[OVERVIEW]
- With a solid speed tier that allows it to outrun a good portion of the metagame, coupled with a great offensive capabilities, Keldeo finds itself being a strong option for many offensive teams.
- Keldeo has access to a lot of valuable tools, such as Flip Turn, Calm Mind, Air Slash, or Taunt, making it quite versatile and able to run multiple sets.
- A dual Water/Fighting typing allows Keldeo to threaten common metagame staples, such as Nidoqueen,
- With common presences in the metagame that can beat Keldeo consistently, such as Latias or Amoonguss, Keldeo can find itself choked out a lot of the time.
- Possessing moderate bulk and a typing that doesn't grant it many resistances, Keldeo often cannot directly switch into an attack more then once, limiting it's opportunities to wallbreak or setup.
- Due to it's moderate bulk and lack of recovery, Keldeo finds itself prone to being worn down if repeatedly coming in on even strong resisted hits, such as repeated attacks from the likes of Scizor or Victini.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Secret Sword
move 3: Flip Turn / Surf
move 4: Air Slash / Icy Wind
item: Choice Specs
ability: Justified
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
paragraph 1
- Choice Specs boosts Keldeo's stabs to insane levels, allowing it to potentially break past shakier resists, such as Azumarill or Tapu Bulu.
- Hydro Pump is the water STAB of choice, with the high damage output being able to naturally KO neutral targets and potentially 2HKO resisted targets.
- Surf is also an option, although the decrease in power is quite noticeable, as Keldeo will miss out on a lot of potential KO's and 2HKO's.
- Secret Sword targets the opponent's defense stat instead of their special defense stat, making it superior to Focus Blast for being able to muscle through specially bulky pokemon, such as Chansey or Primarina.
- Flip Turn allows Keldeo to pivot out on checks to it, such as Amoonguss or Latias, and bring in a teammate.
- Air Slash is generally the coverage option of choice, being able to hit Amoonguss, Assault Vest Tangrowth, and Kommo-o for super effective damage. It also has the benefit of retaining neutral damage against targets such as Latias or Tentacruel.
- Icy Wind is another option that hits Latias and Salamence harder then Air Slash, while still retaining the ability to hit Amoonguss and Tangrowth. However, it makes Keldeo unable to touch targets such as Slowking or Tentacruel.
paragraph 2
- Choice Specs Keldeo fits best on offense and bulky offense teams that appreciate its ability to break past pokemon like Chansey or Nidoqueen.
- If running Flip Turn, Keldeo can form a pivot core with pokemon such as Scizor, Victini, or Zeraora.
- Keldeo appreciates pokemon such as Victini, Latias, or Kyurem that can help break Keldeo's checks.
- If running Flip Turn, teammates such as Mamoswine appreciate Keldeo's ability to safely bring them onto the field.
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move1: Scald / Surf
move2: Secret Sword
move3: Calm Mind
move4: Air Slash / Icy Wind / Substitute
item: Leftovers
ability: Justified
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
paragraph 1
- With access to Calm Mind and a plethora of unique options that allow it to bypass traditional special walls, Keldeo cements itself as a solid Calm Mind abuser.
- Scald is the go-to Water STAB, as the high PP alongside the burn chance give Keldeo a chance to punish pokemon like Tapu Bulu that would otherwise consistently come in on it for free.
- Surf is another consistent option that trades the burn chance for a slight power boost, doing comfortably more to neutral targets such as Celesteela.
- Secret Sword hits the opponent's defense as opposed to their special defense, enabling Keldeo to get around special walls, such as Chansey, with greater ease.
- Air Slash hits Amoonguss, Kommo-o, and Tangrowth all super effectively, while also hitting pokemon such as Latias and Slowking for neutral damage.
- Icy Wind is an alternative that hits Kommo-o, Latias, and Salamence harder, while still retaining the hit on Amoonguss and Tangrowth. However, Keldeo is then unable to touch the likes of Slowking or Azumarill.
- Substitute is also an option that enables Keldeo to avoid status moves that would plague it's attempts to set up and win, such as Toxic or Leech Seed.
paragraph 2
- Keldeo best slots into bulky offense and balance teams that appreciate Keldeo's ability to setup on and break past more passive pokemon, such as Chansey or Slowking lacking Psyshock.
- Wallbreakers that can break past Keldeo's more sturdy checks are greatly appreciated, such as Victini, Latias, or Kyurem.
- Due to Keldeo's speed tier falling short of common metagame staples such as Latias or Zeraora, speed control options to outrun and threaten these pokemon, such as Choice Scarf Krookodile make good teammates.
- Knock Off users such as Zeraora or Tangrowth make the opponent's pokemon easier to wear down by removing their item, allowing Keldeo to have an easier time cleaning up late game.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move1: Hydro Pump / Surf
move2: Secret Sword
move3: Icy Wind / Toxic
move4: Flip Turn
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Justified
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
paragraph 1
- A Choice Scarf allows Keldeo to outrun and threaten several offensive threats in the UU tier, such as Terrakion, Zeraora, or Lycanroc-Dusk.
- Hydro Pump's raw damage output makes up for the lack of a power-boosting item, and is therefore the water STAB of choice.
- Surf is also a more consistent option with the drawback of less immediate power.
- Secret Sword nails the opponent's defense stat compared to their special defense, meaning Keldeo isn't completely shut down by special walls.
- Icy Wind hits pokemon such as Salamence, Amoonguss, and Latias, while also lowering their speed stat.
- Toxic is another option that allows Keldeo to punish common switch ins such as Tangrowth, Slowking, or Latias, limiting their longevity.
- Flip Turn is the key to this set, enabling Keldeo to pivot out on a check coming in and bring in a teammate for free.
paragraph 2
- Keldeo best fits on offensive teams that appreciate Keldeo's ability to revenge kill dangerous offensive threats, such as Terrakion or Nihilego.
- Teammates such as Mamoswine and Victini appreciate Keldeo's ability to threaten faster pokemon, while also bringing them in via Flip Turn.
- Due to Keldeo's STAB combination being completely walled by the likes of Azumarill, pokemon that can handle it, such as Amoonguss or Tapu Bulu, are appreciated.s
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
- Scald is an option on the Choice Specs set, due to it's ability to be spammable and punish common switch ins such as Tapu Bulu with a burn. However, like Surf, the decrease in power in noticeable, and is generally inferior to Surf due to the even further power drop.
- On the Calm Mind set, Toxic can be used in the last slot to wear down the likes of Latias, Tangrowth, or Slowking, although coverage options or Substitute are generally more appreciated, and Keldeo generally doesn't have room for it.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Grass types**: Sturdy Grass types, such as Amoonguss, Tangrowth, and Tapu Bulu, are able to come in on most of anything Keldeo can throw at them and retaliate with a STAB Grass attack. Amoonguss and Assault Vest variants of Tangrowth in particular are annoying due to their ability to consistently switch out and regain health, making sure Keldeo will never break past. However, it should be noted that Air Slash variants of Keldeo are able to inflict serious damage, and Toxic and Icy Wind being annoying for the latter of the two.
**Latias**: Latias is able to consistently come in on Keldeo's STAB attacks, Roost off the damage, and fire off a super effective Psyshock. Due to Latias' respectable special bulk, there's nothing Keldeo can really threaten Latias with, even with several Calm Mind boosts under it's belt, as Latias will naturally outspeed and KO Keldeo with Psyshock.
**Bulky Waters**: Bulky Water types that resist Keldeo's secondary STAB, such as Slowking and Azumarill, give Keldeo a hard time if given the right tools. With Regenerator, Slowking is able to consistently pivot in on Keldeo, fire off an attack, or Teleport out. However, Slowking lacking Psyshock are easy setup fodder for Calm Mind variants of Keldeo carrying Substitute. Azumarill is bulky enough to take any attack Keldeo has, and threaten to KO Keldeo in return with STAB Play Rough. However, Azumarill must be weary of Scald variants, as being Burnt cripples Azumarill's ability to dish out strong amounts of damage. Gyarados also is able to sit on Keldeo for the most part, although it too must be weary of Scald burns, which hinder its ability to setup and win.
**Fast Electrics**: Pokemon such as Zeraora and Thundurus are able to naturally outspeed and KO Keldeo with their electric STAB attacks. However, neither can switch into any variant of Keldeo, and both must be weary of Choice Scarf variants, as these will outrun and threaten a KO on both.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Sickist,463422]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
- With a solid speed tier that allows it to outrun a good portion of the metagame, coupled with a great offensive capabilities, Keldeo finds itself being a strong option for many offensive teams.
- Keldeo has access to a lot of valuable tools, such as Flip Turn, Calm Mind, Air Slash, or Taunt, making it quite versatile and able to run multiple sets.
- A dual Water/Fighting typing allows Keldeo to threaten common metagame staples, such as Nidoqueen,
- With common presences in the metagame that can beat Keldeo consistently, such as Latias or Amoonguss, Keldeo can find itself choked out a lot of the time.
- Possessing moderate bulk and a typing that doesn't grant it many resistances, Keldeo often cannot directly switch into an attack more then once, limiting it's opportunities to wallbreak or setup.
- Due to it's moderate bulk and lack of recovery, Keldeo finds itself prone to being worn down if repeatedly coming in on even strong resisted hits, such as repeated attacks from the likes of Scizor or Victini.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Hydro Pump
move 2: Secret Sword
move 3: Flip Turn / Surf
move 4: Air Slash / Icy Wind
item: Choice Specs
ability: Justified
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
paragraph 1
- Choice Specs boosts Keldeo's stabs to insane levels, allowing it to potentially break past shakier resists, such as Azumarill or Tapu Bulu.
- Hydro Pump is the water STAB of choice, with the high damage output being able to naturally KO neutral targets and potentially 2HKO resisted targets.
- Surf is also an option, although the decrease in power is quite noticeable, as Keldeo will miss out on a lot of potential KO's and 2HKO's.
- Secret Sword targets the opponent's defense stat instead of their special defense stat, making it superior to Focus Blast for being able to muscle through specially bulky pokemon, such as Chansey or Primarina.
- Flip Turn allows Keldeo to pivot out on checks to it, such as Amoonguss or Latias, and bring in a teammate.
- Air Slash is generally the coverage option of choice, being able to hit Amoonguss, Assault Vest Tangrowth, and Kommo-o for super effective damage. It also has the benefit of retaining neutral damage against targets such as Latias or Tentacruel.
- Icy Wind is another option that hits Latias and Salamence harder then Air Slash, while still retaining the ability to hit Amoonguss and Tangrowth. However, it makes Keldeo unable to touch targets such as Slowking or Tentacruel.
paragraph 2
- Choice Specs Keldeo fits best on offense and bulky offense teams that appreciate its ability to break past pokemon like Chansey or Nidoqueen.
- If running Flip Turn, Keldeo can form a pivot core with pokemon such as Scizor, Victini, or Zeraora.
- Keldeo appreciates pokemon such as Victini, Latias, or Kyurem that can help break Keldeo's checks.
- If running Flip Turn, teammates such as Mamoswine appreciate Keldeo's ability to safely bring them onto the field.
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move1: Scald / Surf
move2: Secret Sword
move3: Calm Mind
move4: Air Slash / Icy Wind / Substitute
item: Leftovers
ability: Justified
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
paragraph 1
- With access to Calm Mind and a plethora of unique options that allow it to bypass traditional special walls, Keldeo cements itself as a solid Calm Mind abuser.
- Scald is the go-to Water STAB, as the high PP alongside the burn chance give Keldeo a chance to punish pokemon like Tapu Bulu that would otherwise consistently come in on it for free.
- Surf is another consistent option that trades the burn chance for a slight power boost, doing comfortably more to neutral targets such as Celesteela.
- Secret Sword hits the opponent's defense as opposed to their special defense, enabling Keldeo to get around special walls, such as Chansey, with greater ease.
- Air Slash hits Amoonguss, Kommo-o, and Tangrowth all super effectively, while also hitting pokemon such as Latias and Slowking for neutral damage.
- Icy Wind is an alternative that hits Kommo-o, Latias, and Salamence harder, while still retaining the hit on Amoonguss and Tangrowth. However, Keldeo is then unable to touch the likes of Slowking or Azumarill.
- Substitute is also an option that enables Keldeo to avoid status moves that would plague it's attempts to set up and win, such as Toxic or Leech Seed.
paragraph 2
- Keldeo best slots into bulky offense and balance teams that appreciate Keldeo's ability to setup on and break past more passive pokemon, such as Chansey or Slowking lacking Psyshock.
- Wallbreakers that can break past Keldeo's more sturdy checks are greatly appreciated, such as Victini, Latias, or Kyurem.
- Due to Keldeo's speed tier falling short of common metagame staples such as Latias or Zeraora, speed control options to outrun and threaten these pokemon, such as Choice Scarf Krookodile make good teammates.
- Knock Off users such as Zeraora or Tangrowth make the opponent's pokemon easier to wear down by removing their item, allowing Keldeo to have an easier time cleaning up late game.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move1: Hydro Pump / Surf
move2: Secret Sword
move3: Icy Wind / Toxic
move4: Flip Turn
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Justified
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
paragraph 1
- A Choice Scarf allows Keldeo to outrun and threaten several offensive threats in the UU tier, such as Terrakion, Zeraora, or Lycanroc-Dusk.
- Hydro Pump's raw damage output makes up for the lack of a power-boosting item, and is therefore the water STAB of choice.
- Surf is also a more consistent option with the drawback of less immediate power.
- Secret Sword nails the opponent's defense stat compared to their special defense, meaning Keldeo isn't completely shut down by special walls.
- Icy Wind hits pokemon such as Salamence, Amoonguss, and Latias, while also lowering their speed stat.
- Toxic is another option that allows Keldeo to punish common switch ins such as Tangrowth, Slowking, or Latias, limiting their longevity.
- Flip Turn is the key to this set, enabling Keldeo to pivot out on a check coming in and bring in a teammate for free.
paragraph 2
- Keldeo best fits on offensive teams that appreciate Keldeo's ability to revenge kill dangerous offensive threats, such as Terrakion or Nihilego.
- Teammates such as Mamoswine and Victini appreciate Keldeo's ability to threaten faster pokemon, while also bringing them in via Flip Turn.
- Due to Keldeo's STAB combination being completely walled by the likes of Azumarill, pokemon that can handle it, such as Amoonguss or Tapu Bulu, are appreciated.s
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
- Scald is an option on the Choice Specs set, due to it's ability to be spammable and punish common switch ins such as Tapu Bulu with a burn. However, like Surf, the decrease in power in noticeable, and is generally inferior to Surf due to the even further power drop.
- On the Calm Mind set, Toxic can be used in the last slot to wear down the likes of Latias, Tangrowth, or Slowking, although coverage options or Substitute are generally more appreciated, and Keldeo generally doesn't have room for it.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Grass types**: Sturdy Grass types, such as Amoonguss, Tangrowth, and Tapu Bulu, are able to come in on most of anything Keldeo can throw at them and retaliate with a STAB Grass attack. Amoonguss and Assault Vest variants of Tangrowth in particular are annoying due to their ability to consistently switch out and regain health, making sure Keldeo will never break past. However, it should be noted that Air Slash variants of Keldeo are able to inflict serious damage, and Toxic and Icy Wind being annoying for the latter of the two.
**Latias**: Latias is able to consistently come in on Keldeo's STAB attacks, Roost off the damage, and fire off a super effective Psyshock. Due to Latias' respectable special bulk, there's nothing Keldeo can really threaten Latias with, even with several Calm Mind boosts under it's belt, as Latias will naturally outspeed and KO Keldeo with Psyshock.
**Bulky Waters**: Bulky Water types that resist Keldeo's secondary STAB, such as Slowking and Azumarill, give Keldeo a hard time if given the right tools. With Regenerator, Slowking is able to consistently pivot in on Keldeo, fire off an attack, or Teleport out. However, Slowking lacking Psyshock are easy setup fodder for Calm Mind variants of Keldeo carrying Substitute. Azumarill is bulky enough to take any attack Keldeo has, and threaten to KO Keldeo in return with STAB Play Rough. However, Azumarill must be weary of Scald variants, as being Burnt cripples Azumarill's ability to dish out strong amounts of damage. Gyarados also is able to sit on Keldeo for the most part, although it too must be weary of Scald burns, which hinder its ability to setup and win.
**Fast Electrics**: Pokemon such as Zeraora and Thundurus are able to naturally outspeed and KO Keldeo with their electric STAB attacks. However, neither can switch into any variant of Keldeo, and both must be weary of Choice Scarf variants, as these will outrun and threaten a KO on both.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Sickist,463422]]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2], [username3, userid3]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1], [username2, userid2]]
Last edited:
