Because Assault Vest was brought up yet again (although AV gogoat isn't really as bad as other really terrible av mons i've seen like Dragalge and Toxicroak and Exeggutor). I'm finally gonna post something i've wanted to post for a long time: Assault Vest is not a good item to simply slap on random Pokemon.
I mean, of course Assault Vest looks pretty great on paper, and on the right Pokemon it can really be a great option because of the extra SpD boost, but that's the important part: the right pokemon. I've seen Assault Vest slapped onto a very wide variety of Pokemon that simply don't work well with it, and the thing i ask is, why?????? So anyways, i'm going to go through a list on what Pokemon make bad AV users, so you don't make the mistake of using AV on a pokemon it's not well suited for.
Types of Pokemon that Assault Vest should not be used on:
1) Frail Pokemon.
I know that an increase of bulk on a frailer Pokemon might seem good to new players, but most of the time it's simply not worth it, trust me. Usually a frail Pokemon with Assault Vest might be able to take some weaker neutral hits, but Pokemon that are strong enough can still easily break through them, and besides, there are better options for items on glass cannons anyway, such as Choice items and ESPECIALLY Life Orb.
Examples of Pokemon i've seen do this: Toxicroak, Zoroark, Cinccino, Ambipom,exploud, Durant, SHARPEDO (i wish i was joking).
these go under pokemon that might want to set up (gatr)
2) Pokemon with important support moves.
Once again, an extra increase in bulk on a bulky Pokemon might sound nice, but way too often do i see Assault Vest being used on Pokemon that have good support moves, and because of Assault Vest's drawback, these pokemon can't use these important moves anymore, most often making the boost from Assault Vest not worth it. The same thing goes for Pokemon with moves such as recover, the added durability really isn't worth it if you're sacrificing your ability to regain hp, is it? (there are exceptions to this, such as Slowking being a solid AV user despite sacrificing its ability to use slack off because of regenerator but most of the time this is a good rule of thumb).
Examples of Pokemon that i've seen do this: Amoonguss (lol sarificing spore with those offensive stats). Rhyperior, Bronzong, Dragalge, Pangoro, Cofagrigus, Reuniclus, Venomoth, Milotic, Drapion, Alomomola.
3) Pokemon that might want to use boosting moves
Assault Vest might not seem quite as obviously bad on some of these Pokemon, but trust me, a lot of the time Pokemon with boosting moves would most rather be boosting their stats to set up a sweep instead of being able to take some hits with Assault Vest, all in all there are just better things these Pokemon could be doing.
Examples of Pokemon i've seen do this: Feraligatr, Samurott, Gallade (not "terrible" per se cause it has good bulk and drain punch, but i'd still much rather use SD or Bulk Up most of the time, Drapion, Venomoth, Slurpuff.
As for Pokemon that make good Assault Vest users, Pokemon with good bulk, high offenses, and the ability to run 4 attacking moves while still being fully effective (that means not missing utility moves, looking at you rhyperior) are excellent Assault Vest users, Escavalier being a prime example.
Extra bonuses that can make a good assault vest user great include: Regenerator (dont do this if the pokemon is named amoonguss or alomomola), Draining Moves, Intimidate, Knock Off, Dragon Tail or Circle Throw, So look into Pokemon like that when looking for a good Assault Vest user (assuming they don't fit into one of the categories listed above).
I got ninja'd but might as well post anyway
