[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Fire Blast/Flamethrower
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 SpE
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
Blacephalon functions on Ghost teams as a powerful revenge killer able to easily clean teams with Beast Boost once its defensive checks have been removed. Shadow Ball hits major threats such as Victini, Latios, and Tapu Lele for supereffective damage, as well as greatly pressuring rival Ghost teams in the mirror match. Fire Blast allows Blacephalon to seriously pressure Steel, Grass, and Ice teams, and is preferred over Flamethrower for its ability to net critical OHKOs against Tapu Koko and specially invested Celesteela. Hidden Power Ice rounds out Blacephalon's coverage, hitting Landorus, Dragonite, and Garchomp for serious damage. Finally, Trick allows Blacephalon to neuter the special walls it would normally lose to, leaving the likes of Blissey and Mantine with a useless Choice item restricting their walling capabilities. Maximum Special Attack investment best allows Blacephalon to fulfill its role as a sweeper, while a Timid nature ensures it can outspeed positive-natured base 100 scarfers such as Jirachi, Victini, and Galarian-Zapdos. With its ability in Beast Boost, Blacephalon gains a Special Attack stage each time it knocks out an opposing Pokemon, granting it enormous snowball potential in late-game scenarios.
Good Teammates
As a late-game offensive threat, Blacephalon greatly appreciates teammates which can make its job of cleaning weakened teams significantly easier. Mega Sableye provides Blacephalon with a solid switch-in to powerful Dark and Ghost attacks, and with Magic Bounce can keep the field clear of entry hazards, as well as bounce back pesky Thunder Waves that can cut Blacephalon's sweep short. Hazard setters such as Galarian Corsola, Froslass, and Runerigus all have access to entry hazards which can chip opposing Pokemon, allowing Blacephalon an easier time of collecting Special Attack buffs via Beast Boost. Priority users such as Aegislash and Mimikyu can clean up threats weakened by Blacephalon through their powerful Shadow Sneaks. Both aforementioned partners also serve the critical role of beating out Tyranitar: Mimikyu with Drain Punch and Aegislash with Iron Head or Close Combat. Aegislash in particular serves as a powerful wallbreaking partner to Blacephalon, hitting special walls such as Cradily and Dragalge on their weaker defensive side while taking advantage of Blacephalon's ability to beat out Avalugg, Ferrothorn, and Bewear. Mimikyu on the other hand is also vital given its ability to reliably beat out thanks to STAB Play Rough and its powerful ability in Disguise. Another strong partner for Blacephalon is Specs Gengar, who can beat out Toxapex and Mantine with Thunderbolt while Blacephalon handles fast threats such as Mega-Lopunny and Tapu Koko with Fire Blast. Spectrier pairs with Blacephalon to form a dangerous late-game tandem capable of generating incredible offensive pressure through their shared ability to garner stat-boosts from knocked out opponents. Marowak-Alola and Runerigus are immune to Electric moves through Lightningrod and part Ground-typing respectively, allowing them to ignore powerful Rising Voltages from fast Electric types such as Regieleki and Alolan Raichu on Electric Terrain. In a similar vein, Jellicent provides great defensive support for Blacephalon given its ability to sponge Water attacks with its ability Water Absorb. Finally, given its weakness to Stealth Rock, Blacephalon enjoys Dhelmise's ability to remove enemy entry hazards via Rapid Spin.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Ghost
-------
Psychic can be run over either Hidden Power Ice or Trick to hit Keldeo and Mega Venusaur for serious damage. Blacephalon can make solid use of a Substitute + Calm Mind set to exploit Sucker Punches from the likes of Bisharp and Urshifu, though is generally outperformed in this role by Spectrier due to its superior Speed and special bulk. Given its great Speed and incredible Special Attack stat, it can also run a Choice Specs set, but is somewhat outclassed by Gengar due to Gengar's higher Speed tier and broader coverage.
Checks and Counters
===================
Ghost
-------
**Dark types** Dark types such as Hydreigon and Mega Sharpedo fear little from Blacephalon's attacks and can KO it with Dark moves. Blacephalon finds its greatest threat in Tyranitar, who resists both of Blacephalon's STABs while sporting impressive special bulk. Dragon Dance and Mega variants appreciate the opportunity to use Blacephalon as setup bait, while specially defensive Tyranitar can render Blacephalon useless via Thunder Wave. Mega Tyranitar likewise appreciates the ability to set up on on Blacephalon, with the added advantage of being immune to Trick.
**Water-types**: Fast water types such as Scarf Greninja and Scarf Keldeo can outspeed and KO Blacephalon with a STAB move.
**Rock types**: Bulky Rock types such as Mega Diancie shrug off Blacephalon's STAB and can KO it with Rock-type moves, while Scarf Terrakion outspeeds and OHKOs Blacephalon with Stone Edge.
**Pursuit users** Pursuit users such as Tyranitar, Scarf Krookodile and Mega Aerodactyl can come in on resisted STAB attacks and trap Blacephalon.
**Revenge killers**: Faster scarfers such as Gengar, Latios, Terrakion easily one-shot Blacephalon with supereffective attacks.
**Special walls** Bulky specially defensive Pokemon such as Blissey and Mantine have little to fear from Blacephalon's attacks.
**Status** As a late-game sweeper Blacephalon must remain healthy in order to best do its job. Thunder Wave makes Blacephalon useless as an offensive threat, while Toxic effectively limits the amount of time has to wreak havoc on opposing teams.
**Weather Sweepers**: Sweepers such as Excadrill, Barraskewda, and Kingdra easily outpace and one-shot Blacephalon under their respective weather conditions. Hail and Sandstorm are particularly dangerous given their ability to wear down the already-frail Blacephalon through residual damage.
**Stealth Rock**: Blacephalon loses a quarter of its HP to Stealth Rock upon entry, weakening its already-frail durability and limiting the number of times it can come in.
**Priority users** Powerful Pokemon such as Crawdaunt, Bisharp, and Mimikyu can all cut Blacephalon's sweep attempts short through super-effective priority moves such as Aqua Jet, Sucker Punch, and Shadow Sneak, respectively.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Dragapult, 492989]]
- Ghost analysis by: [[Dragapult, 492989]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Fire Blast/Flamethrower
move 3: Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 SpE
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
Blacephalon functions on Ghost teams as a powerful revenge killer able to easily clean teams with Beast Boost once its defensive checks have been removed. Shadow Ball hits major threats such as Victini, Latios, and Tapu Lele for supereffective damage, as well as greatly pressuring rival Ghost teams in the mirror match. Fire Blast allows Blacephalon to seriously pressure Steel, Grass, and Ice teams, and is preferred over Flamethrower for its ability to net critical OHKOs against Tapu Koko and specially invested Celesteela. Hidden Power Ice rounds out Blacephalon's coverage, hitting Landorus, Dragonite, and Garchomp for serious damage. Finally, Trick allows Blacephalon to neuter the special walls it would normally lose to, leaving the likes of Blissey and Mantine with a useless Choice item restricting their walling capabilities. Maximum Special Attack investment best allows Blacephalon to fulfill its role as a sweeper, while a Timid nature ensures it can outspeed positive-natured base 100 scarfers such as Jirachi, Victini, and Galarian-Zapdos. With its ability in Beast Boost, Blacephalon gains a Special Attack stage each time it knocks out an opposing Pokemon, granting it enormous snowball potential in late-game scenarios.
Good Teammates
As a late-game offensive threat, Blacephalon greatly appreciates teammates which can make its job of cleaning weakened teams significantly easier. Mega Sableye provides Blacephalon with a solid switch-in to powerful Dark and Ghost attacks, and with Magic Bounce can keep the field clear of entry hazards, as well as bounce back pesky Thunder Waves that can cut Blacephalon's sweep short. Hazard setters such as Galarian Corsola, Froslass, and Runerigus all have access to entry hazards which can chip opposing Pokemon, allowing Blacephalon an easier time of collecting Special Attack buffs via Beast Boost. Priority users such as Aegislash and Mimikyu can clean up threats weakened by Blacephalon through their powerful Shadow Sneaks. Both aforementioned partners also serve the critical role of beating out Tyranitar: Mimikyu with Drain Punch and Aegislash with Iron Head or Close Combat. Aegislash in particular serves as a powerful wallbreaking partner to Blacephalon, hitting special walls such as Cradily and Dragalge on their weaker defensive side while taking advantage of Blacephalon's ability to beat out Avalugg, Ferrothorn, and Bewear. Mimikyu on the other hand is also vital given its ability to reliably beat out thanks to STAB Play Rough and its powerful ability in Disguise. Another strong partner for Blacephalon is Specs Gengar, who can beat out Toxapex and Mantine with Thunderbolt while Blacephalon handles fast threats such as Mega-Lopunny and Tapu Koko with Fire Blast. Spectrier pairs with Blacephalon to form a dangerous late-game tandem capable of generating incredible offensive pressure through their shared ability to garner stat-boosts from knocked out opponents. Marowak-Alola and Runerigus are immune to Electric moves through Lightningrod and part Ground-typing respectively, allowing them to ignore powerful Rising Voltages from fast Electric types such as Regieleki and Alolan Raichu on Electric Terrain. In a similar vein, Jellicent provides great defensive support for Blacephalon given its ability to sponge Water attacks with its ability Water Absorb. Finally, given its weakness to Stealth Rock, Blacephalon enjoys Dhelmise's ability to remove enemy entry hazards via Rapid Spin.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Ghost
-------
Psychic can be run over either Hidden Power Ice or Trick to hit Keldeo and Mega Venusaur for serious damage. Blacephalon can make solid use of a Substitute + Calm Mind set to exploit Sucker Punches from the likes of Bisharp and Urshifu, though is generally outperformed in this role by Spectrier due to its superior Speed and special bulk. Given its great Speed and incredible Special Attack stat, it can also run a Choice Specs set, but is somewhat outclassed by Gengar due to Gengar's higher Speed tier and broader coverage.
Checks and Counters
===================
Ghost
-------
**Dark types** Dark types such as Hydreigon and Mega Sharpedo fear little from Blacephalon's attacks and can KO it with Dark moves. Blacephalon finds its greatest threat in Tyranitar, who resists both of Blacephalon's STABs while sporting impressive special bulk. Dragon Dance and Mega variants appreciate the opportunity to use Blacephalon as setup bait, while specially defensive Tyranitar can render Blacephalon useless via Thunder Wave. Mega Tyranitar likewise appreciates the ability to set up on on Blacephalon, with the added advantage of being immune to Trick.
**Water-types**: Fast water types such as Scarf Greninja and Scarf Keldeo can outspeed and KO Blacephalon with a STAB move.
**Rock types**: Bulky Rock types such as Mega Diancie shrug off Blacephalon's STAB and can KO it with Rock-type moves, while Scarf Terrakion outspeeds and OHKOs Blacephalon with Stone Edge.
**Pursuit users** Pursuit users such as Tyranitar, Scarf Krookodile and Mega Aerodactyl can come in on resisted STAB attacks and trap Blacephalon.
**Revenge killers**: Faster scarfers such as Gengar, Latios, Terrakion easily one-shot Blacephalon with supereffective attacks.
**Special walls** Bulky specially defensive Pokemon such as Blissey and Mantine have little to fear from Blacephalon's attacks.
**Status** As a late-game sweeper Blacephalon must remain healthy in order to best do its job. Thunder Wave makes Blacephalon useless as an offensive threat, while Toxic effectively limits the amount of time has to wreak havoc on opposing teams.
**Weather Sweepers**: Sweepers such as Excadrill, Barraskewda, and Kingdra easily outpace and one-shot Blacephalon under their respective weather conditions. Hail and Sandstorm are particularly dangerous given their ability to wear down the already-frail Blacephalon through residual damage.
**Stealth Rock**: Blacephalon loses a quarter of its HP to Stealth Rock upon entry, weakening its already-frail durability and limiting the number of times it can come in.
**Priority users** Powerful Pokemon such as Crawdaunt, Bisharp, and Mimikyu can all cut Blacephalon's sweep attempts short through super-effective priority moves such as Aqua Jet, Sucker Punch, and Shadow Sneak, respectively.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Dragapult, 492989]]
- Ghost analysis by: [[Dragapult, 492989]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
Last edited:
