--------------------------------------------
[Overview]
- 120 Base Atk and SpA paired with Download and excellent coverage make for an insanely powerful and unpredictable sweeper.
- Bug/Steel typing grants 9 resistances and an immunity which include an immunity to Sandstorm, Poison and useful resistances to most forms of priority.
- Flaws: 99 base speed means he just misses out on the hotly contested 100 base speed tier. A poor physical movepool makes it difficult for him to fully take advantage of his huge Atk stat and, by extension, any Atk boosts he may acquire through Download.
[SET]
name: Rock Polish
move 1: Rock Polish
move 2: Bug Buzz
move 3: Flamethrower
move 4: Thunderbolt / Thunder
item: Life Orb
evs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
nature: Timid
move 2: Bug Buzz
move 3: Flamethrower
move 4: Thunderbolt / Thunder
item: Life Orb
evs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
nature: Timid
Set Comments
- After a Download boost and a Rock Polish, Genosect's SpA and Speed skyrocket to 508 and 616 respectively.
- Plethora of resistances present Genosect with many opportunites to set up.
- Bug Buzz provides a powerful and reliable STAB move that deals fatal damage to the likes of Mewtwo and Latias while Flamethrower deals with the ever-present Steel types and OHKOs offensive Groudon in the Sun. Thunderbolt rounds off the coverage by giving you a solid neutral hit on Fire types and dealing better damage to bulky waters (especially Gyarados who resists your other two attacks).
- With 616 Speed after a Rock Polish, Genosect outruns even Jolly Sand Throw Doryuuzu and + nature 130 Base Speed Pokemon holding a Choice Scarf and his Bug/Steel typing protects him from Extremespeed, Bullet Punch, Ice Shard and many other forms of priority.
Additional Comments
- 184 Speed EVs allow Genosect to outrun Jolly Lucario before a Rock Polish and Jolly Sand Throw Doryuuzu afterwards.
- 64 HP EVs give a bit of durability whilst minimising Life Orb recoil and the remaining EVs are put into SpD to ensure that any opposing Genosect receive an Atk boost instead of a SpA boost by switching into you.
- Thunder can be used in place of Thunderbolt if Genosect is being used on the same team as Kyogre.
Teammates and Counters
- As with all sweepers, Stealth Rock is essential for turning certain 2HKOs into OHKOs.
- Kyogre and Drizzle allow Genosect to use Thunder in place of Thunderbolt, whilst also reducing damage taken by Fire attacks.
- Removing Blissey is vital to Genosect's success so a Pursuit user such as Tyranitar will be useful in this regard.
- In order to gain the SpA boost from Download, Genosect needs to switch into Pokemon whose Defense is higher than (or equal to) their Special Defense so be sure to pack a few physical attackers to lure out the likes of Skarmory, Gliscor and Groudon.
- Like the vast majority of special sweepers, Genosect is walled by Blissey. She can paralyse Genosect with Thunder Wave before beating him down with Seismic Toss or Flamethrower.
- Heatran 4x resists Bug Buzz, gains a Flash Fire boost from Flamethrower and can effortlessly OHKO Genosect with his powerful Fire attacks.
- Rotom-H resists every move on the set and can OHKO with Overheat.
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Bug Buzz
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Flamethrower
move 4: U-turn / Thunderbolt / Thunder
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Naive / Timid
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Flamethrower
move 4: U-turn / Thunderbolt / Thunder
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Naive / Timid
Set Comments
- Choice Scarf patches up Genosect's average Speed allowing him to become an efficient revenge killer and late game cleaner.
- Ice Beam and Extremespeed resistance allows Choice Scarf Genosect to revenge kill Jolly Dragon Dance Rayquaza whilst also granting Genosect the rare ability to guarantee a revenge kill on Swords Dance Garchomp. Since Download will always raise SpA against Garchomp, the boost ensures that Ice Beam OHKOs in spite of Yache Berry.
- Flamethrower reliably revenge kills Lucario and Agility Metagross and is your best bet against Doryuuzu.
- U-turn allows Genosect to scout and weaken his counters, as well as putting any Atk boosts acquired through Download to good use. However, Thunderbolt or Thunder can also be used if you're worried about Kyogre or Heatran.
- A + Speed nature is reccomended to allow Choice Scarf Genosect to outrun Jolly Dragon Dance Rayquaza, Agility Metagross, and Choice Scarf Kyogre amongst others.
- Naive is reccomended over Hasty to preserve Genosect's Defense stat; it will often be called upon to take the occassional boosted physical attack in his revenge-killing duties (Rayquaza's Extremespeed, Scizor's Bullet Punch and Dragon Dance Salamence's Outrage for example).
Teammates and Counters
- U-turn is made a lot more dangerous when it is backed up by entry hazards such as Stealth Rock and Spikes.
- A Flash Fire Pokemon such as Heatran can take advantage of Fire attacks aimed at Genosect. He can also set up Stealth Rock and take out Blissey with Explosion if either of those roles take your fancy.
- Frail Pokemon such as Kojondo or Infernape will appreciate the free switches granted by U-turn and will take advantage of any Blissey switch ins. They can also use U-turn themselves to keep pressure on the opponent
- Choice Scarf Genosect is difficult to counter on account of U-turn. The Pokemon whom one might usually use to absorb a U-turn need to be cautious of switching in for fear of the other attacks on the set whereas a Pokemon such as Blissey who would look to switch in on the special attacks will not like being hit with a Download boosted U-turn and being immediately met by a counter.
- Unless Genosect has Thunderbolt, Heatran resists every attack on the set and can OHKO Genosect with STAB Fire attacks.
- If locked into anything other than Flamethrower or U-turn, Magnezone can trap Genosect with Magnet Pull and KO him with Thunderbolt or Hidden Power Fire.
- Terakion doesn't take too much damage from any of the moves on the set and can retaliate with powerful physical attacks.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Bug Buzz
move 2: Flamethrower
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Thunderbolt / Thunder
item: Choice Specsmove 2: Flamethrower
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Thunderbolt / Thunder
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
Set Comments
- After a Download boost, Choice Specs Genosect reaches a terrifying 762 SpA.
- The listed attacks hit 11/17 types for super-effective damage.
- Download boosted Bug Buzz deals up to 40% to 252/0 Blissey.
- Good typing provides lots of opportunities to switch in.
- Paralysis support will aid Genosect in securing a late game sweep.
- A powerful late game sweeper such as Lucario will benefit from the holes that Choice Specs Genosect can blast into the opponents team. Lucario can also capitalise on any Blisseys attempting to counter Genosect.
- Blissey can't wall this as effortlessly as most other special attackers but she is still a solid counter.
- A 252/252 Calm Heatran easily switches into Bug Buzz, Flamethrower and Ice Beam and is never 2HKO'd by Download boosted Thunderbolt after factoring in Stealth Rock and Leftovers.
- Choice Specs Genosect packs such immense power and coverage that the best counter is good prediction.
name: Life Orb
move 1: Ice Beam
move 2: Flamethrower
move 3: Thunderbolt / Thunder
move 4: U-turn / Explosion
item: Life Orb
evs: 64 Atk / 192 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Naive
move 2: Flamethrower
move 3: Thunderbolt / Thunder
move 4: U-turn / Explosion
item: Life Orb
evs: 64 Atk / 192 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Naive
Set Comments
- With the given EVs, a Download boosted Life Orb U-turn has an almost identical damage output to Adamant Choice Band Scizor's U-turn.
- In the 4th Gen, players relied on the likes of Salamence, Gyarados, Gliscor, and Skarmory to switch into Choice Band Scizor's U-turn. However, they need to be extremely cautious when switching into Genosect as they can all be OHKO'd by Flamethrower, Thunderbolt or Ice Beam.
- Download boosted U-turn deals an average of 50% to 252/252 Bold Blissey.
- Explosion can be used in the last slot. Download boosted Life Orb Explosion is truly a sight to behold, easily OHKOing offensive Heatran after Stealth Rock.
Teammates and Counters
- Since this Genosect is so good at luring out and destroying Blissey, it would be wise to team it up with a special sweeper who can take advantage of Blissey's removal. Good examples are Heatran, Sazandora, Urugamosu, Kerudio, Gengar and Zapdos.
- If you're using U-turn, Life Orb recoil and Stealth Rock damage will rack up quite quickly so Wish support would be ideal.
- Heatran only fears Download boosted Thunderbolt, but he won't like Explosion or a U-turn straight to a counter very much either.
- Swampert resists Flamethrower and is immune to Thunderbolt but needs to be careful around Download boosted Ice Beams and U-turns.
[Team Options]
- Stealth Rock is essential, especially on the U-turn sets.
- Kyogre assists Genosect as it's Drizzle ability allows Genosect to use Thunder in place of Thunderbolt. Rain also reduces Genosect's 4x Fire weak down to 2x.
- Genosect only has one weakness which can easily be covered through offensive Pokemon such as Heatran or Kyogre or through defensive Pokemon such as Suicune or Groudon.
- If using the Rock Polish or Choice Scarf sets it's important to have a reliable Blissey lure/counter such as Tyranitar.
[Optional Changes]
- Genosect can be used in the lead position with a Modest nature and a moveset of Bug Buzz/Flamethrower/Ice Beam/Quick Attack @ Focus Sash. If the opposing lead insists on getting Stealth Rock up, then they may find themselves 6-5 down against a Genosect with his Focus Sash intact.
- A Substitute + 3 attacks set @ Expert Belt Leftovers can be used to block status and ease prediction.
[Dream World]
- Genosect does not receive a Dream World ability.