M&M Kartana [Uploaded]

dhelmise

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[OVERVIEW]

Kartana is a threatening Pokemon in Mix and Mega because it makes good use of its already high Attack, decent Speed, and unique movepool to utilize Tough Claws from Metagrossite. After Mega Evolving, Metagrossite Kartana's base 191 Attack and 149 Speed allow it to outspeed and 2HKO most of the Mix and Mega metagame, including threats like Weavile, Landorus-T, unboosted Zygarde, and Lucarionite Terrakion. Kartana's useful Grass / Steel typing leaves it with a notable resistance to Fairy-type moves like Altarianite Zygarde's Extreme Speed, as well as leaving it with a key resistance to Water-type moves, allowing it to win against Golisopod one-on-one if needed. When Kartana's typing is combined with its base 151 Defense stat after Mega Evolving, Kartana is able to survive powerful resisted attacks more easily as well. However, Kartana's Grass / Steel typing also leaves it with a huge weakness to the common Fire type, which means that it is easily forced out by Primal Groudon as well as Entei and Victini if it isn't running Return. On top of that, by virtue of being a physical attacker, Kartana is easily taken on by physical walls like Zapdos, Will-O-Wisp Mew, and Aggronite Buzzwole, and with mediocre Special Defense, Kartana is left extremely susceptible to almost all special moves.

[SET]
name: Metagrossite
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Sacred Sword
move 3: Return / Smart Strike
move 4: Swords Dance
item: Metagrossite
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

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

Leaf Blade is Kartana's main STAB move and 2HKOes Golisopod, offensive Primal Groudon, and Lucarionite Zygarde after Mega Evolving. Sacred Sword is Kartana's best coverage move, most notably 2HKOing Sablenite Blissey after Stealth Rock as well as OHKOing it after a Swords Dance, hitting every Steel-type for at least neutral damage, and providing otherwise decent neutral coverage. Return is preferred over Smart Strike because it provides decent neutral coverage as well, and it allows Kartana to deal with Pokemon that it otherwise can't, such as Volcarona, Zapdos, Entei, and Victini. Smart Strike can be used over Return, though, because it's Kartana's strongest Steel-type STAB move and has a chance to OHKO Altarianite Zygarde without any prior chip damage while also guaranteeing an OHKO after Stealth Rock. Swords Dance allows Kartana to boost its Attack to monstrous levels in order to change some key 2HKOs into OHKOs such as against defensive Primal Groudon to prevent it from being forced out.

Set Details
========

Maximum Attack EVs and access to Tough Claws after Mega Evolving let Kartana hit as hard as possible, notably OHKOing Weavile and Altarianite Zygarde, and Metagrossite, maximum Speed EVs, and a Jolly nature allow Kartana to become stronger, faster, and bulkier in order to outspeed and beat them. Beast Boost is Kartana's only ability prior to Mega Evolving, but it can be useful for a free boost before Mega Evolving against weakened foes.

Usage Tips
========

Before Mega Evolving Kartana, try to use it as a revenge killer against slower foes in order for it to utilize Beast Boost for free Attack boosts. Use Kartana as a fast revenge killer against offensive teams after Mega Evolving to take care of weakened Altarianite Zygarde and Lucarionite Terrakion. Unless Kartana has already set up, avoid leaving it in against healthy Fire-types like Primal Groudon, Entei, Victini, and Red Orb Shaymin-S due to its 4x weakness to Fire-type moves, and be wary about leaving Kartana in against bulky special attackers like Magearna and Lunala. Try to set up Swords Dance after opposing faster or bulkier special attackers like Magearna and Diancite Shaymin-S have been weakened or removed to decrease Kartana's risk of being forced out. Use more passive Pokemon like Venusaurite Gliscor as setup fodder for Swords Dance to enable Kartana to deal with physically bulky Pokemon like defensive Primal Groudon more easily. Kartana is still easily KOed despite its nice Defense, so try to use Swords Dance on predicted switches or against more passive Pokemon like Toxapex and the previously mentioned Gliscor.

Team Options
========

Stealth Rock setters like Shuckle, Primal Groudon, and Landorus-T are appreciated because Kartana enjoys having as much chip damage dealt to the opposing team as possible to make its job easier. Shuckle is also greatly appreciated due to its ability to set up Sticky Web because Kartana appreciates being able to outspeed foes like Diancite Terrakion. Kartana's special bulk is abysmal, so specially bulky Pokemon like Ho-Oh and Magearna make for good teammates; Ho-Oh is especially useful because it has great type synergy with Kartana, covering Kartana's weakness to Fire-type moves from defensive Primal Groudon while Kartana covers Ho-Oh's weakness to Rock-type moves and physical Water-type moves. Kartana is extremely weak to Fire-type moves; this can be mitigated by having Blue Orb users like Golisopod, Magearna, and Primal Kyogre as teammates. Golisopod is also helpful because it offers utility in the form of Spikes. While not as common, Kartana has issues with Fighting-types like Diancite Terrakion and Keldeo when Sticky Web isn't up, so Altarianite users like Zygarde and Entei are good teammates. Even though Kartana doesn't take much damage from Stealth Rock and is immune to Toxic Spikes, it still loses a significant amount of health from Spikes and can have its effectiveness hindered by a potential Sticky Web being set up on its side of the field, so hazard control from Defoggers like Gliscor, Zapdos, and various Arceus formes is helpful. Venusaurite Gliscor and Zapdos are also useful because they have Thick Fat after Mega Evolving to help Kartana deal with Fire-types, and their type combinations and bulk allow them to deal with Fighting-types as well. Slow pivots like Gliscor, Sablenite Zapdos, and Sablenite Mandibuzz are also helpful to get Kartana in safely to force out more Pokemon for free setup opportunities, and they can use Toxic + Roost to help weaken and stall foes that Kartana struggles with.

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

Kartana can run Lopunnite over Metagrossite for a bigger Attack boost after Mega Evolving and a type change to Grass / Fighting to gain STAB from Sacred Sword to eliminate both the need for Smart Strike and the worry of Ghost-types switching in thanks to Scrappy; however, Lopunnite makes Kartana slower, frailer, and weaker to more types, especially -ate Extreme Speed from Pokemon like Altarianite Zygarde. If you're running Kartana on a Sticky Web team, you can opt to use Lucarionite or Aerodactylite over Metagrossite, as they both provide larger Attack boosts while remaining nearly the same in regard to bulk and abilities; however, note that if the Sticky Web on the foe's side of the field is removed or never gets set up, Kartana becomes more susceptible to being outsped and KOed. Despite the Speed drop, Smart Strike from Lucarionite Kartana 2HKOes Cameruptite Magearna and is therefore a great choice for offense teams that are prone to a counter sweep. Make note that Lucarionite Kartana also runs Substitute over Sacred Sword to potentially block status and to prevent it from being phazed with Dragon Tail. In addition to Lucarionite and Aerodactylite, Kartana can run Pinsirite with Return to get an Aerilate-boosted Flying-type STAB move for better type coverage. While running Defog over Smart Strike or Return might seem like a good option, it severely restricts Kartana's coverage and causes it to miss out on a lot of key KOs.

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

**Aggronite Buzzwole**: Aggronite Buzzwole can completely invalidate almost anything that Kartana attempts to do to it due to its immunity to Toxic after Mega Evolving, meaning that bulkier teammates cannot Toxic stall it for Kartana.

**Fire-types**: Fire-types like Primal Groudon, Entei, and Victini are able to switch in on Kartana on a resisted hit and KO in return with their respective Fire-type STAB moves; however, Entei and Victini are 2HKOed by Return.

**Status**: Mew and Arceus-Ghost can cripple Kartana by burning it with Will-O-Wisp, and certain targets like Zygarde and Zygarde-C can paralyze Kartana with Glare, making it easy to revenge kill.

**Bulky Flying-types**: Bulky Flying-types, namely Zapdos and Mandibuzz, are able to easily take one of Kartana's hits and, in Zapdos's case, either force it out or KO it with Heat Wave, and in Mandibuzz's case, threaten to OHKO it with Foul Play. Rarer Flying-types like Arceus-Flying also take care of Kartana relatively easily with STAB moves like Judgment, as well as the surprise factor that they present.

**Magearna**: Even though Kartana is able to eventually break through Magearna with enough boosts from Swords Dance, Cameruptite Magearna is able to either set up Trick Room to force Kartana out, outspeed and KO it due to its pitiful special bulk, or utilize Pain Split with its attacking moves to wear down Kartana and its teammates.

**Bulky Dragon-types**: Bulky Dragon-types like Arceus-Dragon and Giratina-O can annoy Kartana by either burning it with Will-O-Wisp or OHKOing it with Shadow Ball.

**Faster Attackers**: Diancite users, specifically Terrakion, Shaymin-S, and Tapu Lele, are able to outspeed and KO Kartana if they don't have Sticky Web up on their side, and even if Sticky Web is up in Shaymin-S's instance, its Flying typing makes it immune Sticky Web, so it still outspeeds Kartana. However, none of the Diancite users are able to safely switch in on Kartana and risk being OHKOed if they do so. Choice Scarf users like Ditto also pose a threat to Kartana because even if Sticky Web is up on Ditto's side, it can transform into Kartana to copy Kartana's stat changes to get rid of a lowered Speed stat and then outspeed and KO.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Kris, 241023]]
- Quality checked by: [[Chazm, 376369], [Quantum Tesseract, 297239], [In The Hills, 324242]]
- Grammar checked by: [[A Cake Wearing A Hat, 388157], [Electrolyte, 148071]]
 
Last edited:

[OVERVIEW]

- kartana makes good use of its already high attack, decent speed, and unique movepool to utilize tough claws from metagrossite
- kartana's base 191 attack and base 149 speed after mega evolving allows it to outspeed and 2hko most of the metagame
- kartana outspeeds most threats like unboosted zygarde, weavile, landorus-t, and lucarionite terrakion after mega evolving, as well as speed tying with opposing metagrossite kartana - Remove the mention of a Kartana speed tie.
- it has a useful grass / steel typing that leaves it with notable resistances to fairy moves from altarianite zygarde - This goes for any physical fairy move, not just ones from Zygarde. Mention its key resistance to Water moves too; allowing it to 1v1 Golisopod if need be.
- kartana's helpful typing is combined with a base 151 defense stat after mega evolving to let it live powerful resisted attacks more easily
- its typing leaves it with a huge weakness to a common type in fire, leaving it easily forced out by pdon, entei, and victini - Return Kartana isn't even forced out by Entei and Victini. Mention below this how physical walls like Buzzwole, Zapdos and Will-o-wisp Mew can take Kartana on.
- kartana's special bulk is very mediocre even after mega evolving, leaving it extremely susceptible to almost all special moves - Mention particular targets - Cameruptite Magearna and Lunala come to mind as checks (second one before SR)
- kartana has a shallow movepool that leaves it with limited coverage options, as well as limiting its strongest steel-type stab move to 70 bp and preventing it from dealing with most fire-types - Return is powerful enough to deal with most of them, so I would remove this part.

[SET]
name: Metagrossite
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Sacred Sword
move 3: Return / Smart Strike
move 4: Swords Dance
item: Metagrossite
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

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

- leaf blade is kartanas main stab move and is its strongest move after kartana mega evolves and gains tough claws as its ability
- leaf blade 2hkoes golisopod, primal groudon, and lucarionite zygarde - Leaf Blade does not 2HKO Defensive Primal Groudon. Mention Venusaurite Gliscor, a target that can be used as setup fodder for this reason.
- sacred sword is kartanas best coverage move, most notably 2hkoing blissey after stealth rock and ohkoing it at +2 and providing decent neutral coverage - Having something that can hit the majority of Steel-types in the metagame is very nice.
- smart strike is kartana's strongest steel-type stab move and can 2hko altarianite zygarde, as well as having a chance to ohko after stealth rock
- return can be used over smart strike because even though its not boosted by stab, the tough claws boost gives it virtually the same power as smart strike would after stab and tough claws - I would just remove this mention entirely.
- return can be used to hit mons that resist kartanas other moves, such as volcarona, zapdos, and victini
- swords dance allows kartana to boost its attack to monstrous levels in order to change some key 2hkoes into ohkoes such as against pdon to prevent it from being forced out - Again, Primal Groudon is not 2HKO'd by Leaf Blade if defensive.

Set Details
========

- maximum atk and spe evs w/ a jolly nature let kartana hit as hard and as fast as possible, notably outspeeding zygarde and weavile after mega evolving
- beast boost is kartanas only ability before mega evolving, can be useful for a free boost before mega evolving vs weakened foes
- metagrossite allows kartana to become stronger, faster, and bulkier in order to outspeed the aforementioned foes
- after mega evolving, kartana gains tough claws, which boosts all of its moves to let it hit even harder

Usage Tips
========

- before kartana has mega evolved, try to use it as a revenge killer for slower mons so it can utilize beast boost for free attack boosts
- use kartana as a stallbreaker against bulkier teams to quickly get rid of blissey - Kart isn't a good stallbreaker. As I've mentioned, there are common and uncommon ways of completely neutering it on stall, and using it as your only way of getting rid of blissey (as this seems to imply it exists on every bulky team) isn't a good idea at all.
- use kartana as fast revenge killer against offensive teams after mega evolving to take care of weakened altarianite zygarde and lucarionite terrakion
- avoid leaving kartana in against healthy fire-types like pdon, entei, victini, and red orb shaymin-s due to its 4x weakness to fire
- be wary about leaving kartana in against bulky special attackers like magearna
- try to set up swords dance after opposing special attackers have been weakened or removed to decrease kartana's risk of being forced out
- kartana is still easily koed despite its nice defense stat, so try to use swords dance on predicted switches or against more passive pokemon like toxapex

Team Options
========

- entry hazard setters like shuckle are appreciated because kartana enjoys having as much chip damage dealt to the opposing team as possible to make its job of koing pokemon easier - List other SR setters like Primal Groudon and Landorus-Therian. Stealth Rock is absolutely key for Kartana to even start a sweep, as it gets so many 2HKOs on Pokemon that can win against it, and helps the matchup vs Buzzwole a lot more.
- shuckle is also greatly appreciated due to its ability to set up sticky web because kartana appreciates being able to outspeed foes like diancite terrakion
- kartana's special bulk is abysmal, so specially bulky foes like Ho-Oh and Magearna are appreciated
- Ho-Oh is especially useful because it has great type synergy with kartana - Go into more detail. I personally don't think Ho-oh is that great of a partner, but removing Kartana's weakness to defensive Primal Groudon is nice.
- kartana is extremely weak to fire-type moves, but this can be mitigated by having blue orb users like Golisopod, Magearna, and Primal Kyogre as teammates
- golisopod is also helpful because it offers utility in the form of spikes
- even though magearna and kartana share a weakness to fire type moves, this can be nullified by using a Blue Orb Magearna set, as mentioned earlier - This has been mentioned earlier, so removing this mention should be fine.
- while not as common, kartana has issues with fighting types like diancite terrakion and keldeo when sticky web isnt up, so pokemon like altarianite zygarde or entei help
- even though kartana doesnt take much damage from stealth rock and is immune to toxic spikes, it still takes a good chunk of damage from spikes and can have its effectiveness hindered by a potential sticky web on its side of the field, so hazard control in the form of Defoggers like Gliscor, Zapdos, and various Arceus formes or spinners like Excadrill are helpful
- gliscor and zapdos are also useful because they have thick fat after mega evolving to help kartana deal with fire-types, and their typings and bulk allow them to deal with fighting-types as well
- slow pivots like magearna and zapdos are also helpful to get kartana in safely to force out more pokemon - neither of these pivots work well as they are prone to luring in certain fires that can stop Kartana from ever getting a hit off - mention other Pokemon like Gliscor as pivots as they safely force out the Fires that Kartana fears.

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

- kartana can run lopunnite over metagrossite for a bigger attack boost after mega evolving and to become grass/fighting type to gain STAB from sacred sword to eliminate both the need for smart strike and the worry of ghost-types switching in due to scrappy; however, lopunnite makes kartana slower, frailer, and weaker to more types, especially -ate speed from altarianite zygarde
- if kartana is being used on a sticky web team, you can opt to use lucarionite or aerodactylite on it, as they both provide larger attack boosts while remaining nearly the same in regard to bulk and abilities; however, note that if the sticky web on the foe's side is removed or never gets set up, kartana becomes more susceptible to being outsped and koed - Mention how Lucarionite Smart Strike can 2HKO Cameruptite Magearna, making it a solid choice for high-powered offense teams who don't want a countersweep
- in addition to lucarionite or aerodactylite, kartana can run pinsirite with return to get an -ate boosted flying-type STAB move for better type coverage
- while running defog over smart strike or return might seem like a good option, it severely restricts kartana's coverage and causes it to become setup fodder to most common setup sweepers - Kartana just misses out on KOs. It doesn't really let any setup through, as its typing will usually prevent it from getting any far.

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

**Fire-types**: Fire-types like Primal Groudon, Entei, and Victini are able to switch in on Kartana on a resisted hit and KO in return with their respective Fire-type STAB moves; however, Primal Groudon is 2HKOed by a STAB- and Tough Claws-boosted Leaf Blade and becomes fodder if it switches in on a Leaf Blade. - Remove the latter sentence, and instead mention how Entei and Victini are 2HKO'd by Return.

**Buzzwole**: Mention how Buzzwole can completely invalidate most of what Kartana can attempt to do to it due to its immunity to Toxic Spikes after Mega Evolving.

**Status**: Mention how Mew, Arceus-Ghost, etc can cripple a Kartana by burning it, and certain targets like Zygarde and Zygarde-C can paralyze Kartana, making it easy to revenge kill.

**Bulky Flying-types**: Bulky Flying-types, namely Zapdos and Skarmory, are able to easily take one of Kartana's hits and, in Zapdos's case, either force it out or KO it with Heat Wave, and in Skarmory's case, phaze it out with Whirlwind. - Mention some more uncommon Flying-types, like Arceus-Flying.

**Magearna**: Even though Kartana is able to eventually break through Magearna with enough boosts from Swords Dance, Sablenite Magearna is able to successfully spam utility moves like Heart Swap + Fleur Cannon, and Cameruptite Magearna is able to set up Trick Room to either force Kartana out or outspeed and KO it due to its pitiful special bulk. - Remove the Sablenite Magearna mention, however, as Kartana will bust through with SD -> Sacred Sword. Cameruptite, however, causes huge issues with the ability to pull off a countersweep or wear at the opposing team constantly with Pain Split + main attacks.

**Bulky Dragon-types**: Mention how certain Dragons like Arceus-Dragon and Giratina-Origin can annoy Kartana by either burning or OHKOing with Shadow Ball.

**Diancite Users**: Diancite users, specifically Terrakion, Shaymin-S, Keldeo, and Tapu Lele, are able to outspeed and KO Kartana if they don't have Sticky Web up on their side, and even if Sticky Web is up in Shaymin-S's instance, its Flying typing is able to bypass Sticky Web to allow it to remain to outspeed Kartana. However, none of the Diancite users are able to safely switch in on Kartana and risk being OHKOed if they do so.
Comments in blue
Changes in red

Lots of work needed here. QC 1/3 if implemented properly.
 

dhelmise

everything is embarrassing
is a Site Content Manageris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Programmeris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
Social Media Head
Comments in blue
Changes in red

Lots of work needed here. QC 1/3 if implemented properly.
finally implemented; i was busy with some irl stuff for the past few days, which prevented me from spending long amounts of time on a computer

there were a few nitpicks i had with the qc check, but nothing big enough to prevent me from completing implementing the check, so i just implemented it in its entirety

also sidenote: if u consider ur qc check to be "lots of work" then honey u have a big storm coming

This is ready for 2/3, but i have a question for QC: Would it be worthwhile to just move Smart Strike to OO? There's not very much reason to have it on a set when the overlap it has with Return is enormous and the SE coverage it provides over Return is covered by one of kartana's other moves (with the exception of things like altarianite zygarde)
 
Comments in bold or between sections, removal in strikethrough

QC: Chazm / x / x
GP: x / x​

[OVERVIEW]

- kartana makes good use of its already high attack, decent speed, and unique movepool to utilize tough claws from metagrossite
- kartana's base 191 attack and base 149 speed after mega evolving allows it to outspeed and 2hko most of the metagame
- kartana outspeeds most threats like unboosted zygarde, weavile, landorus-t, and lucarionite terrakion after mega evolving
- it has a useful grass / steel typing that leaves it with notable resistances to fairy moves like extreme speed from altarianite zygarde
- its typing also provides it with a key resistance to water moves, allowing it to win vs golisopod 1v1 if needed
- kartana's helpful typing is combined with a base 151 defense stat after mega evolving to let it live powerful resisted attacks more easily
- its typing leaves it with a huge weakness to a common type in fire, leaving it easily forced out by pdon, as well as entei and victini if it isnt using return
- physical walls like buzzwole, zapdos, and wisp mew can take kartana on as well
- kartana's special bulk is very mediocre even after mega evolving, leaving it extremely susceptible to almost all special moves, especially those from cameruptite magearna and lunala before stealth rock
How Kartana takes the special attacks isn't effected by stealth rock. I would honestly cut the last part of the last bullet; chazm told you to add it, but looking at it even giving specific examples detracts from the point that yeah, Kartana is a wet noodle specially.
[SET]
name: Metagrossite
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Sacred Sword
move 3: Return / Smart Strike
move 4: Swords Dance
item: Metagrossite
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

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

- leaf blade is kartanas main stab move and is its strongest move after kartana mega evolves and gains tough claws as its ability It's the strongest move kartana has before, as well; just save this for set details and combine with the next bullet
- leaf blade 2hkoes golisopod, offensive primal groudon, and lucarionite zygarde
- sacred sword is kartanas best coverage move, most notably 2hkoing blissey after stealth rock and ohkoing it at +2, hitting every steel type for neutral damage, and providing otherwise decent neutral coverage
- return is used over smart strike because even though its not boosted by stab, the tough claws boost gives it virtually the same power as smart strike would after stab and tough claws and allows it to deal with pokemon it otherwise cant, like volcarona, zapdos, entei, and victini the tough claws boost isnt relevant to it having the same power; 105 vs 102 comes into play even before that. Just mention it being neutral coverage
- smart strike is an alternative to return, is kartana's strongest steel-type stab move, and can 2hko altarianite zygarde as well as having a chance to ohko after stealth rock It ohkoes without stealth rock much of the time, and is guarenteed with it
- swords dance allows kartana to boost its attack to monstrous levels in order to change some key 2hkoes into ohkoes such as against defensive pdon to prevent it from being forced out

Set Details
========

- maximum atk and spe evs w/ a jolly nature let kartana hit as hard and as fast as possible, notably outspeeding zygarde and weavile after mega evolving
- beast boost is kartanas only ability before mega evolving, can be useful for a free boost before mega evolving vs weakened foes
- metagrossite allows kartana to become stronger, faster, and bulkier in order to outspeed the aforementioned foes
- after mega evolving, kartana gains tough claws, which boosts all of its moves to let it hit even harder
Set details need some work; bullets have all the relevant information, but the info is all over the place.
Combine Tough Claws into the attack EVs, and mention some OHKOes it gets (like alt zygarde) because of this investment / item
Combine Metagrossite speed boost, jolly, and speed evs into one.
Put beast boost on the bottom.

Usage Tips
========

- before kartana has mega evolved, try to use it as a revenge killer for slower mons so it can utilize beast boost for free attack boosts Good bullet, put this lower down
- use kartana as fast revenge killer against offensive teams after mega evolving to take care of weakened altarianite zygarde and lucarionite terrakion This is its main purpose, but it's also a relevant cleaner so put a mention of that here or in a lower down bullet
- avoid leaving kartana in against healthy fire-types like pdon, entei, victini, and red orb shaymin-s due to its 4x weakness to fire unless it's boosted
- be wary about leaving kartana in against bulky special attackers like magearna And lunala, that one's key to mention
- try to set up swords dance after opposing special attackers have been weakened or removed to decrease kartana's risk of being forced out This bullet isn't wrong, but it is a bit misleading IMO. It's not just special attackers that are an issue, its "faster special attackers" or "bulky special attackers; many like keldeo are not a threat, so mentions of threatening special attackers or something similar of your choice would improve this.
- use more passive pokemon like venusaurite gliscor as setup fodder for swords dance to enable kartana to deal with Physically bulky pokemon like defensive pdon more easily
- kartana is still easily koed despite its nice defense stat, so try to use swords dance on predicted switches or against more passive pokemon like toxapex

Team Options
========

- stealth rock setters like shuckle, pdon, and landorus-t are appreciated because kartana enjoys having as much chip damage dealt to the opposing team as possible to make its job of koing pokemon easier
- shuckle is also greatly appreciated due to its ability to set up sticky web because kartana appreciates being able to outspeed foes like diancite terrakion
- kartana's special bulk is abysmal, so specially bulky foes like Ho-Oh and Magearna are appreciated
- Ho-Oh is especially useful because it has great type synergy with kartana, covering kartana's weakness to fire-type moves from defensive pdon, and kartana cover's ho-oh's weakness to rock-type moves and physical water-type moves
- kartana is extremely weak to fire-type moves, but this can be mitigated by having blue orb users like Golisopod, Magearna, and Primal Kyogre as teammates
- golisopod is also helpful because it offers utility in the form of spikes
- while not as common, kartana has issues with fighting types like diancite terrakion and keldeo when sticky web isnt up, so pokemon like altarianite zygarde or entei help
- even though kartana doesnt take much damage from stealth rock and is immune to toxic spikes, it still takes a good chunk of damage from spikes and can have its effectiveness hindered by a potential sticky web on its side of the field, so hazard control in the form of Defoggers like Gliscor, Zapdos, and various Arceus formes or spinners like Excadrill are helpful Not worth mentioning Excadrill imo, this isnt a webs-heavy mon so mentioning a largely webs only support isn't the best
- venusaurite gliscor and zapdos are also useful because they have thick fat after mega evolving to help kartana deal with fire-types, and their typings and bulk allow them to deal with fighting-types as well (only important because sablenite is a thing on these)
- slow pivots like gliscor are also helpful to get kartana in safely to force out more pokemon

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

- kartana can run lopunnite over metagrossite for a bigger attack boost after mega evolving and to become grass/fighting type to gain STAB from sacred sword to eliminate both the need for smart strike and the worry of ghost-types switching in due to scrappy; however, lopunnite makes kartana slower, frailer, and weaker to more types, especially -ate speed from altarianite zygarde
- if kartana is being used on a sticky web team, you can opt to use lucarionite or aerodactylite on it, as they both provide larger attack boosts while remaining nearly the same in regard to bulk and abilities; however, note that if the sticky web on the foe's side is removed or never gets set up, kartana becomes more susceptible to being outsped and koed
- despite the speed drop, smart strike from lucarionite kartana 2hkoes cameruptite magearna and is therefore a great choice for offense teams that are prone to a countersweep
- in addition to lucarionite or aerodactylite, kartana can run pinsirite with return to get an -ate boosted flying-type STAB move for better type coverage
- while running defog over smart strike or return might seem like a good option, it severely restricts kartana's coverage and causes it to miss out on a lot of KOs
:thumbsup:

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

**Fire-types**: Fire-types like Primal Groudon, Entei, and Victini are able to switch in on Kartana on a resisted hit and KO in return with their respective Fire-type STAB moves; however, Entei and Victini are 2HKOed by Return.

**Aggronite Buzzwole**: Aggronite Buzzwole can completely invalidate almost anything that Kartana attempts to do to it due to its immunity to Toxic Spikes after Mega Evolving. put this above fire types

**Status**: Mew and Arceus-Ghost can cripple Kartana by burning it with Will-O-Wisp, and certain targets like Zygarde and Zygarde-C can paralyze Kartana with Glare, making it easy to revenge kill.

**Bulky Flying-types**: Bulky Flying-types, namely Zapdos and Skarmory, are able to easily take one of Kartana's hits and, in Zapdos's case, either force it out or KO it with Heat Wave, and in Skarmory's case, phaze it out with Whirlwind. Rarer Flying-types like Arceus-Flying also take care of Kartana relatively easily with their access to utility moves like Will-O-Wisp, as well as the surprise factor that they present. Arceus flying uses judgment to take out kartana, actually

**Magearna**: Even though Kartana is able to eventually break through Magearna with enough boosts from Swords Dance, Cameruptite Magearna is able to either set up Trick Room to either force Kartana out or outspeed and KO it due to its pitiful special bulk or utilize Pain Split with its attacking moves to wear down Kartana and its teammates

**Bulky Dragon-types**: Bulky Dragon-types like Arceus-Dragon and Giratina-O can annoy Kartana by either burning it with Will-O-Wisp or OHKOing it with Shadow Ball. .

**Diancite Users**: Diancite users, specifically Terrakion, Shaymin-S, Keldeo, and Tapu Lele, are able to outspeed and KO Kartana if they don't have Sticky Web up on their side, and even if Sticky Web is up in Shaymin-S's instance, its Flying typing is able to bypass Sticky Web to allow it to remain to outspeed Kartana. However, none of the Diancite users are able to safely switch in on Kartana and risk being OHKOed if they do so. Expand this to faster attacks to include choice scarf and webs, renive a few less important examples

2/3
 

dhelmise

everything is embarrassing
is a Site Content Manageris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Programmeris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
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someone can take this over too

uc edit: or can they?
 
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dhelmise

everything is embarrassing
is a Site Content Manageris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Programmeris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
Social Media Head
In The Hills Mark_K xavgb can one of u pls qc this :|

e: In The Hills qced this for qc 3/3

[6:01 PM] In the Hills: under team options when you mention slow pivots, include Sablenite Zapdos and Mandibuzz
[6:02 PM] In the Hills: in other options when you reference Lucarionite Kartana make note that it carries substitute over coverage
[6:03 PM] In the Hills: to potentially block status/dragon tail users cant phaze
[6:04 PM] In the Hills: and finally replace Skarmory with Mandibuzz under the Bulky Flying Types section of checks and counters, Skarm cant do much to kart other than phaze while mandibuzz threatens a 1hko with foul play
[6:05 PM] In the Hills: thats all i got
 
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A Cake Wearing A Hat

moist and crusty
is a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributoris a Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Battle Simulator Moderatoris a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnus
Community Leader
add remove comments
[OVERVIEW]

Kartana is a threatening Pokemon in Mix and Mega because it makes good use of its already high Attack, decent Speed, and unique movepool to utilize Tough Claws from Metagrossite. After Mega Evolving, Metagrossite Kartana's base 191 Attack and 149 Speed allow it to outspeed and 2HKO most of the Mix and Mega metagame, including threats like unboosted Zygarde, Weavile, Landorus-T, unboosted Zygarde, and Lucarionite Terrakion. Kartana's useful Grass / Steel typing leaves it with a notable resistance to Fairy-type moves like Altarianite Zygarde's Extreme Speed, as well as leaving it with a key resistance to Water-type moves, allowing it to win against Golisopod one-on-one if needed. When Kartana's typing is combined with a its base 151 Defense stat after Mega Evolving, Kartana is able to survive powerful resisted attacks more easily as well. However, a Kartana's Grass / Steel typing also leaves Kartana it with a huge weakness to the common Fire type, which means that it is easily forced out by Primal Groudon, as well as Entei and Victini if it isn't running Return. On top of that, by virtue of being a physical attacker, Kartana is easily taken on by physical walls like Zapdos, Will-O-Wisp Mew, and Aggronite Buzzwole, and with mediocre Special Defense, Kartana is left extremely susceptible to almost all special moves.

[SET]
name: Metagrossite
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Sacred Sword
move 3: Return / Smart Strike
move 4: Swords Dance
item: Metagrossite
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

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

Leaf Blade is Kartana's main STAB move and 2HKOes Golisopod, offensive Primal Groudon, and Lucarionite Zygarde after Mega Evolving. Sacred Sword is Kartana's best coverage move, most notably 2HKOing Sablenite Blissey after Stealth Rock as well as OHKOing it after a Swords Dance, hitting every Steel-type for at least neutral damage, and providing otherwise decent neutral coverage. Return is used preferred over Smart Strike because it provides decent neutral coverage as well, and it allows Kartana to deal with Pokemon that it otherwise can't, such as Volcarona, Zapdos, Entei, and Victini. Smart Strike can be used over Return, (AC) though, (AC) because it's Kartana's strongest Steel-type STAB move and has a chance to OHKO Altarianite Zygarde without any prior chip damage as well as guaranteeing an OHKO after Stealth Rock. Swords Dance allows Kartana to boost its Attack to monstrous levels in order to change some key 2HKOs into OHKOs such as against defensive Primal Groudon to prevent it from being forced out.

Set Details
========

Maximum Attack EVs and access to Tough Claws after Mega Evolving let Kartana hit as hard as possible, notably OHKOing Weavile and Altarianite Zygarde, and Metagrossite, maximum Speed EVs, and a Jolly nature allow Kartana to become stronger, faster, and bulkier in order to outspeed and beat them. Beast Boost is Kartana's only ability prior to Mega Evolving, but it can be useful for a free boost before Mega Evolving against weakened foes.

Usage Tips
========

Before Mega Evolving Kartana, try to use it as a revenge killer against slower foes in order for it to utilize Beast Boost for free Attack boosts. Use Kartana as a fast revenge killer against offensive teams after Mega Evolving to take care of weakened Altarianite Zygarde and Lucarionite Terrakion. Unless Kartana has already set up, avoid leaving it in against healthy Fire-types like Primal Groudon, Entei, Victini, and Red Orb Shaymin-S due to its 4x weakness to Fire-type moves, and be wary about leaving Kartana in against bulky special attackers like Magearna and Lunala. Try to set up Swords Dance after opposing faster or bulkier special attackers like Diancite Shaymin-S and Magearna (also diancite?) have been weakened or removed to decrease Kartana's risk of being forced out. Use more passive Pokemon like Venusaurite Gliscor as setup fodder for Swords Dance to enable Kartana to deal with physically bulky Pokemon like defensive Primal Groudon more easily. Kartana is still easily KOed despite its nice Defense, so try to use Swords Dance on predicted switches or against more passive Pokemon like Toxapex and the previously mentioned Gliscor.

Team Options
========

Stealth Rock setters like Shuckle, Primal Groudon, and Landorus-T are appreciated because Kartana enjoys having as much chip damage dealt to the opposing team as possible to make its job easier. Shuckle is also greatly appreciated due to its ability to set up Sticky Web because Kartana appreciates being able to outspeed foes like Diancite Terrakion. Kartana's special bulk is abysmal, so specially bulky Pokemon like Ho-Oh and Magearna make for good teammates; Ho-Oh is especially useful because it has great type synergy with Kartana, covering Kartana's weakness to Fire-type moves from defensive Primal Groudon while Kartana covers Ho-Oh's weakness to Rock-type moves and physical Water-type moves. Kartana is extremely weak to Fire-type moves; this can be mitigated by having Blue Orb users like Golisopod, Magearna, and Primal Kyogre as teammates. Golisopod is also helpful because it offers utility in the form of Spikes. While not as common, Kartana has issues with Fighting-types like Diancite Terrakion and Keldeo (Also diancite?) when Sticky Web isn't up, so Altarianite users like Zygarde and Entei are good teammates. Even though Kartana doesn't take much damage from Stealth Rock and is immune to Toxic Spikes, it still loses a significant amount of health from Spikes and can have its effectiveness hindered by a potential Sticky Web being set up on its side of the field, so hazard control from Defoggers like Gliscor, Zapdos, and various Arceus formes is helpful. Venusaurite Gliscor and Zapdos are also useful because they have Thick Fat after Mega Evolving to help Kartana deal with Fire-types, and their type combinations and bulk allow them to deal with Fighting-types as well. Slow pivots like Gliscor, Sablenite Zapdos, and Sablenite Mandibuzz are also helpful to get Kartana in safely to force out more Pokemon for free setup opportunities.

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

Kartana can run Lopunnite over Metagrossite for a bigger Attack boost after Mega Evolving and a type change to Grass / Fighting to gain STAB from Sacred Sword to eliminate both the need for Smart Strike and the worry of Ghost-types switching in thanks to scrappy Scrappy; however, Lopunnite makes Kartana slower, frailer and weaker to more types, especially -ate Extreme Speed from Pokemon like Altarianite Zygarde. If you're running Kartana on a Sticky Web team, you can opt to use Lucarionite or Aerodactylite over Metagrossite over it, as they both provide larger Attack boosts while remaining nearly the same in regard to bulk and abilities; however, note that if the Sticky Web on the foe's side of the field is removed or never gets set up, Kartana becomes more susceptible to being outsped and KOed. Despite the Speed drop, Smart Strike from Lucarionite Kartana 2HKOes Cameruptite Magearna and is therefore a great choice for offense teams that are prone to a countersweep counter sweep. Make note that Lucarionite Kartana also runs Substitute over Sacred Sword to potentially block status and to prevent it from being phazed with Dragon Tail. In addition to Lucarionite and Aerodactylite, Kartana can run Pinsirite with Return to get an Aerilate-boosted Flying-type STAB move for better type coverage. While running Defog over Smart Strike or Return might seem like it a good option, it severely restricts Kartana's coverage and causes it to miss out on a lot of key KOs.

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

**Aggronite Buzzwole**: Aggronite Buzzwole can completely invalidate almost anything that Kartana attempts to do to it due to its immunity to Toxic Spikes after Mega Evolving. (I don't see what Buzzwole being immune to Toxic Spikes has to do with stopping Kartana at all? Tspikes support isn't even mentioned at all, much less emphasized as an integral part of Kartana's role, in Team Options. Fix this somehow.)

**Fire-types**: Fire-types like Primal Groudon, Entei, and Victini are able to switch in on Kartana on a resisted hit and KO in return with their respective Fire-type STAB moves; however, Entei and Victini are 2HKOed by Return.

**Status**: Mew and Arceus-Ghost can cripple Kartana by burning it with Will-O-Wisp, and certain targets like Zygarde and Zygarde-C can paralyze Kartana with Glare, making it easy to revenge kill.

**Bulky Flying-types**: Bulky Flying-types, namely Zapdos and Mandibuzz, are able to easily take one of Kartana's hits and, in Zapdos's case, either force it out or KO it with Heat Wave, and in Mandibuzz's case, threaten to OHKO it with Foul Play. Rarer Flying-types like Arceus-Flying also take care of Kartana relatively easily with STAB moves like Judgment, as well as the surprise factor that they present.

**Magearna**: Even though Kartana is able to eventually break through Magearna with enough boosts from Swords Dance, Cameruptite Magearna is able to either set up Trick Room to either force Kartana out or, (AC) outspeed and KO it due to its pitiful special bulk, (AC) or utilize Pain Split with its attacking moves to wear down Kartana and its teammates. (AP)

**Bulky Dragon-types**: Bulky Dragon-types like Arceus-Dragon and Giratina-O can annoy Kartana by either burning it with Will-O-Wisp or OHKOing it with Shadow Ball. . (Remove one of the two periods)

**Faster Attackers**: Diancite users, specifically Terrakion, Shaymin-S, and Tapu Lele, are able to outspeed and KO Kartana if they don't have Sticky Web up on their side, and even if Sticky Web is up in Shaymin-S's instance, its Flying typing makes it immune Sticky Web, so it still outspeeds Kartana. However, none of the Diancite users are able to safely switch in on Kartana and risk being OHKOed if they do so. Choice Scarf users like Ditto also pose a threat to Kartana because even if Sticky Web is up on Ditto's side, it can transform into Kartana to copy Kartana's stat changes to get rid of a lowered Speed stat and then outspeed and KO.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Kris, 241023]]
- Quality checked by: [[Chazm, 376369], [Quantum Tesseract, 297239], [In The Hills, 324242]]
- Grammar checked by: [[A Cake Wearing A Hat, 388157], [, ]]

1/2
 
Last edited:

dhelmise

everything is embarrassing
is a Site Content Manageris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Programmeris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
Social Media Head
add remove comments
[OVERVIEW]

Kartana is a threatening Pokemon in Mix and Mega because it makes good use of its already high Attack, decent Speed, and unique movepool to utilize Tough Claws from Metagrossite. After Mega Evolving, Metagrossite Kartana's base 191 Attack and 149 Speed allow it to outspeed and 2HKO most of the Mix and Mega metagame, including threats like unboosted Zygarde, Weavile, Landorus-T, unboosted Zygarde, and Lucarionite Terrakion. Kartana's useful Grass / Steel typing leaves it with a notable resistance to Fairy-type moves like Altarianite Zygarde's Extreme Speed, as well as leaving it with a key resistance to Water-type moves, allowing it to win against Golisopod one-on-one if needed. When Kartana's typing is combined with a its base 151 Defense stat after Mega Evolving, Kartana is able to survive powerful resisted attacks more easily as well. However, a Kartana's Grass / Steel typing also leaves Kartana it with a huge weakness to the common Fire type, which means that it is easily forced out by Primal Groudon, as well as Entei and Victini if it isn't running Return. On top of that, by virtue of being a physical attacker, Kartana is easily taken on by physical walls like Zapdos, Will-O-Wisp Mew, and Aggronite Buzzwole, and with mediocre Special Defense, Kartana is left extremely susceptible to almost all special moves.

[SET]
name: Metagrossite
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Sacred Sword
move 3: Return / Smart Strike
move 4: Swords Dance
item: Metagrossite
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

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

Leaf Blade is Kartana's main STAB move and 2HKOes Golisopod, offensive Primal Groudon, and Lucarionite Zygarde after Mega Evolving. Sacred Sword is Kartana's best coverage move, most notably 2HKOing Sablenite Blissey after Stealth Rock as well as OHKOing it after a Swords Dance, hitting every Steel-type for at least neutral damage, and providing otherwise decent neutral coverage. Return is used preferred over Smart Strike because it provides decent neutral coverage as well, and it allows Kartana to deal with Pokemon that it otherwise can't, such as Volcarona, Zapdos, Entei, and Victini. Smart Strike can be used over Return, (AC) though, (AC) because it's Kartana's strongest Steel-type STAB move and has a chance to OHKO Altarianite Zygarde without any prior chip damage as well as guaranteeing an OHKO after Stealth Rock. Swords Dance allows Kartana to boost its Attack to monstrous levels in order to change some key 2HKOs into OHKOs such as against defensive Primal Groudon to prevent it from being forced out.

Set Details
========

Maximum Attack EVs and access to Tough Claws after Mega Evolving let Kartana hit as hard as possible, notably OHKOing Weavile and Altarianite Zygarde, and Metagrossite, maximum Speed EVs, and a Jolly nature allow Kartana to become stronger, faster, and bulkier in order to outspeed and beat them. Beast Boost is Kartana's only ability prior to Mega Evolving, but it can be useful for a free boost before Mega Evolving against weakened foes.

Usage Tips
========

Before Mega Evolving Kartana, try to use it as a revenge killer against slower foes in order for it to utilize Beast Boost for free Attack boosts. Use Kartana as a fast revenge killer against offensive teams after Mega Evolving to take care of weakened Altarianite Zygarde and Lucarionite Terrakion. Unless Kartana has already set up, avoid leaving it in against healthy Fire-types like Primal Groudon, Entei, Victini, and Red Orb Shaymin-S due to its 4x weakness to Fire-type moves, and be wary about leaving Kartana in against bulky special attackers like Magearna and Lunala. Try to set up Swords Dance after opposing faster or bulkier special attackers like Diancite Shaymin-S and Magearna (also diancite?) have been weakened or removed to decrease Kartana's risk of being forced out. Use more passive Pokemon like Venusaurite Gliscor as setup fodder for Swords Dance to enable Kartana to deal with physically bulky Pokemon like defensive Primal Groudon more easily. Kartana is still easily KOed despite its nice Defense, so try to use Swords Dance on predicted switches or against more passive Pokemon like Toxapex and the previously mentioned Gliscor.

Team Options
========

Stealth Rock setters like Shuckle, Primal Groudon, and Landorus-T are appreciated because Kartana enjoys having as much chip damage dealt to the opposing team as possible to make its job easier. Shuckle is also greatly appreciated due to its ability to set up Sticky Web because Kartana appreciates being able to outspeed foes like Diancite Terrakion. Kartana's special bulk is abysmal, so specially bulky Pokemon like Ho-Oh and Magearna make for good teammates; Ho-Oh is especially useful because it has great type synergy with Kartana, covering Kartana's weakness to Fire-type moves from defensive Primal Groudon while Kartana covers Ho-Oh's weakness to Rock-type moves and physical Water-type moves. Kartana is extremely weak to Fire-type moves; this can be mitigated by having Blue Orb users like Golisopod, Magearna, and Primal Kyogre as teammates. Golisopod is also helpful because it offers utility in the form of Spikes. While not as common, Kartana has issues with Fighting-types like Diancite Terrakion and Keldeo (Also diancite?) when Sticky Web isn't up, so Altarianite users like Zygarde and Entei are good teammates. Even though Kartana doesn't take much damage from Stealth Rock and is immune to Toxic Spikes, it still loses a significant amount of health from Spikes and can have its effectiveness hindered by a potential Sticky Web being set up on its side of the field, so hazard control from Defoggers like Gliscor, Zapdos, and various Arceus formes is helpful. Venusaurite Gliscor and Zapdos are also useful because they have Thick Fat after Mega Evolving to help Kartana deal with Fire-types, and their type combinations and bulk allow them to deal with Fighting-types as well. Slow pivots like Gliscor, Sablenite Zapdos, and Sablenite Mandibuzz are also helpful to get Kartana in safely to force out more Pokemon for free setup opportunities.

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

Kartana can run Lopunnite over Metagrossite for a bigger Attack boost after Mega Evolving and a type change to Grass / Fighting to gain STAB from Sacred Sword to eliminate both the need for Smart Strike and the worry of Ghost-types switching in thanks to scrappy Scrappy; however, Lopunnite makes Kartana slower, frailer and weaker to more types, especially -ate Extreme Speed from Pokemon like Altarianite Zygarde. If you're running Kartana on a Sticky Web team, you can opt to use Lucarionite or Aerodactylite over Metagrossite over it, as they both provide larger Attack boosts while remaining nearly the same in regard to bulk and abilities; however, note that if the Sticky Web on the foe's side of the field is removed or never gets set up, Kartana becomes more susceptible to being outsped and KOed. Despite the Speed drop, Smart Strike from Lucarionite Kartana 2HKOes Cameruptite Magearna and is therefore a great choice for offense teams that are prone to a countersweep counter sweep. Make note that Lucarionite Kartana also runs Substitute over Sacred Sword to potentially block status and to prevent it from being phazed with Dragon Tail. In addition to Lucarionite and Aerodactylite, Kartana can run Pinsirite with Return to get an Aerilate-boosted Flying-type STAB move for better type coverage. While running Defog over Smart Strike or Return might seem like it a good option, it severely restricts Kartana's coverage and causes it to miss out on a lot of key KOs.

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

**Aggronite Buzzwole**: Aggronite Buzzwole can completely invalidate almost anything that Kartana attempts to do to it due to its immunity to Toxic Spikes after Mega Evolving. (I don't see what Buzzwole being immune to Toxic Spikes has to do with stopping Kartana at all? Tspikes support isn't even mentioned at all, much less emphasized as an integral part of Kartana's role, in Team Options. Fix this somehow.)

**Fire-types**: Fire-types like Primal Groudon, Entei, and Victini are able to switch in on Kartana on a resisted hit and KO in return with their respective Fire-type STAB moves; however, Entei and Victini are 2HKOed by Return.

**Status**: Mew and Arceus-Ghost can cripple Kartana by burning it with Will-O-Wisp, and certain targets like Zygarde and Zygarde-C can paralyze Kartana with Glare, making it easy to revenge kill.

**Bulky Flying-types**: Bulky Flying-types, namely Zapdos and Mandibuzz, are able to easily take one of Kartana's hits and, in Zapdos's case, either force it out or KO it with Heat Wave, and in Mandibuzz's case, threaten to OHKO it with Foul Play. Rarer Flying-types like Arceus-Flying also take care of Kartana relatively easily with STAB moves like Judgment, as well as the surprise factor that they present.

**Magearna**: Even though Kartana is able to eventually break through Magearna with enough boosts from Swords Dance, Cameruptite Magearna is able to either set up Trick Room to either force Kartana out or, (AC) outspeed and KO it due to its pitiful special bulk, (AC) or utilize Pain Split with its attacking moves to wear down Kartana and its teammates. (AP)

**Bulky Dragon-types**: Bulky Dragon-types like Arceus-Dragon and Giratina-O can annoy Kartana by either burning it with Will-O-Wisp or OHKOing it with Shadow Ball. . (Remove one of the two periods)

**Faster Attackers**: Diancite users, specifically Terrakion, Shaymin-S, and Tapu Lele, are able to outspeed and KO Kartana if they don't have Sticky Web up on their side, and even if Sticky Web is up in Shaymin-S's instance, its Flying typing makes it immune Sticky Web, so it still outspeeds Kartana. However, none of the Diancite users are able to safely switch in on Kartana and risk being OHKOed if they do so. Choice Scarf users like Ditto also pose a threat to Kartana because even if Sticky Web is up on Ditto's side, it can transform into Kartana to copy Kartana's stat changes to get rid of a lowered Speed stat and then outspeed and KO.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Kris, 241023]]
- Quality checked by: [[Chazm, 376369], [Quantum Tesseract, 297239], [In The Hills, 324242]]
- Grammar checked by: [[A Cake Wearing A Hat, 388157], [, ]]

1/2
ok implemented
 

Electrolyte

Wouldn't Wanna Know
is a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Hi Kris

Add Remove (Comments)

[OVERVIEW]
Kartana is a threatening Pokemon in Mix and Mega because it makes good use of its already high Attack, decent Speed, and unique movepool to utilize Tough Claws from Metagrossite. After Mega Evolving, Metagrossite Kartana's base 191 Attack and 149 Speed allow it to outspeed and 2HKO most of the Mix and Mega metagame, including threats like Weavile, Landorus-T, unboosted Zygarde, and Lucarionite Terrakion. Kartana's useful Grass / Steel typing leaves it with a notable resistance to Fairy-type moves like Altarianite Zygarde's Extreme Speed, as well as leaving it with a key resistance to Water-type moves, allowing it to win against Golisopod one-on-one if needed. When Kartana's typing is combined with its base 151 Defense stat after Mega Evolving, Kartana is able to survive powerful resisted attacks more easily as well. However, Kartana's Grass / Steel typing also leaves it with a huge weakness to the common Fire type, Fire-type, which means that it is easily forced out by Primal Groudon(, remove comma) as well as Entei and Victini if it isn't running Return. On top of that, by virtue of being a physical attacker, Kartana is easily taken on by physical walls like Zapdos, Will-O-Wisp Mew, and Aggronite Buzzwole, and with mediocre Special Defense, Kartana is left extremely susceptible to almost all special moves.

[SET]
name: Metagrossite
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Sacred Sword
move 3: Return / Smart Strike
move 4: Swords Dance
item: Metagrossite
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

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

Leaf Blade is Kartana's main STAB move and 2HKOes Golisopod, offensive Primal Groudon, and Lucarionite Zygarde after Mega Evolving. Sacred Sword is Kartana's best coverage move, most notably 2HKOing Sablenite Blissey after Stealth Rock as well as OHKOing it after a Swords Dance, hitting every Steel-type for at least neutral damage, and providing otherwise decent neutral coverage. Return is preferred over Smart Strike because it provides decent neutral coverage as well(, remove comma) and it allows Kartana to deal with Pokemon that it otherwise can't, such as Volcarona, Zapdos, Entei, and Victini. Smart Strike can be used over Return, though, because it's Kartana's strongest Steel-type STAB move and has a chance to OHKO Altarianite Zygarde without any prior chip damage as well as while also guaranteeing an OHKO after Stealth Rock. Swords Dance allows Kartana to boost its Attack to monstrous levels in order to change some key 2HKOs into OHKOs such as against defensive Primal Groudon to prevent it from being forced out.

Set Details
========

Maximum Attack EVs and access to Tough Claws after Mega Evolving let Kartana hit as hard as possible, notably OHKOing Weavile and Altarianite Zygarde, and Metagrossite, maximum Speed EVs, and a Jolly nature allow Kartana to become stronger, faster, and bulkier in order to outspeed and beat them. Beast Boost is Kartana's only ability prior to Mega Evolving, but it can be useful for a free boost before Mega Evolving against weakened foes.

Usage Tips
========

Before Mega Evolving Kartana, try to use it as a revenge killer against slower foes in order for it to utilize Beast Boost for free Attack boosts. Use Kartana as a fast revenge killer against offensive teams after Mega Evolving to take care of weakened Altarianite Zygarde and Lucarionite Terrakion. Unless Kartana has already set up, avoid leaving it in against healthy Fire-types like Primal Groudon, Entei, Victini, and Red Orb Shaymin-S due to its 4x weakness to Fire-type moves, and be wary about leaving Kartana in against bulky special attackers like Magearna and Lunala. Try to set up Swords Dance after opposing faster or bulkier special attackers like Magearna and Diancite Shaymin-S and Magearna (even if this is Diancite Magearna, I think you can just say 'Magearna' and take this off) have been weakened or removed to decrease Kartana's risk of being forced out. Use more passive Pokemon like Venusaurite Gliscor as setup fodder for Swords Dance to enable Kartana to deal with physically bulky Pokemon like defensive Primal Groudon more easily. Kartana is still easily KOed despite its nice Defense, so try to use Swords Dance on predicted switches or against more passive Pokemon like Toxapex and the previously mentioned Gliscor.

Team Options
========

Stealth Rock setters like Shuckle, Primal Groudon, and Landorus-T are appreciated because Kartana enjoys having as much chip damage dealt to the opposing team as possible to make its job easier. Shuckle is also greatly appreciated due to its ability to set up Sticky Web because Kartana appreciates being able to outspeed foes like Diancite Terrakion. Kartana's special bulk is abysmal, so specially bulky Pokemon like Ho-Oh and Magearna make for good teammates; Ho-Oh is especially useful because it has great type synergy with Kartana, covering Kartana's weakness to Fire-type moves from defensive Primal Groudon while Kartana covers Ho-Oh's weakness to Rock-type moves and physical Water-type moves. Kartana is extremely weak to Fire-type moves; this can be mitigated by having Blue Orb users like Golisopod, Magearna, and Primal Kyogre as teammates. Golisopod is also helpful because it offers utility in the form of Spikes. While not as common, Kartana has issues with Fighting-types like Diancite Terrakion and Keldeo when Sticky Web isn't up, so Altarianite users like Zygarde and Entei are good teammates. Even though Kartana doesn't take much damage from Stealth Rock and is immune to Toxic Spikes, it still loses a significant amount of health from Spikes and can have its effectiveness hindered by a potential Sticky Web being set up on its side of the field, so hazard control from Defoggers like Gliscor, Zapdos, and various Arceus formes is helpful. Venusaurite Gliscor and Zapdos are also useful because they have Thick Fat after Mega Evolving to help Kartana deal with Fire-types, and their type combinations and bulk allow them to deal with Fighting-types as well. Slow pivots like Gliscor, Sablenite Zapdos, and Sablenite Mandibuzz are also helpful to get Kartana in safely to force out more Pokemon for free setup opportunities, and they can use Toxic + Roost to help weaken and stall foes that Kartana struggles with.

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

Kartana can run Lopunnite over Metagrossite for a bigger Attack boost after Mega Evolving and a type change to Grass / Fighting to gain STAB from Sacred Sword to eliminate both the need for Smart Strike and the worry of Ghost-types switching in thanks to Scrappy; however, Lopunnite makes Kartana slower, frailer(, add oxford comma) and weaker to more types, especially -ate Extreme Speed from Pokemon like Altarianite Zygarde. If you're running Kartana on a Sticky Web team, you can opt to use Lucarionite or Aerodactylite over Metagrossite, as they both provide larger Attack boosts while remaining nearly the same in regard to bulk and abilities; however, note that if the Sticky Web on the foe's side of the field is removed or never gets set up, Kartana becomes more susceptible to being outsped and KOed. Despite the Speed drop, Smart Strike from Lucarionite Kartana 2HKOes Cameruptite Magearna and is therefore a great choice for offense teams that are prone to a counter sweep. Make note that Lucarionite Kartana also runs Substitute over Sacred Sword to potentially block status and to prevent it from being phazed with Dragon Tail. In addition to Lucarionite and Aerodactylite, Kartana can run Pinsirite with Return to get an Aerilate-boosted Flying-type STAB move for better type coverage. While running Defog over Smart Strike or Return might seem like a good option, it severely restricts Kartana's coverage and causes it to miss out on a lot of key KOs.

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

**Aggronite Buzzwole**: Aggronite Buzzwole can completely invalidate almost anything that Kartana attempts to do to it due to its immunity to Toxic after Mega Evolving, meaning that bulkier teammates cannot Toxic stall it for Kartana.

**Fire-types**: Fire-types like Primal Groudon, Entei, and Victini are able to switch in on Kartana on a resisted hit and KO in return with their respective Fire-type STAB moves; however, Entei and Victini are 2HKOed by Return.

**Status**: Mew and Arceus-Ghost can cripple Kartana by burning it with Will-O-Wisp(, remove comma) and certain targets like Zygarde and Zygarde-C can paralyze Kartana with Glare, making it easy to revenge kill.

**Bulky Flying-types**: Bulky Flying-types, namely Zapdos and Mandibuzz, are able to easily take one of Kartana's hits and, in Zapdos's case, either force it out or KO it with Heat Wave, and in Mandibuzz's case, threaten to OHKO it with Foul Play. Rarer Flying-types like Arceus-Flying also take care of Kartana relatively easily with STAB moves like Judgment, as well as the surprise factor that they present.

**Magearna**: Even though Kartana is able to eventually break through Magearna with enough boosts from Swords Dance, Cameruptite Magearna is able to either set up Trick Room to force Kartana out, outspeed and KO it due to its pitiful special bulk, or utilize Pain Split with its attacking moves to wear down Kartana and its teammates.

**Bulky Dragon-types**: Bulky Dragon-types like Arceus-Dragon and Giratina-O can annoy Kartana by either burning it with Will-O-Wisp or OHKOing it with Shadow Ball.

**Faster Attackers**: Diancite users, specifically Terrakion, Shaymin-S, and Tapu Lele, are able to outspeed and KO Kartana if they don't have Sticky Web up on their side, and even if Sticky Web is up in Shaymin-S's instance, its Flying typing makes it immune Sticky Web, so it still outspeeds Kartana. However, none of the Diancite users are able to safely switch in on Kartana and risk being OHKOed if they do so. Choice Scarf users like Ditto also pose a threat to Kartana because even if Sticky Web is up on Ditto's side, it can transform into Kartana to copy Kartana's stat changes to get rid of a lowered Speed stat and then outspeed and KO.


GP 2/2

 

dhelmise

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[OVERVIEW]
Kartana is a threatening Pokemon in Mix and Mega because it makes good use of its already high Attack, decent Speed, and unique movepool to utilize Tough Claws from Metagrossite. After Mega Evolving, Metagrossite Kartana's base 191 Attack and 149 Speed allow it to outspeed and 2HKO most of the Mix and Mega metagame, including threats like Weavile, Landorus-T, unboosted Zygarde, and Lucarionite Terrakion. Kartana's useful Grass / Steel typing leaves it with a notable resistance to Fairy-type moves like Altarianite Zygarde's Extreme Speed, as well as leaving it with a key resistance to Water-type moves, allowing it to win against Golisopod one-on-one if needed. When Kartana's typing is combined with its base 151 Defense stat after Mega Evolving, Kartana is able to survive powerful resisted attacks more easily as well. However, Kartana's Grass / Steel typing also leaves it with a huge weakness to the common Fire type, Fire-type, which means that it is easily forced out by Primal Groudon(, remove comma) as well as Entei and Victini if it isn't running Return. On top of that, by virtue of being a physical attacker, Kartana is easily taken on by physical walls like Zapdos, Will-O-Wisp Mew, and Aggronite Buzzwole, and with mediocre Special Defense, Kartana is left extremely susceptible to almost all special moves.

[SET]
name: Metagrossite
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Sacred Sword
move 3: Return / Smart Strike
move 4: Swords Dance
item: Metagrossite
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

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

Leaf Blade is Kartana's main STAB move and 2HKOes Golisopod, offensive Primal Groudon, and Lucarionite Zygarde after Mega Evolving. Sacred Sword is Kartana's best coverage move, most notably 2HKOing Sablenite Blissey after Stealth Rock as well as OHKOing it after a Swords Dance, hitting every Steel-type for at least neutral damage, and providing otherwise decent neutral coverage. Return is preferred over Smart Strike because it provides decent neutral coverage as well(, remove comma) and it allows Kartana to deal with Pokemon that it otherwise can't, such as Volcarona, Zapdos, Entei, and Victini. Smart Strike can be used over Return, though, because it's Kartana's strongest Steel-type STAB move and has a chance to OHKO Altarianite Zygarde without any prior chip damage as well as while also guaranteeing an OHKO after Stealth Rock. Swords Dance allows Kartana to boost its Attack to monstrous levels in order to change some key 2HKOs into OHKOs such as against defensive Primal Groudon to prevent it from being forced out.

Set Details
========

Maximum Attack EVs and access to Tough Claws after Mega Evolving let Kartana hit as hard as possible, notably OHKOing Weavile and Altarianite Zygarde, and Metagrossite, maximum Speed EVs, and a Jolly nature allow Kartana to become stronger, faster, and bulkier in order to outspeed and beat them. Beast Boost is Kartana's only ability prior to Mega Evolving, but it can be useful for a free boost before Mega Evolving against weakened foes.

Usage Tips
========

Before Mega Evolving Kartana, try to use it as a revenge killer against slower foes in order for it to utilize Beast Boost for free Attack boosts. Use Kartana as a fast revenge killer against offensive teams after Mega Evolving to take care of weakened Altarianite Zygarde and Lucarionite Terrakion. Unless Kartana has already set up, avoid leaving it in against healthy Fire-types like Primal Groudon, Entei, Victini, and Red Orb Shaymin-S due to its 4x weakness to Fire-type moves, and be wary about leaving Kartana in against bulky special attackers like Magearna and Lunala. Try to set up Swords Dance after opposing faster or bulkier special attackers like Magearna and Diancite Shaymin-S and Magearna (even if this is Diancite Magearna, I think you can just say 'Magearna' and take this off) have been weakened or removed to decrease Kartana's risk of being forced out. Use more passive Pokemon like Venusaurite Gliscor as setup fodder for Swords Dance to enable Kartana to deal with physically bulky Pokemon like defensive Primal Groudon more easily. Kartana is still easily KOed despite its nice Defense, so try to use Swords Dance on predicted switches or against more passive Pokemon like Toxapex and the previously mentioned Gliscor.

Team Options
========

Stealth Rock setters like Shuckle, Primal Groudon, and Landorus-T are appreciated because Kartana enjoys having as much chip damage dealt to the opposing team as possible to make its job easier. Shuckle is also greatly appreciated due to its ability to set up Sticky Web because Kartana appreciates being able to outspeed foes like Diancite Terrakion. Kartana's special bulk is abysmal, so specially bulky Pokemon like Ho-Oh and Magearna make for good teammates; Ho-Oh is especially useful because it has great type synergy with Kartana, covering Kartana's weakness to Fire-type moves from defensive Primal Groudon while Kartana covers Ho-Oh's weakness to Rock-type moves and physical Water-type moves. Kartana is extremely weak to Fire-type moves; this can be mitigated by having Blue Orb users like Golisopod, Magearna, and Primal Kyogre as teammates. Golisopod is also helpful because it offers utility in the form of Spikes. While not as common, Kartana has issues with Fighting-types like Diancite Terrakion and Keldeo when Sticky Web isn't up, so Altarianite users like Zygarde and Entei are good teammates. Even though Kartana doesn't take much damage from Stealth Rock and is immune to Toxic Spikes, it still loses a significant amount of health from Spikes and can have its effectiveness hindered by a potential Sticky Web being set up on its side of the field, so hazard control from Defoggers like Gliscor, Zapdos, and various Arceus formes is helpful. Venusaurite Gliscor and Zapdos are also useful because they have Thick Fat after Mega Evolving to help Kartana deal with Fire-types, and their type combinations and bulk allow them to deal with Fighting-types as well. Slow pivots like Gliscor, Sablenite Zapdos, and Sablenite Mandibuzz are also helpful to get Kartana in safely to force out more Pokemon for free setup opportunities, and they can use Toxic + Roost to help weaken and stall foes that Kartana struggles with.

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

Kartana can run Lopunnite over Metagrossite for a bigger Attack boost after Mega Evolving and a type change to Grass / Fighting to gain STAB from Sacred Sword to eliminate both the need for Smart Strike and the worry of Ghost-types switching in thanks to Scrappy; however, Lopunnite makes Kartana slower, frailer(, add oxford comma) and weaker to more types, especially -ate Extreme Speed from Pokemon like Altarianite Zygarde. If you're running Kartana on a Sticky Web team, you can opt to use Lucarionite or Aerodactylite over Metagrossite, as they both provide larger Attack boosts while remaining nearly the same in regard to bulk and abilities; however, note that if the Sticky Web on the foe's side of the field is removed or never gets set up, Kartana becomes more susceptible to being outsped and KOed. Despite the Speed drop, Smart Strike from Lucarionite Kartana 2HKOes Cameruptite Magearna and is therefore a great choice for offense teams that are prone to a counter sweep. Make note that Lucarionite Kartana also runs Substitute over Sacred Sword to potentially block status and to prevent it from being phazed with Dragon Tail. In addition to Lucarionite and Aerodactylite, Kartana can run Pinsirite with Return to get an Aerilate-boosted Flying-type STAB move for better type coverage. While running Defog over Smart Strike or Return might seem like a good option, it severely restricts Kartana's coverage and causes it to miss out on a lot of key KOs.

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

**Aggronite Buzzwole**: Aggronite Buzzwole can completely invalidate almost anything that Kartana attempts to do to it due to its immunity to Toxic after Mega Evolving, meaning that bulkier teammates cannot Toxic stall it for Kartana.

**Fire-types**: Fire-types like Primal Groudon, Entei, and Victini are able to switch in on Kartana on a resisted hit and KO in return with their respective Fire-type STAB moves; however, Entei and Victini are 2HKOed by Return.

**Status**: Mew and Arceus-Ghost can cripple Kartana by burning it with Will-O-Wisp(, remove comma) and certain targets like Zygarde and Zygarde-C can paralyze Kartana with Glare, making it easy to revenge kill.

**Bulky Flying-types**: Bulky Flying-types, namely Zapdos and Mandibuzz, are able to easily take one of Kartana's hits and, in Zapdos's case, either force it out or KO it with Heat Wave, and in Mandibuzz's case, threaten to OHKO it with Foul Play. Rarer Flying-types like Arceus-Flying also take care of Kartana relatively easily with STAB moves like Judgment, as well as the surprise factor that they present.

**Magearna**: Even though Kartana is able to eventually break through Magearna with enough boosts from Swords Dance, Cameruptite Magearna is able to either set up Trick Room to force Kartana out, outspeed and KO it due to its pitiful special bulk, or utilize Pain Split with its attacking moves to wear down Kartana and its teammates.

**Bulky Dragon-types**: Bulky Dragon-types like Arceus-Dragon and Giratina-O can annoy Kartana by either burning it with Will-O-Wisp or OHKOing it with Shadow Ball.

**Faster Attackers**: Diancite users, specifically Terrakion, Shaymin-S, and Tapu Lele, are able to outspeed and KO Kartana if they don't have Sticky Web up on their side, and even if Sticky Web is up in Shaymin-S's instance, its Flying typing makes it immune Sticky Web, so it still outspeeds Kartana. However, none of the Diancite users are able to safely switch in on Kartana and risk being OHKOed if they do so. Choice Scarf users like Ditto also pose a threat to Kartana because even if Sticky Web is up on Ditto's side, it can transform into Kartana to copy Kartana's stat changes to get rid of a lowered Speed stat and then outspeed and KO.


GP 2/2

thx implemented

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