BISHARP
Dark / Steel
Status: Edited in Calm Pokemaster's check, added GP stamp. Marking as done.
QC Approved 3 / 3 [Iconic] [panamaxis] [Bad Ass]
GP Approved 2 / 2 [Ray Jay] [Calm Pokemaster]
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[Overview]
<p>The first thing that sticks out when one looks at Bisharp is his odd typing. Dark / Steel gives him two key resistances to Dragon- and Ghost-type attacks, but at the same time opens him up to super effective Ground- and Fighting-type moves, both of which are common in the metagame. Fortunately, Bisharp makes up for his weak defensive typing with his excellent base 125 Attack, which allows him to leave a large dent in many of his opponents. Bisharp does have a decidedly middle-of-the-road base Speed of 70, meaning he gets outsped and sometimes KOed by two-thirds of the metagame. At least, he would. Luckily he has access to the powerful Sucker Punch through breeding, nullifying his Speed issues and 2HKOing, or sometimes even OHKOing, most opponents that don't resist the move. Outside of this, Bisharp's movepool does give him a slight amount of maneuverability, allowing him to avoid being completely predictable.</p>
[SET]
Name: Swords Dance
Move 1: Swords Dance
Move 2: Substitute
Move 2: Sucker Punch
Move 4: Brick Break / Iron Head
Item: Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Defiant
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is essentially the best set Bisharp can run. After a Swords Dance, Bisharp's Attack jumps to a massive 766, enough to OHKO just about anything in the metagame, bar Lucario or Conkledurr, with STAB Sucker Punch. Alternatively, you could run Night Slash, which saves face against the newly viable SubDisable Gengar set, but it's not quite as powerful and doesn't have priority, so it's not recommended. Substitute helps Bisharp set up on an opponent's switch to Conkledurr or Ferrothorn, then KO with Iron Head or Brick Break, respectively. The item choice is according to preference: in the end, it's a question of the power of Life Orb versus the survivability of Leftovers. Life Orb is recommended, but either one works.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The set deals nicely with common threats like Reuniclus and Salamence, OHKOing both with Sucker Punch. If you find the recoil damage from Life Orb to be somewhat off-putting, Leftovers can be held to make life slightly easier after Substituting, but beware that Bisharp's moves will lose a great deal of power. The choice between Iron Head and Brick Break is purely subjective, as it all depends on who you want to hit. Iron Head can be used against bulky Pokemon resistant to Fighting-type attacks, such as Dragonite or Cosmic Power Sigilyph, while Brick Break allows for perfect type coverage to fill the hole left by Sucker Punch (which is ineffective against Dark-, Fighting-, and Steel-types, two of which Brick Break hits super effectively). Conkledurr and Excadrill have little to no trouble weathering a resisted Sucker Punch and OHKOing with Drain Punch and Earthquake, respectively. This can be rectified by using Gengar to absorb the incoming attack and responding with the appropriate move (Shadow Ball in Conkledurr's case, or Focus Blast for Excadrill).</p>
<p>Max EVs in Attack allow for the aforementioned jump to 766 after Swords Dance; the HP EVs are mainly for sponging hits, but these can be shifted into defenses if you prefer. Inner Focus should only be used in place of Defiant if you plan on switching Bisharp to the front in the Team Preview, in case you run into the now-relatively rare Fake Out lead; this, however, is obviously not practical, and you're better off using Defiant since you get a free Attack boost on top of your (hopefully) already accumulated Swords Dance boosts when Intimidate users such as Gyarados try to switch in.</p>
[SET]
Name: Thunder Wave
Move 1: Thunder Wave
Move 2: Pursuit
Move 3: Sucker Punch
Move 4: Brick Break / Iron Head
Item: Life Orb / Balloon
Ability: Defiant
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 132 HP / 172 Atk / 204 Sp. Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Bisharp can also play the part of a bulky status inducer. Thunder Wave is vital to this set, as is greatly slows down faster set-up sweepers that would otherwise kill Bisharp off the bat and proceed to sweep. Sucker Punch, again, provides strong STABed priority, and is Bisharp's attack of choice. Pursuit is the second key element of the set, since it can take statused opponents who try to switch out by surprise. Once again, the last slot is up to preference: Iron Head for secondary STAB, or Brick Break to achieve perfect type coverage alongside Sucker Punch.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>As with the Swords Dance set, Fighting-types, especially Conkledurr, are the bane of Bisharp's existence. In these instances, Bisharp's best hope is to try and use Thunder Wave and switch out the next turn. Life Orb, as usual, buffs Bisharp's Attack greatly at the cost of survivability; if you have trouble against Excadrill, try using Balloon to at least buy a turn to dent it with Brick Break. Better yet, you could run a Water-type such as Gyarados to counter Excadrill by switching in on an Earthquake and countering with Waterfall. Toxic can replace Thunder Wave, but it only really makes a difference against Ground-types (although Excadrill is immune to both anyway). As for the EVs, even with only 172 EVs in Attack, Bisharp reaches a not-too-shabby 330, while the Special Defense EVs defend against common special moves it can switch into, like Hydro Pump or Draco Meteor. As an alternative, you can max out HP to help sponge some hits, or the HP EVs listed can be spent on Defense to help Bisharp survive more physical hits. Again, running Inner Focus on this set is not a good idea; in fact, it's actually a worse idea here, as Bisharp has no way to increase his Attack bar Defiant boosts.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>As stated previously, Bisharp's movepool depth is slightly above average, giving a fair few options outside of those listed. Low Sweep deals about the same damage as Brick Break, plus lowers the opponent's Speed, which is always welcome. Bisharp also has access to Stealth Rock, which can be used to great effect alongside Taunt and Thunder Wave on a makeshift lead set; it should be noted, however, that Stealth Rock is illegal with Sucker Punch. Rock Polish can replace Swords Dance on the first set to fix Bisharp's low Speed, but its use is redundant with Sucker Punch, and the set greatly misses the power boost afforded by Swords Dance.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Conkledurr tends to have a field day with Bisharp, switching in on a failed Sucker Punch and 2HKOing or sometimes OHKOing with Mach Punch. Excadrill resists all of Bisharp's common moves bar Brick Break, and easily kill variants not holding Balloon. In fact, anything with a strong Fighting-, Fire-, or Ground-type move (assuming Bisharp doesn't have a Balloon) can kill Bisharp, as long as it resists, or at least takes neutral damage from, Sucker Punch, and has over base 70 Speed. Even non-Choice Scarf Heatran can outspeed Bisharp and kill him with Fire Blast.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Bisharp gets the ability Pressure in the Dream World. In practice, this ability is fairly worthless; if you run a lead set, it might be worth consideration there, but everywhere else, it forfeits a great Attack boost from Defiant when Intimidate users switch in.</p>
