Meloetta (Analysis - GP 2/2)

shrang

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http://www.smogon.com/bw/pokemon/meloetta

[Overview]
<p>Facing a Meloetta is like biting into a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean&mdash;you will never what know exactly it could do. Indeed, out of the new additions to grace Pokemon, Meloetta is arguably the most interesting of them all, albeit the most overlooked. What makes her so unique is the ability to change between two formes which both have almost opposite counters, and in the hands of a skilled player, this can cause huge problems for their opponents. One thing that does frustrate a lot of players is that fact that Meloetta cannot start in Pirouette forme immediately, which is arguably her more threatening forme. However, her Aria forme is far from useless, and can easily function as either an offensive or defensive Pokemon, depending on whatever you need. Her lack of physical bulk and relatively low Speed might make the other Psychic-types of OU more attractive, so always remember to play to Meloetta's strengths. In short, we might not be able to grasp the full extent of Meloetta's abilities for some time to come, but there is one thing we do know, and that is that she can be devastating in the right hands.</p>


[SET]
name: Relic Mixed
move 1: Relic Song
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Thunder / Thunderbolt
move 4: Psychic / Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt
nature: Naive
evs: 56 Atk / 252 SpA / 200 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>The purpose of this set is to fully exploit Meloetta's forme-changing abilities. The idea is to, with prediction, stay a step ahead of your opponent by continuously switching between Aria and Pirouette formes. It is especially convenient when a forme's counter is weak to the other forme, which means if Meloetta stays in the advantageous forme, it will retain offensive momentum in a similar way to VoltTurn cores. For example, Skarmory switches out of Aria forme as it fears Thunder, but as your opponent switches in Blissey, Meloetta uses Relic Song to transform into its Pirouette forme, and Blissey has to switch out again in fear of Close Combat. With entry hazard support, this can force a lot of switches and cause a lot of damage very quickly.</p>

<p>Relic Song is obviously the integral part of this set, as it facilitates the forme-changing that is unique to Meloetta. It is a decently powerful STAB move backed by 128 base Special Attack, while having a 20% chance to put an opponent to sleep, which is always helpful. Close Combat is Meloetta's main STAB attack while in Pirouette forme. Thunder is preferred in the third slot since firstly, rain is extremely common, while secondly, its power can help Meloetta get some crucial KOs, such as on Tornadus-T while in Pirouette forme. It also lands 2HKOs on Jellicent and Sableye while in Aria forme, two Pokemon which block Relic Song. Its 60% paralysis rate (due to Serene Grace) is also a huge bonus to have, letting you give Jirachi that try to counter you a dose of its own medicine. However, if you prefer reliability, then Thunderbolt is a perfectly legitimate option. The last move is a toss-up. With a Life Orb equipped, Psychic is a powerful STAB move to hit many physically defensive Pokemon hard, while Hidden Power Ice lets Meloetta nail Gliscor and Dragon-types.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EVs given allow Meloetta to outspeed Adamant Landorus-T in Aria forme, while outspeeding Tornadus-T in Pirouette forme. Max Special Attack is used as the majority of the time will be spent in Aria forme. The rest go into Attack to power up Close Combat. A Naive nature is generally preferred over Hasty due to most priority attacks being physical, therefore it's more acceptable to lower Special Defense rather than Defense. With Aria forme's huge base 128 Special Defense, Meloetta is generally not in short supply of Special Defense anyway.</p>

<p>The held item is quite a tough choice. Life Orb is preferred because of the sheer power that it brings. However, as Meloetta is all about keeping offensive momentum, it is nice if she doesn't take recoil damage so she can keep that momentum for as long as possible, hence Expert Belt being a decent alternative, especially if you are running Hidden Power Ice. As for other moves, U-turn can be used in the last slot, especially if you're using Meloetta on a VoltTurn team. It is also Meloetta's best way of hurting Latias and Celebi (the latter takes enormous damage), which both of which take little damage from any of Meloetta's other attacks.</p>

<p>The most important thing to remember when using this set is to use both of Meloetta's formes. One common misconception is to send Meloetta out, get to Pirouette forme straight away and start spamming Close Combat, when instead most of the time Meloetta will be attacking in Aria forme. It is usually better to use Thunder when you send in Meloetta as it 2HKOes Sableye and Jellicent trying to block Relic Song and it hits about just about everything that doesn't resist it reasonably hard, while threatening a 60% chance of paralysis.</p>

<p>Teammates that fit well with Meloetta are generally entry hazard users and physically defensive Pokemon. As Meloetta is forcing a lot of switches by changing formes, Pokemon that can set up Spikes are an excellent asset. Deoxys-D is the premier Spikes user for offensive teams, while Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Forretress are all good choices for defensive ones. It follows that spinblockers are good teammates to Meloetta. Gengar is probably the best offensive spinblocker to use alongside Meloetta, although Sableye and Jellicent are still good choices. Some more obscure yet effective spinblockers also include Froslass, which can set up Spikes while blocking Rapid Spin at the same time, and Choice Scarf Rotom, which can use Volt Switch while blocking Rapid Spin. On the other hand, Toxic Spikes cut down on Meloetta's effectiveness dramatically. Tentacruel is an excellent Poison-type to absorb them, while other Rapid Spin users such as Starmie, Forretress, and Donphan, can also remove them from the field. Physically bulky Pokemon are important as Meloetta is quite frail on that side. Gliscor, the aforementioned Skarmory, Deoxys-D, and Forretress are all very physically bulky Pokemon that can take hard physical hits from Terrakion and Outrage-wielding Dragon-types.</p>

<p>Celebi, Latias, and, to an extent, Latios all pose a threat to Meloetta since they resist all of her attacks, although if she carries U-turn, they may be in trouble. Latias and Latios also need to watch out for paralysis from Thunder. Scizor and Genesect easily put pressure on these three Pokemon (though they will need to watch out for Hidden Power Fire). Tyranitar is also good to Pursuit fleeing Latias and Latios. Lastly, Politoed is a key partner to Meloetta. As Meloetta prefers to use Thunder for its power and debilitating side effects, eternal rain provided by Politoed will take her a long way.</p>


[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Perish Song
move 2: Psyshock
move 3: Thunder Wave / Thunder
move 4: U-turn / Focus Blast
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Meloetta does not need to be able to switch formes to carve herself a niche in OU. Her Aria forme boasts titanic special bulk, as well as having an interesting set of resistances. With access to Perish Song, she is easily the best Reuniclus counter in the game, and can easily stop last Pokemon Calm Mind Reuniclus that try to sweep stall teams. She is also an excellent Gengar and Alakazam counter. She can take most special attacks with no problem at all and paralyze opposing threats with Thunder Wave or Thunder. Unlike Blissey and Chansey, however, Meloetta can still pack a punch with her attacks, even with uninvested Special Attack. Psyshock is Meloetta's main STAB, which allows her to easily OHKO Gengar, while preventing setup from Pokemon such as Calm Mind Keldeo and Virizion.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The last moveslot depends on what you need more. U-turn is the overall best option, as it allows Meloetta to escape from Tyranitar's clutches as the T-Rex switches in as well as scouting opposing switches. It also allows Meloetta to escape from Dugtrio and Pokemon with Shadow Tag which might try to trap Meloetta after it has used Perish Song. Focus Blast can be used to severely damage Tyranitar switch-ins. The EVs used are to make sure that Meloetta is as bulky as possible. Other support options that Meloetta can use include Heal Bell and Light Screen, but she is generally short on moveslots as it is.</p>

<p>As Perish Song is a major attraction of this set, please note to use it wisely. If you are not using U-turn, it would be prudent to not spam Perish Song if you see opposing Dugtrio, Gothitelle, or Wobbuffet on Team Preview!</p>

<p>Specially defensive Meloetta is a fit on more defensive teams needing a win condition, and she generally is not at home on offensive teams. As Meloetta's Defense is her (much) weaker side, physically defensive Pokemon such as Gliscor, Tangrowth, and Skarmory are all good for tanking strong physical attacks that are thrown at Meloetta. As Meloetta is probably most fitting used on a stall team, entry hazards are important to its success, not only for the team, but also because Perish Song forces switches. Forretress, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn are all excellent Spikes users. Tentacruel can use Rapid Spin to clear away entry hazards and absorb Toxic Spikes that would hinder Meloetta's defensive ability, all while setting up Toxic Spikes of its own.</p>


[SET]
name: Calm Mind + 3 Attacks
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Psychic / Psyshock
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Thunder / Shadow Ball
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Meloetta's 128 Special Attack and access to good coverage moves can make her a surprisingly hard Pokemon to switch into, while her equally excellent 128 Special Defense allows her to be an excellent specially oriented tank. With a Calm Mind up, anything slower than Meloetta will be taking a huge hit. Depending on your team, Psychic or Psyshock will be Meloetta's main STAB attack. Psychic is preferred due to its extra power, as well as being able KO more physically defensive threats which Meloetta should not be having trouble with. Psyshock should generally only be used if your team has trouble with Blissey and Chansey. Focus Blast allows Meloetta to hit most Pokemon that are immune to or resist Psychic, most notably Tyranitar. Thunder is preferred in the last slot due to its general coverage, as well as 60% paralysis rate, but Shadow Ball is another option to get the super effective hit on Celebi, Latias, and Latios, which would otherwise resist all of Meloetta's attacks.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Another STAB attack Meloetta has in her arsenal is Hyper Voice. While it does work relatively well with Focus Blast and Thunder, it does not really add any coverage that Psychic does not already provide. The EVs used are obvious; max Special Attack and a Modest nature for maximum power, while max Speed allows Meloetta to outspeed as many things as possible.</p>

<p>Never forget that Meloetta is bulky on the special side and not the physical. This means that Pokemon that can take physical attacks are always welcome on Meloetta's team. Gliscor, Skarmory, Tangrowth, Slowbro, and Forretress are all excellent teammates. Other Pokemon that work well with Meloetta are Pokemon that can take down its counters, namely Celebi, Latias, and if Meloetta lacks Psyshock, Blissey and Chansey. Genesect, Tyranitar, and Scizor are all relatively good at dispatching Celebi and Latias, although Genesect and Scizor have to watch out for Hidden Power Fire and Tyranitar needs to watch out for Leaf Storm from Celebi. Strong physical attackers such as Terrakion, Dragonite, Salamence, Gyarados, and Haxorus all scare away the pink blobs, which gives you an easier time to set up. Of course, if Meloetta is using Thunder, Politoed support is helpful, making the attack 100% accurate.</p>


[Other Options]

<p>Meloetta has a number of other options that she can run. With max HP investment, Meloetta can use a Substitute + Calm Mind set with 101 HP Substitutes to set up on Blissey and Chansey, but she is generally outclassed in this role by Jirachi, which boasts better overall bulk, typing, Stealth Rock resistance and Toxic Spikes immunity. Choice Specs and all-out special attacking sets can work, but Meloetta doesn't have very good spamming STABs, while being weak to Pursuit is never good on any Choice set. She is also too slow to pull off such sets. A purely physical set (with Relic Song, of course) which focuses on the Pirouette forme is plausible, but it is generally walled by physically bulky Pokemon while being outclassed by other physical attackers such as Terrakion. Her Aria forme would also be completely useless with such a set. Finally, a mixed set with Work Up or Hone Claws, coupled with Close Combat, Thunder, and Psychic seems usable, but is outclassed by most mixed attackers in OU, and this is not to mention that the Relic Mixed set does this just as well anyway.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Celebi probably stands out as the best all-round counter to Meloetta, resisting most of the moves that she carries, while not fearing paralysis due to Natural Cure. However, Celebi does need to watch out for U-turn, as well as boosted Shadow Ball from the Calm Mind set. Latias with Substitute or Refresh is also a decent counter, although if she lacks Refresh, she must be very careful in switching into Thunder, lest she get paralyzed by it.</p>

<p>Otherwise, Relic Mixed Meloetta can be surprisingly hard to counter, due to its forme-changing nature, it's almost like fighting two Pokemon at once. If she is in the right forme, she will generally be able to either hurt your switch-in extremely badly, or switch to the other forme to keep momentum. The best thing to try and do would be to outpredict her and catch her in the wrong forme, although this is easier said than done. If you are able to get your bulky Ghost-type into her Pirouette forme, or something such as Genesect into her Aria forme, you would have pretty much killed her momentum entirely. If you cannot do that, fast physical attackers such as Choice Scarf Salamence, Landorus, and Haxorus, can take down Meloetta quite easily, whichever forme she is in, while Pokemon with strong priority, such as Breloom, Scizor, and Dragonite, also do very well against both formes. In terms of Meloetta's other sets, the specially defensive set is generally quite easy to counter due to its lack of offense, and the Calm Mind set is walled by Blissey and Chansey if it lacks Psyshock. Other specially defensive Pokemon like Latias and Jirachi are also good at taking on Calm Mind Meloetta.</p>
 
I haven't tested out Meloetta, but is a Work Up set viable on... well... anything?

In additon, what does the SubCM set or the Calm Mind + 3 attacks set have over other SubCM/Offfensive Calm Mind Pokemon? Although Meloetta has a better Specal Attack than Jirachi, Jirachi has better physical bulk and a better typing with similar moves. Lati@s have better offensive and defensive typings than Meloetta as well - Meloetta has a similar special bulk to Latias, Latios has a bit more power, but both have a lot more speed. Reuniclus has a nearly identical movepool and Special Attack bar Hyper Voice but has Magic Guard to beat stall, and Alakazam is similiar but its more offensive (yet a ton frailer) than Meloetta. We also got other CM users that aren't Psychic types like Keldeo and Virizion that seem slightly similar. Is it a combination of this stuff that makes a Calm Mind set superior to any of these or other Calm Mind users? I'm not really sure...

I'm not really sure how good Meloetta is, but it seems a bit odd to have 7 sets on a Pokemon that may not make it to OU.
 
I have to ask, why is it Thunder / Thunderbolt on some sets, and on other sets, only Thunder or Thunderbolt appears? Are some of the sets particularly designed to be used in rain? If anything I'd say SubCM can probably use Thunder better because paralysis is really handy in combination with Sub (giving you free turns to set up).

Overall I'm still not sure which move is better. Thunder's accuracy is highly frustrating. Even though rain is "everywhere", it's only on 25% of teams (admittedly it is rare to see anything much higher), so unless you're running rain yourself it's not going to be the best option in terms of expected power. Clearly the main thing going for it is the paralysis rate (42% factoring in accuracy, as opposed to Tbolt's 20%), which curiously means that it is favoured on slower or more defensive sets that are not necessarily KOing the opponent with the move. I know this is not a line of argument I'm especially fond of, but are then any specific Pokemon that you require Thunder to KO? Because otherwise I'd prefer the consistency of Thunderbolt outside of rain.

More importantly, I think the last two sets are highly questionable, especially the relic physical set. The other set looks strange but sometimes strange things work. The relic physical set, on the other hand, offers fairly little over Pokemon such as Terrakion, Pokemon that are already fighting-types. Relic Song has to be viewed as a setup move bearing in mind the lack of investment and hindering nature. If you compare that to another fighting type after setup, Meloetta just doesn't cut it. And before setup, it doesn't cut it either - its moves are ridiculously weak (except possibly return, which is probably compulsory for this reason). With Return in that last slot, its coverage is not all that impressive. The set might work ok, but I just can't see why I would use it over something else.
 
128 Spe is a BIG advantage physical Meloetta has over Terrakion. With a Life Orb I can see Meloetta pulling off some late-game sweeps.
 
If Terrakion were to use, say, Rock Polish, I think its enormous Speed would be a significant advantage over Meloetta. Remember that Meloetta only has 90 Speed before it uses Relic Song. The fact that Rock Polish Terrakion is rare merely makes Meloetta look worse.

The only advantage I can see is that setup might be easier if the opponent switches in the wrong Pokemon.
 
Meloetta-P isn't weak to the omnipresent Bullet Punch from Scizor or Azumarill's Aqua Jet and doesn't have to rely on Stone Edge to break down dragons; don't forget the fact that purely physical Meloetta will always beat Gliscor. Relic Song's 20% chance of putting the target to sleep also greatly helps differentiate it from Terrakion. Regarding the final set -- despite my heavy doubt that shrang would finalize it as a simple Work Up set, due to this being an obvious WIP -- it should have Hone Claws and Work Up slashed, and be renamed, "Mixed Booster".
 
How about adding Drain Punch as an option? It might not be as powerful as Close Combat (or even Return), but it can at least heal you when you need it, not to mention it doesn't lower your defenses.
 
How about adding Drain Punch as an option? It might not be as powerful as Close Combat (or even Return), but it can at least heal you when you need it, not to mention it doesn't lower your defenses.

When your hitting more than 50% harder with Close Combat than Drain Punch, it is always more worth it to use Close Combat when you're an offensive Pokemon like Meloetta-P.
 
Have you thought of making a Scarf set? It could look something like this:

move 1: Psyshock / Psychic
move 2: Thunder / Thunderbolt
move 3: U-turn / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Trick
 
I think Thunder deserves a slash or mention on the Relic Physical for rain teams - she's been in mine since she came out and I've never considered swapping it for a third physical move. it lets you play her more like the standard toggle mix-Relic on her first turn in (and Serene Grace is obviously awesome for Thunder), Thunder doesn't really need SpA EVs to be potent as Aria, and Pirouette rarely needs anything except CC or Ice Punch anyway.

Expert Belt (or Leftovers, I guess, though that's theorymon for me,) should definitely be slashed on it as well. losing 20% in LO recoil by the time your first actual Pirouette attack has gone off kinda sucks. she's not super-bulky but her defenses aren't paper, either - non-LO sets can count on taking a hit and still having a chance to sweep, while LO ones will recoil themselves into the grave right after.
 
I've been using meloetta a little bit, and I want to reject the last three sets. The bottom two are just bad, and the SubCM set is outclassed by Jirachi in my opinion. (edit: work up might not be bad but it is outclassed by the CM set, especially when it has LO and Psyshock)

I would also very much like to see U-turn considered on specially defensive, although it is not a set I have used.

I find specs very difficult to justify too, given how trappable Meloetta is, and how it's not that fast. I'd much rather use LO offensive CM myself. Perhaps U-turn should be considered there as well.

edit: yeah make that the bottom 4, unless I'm missing something.

edit2: I've also been considering an additional set - all-out-attacker. Something like this:

[SET]
name: Bulky attacker (tinkerbeloetta!)
move 1: Hyper Voice / Psyshock
move 2: Thunder
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: U-turn
item: Leftovers / Expert Belt / Life Orb
nature: Modest
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA (spread is clearly a work in progress)

Idea here was to spam thunder in rain and follow up with the appropriate move, or simply to U-turn if the opponent had something like Celebi. All of its moves except U-turn are pretty damn powerful.
 
Ok after some testing, U-turn was pretty bad on the attacking sets (might be ok on defensive though). I quite enjoyed having four coverage moves though: psychic/psyshock | Thunder | Shadow Ball | Focus Blast was pretty nice.

Also, the bulky spread didn't really pay off even with the paralysis from Thunder. Its physical bulk was still disappointing, and it didn't manage to take down stuff like Latios or Thundurus-t even after surviving a specs Draco Meteor or a +2 Life Orb Thunderbolt (this also raises questions regarding the sdef set). So yeah I'd like to see a simple 4 attacks set mentioned in some way, probably on CM.
 
~ U-turn is waste of the mixed set's coverage. With U-turn Meloetta's only left with Close Combat + Thunder as its offense. Drop it into AC, imo. It doesn't need U-turn to be forcing switches, thus it's still useful in Volt-Turn teams without using U-turn.

~ Probably wouldn't hurt to AC mention HP Ice on specially-defensive Meloetta so that Gliscor doesn't come in for free. Or mention a teammate that can deal with Gliscor, such as Skarmory. Speaking of Skarmory, PSong Meloetta would appreciate hazards, since PSong forces lots of switches, and I assume this set is meant to be on a stall team anyways.

QC Approved (2/3)
 
Thunder allows you to OHKO Tornadus-T with Stealth Rock damage when you're in Step form, while it lets you do stuff like 2HKO Metagross when you're in Aria form.

Can you replace this mention with something else like "Thunder can always 2HKO Keldeo, even at +1." Rain needs a strong mention on the first set if Thunder is going to get the first slash on this set. Using Thunder outside of rain is not acceptable, even it has a 60% chance of paralyzing your target.

Psyshock is a decently strong STAB for Meloetta. It allows her to OHKO Gengar easily, as well as stopping stuff like Calm Mind Virizion.

Nobody uses Virizion anymore so it's mention should be replaced with Keldeo.

otherwise

[qc]3/3[/qc]
 
Yep, I pretty much got everything, except for the AC mention of HP Ice on the SpD set. I don't see why Gliscor is such a crucial mon to randomly stick HP Ice on your set, especially when you're facing heavy 4MSS already. I mean seriously, if you're running a stall team, you should have plenty of things to deal with Gliscor, while I can't see why Gliscor would switch into Meloetta anyway.

I'll write this up soonish. I'm very busy at the moment, so hopefully I should be able to find some time to get this up.
 
Finished writing this up, ready for GP checks. Wow that Relic Mixed analysis went longer than I expected.
 
amcheck
REMOVE CHANGE COMMENTS

[Overview]
<p>Facing a Meloetta is like biting into a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean--you will never what it could actually do. Indeed, out of the new additions to grace BW2, Meloetta is arguably the most interesting of them all, albeit the most overlooked. What makes her so unique is the ability to change between two formes which both have almost opposite counters, and in the hands of a skilled player, this can cause huge problems for their opponents. One thing that does frustrate a lot of players is that fact that Meloetta cannot start in Pirouette forme immediately, which is arguably her more threatening forme. However, her Aria forme is far from useless, and can easily function as either an offensive or defensive Pokemon, depending on whatever you need. Her lack of physical bulk and relatively low Speed might make the other Psychic-types of OU more attractive, so always remember to play to Meloetta's strengths. In short, we might not be able to grasp the full extent of Meloetta's abilities for some time to come, but there is one thing we do, which is that she can be devastating in the right hands.</p>


[SET]
name: Relic Mixed
move 1: Relic Song
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Thunder / Thunderbolt
move 4: Psychic / Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt
nature: Naive
evs: 56 Atk / 252 SpA / 200 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The purpose of this set is to fully exploit Meloetta's forme-changing abilities. The idea is to, with prediction, stay ahead of your opponent by continually switching between Aria and Pirouette forme. It is especially convenient when the each forme counter is weak to the other forme, which means if Meloetta stays in the advantageous forme, it will retain offensive momentum in a similar way to VoltTurn cores. For example, Skarmory switches out of Aria forme as it fears Thunder, but as your opponent switches in Blissey, Meloetta uses Relic Song to transform into its Pirouette forme, and Blissey has to switch out again in fear of Close Combat. With entry hazard support, this can force a lot of switches and cause a lot of damage very quickly.</p>

<p>Relic Song is obviously the integral part of this set, as it facilitates the forme-changing that is unique to Meloetta. It is a decently powered STAB move backed by 128 Base Special Attack, while having 20% to put an opponent to sleep, which is always helpful. Close Combat is Meloetta's main STAB attack while in Pirouette forme. Thunder is preferred in the third slot as firstly, rain is extremely common, while secondly, its power gets Meloetta some crucial KOs, such as the one on Tornadus-T while in Pirouette forme. It also lands 2HKOs on Jellicent and Sableye while in Aria forme, two Pokemon which block Relic Song. Its 60% paralysis rate (due to Serene Grace) is also a huge bonus to have, letting you feed Jirachi that try to counter you a dose of its own medicine. However, if you are more after reliability, then Thunderbolt is a perfectly legitimate option. The last move is a bit of a toss-up. With a Life Orb equipped, Psychic is a powerful STAB move to hit many physically defensive Pokemon hard, while Hidden Power Ice lets you nail Gliscor and Dragon-types.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs given allow Meloetta to outspeed Adamant Landorus-T in Aria forme, while outspeeding Tornadus-T in Pirouette forme. Max Special Attack is used as the majority of the time will be spent in Aria forme. The rest go into Attack to power up Close Combat. A Naive nature is generally preferred over Hasty because most priority attacks are physical, and therefore it's more acceptable to lower Special Defense rather than physical Defense. With Aria forme's huge base 128 Special Defense, Meloetta is generally not in short supply of Special Defense anyway.</p>

<p>The held item is quite a tough choice. Life Orb is preferred because of the sheer power that it brings. However, as Meloetta is all about keeping offensive momentum, it is nice if she doesn't take recoil damage so she can keep that momentum for as long as possible, hence Expert Belt is a decent alternative, especially if you are running Hidden Power Ice. As for other moves, U-turn can be used in the last slot, especially if you're using Meloetta on a VoltTurn team. It is also Meloetta's best way of hurting Latias and Celebi (the latter takes enormous damage), which both otherwise take little from any of Meloetta's other attacks.</p>

<p>The most important thing to remember when using this set is to use both of Meloetta's formes. One common misconception is to send Meloetta out, get to Pirouette forme straight away and start spamming Close Combat, when instead most of the time Meloetta will be attacking in Aria forme. It is usually better to use Thunder when you send in Meloetta as it 2HKOs Sableye and Jellicent trying to block Relic Song, it hits about just about everything that doesn't resist it reasonably hard, while threatening a 60% paralysis rate.</p>

<p>Teammates that fit well with Meloetta are generally entry hazard layers and physically defensive Pokemon. As Meloetta is forcing a lot of switches by changing formes, Pokemon that can set up Spikes are an excellent asset. Deoxys-D is probably the premier Spikes user for offensive teams, while Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Forretress are all good choices for defensive ones. This follows that spinblockers would also be good teammates to Meloetta. Gengar is probably the best offensive spinblocker to use alongside Meloetta, although Sableye and Jellicent are still good choices. Some more obscure yet effective spinblockers also include Froslass, which can set up Spikes while blocking Rapid Spin at the same time, and Choice Scarf Rotom, which can use Volt Switch while blocking Rapid Spin. On the other hand, Toxic Spikes cut down on Meloetta's effectiveness dramatically. Tentacruel is an excellent Poison-type to absorb them, while other Rapid Spinners such as Starmie, Forretress, and Donphan can also remove them from the field. Physically bulky Pokemon are important as Meloetta is quite frail on that side. Gliscor, the aforementioned Skarmory, Deoxys-D, and Forretress are all very physically bulky Pokemon that can take hard physical hits from Terrakion and Outrage-wielding Dragon-types.</p>

<p>Celebi, Latias, and, (AC) to an extent, Latios all pose a threat to Meloetta as they resist all of her attacks, although if she carries U-turn, they are all in trouble. Latias and Latios also need to watch out for paralysis from Thunder. Scizor and Genesect easily put pressure on these three Pokemon (though they will need to watch out for Hidden Power Fire). Tyranitar is also good to Pursuit fleeing Latias and Latios. Lastly, Politoed is a key partner to Meloetta. As Meloetta prefers to use Thunder for its power and debilitating side effects, eternal rain provided by Politoed will take her a long way.</p>


[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Perish Song
move 2: Psyshock
move 3: Thunder Wave / Thunder
move 4: Shadow Ball / U-turn / Focus Blast
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Meloetta does not need to be able to switch formes to carve herself a niche in OU. Her Aria forme boasts titanic Special bulk, as well as having interesting resistances. With access to Perish Song, she is easily the best Reuniclus counter in the game, and can easily stop last Pokemon Calm Mind Reuniclus that try to sweep stall teams. She is also an excellent Gengar and Alakazam counter. She can take most special attacks with no problem at all, while sitting there and paralyzing opposing threats with Thunder Wave or Thunder. Unlike Blissey and Chansey, however, Meloetta can still pack a punch with her attacks, even with uninvested Special Attack. Perish Song is used to stop last Pokemon sweeps from Pokemon such as Reuniclus. Psyshock is Meloetta's main STAB, which allows her to easily OHKO Gengar, while preventing setup from Pokemon such as Calm Mind Keldeo and Virizion.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The last moveslot depends on what you need more. Shadow Ball is the preferred option as it allows Meloetta to fully counter Reuniclus, because it lets Meloetta to take out Trick Room Reuniclus, which 5HKOs with Focus Blast. If Reuniclus is not too big of a concern, U-turn is probably the overall best option, as it allows Meloetta to escape from Tyranitar's clutches as the T-Rex switches in as well as scouting opposing switches. It also allows Meloetta to escape from Dugtrio and Pokemon with Shadow Tag which might try to trap Meloetta after it has used Perish Song. Focus Blast can be used to severely damage Tyranitar switch-ins. The EVs used are so Meloetta is as specially defensive as possible.</p>

<p>As Perish Song is a major attraction to this set, please note to use it wisely. If you are not using U-turn, it would be prudent to not spam Perish Song if you see opposing Dugtrios, Gothitelles, or Wobbuffets on Team Preview!</p>

<p>Specially Defensive Meloetta is a fit on more defensive teams needing a win condition, therefore she generally is not at home on offensive teams. As Meloetta's physical Defense is her (much) weaker side, physically defensive Pokemon such as Gliscor, Tangrowth, and Skarmory are all good for tanking strong physical attacks that are thrown at Meloetta. As Meloetta is probably fitting on a stall team, entry hazards are important to its success, not only for the team, but also because Perish Song forces switches. Forretress, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn are all excellent Spikes users. Tentacruel can use Rapid Spin to clear away hazards and absorb Toxic Spikes that would neuter Meloetta's defensive ability, all while setting up Toxic Spikes of its own.</p>


[SET]
name: Calm Mind + 3 attacks
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Psychic / Psyshock
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Thunder / Shadow Ball
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Meloetta's 128 Special Attack and access to good coverage moves can make her a surprisingly hard Pokemon to switch into, while her equally excellent 128 Special Defense allows her to be an excellent Specially oriented tank. With a Calm Mind up, anything slower than Meloetta will be taking a huge hit. Depending on your team, Psychic or Psyshock will be Meloetta's main STAB attack. Psychic is preferred due to its extra power, as well as being able KO more physically defensive threats which Meloetta should not be having trouble with. Psyshock should generally only be used if your team has trouble with Blissey and Chansey. Focus Blast allows Meloetta to hit most Pokemon that are immune to or resist Psychic, most notably Tyranitar. Thunder is preferred in the last slot due to its general coverage, as well as 60% paralysis rate, but Shadow Ball is another option to get the super effective hit on Celebi, Latias, and Latios, which would all resist Meloetta's attacks otherwise.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Another STAB attack Meloetta has in her arsenal is Hyper Voice. While it does go relatively well with Focus Blast and Thunder, it does not really add coverage that Psychic does not hit already. The EVs used are obvious: Max Special Attack and a Modest nature for maximum power, while max Speed allows Meloetta to outspeed as many things as possible.</p>

<p>Never forget that Meloetta is bulky on the special side and not the physical. This means that Pokemon that can take physical attacks are always welcome on Meloetta's team. Gliscor, Skarmory, Tangrowth, Slowbro, and Forretress are all excellent teammates. Other Pokemon that go well with Meloetta are Pokemon that can take down its counters, namely Celebi, Latias, and if Meloetta lacks Psyshock, Blissey and Chansey. Genesect, Tyranitar, and Scizor are all relatively good at dispatching Celebi and Latias, although Genesect and Scizor has to watch out for Hidden Power Fire and Tyranitar needs to watch out for Leaf Storm from Celebi. Strong physical attackers such as Terrakion, Dragonite, Salamence, Gyarados, and Haxorus all scare out the pink blobs, which give you an easy time to set up. Of course, if Meloetta is using Thunder, Politoed support is helpful to make the attack 100% accurate.</p>


[Other Options]

<p>Meloetta has a number of other options that she can run. With max HP investment, Meloetta can use a Substitute + Calm Mind set with 101 HP Substitutes to set up on Blissey and Chansey, but she is generally outclassed in this role by Jirachi, which boasts better overall bulk, typing, Stealth Rock resistance and Toxic Spikes immunity. Choice Specs and all-out special attacking sets can work, but Meloetta doesn't have very good spamming STABs, while being Pursuit weak is never a good thing to have on a Choice set. She is also too slow to pull off such sets. A pure physical set (with Relic Song, of course) which focuses on the Pirouette forme is plausible, but it is generally walled by physical walls while being outclassed by other physical attackers such as Terrakion. This is not to mention that her Aria forme would be completely useless with such a set. Finally, a mixed set with Work Up or Hone Claws, coupled with Close Combat, Thunder, and Psychic seems usable, but is outclassed by most mixed attackers in OU, and this is not to mention that the Relic Mixed set does this just as well anyway.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Celebi probably stands out as the best all around counter to Meloetta, resisting most of the moves that she carries, while not fearing paralysis due to Natural Cure. However, Celebi does need to watch out for U-turn, as well as boosted Shadow Ball from the Calm Mind set. Latias with Substitute or Refresh is also a decent counter, although if she lacks Refresh, she must be very careful in switching into Thunder, lest she get paralyzed by it.</p>

<p>Otherwise, Relic Mixed Meloetta can be surprisingly hard to counter, due to its forme-changing nature, it's almost like fighting two Pokemon at once. If she is in the right forme, she will generally be able to either hurt your switch-in extremely badly, or switch to the other forme to keep momentum. The best thing to try and do would be to outpredict her and catch her in the wrong forme, although this is easier said than done. If you are able to get your bulky Ghost-type into her Pirouette forme, or something like Genesect into her Aria forme, you would have pretty much killed her momentum entirely. If you cannot do that, fast physical attackers such as Choice Scarf Salamence, Landorus, or Haxorus can take down Meloetta quite easily, whichever forme she is in, while Pokemon with strong priority such as Breloom, Scizor, and Dragonite also do very well against both formes. In terms of Meloetta's other sets, the Specially Defensive set is generally quite easy to counter due to its lack of offense, and the Calm Mind set is walled by Blissey and Chansey if it lacks Psyshock. Other Specially defensive Pokemon such as Latias and Jirachi are also good at taking on Calm Mind Meloetta.</p>
 
amateur check k?

because the article sometimes referred to Meloetta as "she" and other pokemon as "it", I decided to stick to "he/she" for all mons out of consistency.

add remove change comments in bold

[Overview]
<p>Facing a Meloetta is like biting into a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean--you will never know what it could actually do. Indeed, Out of the new additions to grace Pokemon BW2, Meloetta is arguably the most interesting of them all, but also the most overlooked. What makes Her so unique is the ability to change between two formes which both with have almost opposite counters can cause huge problems for her opponents in the hands of a skilled player. Not being able to start in Pirouette Forme frustrates a lot of players, because it's arguably her more threatening forme. However, her Aria Forme is far from useless, and can easily function as either an offensive or defensive Pokemon depending on whatever your needs. Her lack of physical bulk and relatively low Speed in Aria Forme might make the other Psychic-types in OU more attractive, so always remember to play to Meloetta's strengths. In short, We might not be able to grasp the full extent of Meloetta's abilities for some time to come any time soon, but there is one thing we do know-(hyphen)that she can be devastating in the right hands.</p>


[SET]
name: Relic Mixed
move 1: Relic Song
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Thunder / Thunderbolt
move 4: Psychic / Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt
nature: Naive
evs: 56 Atk / 252 SpA / 200 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>The purpose of this set is to fully exploit Meloetta's forme-changing abilities. The idea is to, with prediction, stay ahead of your opponent by continually switching between Aria and Pirouette Forme. It is especially convenient when the each forme's counter is weak to the other one, which means that, with proper prediction, if Meloetta stays in the advantageous forme, it will can retain offensive momentum, functioning like a one-mon in a similar way to VoltTurn cores. For example, Skarmory switches out of Aria forme in fear of Thunder, but by using Relic Song as your opponent switches in Blissey is sent in, Meloetta can threaten Blissey with a devastating Close Combat. With entry hazard support, this can force a lot of switches and rack up residual damage very quickly.</p>

<p>Relic Song is obviously the crux of this set, as it allows Meloetta to utilize her unique forme-shifting capabilities. It is a decently powered STAB move backed by 128 Base Special Attack, with a 20% chance to put an opponent to sleep, which is always helpful. Close Combat is Meloetta's main STAB attack while in Pirouette forme. Thunder is preferred in the third slot due to rain being extremely common. a while secondly,Its power lets Meloetta achieve some crucial KOs, such as the one on Tornadus-T while in Pirouette forme. It also scores 2HKOs on Jellicent and Sableye while in Aria forme, two Pokemon which can block Relic Song. Its 60% paralysis chance thanks to Serene Grace is also a huge bonus to have, letting you feed Jirachi that try to counter you a dose of their(assumming Jirachi is in plural form) own medicine. However, If you prefer a more reliable option, then Thunderbolt can be used instead.is a perfectly legitimate option. The last move is a bit of a toss-up. With a Life Orb equipped, Psychic is a powerful STAB move to hit many physically defensive Pokemon hard, while Hidden Power Ice lets you nail Gliscor and Dragon-types.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EVs given allow Meloetta to outspeed Adamant Landorus-T in Aria Forme and Tornadus-T in Pirouette Forme. Max Special Attack is used, as Meloetta will spend the majority of her time in Aria Forme. The remaining EVs are put into Attack for a stronger Close Combat. A Naive nature is generally preferred over Hasty because most priority attacks are physical, and therefore it's more acceptable to lower Special Defense rather than physical Defense. With Aria forme's huge base 128 Special Defense, Meloetta is generally not in short supply of it anyway.</p>

<p>Picking an item for Meloetta is quite the hard choice. Life Orb is preferred because of the sheer power that it brings. However, because Meloetta is all about keeping offensive momentum, Expert Belt can be used to power up Meloetta's moves without taking away from her health,especially if she is running Hidden Power Ice. As far as other moves go, U-turn can be used in the last slot, especially if you're using Meloetta on a VoltTurn team. It is also Meloetta's best way of hurting Latias and Celebi (the latter takes enormous damage), who both otherwise takes little damage from any of Meloetta's other attacks.</p>

<p>The most important thing to remember when using this set is to use both of Meloetta's formes. One common misconception is to send Meloetta out, get to Pirouette forme straight away and start spamming Close Combat, when instead most of the time Meloetta will be attacking in Aria forme. It is usually better to use Thunder when you send in Meloetta as it 2HKOs Sableye and Jellicent trying to block Relic Song.(period) It hits almost everything that doesn't resist it very hard, while threatening with a chance of paralysis.</p>

<p>Teammates that fit well with Meloetta are generally entry hazard layers and physically defensive Pokemon. As Meloetta can force a lot of switches by just changing formes, Pokemon that can set up Spikes are an excellent asset. Deoxys-D is the premier Spikes user for offensive teams, while Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Forretress are all good choices for defensive ones. Because of this, spinblockers are also be good teammates to Meloetta. Gengar is probably the best offensive spinblocker to use alongside Meloetta, although Sableye and Jellicent are also good choices. Some more obscure yet Other effective spinblockers also include Froslass, who can set up Spikes while blocking Rapid Spin at the same time, and Choice Scarf Rotom, who can use Volt Switch while blocking Rapid Spin. While on Meloetta's side, Toxic Spikes cut down on Meloetta's her effectiveness dramatically. Tentacruel is an excellent Poison-type to absorb them, but other Rapid Spinners such as Starmie, Forretress, and Donphan can also remove them from the field. Physically bulky Pokemon are important to have, because Meloetta is very frail on that side. Gliscor, the aforementioned Skarmory, Deoxys-D, and Forretress are all very physically bulky Pokemon that can take hard physical hits from Terrakion and Outrage-wielding Dragon-types.</p>

<p>Celebi, Latias, and, to an extent, Latios all pose a threat to Meloetta since they resist all of her attacks unless Meloetta carries U-turn. Latias and Latios also need to watch out for paralysis from Thunder. Scizor and Genesect easily put pressure on these three Pokemon, but watch out for Hidden Power Fire. Tyranitar is great choice to Pursuit fleeing Latias and Latios. Lastly, Politoed is an excellent partner to Meloetta, thanks to Thunder's perfect accuracy while in the rain.</p>


[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Perish Song
move 2: Psyshock
move 3: Thunder Wave / Thunder
move 4: U-turn / Focus Blast
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Meloetta does not need to be able to switch formes to carve herself a niche in OU. Her Aria forme boasts titanic Special bulk, as well as having interesting resistances. With access to Perish Song, she is easily the best Reuniclus counter in the game, and can easily stop last Pokemon like Calm Mind Reuniclus that try to sweep stall teams. Her resistance to Psychic-type attacks and immunity to Ghost-type attacks allow her to function as an excellent Gengar and Alakazam counter. She can take most special attacks with ease, while sitting there and paralyzing opposing threats with Thunder Wave or Thunder. Unlike Blissey and Chansey, however, Meloetta can still pack a punchwith her attacks, even with uninvested Special Attack. Perish Song is used to stop last Pokemon sweeps from Pokemon such as Reuniclus(alreayd mentioned). Psyshock is Meloetta's main STAB, which allows her to easily OHKO Gengar, while preventing setup from Pokemon such as Calm Mind Keldeo and Virizion.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The last moveslot depends on what you need more. U-turn is probably the overall best option, as it allowing Meloetta to escape from Tyranitar's clutches as he switches in while also scouting opposing switches. It also allows Meloetta to escape from Dugtrio and Pokemon with Shadow Tag that might try to trap her after she has used Perish Song. Focus Blast can be used to severely damage Tyranitar on the switch. The EVs used are to grant Melotta as much special bulk as possible.</p>

<p>As Perish Song is a major attraction to this set, please note to use it wisely. If you are not using U-turn, it would be prudent to not spam Perish Song if you see opposing Dugtrios, Gothitelles, or Wobbuffets on Team Preview!</p> (this has been mentioned above with U-turn, I feel it is unnecessary to say it again)

<p>Specially Defensive Meloetta is a great fit on more defensive teams needing a win condition, therefore she is usually not at home on offensive teams. As Meloetta's physical Defense is her (much) weaker side, physically defensive Pokemon such as Gliscor, Tangrowth, and Skarmory are all good partners that can sponge physical attacks aimed at Meloetta. As Meloetta will probably be used on a stall team, entry hazards are important to its success, not only for the team, but also because Perish Song forces switches. Forretress, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn are all excellent Spikes users. Tentacruel can use Rapid Spin to clear away entry hazards and absorb Toxic Spikes that would neuter Meloetta's defensive ability, all while setting up Toxic Spikes of his own.</p>


[SET]
name: Calm Mind + 3 attacks
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Psychic / Psyshock
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Thunder / Shadow Ball
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Meloetta's 128 Special Attack and access to good coverage moves can make her a surprisingly hard Pokemon to switch into, while her equally great 128 Special Defense lets her take special attacks with ease. After a Calm Mind boost, anything slower than Meloetta will be dealt serious damage. Depending on your team's needs, Psychic or Psyshock will be Meloetta's main STAB attack. Psychic is preferred due to its extra power, as well as being able KO more physically defensive threats which Meloetta should not be having trouble with. Psyshock should generally only be used if your team has trouble with Blissey and Chansey. Focus Blast lets Meloetta to hit most Pokemon that are either immune or resistant to Psychic, most notably Tyranitar. Thunder is preferred in the last slot due to its general coverage and well as 60% paralysis chance, but Shadow Ball is another option to get the super effective hit on Celebi, Latias, and Latios;(semi colon) who would otherwise resist Meloetta's other attacks.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Another STAB attack Meloetta has at her disposal is Hyper Voice. While it does pair relatively well with Focus Blast and Thunder, it does not grant any additional coverage when compared to Psychic or Psyshock. The EVs used are obvious: Max Special Attack and a Modest nature for maximum power, while max Speed allows Meloetta to outspeed as many threats as possible.</p>

Because of Meloetta's low physical defense, partners that can take physical attacks are always welcome on her side. Gliscor, Skarmory, Tangrowth, Slowbro, and Forretress are all excellent teammates. Other Pokemon that pair well with Meloetta are those that can take down her counters;(semi colon) namely Celebi, Latias, and-(hyphen)if Meloetta lacks Psyshock-(hyphen) Blissey and Chansey. Genesect, Tyranitar, and Scizor are all relatively good at dispatching Celebi and Latias, although the first two must watch out for Hidden Power Fire, and Tyranitar won't enjoy taking a Leaf Storm. Strong physical attackers such as Terrakion, Dragonite, Salamence, Gyarados, and Haxorus all scare out the pink blobs, which can give you an easy time to set up.Of course, If Meloetta is using Thunder, Politoed support is helpful to make the attack 100% accurate.</p>


[Other Options]

<p>Meloetta has a good number of other options that she can run. With max HP investment, Meloetta can use a Substitute + Calm Mind set with 101 HP Substitutes to set up on Blissey and Chansey, but she is generally outclassed in this role by Jirachi, who boasts better overall bulk, typing, and resistance to entry hazards. Choice Specs and all-out special attacking sets can work, but Meloetta's STABs are something you don't want to be locked into, and being Pursuit weak is never a good thing for a choiced Pokemon. She is also too slow to pull off such sets(Rotom-W is slower and can pull off both Choice Specs and Choice Scarf sets very well, so I would leave this out). A pure physical set (with Relic Song, of course) focusing on the Pirouette Forme (Forme has been used in capital letters before, consistency) is plausible, but it is generally stopped cold (walled by walls sounds horrible) by physical walls , and outclassed by other physical attackers such as Terrakion on top of that. This does not mean that her Aria Forme would be completely useless in such a set, however. Finally, a mixed set with Work Up or Hone Claws, coupled with Close Combat, Thunder, and Psychic is usable, but is outclassed by most mixed attackers in OU, and this is not to mention that including the Relic Mixed set.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Celebi probably stands out as the best overall counter to Meloetta, resisting most of her moves that she carries, while not fearing paralysis due to Natural Cure. However, Celebi does need to watch out for U-turn and boosted Shadow Ball from the Calm Mind set. Latias with Substitute or Refresh is also a decent counter, but must be careful upon switching in if lacking the latter, because a well placed Thunder has a 60% chance to greatly cripple her for the entirety of the match..</p>

<p>On the other hand, Relic Mixed Meloetta can be surprisingly hard to counter.(period) Due to her forme-changing nature, it's almost like fighting two Pokemon at once. While in the right forme, she will generally be able to either hurt your switch-in extremely badly, or switch to the other formes to preserve momentum. The best thing to try and do would be to outpredict her and catch her in the wrong forme, but this is easier said than done. If you are able of sending a bulky Ghost-type into her Piroutte Forme or a speedy Bug-type like Genesect while she's in Aria Forme, Meloetta will be forced to switch out, thus losing all offensive momentum.. If you cannot accomplish such a feat, fast physical attackers such as Choice Scarf Salamence, Landorus, or Haxorus can take down Meloetta quite easily, no matter what forme she is in.(Period instead of Comma) while Pokemon with strong priority such as Breloom, Scizor, and Dragonite also do very well against both formes. For Meloetta's other sets, the Specially Defensive set is generally quite easy to counter due to its lack of offense, and the Calm Mind set is walled by Blissey and Chansey if it lacks Psyshock. Other Specially defensive Pokemon such as Latias and Jirachi are also good at taking on Calm Mind Meloetta.</p>
 
amcheck.

Remove | Add | Change | Comments

[Overview]
<p>Facing a Meloetta is like biting into a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean--you will never know exactly what it could [color="red]actually[/color] do. Indeed, out of the new additions to grace Pokemon BW2, Meloetta is arguably the most interesting of them all, albeit the most overlooked. What makes her so unique is the ability to change between two formes which both have almost opposite counters, and in the hands of a skilled player, this can cause huge problems for their opponents. One thing that does frustrate a lot of players is that fact that Meloetta cannot start in Pirouette forme immediately, which is arguably her more threatening forme. However, her Aria forme is far from useless, and can easily function as either an offensive or defensive Pokemon, depending on whatever you need. Her lack of physical bulk and relatively low Speed might make the other Psychic-types of OU more attractive, so always remember to play to Meloetta's strengths. In short, we might not be able to grasp the full extent of Meloetta's abilities for some time to come, but there is one thing we do [color="blue"]know[/color], which and that is that she can be devastating in the right hands.</p>


[SET]
name: Relic Mixed
move 1: Relic Song
move 2: Close Combat
move 3: Thunder / Thunderbolt
move 4: Psychic / Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb / Expert Belt
nature: Naive
evs: 56 Atk / 252 SpA / 200 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>The purpose of this set is to fully exploit Meloetta's forme-changing abilities. The idea is to, with prediction, stay a step ahead of your opponent by continuously switching between Aria and Pirouette forme. It is especially convenient when the each a forme counter is weak to the other forme, which means if Meloetta stays in the advantageous forme, it will retain offensive momentum in a similar way to VoltTurn cores. For example, Skarmory switches out of Aria forme as it fears Thunder, but as your opponent switches in Blissey, Meloetta uses Relic Song to transform into its Pirouette forme, and Blissey has to switch out again in fear of Close Combat. With entry hazard support, this can force a lot of switches and cause a lot of damage very quickly.</p>

<p>Relic Song is obviously the integral part of this set, as it facilitates the forme-changing that is unique to Meloetta. It is a decently powerful STAB move backed by 128 Base Special Attack, while having 20% to put an opponent to sleep, which is always helpful. Close Combat is Meloetta's main STAB attack while in Pirouette forme. Thunder is preferred in the third slot since as ,firstly, rain is extremely common, while secondly, its power can help Meloetta get some crucial KOs, such as the one on Tornadus-T while in Pirouette forme. It also lands 2HKOs on Jellicent and Sableye while in Aria forme, two Pokemon which block Relic Song. Its 60% paralysis rate (due to Serene Grace) is also a huge bonus to have, letting you give Jirachi that try to counter you a dose of its own medicine. However, if you are more after reliability, then Thunderbolt is a perfectly legitimate option. The last move is a bit of a toss-up. With a Life Orb equipped, Psychic is a powerful STAB move to hit many physically defensive Pokemon hard, while Hidden Power Ice lets you nail Gliscor and Dragon-types.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EVs given allow Meloetta to outspeed Adamant Landorus-T in Aria forme, while outspeeding Tornadus-T in Pirouette forme. Max Special Attack is used as the majority of the time will be spent in Aria forme. The rest go into Attack to power up Close Combat. A Naive nature is generally preferred over Hasty due to most priority attacks being physical, and therefore it's more acceptable to lower Special Defense rather than physical Defense. With Aria forme's huge base 128 Special Defense, Meloetta is generally not in short supply of Special Defense anyway.</p>

<p>The held item is quite a tough choice. Life Orb is preferred because of the sheer power that it brings. However, as Meloetta is all about keeping offensive momentum, it is nice if she doesn't take recoil damage so she can keep that momentum for as long as possible, hence Expert Belt being a decent alternative, especially if you are running Hidden Power Ice. As for other moves, U-turn can be used in the last slot, especially if you're using Meloetta on a VoltTurn team. It is also Meloetta's best way of hurting Latias and Celebi (the latter takes enormous damage), which both otherwise take[color="red]s[/color] little from any of Meloetta's other attacks.</p>

<p>The most important thing to remember when using this set is to use both of Meloetta's formes. One common misconception is to send Meloetta out, get to Pirouette forme straight away and start spamming Close Combat, when instead most of the time Meloetta will be attacking in Aria forme. It is usually better to use Thunder when you send in Meloetta as it 2HKOs Sableye and Jellicent trying to block Relic Song, it hits about just about everything that doesn't resist it reasonably hard, while threatening a [color="lime"]60% chance of paralysis.[/color]</p>

<p>Teammates that fit well with Meloetta are generally entry hazard layers and physically defensive Pokemon. As Meloetta is forcing a lot of switches by changing formes, Pokemon that can set up Spikes are an excellent asset. Deoxys-D is the premier Spikes user for offensive teams, while Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Forretress are all good choices for defensive ones. This follows on to the fact that spinblockers would also be good teammates to Meloetta. Gengar is probably the best offensive spinblocker to use alongside Meloetta, although Sableye and Jellicent are still good choices. Some more obscure yet effective spinblockers also include Froslass, which can set up Spikes while blocking Rapid Spin at the same time, and Choice Scarf Rotom, which can use Volt Switch while blocking Rapid Spin. On the other hand, Toxic Spikes cut down on Meloetta's effectiveness dramatically. Tentacruel is an excellent Poison-type to absorb them, while other Rapid Spinners such as Starmie, Forretress, and Donphan can also remove them from the field. Physically bulky Pokemon are important as Meloetta is quite frail on that side. Gliscor, [coor="blue"]as well as[/color] the aforementioned Skarmory, Deoxys-D, and Forretress are all very physically bulky Pokemon that can take hard physical hits from Terrakion and Outrage-wielding Dragon-types.</p>

<p>Celebi, Latias, and, to an extent, Latios all pose a threat to Meloetta since they resist all of her attacks, although if she carries U-turn, they may be in trouble. Latias and Latios also need to watch out for paralysis from Thunder. Scizor and Genesect easily put pressure on these three Pokemon (though they will need to watch out for Hidden Power Fire). Tyranitar is also good to Pursuit fleeing Latias and Latios. Lastly, Politoed is a key partner to Meloetta. As Meloetta prefers to use Thunder for its power and debilitating side effects, eternal rain provided by Politoed will take her a long way.</p>


[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Perish Song
move 2: Psyshock
move 3: Thunder Wave / Thunder
move 4: U-turn / Focus Blast
item: Leftovers
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Meloetta does not need to be able to switch formes to carve herself a niche in OU. Her Aria forme boasts titanic Special bulk, as well as having an interesting set of resistances. With access to Perish Song, she is easily the best Reuniclus counter in the game, and can easily stop last Pokemon Calm Mind Reuniclus that try to sweep stall teams. She is also an excellent Gengar and Alakazam counter. She can take most special attacks with no problem at all, while sitting there and paralyzing opposing threats with Thunder Wave or Thunder. Unlike Blissey and Chansey, however, Meloetta can still pack a punch with her attacks, even with uninvested Special Attack. Perish Song is used to stop last Pokemon sweeps from Pokemon such as Reuniclus. Psyshock is Meloetta's main STAB, which allows her to easily OHKO Gengar, while preventing setup from Pokemon such as Calm Mind Keldeo and Virizion.</p>

Note: sentence regarding Perish Song removed due to it being mentioned for the exact same reason previously in the same paragraph.

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The last moveslot depends on what you need more. U-turn is probably the overall best option, as it allows Meloetta to escape from Tyranitar's clutches as the T-Rex switches in as well as scouting opposing switches. It also allows Meloetta to escape from Dugtrio and Pokemon with Shadow Tag which might try to trap Meloetta after it has used Perish Song. Focus Blast can be used to severely damage Tyranitar switch-ins. The EVs used are to make sure Meloetta is as specially defensive as possible.</p>

<p>As Perish Song is a major attraction of this set, please note to use it wisely. If you are not using U-turn, it would be prudent to not spam Perish Song if you see opposing Dugtrios, Gothitelles, or Wobbuffets on Team Preview!</p>

<p>Specially Defensive Meloetta is a fit on more defensive teams needing a win condition, therefore she generally is not at home on offensive teams. As Meloetta's physical Defense is her (much) weaker side, physically defensive Pokemon such as Gliscor, Tangrowth, and Skarmory are all good for tanking strong physical attacks that are thrown at Meloetta. As Meloetta is probably most fitting used on a stall team, entry hazards are important to its success, not only for the team, but also because Perish Song forces switches. Forretress, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn are all excellent Spikes users. Tentacruel can use Rapid Spin to clear away entry hazards and absorb Toxic Spikes that would hinder Meloetta's defensive ability, all while setting up Toxic Spikes of its own.</p>


[SET]
name: Calm Mind + 3 attacks
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Psychic / Psyshock
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Thunder / Shadow Ball
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Meloetta's 128 Special Attack and access to good coverage moves can make her a surprisingly hard Pokemon to switch into, while her equally excellent 128 Special Defense allows her to be an excellent Specially oriented tank. With a Calm Mind up, anything slower than Meloetta will be taking a huge hit. Depending on your team, Psychic or Psyshock will be Meloetta's main STAB attack. Psychic is preferred due to its extra power, as well as being able KO more physically defensive threats which Meloetta should not be having trouble with. Psyshock should generally only be used if your team has trouble with Blissey and Chansey. Focus Blast allows Meloetta to hit most Pokemon that are immune to or resist Psychic, most notably Tyranitar. Thunder is preferred in the last slot due to its general coverage, as well as 60% paralysis rate, but Shadow Ball is another option to get the super effective hit on Celebi, Latias, and Latios, which would all resist Meloetta's attacks otherwise.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Another STAB attack Meloetta has in her arsenal is Hyper Voice. While it does work relatively well with Focus Blast and Thunder, it does not really add any coverage that Psychic does not hit already provide. The EVs used are obvious: Max Special Attack and a Modest nature for maximum power, while max Speed allows Meloetta to outspeed as many things as possible.</p>

<p>Never forget that Meloetta is bulky on the special side and not the physical. This means that Pokemon that can take physical attacks are always welcome on Meloetta's team. Gliscor, Skarmory, Tangrowth, Slowbro, and Forretress are all excellent teammates. Other Pokemon that work well with Meloetta are Pokemon that can take down its counters, namely Celebi, Latias, and, if Meloetta lacks Psyshock, Blissey and Chansey. Genesect, Tyranitar, and Scizor are all relatively good at dispatching Celebi and Latias, although Genesect and Scizor has to watch out for Hidden Power Fire and Tyranitar needs to watch out for Leaf Storm from Celebi. Strong physical attackers such as Terrakion, Dragonite, Salamence, Gyarados, and Haxorus all scare away the pink blobs, which gives you an easier time to set setting up. Of course, if Meloetta is using Thunder, Politoed support is helpful, making the attack 100% accurate.</p>


[Other Options]

<p>Meloetta has a number of other options that she can run. With max HP investment, Meloetta can use a Substitute + Calm Mind set with 101 HP Substitutes to set up on Blissey and Chansey, but she is generally outclassed in this role by Jirachi, which boasts better overall bulk, typing, Stealth Rock resistance and Toxic Spikes immunity. Choice Specs and all-out special attacking sets can work, but Meloetta doesn't have very good spamming STABs, while being Pursuit weak is never a good thing to have on any Choice set. She is also too slow to pull off such sets. A pure physical set (with Relic Song, of course) which focuses on the Pirouette forme is plausible, but it is generally walled by physically bulky Pokémon, while being outclassed by other physical attackers such as Terrakion. However, this is not to mention that her Aria forme would be completely useless with such a set. Finally, a mixed set with Work Up or Hone Claws, coupled with Close Combat, Thunder, and Psychic seems usable, but is outclassed by most mixed attackers in OU, and this is not to mention that the Relic Mixed set does this just as well anyway.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Celebi probably stands out as the best all-round counter to Meloetta, resisting most of the moves that she carries, while not fearing paralysis due to Natural Cure. However, Celebi does need to watch out for U-turn, as well as boosted Shadow Ball from the Calm Mind set. Latias with Substitute or Refresh is also a decent counter, although if she lacks Refresh, she must be very careful in switching into Thunder, lest she be paralyzed by it.</p>

<p>Otherwise, Relic Mixed Meloetta can be surprisingly hard to counter, due to its forme-changing nature, it's almost like fighting two Pokemon at once. If she is in the right forme, she will generally be able to either hurt your switch-in extremely badly, or switch to the other forme to keep momentum. The best thing to try and do would be to outpredict her and catch her in the wrong forme, although this is easier said than done. If you are able to get your bulky Ghost-type into her Pirouette forme, or something like Genesect into her Aria forme, you would have pretty much killed her momentum entirely. If you cannot do that, fast physical attackers such as Choice Scarf Salamence, Landorus, or Haxorus can take down Meloetta quite easily, whichever forme she is in, while Pokemon with strong priority such as Breloom, Scizor, and Dragonite also do very well against both formes. In terms of Meloetta's other sets, the Specially Defensive set is generally quite easy to counter due to its lack of offense, and the Calm Mind set is walled by Blissey and Chansey if it lacks Psyshock. Other Specially defensive Pokemon such as Latias and Jirachi are also good at taking on Calm Mind Meloetta.</p>

Be gentle, it's my first time.
 
Heal bell is one of the main attractions of the sp.d set. Since BW2 is more a very offensive game U turn maybe more useful, but I do think Heal bell deserves a mention in the AC or slashed with U-turn/Focus Blast
 
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