[Overview]
<p>Drifblim is very peculiar Pokemon. At first glance, Drifblim may appear to be a very unique and incredible Pokemon with multiple options to choose from. This stems mostly from Drifblim
’'(apostrophe)s colossal 150 base HP stat, decent
Speed
,(no comma) and offensive stats
,(comma) and vast movepool. However, any presumptions made about Drifblim in that respect are unfortunately false. While Drifblim does possess a sizable support movepool,
he’s it's largely outclassed by
his its Ghost-type brethren in that regard
,(comma) due
to him it lacking a reliable form of recovery and usually having inferior defenses
;.(period) having a weakness to Stealth Rock as well, With a crippling weakness to Stealth Rock, Drifblim will also be hard-pressed trying to find a chance to switch in. In terms of being played as an offensive Ghost-type, Drifblim faces fierce competition with Mismagius, which has much higher Speed and Special Attack stats as well as Nasty Plot. All is not lost for Drifblim though, as
he it does have a few tricks up
his its sleeve to prevent
itself from being completely outclassed. With access to a great ability in Unburden, Calm Mind, Will-O-Wisp, Baton Pass,
and passable bulk and
Speed, Drifblim can be a very good Pokemon if played correctly.</p>
[SET]
name: ChestoRest
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Rest
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Thunderbolt / Baton Pass / Hidden Power Fighting
item: Chesto Berry
ability: Unburden
nature: Modest
EVs: 252 Def / 108 SpA / 148 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>ChestoRest is without a doubt Drifblim
’'(apostrophe)s most effective set and best shot at differentiating himself from every other Pokemon in the UU tier. The idea here is to stack up as many Calm Minds as possible and use Rest once Drifblim takes a considerable amount of damage. This will cause Drifblim to use up
his its Chesto Berry and activate Unburden
,(comma) - doubling
his its Speed
,(comma) and - giving
him it a very good shot at sweeping. In regards to coverage, Thunderbolt is the best option in the last slot
,(comma) as it lets Drifblim hit bulky waters such as Empoleon and Suicune (which can Calm Mind aside Drifblim) for heavy damage
;,(comma) and Dark
-(hyphen) and Normal
-(hyphen)types for at least neutral damage.</p>
<p>This set is best left to sweeping later in the game, but running a support option in the fourth slot is also viable. If one decides to forgo coverage for utility, then Baton Pass is highly recommended for it being not only more reliable than other support options
(i.e, such as Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave
,(comma) and Disable
),(comma) but much more effective due
to Drifblim
's being able ability to pass the Calm Mind boosts
he it amasses.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>With the given EV spread, Drifblim will outpace +1
Speed Yanmega and Sharpedo once
Drifblim’s Unburden is activated. This is very important, as it significantly reduces the chance that either Pokemon will be able to revenge
-kill Drifblim if they happen to carry Protect
;.(period) Unfortunately, Drifblim will never outpace Choice Scarf Krookodile if Hidden Power Fighting is being used, due to Drifblim's Speed IV always being imperfect. Drifblim has a plethora of options to choose from, but only a few are usable on this set. Hidden Power Fighting complements Shadow Ball well in terms of coverage, making it a solid option. However, keep in mind that Chansey and Snorlax can still wall Drifblim. Will-O-Wisp is also usable because it works in tandem with Calm Mind, allowing Drifblim to tank hits from both physical and special attackers.
Although, However, keep in mind that Will-O-Wisp will not help with threats such as Chansey,
who can shrug off the burn with Natural Cure; Houndoom
,(comma) who is immune to burn; and most importantly, Heracross
,(comma) who receives a deadly Attack boost from the burn.;(period) the aforesaid Pokemon are immune to burns, can heal them off effortlessly or, ironically, are powered up by burn status. Drifblim
’'(apostrophe)s movepool is without a doubt large, but because of how this set functions, there aren
’'(apostrophe)t many extremely helpful moves to choose from
—keep this in mind if any alterations to this set are being considered.</p>
<p>Similarly to any
committed dedicated special attacker not running Psyshock, this set has problems with special walls, sponges
,(comma) and tanks such as Chansey, Snorlax
,(comma) and Registeel.
Drifblim also has the double-edged Flying typing, meaning that he has to worry about Stealth Rock as well. Drifblim's secondary Flying typing is a double-edged sword, granting it an immunity to Ground- and Fighting-type attacks, but leaving it with a Stealth Rock weakness. To remedy
these problems, this problem, Hitmontop can be used as Drifblim
’'(apostrophe)s partner. While there isn
’'(apostrophe)t much type synergy between the two, Hitmontop compliments Drifblim well by spinning away entry hazards and scaring away most of the Pokemon that can outright wall Drifblim. Nidoqueen is also a fairly good choice for a teammate due of her having access to Toxic Spikes as well as decent synergy with Drifblim. Nidoqueen is
made even better of a an even better partner if Drifblim is running Baton Pass in the final slot.
With Sheer Force and a movepool in which nearly every special attack gets a boost from said ability, With a special movepool comprised of power special attacks that are all boosted by its ability, Sheer Force, Nidoqueen can punch holes in opposing teams with a few special attack boosts, greatly softening up the load for Drifblim.
Speaking of which, Cobalion makes a justly good offensive partner for Drifblim. Similarly, Cobalion can switch into Chansey, Snorlax, and Registeel, fearing only the occasional status attack or Earthquake from the latter two (which is unlikely to be used on Drifblim), set up a Swords Dance
,(comma) and proceed to break down walls
and bulky Pokemon that would otherwise give Drifblim problems. In return, Drifblim can set up on the Pokemon that give Cobalion troubles, namely Dusclops and Slowbro.</p>
<p>This set should be played defensively early in the game and more aggressively as the game progresses
;(comma) – keep this in mind
all at all times. There are many Pokemon that don
’'(apostrophe)t mind switching into Drifblim and scaring
him it away
,.(period) if they’re in good condition of course. Drifblim certainly isn
’'(apostrophe)t the strongest Pokemon either, so one should be more focused on weakening
his its threats, giving Drifblim a much better shot at sweeping. Pokemon such as Weavile and Jolteon can be worn down with entry hazards and unboosted attacks, respectively; bulkier threats such as Snorlax and Eviolite Ferroseed must be slowly worn down over time or lured into an unexpected KO. Regardless of how bulky a threat to Drifblim is, it must be weakened over the course of the game so Drifblim has enough breathing room to stack
on up a few Calm Minds and sweep.</p>
[OTHER OPTIONS]
<p>As mentioned at multiple points in this analysis, before, Drifblim has a respectable movepool, but keep in mind that while Drifblim is a jack of many trades, he’s only good at a few</p>
<p>
While Drifblim has a respectable movepool, it is the perfect example of a jack of all trades, master of none. Drifblim is a very fun pivot in Baton Pass chains due to
his its very large substitutes and access to both Stockpile and Calm Mind. This means that the potential Baton Pass recipient will have an incredibly bulky
Substitute to hide behind. Disable can be used in tandem with Substitute and Baton Pass
,(comma) as a lot of Pokemon in the UU tier only possess one attack that can break Drifblim
’'(apostrophe)s substitutes, giving Drifblim an even more unique niche on Baton Pass
-themed teams. Outside of Baton Pass teams
,(comma) however, Drifblim is outclassed by other Baton Passers in UU.</p>
<p>A weather support set is possible and can work very well with Drifblim
’'(apostrophe)s support and offensive options, but is a bit underwhelming in that regard when compared to other weather starters. Of course, being a Ghost-type, Drifblim has access to always annoying double status strategy, which can be effective if played correctly; however, Drifblim has much better things to do than spread
ing status around. Pain Split can be used in order to give Drifblim a semi-reliable method of healing itself, but due to
his its high HP stat, Drifblim won
’'(apostrophe)t be able to make much use out of Pain Spilt unless he
’'(apostrophe)s extremely low on health. A more committed support set is definitely possible with Drifblim
’'(apostrophe)s movepool, but
he it faces fierce competition with Cofagrigus and Dusclops, which boast better defensive capability and
/ or methods of healing
.(period)</p>
<p>Drifblim
’'(apostrophe)s offensive movepool is large enough that a Charge Beam or even non-boosting set is possible, but Calm Mind is generally better due to Drifblim being more defensively
-(no hyphen)oriented than anything. A purely offensive set would also be outclassed by Mismagius, which has access to Nasty Plot. Acrobatics can be used with a
Flight Flying Gem, giving Drifblim the jump on some of
his its checks an counters, but is both overall underwhelming and done much better by Sceptile. Air Slash and Recycle are other possible options for ChestoRest for extra STAB coverage and virtually infinite
insta-Rests, instant recovery, respectively. However, both are situational and don
’'(apostrophe)t hold as much use as the recommended and additional options already mentioned.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Drifblim
’'(apostrophe)s checks and counters are very straightforward: Dark-types and special sponges.</p>
<p>Chansey, Snorlax
,(comma) and Registeel have no problem switching into Drifblim, walling and either outstalling or setting up on
him it. Suicune and Spiritomb can Calm Mind alongside Drifblim, and will quickly stall out
his its PP with their Pressure ability.
However, neither Pokemon can directly switch into Drifblim and defeat
him however, it, needing requiring either Roar or very good luck with Sleep Talk. Umbreon
can switch in effortlessly and
use Drifblim to accumulate many Curse boosts. Without Baton Pass, Drifblim exposes
itself to the threat of Pursuit users such as Excavalier and Heracross, making them excellent checks as well. Bisharp doesn
’'(apostrophe)t mind switching into a Thunderbolt or Calm Mind, setting a Swords Dance or two and mauling Drifblim with one of its extremely powerful Sucker Punches. Krookodile doesn
’'(apostrophe)t mind switching into Drifblim either and not only outpaces Drifblim, but can trap
him it with Pursuit as well. Mandibuzz can switch into everything Drifblim can toss out, barring a boosted Thunderbolt, and
pHaze phaze him it with Whirlwind.
</p>
(just a space, no break)
<p> Forcing Drifblim to use
his its early Chesto Berry will undoubtedly make
him it much easier to counter, so one should keep this in mind if Drifblim ever shows up.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Drifblim has already been released with his Dream World ability, Flare Boost, which boosts Drifblim’s Special Attack stat by 1.5 when Drifblim is burned. While Flare Boost is unique to Drifblim, it’s not even close to holding more use than Unburden or even Aftermath. This is because Drifblim will be losing HP every turn without a reliable method of healing himself, making Drifblim an inferior Mismagius</p>
<p>Conversely, Drifblim does very well in Dream World battles as he has access to pinch berries, making a Baton Pass set much more viable; Drifblim simply has to use Substitute until the pinch berry is used up, activating Unburden. More than often, Drifblim will be able to keep one of its bulky substitutes intact while standing at a speed high enough to Baton Pass freely to another Pokemon. Unfortunately, Drifblim will gain several new threats, most notably Skill Link Cinccino, giving him less chances to set up.</p>
