Abhi
Professional Zoomer
Bisharp is one of the most difficult Pokemon to switch into safely, due to its access to a STAB Knock Off and other moves such as Assurance and Beat Up, which when paired with adequate team support, can be very threatening. Its access to the ability Defiant deters the use of entry hazard removal in Defog letting it pair well with entry hazard setters like Landorus-T and Skarmory. Bisharp's good defensive typing can also greatly benefit more offensive teams by offering a check to the everpresent Dragapult without having to shivving teamcomp. However, it fails to switch into it repeatedly due to its frailty. This often leads to the need to be paired with a separate Ghost-resistant Pokemon on more balanced teams. Bisharp's access to STAB priority in Sucker Punch makes it an effective revenge killer as well. Its reliance on Sucker Punch to revenge kill opposing Pokemon can be detrimental, and leads to it being used as setup fodder. Its low Speed tier also plays a part in this. Bisharp also struggles to switch in easily, although this can be played around by using pivots such as Blissey or Slowking.
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: Sucker Punch
move 4: Iron Head
item: Black Glasses / Life Orb
ability: Defiant
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Swords Dance Bisharp is an incredibly effective sweeper. Access to Sucker Punch makes it much harder to revengekill, especially with the added benefit of being able to switch between moves. Black Glasses powers up its main STABs in Knock Off and Sucker Punch, greatly enhancing its damage output on its main STAB attacks. Life Orb has the benefit of boosting its overall damage output making it a lot harder to check reliably. However, it can lead to Bisharp being worn down rather quickly, which can be detrimental for it in the long term. The nature Adamant is preferred, as there aren't any crucial targets to eclipse with Jolly. Defiant is preferred to deter any attempts to Defog away entry hazards or dual screens, that Bisharp is often paired with, especially on hyper offensive teams. Jolly is preffered since it allows it to outspeed Timid Magnezone.
This set fits exceptionally well on hyper offense teams, as it is a great abuser of dual screens and entry hazard stack. This is why other Pokemon, that fit well on hyper offense like Dragonite, Swords Dance Garchomp, and Weavile pair well with it, as they share key checks and pairing them together can lead to their checks being overwhelmed, making it easier to break through them. Weavile pairs exceptionally well, as it acts as a form of speed control for Bisharp, and it benefits from its ability to heavily dent shared checks like Corviknight and Skarmory, which can make it relatively easy for Weavile to clean. Rillaboom is also a great partner, as it greatly benefits from Bisharps ability to pressure shared checks like Skarmory and Corviknight, Rillaboom also makes it easier for Bisharp to set up by weakening Earthquakes from the likes of Swampert or Hippowdon. Suicide Leads and dual screen setters like Landorus-T and Tapu Koko respectively pair well with Swords Dance Bisharp, as they can often force opposing Pokemon to use Defog, which Bisharp can switch into and abuse with Defiant, and the latter can help Bisharp setup with more ease.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Knock Off
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Beat Up / Assurance
item: Choice Band
ability: Defiant
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Band Bisharp is an incredible wallbreaker in the current metagame. Its ability to punish any switch-in with its STAB Knock Off makes it incredibly hard to switch into. Sucker Punch makes it a very good revenge killer as well, it also makes up for its relatively low speed. However, this can be exploited once locked in to set up a Substitute or get boosts. Beat Up is a great choice, as it can heavily threaten the opposing team and possibly make it easier to break through the opposing Pokemon, although this should only be used with teammates with high attack stats because otherwise its rather underwhelming. Beat Up's ability to ignore contact effects like Rocky Helmet can be very useful, especially against targets like Skarmory and Tangrowth. It is also important to use this while more teammates are alive, as otherwise it is rather useless. Assurance is another option for the last moveslot, as it can make Bisharp incredibly hard to switch into, as its power is doubled, if the Pokemon takes entry hazards damage in the same turn. This can be very useful, as Bisharp is able to force a lot of switches with its strong STAB Knock Off against Pokemon like Dragapult and Slowking. An Adamant nature is preferred, as there aren't any crucial targets to eclipse with Jolly.
Since Choice Band Bisharp gets walled by common Pokemon such as Corviknight and Skarmory, pairing it with pokemon like Swords Dance Garchomp or Landorus-T works great, as the two can put immense pressure on their shared checks, causing them to be easier to break through. Spikes and Stealth Rock setters like Skarmory and Landorus-T can also greatly benefit Bisharp, since they can help power up its Assurance while entry hazards are on the field, as it discourages the use of Defog. FuturePort users like Slowbro and Slowking also benefit Bisharp, as they enable it offering a switch- in switch-in against offensive Ground-types like Excadrill and Garchomp, that can trouble Bisharp. Bisharp's access to Defiant helps it break through its checks like Tangrowth or Toxapex with more ease, as well as give it a free switch-in which it appreciates heavily, as it struggles to do so otherwise due to its frailty. They can also pivot against Pokemon like Dragapult and opposing Slowking, which Bisharp can help force out. These two also benefit Bisharp defensively, as they offer a switch-in against Pokemon like Excadrill, Heatran, and Tapu Lele respectively, which can attempt to revengekill Bisharp. Other pivots like Urshifu-R and Rillaboom are amazing partners, since they greatly benefit from Bisharp's ability to weaken their shared checks like Corviknight and Tangrowth. They can also help bring in Bisharp against targets like Slowking or Tornadus-T respectively, that Bisharp can force out.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
On its Choice Band set Bisharp can choose to run Low Kick over Beat Up / Assurance, as additional coverage to hit Pokemon such as Melmetal, opposing Bisharp, and Heatran super effectively. Although this makes it unable to make use of its teammates high attack stats with Beat Up or forced switches with Assurance, which can be much more useful in a game, since it allows Bisharp to use higher base power moves to break through its checks. An Assault Vest set can be utilized, as a check to Dragapult on teams that are otherwise weak to it. Bisharp can still act as a rather strong wallbreaker without the use of a Choice Band with Future Sight support. However, this set is rather niche and should be used carefully, since it can still take a decent amount from a Choice Specs-boosted Draco Meteor and can fall prey to Dragapult's possible Fire-type coverage or Will-O-Wisp.
Checks and Counters
====
**Physically defensive Walls**: Defensive walls like Toxapex, Corviknight, and Skarmory don't get too heavily crippled by Bisharp's Knock Off and can retaliate with Scald, Haze or Body Press, all of which can stop Bisharp in its tracks. Defensive Garchomp also acts as a check, as it can survive some hits and can force it out with a STAB Earthquake. However, its lack of reliable recovery can make it a rather unreliable check.
**Status**: Hex Dragapult can freely spread status like burns on Bisharp, as it doesn't have to worry about a Sucker Punch then. Pokemon like Toxapex, and Slowbro can also use Scald to potentially cripple Bisharp. However, even though Dragapult and Slowbro can survive a Knock Off after a burn, they still dislike getting their Heavy-Duty Boots removed.
**Faster Revenge Killers**: Faster Pokemon like Zeraora and Kartana can act as effective revenge killers, since Bisharp's Sucker Punch isn't always enough to KO them. Other Pokemon like Choice Scarf Landorus-T can also take advantage of Bisharp being choice locked and continues to either force it out or OHKO it. Bisharp's overreliance on Sucker Punch is also detrimental, as faster Pokemon like Urshifu-R and Hydreigon can easily revenge kill Bisharp without caring much about its Sucker Punch.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Abhi, 526987]]
- Quality checked by: [[TailGlowVM, 546123], [ausma, 360720]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
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