Cresselia QC (2/3)

[Haki]

QC Checks: Lolk, BLOOD TOTEM

Overview
########

Cresselia possesses outstanding bulk with an amazing movepool, making her an S-rank Doubles threat with her ability to take a number of attacks and virtually run an infinite number of sets. Cresselia is an effective fit on various types of teams, providing support or offensive presence with access to moves such as Trick Room, Psyshock, and even Helping Hand. On the other hand, she is prone to getting set up, especially against threatening sweepers carrying Substitute. Furthermore, Knock Off has now become commonplace in the Smogon Doubles metagame, which is very threatening to Cresselia due to the fact she will take a significant amount damage while losing her precious item. However, these weaknesses can easily be nullified with the correct team support around Cresselia.

Support
########
name: Support
move 1: Icy Wind / Thunder Wave
move 2: Helping Hand
move 3: Psyshock
move 4: Light Screen / Rest
ability: Levitate
item: Sitrus Berry / Chesto Berry
evs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 44 SpA / 112 SpD
nature: Calm

Moves
========

Icy Wind is the main move on this set; it is a spread move that provides speed control, while also being 4x super effective against Landorus-Therian, Garchomp, and Salamence. Thunder Wave is also a great alternate option for permanent speed control and the possibility to immobilize and prevent the opponent from attacking. Helping Hand assists in giving your partner Pokemon a 1.5x boost, which can be lethal in most situations and indirectly makes Cresselia an offensive threat. As a result, 2HKOs will transform into potential OHKOs. Psyshock is a reliable STAB move that hits threats such as Hitmontop and Venusaur fairly hard, while also being able to hit specially defensive walls as the Defense stat is factored when damaging with Psyshock. Light Screen is helpful in terms of boosting the team's overall Special Defense significantly, but Rest can be used in the final slot in conjuction with the Chesto Berry to increase Cresselia's longevity in battle.

Set Details
========

A Calm Nature with a Max HP investment and 112 SpD EVs enables Cresselia to be a specially defensive wall that's difficult to take down. With the assitance of a Sitrus Berry, Cresselia will be able to take a Shadow Ball from Modest Gengar-Mega without getting 2HKO'ed. Furthermore, the 100 Def EV's invested with the Sitrus Berry ensures that Cresselia will survive a Pin Missile from Heracross-Mega and won't get 2HKO'ed from a Double-Edge from Kangaskhan-Mega. Chesto Berry + Rest is also an effective option that lets Cresselia live longer for further support. Leftovers can be used over Sitrus Berry if you expect Cresselia to be present throughout the course of the match.

Usage Tips
========

• Main purpose of this set is for support and to provide partner Pokemon with speed advantage and added offensive firepower.
• Cresselia is also extremely useful in switching into most incoming attacks thanks to her impressive bulk.
• Cresselia usually slows the opposing team down with Icy Wind until her partner is able to outspeed. She then proceeds to spam Helping Hand to assist her partner in dealing major damage.
• Psyshock and Moonblast should only be used if it is super effective against the opposing Pokemon or if it is close enough to KO.

Team Options
========

• This set is most effective on offensive teams looking for a little bulk and speed advantage to be able to outspeed and sweep.
• Sweepers such as Mega-Kangaskhan, Mega-Mawile, Landorus, Mega-Charizard Y, Heatran, Azumarill and Keldeo enjoy speed control.
• Cresselia can virtually fit into any team looking for support.
• Speedy Fighting-types such as Terrakion and Keldeo or Fighting-types with priority moves are a good partner, as they can eliminate Bisharp, Tyranitar, and Hydreigon before they inflict damage towards Cresselia.
• Fire-types such as Heatran and Talonflame are also useful for taking care of annoying Steel-types which wall defensive Cress.
• Earthquake users such as Landorus-T and Garchomp can EQ away thanks to Levitate and also helps take care of Steel-types, notably Heatran.

Offensive Trick Room
########
name: Trick Room
move 1: Psyshock / Moonblast
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hidden Power [Ground] / Hidden Power [Fighting]
move 4: Trick Room
ability: Levitate
item: Expert Belt
evs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 228 SpA / 16 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe
nature: Sassy

Moves
========

• Trick Room allows the slower Pokemon to move first, which helps make slow sweepers gain the advantage.
• STAB Psyshock hits Fighting-types pretty hard, but Moonblast enables Cresselia to deal decent damage to Dark-types, notably Scrafty.
• HP Ground enables Cresselia to 2HKO Heatran, a threat that would normally wall Cresselia. HP Fighting allows her to deal with Bisharp with a 4x super effective attack.
• Ice Beam is 4x super-effective to common threats such as Landorus-T and Garchomp and allows Cresselia to have some nice extra coverage.

Set Details
========

• Main purpose of this set is to put up TR while also having some offensive capabilities.
• Sassy Nature plus 0 Speed IVs allow Cresselia to function effectively in Trick Room.
• EV spread allows Cress to always survive a Knock Off from LO Bisharp while OHKOing 4 SpD Landorus-T with Ice Beam.
• Sitrus Berry increases Cresselia's longevity for continued support and to deal extra damage to the opponent.
• ChestoRest if you prefer a full HP recovery as opposed to an instant Sitrus recovery.
• HP Fighting catches Bisharp off-guard and HP Ground provides a way to assist teams who are weak to Heatran. Moonblast gives Cress coverage against Dark-types.

Usage Tips
========

• The best way to use Offensive Trick Room Cresselia is in, well, Trick Room. Protect with your partner Pokemon, and set up Trick Room with Cresselia.
• Attempt to keep Cresselia and a partner sweeper alive for a possible late-game sweep.
• Cresselia is great for switching into due to her ability to take multiple hits thanks to her amazing bulk.
• Use Cresselia as a support in dealing a significant amount of damage along with your partner.

Team Options
========

• Again Cresselia is great for Trick Room teams as it is almost guaranteed you can set up Trick Room with it's impressive bulk.
• Partner Cresselia with slow sweepers such as Mega-Mawile, Rhyperior, and Mega-Ampharos.
• Pair Cresselia with a Fake Out user such as Scrafty or Hitmontop to flinch potential threats to increase chances of getting Trick Room up. Fighting-types also handle the common threats Cresselia has to deal with such as Tyranitar and Bisharp.
• Earthquake users such as Rhyperior are a great match with Cresselia, as she carries Levitate.
• Amoonguss can also be viable as Rage Powder is able to redirect Taunt and guarantee a Trick Room setup. It can also put a potential threat to sleep with Spore.
• Lead with either Cresselia + a physical or special sweeper, as leading with two support Pokemon isn't really effective.

Calm Mind
########
name: Offensive
move 1: Psyshock / Moonblast
move 2: Calm Mind
move 3: Hidden Power [Ground] / Ice Beam
move 4: Rest
ability: Levitate
item: Chesto Berry
evs: 196 HP / 44 Def / 252 SpA / 16 Spe
ivs: 30 SpA / 30 SpD
nature: Modest

Moves
========

• STAB Psyshock deals significant damage to common Fighting-type threats such as Hitmontop and Conkeldurr. Moonblast is a great alternate option, as you can hit threats such as Scrafty and Sableye significantly with Cresselia OHKOing Scrafty with Expert Belt.
• Hidden Power Ground Cresselia is the best check to Heatran, as it is 4x super-effective and Cresselia's bulky defenses allow her to survive against numerous hits from Heatran.
• Ice Beam takes care of huge threats such as Landorus-T and Garchomp, but Icy Wind is also viable if you want to have speed control.
• Calm Mind increases Cresselia's offensive firepower while adding extra bulk to her already impressive Special Defense.

Set Details
========

• EV spread maximizes Cresselia's offensive capabilities while providing her with a more bulk (survives Knock from an LO Bisharp with this set and outspeeds standard SubTran and Rotom-Wash).
• Leftovers increases her durability by with small amounts of recovery every single turn, making Cresselia even more difficult to take down.
• Modest Nature and Max Special Attack to maximize the special attacking power on Cresselia. Icy Wind is also a great spread move that can lock down on Landorus-T and Dragons running around.
• If you choose to run Expert Belt over Leftovers, a 240 HP / 12 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD spread should be used instead.
• Trick Room can be viable as it can turn Cresselia into a bulky sweeper, as well as assist your partner in gaining the speed advantage if it is slower than the opposing team.

Usage Tips
========

• The best way to use Calm Mind Cresselia is on a offensively oriented team looking for a little bulk and damage support.
• This set can have an unexpected surprise factor, as most Pokemon switch into her with the idea that Cresselia will only provide team support.
• Wide movepool allows Cresselia deal significant damage to numerous threats in the metagame.
• Weaken physical attackers before setting up with Cresselia by burning them with Will-O-Wisp. Intimidate is also pretty good in weakening physical attackers, also.
• Cresselia can also be switched multiple times thanks to her excellent defensive stats.
• Hidden Power Ground is specifically for Heatran and against other 4X super effective Pokemon. HP Ground is also useful to help deal significant damage to other Steel-types such as Bisharp and Mega-Mawile.
• STAB Psyshock is more reliable as it hits with just about the same power and is more useful to spam constantly.

Team Options
========

• Life Orb Terrakion is amazing paired alongside Cresselia, as Terrakion can take care of threats of threats to Cresselia such as Bisharp, Tyranitar and Scrafty.
• Dark-type killers are great for helping keep Cresselia alive such as Scrafty, Mega-Gardevoir, Sylveon, and Keldeo.
• Steel-types can wall this Calm Mind Set so Mega-Charizard Y, Heatran, and Landorus-T are great partners.
• Earthquake users such as Landorus-T and Garchomp can be free to attack with Cresselia's Levitate.

Other Options
########

• Psychic can be viable to hit harder against Pokemon not specially defensive.
• A Max HP and Max Defense Cresselia with Bold Nature + Calm Mind can sweep unaware teams.
• Access to both Sunny Day and Rain Dance makes Cresselia a great weather supporter.
• Dual Screens + Light Clay are useful if you want increased bulk for your team overall.
  
• Hidden Power Fire let's Cresselia put up a fight with Scizor and Ferrothorn.
• Skill Swap is also an amazing option; you can give Heatran Levitate and not have to worry about Earthquake's or Earth Power. Not to mention Cresselia gains Fire immunity. You are able to strip the opponent of their useful abilities, such as Huge Power on Azumarill or Parental Bond on Mega-Kangaskhan.
• Moonlight is a great recovery move for 50% health recovery and 66.66% recovery in Sun.
• Safeguard can be used to prevent the annoying status conditions that have caused rage quits all over the world.
• Gravity can raise the accuracy of moves, but Cresselia and Flying-types area vulnerable to Ground-type moves.
• Cresselia also has access to Swagger, and can be paired with a physical sweeper carrying Lum Berry for a +2 attack boost.
• Lunar Dance enables a crippled Pokemon to have a full HP recovery with no status for a potential late-game sweep.

Checks & Counters
########

• Cresselia despises Knock Off and Dark-types such as Bisharp, Scrafty, and Hydreigon can counter Cresselia if it is not carrying Moonblast.
• Bulky Steel-types wall Cress if it does not have Hidden Power Ground, but even some Steel-types wall Cresselia even with HP Ground such as Scizor, Air Balloon Heatran, Aegislash (STAB Shadow Ball), and Escavalier (STAB Megahorn).
• Cresselia absolutely hates bulky Ghost-types such as Cofagrigus and Dusclops, which wall Cresselia with Pain Split + Will-O-Wisp.
• Bisharp can switch into an incoming Icy Wind and gain a +2 Attack Boost (due to Defiant) and proceed to sweep your team.
• Pokemon carrying Substitute can set up on Trick Room Cresselia and Support Cresselia such as SubTran.
• STAB Bug Bite from Scizor with a Technician boost is a huge threat to Cresselia, as you can even get your precious Chesto or Sitrus Berry eaten. Not to mention Heracross-Mega OHKO's Max HP Cresselia with STAB Pin Missile if it carries less than 100 Def EV's.
• Genesect constantly pivots Cresselia with multiple STAB U-Turn's.
• Ghost-types such as Chandelure and Mega-Gengar can deal a lot of damage with their STAB Shadow Ball.
• Without Mental Herb, Taunt absolutely demolishes Cresselia, as its role as a supporter or a Trick Room setter becomes non-existent.
• Cresselia is taken down by repeated attacks, usually by continuous double targeting.

 

[Haki]

Now ready for QC checks!

 

[Audiosurfer]

ok some quick things before i give a more indepth check later:

• "252 HP and 80 Def EVs lets Cresselia can take approximately 3/4 damage from Adamant Tyranitar-Mega with Max Attack. Sitrus Berry is also useful for restoring health to about 50% after taking that hit." <--- what is the relevance of this benchmark? you still get 2hkoed so i dont see why this is relevant. change it to something else please (might give a spread later but no time now)
• "60 SpA EVs lets Cresselia deal decent damage to the opponent as a supporter." <--- if you dont know exactly what your evs are doing please dont use them in the set. if 60 SpA lets you achieve a specific KO or something then fine, but otherwise it is just a completely arbitrary and useless benchmark
• "Calm Nature with 240 HP and 196 SpD EVs allow Cresselia to be a specially defensive wall that's difficult to take down. Can take 4 hits of Heat Wave from Char-Y in Sun." <---- specify whether it takes 4 hits from timid or modest zard
• "Fighting-types are a good partner, as they can eliminate most Pokemon who pose a threat o Cresselia." <--- give examples of mons they eliminate

in general this needs to be tighter and more specific. whenever you use a spread, make sure that you've got a purpose for deviating from a 252/252 spread if you choose to and state that purpose here. in addition, just don't be vague when you're makin statements. the purpose of these is for the reader to learn about the mon in question, so giving as much useful information as you can is helpful

 

[Haki]

ok some quick things before i give a more indepth check later:

• "252 HP and 80 Def EVs lets Cresselia can take approximately 3/4 damage from Adamant Tyranitar-Mega with Max Attack. Sitrus Berry is also useful for restoring health to about 50% after taking that hit." <--- what is the relevance of this benchmark? you still get 2hkoed so i dont see why this is relevant. change it to something else please (might give a spread later but no time now)
• "60 SpA EVs lets Cresselia deal decent damage to the opponent as a supporter." <--- if you dont know exactly what your evs are doing please dont use them in the set. if 60 SpA lets you achieve a specific KO or something then fine, but otherwise it is just a completely arbitrary and useless benchmark
• "Calm Nature with 240 HP and 196 SpD EVs allow Cresselia to be a specially defensive wall that's difficult to take down. Can take 4 hits of Heat Wave from Char-Y in Sun." <---- specify whether it takes 4 hits from timid or modest zard
• "Fighting-types are a good partner, as they can eliminate most Pokemon who pose a threat o Cresselia." <--- give examples of mons they eliminate

in general this needs to be tighter and more specific. whenever you use a spread, make sure that you've got a purpose for deviating from a 252/252 spread if you choose to and state that purpose here. in addition, just don't be vague when you're makin statements. the purpose of these is for the reader to learn about the mon in question, so giving as much useful information as you can is helpful

Edited in your suggestions. Thanks for the tips! Just wondering if there would possibly be a better EV spread for Trick Room Cresselia?

 

[Lolk]

Overview:

• Mention that Cress is setup fodder for many Pokemon, especially sweepers with Substitute
• Mention that Knock Off is everywhere and that Cress doesn't like it.

Support Set:

• Put Helping Hand above Psyshock / Moon Blast.
• Also, for the sake of efficiency, let's wait to see if Sleep Clause gets eliminated before you finish this because Safeguard is easily slash-able behind Helping Hand.

Usage Tips:

• Mention that it can switch in a ridiculous amount of times because of its bulk. This can go in usage tips for all of the sets.
• Talk about how this set plays. Cress primarily slows the opposing team down until its partner outspeeds the opposing threat(s). Than it just spams Helping Hand, allowing its partner to do a lot of damage.
• Psyshock / MoonBlast should only be used if super effective or the opponent is close enough to KO, because its power is not impressive.

Team Options:

• List a lot more Pokemon that enjoy Speed Control. Some examples are Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Charizard Y, Heatran, Azumarill, Mega Mawile, etc.

Trick Room Set:

• Put Reflect behind Helping Hand and then mention that Reflect and Light Screen work in either of each other's slots, it just depends on which move Cresselia's team appreciates the most.
• IMO switch Sitrus Berry with Light Clay, and put Sitrus in Set Comments. If you don't want to do that, just put Light Clay in Set Comments.

Moves:

• Explain what Trick Room does :O
• Reflect and Light Screen give a heck of a lotta bulk, not just a little :p

Set Comments:

• Take out the Crunch Scrafty mention. It uses Knock Off. Idk if that is a 3HKO but if it is that you can mention that.

Usage Tips:

• Add when to use Reflect or Light Screen.
• Explain that you need to keep Cress and a partner sweeper alive throughout the match for a reliable late-game sweep.

Team Options:

• ADD TRICK ROOM SWEEPERS! Some examples are Mega Mawile, Rhyperior (you mention it because of Earthquake, but you need to say its good becasue of Trick Room), Heatran, Conkeldurr, Aegislash, Sylveon, Mega Abomasnow, and Escavalier.
• Once again, wait to see if sleep is free. If it does get free, Amoonguss makes a great partner under Trick Room because it can redirect Taunts with Rage Powder, or it can fire off as many Spores as it can under Trick Room.

Bulky Offensive Set:

• Put Moonblast behind Hidden Power Ground instead of behind Psyshock. Since this set has multiple attacks, the STAB will always be the most reliable.
• Put Icy Wind in set comments imo. Cress needs to do as much damage as possible to Landorus-T and the many Dragons running about. If you feel passionately about Icy Wind, though, I doesn't really bother me if it stays in.
• inb4 weird Nollan spread to survive something

Set Details:

• Mention that Trick Room can also fit into this set, turning it into an OTR sweeper kinda thing.

Usage Tips:

• Mention that this set has a significant surprise factor, as many Pokemon switch into it expecting to set up.
• Exemplify that HP Ground is ONLY for Heatran and other 4X super effective Pokemon. A STAB Psyshock hits just as hard and is more reliable to spam.

Team Options:

• Add Dark-type killers such as Scrafty, Mega Gardevoir, Sylveon, and you already got Terrakion (but mention that it loves switching in on Crunches aimed at Cress or Knock Off's if it has to)
• Since Steel-types wall the set (even most bulky Steels can sponge off HP Ground), solid Steel-type killers include Mega Charizard Y, Landorus-T, and Heatran.

Other Options:

• Hype up Calm Mind a bit more. A 252 HP / 252+ Def (or something like that) Cress with Calm Mind can sweep unprepared teams. I would opt for it to have its own set but 3 is enough lol.
• Mention that Dual Screens is still good even outside of Trick Room.

Checks and Counters:

• Crawdaunt is nonexistant in Doubles so just say Knock Off in general threatens Cress. Also just generalize the whole bullet and say that Dark-types check Cress if it doesn't have MoonBlast.
• Generalize the other bullet and say that Bulky Steel-types wall Cress if it lacks HP Ground and that some Steel-types can even wall it with HP Ground, such as Scizor (whose Bug Bite really hurts), Air Balloon Heatran, Aegislash (whose Shadow Ball hurts), and Escavlier (STAB MegaHorn).
• Specifically hype Bisharp who can switch into Icy Wind and wreck Cresselia's team with a +2 Attack Boost.
• Mention Pokemon with Substitute can set up on the non-offensive sets, such as Heatran.
• Change your Taunt wording. Say something more like, "if cress lacks Mental Herb, taunt FREAKING RUINS ITS LIFE FOREVER WITH NOTHING TO LIVE FOR EXCEPT HANG WITH WEIRDOS LIKE PWNEMON OR THE CHANCE THAT IT WILL ONE DAY NOT BE A PILE OF POO ANYMORE."

Holy moly I wrote a lot. Do these and I will check again Pinoy Pwnage :)

 

[Haki]

Edited in your suggestions, Lolkomori. Thanks for the advice, really appreciate it! :)

Anymore QC checks and/or suggestions? :D

 

[Lolk]

QC 1/3

 

[Nollan]

Support Set

Imo the support set should have Sitrus Berry as the primary item, something like:

Support
########
name: Support
move 1: Icy Wind / Thunder Wave
move 2: Psyshock (Moonblast is something that should be used on offensive sets rather than defensive ones; to put things into perspective 60 SpA Moonblast is only a 2HKO on non-AV Scrafty and 2HKOs AV Scrafty a mere 0.4% of the time)
move 3: Helping Hand
move 4: Light Screen / Rest
item: Sitrus Berry / Chesto Berry
evs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 44 SpA / 112 SpD (252 EVs hits 444 HP which is divisible by 4 (Sitrus number) while it means you'll have 12 HP remaining after 16 rounds of sandstorm damage (meaning you take the minimal amount from sand damage while also hitting a Sitrus Berry number). Defensive investment allows you to always survive a Mega Heracross Pin Missile when factoring in Sitrus Berry and in general gives you higher defense so threats like Talonflame (CB Brave Bird never 2HKOs w/o factoring in Sitrus) and Mega Kangaskhan (only a slight chance to 2HKO with Double-Edge when factoring in Sitrus) won't deal as much damage. The special bulk makes a Modest Mega Gengar Shadow Ball never 2HKO when factoring in Sitrus and makes Cresselia an annoyingly bulky special sponge. Remaining EVs are packed into SpA to provide Cresselia with a small boost to offensive potential, though they can be put into SpD or Def as desired)
nature: Calm

Ignoring my way over-the-top EV explanation, Sitrus Berry should be preferred as Cresselia won't have to burn a turn to get some useful recovery and it also provides a slot for Light Screen, which capitalizes on Cresselia's massive 120 / 130 special bulk. Chesto Berry + Rest should be presented as a perfectly fine choice if Light Screen is already provided or not needed, or if you want Cresselia to have absurd longevity. Protect is not needed at all on defensive sets like this one because Cresselia enjoys slots for additional support options and extremely powerful attacks (Adamant Mega Kanga Return, Modest Mega Gengar Shadow Ball) cannot even 2HKO Cresselia (with Sitrus Berry; given attacks are 2HKOs with Chesto + Rest) anyway.


Moves

Slight (and probably unnecessary) mechanics nitpick; full paralysis only occurs 25% of the time

A key selling point to Helping Hand is that it can indirectly provide Cresselia with some offensive presence. A 50% boosted CB Talonflame Brave Bird, for example, is much more threatening than a CB Brave Bird + Psyshock would be in most situations. This should be emphasized to an extent.

Team Options
Fast Fighting-types (Terrakion, Keldeo) or Fighting-types with powerful priority (Conkeldurr, Breloom) are usually the best choices to get rid of Bisharp and Tyranitar (to a lesser extent Hydreigon) as they can get rid of them before they attack Cresselia. Hitmontop and Scrafty aren't as effective, especially against Bisharp who can use them to snag a Defiant boost.

Additionally, mention EQ users are nice for eliminating Steel-types, particularly Heatran, which can wall defensive Cresselia quite easily and in Heatran's case get a Substitute up.

Final mention to Fire-types for their ability to get rid of Steel-types (defensive Cress hates Steel-types)

Trick Room

This set is currently built for dedicated Trick Room, which is not an efficient or consistent playstyle. It should be built for semi-TR which is a stronger and more reliable playstyle:

Trick Room
########
name: Trick Room
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Helping Hand / Rest
move 3: Psyshock
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Sitrus Berry / Chesto Berry
evs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 220 SpA / 24 SpD (Sitrus number, always survives LO Bisharp Knock Off, Ice Beam always OHKOs 4 HP Lando-T, remaining EVs into SpD)
ivs: 0 Spe
nature: Sassy

This set aims to get Trick Room up while possessing offensive presence of its own. Sitrus Berry or ChestoRest can be used for some extra longevity since a semi-TR team can make use of its "fast mode" when a Prankster Taunt user like Thundurus is around.

Bulky Offensive

This should probably just be called "Offensive", since its Cresselia and bulk is more or less implied. I think Calm Mind should be added into the set:

Offensive
########
name: Offensive
move 1: Psyshock
move 2: Ice Beam / Icy Wind
move 3: Hidden Power Ground / Moonblast
move 4: Calm Mind / Protect
item: Leftovers / Expert Belt
evs: 204 HP / 44 Def / 252 SpA / 8 SpD (hits Lefties number, always survives LO Bisharp Knock Off, maxed out SpA, remaining EVs into SpD)
nature: Modest

The general idea is that once physical attackers are removed Cresselia can usually win the game on its own, simply by Calm Minding up and slowly healing off damage with Leftovers. If Protect is used, Expert Belt is preferred to give Cresselia some extra power. A simple spread of 240 HP / 12 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD can be mentioned in Set Details, as it is solid spread if you opt to use Expert Belt instead of Leftovers. ChestoRest can be mentioned but doesn't really merit a slash imo.

Usage Tips

While it is chosen to hit Heatran as hard as possible, Hidden Power Ground is also useful for hitting other Steel-types like Bisharp and Mega Mawile.

Other Options

Remove Magic Coat, add Moonlight and Choice Specs

Checks & Counters

Mention specific Dark-types that threaten Cresselia (Hydreigon, Bisharp, Scrafty)

Bug-types like Escavalier, Scizor (already there but note other Bug-types are dangerous as well), Heracross, etc

Ghost-types don't always have to be bulky to threaten Cresselia (also get rid of Cofagrigus; its not a very potent threat if a threat at all). Chandelure, Gengar, and others all do a lot of damage to Cress.

 

[Haki]

Support Set

Imo the support set should have Sitrus Berry as the primary item, something like:

Support
########
name: Support
move 1: Icy Wind / Thunder Wave
move 2: Psyshock (Moonblast is something that should be used on offensive sets rather than defensive ones; to put things into perspective 60 SpA Moonblast is only a 2HKO on non-AV Scrafty and 2HKOs AV Scrafty a mere 0.4% of the time)
move 3: Helping Hand
move 4: Light Screen / Rest
item: Sitrus Berry / Chesto Berry
evs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 44 SpA / 112 SpD (252 EVs hits 444 HP which is divisible by 4 (Sitrus number) while it means you'll have 12 HP remaining after 16 rounds of sandstorm damage (meaning you take the minimal amount from sand damage while also hitting a Sitrus Berry number). Defensive investment allows you to always survive a Mega Heracross Pin Missile when factoring in Sitrus Berry and in general gives you higher defense so threats like Talonflame (CB Brave Bird never 2HKOs w/o factoring in Sitrus) and Mega Kangaskhan (only a slight chance to 2HKO with Double-Edge when factoring in Sitrus) won't deal as much damage. The special bulk makes a Modest Mega Gengar Shadow Ball never 2HKO when factoring in Sitrus and makes Cresselia an annoyingly bulky special sponge. Remaining EVs are packed into SpA to provide Cresselia with a small boost to offensive potential, though they can be put into SpD or Def as desired)
nature: Calm

Ignoring my way over-the-top EV explanation, Sitrus Berry should be preferred as Cresselia won't have to burn a turn to get some useful recovery and it also provides a slot for Light Screen, which capitalizes on Cresselia's massive 120 / 130 special bulk. Chesto Berry + Rest should be presented as a perfectly fine choice if Light Screen is already provided or not needed, or if you want Cresselia to have absurd longevity. Protect is not needed at all on defensive sets like this one because Cresselia enjoys slots for additional support options and extremely powerful attacks (Adamant Mega Kanga Return, Modest Mega Gengar Shadow Ball) cannot even 2HKO Cresselia (with Sitrus Berry; given attacks are 2HKOs with Chesto + Rest) anyway.


Moves

Slight (and probably unnecessary) mechanics nitpick; full paralysis only occurs 25% of the time

A key selling point to Helping Hand is that it can indirectly provide Cresselia with some offensive presence. A 50% boosted CB Talonflame Brave Bird, for example, is much more threatening than a CB Brave Bird + Psyshock would be in most situations. This should be emphasized to an extent.

Team Options
Fast Fighting-types (Terrakion, Keldeo) or Fighting-types with powerful priority (Conkeldurr, Breloom) are usually the best choices to get rid of Bisharp and Tyranitar (to a lesser extent Hydreigon) as they can get rid of them before they attack Cresselia. Hitmontop and Scrafty aren't as effective, especially against Bisharp who can use them to snag a Defiant boost.

Additionally, mention EQ users are nice for eliminating Steel-types, particularly Heatran, which can wall defensive Cresselia quite easily and in Heatran's case get a Substitute up.

Final mention to Fire-types for their ability to get rid of Steel-types (defensive Cress hates Steel-types)

Trick Room

This set is currently built for dedicated Trick Room, which is not an efficient or consistent playstyle. It should be built for semi-TR which is a stronger and more reliable playstyle:

Trick Room
########
name: Trick Room
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Helping Hand / Rest
move 3: Psyshock
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Sitrus Berry / Chesto Berry
evs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 220 SpA / 24 SpD (Sitrus number, always survives LO Bisharp Knock Off, Ice Beam always OHKOs 4 HP Lando-T, remaining EVs into SpD)
ivs: 0 Spe
nature: Sassy

This set aims to get Trick Room up while possessing offensive presence of its own. Sitrus Berry or ChestoRest can be used for some extra longevity since a semi-TR team can make use of its "fast mode" when a Prankster Taunt user like Thundurus is around.

Bulky Offensive

This should probably just be called "Offensive", since its Cresselia and bulk is more or less implied. I think Calm Mind should be added into the set:

Offensive
########
name: Offensive
move 1: Psyshock
move 2: Ice Beam / Icy Wind
move 3: Hidden Power Ground / Moonblast
move 4: Calm Mind / Protect
item: Leftovers / Expert Belt
evs: 204 HP / 44 Def / 252 SpA / 8 SpD (hits Lefties number, always survives LO Bisharp Knock Off, maxed out SpA, remaining EVs into SpD)
nature: Modest

The general idea is that once physical attackers are removed Cresselia can usually win the game on its own, simply by Calm Minding up and slowly healing off damage with Leftovers. If Protect is used, Expert Belt is preferred to give Cresselia some extra power. A simple spread of 240 HP / 12 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD can be mentioned in Set Details, as it is solid spread if you opt to use Expert Belt instead of Leftovers. ChestoRest can be mentioned but doesn't really merit a slash imo.

Usage Tips

While it is chosen to hit Heatran as hard as possible, Hidden Power Ground is also useful for hitting other Steel-types like Bisharp and Mega Mawile.

Other Options

Remove Magic Coat, add Moonlight and Choice Specs

Checks & Counters

Mention specific Dark-types that threaten Cresselia (Hydreigon, Bisharp, Scrafty)

Bug-types like Escavalier, Scizor (already there but note other Bug-types are dangerous as well), Heracross, etc

Ghost-types don't always have to be bulky to threaten Cresselia (also get rid of Cofagrigus; its not a very potent threat if a threat at all). Chandelure, Gengar, and others all do a lot of damage to Cress.

Sorry, I took a long time to implement your suggestions. ):

Well, I'm ready for QC checks again; I'll try to be more active and finish this analysis.

 

[Pocket]

I am iffy on the last moveslot of the Support set. I would personally use Safeguard or Skill Swap before Light Screen / Chesto Rest... some more input here would be nice Audiosurfer Pwnemon Mizuhime Laga Lolk Level 51 Arcticblast Braverius BLOOD TOTEM kingofmars Biosci Darkmalice finally Robert Alfons makiri tenchi17. Even if you decide to stick with the current moves, definitely mention Safeguard and Skill Swap (and Light Screen, which you haven't noted) under the Moves section

Trick Room set wants 228 SpA instead of 220

228 SpA Cresselia Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Landorus-T: 320-380 (100.3 - 119.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

So I would change the EVs to 252 HP / 12 Def / 228 SpA / 16 SpD

EV spread allows Cress to always survive a Knock Off from LO Bisharp while OHKOing 4 HP Landorus-T with Ice Beam.

Change 4 HP to 4 SpD, which is better on Landorus-T (without Sitrus / Leftovers) for minimizing residual damage

HP Fire is worth a mention on the Offensive set (either under Moves or Usage Tips) if Ferrothorn and (Mega) Scizor are more problematic than Heatran. This should be mentioned in the Offensive set rather than in OO.

Under Other Options, you should mention that Specs can also come in handy by Tricking it to an opponent's Pokemon. Lunar Dance is another worthy shout out to bring a crippled mon back to full health. Safety Goggles is great, too, making Amoonguss and Breloom a non-factor; the former can especially be a nuisance for TR Cress.

 

[Darkmalice]

I think Skill Swap should stay in OO. It's primary function is to give Heatran Levitate to beat Ground-types, but it's highly teammate and opponent dependent, where as Cress can use Ice Beam to deal with Ground-types, and Ice Beam has more general utility. In the OO mention, add to it that it is also useful for removing abilities from opposing Pokemon that strongly benefit from them, such as Huge Power from Azumarill.

I like Light Screen, as it does make a notable difference against teams with many special attackers, and it's one of the few ways to weaken opposing special attackers compared to Intimidate and Burn for physical. In fact, it should get a slash for the 4th moveset in the 2nd set. It's useful to use on a predicted Double Protect to stall out TR.m

I think Safeguard should not get a main slash. This is because

• Cress should ideally be on the field when the status user is on the field, as then switching Cress on the field in order to avoid status can be tricky. This is especially true with sleep
• Cress is outsped by some common status inducers like Thundurus, Rotom-W, and Breloom. The former can be speed crept though
• ChestoRest is more reliable from removing all status from Cress, and is definitely a better answer to Breloom. Cress doesn't mind status if she can remove it later
• Safety Googles is the single best item if Cress wants to take on sleep inducers

Safeguard is mainly useful against slow status users (Amoonguss and Togekiss), or to set it up in advance before the status user come in. The latter tends to have limited benefit early game. However, it works well if you get the right opportunity i.e. leading with Cress against Amoonguss, so I'm not opposed to an AC mention or keeping it in OO. Mention that speed creeping Rotom-W is recommended if using it.


What I'm about to suggest will probably be more controversial. I think Trick Room deserves a slash on the first set and the second set should be renamed Offensive Trick Room (different from the Offensive set). Simply put, you can use a defensive TR set / a supportive Cress with Trick Room that is less focused on doing damage herself and is more about durability and team support - such a set is pretty much the first set with Trick Room instead of TWave or Icy Wind. Cress is a really difficult Pokemon to write an analysis for, because its sets are so versatile.

I understand that this will make the naming of the sets more confusing

Pocket

 

[termi]

Support

• Light Screen seems kinda random to me, I'd put it in OO, not as a main slash
• Protect and possibly Moonlight should go in Light Screen's place imo, Protect is self-explanatory and Moonlight makes her extremely hard to kill off, although it does kill some momentum but w/e momentum is not Cresseslia's thing anyway
• Like Darkmalice suggested, put TR on a slash in the first slot. Don't forget to mention that in that case, Cress prefers to go for a Sassy nature with 0 Speed IVs
• Give Leftovers a main slash on her item slot, she's durable enough to profit from it. Having Protect helps there too.
• Do 44 SpA EVs 2HKO a specific target? Otherwise you might as well put them in SpD imo, most of the time Cresselia is supporting her team rather than attacking, so you might as well dump them in bulk.

Trick Room
Seems fine.

Offensive

• Change the EV spread to 196 HP / 44 Def / 252 SpA / 16 Spe, as it outspeeds standard SubTran as well as Rotom-W while still being able to tank a LO Knock Off from Bisharp. There's literally no reason not to speed creep on these threats unless you're running TR on this thing.

Other Options

• Give HP Fighting a shoutout: it hits Bisharp and TTar harder than anything else she's got and therefor lures them quite well. Offensive Cress even scores a guaranteed OHKO on Bisharp with it.
• Remove Specs from there, there is literally no reason to waste all the potential Cress has as a supporting Pokemon in lieu for some extra damage output (not to mention even with Specs she can't hope to OHKO much, lel)

That's what I figured should change upon first glance. Whether Light Screen is supposed to be on her main sets or not is debatable, I suppose.

Pocket

 

[finally]

I'm with darkmalice here on the offensive trick room. I think it's one of the best sets right now in terms of supporting through providing trick room and also supporting by hitting hard. The set would be like
name: Offensive Trick Room/ the pwnemon special
move 1: Psyshock
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Hidden Power Ground/Moonblast/hiddden power fire/hidden power fighting
move 4: Trick Room
ability: Levitate
item: Expert Belt
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
ivs: 0 atk/ 0 spd
nature: Sassy
This set may be too advanced for the targeted audience so idk. Hidden power ground is the first slashed one because heatran is a punk and will almost always try setting up a sub on cress. It also hits bisharp for an ok amount of damage. Moonblast is ok, but it's not anything super special imo (only does like half to av scrafty).
Also perhaps a mention of the lategame sweeper cm cress. Now there are a lot of ways to run this cress (the last moveslot is pretty switcharoundable) but here is what I think is best
name: lategame cm resto chesto cress
move 1: Moonblast
move 2: Calm Mind
move 3: Rest
move 4: Ice Beam/ Trick Room/ Psyshock
ability: Levitate
item: Chesto Berry
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 atk
nature: Relaxed (sassy if tr)
This set differentiates itself from the set pinoy already has listed because this set has longevity in rest and is meant as a lategame sweeper as opposed to a midgame sweeper. The set requires that you eliminate cresselia's checks and counters before you start setting up because of the relative inflexibility of its movepool (you already have two moveslots taken up by cm and rest and those moveslots not going towards coverage moves).

p much agree with what roberto and darkmalice said. so yeah :] gl making the million sets cress can run pinoy :]

 

[Stratos]

I agree with finally that otr is the best cress atm (surprise! Why would pwne think this?) that being said, psychic is 100% better than psyshock on cress with SpA investment for one reason:

252 SpA Cresselia Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Kyurem-B: 112-133 (24.6 - 29.2%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Cresselia Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Kyurem-B: 91-108 (20 - 23.7%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery

Also the slash order should be: hp ground, hp fite, moonblast, hp fire

 

[Pocket]

So basically what yall saying is - slash Trick Room on every mfkn set... which I also agree, because Trick Room is a game-changing move.

finally's set has too many slashes though. I would drop one of them and simply mention the unslashed move in the set description instead.

I'd also like more input on the fourth slot of Support Cress, though. Darkmalice says that Light Screen is fine, whereas Robert Alfons says that Protect / Moonlight should go over Light Screen's spot. I personally prefer Darkmalice's reasoning more.

Sitrus vs Leftovers is another topic for the Support set, but I am gonna place my support on Sitrus, seeing how Nollan's spread is dependant on Sitrus recovery. Maybe Leftovers can be mentioned as an alternative in the set description or OO

 

[youngjake93]

I know it's not everyone's cup of tea and it can flop sometimes, but the CM Rest set has won many games almost entirely on its own. It is the reason Pwnemon can't afford to sack his Scizor until he scouts what set Cress is lol because otherwise it sweeps. It plays very differently from the offensive CM set by foregoing actual reliable offensive presence for the potential at clutching a 100% win as early as you can eliminate checks.

Calm Rest
########
name: Calm Rest
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Rest
move 3: Moonblast
move 4: Icy Wind
item: Chesto Berry
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 sAtt
nature: Bold

This is probably the simplest set to play. Once checks are gone or early-game to force checks to come in so you can kill them with something else: Calm Mind, Calm Mind, Calm Mind, Calm Mind, Rest, Kill. Resting early can get rid of your Chesto Berry to wall some Knock Offs such as Lando-T's, Scrafty's and even Sash/Sitrus Bisharp's. Moonblast hits almost everything in the meta. Even Heatran loses 1v1 to this set due to PP stalling capabilities of Rest. Icy Wind is the move you'll want to be using early-game. Spread chip dmg can help secure some KOs with other mons and it also works as speed control plus can do better dmg to Landorus-T, Skymin and Amoonguss.

Most "just hit it until it dies" approaches won't really work against this Cress unless you have the right attackers or you can afford to completely ignore Cress's partner. Kanga, Scizor, LO Bisharp and Tyranitar/Mawile(if your Intimidate user dies) are the big ones.

252 SpA Choice Specs Latios Draco Meteor vs. +2 252 HP / 0 SpD Cresselia: 127-151 (28.6 - 34%) -- 0.9% chance to 3HKO
252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. +2 252 HP / 0 SpD Cresselia: 128-152 (28.8 - 34.2%) -- 1.8% chance to 3HKO
252 SpA Mega Gengar Shadow Ball vs. +2 252 HP / 0 SpD Cresselia: 128-152 (28.8 - 34.2%) -- 1.8% chance to 3HKO
252+ Atk Landorus-T U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 116-138 (26.1 - 31%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252+ Atk Scrafty Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 116-138 (26.1 - 31%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

EDIT: Did I really not see Finally post almost the same set above this?

 

[Pocket]

Yea I also support the CM rest set. I'd go with finally's version, though, since it is more comprehensive. Leftovers is worth a slash (or a mention in the set descriptions), since Chesto Berry is one-time use, and Cresselia can usually stall out 2 Rest turns with Leftovers recovery.

 

[finally]

Feel free to change the cm set I recommended. It's not mine or anything and I was just throwing around ideas.

 

[Haki]

Thanks for the input, everyone! I'll be implementing these changes later. :]

 

[AuraRayquaza]

Mizuhime the last time this was posted was 30th april. Can i take

 

[Haki]

I implemented y'all's suggestions, Pocket Darkmalice Robert Alfons finally Pwnemon youngjake93. Thanks for the help! And AuraRayquaza, I'm gonna go ahead and finish this because I spent so much time on this and I don't want it to go to waste. Sorry friend :c

Anyway, I swear I'll finish this Cresselia analysis; I'm ready for QC checks again!

 

[BLOOD TOTEM]

This check is gonna kill me :>

Overview

• Don't say staple, it's obv not essential. Just say it's easy to fit or a good choice for most teams
• Damn hard to OHKO so it's pretty much guaranteed to be able to provide support

Set 1

• Not meant to use Support as a name but honestly, idk what to call cress other than that. Tagging Pocket so he can lend his opinion

Moves

• The outspeed bit is a bit vague, say you outspeed faster threats
• TWave also persists after switching out and that's super important
• Psyshock ensures Cress isn't total taunt bait.
• Remove the stuff about TFlame and just say Helping Hand boosts damage output and turns 2HKOs into OHKOs, what you have is too specific
• Protect isn't on the set so say how it can be useful in set details, not moves

Set Details

• Mention why you'd use lefties over Chesto, ie if you expect cress to be on the field long enough for them to heal more than sitrus

Set 2
Moves

• You make a Moonblast comment next to Psychock but it's slashed next to the HPs, move it to be with them
• HP Fighting doesn't actually 2HKO TTar so I'd just mention Bisharp
• ''and allows Cresselia to a somewhat of an offensive threat'' Change this to provides more coverage.

Set Details

• Explain why you would chose each coverage option. HP fight surprises Bisharp, HP Ground is important to teams weak to SubTran, Moonblast lets you hit Dark-types.

Team Options

• Sets are independant so don't say again :>
• Fake Out partner like Scrafty helps guarantee TR and has nice offensive synergy.

Set 3

• Name it Calm Mind
• Maybe slash Moonlight in with Rest, ask some other QC members first though

Usage Tips

• ''This set can have an unexpected surprise factor, as most Pokemon switch into her with the idea that Cresselia will only set up.'' ???????????? what does this even mean :>
• Talk about weakening Physical Attackers before you attempt to set up w/ cress, spreading brn ect

Team Options

• ''Intimidate users paired with Cresselia's Icy Wind can lower both Attack stat and Speed stat, which can be pretty useful in the long run.'' you don't have Icy Wind on the set so just say Intimidate helps you set up on phys attackers

Other Options

• I see no reason for Cress to run specs, remove that
• Light Clay + Screens
• Lunar Dance

Checks and Counters

• Genesect comes in and pivots out of cress all day
• Cress is mainly brought down through repeated attacks but we don't really have a tag for that :>

Long check :>
Tag me in a post when you update this and I'll scan through again and stamp for you =]

 

[Haki]

Edited in your suggestions, BLOOD TOTEM. Thanks for the help! :D

 

[BLOOD TOTEM]

OK QC 2/3 lets see this written up =]

 

[Lolk]

hey write this up plssss