taken over from Trollfreak
[OVERVIEW]
Electabuzz has one of the highest base Speed stats in the tier, allowing it to be a faster special attacker than some other Electric-types such as Rotom-F. It can also hold Eviolite, which makes it bulky enough to check Pokemon such as Dodrio and survive attacks even from strong attackers such as Simipour, which other Electric-types struggle against. Vital Spirit makes Electabuzz immune to sleep, making it a solid choice against Pokemon such as Jumpluff, but Zebstrika can fulfill this role slightly better thanks to Sap Sipper. Moreover, Electabuzz's bulk isn't great in comparison with other Eviolite users and Electabuzz cannot use a boosting item, meaning its damage output is outclassed by other Electric-types such as Zebstrika and Raichu. Finally, Electabuzz's lack of recovery makes it susceptible to residual damage such as entry hazards.
[SET]
name: Eviolite
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Volt Switch
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
item: Eviolite
ability: Vital Spirit
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Thunderbolt deals consistent damage and has good neutral coverage. Volt Switch is Electabuzz's secondary STAB move and helps with gaining momentum and wearing down foes. Focus Blast allows Electabuzz to hit Pokemon that are immune to or take little damage from its STAB moves, such as Lickilicky, Piloswine, Golem, Probopass, and other Electric-types. Hidden Power Ice hits Grass-types, such as Roselia, Tangela, and Torterra, and Jumpluff, OHKOing the last.
Set Details
========
The given spread is used to make use of Electabuzz's high Speed and deal as much damage as possible. A Timid nature is preferred over Modest to let Electabuzz outspeed every Pokemon with less than base 105 Speed, such as Simipour, Simisear, and Simisage, and Speed tie with other common base 105 Speed Pokemon, such as Kadabra and Rapidash. Vital Spirit is used to give Electabuzz an immunity to sleep, making it a solid answer to Jumpluff. Eviolite grants Electabuzz a boost in bulk, setting it apart from the other Electric-types.
Usage Tips
========
Volt Switch is best used early on to wear down foes and catch opposing switches to open setup opportunities for teammates. Electabuzz has to be wary of Ground-types such as Piloswine and Golem, as they are immune to its STAB moves and can block VoltTurn chains; however, Electabuzz can try to hit them with Focus Blast or Hidden Power Ice on the switch, even though it's rather risky. Eviolite allows Electabuzz to become deceptively bulky, so don't be afraid to tank an hit even from a strong attacker, such as Simipour and Dodrio, and retaliate back. Electabuzz has to be wary to Knock Off users such as Armaldo, Lickilicky, and Pawniard, as they can take its Eviolite away. Volt Switch can catch them on the switch and bring in a threat to them. Even though it is relatively bulky, Electabuzz still has to be careful to not take unnecessary damage and tank too many hits, as it's easy to wear down, so it's preferable to only switch Electabuzz in on weak attackers that it can take advantage of, such as Togetic and Pelipper.
Team Options
========
Electabuzz works well on VoltTurn teams, as it can check Dodrio and Poliwrath, so partners such as Pelipper and Probopass work well. Entry hazard removal provided by Defog or Rapid Spin users such as Pelipper and Armaldo helps Electabuzz significantly, as it lacks reliable recovery. Rapid Spin user is preferred, as removing entry hazards from Electabuzz's side of the field is detrimental. Pokemon such as Poliwrath, Pelipper, and Tangela can check Ground-types and Electabuzz can deal with Electric-types and other troublesome Pokemon such as Jumpluff for them. Pokemon that are able to deal with Grass-types, such Rapidash and Dodrio, make great partners to Electabuzz as well, as Grass-types are able to tank Volt Switch and Electabuzz's coverage moves with ease. Pokemon that appreciate having Flying-types and Water-types weakened or removed make good teammates as well, such as Poliwrath, Machoke, Ninetales, and Simisear. Sweepers such as Carracosta that like having bulky Pokemon such as Poliwrath taken care of are ideal partners as well. Entry hazard support from Pokemon such as Piloswine and Roselia also has good synergy with VoltTurn to pressure the opponent.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Hidden Power Grass could be used to hit Pokemon such as Golem and Carbink, but Hidden Power Ice comes in handy more often. Psychic can be used to hit Pokemon such as Roselia and Machoke, though other coverage moves are usually more useful to hit a bigger variety of threats. Signal Beam is decent against Grass- and Psychic-types, but, similarly to Psychic, Electabuzz doesn't have room for it. Static can be used over Vital Spirit, as having the ability to paralyze physical attackers can be valuable, but Electabuzz would lose its immunity to sleep. A bulkier set can be used as well, using moves such as Toxic, Thunder Wave, and Light Screen, but other support Pokemon such as Meowstic-M and Solrock can fulfill that role better. A Life Orb set can be used along with Cross Chop to have a chance against specially bulky Pokemon such as Lickilicky, but Raichu can perform a Life Orb set better. A physical set can be used to surprise special tanks that usually find themselves switching into Electabuzz, such as Roselia and Lickilicky, as Electabuzz does have a decent physical movepool with access to moves such as Wild Charge, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, and Cross Chop.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Lickilicky, Roselia, Regice, Grumpig, and Stunfisk all take little damage from Electabuzz's moves and can either stall it out or tank a hit and retaliate with an attack or Toxic.
**Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types, such as Roseila and Tangela, can deal with Electabuzz, as they can deal good damage to it while Hidden Power Ice does little damage. Frailer Grass-types, such as Simisage, Leafeon, and Victreebel, all carry threatening STAB moves and are able to easily KO Electabuzz.
**Ground-types**: Ground-types such as Golem and Piloswine threaten Electabuzz a lot because they're immune to Volt Switch. They are able to turn the momentum to their side and OHKO Electabuzz with a STAB move, though they don't appreciate getting hit by Hidden Power Ice or Focus Blast.
**Knock Off**: If Electabuzz gets hit by Knock Off, it will lose a chunk of bulk and become even easier to wear down. Examples of Knock Off users that can cripple Electabuzz are Armaldo, Lickilicky, and Machoke.
**Passive Damage**: Entry hazards, especially Toxic Spikes, along with status conditions such as burn and poison, are able to cut off a big part of Electabuzz's HP, limiting its usefulness to VoltTurn chains.
[OVERVIEW]
Electabuzz has one of the highest base Speed stats in the tier, allowing it to be a faster special attacker than some other Electric-types such as Rotom-F. It can also hold Eviolite, which makes it bulky enough to check Pokemon such as Dodrio and survive attacks even from strong attackers such as Simipour, which other Electric-types struggle against. Vital Spirit makes Electabuzz immune to sleep, making it a solid choice against Pokemon such as Jumpluff, but Zebstrika can fulfill this role slightly better thanks to Sap Sipper. Moreover, Electabuzz's bulk isn't great in comparison with other Eviolite users and Electabuzz cannot use a boosting item, meaning its damage output is outclassed by other Electric-types such as Zebstrika and Raichu. Finally, Electabuzz's lack of recovery makes it susceptible to residual damage such as entry hazards.
[SET]
name: Eviolite
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Volt Switch
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
item: Eviolite
ability: Vital Spirit
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Thunderbolt deals consistent damage and has good neutral coverage. Volt Switch is Electabuzz's secondary STAB move and helps with gaining momentum and wearing down foes. Focus Blast allows Electabuzz to hit Pokemon that are immune to or take little damage from its STAB moves, such as Lickilicky, Piloswine, Golem, Probopass, and other Electric-types. Hidden Power Ice hits Grass-types, such as Roselia, Tangela, and Torterra, and Jumpluff, OHKOing the last.
Set Details
========
The given spread is used to make use of Electabuzz's high Speed and deal as much damage as possible. A Timid nature is preferred over Modest to let Electabuzz outspeed every Pokemon with less than base 105 Speed, such as Simipour, Simisear, and Simisage, and Speed tie with other common base 105 Speed Pokemon, such as Kadabra and Rapidash. Vital Spirit is used to give Electabuzz an immunity to sleep, making it a solid answer to Jumpluff. Eviolite grants Electabuzz a boost in bulk, setting it apart from the other Electric-types.
Usage Tips
========
Volt Switch is best used early on to wear down foes and catch opposing switches to open setup opportunities for teammates. Electabuzz has to be wary of Ground-types such as Piloswine and Golem, as they are immune to its STAB moves and can block VoltTurn chains; however, Electabuzz can try to hit them with Focus Blast or Hidden Power Ice on the switch, even though it's rather risky. Eviolite allows Electabuzz to become deceptively bulky, so don't be afraid to tank an hit even from a strong attacker, such as Simipour and Dodrio, and retaliate back. Electabuzz has to be wary to Knock Off users such as Armaldo, Lickilicky, and Pawniard, as they can take its Eviolite away. Volt Switch can catch them on the switch and bring in a threat to them. Even though it is relatively bulky, Electabuzz still has to be careful to not take unnecessary damage and tank too many hits, as it's easy to wear down, so it's preferable to only switch Electabuzz in on weak attackers that it can take advantage of, such as Togetic and Pelipper.
Team Options
========
Electabuzz works well on VoltTurn teams, as it can check Dodrio and Poliwrath, so partners such as Pelipper and Probopass work well. Entry hazard removal provided by Defog or Rapid Spin users such as Pelipper and Armaldo helps Electabuzz significantly, as it lacks reliable recovery. Rapid Spin user is preferred, as removing entry hazards from Electabuzz's side of the field is detrimental. Pokemon such as Poliwrath, Pelipper, and Tangela can check Ground-types and Electabuzz can deal with Electric-types and other troublesome Pokemon such as Jumpluff for them. Pokemon that are able to deal with Grass-types, such Rapidash and Dodrio, make great partners to Electabuzz as well, as Grass-types are able to tank Volt Switch and Electabuzz's coverage moves with ease. Pokemon that appreciate having Flying-types and Water-types weakened or removed make good teammates as well, such as Poliwrath, Machoke, Ninetales, and Simisear. Sweepers such as Carracosta that like having bulky Pokemon such as Poliwrath taken care of are ideal partners as well. Entry hazard support from Pokemon such as Piloswine and Roselia also has good synergy with VoltTurn to pressure the opponent.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Hidden Power Grass could be used to hit Pokemon such as Golem and Carbink, but Hidden Power Ice comes in handy more often. Psychic can be used to hit Pokemon such as Roselia and Machoke, though other coverage moves are usually more useful to hit a bigger variety of threats. Signal Beam is decent against Grass- and Psychic-types, but, similarly to Psychic, Electabuzz doesn't have room for it. Static can be used over Vital Spirit, as having the ability to paralyze physical attackers can be valuable, but Electabuzz would lose its immunity to sleep. A bulkier set can be used as well, using moves such as Toxic, Thunder Wave, and Light Screen, but other support Pokemon such as Meowstic-M and Solrock can fulfill that role better. A Life Orb set can be used along with Cross Chop to have a chance against specially bulky Pokemon such as Lickilicky, but Raichu can perform a Life Orb set better. A physical set can be used to surprise special tanks that usually find themselves switching into Electabuzz, such as Roselia and Lickilicky, as Electabuzz does have a decent physical movepool with access to moves such as Wild Charge, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, and Cross Chop.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Specially Bulky Pokemon**: Pokemon such as Lickilicky, Roselia, Regice, Grumpig, and Stunfisk all take little damage from Electabuzz's moves and can either stall it out or tank a hit and retaliate with an attack or Toxic.
**Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types, such as Roseila and Tangela, can deal with Electabuzz, as they can deal good damage to it while Hidden Power Ice does little damage. Frailer Grass-types, such as Simisage, Leafeon, and Victreebel, all carry threatening STAB moves and are able to easily KO Electabuzz.
**Ground-types**: Ground-types such as Golem and Piloswine threaten Electabuzz a lot because they're immune to Volt Switch. They are able to turn the momentum to their side and OHKO Electabuzz with a STAB move, though they don't appreciate getting hit by Hidden Power Ice or Focus Blast.
**Knock Off**: If Electabuzz gets hit by Knock Off, it will lose a chunk of bulk and become even easier to wear down. Examples of Knock Off users that can cripple Electabuzz are Armaldo, Lickilicky, and Machoke.
**Passive Damage**: Entry hazards, especially Toxic Spikes, along with status conditions such as burn and poison, are able to cut off a big part of Electabuzz's HP, limiting its usefulness to VoltTurn chains.
Last edited:
