Pokémon Espathra

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Espathra

Type:
Psychic
Stats: 95 / 60 / 60 / 101 / 60 / 105 (481 BST)

Abilities:
Opportunist / Frisk / Speed Boost (HA)

Opportunist: If an opponent's stats are boosted, Espathra will boost those stats as well.

Notable Moves:
Level Up
  • Lumina Crash
  • Agility
  • Dazzling Gleam
  • Psychic
TM
  • Protect
  • Stored Power
  • Psyshock
  • Foul Play
  • Reflect
  • Light Screen
  • Flash Cannon
  • Skill Swap
  • Substitute
  • Shadow Ball
  • Hyper Voice
  • Energy Ball
  • Calm Mind
  • Baton Pass
  • Terra Blast
Egg Moves
  • Hypnosis
  • Roost

Lumina Crash - Special [no contact] | 10 PP (max 16) | 80 BP | 100% acc | Lowers the target's special defense stat 2 stages after each use.

Pros:
  • Decent special sweeper stats with 101 special attack and 105 speed, the latter of which has the potential to boost even higher with Speed Boost, thus allowing you to forego speed investment and even invest in surprisingly not totally terrible 90/60/60 bulk.
  • Access to a wide range of offensive moves. Utility moves like the screens, Skill Swap, and Hypnosis. And even a few stat boosting moves such as Agility and Calm Mind. Most notable on the offensive side is its exclusive access to Lumina Crash which is basically a Psychic type Acid Spray with twice the base power, thus allowing you to maintain constant offensive pressure against defensive targets.
  • Pure Psychic typing without the Flying type increases defensive utility (Sometimes it's good to be a flightless bird)
  • Surprisingly versatile allowing it to function as either a sweeper, a speedy albeit less bulky tank, or as team support by setting up walls or passing Speed Boost to teammates in doubles with Skill Swap.
Cons:
  • None of its stats are flat out impressive in a generation where hyper offensive threats are omnipresent, pretty much requiring moves like Calm Mind and Roost to give it enough time to boost and stick around long enough to become a serious threat.
  • Four-moveslot syndrome keeps Espathra from running everything it needs to handle its counters while still granting it the utility moves it needs.
  • Speed Boost won't save you from oversaturation of priority attacks used this generation, and the fact it is weak to three of them in the form of Shadow Sneak, First Impression, and the dreaded Sucker Punch means it can be countered easier than you may think.
  • Dependent on Terrastalling and Terra Blast if it wants to handle Steel types that really only fear repeat Lumina Crash's and neutral Shadow Balls. (Which sucks considering this ostrich also takes design and name inspiration from the ancient Egyptian sun god Amun-Ra and therefore SHOULD have gotten a Fire attack, or at least freaking Solar Beam...)

Terastallize Potential?:
  • Kinda needs it if Espathra wants something to counter Steel types with Terra Blast. I would recommend Fighting since it will grant resistance to the normally super effective Dark and Bug attacks, not to mention it counters Dark types on the offensive side too since they are immune to your STAB.
Sample Sets:

Ra Racer
Item: Life Orb/Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpAtt / 4 Def
Modest Nature
Add TerraType: Fighting
- Calm Mind
- Protect/Hypnosis/Substitute/Roost
- Lumina Crash/Stored Power
- Terra Blast/Dazzling Gleam

A straightforward boosting sweeper with a tankier twist. Thanks to the ever coveted Speed Boost and already high natural base 105 speed, Espathra is able to divert its nature and EVs away from speed investment and into HP since it will outspeed most opponents after one Speed Boost, almost all of them after two, and ALL of the them after three. Set up a Calm Mind or two to boost offensive output and make Espathra harder for special attackers to KO it. You can also stall to make full use of Speed Boost. Protect nearly guarantees buying yourself a turn to net an extra Speed Boost and allows you to scout your opponent's moves safely, Hypnosis is risky in terms of accuraccy but will net you extra turns AND a means to cripple one opponent if it connects, Substitute can be used repeatedly unlike Protect and can give you leeway if your opponent switches in a counter provided you are okay with the HP loss with each use, and of course Roost can be used to put back any HP lost from your opponent or from the Life Orb if you have faith in your ability to withstand repeated attacks. Your Psychic STAB is a matter of preference. Lumina Crash threatens defensive walls quickly thanks to the -2 special defense with each strike, and no one aside from Dark types want to come in on that massive stat drop even if resisted. But if you need the KO on the first strike against offensive targets that can still KO you easily, Stored Power can be incredibly powerful if you manage to set up Calm Mind and stall for enough Speed Boosts. Assuming one turn of setting up Calm Mind (Though you can stack more against special attackers) and another with your stall option of choice, you will be at least at base 80 in power. And each subsequent turn with strategic use of your stall move will net you an extra base 20 with each passing turn thanks to Speed Boost (80->100->120->140->160). Finally we have your coverage move in the form of Terra Blast or Dazzling Gleam. The former of which allows you to counter Steel and Dark types, not to mention a means to withstand Dark and Bug attacks thanks to the Terra type change, though Dazzling Gleam is a non-Terra option that counters Dark types and offers a means to not be totally walled by Sableye and Spiritomb. You can also opt to just drop your stall move in favor of putting on all three attacking moves for wider coverage. Item choice is also a toss up since Life Orb will provide extra power and Leftovers extra survivability in tangent with your stall move.

Stored Power Birb
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
Add TerraType: Fighting
- Calm Mind
- Roost
- Stored Power
- Terra Blast/Dazzling Gleam

A defensive set that relies on the stat boosts granted by Calm Mind and Speed Boost. You will need at least one Calm Mind and two turns of Speed Boost to get Stored Power to the bare starting damage of 80, though every subsequent turn will tack on an additional base 20 damage thanks to Speed Boost. Stacking multiple Calm Mind would be best (Ideally against special attackers) using Roost to shore up your health when needed in combination with Leftovers. Your coverage move is down to Fighting type Terra Blast to counter Steel and Dark types, but Dazzling Gleam works too if you fear the likes of Sableye and Spiritomb and does at least neutral damage to fellow Psychic types. All stats are poured into HP and physical defense this time since Calm Mind has you covered on the special side.

Overall Potential?:
Probably not OU potential given the amount of set up, stalling, and support it needs to fully utilize its strengths. But if used strategically it could potentially win the match for you either with a straight sweep or by becoming a surprise wall. Still, as far as "starter birds" go, Espathra at the very least breaks the mold quite a lot and will serve you well both in game and in the competitive metagame. Mad respect to the ancient Egyptian Sun Bro:
ra.jpg
 
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Espathra is also a great scarfer imo. Lumina crash forces switches to one of the many dark types running around and you can uturn to something to deal with them and keep momentum. Or you can run tera fairy dazzling gleam to punish those. Honestly, its just a really good anti-meta pick, but once some of the dark types get banned/toned down, it'll get a bit worse.
 
Love the analysis, but just one note about the name - it's more likely that "Espathra" comes from a combination of "esper" "empath" and "Cleopatra" and not anything to do with Ra necessarily. The desert/Egyptian theme and haircut is from the Cleopatra side of things. The Japanese name "クエスパトラ" (Kuesupatora) is from "Cleopatra" and "esper" as well.
 
Espathra is also a great scarfer imo. Lumina crash forces switches to one of the many dark types running around and you can uturn to something to deal with them and keep momentum. Or you can run tera fairy dazzling gleam to punish those. Honestly, its just a really good anti-meta pick, but once some of the dark types get banned/toned down, it'll get a bit worse.
Scarfer?it has speed boost, why would it use choice scarf?
 
Espathra @ Mago Berry
Ability: Speed Boost
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stored Power
- Dazzling Gleam
- Calm Mind
- Substitute / Protect

This is the Esparthra set I’ve been running. I wouldn’t mess around with bulkier variants, as base 105 only needs one Speed Boost to outrun most of the metagame and even with 252 HP it’s not that bulky. Tera Fairy is a strong option for a better Gleam and better defensive typing, although most times it doesn’t need to Tera. Some HP investment could be merited, to survive various priorities, for example Chein-Pao’s Ice Shard, or to make the Substitute survive some weaker attacks from walls, but still early days of the meta. However, where Espathra misses out on the 404 HP number, the most notable Sub number is off the table.
 
Stored Power Birb
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
Add TerraType: Fighting
- Calm Mind
- Roost
- Stored Power
- Terra Blast/Dazzling Gleam

This set mentioned in the OP is the best set, and this mon is very dangerous if it manages to get a calm mind boost without getting chipped. Investment in speed is unnecessary as it will outspeed everything after 2 or 3 turns of speed boost anyway. It appreciates the support provided by Cyclizar's Shed Tail and Grimmsnarl's screens.

TLDR, do not sleep on this mon, this is one of the most dangerous sweepers in the meta if its allowed to setup.
 
Espathra @ Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Dazzling Gleam
- Substitute

This set is a bulky one with Substitute. Under screens, subs don't break vs a lot of neutral hits, allowing for safe CMs to amplify your Stored Power damage. Subs are also great at blocking status moves, which lets Espathra gain even more tempo. Tera Fairy turns the Dark weakness into a resistance while also granting Dazzling Gleam more oomph.

Regarding Substitute though, what are people currently thinking regarding Substitute vs Roost vs Protect on Espathra's last moveslot?
 
Espathra @ Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Dazzling Gleam
- Substitute

This set is a bulky one with Substitute. Under screens, subs don't break vs a lot of neutral hits, allowing for safe CMs to amplify your Stored Power damage. Subs are also great at blocking status moves, which lets Espathra gain even more tempo. Tera Fairy turns the Dark weakness into a resistance while also granting Dazzling Gleam more oomph.

Regarding Substitute though, what are people currently thinking regarding Substitute vs Roost vs Protect on Espathra's last moveslot?
I've mostly been using Protect and I'm somewhat torn tbh. On one hand, having Substitute would be really handy in some matchups like against Clodsire, which can just Toxic it and stall Espathra out for a bit before its unable to sweep. On the other hand, Protect is really handy against weather teams since you can stall out the number of turns Floatzel has to spam Wave Crash and get free KOes. Also the additional Leftovers Recovery that Espathra gets is pretty crucial in helping it survive various priority attacks & whatnot.
 
It was about time we got a egyptian ostrich Pokémon. This pokemon is badass and can snowball in a instant. The Stored Power sets are cool but I like running Choice Specs. Once the Dark types are taken care Lumina Crash buries almost everything in sight. The special defense drops help break a lot of Pokémon it wouldn't otherwise be able to and after a KO very few things can beat it to the punch. The vast amount of dark types and sucker punch do hinder it a bit but it is a lot scarier than it gets credit for.
 

McGrrr

Facetious
is a Contributor Alumnus
Substitute allows Espathra to be much more flexible with EVs. This is what I ended up with:

Espathra @ Leftovers
Ability: Speed Boost
Tera Type: Fairy / Fire / Fighting
EVs: 216 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA / 32 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Dazzling Gleam / Tera Blast

385 HP creates 96 HP subs and recovers 24 HP per turn from Leftovers, so it can set up 5 consecutive subs if necessary. 254 speed hits 381 at +1 to outrun Meow.

Note: max HP creates 98 HP subs and Espathra would have exactly 98 HP after 4 consecutive subs and turns of Leftovers, so it would be unable to make a 5th sub.

Example calcs where Modest makes a difference:

8+ SpA Tera Fairy Espathra Dazzling Gleam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Meowscarada: 258-306 (88 - 104.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+1 8+ SpA Tera Fire Espathra Tera Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Gholdengo: 312-368 (99 - 116.8%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
+1 8+ SpA Espathra Stored Power (140 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dragapult: 319-376 (100.6 - 118.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 8+ SpA Espathra Stored Power (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Unaware Clodsire: 242-288 (52.1 - 62%)

Then Clod dies next turn to 160 BP Stored Power. This sequence is a roll for 0 SpA if Clod has Leftovers, albeit an 83.1% favourable one.

+1 8+ SpA Espathra Stored Power (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 64 SpD Toxapex: 254-302 (83.5 - 99.3%)
8+ SpA Espathra Stored Power (40 BP) vs. 252 HP / 64 SpD Toxapex: 68-84 (22.3 - 27.6%)

If Pex switches in to Haze after Calm Mind and +2 Speed, it dies next turn despite Leftovers (so sub stays up), unless Espathra gets consecutive min rolls.

+2 8+ SpA Espathra Stored Power (200 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Garganacl: 370-436 (91.5 - 107.9%) -- 50% chance to OHKO

Sub > CM > Sub > CM > Sub > coin flip to OHKO max SpD Garg and emerge behind a sub with a 220 BP Stored Power next turn.

Example stuff that doesn't break sub:

0 Atk Garganacl Salt Cure vs. 216 HP / 252 Def Espathra: 48-57 (12.4 - 14.8%)
0 Atk Garganacl Earthquake vs. 216 HP / 252 Def Espathra: 78-92 (20.2 - 23.8%)
+2 4 Def Garganacl Body Press vs. 216 HP / 252 Def Espathra: 78-92 (20.2 - 23.8%)
0 Atk Toxapex Liquidation vs. 216 HP / 252 Def Espathra: 67-81 (17.4 - 21%)

0 SpA Toxapex Surf vs. 216 HP / 0 SpD Espathra: 88-105 (56.3% to break sub)
0 Atk Clodsire Earthquake vs. 216 HP / 252 Def Espathra: 93-109 (81.3% to break sub)
252 Atk Choice Band Meowscarada Sucker Punch vs. 216 HP / 252 Def Tera Fairy Espathra: 82-97 (12.5% to break sub)

Other notable stuff:

252+ Atk Tera Normal Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 216 HP / 252 Def Espathra: 159-187 (41.2 - 48.5%)
+1 252+ Atk Tera Normal Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 216 HP / 252 Def Espathra: 237-280 (61.5 - 72.7%)
0 SpA Rotom-Wash Volt Switch vs. +1 216 HP / 0 SpD Espathra: 79-94 (20.5 - 24.4%)
 
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McGrrr

Facetious
is a Contributor Alumnus
I don't mean to double post, but I do want to emphasise the difference between the above EV spread, which functions fine as a standalone setup sweeper vs common mons, only requiring at most Orthworm support, and the two EV spreads below, which are designed for Screen support:

EVs: 216 HP / 92 Def / 168 SpA / 32 Spe
EVs: 192 HP / 168 SpA / 4 SpD / 144 Spe (for Dragapult)

With Reflect up, Clodsire never breaks sub:

0 Atk Clodsire Earthquake vs. 192 HP / 0 Def Espathra through Reflect: 64-76 (16.8 - 20%)

+1 168+ SpA Espathra Stored Power (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Unaware Clodsire: 204-240 (43.9 - 51.7%)
+1 168+ SpA Espathra Stored Power (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Unaware Clodsire: 242-288 (52.1 - 62%)

+1 168+ SpA Tera Fairy Espathra Dazzling Gleam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tera Dark Clodsire: 164-194 (35.3 - 41.8%) -- 79.7% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Espathra can force Tera Dark with 100 BP Stored Power after sub and Calm Mind because 120 BP next turn threatens the KO. It then has the power to subsequently break through a carelessly chipped Clodsire with Tera Fairy Gleam or bait Earthquake into Orthworm's Earth Eater and Shed Tail to something else.

With Light Screen up, both spreads beat Skeledirge 1v1 if it switches in:

Turn 1: Substitute, Skeledirge switches in
Turn 2: Calm Mind and Tera Fairy, Torch Song
Turn 3: Calm Mind, +1 Torch Song
Turn 4: Stored Power (160), +2 Torch Song
Turn 5: Stored Power (180), RIP Skeledirge

Skeledirge fails to kill Espathra with 3 consecutive max rolls (after Leftovers). Stored Power 2HKOs Skeledirge with 2 consecutive min rolls, so Espathra beats its "counter" and emerges from the fight at +2 SpAtt with a 200 BP Stored Power behind a sub. Now imagine Tera Fire for the Torch Song resist.

I don't think people have sufficiently explored Espathra's EV options before now, so perhaps this will be enough to get it banned, especially if Chien goes first and we lose a priority check from OU.
 
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