Barbaracle

Ash Borer

I've heard they're short of room in hell
Overview
########

Barbaracle is one of the most threatening one-turn setup sweepers in the Overused tier by virtue of Shell Smash. With usable defenses and a respectable set of resistances, Barbaracle can find opportunities to set up, and when it does, it can punch holes in teams or finish them off entirely. Offensively, Barbaracle is quite adept, with a dual STAB that grants useful super effective coverage, a number of coverage moves that make it hard to wall, and just enough Speed and Attack to make Shell Smash work. Though threatening, a boosted Barbaracle does not have the pure power to muscle through the bulky and stall-oriented part of the metagame, which includes Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur and Skarmory. Despite being able to outpace notable Choice Scarf users at +2 Speed, a base 68 Speed causes it fall just short of base 108 Speed Choice Scarf users. Barbaracle also struggles against priority-based revenge killers, and although few of them can cleanly OHKO it, opposing teams will often have more than one priority user to take it down with. Finally, Barbaracle doesn't have much up its sleeve other than Shell Smash, making it very predictable.


Shell Smash Sweeper
########
name: Shell Smash Sweeper
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Razor Shell
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake / Cross Chop
ability: Tough Claws
item: White Herb / Mystic Water
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe

Moves
========

Shell Smash boosts Barbaracle's Speed and Attack to very high levels in one turn, allowing it to severely dent opposing teams or even sweep them completely. Razor Shell is Barbaracle's primary STAB move, being far more accurate than Stone Edge and just on par in terms of power thanks to Tough Claws. Stone Edge is Barbaracle's secondary STAB move that cuts any Pokemon weak to it to ribbons, and is the strongest attack against Pokemon that resist Water-type moves and take neutral damage from Rock-type moves, such as Rotom-W. Both of Barbaracle's STAB moves are compulsory, as not only are they its strongest attacks, but they grant important super effective coverage, hitting some key physically defensive Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Mandibuzz. Earthquake is Barbaracle's best bet for muscling past Aegislash, as at +2 it cleanly OHKOes min Defense variants and has a good chance to defeat max HP variants after Stealth Rock damage. Earthquake offers 100% accuracy and good coverage in general, hitting Pokemon such as Jirachi very hard. Cross Chop allows Barbaracle to OHKO or deal massive damage to Pokemon such as Chansey. It also smashes Ferrothorn, which can otherwise comfortably take a hit from Barbaracle and OHKO or cripple it in return. Cross Chop 2HKOes Gastrodon, while the retaliatory Earth Power fails to OHKO back. A White Herb must be used to accomplish this, as Gastrodon's Earth Power will OHKO a Barbaracle with -1 Special Defense.

Set Details
========

The EVs for Barbaracle's Shell Smash set are simple and optimal. 232 Speed EVs and a Jolly nature allow +2 Barbaracle to outpace Deoxys-S as well as Choice Scarf users with base 102 Speed and under. An Adamant nature is acceptable to increase damage output; however, with it a boosted Barbaracle will fail to outspeed Choice Scarf Kyurem-B and anything faster. Full Attack investment maximizes Barbaracle's power, and it needs every ounce of strength it can get. Due to its lack of priority and the Defense drop from Shell Smash, Barbaracle usually cannot afford to run a Life Orb if it plans to sweep. Thus, more conservative options that can improve its survivability are favored. White Herb is an invaluable item to Barbaracle, allowing it to retain its solid physical bulk making it more resistant to priority. White Herb also restores the stat drop from Sticky Web, allowing Barbaracle to sweep after setting up against fast Choice Scarf users. Mystic Water is a considerable option as Razor Shell is the most frequently used move, and the power increase helps against a number of checks such as Garchomp. Lum Berry allows Barbaracle to set up in the face of status users; this is important, as the more setup opportunities it has, the better. Lum Berry also protects Barbaracle against Prankster status users such as Thundurus, Mega Banette, Sableye, and Klefki, all of which would otherwise stop a sweep. Finally, Life Orb may be considered on Barbaracle. The power boost is immense, letting Barbaracle act as a bit more of a wallbreaker than a sweeper, as the recoil is often too much for it to sweep in the face of priority moves or damage sustained damage while setting up.

Usage Tips
========

What must be understood about Barbaracle is that although it is fast and strong after one turn of set up, it can not cleanly OHKO everything. In some cases, bulky Pokemon with resistances to Barbaracle's best moves, such as Celebi, Garchomp, and Keldeo, can easily avoid an OHKO at full strength and retaliate with an OHKO. Because of this, it's best to leave Barbaracle for later in the game when these Pokemon have been weakened. Barbaracle is fantastic at tanking Extreme Speed and priority Brave Bird, as well as brushing off neutral priority moves. However, Fighting-type priority moves and the strongest neutral ones such as Scizor's Bullet Punch and Bisharp's Sucker Punch can do sizable amounts of damage to it. Thus, it is ill-advised to attempt to sweep without accounting for these moves, either by attempting to preserve's Barbaracle's HP during set up or trapping and eliminating these priority users. As for setup opportunities, taking advantage of resisted Choice-locked moves, especially Fire-type moves is ideal. A small number of Pokemon can be forced out by Barbaracle, creating turns to set up. Heatran and Tyranitar are probably the most common as they will often be slower and at risk of being knocked out by Barbaracle. In general, identify the bulky Pokemon that need to be worn down and the priority and Choice Scarf users that check Barbaracle offensively, and work so that they are sufficiently weakened before setting up.

Team Options
========

Like any sweeper, Barbaracle loves entry hazard support. Flying-types that are typically immune to Spikes are easily handled by Barbaracle's STAB combination, letting Barbaracle dominate both flying and grounded opponents when the entry hazard is set up. Dual screens, Memento, and suicide leads with Taunt can give Barbaracle many more chances to set up, turning the tide of the game very quickly. Deoxys-S excels at all of these roles and makes a good partner for Barbaracle. Latios is capable of a dual screens + Memento set which ensures set up even against very strong opponents. Because of Barbaracle's slow Speed and relative frailness, it has a hard time setting up, so this kind of support is strongly recommended. Pokemon that are able to defeat the hardest stops to Barbaracle are ideal partners. Strong wallbreakers such as Mega Medicham and Kyurem-B soften up the opponent's defenses easily getting past bulky Grass-types and physical walls thanks to their amazing power and coverage. With the right moves, trappers such as Gothitelle can work to beat many defensive checks to Barbaracle, such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Venusaur, and Rotom-W. Barbaracle's HP and Special Defense are overall mediocre, so removing entry hazards from your side of the field conserves precious HP that it needs to set and up and sweep successfully. Partners that can remove these entry hazards such Excadrill, Scizor, Latios, and Starmie are appreciated.


Other Options
########

Barbaracle has a decent set of other moves outside of the main ones listed. X-Scissor and Poison Jab do the most damage to bulkier Grass-types, and the former demolishes Celebi while the latter smashes Azumarill. These moves do notably more damage to super effective targets when compared to neutral Stone Edges thanks to Tough Claws. Dragon Claw is a clean OHKO on Garchomp and even bulky Mega Garchomp, but has little use otherwise. Taunt is a notable option for allowing Barbaracle to beat Skarmory one on one, as Brave Bird does little damage to it and the move prevents Skarmory from forcing it out with Whirlwind. It also facilitates more opportunities to use Shell Smash against defensive Pokemon that attempt to status Barbaracle. However, giving up a coverage move for Taunt makes sweeping easier to stop. Rock Slide should never be subbed in for Stone Edge even if you absolutely deplore missing, as the power drop is too substantial. Barbaracle is capable of a modestly proficient Choice set, and its access to Switcheroo is a selling point that allows it to pass a Choice item to an unsuspecting defensive check like Skarmory and cripple it.


Checks & Counters
#########

**Physical Walls and Tanks**: Bulky Pokemon that Barbaracle can't score super effective hits on, such as Skarmory, Mega Venusaur, Tangrowth, and physically defensive Clefable, or have very favorable type match-ups against it, such as Keldeo, can comfortably take a +2 attack. In nearly all of thesecases, the Pokemon can cripple Barbaracle, KO it, or disrupt its sweep.

**Strong Priority**: Exceptionally strong priority attacks from Pokemon such as Scizor and Bisharp and super effective ones such as Mach Punch will always hit Barbaracle, which has no priority of its own. Even though all but the absolute strongest priority moves cannot OHKO Barbaracle if it has White Herb, it will fall if the opponent has two or more priority users.

**Prankster Status**: Barbaracle is vulnerable to both paralysis and burn, thus Prankster status users such as Thundurus and Sableye can shut it down if it lacks Lum Berry.

**Incredibly Fast Choice Scarf Users**: Barbaracle is unable to outpace Choice Scarf users above base 108 Speed. Pokemon such as Keldeo or Latios are capable of revenge killing it should they have a Choice Scarf.

**Offensive Pressure**: Barbaracle's typing and raw bulk are not very impressive, so any reasonably strong attack will set Barbaracle up to be revenge killed by a priority move or a sturdy wall's attack, stopping its sweep entirely.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

ShootingStarmie

Bulletproof
is a Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Hey, sorry for the delay, but I've been really busy with irl stuff.

Anyway, in the overview, I'd mention that it's pretty weak to priority attacks after a Shell Smash, as Bullet Punch, Mach Punch, Aqua Jet and Vacuum Wave are very common.

You mention Cross Chop beating Mega Khan, which is banned from OU now, so remove that mention.

Due to it's low HP and SpDef, I'd say removing hazards is also very important, as you need as much health as possible to actually set up a Shell Smash, so I'd mention Excadrill as a good partner for it's ability to Spin, and I'd mention Scizor and Latias as also good partners as for their ability to use Defog.

There's another mention of Mega Khan in the checks and counters. Please remove it.

Overall I think the analysis is very good. Fix these few mistakes, and I'd be more than happy to stamp this.
 

Ash Borer

I've heard they're short of room in hell
Hey, sorry for the delay, but I've been really busy with irl stuff.

Anyway, in the overview, I'd mention that it's pretty weak to priority attacks after a Shell Smash, as Bullet Punch, Mach Punch, Aqua Jet and Vacuum Wave are very common.

You mention Cross Chop beating Mega Khan, which is banned from OU now, so remove that mention.

Due to it's low HP and SpDef, I'd say removing hazards is also very important, as you need as much health as possible to actually set up a Shell Smash, so I'd mention Excadrill as a good partner for it's ability to Spin, and I'd mention Scizor and Latias as also good partners as for their ability to use Defog.

There's another mention of Mega Khan in the checks and counters. Please remove it.

Overall I think the analysis is very good. Fix these few mistakes, and I'd be more than happy to stamp this.
thanks, implemented. I wrote this a couple days before Kanga was banned :3
 
needs mention that it's best offensive moves save earthquake all lack 100% acc so misses can/will be costly.
 

Ash Borer

I've heard they're short of room in hell
needs mention that it's best offensive moves save earthquake all lack 100% acc so misses can/will be costly.
Razor shell has 95 and it is on par with stone edge so it is the most often used move. I've mentioned rock slide as an alternative, and mentioned the merit of Earthquake's accuracy. It will be said dont worry this thing is a missing machine if you have to cross chop and stone edge more than once
 

alexwolf

lurks in the shadows
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Cross Chop > EQ, otherwise Ferro walls you. I don't think that EQ covers anything really important that the other moves don't at +2, so AC is better for it if you really hate having no 100% accurate moves.
 

Ash Borer

I've heard they're short of room in hell
Cross Chop > EQ, otherwise Ferro walls you. I don't think that EQ covers anything really important that the other moves don't at +2, so AC is better for it if you really hate having no 100% accurate moves.
It OHKOs max hp Aegislash after stealth rocks who really ruins your day otherwise. It also OHKOs max hp jirachi after rocks who also messes you up pretty badly. I think both moves are close to par for how useful they are to be honest.

It's Ferro and Chansey vs. AEgis and Jirachi. Klefki is also a thing, if you run lum berry and EQ you get around its prankster T-wave.
 

alexwolf

lurks in the shadows
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
It OHKOs max hp Aegislash after stealth rocks who really ruins your day otherwise. It also OHKOs max hp jirachi after rocks who also messes you up pretty badly. I think both moves are close to par for how useful they are to be honest.

It's Ferro and Chansey vs. AEgis and Jirachi. Klefki is also a thing, if you run lum berry and EQ you get around its prankster T-wave.
Fair enough, i leave it up to you.
 

AccidentalGreed

Sweet and bitter as chocolate.
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus

KABOOM APPROVED 3/3

Pretty simple and well done analysis. Be sure, however, to check your punctuation and capitalization, which you can fix before GP can do it for you.
 

Ash Borer

I've heard they're short of room in hell

KABOOM APPROVED 3/3

Pretty simple and well done analysis. Be sure, however, to check your punctuation and capitalization, which you can fix before GP can do it for you.
thanks AG, i'll be actively editing this to improve the grammar, syntax, and spelling errors.
 
Amateur Check here

Additions
Removals
(Comments)

Overview
########


Barbaracle is one of the most threatening one turn set ups in the Overused tier, by virtue of Shell Smash. With usable defenses, and a respectable set of resistances, (AC) Barbaracle can find opportunities to set up, and when it does, it can punches holes in teams, (remove comma) or finishes them off entirely. Offensively, Barbaracle is quite good, with a dual STAB that grants useful super effective coverage, a number of coverage moves that make it hard to wall, and just enough Speed and Attack to make Shell Smash work. Though threatening, (AC) Barbaracle even at +2 Barbaracle it simply does not have the pure power to muscle through the bulky and stalling part of the metagame including Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur, or and Skarmory. Despite being able to outpace notable Choice Scarf users at +2 Speed, 68 base Speed causes it to fall just short of base 108 Speed Choice Scarf users and beyond. Priority based revenge killers are not fun for Barbaracle either too, and although few can cleanly OHKO it, often teams will often have more than one and manage to take it down. (not a fan of the wording for this sentence; I feel like "Barbaracle also struggles against priority based revenge killers and even though few priority users can cleanly OHKO it, opposing teams will often have more than one priority user to take it down." or something along those lines works better) Finally, Barbaracle doesnt have much else up its sleeve other than Shell Smash so it is very predictable.

Shell Smash Sweeper
########
name: Shell Smash Sweeper
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Stone edge
move 3: Razor Shell
move 4: Earthquake / Cross Chop
ability: Tough Claws
item: White Herb / Mystic Water
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 232 Spe / 24 HP

Moves
========

Shell Smash boosts Barbaracle's Speed and Attack to very high levels in one turn, allowing it you to make severely dents in opposing teams, or even sweeping them completely. Razor Shell is Barbaracle's primary STAB move being far more accurate than Stone Edge, and just on par for power thanks to Tough Claws. Stone Edge is Barbaracle's secondary STAB that allows it to cut anything weak to it to ribbons, and offers the strongest attack against a number of Water-type resists that take neutral damage from Rock-type attacks, such as Rotom-W. Both of Barbaracle's STAB are compulsory as not only are they its your strongest attacks, but they grant important super effective coverage (insert emdash) hitting some key physically defensive Pokemon such as like Landorus-T, (remove comma) and Mandibuzz. Earthquake is Barbaracle's best bet at muscling past Aegislash, as at +2 it cleanly OHKOes min defense variants and has a good chance at defeating max HP variants in one hit after Stealth Rock damage. Earthquake also offers 100% accuracy, and good coverage in general, hitting Pokemon such as Jirachi very hard. Cross Chop allows Barbaracle to OHKO, or deal massive damage to Pokemon such as Chansey, (remove comma) and Ferrothorn who otherwise can comfortably take a hit from Barbaracle, and in return OHKO it or cripple it. Gastrodon can be defeated with Cross Chop achieving a 2HKO on it Cross Chop 2HKOes Gastrodon, while the retaliatory Earth Power fails to OHKO. A White Herb must be used to accomplish this, as with -1 Special Defense, Gastrodon's Earth Power will OHKO Barbaracle.


Set Details
========

The EVs for Barbaracle's Shell Smash set are simple, and optimal. 232 Speed EVs with Jolly nature just outpaces Deoxys-S when at +2, as well as Choice Scarf users base 102 Speed and under. An Adamant nature is acceptable to increase damage output, however, at +2 Speed Barbaracle will fail to outspeed including and beyond Choice Scarf Kyurem-B and any faster scarfer. Max Attack maximizes Barbaracle's power and it needs every ounce of strength it can get. Due to a lack of priority that Barbaracle has, and the defense dropping nature of Shell Smash, (AC) it usually cannot afford to run a Life Orb if it plans to sweep, thus more conservative options that can improve survivability are favorable. White Herb is an invaluable item to Barbaracle, as it allows it to retain its solid physical bulk meaning it is more resistant to priority. White Herb also restores the stat drop of Sticky Web allowing Barbaracle to still sweep after setup against fast Scarfers. Lum Berry allows Barbaracle to set up in the face of status users, (change comma to semicolon) this is important, as the more set up opportunities it has, the better. Lum Berry also protects against Prankster status users, such as Thundurus, Mega Banette, Sableye, and Klefki, all of which would stop a sweep if not for not the Lum. Mystic Water is a considerable option as Razor Shell is the most often used move and the power increase helps beat a a number of checks like Garchomp soundly. Finally, Life Orb may be considered on Barbaracle. The power boost is immense, letting Barbaracle act as a bit more of a wallbreaker than a sweeper, as the recoil is often too much to sweep in the face of any priority or sustained damage on setup.
(just a suggestion; why not move Mystic Water up? if it has a slash on the main set then wouldn't it be better to talk about it sooner like after you talk about White Herb?)


Usage Tips
========

What must be understood about Barbaracle is that although it is fast, (remove comma) and strong after one turn, (AC) it can not cleanly OHKO everything. Just plain bulky Pokemon with resists to Barbaracle's best moves in some cases, such as Celebi, Garchomp and Keldeo easily avoid an OHKO at full HP strength and retaliate with an OHKO in return. Because of this is, (AC) very advisable it's best to leave Barbaracle for later in the game when these Pokemon have been weakened somewhat. Barbaracle is fantastic at tanking Extremespeed, (remove comma) and priority Brave Bird, as well as not falling to weaker neutral priority. However, Fighting-type priority and the strongest neutral prioritiy moves moves such as Scizor's Bullet Punch, (remove comma) and Bisharp's Sucker Punch can do sizable damage, (change comma to period) Thus, attempting to sweep without accounting for these moves by attempting to preserve's Barbaracle's HP during set up, or trapping and eliminating these priority users is ill advised. (this sentence could use some rewording) As for setup opportunities, (AC) taking advantage of typical choiced resistances, especially Fire-type moves can be very easily exploited. A small number of pokemon can be forced out by Barbaracle, creating turns to set up. Heatran and Tyranitar are probably the most common as they will often be slower and risk in danger of being knocked out by Barbaracle. In general, identify the bulky pokemon that need to be worn down, identify the priority or Choice Scarf users that offensively check Barbaracle, and ensure work so that they are sufficiently weakened before setting up.

Team Options
========

Like any sweeper, (AC) Barbaracle loves hazard support, and lots of it. Due to Stone Edge's ability to demolish countless Flying-types, and Razor Shell being to able to eviscerate these same types with Stealth Rock neutralities such as Gliscor and Landorus, spike stacking allows Barbaracle to breeze through typical checks. Dual Screens, Memento, (AC) and suicidal Taunt users can give Barbaracle many more chances to set up, turning the tide of the game very quickly. Deoxys-Speed excels at all of these roles, (remova comma) and makes a good partner to Barbaracle. Latios is capable of a Memento + Dual Screen set which ensures set up against even very strong opponents. Because of Barbaracle's slow Speed and relative frailness, (AC) it has a hard to time setting up without this kind of support, it is strongly recommended. Pokemon that are able to defeat the hardest stops to Barbaracle are ideal partners, (change comma to period) Strong wallbreakers such as Mega Medicham, (remove comma) and Kyurem-Black can beat down bulky Grass-types grass types, and physical walls with mixed attacking, and coverage moves. Trappers such as Gothitelle can work to beat many defensive checks to Barbaracle such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Venusaur, and Rotom-W with the right coverage moves. Barbaracle's HP and Special Defense are overall mediocre, so removing hazards from your side conserves precious HP that it needs to set and up and successfully sweep. Partners such as Excadrill, Scizor, Latios, or Starmie are appreciated.

Other Options
########

Barbaracle has a decent set of other moves outside of the main ones listed. X-Scissor and Poison Jab do the absolute most damage to bulkier Grass-types, and X-Scissor demolishes Celebi a would be counter; Celebi. Poison Jab also does the most damage to Azumarill Barbaracle can muster. These moves do notably more on a super effective hit compared to a neutral Stone Edge thanks to Tough Claws. Dragon Claw is a clean OHKO on Garchomp, even a bulky Mega forme, but has little use otherwise. Taunt is a notable option as it allows you to beat Skarmory one on one, as its Brave Bird does little damage, (remove comma) and you can not be forced out by Whirlwind. It also facilitates some more opportunities to use Shell Smash, (remove comma) against defensive Pokemon that would attempt to status you. However, giving up a coverage move for Taunt makes sweeping easier to stop. Rock Slide should never be subbed in for Stone Edge even if you absolutely deplore missing, as the power drop is too substantial. Barbaracle is capable of a modestly proficient choice set, (remove comma) and access to Switcheroo is a selling point as it is generally unexpected and will often be passed a defensive check like Skarmory, crippling it.

Checks & Counters
#########

**Physical Walls and Tanks**: Bulky Pokemon that Barbaracle can't score super effective hits on, such as Skarmory, Mega Venusaur, Tangrowth, Physically Defensive Clefable, or fairly bulky pokemon that have very favorable type match ups such as Keldeo can comfortably take a +2 attack, and in nearly all cases have something to cripple it, KO it, or disrupt its sweep.

**Strong Priority**: Exceptionally strong priority users such as Scizor and Bisharp, or super effective priority attacks such as Mach Punch will always hit Barbaracle as it has no priority of its own. Even though all but the absolute strongest Most non-super effective priority moves cannot OHKO if Barbaracle if it has White Herb, but if the opponent has two or more priority users of these Pokemon, (AC) or more Barbaracle will get taken down.

**Prankster Status**: Barbaracle is vulnerable to both Paralysis, (remove comma) and Burn, thus Prankster status users such as Sableye, (remove comma) or Thundurus will be able to shut down Barbaracle in the middle of a sweep should it lack a Lum Berry.

**Incredibly Fast Choice Scarf Users**: Barbaracle is unable to outpace Choice Scarf users above base 105 Speed. Pokemon such as Keldeo or Latios are capable of revenge killing it should they have a Choice Scarf. (you say 105 here but you say 108 earlier in the analysis?)

**Offensive Pressure**: Barbaracle's typing, (remove comma) and raw bulk are nothing to be impressed by, (change comma to semicolon) any reasonably strong attack will make it easy for set up Barbaracle to be revenge killed by any priority or a sturdy wall's attack stopping its sweep entirely.
 

MyNameIsVeryCreative

Banned deucer.
How is focus sash not an option on shell smash Barbaracle? I find it absolutely necessary in most situations. It should be slashed with the other held items you have listed.
 
How is focus sash not an option on shell smash Barbaracle? I find it absolutely necessary in most situations. It should be slashed with the other held items you have listed.
Focus Sash is a pretty below-average item on Barbaricale. Firstly, Focus Sash is only working at full health, meaning it's useless if hazards are on the field or if Barbaracle has taken any prior damage. Second, there is so much priority this generation, meaning Barbaracle is easily revenge killed after it's been brought down to it's Focus Sash. Finally, with 115 Defense and 86 Special Defense, Barbaracle is actually decently bulky, and can almost always survive at least one hit before setting up.
 

blitzlefan

shake it off!
Well written analysis-nice prose!

Question: If Razor Shell is Barbaracle's "primary STAB move", shouldn't it be higher up in the set than Stone Edge is?

If you could clarify this sentence "Strong wallbreakers such as Mega Medicham, and Kyurem-Black can beat down bulky Grass-types, and physical walls with mixed attacking, and coverage moves.", it'd be really helpful! I've left it mostly unchanged, because are the physical walls taken down or are they good partners?

Overview
########

Barbaracle is one of the most threatening one-turn setup sweepers in the Overused tier, by virtue of Shell Smash. With usable defenses and a respectable set of resistances, Barbaracle can find opportunities to set up, and when it does, it can punch holes in teams or finish them off entirely. Offensively, Barbaracle is quite good, with a dual STAB that grants useful super effective coverage, a number of coverage moves that make it hard to wall, and just enough Speed and Attack to make Shell Smash work. Though threatening, a boosted Barbaracle does not have the pure power to muscle through the bulky and stall-oriented part of the metagame, which includes Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur and Skarmory. Despite being able to outpace notable Choice Scarf users at +2 Speed, a base 68 Speed causes it fall just short of base 108 Speed Choice Scarf users. Barbaracle also struggles against priority-based revenge killers, and although few of them can cleanly OHKO it, opposing teams will often have more than one priority user to take it down with. Finally, Barbaracle doesn't have much up its sleeve other than Shell Smash, so it is very predictable.


Shell Smash Sweeper
########
name: Shell Smash Sweeper
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Stone edge
move 3: Razor Shell
move 4: Earthquake / Cross Chop
ability: Tough Claws
item: White Herb / Mystic Water
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe

Moves
========

Shell Smash boosts Barbaracle's Speed and Attack to very high levels in one turn, allowing it to severely dent opposing teams or even sweep them completely. Razor Shell is Barbaracle's primary STAB move, being far more accurate than Stone Edge and just on par in terms of power thanks to Tough Claws. Stone Edge is Barbaracle's secondary STAB move, and cuts any Pokemon weak to it to ribbons, and is the strongest attack against Pokemon that resist Water-type moves and take neutral damage from Rock-type moves, such as Rotom-W. Both of Barbaracle's STAB moves are compulsory, as not only are they its strongest attacks, but they grant important super effective coverage, hitting some key physically defensive Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Mandibuzz. Earthquake is Barbaracle's best bet for muscling past Aegislash, as at +2 it cleanly OHKOes min Defense variants and has a good chance to defeat max HP variants after Stealth Rock damage. Earthquake offers 100% accuracy and good coverage in general, hitting Pokemon such as Jirachi very hard. Cross Chop allows Barbaracle to OHKO or deal massive damage to Pokemon such as Chansey. It also smashes Ferrothorn, which can otherwise comfortably take a hit from Barbaracle and OHKO or cripple it in return. Cross Chop 2HKOes Gastrodon, while the retaliatory Earth Power fails to OHKO. A White Herb must be used to accomplish this, as Gastrodon's Earth Power will OHKO a Barbaracle with -1 Special Defense.

Set Details
========

The EVs for Barbaracle's Shell Smash set are simple and optimal. 232 Speed EVs and a Jolly nature allow +2 Barbaracle to outpace Deoxys-S as well as Choice Scarf users with base 102 Speed and under. An Adamant nature is acceptable to increase damage output; however, with it a boosted Barbaracle will fail to outspeed Choice Scarf Kyurem-B and anything faster. Full Attack investment maximizes Barbaracle's power, and it needs every ounce of strength it can get. Due to its lack of priority and the Defense drop from Shell Smash, Barbaracle usually cannot afford to run a Life Orb if it plans to sweep, thus more conservative options that can improve its survivability are favored. White Herb is an invaluable item to Barbaracle, allowing it to retain its solid physical bulk and making it more resistant to priority. White Herb also restores the stat drop from Sticky Web, allowing Barbaracle to sweep after setting up against fast Choice Scarf users. Mystic Water is a considerable option as Razor Shell is the most commonly used move, and the power increase helps against a number of checks such as Garchomp. Lum Berry allows Barbaracle to set up in the face of status users; this is important, as the more setup opportunities it has, the better. Lum Berry also protects Barbaracle from Prankster status users such as Thundurus, Mega Banette, Sableye, and Klefki, all of which would otherwise stop a sweep. Finally, Life Orb may be considered on Barbaracle. The power boost is immense, letting Barbaracle act as a bit more of a wallbreaker than a sweeper, as the recoil is often too much for it to sweep in the face of priority moves or damage sustained damage while setting up.

Usage Tips
========

What must be understood about Barbaracle is that although it is fast and strong after one turn of set up, it can not cleanly OHKO everything. In some cases, bulky Pokemon with resistances to Barbaracle's best moves, such as Celebi, Garchomp, and Keldeo, can easily avoid an OHKO at full strength and retaliate with an OHKO. Because of this, it's best to leave Barbaracle for later in the game when these Pokemon have been weakened. Barbaracle is fantastic at tanking Extreme Speed and priority Brave Bird, as well as not falling to weaker neutral priority moves. However, Fighting-type priority moves and the strongest neutral ones such as Scizor's Bullet Punch and Bisharp's Sucker Punch can do sizable amounts of damage to it. Thus, it is ill-advised to attempt to sweep without accounting for these moves, either by attempting to preserve's Barbaracle's HP during set up or trapping and eliminating these priority users. As for setup opportunities, taking advantage of Choice-locked moves that Barbaracle resists, especially Fire-type moves, can be very beneficial. A small number of Pokemon can be forced out by Barbaracle, creating turns to set up. Heatran and Tyranitar are probably the most common as they will often be slower and at risk of being knocked out by Barbaracle. In general, identify the bulky Pokemon that need to be worn down and the priority or Choice Scarf users that check Barbaracle offensively, and work so that they are sufficiently weakened before setting up.

Team Options
========

Like any sweeper, Barbaracle loves lots of entry hazard support. Due to Stone Edge's ability to demolish countless Flying-types and Razor Shell being to able to eviscerate Flying-types that take neutral damage from Stealth Rock, such as Gliscor and Landorus, Spikes allow Barbaracle to breeze through its typical checks. Dual screens, Memento, and suicide leads with Taunt can give Barbaracle many more chances to set up, turning the tide of the game very quickly. Deoxys-S excels at all of these roles and makes a good partner for Barbaracle. Latios is capable of a dual screens + Memento set which ensures set up even against very strong opponents. Because of Barbaracle's slow Speed and relative frailness, it has a hard time setting up, so this kind of support is strongly recommended. Pokemon that are able to defeat the hardest stops to Barbaracle are ideal partners. Strong wallbreakers such as Mega Medicham and Kyurem-B can beat down bulky Grass-types and physical walls with mixed attacking options and coverage moves. With the right moves, trappers such as Gothitelle can work to beat many defensive checks to Barbaracle, such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Venusaur, and Rotom-W. Barbaracle's HP and Special Defense are overall mediocre, so removing hazards from your side of the field conserves precious HP that it needs to set and up and sweep successfully. Partners such as Excadrill, Scizor, Latios, and Starmie are appreciated.


Other Options
########

Barbaracle has a decent set of other moves outside of the main ones listed. X-Scissor and Poison Jab do the most damage to bulkier Grass-types, and the former demolishes Celebi while the latter smashes Azumarill. These moves do notably more damage to super effective targets when compared to neutral Stone Edges thanks to Tough Claws. Dragon Claw is a clean OHKO on Garchomp, even bulky Mega Garchomp, but has little use otherwise. Taunt is a notable option for allowing Barbaracle to beat Skarmory one on one, as Brave Bird does little damage to it and the move prevents Skarmory from forcing it out with Whirlwind. It also facilitates more opportunities to use Shell Smash against defensive Pokemon that attempt to status Barbaracle. However, giving up a coverage move for Taunt makes sweeping easier to stop. Rock Slide should never be subbed in for Stone Edge even if you absolutely deplore missing, as the power drop is too substantial. Barbaracle is capable of a modestly proficient Choice set, and its access to Switcheroo is a selling point that allows it to pass a Choice item to an unsuspecting defensive check like Skarmory and cripple it.


Checks & Counters
#########

**Physical Walls and Tanks**: Bulky Pokemon that Barbaracle can't score super effective hits on, such as Skarmory, Mega Venusaur, Tangrowth, and physically defensive Clefable, or have very favorable type match-ups against it, such as Keldeo, can comfortably take a +2 attack. In nearly all of cases, the Pokemon can cripple it, KO it, or disrupt its sweep.

**Strong Priority**: Exceptionally strong priority attacks from Pokemon such as Scizor and Bisharp, and super effective ones such as Mach Punch will always hit Barbaracle, which has no priority of its own. Even though all but the absolute strongest priority moves cannot OHKO Barbaracle if it has White Herb, it will fall if the opponent has two or more priority users.

**Prankster Status**: Barbaracle is vulnerable to both paralysis and burn, thus Prankster status users such as Thundurus and Sableye can shut it down if it lacks Lum Berry.

**Incredibly Fast Choice Scarf Users**: Barbaracle is unable to outpace Choice Scarf users above base 108 Speed. Pokemon such as Keldeo or Latios are capable of revenge killing it should they have a Choice Scarf.

**Offensive Pressure**: Barbaracle's typing and raw bulk are not very impressive, so any reasonably strong attack will set Barbaracle up to be revenge killed by a priority move or a sturdy wall's attack, stopping its sweep entirely.

Overview
########


Barbaracle is one of the most threatening one -turn set up sweepers in the Overused tier, by virtue of Shell Smash. With usable defenses, and a respectable set of resistances, Barbaracle can find opportunities to set up, and when it does, it can punch holes in teams, or finish them off entirely. Offensively, Barbaracle is quite good, with a dual STAB that grants useful super effective coverage, a number of coverage moves that make it hard to wall, and just enough Speed and Attack to make Shell Smash work. Though threatening, at +2 boosted Barbaracle simply does not have the pure power to muscle through the bulky and stalling-oriented part of the metagame, which includinges Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur, and Skarmory. Despite being able to outpace notable Choice Scarf users at +2 Speed, 68a base 68 Speed causes it fall just short of base 108 Speed Choice Scarf users and beyond. Barbaracle also struggles against priority -based revenge killers, and even although few of them can cleanly OHKO it, opposing teams will often have more than one priority user to take it down with. Finally, Barbaracle doesn't have much else up its sleeve other than Shell Smash, so it is very predictable.


Shell Smash Sweeper
########
name: Shell Smash Sweeper
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Stone edge
move 3: Razor Shell
move 4: Earthquake / Cross Chop
ability: Tough Claws
item: White Herb / Mystic Water
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe / 24 HP

Moves
========

Shell Smash boosts Barbaracle's Speed and Attack to very high levels in one turn, allowing it to severely dent opposing teams, or even sweep them completely. Razor Shell is Barbaracle's primary STAB move, being far more accurate than Stone Edge, and just on par forin terms of power thanks to Tough Claws. Stone Edge is Barbaracle's secondary STAB that allows it tomove, and cuts anything Pokemon weak to it to ribbons, and offeris the strongest attack against a number ofPokemon that resist Water-type resists thatmoves and take neutral damage from Rock-type attackmoves, such as Rotom-W. Both of Barbaracle's STAB moves are compulsory, as not only are they its strongest attacks, but they grant important super effective coverage -, hitting some key physically defensive Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Mandibuzz. Earthquake is Barbaracle's best bet atfor muscling past Aegislash, as at +2 it cleanly OHKOes min dDefense variants and has a good chance ato defeating max HP variants in one hit after Stealth Rock damage. Earthquake also offers 100% accuracy, and good coverage in general, hitting Pokemon such as Jirachi very hard. Cross Chop allows Barbaracle to OHKO, or deal massive damage to Pokemon such as Chansey, and. It also smashes Ferrothorn, whoich can otherwise can comfortably take a hit from Barbaracle, and in return OHKO it or cripple it in return. Cross Chop 2HKOes Gastrodon, while the retaliatory Earth Power fails to OHKO. A White Herb must be used to accomplish this, as with -1 Special Defense, Gastrodon's Earth Power will OHKO a Barbaracle with -1 Special Defense.


Set Details
========

The EVs for Barbaracle's Shell Smash set are simple, and optimal. 232 Speed EVs withand a Jolly nature justallow +2 Barbaracle to outpaces Deoxys-S when at +2, as well as Choice Scarf users with base 102 Speed and under. An Adamant nature is acceptable to increase damage output,; however, at +2 Spewith it a boosted Barbaracle will fail to outspeed Choice Scarf Kyurem-B and anything faster. MaxFull Attack investment maximizes Barbaracle's power, and it needs every ounce of strength it can get. Due to its lack of priority that Barbaracle has, and the dDefense dropping nature of from Shell Smash, itBarbaracle usually can not afford to run a Life Orb if it plans to sweep, thus more conservative options that can improve its survivability are favorabled. White Herb is an invaluable item to Barbaracle, as it allowsing it to retain its solid physical bulk meanand making it is more resistant to priority. White Herb also restores the stat drop offrom Sticky Web, allowing Barbaracle to still sweep after setting up against fast Choice Scarf users. Mystic Water is a considerable option as Razor Shell is the most oftencommonly used move, and the power increase helps beagainst a a number of checks likesuch as Garchomp soundly. Lum Berry allows Barbaracle to set up in the face of status users,; this is important, as the more set up opportunities it has, the better. Lum Berry also protects againstBarbaracle from Prankster status users, such as Thundurus, Mega Banette, Sableye, and Klefki, all of which would otherwise stop a sweep for not the Lum. Finally, Life Orb may be considered on Barbaracle. The power boost is immense, letting Barbaracle act as a bit more of a wallbreaker than a sweeper, as the recoil is often too much for it to sweep in the face of any priority moves or damage sustained damage onwhile setting up.


Usage Tips
========

What must be understood about Barbaracle is that although it is fast and strong after one turn of set up, it can not cleanly OHKO everything. Just plainIn some cases, bulky Pokemon with resistances to Barbaracle's best moves in some cases, such as Celebi, Garchomp, and Keldeo, can easily avoid an OHKO at full strength and retaliate with an OHKO. Because of this, it's best to leave Barbaracle for later in the game when these Pokemon have been weakened somewhat. Barbaracle is fantastic at tanking Extremes Speeed and priority Brave Bird, as well as not falling to weaker neutral priority moves. However, Fighting-type priority moves and the strongest neutral prioritiy moves movones such as Scizor's Bullet Punch and Bisharp's Sucker Punch can do sizable amounts of damage to it. Thus, it is ill-advised to attempting to sweep without accounting for these moves, either by attempting to preserve's Barbaracle's HP during set up, or trapping and eliminating these priority users is ill advised. As for setup opportunities, taking advantage of typical choicChoice-locked resistancmoves that Barbaracle resists, especially Fire-type moves, can be very beneficiasily exploited. A small number of pPokemon can be forced out by Barbaracle, creating turns to set up. Heatran and Tyranitar are probably the most common as they will often be slower and at risk of being knocked out by Barbaracle. In general, identify the bulky pPokemon that need to be worn down, identify and the priority or Choice Scarf users that offensively check Barbaracle offensively, and work so that they are sufficiently weakened before setting up.

Team Options
========

Like any sweeper, Barbaracle loves lots of entry hazard support, and lots of it. Due to Stone Edge's ability to demolish countless Flying-types, and Razor Shell being to able to eviscerate these same types withFlying-types that take neutral damage from Stealth Rock neutralities, such as Gliscor and Landorus, sSpike stacking allows Barbaracle to breeze through its typical checks. Dual Sscreens, Memento, and suicidale leads with Taunt users can give Barbaracle many more chances to set up, turning the tide of the game very quickly. Deoxys-Speed excels at all of these roles and makes a good partner tofor Barbaracle. Latios is capable of a Mementodual screens + Dual ScreMemento set which ensures set up even against even very strong opponents. Because of Barbaracle's slow Speed and relative frailness, it has a hard to time setting up without, so this kind of support, it is strongly recommended. Pokemon that are able to defeat the hardest stops to Barbaracle are ideal partners. Strong wallbreakers such as Mega Medicham, and Kyurem-Black can beat down bulky Grass-types, and physical walls with mixed attacking, options and coverage moves. TWith the right moves, trappers such as Gothitelle can work to beat many defensive checks to Barbaracle, such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Venusaur, and Rotom-W with the right coverage moves. Barbaracle's HP and Special Defense are overall mediocre, so removing hazards from your side of the field conserves precious HP that it needs to set and up and sweep successfully sweep. Partners such as Excadrill, Scizor, Latios, orand Starmie are appreciated.


Other Options
########

Barbaracle has a decent set of other moves outside of the main ones listed. X-Scissor and Poison Jab do the absolute most damage to bulkier Grass-types, and X-Scissothe former demolishes Celebi. Poison Jab also does while the most damage tolatter smashes Azumarill. These moves do notably more damage ton a super effective hittargets when compared to a neutral Stone Edges thanks to Tough Claws. Dragon Claw is a clean OHKO on Garchomp, even a bulky Mega formeGarchomp, but has little use otherwise. Taunt is a notable option as itfor allows youing Barbaracle to beat Skarmory one on one, as its Brave Bird does little damage to it and you can not bethe move prevents Skarmory from forceding it out bywith Whirlwind. It also facilitates some more opportunities to use Shell Smash, against defensive Pokemon that would attempt to status youBarbaracle. However, giving up a coverage move for Taunt makes sweeping easier to stop. Rock Slide should never be subbed in for Stone Edge even if you absolutely deplore missing, as the power drop is too substantial. Barbaracle is capable of a modestly proficient cChoice set, and its access to Switcheroo is a selling point that allows it is generally unexpected and will often be passed ato pass a Choice item to an unsuspecting defensive check like Skarmory, and cripplinge it.


Checks & Counters
#########

**Physical Walls and Tanks**: Bulky Pokemon that Barbaracle can't score super effective hits on, such as Skarmory, Mega Venusaur, Tangrowth, Pand physically Ddefensive Clefable, or fairly bulky pokemon that have very favorable type match -ups against it, such as Keldeo, can comfortably take a +2 attack, and i. In nearly all of cases, thave something toPokemon can cripple it, KO it, or disrupt its sweep.

**Strong Priority**: Exceptionally strong priority usersattacks from Pokemon such as Scizor and Bisharp, orand super effective priority attackones such as Mach Punch will always hit Barbaracle as it, which has no priority of its own. Even though all but the absolute strongest priority moves can not OHKO Barbaracle if it has White Herb, butit will fall if the opponent has two or more Ppriority, Barbaracle will get taken down users.

**Prankster Status**: Barbaracle is vulnerable to both Pparalysis, and Bburn, thus Prankster status users such as Sableye, or Thundurus will be and Sableye tocan shut it down Barbaracle in the middle of a sweep should it lacks Lum Berry.

**Incredibly Fast Choice Scarf Users**: Barbaracle is unable to outpace Choice Scarf users above base 108 Speed. Pokemon such as Keldeo or Latios are capable of revenge killing it should they have a Choice Scarf.

**Offensive Pressure**: Barbaracle's typing, and raw bulk are nothing to be very impressived by, so any reasonably strong attack will set up Barbaracle up to be revenge killed by any priority move or a sturdy wall's attack, stopping its sweep entirely.

GP 1/2
 
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Overview
########

Barbaracle is one of the most threatening one-turn setup sweepers in the Overused tier,(RC) by virtue of Shell Smash. With usable defenses and a respectable set of resistances, Barbaracle can find opportunities to set up, and when it does, it can punch holes in teams or finish them off entirely. Offensively, Barbaracle is quite good adept, with a dual STAB that grants useful super effective coverage, a number of coverage moves that make it hard to wall, and just enough Speed and Attack to make Shell Smash work. Though threatening, a boosted Barbaracle does not have the pure power to muscle through the bulky and stall-oriented part of the metagame, which includes Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur and Skarmory. Despite being able to outpace notable Choice Scarf users at +2 Speed, a base 68 Speed causes it fall just short of base 108 Speed Choice Scarf users. Barbaracle also struggles against priority-based revenge killers, and although few of them can cleanly OHKO it, opposing teams will often have more than one priority user to take it down with. Finally, Barbaracle doesn't have much up its sleeve other than Shell Smash, so making it is very predictable.

Shell Smash Sweeper
########
name: Shell Smash Sweeper
move 1: Shell Smash
move 2: Razor Shell
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Earthquake / Cross Chop
ability: Tough Claws
item: White Herb / Mystic Water
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe

Moves
========

Shell Smash boosts Barbaracle's Speed and Attack to very high levels in one turn, allowing it to severely dent opposing teams or even sweep them completely. Razor Shell is Barbaracle's primary STAB move, being far more accurate than Stone Edge and just on par in terms of power thanks to Tough Claws. Stone Edge is Barbaracle's secondary STAB move, and cuts any Pokemon weak to it to ribbons, and is the strongest attack against Pokemon that resist Water-type moves and take neutral damage from Rock-type moves, such as Rotom-W. Both of Barbaracle's STAB moves are compulsory, as not only are they its strongest attacks, but they grant important super effective coverage, hitting some key physically defensive Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Mandibuzz. Earthquake is Barbaracle's best bet for muscling past Aegislash, as at +2 it cleanly OHKOes min Defense variants and has a good chance to defeat max HP variants after Stealth Rock damage. Earthquake offers 100% accuracy and good great coverage in general, hitting Pokemon such as Jirachi very hard. Cross Chop allows Barbaracle to OHKO or deal massive damage to Pokemon such as Chansey and . It also smashes Ferrothorn, which can otherwise comfortably take a hit from Barbaracle and OHKO or cripple it in return. Cross Chop 2HKOes Gastrodon, while the retaliatory Earth Power fails to OHKO back. A White Herb must be used to accomplish this, as Gastrodon's Earth Power will OHKO a Barbaracle with -1 Special Defense.

Set Details
========

The EVs for Barbaracle's Shell Smash set are simple and optimal. 232 Speed EVs and a Jolly nature allow +2 Barbaracle to outpace Deoxys-S as well as Choice Scarf users with base 102 Speed and under. An Adamant nature is acceptable to increase damage output; however, with it a boosted Barbaracle will fail to outspeed Choice Scarf Kyurem-B and anything faster. Full Attack investment maximizes Barbaracle's power, and it needs every ounce of strength it can get. Due to its lack of priority and the Defense drop from Shell Smash, Barbaracle usually cannot afford to run a Life Orb if it plans to sweep.(+Period),(RC) Thus,(AC) more conservative options that can improve its survivability are favored. White Herb is an invaluable item to Barbaracle, allowing it to retain its solid physical bulk and making it more resistant to priority. White Herb also restores the stat drop from Sticky Web, allowing Barbaracle to sweep after setting up against fast Choice Scarf users. Mystic Water is a considerable option as Razor Shell is the most commonly used move, and the power increase helps against a number of checks such as Garchomp. Lum Berry allows Barbaracle to set up in the face of status users; this is important, as the more setup opportunities it has, the better. Lum Berry also protects Barbaracle against from Prankster status users such as Thundurus, Mega Banette, Sableye, and Klefki, all of which would otherwise stop a sweep. (you are protected FROM the status, and protected AGAINST the status users) Finally, Life Orb may be considered on Barbaracle. The power boost is immense, letting Barbaracle act as a bit more of a wallbreaker than a sweeper, as the recoil is often too much for it to sweep in the face of priority moves or damage sustained damage while setting up.

Usage Tips
========

What must be understood about Barbaracle is that although it is fast and strong after one turn of set up, it can not cleanly OHKO everything. In some cases, bulky Pokemon with resistances to Barbaracle's best moves, such as Celebi, Garchomp, and Keldeo, can easily avoid an OHKO at full strength and retaliate with an OHKO. Because of this, it's best to leave Barbaracle for later in the game when these Pokemon have been weakened. Barbaracle is fantastic at tanking Extreme Speed and priority Brave Bird, as well as not falling to brushing off weaker neutral priority moves. However, Fighting-type priority moves and the strongest neutral ones such as Scizor's Bullet Punch and Bisharp's Sucker Punch can do sizable amounts of damage to it. Thus, it is ill-advised to attempt to sweep without accounting for these moves, either by attempting to preserve's Barbaracle's HP during set up or trapping and eliminating these priority users. As for setup opportunities, taking advantage of resisted Choice-locked moves that Barbaracle resists, especially Fire-type moves, can be very beneficial. A small number of Pokemon can be forced out by Barbaracle, creating turns to set up. Heatran and Tyranitar are probably the most common as they will often be slower and at risk of being knocked out by Barbaracle. In general, identify the bulky Pokemon that need to be worn down and the priority or and Choice Scarf users that check Barbaracle offensively, and work so that they are sufficiently weakened before setting up.

Team Options
========

Like any sweeper, Barbaracle loves lots of entry hazard support. Due to Stone Edge's ability to demolish countless Flying-types and Razor Shell being to able to eviscerate Flying-types that take neutral damage from Stealth Rock,(RC) such as Gliscor and Landorus, Spikes allow Barbaracle to breeze through its typical checks. (this sentence is really confusing, so I would advise that you change it to "Flying-types that are typically immune to Spikes are easily handled by Barbaracle's STAB combination, letting Barbaracle dominate both flying and grounded opponents when the entry hazard is set up." I think that best portrays what you are trying to say, but if you must absolutely mention specific Flying-types, you can keep what you have) Dual screens, Memento, and suicide leads with Taunt can give Barbaracle many more chances to set up, turning the tide of the game very quickly. Deoxys-S excels at all of these roles and makes a good partner for Barbaracle. Latios is capable of a dual screens + Memento set which ensures set up even against very strong opponents. Because of Barbaracle's slow Speed and relative frailness, it has a hard time setting up, so this kind of support is strongly recommended. Pokemon that are able to defeat the hardest stops to Barbaracle are ideal partners. Strong wallbreakers such as Mega Medicham and Kyurem-B soften up the opponent's defenses,(AC) easily getting past bulky Grass-types and physical walls thanks to their amazing power and coverage. With the right moves, trappers such as Gothitelle can work to beat many defensive checks to Barbaracle, such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Venusaur, and Rotom-W. Barbaracle's HP and Special Defense are overall mediocre, so removing entry hazards from your side of the field conserves precious HP that it needs to set and up and sweep successfully. Partners that can remove these entry hazards such as Excadrill, Scizor, Latios, and Starmie are appreciated.


Other Options
########

Barbaracle has a decent set of other moves outside of the main ones listed. X-Scissor and Poison Jab do the most damage to bulkier Grass-types, and the former demolishes Celebi while the latter smashes Azumarill. These moves do notably more damage to super effective targets when compared to neutral Stone Edges thanks to Tough Claws. Dragon Claw is a clean OHKO on Garchomp,(RC) and even bulky Mega Garchomp, but has little use otherwise. Taunt is a notable option for allowing Barbaracle to beat Skarmory one on one, as Brave Bird does little damage to it and the move prevents Skarmory from forcing it out with Whirlwind. It also facilitates more opportunities to use Shell Smash against defensive Pokemon that attempt to status Barbaracle. However, giving up a coverage move for Taunt makes sweeping easier to stop. Rock Slide should never be subbed in for Stone Edge even if you absolutely deplore missing, as the power drop is too substantial. Barbaracle is capable of a modestly proficient Choice set, and its access to Switcheroo is a selling point that allows it to pass a Choice item to an unsuspecting defensive check like Skarmory and cripple it.


Checks & Counters
#########

**Physical Walls and Tanks**: Bulky Pokemon that Barbaracle can't score super effective hits on, such as Skarmory, Mega Venusaur, Tangrowth, and physically defensive Clefable, or have very favorable type match-ups against it, such as Keldeo, can comfortably take a +2 attack. In nearly all of these cases, the Pokemon can cripple it Barbaracle, KO it, or disrupt its sweep.

**Strong Priority**: Exceptionally strong priority attacks from Pokemon such as Scizor and Bisharp,(RC) and super effective ones such as Mach Punch will always hit Barbaracle, which has no priority of its own. Even though all but the absolute strongest priority moves cannot OHKO Barbaracle if it has White Herb, it will fall if the opponent has two or more priority users.

**Prankster Status**: Barbaracle is vulnerable to both paralysis and burn, thus Prankster status users such as Thundurus and Sableye can shut it down if it lacks Lum Berry.

**Incredibly Fast Choice Scarf Users**: Barbaracle is unable to outpace Choice Scarf users above base 108 Speed. Pokemon such as Keldeo or Latios are capable of revenge killing it should they have a Choice Scarf.

**Offensive Pressure**: Barbaracle's typing and raw bulk are not very impressive, so any reasonably strong attack will set Barbaracle up to be revenge killed by a priority move or a sturdy wall's attack, stopping its sweep entirely.


Nice work, Ash Borer


GP 2/2
 
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