Greninja

[Jordy]

[OVERVIEW]

Thanks to Greninja's great Speed, diverse movepool, and access to Protean, it's one of the premier offensive threats in the CAP metagame, being capable of pressuring offensive and bulky teams alike. This also gives it the freedom to pick its checks and counters. It also has access to Spikes, and thanks to its wide movepool, it's capable of pressuring Tornadus-T, the most common Defogger in the metagame, only adding to the overall pressure it exerts. However, Greninja is really frail and easy to wear down between entry hazards and Life Orb recoil. In addition to this, Greninja suffers from mild four-moveslot syndrome, as it can't always fit all the coverage it wants. Despite its great Speed, it's still outsped by offensive Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Koko as well as Choice Scarf users like Kitsunoh and Volkraken, so it can be picked off quite easily.

[SET]
name: Protean Attacker
move 1: Low Kick
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Spikes
move 4: Extrasensory / Gunk Shot
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt / Fightinium Z
ability: Protean
nature: Hasty
evs: 132 Atk / 124 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Low Kick allows Greninja to pressure Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Heatran, Magearna, and Celesteela. Furthermore, it can pressure Chansey quite well. Ice Beam is a good option to pressure Tornadus-T, the most common Defogger, which will often want to keep Spikes off the field. Additionally, it nets good damage against Grass-, Ground-, and Dragon-types like Tangrowth, Necturna, Jumbao, Garchomp, and Pajantom. Extrasensory allows Greninja to keep out Arghonaut and Toxapex, which can otherwise win entry hazard wars against Greninja quite easily. However, Gunk Shot should be run over Extrasensoryon Fightinium Z variants to handle Jumbao better, because the lack of Special Attack investment also means that Ice Beam will not always 2HKO it. Additionally, Gunk Shot hits Tapu Lele and Tangrowth harder than any other move. Alternatively, Dark Pulse is an option on Metronome variants to punish slower Calm Mind users like Reuniclus and Mega Latias, which may attempt to boost past Greninja by increasing their Special Defense otherwise. Additionally, it pressures Aurumoth. Hydro Pump can be run instead of Low Kick to chunk Pokemon like Kitsunoh and Mega Crucibelle, and it has a good chance to 2HKO Calm Mind + Pain Split Magearna.

Set Details
========

A Hasty nature is used to outspeed Tornadus-T, and it is preferred over a Naive nature to switch into Heatran a little better. Life Orb increases Greninja's overall damage output, allowing it to net massive damage on Pokemon like Celesteela, Arghonaut, and Toxapex, but it comes at the cost of being worn down quickly. The given EV spread should only be used with a Life Orb because it's specifically designed to allow Greninja to 2HKO Arghonaut with Extrasensory after Stealth Rock. Expert Belt is an alternative option that can be run to increase Greninja's damage output against Pokemon like Heatran, Arghonaut, and Toxapex without taking recoil damage. It should be noted that you would want to use 216 Special Attack EVs to guarantee a 2HKO on Arghonaut and Toxapex with Extrasensory after Stealth Rock damage. Another alternative is Fightinium Z, which allows Greninja to deal with Pokemon like Chansey, Celesteela, and Rotom-W more reliably. This item should be run with 252 EVs in Attack to maximize its damage output, so forgoing Extrasensory is often desirable because uninvested Extrasensory will fail to 2HKO Arghonaut or Toxapex. Metronome is an option to gradually build up damage against Calm Mind users like Reuniclus and Mega Latias with Dark Pulse. It also means Toxapex and Arghonaut can't possibly try and stall Extrasensory Greninja out with Life Orb recoil. With this item, you will want maximum Special Attack investment. If dropping Low Kick for Hydro Pump, you should run maximum Special Attack investment.

Usage Tips
========

To make optimal use out of Greninja, you should attempt to set Spikes or pressure checks like Arghonaut, Toxapex, and Jumbao whenever it forces a switch. However, be wary of attacking too often, because Life Orb recoil will quickly rack up in tandem with damage from entry hazards. Although its bulk is quite poor, Greninja can be used to switch into Heatran once or twice to check it. However, generally speaking, you should not bring Greninja directly into play. Instead, try and bring it in on predicted switches and with VoltTurn support. If Greninja is running Fightinium Z, be careful of using it immediately, because your opponent might scout for it.

Team Options
========

Psychic-types like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Lele benefit greatly from Greninja's presence. Not only do they enjoy Greninja's ability to wear down Steel-types with Low Kick, they also massively appreciate Spikes because of the amount of switches they force. If Greninja is not running Extrasensory itself, these Pokemon become even more important to take advantage of Arghonaut and Toxapex. For similar reasons, setup sweepers like Magearna, Necturna, and Mega Mawile also benefit greatly from Greninja's presence. Because Greninja is so frail, it's often optimal to pair it with VoltTurn users like Krilowatt and Tornadus-T to bring it into play safely. Special wallbreakers such as Volkraken, Magearna, and Mega Latios also capitalize on Greninja's ability to weaken Chansey, the best blanket check to special attackers in general.

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Toxic Spikes / Hidden Power Fire
item: Focus Sash
ability: Protean
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Taunt is run to prevent Greninja from becoming setup bait for Pokemon like Aurumoth and Magearna. Additionally, it prevents Defog from Pokemon that Greninja can't really touch, like Rotom-W. Ice Beam is particularly important for this set to put offensive pressure on Defog users like Tornadus-T and Zapdos. It also pressures Ground- and Grass-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Jumbao, and Necturna. Toxic Spikes is the preferred fourth move to wear down bulkier foes like Arghonaut and Tangrowth for Greninja's teammates. Alternatively, Hidden Power Fire can be run to deal with Ferrothorn and Magearna.

Set Details
========

A Focus Sash is mandatory to guarantee that Greninja gets to set up entry hazards at the start of a match.

Usage Tips
========

Because Greninja is a lead for hyper offensive teams, it's pretty straightforward to use. However, against Pokemon like Mega Sableye and dual screens Tapu Koko, consider not leading with Greninja, because they can prevent it from setting entry hazards. Greninja should aim to set multiple layers of Spikes and Toxic Spikes and pressure Defog users like Tornadus-T to keep them up early-game. If the majority of the opposition is grounded, one layer of Spikes is often enough to pressure these teams. After that, if the opposition does not have a Poison-type like Toxapex or Amoonguss, Greninja should often prioritize setting up Toxic Spikes.

Team Options
========

Greninja should primarily be used on hyper offensive builds that can force many switches and thus make optimal use of Spikes. Greninja pairs particularly well with other leads that can set Stealth Rock like Landorus-T and Excadrill to form an entry hazard stacking core on these type teams. This set excels with teammates that make use of Spikes. Thus, setup sweepers like Magearna, Necturna, and Hawlucha are optimal on these kind of teams because they can force many switches and benefit greatly from Spikes damage.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Because of Greninja's wide movepool, it has a wide variety of moves that it can plausibly run. Groundium Z can be run alongside Dig to reliably overwhelm Pokemon like Magearna and Toxapex, but it leaves Greninja unable to really wear down Ferrothorn and completely walled by Celesteela. Additionally, Dig is incredibly easy to play around considering the popularity of Flying-types and Levitate users. Another option for a Z-Crystal would be Waterium Z with Hydro Pump, which allows Greninja to OHKO Pokemon like Mega Medicham and Mega Mawile. U-turn can be used to ease prediction and gain momentum in unfavorable matchups, but Greninja would usually rather break down walls on its own. Instead of Spikes, Toxic Spikes can be run to allow Greninja's teammates to pressure Pokemon like Tangrowth and Arghonaut more, but Spikes are often harder to deal with for the opponent and are generally much more useful on most builds.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Set-dependent Switch-ins**: Thanks to its wide movepool, Greninja has no true counters. However, it also cannot fit all of its moves on one set, so there will always be counters to certain sets. Arghonaut and Toxapex can wall any variant of Greninja that's lacking Extrasensory. Bulk-invested Magearna sets can handle any Greninja set lacking Groundium Z and Dig; however, they can still be overwhelmed by Low Kick over time. Similarly, more physically defensive Celesteela can take on even Low Kick variants, but they're prone to being worn down extremely quickly.

**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Because Greninja is extremely frail, it's extremely susceptible to faster offensive Pokemon like Mega Alakazam, Tapu Koko, and Weavile. Mega Alakazam is particularly dangerous because it's able to Trace Greninja's Protean, which turns it into an absolutely menacing wallbreaker that is almost impossible to deal with defensively. Additionally, common Choice Scarf users like Kitsunoh, Volkraken, and Jumbao can easily pressure Greninja.

**Priority**: Because of Greninja's frailty, priority users like Mega Medicham, Mega Pinsir, and Mega Mawile can quickly neuter Greninja.

**Mega Sableye**: Mega Sableye manages to prevent Greninja from setting up Spikes, and it can live most attacks that Greninja can throw at it with relative ease. Additionally, it can cripple non-Z-Move sets with Knock Off.


[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Jordy, 395754]]
- Quality checked by: [[xavgb, 231402], [Mx, 298148], [G-Luke, 264912]]
- Grammar checked by: [[GMars, 273636], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]

 

[xavgb]

[OVERVIEW]

* Thanks to Greninja's great Speed, diverse movepool, and access to Protean, it's one of the premier offensive threats in the CAP metagame, because it's capable of pressuring offensive and bulky teams alike.
* To add onto that, because of its diverse movepool, Greninja can easily pick its defensive checks and counters.
* It also has access to Spikes, and thanks to its wide movepool, it's capable of pressuring many common Defoggers like Tornadus-T, only adding to the overall pressure it exerts. - keep Torn-T as the only mention but then emphasise that it's the most common defogger in the format. Also three mentions of nice movepool in a row, maybe change one of these to coverage? Probably the second one if you do.
* However, Greninja is really frail and easy to wear down between hazards and Life Orb-recoil.
* Furthermore, despite its great Speed, it's still outsped by offensive Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Koko as well as Choice Scarf users like Kitsunoh and Volkraken, so it can be picked off quite easily.

[SET]
name: Protean Attacker
move 1: Low Kick
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Spikes
move 4: Extrasensory / Gunk Shot
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt / Fightinium Z
ability: Protean
nature: Hasty
evs: 132 Atk / 124 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Low Kick allows Greninja to pressure Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Heatran, Magearna, and Celesteela. Furthermore, it can pressure Chansey quite well.
* Ice Beam is a good option to pressure Tornadus-T, the most common Defogger, which will often want to keep Spikes off the field. Additionally, it pressures Grass-, Ground-, and Dragon-types like Tangrowth, Necturna, Jumbao, Garchomp, and Pajantom.
* Extrasensory allows Greninja to pressure Arghonaut and Toxapex, which can otherwise win hazard wars against Greninja quite easily.
* Instead of Extrasensory, Gunk Shot should be run on Fightinium Z variants to pressure Jumbao better, because the lack in Special Attack investment also means that Ice Beam will not always 2HKO it. Additionally, it hits Clefable and Tangrowth harder than any other move.
* Alternatively, Dark Pulse is an option on Metronome variants to pressure slower Calm Mind users like Reuniclus and Mega Latias, which may attempt to boost past Greninja by increasing their Special Defense otherwise. - Add that it pressures moth
- Hydro Pump mention should be here (hits Kitsunoh/Cruci and has a good chance to 2HKO cm split Mage). If needed also point out that replacing Low Kick means that max spa should be run.

Set Details
========

* A Hasty nature is preferred to a Naive nature to minimize damage taken from Heatran and also outspeed Tornadus-T.
* Life Orb increases Greninja's overall damage output, allowing it to net massive damage on Pokemon like Celesteela, Arghonaut, and Toxapex, but it comes at the cost of being worn down quickly. The given EV spread should only be used with a Life Orb, because it's specifically designed to allow Greninja to 2HKO Arghonaut with Extrasensory after Stealth Rock.
* Expert Belt is an alternative option that can be run to increase Greninja's damage output against Pokemon like Heatran, Arghonaut, and Toxapex without taking recoil damage. It should be noted that you would want to use 216 Special Attack EVs to guarantee a 2HKO on Arghonaut and Toxapex with Extrasensory after Stealth Rock damage.
* Another alternative is Fightinium Z, which allows Greninja to deal with Pokemon like Chansey, Celesteela, and Rotom-W more reliably. This item should be run with 252 EVs in Attack to maximize its damage output, so forgoing Extrasensory might be desirable, because uninvested Extrasensory will fail to 2HKO Arghonaut or Toxapex. - Use a stronger term than might here
* Metronome is an option to gradually build up damage against Calm Mind users like Reuniclus and Mega Latias when running Dark Pulse. It also means Toxapex and Arghonaut can't possibly try and stall Greninja out with Life Orb recoil. With this item, you will want maximum Special Attack investment.

Usage Tips
========

* To make optimal use out of Greninja, you should attempt to set Spikes or pressure checks like Arghonaut, Toxapex, and Jumbao whenever it forces a switch.
* However, be wary of attacking too often, because Life Orb recoil will quickly rack up in tandem with hazards damage.
* Although its bulk is quite poor, Greninja can be used to switch into Heatran once or twice to check it. However, generally speaking, you should not bring Greninja directly into play. Instead, try and bring it in on predicted switches and with VoltTurn support.
* If Greninja is running Fightinium Z, be careful of using it immediately, because your opponent might scout for it.

Team Options
========

* Psychic-types like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Lele benefit greatly from Greninja's presence. Not only do they benefit from Greninja's ability to wear down Steel-types with Low Kick, they also massively appreciate Spikes because of the amount of switches they force. If Greninja is not running Extrasensory itself, these Pokemon become even more important to take advantage of Arghonaut and Toxapex.
* For similar reasons, setup sweepers like Magearna, Necturna, and Mega Mawile also benefit greatly from Greninja's presence.
* Because Greninja is so frail, it's often optimal to pair it with VoltTurn users like Krilowatt and Tornadus-T to bring it into play safely.
* Special wallbreakers such as Volkraken, Magearna, and Mega Latios also capitalize on Greninja's ability to weaken Chansey, the best blanket check to special attackers in general.

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Toxic Spikes / Hidden Power Fire
item: Focus Sash
ability: Protean
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Taunt is run to prevent Greninja from being setup bait for Pokemon like Aurumoth and Magearna. - Add that it also prevents Defog from the likes of Rotom-W
* Ice Beam is particularly important for this set to pressure Defog users like Tornadus-T and Zapdos. It also pressures Ground- and Grass-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Jumbao, and Necturna. - To avoid confusion with the reformed first point change this slightly to say that it's better at pressuring those Defoggers
* Toxic Spikes is the preferred fourth move to put pressure on bulkier foes, like Arghonaut and Tangrowth for Greninja's teammates.
* Alternatively, Hidden Power Fire can be run to deal with Ferrothorn and Magearna.

Set Details
========

* A Focus Sash is mandatory to guarantee that Greninja gets to set up hazards at the start of a match.

Usage Tips
========

* Because Greninja is a lead for hyper offensive teams, it's pretty straight-forward to use.
* Greninja should aim to set multiple layers of Spikes and Toxic Spikes and pressure Defog users like Tornadus-T to keep them up early-game.
* If the majority of an opposition is grounded and it does not have a Poison-type like Toxapex or Amoonguss, it should often prioritize setting up Toxic Spikes. - Somewhere in this section it's probably worth mentioning that one layer of each is often worth more than two layers of Spikes.

Team Options
========

* Lead Greninja should primarily be used on hyper offensive builds that can force many switches and thus make optimal use of Spikes.
* Greninja pairs particularly well with other leads that can set Stealth Rock, like Landorus-T and Excadrill to form a hazard stacking core on these type teams.
* This set excels with teammates that make use of Spikes. Thus, setup sweepers like Magearna, Necturna, and Hawlucha are optimal on these kind of teams, because they can force many switches and benefit greatly from Spikes damage.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

* Because of Greninja's wide movepool, it has a wide variety of moves that it can plausibly run.
* Groundium Z can be run alongside Dig to reliably overwhelm Pokemon like Magearna and Toxapex, but it leaves Greninja unable to really wear down other Steel-types and it's completely walled by Celesteela.
* Another option for a Z-Crystal would be Waterium Z with Hydro Pump, which allows Greninja to OHKO Pokemon like Mega Medicham and Mega Mawile. Additionally, Hydro Pump can be useful against Mega Crucibelle. However, its coverage is generally poor, so it's often not preferred.
* U-turn can be used to ease prediction and gain momentum in unfavorable matchups, but Greninja would usually rather break down walls on its own.
* Instead of Spikes, Toxic Spikes can be run to allow Greninja's teammates to pressure Pokemon like Tangrowth and Arghonaut more, but Spikes are often harder to deal with for the opponent and are generally much more useful on most builds.

[Choice Scarf will be getting its own set separately from this, it's currently up for reservation.]

Checks and Counters
===================

**Set-dependent Switch-ins**: Thanks to its wide movepool, Greninja has no true counters. However, it also cannot fit all of its moves on one set, so there will always be counters to certain sets. Arghonaut and Toxapex can wall any variant of Greninja that's lacking Extrasensory. Bulk invested Magearna sets can handle any Greninja set lacking Groundium Z and Dig; however, it can still be overwhelmed by Low Kick over time. Similarly, more physically defensively invested Celesteela can take on even Low Kick variants, but they're prone to being worn down extremely quickly.

**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Because Greninja is extremely frail, it's extremely prone to faster offensive Pokemon like Mega Alakazam, Tapu Koko, and Weavile. Additionally, common Choice Scarf users like Kitsunoh, Volkraken, and Jumbao can also easily pressure Greninja. - Give an extra sentence to Mega Alakazam since it strains building with traced Protean much more than the other mons mentioned here.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Jordy, 395754]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]

QC 1/3

 

[Mx]

[OVERVIEW]

* Thanks to Greninja's great Speed, diverse movepool, and access to Protean, it's one of the premier offensive threats in the CAP metagame, because it's capable of pressuring offensive and bulky teams alike.
* To add onto that, because of its diverse coverage options, [Mention its ability here too, as Protean is what makes Greninja's coverage so dangerous. If you think this makes you repeat yourself too much, I suggest reorganizing these first two points into one.] Greninja can easily pick its defensive checks and counters.
* It also has access to Spikes, and thanks to its wide movepool, it's capable of pressuring Tornadus-T, the most common Defogger in the metagame, only adding to the overall pressure it exerts.
* However, Greninja is really frail and easy to wear down between hazards and Life Orb-recoil.
* Furthermore, despite its great Speed, it's still outsped by offensive Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Koko as well as Choice Scarf users like Kitsunoh and Volkraken, so it can be picked off quite easily.

[SET]
name: Protean Attacker
move 1: Low Kick
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Spikes
move 4: Extrasensory / Gunk Shot
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt / Fightinium Z
ability: Protean
nature: Hasty
evs: 132 Atk / 124 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Low Kick allows Greninja to pressure Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Heatran, Magearna, and Celesteela. Furthermore, it can pressure Chansey quite well.
* Ice Beam is a good option to pressure Tornadus-T, the most common Defogger, which will often want to keep Spikes off the field. Additionally, it pressures Grass-, Ground-, and Dragon-types like Tangrowth, Necturna, Jumbao, Garchomp, and Pajantom.
* Extrasensory allows Greninja to pressure Arghonaut and Toxapex, which can otherwise win hazard wars against Greninja quite easily.
* Instead of Extrasensory, Gunk Shot should be run on Fightinium Z variants to pressure Jumbao better, because the lack in Special Attack investment also means that Ice Beam will not always 2HKO it. Additionally, it hits Clefable and Tangrowth harder than any other move. [Mention Tapu Lele here, because while it's relatively frail, any other move would lose 1v1 and its much more relevant than Clef]
* Alternatively, Dark Pulse is an option on Metronome variants to pressure slower Calm Mind users like Reuniclus and Mega Latias, which may attempt to boost past Greninja by increasing their Special Defense otherwise. Additionally, it pressures Aurumoth.
* Hydro Pump can be run instead of Low Kick to chunk Pokemon like Kitsunoh and Mega Crucibelle. Additionally, it has a good chance to 2HKO Calm Mind + Pain Split Magearna.

Set Details
========

* A Hasty nature is preferred to a Naive nature to minimize damage taken from Heatran and also outspeed Tornadus-T.
* Life Orb increases Greninja's overall damage output, allowing it to net massive damage on Pokemon like Celesteela, Arghonaut, and Toxapex, but it comes at the cost of being worn down quickly. The given EV spread should only be used with a Life Orb, because it's specifically designed to allow Greninja to 2HKO Arghonaut with Extrasensory after Stealth Rock.
* Expert Belt is an alternative option that can be run to increase Greninja's damage output against Pokemon like Heatran, Arghonaut, and Toxapex without taking recoil damage. It should be noted that you would want to use 216 Special Attack EVs to guarantee a 2HKO on Arghonaut and Toxapex with Extrasensory after Stealth Rock damage.
* Another alternative is Fightinium Z, which allows Greninja to deal with Pokemon like Chansey, Celesteela, and Rotom-W more reliably. This item should be run with 252 EVs in Attack to maximize its damage output, so forgoing Extrasensory is often desirable, because uninvested Extrasensory will fail to 2HKO Arghonaut or Toxapex.
* Metronome is an option to gradually build up damage against Calm Mind users like Reuniclus and Mega Latias. It also means Toxapex and Arghonaut can't possibly try and stall Greninja out with Life Orb recoil. [Mention that you are talking about Extrasensory here, I don't think that is clear enough now] With this item, you will want maximum Special Attack investment.
* If dropping Low Kick for Hydro Pump, you should run maximum Special Attack investment.

Usage Tips
========

* To make optimal use out of Greninja, you should attempt to set Spikes or pressure checks like Arghonaut, Toxapex, and Jumbao whenever it forces a switch.
* However, be wary of attacking too often, because Life Orb recoil will quickly rack up in tandem with hazards damage.
* Although its bulk is quite poor, Greninja can be used to switch into Heatran once or twice to check it. However, generally speaking, you should not bring Greninja directly into play. Instead, try and bring it in on predicted switches and with VoltTurn support.
* If Greninja is running Fightinium Z, be careful of using it immediately, because your opponent might scout for it.

Team Options
========

* Psychic-types like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Lele benefit greatly from Greninja's presence. Not only do they benefit from Greninja's ability to wear down Steel-types with Low Kick, they also massively appreciate Spikes because of the amount of switches they force. If Greninja is not running Extrasensory itself, these Pokemon become even more important to take advantage of Arghonaut and Toxapex.
* For similar reasons, setup sweepers like Magearna, Necturna, and Mega Mawile also benefit greatly from Greninja's presence.
* Because Greninja is so frail, it's often optimal to pair it with VoltTurn users like Krilowatt and Tornadus-T to bring it into play safely.
* Special wallbreakers such as Volkraken, Magearna, and Mega Latios also capitalize on Greninja's ability to weaken Chansey, the best blanket check to special attackers in general.

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Toxic Spikes / Hidden Power Fire
item: Focus Sash
ability: Protean
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Taunt is run to prevent Greninja from being setup bait for Pokemon like Aurumoth and Magearna. Additionally, it prevents Defog from Pokemon that Greninja can't really touch, like Rotom-W.
* Ice Beam is particularly important for this set to put offensive pressure on Defog users like Tornadus-T and Zapdos. It also pressures Ground- and Grass-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Jumbao, and Necturna.
* Toxic Spikes is the preferred fourth move to put pressure on bulkier foes, like Arghonaut and Tangrowth for Greninja's teammates.
* Alternatively, Hidden Power Fire can be run to deal with Ferrothorn and Magearna.

Set Details
========

* A Focus Sash is mandatory to guarantee that Greninja gets to set up hazards at the start of a match.

Usage Tips
========

* Because Greninja is a lead for hyper offensive teams, it's pretty straight-forward to use.
[Mention that in certain matchups like against Mega Sableye and Screens Koko, you should consider not leading with Gren]
* Greninja should aim to set multiple layers of Spikes and Toxic Spikes and pressure Defog users like Tornadus-T to keep them up early-game.
* If the majority of an opposition is grounded, one layer of Spikes is often enough to pressure these teams. After that, if the opposition does not have a Poison-type like Toxapex or Amoonguss, Greninja should often prioritize setting up Toxic Spikes.

Team Options
========

* Lead Greninja should primarily be used on hyper offensive builds that can force many switches and thus make optimal use of Spikes.
* Greninja pairs particularly well with other leads that can set Stealth Rock, like Landorus-T and Excadrill to form a hazard stacking core on these type teams.
* This set excels with teammates that make use of Spikes. Thus, setup sweepers like Magearna, Necturna, and Hawlucha are optimal on these kind of teams, because they can force many switches and benefit greatly from Spikes damage.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

* Because of Greninja's wide movepool, it has a wide variety of moves that it can plausibly run.
* Groundium Z can be run alongside Dig to reliably overwhelm Pokemon like Magearna and Toxapex, but it leaves Greninja unable to really wear down other Steel-types and it's completely walled by Celesteela. [Do you mean that it can't wear down other Steel-types after using Z-Dig? If not, the only other relevant Steel-type ranked A- or above that can't be OHKOed by Z-Dig is Ferrothorn, so you should probably name it to make that clearer and mention that after using the Z-move, Dig is easy to play around]
* Another option for a Z-Crystal would be Waterium Z with Hydro Pump, which allows Greninja to OHKO Pokemon like Mega Medicham and Mega Mawile.
* U-turn can be used to ease prediction and gain momentum in unfavorable matchups, but Greninja would usually rather break down walls on its own.
* Instead of Spikes, Toxic Spikes can be run to allow Greninja's teammates to pressure Pokemon like Tangrowth and Arghonaut more, but Spikes are often harder to deal with for the opponent and are generally much more useful on most builds.

[Choice Scarf will be getting its own set separately from this, it's currently up for reservation.]

Checks and Counters
===================

**Set-dependent Switch-ins**: Thanks to its wide movepool, Greninja has no true counters. However, it also cannot fit all of its moves on one set, so there will always be counters to certain sets. Arghonaut and Toxapex can wall any variant of Greninja that's lacking Extrasensory. Bulk invested Magearna sets can handle any Greninja set lacking Groundium Z and Dig; however, it can still be overwhelmed by Low Kick over time. Similarly, more physically defensively invested Celesteela can take on even Low Kick variants, but they're prone to being worn down extremely quickly.
[Divide this point into Bulky Water-types and Steel-types, as really, these 2 are already clearly separated here and this allows to more easily include stuff like saying that Arghonaut's Knock Off cripples non-Z sets and has a chance to KO after SR if you use Extrasensory, and adding Mega Mawile, which is a decent offensive Steel-type switchin to sets lacking Z-Dig or Hydro Pump]

**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Because Greninja is extremely frail, it's extremely prone to faster offensive Pokemon like Mega Alakazam, Tapu Koko, and Weavile. Mega Alakazam is particularly dangerous because it's able to trace Greninja's Protean, which turns it into an absolutely menacing wallbreaker, being almost impossible to deal with defensively. Additionally, common Choice Scarf users like Kitsunoh, Volkraken, and Jumbao can also easily pressure Greninja.

[Add Mega Sableye on its own section, it might be easy to wear down, but it stops Gren from setting up Spikes, it should be able to wall any attack with enough SpD investment, and Knock Off cripples non-Z sets. Waterium Z is probably the closest that Gren can get to 2HKOing it, but even that is a roll.]

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Jordy, 395754]]
- Quality checked by: [[xavgb, 231402], [, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]

Great job as usual, QC 2/3

 

[G-Luke]

[OVERVIEW]

Thanks to Greninja's great Speed, diverse movepool, and access to Protean, it's one of the premier offensive threats in the CAP metagame, because it's capable of pressuring offensive and bulky teams alike. This also gives it the freedom to pick its checks and counters. It also has access to Spikes, and thanks to its wide movepool, it's capable of pressuring Tornadus-T, the most common Defogger in the metagame, only adding to the overall pressure it exerts. However, Greninja is really frail and easy to wear down between hazards and Life Orb recoil. Furthermore, despite its great Speed, it's still outsped by offensive Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Koko as well as Choice Scarf users like Kitsunoh and Volkraken, so it can be picked off quite easily.
Mention its 4MSS.
And highlight its matchup with Rotom-W, specificallh non Taunt variants.

[SET]
name: Protean Attacker
move 1: Low Kick
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Spikes
move 4: Extrasensory / Gunk Shot
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt / Fightinium Z
ability: Protean
nature: Hasty
evs: 132 Atk / 124 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Low Kick allows Greninja to pressure Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Heatran, Magearna, and Celesteela. Furthermore, it can pressure Chansey quite well. Ice Beam is a good option to pressure Tornadus-T, the most common Defogger, which will often want to keep Spikes off the field. Additionally, it pressures Grass-, Ground-, and Dragon-types like Tangrowth, Necturna, Jumbao, Garchomp, and Pajantom. Extrasensory allows Greninja to pressure Arghonaut and Toxapex, which can otherwise win hazard wars against Greninja quite easily. Instead of Extrasensory, Gunk Shot should be run on Fightinium Z variants to pressure Jumbao better, because the lack in Special Attack investment also means that Ice Beam will not always 2HKO it. Additionally, it hits Tapu Lele and Tangrowth harder than any other move. Alternatively, Dark Pulse is an option on Metronome variants to pressure slower Calm Mind users like Reuniclus and Mega Latias, which may attempt to boost past Greninja by increasing their Special Defense otherwise. Additionally, it pressures Aurumoth. Hydro Pump can be run instead of Low Kick to chunk Pokemon like Kitsunoh and Mega Crucibelle. Additionally, it has a good chance to 2HKO Calm Mind + Pain Split Magearna.

Set Details
========

A Hasty nature is preferred to a Naive nature to minimize damage taken from Heatran and also outspeed Tornadus-T. Life Orb increases Greninja's overall damage output, allowing it to net massive damage on Pokemon like Celesteela, Arghonaut, and Toxapex, but it comes at the cost of being worn down quickly. The given EV spread should only be used with a Life Orb, because it's specifically designed to allow Greninja to 2HKO Arghonaut with Extrasensory after Stealth Rock. Expert Belt is an alternative option that can be run to increase Greninja's damage output against Pokemon like Heatran, Arghonaut, and Toxapex without taking recoil damage. It should be noted that you would want to use 216 Special Attack EVs to guarantee a 2HKO on Arghonaut and Toxapex with Extrasensory after Stealth Rock damage. Another alternative is Fightinium Z, which allows Greninja to deal with Pokemon like Chansey, Celesteela, and Rotom-W more reliably. This item should be run with 252 EVs in Attack to maximize its damage output, so forgoing Extrasensory is often desirable, because uninvested Extrasensory will fail to 2HKO Arghonaut or Toxapex. Metronome is an option to gradually build up damage against Calm Mind users like Reuniclus and Mega Latias with Dark Pulse. It also means Toxapex and Arghonaut can't possibly try and stall Extrasensory Greninja out with Life Orb recoil. With this item, you will want maximum Special Attack investment. If dropping Low Kick for Hydro Pump, you should run maximum Special Attack investment.

Usage Tips
========

To make optimal use out of Greninja, you should attempt to set Spikes or pressure checks like Arghonaut, Toxapex, and Jumbao whenever it forces a switch. However, be wary of attacking too often, because Life Orb recoil will quickly rack up in tandem with damage from hazards. Although its bulk is quite poor, Greninja can be used to switch into Heatran once or twice to check it. However, generally speaking, you should not bring Greninja directly into play. Instead, try and bring it in on predicted switches and with VoltTurn support. If Greninja is running Fightinium Z, be careful of using it immediately, because your opponent might scout for it.

Team Options
========

Psychic-types like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Lele benefit greatly from Greninja's presence. Not only do they benefit from Greninja's ability to wear down Steel-types with Low Kick, they also massively appreciate Spikes because of the amount of switches they force. If Greninja is not running Extrasensory itself, these Pokemon become even more important to take advantage of Arghonaut and Toxapex. For similar reasons, setup sweepers like Magearna, Necturna, and Mega Mawile also benefit greatly from Greninja's presence. Because Greninja is so frail, it's often optimal to pair it with VoltTurn users like Krilowatt and Tornadus-T to bring it into play safely. Special wallbreakers such as Volkraken, Magearna, and Mega Latios also capitalize on Greninja's ability to weaken Chansey, the best blanket check to special attackers in general.

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Toxic Spikes / Hidden Power Fire
item: Focus Sash
ability: Protean
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Taunt is run to prevent Greninja from being setup bait for Pokemon like Aurumoth and Magearna. Additionally, it prevents Defog from Pokemon that Greninja can't really touch, like Rotom-W. Ice Beam is particularly important for this set to put offensive pressure on Defog users like Tornadus-T and Zapdos. It also pressures Ground- and Grass-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Jumbao, and Necturna. Toxic Spikes is the preferred fourth move to put pressure on bulkier foes, like Arghonaut and Tangrowth for Greninja's teammates. Alternatively, Hidden Power Fire can be run to deal with Ferrothorn and Magearna.

Set Details
========

A Focus Sash is mandatory to guarantee that Greninja gets to set up hazards at the start of a match.

Usage Tips
========

Because Greninja is a lead for hyper offensive teams, it's pretty straight-forward to use. However, against Pokemon like Mega Sableye and screens Tapu Koko, consider not leading with Greninja because they can prevent it from setting hazards. Greninja should aim to set multiple layers of Spikes and Toxic Spikes and pressure Defog users like Tornadus-T to keep them up early-game. If the majority of an opposition is grounded, one layer of Spikes is often enough to pressure these teams. After that, if the opposition does not have a Poison-type like Toxapex or Amoonguss, Greninja should often prioritize setting up Toxic Spikes.

Team Options
========

Greninja should primarily be used on hyper offensive builds that can force many switches and thus make optimal use of Spikes. Greninja pairs particularly well with other leads that can set Stealth Rock, like Landorus-T and Excadrill to form a hazard stacking core on these type teams. This set excels with teammates that make use of Spikes. Thus, setup sweepers like Magearna, Necturna, and Hawlucha are optimal on these kind of teams, because they can force many switches and benefit greatly from Spikes damage.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Because of Greninja's wide movepool, it has a wide variety of moves that it can plausibly run. Groundium Z can be run alongside Dig to reliably overwhelm Pokemon like Magearna and Toxapex, but it leaves Greninja unable to really wear down Ferrothorn and it's completely walled by Celesteela. Additionally, Dig is incredibly easy to play around considering the popularity of Flying-types and Levitate users. Another option for a Z-Crystal would be Waterium Z with Hydro Pump, which allows Greninja to OHKO Pokemon like Mega Medicham and Mega Mawile. U-turn can be used to ease prediction and gain momentum in unfavorable matchups, but Greninja would usually rather break down walls on its own. Instead of Spikes, Toxic Spikes can be run to allow Greninja's teammates to pressure Pokemon like Tangrowth and Arghonaut more, but Spikes are often harder to deal with for the opponent and are generally much more useful on most builds.

[Choice Scarf will be getting its own set separately from this, it's currently up for reservation.]

Checks and Counters
===================

**Set-dependent Switch-ins**: Thanks to its wide movepool, Greninja has no true counters. However, it also cannot fit all of its moves on one set, so there will always be counters to certain sets. Arghonaut and Toxapex can wall any variant of Greninja that's lacking Extrasensory. Bulk invested Magearna sets can handle any Greninja set lacking Groundium Z and Dig; however, it can still be overwhelmed by Low Kick over time. Similarly, more physically defensively invested Celesteela can take on even Low Kick variants, but they're prone to being worn down extremely quickly.

**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Because Greninja is extremely frail, it's extremely prone to faster offensive Pokemon like Mega Alakazam, Tapu Koko, and Weavile. Mega Alakazam is particularly dangerous because it's able to trace Greninja's Protean, which turns it into an absolutely menacing wallbreaker, being almost impossible to deal with defensively. Additionally, common Choice Scarf users like Kitsunoh, Volkraken, and Jumbao can also easily pressure Greninja. Mention Priority, as thanks to its typing changing it can be susceptable to most popular forms.

**Mega Sableye**: Mega Sableye manages to prevent Greninja from setting up Spikes, and it can live most that Greninja can throw at it with relative ease. Additionally, it can cripple non-Z-Move sets with Knock Off.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Jordy, 395754]]
- Quality checked by: [[xavgb, 231402], [Mx, 298148], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]

Great analysis as always. QC 3/3

 

[Martin]

A Hasty nature is preferred to a Naive nature to minimize damage taken from Heatran and also outspeed Tornadus-T.

Super knitpicky cuz I only skimmed a few paragraphs+GP would probably pick up on this, but thought I might as well post anyway.

The wording of this sentence implies that hasty outruns Torn while naive doesn’t, the latter of which is obviously not true. Maybe consider rewording it to something like “A Hasty nature is used to outspeed Tornadus-T, being preferred over Naive to switch in versus Heatran a little more comfortably.” Or something to that effect.

 

[GMars]

This is a gp placeholder and you're under arrest

 

[GMars]

check

[OVERVIEW]

Thanks to Greninja's great Speed, diverse movepool, and access to Protean, it's one of the premier offensive threats in the CAP metagame, because it's being ('thanks to' is your because, bit weird to have both in the same sentence) capable of pressuring offensive and bulky teams alike. This also gives it the freedom to pick its checks and counters. It also has access to Spikes, and thanks to its wide movepool, it's capable of pressuring Tornadus-T, the most common Defogger in the metagame, only adding to the overall pressure it exerts. However, Greninja is really frail and easy to wear down between hazards and Life Orb recoil. In addition to this, Greninja suffers from mild four-moveslot syndrome, (RH) as it can't always fit all the coverage it wants. Despite its great Speed, it's still outsped by offensive Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Koko as well as Choice Scarf users like Kitsunoh and Volkraken, so it can be picked off quite easily.

[SET]
name: Protean Attacker
move 1: Low Kick
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Spikes
move 4: Extrasensory / Gunk Shot
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt / Fightinium Z
ability: Protean
nature: Hasty
evs: 132 Atk / 124 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Low Kick allows Greninja to pressure Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Heatran, Magearna, and Celesteela. Furthermore, it can pressure Chansey quite well. Ice Beam is a good option to pressure Tornadus-T, the most common Defogger, which will often want to keep Spikes off the field. Additionally, it pressures gets good damage against Grass-, Ground-, and Dragon-types like Tangrowth, Necturna, Jumbao, Garchomp, and Pajantom. Extrasensory allows Greninja to pressure keep out Arghonaut and Toxapex, which can otherwise win hazard wars against Greninja quite easily. Instead of Extrasensory, Gunk Shot should be run on Fightinium Z variants to pressure handle Jumbao better, (RC) because the lack in of Special Attack investment also means that Ice Beam will not always 2HKO it. Additionally, it Gunk Shot hits Tapu Lele and Tangrowth harder than any other move. Alternatively, Dark Pulse is an option on Metronome variants to pressure punish (pick and choose your synonyms here and how you want to phrase them, but pressure is used too often) slower Calm Mind users like Reuniclus and Mega Latias, which may attempt to boost past Greninja by increasing their Special Defense otherwise. Additionally, it pressures Aurumoth. Hydro Pump can be run instead of Low Kick to chunk Pokemon like Kitsunoh and Mega Crucibelle. Additionally, Crucibelle, and (removing Additionally repetition) it has a good chance to 2HKO Calm Mind + Pain Split Magearna.

Set Details
========

A Hasty nature is used to outspeed Tornadus-T, (AC) and it is preferred over a Naive nature to switch into Heatran (Added Space) a little better. Life Orb increases Greninja's overall damage output, allowing it to net massive damage on Pokemon like Celesteela, Arghonaut, and Toxapex, but it comes at the cost of being worn down quickly. The given EV spread should only be used with a Life Orb, (RC) because it's specifically designed to allow Greninja to 2HKO Arghonaut with Extrasensory after Stealth Rock. Expert Belt is an alternative option that can be run to increase Greninja's damage output against Pokemon like Heatran, Arghonaut, and Toxapex without taking recoil damage. It should be noted that you would want to use 216 Special Attack EVs to guarantee a 2HKO on Arghonaut and Toxapex with Extrasensory after Stealth Rock damage. Another alternative is Fightinium Z, which allows Greninja to deal with Pokemon like Chansey, Celesteela, and Rotom-W more reliably. This item should be run with 252 EVs in Attack to maximize its damage output, so forgoing Extrasensory is often desirable, (RC) because uninvested Extrasensory will fail to 2HKO Arghonaut or Toxapex. Metronome is an option to gradually build up damage against Calm Mind users like Reuniclus and Mega Latias with Dark Pulse. It also means Toxapex and Arghonaut can't possibly try and stall Extrasensory Greninja out with Life Orb recoil. With this item, you will want maximum Special Attack investment. If dropping Low Kick for Hydro Pump, you should run maximum Special Attack investment.

Usage Tips
========

To make optimal use out of Greninja, you should attempt to set Spikes or pressure checks like Arghonaut, Toxapex, and Jumbao whenever it forces a switch. However, be wary of attacking too often, because Life Orb recoil will quickly rack up in tandem with damage from hazards. Although its bulk is quite poor, Greninja can be used to switch into Heatran once or twice to check it. However, generally speaking, you should not bring Greninja directly into play. Instead, try and bring it in on predicted switches and with VoltTurn support. If Greninja is running Fightinium Z, be careful of using it immediately, because your opponent might scout for it.

Team Options
========

Psychic-types like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Lele benefit greatly from Greninja's presence. Not only do they benefit from Greninja's ability to wear down Steel-types with Low Kick, they also massively appreciate Spikes because of the amount of switches they force. If Greninja is not running Extrasensory itself, these Pokemon become even more important to take advantage of Arghonaut and Toxapex. For similar reasons, setup sweepers like Magearna, Necturna, and Mega Mawile also benefit greatly from Greninja's presence. Because Greninja is so frail, it's often optimal to pair it with VoltTurn users like Krilowatt and Tornadus-T to bring it into play safely. Special wallbreakers such as Volkraken, Magearna, and Mega Latios also capitalize on Greninja's ability to weaken Chansey, the best blanket check to special attackers in general.

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Toxic Spikes / Hidden Power Fire
item: Focus Sash
ability: Protean
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Taunt is run to prevent Greninja from being setup bait for Pokemon like Aurumoth and Magearna. Additionally, it prevents Defog from Pokemon that Greninja can't really touch, like Rotom-W. Ice Beam is particularly important for this set to put offensive pressure on Defog users like Tornadus-T and Zapdos. It also pressures Ground- and Grass-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Jumbao, and Necturna. Toxic Spikes is the preferred fourth move to put pressure on wear down bulkier foes, (RC) like Arghonaut and Tangrowth for Greninja's teammates. Alternatively, Hidden Power Fire can be run to deal with Ferrothorn and Magearna.

Set Details
========

A Focus Sash is mandatory to guarantee that Greninja gets to set up entry hazards at the start of a match.

Usage Tips
========

Because Greninja is a lead for hyper offensive teams, it's pretty straightforward (RH) to use. However, against Pokemon like Mega Sableye and dual screens Tapu Koko, consider not leading with Greninja because they can prevent it from setting entry hazards. Greninja should aim to set multiple layers of Spikes and Toxic Spikes and pressure Defog users like Tornadus-T to keep them up early-game. If the majority of an the opposition is grounded, one layer of Spikes is often enough to pressure these teams. After that, if the opposition does not have a Poison-type like Toxapex or Amoonguss, Greninja should often prioritize setting up Toxic Spikes.

Team Options
========

Greninja should primarily be used on hyper offensive builds that can force many switches and thus make optimal use of Spikes. Greninja pairs particularly well with other leads that can set Stealth Rock, (RC) like Landorus-T and Excadrill to form an entry hazard stacking core on these type teams. This set excels with teammates that make use of Spikes. Thus, setup sweepers like Magearna, Necturna, and Hawlucha are optimal on these kind of teams, (RC) because they can force many switches and benefit greatly from Spikes damage.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Because of Greninja's wide movepool, it has a wide variety of moves that it can plausibly run. Groundium Z can be run alongside Dig to reliably overwhelm Pokemon like Magearna and Toxapex, but it leaves Greninja unable to really wear down Ferrothorn, (AC) and it's completely walled by Celesteela. Additionally, Dig is incredibly easy to play around considering the popularity of Flying-types and Levitate users. Another option for a Z-Crystal would be Waterium Z with Hydro Pump, which allows Greninja to OHKO Pokemon like Mega Medicham and Mega Mawile. U-turn can be used to ease prediction and gain momentum in unfavorable matchups, but Greninja would usually rather break down walls on its own. Instead of Spikes, Toxic Spikes can be run to allow Greninja's teammates to pressure Pokemon like Tangrowth and Arghonaut more, but Spikes are often harder to deal with for the opponent and are generally much more useful on most builds.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Set-dependent Switch-ins**: Thanks to its wide movepool, Greninja has no true counters. However, it also cannot fit all of its moves on one set, so there will always be counters to certain sets. Arghonaut and Toxapex can wall any variant of Greninja that's lacking Extrasensory. Bulk-invested (AH) Magearna sets can handle any Greninja set lacking Groundium Z and Dig; however, it they can still be overwhelmed by Low Kick over time. Similarly, more physically defensively invested defensive Celesteela can take on even Low Kick variants, but they're prone to being worn down extremely quickly.

**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Because Greninja is extremely frail, it's extremely prone to faster offensive Pokemon like Mega Alakazam, Tapu Koko, and Weavile. Mega Alakazam is particularly dangerous because it's able to trace Greninja's Protean, which turns it into an absolutely menacing wallbreaker, being almost impossible to deal with defensively. Additionally, common Choice Scarf users like Kitsunoh, Volkraken, and Jumbao can also easily pressure Greninja.

**Priority**: Because of Greninja's frailty, priority users like Mega Medicham, Mega Pinsir, and Mega Mawile can quickly neuter Greninja.

**Mega Sableye**: Mega Sableye manages to prevent Greninja from setting up Spikes, and it can live most attacks that Greninja can throw at it with relative ease. Additionally, it can cripple non-Z-Move sets with Knock Off.

gp 1/2

 

[Lumari]

remove add / fix (comments); (AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; SC=semicolon)
GP 2/2

check

[OVERVIEW]

Thanks to Greninja's great Speed, diverse movepool, and access to Protean, it's one of the premier offensive threats in the CAP metagame, being capable of pressuring offensive and bulky teams alike. This also gives it the freedom to pick its checks and counters. It also has access to Spikes, and thanks to its wide movepool, it's capable of pressuring Tornadus-T, the most common Defogger in the metagame, only adding to the overall pressure it exerts. However, Greninja is really frail and easy to wear down between entry hazards and Life Orb recoil. In addition to this, Greninja suffers from mild four-moveslot syndrome, as it can't always fit all the coverage it wants. Despite its great Speed, it's still outsped by offensive Pokemon like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Koko as well as Choice Scarf users like Kitsunoh and Volkraken, so it can be picked off quite easily.

[SET]
name: Protean Attacker
move 1: Low Kick
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Spikes
move 4: Extrasensory / Gunk Shot
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt / Fightinium Z
ability: Protean
nature: Hasty
evs: 132 Atk / 124 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Low Kick allows Greninja to pressure Steel-types like Ferrothorn, Heatran, Magearna, and Celesteela. Furthermore, it can pressure Chansey quite well. Ice Beam is a good option to pressure Tornadus-T, the most common Defogger, which will often want to keep Spikes off the field. Additionally, it nets good damage against Grass-, Ground-, and Dragon-types like Tangrowth, Necturna, Jumbao, Garchomp, and Pajantom. Extrasensory allows Greninja to keep out Arghonaut and Toxapex, which can otherwise win entry hazard wars against Greninja quite easily. However, Gunk Shot should be run over Instead of Extrasensory, Gunk Shot should be run on Fightinium Z variants to handle Jumbao better, (AC) because the lack of Special Attack investment also means that Ice Beam will not always 2HKO it. Additionally, Gunk Shot hits Tapu Lele and Tangrowth harder than any other move. Alternatively, Dark Pulse is an option on Metronome variants to punish slower Calm Mind users like Reuniclus and Mega Latias, which may attempt to boost past Greninja by increasing their Special Defense otherwise. Additionally, it pressures Aurumoth. Hydro Pump can be run instead of Low Kick to chunk Pokemon like Kitsunoh and Mega Crucibelle, and it has a good chance to 2HKO Calm Mind + Pain Split Magearna.

Set Details
========

A Hasty nature is used to outspeed Tornadus-T, and it is preferred over a Naive nature to switch into Heatran a little better. Life Orb increases Greninja's overall damage output, allowing it to net massive damage on Pokemon like Celesteela, Arghonaut, and Toxapex, but it comes at the cost of being worn down quickly. The given EV spread should only be used with a Life Orb because it's specifically designed to allow Greninja to 2HKO Arghonaut with Extrasensory after Stealth Rock. Expert Belt is an alternative option that can be run to increase Greninja's damage output against Pokemon like Heatran, Arghonaut, and Toxapex without taking recoil damage. It should be noted that you would want to use 216 Special Attack EVs to guarantee a 2HKO on Arghonaut and Toxapex with Extrasensory after Stealth Rock damage. Another alternative is Fightinium Z, which allows Greninja to deal with Pokemon like Chansey, Celesteela, and Rotom-W more reliably. This item should be run with 252 EVs in Attack to maximize its damage output, so forgoing Extrasensory is often desirable because uninvested Extrasensory will fail to 2HKO Arghonaut or Toxapex. Metronome is an option to gradually build up damage against Calm Mind users like Reuniclus and Mega Latias with Dark Pulse. It also means Toxapex and Arghonaut can't possibly try and stall Extrasensory Greninja out with Life Orb recoil. With this item, you will want maximum Special Attack investment. If dropping Low Kick for Hydro Pump, you should run maximum Special Attack investment.

Usage Tips
========

To make optimal use out of Greninja, you should attempt to set Spikes or pressure checks like Arghonaut, Toxapex, and Jumbao whenever it forces a switch. However, be wary of attacking too often, because Life Orb recoil will quickly rack up in tandem with damage from entry hazards. Although its bulk is quite poor, Greninja can be used to switch into Heatran once or twice to check it. However, generally speaking, you should not bring Greninja directly into play. Instead, try and bring it in on predicted switches and with VoltTurn support. If Greninja is running Fightinium Z, be careful of using it immediately, because your opponent might scout for it.

Team Options
========

Psychic-types like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Lele benefit greatly from Greninja's presence. Not only do they benefit from enjoy Greninja's ability to wear down Steel-types with Low Kick, they also massively appreciate Spikes because of the amount of switches they force. If Greninja is not running Extrasensory itself, these Pokemon become even more important to take advantage of Arghonaut and Toxapex. For similar reasons, setup sweepers like Magearna, Necturna, and Mega Mawile also benefit greatly from Greninja's presence. Because Greninja is so frail, it's often optimal to pair it with VoltTurn users like Krilowatt and Tornadus-T to bring it into play safely. Special wallbreakers such as Volkraken, Magearna, and Mega Latios also capitalize on Greninja's ability to weaken Chansey, the best blanket check to special attackers in general.

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Toxic Spikes / Hidden Power Fire
item: Focus Sash
ability: Protean
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Taunt is run to prevent Greninja from being becoming setup bait for Pokemon like Aurumoth and Magearna. Additionally, it prevents Defog from Pokemon that Greninja can't really touch, like Rotom-W. Ice Beam is particularly important for this set to put offensive pressure on Defog users like Tornadus-T and Zapdos. It also pressures Ground- and Grass-types like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Jumbao, and Necturna. Toxic Spikes is the preferred fourth move to wear down bulkier foes like Arghonaut and Tangrowth for Greninja's teammates. Alternatively, Hidden Power Fire can be run to deal with Ferrothorn and Magearna.

Set Details
========

A Focus Sash is mandatory to guarantee that Greninja gets to set up entry hazards at the start of a match.

Usage Tips
========

Because Greninja is a lead for hyper offensive teams, it's pretty straightforward to use. However, against Pokemon like Mega Sableye and dual screens Tapu Koko, consider not leading with Greninja, (AC) because they can prevent it from setting entry hazards. Greninja should aim to set multiple layers of Spikes and Toxic Spikes and pressure Defog users like Tornadus-T to keep them up early-game. If the majority of the opposition is grounded, one layer of Spikes is often enough to pressure these teams. After that, if the opposition does not have a Poison-type like Toxapex or Amoonguss, Greninja should often prioritize setting up Toxic Spikes.

Team Options
========

Greninja should primarily be used on hyper offensive builds that can force many switches and thus make optimal use of Spikes. Greninja pairs particularly well with other leads that can set Stealth Rock like Landorus-T and Excadrill to form an entry hazard stacking core on these type teams. This set excels with teammates that make use of Spikes. Thus, setup sweepers like Magearna, Necturna, and Hawlucha are optimal on these kind of teams because they can force many switches and benefit greatly from Spikes damage.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Because of Greninja's wide movepool, it has a wide variety of moves that it can plausibly run. Groundium Z can be run alongside Dig to reliably overwhelm Pokemon like Magearna and Toxapex, but it leaves Greninja unable to really wear down Ferrothorn (RC) and it's completely walled by Celesteela. Additionally, Dig is incredibly easy to play around considering the popularity of Flying-types and Levitate users. Another option for a Z-Crystal would be Waterium Z with Hydro Pump, which allows Greninja to OHKO Pokemon like Mega Medicham and Mega Mawile. U-turn can be used to ease prediction and gain momentum in unfavorable matchups, but Greninja would usually rather break down walls on its own. Instead of Spikes, Toxic Spikes can be run to allow Greninja's teammates to pressure Pokemon like Tangrowth and Arghonaut more, but Spikes are often harder to deal with for the opponent and are generally much more useful on most builds.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Set-dependent Switch-ins**: Thanks to its wide movepool, Greninja has no true counters. However, it also cannot fit all of its moves on one set, so there will always be counters to certain sets. Arghonaut and Toxapex can wall any variant of Greninja that's lacking Extrasensory. Bulk-invested Magearna sets can handle any Greninja set lacking Groundium Z and Dig; however, they can still be overwhelmed by Low Kick over time. Similarly, more physically defensive Celesteela can take on even Low Kick variants, but they're prone to being worn down extremely quickly.

**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Because Greninja is extremely frail, it's extremely prone susceptible to faster offensive Pokemon like Mega Alakazam, Tapu Koko, and Weavile. Mega Alakazam is particularly dangerous because it's able to Trace Greninja's Protean, which turns it into an absolutely menacing wallbreaker, being that is almost impossible to deal with defensively. Additionally, common Choice Scarf users like Kitsunoh, Volkraken, and Jumbao can also easily pressure Greninja.

**Priority**: Because of Greninja's frailty, priority users like Mega Medicham, Mega Pinsir, and Mega Mawile can quickly neuter Greninja.

**Mega Sableye**: Mega Sableye manages to prevent Greninja from setting up Spikes, and it can live most attacks that Greninja can throw at it with relative ease. Additionally, it can cripple non-Z-Move sets with Knock Off.


[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Jordy, 395754]]
- Quality checked by: [[xavgb, 231402], [Mx, 298148], [G-Luke, 264912]]
- Grammar checked by: [[GMars, 273636], [, ]]