[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Calm Mind / Encore
move 2: Substitute / Encore
move 3: Psychic
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Ice Punch
item: Petaya Berry / Lum Berry
ability: Synchronize
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Abra is a huge threat with its combination of Speed and Special Attack. It outspeeds and can revenge kill many weakened foes like Quilava, Aipom, Flaaffy, and Seaking. Calm Mind makes Abra an even stronger attacker and allows it to 2HKO even special walls like Porygon and Delcatty with Psychic after a single boost. Encore disrupts setup sweepers like Anorith and Beedrill as well as defensive threats like Wartortle and Delcatty by locking them into an unthreatening move. This offers Abra more setup opportunities and can make up for its poor defenses. Substitute pairs well with Petaya Berry to ensure it can be activated and is a safer way to boost Abra's offensive power without risking an OHKO. STAB Psychic threatens a 2HKO on many common foes such as Flaaffy and Seaking, making Abra very difficult to switch into and very powerful as a revenge attacker. Hidden Power Grass threatens mainly Corsola with the potential to OHKO it without a boost but can also serve to hit Water-types really hard and KO them with additional damage. Ice Punch threatens Tropius with 4x super effective damage and can also be an option over Hidden Power Grass to hit Mightyena and Lileep slightly harder. Petaya Berry coupled with Abra’s Special Attack allows it to swiftly clean up chipped teams, even 2HKOing special walls like Delcatty and Porygon with a +1 Psychic. Lum Berry is a great alternative to absorb and return status to preserve when Abra can be a threat without the additional power from Petaya. Lum Berry is ideal when running Encore + Calm Mind and no substitute. A Timid nature is recommended to outspeed the entirety of the tier outside of Voltorb and Elekid as well as Ponyta, which Abra Speed ties with.
Abra fits both on offensive and defensive teams as a late-game sweeper and constant disruptor with the threat of Encore. Abra is at its strongest when it’s preserved to clean up late-game after its checks are dealt with or in a health range that allows Abra to KO them. This makes defensive pivots critical on any team with Abra to cover a number of common threats. Koffing can take on common physical attackers like Ponyta, Beedrill, Anorith and common Choice Band users like Meditite, Doduo, Seaking, and Aipom when they’re locked into a resisted move. Intimidate Mightyena and Normal-resistant Pokemon like Corsola, Rhyhorn, and Anorith can come in on Quick Attack users as well as opposing Abra and also do respectable damage to special walls that can get in Abra's way. Abra benefits greatly from a safe switch in due to its fragility, which makes strong Baton Pass users such as Ariados, Meditite, and Delcatty great pairings. Ariados can come in on Mightyena and threaten it out with a strong STAB Signal Beam while also taking on other threats with good coverage in Sludge Bomb and Psychic for Koffing and Beedrill. Abra’s extremely poor bulk makes it an easy target for priority users, notably Doduo, Ponyta, and Meditite. Specially defensive pivots are required alongside Abra to counteract opposing special walls that are not yet in range of a KO. Ariados can serve as a strong Mightyena switch-in and additionally functions as a slow pivot via Baton Pass. Delcatty can serve as a special wall and cleric support for Abra and other offensive threats on the team. Specially defensive Gloom and Noctowl can be great alternative options. Gloom can come in on many threats like Corsola and Mightyena and force progress with Stun Spore or Leech Seed. Noctowl can slowly wear down Pokemon that Abra doesn’t threaten like Mightyena or Drowzee. Abra enjoys being paired with additional sweepers that can enable its sweep. Options like Anorith can break through special walls like Noctowl, Delcatty and Porygon that can get in Abra's way. Weather sweepers like Seaking and Tropius can also open up Abra's offensive gameplan by putting opposing teams in KO range of its attacks. Choice Band wallbreakers like Ponyta and Mightyena can offer much of the same by damaging foes that tend to slow down Abra.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Abra has the option to run additional offensive coverage in Fire Punch for Magnemite at the expense of utility. Abra can also run status moves as an alternativse to Encore or Substitute. Toxic can be paired with Substitute to take on otherwise defensive checks like Noctowl, Delcatty, and Drowzee, wearing them down with Toxic. Thunder Wave can be useful on teams that may benefit from speed control like Clamperl offense.
Calm Mind or Substitute can be ran alongside three attacks to provide Abra even stronger coverage. Encore offers Abra more defensive utility, but opting for Encore over additional coverage moves opens up the risk of not being able to guarantee crucial KOs on Pokemon like Corsola with Hidden Power Grass, Tropius with Ice Punch, and Magnemite with Fire Punch.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Priority Attackers**: Doduo, Ponyta, and Volbeat can easily revenge kill a damaged Abra with their priority Quick Attack and even OHKO it when they’re holding a Choice Band. Fake Out from Meditite, while less common, can also threaten Abra out. Even Quick Attack from Pokemon like Quilava can finish off an Abra that has reduced its HP down to 25% with Substitute.
**Faster Attackers**: Elekid and Voltorb can finish off a weakened Abra or use Explosion against it in Voltorb’s case. Agility users and weather-based attackers such as Ariados, Tropius, and Seaking can threaten to outspeed and OHKO Abra in certain conditions.
**Psychic-Immune Pokemon**: Mightyena can come in for free on Psychic or take unboosted special attacks fairly well and threaten to OHKO Abra back.
**Special Walls**: Noctowl, Delcatty, and Porygon as well as Mightyena can take unboosted attacks and threaten to OHKO Abra.
**Drowzee**: Seismic Toss Drowzee can take on Abra one-on-one without fear of taking much damage in return. Drowzee with status moves can invalidate an Abra without a Lum Berry or Encore as well.
**Magnemite**: Magnemite resists most common damaging moves from Abra and can stifle its ability to make an impact in battle.
[SET CREDITS]
Written By:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/kokeri.345087/
Quality Checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bp.272450/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Calm Mind / Encore
move 2: Substitute / Encore
move 3: Psychic
move 4: Hidden Power Grass / Ice Punch
item: Petaya Berry / Lum Berry
ability: Synchronize
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Abra is a huge threat with its combination of Speed and Special Attack. It outspeeds and can revenge kill many weakened foes like Quilava, Aipom, Flaaffy, and Seaking. Calm Mind makes Abra an even stronger attacker and allows it to 2HKO even special walls like Porygon and Delcatty with Psychic after a single boost. Encore disrupts setup sweepers like Anorith and Beedrill as well as defensive threats like Wartortle and Delcatty by locking them into an unthreatening move. This offers Abra more setup opportunities and can make up for its poor defenses. Substitute pairs well with Petaya Berry to ensure it can be activated and is a safer way to boost Abra's offensive power without risking an OHKO. STAB Psychic threatens a 2HKO on many common foes such as Flaaffy and Seaking, making Abra very difficult to switch into and very powerful as a revenge attacker. Hidden Power Grass threatens mainly Corsola with the potential to OHKO it without a boost but can also serve to hit Water-types really hard and KO them with additional damage. Ice Punch threatens Tropius with 4x super effective damage and can also be an option over Hidden Power Grass to hit Mightyena and Lileep slightly harder. Petaya Berry coupled with Abra’s Special Attack allows it to swiftly clean up chipped teams, even 2HKOing special walls like Delcatty and Porygon with a +1 Psychic. Lum Berry is a great alternative to absorb and return status to preserve when Abra can be a threat without the additional power from Petaya. Lum Berry is ideal when running Encore + Calm Mind and no substitute. A Timid nature is recommended to outspeed the entirety of the tier outside of Voltorb and Elekid as well as Ponyta, which Abra Speed ties with.
Abra fits both on offensive and defensive teams as a late-game sweeper and constant disruptor with the threat of Encore. Abra is at its strongest when it’s preserved to clean up late-game after its checks are dealt with or in a health range that allows Abra to KO them. This makes defensive pivots critical on any team with Abra to cover a number of common threats. Koffing can take on common physical attackers like Ponyta, Beedrill, Anorith and common Choice Band users like Meditite, Doduo, Seaking, and Aipom when they’re locked into a resisted move. Intimidate Mightyena and Normal-resistant Pokemon like Corsola, Rhyhorn, and Anorith can come in on Quick Attack users as well as opposing Abra and also do respectable damage to special walls that can get in Abra's way. Abra benefits greatly from a safe switch in due to its fragility, which makes strong Baton Pass users such as Ariados, Meditite, and Delcatty great pairings. Ariados can come in on Mightyena and threaten it out with a strong STAB Signal Beam while also taking on other threats with good coverage in Sludge Bomb and Psychic for Koffing and Beedrill. Abra’s extremely poor bulk makes it an easy target for priority users, notably Doduo, Ponyta, and Meditite. Specially defensive pivots are required alongside Abra to counteract opposing special walls that are not yet in range of a KO. Ariados can serve as a strong Mightyena switch-in and additionally functions as a slow pivot via Baton Pass. Delcatty can serve as a special wall and cleric support for Abra and other offensive threats on the team. Specially defensive Gloom and Noctowl can be great alternative options. Gloom can come in on many threats like Corsola and Mightyena and force progress with Stun Spore or Leech Seed. Noctowl can slowly wear down Pokemon that Abra doesn’t threaten like Mightyena or Drowzee. Abra enjoys being paired with additional sweepers that can enable its sweep. Options like Anorith can break through special walls like Noctowl, Delcatty and Porygon that can get in Abra's way. Weather sweepers like Seaking and Tropius can also open up Abra's offensive gameplan by putting opposing teams in KO range of its attacks. Choice Band wallbreakers like Ponyta and Mightyena can offer much of the same by damaging foes that tend to slow down Abra.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Abra has the option to run additional offensive coverage in Fire Punch for Magnemite at the expense of utility. Abra can also run status moves as an alternativse to Encore or Substitute. Toxic can be paired with Substitute to take on otherwise defensive checks like Noctowl, Delcatty, and Drowzee, wearing them down with Toxic. Thunder Wave can be useful on teams that may benefit from speed control like Clamperl offense.
Calm Mind or Substitute can be ran alongside three attacks to provide Abra even stronger coverage. Encore offers Abra more defensive utility, but opting for Encore over additional coverage moves opens up the risk of not being able to guarantee crucial KOs on Pokemon like Corsola with Hidden Power Grass, Tropius with Ice Punch, and Magnemite with Fire Punch.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Priority Attackers**: Doduo, Ponyta, and Volbeat can easily revenge kill a damaged Abra with their priority Quick Attack and even OHKO it when they’re holding a Choice Band. Fake Out from Meditite, while less common, can also threaten Abra out. Even Quick Attack from Pokemon like Quilava can finish off an Abra that has reduced its HP down to 25% with Substitute.
**Faster Attackers**: Elekid and Voltorb can finish off a weakened Abra or use Explosion against it in Voltorb’s case. Agility users and weather-based attackers such as Ariados, Tropius, and Seaking can threaten to outspeed and OHKO Abra in certain conditions.
**Psychic-Immune Pokemon**: Mightyena can come in for free on Psychic or take unboosted special attacks fairly well and threaten to OHKO Abra back.
**Special Walls**: Noctowl, Delcatty, and Porygon as well as Mightyena can take unboosted attacks and threaten to OHKO Abra.
**Drowzee**: Seismic Toss Drowzee can take on Abra one-on-one without fear of taking much damage in return. Drowzee with status moves can invalidate an Abra without a Lum Berry or Encore as well.
**Magnemite**: Magnemite resists most common damaging moves from Abra and can stifle its ability to make an impact in battle.
[SET CREDITS]
Written By:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/kokeri.345087/
Quality Checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bp.272450/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Last edited:
