Approved by Aragorn the King
Old thread by Halcyon.
Old thread found here
Smogon Dex Entry found here
Old thread by Halcyon.
Old thread found here
Smogon Dex Entry found here
Gardevoir #282
Base Stats: 68/65/65/125/115/80
Mega Stats: 68/85/65/165/135/100
Abilities
Synchronize: When this Pokémon becomes Poisoned, Paralyzed, or Burned, so does the opponent. However, Fire-type and Water Veil ability Pokémon cannot be Burned, Poison-type and Steel-type and Immunity ability Pokémon cannot be Poisoned, and Limber ability Pokémon cannot be Paralyzed.
Trace: Ability becomes the same as that of the opponent. Switching this Pokémon out of battle restores its original ability. In a Double/Triple Battle, a random opponent’s ability will be copied.
Telepathy (Hidden): Prevents damage from team-mates during Double and Triple battles
Mega Ability
Pixilate: Increases the power of Normal-type moves by 30%. It then changes those moves to Fairy-type.
Notable Moves
STAB in Bold
Hyper Voice
Psyshock
Psychic
Focus Blast
Will-O-Wisp
Taunt
Calm Mind
Hidden Power Ground
Hidden Power Fire
Wish
Protect
Shadow Ball
Healing Wish
Memento
Destiny Bond
Moonblast
General Analysis
One of the few XY Megas to stay consistently good and perhaps arguably become better come ORAS OU, Gardevoir retains the role of a Fairy-Type specially based Stallbreaker it did back in late XY with the departure of Aegislash and Mawile. While it now has new threats to deal with such as Metagross, a resurgence in Banded Scizor and the brief bit of trouble it had with Greninja before it’s inevitable banning, ultimately Gardevoir benefited from other changes surrounding the metagame shift – namely, it got a few more targets in Stall. Having seen a slight decline in viability in late XY, Stall got a new name for itself when Mega Sableye decided to come along and give it a new face, along with a couple of it’s friends in Mega Slowbro and Mega Altaria. And Gardevoir promptly managed to obliterate all three. While speed creep, a spike in steel usage and a few more annoying Pokémon such as Beedrill have popped up to make Gardevoir’s life harder, it retains and improves upon it’s role as OU’s premier stallbreaker who is sure to continue to be a force in OU until the next game.
Notable Movesets
Wallbreaker
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
-Will-O-Wisp/Taunt
Gardevoir’s standard Bread and Butter set in OU. Hyper Voice is what makes Gardevoir the threat it is; with Pixilate it becomes a 117 Base Power Fairy move – and that’s before factoring in STAB! This alone allows it to break down many a wall such as Sableye, Altaria and Slowbro; but for those Fairy spam just can’t break down, you have Psyshock for your extra STAB coverage to break down ‘mon that resist your fairy moves such as Tentacruel and also lets you bypass special walls such as Chansey, due to hitting on the physical side. Focus Blast is also just as essential, as it lets you get past Steels your dual STAB just can’t; most notably Ferrothorn and Heatran. Finally, the last slot is a toss-up of what you prefer – Taunt completes your stallbreaking role through shutting down most any dedicated wall; in particular this lets you walk all over Chansey. Will-O-Wisp if you’re real and like burning physical attacking switch-ins such as Metagross, Scizor and Azumarill. As for the nature and EVs; there’s barely any need to go for anything other than full Special Attack and Speed investment. However, it is highly recommended you take 24 EVs from Special Attack into Defence to avoid the 2HKO from Life Orb Latios’ Psyshock from full – ie this doesn’t work if you come in on stealth rock - this allows you to fully beat it 1-1. A Timid nature can be run to speed tie fellow base 100s such as Mega Charizard Y and opposing Gardevoir as well as base 85-99. Modest is, however, the preferred nature for the pure hitting power; you must go with this if you run Taunt because otherwise you cannot reliably beat Chansey, i.e. the main reason to run Taunt. While minor, Trace is the preferred pre-mega ability as it can nab you some pretty nice goodies; like Intimidating a Gyarados or copying Swift Swim to beat a rain sweeper.
Calm Mind
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
It's funny how a single move can completely change the playstyle of a Pokémon. The EV spread, nature, ability and moveset are chosen for the same reasons; but there is one significant difference of course: Calm Mind. Upon coming in and forcing a switch on something like, say, Mega Sableye, you can proceed to set up a Calm Mind and if you've played right and removed every counter up until that point, pretty much a GG. There's rather little to elaborate on here; Calm Mind's boosting works as a fantastic win condition and a surprise to pull out against an opponent expecting the standard wallbreaking set. Timid is by far the preferred nature in this case as you can easily make up for your power with the Special Attack boosts from Calm Mind while you get to outspeed, again, the base 85s-99s while tying with base 100s. Modest can still be used if your team is designed to handle those.
Specially Defensive
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 148 SpD / 108 Spe
Calm Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Protect
- Will-O-Wisp
A very different take on the common Gardevoir you oft see, this set is designed to lure in common counters to Gardevoir such as physically offensive Steel-Types and Volt-Turn cores, burning them with Will-O-Wisp and passing a wish if need be. This provides excellent team support while giving you a very bulky wall which, despite having no investment in either EVs nor Nature, still hits very hard -- a STAB 117 Base Power move off of 165 Special Attack is still nothing to scoff at. While seemingly complicated at first, the EVs are in fact rather simple. Max HP, enough speed to outpace max investment base 70s like Bisharp and Breloom so you can still kill them, the rest in Special Defence. A Calm nature is chosen to increase Gardevoir's special bulk as much as possible. Trace is there for the same reasons; tracing a useful ability like Intimidate can be quite nifty.
Other Options
A Choice Scarf set is certainly viable and actually not bad; the only item Gardevoir should be running if not Gardevoirite. With max Special Attack, Speed, Timid/Modest and a set of Moonblast, Focus Blast, Psyshock and something fun like Trick or Memento, Gardevoir can become a decently powerful revenge killer if your team is weak to weather sweepers or certain fast dragons such as Latios. However, this is very team specific and you really have to know what you are doing.
Hidden Power Ground is an option over Focus Blast as it hits Heatran for the exact same power but you don't have to worry about the shaky 70% accuracy. However, this isn't highly recommended as you miss out on other important targets such as Ferrothorn.
Hidden Power Fire is an option over Focus Blast as it hits Ferrothorn for the exact same power but you don't have to worry about the shaky 70% accuracy. It also allows you to bop Scizor on the switch as a decent lure. However, this isn't highly recommended as you miss out on other important targets such as Heatran.
Shadow Ball is a third and final coverage option you can consider as it allows you to beat Pokémon that would give you trouble such as Jirachi or Bronzong which would otherwise be checks.
Memento is a nifty surprise option that can be used to weaken an opponent's offensive presence and give a free switch into a set-up sweeper.
Healing Wish also creates momentum and heals teammates completely to give them a second chance in the game.
Destiny Bond could be nice to throw a surprise KO on a slower threat that would OHKO you.
Checks & Counters
Steel-Types: While Focus Blast and Hidden Power Fire/Ground slightly alleviate this issue, Gardevoir's biggest problem remains with Steel-types. Mega Metagross, any Scizor variant, Heatran, Ferrothorn, Jirachi... whether defensive or offensive there is no end to the trouble they can cause Gardevoir.
Poison-Types: To a much lesser degree, Poison-Types can also cause trouble for Gardevoir but they are generally not common in OU beyond Gengar, but Beedrill, Scolipede and Gengar itself can all outspeed and hit very hard with a STAB move.
Physical Attacks: Gardevoir is extremely frail on the physical side no matter what you do; 68/65 is not going to be tanking anything any time soon. Mega Charizard X, Mega Lopunny, Landorus-Therian and many more all have the ability to outspeed and OHKO Gardevoir. On a similar note, strong priority users such as Talonflame, Azumarill and Dragonite can all either hit hard or OHKO Gardevoir as well.
Feel free to discuss any other potential movesets or roles for this Pokémon; or perhaps just an expansion or alteration to the sets provided. This is a top-tier threat for a reason; there's plenty room for it to be versatile.
Base Stats: 68/65/65/125/115/80
Mega Stats: 68/85/65/165/135/100
Abilities
Synchronize: When this Pokémon becomes Poisoned, Paralyzed, or Burned, so does the opponent. However, Fire-type and Water Veil ability Pokémon cannot be Burned, Poison-type and Steel-type and Immunity ability Pokémon cannot be Poisoned, and Limber ability Pokémon cannot be Paralyzed.
Trace: Ability becomes the same as that of the opponent. Switching this Pokémon out of battle restores its original ability. In a Double/Triple Battle, a random opponent’s ability will be copied.
Telepathy (Hidden): Prevents damage from team-mates during Double and Triple battles
Mega Ability
Pixilate: Increases the power of Normal-type moves by 30%. It then changes those moves to Fairy-type.
Notable Moves
STAB in Bold
Hyper Voice
Psyshock
Psychic
Focus Blast
Will-O-Wisp
Taunt
Calm Mind
Hidden Power Ground
Hidden Power Fire
Wish
Protect
Shadow Ball
Healing Wish
Memento
Destiny Bond
Moonblast
General Analysis
One of the few XY Megas to stay consistently good and perhaps arguably become better come ORAS OU, Gardevoir retains the role of a Fairy-Type specially based Stallbreaker it did back in late XY with the departure of Aegislash and Mawile. While it now has new threats to deal with such as Metagross, a resurgence in Banded Scizor and the brief bit of trouble it had with Greninja before it’s inevitable banning, ultimately Gardevoir benefited from other changes surrounding the metagame shift – namely, it got a few more targets in Stall. Having seen a slight decline in viability in late XY, Stall got a new name for itself when Mega Sableye decided to come along and give it a new face, along with a couple of it’s friends in Mega Slowbro and Mega Altaria. And Gardevoir promptly managed to obliterate all three. While speed creep, a spike in steel usage and a few more annoying Pokémon such as Beedrill have popped up to make Gardevoir’s life harder, it retains and improves upon it’s role as OU’s premier stallbreaker who is sure to continue to be a force in OU until the next game.
Notable Movesets
Wallbreaker
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
-Will-O-Wisp/Taunt
Gardevoir’s standard Bread and Butter set in OU. Hyper Voice is what makes Gardevoir the threat it is; with Pixilate it becomes a 117 Base Power Fairy move – and that’s before factoring in STAB! This alone allows it to break down many a wall such as Sableye, Altaria and Slowbro; but for those Fairy spam just can’t break down, you have Psyshock for your extra STAB coverage to break down ‘mon that resist your fairy moves such as Tentacruel and also lets you bypass special walls such as Chansey, due to hitting on the physical side. Focus Blast is also just as essential, as it lets you get past Steels your dual STAB just can’t; most notably Ferrothorn and Heatran. Finally, the last slot is a toss-up of what you prefer – Taunt completes your stallbreaking role through shutting down most any dedicated wall; in particular this lets you walk all over Chansey. Will-O-Wisp if you’re real and like burning physical attacking switch-ins such as Metagross, Scizor and Azumarill. As for the nature and EVs; there’s barely any need to go for anything other than full Special Attack and Speed investment. However, it is highly recommended you take 24 EVs from Special Attack into Defence to avoid the 2HKO from Life Orb Latios’ Psyshock from full – ie this doesn’t work if you come in on stealth rock - this allows you to fully beat it 1-1. A Timid nature can be run to speed tie fellow base 100s such as Mega Charizard Y and opposing Gardevoir as well as base 85-99. Modest is, however, the preferred nature for the pure hitting power; you must go with this if you run Taunt because otherwise you cannot reliably beat Chansey, i.e. the main reason to run Taunt. While minor, Trace is the preferred pre-mega ability as it can nab you some pretty nice goodies; like Intimidating a Gyarados or copying Swift Swim to beat a rain sweeper.
Calm Mind
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
It's funny how a single move can completely change the playstyle of a Pokémon. The EV spread, nature, ability and moveset are chosen for the same reasons; but there is one significant difference of course: Calm Mind. Upon coming in and forcing a switch on something like, say, Mega Sableye, you can proceed to set up a Calm Mind and if you've played right and removed every counter up until that point, pretty much a GG. There's rather little to elaborate on here; Calm Mind's boosting works as a fantastic win condition and a surprise to pull out against an opponent expecting the standard wallbreaking set. Timid is by far the preferred nature in this case as you can easily make up for your power with the Special Attack boosts from Calm Mind while you get to outspeed, again, the base 85s-99s while tying with base 100s. Modest can still be used if your team is designed to handle those.
Specially Defensive
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 148 SpD / 108 Spe
Calm Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Protect
- Will-O-Wisp
A very different take on the common Gardevoir you oft see, this set is designed to lure in common counters to Gardevoir such as physically offensive Steel-Types and Volt-Turn cores, burning them with Will-O-Wisp and passing a wish if need be. This provides excellent team support while giving you a very bulky wall which, despite having no investment in either EVs nor Nature, still hits very hard -- a STAB 117 Base Power move off of 165 Special Attack is still nothing to scoff at. While seemingly complicated at first, the EVs are in fact rather simple. Max HP, enough speed to outpace max investment base 70s like Bisharp and Breloom so you can still kill them, the rest in Special Defence. A Calm nature is chosen to increase Gardevoir's special bulk as much as possible. Trace is there for the same reasons; tracing a useful ability like Intimidate can be quite nifty.
Other Options
A Choice Scarf set is certainly viable and actually not bad; the only item Gardevoir should be running if not Gardevoirite. With max Special Attack, Speed, Timid/Modest and a set of Moonblast, Focus Blast, Psyshock and something fun like Trick or Memento, Gardevoir can become a decently powerful revenge killer if your team is weak to weather sweepers or certain fast dragons such as Latios. However, this is very team specific and you really have to know what you are doing.
Hidden Power Ground is an option over Focus Blast as it hits Heatran for the exact same power but you don't have to worry about the shaky 70% accuracy. However, this isn't highly recommended as you miss out on other important targets such as Ferrothorn.
Hidden Power Fire is an option over Focus Blast as it hits Ferrothorn for the exact same power but you don't have to worry about the shaky 70% accuracy. It also allows you to bop Scizor on the switch as a decent lure. However, this isn't highly recommended as you miss out on other important targets such as Heatran.
Shadow Ball is a third and final coverage option you can consider as it allows you to beat Pokémon that would give you trouble such as Jirachi or Bronzong which would otherwise be checks.
Memento is a nifty surprise option that can be used to weaken an opponent's offensive presence and give a free switch into a set-up sweeper.
Healing Wish also creates momentum and heals teammates completely to give them a second chance in the game.
Destiny Bond could be nice to throw a surprise KO on a slower threat that would OHKO you.
Checks & Counters
Steel-Types: While Focus Blast and Hidden Power Fire/Ground slightly alleviate this issue, Gardevoir's biggest problem remains with Steel-types. Mega Metagross, any Scizor variant, Heatran, Ferrothorn, Jirachi... whether defensive or offensive there is no end to the trouble they can cause Gardevoir.
Poison-Types: To a much lesser degree, Poison-Types can also cause trouble for Gardevoir but they are generally not common in OU beyond Gengar, but Beedrill, Scolipede and Gengar itself can all outspeed and hit very hard with a STAB move.
Physical Attacks: Gardevoir is extremely frail on the physical side no matter what you do; 68/65 is not going to be tanking anything any time soon. Mega Charizard X, Mega Lopunny, Landorus-Therian and many more all have the ability to outspeed and OHKO Gardevoir. On a similar note, strong priority users such as Talonflame, Azumarill and Dragonite can all either hit hard or OHKO Gardevoir as well.
Feel free to discuss any other potential movesets or roles for this Pokémon; or perhaps just an expansion or alteration to the sets provided. This is a top-tier threat for a reason; there's plenty room for it to be versatile.
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