Surprised no one claimed Gallade yet, but I love him :) so I'll do it.
Trick, Shadow Sneak (legal with Punches), and Zen Headbutt will be getting recognition. I'm also going to re-write quite a lot of the comments for Gallade to hopefully improve the analysis quite a lot.
Any suggestions are welcome.
_______________________________________
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Ice Punch
move 4: Psycho Cut / Night Slash / Stone Edge
item: Life Orb / Lum Berry
nature: Adamant
evs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>A Gallade with a Swords Dance under his belt is a force to be reckoned with, despite his rather average Speed. Close Combat is your main tool for sweeping thanks to STAB and the high base power, but after that you have some tricky decisions to make to fill the remaining two moveslots. Ice Punch is highly recommended as it rips Gliscor to pieces, giving Gallade a massive advantage over Heracross. It easily OHKOes Salamence too, even when you factor in Intimidate.</p>
<p>Psycho Cut means Weezing and Heracross are much easier to take down, and it easily OHKOes Gengar. The potential for a critical hit also helps make up for the rather low base power. Night Slash covers Cresselia, Dusknoir and most other Ghosts and Psychics you will run into (it also has a high critical hit ratio like Psycho Cut). The main reason to use Stone Edge is to take out Gyarados, but it also offers enough power to OHKO Gengar, Azelf, Starmie, and other assorted weaker Psychics. It will OHKO Heracross after a Swords Dance too.</p>
<p>Night Slash is obviously the more powerful attack against Ghosts and Psychics, but there is a case for Shadow Sneak here. After a Swords Dance, it will OHKO Gengar and Alakazam, preventing them from finishing off Gallade before he gets a chance to attack. However, neither are likely to OHKO a full strength Gallade (Gengar will require Choice Specs or Life Orb, and Alakazam fails to OHKO even with Choice Specs), so Night Slash is generally the superior option. Still, the chance to avoid a near fatal hit can keep Gallade healthy enough to continue his sweep. Shadow Sneak will also OHKO Dugtrio, provided you have a Swords Dance set up and Life Orb. Your choice boils down to which group do you want an easier time with? Slower, bulkier opponents like Cresselia and Dusknoir, or faster, frailer enemies like Gengar and Azelf.</P>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Psycho Cut
move 4: Night Slash / X-Scissor / Shadow Sneak
item: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
evs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Band Gallade is a real wrecking ball. 125 base Attack with a Choice Band and an extensive physical movepool is something to be afraid of. When using Gallade as a Choice Bander, it’s very important that you make sure he has an advantage over other Fighting-types; for if you don’t, you will be better off using the likes of Heracross or Medicham. Luckily, Gallade does have some weapons his Fighting-type friends don’t have. Unlike Heracross, Gallade has access to Psycho Cut and Ice Punch which allows him to rip into Gliscor, Weezing, and Salamence much easier. While unlike his Psychic/Fighting-type counterpart Medicham, he can utilize Night Slash (X-Scissor, or Shadow Sneak) to deal with other bulky Ghost and/or Psychic-types; such as Dusknoir, Cresselia, Celebi, or Slowbro.</p>
<p>The moveset is pretty straightforward, Close Combat, like before, is your main STAB attack. With Ice Punch being the next most effective attack and providing a lot of coverage, while Psycho Cut is now a solid option as a second STAB alternative. But again, it’s interesting when choosing your final attack. Night Slash has great coverage with Close Combat. It helps a lot against Dusknoir, and other Ghosts like Gengar. However, a lot of Cresselia and Slowbro will be able to take two hits from Night Slash if you don’t score a critical hit, which is the reasoning for X-Scissor if you’re looking to have a chance of 2HKOing those (it’ll also do more damage to Spiritomb than any of your other attacks and rip through Celebi). The 2HKO on Slowbro has a a great chance, while Cresselia is still very likely to survive if it's running max HP and Defense. Shadow Sneak is noted again, as it can help pick off faster, frail enemies. Trick can also work here, to hinder defensive enemies that usually prefer to have Special attacks, such as Cresselia and Slowbro.</p>
[SET]
name: Double Status
move 1: Hypnosis
move 2: Will-O-Wisp / Thunder Wave
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: Night Slash / Psycho Cut
item: Leftovers
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 152 Atk / 104 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>One of the biggest differences between Gallade and Medicham is the former's bulk, most notably Gallade's higher Special Defense. When coupled with an exemplary status movepool, Gallade can pull of a supporting set well.</p>
<p>Hypnosis is a general move that can help shut down many of Gallade's common switch-ins, such as Slowbro, or even non-Sleep Talk Spiritomb or Cresselia. However, 60% is rather risky, so one should be sure when to use it, for an overprediction could cost dearly. Gallade's high Special Defense may often draw in physical attackers, who may be troubled by Will-O-Wisp, or Thunder Wave if you choose to use that instead. Gallade's average Speed stat benefits from Thunder Wave, and he can then take advantage of his mammoth Attack stat, especially when paired with Close Combat.</p>
<p>Night Slash is used as it provides the best coverage alongside Close Combat. It also allows Gallade to at least damage Cresselia, Spiritomb, and Celebi. However, Gallade must be careful, as Cresselia and Spiritomb can perpetually stall out with Rest, unless Gallade gets rather lucky with Night Slash's high critical hit ratio. However, Gallade must also watch out for Spiritomb's Pressure, which ultimately cuts Night Slash's PP from 24 to 12. However, Psycho Cut may be used for dual STAB, hitting Heracross for super effective damage, who would otherwise cause the set problems, especially with Guts.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Night Slash
move 4: Zen Headbutt / Psycho Cut / ThunderPunch
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 6 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This doesn't have the immense power of the Choice Bander, but it does make a good revenge killer of sorts, against a wide range of enemy sweepers. Zen Headbutt is a welcome addition to the Choice Scarf set, as the high flinch rate can be beneficial; it also has the power advantage over Psycho Cut (albeit without the critical hit rate or maximum accuracy). ThunderPunch can be chosen over Zen Headbutt, as it gives Gallade the chance to OHKO Gyarados. Gengar, Salamence, Tyranitar, and Infernape, all of these and several others can be brought down before they get a chance to attack. Hypnosis is another useful move, as with the Speed you can disable enemies. However, the accuracy is shaky and finding a space for it in the moveset can be difficult.</p>
<p>With Choice Scarf, the EVs allow for 426 Speed, more than enough to outspeed Choice Scarf Heatran with a Speed boosting nature. If you want to lower the bar a bit more, you can use an Adamant nature and settle for a maximum of 388 Speed, which lets you outrun enemies such as Weavile and have a higher Attack stat.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>X-Scissor was mentioned previously on the Choice Band set, but it's always a worthy option over the likes of Night Slash for the boost in power against certain enemies, most notably Celebi. It's not really recommended to use Leaf Blade or Earthquake on Gallade, as Gallade's STAB attacks usually do equal or more damage. Brick Break and Drain Punch are your alternative Fighting-type attacks if you dislike the Defense drops from Close Combat, but the drop in power from 120 to 75 or 60 is very steep indeed. Zen Headbutt is always an option over Psycho Cut, but the lower accuracy can be a put off.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>X-Scissor was mentioned previously on the Choice Band set, but it's always a worthy option over the likes of Night Slash for the boost in power against certain enemies, most notably Celebi. It's not really recommended to use Leaf Blade or Earthquake on Gallade, as Gallade's STAB attacks usually do equal or more damage. Brick Break and Drain Punch are your alternative Fighting-type attacks if you dislike the Defence drops from Close Combat, but the drop in power from 120 to 75 or 60 is very steap indeed. Zen Headbutt is always an option over Psycho Cut, but the lower accuracy can be a put off.</p>
<p>Trick Room is a reasonable option, but better left to the likes of Bronzong. Destiny Bond can ensure a KO against a slower enemy. Confuse Ray can annoy opponents, but is rarely worth a moveslot. Bulk Up is a decent option as it can help Gallade sponge attacks, and works nicely with his great Special Defense. Bulk Up can also pair nicely with Brick Break or Drain Punch. Wish is another support option Gallade has, but is illegal with Will-O-Wisp, as it's a NYPC move. Trick can be a surprise to disable bulky enemies with choice items.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Every set other than the double status set will want maximum Attack EVs. A 222 Speed stat (104 EVs) is the minimum recommended in order to outspeed neutral Speed nature Tyranitar. 244 Speed (192 EVs) is suggested on most sets in order to beat Tyranitar with a Speed boosting nature and max EVs, maximum Speed Magnezone and Abomasnow, and neutral Speed nature Breloom. 270 Speed (neutral Heracross) and 280 Speed (neutral nature Lucario and Porygon-Z) are the other significant speed numbers to hit, but they require switching to a Jolly nature.</p>
<p>252 HP / 152 Atk / 104 Spe, Adamant gives Gallade a nice balance between offense and defense. The extra HP EVs let Gallade survives four hits from Seismic Toss (accounting for Leftovers recovery), making repeatedly switching into Blissey a little easier. If you're using Thunder Wave over Will-O-Wisp, then feel free to drop the Speed EVs, and allocate them to Attack or Special Defense.</p>
<p>For a bulkier alternative, 252 HP / 88 Atk / 64 SpD / 104 Spe, Adamant allows Gallade to always survive a Choice Specs Draco Meteor from Salamence, and a Life Orb Shadow Ball from Timid Gengar.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Gallade is a Pokémon that can really cause damage if you forget about it as a threat. While being a strong, powerful attacker, he is also a rather bulky supporter, that can can cripple many Pokémon with one of his three status moves. Gallade has an excellent movepool that makes him rather hard to counter. His Defense isn't fantastic but he can survive one or two weaker hits, and can hit back with his good Attack stat, especially when paired with a 120 base power move, which is furthermore boosted by STAB. Gallade's Speed is often his downfall, but do not rely on it, for Gallade is not a Pokémon you want to underestimate.</p>
[Counters]
<p>There isn't actually that much that can easily come in on Gallade and be a surefire counter, since Gallade can just about hurt everything. Spiritomb comes as close to a counter as possible, taking absolutely nothing from Close Combat and Psycho Cut / Zen Headbutt. 252 HP / 252 Def Bold Spiritomb only takes 37% damage maximum from a Choice Band X-Scissor, and 46% from the riskier Stone Edge. Spiritomb can either Will-O-Wisp back, or attempt to stall down to low health with Pain Split, and then Sucker Punch. However, Spiritomb must beware of the Swords Dance set.</p>
<p>Slowbro comes in on many of the Choice Band attacks, only really fearing ThunderPunch, Night Slash, or X-Scissor. Gyarados is a decent option, although after Intimidate if Psycho Cut gets a critical hit Gyarados faces being 2HKOed. On top of this, Gallade may even carry ThunderPunch or Stone Edge, so Gyarados should be on alert. Weezing can just about sponge everything bar Psycho Cut and Zen Headbutt. Cresselia will often beat any Gallade without Night Slash, and can absorb Hypnosis with Sleep Talk. Gliscor easily switches into Gallade without Ice Punch, stalls it with Roost, and takes an occasional chunk of health with Earthquake or Aerial Ace, as well as laughing off Thunder Waves. Beware of Will-O-Wisp though. If caught on the wrong move, Choice Band Tyranitar can Pursuit a fleeing Gallade for at least 79%. One should beware of Close Combat though, so this is more suited to a revenge-killing style attack. Other Dark-types do near enough the same job, but Tyranitar also has the advantage of sandstorm hurting Gallade.</p>
<p>Try to prey on Gallade's two weakest stats: his Defense and Speed. For example, Heracross can come in with a Choice Band Megahorn for the OHKO. On top of this, extra hazards such as Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock, which will quickly wear Gallade down, and means you can play around him.</p>
Trick, Shadow Sneak (legal with Punches), and Zen Headbutt will be getting recognition. I'm also going to re-write quite a lot of the comments for Gallade to hopefully improve the analysis quite a lot.
Any suggestions are welcome.
_______________________________________
[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Ice Punch
move 4: Psycho Cut / Night Slash / Stone Edge
item: Life Orb / Lum Berry
nature: Adamant
evs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>A Gallade with a Swords Dance under his belt is a force to be reckoned with, despite his rather average Speed. Close Combat is your main tool for sweeping thanks to STAB and the high base power, but after that you have some tricky decisions to make to fill the remaining two moveslots. Ice Punch is highly recommended as it rips Gliscor to pieces, giving Gallade a massive advantage over Heracross. It easily OHKOes Salamence too, even when you factor in Intimidate.</p>
<p>Psycho Cut means Weezing and Heracross are much easier to take down, and it easily OHKOes Gengar. The potential for a critical hit also helps make up for the rather low base power. Night Slash covers Cresselia, Dusknoir and most other Ghosts and Psychics you will run into (it also has a high critical hit ratio like Psycho Cut). The main reason to use Stone Edge is to take out Gyarados, but it also offers enough power to OHKO Gengar, Azelf, Starmie, and other assorted weaker Psychics. It will OHKO Heracross after a Swords Dance too.</p>
<p>Night Slash is obviously the more powerful attack against Ghosts and Psychics, but there is a case for Shadow Sneak here. After a Swords Dance, it will OHKO Gengar and Alakazam, preventing them from finishing off Gallade before he gets a chance to attack. However, neither are likely to OHKO a full strength Gallade (Gengar will require Choice Specs or Life Orb, and Alakazam fails to OHKO even with Choice Specs), so Night Slash is generally the superior option. Still, the chance to avoid a near fatal hit can keep Gallade healthy enough to continue his sweep. Shadow Sneak will also OHKO Dugtrio, provided you have a Swords Dance set up and Life Orb. Your choice boils down to which group do you want an easier time with? Slower, bulkier opponents like Cresselia and Dusknoir, or faster, frailer enemies like Gengar and Azelf.</P>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Psycho Cut
move 4: Night Slash / X-Scissor / Shadow Sneak
item: Choice Band
nature: Adamant
evs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Choice Band Gallade is a real wrecking ball. 125 base Attack with a Choice Band and an extensive physical movepool is something to be afraid of. When using Gallade as a Choice Bander, it’s very important that you make sure he has an advantage over other Fighting-types; for if you don’t, you will be better off using the likes of Heracross or Medicham. Luckily, Gallade does have some weapons his Fighting-type friends don’t have. Unlike Heracross, Gallade has access to Psycho Cut and Ice Punch which allows him to rip into Gliscor, Weezing, and Salamence much easier. While unlike his Psychic/Fighting-type counterpart Medicham, he can utilize Night Slash (X-Scissor, or Shadow Sneak) to deal with other bulky Ghost and/or Psychic-types; such as Dusknoir, Cresselia, Celebi, or Slowbro.</p>
<p>The moveset is pretty straightforward, Close Combat, like before, is your main STAB attack. With Ice Punch being the next most effective attack and providing a lot of coverage, while Psycho Cut is now a solid option as a second STAB alternative. But again, it’s interesting when choosing your final attack. Night Slash has great coverage with Close Combat. It helps a lot against Dusknoir, and other Ghosts like Gengar. However, a lot of Cresselia and Slowbro will be able to take two hits from Night Slash if you don’t score a critical hit, which is the reasoning for X-Scissor if you’re looking to have a chance of 2HKOing those (it’ll also do more damage to Spiritomb than any of your other attacks and rip through Celebi). The 2HKO on Slowbro has a a great chance, while Cresselia is still very likely to survive if it's running max HP and Defense. Shadow Sneak is noted again, as it can help pick off faster, frail enemies. Trick can also work here, to hinder defensive enemies that usually prefer to have Special attacks, such as Cresselia and Slowbro.</p>
[SET]
name: Double Status
move 1: Hypnosis
move 2: Will-O-Wisp / Thunder Wave
move 3: Close Combat
move 4: Night Slash / Psycho Cut
item: Leftovers
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 152 Atk / 104 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>One of the biggest differences between Gallade and Medicham is the former's bulk, most notably Gallade's higher Special Defense. When coupled with an exemplary status movepool, Gallade can pull of a supporting set well.</p>
<p>Hypnosis is a general move that can help shut down many of Gallade's common switch-ins, such as Slowbro, or even non-Sleep Talk Spiritomb or Cresselia. However, 60% is rather risky, so one should be sure when to use it, for an overprediction could cost dearly. Gallade's high Special Defense may often draw in physical attackers, who may be troubled by Will-O-Wisp, or Thunder Wave if you choose to use that instead. Gallade's average Speed stat benefits from Thunder Wave, and he can then take advantage of his mammoth Attack stat, especially when paired with Close Combat.</p>
<p>Night Slash is used as it provides the best coverage alongside Close Combat. It also allows Gallade to at least damage Cresselia, Spiritomb, and Celebi. However, Gallade must be careful, as Cresselia and Spiritomb can perpetually stall out with Rest, unless Gallade gets rather lucky with Night Slash's high critical hit ratio. However, Gallade must also watch out for Spiritomb's Pressure, which ultimately cuts Night Slash's PP from 24 to 12. However, Psycho Cut may be used for dual STAB, hitting Heracross for super effective damage, who would otherwise cause the set problems, especially with Guts.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Night Slash
move 4: Zen Headbutt / Psycho Cut / ThunderPunch
item: Choice Scarf
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 6 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This doesn't have the immense power of the Choice Bander, but it does make a good revenge killer of sorts, against a wide range of enemy sweepers. Zen Headbutt is a welcome addition to the Choice Scarf set, as the high flinch rate can be beneficial; it also has the power advantage over Psycho Cut (albeit without the critical hit rate or maximum accuracy). ThunderPunch can be chosen over Zen Headbutt, as it gives Gallade the chance to OHKO Gyarados. Gengar, Salamence, Tyranitar, and Infernape, all of these and several others can be brought down before they get a chance to attack. Hypnosis is another useful move, as with the Speed you can disable enemies. However, the accuracy is shaky and finding a space for it in the moveset can be difficult.</p>
<p>With Choice Scarf, the EVs allow for 426 Speed, more than enough to outspeed Choice Scarf Heatran with a Speed boosting nature. If you want to lower the bar a bit more, you can use an Adamant nature and settle for a maximum of 388 Speed, which lets you outrun enemies such as Weavile and have a higher Attack stat.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>X-Scissor was mentioned previously on the Choice Band set, but it's always a worthy option over the likes of Night Slash for the boost in power against certain enemies, most notably Celebi. It's not really recommended to use Leaf Blade or Earthquake on Gallade, as Gallade's STAB attacks usually do equal or more damage. Brick Break and Drain Punch are your alternative Fighting-type attacks if you dislike the Defense drops from Close Combat, but the drop in power from 120 to 75 or 60 is very steep indeed. Zen Headbutt is always an option over Psycho Cut, but the lower accuracy can be a put off.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>X-Scissor was mentioned previously on the Choice Band set, but it's always a worthy option over the likes of Night Slash for the boost in power against certain enemies, most notably Celebi. It's not really recommended to use Leaf Blade or Earthquake on Gallade, as Gallade's STAB attacks usually do equal or more damage. Brick Break and Drain Punch are your alternative Fighting-type attacks if you dislike the Defence drops from Close Combat, but the drop in power from 120 to 75 or 60 is very steap indeed. Zen Headbutt is always an option over Psycho Cut, but the lower accuracy can be a put off.</p>
<p>Trick Room is a reasonable option, but better left to the likes of Bronzong. Destiny Bond can ensure a KO against a slower enemy. Confuse Ray can annoy opponents, but is rarely worth a moveslot. Bulk Up is a decent option as it can help Gallade sponge attacks, and works nicely with his great Special Defense. Bulk Up can also pair nicely with Brick Break or Drain Punch. Wish is another support option Gallade has, but is illegal with Will-O-Wisp, as it's a NYPC move. Trick can be a surprise to disable bulky enemies with choice items.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Every set other than the double status set will want maximum Attack EVs. A 222 Speed stat (104 EVs) is the minimum recommended in order to outspeed neutral Speed nature Tyranitar. 244 Speed (192 EVs) is suggested on most sets in order to beat Tyranitar with a Speed boosting nature and max EVs, maximum Speed Magnezone and Abomasnow, and neutral Speed nature Breloom. 270 Speed (neutral Heracross) and 280 Speed (neutral nature Lucario and Porygon-Z) are the other significant speed numbers to hit, but they require switching to a Jolly nature.</p>
<p>252 HP / 152 Atk / 104 Spe, Adamant gives Gallade a nice balance between offense and defense. The extra HP EVs let Gallade survives four hits from Seismic Toss (accounting for Leftovers recovery), making repeatedly switching into Blissey a little easier. If you're using Thunder Wave over Will-O-Wisp, then feel free to drop the Speed EVs, and allocate them to Attack or Special Defense.</p>
<p>For a bulkier alternative, 252 HP / 88 Atk / 64 SpD / 104 Spe, Adamant allows Gallade to always survive a Choice Specs Draco Meteor from Salamence, and a Life Orb Shadow Ball from Timid Gengar.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Gallade is a Pokémon that can really cause damage if you forget about it as a threat. While being a strong, powerful attacker, he is also a rather bulky supporter, that can can cripple many Pokémon with one of his three status moves. Gallade has an excellent movepool that makes him rather hard to counter. His Defense isn't fantastic but he can survive one or two weaker hits, and can hit back with his good Attack stat, especially when paired with a 120 base power move, which is furthermore boosted by STAB. Gallade's Speed is often his downfall, but do not rely on it, for Gallade is not a Pokémon you want to underestimate.</p>
[Counters]
<p>There isn't actually that much that can easily come in on Gallade and be a surefire counter, since Gallade can just about hurt everything. Spiritomb comes as close to a counter as possible, taking absolutely nothing from Close Combat and Psycho Cut / Zen Headbutt. 252 HP / 252 Def Bold Spiritomb only takes 37% damage maximum from a Choice Band X-Scissor, and 46% from the riskier Stone Edge. Spiritomb can either Will-O-Wisp back, or attempt to stall down to low health with Pain Split, and then Sucker Punch. However, Spiritomb must beware of the Swords Dance set.</p>
<p>Slowbro comes in on many of the Choice Band attacks, only really fearing ThunderPunch, Night Slash, or X-Scissor. Gyarados is a decent option, although after Intimidate if Psycho Cut gets a critical hit Gyarados faces being 2HKOed. On top of this, Gallade may even carry ThunderPunch or Stone Edge, so Gyarados should be on alert. Weezing can just about sponge everything bar Psycho Cut and Zen Headbutt. Cresselia will often beat any Gallade without Night Slash, and can absorb Hypnosis with Sleep Talk. Gliscor easily switches into Gallade without Ice Punch, stalls it with Roost, and takes an occasional chunk of health with Earthquake or Aerial Ace, as well as laughing off Thunder Waves. Beware of Will-O-Wisp though. If caught on the wrong move, Choice Band Tyranitar can Pursuit a fleeing Gallade for at least 79%. One should beware of Close Combat though, so this is more suited to a revenge-killing style attack. Other Dark-types do near enough the same job, but Tyranitar also has the advantage of sandstorm hurting Gallade.</p>
<p>Try to prey on Gallade's two weakest stats: his Defense and Speed. For example, Heracross can come in with a Choice Band Megahorn for the OHKO. On top of this, extra hazards such as Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock, which will quickly wear Gallade down, and means you can play around him.</p>
