QC: Anty / Galbia / Magnemite
GP: Frenzyplant / P Squared
Stronk green blob
Overview
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When looking at Duosion's stats, its sky-high base 125 Special Attack stands out the most. It is one of the best Calm Mind users in the tier, mainly because of its great ability Magic Guard, which makes it immune to entry hazard damage and, more importantly, status, so it is a great win condition for balanced and stall teams. Its Speed, however, is incredibly low, so it needs Trick Room to outspeed anything. It's also quite frail, so it needs Eviolite to survive any hits. Its typing is also mediocre, with a huge weakness to Knock Off, and it faces some competition from Calm Mind Carbink, which has more bulk but struggles more with status, having to rely on Rest to remove it.
Calm Mind
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name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Recover
move 3: Psyshock
move 4: Signal Beam
ability: Magic Guard
item: Eviolite
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Atk
nature: Bold
Moves
========
Calm Mind boosts Duosion's Special Attack and Special Defense, making it stronger and harder to take down at the same time. Recover provides Duosion with reliable recovery, making it able to set up on attacking Pokemon without being KOed. Psyshock is the STAB move of choice and hits special walls, most notably Lickilicky, on their weaker defense. It also helps with winning Calm Mind wars with other Calm Mind users, such as Clefairy and Carbink. Signal Beam is the coverage move of choice, because it hits the Dark- and Psychic-types such as Sneasel and Beheeyem that resist Psyshock super effectively.
Set Details
========
Full HP and Defense investment with a Bold nature allows Duosion to tank physical hits from the opponent's Pokemon, as Calm Mind boosts its Special Defense. Magic Guard is the preferred ability to ignore entry hazards and the status moves that would shut it down or severely annoy it otherwise. Eviolite is the only item that should be considered, because the added bulk is too great to ignore. 0 Attack IVs minimize the damage Duosion takes from Foul Play.
Usage Tips
========
Don't let Duosion's Eviolite be Knocked Off or Tricked away, because without it Duosion lacks the bulk to set up. This set works best against stall, but it can be very successful against other playstyles after Knock Off users such as Marowak and Pokemon with super effective STAB moves are gone. If battling anything other than stall, only set up late-game when Duosion's checks and counters are gone. Duosion can't set up against all physical attackers. Pokemon with super effective STAB moves like Mightyena and powerful Pokemon in general, such as Tauros and Choice Band Basculin, can 2HKO it. What Duosion can set up on are more passive Pokemon such as Clefairy and Togetic as well as less powerful physical attackers such as offensive Poliwrath and Piloswine.
Team Options
========
Fighting-type Pokemon like Poliwrath and Throh synergize well with Duosion because they can take on Dark-types like Sneasel that threaten Duosion and can be great Knock Off absorbers. Dark-type Pokemon such as Sneasel resist both Duosion's Dark and Ghost weaknesses and can remove the opponent's Dark- and Ghost-type Pokemon. Roselia is a good teammate because it can lay down Toxic Spikes, which allow Duosion to wear down the opposing team while setting up. Duosion can also switch in and set up against some Pokemon, such as Choice-locked Beheeyem, that force out Roselia. Pokemon that can defeat Scyther are good teammates because they can stop it from freely spamming U-turn against Duosion. Examples are Piloswine, Sneasel, and Carracosta.
Trick Room Attacker
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name: Trick Room Attacker
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Psyshock / Psychic
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Hidden Power Fighting
ability: Magic Guard
item: Eviolite
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
ivs: 1 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 0 Spe
nature: Quiet
Moves
========
Although this set faces some competition from Beheeyem, Duosion's superior ability is enough reason to use it. Trick Room turns Duosion's crippling Speed disadvantage into an advantage and can do the same for slow teammates such as Throh in case Duosion is forced to switch out. Psyshock is the mandatory STAB move and is preferred over Psychic to hit Lickilicky harder. Psychic is definitely a viable move, however, because it hits most other Pokemon harder than Psyshock. Shadow Ball hits Ghost-types and other Psychic-types, such as Misdreavus and Kadabra. Hidden Power Fighting covers Duosion's Dark-type weakness and hits the occasional Bastiodon very hard.
Set Details
========
Full Special Attack investment is used to make the most of Duosion's huge Special Attack stat. Minimal Speed investment with a Quiet nature is used to outspeed as much as possible if Trick Room is up. Full HP investment and Eviolite are used to let Duosion take hits as it sets up Trick Room. Magic Guard is the preferred ability because it makes Duosion immune to weather damage, making it a great option on hail and sand teams, which are often weak to Poliwrath, as well as a great status absorber.
Usage Tips
========
Switch Duosion into status like Toxic and paralysis, because an immunity to sleep is appreciated on all teams. Keep an eye out for Knock Off, for without its Eviolite Duosion loses all the bulk it has. This set works best late-game to clean up the opponent's team when it has been weakened. This set has a hard time switching into most Pokemon due to its only decent bulk, subpar typing, and terrible Knock Off weakness, but it can switch into the omnipresent Poliwrath and more passive Pokemon such as Hippopotas and Stunfisk.
Team Options
========
Slow but powerful Pokemon like Bouffalant and Carracosta appreciate the Trick Room Duosion sets up. At least one Pokemon to take Knock Off is needed. Good choices would be Throh, Poliwrath, and Mightyena. Fighting-types like the aforementioned Throh and Poliwrath have great synergy with Duosion and can take on the Dark-types that threaten it. Pokemon that appreciate having Fighting- and Poison-type Pokemon removed, such as Carracosta, Barbaracle, and Leafeon, are good teammates as well.
Other Options
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Regenerator is a good ability that recovers Duosion's health everytime it switches out, but Magic Guard is generally more useful. Thunder is Duosion's only way to defeat Vullaby and is a generally strong move that makes quick work of Pelipper as a bonus. Energy Ball OHKOes Carracosta, Barbaracle, and Relicanth, which would otherwise be able to take a Psyshock or Psychic and hit back very hard. Thunder Wave can cripple some Pokemon that like switching into Duosion, most notably Sneasel and Mightyena. Future Sight is a powerful attack that works well in combination with a physical attacker and can defeat Duosion's checks and counters; use Future Sight as the opponent switches to their answer to Duosion, such as Sneasel. You could then switch to your Sneasel answer, such as Poliwrath. The opponent then has to choose between letting Sneasel be KOed by Poliwrath's Fighting-type STAB attack and letting their Poliwrath answer take huge damage from Duosion's Future Sight.
Checks & Counters
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**Dark-types**: Dark-types such as Mightyena, Vullaby, and Sneasel hit Duosion for super effective damage with their STAB attacks and are immune to Psychic. Sneasel can also set up a Swords Dance as it forces Duosion out.
**Defensive Pokemon**: Defensive Pokemon such as Togetic and Prinplup don't take much from anything Duosion can do, and they can phaze it out or slowly KO the Trick Room set. It should be noted that the Calm Mind set actually sets up on a lot of walls, however.
**Knock Off**: Knock Off hits Duosion super effectively and takes away its bulk by removing Eviolite. Notable users are Sneasel, Marowak, and Leafeon.
**Taunt**: Taunt stops the Calm Mind set from setting up and the Trick Room set from using Trick Room. Notable users are Misdreavus and Throh.
**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types can check Duosion with their super effective STAB moves, cripple it with a Choice item by using Trick in the cases of Haunter and Dusknoir, or set up on it with Nasty Plot or Taunt it in the case of Misdreavus.
**Strong Attackers**: Strong attackers such as Tauros and Bouffalant 2HKO Duosion with Rock Climb and Head Charge, respectively, even if Duosion has maximized HP and Defense EVs, so they're good checks to the Calm Mind set. Choice Band Bouffalant can even almost OHKO it with Megahorn.
GP: Frenzyplant / P Squared
Stronk green blob
Overview
########
When looking at Duosion's stats, its sky-high base 125 Special Attack stands out the most. It is one of the best Calm Mind users in the tier, mainly because of its great ability Magic Guard, which makes it immune to entry hazard damage and, more importantly, status, so it is a great win condition for balanced and stall teams. Its Speed, however, is incredibly low, so it needs Trick Room to outspeed anything. It's also quite frail, so it needs Eviolite to survive any hits. Its typing is also mediocre, with a huge weakness to Knock Off, and it faces some competition from Calm Mind Carbink, which has more bulk but struggles more with status, having to rely on Rest to remove it.
Calm Mind
########
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Recover
move 3: Psyshock
move 4: Signal Beam
ability: Magic Guard
item: Eviolite
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Atk
nature: Bold
Moves
========
Calm Mind boosts Duosion's Special Attack and Special Defense, making it stronger and harder to take down at the same time. Recover provides Duosion with reliable recovery, making it able to set up on attacking Pokemon without being KOed. Psyshock is the STAB move of choice and hits special walls, most notably Lickilicky, on their weaker defense. It also helps with winning Calm Mind wars with other Calm Mind users, such as Clefairy and Carbink. Signal Beam is the coverage move of choice, because it hits the Dark- and Psychic-types such as Sneasel and Beheeyem that resist Psyshock super effectively.
Set Details
========
Full HP and Defense investment with a Bold nature allows Duosion to tank physical hits from the opponent's Pokemon, as Calm Mind boosts its Special Defense. Magic Guard is the preferred ability to ignore entry hazards and the status moves that would shut it down or severely annoy it otherwise. Eviolite is the only item that should be considered, because the added bulk is too great to ignore. 0 Attack IVs minimize the damage Duosion takes from Foul Play.
Usage Tips
========
Don't let Duosion's Eviolite be Knocked Off or Tricked away, because without it Duosion lacks the bulk to set up. This set works best against stall, but it can be very successful against other playstyles after Knock Off users such as Marowak and Pokemon with super effective STAB moves are gone. If battling anything other than stall, only set up late-game when Duosion's checks and counters are gone. Duosion can't set up against all physical attackers. Pokemon with super effective STAB moves like Mightyena and powerful Pokemon in general, such as Tauros and Choice Band Basculin, can 2HKO it. What Duosion can set up on are more passive Pokemon such as Clefairy and Togetic as well as less powerful physical attackers such as offensive Poliwrath and Piloswine.
Team Options
========
Fighting-type Pokemon like Poliwrath and Throh synergize well with Duosion because they can take on Dark-types like Sneasel that threaten Duosion and can be great Knock Off absorbers. Dark-type Pokemon such as Sneasel resist both Duosion's Dark and Ghost weaknesses and can remove the opponent's Dark- and Ghost-type Pokemon. Roselia is a good teammate because it can lay down Toxic Spikes, which allow Duosion to wear down the opposing team while setting up. Duosion can also switch in and set up against some Pokemon, such as Choice-locked Beheeyem, that force out Roselia. Pokemon that can defeat Scyther are good teammates because they can stop it from freely spamming U-turn against Duosion. Examples are Piloswine, Sneasel, and Carracosta.
Trick Room Attacker
########
name: Trick Room Attacker
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Psyshock / Psychic
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Hidden Power Fighting
ability: Magic Guard
item: Eviolite
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
ivs: 1 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 0 Spe
nature: Quiet
Moves
========
Although this set faces some competition from Beheeyem, Duosion's superior ability is enough reason to use it. Trick Room turns Duosion's crippling Speed disadvantage into an advantage and can do the same for slow teammates such as Throh in case Duosion is forced to switch out. Psyshock is the mandatory STAB move and is preferred over Psychic to hit Lickilicky harder. Psychic is definitely a viable move, however, because it hits most other Pokemon harder than Psyshock. Shadow Ball hits Ghost-types and other Psychic-types, such as Misdreavus and Kadabra. Hidden Power Fighting covers Duosion's Dark-type weakness and hits the occasional Bastiodon very hard.
Set Details
========
Full Special Attack investment is used to make the most of Duosion's huge Special Attack stat. Minimal Speed investment with a Quiet nature is used to outspeed as much as possible if Trick Room is up. Full HP investment and Eviolite are used to let Duosion take hits as it sets up Trick Room. Magic Guard is the preferred ability because it makes Duosion immune to weather damage, making it a great option on hail and sand teams, which are often weak to Poliwrath, as well as a great status absorber.
Usage Tips
========
Switch Duosion into status like Toxic and paralysis, because an immunity to sleep is appreciated on all teams. Keep an eye out for Knock Off, for without its Eviolite Duosion loses all the bulk it has. This set works best late-game to clean up the opponent's team when it has been weakened. This set has a hard time switching into most Pokemon due to its only decent bulk, subpar typing, and terrible Knock Off weakness, but it can switch into the omnipresent Poliwrath and more passive Pokemon such as Hippopotas and Stunfisk.
Team Options
========
Slow but powerful Pokemon like Bouffalant and Carracosta appreciate the Trick Room Duosion sets up. At least one Pokemon to take Knock Off is needed. Good choices would be Throh, Poliwrath, and Mightyena. Fighting-types like the aforementioned Throh and Poliwrath have great synergy with Duosion and can take on the Dark-types that threaten it. Pokemon that appreciate having Fighting- and Poison-type Pokemon removed, such as Carracosta, Barbaracle, and Leafeon, are good teammates as well.
Other Options
########
Regenerator is a good ability that recovers Duosion's health everytime it switches out, but Magic Guard is generally more useful. Thunder is Duosion's only way to defeat Vullaby and is a generally strong move that makes quick work of Pelipper as a bonus. Energy Ball OHKOes Carracosta, Barbaracle, and Relicanth, which would otherwise be able to take a Psyshock or Psychic and hit back very hard. Thunder Wave can cripple some Pokemon that like switching into Duosion, most notably Sneasel and Mightyena. Future Sight is a powerful attack that works well in combination with a physical attacker and can defeat Duosion's checks and counters; use Future Sight as the opponent switches to their answer to Duosion, such as Sneasel. You could then switch to your Sneasel answer, such as Poliwrath. The opponent then has to choose between letting Sneasel be KOed by Poliwrath's Fighting-type STAB attack and letting their Poliwrath answer take huge damage from Duosion's Future Sight.
Checks & Counters
########
**Dark-types**: Dark-types such as Mightyena, Vullaby, and Sneasel hit Duosion for super effective damage with their STAB attacks and are immune to Psychic. Sneasel can also set up a Swords Dance as it forces Duosion out.
**Defensive Pokemon**: Defensive Pokemon such as Togetic and Prinplup don't take much from anything Duosion can do, and they can phaze it out or slowly KO the Trick Room set. It should be noted that the Calm Mind set actually sets up on a lot of walls, however.
**Knock Off**: Knock Off hits Duosion super effectively and takes away its bulk by removing Eviolite. Notable users are Sneasel, Marowak, and Leafeon.
**Taunt**: Taunt stops the Calm Mind set from setting up and the Trick Room set from using Trick Room. Notable users are Misdreavus and Throh.
**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types can check Duosion with their super effective STAB moves, cripple it with a Choice item by using Trick in the cases of Haunter and Dusknoir, or set up on it with Nasty Plot or Taunt it in the case of Misdreavus.
**Strong Attackers**: Strong attackers such as Tauros and Bouffalant 2HKO Duosion with Rock Climb and Head Charge, respectively, even if Duosion has maximized HP and Defense EVs, so they're good checks to the Calm Mind set. Choice Band Bouffalant can even almost OHKO it with Megahorn.
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