teachable
Banned deucer.
[OVERVIEW]
Thanks to its Electric / Dragon typing, Mega Ampharos is able to check a unique set of Pokemon, such as Milotic, Chesnaught, Roserade without Sludge Bomb, and Rotom-H. An impressively high Special Attack stat and respectable bulk for an attacker allow Mega Ampharos to support its team by bringing in frailer Pokemon with a slow Volt Switch that packs a punch. Mold Breaker provides Mega Ampharos with quirky capabilities such as threatening to OHKO Rhyperior with Focus Blast and Volt Switching out of Pokemon with Volt Absorb such as Jolteon. However, Mega Ampharos is very slow for an attacker even after an Agility boost; if it is switching into an attack, it will have to be able to tank a second one should it wish to hit back. Mega Ampharos doesn't share a lot of traits with the other Electric-types in the tier, and as such, it doesn't face competition from them for a team slot; it sadly instead competes with both the other powerful Mega Evolutions in the tier, namely Mega Glalie and Mega Abomasnow, and other slow bulky wallbreakers with similar resistances, such as Araquanid, Kommo-o, Escavalier, and Dragalge. Even though Mega Ampharos sports an impressive number of resistances, it is weak to very common attacking types such as Ground and Ice, which means it fears STAB and coverage moves from the likes of Flygon, Zygarde-10%, Gligar, Nidoqueen, Mega Glalie, and Mega Abomasnow. Although Mega Ampharos gains considerable bulk post-Mega Evolution, having to spend a turn Mega Evolving is troublesome when, pre-Mega Evolution, it has very few resistances and significantly less bulk to come in on an attack.
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Volt Switch
move 2: Dragon Pulse
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Thunderbolt
item: Ampharosite
ability: Static
nature: Modest
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Volt Switch is one of the main draws of using Mega Ampharos. Thanks to its bulk and high Special Attack, it can both provide a slow Volt Switch and force switches to gather momentum. Dragon Pulse is Mega Ampharos's best Dragon-type STAB option, allowing it to chunk Ground-types that aim to absorb a Volt Switch such as Flygon, Zygarde-10%, Rhyperior, and Gligar. Focus Blast lets Mega Ampharos break through bulky Fighting-weak Pokemon such as Registeel, Umbreon, Snorlax, and Porygon2. Additionally, thanks to Mold Breaker ignoring Solid Rock, Mega Ampharos is one of the few Pokemon able to secure an OHKO on Rhyperior without resorting to a Water- or Grass-type attack. Thunderbolt is the preferred Electric-type STAB option for Mega Ampharos, letting it both deal more damage than Volt Switch and stay in to threaten Pokemon like physically defensive Cresselia with a 3HKO. Discharge is an alternative secondary STAB option, and its primary draw is that it allows Mega Ampharos to not only simply stay in but also spread paralysis.
Set Details
========
252 Special Attack EVs with a Modest Nature allow Mega Ampharos to hit as hard as possible, punishing whatever happens to be in its path. 252 Speed EVs are used to make Mega Ampharos as fast as possible, allowing it to outspeed Pokemon such as Umbreon, Florges, and Porygon2. Ampharosite allows Ampharos to Mega Evolve.
Usage Tips
========
Because Electric is not a great defensive typing, try to prioritize Mega Evolving Ampharos so that it can make use of its Dragon typing and its increased Special Attack. Mega Ampharos comes in relatively unscathed against bulkier Pokemon such as Chesnaught and Milotic and can threaten them out with Dragon Pulse or Discharge. Most of the time you should be clicking Volt Switch, as Mega Ampharos tends to force switches from the Pokemon it can come in on. Should your opponent have any Ground-type Pokemon, be mindful of this and attempt to predict your opponent switching in these Pokemon with a Dragon Pulse, Focus Blast, or hard switch.
Team Options
========
Pokemon that can handle Ice-type attacks from the likes of Mega Glalie and Mega Abomasnow are appreciated, such as Registeel, Bronzong, and Escavalier. Pokemon sporting an immunity to Ground-type attacks are appreciated, such as Gligar, Flygon, Cresselia, and Bronzong. Bulky Water-types like Milotic make good partners, as Mega Ampharos is able to handle Grass-types that beat them with its resistances and Dragon Pulse. Entry hazard support is appreciated to increase the residual damage Mega Ampharos can rack up with Volt Switch. Thus, Spikes users such as Roserade and Chesnaught and Stealth Rock users such as Nidoqueen and Registeel make good partners. Frail but powerful attackers such as Choice Band Durant, Ghostium Z Hoopa, and Pangoro make great partners for Mega Ampharos, as it is able to safely bring them in with a slow Volt Switch.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A set dedicated to cleaning up weakened teams with Agility is a possibility. However, there are several issues with this set: Mega Ampharos is still too slow to outspeed common Choice Scarf users such as Gardevoir and Flygon after an Agility boost, and lack of a means to boost its Special Attack and an inability to hold a boosting item such as Life Orb mean Ampharos is not able to hit hard enough to clean up teams without a decent amount of residual damage. A physically defensive set, with maximum HP and Defense investment, a Bold nature, and a moveset of Rest, Dragon Pulse, Sleep Talk, and Volt Switch is an alternative way to use Mega Ampharos. Rest provides it with reliable recovery, allowing it to use Volt Switch more often via Sleep Talk to provide its team with more pivot opportunities. Additionally, it can check Feraligatr with some prior damage. However, this set is not without its shortcomings, as with no investment Ampharos cannot hit very hard, and having to rely on Sleep Talk can be worrisome when it will only select an attacking move two-thirds of the time. Access to Heal Bell means Mega Ampharos can potentially act as a cleric for its teammates. However, Mega Ampharos's low Speed stat and lackluster defensive typing mean it will struggle to find an opportunity to do so. Toxic is an interesting move choice over Thunderbolt, allowing Mega Ampharos to cripple bulkier Pokemon that it cannot hit super effectively, such as Cresselia and specially defensive Gligar, while easing prediction versus opposing Ground-type Pokemon. Typically, though, Mega Ampharos is better off simply using Volt Switch or Dragon Pulse.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground-type Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Zygarde-10%, Flygon, Rhyperior, and Nidoqueen (making lists match) can all threaten Mega Ampharos with incredibly powerful Ground-type STAB moves such as Thousand Arrows, Earthquake, and Earth Power. Additionally, they are immune to Volt Switch and Discharge and can either switch into these moves unscathed or pressure Mega Ampharos into not using these moves. However, these Pokemon have trouble switching into Mega Ampharos's non-Electric-type moves such as Dragon Pulse and Focus Blast.
**Ice-type Pokemon and Coverage**: Ice-type Pokemon such as Mega Glalie and Mega Abomasnow and Pokemon with Ice-type coverage moves such as Feraligatr can threaten Mega Ampharos post-Mega Evolution with a super effective move such as Refrigerate Double-Edge, Blizzard, or Ice Punch. These Pokemon do not enjoy switching into Mega Ampahros, however.
**Fairy-type Pokemon**: Gardevoir and Florges can tank at least a single hit from Mega Ampharos and threaten it with their STAB moves. Gardevoir in particular, however, does not enjoy being paralyzed by Discharge, and Mega Ampharos can predict these Pokemon coming in and Volt Switch into a teammate that is capable of beating them.
**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Specially defensive Pokemon that are not weak to any of Mega Ampharos's moves, such as specially defensive Cresselia, Bronzong, and Florges, can switch into Mega Ampharos with relative ease and threaten it out with a super effective attack or status move. However, these Pokemon typically struggle with the powerful frail threats that Mega Ampharos is usually paired with, and as such they must be wary of switching into a predicted Volt Switch.
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