QC: Uselesscrab | Piccolo Daimao | E4 Flint
GP: GatoDelFuego | Snobalt
"... Then I added a Chansey because really, this is bh." aesf in his Balanced Hackmons RMT.
[OVERVIEW]
Chansey is the definition of the Balanced Hackmons metagame. If a team isn't prepared for at least one of its own sweepers, the team will usually get swept by one of its sweepers via Imposter Chansey. If a team doesn't have Knock Off or Spore, -ate users are walled by Fur Coat Chansey. Chansey has a titanic HP stat, which is only second to Blissey's. This combined with Eviolite allows Chansey to have substantial special bulk and decent physical bulk. Imposter copies the opponent's defensive stats due to how Imposter works, while Fur Coat turns Chansey into an impressive physical wall by doubling her Defense stat, making both abilities excellent choices for Chansey. Imposter Chansey restricts the metagame to the point where you must run a wall or, at the very least, a check to your own sweeper; otherwise, your team can and will be swept by it. Fur Coat Chansey is an exceptional mixed wall that can take repeated punishment from even Mega Rayquaza despite its large attacking stats, and isn't hit super-effectively by most coverage moves due to its pure Normal typing. Due to its access to Eviolite and Lucky Punch for Imposter sets, Chansey is the superior choice over Blissey outside of a few niches Blissey has. Neither Chansey set likes Knock Off and Spore, especially Fur Coat Chansey, which no longer counters Mega Diancie and Mega Rayquaza if they carry Spore, so scouting the foe's moveset is highly recommended.
[SET]
name: Imposter
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Skill Swap
move 3: Recover / Wish
move 4: Whirlwind / Metal Burst / King's Shield
item: Eviolite / Lucky Punch
ability: Imposter
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
==========
Fake Out allows Chansey to break Illusion, which is the only ability that prevents it from transforming on the switch. This also can break Focus Sashes if needed, and it essentially deals free damage. The lone exceptions to this are Ghost-types such as Mega Gengar, as they are immune to Fake Out, so an Illusion Ghost-type can be hard to deal with. Skill Swap forces the foe to transform into Chansey if Chansey hasn't already transformed, except if the foe's ability is Multitype or Illusion. These two abilities are the only ones in Balanced Hackmons that have this property. One of the other reasons why Skill Swap is quite good is that it ignores the effects of the foe's Substitute, which is quite great for dealing with Substitute sweepers. Recover, or any other instant recovery move you choose to run, allows Chansey to instantly and reliably regain its health should it need to do so. Wish is another option that allows Chansey to pass half of its massive HP to either itself, which gives it a less instant form of recovery, or one of its allies. In most cases, the allies will be healed by more than half of their maximum HP due to Chansey's own massive HP stat. Whirlwind allows Chansey to phaze Substitute users, which Imposter doesn't work against, as well as prevent setup sweepers from setting up if they get too greedy. If the foe has Magic Bounce, Chansey will be phazed instead, but it still can be used to potentially prevent a sweep on non-Magic Bounce Pokemon. Metal Burst utilizes Chansey's ability to take very large amounts of damage due to its high HP and redirects any damage to the foe. Essentially, if Chansey gets hit by an attack, it will deal 150% of that damage to the foe, and thanks to Chansey's large HP stat, this can often result in taking out a major chunk of the foe's HP. It is highly recommended to minimize Speed IVs, shift the 8 Speed EVs to Special Defense, and change the nature on this set to Relaxed if Metal Burst is run due to the benefit of underspeeding base 50 Speed Pokemon. King's Shield takes advantage of the fact that the foe will most likely use a physical attack against Chansey, lowering their Attack if the move makes contact. Considering Chansey's lackluster physical bulk, even with Eviolite, this can be very crucial to keeping Chansey alive if Imposter fails to trigger.
Set Details
==========
248 EVs are invested in HP, as HP is the only stat that matters in most cases due to Imposter's mechanics, and 248 EVs are used over 252 to get an odd HP number for Curse and other forms of residual damage. Attack IVs are minimized and a Bold nature is run to minimize Foul Play and confusion damage, even though Chansey has an exceptionally low Attack stat regardless. Defense EVs are maximized because of Chansey's lackluster Defense stat when it doesn't transform into the foe. The rest of the EVs are put into Speed, as that is the only other stat that matters. Imposter allows Chansey to transform into the foe, copying attributes such as their stat boosts, moves, and species. Happiness can be changed to 0 or kept as the base 255, the former of which deals with Pokemon that rely on Frustration to deal with Imposter and the latter of which does so for Return. Because most items rely on the user's base species, not counting transformations, this opens up the option to run Eviolite or Lucky Punch on Imposter Chansey. Eviolite is run to increase the Defense and Special Defense of whatever Chansey transforms into by 50%. Lucky Punch can be run to increase Chansey's critical hit rate to 50%. This is exceptionally useful for breaking through the defensive boosts of the foe if they set up, and as such, it is better than Eviolite for dealing with most Poison Heal setup sweepers. It also can be used to deal with Pokemon that are simply not prepared for critical hits, such as -ate and Protean Pokemon.
Usage Tips
==========
Imposter Chansey is exceptionally useful to scout the foe's movesets, especially with Eviolite, so it is safe to switch it in if you're wondering about said movesets, except for a few cases. These include known "Imposter-proof" Pokemon such as Mega Gengar and Hoopa-U, frail Pokemon such as Deoxys-A, and Pokemon that typically carry moves that hit themselves super effectively. With these Pokemon, you must be far more cautious when sending out Imposter Chansey, as this can easily mean free setup for them. Speaking of setup, Imposter Chansey is also quite useful if the foe has set up. Some examples are foes with Simple + Geomancy or Contrary, depending on the set for the latter. In particular, if the opponent has no counters to their current Pokemon, you can send in Imposter Chansey and attempt to counter-sweep them. This Chansey can also be used to stall; because it copies the foe, you can utilize tools such as Aromatherapy, Defog, and Magic Bounce even if you don't have them on your team. It also effectively has infinite PP if it transforms into the foe due to Imposter's mechanics of "replenishing" transformed PP once you switch Chansey out.
Team Options
==========
Imposter Chansey is a massive amount of team support in itself due to it being able to scout movesets and counter-sweep, so it doesn't require too much of it to succeed. Of course, team support is always appreciated for any Pokemon, but Imposter Chansey doesn't need as much of it as others. A Pokemon that can deal with various "Imposter-proof" Pokemon, such as Yveltal for Mega Gengar and Hoopa-U, is highly recommended if you choose to rely on this for dealing with setup sweepers, because, as the name entails, Imposter Chansey cannot counter-sweep these in most cases. Entry hazard support from the likes of Registeel and Aegislash is always appreciated to deal chip damage and make a counter-sweep easier. Entry hazards also help against Sturdy Shedinja, which Chansey has a slightly difficult time against. Pivots, especially those with Magic Bounce, such as Registeel and Mega Audino, can also be used to prevent Chansey from taking a Knock Off and allow it to scout the foe's moveset safely.
[SET]
name: Fur Coat
move 1: Metal Burst
move 2: Recover / Wish
move 3: King's Shield / Whirlwind / Skill Swap
move 4: Baton Pass / U-turn
item: Eviolite
ability: Fur Coat
nature: Relaxed
evs: 8 HP / 252 Def / 248 SpD
ivs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves:
==========
Due to Chansey's high HP stat, Metal Burst can deal a lot of damage to the foe if Chansey gets hit by a strong attack, and it can potentially OHKO the foe depending on the attack. Fur Coat Chansey is better at this role than Imposter Chansey is due to its massive physical bulk by comparison, allowing it to take more hits. Recover, or any other recovery move, allows Chansey to heal itself by a sizable portion of its HP reliably. Wish allows Chansey to heal its allies while also providing itself with another, albeit less reliable, form of healing. King's Shield lowers the foe's Attack if they use a contact move on Chansey. Most physical moves fall into this category, which means that King's Shield can be used to take advantage of the foe attempting to hit Chansey with a physical attack. It can also be used to scout your foe's moveset. Whirlwind allows Chansey to phaze the foe in an emergency. This can potentially be used to prevent a sweep if the foe doesn't have Magic Bounce. Skill Swap is an alternate option over Whirlwind; while it doesn't phaze the sweeper, it neutralizes their ability and can potentially make them easier to deal with. This works exceptionally well against Poison Heal sweepers. Baton Pass allows Chansey to preserve momentum and somewhat scout the foe's moveset by taking a hit with its sizable bulk and switching out. Baton Pass also has a massive 64 PP, allowing you to use it throughout the match. U-turn is similar to Baton Pass, but it cannot be Taunted or bounced back via Magic Bounce. The alternative, Volt Switch, has Pokemon immune to it, whereas U-turn does not. U-turn is a contact move, however, so Chansey will take Rocky Helmet damage whenever this move is used. Both of these options provide quite a bit of team support, as they are essentially a slow, safe switch into whatever offensive threat you want to send in.
Set Details
==========
8 EVs are invested into HP to result in an odd HP number for most forms of percentage-based damage such as Curse. This is the only place we can allot these EVs while still making them useful. HP EVs aren't maximized; this ensures that Eviolite provides as much of a benefit as possible. Attack IVs are minimized for Foul Play damage to be as low as possible. Defense EVs are maximized to increase the benefits given by both Fur Coat and Eviolite. A Relaxed nature also contributes to Chansey's massive physical bulk by boosting it by another 10%. This gives Chansey an effective Defense stat of a fully invested and positive-natured base 130 Defense Pokemon! The rest is put into Special Defense, as that is the only other stat that matters, outside of Speed, which is minimized as much as possible to preserve momentum by providing a slow, safer switch for frailer sweepers, as well as maximizing Metal Burst's effectiveness due to its dependence on the user's Speed stat. Fur Coat is run to double Chansey's Defense, allowing it to be effective as a physical wall, and Eviolite is run to increase Chansey's Defense and Special Defense by 50% on top of what Fur Coat provides for Defense, maximizing Chansey's bulk.
Usage Tips
==========
Fur Coat Chansey is a counter to all -ate Pokemon, except if they have Spore, which is quite dangerous due to Chansey being unable to run Safety Goggles without being outclassed by other Fur Coat Pokemon such as Mega Audino or Giratina. It is highly recommended to scout your foe's moveset beforehand to make sure they don't have this move. Fur Coat Chansey values its Eviolite immensely, so it requires careful planning before you switch it in; essentially, you need to make sure that the foe doesn't have Knock Off as well before blindly switching Chansey in. For reference, this set gets 2HKOed by Mega Rayquaza and Mega Diancie on the switch by Boomburst without its Eviolite. This is a mixed wall that can switch in on most attacks that don't hit it super effectively. If you need something to take a hit and phaze the foe or simply provide a safer switch into a sweeper such as Deoxys-A, you should probably switch Chansey in. Metal Burst requires a slight amount of prediction to pull off successfully, as Chansey can easily be left in the dust if the foe uses a status move. Keep this in mind before you click it thinking it's essentially free damage. Of course, Fur Coat Chansey should not be your catch-all to setup sweepers, as if they set up enough, Chansey can very easily be KOed even with its massive bulk. In most cases, however, Chansey can take a hit and phaze the foe with Whirlwind, or at the very least it can provide a safer switch into something that can threaten the foe.
Team Options
==========
Fur Coat Chansey provides quite a bit of team support in itself, but it still needs quite a bit of it. Entry hazard support from the likes of Aegislash and Registeel is appreciated to discourage Sturdy Shedinja from switching in, which threatens Chansey out with Endeavor. A Pokemon with Heal Bell or Aromatherapy, such as Mega Audino, is also nice to have, as the residual damage caused by these ailments can add up and hinder Fur Coat Chansey's ability to wall what it needs to. Another more interesting partner is Imposter Chansey, as it can be used to scout the foe's moveset for Spore or Knock Off, which Fur Coat Chansey doesn't like seeing. Poison Heal Pokemon such as Kyogre or Mega Audino, with their Toxic Orb activated, can be used to easily sponge Spores and Knock Offs that are thrown at Chansey.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
On the Imposter set, you can run Final Gambit to deal massive damage if Chansey's HP stat is high enough. Chansey is a valuable team member, on the other hand, so Final Gambit is not the best option, but it is still an option for offensive teams that might need to take out something bulky. Additionally, an alternate option for Chansey's fourth move is Parting Shot; this allows Chansey to phaze Magic Bounce Pokemon even if they are behind a Substitute. This provides a free switch for your opponent, however, which can lead to devastating outcomes. Another switching move such as U-turn, Volt Switch, or Baton Pass can be run over this to attempt to preserve momentum in the case that Chansey does not copy the foe, and all three of those moves are typically better than Parting Shot due to no possible free switches occurring for your opponent, outside of Ground-types that come in on Volt Switch. This is especially useful with Wish to bring a teammate that needs healing in safely. Another alternate option for Imposter Chansey's fourth move is Perish Song, which allows Chansey to put the foe on a timer and effectively force a switch after three turns, if not sooner. This move also has a bit of a surprise factor to it. Imposter Chansey can run a plethora of items that can be used to bluff Eviolite or Lucky Punch and catch most Imposter-proof sweepers by surprise. Spooky Plate allows Imposter Chansey to deal with Mega Gengar and potentially counter-sweep, Choice Scarf guarantees that Chansey will outspeed the foe if they aren't carrying one themselves, Safety Goggles allows Chansey to be immune to Spore, and Toxic Orb poisons Chansey and allows it to deal with Poison Heal Pokemon more effectively. On both the Imposter and the Fur Coat sets, Spiky Shield is an alternative over King's Shield that prevents Chansey from being affected by status moves such as Taunt and Spore and deals chip damage on contact rather than causing an Attack drop. This can be useful for dealing with Sturdy Shedinja, but there are better ways to do so.
As for the Fur Coat set, Stealth Rock is an option for the fourth move that allows Chansey to provide entry hazard support itself; however, there are better, more reliable entry hazard setters than Chansey, such as Registeel and Giratina.
In terms of alternate sets, a Magic Bounce set can be run on Chansey that is similar in structure to the Fur Coat set, but Fur Coat is typically better due to Chansey's only decent physical bulk without it. An Unaware set can be run that is also similar to the Fur Coat set, allowing Chansey to deal with special attackers that rely on setup quite nicely; however, this set fails horribly against physical attackers, similarly to the Magic Bounce set. A more gimmicky Imprison + Transform set can be run as well, with the most common ability that this set utilizes being Prankster. It doesn't work often, as your opponent will most likely see what's coming after using Imprison, but when it works, it effectively forces a switch.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Pokemon with Judgment**: Imposter Chansey also has a hard time dealing with other Pokemon that use Judgment, as in most cases, they will pick the Plate that hits Chansey the hardest. Examples of Pokemon that use Judgment are Mega Mewtwo Y and Mega Gengar; Mega Mewtwo X is a rarer example. In most cases, they pick a plate that gives them great coverage, such as Earth Plate Mega Mewtwo Y, whereas Chansey is stuck with a Normal-type Judgment that is easier to wall. This isn't so much of a problem with Fur Coat Chansey, depending on the foe's moveset. Mega Gengar and other Ghost-types are a special case as Chansey cannot deal with them at all without running Spooky Plate, as most only run Judgment and a Fighting-type coverage move. As such, Mega Gengar, and other Ghost-types that utilize this strategy, are said to be Imposter-proof. Fur Coat Chansey can potentially deal with Mega Gengar by either using Metal Burst on its Fighting-type coverage move or phazing it with Whirlwind if Mega Gengar's ability is not Magic Bounce, but Fur Coat Chansey cannot deal with Mega Gengar if Mega Gengar carries Spore or has Mold Breaker, the latter of which is exceptionally common. Other Ghost-types that utilize this strategy can be dealt with via a similar method.
**Hoopa-U**: Hoopa-U is, by far, the most Imposter-proof sweeper in existence. Hyperspace Fury only works if the user's original species is Hoopa-U, making it impossible to prepare for with Imposter Chansey. The Psychic-type immunity that Hoopa-U possesses is also hard to deal with, as most sets will be running Stored Power as well. Fur Coat Chansey can deal with it in a similar manner to non-Mold Breaker Mega Gengar, but Hyperspace Fury, especially when Hoopa-U has set up one or two Shell Smashes, will leave Chansey significantly crippled or KOed.
**Poison Heal Pokemon**: In general, Poison Heal Pokemon often cause Chansey a lot of grief due to their immunity to status ailments and passive healing, which they can and often will utilize with their movesets. Expect moves such as Will-O-Wisp, Spore, Dark Void, and Leech Seed to be present in an attempt to deal with Imposter Chansey.
**Mega Mewtwo X**: Mega Mewtwo X can Knock Off Chansey's Eviolite, which is especially dangerous for the Fur Coat set, and it can then proceed to click either Close Combat or V-create, the latter of which is the better option if Mega Mewtwo X has Protean due to the fact that it becomes immune to burns. Fur Coat Chansey can retaliate with Metal Burst, but this leaves it crippled.
**Sturdy Shedinja**: Shedinja's unique gimmick is that Sturdy is always active under most circumstances due to Shedinja's 1 HP. Of course, Chansey's HP is far greater than 1, meaning that Imposter Chansey cannot switch in on Sturdy Shedinja and expect good results. Fur Coat Chansey is threatened out by Endeavor, meaning that it isn't the ideal method to deal with Sturdy Shedinja either.
**Illusion Pokemon**: Imposter Chansey cannot transform into Illusion Pokemon, making them mostly Imposter-proof. Fake Out isn't always reliable, especially if the foe carries Spiky Shield or King's Shield to block it with or if the foe is a Ghost-type.
**Steel-types with Magnet Pull Teammates**: This is a bit more of an interesting "check" to Imposter Chansey, as it is composed of two Pokemon. The Steel-type will most likely have no switching moves unless the Magnet Pull Pokemon is immune to them, and it will also, noticeably, have no moves to hit the Magnet Pull Pokemon with. The result is that the Magnet Pull Pokemon traps Chansey, sets up on it, and sweeps your team. As such, extreme caution should be taken if you see a Steel-type Pokemon with moves that a Pokemon is conveniently immune to.
**Pokemon with Frustration or Return**: The Base Power of Frustration and Return is based on Chansey's happiness, not the copied Pokemon's happiness, when Chansey uses them. As such, if Chansey has the default amount of happiness, Frustration will most likely do around 1 damage. If you set Chansey's happiness to 0, Return and Frustration will switch places in terms of damage. Setting Chansey's happiness level to one of the two lets you deal with the one you pick, but not the other.
GP: GatoDelFuego | Snobalt
"... Then I added a Chansey because really, this is bh." aesf in his Balanced Hackmons RMT.
[OVERVIEW]
Chansey is the definition of the Balanced Hackmons metagame. If a team isn't prepared for at least one of its own sweepers, the team will usually get swept by one of its sweepers via Imposter Chansey. If a team doesn't have Knock Off or Spore, -ate users are walled by Fur Coat Chansey. Chansey has a titanic HP stat, which is only second to Blissey's. This combined with Eviolite allows Chansey to have substantial special bulk and decent physical bulk. Imposter copies the opponent's defensive stats due to how Imposter works, while Fur Coat turns Chansey into an impressive physical wall by doubling her Defense stat, making both abilities excellent choices for Chansey. Imposter Chansey restricts the metagame to the point where you must run a wall or, at the very least, a check to your own sweeper; otherwise, your team can and will be swept by it. Fur Coat Chansey is an exceptional mixed wall that can take repeated punishment from even Mega Rayquaza despite its large attacking stats, and isn't hit super-effectively by most coverage moves due to its pure Normal typing. Due to its access to Eviolite and Lucky Punch for Imposter sets, Chansey is the superior choice over Blissey outside of a few niches Blissey has. Neither Chansey set likes Knock Off and Spore, especially Fur Coat Chansey, which no longer counters Mega Diancie and Mega Rayquaza if they carry Spore, so scouting the foe's moveset is highly recommended.
[SET]
name: Imposter
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Skill Swap
move 3: Recover / Wish
move 4: Whirlwind / Metal Burst / King's Shield
item: Eviolite / Lucky Punch
ability: Imposter
nature: Bold
evs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
ivs: 0 Atk
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
==========
Fake Out allows Chansey to break Illusion, which is the only ability that prevents it from transforming on the switch. This also can break Focus Sashes if needed, and it essentially deals free damage. The lone exceptions to this are Ghost-types such as Mega Gengar, as they are immune to Fake Out, so an Illusion Ghost-type can be hard to deal with. Skill Swap forces the foe to transform into Chansey if Chansey hasn't already transformed, except if the foe's ability is Multitype or Illusion. These two abilities are the only ones in Balanced Hackmons that have this property. One of the other reasons why Skill Swap is quite good is that it ignores the effects of the foe's Substitute, which is quite great for dealing with Substitute sweepers. Recover, or any other instant recovery move you choose to run, allows Chansey to instantly and reliably regain its health should it need to do so. Wish is another option that allows Chansey to pass half of its massive HP to either itself, which gives it a less instant form of recovery, or one of its allies. In most cases, the allies will be healed by more than half of their maximum HP due to Chansey's own massive HP stat. Whirlwind allows Chansey to phaze Substitute users, which Imposter doesn't work against, as well as prevent setup sweepers from setting up if they get too greedy. If the foe has Magic Bounce, Chansey will be phazed instead, but it still can be used to potentially prevent a sweep on non-Magic Bounce Pokemon. Metal Burst utilizes Chansey's ability to take very large amounts of damage due to its high HP and redirects any damage to the foe. Essentially, if Chansey gets hit by an attack, it will deal 150% of that damage to the foe, and thanks to Chansey's large HP stat, this can often result in taking out a major chunk of the foe's HP. It is highly recommended to minimize Speed IVs, shift the 8 Speed EVs to Special Defense, and change the nature on this set to Relaxed if Metal Burst is run due to the benefit of underspeeding base 50 Speed Pokemon. King's Shield takes advantage of the fact that the foe will most likely use a physical attack against Chansey, lowering their Attack if the move makes contact. Considering Chansey's lackluster physical bulk, even with Eviolite, this can be very crucial to keeping Chansey alive if Imposter fails to trigger.
Set Details
==========
248 EVs are invested in HP, as HP is the only stat that matters in most cases due to Imposter's mechanics, and 248 EVs are used over 252 to get an odd HP number for Curse and other forms of residual damage. Attack IVs are minimized and a Bold nature is run to minimize Foul Play and confusion damage, even though Chansey has an exceptionally low Attack stat regardless. Defense EVs are maximized because of Chansey's lackluster Defense stat when it doesn't transform into the foe. The rest of the EVs are put into Speed, as that is the only other stat that matters. Imposter allows Chansey to transform into the foe, copying attributes such as their stat boosts, moves, and species. Happiness can be changed to 0 or kept as the base 255, the former of which deals with Pokemon that rely on Frustration to deal with Imposter and the latter of which does so for Return. Because most items rely on the user's base species, not counting transformations, this opens up the option to run Eviolite or Lucky Punch on Imposter Chansey. Eviolite is run to increase the Defense and Special Defense of whatever Chansey transforms into by 50%. Lucky Punch can be run to increase Chansey's critical hit rate to 50%. This is exceptionally useful for breaking through the defensive boosts of the foe if they set up, and as such, it is better than Eviolite for dealing with most Poison Heal setup sweepers. It also can be used to deal with Pokemon that are simply not prepared for critical hits, such as -ate and Protean Pokemon.
Usage Tips
==========
Imposter Chansey is exceptionally useful to scout the foe's movesets, especially with Eviolite, so it is safe to switch it in if you're wondering about said movesets, except for a few cases. These include known "Imposter-proof" Pokemon such as Mega Gengar and Hoopa-U, frail Pokemon such as Deoxys-A, and Pokemon that typically carry moves that hit themselves super effectively. With these Pokemon, you must be far more cautious when sending out Imposter Chansey, as this can easily mean free setup for them. Speaking of setup, Imposter Chansey is also quite useful if the foe has set up. Some examples are foes with Simple + Geomancy or Contrary, depending on the set for the latter. In particular, if the opponent has no counters to their current Pokemon, you can send in Imposter Chansey and attempt to counter-sweep them. This Chansey can also be used to stall; because it copies the foe, you can utilize tools such as Aromatherapy, Defog, and Magic Bounce even if you don't have them on your team. It also effectively has infinite PP if it transforms into the foe due to Imposter's mechanics of "replenishing" transformed PP once you switch Chansey out.
Team Options
==========
Imposter Chansey is a massive amount of team support in itself due to it being able to scout movesets and counter-sweep, so it doesn't require too much of it to succeed. Of course, team support is always appreciated for any Pokemon, but Imposter Chansey doesn't need as much of it as others. A Pokemon that can deal with various "Imposter-proof" Pokemon, such as Yveltal for Mega Gengar and Hoopa-U, is highly recommended if you choose to rely on this for dealing with setup sweepers, because, as the name entails, Imposter Chansey cannot counter-sweep these in most cases. Entry hazard support from the likes of Registeel and Aegislash is always appreciated to deal chip damage and make a counter-sweep easier. Entry hazards also help against Sturdy Shedinja, which Chansey has a slightly difficult time against. Pivots, especially those with Magic Bounce, such as Registeel and Mega Audino, can also be used to prevent Chansey from taking a Knock Off and allow it to scout the foe's moveset safely.
[SET]
name: Fur Coat
move 1: Metal Burst
move 2: Recover / Wish
move 3: King's Shield / Whirlwind / Skill Swap
move 4: Baton Pass / U-turn
item: Eviolite
ability: Fur Coat
nature: Relaxed
evs: 8 HP / 252 Def / 248 SpD
ivs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves:
==========
Due to Chansey's high HP stat, Metal Burst can deal a lot of damage to the foe if Chansey gets hit by a strong attack, and it can potentially OHKO the foe depending on the attack. Fur Coat Chansey is better at this role than Imposter Chansey is due to its massive physical bulk by comparison, allowing it to take more hits. Recover, or any other recovery move, allows Chansey to heal itself by a sizable portion of its HP reliably. Wish allows Chansey to heal its allies while also providing itself with another, albeit less reliable, form of healing. King's Shield lowers the foe's Attack if they use a contact move on Chansey. Most physical moves fall into this category, which means that King's Shield can be used to take advantage of the foe attempting to hit Chansey with a physical attack. It can also be used to scout your foe's moveset. Whirlwind allows Chansey to phaze the foe in an emergency. This can potentially be used to prevent a sweep if the foe doesn't have Magic Bounce. Skill Swap is an alternate option over Whirlwind; while it doesn't phaze the sweeper, it neutralizes their ability and can potentially make them easier to deal with. This works exceptionally well against Poison Heal sweepers. Baton Pass allows Chansey to preserve momentum and somewhat scout the foe's moveset by taking a hit with its sizable bulk and switching out. Baton Pass also has a massive 64 PP, allowing you to use it throughout the match. U-turn is similar to Baton Pass, but it cannot be Taunted or bounced back via Magic Bounce. The alternative, Volt Switch, has Pokemon immune to it, whereas U-turn does not. U-turn is a contact move, however, so Chansey will take Rocky Helmet damage whenever this move is used. Both of these options provide quite a bit of team support, as they are essentially a slow, safe switch into whatever offensive threat you want to send in.
Set Details
==========
8 EVs are invested into HP to result in an odd HP number for most forms of percentage-based damage such as Curse. This is the only place we can allot these EVs while still making them useful. HP EVs aren't maximized; this ensures that Eviolite provides as much of a benefit as possible. Attack IVs are minimized for Foul Play damage to be as low as possible. Defense EVs are maximized to increase the benefits given by both Fur Coat and Eviolite. A Relaxed nature also contributes to Chansey's massive physical bulk by boosting it by another 10%. This gives Chansey an effective Defense stat of a fully invested and positive-natured base 130 Defense Pokemon! The rest is put into Special Defense, as that is the only other stat that matters, outside of Speed, which is minimized as much as possible to preserve momentum by providing a slow, safer switch for frailer sweepers, as well as maximizing Metal Burst's effectiveness due to its dependence on the user's Speed stat. Fur Coat is run to double Chansey's Defense, allowing it to be effective as a physical wall, and Eviolite is run to increase Chansey's Defense and Special Defense by 50% on top of what Fur Coat provides for Defense, maximizing Chansey's bulk.
Usage Tips
==========
Fur Coat Chansey is a counter to all -ate Pokemon, except if they have Spore, which is quite dangerous due to Chansey being unable to run Safety Goggles without being outclassed by other Fur Coat Pokemon such as Mega Audino or Giratina. It is highly recommended to scout your foe's moveset beforehand to make sure they don't have this move. Fur Coat Chansey values its Eviolite immensely, so it requires careful planning before you switch it in; essentially, you need to make sure that the foe doesn't have Knock Off as well before blindly switching Chansey in. For reference, this set gets 2HKOed by Mega Rayquaza and Mega Diancie on the switch by Boomburst without its Eviolite. This is a mixed wall that can switch in on most attacks that don't hit it super effectively. If you need something to take a hit and phaze the foe or simply provide a safer switch into a sweeper such as Deoxys-A, you should probably switch Chansey in. Metal Burst requires a slight amount of prediction to pull off successfully, as Chansey can easily be left in the dust if the foe uses a status move. Keep this in mind before you click it thinking it's essentially free damage. Of course, Fur Coat Chansey should not be your catch-all to setup sweepers, as if they set up enough, Chansey can very easily be KOed even with its massive bulk. In most cases, however, Chansey can take a hit and phaze the foe with Whirlwind, or at the very least it can provide a safer switch into something that can threaten the foe.
Team Options
==========
Fur Coat Chansey provides quite a bit of team support in itself, but it still needs quite a bit of it. Entry hazard support from the likes of Aegislash and Registeel is appreciated to discourage Sturdy Shedinja from switching in, which threatens Chansey out with Endeavor. A Pokemon with Heal Bell or Aromatherapy, such as Mega Audino, is also nice to have, as the residual damage caused by these ailments can add up and hinder Fur Coat Chansey's ability to wall what it needs to. Another more interesting partner is Imposter Chansey, as it can be used to scout the foe's moveset for Spore or Knock Off, which Fur Coat Chansey doesn't like seeing. Poison Heal Pokemon such as Kyogre or Mega Audino, with their Toxic Orb activated, can be used to easily sponge Spores and Knock Offs that are thrown at Chansey.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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On the Imposter set, you can run Final Gambit to deal massive damage if Chansey's HP stat is high enough. Chansey is a valuable team member, on the other hand, so Final Gambit is not the best option, but it is still an option for offensive teams that might need to take out something bulky. Additionally, an alternate option for Chansey's fourth move is Parting Shot; this allows Chansey to phaze Magic Bounce Pokemon even if they are behind a Substitute. This provides a free switch for your opponent, however, which can lead to devastating outcomes. Another switching move such as U-turn, Volt Switch, or Baton Pass can be run over this to attempt to preserve momentum in the case that Chansey does not copy the foe, and all three of those moves are typically better than Parting Shot due to no possible free switches occurring for your opponent, outside of Ground-types that come in on Volt Switch. This is especially useful with Wish to bring a teammate that needs healing in safely. Another alternate option for Imposter Chansey's fourth move is Perish Song, which allows Chansey to put the foe on a timer and effectively force a switch after three turns, if not sooner. This move also has a bit of a surprise factor to it. Imposter Chansey can run a plethora of items that can be used to bluff Eviolite or Lucky Punch and catch most Imposter-proof sweepers by surprise. Spooky Plate allows Imposter Chansey to deal with Mega Gengar and potentially counter-sweep, Choice Scarf guarantees that Chansey will outspeed the foe if they aren't carrying one themselves, Safety Goggles allows Chansey to be immune to Spore, and Toxic Orb poisons Chansey and allows it to deal with Poison Heal Pokemon more effectively. On both the Imposter and the Fur Coat sets, Spiky Shield is an alternative over King's Shield that prevents Chansey from being affected by status moves such as Taunt and Spore and deals chip damage on contact rather than causing an Attack drop. This can be useful for dealing with Sturdy Shedinja, but there are better ways to do so.
As for the Fur Coat set, Stealth Rock is an option for the fourth move that allows Chansey to provide entry hazard support itself; however, there are better, more reliable entry hazard setters than Chansey, such as Registeel and Giratina.
In terms of alternate sets, a Magic Bounce set can be run on Chansey that is similar in structure to the Fur Coat set, but Fur Coat is typically better due to Chansey's only decent physical bulk without it. An Unaware set can be run that is also similar to the Fur Coat set, allowing Chansey to deal with special attackers that rely on setup quite nicely; however, this set fails horribly against physical attackers, similarly to the Magic Bounce set. A more gimmicky Imprison + Transform set can be run as well, with the most common ability that this set utilizes being Prankster. It doesn't work often, as your opponent will most likely see what's coming after using Imprison, but when it works, it effectively forces a switch.
Checks and Counters
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**Pokemon with Judgment**: Imposter Chansey also has a hard time dealing with other Pokemon that use Judgment, as in most cases, they will pick the Plate that hits Chansey the hardest. Examples of Pokemon that use Judgment are Mega Mewtwo Y and Mega Gengar; Mega Mewtwo X is a rarer example. In most cases, they pick a plate that gives them great coverage, such as Earth Plate Mega Mewtwo Y, whereas Chansey is stuck with a Normal-type Judgment that is easier to wall. This isn't so much of a problem with Fur Coat Chansey, depending on the foe's moveset. Mega Gengar and other Ghost-types are a special case as Chansey cannot deal with them at all without running Spooky Plate, as most only run Judgment and a Fighting-type coverage move. As such, Mega Gengar, and other Ghost-types that utilize this strategy, are said to be Imposter-proof. Fur Coat Chansey can potentially deal with Mega Gengar by either using Metal Burst on its Fighting-type coverage move or phazing it with Whirlwind if Mega Gengar's ability is not Magic Bounce, but Fur Coat Chansey cannot deal with Mega Gengar if Mega Gengar carries Spore or has Mold Breaker, the latter of which is exceptionally common. Other Ghost-types that utilize this strategy can be dealt with via a similar method.
**Hoopa-U**: Hoopa-U is, by far, the most Imposter-proof sweeper in existence. Hyperspace Fury only works if the user's original species is Hoopa-U, making it impossible to prepare for with Imposter Chansey. The Psychic-type immunity that Hoopa-U possesses is also hard to deal with, as most sets will be running Stored Power as well. Fur Coat Chansey can deal with it in a similar manner to non-Mold Breaker Mega Gengar, but Hyperspace Fury, especially when Hoopa-U has set up one or two Shell Smashes, will leave Chansey significantly crippled or KOed.
**Poison Heal Pokemon**: In general, Poison Heal Pokemon often cause Chansey a lot of grief due to their immunity to status ailments and passive healing, which they can and often will utilize with their movesets. Expect moves such as Will-O-Wisp, Spore, Dark Void, and Leech Seed to be present in an attempt to deal with Imposter Chansey.
**Mega Mewtwo X**: Mega Mewtwo X can Knock Off Chansey's Eviolite, which is especially dangerous for the Fur Coat set, and it can then proceed to click either Close Combat or V-create, the latter of which is the better option if Mega Mewtwo X has Protean due to the fact that it becomes immune to burns. Fur Coat Chansey can retaliate with Metal Burst, but this leaves it crippled.
**Sturdy Shedinja**: Shedinja's unique gimmick is that Sturdy is always active under most circumstances due to Shedinja's 1 HP. Of course, Chansey's HP is far greater than 1, meaning that Imposter Chansey cannot switch in on Sturdy Shedinja and expect good results. Fur Coat Chansey is threatened out by Endeavor, meaning that it isn't the ideal method to deal with Sturdy Shedinja either.
**Illusion Pokemon**: Imposter Chansey cannot transform into Illusion Pokemon, making them mostly Imposter-proof. Fake Out isn't always reliable, especially if the foe carries Spiky Shield or King's Shield to block it with or if the foe is a Ghost-type.
**Steel-types with Magnet Pull Teammates**: This is a bit more of an interesting "check" to Imposter Chansey, as it is composed of two Pokemon. The Steel-type will most likely have no switching moves unless the Magnet Pull Pokemon is immune to them, and it will also, noticeably, have no moves to hit the Magnet Pull Pokemon with. The result is that the Magnet Pull Pokemon traps Chansey, sets up on it, and sweeps your team. As such, extreme caution should be taken if you see a Steel-type Pokemon with moves that a Pokemon is conveniently immune to.
**Pokemon with Frustration or Return**: The Base Power of Frustration and Return is based on Chansey's happiness, not the copied Pokemon's happiness, when Chansey uses them. As such, if Chansey has the default amount of happiness, Frustration will most likely do around 1 damage. If you set Chansey's happiness to 0, Return and Frustration will switch places in terms of damage. Setting Chansey's happiness level to one of the two lets you deal with the one you pick, but not the other.
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