- Knock Off / Trick
- Explosion / U-turn
- Fire Blast
Zen headbutt, you need STAB. Knock off and Trick together can be a bit inflexible, if you trick your band to heatran you dont want to spam knock off as you might knock that band off, ettc blah blah. U-turn or explosion create switch advantage, Explosion frickin hurts, but uturn hits dark types and lets you not die. Explosion gets the primary slash because if I was using that set with u-turn and knock off im pretty sure id rather just use the mixed life orb set! Fire blast to hit steels, its better htan fire punch
4 SpA Azelf Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Skarmory: 258-304 (77.2 - 91%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Azelf Fire Punch vs. 252 HP / 232+ Def Skarmory: 138-164 (41.3 - 49.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 SpA Azelf Fire Blast vs. 32 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 258-304 (92.4 - 108.9%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Azelf Fire Punch vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Bisharp: 238-282 (85.3 - 101%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
This is all I would consider for Choice Band, go test it OP. I wouldnt bother though, the life orb set is probably going to be much better. It beats more pokes, just it has weaker physical attacks.
I remember saying this, completely forgetting about Mew in the process, as it boasts not only Nasty Plot and sufficient Speed, but a better wallbreaking movepool (Aura Sphere) and far better bulk for setting up. Actually, why wouldn't I just use Mew over Azelf in general? It does everything Azelf canI suggested Nasty Plot, so it can actually wallbreak better with its coverage + Psyshock, and it doesn't face much, if any, competition doing so
Azelf likely has some niche in the meta
it can do even that normal gem explosion was premier set of Mew in Gen V.It does everything Azelf can (bar Exploding),
Having Aura Sphere isn't a huge advantage when both of your attacking stats are 25 STAT POINTS LOWER than Azelf's, and your Speed is 15 STAT POINTS LOWER THAN AZELF. That right there is enough to disprove that Mew outclasses Azelf. In fact, Azelf outclasses Mew as a sheer wall-breaker. Also, like Fuzznip said, Deoxys-D functions as more of a revenge killer, while Azelf is a wall-breaker.I remember saying this, completely forgetting about Mew in the process, as it boasts not only Nasty Plot and sufficient Speed, but a better wallbreaking movepool (Aura Sphere) and far better bulk for setting up. Actually, why wouldn't I just use Mew over Azelf in general? It does everything Azelf can(bar Exploding), plus it isn't that much slower or weaker, nor is it frail as shit. Forget Deoxys-S, Mew is the one that truly outclasses Azelf.
Fuzznip Azelf relies less on Nasty Plot to break walls, but that doesn't mean it can do so easily with an unboosted set such as this one. Actually I'm not sure if this Azelf is designed to be a wallbreaker as you say it is, more of your generic all-out attacker with disrupting potential in Knock Off + U-turn. That said, Azelf is a better user of Knock Off + U-turn than Mew due to its better all out attacking power, though it's not like Mew's bulk + Taunt and recovery aren't advantages of their own. Since Azelf rarely OHKOes its bulkier targets (even Gliscor for example!), it is trading one-for-one blows with them, and when coupled with its frailty Azelf usually isn't coming out that much better, and must tread carefully if it wants to cripple more than just one Pokemon.
I don't see why Azelf and Mew aren't at least a bit comparable, considering Mew can replicate literally every moveset Azelf tries to pull (for better or worse :I).Also, please stop comparing Azelf to Mew. That's like comparing apples to oranges; they are nothing alike. Mew's bulk is great, it can take advantage of that in its own ways. Likewise, Azelf's Speed and offenses are great, so it can take advantage of that in its own ways. So to reiterate yet again, Mew and Deoxys-S do not play the same way as Azelf should be played in the slightest sense. That's enough.
Your argument that Azelf can't OHKO bulky targets is absurd as well. Of course Azelf isn't going to be one-shotting Landorus-T or Gliscor with Psychic, just like any other generic offensive attacker in the tier. You're acting as if Azelf is supposed to be killing everything when it's in, but that's not how the game should be played. Anyways, I can say the same exact thing you said to literally any other relatively frail attacker in OU, such as Deoxys-S, because "when coupled with its frailty [Deoxys-S] usually isn't coming out that much better, and must tread carefully if it wants to cripple more than just one Pokemon."
Oh, and just to clarify, I'm not saying that Azelf is a stellar Pokemon, because it's not. However, it does have a few unique tools that can make it stand out in OU, which is why I'd like to see it get an analysis.
Only switch Azelf in on moves it resists or after foddering a Pokémon, as Azelf's defenses often let it down.
This set, though certainly not necessary, works well in a VoltTurn core. Pokemon like Rotom-W and Scizor make core members.
Fighting types like Lucario and AV Conkeldurr are good teammates because they counter the Dark-types that plague Azelf.
Wall-breakers like Kyurem-B and MixMence make great partners because they tear holes in the opposing team for Azelf to take advantage of.
Azelf can run a suicide lead set like it did in DPP, however, other, faster Pokemon generally outclass Azelf in this role like Greninja, Aerodactyl, and Deoxys-S.
Special walls with physical investment like the pink blobs and Florges make good counters to Azelf because they can shrug off Azelf's hits, even Psyshock, and proceed to Toxic/Seismic Toss, or in Florges' case, Moonblast.
Dice you don't seem to have a badge, is this a troll?༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ qc rejected 3/3 ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ