[Overview]
<p>Manectric is an underdog among Electric-types due to its rather shallow special movepool and average Special Attack. However, its base 105 Speed enables it to outspeed a majority of the threats in VGC. Lightningrod gives it an immunity to Electric-type moves and a Special Attack boost when hit by them, allowing Manectric to defend its teammates from threats such as Zapdos, Rotom-A, and Thundurus, by drawing away their STAB moves. What sets Manectric apart from most Electric-types is its access to Flamethrower and Overheat, which allows it to punish most Steel- and Grass-types. While 70 / 60 / 60 defenses seem unappealing, it's a very underrated Pokemon and should not be overlooked as a threat.</p>
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Flamethrower / Overheat
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass
move 4: Protect
item: Focus Sash / Life Orb
nature: Timid
ability: Lightningrod
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Thunderbolt is Manectric's most reliable STAB move, and also has a useful paralysis chance. Overheat destroys most Grass- and Steel-types, but the drop in Special Attack drastically reduces Manectric's offensive clout, meaning Flamethrower is a viable alternative; it is much weaker, but is more reliable as it maintains its Base Power and still does reasonable damage to the aforementioned Grass- and Steel-types. Hidden Power Ice is the preferred option for the third moveslot as it provides valuable coverage on Dragon- and Ground-types, but Hidden Power Grass can be used so that Manectric isn't walled cold by Gastrodon. Protect is, as always, helpful in VGC as it enables Manectric to save itself from an attack, provide an opening for your partner, or scout for whatever move
your opponent will use.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Due to Manectric's frailty, Focus Sash is the item of choice as it guarantees that Manectric will be able to attack for at least two turns, but Life Orb is usable if you prefer the extra power it delivers. The EV spread simply maximizes Manectric's Special Attack and Speed, with a Timid nature being used as it allows Manectric to outpace a majority of threats in VGC, such as Garchomp, but you can run Modest if you prefer the extra power and have a means of countering these fast threats.In case you decide to use Hidden Power Grass, you should shift 4 EVs from Special Attack to Defense to compensate for a Special Attack IV of 30, as 248 Special Attack EVs round up to the same Special Attack value as it would if it had 252 EVs. Also, the extra 4 EVs in Defense gives Manectric a slightly better chance of surviving most priority moves.</p>
<p>Lightningrod is useful for teams that are weak to Electric-types and Thunder Wave, as Manectric can draw their STAB moves toward itself for a free special attack boost. Due to this benefit, Water- and Flying-types such as Gyarados enjoy having Manectric as a partner, as its presence eliminates one of their main weaknesses, while they can in return aid Manectric by clearing out the Ground- and Grass-types that give it trouble. You can also pair up Manectric with a Volt Absorb user such as Jolteon, and they can both spam Discharge to benefit each other while having a good chance to paralyze both targets. Thundurus makes a good partner too as it is immune to Ground-type attacks, and by being faster than Manectric, it can use Discharge to give Manectric a Lightningrod boost before it moves. Zapdos makes a good partner as well for the same reason, but it also has access to Tailwind to ensure that both Manectric and itself can outspeed faster threats such as Terrakion, Thundurus, and Latios.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Thunder is viable as Lightningrod makes Manectric a good choice for rain teams, but Overheat and Flamethrower become almost unusable. Switcheroo can be useful for Tricking a Choice item onto a support Pokemon and shutting it down. Signal Beam deals slightly more damage to Latios, Latias, and Hydreigon and has a slight chance of confusion, but Hidden Power Ice or Grass are useful for checking Ground-types with dual typings, such as Garchomp, Gliscor, and Gastrodon. Air Balloon is useful as it gives Manectric an immunity to Ground-type moves as long as it does not get attacked, but its abysmal defenses means it'll be OHKOd by most neutral attacks anyway. Magnet Rise works like Air Balloon and allows Manectric to hold another item, but it only lasts for 5 turns. Electric or Fire Gem can be used to power up Thunderbolt or Overheat respectively, but Life Orb is better as it boosts all of Manectric's attacks consistently.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>The best checks to Manectric are powerful attackers which can either outspeed it or tank its attacks. Tyranitar shrugs off all of Manectric's attacks with ease, and can hit back very hard with STAB Crunch or Rock Slide. Rotom-H resists all of Manectric's moves and can deal heavy damage with STAB Overheat. Special tanks such as Blissey and Snorlax are barely scratched by Manectric, and can wear it down with Seismic Toss and Body Slam, respectively. Yache Berry Garchomp and Landorus are not OHKOed by Hidden Power Ice, and can destroy Manectric with STAB Earthquake; they need to play cautiously if Manectric has an intact Air Balloon, however. Excadrill has no qualms about outspeeding and OHKOing Manectric with Earthquake in the sand, but Manectric can still survive the hit with Focus Sash and KO back with Flamethrower or Overheat. Lastly, Trick Room teams can exploit Manectric's high Speed and put it at a huge disadvantage.</p>
