Add/Change
Delete
1/2
Delete
Empoleon
credit to SsAaVv for the previous analysis
[Overview]
<p>Another generation has arrived, and for some returning Pokemon, it has been amazing. Then, there are those who cannot keep up with the new threats that have shown up. Empoleon is of the latter because, aside from a few minor additions to its movepool, nothing much has changed for it. It also has to contend with the many new Ground and Fighting types that dominate the standard game. None the less, Empoleon still possesses well distributed stats and many resistances that can be key components critical on a competitive team that is built to support it.</p>
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Scald
move 2: Roar / Yawn
move 3: Stealth Rock / Protect
move 4: Ice Beam / Grass Knot
nature: Calm
ability: Torrent
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With base 84 HP and 101 special defence, Empoleon is good at taking hits on the special side spectrum. Leftovers is a given for any defensive set unless they are using an Evolite. Scald is a great new move that has a 30% chance of burn that is usually helpful. Empoleon also has 2 ways to force switches, through Roar or Yawn (Roar generally being the better option due to Sleep Clause). The choice between Grass Knot and Ice Beam is always a tough one so you might want to adapt your team for such with the choice in mind.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread is to allows you to take many special attacks however, an EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD can be used instead to be defensive on each spectrum but it is not that wise of an option since there are better Pokemon who do this to give Empoleon more even defenses, but this is generally unadvisable as Empoleon's overall defensive stats are not high enough to avoid being outclassed by other potential tanking Pokemon. If you do not have a teammate that can lay down Stealth Rock, it is the preferred option. Protect is good for stalling and causing passive damage / healing but do note that it can be used against you. Sometimes you will need to heal more than just a sixteenth of your health therefore a teammate with With no source of recovery outside Leftovers, Empoleon greatly appreciates Wish support from Pokemon such as Blissey or Jirachi can help you heal off damage from certain attacks. Electric-types and special walls are usually Empoleon's most common threats. On that note, defensive Empoleon fit well onto sandstorm teams as Excadrill can easily demolish most of Empoleon's counters with ease.</p>
[SET]
name: Agility
move 1: Agility
move 2: Hydro Pump / Surf
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Grass Knot
nature: Modest
ability: Torrent
item: Life Orb / Air Balloon
evs: 16 HP / 252 SpA / 240 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>A typical special sweeper, therefore Modest nature is a given. Hydro Pump is preferred because of the extra power but it is perfectly fine to use Surf if accuracy bugs you. Grass Knot hits Water-types and Ice Beam hits Grass-types. Life Orb might be able to boost the power of your attacks but the Air Balloon grants you immunity to Ground-type moves, a good choice considering the continued popularity of Earthquake and knowing how popular they are, it is a good choice for a surprise counter.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Unfortunately, the Petaya Berry is currently unreleased, but a set with it and Substitute would be superior if it was available is much better however it is not possible at the moment. 240 speed EVs with a +2 speed boost makes lets you reach a blistering 432 speed, allowing you to outrun most common threats. The 16 EVs in HP give you an odd amount of HP for residual damage. This set fits well on both rain and sandstorm teams. Gliscor is a good teammate as it easily sponges up Mach Punch and can attack with a stab Acrobatics. Special walls also harm this set a lot so a teammate like Machamp can sponge an attack and then hit back with stab Dynamicpunch Blissey, Chansey and the odd Snorlax are also troublesome for this set, so bringing your own Fighting-types to kill or set up on the fat blobs is probably a good idea. On rain teams, Against rain teams, Lidicolo's typing and abilities also help out against common Water-type counters.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Hydro Pump / Surf
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Grass Knot
move 4: Hidden Power Fire
nature: Modest
ability: Torrent
item: Choice Specs
evs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set is more proof that not much has changed for Empoleon. Again, maximize special attack. Again, Hydro Pump is preferred over Surf because it has more power. As stated in the previous sets, Grass Knot and Ice Beam are givens.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread allows you to take more hits and hit harder. Since you will be switching out a lot, 248 HP EVs give you an odd number of HP for passive damage. Hidden Power Fire gives you a way to deal with Ferrothorn and Magnezone (Hydro Pump and Surf hit Zone harder than HP Fire). That said, it is not an unfavourable choice on rain teams as Surf deals more damage to Magnezone in rain and Hidden Power fire still has 140 base damage when used on Ferrothorn in the rain. Empoleon is not a bad choice on rain teams considering the power its Specs Water attacks in Rain. With rain teams in mind, this makes Dream World Politoed an obvious team option. Conkeldurr's Mach Punch also ruins this set so again, Gliscor is a good option once more. Electivire is also a handy teammate as it can take Electric-type attacks to boost its speed then finish the job. Since this set relies on its special attack, Conkeldurr is a notable potential teammate for its ability to defeat common special walls like Chansey and Blissey is a good teammate since many special walls lack in physical defence.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>A set with Swords Dance is totally possible with access to Earthquake, Aqua Jet, Waterfall, Drill Peck, Return, Avalanche and more other viable options, but Empoleon's Attack stat is lacking. Flash Cannon might be an appealing STAB move but it does not help against counters. Scald can be used on offensive sets but the lack of power really diminishes its value. makes it unfavourable. On the choice set, Sleep Talk can be used as it randomly selects a move, common sleep inducers still exist and the new sleep mechanics are a bonus but again, it is not favourable could potentially find its use against sleep inducing enemies, but is generally a very inferior option. Rest can heal you instantly but even with Sleep Talk, it is risky and best left up to someone else Empoleon's low Speed, common weaknesses and relatively low offensive power (without EV investment) make it an unappealing choice for a RestTalk tank. Knock Off can be used to rid foes of their items but they can easily switch out to regain it. Hidden Power Electric can be used to hit light Water-types and Gyarados. Signal Beam is an idea but does not aid much an ok special attack but does little for Empoleon's offensive abilities.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>As for counters, special walls such as Blissey and Chansey are obvious choices. The Agility set is destroyed by anything faster or with priority has trouble with enemies that outspeed it at +2, as well as Mach Punch or Vacuum Wave users. Conkeldurr and Mienshao (with a Choice Scarf) and Conkeldurr are obvious choices as they take advantage of strike at Empoleon's weaker physical Defense, have great physical Attack, powerful super effective STAB moves and either priority or greater speed. Magnezone has Magnet Pull, trapping Empoleon and many resistances but it must be careful of boosted water attacks and Hidden Power fire allowing it to trap Empoleon, though it must be wary of Empoleon's boosted STAB Water-type attacks. Ferrothorn is an excellent counter as it resists all easily shrugs off all of Empoleon's main moves but including Ice Beam, but it still has to be careful of Hidden Power Fire. Suicune and Vaporeon resist Water and Ice moves, while Vaporeon's low weight also allows it to easily absorb Grass Knot and don't take much from Grass Knot.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Empoleon's Dream World ability has been released. Defiant raises Attack by two stages when a stat is lowered. A Swords Dance set can be used, with Defiant netting a +1 Attack from Intimidate enemies and trick opponents into sending out a Pokémon with Intimidate. Unfortunately, Empoleon has a lot of problems with Defiant. Its 86 base Attack leaves much to be desired, making any purely physical Empoleon set something of a gimmick. Furthermore, the most common Intimidate users, Salamence and Gyarados, resist Aqua Jet (not that opponents will apt to switch Intimidate users into a Defiant user). faces 2 problems while running Defiant: base 86 attack is not that great, even with boosts and not many Pokémon with Intimidate are considered good Empoleon counters or they counter it very easily and are able to take a boosted +3 Aqua Jet. It is best to stick with Torrent (despite how iffy it is to begin with).</p>
1/2
