[OVERVIEW]
Crobat is a lesser-seen Pokemon in GSC UU, suffering from its lack of a strong STAB attack, shallow movepool, and poor typing that leaves it weak to common attacking types such as Electric and Psychic. However, it possesses a few defensive quirks that can't be replicated by any other Pokemon in the tier. Most notably, Crobat is the absolute best counter to GSC UU's threatening sweeper in Scyther thanks to its base 130 Speed, access to Haze, and lack of a weakness to any of its attacks. It also can check other dangerous Pokemon in the tier such as Victreebel and Swords Dance Bellossom, and it notably is able to outspeed Quagsire that had an Agility passed to it, preventing a Belly Drum sweep. These niches give it a role on defensive teams. However, some of the most prominent Pokemon in GSC UU can switch into Crobat and threaten it easily, such as Nidoqueen, Slowbro, and Granbull.
[SET]
name: Haze
move 1: Haze
move 2: Wing Attack
move 3: Thief / Toxic
move 4: Confuse Ray / Hidden Power Ground / Rest
item: No Item / Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
This set takes advantage of Crobat's high Speed and access to Haze to let it check dangerous setup sweepers. Haze is one of Crobat's best attributes, removing boosts from Pokemon such as Scyther, Pinsir, and Sandslash. Wing Attack is Crobat's most reliable source of damage, able to 3HKO Scyther, Victreebel, Pinsir, and Bellossom so they can’t freely wall Crobat. Thief can hurt the longevity of bulky Pokemon such as Ampharos, Hypno, and Nidoqueen that might try to switch in and threaten Crobat. Alternatively, Toxic has synergy with Spikes and can force a bulky Pokemon to use Rest. Confuse Ray has synergy with Crobat's high Speed and is its best way of making progress against bulkier Pokemon. Hidden Power Ground deals more damage to Pokemon such as Nidoqueen, Electabuzz, and Magneton on the switch, and it has synergy with Toxic because it hits most Toxic-immune Pokemon. Lastly, Rest is helpful for keeping Crobat healthy throughout a game; it's most useful when paired with a teammate that has Heal Bell, although Rest can let Scyther actually break through Crobat while it's asleep.
Team Options
========
Crobat is best used on defensive teams for its ability to check dangerous threats. Heal Bell support from Chansey or Granbull can remove sleep from Rest or paralysis that Crobat may have taken. Pokemon that can deal with Electric moves such as Nidoqueen, Piloswine, and Hypno can be useful teammates when dealing with Pokemon such as Electabuzz and Pikachu. Hypno appreciates Crobat countering Scyther and is also useful for combating Psychic-types and providing Light Screen or Reflect. Spikes support from Qwilfish is useful for chipping opposing Pokemon and has synergy with Crobat's Thief. Magneton and Ampharos help against Electric-types such as Electabuzz and Pikachu and can take on bulky Water-types such as Slowbro and Slowking. Blastoise is also found on defensive teams and can deal with Pokemon that can threaten Crobat, such as Omastar and Nidoqueen, while also being a decent check to Kabutops.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Crobat can run Sleep Talk over Thief to absorb sleep and be harder to take advantage of when sleeping, with Rest + Sleep Talk also making it a better check to Body Slam variants of Pinsir and Victreebel, but the utility provided by Thief or Toxic is hard to pass up. Giga Drain is an unexpected option for hitting Pokemon such as Kabutops, Omastar, Quagsire, and Graveler hard. Protect can be used to PP stall and slowly recover with Leftovers. Lastly, Crobat can try a set with Screech, Substitute, Mean Look, and Swagger that can be very annoying, taking advantage of Screech's Defense drop and Swagger's Attack boost to make foes hit themselves for big damage while they can'tswitch, although this set is quite luck reliant.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Psychic-types**: Psychic-types such as Mr. Mime, Slowking, Slowbro, and Hypno are all capable of threatening Crobat while not being hurt too much in return from Wing Attack. All of them are also able to threaten paralysis. However, all of them dislike Thief.
**Pokemon with Electric-type Moves**: Ampharos is not hurt too badly by Hidden Power Ground, and it can set up screens for its teammates or threaten Crobat greatly with Thunder. Nidoqueen threatens a potential 2HKO and paralysis with Thunder and can heal off damage with Moonlight or grab momentum with Lovely Kiss. Gyarados and Lanturn threaten Crobat with Thunder and take little from its attacks. Magneton and Pikachu are able to potentially OHKO Crobat with Thunder, but they both have to watch out for Hidden Power Ground, and Pikachu hates Thief.
**Strong Attackers**: Pokemon such as Dodrio, Piloswine, and Granbull can take advantage of Crobat's passivity to switch in and threaten it; Dodrio and Granbull are able to 3HKO with Double-Edge or Return, respectively, and Piloswine threatens with Ice Beam, Ancient Power, or Roar to force Spikes damage on Crobat's teammates.
**Rock-types**: Omastar, Kabutops, and Graveler all threaten Crobat with super effective damage and don’t take much damage from Hidden Power Ground. Graveler can use Crobat to Rapid Spin and Kabutops can set up a Swords Dance. However, these Pokemon should be careful of Giga Drain, and Toxic if they're not running Rest.
**Status**: Status moves from Grass-types such as Bellossom and Vileplume force Crobat to use Rest or have a teammate remove the status with Heal Bell. If Crobat is asleep or paralyzed, Pokemon such as Scyther have a chance of actually breaking through it.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Reeece, 508601]]
- Quality checked by: [[Earthworm, 15210], [Century Express, 234737]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429 ], [P Squared, 168392]]
Last edited:
