Lure That Threat [That's All, Folks! (Paused For BSPL)]

Darkinium

Darkinium

the mighty nuaguunibi
Approved by cant say
OP stolen from ORAS OU thread, with some slight changes by Darkinium (myself) Some changes were replaced with stuff from our Victim of the Week thread, from where most of the overall format was taken as well.

Welcome, Battle Spot Singles players! We all know what lures are and what they do, specific Pokemon that run an unexpected move or moveset in order to weaken or directly OHKO a specific threat, and pave the way for another sweeper. Having said that though, there isn't that much of a focus on lures in the Battle Spot Singles Forum. This project creates a competition to see what the ingenuity of people can come up with, and, hopefully, improve the teambuilding aspect we have at the moment.

Procedure:

  • Every round, I will nominate a Pokemon to be lured, alongside a set. You will then nominate one Pokemon that you believe can lure the designated threat, with a clear explanation of how exactly they do that.
  • Each Lure That Threat will consist of four days for posting nominations and three days for voting. The new threat will be announced on the same day as the previous week's winner.
  • After the deadline, there are three days where everyone can vote on which set they think is best. Bandwagon votes are illegal and will result in your vote being void.
  • Once the results are in, the winner's set will be archived and the next threat will be announced.
Rules:

  • Your nomination must include an importable set.
  • When nominating your Pokemon, include how it can lure the current threat, how it works, and how effective it is in the Battle Spot metagame. Damage calcs are especially useful for helping back up your nomination (although are not compulsory). You can find the damage calculator here.
  • Your Pokemon must hold some sort of viability in the metagame. Niche Pokemon are perfectly fine, but don't go with Pokemon hold minuscule viability like Shedinja and Electivire. The viability rankings are your best friend and will give you a great guideline of what kind of Pokemon you should be looking at (but also feel free to be creative and stem away from this if you're feeling saucy!)
  • Respect other player's nominations. You may not agree with what they say, but in the end it is their nomination. Feel free to leave opinions, but don't be rude about it.
  • There is to be strictly no modification of your nomination after the four-day deadline. Changes in votes are allowed, but must be done within the three day deadline and as follows;
Voting for cant say ThickFatAzumarill

Keep this in mind when you post a lure:

  • Is this set standard/common? If it's either of those, the set can't really be considered a lure, as the opponent will be expecting it. The usage stats are your best friend here.
  • Does this Pokemon have to sacrifice anything important? If you're losing a key part of a set just for an uncommon threat that isn't even lured in that is what we call a "bad lure." Always consider what you give up in order to lure something, that is very important.
  • Does this Pokemon gain anything important when using this moveset? The contrary to point number one, does this Pokemon or the team benefit from the lure.
  • Could this method be better aided through teammates? Does your lure need team support to carry out its role effectively.
Current Victim: None​
 
Last edited:
Lure That Threat Archive

Week 1
373-m.png
Mega Salamence
373-m.png

472.png
Jmal98's SD Ice Fang Gliscor
472.png


Week 2
087.png
Dewgong
087.png

1529867177987.pngSolerme's Mirror Mish1529867176607.png

Week 3
797.png
Celesteela
797.png

cant say's Electrium Z Tapu Lele

Steel With It's Electrium Z Nihilego

Week 4
233.png
Porygon2
233.png

473.png
chemcoop's Fightinium Z Mamoswine
473.png


Week 5
450.png
Hippowdon
450.png

257.png
cant say's Grassium Z Blaziken
257.png


376-m.png
Darkinium's Grass Knot Mega Metagross
376-m.png


Week 6
788.png
Tapu Fini
788.png

Leader Wallace's Z-Belch Hydreigon

Week 7
645-s.png
Landorus-T
645-s.png

450.png
cant say's Icium Z Curse Hippowdon
450.png


Week 8
485.png
Heatran
485.png

cant say's SubSwarm HP Ground Volcarona

Week 9
598.png
Ferrothorn
598.png

Jhon's HP Fire Skarmory

Week 10
681.png
Aegislash
681.png

NOVED's SubCM Ghostium Z Tapu Lele

Week 11
gengar-mega.png
Mega Gengar
gengar-mega.png

Solerme's Offensive Flyinium Z Skarmory

Week 12
1529866474018.png
Gliscor
1529866471893.png

1529866672227.png
marilli's SubSD Smack Down Landorus-T
1529866670730.png


Week 13
1529866755042.png
Rotom-Heat
1529866753829.png

1529866790889.png
ethan06's Rockium Z Zapdos
1529866788810.png


Week 14
212-m.png
Mega Scizor
212-m.png

proxy.php
wadusher's HP Fire Mega Metagross
proxy.php


Week 15
zapdos.png
Zapdos
zapdos.png

798.png
Steel With It's Normalium Z Kartana

Week 16
748.png
Toxapex
748.png

xeroslash's EQ Mega Blaziken

Week 17
snorlax.png
Snorlax
snorlax.png


Darkinium's Bulky Will-O-Wisp Volcarona

Week 18
proxy.php
Mega Metagross
proxy.php


cant say's Bulky Weakness Policy + Agility Thundurus-T
 
Last edited:
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 60 Atk / 4 Def / 132 SpD / 68 Spe
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Swords Dance
- Roost

This set is great at completely breaking the ever so popular hippo mence aegi core. If gliscor can get an sd up on hippo or aegislash as the opponent either foolishly stays in, or brings in mence, you can 1v1 their whole team. Gliscor 2hkos mence easily at +1 and even has potential to ohko at +2 (if mence has already evolved) while sp def mence doesn't 2hko gliscor. Mence can't even sub roost stall because gliscor continually recovers with poison heal.

4 Atk Aerilate Salamence-Mega Return vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Gliscor: 79-94 (43.6 - 51.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Poison Heal
+1 60 Atk Gliscor Ice Fang vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Salamence-Mega: 124-148 (61.6 - 73.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 60 Atk Gliscor Ice Fang vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Salamence-Mega: 160-192 (79.6 - 95.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
 
zapdos.gif

Zapdos @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Static
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 252 Def / 36 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Toxic
- Roost

So ... this may be questionable as a lure since physdef Zapdos is often considered a counter to Salamence, but hear me out. If you start with an unfavorable match up against Salamence, the opponent is likely to capitalize with Dragon Dance or Sub. In comes Zapdos, and now they start thinking "HP Ice won't OHKO, a faster Roost will limit HP Ice damage, Sub protects from Toxic .... maybe I should go for Attack boosts? ... I'm already partially setup anyway and I'm SpDef invested ..." and the mind games begin.

This is more or less a standard phys Def Zapdos, with a bit of SpA investment to get over 50% 2HKO chance (which also means ~50% chance to break a Sub after Roost). Toxic is key here over Heat Wave because you want to keep breaking Subs with HP Ice, then Toxic on a predicted Roost. This puts pressure on the opponent to start attacking instead of Roost/Sub/Dance cycles. I know Static and Toxic can interfere in general but either status condition will tip the balance in your favor.

36 SpA Zapdos Hidden Power Ice vs. 244 HP / 228+ SpD Mega Salamence: 92-112 (45.7 - 55.7%) -- 57% chance to 2HKO

+6 4 Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge vs. 220 HP / 252+ Def Zapdos: 179-211 (92.7 - 109.3%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
+6 4 Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Return vs. 220 HP / 252+ Def Zapdos: 152-179 (78.7 - 92.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
 
Hey, surgical_tubing ! Although I appreciate the nomination, I'm afraid I'm going to have to reject it, as the set is too similar to a standard defensive Zapdos set (Toxic isn't actually that uncommon: #5 Toxic 42.05352266521027%) Feel free to make another lure, though!
 
Edit: a little note, SpDef MMence should hit at least outspeed adamant Mimikyu (68 EVs), and imo it should even hit 150 speed in order to be faster than Pheromosa at +1 (76 EVs)
I don't remember if there are specific defensive benchmarks anyway so feel free to correct me

tapubulu.png
@ Rockium Z
Ability: Grassy Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Stone Edge
- Substitute / Swords Dance
- Rock Tomb

OHKOs if it's not intimidated and rocks are down, ohkos as well at -1 with the combination of Rock Tomb + Z Stone Edge, outspeeding every variant of Mega Salamence after Rock Tomb, even max speed Jolly / Timid. It still has a decent 1/3 chance to OHKO at +0 even without rocks, and it cleanly ohkos at +1.

252+ Atk Tapu Bulu Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 180-212 (89.5 - 105.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Tapu Bulu Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 180-212 (89.5 - 105.4%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
-1 252+ Atk Tapu Bulu Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 120-142 (59.7 - 70.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Tapu Bulu Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 270-318 (134.3 - 158.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
 
Last edited:
Reserving M-Altaria Scratch that, I'll be doing M-Gallade.

Gallade-Mega @ Galladite
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Zen Headbutt
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Ice Punch

I was going to nominate M-Altaria, but that's a counter not a lure. So here's Gallade. M-Gallade has just enough speed to outpace Careful and Adamant Salamence, so it can lure both of them quite easily. Calcs
252 Atk Gallade-Mega Ice Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Salamence-Mega: 164-196 (95.9 - 114.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
+1 252 Atk Gallade-Mega Ice Punch vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Salamence-Mega: 248-292 (123.3 - 145.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Other calcs:
+2 252 Atk Gallade-Mega Zen Headbutt vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Tapu Lele in Psychic Terrain: 154-182 (105.4 - 124.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Gallade-Mega Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 144 Def Hippowdon: 187-222 (86.9 - 103.2%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Gallade-Mega Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Celesteela: 172-204 (84.3 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Gallade-Mega Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Celesteela: 238-282 (116.6 - 138.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
 
Last edited:
Darkinium said:
Hey, surgical_tubing ! Although I appreciate the nomination, I'm afraid I'm going to have to reject it, as the set is too similar to a standard defensive Zapdos set (Toxic isn't actually that uncommon: #5 Toxic 42.05352266521027%) Feel free to make another lure, though!
Click to expand...
Yeah, no worries. It's definitely a common set. It only lures the greedy Salamences.
 
Leader Wallace , thanks for your nomination! Sadly I can't really consider your set a lure, as Ice Punch and Jolly on Mega Gallade are not all that uncommon, and your set overall is not that far from standard. Don't be discouraged, you can still make another lure as long as it fits the deadline!

#1Ice Punch 62.10428305400372%
#3 Swords Dance 45.06517690875233%
#5 Close Combat35.754189944134076%
#6 Psycho Cut 33.333333333333336% (Zen Headbutt itself has ~12% usage, but is relatively interchangeable with Psycho Cut)
 
sorry i dont have a dank paint drawing, will probably do one after school
blaziken-mega.gif

Blaziken-Mega @ Blazikenite
Ability: Speed Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 124 Atk / 132 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Flare Blitz
- High Jump Kick
- Protect
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Mega Salamence, and regular Salamence due to Intimidate, are normally excellent switchins to BSS's favorite Fire/Fighting-type chicken, resisting both STABs and being able to OHKO in return with its Aerilate-boosted STAB. However, that doesn't go quite as well when you switch in just to get struck in the face by a surprise Hidden Power Ice from a physical Blaziken.

132 SpA Mega Blaziken Hidden Power Ice vs. 244 HP / 228+ SpD Mega Salamence: 104-124 (51.7 - 61.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Even though Hidden Power Ice can't OHKO SpDef Mence, Mega Blaziken will be able to outspeed it thanks to Speed Boost.
 
Last edited:
This is a set I've actually used a little to, basically, lure Mence and a few other things.

blaziken.gif

Blaziken @ Rockium Z
Ability: Speed Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- High Jump Kick
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
If you SD on the regular Mence switchin to be at +1:
+1 252 Atk Blaziken Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 232-274 (115.4 - 136.3%)
Switch in as Mega:
252 Atk Blaziken Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 156-184 (77.6 - 91.5%)
KOs after SR or decent rolls with Blitz/HJK/Crush. Guarenteed if Adamant, Jolly is generally preferred though.

In addition, the no prediction required route
Switch in as regular Mence:
-1 252 Atk Blaziken Flare Blitz vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Salamence: 38-45 (18.9 - 22.3%)
-1 252 Atk Blaziken Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 102-122 (50.7 - 60.6%)
So Switch in on Blitz, + SR damage + crush KOs with mid rolls (or Blitz burn/crit). Again, guarenteed if Adamant.
 
kartana.gif

Kartana @ Normalium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Swords Dance
- Sacred Sword
- Giga Impact

Salamence scares out most Kartana variants due to resisting its main attacks and taking little damage from Smart Strike/Knock Off/Night Slash(unless Kart is already boosted), making it sort of a realiable switch in. This set, however, can blow past some of Kartana's main checks, including Mence, Zapdos, Charizard and Volcarona.

+1 252 Atk Kartana Breakneck Blitz (200 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 174-205 (86.5 - 101.9%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
+1 252 Atk Kartana Leaf Blade vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 29-34 (14.4 - 16.9%) -- possible 6HKO

+2 252 Atk Kartana Breakneck Blitz (200 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 232-273 (115.4 - 135.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 Z-Giga Impact followed by Leaf Blade KOes Salamence 100% of the time, and Mence can't KO back unless it's boosted or has a fire move
 
Last edited:
aegislash-blade.png

Aegislash @ Expert Belt
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Shadow Ball
- Shadow Sneak
- King's Shield

Shadow Sneak or Kings Shield can be replaced with flash cannon in this. I like this setup personally, but it's up to preference. This is a spread I have been mainly been using for Landorus-T, but also works for Mega Salamence.

It's relatively well known that Mega-Salamence is a reasonable bring in versus Aegislash. Any type of Mega-Mence can come in on an Aegislash Shadow Ball and threaten the OHKO with the 50% common Earthquake, putting mence in an advantageous position. On the 1v1 level, Aegislash is generally setup fodder for Mega-Mence and although Aegislash can theoretically win the exchange, the onus is on the Aegislash player to play perfectly with kings shield whilst the mence can continually either sub/roost stall, which Aegi has to continually attack or risk Mence behind sub or even just spam EQ until the Aegi is KO'ed. Typical Aegi is forced to Shadow ball until it runs out of PP and fish for SpD drops since Sneak does not break the sub. +1 Double Edge also knocks out Aegi so DD into DE is a possibility, though there are KS shenanigans that can be potentially played here.

Anyways, without further ado, let me introduce HP-Ice Aegislash. This thing is here to bait in typical switchins such as SpD Mence and AV Lando-T and blow them back. Expert-Belt is there to give it that bit more power that otherwise it would lack, meaning no 2HKO on AV lando and less damage to SpDef Mence.

HP-Ice blows back Salamence on switch-in if not mega'ed:

252+ SpA Expert Belt Aegislash-Blade Hidden Power Ice vs. 244 HP / 228+ SpD Salamence: 173-206 (86 - 102.4%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO

This will then gives Shadow Sneak to pick off Mence after it megas if there is not an immediate OHKO:

-1 0 Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Salamence-Mega: 18-22 (8.9 - 10.9%)

About an 80% chance to KO.

Similar story if it comes in already mega'ed:

252+ SpA Expert Belt Aegislash-Blade Hidden Power Ice vs. 244 HP / 228+ SpD Salamence-Mega: 163-192 (81 - 95.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Salamence-Mega: 25-31 (12.4 - 15.4%) -- possible 7HKO

About 60% chance to KO.

This is the thing, Aegislash Hp-ice OHKOs non-bulky mence and even all hybrids:

252+ SpA Expert Belt Aegislash-Blade Hidden Power Ice vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Salamence-Mega: 221-264 (130 - 155.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Once you know there is no OHKO, you can proceed to spam HP-Ice until mence drops or alternate with shadow ball. This is because even +1 Return from Mega Mence never knocks out Aegislash blade form and mence can never get to +1 because they are forced to roost/sub until they die.

0 Atk Aerilate Salamence-Mega Return vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Blade: 81-96 (48.5 - 57.4%) -- 93.4% chance to 2HKO
+1 0 Atk Aerilate Salamence-Mega Return vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Blade: 121-143 (72.4 - 85.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

This does not factor in ofc Kings Shield either.

Anyways, food for thought. I prefer using it vs. Lando-T, who does not appreciate HP-Ice in the slightest.
 
Last edited:
I should note that I've done the calcs specifically vs that set shown.

Adding onto what said above, personally I'm of the opinion that SpDef Mega-Mence should be Adamant with somewhere between 68-100 EVs in Speed. 68 outspeeds Neutral Nature Mimikyu, 76 outspeeds timid pheromosa at +1. 84 outspeeds modest scarf Hydreigon at +1. 92 outspeeds timid scarf rotom, 100 outspeeds Neutral Nature Mega-Blaziken at +1 after protect. It all depends where you want to go, but outspeeding Adamant Mimikyu is a must IMO for any Mega Mence set.

In terms of HP, 244 allows you to have 51 HP substitutes, asides from that, 212 HP seems a pretty agreed upon benchmark. A few EVs in attack can help vs. bulkier stuff, though I haven't got time to calc this all out right now. Rest in SpDef.
 
Before I open voting, I'll post a nomination of my own:

tapufini.gif

Tapu Fini @ Iapapa Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Iron Defense
- Surf
- Moonblast

Tapu Fini, offensive or defensive, is often a very shaky Mega Salamence answer, even to the Sp. Def variant. Offensive loses if it switches into any move, really, and doesn't even OHKO with Moonblast (even if Choice Specs, Fini only has a 1/16 chance of OHKOing if it's at full health.) Defensive also loses quite often due to being chipped easily, not taking Mence's attacks very well and not even 2HKOing with Moonblast. Haze is quite low usage (~6%), and Reflect sets are quite pressured due to needing to set Reflect up again every couple turns. Iron Defense fixes this by: 1, not needing to be set up over and over again due to running out, and 2, can be stacked multiple times, unlike Reflect. In case you were wondering, Iron Defense's usage isn't that great, <1%, so definitely unexpected.

All right, submissions are now closed! There are to be no edits of your own Pokemon, nor are there to be any new submissions. A few quick things to note;
  • Voting will close on Sunday afternoon/evening, where the next Lure That Threat will also be announced.
  • You can't vote for your own submission
  • You can only change your vote once, so think carefully before doing so
  • You can vote even if you haven't made a submission. It is expected that you vote if you did submit yourself, but not compulsory
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 60 Atk / 4 Def / 132 SpD / 68 Spe
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Swords Dance
- Roost

This set is great at completely breaking the ever so popular hippo mence aegi core. If gliscor can get an sd up on hippo or aegislash as the opponent either foolishly stays in, or brings in mence, you can 1v1 their whole team. Gliscor 2hkos mence easily at +1 and even has potential to ohko at +2 (if mence has already evolved) while sp def mence doesn't 2hko gliscor. Mence can't even sub roost stall because gliscor continually recovers with poison heal.

4 Atk Aerilate Salamence-Mega Return vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Gliscor: 79-94 (43.6 - 51.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Poison Heal
+1 60 Atk Gliscor Ice Fang vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Salamence-Mega: 124-148 (61.6 - 73.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 60 Atk Gliscor Ice Fang vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Salamence-Mega: 160-192 (79.6 - 95.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
tapubulu.png

@ Rockium Z
Ability: Grassy Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Stone Edge
- Substitute / Swords Dance
- Rock Tomb

OHKOs if it's not intimidated and rocks are down, ohkos as well at -1 with the combination of Rock Tomb + Z Stone Edge, outspeeding every variant of Mega Salamence after Rock Tomb, even max speed Jolly / Timid. It still has a decent 1/3 chance to OHKO at +0 even without rocks, and it cleanly ohkos at +1.

252+ Atk Tapu Bulu Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 180-212 (89.5 - 105.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Tapu Bulu Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 180-212 (89.5 - 105.4%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
-1 252+ Atk Tapu Bulu Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 120-142 (59.7 - 70.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Tapu Bulu Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 270-318 (134.3 - 158.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
blaziken-mega.gif


Blaziken-Mega @ Blazikenite
Ability: Speed Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 124 Atk / 132 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Flare Blitz
- High Jump Kick
- Protect
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Mega Salamence, and regular Salamence due to Intimidate, are normally excellent switchins to BSS's favorite Fire/Fighting-type chicken, resisting both STABs and being able to OHKO in return with its Aerilate-boosted STAB. However, that doesn't go quite as well when you switch in just to get struck in the face by a surprise Hidden Power Ice from a physical Blaziken.

132 SpA Mega Blaziken Hidden Power Ice vs. 244 HP / 228+ SpD Mega Salamence: 104-124 (51.7 - 61.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Even though Hidden Power Ice can't OHKO SpDef Mence, Mega Blaziken will be able to outspeed it thanks to Speed Boost.
This is a set I've actually used a little to, basically, lure Mence and a few other things.

blaziken.gif


Blaziken @ Rockium Z
Ability: Speed Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- High Jump Kick
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
f you SD on the regular Mence switchin to be at +1:
+1 252 Atk Blaziken Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 232-274 (115.4 - 136.3%)
Switch in as Mega:
252 Atk Blaziken Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 156-184 (77.6 - 91.5%)
KOs after SR or decent rolls with Blitz/HJK/Crush. Guarenteed if Adamant, Jolly is generally preferred though.

In addition, the no prediction required route
Switch in as regular Mence:
-1 252 Atk Blaziken Flare Blitz vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Salamence: 38-45 (18.9 - 22.3%)
-1 252 Atk Blaziken Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 102-122 (50.7 - 60.6%)
So Switch in on Blitz, + SR damage + crush KOs with mid rolls (or Blitz burn/crit). Again, guarenteed if Adamant.
kartana.gif


Kartana @ Normalium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Swords Dance
- Sacred Sword
- Giga Impact

Salamence scares out most Kartana variants due to resisting its main attacks and taking little damage from Smart Strike/Knock Off/Night Slash(unless Kart is already boosted), making it sort of a realiable switch in. This set, however, can blow past some of Kartana's main checks, including Mence, Zapdos, Charizard and Volcarona.
+1 252 Atk Kartana Breakneck Blitz (200 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 174-205 (86.5 - 101.9%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
+1 252 Atk Kartana Leaf Blade vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 29-34 (14.4 - 16.9%) -- possible 6HKO

+2 252 Atk Kartana Breakneck Blitz (200 BP) vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 232-273 (115.4 - 135.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 Z-Giga Impact followed by Leaf Blade KOes Salamence 100% of the time, and Mence can't KO back unless it's boosted or has a fire move
 
Last edited:
Sorry for the double post, but it seems as though no more noms could be fit into the above post :(

aegislash-blade.png


Aegislash @ Expert Belt
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Shadow Ball
- Shadow Sneak
- King's Shield

Shadow Sneak or Kings Shield can be replaced with flash cannon in this. I like this setup personally, but it's up to preference. This is a spread I have been mainly been using for Landorus-T, but also works for Mega Salamence.

It's relatively well known that Mega-Salamence is a reasonable bring in versus Aegislash. Any type of Mega-Mence can come in on an Aegislash Shadow Ball and threaten the OHKO with the 50% common Earthquake, putting mence in an advantageous position. On the 1v1 level, Aegislash is generally setup fodder for Mega-Mence and although Aegislash can theoretically win the exchange, the onus is on the Aegislash player to play perfectly with kings shield whilst the mence can continually either sub/roost stall, which Aegi has to continually attack or risk Mence behind sub or even just spam EQ until the Aegi is KO'ed. Typical Aegi is forced to Shadow ball until it runs out of PP and fish for SpD drops since Sneak does not break the sub. +1 Double Edge also knocks out Aegi so DD into DE is a possibility, though there are KS shenanigans that can be potentially played here.

Anyways, without further ado, let me introduce HP-Ice Aegislash. This thing is here to bait in typical switchins such as SpD Mence and AV Lando-T and blow them back. Expert-Belt is there to give it that bit more power that otherwise it would lack, meaning no 2HKO on AV lando and less damage to SpDef Mence.

HP-Ice blows back Salamence on switch-in if not mega'ed:

252+ SpA Expert Belt Aegislash-Blade Hidden Power Ice vs. 244 HP / 228+ SpD Salamence: 173-206 (86 - 102.4%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO

This will then gives Shadow Sneak to pick off Mence after it megas if there is not an immediate OHKO:

-1 0 Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Salamence-Mega: 18-22 (8.9 - 10.9%)

About an 80% chance to KO.

Similar story if it comes in already mega'ed:

252+ SpA Expert Belt Aegislash-Blade Hidden Power Ice vs. 244 HP / 228+ SpD Salamence-Mega: 163-192 (81 - 95.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Salamence-Mega: 25-31 (12.4 - 15.4%) -- possible 7HKO

About 60% chance to KO.

This is the thing, Aegislash Hp-ice OHKOs non-bulky mence and even all hybrids:

252+ SpA Expert Belt Aegislash-Blade Hidden Power Ice vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Salamence-Mega: 221-264 (130 - 155.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Once you know there is no OHKO, you can proceed to spam HP-Ice until mence drops or alternate with shadow ball. This is because even +1 Return from Mega Mence never knocks out Aegislash blade form and mence can never get to +1 because they are forced to roost/sub until they die.

0 Atk Aerilate Salamence-Mega Return vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Blade: 81-96 (48.5 - 57.4%) -- 93.4% chance to 2HKO
+1 0 Atk Aerilate Salamence-Mega Return vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Blade: 121-143 (72.4 - 85.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

This does not factor in ofc Kings Shield either.

Anyways, food for thought. I prefer using it vs. Lando-T, who does not appreciate HP-Ice in the slightest.
Before I open voting, I'll post a nomination of my own:

tapufini.gif


Tapu Fini @ Iapapa Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Iron Defense
- Surf
- Moonblast

Tapu Fini, offensive or defensive, is often a very shaky Mega Salamence answer, even to the Sp. Def variant. Offensive loses if it switches into any move, really, and doesn't even OHKO with Moonblast (even if Choice Specs, Fini only has a 1/16 chance of OHKOing if it's at full health.) Defensive also loses quite often due to being chipped easily, not taking Mence's attacks very well and not even 2HKOing with Moonblast. Haze is quite low usage (~6%), and Reflect sets are quite pressured due to needing to set Reflect up again every couple turns. Iron Defense fixes this by: 1, not needing to be set up over and over again due to running out, and 2, can be stacked multiple times, unlike Reflect. In case you were wondering, Iron Defense's usage isn't that great, <1%, so definitely unexpected.

My vote will be going to jmal98's Gliscor. Its ability to break the Hippo-Mence-Aegis, as pointed out in the post, is quite nice.
 
Got to be jmal98's Gliscor . The others really don't offer as guaranteed a check as Gliscor bar the Fini but the Gliscor can setup in the core's face and sweep so that's worth my vote imho.
 
I was going to nominate HP Ice Volcarona myself but seeing that things with "high-usage" moves were rejected this week made me think Volc would get nuked as well, as HP Ice has relatively high use. However, if Volc doesn't have HP Ice, Mence does counter it, so I find that a lot of Mence hard switch into Volc when I use it and hope for the best, which I think makes it a good lure.

Anyway, I didn't nominate it in the end, but because Feesh Squad's Blaziken follows the same idea I'm going to vote for that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top