Gen 5 [BW] Choice Band Lairon + OO + Checks & Counters [DONE]

[sleid]

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Head Smash
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Heavy Slam
move 4: Superpower / Earthquake
item: Choice Band
ability: Rock Head
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Band Lairon is a threatening wallbreaker in ZU due to its incredibly strong STAB moves and high Attack. It can blow up the tier's premier physical walls such as Solrock, Wormadam-S, and Frillish if they try to switch in. Head Smash is an absolutely terrifying STAB move, regardless of its problematic accuracy, 2HKOing most neutral targets such as Wormadam-S, Meganium, and Shelgon. What makes Lairon so threatening is that it can outspeed most of the bulky foes that can take hits from it, finishing them off with a second Head Smash. Iron Head is great for Rock-types like Solrock, Graveler, and other Lairon where Head Smash wouldn't be as powerful. The chance to flinch and better accuracy can also help bail Lairon out of tight situations where it needs to finish off a slower target late-game. Heavy Slam is used to OHKO lighter foes like Mienfoo and Drilbur and 2HKO Clefairy, Vibrava, and Ivysaur. Its Steel-type STAB moves are also safer OHKOs on opposing Ice-types like Glaceon and Beartic compared to Head Smash due to their perfect accuracy. For its last move, Lairon opts to run either Superpower or Earthquake to hit Steel-types such as Pawniard and opposing Lairon, as well as Whiscash. Superpower picks up OHKOs on the likes of specially defensive Clefairy and opposing Lairon; however, it does have the drawback of rendering Lairon susceptible to being revenge killed or set up on after the stat drop, unlike Earthquake. Rock Head is to prevent Lairon from taking recoil from Head Smash, giving it more longevity in battle.

Lairon fits well on balance or offensive teams looking for a physical wallbreaker. Other physical cleaners and sweepers such as Leafeon and Shelgon appreciate it taking down some of the physical walls that they struggle to get past like Wormadam-S and Meganium. Lairon packs a plethora of resistances, which help it slot in on teams looking for an offensive Pokemon that can take a hit. The likes of Emolga, Leafeon and Raichu appreciate how well Lairon does in the face of offensive threats like Persian and Muk, since it can come in on their attacks and threaten back with big damage. It can even take non-resisted hits pretty well from most physical attackers, then threaten to KO with its blistering Choice Band-boosted attacks. Although it has great physical bulk, Lairon really needs teammates like specially defensive Grumpig, Muk, and Clefairy to handle special attackers such as Simisear, Grumpig, and Walrein, respectively. Lairon really appreciates being paired with Muk, Arbok, and Frillish to help with taking Fighting-type moves from Mienfoo, Flareon, and opposing Lairon. Lairon is also threatened by Ground-type moves from the likes of Hippopotas and Vibrava, so it appreciates a partner that resists or is immune to these moves like Meganium, Solrock, or Pelipper. Most of these teammates already do well at covering its weakness to Water, but other helpful Pokemon to cover this issue would be Gloom, Walrein, and Staryu. Lairon does great combined with pivots like Persian and Mienfoo that allow it to come in safely on Pokemon that want to switch in on them.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Lairon can opt to run 252 HP EVs over 252 Speed EVs to survive what would otherwise be OHKOs from Choice Scarf Kingler's Superpower, Whiscash's Earthquake, and Choice Band Solrock's Earthquake; however, this is sub-optimal, as it loses a lot of its offensive potential. Rest can be used to heal burn and keep Lairon healthy, but it ends up leaving it way too passive. Lairon can also choose to run setup moves like Curse and Hone Claws. Curse can boost its already high Attack and Defense, while Hone Claws helps ensure Head Smash won't miss. However, Lairon has too many weaknesses to set up without boosting its Speed and has a lot of trouble circumventing its low Special Defense. Rock Slide and Stone Edge are options for alternate STAB moves, but the sheer power of Head Smash is too good to pass up.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Ground-types**: Lairon has a 4x weakness to Ground, and most Ground-types such as Hippopotas, Vibrava, and Whiscash also resist Head Smash. Whiscash deserves a special mention, since it resists Lairon's STAB combination.

**Fighting-types**: Mienfoo gives Lairon a lot of trouble, as it resists Head Smash and can OHKO it with High Jump Kick. Lairon also has to be aware of sneaky Hidden Power Fighting coverage that can be carried by Grumpig, Persian, and Glaceon.

**Bulky Water-types**: Water-types in general are a struggle for Lairon to switch in on, and even its Choice Band set has trouble OHKOing some of them. This makes Lairon really susceptible to Walrein, Frillish, and Staryu. It has a tough time taking a Scald from any of these Pokemon and also risks taking a burn. Whiscash is in a class of its own for bulky Water-types. Since it resists Lairon's STAB combination, it is very hard to take down when it comes in, and Lairon cannot take an Earthquake from it in return.

**Fast Special Attackers**: Lairon has pretty poor Speed, mostly relying on its bulk to take a hit before being able to return the favor. Faster special attackers such as Grumpig, Simisear, and Raichu can put down Lairon before it gets the chance to do anything. However, they need to use super effective attacks to make sure they OHKO its bulky Eviolite sets. They also need to be concerned about coming in after a Rock Polish.

**Status**: Lairon is completely ruined after getting burned, which can happen after taking a Will-O-Wisp from Frillish and Solrock or Scald from Pelipper and Staryu. Thunder Wave from Clefairy isn't great for it either, making it slow enough to be picked off by Hippopotas, Graveler, Wormadam-G, and Wormadam-S.

[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/5dots.543866/
Grammar checked by:
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https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/

 

[Gangsta Spongebob]

Great job as always, QC: 1/2 when implemented

QC: 1/2

Add Remove Comments
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Head Smash
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Heavy Slam
move 4: Superpower / Earthquake
item: Choice Band
ability: Rock Head
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Band Lairon is a threatening wallbreaker in the metagame ZU with its incredibly strong STAB moves and attack high Attack stat. Lairon can absolutely blow up the tiers tier's premiere physical walls such as Solrock, Wormadam-S, and Frillish if they try to switch-in. When it clicks the right move, there is nothing that can hit the field safely. Head Smash is an absolutely terrifying STAB move, regardless of its problematic accuracy. Mention XHKO thresholds against targets, as I don't believe any neutral targets in the tier aren't 2HKOed Iron Head is great for foes like Solrock, Graveler, and other Lairons when Head Smash wouldn't be as powerful. Mention how it targets Rock-types specifically, and how it's a more accurate STAB option. The chance to flinch can also help bail Lairon out of tight situations. Which situations? Heavy Slam is used alongside Iron Head for more damage on lighter foes like Clefairy, Mienfoo, and Ivysaur. Mention XHKO thresholds here, because running 2 Steel-type STAB attacks is a tough sell. Also mention how Lairon's Steel-type STAB moves target Ice-types, as it should OHKO most of them. Lairon's STAB coverage struggles to hit opposing Steel-types such as Pawniard and opposing Lairon, as well as Whiscash in particular due to its dual typing. This is why it can opt to run Superpower or Earthquake for coverage in the fourth slot. "Can" makes it sound like running EQ/Superpower is optional, when this set will always run one of the two. Reword the sentence to accommodate this. Superpower has a stronger base power overall, but Earthquake is more consistent since it doesn't have any drawbacks. Mention XHKO thresholds that some of them have, and other's don't. Rock Head is to prevent Lairon from taking recoil from Head Smash, giving it more longevity in battle.

Be sure to mention how the coverage interacts with Head Smash. In general, a neutral Head Smash does around the same damage as super effective coverage, but with the coverage is often superior due to their better accuracy. For example, Earthquake and Head Smash OHKO Arbok, but you'd generally want to click the former in a pure 1v1.

Lairon fits well on balance or offensive teams looking for a physical wallbreaker to open up opportunities break through opposing walls needs to be more clear for its teammates. Other physical attackers such as Persian, Leafeon, and Shelgon appreciate it taking down some of the physical walls that they struggle to get past like Wormadam-T. Give more examples, and make sure to put Wormadam-S, not -T. Lairon packs a plethora of resists resistances, "resists" cannot be used as a noun which helps it slot in on teams looking for an offensive Pokemon who can take a hit. It is bulky enough to cover the weaknesses of Leafeon, Meganium, and Ivysaur Use a more diverse selection, as these Pokemon are all Grass-types. Perhaps mention how CB Lairon is a particularly good partner to them. a few times over the course of a game. It does really well in the face of Persian, Muk, and Raticate, use a better example than Raticate, maybe Pikachu since those will largely be physical? your call here coming in on their attacks and threatening the opposing team by wearing down their switch-ins. It can even take non-resisted hits pretty well from from most physical attackers, then threaten to kill back with its blistering banded attacks. Although it has great physical bulk, it really needs teammates like Solrock, Wormadam-T, and Clefairy to handle special attackers such as Simisear, Grumpig, and Walrein, respectively. Barring Clefairy, who's specially defensive set is largely on defensive teams, those are all physical walls. Replace them with more splashable special walls. Lairon really appreciates being paired with the Muk, Arbok, Frillish to help with taking hits from Meinfoo Mienfoo, Kingler, Omit Kingler, as barring Frillish these are all shaky Kingler checks and opposing Lairon as it does not do well taking a 4x super effective Fighting-type move from them. Talking about Fighting-type moves and switch-ins in more general terms. Unfortunately, it also has this same trouble with Ground-type moves from the likes of Hippopotas or Vibrava. This makes it really want a teammate with that can resist or be immune to these moves like Meganium, Solrock, or Pelipper. Most of these teammates already do well at covering its weakness to Water as well. Put more emphasis on it's Water-type weakness, as that's a huge deal still.

Mention pivots that can help it switch in.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Lairon has no other options

Mention 252 HP EVs on sets with Eviolite. They don't change many XHKO thresholds that bulkless Eviolite sets have, but you do take hits, especially Quad-super effective Hidden Power, Superpower, and Earthquake more effectively from various foes (give examples). Rest can be used to heal burns and keep Lairon healthy, but it's too passive while asleep. Setup variants can try using Curse or even Hone Claws (to help Head Smash) but Lairon has too many weaknesses to set up without boosting its Speed. Rock Slide and Stone Edge look like good alternate STAB moves, but the sheer power of Head Smash is prefered.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Quad Weaknesses**: Rename this section to Ground- and Fighting-type moves. Lairon has a 4x weakness to Ground and Fighting which can be a little debilitating when Pokemon that carry these moves. Be more specific, how threatening are they? Is it generally OHKOed or 2HKOed by which attacks depending on set? The former from the likes of Vibrava and Hippopotas while the latter from Mienfoo and Kingler. It also has to be aware of sneaky Hidden Power moves of these types that can be carried by Wormadam-T and Glaceon. Mention Hidden Powers from Persian and Emolga, as Lairon is often used to check these Pokemon.

**Bulky Water-Types**: Water-types in general are a struggle for Lairon to switch-in on, but even its Choice Band set has trouble getting the OHKO on some of them. This makes Lairon really susceptible to Walrein, Frillish, and Staryu.

What do they threaten Lairon with? Also mention Whiscash somewhere here, your call in the Water-type or Ground-type section, and go in-depth on how its typing makes Lairon have a hard time against it.

**Fast Special Attackers**: Lairon has pretty a pretty poor Speed stat, mostly relying on its bulk to take a hit before being able to return the favor. Faster special attackers can put down Lairon before it get the chance to do anything such as Grumpig, Simisear, and Raichu. However, they do need to be concerned about coming in after a Rock Polish.

Really it's just special attacks, since just about every offensive threat outspeeds Lairon. Mention how they struggle to OHKO Lairon, especially Eviolite sets, without super effective coverage.

**Status Inflicters**: Lairon does not do well after taking a is completely ruined after getting burned, which can happen after taking a Will-O-Wisp from Frillish and Solrock or Scald from (give examples). It loses its value of being a strong physical presence for the rest of the game. Thunder Wave from Clefairy isn't great for it either, making it slow enough to be picked off by Hippopotas, Graveler, and both Wormadam.

[SET CREDITS] New Credits system
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/

Grammar checked by:

 

[sleid]

changes implemented, thank you for the feedback. ready for qc 2

 

[5Dots]

QC 2/2

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Head Smash
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Heavy Slam
move 4: Superpower / Earthquake
item: Choice Band
ability: Rock Head
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Band Lairon is a threatening wallbreaker in ZU with its incredibly strong STAB moves and high Attack stat. Lairon can absolutely blow up the tier's premiere physical walls such as Solrock, Wormadam-S, and Frillish if they try to switch-in. When it clicks the right move, there is nothing that can hit the field safely fluff. Head Smash is an absolutely terrifying STAB move, regardless of its problematic accuracy. Very few nuetral targets can take more than one hit from Head Smash such as Wormadam-T, Meganium, and Shelgon. What makes Lairon so problematic is that it can outspeed most of the bulky foes that can take hits from it, finishing them off with a second Head Smash. Iron Head is great for Rock-types in particular like Solrock, Graveler, and other Lairons when Head Smash wouldn't be as powerful. The chance to flinch and better accuracy can also help bail Lairon out of tight situations where it needs to finish off a slower target in the late game. Heavy Slam is used alongside Iron Head to pick up the OHKO on lighter foes like Mienfoo and Drilbur, and 2HKOs on Clefairy, Vibrava, and Ivysaur, whereas Iron Head would not. Its Steel STABs are safer OHKO's on opposing Ice-types like Glaceon and Beartic since Head Smash does the same thing, but with the chance to miss its target. Lairon's STAB coverage struggles to hit opposing Steel-types such as Pawniard and opposing Lairon, as well as Whiscash in particular due to its dual typing. This is why it opts to run Superpower or Earthquake for coverage in the fourth slot. Superpower has stronger base power overall, but Earthquake is more consistent since it doesn't have any drawbacks. Superpower picks up OHKOs on the likes of specially defensive Clefairy and opposing Lairon, when Earthquake doesn't quite get there. Both still OHKO Pawniard, but again, Superpower leaves Lairon or its team susceptible to being greatly damaged with the stat drops it takes after a use Simplify both sentences. Head Smash is typically a spammable move for Lairon, but its coverage moves can be important for safer OHKOs fluff. For example, Head Smash and Earthquake can OHKO Arbok, but Earthquake is smarter choice because it has no chance to miss. Rock Head is to prevent Lairon from taking recoil from Head Smash, giving it more longevity in battle.

Lairon fits well on balance or offensive teams looking for a physical wallbreaker to break through opposing walls for its teammates. Other physical attackers such as Persian, Leafeon, and Shelgon appreciate it taking down some of the physical walls that they struggle to get past like Wormadam-S, Meganium, and Ivysaur. Lairon packs a plethora of resistances, which helps it slot in on teams looking for an offensive Pokemon who can take a hit. It is bulky enough to cover the weaknesses of Leafeon, Emolga, and Vibrava a few times over the course of a game. Choice Band Lairon specifically does great with helping these Pokemon because it can have a favorable matchup into their weaknesses and potentially OHKO back. It does really well in the face of Persian, Muk, and Pikachu, coming in on their attacks and threatening the opposing team by wearing down their switch-ins. It can even take non-resisted hits pretty well from most physical attackers, then threaten to kill back with its blistering banded attacks simplify both of these sentences together. Although it has great physical bulk, it really needs teammates like specially defensive Grumpig, Muk, and Clefairy to handle special attackers such as Simisear, Grumpig, and Walrein, respectively. Lairon really appreciates being paired with the Muk, Arbok, Frillish to help with taking 4x super effective Fighting-type moves from Meinfoo, Flareon, and opposing Lairon. Unfortunately, it also has this same trouble with Ground-type moves from the likes of Hippopotas or Vibrava. This makes it really want a teammate Water- or Grass-type with that can resist or be immune to these moves like Meganium, Solrock, or Pelipper. Most of these teammates already do well at covering its weakness to Water as well, but other helpful teammates to cover this issue would be Gloom, Walrein, and Staryu. Lairon does great with pivots like Persian and Mienfoo that allow it to come in safely on Pokemon that want to switch-in on them. Mention sweepers that would benefit from Lairon breaking early/mid-game

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Lairon can opt to run 252 HP EVs over 252 Speed EVs in order to live what would otherwise be OHKOs from Scarf Kingler's Superpower, Whiscash's Earthquake, and Band Solrock's Earthquake. mention how it loses a lot of damage output Rest can be used to heal burns and keep Lairon healthy, but it ends up leaving it way too passive. Lairon can also choose to run setup variants like Curse or Hone Claws. Curse can boost its already powerful Attack and Defense stats, while Hone Claws helps ensure Head Smash won't miss. However, Lairon has too many weaknesses to setup without boosting its Speed and has a lot of trouble circumventing its low special defense. Rock Slide and Stone Edge are options for alternate Stab Moves, but the sheer power of Head Smash is too good to pass up.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Ground- and Fighting-type moves**: Lairon has a 4x weakness to Ground and Fighting which can be a little debilitating when Pokemon that carry these moves. The former from the likes of Vibrava and Hippopotas while the latter from Mienfoo and Kingler. Even bulky sets are OHKO'd from Mienfoo's High Jump Kick, while the other three 2HKO it with their Ground- or Fighting-type moves. It also has to be aware of sneaky Hidden Power moves of these types that can be carried by Wormadam-T and Glaceon. Lairon also needs to be aware of potential Hidden Powers of either of these types from the likes of Persian, Emolga and Wormadam-T which it would normally be able to check. I would say Ground-types and Fighting-types should have two separate sections; most Ground-types (Hippopotas, Vibrava, Whiscash) resist Head Smash and Whiscash deserves a mention resisting both. Fighting-type coverage should be in the second section since Mienfoo is the only Fighting-type to deal with Lairon and that pokemon with fighting coverage (Emolga, Grumpig, Mr. Mime) can make it harder for it to do its role.

**Bulky Water-Types**: Water-types in general are a struggle for Lairon to switch-in on, but even its Choice Band set has trouble getting the OHKO on some of them. This makes Lairon really susceptible to Walrein, Frillish, and Staryu. It has a tough time taking a Scald from either of these Pokemon + it risks the chance of taking a burn. Whiscash is in a class of its own for bulky Water-types. With its dual typing resisting Lairon's STABs, it is very hard to take down when it comes in and cannot take an Earthquake from it in return.

**Fast Special Attackers**: Lairon has pretty a pretty poor Speed stat, mostly relying on its bulk to take a hit before being able to return the favor. Faster special attackers can put down Lairon before it get the chance to do anything such as Grumpig, Simisear, and Raichu. Although, they need to need to use super effective attacks to make sure they OHKO its bulky Eviolite sets. They also need to be concerned about coming in after a Rock Polish.

**Status Inflicters**: Lairon is completely ruined after getting burned, which can happen after taking a Will-O-Wisp from Frillish and Solrock or Scald from Scald from Pelipper and Staryu. Thunder Wave from Clefairy isn't great for it either, making it slow enough to be picked off by Hippopotas, Graveler, and both Wormadam.

[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
Quality checked by:

Grammar checked by:

 

[sleid]

ty. implemented, ready for GP Team

 

[TheRealBigC]

This is an AMGP check, implement as desired

add (comment) remove

Victory Road Warrior

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Head Smash
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Heavy Slam
move 4: Superpower / Earthquake
item: Choice Band
ability: Rock Head
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Band Lairon is a threatening wallbreaker in ZU with due to its incredibly strong STAB moves and high Attack stat. Lairon It can absolutely blow up the tier's premiere premier physical walls such as Solrock, Wormadam-S, and Frillish if they try to switch-in switch in. Head Smash is an absolutely terrifying STAB move, regardless of its problematic accuracy, (AC) 2HKOing most neutral targets such as Wormadam-S, Meganium, and Shelgon. Very few nuetral targets can take more than one hit from Head Smash such as Wormadam-T, Meganium, and Shelgon. (changed for flow and clarity) What makes Lairon so problematic threatening (changed because "problematic" is generally used in a tiering sense and presumably that was not what was meant here) is that it can outspeed most of the bulky foes that can take hits from it, finishing them off with a second Head Smash. Iron Head is great for Rock-types in particular like Solrock, Graveler, and other Lairons Lairon when where Head Smash wouldn't be as powerful. The chance to flinch and better accuracy can also help bail Lairon out of tight situations where it needs to finish off a slower target in the late game. Heavy Slam is used alongside Iron Head to pick up the OHKO on lighter foes like Mienfoo and Drilbur, (RC) and 2HKOs on 2HKO Clefairy, Vibrava, and Ivysaur, whereas Iron Head would not. Its Steel STABs STAB moves are also safer OHKO's OHKOs on opposing Ice-types like Glaceon and Beartic since Head Smash does the same thing, but with the chance to miss its target compared to Head Smash due to their perfect accuracy. Lairon's STAB coverage struggles to hit opposing Steel-types such as Pawniard and opposing Lairon, as well as Whiscash in particular due to its dual typing. This is why it opts to run Superpower or Earthquake for coverage in the fourth slot. For its last move, Lairon opts to run either Superpower or Earthquake in order to hit Steel-types such as Pawniard and opposing Lairon, as well as Whiscash. (reduced verbosity) Superpower picks up OHKOs on the likes of specially defensive Clefairy and opposing Lairon, however it does have the drawback of being rendering Lairon susceptible to being revenge killed or set up on after the stat drop dropping its stats, unlike Earthquake. Rock Head is to prevent Lairon from taking recoil from Head Smash, giving it more longevity in battle.

Lairon fits well on balance or offensive teams looking for a physical wallbreaker to break through opposing walls for its teammates. Other physical cleaners or sweepers such as Leafeon and Shelgon appreciate it taking down some of the physical walls that they struggle to get past like Wormadam-S and Meganium. Lairon packs a plethora of resistances, which helps it slot in on teams looking for an offensive Pokemon who can take a hit. It is bulky enough to cover the weaknesses of Leafeon, Emolga, and Vibrava a few times over the course of a game. Choice Band Lairon specifically does great with helping these Pokemon because it can have a favorable matchup into their weaknesses and potentially OHKO back. It does really well in the face of Persian, Muk, and Pikachu, coming in on their attacks and threatening the opposing team by wearing down their switch-ins. (It's pretty unclear to me what these sentences are actually trying to say. Are Leafeon, Emolga, and Vibrava weak to Persian, Muk, and Pikachu? If not, then what are these "weaknesses" Lairon can switch into and and threaten to OHKO? Please rewrite this section to provide clarity) It can even take non-resisted hits pretty well from most physical attackers, then threaten to kill KO back with its blistering banded Choice Band-boosted attacks. Although it has great physical bulk, it Lairon (repetition) really needs teammates like specially defensive Grumpig, Muk, and Clefairy to handle special attackers such as Simisear, Grumpig, and Walrein, respectively. Lairon really appreciates being paired with the Muk, Arbok, Frillish Muk, Arbok, and Frillish to help with taking 4x super effective Fighting-type moves from Meinfoo Mienfoo, Flareon, and opposing Lairon. Unfortunately, it also has this same trouble with Ground-type moves from the likes of Hippopotas or Vibrava. This makes it really want Lairon is also threatened by Ground-type moves from the likes of Hippopotas and Vibrava, so it appreciates a partner that can resist or is immune to these moves like Meganium, Solrock, or Pelipper. Most of these teammates already do well at covering its weakness to Water as well, but other helpful Pokemon to cover this issue would be Gloom, Walrein, and Staryu. Lairon does great combined with pivots like Persian and Mienfoo that allow it to come in safely on Pokemon that want to switch-in switch in on them.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Lairon can opt to run 252 HP EVs over 252 Speed EVs in order to live what would otherwise be OHKOs from Scarf Kingler's Superpower, Whiscash's Earthquake, and Band Solrock's Earthquake; (ASC) , (RC) however, (AC) this is suboptimal sub-optimal, (AC) as it loses a lot of its damage output (this doesn't really follow for me because Lairon's actual Attack investment isn't being reduced; is this because it loses opportunities to get hits off by foregoing the Speed investment?). Rest can be used to heal burns and keep Lairon healthy, but it ends up leaving it way too passive. Lairon can also choose to run setup variants moves like Curse or Hone Claws. Curse can boost its already powerful Attack and Defense stats, while Hone Claws helps ensure Head Smash won't miss. However, Lairon has too many weaknesses to setup set up without boosting its Speed and has a lot of trouble circumventing its low Special Defense. Rock Slide and Stone Edge are options for alternate Stab Moves STAB moves, but the sheer power of Head Smash is too good to pass up.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Ground-Types Ground-types**: Lairon has a 4x weakness to Ground-type moves, while and most Ground-types (Hippopotas, Vibrava, Whiscash) such as Hippopotas, Vibrava, and Whiscash also resist Head Smash. Whiscash deserves a special mention since it resists both of its Lairon's STABs STAB moves.

**Fighting-Types Fighting-types**: Mienfoo gives Lairon a lot of trouble as it resists Head Smash and can OHKO it with High Jump Kick. Lairon also has to be aware of sneaky Hidden Power Fighting coverage that can be carried by Grumpig, Persian, and Glaceon.

**Bulky Water-Types Water-types**: Water-types in general are a struggle for Lairon to switch-in switch in on, but even its Choice Band set has trouble getting the OHKO on some of them. This makes Lairon really susceptible to Walrein, Frillish, and Staryu. It has a tough time taking a Scald from either of these Pokemon the latter two, and also + it risks the chance of taking a burn. Whiscash is in a class of its own for bulky Water-types. With its dual typing it resisting Lairon's STABs STAB moves, it is very hard to take down when it comes in, (AC) and Lairon cannot take an Earthquake from it in return.

**Fast Special Attackers**: Lairon has a pretty poor Speed stat, mostly relying on its bulk to take a hit before being able to return the favor. Faster special attackers such as Grumpig, Simisear, and Raichu can put down Lairon before it get gets the chance to do anything such as Grumpig, Simisear, and Raichu. Although, However, they need to need to use super effective attacks to make sure they OHKO its bulky Eviolite sets. They also need to be concerned about coming in after a Rock Polish.

**Status**: Lairon is completely ruined after getting burned, which can happen after taking a Will-O-Wisp from Frillish and Solrock or Scald from Scald from Pelipper and Staryu. Thunder Wave from Clefairy isn't great for it either, making it slow enough to be picked off by Hippopotas, Graveler, and both Wormadam Wormadam-G, and Wormadam-S.

[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/5dots.543866/
Grammar checked by:

 

[SolarBeam]

Not immediately stamping due to needing to rephrase a couple of sentences pretty subjectively + substantially, but ping me as soon as you implement and I'll check + stamp it as soon as I can. Sorry, I know this has been waiting a while.

Did my check on top of Big C's amcheck. Marked my own adds and removes in darker blue and lighter red, respectively, while my comments are orange.

Victory Road Warrior

add (comment) remove
add (comment) remove

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Head Smash
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Heavy Slam
move 4: Superpower / Earthquake
item: Choice Band
ability: Rock Head
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Band Lairon is a threatening wallbreaker in ZU with due to its incredibly strong STAB moves and high Attack stat. Lairon It can absolutely blow up the tier's premiere premier physical walls such as Solrock, Wormadam-S, and Frillish if they try to switch-in switch in. Head Smash is an absolutely terrifying STAB move, regardless of its problematic accuracy, (AC) 2HKOing most neutral targets such as Wormadam-S, Meganium, and Shelgon. Very few nuetral targets can take more than one hit from Head Smash such as Wormadam-T, Meganium, and Shelgon. (changed for flow and clarity) What makes Lairon so problematic threatening (changed because "problematic" is generally used in a tiering sense and presumably that was not what was meant here) is that it can outspeed most of the bulky foes that can take hits from it, finishing them off with a second Head Smash. Iron Head is great for Rock-types in particular like Solrock, Graveler, and other Lairons Lairon when where Head Smash wouldn't be as powerful. The chance to flinch and better accuracy can also help bail Lairon out of tight situations where it needs to finish off a slower target in the late-game (AH). Heavy Slam is used alongside Iron Head to pick up the OHKO on lighter foes like Mienfoo and Drilbur, (RC) and 2HKOs on 2HKO Clefairy, Vibrava, and Ivysaur, whereas Iron Head would not. Its Steel-type STABs STAB moves are also safer OHKO's OHKOs on opposing Ice-types like Glaceon and Beartic since Head Smash does the same thing, but with the chance to miss its target compared to Head Smash due to their perfect accuracy. Lairon's STAB coverage struggles to hit opposing Steel-types such as Pawniard and opposing Lairon, as well as Whiscash in particular due to its dual typing. This is why it opts to run Superpower or Earthquake for coverage in the fourth slot. For its last move, Lairon opts to run either Superpower or Earthquake in order to hit Steel-types such as Pawniard and opposing Lairon, as well as Whiscash. (reduced verbosity) Superpower picks up OHKOs on the likes of specially defensive Clefairy and opposing Lairon; (replaced comma with semicolon) however, (AC) it does have the drawback of being rendering Lairon susceptible to being revenge killed or set up on after the stat drop dropping its stats, unlike Earthquake. Rock Head is to prevent Lairon from taking recoil from Head Smash, giving it more longevity in battle.

Lairon fits well on balance or offensive teams looking for a physical wallbreaker to break through opposing walls for its teammates. Other physical cleaners or sweepers such as Leafeon and Shelgon appreciate it taking down some of the physical walls that they struggle to get past like Wormadam-S and Meganium. Lairon packs a plethora of resistances, which helps help it slot in on teams looking for an offensive Pokemon who that can take a hit. It is bulky enough to cover the weaknesses of Leafeon, Emolga, and Vibrava a few times over the course of a game. Choice Band Lairon specifically does great with helping these Pokemon because it can have a favorable matchup into their weaknesses and potentially OHKO back. It does really well in the face of Persian, Muk, and Pikachu, coming in on their attacks and threatening the opposing team by wearing down their switch-ins. (It's pretty unclear to me what these sentences are actually trying to say. Are Leafeon, Emolga, and Vibrava weak to Persian, Muk, and Pikachu? If not, then what are these "weaknesses" Lairon can switch into and and threaten to OHKO? Please rewrite this section to provide clarity) (agree, these two sentences need substantial rephrasing- ping me again when implemented before marking as done and I'll check them) It can even take non-resisted hits pretty well from most physical attackers, then threaten to kill KO back with its blistering banded Choice Band-boosted attacks. Although it has great physical bulk, it Lairon (repetition) really needs teammates like specially defensive Grumpig, Muk, and Clefairy to handle special attackers such as Simisear, Grumpig, and Walrein, respectively. Lairon really appreciates being paired with the Muk, Arbok, Frillish Muk, Arbok, and Frillish to help with taking 4x super effective Fighting-type moves from Meinfoo Mienfoo, Flareon, and opposing Lairon. Unfortunately, it also has this same trouble with Ground-type moves from the likes of Hippopotas or Vibrava. This makes it really want Lairon is also threatened by Ground-type moves from the likes of Hippopotas and Vibrava, so it appreciates a partner that can resist resists or is immune to these moves like Meganium, Solrock, or Pelipper. Most of these teammates already do well at covering its weakness to Water as well, but other helpful Pokemon to cover this issue would be Gloom, Walrein, and Staryu. Lairon does great combined with pivots like Persian and Mienfoo that allow it to come in safely on Pokemon that want to switch-in switch in on them.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Lairon can opt to run 252 HP EVs over 252 Speed EVs in order to live survive what would otherwise be OHKOs from Choice Scarf Kingler's Superpower, Whiscash's Earthquake, and Choice Band Solrock's Earthquake; (ASC) , (RC) however, (AC) this is suboptimal sub-optimal, (AC) as it loses a lot of its damage output (this doesn't really follow for me because Lairon's actual Attack investment isn't being reduced; is this because it loses opportunities to get hits off by foregoing the Speed investment?) (could rephrase to "offensive potential" if that's what you mean). Rest can be used to heal burns burn and keep Lairon healthy, but it ends up leaving it way too passive. Lairon can also choose to run setup variants moves like Curse or and Hone Claws. Curse can boost its already powerful Attack and Defense stats, while Hone Claws helps ensure Head Smash won't miss. However, Lairon has too many weaknesses to setup set up without boosting its Speed and has a lot of trouble circumventing its low Special Defense. Rock Slide and Stone Edge are options for alternate Stab Moves STAB moves, but the sheer power of Head Smash is too good to pass up.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Ground-Types Ground-types**: Lairon has a 4x weakness to Ground-type moves Ground, while and most Ground-types (Hippopotas, Vibrava, Whiscash) such as Hippopotas, Vibrava, and Whiscash also resist Head Smash. Whiscash deserves a special mention, (AC) since it resists both of its STAbs Lairon's STAB combination.

**Fighting-Types Fighting-types**: Mienfoo gives Lairon a lot of trouble, (AC) as it resists Head Smash and can OHKO it with High Jump Kick. Lairon also has to be aware of sneaky Hidden Power Fighting coverage that can be carried by Grumpig, Persian, and Glaceon.

**Bulky Water-Types Water-types**: Water-types in general are a struggle for Lairon to switch-in switch in on, but even its Choice Band set has trouble getting the OHKO on some of them. This makes Lairon really susceptible to Walrein, Frillish, and Staryu. It has a tough time taking a Scald from either any of these Pokemon and also + it risks the chance of taking a burn. Whiscash is in a class of its own for bulky Water-types. With its dual typing resisting Since it resists Lairon's STABs STAB combination, it is very hard to take down when it comes in, (AC) and Lairon cannot take an Earthquake from it in return.

**Fast Special Attackers**: Lairon has a pretty poor Speed stat, mostly relying on its bulk to take a hit before being able to return the favor. Faster special attackers such as Grumpig, Simisear, and Raichu can put down Lairon before it get gets the chance to do anything such as Grumpig, Simisear, and Raichu. Although, However, they need to need to use super effective attacks to make sure they OHKO its bulky Eviolite sets. They also need to be concerned about coming in after a Rock Polish.

**Status**: Lairon is completely ruined after getting burned, which can happen after taking a Will-O-Wisp from Frillish and Solrock or Scald from Scald from Pelipper and Staryu. Thunder Wave from Clefairy isn't great for it either, making it slow enough to be picked off by Hippopotas, Graveler, and both Wormadam Wormadam-G, and Wormadam-S.

[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/5dots.543866/
Grammar checked by:

 

[sleid]

implemented SolarBeam

 

[SolarBeam]

1/1, GP Team done

Fixed the discussed changes and got a couple additional small things I missed or that weren't implemented- make sure to use the reply method so you don't have to eyeball GP stuff. Also crediting Big C, they did a lot of the work.

lairon

blue = add
red = remove
(orange) = comment

[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Head Smash
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Heavy Slam
move 4: Superpower / Earthquake
item: Choice Band
ability: Rock Head
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Band Lairon is a threatening wallbreaker in ZU due to its incredibly strong STAB moves and high Attack. It can blow up the tier's premier physical walls such as Solrock, Wormadam-S, and Frillish if they try to switch in. Head Smash is an absolutely terrifying STAB move, regardless of its problematic accuracy, 2HKOing most neutral targets such as Wormadam-S, Meganium, and Shelgon. What makes Lairon so threatening is that it can outspeed most of the bulky foes that can take hits from it, finishing them off with a second Head Smash. Iron Head is great for Rock-types like Solrock, Graveler, and other Lairon where Head Smash wouldn't be as powerful. The chance to flinch and better accuracy can also help bail Lairon out of tight situations where it needs to finish off a slower target late-game. Heavy Slam is used to OHKO lighter foes like Mienfoo and Drilbur and 2HKO Clefairy, Vibrava, and Ivysaur. Its Steel-type STAB moves are also safer OHKOs on opposing Ice-types like Glaceon and Beartic compared to Head Smash due to their perfect accuracy. For its last move, Lairon opts to run either Superpower or Earthquake in order to hit Steel-types such as Pawniard and opposing Lairon, as well as Whiscash. Superpower picks up OHKOs on the likes of specially defensive Clefairy and opposing Lairon; however, it does have the drawback of rendering Lairon susceptible to being revenge killed or set up on after the stat drop, unlike Earthquake. Rock Head is to prevent Lairon from taking recoil from Head Smash, giving it more longevity in battle.

Lairon fits well on balance or offensive teams looking for a physical wallbreaker. Other physical cleaners or and sweepers such as Leafeon and Shelgon appreciate it taking down some of the physical walls that they struggle to get past like Wormadam-S and Meganium. Lairon packs a plethora of resistances, which help it slot in on teams looking for an offensive Pokemon that can take a hit. The likes of Emolga, Leafeon and Raichu appreciate how well Lairon does well in the face of offensive threats like Persian and Muk, since it can come in on their attacks and threaten back with big damage. It can even take non-resisted hits pretty well from most physical attackers, then threaten to KO with its blistering Choice Band-boosted attacks. Although it has great physical bulk, Lairon really needs teammates like specially defensive Grumpig, Muk, and Clefairy to handle special attackers such as Simisear, Grumpig, and Walrein, respectively. Lairon really appreciates being paired with Muk, Arbok, and Frillish to help with taking Fighting-type moves from Mienfoo, Flareon, and opposing Lairon. Lairon is also threatened by Ground-type moves from the likes of Hippopotas and Vibrava, so it appreciates a partner that resists or is immune to these moves like Meganium, Solrock, or Pelipper. Most of these teammates already do well at covering its weakness to Water as well, but other helpful Pokemon to cover this issue would be Gloom, Walrein, and Staryu. Lairon does great combined with pivots like Persian and Mienfoo that allow it to come in safely on Pokemon that want to switch in on them.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Lairon can opt to run 252 HP EVs over 252 Speed EVs in order to survive what would otherwise be OHKOs from Choice Scarf Kingler's Superpower, Whiscash's Earthquake, and Choice Band Solrock's Earthquake; however, this is sub-optimal, as it loses a lot of its offensive potential. Rest can be used to heal burn and keep Lairon healthy, but it ends up leaving it way too passive. Lairon can also choose to run setup moves like Curse and Hone Claws. Curse can boost its already powerful high Attack and Defense stats, while Hone Claws helps ensure Head Smash won't miss. However, Lairon has too many weaknesses to set up without boosting its Speed and has a lot of trouble circumventing its low Special Defense. Rock Slide and Stone Edge are options for alternate STAB moves, but the sheer power of Head Smash is too good to pass up.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Ground-types**: Lairon has a 4x weakness to Ground, and most Ground-types such as Hippopotas, Vibrava, and Whiscash also resist Head Smash. Whiscash deserves a special mention, since it resists Lairon's STAB combination.

**Fighting-types**: Mienfoo gives Lairon a lot of trouble, as it resists Head Smash and can OHKO it with High Jump Kick. Lairon also has to be aware of sneaky Hidden Power Fighting coverage that can be carried by Grumpig, Persian, and Glaceon.

**Bulky Water-types**: Water-types in general are a struggle for Lairon to switch in on, but and (these two ideas don't conflict) even its Choice Band set has trouble getting the OHKO on OKHOing some of them. This makes Lairon really susceptible to Walrein, Frillish, and Staryu. It has a tough time taking a Scald from any of these Pokemon and also risks taking a burn. Whiscash is in a class of its own for bulky Water-types. Since it resists Lairon's STAB combination, it is very hard to take down when it comes in, and Lairon cannot take an Earthquake from it in return.

**Fast Special Attackers**: Lairon has pretty poor Speed, mostly relying on its bulk to take a hit before being able to return the favor. Faster special attackers such as Grumpig, Simisear, and Raichu can put down Lairon before it gets the chance to do anything. However, they need to use super effective attacks to make sure they OHKO its bulky Eviolite sets. They also need to be concerned about coming in after a Rock Polish.

**Status**: Lairon is completely ruined after getting burned, which can happen after taking a Will-O-Wisp from Frillish and Solrock or Scald from Pelipper and Staryu. Thunder Wave from Clefairy isn't great for it either, making it slow enough to be picked off by Hippopotas, Graveler, Wormadam-G, and Wormadam-S.

[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sleid.601970/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/5dots.543866/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/therealbigc.532450/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/

 

[sleid]

tyvm, done and ready for upload