NU Heliolisk

[asa]

[QC Checks: Blast / Shadestep / quziel]
[GP Checks: Mr. Uncompetitive / The Dutch Plumberjack]

[OVERVIEW]

Heliolisk is one of NU's most potent wallbreakers as a result of its stellar offensive typing, high Special Attack, and great Speed tier that allows it to outpace some of the most common Pokemon in the tier in Delphox and Toxicroak. Heliolisk is also one of the tier's best offensive pivots because of its access to a strong Volt Switch, which is hard to stop due to Heliolisk's impressive coverage in moves such as Hyper Voice, Surf, and Focus Blast. Because of the aforementioned factors, Heliolisk can easily avoid most forms of direct damage and pivot out of unfavorable matchups. Due to Dry Skin, Heliolisk is able to switch into Water-type moves and regain HP, making it the tier's premier Slowbro exploiter. However, Heliolisk's bulk is rather poor, especially physically, which prevents it from switching in on weaker, resisted attacks and on defensive Water-types such as Slowbro and Slowking due to their access to moves such as Psyshock. While Heliolisk's Speed tier is solid, it is still outsped and forced out by Pokemon such as Sneasel and Whimsicott. Heliolisk is reliant on Life Orb for its damage output, which doesn't couple well with its below average bulk, its vulnerability to all forms of entry hazards, and how often it wants to switch.

[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Volt Switch
move 2: Hyper Voice
move 3: Focus Blast / Thunderbolt
move 4: Surf
item: Life Orb
ability: Dry Skin
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Volt Switch allows Heliolisk to pivot out of unfavorable matchups while threatening Flying- and Water-types such as Xatu and Slowbro and hitting neutral targets fairly hard. Hyper Voice provides good coverage alongside Volt Switch, hitting Dragon-, Grass-, and opposing Electric-types such as Druddigon, Venusaur, and Vikavolt neutrally. Focus Blast hits Pokemon such as Guzzlord, Silvally-Steel, and Type: Null harder than any of Heliolisk's other coverage moves and gives it the ability to threaten entry hazard setters such as Steelix, Piloswine, and Ferroseed; its low accuracy hinders its reliability, however. Thunderbolt is an alternative to this that gives Heliolisk a stronger Electric-type attack that doesn't force it to switch out, but Focus Blast tends to be more useful, since without it, Heliolisk struggles with the aforementioned Pokemon. Surf is a more reliable method of dealing with Rhydon and Steelix, and it also threatens Fire-types like Delphox and Incineroar. Grass Knot is an option that still retains coverage against the likes of Piloswine and the aforementioned Rhydon as well as Gastrodon; however, this causes Heliolisk to lose out on coverage for Pokemon such as Palossand and Magmortar.

Set Details
========

The investment in Speed and Special Attack maximizes Heliolisk's offensive presence and Speed, with a Timid nature allowing it outspeed Pokemon such as Delphox and Sigilyph. Dry Skin gives Heliolisk the ability to freely pivot into Water-type moves such as Scald from Slowbro, Aqua Jet from Samurott, and Soak from Pyukumuku and replenish a bit of its HP. However, Heliolisk must be wary of other attacks from the previously mentioned Water-types such as Psyshock, Megahorn, and Toxic, respectively. Life Orb increases Heliolisk's damage output, making it harder to switch into; it does, however, cause Heliolisk to take damage with every attack.

Usage Tips
========

Heliolisk is mainly a wallbreaker, although it can also clean late-game due to its high Speed and Special Attack. Due to Heliolisk's average bulk, it should never take hits when it doesn't need to, as this wears it down even faster and will prevent it from effectively breaking. The ideal ways to get Heliolisk in are after a teammate is KOed or through the use of Parting Shot, U-turn, or Volt Switch. However, Heliolisk can switch into a predicted Water-type moves from Pokemon like Vaporeon and Slowbro because of Dry Skin and generate momentum with Volt Switch. Predicting Electric-immune foes to switch in and using the appropriate coverage against them is ideal, as this will allow Heliolisk to more reliably use Volt Switch mid- or late-game.

Team Options
========

Entry hazard setters such as Garbodor, Steelix, and Qwilfish are good partners, since the entry hazards are good for pressuring Heliolisk's switch-ins, allowing it to break them more easily. In return, Heliolisk pressures Xatu, an absolute roadblock for them. Garbodor and Qwilfish are also capable of acting as Fighting-type checks for Heliolisk. Entry hazard control from the likes of Silvally-Steel and Xatu is also important, since it prevents Heliolisk from taking additional damage from entry hazards on top of recoil from Life Orb. Fire-types such as Delphox, Incineroar, and Magmortar appreciate Heliolisk switching into Water-type attacks for them and can break through defensive Grass-types in return. Incineroar and Magmortar are also capable of severely weakening Type: Null for Heliolisk with Malicious Moonsault and All-Out Pummeling, respectively. Fighting-types such as Medicham and Toxicroak are capable of pushing through a lot of the specially defensive Pokemon that Heliolisk finds itself struggling with and appreciate Heliolisk getting them in against these Pokemon for free with Volt Switch. Checks to Fighting-types such as Mesprit, Scyther, and Slowbro are also rather useful, since most Fighting-types can take one hit and KO Heliolisk in response. Other pivots such as Braviary, Passimian, Scyther, and Silvally-Steel pair well with Heliolisk, as they complete a VoltTurn core and keep both pressure and momentum going.

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

Heliolisk can make for a decent user of different Z-Moves such as Fightinium Z, Normalium Z, and Electrium Z, as each give it the ability to bypass some of its harder checks without the drawback of recoil damage. However, Heliolisk is much weaker without the boost in power from Life Orb, becoming unable to 2HKO foes such as Druddigon and Vileplume. Dark Pulse can be used to deal with Mismagius without forcing Heliolisk switch out as well as to take on Rotom and Gourgeist-XL; however, Heliolisk's other coverage moves tend to be more useful. Choice Specs can be used to further increase Heliolisk's damage output and doesn't come with the drawback of Life Orb recoil, but the ability to switch between moves is a major part in what makes Heliolisk as threatening as it is. Hidden Power Ice can be used to hit certain checks such as Altaria and Torterra for 4x effective damage, but Heliolisk doesn't appreciate dropping a move for it. Choice Scarf allows Heliolisk to outspeed some of its offensive checks like Sceptile, Choice Scarf Scyther, and +2 Klinklang, but Heliolisk will be much weaker than when using a Life Orb and lose out on its ability to alternate between moves. If Heliolisk is being used on a sun team, Solar Power can be used to increase its damage output under sun, though the additional recoil damage stacking with Life Orb recoil is very unappealing.

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

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: While Heliolisk is powerful, it has problems with breaking through certain specially bulky Pokemon such as Altaria, Assault Vest Hariyama, Mega Audino, Type: Null, and Venusaur. In return, they can either KO it with their STAB moves or cripple it with status.

**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon that can naturally outspeed Heliolisk such as Sneasel and Whimsicott are capable of dealing heavy amounts of damage to it with their respective STAB attacks, with Sneasel being able to Pursuit trap Heliolisk. Heliolisk is also threatened by faster Choice Scarf users such as Braviary, Delphox, Passimian, and Scyther.

**Priority**: Priority moves from the likes of Piloswine, Medicham, and Hitmonlee threaten Heliolisk immensely due to its poor bulk.

**Residual Damage**: Due to Heliolisk's vulnerability to all forms of entry hazards, status, and weather coupled with the recoil damage it takes from Life Orb, it is worn down rather quickly.

 

[asa]

should be good now i think.

 

[Blast]

There isn't much need to talk about Helio's type weaknesses in the Overview, since it's so frail even most neutral attacks will KO it, particularly on the physical side. Speaking of which, its frailty should be emphasized more there. Mention that even with a Water immunity it has difficulty switching into defensive Water-types like the Slowbrothers.

Also mention that its Speed tier just falls short of Sneasel and Whimsicott.

Not so sure about Altaria in TO, Helio's aggressive momentum-based playstyle and Altaria's passive momentum-draining playstyle clash pretty hard. Xatu would probably be a better mon to put in that spot.

Lastly, a little nitpicky, but replace Shiftry and Sneasel with different priority users. The former is incredibly uncommon and the latter already naturally outspeeds Helio.

QC 1/3 when you're done with this allstarapology

 

[Shadestep]

comments in bold

[OVERVIEW]

• Heliolisk is one of NU's most potent wallbreakers as a result of its stellar offensive typing, high Special Attack, and great Speed tier that allows it to outpace some of the most common Pokemon in the tier like Delphox. Add another example here.
• Heliolisk is also one of the tier's best offensive pivots because of its access to a strong Volt Switch, which is hard to stop due to Heliolisk's impressive coverage in moves such as Hyper Voice, Surf, and Focus Blast.
• Because of the aforementioned factors, Heliolisk can easily avoid most forms of direct damage and pivot out of unfavorable matchups.
• Dry Skin is also a rather useful ability, as it allows Heliolisk to switch into and take advantage of Water-type moves from Pokemon such as Silvally-Water and Samurott.
• However, Heliolisk's bulk is rather poor—especially its physical bulk—, which limits its ability to switch in on defensive Water-types such as Slowbro and Slowking, and prevents it from convincingly switching in on even weaker, resisted attacks.
• While Heliolisk's Speed tier is solid, it is still outsped and threatened out by Pokemon such as Sneasel and Whimsicott.
• Heliolisk is reliant on Life Orb for its damage output, which doesn't couple well with its below average bulk, lack of recovery, and vulnerability to all forms of entry hazards due to this leaving it worn down quickly.
• Add a line somewhere here about Heliolisk being one of the best Slowbro-abusers in the tier and put it as line 4.

[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Volt Switch
move 2: Hyper Voice
move 3: Focus Blast / Thunderbolt
move 4: Surf
item: Life Orb
ability: Dry Skin
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

• Volt Switch allows Heliolisk to pivot out of unfavorable matchups while threatening Flying- and Water-types such as Xatu and Slowbro and hitting neutral targets fairly hard.
• Hyper Voice provides good coverage alongside Volt Switch, hitting the Dragon-, Grass-, and opposing Electric-types that resist Volt Switch neutrally. Name some examples.
• Focus Blast hits Pokemon such as Cryogonal, Guzzlord, Silvally-Steel, Togedemaru, and Type: Null harder than any of its other coverage moves, and gives it the ability to threaten entry hazard setters such as Ferroseed, Rhydon, and Steelix. Its low accuracy hinders its reliability, however. Remove Rhydon and replace it with Piloswine. Also, minor detail, but put Ferroseed as the last example instead of the first.
• Thunderbolt is an alternative to this that gives Heliolisk a stronger Electric-type attack that doesn't force it to switch out, but Focus Blast tends to be more useful since without it, Heliolisk struggles with the aforementioned Pokemon.
• Surf is a more reliable method of dealing with Rhydon and Steelix, and it also threatens Fire-types like Delphox and Incineroar..
• Grass Knot is an option that still retains coverage against the likes of Piloswine and the aforementioned Rhydon, as well as Gastrodon; however, this causes Heliolisk to lose out on coverage for Fire-types. Add examples.

Set Details
========

• The investment in Speed and Special Attack serves to maximize Heliolisk's offensive presence and Speed, with a Timid nature allowing it outspeed Pokemon such as Mismagius and Sigilyph. Remove Mismagius and replace it with Delphox
• Dry Skin gives Heliolisk the ability to pivot into Water-type moves such as Scald from Slowbro, Aqua Jet from Samurott, and Soak from Pyukumuku and replenish a bit of its health. Note that it does have to watch out for other moves from these Pokémon, most notably Toxic.
• Life Orb increases Heliolisk's damage output, making it harder to switch into. This, however, comes with the undesirable drawback of recoil damage with every attack.

Usage Tips
========

• Heliolisk is mainly a wallbreaker, although it can also clean late-game due to its high Speed and Special Attack.
• Due to Heliolisk's average bulk, it should never take hits when it doesn't need to, as this wears it down even faster and will prevent from effectively breaking. The most ideal ways to get Heliolisk in are after a teammate is KOed or through the use of Parting Shot, U-turn, and Volt Switch.
• However, Heliolisk can switch into a predicted Water-type moves from Pokemon like Vaporeon because of Dry Skin and generate momentum with Volt Switch. Add Slowbro
• Predicting Electric-immune foes to switch in and using the appropriate coverage against them is ideal, as this will allow Heliolisk to more reliably use Volt Switch mid-to-late-game.

Team Options
========

• Entry hazard setters such as Garbodor, Steelix, and Qwilfish are good partners since the entry hazards are good for pressuring Heliolisk's switch-ins and allowing it to break them easier. In return, Heliolisk pressures Xatu, an absolute roadblock for them. Garbodor and Qwilfish are also capable of acting as Fighting-type checks for Heliolisk.
• Entry hazard control from the likes of Silvally-Steel and Xatu is also important, since it prevents Heliolisk from taking additional damage from entry hazards on top of recoil from Life Orb.
• Fire-types such as Delphox, Incineroar, and Magmortar appreciate Heliolisk switching into Water-type attacks for them, and can break through defensive Grass-types in return. Incineroar and Magmortar are also capable of severely weakening Type: Null with Malicious Moonsault and All-Out Pummeling for Heliolisk, respectively.
• Fighting-types such as Hariyama, Sawk, and Toxicroak are capable of pushing through a lot of the specially defensive Pokemon that Heliolisk finds itself struggling with, and appreciate Heliolisk getting them in against these Pokemon for free with Volt Switch. Hariyama and Sawk also offer Knock Off support to make Heliolisk's checks less effective at switching in. Remove Hariyama and Sawk and add Medicham.
• Checks to Fighting-types are also rather useful since most of them can take one hit and KO it in response, so Pokemon such as Mesprit, Scyther, and Slowbro pair well with it.
• Other pivots such as Braviary, Passimian, Scyther, and Silvally-Steel pair well with Heliolisk, as they complete a VoltTurn core and keep both pressure and momentum going.
• Heliolisk has a place on rain teams due to its ability to make use of a perfectly accurate Thunder under rain and Dry Skin cancelling out Life Orb recoil, so Rain Dance users such as Liepard, Ludicolo, and Uxie can prove useful.

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

• Heliolisk can make for a decent user of different Z-Moves such as Fightinium Z, Normalium Z, and Electrium Z, as each give it the ability to bypass some of it's harder checks while not coming with the drawback of recoil damage. However, Heliolisk is much weaker without the boost in power from Life Orb. Note some 2HKOs / OHKOs it misses out on without Life Orb
• Dark Pulse can be used to deal with Rotom, as well as Gourgeist-XL and Mismagius without being forced to switch out; however, Heliolisk's other coverage moves tend to be more useful.
• Dragon Pulse can also be used to 2HKO both Altaria and Druddigon, but Heliolisk also has a hard time giving up a much more useful coverage move for this.
• Choice Specs can be used to further increase Heliolisk's damage output and doesn't come with the drawback of Life Orb recoil, but the ability to switch between moves is a major part in what makes Heliolisk as threatening as it is. Move this part up a couple lines,definitely before Dragon Pulse.
• Choice Scarf allows Heliolisk to outspeed some of its offensive checks like Sceptile, Choice Scarf Scyther, and +2 Klinklang, but it is much weaker using a Choice Scarf and using it causes Heliolisk to lose out on its ability to alternate between moves.
• Solar Power can be used to increase Heliolisk's damage output under sun if it is being used on a sun team, though the additional recoil damage stacking with Life Orb recoil is very unappealing.

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

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: While Heliolisk is powerful, it has problems with breaking through certain specially bulky Pokemon such as Altaria, Assault Vest Hariyama, Type: Null, and Venusaur. In return, they can either KO it with their STAB moves or cripple it with status. Add Mega-Audino.

**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon that can naturally outspeed Heliolisk such as Sneasel and Whimsicott are capable of dealing heavy amounts of damage to Heliolisk with their respective STAB attacks, with Sneasel being able to Pursuit trap Heliolisk. Heliolisk is also threatened by faster Choice Scarf users such as Braviary, Delphox, Passimian, and Scyther.

**Priority**: Heliolisk's physical frailty leaves it fairly vulnerable to priority moves from the likes of Alolan Raticate, Guts Hariyama, and Hitmonlee, and they can pick it off with enough chip damage. Aren't there more relevant forms of Priority Moves in the meta? i'm not really sure, but like Fake Out + BP Medicham would be a good example here to pick off weakened Heliolisk.
**Residual Damage**: Due to Heliolisk's vulnerability to all forms of entry hazards, status, and weather coupled with the recoil damage it takes from Life Orb, it is worn down rather quickly.

QC 2/3 when you implement this

 

[quziel]

[QC Checks: Blast / Shadestep / ?]
[GP Checks: ? / ?]

[OVERVIEW]

Heliolisk is one of NU's most potent wallbreakers as a result of its stellar offensive typing, high Special Attack, and great Speed tier that allows it to outpace some of the most common Pokemon in the tier like Delphox and Toxicroak. Heliolisk is also one of the tier's best offensive pivots because of its access to a strong Volt Switch, which is hard to stop due to Heliolisk's impressive coverage in moves such as Hyper Voice, Surf, and Focus Blast. Because of the aforementioned factors, Heliolisk can easily avoid most forms of direct damage and pivot out of unfavorable matchups. Due to Dry Skin, Heliolisk is able to switch into Water-type moves and regain HP, making it the tier's premier Slowbro exploiter. However, Heliolisk's bulk is rather poor—especially its physical bulk—, which limits its ability to switch in on defensive Water-types such as Slowbro and Slowking not immediately clear, would consider mentioning psyshock, and prevents it from convincingly switching in on even weaker, resisted attacks. While Heliolisk's Speed tier is solid, it is still outsped and forced out by Pokemon such as Sneasel and Whimsicott. Heliolisk is reliant on Life Orb for its damage output, which doesn't couple well with its below average bulk, lack of recovery, and vulnerability to all forms of entry hazards due to this leaving it worn down quickly unsure how I'd change this, but just note that it naturally wants to switch a lot, making it get worn down real quick by hazards, could easily cut lack of recovery section to make room.

[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Volt Switch
move 2: Hyper Voice
move 3: Focus Blast / Thunderbolt
move 4: Surf
item: Life Orb
ability: Dry Skin
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Volt Switch allows Heliolisk to pivot out of unfavorable matchups while threatening Flying- and Water-types such as Xatu and Slowbro and hitting neutral targets fairly hard. Hyper Voice provides good coverage alongside Volt Switch, hitting Dragon-, Grass-, and opposing Electric-types such as Druddigon, Venusaur, and Vikavolt neutrally. Focus Blast hits Pokemon such as Cryogonal, Guzzlord, Silvally-Steel, Togedemaru, and Type: Null harder than any of its other coverage moves, and gives it the ability to threaten entry hazard setters such as Steelix, Piloswine, and Ferroseed. Its low accuracy hinders its reliability, however consider cutting the number of examples a tad, and combining sentences to make flow better. Thunderbolt is an alternative to this that gives Heliolisk a stronger Electric-type attack that doesn't force it to switch out, but Focus Blast tends to be more useful since without it, Heliolisk struggles with the aforementioned Pokemon. Surf is a more reliable method of dealing with Rhydon and Steelix, and it also threatens Fire-types like Delphox and Incineroar. Grass Knot is an option that still retains coverage against the likes of Piloswine and the aforementioned Rhydon, as well as Gastrodon; however, this causes Heliolisk to lose out on coverage for Fire-types such as Magmortar Mention this is your strongest hit vs Palossand.

Set Details
========

The investment in Speed and Special Attack maximizes Heliolisk's offensive presence and Speed, with a Timid nature allowing it outspeed Pokemon such as Delphox and Sigilyph. Dry Skin gives Heliolisk the ability to freely pivot into Water-type moves such as Scald from Slowbro, Aqua Jet from Samurott, and Soak from Pyukumuku and replenish a bit of its HP. However, Heliolisk must be wary of other attacks from the previously mentioned Water-types such as Psyshock, Megahorn, and Toxic, respectively. Life Orb increases Heliolisk's damage output, making it harder to switch into. This, however, comes with the undesirable drawback of recoil damage per attack combine this with the previous sentence.

Usage Tips
========

Heliolisk is mainly a wallbreaker, although it can also clean late-game due to its high Speed and Special Attack. Due to Heliolisk's average bulk, it should never take hits when it doesn't need to, as this wears it down even faster and will prevent from effectively breaking. The most ideal ways to get Heliolisk in are after a teammate is KOed or through the use of Parting Shot, U-turn, and Volt Switch. However, Heliolisk can switch into a predicted Water-type moves from Pokemon like Vaporeon and Slowbro because of Dry Skin and generate momentum with Volt Switch. Predicting Electric-immune foes to switch in and using the appropriate coverage against them is ideal, as this will allow Heliolisk to more reliably use Volt Switch mid-to-late-game.

Team Options
========

Entry hazard setters such as Garbodor, Steelix, and Qwilfish are good partners since the entry hazards are good for pressuring Heliolisk's switch-ins and allowing it to break them easier. In return, Heliolisk pressures Xatu, an absolute roadblock for them. Garbodor and Qwilfish are also capable of acting as Fighting-type checks for Heliolisk. Entry hazard control from the likes of Silvally-Steel and Xatu is also important, since it prevents Heliolisk from taking additional damage from entry hazards on top of recoil from Life Orb. Fire-types such as Delphox, Incineroar, and Magmortar appreciate Heliolisk switching into Water-type attacks for them, and can break through defensive Grass-types in return. Incineroar and Magmortar are also capable of severely weakening Type: Null for Heliolisk with Malicious Moonsault and All-Out Pummeling, respectively. Fighting-types such as Medicham and Toxicroak are capable of pushing through a lot of the specially defensive Pokemon that Heliolisk finds itself struggling with, and appreciate Heliolisk getting them in against these Pokemon for free with Volt Switch. Checks to Fighting-types are also rather useful, since most of them can take one hit and KO Heliolisk in response, so Pokemon such as Mesprit, Scyther, and Slowbro pair well with it. Other pivots such as Braviary, Passimian, Scyther, and Silvally-Steel pair well with Heliolisk, as they complete a VoltTurn core and keep both pressure and momentum going. Heliolisk has a place on rain teams due to its ability to make use of a perfectly accurate Thunder under rain and Dry Skin cancelling out Life Orb recoil, so Rain Dance users such as Liepard, Ludicolo, and Uxie can prove useful Rain isn't really common enough, to deserve mentioning, and doesn't really always have room for lisk.

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

Heliolisk can make for a decent user of different Z-Moves such as Fightinium Z, Normalium Z, and Electrium Z, as each give it the ability to bypass some of it's harder checks while not coming with the drawback of recoil damage. However, Heliolisk is much weaker without the boost in power from Life Orb, and unable to 2HKO foes such as Druddigon and Vileplume. Dark Pulse can be used to deal with Rotom, as well as Gourgeist-XL and Mismagius without being forced to switch out; however, Heliolisk's other coverage moves tend to be more useful. Choice Specs can be used to further increase Heliolisk's damage output and doesn't come with the drawback of Life Orb recoil, but the ability to switch between moves is a major part in what makes Heliolisk as threatening as it is. Dragon Pulse 2HKOs both Altaria and Druddigon, but Heliolisk also has a hard time giving up a much more useful coverage move for it Dragon pulse isn't consistent enough to merit use, HP Ice if anything for Alt + Torterra. Choice Scarf allows Heliolisk to outspeed some of its offensive checks like Sceptile, Choice Scarf Scyther, and +2 Klinklang, but it is much weaker using a Choice Scarf and using it causes Heliolisk to lose out on its ability to alternate between moves. Solar Power can be used to increase Heliolisk's damage output under sun if it is being used on a sun team, though the additional recoil damage stacking with Life Orb recoil is very unappealing.

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

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: While Heliolisk is powerful, it has problems with breaking through certain specially bulky Pokemon such as Altaria, Assault Vest Hariyama, Mega Audino, Type: Null, and Venusaur. In return, they can either KO it with their STAB moves or cripple it with status.

**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon that can naturally outspeed Heliolisk such as Sneasel and Whimsicott are capable of dealing heavy amounts of damage to Heliolisk with their respective STAB attacks, with Sneasel being able to Pursuit trap Heliolisk. Heliolisk is also threatened by faster Choice Scarf users such as Braviary, Delphox, Passimian, and Scyther.

**Priority**: Heliolisk's frailty leaves it fairly vulnerable to priority moves from the likes of Medicham, Hitmonlee, and Toxicroak, and they can pick it off with enough chip damage.

**Residual Damage**: Due to Heliolisk's vulnerability to all forms of entry hazards, status, and weather coupled with the recoil damage it takes from Life Orb, it is worn down rather quickly.

Changes in Red
QC 3/3 Good job

 

[Mr. Uncompetitive]

GP 1/2

Additions, (AC) = add comma
Removals, (RC) = remove comma
Comments

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Heliolisk is one of NU's most potent wallbreakers as a result of its stellar offensive typing, high Special Attack, and great Speed tier that allows it to outpace some of the most common Pokemon in the tier in Delphox and Toxicroak. Heliolisk is also one of the tier's best offensive pivots because of its access to a strong Volt Switch, which is hard to stop due to Heliolisk's impressive coverage in moves such as Hyper Voice, Surf, and Focus Blast. Because of the aforementioned factors, Heliolisk can easily avoid most forms of direct damage and pivot out of unfavorable matchups. Due to Dry Skin, Heliolisk is able to switch into Water-type moves and regain HP, making it the tier's premier Slowbro exploiter. However, Heliolisk's bulk is rather poor— (remove emdash) , (AC) especially its physical bulk— (remove emdash) , which prevents it from switching in on both weaker, resisted attacks and defensive Water-types such as Slowbro and Slowking due to their access to moves such as Psyshock. While Heliolisk's Speed tier is solid, it is still outsped and forced out by Pokemon such as Sneasel and Whimsicott. Heliolisk is reliant on Life Orb for its damage output, which doesn't couple well with its below average bulk, its vulnerability to all forms of entry hazards, and how often it wants to switch due to this leaving it worn down quickly.

[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Volt Switch
move 2: Hyper Voice
move 3: Focus Blast / Thunderbolt
move 4: Surf
item: Life Orb
ability: Dry Skin
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Volt Switch allows Heliolisk to pivot out of unfavorable matchups while threatening Flying- and Water-types such as Xatu and Slowbro and hitting neutral targets fairly hard. Hyper Voice provides good coverage alongside Volt Switch, hitting Dragon-, Grass-, and opposing Electric-types such as Druddigon, Venusaur, and Vikavolt neutrally. Focus Blast hits Pokemon such as Guzzlord, Silvally-Steel, and Type: Null harder than any of its other coverage moves, (RC) and gives it the ability to threaten entry hazard setters such as Steelix, Piloswine, and Ferroseed; its low accuracy hinders its reliability, however. Thunderbolt is an alternative to this that gives Heliolisk a stronger Electric-type attack that doesn't force it to switch out, but Focus Blast tends to be more useful, (AC) since without it, Heliolisk struggles with the aforementioned Pokemon. Surf is a more reliable method of dealing with Rhydon and Steelix, and it also threatens Fire-types like Delphox and Incineroar. Grass Knot is an option that still retains coverage against the likes of Piloswine and the aforementioned Rhydon, as well as Gastrodon; however, this causes Heliolisk to lose out on coverage for Pokemon such as Palossand and Magmortar.

Set Details
========

The investment in Speed and Special Attack maximizes Heliolisk's offensive presence and Speed, with a Timid nature allowing it outspeed Pokemon such as Delphox and Sigilyph. Dry Skin gives Heliolisk the ability to freely pivot into Water-type moves such as Scald from Slowbro, Aqua Jet from Samurott, and Soak from Pyukumuku and replenish a bit of its HP. However, Heliolisk must be wary of other attacks from the previously mentioned Water-types such as Psyshock, Megahorn, and Toxic, respectively. Life Orb increases Heliolisk's damage output, making it harder to switch into; it does, however, cause Heliolisk to take damage with every attack.

Usage Tips
========

Heliolisk is mainly a wallbreaker, although it can also clean late-game due to its high Speed and Special Attack. Due to Heliolisk's average bulk, it should never take hits when it doesn't need to, as this wears it down even faster and will prevent it from effectively breaking. The most ideal ways to get Heliolisk in are after a teammate is KOed or through the use of Parting Shot, U-turn, and or Volt Switch. However, Heliolisk can switch into a predicted Water-type moves from Pokemon like Vaporeon and Slowbro because of Dry Skin and generate momentum with Volt Switch. Predicting Electric-immune foes to switch in and using the appropriate coverage against them is ideal, as this will allow Heliolisk to more reliably use Volt Switch mid-to-late-game mid- or late-game.

Team Options
========

Entry hazard setters such as Garbodor, Steelix, and Qwilfish are good partners, (AC) since the entry hazards are good for pressuring Heliolisk's switch-ins and , (AC) allowing it to break them easier. In return, Heliolisk pressures Xatu, an absolute roadblock for them. Garbodor and Qwilfish are also capable of acting as Fighting-type checks for Heliolisk. Entry hazard control from the likes of Silvally-Steel and Xatu is also important, since it prevents Heliolisk from taking additional damage from entry hazards on top of recoil from Life Orb. Fire-types such as Delphox, Incineroar, and Magmortar appreciate Heliolisk switching into Water-type attacks for them, (RC) and can break through defensive Grass-types in return. Incineroar and Magmortar are also capable of severely weakening Type: Null for Heliolisk with Malicious Moonsault and All-Out Pummeling, respectively. Fighting-types such as Medicham and Toxicroak are capable of pushing through a lot of the specially defensive Pokemon that Heliolisk finds itself struggling with, (RC) and appreciate Heliolisk getting them in against these Pokemon for free with Volt Switch. Checks to Fighting-types such as Mesprit, Scyther, and Slowbro are also rather useful, since most of them Fighting-types can take one hit and KO Heliolisk in response, so Pokemon such as Mesprit, Scyther, and Slowbro pair well with it. Other pivots such as Braviary, Passimian, Scyther, and Silvally-Steel pair well with Heliolisk, as they complete a VoltTurn core and keep both pressure and momentum going.

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

Heliolisk can make for a decent user of different Z-Moves such as Fightinium Z, Normalium Z, and Electrium Z, as each give it the ability to bypass some of it's its harder checks while not coming with the drawback of recoil damage. However, Heliolisk is much weaker without the boost in power from Life Orb, and unable to 2HKO foes such as Druddigon and Vileplume. Dark Pulse can be used to deal with Rotom, (RC) as well as Gourgeist-XL and Mismagius without being forced to switch out (does "not being forced to switch out" also apply to Rotom? If so, the cleanest phrasing here would be "...deal with Rotom, Gourgeist-XL, and Mismagius without..."); however, Heliolisk's other coverage moves tend to be more useful. Choice Specs can be used to further increase Heliolisk's damage output and doesn't come with the drawback of Life Orb recoil, but the ability to switch between moves is a major part in what makes Heliolisk as threatening as it is. Hidden Power Ice can be used to hit certain checks such as Altaria and Torterra for 4x effective damage, but Heliolisk doesn't appreciate dropping a move for it. Choice Scarf allows Heliolisk to outspeed some of its offensive checks like Sceptile, Choice Scarf Scyther, and +2 Klinklang, but it is much weaker using a Choice Scarf and using it causes Heliolisk to Heliolisk will be much weaker than when using a Life Orb and lose out on its ability to alternate between moves. (repeated words and awkward phrasing, I think this may work better) If Heliolisk is being used on a sun team, (AC) Solar Power can be used to increase Heliolisk's its damage output under sun if it is being used on a sun team, though the additional recoil damage stacking with Life Orb recoil is very unappealing.

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

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: While Heliolisk is powerful, it has problems with breaking through certain specially bulky Pokemon such as Altaria, Assault Vest Hariyama, Mega Audino, Type: Null, and Venusaur. In return, they can either KO it with their STAB moves or cripple it with status.

**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon that can naturally outspeed Heliolisk such as Sneasel and Whimsicott are capable of dealing heavy amounts of damage to Heliolisk it with their respective STAB attacks, with Sneasel being able to Pursuit trap Heliolisk. Heliolisk is also threatened by faster Choice Scarf users such as Braviary, Delphox, Passimian, and Scyther.

**Priority**: Heliolisk's frailty leaves it fairly vulnerable to priority moves from the likes of Medicham, Hitmonlee, and Toxicroak, and as they can pick it off with enough chip damage. (I still feel like this can be condensed a little...)

**Residual Damage**: Due to Heliolisk's vulnerability to all forms of entry hazards, status, and weather coupled with the recoil damage it takes from Life Orb, it is worn down rather quickly.

 

[Lumari]

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

check

[OVERVIEW]

Heliolisk is one of NU's most potent wallbreakers as a result of its stellar offensive typing, high Special Attack, and great Speed tier that allows it to outpace some of the most common Pokemon in the tier in Delphox and Toxicroak. Heliolisk is also one of the tier's best offensive pivots because of its access to a strong Volt Switch, which is hard to stop due to Heliolisk's impressive coverage in moves such as Hyper Voice, Surf, and Focus Blast. Because of the aforementioned factors, Heliolisk can easily avoid most forms of direct damage and pivot out of unfavorable matchups. Due to Dry Skin, Heliolisk is able to switch into Water-type moves and regain HP, making it the tier's premier Slowbro exploiter. However, Heliolisk's bulk is rather poor, especially its physical bulk physically, which prevents it from switching in on both weaker, resisted attacks and on (optional, readability) defensive Water-types such as Slowbro and Slowking due to their access to moves such as Psyshock. While Heliolisk's Speed tier is solid, it is still outsped and forced out by Pokemon such as Sneasel and Whimsicott. Heliolisk is reliant on Life Orb for its damage output, which doesn't couple well with its below average bulk, its vulnerability to all forms of entry hazards, and how often it wants to switch due to this leaving it worn down quickly.

[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Volt Switch
move 2: Hyper Voice
move 3: Focus Blast / Thunderbolt
move 4: Surf
item: Life Orb
ability: Dry Skin
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

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

Volt Switch allows Heliolisk to pivot out of unfavorable matchups while threatening Flying- and Water-types such as Xatu and Slowbro and hitting neutral targets fairly hard. Hyper Voice provides good coverage alongside Volt Switch, hitting Dragon-, Grass-, and opposing Electric-types such as Druddigon, Venusaur, and Vikavolt neutrally. Focus Blast hits Pokemon such as Guzzlord, Silvally-Steel, and Type: Null harder than any of its Heliolisk's other coverage moves and gives it the ability to threaten entry hazard setters such as Steelix, Piloswine, and Ferroseed; its low accuracy hinders its reliability, however. Thunderbolt is an alternative to this that gives Heliolisk a stronger Electric-type attack that doesn't force it to switch out, but Focus Blast tends to be more useful, since without it, Heliolisk struggles with the aforementioned Pokemon. Surf is a more reliable method of dealing with Rhydon and Steelix, and it also threatens Fire-types like Delphox and Incineroar. Grass Knot is an option that still retains coverage against the likes of Piloswine and the aforementioned Rhydon (RC) as well as Gastrodon; however, this causes Heliolisk to lose out on coverage for Pokemon such as Palossand and Magmortar.

Set Details
========

The investment in Speed and Special Attack maximizes Heliolisk's offensive presence and Speed, with a Timid nature allowing it outspeed Pokemon such as Delphox and Sigilyph. Dry Skin gives Heliolisk the ability to freely pivot into Water-type moves such as Scald from Slowbro, Aqua Jet from Samurott, and Soak from Pyukumuku and replenish a bit of its HP. However, Heliolisk must be wary of other attacks from the previously mentioned Water-types such as Psyshock, Megahorn, and Toxic, respectively. Life Orb increases Heliolisk's damage output, making it harder to switch into; it does, however, cause Heliolisk to take damage with every attack.

Usage Tips
========

Heliolisk is mainly a wallbreaker, although it can also clean late-game due to its high Speed and Special Attack. Due to Heliolisk's average bulk, it should never take hits when it doesn't need to, as this wears it down even faster and will prevent it from effectively breaking. The most ideal ways to get Heliolisk in are after a teammate is KOed or through the use of Parting Shot, U-turn, or Volt Switch. However, Heliolisk can switch into a predicted Water-type moves from Pokemon like Vaporeon and Slowbro because of Dry Skin and generate momentum with Volt Switch. Predicting Electric-immune foes to switch in and using the appropriate coverage against them is ideal, as this will allow Heliolisk to more reliably use Volt Switch mid- or late-game.

Team Options
========

Entry hazard setters such as Garbodor, Steelix, and Qwilfish are good partners, since the entry hazards are good for pressuring Heliolisk's switch-ins, allowing it to break them easier more easily. In return, Heliolisk pressures Xatu, an absolute roadblock for them. Garbodor and Qwilfish are also capable of acting as Fighting-type checks for Heliolisk. Entry hazard control from the likes of Silvally-Steel and Xatu is also important, since it prevents Heliolisk from taking additional damage from entry hazards on top of recoil from Life Orb. Fire-types such as Delphox, Incineroar, and Magmortar appreciate Heliolisk switching into Water-type attacks for them and can break through defensive Grass-types in return. Incineroar and Magmortar are also capable of severely weakening Type: Null for Heliolisk with Malicious Moonsault and All-Out Pummeling, respectively. Fighting-types such as Medicham and Toxicroak are capable of pushing through a lot of the specially defensive Pokemon that Heliolisk finds itself struggling with and appreciate Heliolisk getting them in against these Pokemon for free with Volt Switch. Checks to Fighting-types such as Mesprit, Scyther, and Slowbro are also rather useful, since most Fighting-types can take one hit and KO Heliolisk in response. Other pivots such as Braviary, Passimian, Scyther, and Silvally-Steel pair well with Heliolisk, as they complete a VoltTurn core and keep both pressure and momentum going.

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

Heliolisk can make for a decent user of different Z-Moves such as Fightinium Z, Normalium Z, and Electrium Z, as each give it the ability to bypass some of it's its harder checks while not coming with without the drawback of recoil damage. However, Heliolisk is much weaker without the boost in power from Life Orb, and becoming unable to 2HKO foes such as Druddigon and Vileplume. Dark Pulse can be used to deal with Mismagius without forcing Heliolisk switch out as well as to take on Rotom and Gourgeist-XL; however, Heliolisk's other coverage moves tend to be more useful. Choice Specs can be used to further increase Heliolisk's damage output and doesn't come with the drawback of Life Orb recoil, but the ability to switch between moves is a major part in what makes Heliolisk as threatening as it is. Hidden Power Ice can be used to hit certain checks such as Altaria and Torterra for 4x effective damage, but Heliolisk doesn't appreciate dropping a move for it. Choice Scarf allows Heliolisk to outspeed some of its offensive checks like Sceptile, Choice Scarf Scyther, and +2 Klinklang, but Heliolisk will be much weaker than when using a Life Orb and lose out on its ability to alternate between moves. If Heliolisk is being used on a sun team, Solar Power can be used to increase its damage output under sun, though the additional recoil damage stacking with Life Orb recoil is very unappealing.

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

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: While Heliolisk is powerful, it has problems with breaking through certain specially bulky Pokemon such as Altaria, Assault Vest Hariyama, Mega Audino, Type: Null, and Venusaur. In return, they can either KO it with their STAB moves or cripple it with status.

**Faster Pokemon**: Pokemon that can naturally outspeed Heliolisk such as Sneasel and Whimsicott are capable of dealing heavy amounts of damage to it with their respective STAB attacks, with Sneasel being able to Pursuit trap Heliolisk. Heliolisk is also threatened by faster Choice Scarf users such as Braviary, Delphox, Passimian, and Scyther.

**Priority**: Priority moves from the likes of Piloswine, Medicham, and Hitmonlee threaten Heliolisk immensely due to its poor bulk.

**Residual Damage**: Due to Heliolisk's vulnerability to all forms of entry hazards, status, and weather coupled with the recoil damage it takes from Life Orb, it is worn down rather quickly.