Overview
What Yveltal does in the AG meta-game is pretty easy to understand. It is the best counter to Mewtwo, MM-X, MM-Y and Ghost-Arceus, which are some of the best mid/ late game sweepers. Yveltal with taunt is also able to handle Lugia pretty easily which is called 'king of stall'. It is also one of the best users of the Life Orb thanks to its signature move Oblivion Wing. Mainly Yveltal is able to act as a check to the Physical Sweepers that dominate AG since ORAS came out (and even take them out) and The Special Attacker Variant is able to deal huge amounts of damage to almost anything (Even to Types that take Neutral Damage).
The Bulky Variant
SET
Yveltal @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Dark Aura (Increases the power of Dark Type Attacks by 1.33 times)
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Toxic
- Foul Play
- Taunt/ Sucker Punch
SET COMMENTS
Moves
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Roost: Roost is a reliable way for Yveltal to recover HP so that it doesn't get overwhelmed by the Physical blows of the opposing team. It also helps ensure that it is able to stay at full health or near full health throughout the battle while handling Physical Attackers.
Foul Play: Foul Play is an effective way using which Yveltal can deal high amounts of damage to Physical Attackers such as M-Ray (OHKO if it uses DD, 2HKO otherwise) and Extreme Speed Arceus (2HKO). The damage done by this move is increased due to Yveltal's ability 'Dark Aura'. (Foul Play deals damage taking the Opponent's Pokémon’s attack stat into account, hence it prevents Physical attackers from setting-up)
Taunt: Taunt can be used as well to stop status spreaders such as Lugia and Klefki (It needs luck against Klefki though, due to Klefki's ability Prankster) from using toxic on the entire team or paralyzing the entire team. Taunt can also stop Entry Hazard setters such as P-GDon from setting up SR. It can also help stop CM Arceus from setting up.
Toxic: Toxic is used to deal with other walls, or any pokemon that do very less damage to Yveltal due to its bulk while Yveltal can recover using Roost in the process.
Sucker Punch: It can be used instead of Taunt as Sucker Punch being a priority move can help Yveltal suffer from less damage and care of the Mewtwo forms with relative ease. It also helps finish up Pokémon with less HP.
Set Details
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Rocky helmet helps Yveltal deal more damage to Physical attackers or damage them even when it's recovering HP using Roost. The EVs are standard, Max HP and Defensive EVs to effectively deal with Physical Attackers and to absorb their attacks pretty easily. These EVs helps it survive a +1 Dragon Ascent from LO Adamant Mega-Rayquaza. (Useful calcs - LO Adamant M-Ray does about 88~99% at +1 Attack)
Usage Tips
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Though the Tough Bird variant of Yveltal is an effective of handling Physical Attackers, but there is a limit to its potential as well, Adamant LO M-Ray can OHKO (the chances are very less) it and It can be OHKOed by any Physical variant of M-Ray after SR damage (At +1 Attack), therefore it is crucial it has almost max to max health about always in the battle. So having a defogger is a must if this is your only Pokémon there to take care of physical attacker. Not to mention that people have started using SE on Arceus rather than Shadow Claw to take care of this Tough Bird in a better way. Opening with Yveltal is not advisable, rather it should be brought out whenever the opponent switches to a Physical Attacker and using Foul Play straight away is advised
Team Options
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Having a defogger on the team is necessary if Yveltal is to effectively deal with Physical attackers. Giratina and Giratina-O effectively do this task as they are able to handle the most used Stealth Rock setter P-GDon pretty easily (As they have good bulk, resist fire type attacks and Giratina-O has the ability Levitate giving it immunity from Ground type attacks). Bulky-Arceus or Support Arceus can help perform this task effectively as well. Also, you need a pokemon that can handle the Fairy type switch-ins of the opponent such as Xerneas or Fairy-Arceus, as it is able to do almost nothing to them. Some pokemon suitable for this role include Primal-Groudon, Ho-oh (The best In My Opinion) and Steel-Arceus (For handling Fairy-Arceus in particular).All these can be used as they can absorb Fairy type attacks pretty easily. Mega-Gengar and Poison-Arceus can be specifically included in the team to handle Fairy Pokemon, but are unable to do much otherwise. A toxic really reduces Yveltal's potential to effectively handle Physical attackers; even Will-o-wisp hinders it, so having a status bouncer or absorber such as Mega-Diancie or Refresh-Arceus (Bulkceus) is also advisable.
The Special Attacker Variant
SET
Yveltal @ Life Orb
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 65 Atk / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Rash Nature
- Oblivion Wing
- Dark Pulse
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
SET COMMENTS
Moves
========
Oblivion Wing: Helps Yveltal deal damage to Fairy type pokemon (predicting a switch-in). Oblivion Wing is also Yveltal's Signature move and restores 75% of damage dealt rather than the usual 50% most draining moves have, giving this Life Orb variant some longevity. One should use it whenever the opponent's pokemon is in the KO Range of this move in order to ensure Yveltal has a good amount of HP.
Dark Pulse: Dark Pulse is another of Yveltal's STAB moves which helps deal a lot of damage to almost anything, LO and Dark Aura help increase it's power multifold. (80*1.5*1.33 = 160). It can OHKO a lot of pokemon, these include - Mewtwo, MM-X, Ghost-Arceus (Super Effective), Aegislash (Super Effective; won't OHKO if it has Max SpD and Max HP - For Shield Form)
Sucker Punch: Sucker Punch is the much needed priority move which helps Yveltal finish up opponent's pokemon left with less HP which is, again, boosted by Dark Aura thereby increasing its power. Also, Sucker Punch is able to OHKO Mewtwo and MM-Y.
Taunt: Taunt is there to stop Lugia and other status spreaders from affecting the entire team with Status conditions (It also helps Yveltal counter Lugia in a better way, as if Lugia has been taunted, it won't be able to recover HP using Roost, nor would it be able to use Toxic, hence Yveltal will be able to 2HKO it) and helps stop CM-Arceus from setting up and then sweeping the entire team.
Set Details
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It has Max SpA in order to do large amounts of damage to almost anything. 184 EVs in Spe so that it out-speeds most Geomancy-Xerneas and is able to taunt them or take it out (In-case you hit it with Oblivion Wing on the switch-in, as it should do about 50%, even if it sets up with Geo you can later KO with Sucker Punch, watch-out for Choice Scarf Xerneas though) and the rest of the EVs in attack to maximize the power of Sucker Punch as much as possible. LO is there to further increase the power of moves (by 1.3).
[Useful Info - Yveltal with 92 EVs invested it Speed is able to outspeed Lugia, if it has no Speed investment]
Usage Tips
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Yveltal can hit and deal huge amounts of damage to anything that doesn't have humungous SpD or is Fairy/Rock. It’s the most effective way of handling with Mewtwo, MM-X & MM-Y, Ghost-Arceus, Lugia and Mega Gengar. Switch-in to Yveltal as soon as your opponent brings in Ghost-Arceus for an 'attempted sweep' as Yveltal will be able to absorb anything Ghost-Arceus can throw at it and then OHKO it with Dark Pulse. Switch on spotting Mega-Gengar/ Gengar as well, but use taunt on the first turn to check for Destiny Bond.
Using Yveltal against Fairy type pokemon is not at all advisable though as it could suffer from huge amounts of damage and do little damage in return.
Team Options
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Good Fairy pokemon checks are necessary, as they can simply switch into Yveltal. Good Fairy Pokemon checks include - Primal Groudon, Ho-oh, Steel-Arceus and Poison-Arceus as they can simply absorb damage from the Fairy Type attacks pretty easily thanks to their resisting types and deal back good amount of damage thanks to their high attack stats and Super Effective Attack Moves (Poison-Arceus and Steel-Arceus). Mega-Gengar is also a very good pokemon for handling Fairy Pokemon as it resists their STAB Fairy moves and deals back huge amounts of damage with its STAB Super Effective Poison Type moves.
A status absorber in the team can also help ensure Yveltal stays completely fit for battle so that its effectiveness is not reduced, but it’s not necessary. Some examples of status absorbers and Bouncers (Mega Bounce) are Bulkceus (Refresh), Mega-Diancie and Mega-Sableye.
STRATEGY COMMENTS
Other Options
============
One can always run Heat Wave on the first two variants of Yveltal mentioned in the Analysis as it can help deal with Klefki and can OHKO without any trouble it if caught on the switch, hence taking out a Pokemon that can be taken as the biggest threat to any AG Team (I'm not joking). Heat Wave can be used in place of Taunt or Sucker Punch on the Bulky and Special Attacker Variants.
You can also have the Bulky Variant of Yveltal hold a Charti Berry or Leftovers instead of the usual Rocky Helmet. While a Charti Berry can help Yveltal survive an unexpected Stone Edge from an E-killer at +2 Attack, the little bit HP leftovers revive can help ensure that Yveltal survives even some of the most powerful Physical Attacks even after SR damage. But all in all, they are not worth using over Rocky Helmet
Also a Choice Scarf Yveltal with the move-set Foul Play, Oblivion Wing, Dark Pulse U-Turn can be used along with Mega-Gengar in order to attract Fairy types by using Yveltal and then switching out using U-Turn to Mega-Gengar which will trap those Fairy Pokemon and can then hit them with Super Effective STAB Poison type moves. But Choice Scarf isn't able to bring out the immense potential (Attacks do significantly less damage) Yveltal has and it can get worn out pretty easily due to multiple switches due to damage from SR. Hence, its usage is not advisable.
Check and Counters (For both the Variants)
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Now, while the counters to both the variants are round about the same pokemon, the reasons due to which they act as counters are different, in view of this, I've mentioned the Pokemon that counter different varinats of Yveltal and the reasons due to which they are able to counter a particular variant separately.
For The BULKY VARIANT
**Fairy Pokemon**
This variant of Yveltal is unable to handle any fairy type pokemon and they simply switch into it as they resist Yveltal's STAB Foul Play and generally have low Attack, and can severly reduce its HP by using Super Effective Fairy Type moves such as Moon Blast. Also, Xerneas gets a free turn to use Geomancy. Klefki gets a free turn to enter the battle field as well, and can use status moves to reduce Yveltal's effectiveness. Mega-Diancie counters Yveltal very effectively as well due to its Rock/Fairy typing and a good ability in Mega-Bounce, bouncing off Toxic.
**Mega Rayquaza**
Even though Yveltal's Bulky Varaint variant is able to deal effectively with most Physical attackers, it does have difficulty in handling Mega-Rayquaza due to its humongous attack stat as it can OHKO it with Dragon Ascent at +1 Attack after Stealth Rock damage. Yveltal can deal with it pretty easily otherwise.
**Special Attackers**
Yveltal is gravely hindered by Modest Nature pokemon as Foul Play does damage taking 'the opponent's Attack stat' into account, the only way it can deal damage to these Pokemon is by Sucker Punch or by using Toxic on them. Switching is better in this case rather than staying in and battling with Yveltal to something that resists these Special Attackers' STAB moves. Some Bulky Special Attackers include - Kyogre/ P-Kyogre, CM-Arceus.
**Mega Rayquaza**
Even though Yveltal's Tough Bird variant is able to deal effectively with most Physical attackers, it does have difficulty in handling Mega-Rayquaza due to its humungous attack stat as it can OHKO it with Dragon Ascent at +1 Attack after Stealth Rock damage. Yveltal can deal with it pretty easily otherwise.
**Special Attackers**
Yveltal is gravely hindered by Modest Nature pokemon as Foul Play does damage taking 'the opponent's Attack stat into account, the only way it can deal damage to these Pokemon is by Sucker Punch or by using Toxic on them. Switching is better in this case rather than staying in and battling with Yveltal to something that resists these Special Attackers' STAB moves. Some Bulky Special Attackers include - Kyogre/ P-Kyogre, CM-Arceus.
For The SPECIAL ATTACKER
**Fairy pokemon**
Fairy pokemon do trouble Special Yveltal quite a bit as well, resisting its most powerful move Dark Pulse, but after they've been damaged enough, Yveltal can take them out with Oblivion Wing/ Sucker Punch. Fairy-Arceus and Mega-Diancie handle Yveltal pretty easily, but Mega-Diancie doesn't like switching in directly as it'll lose about 50% HP from the damage from Dark Pulse.
**Kyogre/ P-Kyogre**
Anything with too much SpA and/or SpD is able to handle Yveltal relatively easily, and Kyogre is one of the Bulkiest Special Attackers. However with its health lowered to about 50%, Yveltal can take it out with a Sucker Punch.
**Ho-oh**
Ho-oh is a very good counter to Yveltal once it has been determined whether it’s the Bulky Variant or the Special Attacker. With very good SpD and Attack, it can absorb damage from Yveltal's attacks and retaliate with Sacred Fire/ Brave Bird and with the very high Burn % Sacred Fire has (50%), it surely is very difficult to handle for Yveltal.
