Cobalion
[Overview]
<p>Cobalion's Steel / Fighting typing makes it unique amongst its Fighting-type brethren in the UU tier. 10 resistances, a 4x resistance to Stealth Rock, and an immunity to Toxic Spikes make it easy for Cobalion to enter the field and do its job. Additionally, Cobalion has balanced base 90 offensive stats and moves to boost both of them, namely Swords Dance, Calm Mind, and Work Up. Cobalion also has a high base 108 Speed, making it one of the fastest Pokemon in the tier, and a superb base 129 Defense, enabling it to take physical hits with ease. However, Cobalion has limitations too. It has a shallow movepool, and its Steel typing makes it weak to the common Fighting- and Ground-type moves. Nonetheless, Cobalion's considerable physical bulk, excellent Speed stat, and ability to boost its decent offenses make it a fierce competitor in the UU metagame.</p>
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Stone Edge / Iron Head
move 4: Substitute / Taunt
item: Leftovers / life Orb
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Swords Dance gives Cobalion immediate power, which it needs considering its lackluster offensive capabilities. After a Swords Dance boost, Close Combat can put a hurting on anything that doesn't resist it. Stone Edge lets Cobalion deal with Flying-, Fire-, and most Ghost-types, such as Zapdos, Victini, and Chandelure, who either resist or are immune to Close Combat. However, Iron Head is still a move to consider over Stone Edge, as it lets Cobalion hit Nidoking and Nidoqueen for neutral damage, and is the more reliable option against Froslass and Heracross; on top of that, it gives Cobalion an secondary STAB move. Substitute works wonders on this set, as it lets Cobalion capitalize on status moves that often come its way. Thanks to Cobalion's great Speed, getting a Substitute up is not hard either. This eases setting up, giving Cobalion a great chance at a sweep. However, Taunt fills a similar purpose, while also preventing key moves such as Taunt and Roar, and can effectively shut down many Pokemon in the tier.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>X-Scissor is Cobalion's strongest option against Slowbro, who completely walls this set, but even a +2 Jolly Life Orb X-Scissor is only a 2HKO, and might not 2HKO at all without Life Orb. An Adamant nature can be used over a Jolly one, but that will significantly lower Cobalion's Speed. Cobalion will still outspeed neutral-natured base 100 Speed Pokemon, but positive natured base 95 Speed Pokemon, such as Houndoom, will be able to outspeed and possibly KO Cobalion, so keeping Cobalion's Speed as high as possible with a Jolly nature is preferred. Life Orb will give Cobalion more power, but it should only be used with Taunt, as Substitute. + Life Orb will significantly shorten Cobalion's lifespan on the field. Leftovers, however, works wonders with Substitute.</p>
<p>Entry hazards will greatly help Cobalion score some necessary KOs and can deter the opponent from switching out. Roserade, Deoxys-D, and Nidoqueen are all three the optimal teammates for this job, as they resist Fighting-type moves directed at Cobalion, while Cobalion covers most of their weaknesses. However, note that Cobalion does share a Fire- and Ground-type weakness with Roserade and Nidoqueen, respectively. Still, Roserade is able to set up both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, Deoxys-D can set up both Stealth Rock and Spikes, while Nidoqueen has access to both Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock. Depending on whether Cobalion chooses to use Stone Edge or Iron Head, certain teammates are needed to handle those Pokemon who resist Close Combat and the respective coverage move. Porygon2 and Snorlax have no trouble taking on Zapdos, while they counter Chandelure, who both resist Close Combat and Iron Head. Houndoom and Krookodile get a mention for being able to deal with Chandelure and Victini, while Krookodile can outspeed and dispose of Nidoking and Nidoqueen with ease. As previously stated, Slowbro can't be beaten without X-Scissor, and even then, it is hard for Cobalion to take it down. Heracross and Escavalier can both maul Slowbro with STAB Megahorn. The former doesn't fear being burned by Scald, as it gets an Attack boost if burned. However, unlike Escavalier, Heracross is weak to the occasional Psychic-type move Slowbro might be carrying. Hard-hitting special attackers with super effective moves, such as Zapdos, Raikou, and Shaymin, can also effectively dispose of Slowbro. Houndoom and Chandelure can also hit Slowbro hard with their super effective STAB moves, but needs to be careful of the super effective Scald.</p>
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Hidden Power Ghost / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Substitute / Taunt
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Calm Mind lets Cobalion take a special attacking approach, patching up its lower Special Defense stat in the process. Though it requires a few more boosts to hit as hard, Focus Blast will easily plow through threats as easily as a Swords Dance-boosted Close Combat. Hidden Power Ghost is what separate this set from the physically oriented ones, as it allows Cobalion to take on its biggest counter, Slowbro, with ease. Additionally, Hidden Power Ghost takes care of the likes of Victini, Chandelure, and Froslass, who resist or are immune to Focus Blast. Hidden Power Ghost is also used over Hidden Power Dark to hit Heracross for neutral damage. Hidden Power Ice is still a viable option, as it allows Cobalion to hit most Flying-types harder than Focus Blast, while it also hits Nidoking and Nidoqueen for super effective damage. Furthermore, while it won't hit Krookodile as hard as Focus Blast will, Hidden Power Ice is the more reliable move of the two. As with the Swords Dance set, Substitute eases prediction and keeps Cobalion free from status. As Calm Mind boosts Cobalion's Special Defense, its Substitutes will become increasingly harder to break as well. Taunt is still an option to prevent moves such as Taunt and Roar from ruining things, and stops opponents from setting up alongside Cobalion.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>If you want a secondary STAB move and a more powerful neutral move against most Pokemon, you can opt to use Flash Cannon. Life Orb is still an option on this set, but it's generally better to take advantage of the boost Calm Mind grants to Cobalion's bulk and survivability with Leftovers. A Modest nature will give Cobalion some much-needed power, but it won't be able to outspeed positive base 100 Speed Pokemon, most notably Victini and Zapdos, which makes a big difference.</p>
<p>Entry hazards will aid Cobalion in both scoring necessary KOs and discouraging the opponent from switching out too much, allowing Cobalion to set up more easily. Roserade can set up both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, Deoxys-D Spikes and Stealth Rock, and Nidoqueen Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock. All three resist Fighting-type moves that Cobalion is weak to; Roserade can even handle most Ground-types for Cobalion as well. However, keep in mind that Nidoqueen and Cobalion share a common weakness to Ground-type moves. Other than these, Cobalion appreciates a variety of teammates depending on its coverage move of choice. A partner that can effectively dispose of Nidoqueen and Nidoking is useful, as unboosted Cobalion fails to OHKO them with any move. Krookodile can outspeed both Nidoqueen and Nidoking, while it threatens to KO them with STAB Earthquake. Zapdos similarly walls Cobalion, and resists Flash Cannon as well. Snorlax and Porygon2 can take Zapdos on with relative ease, sponging its moves with their great bulk. Victini and Chandelure are big problems as well, as Victini resists Cobalion's STAB moves and Hidden Power Ice, while Chandelure is immune to Focus Blast and resists both Flash Cannon and Hidden Power Ice. Dark-types, more notably Houndoom and Krookodile, can easily trap the two with Pursuit, while Krookodile can deal heavy damage with a super effective Earthquake as well. Slowbro can't be beaten without Hidden Power Ghost, so Bug- and Electric-types, such as Heracross, Escavalier, Yanmega, Zapdos, and Raikou, make great answers to it. Snorlax is a problem unless Cobalion has accumulated several boosts, as an unboosted Focus Blast can fail to even 2HKO, to say nothing of the low accuracy and PP of the move. Strong physically oriented Fighting-types, such as Machamp and Heracross, have no trouble dealing with Snorlax.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: X-scissor / Volt Switch
item: Choice Band
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Band Cobalion: a cool set, with a cool surprise factor. With Choice Band, Cobalion can hit hard from the start, and by switching on a predicted Dark-type move, it can receive an additional Attack boost thanks to Justified. Close Combat will hurt anything that doesn't resist it thanks to Choice Band; the rest of Cobalion's moves gives it the coverage it needs. Stone Edge lets Cobalion hit Flying- and Fire-types, such as Zapdos and Chandelure, for super effective damage. Iron Head gives Cobalion a secondary STAB move that hits Nidoking and Nidoqueen for neutral damage; it is also a safer bet against Heracross and Froslass. X-Scissor lets Cobalion deal some damage to Slowbro, who can take any of its other moves with ease. Volt Switch still hits Slowbro equally hard with a Jolly nature, while it gives Cobalion the ability to scout the opponent. You can also opt to use a Naive or Naughty nature over a Jolly or Adamant one, respectively, to do more damage with Volt Switch. However, this does lower Cobalion's already low Special Defense.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Entry hazard support is a must, as Choice Band Cobalion does not pack as much power as its Swords Dance counterpart. Roserade covers Cobalion's Fighting-type weakness and is able to set up both Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Deoxys-D and Nidoqueen also resist Fighting-type move, can both set up Stealth Rock, as well as Spikes and Toxic Spikes, respectively. Even though Choice Band Cobalion has better coverage than both the Swords Dance and Calm Mind sets, it is prone to being walled by certain Pokemon. Chandelure and Zapdos have no trouble switching in on a resisted Close Combat, Iron Head, or X-Scissor, and threaten Cobalion with their hard-hitting Fire-type moves. Victini can take both Close Combat and Iron Head with ease, while Slowbro can tank any move all day long. Nidoking and Nidoqueen only need to worry about Iron Head, and even then, it won't do much damage to Nidoqueen. The two can also completely shut down any of Cobalion's attempts at using Volt Switch. Porygon2 and Snorlax can easily take repeated hits from Zapdos and make the perfect counters to Chandelure, as they are either immune or resistant to its moves. Houndoom and Krookodile also make good candidates for taking on Chandelure, as well as Victini, being able to threaten them with Pursuit, while Krookodile can easily dispose of Nidoking and Nidoqueen with Earthquake. Heracross and Escavalier make good answers to Slowbro, as they can hit it hard with a super effective Megahorn. However, the former needs to watch out for the occasional Psychic, while the latter needs to be careful to avoid a Scald burn. Hard-hitting special attackers, such as Shaymin, Zapdos, and Raikou, also make short work of Slowbro.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Sacred Sword is a safer STAB move over Close Combat; as it comes with the effect of ignoring the opponent's stat boosts, dealing with Curse Snorlax will be much easier. In the same vein, Hidden Power Fighting can be used over Focus Blast on the Calm Mind set if Cobalion is using Flash Cannon over Hidden Power Ice or Ghost. However, it should be noted that Hidden Power Fighting is incredibly weak in comparison. Cobalion has access to Quick Attack to finish off weaker opponents, and Double Kick to break through Substitutes. Other physical moves at its disposal include Retaliate, Return, Aerial Ace, and Poison Jab. Cobalion can utilize a physically defensive set with the above moves in conjunction with its high base Defense and Metal Burst; however, its only form of recovery is Rest. Cobalion also has Work Up if you want to try a mixed attacking set, but it's not recommended due to Cobalion's initially underwhelming offenses and the need to split EVs. A Choice Specs set can be used, but it's not generally good for any UU team, as Choice Band is much more reliable and Calm Mind not only gets more powerful and bulkier over time, but can also switch between moves. On that note, Cobalion can use a Choice Scarf to act as a revenge killer, but the powerdrop is significant and should not be sacrificed for more Speed. Hidden Power Ice can be used on the Swords Dance or Choice Band set for a super effective hit on Gligar, who otherwise completely walls Cobalion.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Slowbro, Slowbro, Slowbro. It resists both of Cobalion's STAB moves and has high Defense, Regenerator, and a reliable recovery move to boot. +2 Stone Edge only 3HKOes Slowbro, and even with X-Scissor, Slowbro is only 2HKOed at best. Bulky Ghost-type Pokemon, such as Dusclops and Spiritomb, can come in unscathed on a Fighting-type move and cripple Cobalion with Will-O-Wisp. Nidoqueen resists Close Combat, Focus Blast, and Stone Edge, but needs to be careful if Cobalion is packing Hidden Power Ice; the same goes for Nidoking. Gallade also resists the aforementioned moves and takes Focus Blast better thanks to its higher Special Defense, but it needs to watch out for Hidden Power Ghost. Victini resists both of Cobalion's STAB moves and can OHKO it with V-create, but it must avoid Hidden Power Ghost and Stone Edge. Unaware Quagsire ignores Cobalion's stat boosts and can survive several hits to KO it with STAB Earthquake. Choice Scarf users, more notably Heracross, Darmanitan, Victini, and Krookodile, can outspeed and KO Cobalion with their powerful, super effective STAB moves. However, Choice Scarf Krookodile can only OHKO Cobalion if it has taken some prior damage.</p>
