er...wait...
there we go.
Overview
########
Manaphy has always been a threat thanks to its access to one of the best boosting moves in the game: Tail Glow. Reaching +3 Special Attack in a single turn is nothing to sneeze at, and when combined with Manaphy's respectable 100 base stats across the board and movepool that seems to fit its role perfectly, it becomes a terrifying sweeper that can mangle unprepared teams. But Manaphy's potential doesn't stop there. While its ability, Hydration, may seem somewhat useless at first due to the rain nerf, a mono-attacking set with Calm Mind, Rest, and Rain Dance is a force to be reckoned with. Add on the fact that Manaphy can be a wonderful lure with Psychic for Mega Venusaur or a Wacan Berry for Thundurus, and you'll soon understand how Manaphy is so threatening.
Unfortunately, Manaphy's stats scream "Jack of all trades." While they are all certainly decent, base 100 in any stat will never be jaw-dropping. This is especially true when it comes to Speed. Its Speed tier is shared with both Charizard formes and is below those of Landorus, Garchomp, Mega Pinsir, Latios, Latias, Thundurus, Raikou, and Mega Manectric, meaning it is not very difficult to revenge kill. This, in a way, invalidates Manaphy's bulk, as it may have to take multiple hits while trying to sweep. However, this shouldn't discourage the use of Manaphy. Once at +3, there are few Pokemon that can switch into the Prince of the Sea.
Tail Glow
########
name: Tail Glow
move 1: Tail Glow
move 2: Surf
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Energy Ball / Psychic
ability: Hydration
item: Leftovers / Wacan Berry
nature: Timid
evs: 80 HP / 252 SpA / 176 Spe
Moves
========
Tail Glow makes Manaphy one of the most immediately threatening sweepers, boosting its Special Attack by three stages in a single turn. Surf is the STAB move of choice, OHKOing or 2HKOing every Pokemon that doesn't resist it at +3 outside of a few select special walls. Scald can be used instead, as the burn chance can be nice, but the drop in power is noticeable, sometimes costing OHKOs on threats such as specially defensive Heatran and Mega Scizor at +3, and Excadrill at +0, so Surf is usually the better choice. Ice Beam covers Dragon-types such as Dragonite, Latios, and Latias, scoring OHKOs on all three at +3 (even through Multiscale in Dragonite's case). It also OHKOes Grass-types such as Amoonguss and Celebi and is Manaphy's best option for hitting Ferrothorn. The choice between Energy Ball and Psychic depends on what your team needs most. Energy Ball hits bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W, Azumarill, Mega Gyarados, and Slowbro, and Quagsire. However, Psychic gives Manaphy a chance to OHKO Mega Venusaur at +3, which can then open the way for a Pokemon such as Belly Drum Azumarill or Choice Specs Keldeo to sweep.
Set Details
========
Leftovers is the preferred item to help increase Manaphy's longevity, as Manaphy is slow and will most likely have to take hits during the course of a sweep. However, Wacan Berry is useful to help Manaphy bypass Thundurus as well as other fast Electric-types, which otherwise stops Manaphy in its tracks. Wacan Berry also allows Manaphy to lure and OHKO Thundurus so that a boosting Pokemon such as Mega Tyranitar or Mega Gyarados can sweep later without having to worry about being paralyzed. Life Orb is less useful, as it cuts down Manaphy's life-span, but it does allow it to 2HKO Chansey at +6 as well as always 2HKO Unaware Clefable and Quagsire before a boost (the latter can simply be hit by Energy Ball, however). The EV spread lets Manaphy outspeed Deoxys-D to avoid Taunt, and gives it some added bulk to better handle hits from faster threats such as Latios, Thundurus, and Garchomp. Maximum Speed can be used, but most Mega Charizard X are Adamant anyway, and Manaphy only has a 43% chance to OHKO Mega Charizard Y, while it will always OHKO back with Solar Beam, so risking the Speed tie is not advisable.
Usage Tips
========
Manaphy can be used either as an early-game wallbreaker for a different sweeper, or a late-game sweeper once checks and counters have been eliminated. If using Manaphy as a sweeper, make sure to limit the number of Pokemon on the field that are faster than it. To put this in perspective, Manaphy at full health can take any one of Latios's Life Orb Draco Meteor, Landorus's Earth Power, and Garchomp's Outrage and OHKO back at +3, but it cannot take more than one. In other words, taking out these faster threats, or at least limiting the number that haven't fainted to one is a good way to ensure Manaphy's sweep. This can be done with powerful priority attacks in particular. When facing defensive teams, making double switches into a Pursuit user such as Bisharp can help to wear down the ever-annoying Chansey, which puts a stop to just about any Manaphy sweep.
Team Options
========
Pursuit users are among the best partners to Manaphy, as they help take out special walls such as Chansey as well as Latios and Latias. Pokemon such as Bisharp or Aegislash can fulfill this role well, as both can easily switch in on Draco Meteor or Toxic and proceed to trap the problematic Pokemon. Knock Off Thundurus or Landorus work well with Manaphy as well, as they can lure in and severely cripple Chansey by removing its Eviolite. Rain support is always nice for Manaphy, as it can avoid status and the rain boost will allow Manaphy to 2HKO Chansey at +6. Pokemon that can switch into Mega Charizard Y are also very useful for Manaphy, as it cannot afford to stay in on a Solar Beam. Mega Tyranitar, Latios, and Latias are all good options for this. Pokemon that appreciate Rotom-W being eliminated also work well with Manaphy. This includes Mega Mawile and Mamoswine, both of which also can switch into Manaphy's checks: Latios/Latias and Thundurus respectively. Finally, Magnezone can be used to trap Ferrothorn, which is only 3HKOed by Ice Beam at +3.
Calm Mind
########
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Rest
move 3: Rain Dance
move 4: Scald
ability: Hydration
item: Leftovers
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 16 Spe
Moves
========
This set aims to take a more patient approach to sweeping once the opponent's Pokemon are weakened and most powerful attackers are gone. Calm Mind allows Manaphy to boost its Special Attack and Special Defense, simultaneously increasing its already decent bulk and attacking power, but the real terror of this set lies in its ability: Hydration. Using Rest while rain is up fully recovers Manaphy's health and then cures the sleep at the end of the turn. Hydration also protects Manaphy from status. Unfortunately, the price of this recovery is having to manually set up rain every five turns. Scald is the best STAB move to use, as adding burn damage to the opponent can be useful to allow Manaphy to set up easier, while essentially increasing its effective physical bulk.
Set Details
========
The spread provides enough Speed to outspeed neutral base 70s, namely Bisharp. The rest of the EVs maximize Manaphy's HP and Defense, as Calm Mind will be boosting its Special Defense. Burns from Scald may also increase its physical bulk even further. Manaphy can also run 32 Speed EVs to hit 244 Speed, allowing it to outpace Jolly Tyranitar before Mega Evolving and hit it with Scald, potentially burning it.
Usage Tips
========
It is easiest for Manaphy to set up on defensive teams. Pokemon that rely on Toxic or Seismic Toss to do damage make for easy set-up bait. This includes Chansey, which it can beat thanks to the boost to Scald's power in rain, as well as burn damage from Scald. Although it might seem like a Pokemon that Manaphy can set up on, Gliscor can actually stall Manaphy out of Rain Dance PP by alternating between Substitute, Protect, and Toxic. Any Ferrothorn without Power Whip also becomes setup bait for Manaphy, and even those with it can be beaten if burned. Otherwise, Manaphy should wait until the late-game to try and attempt a sweep, as powerful Electric-types such as Thundurus and Mega Manectric as well as Pokemon with Water Absorb or Storm Drain must be taken out before it can try to set up. Be wary of Hippowdon or Tyranitar coming in on Manaphy the turn that it uses Rest, as then it will be asleep without the instant awakening that rain brings.
Team Options
========
Since Thundurus and other powerful Electric-types are problematic for Manaphy, Mega Venusaur and bulky Will-O-Wisp Mega Charizard X make good defensive partners. Offensively, Latios, Excadrill, and Raikou make good partners for their ability to check Thundurus as well, although Excadrill will lose to Mega Manectric. Politoed is also a great partner for Manaphy, as it really appreciates not always having to set up its own rain. Unfortunately, this does compound weaknesses for the team, and the extra turns of rain can only be used once, since Manaphy can't switch out to get rain again without losing its Calm Mind boosts.
Other Options
########
Manaphy can run a Rain Dance set for rain teams with U-turn for momentum. This does create common weaknesses with Politoed, though, so it is usually not the best option. A set with Tail Glow + Rest on a rain team can also work, but it will miss the slot for a coverage move, as no matter what it chooses, it will be walled by a large number of Pokemon. A Choice Scarf set might seem viable, since Manaphy has U-turn, but it lacks the power that a good Choice Scarf Pokemon should have and only has base 100 Speed. Manaphy has Heart Swap, which is a really interesting move, being able to steal boosts away from boosting sweepers such as Suicune and Baton Pass teams; however, it's very gimmicky and hard to pull off successfully, since it's reliant on opposing set-up sweepers.
Checks & Counters
########
**Bulky Grass-types**: Mega Venusaur and Power Whip Ferrothorn are both excellent counters to Manaphy. It cannot 2HKO Ferrothorn with Ice Beam at +3 and easily gets 2HKOed by Power Whip. Mega Venusaur can wall any set Manaphy has without Psychic, as Thick Fat makes Ice Beam neutral, and 2HKOes with Giga Drain. Amoonguss can wall the Calm Mind set as long as it has Clear Smog and Giga Drain, but it will lose to the Tail Glow set.
**Fast Electric-types**: Thundurus, Mega Manectric, and Raikou are all decent checks to Manaphy. They cannot switch in on it, but they all will do hefty chunks of damage with their STAB Thunderbolt. Assault Vest Raikou can actually survive a +3 Surf and 2HKO with Thunderbolt, as it is faster. While not an Electric-type, Kyurem-B can survive any hit at +3 and OHKO with Life Orb Fusion Bolt. However, Manaphy may be holding Wacan Berry, which allows it to take out all of these at +3 bar Assault Vest Raikou. If it becomes clear that Manaphy is not using Leftovers or Life Orb, chances are it has Wacan Berry, so be wary of sending in fast Electric-types to counter it.
**Chansey**: Chansey can beat Tail Glow Manaphy easily, so long as it doesn't have Life Orb or rain support. Even at +6, Manaphy cannot power through a full-health Chansey and will just be Toxic stalled instead. However, it does become setup bait for the Calm Mind set.
**Unaware Clefable**: Unaware Clefable ignores the boosts from Tail Glow and Calm Mind and can set up Calm Mind boosts of its own to lower the damage even further, using Manaphy as setup bait.
Last edited by a moderator:
