[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Wave Crash
move 2: Flip Turn
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Aqua Jet
item: Choice Band
ability: Adaptability / Swift Swim
nature: Naughty
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
tera type: Water / Ghost
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Basculegion differentiates itself from Basculegion-F with its greater Attack, offering plenty of damage with its powerful STAB Wave Crash and other physical Water-type moves to overpower physical walls like Hippowdon and specially defensive Water-resistant Pokemon like Empoleon and Hisuian Goodra. Flip Turn helps Basculegion keep up momentum, especially against defensive switch-ins like Slowbro, Chesnaught, and Empoleon. Aqua Jet compensates for Basculegion's poor Speed and enables it to pick off faster foes like Galarian Zapdos, Krookodile, and Weak Armor-boosted Armarouge. Although Shadow Ball isn't boosted by Choice Band, it's still Basculegion's strongest move against Slowbro and only effective move against Volcanion. Adaptability cranks up Basculegion's power even further, enabling it to potentially 2HKO bulky Hisuian Goodra with Wave Crash and guaranteeing a 2HKO on Slowbro with Shadow Ball. Alternatively, Swift Swim nets Basculegion a spot on rain teams; the boost from Swift Swim compensates for Basculegion's middling Speed, and the rain provides a comparable boost to Adaptability for Basculegion's Water-type moves. Tera Water lets Basculegion's Water-type moves potentially OHKO Galarian Weezing with Wave Crash after Stealth Rock damage. Basculegion also enjoys shedding its weaknesses to Sucker Punch from Bisharp and Shadow Sneak from Mimikyu. The extra damage Tera Ghost provides Shadow Ball helps Adaptability variants of Basculegion finish off Slowbro more quickly, though the trade-off of losing the Adaptability boost for Basculegion's Water-type moves can make it less potent as a revenge killer and offensive pivot.
VoltTurn teams appreciate Basculegion as a powerful wallbreaker that functions as an offensive pivot, and it forms great pivot cores with Pokemon like Galarian Zapdos, Cyclizar, and Fezandipiti. Slither Wing in particular stands out as a great offensive check to Wo-Chien and Bisharp. Electric-types like Magnezone, Toxtricity, and Raikou all make great offensive cores with Basculegion and threaten bulky Water-types for it. Knock Off users like Cyclizar, Hisuian Goodra, and Chesnaught threaten to cap Basculegion's damage output if they don't KO it directly, so Basculegion relies on Knock Off absorbers like Galarian Weezing and Amoonguss. If Basculegion joins rain teams, it will be reliant on Politoed to get the rain up. Politoed and other Water-types on rain teams, such as Barraskewda and Kingdra, work with Basculegion to overload checks to Water-types like Slowbro and Suicune. On these rain teams, Kilowattrel can threaten bulky Water-types and Water-immune Pokemon, including Slowbro and Volcanion, for Basculegion. Healing Wish and Lunar Dance users like Jirachi, Gardevoir, and Cresselia give Basculegion a second chance wallbreaking or cleaning up, healing off any burns Basculegion's taken and making up for the massive amount of damage Basculegion tends to accrue from recoil and entry hazards. Basculegion itself appreciates hazards being up to wear down Wo-Chien and non-Heavy Duty Boots variants of Slowbro and Amoonguss, so Krookodile, Rhyperior, and Kleavor can support it. Spikes support from Chesnaught and Klefki goes even further than Stealth Rock for wearing down Hisuian Goodra, Empoleon, and other checks to Basculegion that forego Heavy-Duty Boots.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Tera Blast Ghost provides Basculegion physical Ghost-type coverage, but Shadow Ball tends to hit targets like Slowbro hard enough without making Basculegion reliant on exhausting a resource as valuable as Terastallization. A Choice Scarf can remedy Basculegion's mediocre Speed, but Basculegion-F generally outclasses Basculegion as a Choice Scarf user. Psychic Fangs is boosted by Choice Band, nails Amoonguss and Chesnaught, and 3HKOes Volcanion, but Basculegion is most effective as a wallbreaker across matchups when it's using all of its moveslots for its spammable STAB moves.
Checks and Counters
====
**Water-immune Pokemon**: Volcanion is a hard wall to Basculegion and prevents it from pivoting, and the threat of burns from Steam Eruption easily forces Basculegion out. Vaporeon and Storm Drain Gastrodon also outright wall Basculegion.
**Bulky Water-resistant Pokemon**: Chesnaught easily sponges Water-type attacks and absorbs Shadow Ball. Amoonguss and Wo-Chien can repeatedly tank Basculegion's powerful Wave Crash. Slowbro can use Regenerator to repeatedly pivot into Basculegion's Water-type attacks while threatening Basculegion with a Scald burn. Bulky Salamence variants survive a 2HKO from Adaptability Basculegion's Wave Crash and have reliable recovery.
**Burn**: Will-O-Wisp from Galarian Weezing and Slither Wing ruins Basculegion's damage output with its physical moves. Scald users like Slowbro and Suicune can fish for burns against Basculegion. Talonflame is a relevant Flame Body user that might exhaust Terastallization or sacrifice itself to burn Basculegion for its teammates.
**Faster Threats**: Basculegion's tendency to wear itself out with Wave Crash recoil and entry hazard damage opens it up to revenge killers like Galarian Zapdos, Noivern, and Gengar. Priority users like Bisharp and Mimikyu even hit Basculegion super effectively.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/missangelic.452572/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/flampoke.654091/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/heatranator.647728/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/adorluigi.528364/
name: Choice Band
move 1: Wave Crash
move 2: Flip Turn
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Aqua Jet
item: Choice Band
ability: Adaptability / Swift Swim
nature: Naughty
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
tera type: Water / Ghost
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
====
Basculegion differentiates itself from Basculegion-F with its greater Attack, offering plenty of damage with its powerful STAB Wave Crash and other physical Water-type moves to overpower physical walls like Hippowdon and specially defensive Water-resistant Pokemon like Empoleon and Hisuian Goodra. Flip Turn helps Basculegion keep up momentum, especially against defensive switch-ins like Slowbro, Chesnaught, and Empoleon. Aqua Jet compensates for Basculegion's poor Speed and enables it to pick off faster foes like Galarian Zapdos, Krookodile, and Weak Armor-boosted Armarouge. Although Shadow Ball isn't boosted by Choice Band, it's still Basculegion's strongest move against Slowbro and only effective move against Volcanion. Adaptability cranks up Basculegion's power even further, enabling it to potentially 2HKO bulky Hisuian Goodra with Wave Crash and guaranteeing a 2HKO on Slowbro with Shadow Ball. Alternatively, Swift Swim nets Basculegion a spot on rain teams; the boost from Swift Swim compensates for Basculegion's middling Speed, and the rain provides a comparable boost to Adaptability for Basculegion's Water-type moves. Tera Water lets Basculegion's Water-type moves potentially OHKO Galarian Weezing with Wave Crash after Stealth Rock damage. Basculegion also enjoys shedding its weaknesses to Sucker Punch from Bisharp and Shadow Sneak from Mimikyu. The extra damage Tera Ghost provides Shadow Ball helps Adaptability variants of Basculegion finish off Slowbro more quickly, though the trade-off of losing the Adaptability boost for Basculegion's Water-type moves can make it less potent as a revenge killer and offensive pivot.
VoltTurn teams appreciate Basculegion as a powerful wallbreaker that functions as an offensive pivot, and it forms great pivot cores with Pokemon like Galarian Zapdos, Cyclizar, and Fezandipiti. Slither Wing in particular stands out as a great offensive check to Wo-Chien and Bisharp. Electric-types like Magnezone, Toxtricity, and Raikou all make great offensive cores with Basculegion and threaten bulky Water-types for it. Knock Off users like Cyclizar, Hisuian Goodra, and Chesnaught threaten to cap Basculegion's damage output if they don't KO it directly, so Basculegion relies on Knock Off absorbers like Galarian Weezing and Amoonguss. If Basculegion joins rain teams, it will be reliant on Politoed to get the rain up. Politoed and other Water-types on rain teams, such as Barraskewda and Kingdra, work with Basculegion to overload checks to Water-types like Slowbro and Suicune. On these rain teams, Kilowattrel can threaten bulky Water-types and Water-immune Pokemon, including Slowbro and Volcanion, for Basculegion. Healing Wish and Lunar Dance users like Jirachi, Gardevoir, and Cresselia give Basculegion a second chance wallbreaking or cleaning up, healing off any burns Basculegion's taken and making up for the massive amount of damage Basculegion tends to accrue from recoil and entry hazards. Basculegion itself appreciates hazards being up to wear down Wo-Chien and non-Heavy Duty Boots variants of Slowbro and Amoonguss, so Krookodile, Rhyperior, and Kleavor can support it. Spikes support from Chesnaught and Klefki goes even further than Stealth Rock for wearing down Hisuian Goodra, Empoleon, and other checks to Basculegion that forego Heavy-Duty Boots.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
====
Tera Blast Ghost provides Basculegion physical Ghost-type coverage, but Shadow Ball tends to hit targets like Slowbro hard enough without making Basculegion reliant on exhausting a resource as valuable as Terastallization. A Choice Scarf can remedy Basculegion's mediocre Speed, but Basculegion-F generally outclasses Basculegion as a Choice Scarf user. Psychic Fangs is boosted by Choice Band, nails Amoonguss and Chesnaught, and 3HKOes Volcanion, but Basculegion is most effective as a wallbreaker across matchups when it's using all of its moveslots for its spammable STAB moves.
Checks and Counters
====
**Water-immune Pokemon**: Volcanion is a hard wall to Basculegion and prevents it from pivoting, and the threat of burns from Steam Eruption easily forces Basculegion out. Vaporeon and Storm Drain Gastrodon also outright wall Basculegion.
**Bulky Water-resistant Pokemon**: Chesnaught easily sponges Water-type attacks and absorbs Shadow Ball. Amoonguss and Wo-Chien can repeatedly tank Basculegion's powerful Wave Crash. Slowbro can use Regenerator to repeatedly pivot into Basculegion's Water-type attacks while threatening Basculegion with a Scald burn. Bulky Salamence variants survive a 2HKO from Adaptability Basculegion's Wave Crash and have reliable recovery.
**Burn**: Will-O-Wisp from Galarian Weezing and Slither Wing ruins Basculegion's damage output with its physical moves. Scald users like Slowbro and Suicune can fish for burns against Basculegion. Talonflame is a relevant Flame Body user that might exhaust Terastallization or sacrifice itself to burn Basculegion for its teammates.
**Faster Threats**: Basculegion's tendency to wear itself out with Wave Crash recoil and entry hazard damage opens it up to revenge killers like Galarian Zapdos, Noivern, and Gengar. Priority users like Bisharp and Mimikyu even hit Basculegion super effectively.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/missangelic.452572/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/flampoke.654091/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/heatranator.647728/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/adorluigi.528364/
Last edited:
