[OVERVIEW]
Manectric's stats and movepool make it a very decent Special Attacker in NU. Base 105 Speed grants Manectric the ability to outspeed common threats like Charizard, Typhlosion, and Dodrio, and its access to Flamethrower separates itself from other Electric-types, as it allows it to break through the likes of Magneton, Vileplume, and Meganium without much trouble. Moreover, due to its Speed tier and access to Switcheroo, Manectric is a premier Choice Scarf user in NU, able to revenge kill most setup sweepers like Dragon Dance Charizard and Sunny Day Vileplume. However, Manectric's bulk is mediocre, making it susceptible to faster Pokemon like Tauros and Floatzel and strong priority like Sucker Punch from Skuntank and Shiftry. Moreover, its Special Attack, while good, isn't amazing, and its movepool lacks important coverage moves like Focus Blast. Therefore, Manectric has a tough time against special walls like Cradily, Regirock, and Lickilicky. Furthermore, as an offensive Electric-type, Manectric faces competition from Magneton, which packs slightly better Special Attack, valuable defensive utility, and a secondary Steel typing that allows it to dent some of the aforementioned special walls.
[SET]
name : Choice Scarf
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Flamethrower / Overheat
move 3: Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Switcheroo
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Static
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Due to its ability to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame and revenge kill Dragon Dance Whiscash and Charizard, Rock Polish Rhydon, and Vileplume and neutral Speed nature Victreebel under sun, Manectric is an excellent Choice Scarf user in NU. Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, and Hidden Power Grass are needed to eliminate the Pokemon listed above and provide good coverage overall. Overheat isn't a good move to be locked into to due to the Special Attack drop, but it can prove to be very useful if you happen to need the additional power to take out opposing Meganium or Vileplume. Switcheroo cripples common defensive answers to Manectric, including Cradily, Lickilicky, and Hypno.
[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]
Manectric needs as much Speed and Special Attack investment as possible in order to fulfill its job. This variant is able to hinder Cradily, Camerupt, Nidoqueen, Lickilicky, and Hypno with Switcheroo, which is greatly appreciated by Offensive Pokemon such as Tauros, Magmortar, and Charizard. However, Manectric still fears Sucker Punch from Shiftry and Skuntank, the latter of which can also punish it with Pursuit if it attempts to switch out. Thus, Vileplume and Nidoqueen make for good partners. While this variant can cripple most of Manectric's initial switch-ins, it also benefits from wallbreakers like Medicham and Pinsir getting them out of the way for Manectric to spam Thunderbolt more freely.
[SET]
name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Flamethrower / Overheat
move 3: Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Substitute / Charge Beam
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt
ability: Static
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Thunderbolt is a reliable STAB move that hits Slowking, arguably the most common special wall in the tier, super effectively. Flamethrower invalidates Magneton, Vileplume, and Meganium as answers to Manectric, as well as less common Pokemon like Piloswine and Regice. Overheat is an alternative that hits much harder at the cost of essentially forcing Manectric out afterwards. It has some notable merits, such as OHKOing most Vileplume variants. The third slot is dedicated to hitting Ground-types as hard as possible. Hidden Power Grass OHKOes Whiscash, Quagsire, and Rhydon, all of which would wall Manectric otherwise and use it as setup fodder in the case of Whiscash, whereas Hidden Power Ice OHKOes Gligar and is Manectric's best way to damage Nidoqueen and Cradily. Finally, Substitute allows you to play around Sucker Punch users like Skuntank and Shiftry and ease predictions on switch-ins. Charge Beam, while unreliable, can boost Manectric Special Attack, making it more threatening, but you generally won't find too many opportunities to use it.
[ADDITIONAL SET COMMENTS]
Manectric's EV spread aims to maximize its Speed and damage output, the latter of which is further enhanced by Life Orb. However, Expert Belt can be considered if you don't want Manectric to be worn down too quickly by recoil and the use of Substitute. Just like many frail offensive Pokemon, Manectric has a hard time getting onto the field safely. This is why you should use it as a revenge killer to pressure slower Pokemon like Charizard, punish predicted switch-ins, or force Pokemon like Slowking to use recovery moves. Due to Manectric's tendency to attract Ground-types that use it as Stealth Rock bait like Camerupt and Nidoqueen, spinners like Hitmonchan and Sandslash make for good partners. Other dangerous Pokemon that can take advantage of them like Charizard, Sharpedo, and Drifblim are teammates of choice as well. Other special walls like Cradily and Lickilicky are troublesome for Manectric, so strong physical attackers like Medicham, Pinsir, and Poliwrath can be considered. Finally, Manectric is forced out by faster threats like Tauros and Floatzel and by strong priority users like Skuntank and Shiftry, especially if it's not running Substitute. Thus, having some defensive presence from a Pokemon like Cradily, Vileplume, or Meganium is advised.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
==========
Choice Specs is an alternative that allows Manectric to hit harder and to use Switcheroo to good effect, but such a set relies a lot on prediction. Signal Beam is Manectric's best tool available to damage Cradily and Psychic-types like Hypno, but it fails to 2HKO any of these Pokemon. Toxic can be run on offensive Manectric, since its fourth moveslot is pretty free. Thunder can also be considered, as it proves to be very helpful in some scenarios when you absolutely need the most immediate power you can get, and it can cause paralysis as well. Hidden Power Water OHKOes Camerupt, but apart from this one target, it doesn't help much.
Checks and Counters
=============
Ground-types are arguably Manectric's biggest nemeses, since they're immune to Electric and can OHKO it back with their STAB attacks. Nidoqueen isn't 2HKOed by anything Manectric can throw at it and can even punish Manectric for using Switcheroo if it's holding Black Sludge. Depending on the type of Hidden Power Manectric is using, it is walled either by Whiscash, Quagsire, and Gastrodon or by Camerupt, although none of these Pokemon like receiving a Choice Scarf. Gligar and Sandslash win one-on-one, but they take a lot of damage from Hidden Power Ice. Special walls and tanks like Cradily, Lickilicky, defensive Gardevoir, Hypno, and to a lesser extent Regirock have the upper hand against Manectric, but they should watch out for Switcheroo. Strong priority like Sucker Punch from Skuntank and Shiftry, as well as Aqua Jet from Sharpedo, will often spell doom for Manectric if it has been weakened a bit. However, none of these outright OHKO it, and Manectric can strike back with a powerful hit if it survives. Faster Pokemon like Tauros, Floatzel, and Choice Scarf users like Typhlosion, Gardevoir, and Medicham can revenge kill Manectric pretty easily. Nonetheless, they cannot directly switch into it and should make sure they're not facing Choice Scarf Manectric beforehand.
[Credits]
- Written by: [[Wenderz, 331114]]
- Quality checked by: [[Bughouse, 52547], [Oglemi, 40358], [Honko, 42413]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Empress, 175616]]
Last edited:
